While Zhu Yijun was talking to Chen Ju, Gao Pragmatic was also discussing the current situation in Rixin Building. However, his main issue is no longer the emperor's trust in him, but more specific aspects. For example, whether the successor of the Minister of Civil Affairs can continue to be successfully recommended by the Real School, and what should be done if the recommendation cannot be successful, etc.
Of course, it is not only matters concerning the court that need to be discussed, but also some decisions made not long ago that need to be implemented, such as the finishing work of the Luzon strategy, the development of the Japanese strategy, especially the Kanto strategy, etc.
This was an internal meeting. Gao Pangshi and Huang Zhiting convened the meeting as lord and mistress. Liu Xin, who had just returned from Kaiping, presided over the meeting as secretary-general of the Beijing Secretariat.
Gao Guoyan, chief financial officer of Jinghua Bank and president of Jinghua Bank, Gao Mo, head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Cao Ke, secretary of commerce and trade, Erdemutu and Ruan Fuyuan, military secretaries, Gao Wuzhong, financial secretary, Gao Qi, intelligence secretary, Gao Wuzheng, Gao Wu, secretary-internship If attending a meeting.
Except for Ma Yi, another trade secretary who had not arrived in Beijing and was absent, all members of the Beijing Secretariat attended the meeting. To a certain extent, this is also a manifestation of Liu Xin’s previous strategy of “cabinetization of the Secretariat.”
In addition, there was another person who was not qualified but was allowed to attend the meeting. He was the captain of the left-wing Hussars Luo Yuan, who had made great contributions in the previous Luzon naval battle.
Since Luzon no longer has many combat missions with the Beiyang Fleet, Luo Yuan, as the captain of the high-speed reconnaissance ship, began to act as a messenger. He had been ordered to return to Beijing twice before to report on the battle situation.
This time he returned to Beijing to report on the latest situation in Luzon. Afterwards, Gao pragmatically ordered the "Left-wing Hussars" to park in Tianjin Port and wait for him to come to the capital to receive new orders. He arrived in Beijing the day before yesterday, and today he was exceptionally allowed to participate in a meeting of this level. Everyone in Beijing estimated that he was lucky and was about to be promoted and re-employed by the master.
The meeting was actually divided into two parts. The first half of the meeting was attended by only Liu Xin, Gao Guoyan, and Gao Mo except Gao Pragmatic and his wife, while the second half was attended by everyone.
The first half of the meeting was actually hosted by Gao Pangshi himself. He first briefly explained the changes in the court during this period and allowed everyone to speak freely.
It is worth noting that this is the first time such a situation has occurred within Jinghua, because in the past, matters related to politics were basically decided by Gao Jingshi alone. At most, Liu Xin would communicate with Gao Jingshi after coming to Beijing.
Huang Zhiting rarely asked about the details of Ming Dynasty's officialdom in the past. She did so not only because she believed Gao Jingshi was capable of handling it, but also because she was worried that Gao Jingshi would be dissatisfied with her involvement in these matters.
Gao Mo has always been very clear about what Gao Jingshi has done. No matter whether it is in the imperial court, within Beijing, or in southern Xinjiang, Gao Jingshi seldom keeps secrets from him. However, as the intelligence leader, Gao Mo behaved very consciously. As long as Gao Pragmatic did not directly consult him, he never expressed any opinions and just followed Gao Pragmatic's instructions.
Gao Guoyan's status is quite high, because he is not only Gao Pragmatic's cousin, but also the financial director of Jinghua Bank, Jinghua Bank Hangzhou, and the de facto CEO of the Ming Dynasty Federal Reserve, which has a great influence on finance. After years of training, my abilities are professional enough.
However, his past work characteristics were that he was only responsible for one person, Gao Pragmatic, and his jurisdiction was very clear, that is, he was only responsible for financial work and never participated in other projects. This was the first time he participated in such a comprehensive meeting.
Perhaps because Liu Xin had just returned from Kaiping, and Gao Guoyan had not been very involved in comprehensive affairs, especially court affairs, Gao Pragmatic gave a very detailed introduction, which took more than half an hour.
When he allowed everyone to speak freely, Liu Xin, Gao Guoyan, and Gao Mo all turned their attention to Huang Zhiting first, but Huang Zhiting shook her head and said, "Just tell me, I don't know much about the affairs of the imperial court."
