Inside the Hanlin Academy.
Li Dongyang came to Wang Hua and informed Wang Hua that his son Wang Shouren was going to be awarded a title.
In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Li Dongyang met Wang Hua alone in the Hanlin bachelor's room. He didn't even invite Wang Hao, the Hanlin bachelor, to come over... It was a bit like occupying a magpie's nest.
"His Majesty's intention is to use the merits of the Battle of Weininghai and the Battle of Maoerzhuang to give Ma Yi, the deputy commander-in-chief of Xuanfu and the commander of Wanquan left guard, as Pinglubo, and Bo'an as Xinxinbo."
Li Dongyang informed Yu Wanghua of the news that Xiao Jing had communicated to the cabinet earlier.
Wang Hua probably understood it as soon as he heard it.
Is this congratulations on the talents of my Wang family? This is obviously asking me to represent my son to the emperor to refuse the title of knighthood.
Wang Huadao said: "Quanzi first entered the officialdom. Before he went to the northwest, he was just observing the government. Even the post of head of the military department was not actually lacking. He never sat in court to ask questions. The so-called meritorious service was just the bravery and fearlessness of the northwest soldiers, and he happened to be in the same position. Hui people are with the army. I really don’t dare to take credit.”
Compared with Wang Shouren's aggressiveness, Wang Hua has always been a low-key figure in the Imperial Academy.
He is not young, even older than Li Dongyang and Xie Qian, but he was admitted to Jinshi late, and he never wanted to compete in the Hanlin Academy, and there were few opportunities for him to show up.
Finally, the cabinet minister came to see him and asked him to refuse the credit. He knew that he had to understand.
Li Dongyang was very satisfied with Wang Hua's knowledge and interest. He smiled and said: "Bo'an is a young and talented man who has already made achievements in martial arts, which is also a good thing. From my point of view, he can use his military exploits to make progress in the future, but now it is more important After taking good care of the court affairs, I would like to ask His Majesty to let him serve in the Sixth Ministry, what do you think?"
Wang Hua didn't quite understand what Li Dongyang meant, so he didn't answer immediately.
But Wang Hua has political thinking.
He probably understood that the traditional forces represented by Li Dongyang wanted to use this to remove Zhang Zhou's wings.
Didn't you, Zhang Bingkuan, develop a Jinshi scholar of the same year who came from our traditional civil service system into your right-hand man? It's inconvenient for us to just let him return to the court, so let his father take action. A son can't be rebellious, right?
Without Wang Shouren to help you, do you expect traditional civil servants like Ma Zhongxi to help you manage military affairs? You want to fly to the sky, but you have to break your wings, so you can understand what seniority is in this world.
If you turn an eagle into a poultry, even if you find someone else to replace Wang Bo'an as your wings, you will still be unable to flutter.
Wang Huacheng said in fear: "How can a dog be so virtuous?"
You have to show that you agree with Li Dongyang's arrangement, or even feel grateful, but you are murmuring in your heart.
It took my son a month to accomplish something that others would never be able to accomplish in a lifetime. How could he, a father, erase his son's achievements like this? Then his son won’t hate himself, right?
besides……
Not only did his son benefit from Zhang Zhou's care, but he also benefited greatly from it.
Yu Zhangzhou compiled the "Da Ming Huidian", so that they, who had been living in poverty in the Hanlin Academy and had no good opportunities for promotion for more than ten years, suddenly had "credit", and naturally he, the Hanlin Minister, was included in the military medals. Son.
Both father and son are about to be promoted in official positions due to Zhang Zhou's favor. But just because Zhang Zhou is not tolerated by the secular civil servant system, Zhang Zhou's contribution will also affect both father and son?
Not willing to give in!
Li Dongyang probably also knew that it was a bit excessive to let people directly recommend a superior earl title, so he had to do a good job in communication and comfort. He said: "After Bo'an returns to the court, he should at least be a member of the Sixth Department. He can even be a doctor in the Six Divisions. After he has experience in serving as an official, it will not be too late to leave the northwest of the town."
"As for you, Dehui, your Majesty has previously promised to replace you with a Hanlin bachelor among the many people in the Hanlin Academy, and the cabinet will also recommend you."
Wang Hua said: "It doesn't have to be like this."
He knew very well that even if the cabinet wanted to recommend him to be a Hanlin bachelor, it would not be because the cabinet really regarded him as the best candidate. After all, when the cabinet recommended him as a Hanlin bachelor before, Yang Tinghe and Liang Chu were the first ones, and the emperor recommended him and he was finally selected. Wang Hao, Wang Hua didn't even make it to the finals.
Now you suddenly say that I am the best candidate... Who would believe this?
