The matter of Yang Yiqing still caused some trouble to Zhu Houzhao. In his memory, history books recorded that Yang Yiqing was a capable and loyal minister. In the subsequent Jiajing period, he also became the chief minister.
But Xu Jin, the Minister of War, went to Shaanxi at this time. Didn't he clearly say that Yang Yiqing was his Liu Daxia man?
The separation between reality and memory made Zhu Houzhao a little uncomfortable.
But Yang Yiqing would not be easily touched. From Wang Yue to Qin Hong and then to Yang Yiqing, a powerful person was indispensable in the northwest.
So he thought about it in the East Palace and thought it would be better to stabilize the situation temporarily. No matter what, at this time in the middle Ming Dynasty, the courtiers could not shake the foundation of the court.
But he wanted to answer this letter properly.
"I will write this letter myself."
Fengxi was slightly startled. The Crown Prince paid great attention to these local dignitaries, even as much as some elders in Beijing. This actually reflected the Crown Prince's governing ideas. Ordinary people may simply accept the matter, but if you want to be a thoughtful person, you can actually feel the taste of the prince's behavior.
"Yes, I obey the order."
Zhu Houzhao scratched his nose and said, "How do you think Yang Yiqing is feeling at this moment? Fengxi, tell me first."
"Wei Chen feels that... he must be a little confused. His Highness is a wise ruler who has worked hard to govern. Originally, it was a beneficial strategy to deal with the shortage of military pay in border towns, but it was also mixed with the Great Sima, so he was afraid I can't be sure of His Highness's intentions. That's why I wrote this letter."
"Liu Jin, what do you think?"
Liu Jin was not as immature as Fengxi, and he spoke more boldly, "What kind of person Yang Yiqing is... Your Highness also knows it. He has always had a strong personality as an official, and he will do things that benefit the country and the people, not the country and the people." He did not dare to openly resist the decree, and would secretly think of ways to delay it. Therefore, this letter was not intended to touch His Highness, but to reduce His Highness's suspicion."
Fengxi didn't dare to say this. Because if what Liu Jin said is true, it actually hurts Yang Yiqing because he is playing tricks on the prince.
Yang Yiqing does have a lot of personality. So far, Zhu Houzhao has not met a similar official.
"Then how do you think you should reply to this letter?"
Liu Jin thought for a moment, "Wei Chen believes that he should be honest and sincere, with the court and the overall situation as the top priority."
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but glance at him. This old eunuch was quite slippery.
"What you said is to embarrass the three governors of the imperial court. The imperial court and the overall situation are the most important thing. What overall situation? Which overall situation?"
Emperor Jiajing liked this, letting his ministers guess, and making people in the court become snakes and scorpions.
The prince himself sat down and wrote, "I gave Liu Daxia this job, so why don't I hope that he will succeed? Even if it is just to clear up the accumulated shortcomings in the air pay in each border army town, it will be of great benefit to the court and the country. If Liu Daxia has always been able to make such contributions to the court, so what if he is given the post of Minister of the Ministry of War? So the first point is to tell Yang Yiqing not to have other thoughts and cooperate with the Ministry of War to do this job."
"Besides, what do you think Xu Jin can do if he goes to Guyuan Mansion at this time?"
Fengxi and Liu Jin both frowned and remained silent.
"We know Yang Yiqing, don't Liu Daxia and Xu Jin know Yang Yiqing? As long as the imperial court supports the matter of cleaning up empty wages, Yang Yiqing would have done it himself without Liu Daxia. So Xu Jin must have gone to Guyuan in person for some other reason, he thought. Win over Yang Yiqing."
"So His Highness wants to confront him directly?" Fengxi could probably guess it, because the prince always liked to be direct and did not like to guess at each other with his ministers, which would reduce efficiency.
Zhu Houzhao nodded appreciatively, "People like Yang Yiqing are determined, very independent, and have exquisite minds. If you want to deceive such people, even if you can do it, it will be very tiring and the risk is extremely high. It is better to tell him directly in the East Palace. This is my intention. If you, Yang Yiqing, can do it, there will be consequences; if you can't, there will be consequences if you can't do it. Then it depends on his choice."
