Zhang Zhou got up early on Monday. The emperor originally planned to take Zhang Zhou to the Meridian Gate for a walk, which would be regarded as a formal introduction to Zhang Zhou to the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs.
Zhang Zhou declined.
Zhang Zhou's reason was simple. He had not yet passed the Jinshi examination and had not officially passed the selection process for paying tribute. He was not a court official and could not break the rules.
This is to prepare for being able to be in the imperial class in the future, and not to do anything arrogant now.
Zhu Youtang saw that Zhang Zhou was resolute, so he didn't force it.
Meeting at Meridian Gate.
No one came out to mention the issue that day.
On the first day after the joint examination, when the internal grading had not officially begun, even if there were many criticisms against Cheng Minzheng from outside, they would not happen immediately.
Historically, Hua Chang participated in the impeachment of Cheng Minzheng, Xu Jing and Tang Yin, and it was also around the time of the release of the results in late February, when rumors outside were already abuzz.
The topic of the day was mainly military rewards.
There is basically no big problem with the rewards for other meritorious officials. The main problems lie in three points.
The first is to decide whether Wang Yue will be promoted to Weining Bo or Weining Hou.
The second is whether Zhu Feng, the second son of Duke Cheng, is qualified to be crowned the "main force" in this battle.
The third point involves the question of whether Pingjiang Bo Chen Rui should be punished.
Let’s start with the simplest issue, which is Chen Rui’s question.
"...Your Majesty, although Uncle Ping Jiang was guilty of slacking off in this battle, he did not ignore military orders. All military orders came from Wang Weining. He deliberately prevented Ping Jiang Bo and other officers from snatching military glory, and used this to order the Tatars The unit was negligent in its precautions and had a proper strategy. If he is held responsible afterwards, he should be punished as well as the one who gave the order!"
Zhang Sheng, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, came out to argue and argued that the emperor could not punish Chen Rui.
Chen Rui ran a little faster, but the problem was that Wang Yue asked him to run, and because he ran so fast, Huo Si thought that the Ming Dynasty soldiers and horses were really vulnerable, so he relaxed his vigilance.
This is all strategy.
After the strategy has achieved its goal, if we punish Chen Rui now, does that mean we will encourage the generals in the northwest to get military orders but not execute them in the future?
After hearing this, Zhu Youtang felt that it made some sense, and nodded and said: "Even if Pingjiang Bo's merits and demerits are worth it, he is not suitable to stay in the northwest at present. I, the commander-in-chief of Pianguan, have asked Baoguo Gong to take over. Li Ao and Chen Xun will continue to lead troops to coordinate defense, and Chen Rui does not need to stay as a military officer in Xuanfu and can be transferred back to the capital."
The emperor seemed to have no intention of pursuing Chen Rui further.
If you win, it will be easy for everyone to say, and you, Chen Rui, can also decide on "the merits and demerits balance each other", but you won't be respected in a short period of time after you return to the capital.
Wang Zongyi, the right minister of the Ministry of War, said: "The Wangyue people are in Pianguan, and the three sides and other places still need to have honorable ministers to garrison. At such a time of employment, why not transfer Pingjiangbo to Yansui and other places? This can also deter the grassland. effect!"
The Ministry of War does not advocate transferring Chen Rui back.
Apart from anything else, among the current ministers in the northwest, Chen Rui seems to be incompetent, but in fact, there is no one who can fight better than Chen Rui... yet.
No matter how awesome Wang Yue is, he can only garrison one place, and the rest of the places always need someone to guard him. Could it be that he, Wang Weining, is responsible for all the nine sides? Is he busy enough?
Moreover, Wang Yue is indeed old and is not suitable to stay in the northwest for too long. At most, he will wait until the war in the northwest has completely subsided before he will be transferred back to the capital.
It is actually not worth stepping on Chen Rui now, because it is not a good move to bring Chen Rui into disrepute. Wang Yue will die later, and then Northwest will need to hire people again, so Chen Rui will be transferred...Chen Rui has the bad reputation he has today. How to order the three armies?
"Three sides."
Zhu Youtang obviously didn't want to hear this suggestion. He thought about it and asked, "Is there no one else available among the ministers?"
This question is actually quite inappropriate to ask.
Ma Wensheng came out and said: "Your Majesty, there are many honorable ministers in the northwest. Ping Jiangbo did not have an advantage in the confrontation with the fire screen, but he did not lose in the tug of war with the little Tartar prince and other tribes!"
This actually revealed something. When Wang Zongyi came out to speak for Chen Rui, it was actually the unified opinion of the Ministry of War, not Wang Zongyi's personal opinion.
What Ma Wensheng meant was that in the confrontation between Chen Rui and Huo Si and Dayan Khan, he had one loss and one draw. It doesn't sound like much, but it is actually very good. It is not easy to find someone to hold Dayan Khan down. thing.
Zhu Youtang nodded.
He also understood that Ma Wensheng's answer to him was actually telling him.
There really is no one else available in the northwest.