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Liu Xin thought about it and found that she, the secretary-general, had no reason to shirk, so she said: "Since I think the emperor's test is over, judging from the emperor's actions today, I think the emperor is making a promise. In fact, the emperor's move today, the so-called establishment of the Dingnan Protectorate, should be more of a promise to be crowned king like Fu Yanyun, rather than a real intention to establish the Dingnan Protectorate now."
Gao Guoyan originally had little interest in government affairs, but after hearing this, he was a little confused and asked: "If it is just a promise, then why do it need to be made in the form of a decree? What's more, this decree has not been endorsed by the cabinet. , it makes no sense at all.”
Liu Xin smiled and said: "The director is right. There is indeed no practical effect in issuing an order like this, but this is exactly what the emperor intended. First of all, the seriousness of an order is the highest. Saying this in the form of an order is considered to be correct. This promise is a certain guarantee, and since it is an imperial edict, even if it is not endorsed by the cabinet, it must be sent to all ministries in the capital, so that everyone in the world will think that the emperor has such considerations.
Secondly, the imperial edict is not signed by the cabinet and will not be effective. It will inevitably arouse strong backlash from the cabinet. This is exactly what the emperor is using. He wants to use the strong backlash from the cabinet to veto his decision. Dao Gaoming. "
"Why is it that it is so honorable to be returned from the cabinet by the cabinet?"
"It is true that you have lost face, but this way the emperor can have enough reasons to take back his life." Liu Xin laughed and said: "The emperor still needs me to do a lot of things for him. It is impossible to let me go now." Go to southern Xinjiang and leave it alone. Even if he said in this imperial edict that he would let me take charge of the Dingnan Protector from afar, he actually asked his wife to know the governor of the capital as the deputy governor. But just as one of the reasons for the master to decline the appointment, Dingnan Governor The responsibility of nursing is so important that it should not be carried out remotely.
So, this means that if I want to be appointed as the Protector of Dingnan, I will have to step down as the Minister of Household Affairs and go to southern Xinjiang in person. Do you think the Emperor can agree to it now? "
"That's impossible. The emperor will never let Rixin leave the center before Chahar is restored." This was almost absolute, so Gao Guoyan was convinced by Liu Xin.
Gao Mo was more concerned about another point and asked thoughtfully: "The secretary-general believes that the post of Dingnan Protector is a promise like the one who restores Yanyun and is crowned king. Is there any other evidence for this besides the imperial decree itself?"
"There is no actual evidence, I am just inferring, but I think this inference should be reasonable." Liu Xin replied.
Gao Mo simply said: "I would like to hear the details."
If you want to hear the details, then you have to ask Liu Xin for an explanation. Liu Xin has already mentioned the meaning of the imperial decree just now, and there is no need to mention it again at this time, so Liu Xin said: "There is no other, but strength."
She paused and said: "Judging from the emperor's performance in recent years, he must be planning to be the master of the revival of the Ming Dynasty. In other words, he is to be a sage king. What is a sage king? Even Emperor Taizu, Because he massacred heroes in his later years, he may not be sincerely regarded as a holy king among scholars and people.
As for Chengzu, no matter how much we emphasize the forced helplessness of launching the Battle of Jingnan, its nature and results will inevitably be regarded as a crime, a stain rather than an honor.
Neither of the two ancestors could be called sage kings, so Xuande and Hongzhi naturally had to wait. Under such a situation, if the emperor wants to be called a sage in the future, what he needs is not only the great martial arts that pacified Mobei and destroyed the remaining Yuan Dynasty, but also needs to show extraordinary ability in governing the world.
Everyone, if you can't properly handle the issue of meritorious officials, it's hard to call yourself a saint, right? Judging from the current situation, it is almost certain that I will be the commander-in-chief when the Ming Dynasty launches a decisive battle against Chahar. Therefore, I think that how to deal with the master's reward in the future is a major matter that the emperor has to consider, and the Dingnan Protectorate is probably the solution that the emperor has thought of. As for my strength...it seems that this point does not need to be explained. "
Gao Mo nodded and said, "What the Secretary-General said is true."
Huang Zhiting interrupted at this time and said: "I think this should be the best result, but if something unexpected happens...will there be a worse situation?"
Liu Xin pondered for a moment and replied: "It's not completely impossible, but I think it mainly depends on two conditions: one is the degree of strength and self-confidence the emperor has, and the other is Jinghua's strength when he completes the reward. At what level.
Both conditions are variables, which means they are not static. If when the emperor completes the reward, he thinks that he has enough strength to overwhelm the Dingnan Protectorate, then he probably won't be too worried. At least under the temptation of the word "sage king", he will insist on doing this even if he is worried. .
