He Yi walked to the door and had to turn back when he heard Zhu Qiyu's call.
The others looked at He Yi sympathetically and left in a hurry.
He Yi came to Zhu Qiyu and stood with a bow, waiting for Zhu Qiyu's further instructions.
Zhu Qiyu laughed and said: "This is also the first time for me to be an emperor. Although this position is really hot on the butt, I can only settle for it now.
Although I don't usually drink much, today is my first day on the throne, so it makes sense to have a couple of drinks to celebrate.
You were selected as Jinshi last year, so you probably haven't settled down your family business in the capital yet. You should be fine when you get home, so just stay and have a couple of drinks with me. We have a century-old wine in the house, and I'll let the kitchen cook some good dishes. "
Although writing turned into drinking, He Yi was not too surprised and immediately obeyed his orders.
Zhu Qiyu then waved: "Come on, take off your shoes and get on the couch and sit next to me."
He Yi quickly declined: "I dare not sit on an equal footing with His Majesty. I can just stand on the ground."
Zhu Qiyu laughed when he heard this and said: "What's wrong with being on equal terms? We're just having a drink together, don't be so nervous. Back then, Guo Fengxiao and Emperor Wu of Wei traveled in the same carriage and sat at the same table. Didn't they create an eternal story of mutual respect between kings and ministers?
Could it be that He Aiqing felt that she was not good enough to assist the king, so she did not dare to catch up with the sages? "
He Yi heard the words and stopped refusing. The emperor had already said this, so why hesitate? After ten years of hard work, wasn't it just to sell goods to the emperor's family?
As soon as He Yi sat down on the couch, Zhu Qiyu couldn't wait to ask: "Everyone was so frightened by me just now that they almost wanted to leave first. Why is it that Aiqing is the only one who looks calm and doesn't care?"
When He Yi heard the words, his face showed hesitation and he stopped talking.
Seeing this, Zhu Qiyu promised: "You and I, the monarch and my ministers, are the only ones who say anything here. Only heaven and earth know it. You know it and I know it."
I allow you to speak freely and criticize the world's figures to your heart's content. Even if it involves the emperor of this dynasty, it doesn't matter. Even if you are wrong, I will forgive you. "
He Yi got the promise and just replied with confidence: "Wei Chen looks calm because I feel that what your Majesty just said is true or false, and it is more of a test.
His Majesty suddenly ascended the throne from a prince, and he lacked capable confidants around him, so he found a few potential ministers to test him out and see if he was worthy of the big job.
If His Majesty asks them flatly if they are willing to be loyal, no matter what they think in their hearts, they will definitely say yes, and nothing will be tested in this way. Only by raising some extremely sensitive questions can His Majesty test people's true attitudes. "
"What you said is so right. I don't have a trusted civil servant, a trusted military general, or a trusted eunuch. I can be said to be a real loner. Now I am eager for talents and eager to see through them.
Especially, what I lack most right now is counselors and think tanks. Although I don't believe in Buddhism, if I can get a great talent like Guo Fengxiao now, I will burn incense and kowtow to Guanyin Bodhisattva when I go back. "
He Yi heard this, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Wei Chen is willing to be examined by your majesty."
"Okay, then tell me, what I just said to the ministers, which ones are true and which ones are false?"
He Yi replied without thinking: "Your Majesty's statement of sending elite soldiers to forcibly disarm the Xuanfu soldiers and directly attacking Yang Hong is definitely false. It is also false that the ministers would expose the three tribes if they leaked His Majesty's conversation.
It should be true that His Majesty is dissatisfied with Yang Hong and intends to use tricks to get rid of him. It is true that His Majesty wants to reuse Fan Guang. It is certainly true that Your Majesty wants to organize a personal army that is only loyal to you. "
Zhu Qiyu nodded and asked, "What do you think of Yang Hong?"
He Yi replied: "Based on the information I learned from the Di newspaper and what I heard from other ministers, I think there is something very wrong with Yang Hong.
In the recent war, there were three elite Ming armies in Shanxi: Datong soldiers and Xuanfu soldiers from the two major towns in Shanxi, plus the Emperor's personal army.
As a result, after three battles at Yanghekou, Yaoerling, and Tumubao, the Datong soldiers and the pro-recruitment soldiers were all wiped out.