There is no need to come here to appease me just because I declined my son's title.
Li Dongyang sighed: "The "Huidian" has been compiled for many years. You have contributed a lot. The court has also seen your achievements, and even His Majesty often mentions you."
Wang Hua said: "This is all the result of others, I just did a little bit of my duty. I will write the above form today, please ask your Majesty to transfer Bo'an back to the court, because he is young and has no qualifications... I request your Majesty... Let him get more experience."
There is no need to wait for the emperor to issue an imperial edict to confer a title. I will decline it on my son's behalf now. Is this considered to satisfy your request?
"Um."
Li Dongyang also didn't expect Wang Hua to be so understanding. He nodded with a satisfied smile.
…
…
Qingning Palace.
Zhu Youtang was informed by the Empress Dowager Zhou.
"...Originally, it was said that the two younger generations of the Zhou family would follow them to the northwest for training. Bingkuan is so good at using troops, giving them the opportunity to make contributions to the Ming Dynasty. Why didn't they make the trip in the end?"
Queen Mother Zhou didn't understand either.
It was originally agreed that both Zhou Tang and Zhou Ying could follow Zhang Zhou to fight in the northwest, but in the end only Zhang Lun went with him, and Zhang Lun did not perform well in this battle. Instead, people like Wang Shouren and Ma Yi were allowed to go to the northwest to fight. Showing such brilliance, Queen Mother Zhou certainly felt that the Zhou family had suffered a big loss.
Zhu Youtang said: "The use of troops was decided by Bingkuan when he was in Xuan Mansion. I mostly supported him and let him do it freely. As for who to use and who not to use... I will not interfere too much." "
Being an emperor also has a headache.
The old lady used the topic to play off the topic, so he could only shift the responsibility to Zhang Zhou. Anyway, Zhang Zhou was not in the capital, so you, old lady, wouldn't care about Zhang Zhou, right?
"Furthermore, Imperial Grandmother, using troops is too dangerous. Even if you follow Bingkuan, marching and fighting are often dangerous. Why must you pursue military glory? Even if you want to pursue it, Bingkuan will do it when he sends troops to the grassland in the future. Have the opportunity."
Zhu Youtang was also reminding Queen Mother Zhou.
As long as Zhang Zhou is still in the northwest, or in other words, the northwest affairs are under Zhang Zhou's control, there will be a lot of military achievements, and there will always be opportunities in the future.
We can't ruin our long-term plan just because of our temporary loyalty.
Empress Dowager Zhou smiled and said: "Emperor, do you think the Ai family cares about you?"
Isn't it?
Zhu Youtang thought to himself, had he told this clearly before?
"The Ai family just feels that the children of the Zhou family are not up to par. The elders always want to do something for them, but they are always worried. The Ai family is like this to them, and it is the same to you."
Empress Dowager Zhou spoke with sincerity and sincerity.
Of course Zhu Youtang knew the reason for worrying about him.
"The lesson taught by the Imperial Grandmother is that your grandson must manage state affairs carefully so that he can live up to the teachings of the late emperor and the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty," Zhu Youtang said.
Pretending to be confused, Zhu Youtang is now clear in Yemen.
Empress Dowager Zhou rolled her eyes at her grandson, but turned her gaze to Xiao Jing, who was standing at the door as if to talk to Zhu Youtang. She said: "Ke Gong, you are an old man in the palace. If you have anything to do, come in."
Zhu Youtang also nodded to Xiao Jing.
Xiao Jing then came in and saluted: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, I have military affairs to mention to Your Majesty."
"Military affairs? Emperor, you go first. Even if something happens to the Ai family, it cannot delay your handling of court affairs, especially military and political affairs. But they say that military affairs have come more frequently recently, but you should always spare more time and come more often." Look at the Aijia, the Aijia always remembers you in their hearts."
Empress Dowager Zhou almost said, don't think I don't know that your master and servant are singing double recitals here.
It's no big deal about military affairs, it's just an excuse to leave.
You, the emperor, have also learned bad things. Now you make excuses when you don't want to come to see me, and you always talk about court affairs to deal with it. You know that the Ai family can't delay you from handling court affairs, right?
…
…
Zhu Youtang and Xiao Jing came out.
Empress Dowager Zhou really did not misunderstand Zhu Youtang before. It was he who told Xiao Jing that he would come in and call people away. Zhu Youtang was not avoiding the matter of the two grandchildren of the Zhou family, but he did not want the old lady to pester him anymore. The matter of taking a concubine.
Now his idea is that whether or not to take a concubine should not be decided by the people in the inner palace.
Take care of my business yourself.
