In fact, he had always been on guard against such a thing happening. The reason why he went on a personal expedition was because he felt that he could no longer suppress the civil servants who were ready to take action.
Since the Hongxi year, the power and voice of civil servants in the court have gradually increased, and even Emperor Xuanzong has been subject to many restrictions.
At that time, the Mongolian tribes headed by Wala invaded the border areas on a large scale, and the Datong border army was almost wiped out.
So this young emperor, who grew up in the palace with eunuchs accompanying him, came up with the idea of conquering the country himself and enhancing his prestige through military exploits.
But in the battle of Tumubao, he was defeated so miserably. In this game with the civil servants, he lost all his last chips.
None of the civil servants and noble military officers who supported them survived. To use the words of later generations, it means that the royalist army was completely wiped out.
At this time, the power of the civilian faction was growing rapidly. After he killed Yu Qian, he abolished all the new Beijing regiment and battalion systems reformed by Yu Qian and reorganized three battalions.
This is to deprive civilian officials of their military power in an alternative way and eliminate the threat to themselves.
As for water transportation, he also made a big move. In the first year of Tianshun, he changed the power of water transportation again.
He once again strengthened the powers of the water transport chief officer and staff general, and together with the water transport governor, managed the management of the entire river, and also took charge of river management.
The military power of the nobles was also increased, and 12 generals were appointed to be in charge of the canal. The entire canal was firmly controlled by these 12 generals.
Among them, there are two in Nanjing, two in Jiangnan Zhili, two in Jiangbei Zhili, one in Fengyang, Zhongdu, two in Zhejiang, two in Shandong, one in Huguang, and one in Jiangxi.
The chief water transport officer and the water transport general will directly command the twelve generals to command all canal affairs, and separately control the water transport of each garrison.
When it was first established in the first year of Tianshun, these twelve generals had a total of 120,000 troops and more than 10,000 ships.
There is also the Chief of Zheyang, with a staff of 7,000 people and 350 ships, dedicated to maintaining the order and defense of the rivers, as well as transporting grain and sea lanes. These thirteen people call the president the Yunjun.
These commanders are generally held by the military commanders and thousands of households in the surrounding provinces and regions.
And because the chief military officers and generals of water transportation were all held by nobles and held great power, the situation began where the military was superior and the civil servant was inferior.
The position of Chief Water Transport Officer was a super-ranked position in the Ming Dynasty, because all marquis and counts held this position, so it was much higher than the ninth rank or eighteenth rank.
When the governor of water transport meets the chief military officer of water transport, he needs to salute and greet him. If the governor wants to do something more important, he must first ask the chief military officer for instructions. Otherwise, he will overstep his authority and will be punished.
Zhu Qizhen's efforts were not in vain. These changes and policies he made once again consolidated the supremacy of imperial power, and the power of civilian officials could not expand without limit.
This situation lasted until the Wanli period, when Li Sancai took office, completely breaking the civil-military balance that had been maintained for more than a hundred years.
Li Sancai's contribution to the Donglin Party and the entire official and gentry family were huge.
After he came to power, he first drove back the mining tax eunuchs sent by Emperor Wanli, and then reached out to the authority of the Chief Water Transport Officer in an attempt to seize power.
The chief military officer at that time was Wang Chengxun, Wang Shouren's grandson. Although his grandfather was famous, he had no ability and no courage at all. Facing the powerful Li Sancai, he did not dare to fight against him.
Li Sancai saw Wang Chengxun's incompetence and cowardice, so he became even more unscrupulous. Wang Chengxun was suppressed to the point where he could not even lift his head. From then on, the military supremacy and civil inferiority that had been maintained for hundreds of years was completely reversed.
Because maritime transport in the Ming Dynasty was extremely underdeveloped and even in a state of self-destruction, while civil servants could complete all matters related to river transport independently, the existence of military ministers became redundant.
In the 40th year of Wanli, for some unknown reason, Wang Chengxun inexplicably submitted a memorial to the emperor, requesting to resign and return to the capital. Emperor Wanli approved.
The civil servants took the opportunity to petition and requested the abolition of the water transport chief officers and generals. Emperor Wanli approved it. From then on, the key lifeline canal was completely under the control of civil servants.
The thirteen generals in charge of water transportation were placed under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General's Mansion, and military power naturally fell into their hands.
Since Li Sancai was dismissed from office and demoted to the people, the post of Governor of Water Transport has been idle for more than ten years.
However, the civil service system of the Governor's Palace still exists, and everything is operating as usual.
If Zhu Youxiao doesn't want to be strangled to survive, he can't ignore water transportation. He must send his own people there to regain his power.
So he followed this memorial about dredging the canal and immediately asked officials to recommend candidates for the canal transport governor.
This matter was completely decided on the spur of the moment, so much so that Zhu Youxiao himself had not thought of a suitable candidate in his mind, but he could not delay it any longer.
Therefore, he had no choice but to raise this issue and let the courtiers recommend a few candidates to see if there was anyone suitable. He just had time to think about it.
The officials seemed to take advantage of the emperor's question. Not long after, an official stepped forward and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, I would like to recommend Li Sancai, the former Governor of Water Transport and Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, to come back and take on this important task!"
Then the censor Fang Kezhuang quickly stepped forward to take over the topic, and also supported the restoration of Li Sancai as the governor of water transportation.
His words were also very exciting. He told them all in one go what good deeds Li Sancai had done during his tenure, what awards he had received, and how famous he was among the folk scholars, for fear that the emperor would not understand.
His passionate words instantly raised the atmosphere to a higher level, and many officials stepped forward to express their support for reviving Li Sancai.
Zhu Youxiao remained calm and silent, leaning on the pillow and continuing to close his eyes slightly, touching the jade pendant in his hand and waiting quietly.
He was waiting for another voice from the court, the voice that was beneficial to him.
He knew Li Sancai very well. After all, he was the leader who led an interest group to the top. His influence was truly amazing in this era.
But as the saying goes, people are afraid of fame and pigs are afraid of being strong. After all, Li Sancai was not a saint. He could not make officials and scholars all over the world admire and support him.
During the Wanli period, during the later years of his tenure, he was impeached countless times.
Not only the officials in the court, but also many officials in Nanjing were jealous of him and reported various crimes against Li Sancai.
Nowadays, there are naturally many people who hate him. Those truly clean officials who dare to speak out and act are not dead yet!
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