Sure enough, Zhou Yong's words made the emperor quite satisfied.
Zhu Yijun didn't think Shu Yinglong himself would collude with the Japanese pirates, because it was too unreasonable. Not to mention the literati and bureaucrats who were loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but Shu Yinglong, as the governor of water transportation, had nothing to do with the Japanese pirates in his scope of work. What significance did Shu Yinglong's collusion with the Japanese pirates have for him?
If the families of some officials along the Jiangnan coast may have participated in some activities related to Japanese pirates in their early years, it is actually easy to understand. After all, Gao Pragmatic had already told him what the true nature of the Japanese pirate rebellion was, but it is not easy to pursue it now. . Shu Yinglong was from Quanzhou, Guangxi, which was in northern Guangxi, close to Yongzhou, Huguang (now Yongzhou, Hunan) and thousands of miles away from the sea. Therefore, his family environment also ensured that he had nothing to do with Japanese pirates in his early years.
Of course, if we must say that he had the opportunity to contact Japanese pirates, it is not completely impossible. After all, he served as the county magistrate of Dongguan in his early years, and later served as the chief envoy of Guangdong, and then was transferred to the governor of Guizhou, and then the governor of water transportation. During his years in Guangdong, he still had the opportunity to come into contact with Japanese pirates.
However, according to Gao Pragmatic's reports in the past few years, the Japanese pirates who often went to Guangdong and Guangxi and the Japanese pirates who often went to Fujian were almost the same group (but they were divided into many groups, not affiliated with each other but connected), and that group of Japanese pirates was raided by Jinghua , and finally fought a naval battle in the Fujian Sea with Jinghua.
The Japanese pirates were defeated in this battle and their strength was basically lost. The remaining fake Japanese who had no blood on their hands and had Ming Dynasty household registration were selected and some were absorbed by Jinghua and then sent to Dongfan (Taiwan) to open up wasteland.
In other words, even if Shu Yinglong came into contact with Japanese pirates in Guangdong, the people he came into contact with were either dead or enjoying the miasma. They could not be the Japanese pirates who robbed the ships this time.
In addition to these, the emperor was more satisfied with Zhou Yong's non-progressive attitude. Zhu Yijun had made an agreement with Gao Jingshi earlier that the frontline battles would be left to Gao Jingshi, and the stability of the rear would be taken care of by His Majesty the Emperor. Since the stability of the rear is all his job, it is a bit bad that the Cao Army has such a big change now. If he is still involved in this, it will only cause greater turmoil. Once it affects the frontline operations, he will What do you say when faced with high pragmatism?
As an emperor, he may not have to worry about Gao Pragmatic being angry with him, but people always have face. He had just made a good promise on the front foot, and then he was in big trouble on the back foot. Doesn't His Majesty the Emperor want to lose face?
In addition, as the chief assistant, Shen Shixing's point of view just put forward was not in line with Zhu Yijun's thoughts, but now after Zhou Yong said it, it suddenly seemed to make sense, and it could even be called a mature idea for the country.
Zhu Yijun has been the emperor for so many years and has rich experience and a good understanding of civil official speech. In addition to not supporting a solution by force, Shen Shixing's remaining meaning is actually very simple, that is, he wants to put aside Shu Yinglong's responsibility and shift the blame to Haiphong.
Coastal defense is managed by the Buguixin School, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of War. At the same time, since the Ministry of Revenue now has a customs office, and there is a tax police corps under the customs office, it is also responsible. The final analysis is that if there is a problem in coastal defense, the responsibility lies entirely with the pragmatic school. Shin Shih-hsing's words are nothing more than emphasizing this point.
But the emperor didn't care about this. As an emperor, he had long been accustomed to party disputes. It was impossible for the emperor to ban party strife, and there was no reason for him to ban it. After all, for the emperor, it is easier to control conflicts among his subordinates. If his subordinates are completely united, it will be very troublesome and even dangerous if not done well.
To be fair, the emperor can rest assured that Gao Pragmatic is leading the Pragmatic School, but if the whole court is composed of Practical School, then even if he is reassured by Gao Pragmatic, he will still feel uneasy.
Party strife was not what the emperor cared about. What he cared about was what Shen Shixing said. Although Shu Yinglong's responsibility was lightened, it also meant that quelling the incident did not necessarily require the use of force.
Zhu Yijun was very angry at first, and he really wanted to use force to quell the situation, but after Shen Shixing and Zhou Yong said this, he realized that now was indeed not the time to use force.
The battle against Yuan Dynasty had already used most of the entire nine-border force, and the south was not stable either. Song Liangzuo and Liu Wei were preparing to encircle and suppress Yang Yinglong in Bozhou, which would require the use of most of the mobile forces in the southwest. Under such circumstances, if there is another war, and it is fought in the rich and wealthy southeast, even if the imperial court has accumulated more than ten years of experience, it may not be able to cope with it.
