The government's situation is complicated because there are many forces competing against each other and at the same time checking and balancing each other.
From a large perspective, the civil and military forces of the DPRK and China were separated and in conflict with each other, and there were even vassals and eunuchs watching eagerly. However, from a small perspective, within the civil servants, nobles, and even the yamen, all forces were restraining each other. at.
According to convention, if it were not for the presence of the Supreme Emperor, the British government would not have been left out in the cold for so long.
Therefore, the situation of the court is changeable after all. Sometimes, it is not that the emperor can do whatever he wants.
If nothing else, the emperor was feeling a bit embarrassed at this moment. If Zhang Shi was given a chance, then the British Duke's revival would mean that the Supreme Emperor's line had regained a certain position in the court. But if Zhang Shi was not used, Among the nobles, there are indeed very few who have the qualifications and prestige to take on this important task.
"After counting, the only people who can take charge of this matter are you and Zhang Shi."
"The advantage of the British government lies in its deep accumulation and the support of the Chengguo government. It can be seen from this corruption case that Zhang Xi holds the handle of many military officials. Therefore, if he is allowed to preside over the rectification , then the difficulty will be much lower, but his disadvantage is that he is not trusted by His Majesty."
Yu Shiyue raised his head, looked at Yu Qian, and said seriously.
"As for you, although the Ministry of War is not directly involved in the affairs of the military government, so you are not deeply involved with many of its officials, and you will face many obstacles if you want to take charge of this matter, but after all, you are trusted by His Majesty to organize such a complicated and vast government order to rectify the army. With His Majesty's full support, the work can be completed in one year, and the difficulty of organizing the military government will never be higher than the former."
"I believe you know the depth of this better than I do, so Tingyi, you must try your best to be able to take charge of this matter, otherwise it will be bad if the military government falls into the hands of the British government."
Yu Shiyue said these words very carefully and without any intention of joking.
Yu Qian fell silent. He knew what Yu Shiyue meant.
The so-called bad thing has two meanings. One is that the Supreme Emperor will use the power of the British government to intervene in the government again. The other layer refers to the civil and military struggle.
In the Battle of Tumubao, the country was in critical danger, the national power was depleted, and the imperial court was in dire straits. It could be said to be a disaster unprecedented in the decades since the founding of the country.
But this is undoubtedly a great opportunity for civil servants. Since the founding of the country by Taizu, civil and military disputes have been throughout the court.
During the Hongwu period, martial arts were prosperous and civil society was weak, but after the founding of the Wen Dynasty, civil society was prosperous and martial arts was weak. When Emperor Taizong was in trouble, the Wu Xun family once again gained the upper hand. During the time of Renxuan, civil and military affairs tended to be balanced, but Wu was still prosperous and civilized. It was not until the Zhengtong period, when Sanyang assisted the government, that Wu Xun gradually Dark and weak.
Afterwards, various distinguished families secretly encouraged the Emperor to march to the north in an attempt to maintain the situation during Renxuan's reign. Unfortunately, in the end, they suffered the consequences.
After the emperor ascended the throne, the civil servants headed by Yu Qian and Wang Wen could be regarded as completely overwhelming the power of the military officials. The biggest factor was that the relationship between the nobles and the emperor was too deep, and it was difficult for the emperor to trust them.
Therefore, during the War of Oara, the balance between civil and military forces was completely broken. Everything was dominated by the Ministry of War, and the Military Government seemed to be a subordinate of the Ministry of War.
Although this influence has weakened with the end of the war and Yu Qian resigned as the admiral of the Beijing camp, it still exists.
Take this case of corruption as an example. If it were not Fan Guang who was in charge, but other nobles, it would be extremely difficult for the Ministry of War to get involved.
But Fan Guang was different. He was recommended by Yu Qian, and he was both a member of the Emperor's Party. In addition, Fan Guang himself did not have a deep foundation in the capital, which determined that he would rely on the power of the Ministry of War.
This gave the Ministry of War an opportunity to go one step further and seize power from the military government. This rectification of the military government was undoubtedly a key node in the civil-military struggle.
Zhang Min and Yu Qian represent the two powerful forces of civil servants and military officials. At the same time, they also represent the struggle between the emperor and Nangong.
The emperor is not stupid, so he must know that leaving this matter to Yu Qian means giving the civil servants the opportunity to completely overwhelm the nobles.
After all, the power to rectify the military government means having the power to promote and depose most of the officials in the military government. During the verification process, a large amount of evidence will give Yu Qian a huge say in the selection of military ministers in the future. right.
