PS: Thanks to the book friend for the silly reward.
"What did I think it was? That man surnamed Fan went everywhere to visit officials' mansions. This matter has been spread for a long time." Cheng Guogong said disapprovingly.
The great eunuch Yang Eunuch smiled at Cheng Guogong and said: "Cheng Guogong is right. Since Fan Wencheng came to Nanjing, he began to visit everywhere. I am afraid that he has also visited the mansion here."
"I heard that Fan went to Mr. Qian Ge's house!" Cheng Guogong looked sideways at Qian Qianyi and said.
Hearing this, Qian Qianyi nodded and said, "He did come to my house."
"That's just right. Tell us all, what is Fan going to do in your house! But don't do anything to betray the interests of Ming Dynasty." Cheng Guo Gong said with sarcasm.
Qian Qianyi's face darkened visibly.
"Okay, everyone, be quiet. Let's listen to Eunuch Yang first." Wei Guogong was not interested in watching the two people arguing in the main hall, so he stopped them and turned the conversation back to Yang Guorui.
snort!
Duke Cheng Guo snorted and gave up targeting Qian Qianyi for the time being.
At this time, the great eunuch Yang Gonggong said: "Fan Wencheng came to the Ming Dynasty this time to form an alliance between the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty so that they can deal with the tiger thieves together. I have called everyone here today just to discuss it together."
"What is there to discuss?" Cheng Guogong was the first to speak, "The people named Fan are slaves and thieves. Over the years, slaves and thieves have been enemies of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, I did not agree to form an alliance with them last time, but some people If you insist on being hot-faced and cold-blooded, it won’t be settled in the end, what? It’s not enough that you’ve been tricked, and you want to embarrass me again!”
Eunuch Yang, the great eunuch, frowned and said, "The alliance with the Qing Dynasty is to save the Supreme Emperor and recover several provinces occupied by tiger thieves."
"Without them, wouldn't our Ming Dynasty be able to regain the lost territory and rescue the Supreme Emperor?" Cheng Guogong asked back, and without waiting for anyone to answer, he continued, "Isn't the lesson of the Song Dynasty enough? Don't become her person in the end. Make a wedding dress.”
The great eunuch Yang Guorui raised his eyelids and glanced at Duke Cheng Guorui, and said: "Since Duke Cheng Guo is so confident and thinks that the Ming Dynasty can regain the lost land by himself, then the matter of recovering the lost land and welcoming back the Emperor will be left to Duke Cheng Guo How about doing it?”
"My lord is not a general who leads troops, how can he regain the lost territory!" Duke Cheng's face darkened, and he did not want to stroke the tiger's beard at all.
Even the Qing army, which was more powerful than the Ming army, could not defeat the Tiger Banner. With the existing army of the Ming Dynasty, he did not think that any Ming army could be the opponent of the Tiger Banner.
In his opinion, leading the Ming army to deal with the Tiger Flag was no different from willingly committing suicide.
"Mr. Cheng Guorui seems to have forgotten his identity as Wu Xun. Now is the time when Ming Dynasty needs Wu Xun to step forward." The great eunuch Yang Guorui looked at Duke Cheng Guorui with half-squinted eyes.
Duke Cheng Guo's tone choked.
Martial arts were originally a matter for these martial artists. I don’t know which generation started, but martial arts gradually couldn’t lift the sword, let alone go to the battlefield to kill the enemy in person.
"Okay, let's talk about whether Duke Cheng Guo will lead the Northern Expedition later. We are not talking about whether to form an alliance with the Qing Dynasty anymore. Let's talk about this matter!" Princess Wei took the initiative to speak out for Cheng Guo. No, I would like to see Duke Cheng Guo embarrassed.
After all, he was also born in martial arts, and his family's situation was not much different from that of Duke Cheng. His descendants could not carry a sword and could not go to the battlefield.
The great eunuch Yang Guorui gave Duke Wei face, and did not continue to pursue the matter of Duke Cheng leading the army. Instead, he said: "Tiger thieves are already a serious concern of the Ming Dynasty. No one can guarantee that they will not send their troops south, so before they take action Before, our family thought we should take the initiative.”
"Does Eunuch Yang support an alliance with the Qing Dynasty?" Wei Guogong asked.
The great eunuch Yang Guorui nodded and said: "Although the Ming army appears to be large in number, no one can tell what is going on underneath. But one day I believe everyone will know that the Ming army is no longer The opponent of the tiger thief, at least in terms of infantry, is not the opponent of the tiger thief."
"Actually, we can train troops. The Guan Ning Army in Liaodong was very good. We can also train an elite army. Aren't tiger thieves good at using firearms? Our Ming Dynasty has no shortage of firearms. We can train an army that is good at it. An army using firearms." Ding Guogong, who had been silent, said.
Duke Wei, who was sitting next to him, looked at Duke Ding in surprise and asked, "Why did you suddenly think of imitating tiger thieves and training an army of firearms?"
"Because of the use of firearms, the army of tiger thieves defeated our border troops, and now they have defeated the Qing army many times in the grasslands and Liaodong. I feel that since the army that is good at using firearms is so powerful, then we can also build one with firearms. We have no shortage, and we have no shortage of soldiers, so we can definitely build an army that is good at using firearms." Duke Ding said.
After hearing this explanation, Wei Guogong raised his eyebrows and said: "Mr. Cheng Guogong, you think things are too simple. Although the imperial court can make firearms, where does the money and food come from? After losing several provinces in the north, the imperial court's taxes are obviously It has been reduced a lot. The taxes collected this year can barely support the officials in the court. There is no extra money and food to use to build a new army. Although your method is good, it is not suitable for the current Ming Dynasty."
The chief eunuchs Yang Guorui and Qian Qianyi nodded in agreement.
Among the five auxiliary ministers, Wei Guogong, the guarding eunuch, and Qian Qianyi, the main interests of the three of them came from Jiangnan. Using the taxes from Jiangnan to train the new army was equivalent to using the interests of their families to train troops for the court.
This makes them willing to do it.
"I just said casually, since none of you think it's suitable, let it go." Duke Dingguo understood the reason. Since no one was willing to train a new army, he didn't want to force it.
As a newly arrived Duke, he had never thought of confronting the interest groups whose interests in Jiangnan were already intertwined.
Although training the new army is a good thing for Ming Dynasty, he will not put himself in the hostility of others for the sake of Ming Dynasty.
When Wei Guogong saw Cheng Guogong retreating, he was relieved.
The pool of money, grain, and taxes in the south of the Yangtze River is too deep. Not to mention Duke Ding, a prince who fled from the northern capital, not even the Duke of Wei's palace can shake this stagnant water.
"Wei Guogong, our family and Mr. Qian Ge support the alliance with the Qing Dynasty. Our family believes that if we want to save the emperor through the Northern Expedition, we need the help of the Qing army. I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty alone will not be able to do it. If the Qing army comes from Liaodong Send troops south to attack the Ming army from the north and south. I believe there is a great chance to regain the Ming Dynasty's lost territory and welcome back the Supreme Emperor of the Northern Capital." The great eunuch Yang Guorui looked at Wei Guogong and said.
Three of the five auxiliary ministers were Dukes of the Ming Dynasty.
Among the three Dukes, the leader is Wei Guogong, who has lived in Nanjing for generations. The other two Dukes stand with Wei Guogong in almost everything. As a result, Yang Guorui was alone among the auxiliary ministers.
And he promoted Qian Qianyi to become the auxiliary minister, which also meant to fight against the auxiliary ministers headed by Wei Guogong.
