Morning next day.
The ministers had lined up in front of the Meridian Gate early, preparing to enter the palace and attend the court meeting in Fengtian Hall.
Li Dongyang first went to have a brief chat with Ma Wensheng, and then returned to the position listed in the cabinet to wait. The news brought by Li Dongyang also made Liu Jian look worried.
It was obviously a good news, but this battle became an unbearable burden for the cabinet due to the changes in the structure of the Ming Dynasty.
"...According to the preliminary battle reports obtained by the Ministry of War, Bo'an cut off the ears of nearly ten thousand Di Yi in this battle..."
Not only did he kill him, but he also brought back "evidence". Even if it wasn't the head, it was not easy for Wang Shouren to bring back his ears after running three thousand miles. Obviously, he couldn't insist on bringing back the head.
Xie Qian took a step forward and asked, "Is it true?"
It wasn't Xie Qian who insisted on asking, but Xie Qian also felt that this victory was a bit too exaggerated.
Just like in the battle at Piantou Pass, Wang Yue reported that he killed two thousand Tatars... It cannot be said to be outrageous, it can only be said to be beyond the "cognition" of civil servants. There are really so many Tatars to kill for you. ? No matter how powerful your cannon is, will the Tatars line up for you to blast?
Li Dongyang couldn't answer this.
At this time, Zhou Jing and Xu Guan also approached, with the same questions.
Zhou Jing asked: "It is said that he killed nearly ten thousand enemies. This must be unreasonable, right?"
Liu Jian looked calm, raised his head and glanced at the palace gate, and then he seemed to be relieved, and took a long breath and said: "The matter has reached this point, and there is no way to change it. Let's see how Bo'an and Dehua report it."
At this time, Wang Shouren and Wang Qiong were directly called by their first names, as if the cabinet was very close to them.
This is probably a reminder... No matter whether I, Liu, will be the chief assistant in the future, the only way to check and balance Zhang Zhou is to disintegrate the "best friends" in Zhang Zhou's camp.
Who makes Zhang Bingkuan always recommend others to fight instead of going into battle himself?
Even though everyone now worships Zhang Bingkuan as the God of War, there is still a need to pay attention to it. If Zhang Bingkuan's "wings" are cut off and all of them are gathered together, the military and political structure of the Ming Dynasty can still reach a balance.
While speaking, Liu Jian glanced at Wen Chen.
Standing over there was Wang Shouren's father, Wang Hua. At this time, Wang Hua appeared alone. Although everyone knew that his son had made great contributions, Wang Hua was alienated and boycotted because of Wang Shouren's alignment.
…
…
Fengtian Hall, court meeting.
Zhu Youtang was in high spirits. One look at his expression showed that he had a good rest yesterday.
Let go of your worries and fully enjoy the joy. You will feel refreshed during happy events, or your physical fitness will improve accordingly.
When the court meeting began, no one took the initiative to come forward to make trouble. They were all waiting for Zhu Youtang to announce the news that everyone in the court and the public was looking forward to.
Zhu Youtang said: "I should have had Uncle Xin Xin's memorial read out in public, but I felt it was not necessary. Uncle Xin Xin led six thousand troops and attacked the grasslands from Liaodong, traveling thousands of miles along the way. Three days ago, the Tatars had not retreated into the pass, but the Tatars had already withdrawn."
Xu Jin, the Minister of Household Affairs, said: "Your Majesty, the governor, general military officer, etc. who are going on an expedition should report the troops after they retreat and enter the pass. This is a rule."
Zhu Youtang didn't mind Xu Jin's criticism at all. He smiled and said, "Maybe Uncle Xinxin also wants to report that he is safe as soon as possible. He is very good."
Having said this, Zhu Youtang nodded with satisfaction, "Finally, he has lived up to Bingkuan's trust in him. In these battles, he has been able to fulfill his responsibilities as a minister. When he demonstrates his merits in this battle, I will increase the reward as appropriate. "
Having said this, the biggest doubt in the minister's mind was still not resolved.
What kind of achievements did Wang Shouren achieve that made the emperor value him so much?
"Li Rong, tell me." Zhu Youtang said.
Li Rong came out and said: "Based on a few belated battle reports from Uncle Xinjian, we can summarize the situation after Uncle Xinjian entered the grasslands. He first devoured two Tatar troops at the edge of the desert, leaving no men, women, old or young behind, and no livestock or goods left behind. Burned it on the spot. Then he led his troops westward and fought with the Tatar soldiers and horses."
"After several days of marching westward, there is still no Tatar force to fight with us."
"Immediately, Xinjianbo led his troops down the southeast. Four hundred miles northeast of Guanshan, he turned to the southwest, intercepted the Chahar tribe of the Tatar headquarters, and intercepted 100,000 cattle, sheep, and livestock from the Tatar Khan's court."
