"Dear ministers, the Tatar tribe invaded our Ming Dynasty, defeated our Lanzhou Guard, and killed 645 of our Ming Dynasty subjects. I want to attack the Tatars. Do you have any good strategies?" After the incident in Wan'an, Zhu You asked Tang began to bring up the important matters of this court meeting.
Zhang Peng, Secretary of the Ministry of War, came out and said: "I believe that the time has not come yet to attack the Tatars. The weather has not yet warmed up, and the journey is long. If the army goes on an expedition, the soldiers will be sweating, and they will be easily affected by the cold wind. The combat effectiveness of our army. Moreover, the Tatars mount their horses to fight and dismount their horses to nomadic life, which is no different from their daily lives. But we have to organize, mobilize, equip, recruit, and train. The Tatars have lived on horseback since they were born, and horseback archery is their specialty. daily life…”
“I already know about the virtues of the Tatars, so you don’t need to say more.
After Zhang Peng, the Minister of War, was interrupted, Zhou Hongmo, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward and continued: "During the Zichenghua period, there were constant natural disasters, frequent wars, and widespread land annexation by powerful people, which resulted in the bankruptcy of a large number of homesteaders and the deprivation of food and clothing for many white people. The government’s sources of taxes and corvee have been reduced, and now the national treasury is in deficit and cannot afford a large-scale war.”
The two ministers of the six central ministries have very clear intentions. One cannot defeat the enemy, and the other has no money to fight.
As soon as Zhou Hongmo, the Minister of Rites, finished speaking, Jiang Hong, the imperial censor, continued: "To deal with the Tatars, a grassland nomad, we should use both kindness and power."
"How can you show kindness and power at the same time? Please explain in detail."
"To answer your Majesty's question, today's Tatars are just like the Huns and Turks before me. The Han and Tang Dynasties before China all first made peace with them and rewarded them with things to stabilize them, then secretly developed their economy and armaments, and finally gradually planned to do so."
After hearing this, Zhu Youtang suddenly changed his expression and shouted: "Peace cannot be exchanged for marriage, but peace must be fought! I, the most powerful person in the Ming Dynasty, have surpassed the ancients. I control the northern barbarians and invade the southern islands and the western barbarians. Since then, there has been no Han Dynasty. There is no peace, no alliance of the Tang Dynasty, no thin coins of the Song Dynasty, and no gift of brothers and enemies. From now on, no matter what difficulties our Ming Dynasty encounters, if there is no peace, no indemnity, no land ceding, no tribute, the worst is "the emperor will guard the country" At the gate of the country, the king dies in the country”!
Seeing that the ministers were speechless, Zhu Youtang stood up and said: "Send an envoy to the Tatar tribe to ask for an explanation. See what they mean. Tell them that if they can't control the tribe, we, the Ming Dynasty, will take care of it for them! Lanzhou Guards Pay Since the national treasury is in deficit after years of withholding, I would like to take out one hundred thousand taels of silver from internal funds and send it to the northwest to meet urgent needs. Which beloved lady is willing to make this trip?"
When they heard that they would still give money to the northwest front, many people were moved again. One hundred thousand taels of silver! It's a long journey, so it doesn't matter if you get a little greedy from it. Your Majesty doesn't know about it anyway.
"I wish to go," everyone agreed in unison.
Doesn't Zhu Youtang know the thoughts of these civil servants? Once the one hundred thousand taels of silver is in their hands, they will be exploited at every level. It would be great if half of it can be sent to the northwest!
"Then let Yin Yan, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, go and leave. During the period, the duties of the Ministry of Personnel will be handed over to Xu Pu!"
Yin Yan was dumbfounded when he heard this. How is this different from dismissing or firing him? I've been going back and forth for a month. I'm afraid the official minister has been replaced by the time I come back, right? When he went to the front line to deliver money, he asked a minister to go there in person. All the ministers were frightened and confused. When they were about to defend Yin Yan, Zhu Youtang had already waved his hand to interrupt him.
