When Zhou Shangjing also realized the corrupt status of the northwest border defense, for a moment, everyone in the living room of Zhou's mansion was silent and silent. 【Read full text】
Zhou Shangjing's gray eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, his expression was full of solemnity, and he was seriously thinking about countermeasures, while Zhao Junchen sat quietly aside, sipping tea, and waiting for Zhou Shangjing's answer.
How discerning was Zhou Shangjing about the political situation of the Ming Dynasty? Although Zhao Junchen only gave a rough explanation of the current situation of the military towns on the three sides of the northwest, Zhou Shangjing naturally revealed all the inside information contained in it, the true thoughts of Liang Fuchen, the governor of the three sides, and Zhao Junchen's concerns and intentions. .
But precisely because of this, Zhou Shangjing became more cautious.
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In such a quiet and solemn atmosphere, I don’t know how much time passed, but I heard Zhou Shangjing sigh slowly and said softly: "Since Taizu, there have been rules in the court. Civil servants are not allowed to interfere in military affairs, and military generals are not allowed to act privately. Otherwise, It would be a taboo! The imperial court's recruitment of sergeants, troop dispatch, military pay, and officer promotions, no matter how big or small, have always been handled by the emperor's cronies, with factory guards supervising them. Without His Majesty's order, I would have Even if I am the chief minister of the government, I am afraid I will not be able to intervene at all. Although this matter is of great importance, I am powerless!"
Zhao Junchen narrowed his eyes slightly. Listening to Zhou Shangjing's words, he actually had no intention of intervening in trilateral defense matters? !
Could it be. Is Zhou Shangjing going to watch the defense of the three northwest sides continue to deteriorate and eventually lead to a catastrophe?
According to Zhao Junchen's understanding of Zhou Shangjing, although this old fox with a deep character was not an upright official. But it should never be so irresponsible.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen also frowned and said: "Master Chief Assistant, please forgive me for speaking bluntly. As ministers, since we have received your majesty's trust and received imperial salary, we should fulfill our responsibilities as ministers. The current defense status of the three northwest sides, It is so rotten that it is shocking. Seventy-eight percent of the military households under its jurisdiction have fled, and the only ones left are the old, weak, sick and disabled! There should be more than 187,000 registered sergeants, but the actual number But there is only less than 100,000 left! How can we let it go!? Then think of the northern Mongolian tribes who have always coveted the riches of our Ming Dynasty, and will go south to plunder every autumn. Once it appears in the future What happened? We, the important ministers of the court, will all be sinners through the ages!"
Hearing the words "eternal sinner", Zhou Shangjing's gray brows couldn't help but frown slightly.
Now that he is a highly respected minister, he has been in charge of the government for decades, and he is already over 70 years old. Naturally, he has begun to unconsciously seek his own historical position. Therefore, the four words "historical sinner". After falling into Zhou Shangjing's ears, it really moved his heart.
But that's all. Even trying to persuade Zhou Shangjing to participate in such a big trouble was not enough!
After Zhou Shangjing was silent again for a moment, he suddenly sighed softly, changed the subject, and asked: "Junchen, you are one of the few people with outstanding knowledge in the court. So I ask you, do you think you want to solve this problem?" What is the biggest obstacle to the corruption of the military towns on the three sides of the northwest and the various shortcomings of changing the military household system of our dynasty?"
Hearing Zhou Shangjing's inquiry, Zhao Junchen was slightly startled and replied: "In the eyes of the younger generation, the biggest obstacle should be the backlash of those with vested interests. Although the disadvantages of the military household system are obvious, these disadvantages are The interests of all officers in my Ming Dynasty! After the military households under their control fled, the thousands of households in the army not only received a bribe from the military households, but also received the land and houses of the fleeing military households, so they Not only will we not prevent military households from fleeing, but they will encourage them in various ways, which will lead to the corruption of our Ming army. If we rashly want to change it and affect their money income, I am afraid it will cause turmoil in the major military towns..."
After a pause, Zhao Junchen frowned slightly and said: "In addition, after these thousands of households have obtained benefits, they will bribe the upper-level officers in the military town and even the central officials in the temple. These People's interests are connected and they form one body, advancing and retreating together. The influence of power cannot be underestimated. If we want to change the status quo, a single move can affect the whole body. If we are bitten by these people, I am afraid that even the first assistant will be affected. The adults and juniors will have no choice but to retreat when the time comes."