"If I am transferred to Yansui as a Duke, do you think it is feasible?" Zhu Youtang made a bizarre-sounding proposal.
The ministers present were all stunned by the emperor's jumping thoughts.
For a while, no one came out to comment.
Cheng Guogong Zhu Fu? Can this guy fight? But it doesn’t matter, Baoguo Gong is like that anyway! At the critical moment, the emperor did not think of anyone else, but had to mention Zhu Fu. Did the emperor think that Cheng Guogong's lineage was a lucky star, and if his son made meritorious service, I should also go to the battlefield to train?
Zhu Youtang said: "Chen Rui's call back to the capital remains unchanged for the time being. As for who will be sent to Yansui and other places, the inner court will discuss it later. After the court meeting, the two cabinet elders and the Minister of War summoned the British minister again Go."
This means that after the conference, there will be a small meeting.
The discussion was not about whether Chen Rui should go or stay, but about who would take over part of the military power in Chen Rui's hands, and then transfer him to Yansui, Ningxia and other places to guard against the little Tatar prince.
…
…
The first topic comes to an end.
Next came the issue of Zhu Feng's title.
On this matter, the opinions of the court officials are basically unified... No way!
What kind of spring and autumn dream do you, Zhu Feng, have? At a young age, I went to the northwest and killed a Tatar with my own hands. It is better to say that it was a military merit achieved by your troops than that it was gained by you. If this can be awarded with a title, then the title of the Ming Dynasty is too worthless. One person can join the ranks.
This time, Xu Jin, the left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, came out to object: "Your Majesty, the military merits Zhu Feng has obtained are the result of the overall strategy. If the title is determined based on personal merit, then there are not a few people in the northwest who deserve the title. Merit cannot be falsely claimed."
What Xu Jin actually wants to say is that military merit cannot be counted twice.
This time's military exploits are not small, but the specific figures have not yet been calculated clearly. The people sent by the imperial court to the northwest have just set off for two days, and it will take some time to reach Piantou Pass. As for the supervisory censors around Piantou Pass, they have not yet arrived. No specific investigation report has been issued yet.
At best, Zhu Feng is just a staff general, not even a staff general. He can only be regarded as a guerrilla. His official position is below the chief soldier and deputy chief soldier. In fact, at this time, regardless of the merits of the commander Wang Yue, let’s talk about the marginal generals first. Yes, that's a bit inappropriate.
The ministers also wanted to say it.
Don't think we don't know that Zhu Feng joined the army because of his connections.
In fact, he doesn't have much ability.
If such a person can be knighted, what will happen when he is alone in the future?
Zhu Youtang said: "Zhu Feng is the son of Duke Cheng. After his meritorious service, he left a name of loyalty when he donated medicine to the princess to treat her illness. This time, Northwest led the troops into the city alone without fear. Even if he is young and has done nothing in the past, I want to award him a reward because of his loyalty to the emperor and his country, and because of his actual military exploits, not Xuanxun. It is unfair to say that he is taking credit for his own merit."
After listening to Xu Jin's words, Zhu Youtang couldn't stand it anymore, describing Zhu Feng as an ignorant and unskilled little person.
His character is...
Protect shortcomings.
Of course, if it weren't for Zhang Zhou, Zhu Youtang would not be able to protect Zhu Feng no matter how much he tried to protect his shortcomings.
But now Zhu Feng has become "one of his own" in the eyes of the emperor. I just want to promote him, what can you do?
The ministers present had a headache.
Liu Jian came out and spoke: "With his background in Zhu Feng and his military exploits, it is not impossible to plan to become a knight!"
When he said this, many people at the scene raised eyebrows.
Did you, Old Man Liu, rebel? Actually speaking according to the emperor's wishes?
In fact, Liu Jian just came out and said a "fair word". Others couldn't see it. Could it be that Liu Jian couldn't see that in fact, many of the military merits that Wang Yue could receive by himself were given to Zhu Feng on his own initiative?
From Liu Jian's point of view, the matter of whether Wang Yue was granted a title or not was more important. If some of Wang Yue's military achievements were divided and distributed to others, what would be wrong?
And from a certain point of view, Zhu Feng is the second son of Cheng Guo Gong, and Zhu Feng's eldest brother has no son. Maybe the title of Cheng Guo Gong will be passed to Zhu Feng in the future, and it is not bad for him to have a martial arts title. Principle, why forcefully oppose it and provoke the emperor to cause so many discords between the emperor and his ministers?
After Zhu Youtang heard Liu Jian's words, his face immediately showed joy. He said: "Mr. Liu Ge, if you have any other ideas, just tell me."
In fact, Zhu Youtang also knew that there must be prerequisites for Liu Jian to be willing to speak according to his wishes.
After so many years of dealing with kings and ministers, he was familiar with the routine.
Liu Jiandao: "If Zhu Fengjin is regarded as his uncle, then the merits of Pianguan should be divided and rewarded, and the merits of Wang Yue should also be counted separately."
"hehe."
Zhu Youtang smiled.
Sure enough, he was hiding a back trick.