However, the Xuanfu soldiers never appeared on the battlefield from beginning to end. We have neither heard about the battles they participated in, nor how many enemies they killed, nor what losses they suffered.
Weak ministers have a humble position and receive limited information. But I really don’t understand what the soldiers of the Xuanfu have been doing in the past two months, and I don’t believe that Yang Hong, the chief soldier of the Xuanfu, has no problem. "
Upon hearing this, Zhu Qiyu nodded with satisfaction and asked: "Then what do you think should be done about Yang Hong and the Xuanfu soldiers?"
He Yi replied without thinking: "You can disperse the Xuanfu soldiers, send some to quell the Miao rebellion, some to continue attacking Luchuan, and some to conquer Jiaozhi. Especially in Jiaozhi, the water inside is bottomless. , even if tens of thousands of troops are sent there, they may be purged by hidden forces in the dark within a few days."
Zhu Qiyu asked curiously: "How did you know that I wanted to conquer Jiaozhi?"
He Yi was stunned for a moment, and then boldly replied: "Yang Shiqi is a traitor."
Zhu Qiyu was leaning on the pillow casually, but when he heard these words, he immediately straightened up and moved closer to the table.
This move was quite a bit like Emperor Xiaowen's "emptying the front table in the middle of the night". Obviously Zhu Qiyu had been strongly interested in He Yi's answer, so he then asked: "Why did Aiqing say this?"
He Yi replied: "Jiaozhi has been the territory of the Han Dynasty since ancient times. Even in the last years of the Han Dynasty, when the three kingdoms were at odds and disputes continued, Jiaozhi was still firmly in the hands of Sun Wu.
Your Majesty, who succeeded the throne as a vassal king, naturally wanted to become a famous king through the ages and establish himself as the emperor.
Since you want to be a famous king throughout the ages, as the emperor of the Han Dynasty, your majesty naturally wants to regain Jiaozhi. I have read all the history books and found that there has never been a famous emperor in the world who lost his Han Dynasty.
As for Yang Shiqi, as the prime minister of the three dynasties, he did not want to repay heaven's kindness and had no intention of serving Jun Yao and Shun. He didn't want to assist the emperor in opening up new territories, he only cared about maintaining success. This was fine, and it could be interpreted as caring for the people.
But he was so defensive that he directly defended the Han Dynasty. During Yang Shiqi's tenure, he lost land and humiliated the country many times. He was not ashamed of it, but proud of it. He even called the Xuanzong Dynasty a prosperous age.
The pen of history is as iron as iron, and this will definitely make the late emperor and the Supreme Emperor the laughingstock of the ages. If such a person cannot be called a traitor, then Wei Chen really doesn’t know who else can be considered a traitor. "
Zhu Qiyu was overjoyed when he heard this. He clapped his hands and praised: "My beloved, this is a great thing to say. This is what a minister should say. As the saying goes, the main concern is the humiliation of the minister, and the main humiliation is the death of the minister."
During the reign of Yang Shiqi, the Ming Dynasty's military preparedness was depleted and its military strength was greatly reduced. Now that Master Wang is so vulnerable to the civil engineering disaster, he also bears a lot of responsibility. It is really bad luck to meet such a treacherous minister.
Forget it, let's not mention him anymore. Whenever I mention him, I will get angry. My dear, if I want to be a famous king throughout the ages, should I focus on attacking the north, or should I focus on conquering the south? "
He Yi replied categorically: "If your Majesty wants to establish a position that future generations will not dare to shake, he should go all out to conquer the south, and even explore the South and West.
In the north, the most important thing is to build an impregnable Great Wall defense line, rather than blindly fighting against the nomadic tribes.
If we only rely on large armies for conquest, with a wise king, everything will naturally be peaceful. Just like when Taizu and Taizong were there, our Ming Dynasty suppressed the grassland tribes and could not lift their heads. But the Taizong Dynasty has only passed a few decades, and you can see that the north has become what it is now.
Therefore, it is more practical to build an impregnable Great Wall defense line: in this way, when the British ruler is in power, he can take the initiative to attack, and when the mediocre ruler is in power, he can just defend the Great Wall defense line. In this way, I can move forward or retreat, and it will be less likely to cause problems. "
When Zhu Qiyu heard this, he nodded repeatedly and couldn't help but praise: "Ai Qing is really my confidant. Everything he thinks coincides with mine. It seems I should go and kowtow to Empress Guanyin."