Yin Yan saw that if he postponed it any longer, he would have his head go to the northwest, so he said reluctantly: "I will obey the imperial edict."
After the next court, all the ministers gathered at the home of Wan An, the chief minister of the cabinet. Ruan Ting, the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment, gritted his teeth and said: "This old immortal Xu Pu is so brave that he dares to impeach the chief minister. I don't give him any color." Look, it’s hard for us to swallow this bad breath!”
"Master Ruan, what do you want to do?"
"I know that Xu Pu rents a house outside the city. We can send some people to beat him outside the city, or kill him quietly."
"No! Wan An interrupted Ruan Ting sharply and said:
"You are trapping me in a place of eternal doom. Xu Pu just impeached me this morning, and I was killed when I returned home. Does Your Majesty still have the brains to think about such a thing? I guess it was me who did it!"
Liu Ji, the second assistant to the cabinet, did not speak. He sat aside and watched quietly. For him, Wan'an's fall was a bad thing. The first assistant was laid off, and he was the first assistant to the cabinet. At this time, he was watching the show. That’s it.
The other Yin Zhi was also full of worries. As he expected, His Majesty was going to take care of Wan An. He had worked with Wan An for many years, and everyone in the court knew it. Although he did not speak for Wan An in the court this morning, His Majesty's eyes drifted towards him from time to time, revealing dissatisfaction in his eyes. Since the last arrest in Li Zi Province, he had ordered people to draft a memorial in advance. It was time to retreat instead of advance.
Also unhappy is Yin Yan. Xu Pu came from his own department. Now that he is in trouble, he can only blame himself for his inability to control him. Unexpectedly, nothing happened to him for colluding with Li Zisheng, but speaking for Wan An angered His Majesty, who drove him to the northwest to deliver money.
Wan An was in a state of confusion at this moment. He was now a piece of meat on the chopping board for His Majesty to slaughter. Even if he wanted to retire and return to his hometown, he couldn't. Originally, he was the chief minister of the cabinet, with all the power in the government and the public. After returning, he was naturally prosperous. Now His Majesty has said that he cannot retire and return to his hometown unless he is buried in the capital after his death.
Wan An waved his hand and said listlessly: "Gentlemen, please go back first. I'm a little tired today."
After the ministers resigned to Wan'an, some officials followed Liu Ji to his house after leaving the mansion. After all, if Wan'an fell, they would have to look for a big tree again. This big tree is most likely to be Liu Ji, the second assistant to the cabinet.
After coming down to the court, Zhu Youtang was still angry. These civil servant groups were all selfish. If he wanted to revive the Ming Dynasty and create a prosperous Yongle era, he had to completely change the leadership of the court. Now he suspended Wan'an first, and then drove Yin Yan, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, to the northwest to deliver salary and silver. Xu Pu temporarily took over the duties of the Ministry of Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel is responsible for the management, assessment, and promotion of officials, and Xu Pu felt relieved when it was left to him.
He had to reorganize himself internally, and he had to guard against foreign aggression. Now that the Mongol Khanate was reunified, Dayan Khan had great ambitions, and would inevitably have to fight a decisive battle with Mongolia in the future. He had to quickly reorganize his armaments. Thinking of this, Zhu Youtang shouted: "Huai'en, inform the British Duke Zhang Mao that I will inspect the Beijing camp and ask him to call all the soldiers in the Beijing camp to the inner camp.
The son of Zhang Fu, the famous British Duke Zhang Mao, Zhang Fu was a hero in the Jingnan Campaign. He later conquered Annan and destroyed the Hu Dynasty. He was granted the title of British Duke because of his official duties and was hereditary. This morning, the court heard the words of Emperor Zhu Youtang: "No matter what difficulties we encounter in the Ming Dynasty, if we do not make peace, pay indemnity, cede land, or pay tribute, the worst thing is that the emperor will guard the country and the king will die." Zhu You was sure in his heart Chang Ding is a heroic leader, at least as good as Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Yongle Emperor Zhu Di.