More importantly, if one thing leads to another, if the Ministry of War can preside over the reorganization of the military government this time, its status will be vaguely higher than that of the military government. When there is another conflict of authority in the future, it can use this example to overwhelm the military government.
All these will inevitably lead to a prosperous culture and a weak military. From the perspective of the emperor, he is probably not willing to see this situation.
But similarly, letting the British government regain control of the military government is also definitely not what the emperor wants. So to put it bluntly, it is actually a dilemma now.
In this case, in the end, it depends on the emperor's decision.
So in fact, this is what Yu Shiyue really wants to advise Yu Qian. If nothing else, the emperor should be hesitating now. Any chip may affect the emperor's final decision.
Especially Yu Qian, he must not make any mistakes at this time, and such behavior as contradicting the emperor in court is even more taboo.
At this time, what Yu Qian should do is to be low-key and respectful, so that the emperor can trust him. Only in this way can he be assured of entrusting him with the task of organizing the military government.
In comparison, a mere eunuch who forcibly bought and sold hundreds of hectares of land near the capital is really not worth mentioning. Even if Yu Qian's worries are true, Song Wenyi has obtained the emperor's instructions to seize private property for the imperial village. , and there is no need to make a fuss with the emperor at this time.
There is no need to explain the truth clearly, Yu Qian naturally understands it. Looking at Yu Shiyue's sincere expression, he sighed and said.
"Brother Yu, don't worry. I understand the seriousness of this. I will be cautious in my actions from now on."
After hearing this, Yu Shiyue finally breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, Yu Qian finally pressed it.
Although the emperor was really angry at this offense in court, and even asked him to come to warn him, after all, there was a previous friendship. As long as Yu Qian was willing to bow his head, Yu Shiyue believed that the emperor would still trust him. in every possible way.
I'm just afraid that Yu Qian, who has a fatalistic character, will make trouble with the emperor again. It can be seen from yesterday's performance that although the emperor trusts him, his patience is limited after all, and he cannot allow him to continue to contradict him without limit...
After the matter was done, Yu Shiyue did not stay long. After greeting Yu Qian for a few more words, he left and returned to the cabinet.
However, what he didn't know was that after Yu Qian sent him away, he sent everyone to sit alone in the public room for a long time. He didn't come out until the lower office. He didn't know what he did...
"Your Majesty, I have received the holy mandate to preside over the case of corruption in the military government. The case has been found out. A total of 17 officials were involved in the case. All evidence has been proved. Your Majesty, please take a look at it."
Sure enough, at the morning court meeting a few days later, Fan Guang took the lead, Zhao Rong, the uncle of Xingcheng, and Wang Qin, the governor, reported the situation to the court.
The memorial was handed over. After the emperor read it, he nodded with satisfaction and said.
"This investigation of corruption lasted for several months and uncovered a lot of worms in the military government. Several ministers have made great contributions to the family and must be rewarded. They gave Jingan Bo Fan Guang and Xingcheng Bo Zhao Rong a python robe. , the commander-in-chief Wang Qin, the commander-in-chief also knew Zhang Xi, the commander-in-chief also knew Wuxing Pearl Yihu."
The corruption scandal has been making a lot of noise during this period, but the people involved have basically already decided the outcome. Now it is just a formality, officially coming to an end, and there is nothing more to say.
After everyone bowed and received the reward, Wang Qin stood up and took out a memorandum from his sleeve. He wrote the words "Please rectify the governor's mansion of the five armies", handed it over, and then said.
"Your Majesty, I have been ordered by Your Majesty to cooperate with Governor Fan to investigate the military mansion. During this process, it was discovered that in addition to corruption, chaos was widespread in the military mansion. Some officials engaged in malpractice for personal gain and misappropriated the officers and soldiers for their own use. Some officials Withholding military rations, seeking personal gain, and even worse, taking advantage of one’s power to promote cronies, forming cliques for personal gains, all these evils are numerous and must not be ignored.”
"I would like to ask your Majesty's permission to take the lead from the Governor's Office of the Chinese Army, with the cooperation of all military offices, with the assistance of the Ministry of War, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Jin Yiwei, to investigate the officials of the military government, clear away the accumulated abuses, and return the military government to a clean and bright government."
Immediately behind Wang Qin, the governor Zhang Shi and Wuxing also stood up, followed by several military officials who spoke together.
"Your Majesty, I would like to add this!"
As a result, there was a burst of low discussion in the hall.
Although the important ministers and nobles in the court have already had a premonition of this, most courtiers are still not this sensitive.