As for Shen Shixing's suggestion, which was to reduce the 40% of the losses that the rioting Cao Army had to compensate, Zhu Yijun actually thought about it now. Regardless of the fact that hundreds of ships were burned, the other canal ships also suffered losses. However, the canal ships were not sea-going ships and were much smaller in size. These losses were far from enough to make the imperial court feel a heavy burden. Even with the tribute on board, the court at this time could not afford the loss.
The imperial court always had reserves around the capital. In the past, it usually reserved four million stones. Gao Pragmatic added an additional one million stones in the past two years, so before the Battle of Yuan Dynasty began, the capital's reserves were as high as five million stones.
If this batch of reserves is used for battle, it may not be considered absolutely sufficient, because the consumption of the battle is mainly consumed in transportation, but if it is just to ensure the rations of the capital, this reserve of food is enough to be considered perfect.
There are approximately 134,000 households in Beijing. Based on five persons per household, the total population of Beijing during this period is approximately 680,000. Adding in the production and construction corps and various service personnel in the palace, the current total population of Beijing Probably more than 800,000.
One stone weighs about 120 kilograms (stone is volume, so the weight is not fixed), which can be eaten by one person for at least two months. Five million stones of grain means that the capital can be fed for more than one year. The people generally have food reserves, and there are more families with noble officials and wealthy businessmen. Therefore, in fact, the capital's food reserves can guarantee that there will be no food shortage for two years even if there is no external input. Continuing to ensure water transportation now is just a matter of habit and a matter of preparedness.
Therefore, if the Cao army is not held accountable excessively, the imperial court itself will not be under much pressure. But this matter... seems to be in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Shouldn't I ask Gao Pragmatic for his opinion?
Zhu Yijun thought about it and said: "Wealth matters are in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Da Situ is in Daning now. Let's send someone to deliver a letter and ask him for his opinion. As for the Cajun riot... Since Mr. Shen To plead for mercy, I am not a person who is easy to kill. Considering that the Japanese pirates appeared quite strangely this time, it is understandable that the Cao army did not respond well.
Let's do this. If Da Situ agrees not to pursue the Cao Army's losses, I will forgive the matter of compensation and accountability. In addition, dear friends, you may wish to think about who to send to read the pardon decree to the Cao army outside Nanjing. "
The imperial court could not say that it was going to negotiate with the rioting Cao army, it could only say that it was going to read out the decree. In fact, this is to negotiate. At this time, the Cao army is still in riots, and there is still a certain danger for those who read out the decree. Therefore, who will do this job still needs to be discussed.
Logically speaking, the affairs of the Cao Army should of course be resolved by the Governor of Water Transport. However, the full name of the Governor of Water Transport in the Ming Dynasty is "Governor-General of Water Transport and Admiral of Military Affairs, Governor of Fengyang and other places and also in charge of rivers." This is equivalent to holding multiple positions, so his station is In Huai'an Prefecture, an important place where it is convenient to take charge of the overall situation.
It takes more than 400 miles to travel from Huai'an to Nanjing, and the Governor of Water Transport will definitely have to lead troops to negotiate during the Cajun riots. This will obviously involve some unnecessary expenses. At the same time, doing so may make the rioting Cajun army feel threatened and easily lead to misjudgment. Therefore, according to Zhu Yijun's idea, since he does not plan to resort to force, it is best not to let Shu Yinglong go.
The emperor immediately expressed his attitude, Shen Shixing immediately agreed, and Wang Xijue also agreed shortly after, and suggested that the person who announced the decree could be Chen Yu, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing.
However, this proposal was immediately questioned by Zhou Yong. Zhou Yong believed that the Cao army outside Nanjing was in riot after all, and it would be a bit weak to send the Minister of Hubu there, so he suggested that the best candidate to announce the decree would be Tian Le, the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing.
As soon as his proposal came out, Wu Dui and Liang Menglong immediately expressed their support.
The emperor was well aware of this. Chen Hui, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, was a native of Xixiang, Huguang, and belonged to the Xin School. After Gao Pragmatic took office the year before last, he also took over some power from the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing. Among them, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing was not considered one of his own. The reason: Tian Leze, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, was from Mzhou, North Zhili, and belonged to the practical school.
All said and done, both sides hope to send their own people to declare the decree - obviously, everyone believes that this matter can be resolved peacefully, so this credit cannot be taken advantage of by the other party.
The emperor couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He frowned and thought of it, and said: "I don't think either of them are suitable. Let Wei Guogong go. Wei Guogong is the leader of Nanjing's distinguished ministers. He declared a pardon on my behalf, which can better inform the court. Sincerity.”