At this point, Zhao Junchen shook his head slightly and sighed again. He seemed helpless and seemed to have something to say, and continued: "However, since it is related to the century-old safety of our country, the Ming Dynasty, as a minister, I will serve the court and the country. For the sake of the people and your Majesty, no matter whether you have the support of the Chief Assistant or not, you should find a way to try your best! However, Mr. Chief Assistant, you also know that if I have some unpleasantness with Huang Yourong and Mr. Huang Ge, if I intervene rashly, I will give him a try. Huangge Lao can take advantage of this opportunity. At that time, I am afraid that I will not even have time to protect myself, let alone serve your Majesty with loyalty. Therefore, for the sake of the overall situation, I have no choice but to seek advice from you, the Chief Assistant. But if the company is the leader Mr. Fu, you are not willing to take charge of the overall situation for the imperial court, so this junior can only stare."
Zhao Junchen's words clearly implied that if Zhou Shangjing planned to deal with the various hidden worries in the trilateral military town personally, he would fully cooperate and would not even mind giving some benefits to Zhou Shangjing. But if Zhou Shangjing doesn't plan to intervene, then Zhao Junchen will just pretend to be completely ignorant and ignore it. If something happens in the future, then everyone will bear the consequences together.
Although what he said was high-sounding, the meaning behind it was extremely dishonest. But in the officialdom, this is considered commonplace.
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, even if the city was as deep as Zhou Shangjing, he couldn't help but smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying: "I am deeply gratified that Junchen is so loyal and patriotic. However, Junchen, you are wrong. If we want to change the Northwest Trilateral Army The hidden dangers of the town, and even the various shortcomings of the military household system in the Ming Dynasty, the biggest obstacle is not the military households with vested interests, but the current His Majesty! It is precisely because of this. I have worries and hesitation Undecided."
Zhou Shangjing's remarks were too sensitive, and he was implicitly criticizing Emperor Deqing. Zhao Junchen didn't know how to answer. After hesitating for a moment, he said cautiously: "I don't understand what you mean, Sir. Can you please explain it to me in detail?"
Seeing that Zhao Junchen kicked the ball to him again, Zhou Shangjing first took a deep look at Zhao Junchen, and then waved his hand gently, and saw the servants of the Zhou family who were waiting nearby saluting Zhou Shangjing. Then he left the Zhou Mansion living room neatly.
At the same time, guessing that Zhou Shangjing wanted to talk about some sensitive topics with him, Zhao Junchen also nodded to Xu Qingyan behind him. Xu Qingyan also left with the Zhou family servants.
For a time, only Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing were left in the living room of Zhou Mansion.
Then, Zhou Shangjing suddenly asked: "Junchen, there is no one else here now. You can tell me the truth. In your opinion, what is our Majesty like as a person? How is he a king?"
Zhao Junchen's eyes narrowed slightly, but he said: "No matter whether you are a king or a king, your majesty is naturally perfect and rare throughout the ages. It is not an exaggeration to call him a saint."
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, a sneer flashed across Zhou Shangjing's old face. Full of sarcasm, but didn't answer. He just looked at Zhao Junchen with piercing eyes.
Zhou Shangjing's behavior made Zhao Junchen slightly embarrassed. After hesitating for a moment, he finally said truthfully: "Your Majesty may seem to be a generous person, but in fact he is suspicious and ruthless in his dealings; but as a king, he is good at the emperor's scheming and machinations. However, he attaches too much importance to these things, and his temperament is a bit fond of great achievements, so he often loses the big for the small."
After hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Zhou Shangjing finally showed a look of satisfaction, and nodded slowly: "It's just you and me here. You don't have to be too scrupulous about some words that are usually rebellious, and you don't have to worry about others taking advantage of them. ...But what you said, Junchen, is quite pertinent. Your Majesty, he is indeed a little too addicted to power and strategy."
Then, Zhou Shangjing sighed and said: "Unfortunately, power strategy is just power strategy and has nothing to do with governing the country. Power strategy is to stabilize power, and governance is for the peace of the country and the people. For the emperor, although the two complement each other, they are completely different. In terms of two subjects of knowledge, our Majesty's machinations and imperial scheming are indeed outstanding among the emperors of all dynasties, but when it comes to his ability to govern the country, it is another matter."
Having said this, Zhou Shangjing suddenly stood up, swept away the old look on his face, and his weak voice suddenly became much louder, sounding like he was pointing the country, and vaguely helpless: "The military household of my court. How could I not know all the shortcomings of the guard system? However, when Taizu established the hereditary military household system, it was not just to save military expenses, but also to ensure the emperor's absolute control over the government and the country! Junchen, you must understand , our Ming military system, the so-called hereditary military household system, includes not only the ordinary sergeants at the bottom of the army, but also the generals in the generals of the five capitals, as well as the thousands of households and hundreds of thousands of households in the major military towns. household!"