"The Tatar King Qin's soldiers and horses were stationed at a high place, blocking Xinjianbo's troops 200 miles east of Guanshan. The two sides fought fiercely for an hour. The Tatars lost more than 5,000 troops and over 70% of their casualties. Then they continued westward to pursue 100 In the remaining miles, more than three thousand Tatars were killed."
"Then he withdrew his troops and returned eastward, and he and more than 30,000 Tatar Qinwang were in the north of Guanshan."
"In several battles, more than 9,700 pairs of Tatar ears were cut off, including 7,500 pairs of young and strong men. They killed countless livestock and burned the Tatar tribe's property without any plan. They turned back to the southeast and returned to the Weining Sea. "
"The King of Tatars had more than 60,000 soldiers and horses on various roads along the way, but there was still no battle. The little prince of Tatar's troops were not seen for a long time. When they arrived 30 miles north of Haizi in Weining, they sent troops to patrol Shanxi and other places with the king of Pianguan. Qiong led more than 17,000 soldiers and horses to gather at one place."
"The Tatars retreated, and the war ended."
"To sum up the proceeds, a total of Tatar troops' property and other goods were seized, worth 34,000 guan, and a total of more than 10,000 enemies were killed. 9,713 pairs of enemy ears were obtained. Sixty-five Ming soldiers were killed and 20 were seriously injured. Six, more than 100 people were slightly injured, and they all followed the army south. This report was specially reported to the court to show their merits."
…
…
When Li Rong finished speaking, the hall fell silent.
To say that Wang Shouren was bragging, after all, they were co-signed by Wang Qiong. Although both of them were recommended by Zhang Zhou, they were both Jinshi scholars, and in the eyes of court officials, they still emphasized etiquette, justice and integrity.
Besides...for achieving such a great achievement, his ears were embalmed with lime and brought back.
If it has come to this point and Wang Shouren and Wang Qiong still want to falsely report their military exploits, it would be simply unreasonable.
Zhu Youtang felt a little satisfied when he saw that none of the ministers expressed congratulations to him, and no one came out to question the accuracy of the results.
I just like to see you acting like you can't stand Bingkuan, but you can't do anything about him.
process?
I only look at the results.
"Ma Qing's family, what do you think?" Zhu Youtang directly asked Ma Wensheng for his opinion without commenting first.
Ma Wensheng came out and said: "The Duke of Lai and Uncle Xinjian have made great contributions. The Duke of Lai is in Yingtian Mansion, strategizing and winning a decisive victory thousands of miles away. He is enough to take charge of the official affairs of the Ministry of War. The veteran resigned, and the Duke of Lai was elected to succeed the veteran."
His words can be said to be straightforward.
The ministers present were not shocked by Wang Shouren's achievements before, but they were calmed down by Ma Wensheng's words.
You Ma Wensheng... you run very fast.
Seeing that the limelight is not right, you want to give up the challenge and let us people deal with Zhang Bingkuan?
"I don't want to pay attention to begging for old age and returning to the fields. The court does not only value ability when employing people..." At this time, Zhu Youtang became polite.
The minister is also thinking about it.
What should we look at if we don’t look at ability? Does your Majesty still have the intention to let Zhang Bingkuan continue to endure it based on seniority? Something is wrong!
"It also depends on whether he can live in harmony with his officials and whether he has the willingness to lead the ministry. If he can only make suggestions and cannot lead troops on the front line, he does not have to be a minister, even if he only occasionally speaks in court. , just let the officials know what he stands for!"
Let my Bingkuan be the Minister of the Ministry of War?
Am I such a hasty person?
Besides, my pursuit is obviously not to let Bingkuan become the Minister of the Ministry of War. Since he can be the Minister of the Ministry of War, why can't he join the cabinet as the cabinet minister and participate in the planning of major military affairs?
Moreover, I have given him the authority to act as my personal advisor, which is more direct than the Minister of War.
certainly.
The position of Minister of War will still be given to him, but I still want to be polite to you.
Ma Wensheng raised the wat board and said: "I am ashamed of myself. I will have no face to stay in the court in the future. Please forgive me so that I can live in peace."
On the surface, in order for Your Majesty to punish Zhang Bingkuan, I, Ma Wensheng, would even make a bet with Your Majesty.
Now that I have lost the bet, I voluntarily leave my position as Minister of War and hand it over to Zhang Bingkuan, which can be regarded as a willingness to admit defeat.
"There's no need to mention it again." Zhu Youtang refused simply, "You don't need to mention it this time, I won't allow it!"
Do not agree to let Ma Wen be promoted to official position.