"Your Majesty, the King of Hanlin presented a memorial and proposed to ask his son to return to the court and serve in the six ministries. He also shied away from the previous rewards for military merit." Xiao Jing mentioned.
The rewards mentioned did not include titles, but only some money and silk, etc., which were personally given by Zhu Youtang.
Zhu Youtang was also helping Zhang Zhou recruit some capable people. Originally, Zhu Youtang thought that by rewarding the Wang family with something, he could recruit Wang Hua and his son to work for Zhang Zhou at once.
But now Wang Hua obviously wants to clear his relationship with Zhang Zhou.
Zhu Youtang frowned and said, "Which king will give the lecture?"
Xiao Jing was very embarrassed when he heard this. There was no second Wang Shi Lecturer in the court, so he could only say... Wang Hua's presence in the Hanlin Academy was too low. He was the number one scholar in the 17th year of Chenghua, but he also stayed in the Hanlin Academy for 18 years. Now, he is just a minister. Even when the emperor mentioned it, he couldn’t remember it right away...
Just like this, when there is a good opportunity for you and your son to climb up, you still have to turn it down?
"That's the father of Wang Zhongcheng, the governor of Datong. Wang Hua." Xiao Jing reminded.
"he……"
Zhu Youtang got angry after hearing this.
Zhu Youtang believes that Wang Hua has never had a chance to be promoted. Like Cheng Minzheng, he should be a suppressed faction and would not stand with the traditional factions. But now he knows what it means to be in harmony with the Hanlin system.
"The matter of conferring a title has probably not been passed down yet, right?"
"yes."
Xiao Jing responded hurriedly.
Zhu Youtang said: "Then why is he so anxious to refuse? He just wants to tell me that his son's contribution can be rejected for him as a father? What Wang Weining has been working hard for half his life, his son spent ten months It will be completed within the time limit, shouldn’t he feel honored? What does he have to do at this time?”
When the emperor felt that he had been teased, he didn't even need to ask if anyone had gone to see Wang Hua. He knew that Wang Hua must have been under some kind of pressure before he submitted a memorial to deny his son's credit.
Xiao Jing lowered his head and did not dare to answer casually.
Zhu Youtang said: "It was Bingkuan who took the initiative to ask for credit for Wang Shouren. He highly praised Wang Shouren's ability and believed that this was an important part of filling the gap in the military and political affairs of the northwest. For such a capable young official, I It should be taken seriously and his request will be rejected in my name!"
What the emperor means is that even if you, Wang Hua, take the initiative to resign, I will not agree.
I just want to give you titles and official positions, and want to transfer your son back to the capital? Sorry, I don't need you as a minister to teach me how to employ people.
I want to put useful people in the most appropriate positions. Even if you, Wang Hua, are afraid of trouble and want to avoid political struggles, don't try to erase your son's achievements in the name of being a father, and don't let me use him!
Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, do you think this matter should be decided after the court meeting?"
This was to remind the emperor that the matter of ennobling Ma Yi and Wang Shouren only went through the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites, and was not brought to the court for discussion.
If the relationship between the emperor and the ministers was affected by knighting two irrelevant people, Xiao Jing felt that it was unnecessary to intensify the conflict.
"Based on Wang Shouren and Ma Yi's merits, I want to give them titles to let the soldiers in the northwest know the rewards they can get if they work hard. Is it wrong?"
Zhu Youtang also got angry, "Based on the precedent of using troops in the northwest in the past few decades, why can't they get a title? Just because Wang Shouren is the son of a Hanlin minister, am I going to miss out on a capable minister?"
"Bingkuan has a good understanding of people. Which one of the people he recommended is not a well-known figure? Even if these people ruined the original order of the officialdom, they were all used for preparing for war and for nine-border defense. They did not affect the The promotion of officials in the court has not affected the order of the Ming Dynasty. Why should I give in? This is not allowed!"
Xiao Jing also didn't expect that the emperor would be so annoyed by Wang Hua's rejection of Wang Shouren's contribution.
He also knew that what he said before might have been wrong, and he would not even mention his personal opinion this time.
He also seemed to see that now that the emperor had Zhang Zhou, he was no longer the king who relied on his civil servants in every possible way. He even seemed to regard civil servants as obstacles to governing the country, just like Zhang Zhou.
This actually reminded him that Xiao Jing should be more clear about his side in the future, and he could not always think about helping those Confucian officials in the court.
…
…
The Chief of Ceremonies first rejected Wang Hua's petition to deny his son's credit in the name of the emperor.
Immediately during the court meeting the next day, Zhu Youtang announced in public that he would confer titles to Wang Shouren and Ma Yi.