At this point in time, Zhu Houzhao could not care about the other side. There was only one thing. He controlled hundreds of thousands of troops in Gansu, Ning, and Yu in the northwest, and faced the Mongolian tribes in the Hetao area. He absolutely could not uphold the same principles as Liu Daxia. An attitude that focuses on peace and avoids war as much as possible.
This can be regarded as grasping the main points and ignoring the secondary ones in a complex political situation. As long as this is okay, we'll talk about the rest later.
So this is what Zhu Houzhao planned to write in this letter. At the end of the letter, he also told Liu Jin, "Send this letter to the palace. You go and send someone. When you see Yang Yiqing, tell him that he understands the response and can't delay it!"
"yes!"
After this incident, Zhu Houzhao stretched his body and said, "Fengxi, is there anything else important to do later?"
"His Royal Highness announced that Zhang Chengtian from Ming Pao has entered the palace."
Zhu Houzhao remembered.
"Oh, that's right. Take out all the memorials you prepared before and ask him to take them back later."
These memorials were extracted from military newspapers by Feng Xi, Jin Gui and others. Some sensitive information could not be brought to Ming Pao by Zhang Chengtian. The rest is roughly the border situation in recent years:
In April of the thirteenth year of Hongzhi's reign, thieves invaded Datong, the capital was under martial law, and people's hearts were horrified. From the 17th to the 23rd, they massacred and looted the left guard of Datong; in mid-May, they started from Weiyuan, Pinglu, Jingping and other guard posts in the west, from Yanghe, Tiancheng, Shunshengchuan in the east, to Ying, Shuo, and other places in the south. Shanyin, Mayi, Hunyuan, Yuzhou, Guangchang and other prefectures and counties are surrounded by villages and villages, stretching for thousands of miles. There are more than a million fireworks settlements. Within ten days, production has been wiped out, and humans and animals have been wiped out.
In August of the 14th year of Hongzhi, the young prince of the captives, together with Huoshai and other Mongolian tribes, about 70,000 to 80,000 cavalry went deep into Guyuan from Huamachi in Ningxia to the south, and looted in separate routes. The Huoguang camp was spread over dozens of miles, and the situation was very rampant.
In the seventeenth year of Hongzhi's reign, the Mongolian right-wing Huosi tribe led hundreds of people to attack Jiaoshan...
Every time these military reports came, the reaction of the imperial court was always enthusiastic. When Emperor Hongzhi really said that he wanted to take action, he was cautious. After doing so many times, everyone gradually got used to it. Anyway, they just plundered at the border and then went back. Day by day, the situation at the border is really rotten.
The memorials held in Zhang Chengtian's hands were also heavy.
Zhu Houzhao told him: "These memorials record in detail the invasions of the Ming Dynasty by Mongolian tribes in recent years, almost every year, and they also record many details. When you get back, don't be too busy to report them immediately, and sort them out first. Make a plan and submit one after a while. Don’t stop every day, otherwise it will give people a feeling of exhaustion.”
Zhang Chengtian was surprised, but he didn't dare to ask.
As a result, Zhu Houzhao also saw his doubts and explained: "The purpose of ranking the 108 generals before was to make them blush. It was not really to make the people watch the court's jokes. This time, these things are to be taken into consideration. Get it into your head. Do you have anyone with excellent writing skills? Preferably someone who has written stories."
Zhang Chengtian rolled his eyes and said, "There is one person."
"Then you look at the arrangement. In short, the effect is to reflect the enemy's ferocity and our patience. In addition, it cannot be described as the imperial court's blind avoidance of war. We want to guide public opinion to be dissatisfied with the Tatars, not the imperial court. Moreover, In the 14th year of Hongzhi, the commander Wang Taishi died in battle, and in the 17th year of Hongzhi, the commander Zheng Yu died in battle. These all show that the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were fighting to the death with the enemy."
This is easy to understand.
To be honest, Zhang Chengtian controls Ming Pao. This is not the first time in recent years that he has deliberately arranged some articles to create momentum for special purposes.