This makes it difficult to understand.
Your Majesty, you had a direct opportunity to ask Zhang Zhou to return to the capital to replace Ma Wensheng, but you actually let go of such a good opportunity?
Just when the ministers were wondering what the emperor's move meant, Zhu Youtang suddenly turned to Ni Yue and said: "After Ni Qing's family came to the capital, he asked me to return to his hometown twice on the grounds of eye disease and old age. I will grant you four servants as requested, as well as a chariot and a driver. I will also give you ten fields."
"ah?"
The ministers were in an uproar.
Ma Wensheng took the initiative to resign, but the emperor refused.
Ni Yue was standing nearby like a bystander, but he was sent back to his hometown just like that?
This routine... is a bit deep.
"Old minister... thank you for your kindness." Ni Yue also didn't expect that he would become a victim when Ma Wensheng fought with Zhang Zhou.
But he has long been used to it. Who knew that when he was sent to Nanjing to be the minister, he could tell that the emperor didn't want to see him?
Zhu Youtang said: "The court will make a decision on the candidate to succeed Ni Qing's family in the past two days. As for the placement of Uncle Xin Xin, I have an idea. Let him continue to be the governor of Datong and assist in the construction of Maoerzhuang City. We will discuss further after Bingkuan returns to Beijing."
really.
The emperor still couldn't wait to propose transferring Zhang Zhou back to the capital.
Wang Shouren made extraordinary achievements, but it seemed that he was not taken seriously by the emperor. He was only appointed as the governor of Datong... It stands to reason that with Wang Shouren's achievements, there would be no problem at all in becoming the general secretary of Xuan Datong.
Liu Jian came out and said: "Your Majesty, with the merits of Uncle Xin Xin, he can also promote military affairs and ensure peace in the whole place."
The emperor didn't mention it, but I, Liu Jian, did it for you.
In other words... he wanted to sell favors to Wang Shouren.
We don’t want Wang Shouren to be a new prince or a duke, but to let him be the general secretary of the Xuan Dynasty is equivalent to a signal to Wang Shouren. You are still a civil servant, and you are still respected by our traditional civil servants. You work hard... in the future. You are the one who is talking about entering and exiting... Yes, we are all on your side.
Before the emperor could answer, Wang Hua, who had always been at the forefront but had not spoken out yet, came out and said, "Your Majesty, the dog's talent is shallow. Please transfer him back to the capital to give him a chance to continue his training."
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Actually, I also have this intention. It is said that Yanwu Hall has not been able to start classes smoothly since this year. The main reason is that those who can be transferred have been transferred to Liaodong... In addition, there was previously a civil war in North Korea. , and for their contribution to pacifying Liaobei, I have not been able to reward Bingkuan, Tang Yin, Xinjian Bo and others. It is my negligence."
No reward yet?
Tang Yin was also just starting out, but he was appointed as the governor of the Bohai Sea. He was responsible for shipbuilding and Jinghai. Now he went south to Yingtian Mansion to raise money and food for shipbuilding.
As for Wang Shouren... it's even more exaggerated. Now he is about to become the new generation of Wang Weining, and he can almost stop the children on the grassland from crying with his name.
The only person who can take down the Mengoljin and Chahar tribes in succession is Wang Shouren.
"But there is still no rush." Zhu Youtang added, "Bingkuan is not in Beijing, and many things cannot be advanced. I intend to transfer him back to Beijing. He is also needed to take charge of the bachelor's degree at the Hanlin Academy, and he will give lectures in the East Palace. I will let him go for the time being, but major events in the court also require his participation in planning, and I actually want him to participate in more court discussions. But his temperament is also a bit lazy, and he never wants to get up early every day to go to court."
...The ministers were speechless after hearing this.
Your Majesty, you better understand that boy Zhang Bingkuan.
Since he entered the court and gained power, it seems that he really doesn't come to the court often.
In the past, we always felt that he felt that he was not qualified enough and was too embarrassed to come.
Is it because he is "lazy" and doesn't want to come?
It's not that he is afraid of facing us, but that he is too lazy to face us? This...do you know whether it’s a slap in the face or not?
"Let's wait until he returns to Beijing." Zhu Youtang said, "Send an order to Yingtian Mansion and ask Bingkuan to put down what he is doing and escort the prince northward today. If there are any errands that cannot be completed along the way, he will take charge of them."
Not only did he ask Zhang Zhou to return to Beijing, but he also did not ask Zhang Zhou to completely put down his errands in Nanjing.
The general meaning is that if you have the ability to take charge, it will be up to you.
"Your Majesty, Uncle Xin Xin..." Liu Jian reminded.