Hearing that Zhu Youtang was going to inspect the capital camp, he did not dare to be careless and quickly ordered his close men to select the best and concentrate them in the inner school. When the soldiers in the Beijing camp heard that the emperor was coming, they were all very excited. They also wanted to see what the emperor looked like.
"Veteran Zhang Mao is here to see His Majesty."
"The British Lord, please wake up quickly. I have nothing to do. I want to come to the Beijing Camp to see our Ming Dynasty soldiers. How many soldiers are there in the Beijing Camp now?"
The British Duke Zhang Mao quickly reported: "Your Majesty, there are currently 200,000 soldiers in the Beijing camp."
Since the Hongwu period, the Beijing camp has had 48 guards, each with 5,600 men. At that time, the number of troops was close to 300,000. After Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di succeeded to the throne, while observing the old Hongwu system, he also expanded the Beijing camp from the original 48 guards to 72 guards. After that, three major battalions were gradually established: the Fifth Military Battalion, the Three Thousand Battalion, and the Shenji Battalion.
During the Yongle period, the number of soldiers in the Beijing camp reached more than 700,000. During the Yongle and Xuande periods, Chengzu and Xuanzong respectively conducted six northern expeditions to Mongolia, as well as the Yongle expedition to Annan and the Zhengtong expedition to Luchuan, etc., all with the Beijing camp soldiers as the main force. This also shows that after Yongle, the regulations in the Beijing camp tended to be sound and perfect.
But the good times did not last long. Under the leadership of Zhu Qizhen, the war god of the Ming Dynasty, the 500,000-strong Beijing army also marched north. After the Tumubao Incident, the entire army of Jingjia Jingqi and cavalry in the capital was annihilated, leaving less than 100,000 exhausted troops. Most of today's Beijing camps are from the Chenghua period, the Twelve Regiment Battalions.
"You also know this morning at the court meeting. The Tatars invaded our Ming Dynasty and bullied others too much. The British prince did not speak at the court this morning. Now tell me, what do you think?" Zhu Youtang really wants to know the rank of this military minister. What do you think?
Zhang Mao quickly expressed his position: "The Tatars must be suppressed by force. If we continue to tolerate it, it will only increase their momentum. I will obey the imperial edict. I will do whatever your Majesty asks me to do. If there is no one in the court to take command, I am willing to go!"
Zhu Youtang was overjoyed, patted Zhang Mao on the shoulder and said: "I am relieved by the British Lord's words. Wynn, go to the Chinese Army Governor's Mansion to get the roster.
While Wynn went to get the roster, Zhu Youtang stepped off the stage.
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
The soldiers in the Beijing camp all stretched their necks to see Zhu Youtang. What did this eighteen-year-old emperor look like? Many people would never see him once in their lives. The soldiers behind also wanted to take a look and tried their best to take a look. Drill forward.
Zhu Youtang walked in front of a dark-skinned soldier and asked: "What is your name? Where are you from?"
When the dark-skinned soldier heard the emperor talking to him, his face was filled with joy and he said happily: "Back to the emperor, the younger one's name is Zhang Goudan'er, from Jinan, Shandong."
Zhu Youtang nodded: "Do it well! The court will not treat you badly.
A young and short boy suddenly shouted: "Your Majesty, ask me too!"
Zhu Youtang looked at the child and said with a smile, "Okay, you can tell me too."
It's true that a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, and he dared to ask His Majesty. When all the soldiers were worried about this child, the emperor actually replied to him, and the Beijing camp exploded.
"Little...little," the child stuttered, speechless for a moment in excitement.
Zhu Youtang touched the child's head and said, "Please calm down and speak slowly."
"The younger one's name is Xu Ruiguang. He is from Taiyuan, Shanxi. He is sixteen years old this year!"