It's these battles... Most of the Ming Dynasty did not fight well. Your Highness, we are raising troops...
"Any questions?"
Zhang Chengtian shook his head. It was the court's decision whether to raise troops or not, and it had nothing to do with him. "As for your highness, no. It's just that there is something... I want to report."
"explain."
Zhang Chengtian took out something from his arms, like the layout of the "Ming Pao" newspaper, "Recently, there are also "Zhi Bao" and "Xian Shu" imitating "Ming Pao" in circulation among the people. The content of the newspaper was initially some literary articles. But gradually it will also involve matters such as people's livelihood, public opinion and political commentary. I remember His Highness said that the war of public opinion is a war without blood. Can newspapers like this be circulated? "
Zhu Houzhao's eyebrows flashed and he took the newspaper from Zhang Chengtian's hand. It is indeed the word "Zhibao" on it. This record records the life scenes of a family of three who fled famine to the capital, as well as some New Year customs of the royal family that are about to celebrate the New Year. Many people do not know it and use it as a It's a fun read.
"Who is doing this?"
"Your Highness, do you still remember Jiang Tongzu?"
"Ah, it's him. These people are depressed in the court and want to do these things." Of course Zhu Houzhao remembered it, and he already had calculations in his mind, "Let them do it first. I know."
Zhang Chengtian didn't have anything else to say, so he packed up and left the palace.
Jiang Tongzu, Ma Yiqian... Zhu Houzhao is now waiting for these names to slowly gather. They are already a little resentful towards themselves. One day they will say disrespectful words and do things that cross the line. At that time, many things will be justified.
After Zhang Chengtian left, Zhu Houzhao asked someone to change clothes. He was going to Emperor Hongzhi's side.
This winter, the emperor's health was very poor. It had improved slightly before, but now the situation has taken a turn for the worse. It is actually very dangerous. In many cases, it will never get better again.
So much so that even Zhu Houzhao's wedding is actually at a standstill. This is okay, it has no impact. But every new year, there will be many sacrificial activities, and the emperor always lies down, which is actually not good. Isn't there a saying that says: The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs. In ancient times, sacrifices had to be taken seriously.
In the Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, it was as warm as if the heater was on, but even so, Emperor Hongzhi was still covered with thick quilts.
When Zhu Houzhao walked to the door, he still asked the eunuchs to be quiet as usual. He was afraid of disturbing the emperor's rest, but this time it was different. There was a sound inside.
It belongs to Xiao Jing. The old eunuch said, "Do you want to see His Highness?"
"...Ahem." This was the emperor coughing, and his voice was a little hoarse. "It's better not to do it anymore. The government affairs are all on his shoulders now, and it's already very hard every day. If there is some time, let him rest more... I... My father is not good at being a father. People say that children from poor families become fathers early. Why did my crown prince become a father so early?"
Zhu Houzhao, who was outside the Nuan Pavilion, retracted his steps and smiled heartwarmingly when he heard these words.
Xiao Jing said again: "Your Majesty, you shouldn't think like this. Your Highness is very wise. It's a good thing to be able to take charge of the family early. Last time, I heard British Duke Zhang Mao say that he envied your Majesty. He couldn't give birth to such a good child." His son. My servant said, can that be the same? Your Highness is the son of a dragon and his grandson."
Emperor Hongzhi sighed, "You know how to speak nice words. But you don't have a son, so you can't understand. I tell you, a real father doesn't care how successful his son is. I... just hope that he can be happy and healthy."
Zhu Houzhao didn't like fanning very much, and it was difficult for him to be fanned emotionally. But Emperor Hongzhi's words still made his nose feel a little sour. From the tenth year of Hongzhi to this year, Emperor Hongzhi gave him the appearance of a true and loving father. Perhaps at this moment, the love between father and son truly emerged in his heart, allowing his adult soul to recognize another person. Father.
But God was not kind to him, and in the blink of an eye, it had been eighteen years since Hongzhi...
Thinking of this, his eyes couldn't help but turn red.