You always favor one over the other, always talking about Zhang Bingkuan, but what we are talking about now is Wang Bo'an, the minister who "made the first contribution". Your Majesty, how should you deal with him?
"Didn't I tell you everything? Let Uncle Xin Xin stay in Datong as governor and be in charge of local military affairs. He has been a governor in Datong and knows the local situation best." Zhu Youtang was still a little impatient.
After saying this, Zhu Youtang looked around at the ministers present, and then said in a serious tone: "Dear gentlemen, I would like to ask you one more question. Do you still think that I should not use Bingkuan?"
No one raised any objections.
This made Zhu Youtang very satisfied.
"Since there is no such thing, then I will leave my words here. If anyone again accuses me of using Bingkuan's deeds, don't blame me for being ruthless." Zhu Youtang said, as if he was still angry. Said, "Liu Ke will take out all the memorials that impeached Bingkuan before, intact. I won't care about it this time! But if anyone makes irresponsible remarks again, they will make things difficult for me!"
"Let's not mention the merit discussion for now. More battle reports will come in these days, and the Ministry of War has also formulated a strategy for asking for merit as soon as possible. As for the cost and other issues, we will discuss them together after Bingkuan returns to Beijing. "
"There is no need to mention the northwest incident today, let's talk about the next thing!"
…
…
Zhu Youtang was very straightforward.
The transfer of Zhang Zhou back to Beijing and the placement of Wang Shouren in Datong were almost decided at one go without consulting anyone.
However, it was not clearly stated what kind of errands would be entrusted to Zhang Zhou after he was transferred back.
After the court meeting, when the ministers were on their way out of the palace, no one wanted to talk about Zhang Zhou anymore... There was nothing to talk about. It was obvious that Zhang Zhou's rise was unstoppable. God helped him, the emperor helped him, and even the Tatars help him……
The emperor has made it clear that anyone who impeaches Zhang Zhou will be punished directly without asking for reasons. It is no longer stipulated that impeachment cannot be based on disasters and unusual things, even if there is reason and evidence. After all, Zhang Zhou is not only singling out the court. A powerful minister is someone you can't touch as an official... Talking about someone who can't even participate in an impeachment... is simply asking for trouble.
On the way out of the palace, many people said goodbye to Ni Yue.
Ni Yue looked calm.
He obviously returned to the capital to prepare for a big fight. He finally got into the position of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and had the opportunity to make some achievements. He was considered to be the top position among the six foreign ministers, one person below ten thousand people.
But after only a few days of work, I had to pack up and go home.
"Ni Budang, I don't know if anyone can recommend you to succeed you?" Someone had nothing to do and asked Ni Yue for his opinion on the candidate to succeed you.
Ni Yue felt very unhappy after hearing this.
Do I have the right to decide this? In other words, will His Majesty listen to my opinion?
And you weren’t kicked in the head by a donkey, were you?
Your Majesty did not allow Ma Wen to be promoted to an official position, but allowed Zhang Bingkuan to return to Beijing, and asked me to give up the throne. Do you need me to speak frankly about what you mean?
Obviously... Ma Wensheng succeeded me, and Zhang Bingkuan succeeded Ma Wensheng, and then everyone was happy, but it ended badly for me.
Ni Yue ignored those who said goodbye to him and took the initiative to walk over to Liu Jian. Before Liu Jian went to the cabinet to check in, he cupped his hands and said: "Mr. Liu Ge, I leave this court to you. "
"Um."
Liu Jian just nodded and didn't reply.
It doesn’t require much explanation.
After Ni Yue was rude again by handing over his hand, he had completed his final entrustment before leaving, and he seemed to be free from any worries. He walked in front of the ministers with his head held high, which seemed to mean saying goodbye to everyone.
"What does he mean?" Xie Qian frowned and asked.
Liu Jiandao: "He entrusted his entrustment to me, who should I entrust to him?"
Ni Yue withdrew, seemingly unwilling to do so. In fact, he, Liu Jian, did not want to continue to be the chief assistant.
Too tired.
And it is obvious that he no longer has the emperor's trust, so he might as well give up his position and show himself to be "upright and upright". Anyway, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian are also people he trusts, and they are much younger than him, so no matter who of the two comes, Being the first assistant can also ensure the running of the court.
Xie Qian hurriedly said: "You can't say that. The more stormy the situation, the more important it is for someone to be able to do this sea-fixing needle."
Li Dongyang looked at the two of them. He clearly heard the conversation between the two, but he didn't answer anything.
Many people nearby were smiling.
As for Lin Han, the Minister of Rites, there are obviously more people gathered around him... Or many people think that Lin Han is a strong candidate to compete for the Minister of Personnel, so that the clear stream of the Ming Dynasty has begun to move closer to the "turbid stream".
(End of chapter)