On the other hand, if he felt that the strength of the Dingnan Protectorate could pose a huge threat to the Ming Dynasty before he completed the reward, then his decision would probably become very cautious and he might eventually give up. By that time, it’s hard to say what kind of bad situation will occur. "
"So how do you think the speed should be controlled?" Huang Zhiting asked solemnly.
However, Liu Xin shook her head and said: "Answering this question requires a very deep understanding of the emperor, and I cannot answer it. I think you are the most suitable person to answer this question."
Huang Zhiting had no choice but to look at Gao Jingshi, but she always felt that Gao Jingshi's judgment on the emperor was a little too optimistic, so there was a little worry in her eyes.
Gao pragmatic pondered: "This issue is actually very complex. I think it includes not only the balance of power mentioned by the Secretary-General, but also some influence. Usually I will call the power mentioned by the Secretary-General hard power, and will include Some influence, including reputation, is called soft power.
Relatively speaking, hard power can be judged simply through data comparison, while soft power is much more complicated. Let me give you an example. When Jianwen cut down the vassal vassal, he probably did not expect that many vassal kings would take a wait-and-see attitude after the Battle of Jingnan broke out, because in his thinking, whatever the emperor wanted to do was OK, and he had a righteous name. If he is divided, the vassal kings in various places should obey him unconditionally and support him unconditionally.
But the fact is that the vassal kings everywhere knew that King Yan was just the number one victim of the policy of reducing vassalage. Once Jianwen completed the reduction or suppression of King Yan, it would be their turn one by one.
Therefore, once there are signs that the imperial court may fail on the battlefield, their determination to obey the imperial court's orders will be greatly shaken. And when King Yan invaded Nanjing, everyone quickly accepted that there would be no large-scale rebellion at all.
What did Chengzu rely on to achieve this? It's blood, ability, and record, and when these things are accumulated together, it's prestige.
But prestige is difficult to accurately judge. For example, based on what the Secretary-General just said, how does the emperor judge his own prestige, and how does he judge my prestige among the government and the public? It is difficult to make an accurate prediction. Estimated.
If after the victory in the decisive battle of Chahar, he thinks that he has returned home from all over the world and is the Holy Lord recognized by everyone in the world, then he will judge his own prestige very high, and accordingly he may judge my prestige low. Some.
On the other hand, if after the decisive battle of Chahar, the people of Shilin only focus on promoting my so-called illustrious military exploits and ignore the role of the emperor's strategic planning and support for me, then it may lead to his lack of confidence. In turn, he overestimated my prestige and at the same time overestimated the threat I posed to him. "
Liu Xin was reminded by him and immediately said: "Oh, I understand what the master means. The master is saying that in the future, you should find a way to praise the emperor more and less about your own achievements, right?"
Gao Pragmatic nodded and said: "Yes, that's exactly it."
Huang Zhiting hesitated and said, "Is this enough?"
Gao pragmatically spread his hands: "It's not enough to be natural. A multi-pronged approach is needed. But for me, this approach... is the lowest cost."
Liu Xin almost laughed out loud when she heard this, coughed slightly to cover it up, and then said: "So, what should we do at this stage? I mean, the cabinet is going to knock on the door, and now I don't know what the outcome will be."
Gao pragmatically said: "The result is actually not difficult to guess: the emperor will try his best to appease the mood of the cabinet, but will be very embarrassed about withdrawing the order, but he will eventually withdraw the order and reach an agreement with the cabinet."
"What kind of agreement?" Huang Zhiting asked.
Gao pragmatic smiled and said: "I don't know the specifics, but we should probably take a step back. This is an old tradition, just like a group of people in a house. Originally, other people were quite satisfied with the house, but If you say the light is too dark and insist on tearing down the wall, other people will definitely disagree. At this time, someone will jump out and say, everyone should step back and open a window, and then you will reach an agreement."
Huang Zhiting had always been a little worried. After hearing Mr. Lu Xun's classic statement, which was applied by Gao Pragmatic, she couldn't help but smile and said: "The master really sees it thoroughly."
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ps: When I posted this chapter, I realized that yesterday’s chapter was posted 1 minute late, after 0 o’clock, which is really embarrassing... But when I think about it, there is no perfect attendance award anyway, so it doesn’t seem to be a big deal. After all, I just posted it. It's late, but it doesn't mean it won't be updated.