As soon as the corruption scandal ended, Wang Qin proposed to further rectify the military government, and this time the scale was obviously larger. It was no less than dropping a bomb on the court.
There will always be different voices in the court, so just after Wang Qin and others finished speaking, an official came forward and played.
"Your Majesty, since the War of Oara, the imperial court has reorganized craftsmen's houses, opened mutual markets, built large canals, welcomed back the Supreme Emperor, and reorganized the military and military affairs. There has been a lot of waste, and the government has always been in turmoil. Last year, the earth dragon turned upside down. I think this is a warning from heaven, which is intended to make your majesty recuperate and stabilize the people. Therefore, I think that although the military government has long-term shortcomings, there is no need to rush into it."
"Although the policy of reorganizing the military garrison has come to an end, the conversion of the military fields taken back by the imperial court to farming involves various guards. This is the responsibility of the military government. This is an opportunity to reorganize the military government. It is not a good opportunity. Please think twice."
The speaker was wearing a light crimson official robe embroidered with Xie Zhi. He looked like he was in his early forties, and his voice was as loud as a bell, full of momentum and attracting attention.
This is not a simple person. He is Wang Hong, the censor of Zuoqiandu who has just returned to Beijing.
What impressed the ministers most deeply about him was that when the military report of the Battle of Tumubao had just reached the capital, it was Lord Wang who beat and killed Wang Zhen's party leader Ma Shun.
Although this move angered Jinshang Leiting, who had not yet ascended the throne at the time, Wang Hong became a loyal minister who eradicated traitors and became famous among scholars.
More importantly, because of the Zuo Shunmen incident, Wang Hong and six other censors were demoted to patrol the border and assist the border generals in defending the city.
At that time, the battle in Oala was tragic, with countless casualties, and several other imperial censors all died. Only Wang Hong, who cooperated with the generals, even though he visited the battlefield several times and killed the enemy with his sword, he survived in the end. down.
After the war, he was praised for his merits, which not only saved him from the fault of Zuoshunmen, but also promoted him to be the censor of Youqiandu, supervising water transportation, and assisting Chen Xun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, to regulate the river.
After the canal was built, he was promoted again due to his merits and became the censor of Zuoqiandu, and was ordered to patrol Huai and Yang.
In the New Year that has just passed, Mr. Wang has just finished his errands and returned to the capital. A few days ago, the officials reviewed his merits and rated him as superior. It is said that the memorials from the officials have been handed over, and it will take a few days. After Zhu approved it, this was the third-rank left deputy censor.
In fact, this is the power of Qingming that most Qingliu Fengxian strives for. In just three years, from a seventh-grade censor to a third-grade deputy capital censor, he is the easiest to take credit and has the most real power. He will be given priority in the place where he is, and during the evaluation, the standards will be relaxed and he will be allowed all the way, relying on the praise of him among the scholars.
With this, even when he was on local errands, many officials would try their best to cooperate without any obstruction, otherwise they would most likely be scolded by Shilin.
Of course, what he is today is because Wang Hong took the risk of being executed and took the blame for all the ministers who acted in front of Zuo Shun. Therefore, he was promoted quickly, and no one would think it was inappropriate. He even Will do our best to help.
It can be said that from the day Wang Hong came back alive from the border, he was destined to have a smooth career. Therefore, as soon as he opened his mouth, several censors quickly stood up and agreed.
"Your Majesty, I also believe that this matter should be slowed down and not rushed..."
"The military government has been suffering from shortcomings for a long time. If you want to rectify it, it will not be accomplished in a day. The court now has many urgent matters, so it needs to be considered again."
Again, it is common for the court to have disputes over the specific direction of government affairs. As long as the elders do not express their stance, nothing can be done accurately.
What's more, such a big matter cannot be decided on the spot.
Therefore, seeing that both the civil and military sides had their own opinions, the emperor hesitated for a moment and then said.
"This matter is of great importance and involves many people. The report of the king and the governor will be sent to all the yamen after the next court. The matter will be discussed by the court seven days later."
"I obey the order..."
As a result, everyone retreated, but the discussion below still continued. To put it bluntly, these few days are to give the ministers time to think and discuss, and naturally there is no need to continue to dwell on this matter today.
Later, seeing that the situation in the court gradually calmed down, Wang Yining, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, this time the kings came to the capital and stayed in the capital for a hundred days. It is not in line with the etiquette for the vassal king to stay away from the vassal territory for a long time. Therefore, the Ministry of Rites has requested that according to the distance of the journey, all the kings in Beijing will be arranged to leave the capital one after another starting from the 20th of this month. Please give your Majesty’s permission…”