It was hard for both sides to object at this time. After all, the emperor's words made sense. Wei Guogong was indeed the head of Nanjing's honorable ministers and the honorary minister of Nanjing's garrison. He was almost always the one who usually represented the emperor to offer sacrifices to Taizu Xiaoling. Now, he was naturally the most qualified to represent the emperor in declaring a pardon for the rioting Cao army.
However, this seems fair. To a certain extent, the pragmatic school still has a slight advantage. Because the Wei Guogong family had respected Gao Jingshi ever since Gao Jingshi intervened in an attack on the title. Even in a place like Nanjing, which was the base camp of the Xin School, they never dared to oppose the Shi School.
Previously, when the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Maritime Groups united to oppose Jinghua, Wei Guogong made it clear that he would not interfere. As a result, the entire Nanjing Xunchen Group did not intervene much in the end, which reduced the pressure on Jinghua. You know, Huaiyang Salt Merchant Group There is also support from the Nanjing Xungui Group behind the scenes, so the Nanjing Xungui Group originally had some kind of interest connection with the Jiangnan Civil Service Group. Not to mention they were a family, at least they could be considered allies.
The Nanjing Xungui Group gave up in the face of high pragmatism, which directly resulted in the Jiangnan Merchant Gang, the financial backer behind the Jiangnan civil servants, losing a lot of support. This was also an important reason why Jinghua was able to slowly expand its influence in the south in the face of Jiangnan's joint efforts to exclude them.
At this moment, the emperor chose Wei Guogong to announce the decree. On the surface, he chose a neutral faction that was not a stakeholder. In fact, this neutral faction was biased. But fortunately, honorable people are honorable people after all. Even if Wei Guogong gets this credit, he will not remember it from the practical school, and the heart school can still tolerate it.
Having said this, it was now time to find out the origins of the Japanese pirates. Zhu Yijun was very angry about this matter. He first ordered the Ministry of War to take practical action, and went to the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang together with the Customs Administration to ask ship owners in various places whether they had seen where the Japanese pirates came from. Then, in front of all the ministers, he said that he would let the Jinyiwei conduct another investigation to see if the pirates were coming from. How did the military gathering in Nanjing leak out?
Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue were both worried about this matter, but although they were of high status, they could not interfere indiscriminately. After all, Shen Shixing's words just now stated that coastal defense issues are a matter for the Ministry of War, and the Customs Administration does have the power to patrol the sea, so it is reasonable for it to cooperate with this work.
As for Jin Yiwei... what can they say? Could it be that it is a major leak that Jin Yiwei can't investigate anymore? If Jin Yiwei can't investigate this kind of thing, then why does the imperial court still need Jin Yiwei!
Although the civil servant group has never had a good impression of the Jin Yiwei, this was mainly due to the fact that the Jin Yiwei could arrest civil servants on orders and even "mutilate" them in prison. If this investigation is conducted on leaks, and at least in name it is not investigating Shu Yinglong himself, Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue will have no reason to object.
Of course, the Practical School welcomes this. After all, this matter must have nothing to do with the Practical School. No matter what the situation is in the end, the real school will never be blamed.
However, Zhou Yong still felt a lot of pressure at the thought of trying to find where the Japanese pirates came from. Before he became Minister of War, he had been moving in the north and was not very familiar with the "business" in the south. He just felt that the sea was so vast that it was unimaginable to find where a few ships came from.
After the imperial meeting was dismissed, Zhou Yong discussed strategies with Wu Dui and Liang Menglong. Liang Menglong smiled and said: "I don't need to worry too much about this matter. Mr. Wu Ge will help you."
Zhou Yong was a little confused by what he said. When Liang Menglong saw this, he told him the reason. Only then did Zhou Yong know that Wu Dui's son worked in Jinghua and was in charge of Ningbo Port. He had great power in maritime affairs in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Zhou Yong was overjoyed and quickly thanked Wu Dui in advance. Wu Dui stopped him with a smile and said: "It's natural for me to help, so I don't have to worry about this. But as you said, if this matter is really Japanese pirates coming from the sea and going straight to Nanjing, then even if Quanzi tries his best to investigate, It may not be possible to find out..."
At this moment, Liang Menglong smiled and waved his hand and interrupted: "Mr. Huanzhou is too cautious. I guess Gong Huanzhou also has some guesses about the origin of these Japanese pirates, right?"
Wu Dui did not smile, but his expression became heavy, and he sighed: "To be honest, Brother Mingquan, I hope I guessed wrong."
Liang Menglong's smile froze, and he couldn't help feeling a little emotional. He nodded and sighed, "That's right."
Zhou Yong was the only one who was confused after hearing that they had been playing riddles for a long time. He looked left and right, and finally felt blessed and said in shock: "Could it be that... someone is pretending to be a Japanese pirate?!"
Liang Menglong looked at him and said with a wry smile: "Whether it counts as pretending or not, it's hard to say."
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