"...Bing Kuan was the chief contributor in this battle, but the soldiers, Wang Shouren and Ma Yi, both fought for the country. They were brave and fearless and could stay calm in the face of danger. They drove straight into the grassland and retreated after their great achievements, thus promoting the prestige of the Ming Dynasty. , citing the past border affairs and the consideration of the use of troops, the two of them are Pinglubo and Xinjianbo, and I also think that they should be divided."
"As for the two of them, they will definitely stay in the northwest and serve in front of the army. They cannot be transferred from their posts easily. Do you have any objections?"
The emperor first affirmed that the two men carried out Zhang Zhou's tactics and were meritorious officials.
It was further stated that Wang Shouren, Ma Yi and other meritorious people should not be transferred out of the northwest. They would cooperate with Zhang Zhou and continue to use troops no matter what.
This seemed to be blocking the mouth of the civil servants. After all, yesterday Wang Hua took the initiative to transfer his son back to the capital for further study. The emperor naturally knew that this was actually the traditional way for civil servants to dig holes for Zhang Zhou.
As soon as these words came out, Liu Jian and Li Dongyang couldn't help but look at each other.
The emperor's intention was too obvious, which made them feel that something might have angered the emperor, who was once known for his benevolence and righteousness.
Min Gui, the censor of Zuodu, said: "Your Majesty, if you want to reward many knights for your merits in one battle, I am afraid that there will be a flood of military titles in the northwest. After this year, many people will be rewarded for their military merits."
Zhu Youtang said: "What do you mean by Min Qing's family? After Emperor Taizong's arrest, he rewarded many people at one time, all based on military merit. Do you think I gave excessive rewards?"
Min Gyu hurriedly explained: "That's not what I meant."
"I think that's what you mean." Zhu Youtang responded tit for tat. He probably also knew that if he didn't show some momentum, the civil servants would still chatter about the matter. If the influence of the matter was extended from the court to the private sector, Zi's discussion is not good.
Therefore, discussions must be kept within the confines of the court.
If you want to make the world's scholars sincerely convinced, you must first stop the people in the court from acting blindly.
"Same as before, I did not directly reward Bingkuan with a title. As for Wang Shouren, who is now the governor of Datong, I will still use his current official position to serve in the northwest. After the war subsided, he returned to the capital and rewarded him generously with the title. As for Ma Yi, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, I will once again appoint him as the chief military officer of the Xuanfu, and he will assist in guarding the military affairs around the Xuanfu with the help of pacifying the Lupps."
"As for Duke Bao Guo, I will transfer him to Ningxia. He will be stationed in various areas of Ningxia!"
The emperor's words made the ministers present even more confused.
No matter how you look at it, Zhu Hui, as the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, helped achieve the great victory in the Battle of Weininghai, which was also meritorious.
Why was Zhu Hui suddenly transferred to Ningxia?
Could it be that... Zhang Zhou felt that Zhu Hui was out of tune, or that the emperor believed that Ningxia's defense was more important than the surrounding areas of Xuanfu, so he let Zhu Hui take on the important responsibility?
Zhu Youtang said: "Zhu Fu, the Duke of Chengguo, transferred Guyuan and established an additional border town in Guyuan to help guard everywhere!"
Liu Jian hurriedly walked out and asked: "Your Majesty, the war in the northwest is still ongoing, and it is really not appropriate to change the current layout of the towns in the northwest."
Although Guyuan is also an important border city in the northwest, it was still not an important city on the nine borders in the 12th year of Hongzhi. At this time, the town of Shaanxi was transferred to Guyuan in order to strengthen the control over the three sides. Of course, this was all during the 12th year of Hongzhi. Five years later, Liu Jian now feels that things were too hasty.
Zhu Youtang said resolutely: "Nowadays, most of the affairs on the three sides are blocked by Yansui Yulinwei. The defenses of Ningxia, Shaanxi and other places cannot be coordinated. Using the city of Guyuan to increase the dispatch of the northwest parties is the result of my discretion and consideration." The feasibility of this matter has been discussed within the Ministry of War before, and there is no need to discuss it again. Qin Hong, who is in charge of the military affairs of the three sides, is ordered to coordinate the reinforcement of the passes and separate defenses."
Liu Jian was very angry after hearing this.
I always feel like I was a hindsight, but actually even the Ministry of War knew about this in advance? But the cabinet knew it with others?
Zhu Youtang said: "There is no need to discuss the matter of conferring titles. Let the Ministry of Household Affairs draft a strategy. After collecting grain this autumn, allocate money and grain to various parts of the northwest to increase military pay. This matter cannot be delayed any longer!"
(End of chapter)