Hearing what Zhou Shangjing said, Zhao Junchen subconsciously raised his brows, realizing something in his heart, but did not interrupt, and just continued to listen quietly to Zhou Shangjing's comments.
Zhou Shangjing sighed again and continued: "The official positions and rights of these generals, captains, and thousands of households are mostly hereditary like ordinary soldiers. Although they were nobles at the founding of the country, they have gone through so many years. After years of being pampered and pampered, their status has been destined since birth, but they no longer have the abilities of their ancestors. Now they are no different than moths. Junchen, the corruption in the three northwest areas you mentioned before is precisely because of these people. Make trouble from it!...
... However, although these people are incompetent and only do bad things, their power and wealth come from the imperial power. Without the imperial power, they are nothing, so they are the most supportive of the imperial power. In turn, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty also It is precisely because of the support of these people that we can firmly control the military power and determine the direction of the government! …
...How could His Majesty not know this with his imperial mind? ? Therefore, His Majesty will inevitably protect those generals, captains, and thousands of households, and will turn a blind eye to their corruption and bribery, but will never allow anyone to change the status quo, even if the status quo is already corrupt! "
Speaking of this, Zhou Shangjing half-smiled and seemed helpless. He just looked at Zhao Junchen and asked: "I have said this, Junchen, do you understand?"
After Zhao Junchen pondered for a moment, he said: "So, if we want to reverse the corrupt state of the military towns in the three northwest areas, or even change the shortcomings of the military household system, we must first touch the interests of the hereditary generals and officers and weaken them. Their power and influence, however, once such actions fall into His Majesty’s eyes, it will turn into us having evil intentions, evil intentions, and coveting the military power in His Majesty’s hands!?”
Zhou Shangjing nodded and said slowly: "With your Majesty's character, he will definitely think so. Your Majesty values the emperor's mind too much, so he will not see the corrupt current situation of our Ming Dynasty's border defense. He will only see what happens if we do this." Shake the military power in his hands! By that time, you and I will not only be enemies of all the generals, captains, and thousands of families in the court, but also the high-ranking officials and nobles who have been bribed by these people. We will also be regarded by His Majesty. I am an enemy of the bandits, and I want to get rid of them quickly!"
After Zhao Junchen was silent for a moment, he had to admit that what Zhou Shangjing said made sense.
The emperor's mind and the way of governing the country are completely different things, especially for Emperor Deqing!
If Emperor Deqing is more focused on governing the country, then as long as Zhao Junchen reports to him the corrupt status of the northwest three-border defense, Emperor Deqing will definitely find a way to make changes for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the safety of the people! Even if doing so would slightly weaken the influence of the imperial power.
It's a pity that Emperor Deqing paid more attention to the emperor's mind, and everything he did was aimed at consolidating the imperial power! If certain policies, although conducive to the prosperity of the country and the people, would reduce the emperor's power and influence, then Emperor Deqing would definitely veto it and suspect that the ministers who proposed these policies had evil intentions!
In fact, it was precisely because of this that after learning about the corruption in the northwest military towns, Zhao Junchen's first reaction was to discuss countermeasures with his chief minister Zhou Shangjing instead of reporting to Emperor Deqing.
For Emperor Deqing, as long as he still controls the overall situation of the DPRK and China, even if the northern Mongolia breaks through the border in the future and the people of China suffer as a result, as long as there are no troops approaching the capital, it will be just an ordinary event! You can also whitewash peace! Even, taking advantage of this situation, Emperor Deqing could use this as an excuse to deal with some ministers he didn't like, and further strengthen the imperial power!
But if it was "just" to consolidate border defense and enhance military armaments, it was necessary to weaken the Ming Emperor's control over the government and the public, and even give up part of the military power in his hands to his ministers. Then even if the country is peaceful and the people are safe, and the world is peaceful, Emperor Deqing will inevitably be removed. I can't sleep, worrying day and night whether I and my descendants will be unstable on the throne!
Zhao Junchen knew Emperor Deqing, so he knew very well that this situation would definitely happen!
However, Zhao Junchen still had some bottom lines left after all, so even though he figured it out, after hesitating for a moment, he still couldn't help but asked Zhou Shangjing: "Master Chief Assistant, do we know that the Ming Dynasty's border defense is unstable? If this continues, things will inevitably change in the future. , but you can only watch helplessly?" (To be continued...)