Count separately?
One is the commander-in-chief, and the other is his general. Is it possible to divide the entire military merits piece by piece, count them one by one, and give the remaining unclaimed pieces to Wang Yue?
In order to restrict Wang Weining, you civil servants really did everything possible.
"Let's postpone the discussion about Zhu Feng's Jinjue for now and let's talk about Wang Weining first." Zhu Youtang took the initiative to change the subject.
On the first issue, regarding Chen Rui, the emperor was considered a "big victory".
But then on the second issue, that is, the issue of Zhu Feng's title, the civil servants gave the emperor trouble. The emperor heard it, and then turned to the third topic.
Let’s give Wang Yue’s credit first, and then talk about Zhu Feng.
Of course, there is another hidden topic... Regarding Zhang Zhou, this may not be discussed in the court, but can be discussed in the inner court meeting. After all, even Zhang Zhou himself did not insist on obtaining anything with this military merit.
…
…
The third topic started immediately.
When it came to Wang Yue's military exploits, almost all the civil servants at the scene wanted to add a few words.
Zhu Youtang did not allow the people present to express any opinions. He directly put his personal opinions first: "I asked the Ministry of Rites to refer to the wars in Beiguan, Jiubian and other places in the past hundred years, as well as many After sending troops to Mongolia, it was concluded that Wang Weining's contribution has not only reached the level of conferring a marquis, he can even be made a duke."
The emperor first made the prerequisites clear.
It doesn’t count as the founding of the country, nor does it count as peace.
In these two major battles, those who received military honors accounted for nearly 90% of the Ming Dynasty's nobles, and their achievements were not obtained from foreigners.
There may also be some people, especially those who were knighted during the Yongle period, who participated in both the Jingnan and the Northern Expedition during that period.
Ignore this for now.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Wang Yue was given the title of "Marquis of Weining" based on his military exploits and knighthood in the battle with the Mongolian grassland Tatars.
Just take Wang Ji, the first Jingyuan uncle who was knighted as a civil servant, as an example. Not counting his last attempt to quell the rebellion in the southwest, and even if he conquered Luchuan three times, his achievements in the northwest battle alone are far inferior to Wang Yue's victory at Pianguan. of this battle.
Moreover, Wang Yue also had several famous battles during the Chenghua period.
Xie Qian came forward and argued: "Your Majesty, although Wang Weining's contribution is great, it is a coincidence of the right time and place, and the god of military use, but it has caused damage to our Ming Dynasty border, and the repair cost is very high. If this is used as a demonstration of his merit, he will be awarded the title of Gaojue." If you set a precedent, others will definitely follow suit in the future, which will inevitably lead to future troubles!”
It means Xie Qian.
Even if we know that his contribution is great, we can't make it too public. We can just give him the title of Count Weining.
If you insist on giving him the Marquis of Weining, it will make future border governors and generals think that if they want to win the title, they must play big, and if they want to play big, they must take risks, imitate Wang Weining and blow up the head-turning gate, or do something similar Only by doing this can we achieve extraordinary achievements.
To give Wang Yue a marquis is not to show his merits, but to set a bad example.
As soon as these words came out.
The ministers present all looked at him with "Thank you Qiao for being awesome".
Even though you usually make jokes and jokes that don't stick to the truth, in the absence of Yu Li Dongyang, I want you to thank Yu Qiao for taking the lead.
After Xie Qian finished speaking, Zhu Youtang remained silent for a while.
Before, Zhu Youtang only thought that the civil servants were restricting Wang Yue for no reason, but after listening to Xie Qian's words, he felt that there was nothing wrong with him.
Wang Yue is very awesome, but the head-exploding skill... is unacceptable!
Even he, the emperor, criticized his behavior in the court before. If it is just about setting an example, Xie Qian is right. Who told Wang Yue to play too much? In the future, the court will still It takes at least one hundred thousand taels and at least tens of thousands of laborers to complete the construction?
During the construction process, if the Tatars take advantage of the opportunity to attack again, who will bear the blame?
But the emperor thought again and realized that there were advantages to bombing. In the future, when the Tatars knew that the Ming Dynasty had such a powerful weapon, they would not give them a chance if they wanted to blow it up again.
Even if Wang Weining has this ability, you won’t accept it.
Zhu Youtang said: "If you only use the destruction of Pianguan City Fortress to judge Wang Yue's fault, then I think it is a bit harsh. If you stand in the position of the northwest soldiers and know that I have merit but cannot How can we boost the morale of the army if we clearly understand rewards and punishments but use innocent things to judge faults? When there will be conquests in the future, do we have to look forward and backward to influence the use of troops?"
The emperor was using Xie Qian's theory to refute Xie Qian.
You said that Wang Yue would set a bad example and make the border officials mess up in the future.
Then I retorted, saying that if you don’t reward Wang Yue well, then all the generals in the northwest will be too scared to do anything...
So is it just messing up and getting good results?
Or is it better not to dare to mess around and end up being tied up and leading to defeat?
(End of chapter)
