No matter what Shen Shixing's motivation was, for Zhu Yijun, the fact that Shen Shixing secretly reported to him was a gratifying thing.
This made him even more certain that the civil servants were indeed not of the same mind.
Especially the smart people among the civil servants obviously have their own opinions and are willing to be loyal ministers of the emperor for some purposes.
Instead of really willing to form an unbreakable alliance and deal with the emperor together for the sake of the friendship between teachers and students and the old relationship.
As for Qi Jiguang's secret memorial, it was for the future conquest of Japan.
Qi Jiguang proposed that the imperial court station troops in North Korea and establish military depots at the same time.
"In any battle, we must first think about the supply of supplies such as food, grass, gunpowder, and the accommodation of the wounded, as well as the training and supplementation of new recruits."
"These all require setting up camps at strategic locations, so that troops and supplies can be replenished in a timely manner."
Zhu Yijun murmured to himself while reading, and finally understood Qi Jiguang's specific ideas.
It turned out that according to Qi Jiguang's intention, the Japanese country's local terrain was complex and the supplies such as gunpowder produced were limited. Therefore, once a war started, no one knew how many more troops would be invested than expected.
Therefore, in order to ensure that during the Japanese expedition, the lone army will not run out of ammunition and food due to the deep penetration, it is necessary to establish a more convenient supply line in advance in any case. It must be able to ensure that larger forces are provided at any time, and at least it must be able to move the front line in time. The troops withdrew.
In the past, the direct transportation of supplies and soldiers from the mainland caused a lot of losses, and it was also easy to fail to transport due to high uncertainties at sea, not to mention that it was also very time-consuming.
Compared with establishing a supply depot in North Korea, the latter is undoubtedly more conducive to logistical support.
Because it takes three or four days with a favorable wind to go from North Korea to Japan. There is also Tsushima Island in the middle, which can be used as a temporary transit and rest station, which can obviously greatly reduce the logistical difficulty.
Zhu Yijun had to admit that Qi Jiguang was a famous general after all. He thought about defeat before winning, so he first considered logistical support. What he considered was how to increase the number of troops and supplies in time once the troops and horses conquering Japan fell into a stalemate or had a bad start. Reversing the situation or even whether it can be withdrawn in time, rather than first considering where to launch the attack.
In Qi Jiguang's view, stationing troops in North Korea in advance and using North Korea as a springboard, while sending naval forces here in Ningbo to respond, is the best way to attack the Japanese mainland.
Zhu Yijun agreed after seeing it.
After all, in history, Toyotomi Hideyoshi did the same thing when he tried to destroy the Ming Dynasty. He chose to destroy North Korea first, and then used North Korea as a springboard to destroy the Ming Dynasty.
Just stationing troops in North Korea involves not only military issues, but also vassal diplomatic issues, which can also be said to be the foreign policy issues of this era.
After all, the Ming Dynasty has not yet stationed troops abroad.
Qi Jiguang directly appealed to himself, the emperor, obviously because this matter involved not only military affairs, but the establishment of a new political system, so he directly asked himself, the emperor, to be the judge.
After all, there is now a Privy Council, which is responsible for military affairs, and the Cabinet is responsible for government affairs.
Therefore, it was no longer suitable for Qi Jiguang to discuss with Zhang Juzheng first through private messages.
Of course, it is okay for Qi Jiguang to continue to ask Zhang Juzheng. Anyway, it is a private message exchange and no one else knows.
But Qi Jiguang is now obviously like Shen Shixing, expressing his attitude to the emperor. He, a general with a hundred thousand soldiers and horses (in terms of troop establishment), is loyal to the emperor, not Zhang Juzheng's retainer.
Now that the system has changed, there is no need for him to let Zhang Juzheng know about military matters. When it comes to military and political affairs, he can only ask the emperor directly for instructions.
This made Zhu Yijun more sure that Qi Jiguang was really fawning over Zhang Juzheng just because Zhang Juzheng could give him the power to realize his ambitions, not because he was really willing to be a watchdog for scholar-bureaucrats, but he still knew in his heart that it was the emperor who he should be loyal to.
As long as the emperor becomes his source of power and gives him the opportunity to realize his ambitions, he will change his stance without hesitation.
Of course, historically, Zhu Yijun did not continue to give Qi Jiguang power after Zhang Juzheng's death.
Because Zhu Yijun hated Qi Jiguang's fawning behavior, he demoted him again and again, and finally let him return to his hometown, sheathing the sharp blade of the Ming Dynasty and no longer showing his power in the world.
However, Qi Jiguang did not raise an army to rebel because of this, nor did he find a new civil servant to be his backer, thereby giving the civil servant a chance to control the emperor. Instead, he accepted the emperor's arrangement of giving him a cold treatment.
Perhaps in Qi Jiguang's view, the emperor has grown up and it is no longer suitable for him to let his sharp blade be held in the hands of others.
