The memorial jointly signed by Nan Juyi, the governor of Fujian, and Yu Zigao, the commander-in-chief, appeared on the desk of Han Xu, the chief minister of the cabinet.
The previous chief assistant, Ye Xianggao, took office as early as July.
"Go and find all the pavilion elders." Han Xu ordered the people in the room.
Not long after, two senior ministers from the cabinet came to Han Xu one after another.
After Ye Xianggao resigned as chief minister, no new minister was added to the cabinet. Zhu Guozhen, who was ranked high in rank, replaced Han Xu and became the second minister in the cabinet. Gu Bingqian's position also improved by one.
"Chief Assistant, you are so anxious to call us here. Could it be that something happened in Liaodong?" After Zhu Guozhen sat down, he asked Han Xu, worried about something happening in Liaodong.
The ringworm and scabies disease that existed a few years ago has now become a major concern for Ming Dynasty.
"It's okay over there in Liaodong. This is the memorial sent by the governor of Fujian. Take a look at it!" As he said that, Han Xu asked someone from Zhongshushe to bring the memorial sent by Nan Juyi to Zhu Guozhen.
When Zhu Guozhen got the memorial, he opened it and read it.
After reading it, he handed it to Gu Bingqian who was standing aside.
"Is this a coincidence? It happens that Bengang also has a force called Tiger Flag." Zhu Guozhen said tentatively.
The memorial wrote about things related to Bengang, and mentioned the tiger-character flag.
Han Xu shook his head slightly and said: "Nan Simou, the governor of Fujian, has had several contacts with me. He is a stable man. Without sufficient evidence, it is impossible for him to say in the memorial that Bengang's tiger-character flag is the same as Datong's tiger flag." Ziqi is one family.”
"One in the south and one in the north are completely unrelated. To say they are the same family is unbelievable." Zhu Guozhen frowned.
It's not that he doesn't want to believe it, it's actually that the gap between the two tiger flags, one in the south and one in the north, is a bit big, and the two places are too far apart.
In this era of inconvenient transportation, it is difficult to believe that this is true.
"I'm not surprised when I arrive." Gu Bingqian, who was the last to read the memorial, spoke for the first time.
Han Xu looked at him and asked, "So you already knew about this?"
"That's not the case." Gu Bingqian said, "I, like the chief assistant, only became aware of the Tiger-Character Flag's affairs in Bengang after reading the memorial sent by Fujian. However, the Tiger-Character Flag had already been established a few years ago. There are goods sent to Dazhigu, you two should know where that place is."
As he spoke, he glanced at Han Xu and Zhu Guozhen respectively.
Zhu Guozhen stroked his beard and thought for a while, then said: "If you put it that way, it makes sense. It is not completely impossible to build a stupid port in a few years."
"Since Academician Gu already knew these things about the Tiger Flag, why didn't he report it to the court earlier? If the court knew about this earlier, it would not allow the Tiger Flag to have its own fleet in Bengang." Han Xuhao He questioned Gu Bingqian rudely.
It didn't give Gu Bingqian the dignity that a cabinet bachelor deserved at all.
When Ye Xianggao was the chief minister, he would make a slight transition between the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party, trying to make the issues between the two parties as acute as possible. Although he did not like Gu Bingqian, the Eunuch Party who relied on Wei Zhongxian to rise to power, But he won’t break up in person.
But Han Xu is different. He doesn't care about the sand in his eyes. In his eyes, those who eunuch should be jailed. Therefore, even if Gu Bingqian is a bachelor of the cabinet, he will not give him a good face.
Gu Bingqian rolled his eyelids, snorted coldly, and said: "Others are doing business normally, but I can still let the government arrest them."
"Why can't we arrest them? All rebellious businesses like Huziqi should have been arrested and charged long ago." Han Xu said unceremoniously.
If he said he hated the eunuchs, he also wanted to get rid of business names like Tiger Flag that had already threatened the safety of the imperial court.
Gu Bingqian said coldly: "Since the chief minister wants to arrest the person who captured the tiger-character flag and hold him accountable, why not arrest him! Don't say that this is the first time the chief minister has heard the name tiger-character flag."
It can be said that he did not give Han Xu, the chief assistant, any face.
Since Han Xu succeeded Ye Xianggao as chief minister, he has deliberately targeted him several times. He is fully aware of this and understands that Han Xu wants to suppress him and turn him, a cabinet bachelor, into a bachelor who only responds. , from now on the cabinet will act according to Han Xu's will.
It's a pity that even Ye Xianggao couldn't convince him, let alone Han Xu, whose status was not as good as Ye Xianggao's.
"Hmph, if the eunuchs hadn't protected this tiger-character flag, the imperial court would have punished them long ago. How could they have been so arrogant to this day?" Han Xu snorted coldly.
The first person to protect the Tiger Flag was Wei Zhongxian.
"Okay, okay, let's not mention the past things anymore, let's talk about what to do now!" Zhu Guozhen tried to smooth things over between the two people.
Now there are only three of them in the cabinet. Although Han Xu is the chief minister of the cabinet, and Gu Bingqian, the bachelor of the cabinet, has the support of Wei Zhongxian, he does not show any weakness when facing Han Xu in the cabinet.
On the contrary, he, the second minister of the cabinet, bears the title of second minister, but his words are not as weighty as Gu Bingqian, an ordinary bachelor.
Han Xu glanced at Gu Bingqian coldly, and then said: "My intention is to inform the Holy Emperor immediately of this matter and request His Majesty's permission to dispatch a large army to eradicate the scourge of the Tiger Flag."
"I agree." Zhu Guozhen agreed and turned to look at Gu Bingqian.
Among the three people in the cabinet, Han Xu represents the Donglin Party, while Gu Bingqian represents the will of the Eunuch Party.
If the Eunuch Party does not support such a major event as mobilizing troops and horses, even if it reluctantly persuades Tianqi and dispatches a large army, it is very likely that the Eunuch Party will be held back from behind.
It is no longer the first year of the Apocalypse, and the power of the eunuch party in the court cannot be underestimated.
"The Tiger Flag is already a threat to the imperial court. Bengang can leave it temporarily, but Xuanda's Tiger Flag forces should be eradicated early to prevent them from getting bigger and the opportunity for the North and the South to join forces." Gu Bingqian said.
Wei Zhongxian had stopped protecting the Tiger-Character Banner for a long time, so eradicating the Tiger-Character Banner would also serve the interests of the eunuchs and eliminate troubles for the court. He had no reason to disagree.
"Since we have all agreed, I will go to see the Holy Master now. It is best if no one interferes with it." Han Xu gave Gu Bingqian a hard look.
The Donglin Party tried to deal with the Tiger Flag several times, but had to give up because of Wei Zhongxian's relationship.
"The purpose of eradicating the tiger-character flag is for the stability of the Ming Dynasty and for the separation of officials." Gu Bingqian knew what Han Xu was talking about, so he replied.
"This is the best." Han Xu snorted coldly.
The three elders of the cabinet made the decision to use troops for the Tiger-Character Banner. Then Han Xu took the cabinet's opinions to the Palace of Qianqing to face the Holy Spirit.
To deal with the Tiger Flag, the soldiers and horses of Datong Town alone are simply not enough. More soldiers and horses need to be mobilized. Without the consent of the emperor, the cabinet cannot mobilize the soldiers and horses of each town arbitrarily.
Therefore, it is necessary to meet the emperor and ask the emperor for permission to send out the army.
