Both Xu Guangqi and Sun Chengzong knew that being appointed as a lecturer at the Jingyan Banquet meant that they would be reused.
But the two of them really didn't expect this to come so suddenly.
Xu Guangqi was so excited that he took out the "Elements of Geometry" that he and Matteo Ricci translated overnight. He hoped that the young emperor Zhu Youxiao would be willing to study this book in addition to Confucian classics.
In the past, he didn't have the opportunity to become a lecturer of the Sutra Banquet, that is, the emperor's teacher, but now that he had this opportunity, he naturally didn't want to miss it.
Sun Chengzong also didn't have a good night's sleep. He refused his concubine's request to warm his bed and slept alone in the study the night before entering the palace to meet the emperor. In his mind, he sorted out what he had learned and gained over the years and his views on the court. view of the situation.
The next day.
Xu Guangqi and Sun Chengzong both entered the palace early and met outside the Qianqing Gate.
Xu Guangqi and Sun Chengzong looked at each other and smiled, and couldn't help but hold hands with each other.
At this time, Zhu Youxiao was already standing on the platform of Qianqing Palace, looking at the majestic red Forbidden City, secretly thinking about how to continue the national destiny of this empire that has been established in the world for more than two hundred years.
"Your Majesty, Xu Guangqi, has met!"
"Your Majesty, Sun Chengzong, has met!"
When Xu Guangqi and Sun Chengzong saw Zhu Youxiao wearing a dragon robe, they immediately saluted.
As a result, Zhu Youxiao came back to his senses, looked at the two of them, smiled, and said: "You two love me!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Xu Guangqi and Sun Chengzong were both approaching the age of destiny at this time, but in official circles, their age could only be regarded as the age when they had just begun to show their ambitions.
After receiving the courtesy from the two of them, Zhu Youxiao asked them straight to the point about their views on the current government affairs.
Xu Guangqi couldn't help but speak first: "Returning to your majesty, from what I can see, the most important matter for the court at the moment is undoubtedly the Liao affair. The ambition of the slave chief Nurhachi is quite huge, and I think this person is very knowledgeable about military affairs and is good at it." To win over people's hearts, there are many surrenders in the Liao territory. I believe that the Eastern captives who are causing harm to the Liao territory are not comparable to the Hu captives in the past, and I fear that they may collude with traitors and destroy our Ming Dynasty in the future!"
Zhu Youxiao nodded. Many civil servants and generals of the Ming Dynasty in this era may not think that Jianlu would defeat Li Zicheng and seize the Ming Dynasty in just over twenty years. But Zhu Youxiao believed it, which also made him even more confident. In order to praise Xu Guangqi's foresight.
Zhu Youxiao therefore smiled and asked: "As far as I know, Ai Qing has already told the emperor's grandfather to prevent the establishment of captives and the need to use Western methods to train our Ming Dynasty recruits. Therefore, the emperor's grandfather asked you to train in Tongzhou. , I wonder how Aiqing’s military training in Tongzhou is going?”
Xu Guangqi did not expect that the young emperor in front of him would know that he was training soldiers for the imperial court, and he was very happy and surprised. However, despite his joy, he could not help but have a look of helplessness in his eyes, and said: "Your Majesty is kind, because the Ministry of War has spoken eloquently." Things are getting tight and the national treasury is weak, so this matter has been almost neglected, and only a small amount of equipment has been given to me. Therefore, I have to stay in the capital and fight for this matter with the Ministry of War."
After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao pursed his lips: "Soldiers still need to be trained. What Ai Qing said, "Strive for real materials for future use" and "Make the most practical equipment for domestic and foreign defenses" are top priorities at the moment and cannot be delayed. I also know about the Jianlu who brought trouble to the Liao region in the past. These Jianlu Jurchens were quite good at fighting. If we, the Ming Dynasty, want to wipe out the Jianlu, we must train strong soldiers. Although there are strong soldiers in the frontier army of Liao, they are just The servants of the military town are like military commanders and private soldiers, and their loyalty cannot be guaranteed, and they are even suspected of being self-respecting to support bandits, so our Ming Dynasty must have a strong army that can truly fight for the imperial court, and a truly strong army that belongs to me!"