In short, Qi Jiguang was a loyal minister, and Zhu Yijun was even more certain of this after receiving his current secret message.
After all, whether a subordinate's subordinate is one's confidant depends on whether one is willing to directly bypass the boss and report some important matters to oneself, the top boss.
The secret play between Shen Shixing and Qi Jiguang gave Zhu Yijun more confidence to control the world, and he even dared to flip the table directly.
However, Zhu Yijun remembered what Zhang Juzheng taught him. The most important thing when holding a knife in his hand is to intimidate and gain benefits, not to eliminate it.
After all, the former can rob and extort multiple times, while the latter can only rob once, which is not conducive to generating sustainable profits.
Therefore, low-level bandits only seek money and death, while high-level bandits will often charge you protection fees in the name of actively protecting you, and actually establish rules to protect the safety of your life and property, and will even do so when you cannot survive. Appropriate relief for you will only let you know what absolute crushing violence is when you refuse to pay.
Therefore, Zhu Yijun would not lift the table unless he had to, so he still participated in the lectures in Wenhua Hall. Even during the break, when he met Zhang Juzheng alone in the west room of Wenhua Hall, he did not ask about Xu Jie. .
At this moment, Zhang Juzheng took out a letter and held it above his head:
"Your Majesty, I have here a private letter from Mr. Xu. Because the matter involves whether the restructuring will continue to wait for state affairs, I have to send it to Your Majesty before the imperial seal is presented today."
Zhu Yijun, Zhang Hong, and Shen Li all looked at Zhang Juzheng in surprise.
Zhang Hong and Shen Li even relaxed their brows and looked at each other and smiled.
Zhu Yijun was also happy, but he didn't show it and just let Zhang Hong take the letter.
After Zhu Yijun opened it and read it, he put the letter away, pretended to be surprised and looked at Zhang Juzheng, and asked: "Mr. Xu wants to discuss marriage with my husband? Do you want to marry your husband?"
Zhang Juzheng did not expect Zhu Yijun to ask such a question. He couldn't help but glance at Shen Li and said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Xu wants to give his nineteen-year-old daughter to me as a concubine."
"Really? This is really unexpected."
As Zhu Yijun spoke, he turned back to look at Shen Li: "Shen Aiqing, remember to write this down! In the future, it will be passed down to future generations so that the world can know about such a strange relationship."
Shen Li was stunned for a moment and thought to himself: "How will future generations view Mr. Xu after seeing the living notes?"
But he finally said yes.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have no intention of accepting this romantic relationship. After all, I am already old. How can I dare to take a noblewoman as a concubine? Now I know that I want to let your Majesty know Mr. Xu's loyalty. Even if the court wants to continue The Xu family will continue to support the restructuring."
Zhang Juzheng replied at this time.
"Qing Shen, please remember to write it down so that future generations will know that your husband is an upright and good assistant, not a womanizer!"
Zhu Yijun ordered again.
Shen Li raised his hands and said yes.
"In this case, when the restructuring is really necessary in the future, we will have to look at the performance of the Xu family."
Zhu Yijun replied to Zhang Juzheng again, and then asked Zhang Juzheng: "Sir, there must be a bigger reason for telling me about this, right? After all, this letter also advises you to enjoy a leisurely trip to the forest in time."
"Your Majesty is wise, I know that Your Majesty has the intention to rule, so how can I dare to worry about the misfortunes of my family and my family, but dare not continue to share the worries for Your Majesty?"
"What's more, I am also worried that Your Majesty will have to follow the old practices of the previous dynasty and order his ministers to guard the place and act as governors. He will do this as a last resort, and even really want to give up the imperial power and put him on the same level as the people. What kind of people will be transformed into We must use the same sharp blade to fight against the powerful and wealthy gentry for the common people."
"And I also hope that Your Majesty will know that not all civil and military officials are unworthy of Your Majesty's loyalty."
"Therefore, I would like to report this matter to Your Majesty today. If I retreat, it will only be because Your Majesty does not need me. If you want me to retreat, then I can retreat. I will never dare to seek advance or retreat with others in private." .”
"As for whether to continue the restructuring, it will all be decided by the Holy Spirit. I cannot make my own decision!"
When Zhang Juzheng said this, he added: "Today, even if I don't report it to Your Majesty, I think some ministers will let Your Majesty know, because they do not just follow your orders, but are only loyal to Your Majesty. Therefore, even if I really have Although they have no intention of reforming the system, there are still scholar-bureaucrats who are willing to be driven by His Majesty to implement new national policies."
Zhu Yijun nodded: "Sir, you are right. I know that you are loyal. Please rest assured, sir. Instead of trusting others, it is better to trust me. After all, I am the king of the Ming Dynasty!"
With that said, Zhu Yijun said: "Let's discuss business. Qi Jiguang has sent a secret memorandum. I need you to take it to the Ministry of Rites to inform North Korea about it."
(End of chapter)
