Wang Ji has been fighting with Liang Yue and Fang Ying for a long time, and they can be considered to have a life-or-death friendship.
Moreover, although Wang Ji was born as a civil servant, his current identity is very complicated. First of all, Wang Ji has entered the ranks of hereditary nobles; secondly, as a hard-line militant, Wang Ji has been impeached countless times by the KTD officials for the crime of party affiliation with Wang Zhen.
Furthermore, Wang Ji, as the tough war minister, was extremely at odds with Yu Qian, the peace-loving Sanyang clique's war minister.
The factional and line struggles within the Ministry of War were also one of the most important considerations for Wang Ji in choosing his side.
If Zhu Qiyu is still like Jingtai in history, who relies on humility to the point of being unreasonable, then it is absolutely impossible for Wang Ji to side with Zhu Qiyu.
Zhu Qizhen is a representative of the hard-line war faction, but in history, Jingtai actually went back to the line of Xuanzong and Sanyang. This is one of the most important reasons why nobles and generals do not support Jingtai.
But everything is different now. Zhu Qiyu is still following the same military route as Zhu Qizhen. He was even more radical than Zhu Qizhen in liquidating Xuanzong and Sanyang.
As Zhu Qiyu became more and more tough in military strategy, a considerable number of nobles and generals still became more active.
Moreover, after a year of planning, Zhu Qiyu had already completed the initial steps for changing the courtyard for the honorable nobles and generals:
First of all, by adopting himself to Queen Hu, Zhu Qiyu had become Queen Hu's legitimate son at this time, and he had the legitimacy of succession based on Confucian etiquette.
Secondly, Zhu Qiyu is now the emperor, and he has the power to turn the tide of his downfall. No matter what, the nobles and generals should be loyal to the current emperor. This is the rightful name.
In the end, Zhu Qiyu achieved his goal of marrying the noble daughter as his main wife in a roundabout way by recognizing the princess as his daughter to Wu Dinghou, building plank roads openly and secretly visiting Chencang.
In this way, the loop is closed logically. As long as he does not insist on details or raise the point of death, Zhu Qiyu already has the conditions to make the nobles and generals loyal.
Next, it depends on what the nobles and generals think and choose.
However, time is definitely running out.
The emperor's three personal guards totaled nearly 100,000 people, and the three major battalions in Beijing, which were already on the emperor's side, numbered 60,000 to 70,000 people.
It is more than enough for the emperor to rely on these people to form a new noble military group.
Now that the emperor has militarily controlled the capital, it will only last for three to five years at most. Controlling the entire north is not a problem at all.
Therefore, you should take sides as early as possible. After three years, the situation will be clear and everyone has figured it out. If you want to join the emperor at that time, the emperor will probably be too lazy to look at you seriously.
For an important minister like Wang Ji who is well-informed and has a keen sense of smell, the situation at this time is clear enough. If we wait any longer, we will move from the timely help stage to the icing on the cake stage.
So Wang Ji sighed heavily and said to Liang Yue and Fang Ying: "Generals who command heavy troops abroad should be absolutely loyal to the Emperor of Heaven.
Everything you do should be based on the Holy Emperor's decree, and you should not delay or ignore it or have other agendas. "
When Liang Yue and Fang Ying heard this, they looked at each other in disbelief.
There is nothing strange about being loyal to the emperor, but why did Wang Ji completely fall over to the emperor so easily? Not even a recruitment process?
What Liang Yun and Fang Ying couldn't accept was that this change was too sudden.
Wang Ji added: "I have already decided. As for how you choose, you can decide for yourself."
Fang Ying asked again: "Then how do you plan to arrange the next war?"
Wang Ji replied: "The army went out and stationed in Yijinai. Then we recruited the people and built a city in Yijinai. From then on, Yijinai became the place under our actual control in the Ming Dynasty.
In late autumn, we marched to Telangguti again. After entering the hinterland of Wala, we walked and burned all the way.
When the defensive side does this, it is called strengthening the wall and clearing the country; when the attacking side does this, it is called burning the wilderness. Let's put on a huge fire and burn all the dead grass on the grassland.
Let Ye Xian's horses run out of food and see how he can run.
After the New Year, if you persist for less than a month or two, your organization will collapse first.
When the time comes when they have internal strife, they will be captured by their subordinates first. Let's take the Supreme Emperor back and escort him first. It will be appropriate to return to the capital in March or April next year when the grass grows and the orioles fly. "
Liang Yue nodded and expressed no objection. Fang Ying continued to ask: "In other words, it will take us another half a year?"
Wang Ji nodded: "This is the safest way. We can achieve our goal without causing any casualties. There are only three of us here, so I will tell you a few things that you shouldn't say."
Your Majesty may not be fully prepared. If we finish our errands early and rush back to the capital before the end of the year, wouldn't that be a hindrance to Your Majesty?
We have to understand, Your Majesty, that when two emperors get along in the same capital, it will be difficult for both sides.
When we went back years ago, weren't we just deliberately trying to prevent the emperor from having a good New Year?
Moreover, after the Supreme Emperor returns to Beijing, there is no word yet on how he will live his daily life, how he will deal with government affairs, whether he will issue an imperial edict to punish himself, or whether he will formally abdicate. Returning to Beijing in a hurry can easily cause unnecessary disputes, so it is better to wait. "
Fang Ying had no choice but to nod when she heard Wang Ji mention this.
At this time, Liang Yue asked: "Whose defense zone is Yiji, and who should be in charge of it after it is defeated?"
Wang Ji said with a smile: "There is no way to explain this. Since we will be outside and your orders are not accepted, let's temporarily think that Yiji is under the jurisdiction of the Western Region Protectorate.
Tomorrow we will discuss with Duke Cao Guo. Whether it is building a city in Yijinai or sending troops to garrison for a long time, Cao Guogong will be responsible.
Let's just do this first, wait for the military report to be sent to the capital, and follow-up matters will be carried out in accordance with the Holy Emperor's decree. "
Liang Yue also smiled and said: "The Protectorate of the Western Regions, our Holy Lord seems to like retro style, especially big men."
Fang Ying also smiled and said: "Your Majesty is rebuilding the Western Region Protectorate of the Han Dynasty. This is because he plans to attack the Eastern Chagatai Khanate and Timur Empire."
After reaching a consensus, the three of them relaxed and talked and laughed together again.
Half a month later, on September 15th, Wang Ji's 100,000-strong army set off, left Ganzhou and marched towards Yijinai.
At the same time, Zhu Qiyu, who was far away in Beijing, was standing on the bed with a smile, letting the two beloved concubines measure him.
While Zhu Qiyu let his beloved concubines play with them, he smiled bitterly and said: "You don't have to be so serious, it's just a temporary prince's costume.
On the day to welcome the Supreme Emperor into the city, I had to kneel down again, and I had to hug the Supreme Emperor and cry with tears streaming down my face. This princely costume would definitely be rubbed out of shape, and it would only be worn once at most.
Don't make it yourself, otherwise I'll feel bad if you wear it once and throw it away. Just leave this kind of clothes to the Inner Court Needlework Bureau or some other bureau to make them. "
(End of chapter)