"Your Majesty is wise! The Beijing camp has been abandoned and many are old and weak. Although the southern army is strong, it suffered a lot due to the accident that year [Note 1]. Now the court must have new troops, but now the internal affairs of the court are depleted and the country is poor and the people are poor. , One Liao's pay is already making it difficult for the world to sustain itself. If we continue to train our troops, it will be even more difficult. As I see it, we should first reorganize our internal affairs, reduce expenditures, and replenish the national treasury."
Sun Chengzong also started talking at this time.
Zhu Youxiao smiled slightly. He knew that Sun Chengzong had one more thing that he had not mentioned. Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty not only increased its military expenditure due to the rebellion of the Liao Dynasty, but also needed to spend a lot of money because the two emperors Wanli and Taichang died one after another, especially Emperor Taichang, because he died too early, did not have time to build his own mausoleum in advance, so he had to build the mausoleum now.
Therefore, it is indeed necessary for Ming Dynasty to save money and replenish its national treasury.
But according to the original historical development, the Ming Dynasty only had more than 20 years of national destiny. Therefore, in Zhu Youxiao's view, the Ming Dynasty could not wait until it had saved enough money before training its troops. It had to save money while training its troops, otherwise it would not have any troops. It is also difficult to replenish the national treasury. After all, most of the wealth of the empire is concentrated in the hands of the powerful gentry, not the hands of the common people. If you want to get money from these people, you can only rob it, and if you don't have your own soldiers, you can only rob it. No way.
No powerful gentry in any dynasty would take the initiative to donate most of their money and food because of the country's internal and external troubles.
The Chongzhen Dynasty asked ministers to donate salaries to support the army. However, the chief minister of the cabinet only gave 500 taels of silver, but Li Zicheng, who had soldiers, extorted more than 100,000 taels of silver. This is a clear example.
Of course, even if we don't kill the rich and help the poor at home, suppress the increase of entropy, and offset the involution through external plunder, we must have strong troops. Otherwise, how can we colonize foreign countries and steal food from Western countries.
Therefore, troop training cannot be delayed.
"Although the country of China belongs to me alone, China is not my country. Since ancient times, there has been no dynasty that has not declined and perished. Even if our Ming Dynasty wants to fall, it cannot fall in our hands, let alone be destroyed by barbarians. This is not only It is not a good thing for the royal family and the entire Han people in the world. The Han people in the world can no longer become two-legged sheep and fourth-class people because of the Hulu invasion as before!
Regardless of whether they are nobles or common people, all Han people must avoid the recurrence of this crisis. Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world. What's more, all the ministers are meat eaters, and I am the emperor. This military training is an urgent matter and cannot be delayed! "
Zhu Youxiao made his own conclusion and looked at Xu Guangqi: "There is no need to train in Tongzhou even for military training. Just train in my Nanyuan and train my Royal Guards to replace the weak troops in the capital. When the time comes, Once there is a police force in the world, bring my guards up to destroy the captives and suppress the bandits, secure our Ming Dynasty and protect our Han people!"
When Xu Guangqi heard what Zhu Youxiao said, he couldn't help but straighten his chest, his eyes were piercing. He didn't expect that the young emperor in front of him was so ambitious and independent, and his blood boiled in his chest: "Your Majesty is wise! Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world. , not to mention the ministers and others, your majesty’s words make me deafened and enlightened!”
Then, Zhu Youxiao looked at Sun Chengzong: "However, Aiqing is right. The imperial court is indeed short of money now, but it cannot stop doing things just because there is no money. I will spend internal funds to train the army first, but the royal family does not have much surplus food, so still We have to find a way to increase the revenue of the treasury, but now the Ministry of Revenue is too busy just to pay for the expenses of paying for the Liao Dynasty and repairing the mausoleum. Naturally, there is no time to take care of increasing revenue. And within the time of the temple, the mining tax from all over the world is collected to open up financial resources. Some ministers came up to remonstrate with me, saying that the internal prison guards were greedy and cruel and harmed the people. Then I will ask you, Aiqing, to find a way to open up financial resources and pay for Xu Qing's family to train troops. Aiqing is a civil servant and my teacher. She is loyal to the emperor and loves the people. I believe that Aiqing will open up financial resources for the Ming Dynasty and will not attract criticism from the world."
