The spring breeze in February is like scissors.
The spring breeze is no longer so cold, but it still hurts slightly when it blows on my face.
However, for a group of people who entered the capital from Guyuan Prefecture, the wind in the capital was obviously much gentler, with a touch of warmth at noon, like a girl's caress.
Yang Yiqing is the governor of the three sides outside, and a cabinet minister in Beijing. But even though he is a Beijing official, he still has to report on his duties.
Therefore, when he entered the capital, he first entered the palace to meet the emperor, and then returned to the cabinet.
"Ying Ning."
Li Dongyang and Xie Qian both came to greet him, "Ying Ning has worked really hard guarding the border for the country."
"Mr. Li Ge, thank you Mr. Ge." Yang Yiqing bowed his hands in greeting.
Then the three of them took their seats.
"Have you met His Majesty?"
"See you."
"Ying Ning's work report will be wonderful. Your Majesty takes complex measures as a national policy. You, the governor of the three sides, are the most important."
"Li Ge's old words are serious. I also wish to thank His Majesty for your great blessing. Moreover, the complex will last for three years, and this is just the first year. There is a long way to go, and we still need the care of the two cabinet elders."
Xie Qian then said: "...Some people think that now that the country's strength has increased, they feel that two years is enough. If it is delayed to three years, more military pay will be allocated. More than one million taels of silver every year is really not enough It’s going to take a lot of money, so it’s better to work hard and win the Loop!”
"Is there someone?" Yang Yiqing didn't know what it was, but his official instinct was to protect him, "Who is Xie Ge always talking about?"
Li Dongyang sighed slightly.
The court in the first year of Zhengde was very different from that in the Hongzhi year.
At that time, it was Ma Wensheng, Liu Daxia, Xu Bo, Wang Shu, Liu Jian...
At that time, the rule of the country was that everyone assisted the emperor. The emperor also relied heavily on him.
But it's different now.
Emperor Zhengde had strong means and determined will. The atmosphere in the court has obviously changed.
Nowadays, opponents are often removed from important positions, while those who flatter are promoted to the top.
If that's the case, then it's just that the emperor is in power.
However, the emperor's most important thing is to be honest and honest when doing things, and his administration also emphasizes governing for the people.
The impact this has on the court is that it makes it easy for many flatterers to do flattering things in the name of the country and the people.
So Xie Qian said someone...
Of course there are people, who want to open up new territories and expand borders for the benefit of the people. How come no one does this kind of thing that has both political benefits and reputation as a scholar?
"Yang Zengrong, a foreign minister of the Ministry of War, has a shortcoming, and he was retained by your Majesty."
Yang Yiqing frowned, he had never seen this memorial before. and…
"His Majesty did not mention this matter."
Li Dongyang's old face was a little deep and his voice was hoarse. "In His Majesty's words, it is always easy to talk, but difficult to do. The same goes for this matter. Three years is changed to two years, and safe becomes radical. If If it is done, these people will naturally succeed in their speculation. If it is not done and the battle is defeated, who will bear the responsibility?"
At this point, Yang Yiqing's expression finally changed.
This is how the court is, even if you are the governor or the elder, you will be pushed by the general trend.
"Mr. Li Ge and Mr. Xie Ge think that this memorial is not a coincidence?"
"Ying Ning believes it's a coincidence?" Xie Qian asked.
Yang Yiqing was speechless, "But no matter what, it always depends on His Majesty's wishes. As the governor of the three sides, I have to fight in three years, and I have to fight in two years. As for life and death, that has long been ignored."
"It's a small matter of personal life and death, but what if it affects the great cause of recombination?" Xie Qian raised his hand and nodded twice.
Li Dongyang asked again: "Ying Ning, please tell us the truth. What are the chances of winning this year's expedition to Tatar? What will it be next year?"
Yang Yiqing paused briefly.
Then he said: "It's hard to say. In the first year of Zhengde, the imperial court allocated one million. In addition to Zhou Shangwen's suppression of tricks, Yang Shangyi also trained 10,000 new cavalry. Since the treasury is abundant this year, it may be possible to train another 20,000 new cavalry. So in this way For a period of three years, with 50,000 cavalry, we can fight even if we encounter the main force of the Tatars."
"But if it is repeated this year, it is not impossible. Dayan Khan's second son was killed by the right-wing Mongolia, and the situation in the grassland in the second year of Zhengde may not be stable. If the Ming Dynasty does not take action at this time, it will also miss the opportunity."
In other words, if there was no Zhou Shangwen fighting originally, it would certainly be better in three years. But it’s not impossible for two years now. After all, sitting back and watching the right-wing Mongolia be wiped out by the left-wing is quite rigid strategically and will not be adjusted at any time.
Li Dongyang and Xie Qian frowned. No wonder the emperor wanted to keep the memorial.
Probably the emperor also saw this.
"Oh, this is going to be difficult."
Xie Qian sighed, how could they resist this kind of flattery to the Holy Will?
Therefore, Yang Yiqing's status became more prominent at this time. The emperor trusted him. As the governor of the three sides, if he suggested delaying the move, the emperor would seriously consider it.
However, neither Li nor Xie had the same influence that Liu Daxia had on Yang Yiqing. When it came to factions, Yang Yiqing had nothing to do with them, so they were a little helpless.
All I can say is: "The way to govern a country is to be cautious about haste and use patience. This is a major event related to the country, the country, and the people of the world. Please Ying Ning, be sure to be cautious."
…
Yang Yiqing walked out of the cabinet with a heavy heart. Inside he pretended to be unfazed, but outside he still showed some thoughts.
Yang Shangyi waited until he came out and saw something wrong with his face, "Butang, what's going on?"
Yang Yiqing passed by him and walked in front of him, shaking his head lightly and saying: "The land of right and wrong is full of right and wrong."
"What is right and wrong?"
Yang Yiqing did not answer immediately. He was deep in thought. Three years or two years would be enough for the resumption of the scheme, but the two pavilion elders seemed to prefer three years.
Why?
It’s not that he thinks three years is more reliable. He has already said that two years of Zhengde is also possible.
"It's for the money, maybe..."
Yang Yiqing murmured and shook his head, how could he forget this.
This year the treasury is rich, and he knows this. On the way to Beijing, I thought about getting more funding this year. Others naturally have the same thoughts as him.
"Shouwen."
"The end will be here."
"From now on, if anyone asks about the re-contamination, you can say that it will be fine in three years or two years."
Yang Shangyi was confused: "The department...wasn't it originally more inclined to this year?"
"That was before. It's okay now."
"why is that?"
Yang Yiqing knew that this kind of thing had to be explained clearly to him, otherwise he wouldn't understand and there was no telling when the secret would be revealed.
"Because we don't want to get involved in the quarrel between the court and the court. It's useless to fight to win or lose. Whatever your Majesty decides, we will do. Only in this way can we be invincible."
The way to be an official is to advance when you need to, push back when you need to, and be silent when you need to.
at the same time.
Zhu Houzhao continued to summon local officials to report on their work.
Shandong is very close, but Liu Jian is not the closest.
In fact, the Ming Dynasty also had two governors in the Northern Zhili region.
One is the governor of Shuntian and the other is the governor of Baoding.
Somewhat similar to Southern Zhili, there are also governors of Fengyang and Yingtian.
Governor Shuntian is not the governor of Shuntian Mansion. In the third year of Chenghua, due to the vast territory of the capital, the imperial court divided Juyongguan into two governors. To the east were the two prefectures of Shuntian and Yongping, which were responsible for rectifying Jizhou and other border areas, and were stationed in Zunhua County.
This is Governor Shuntian.
The governor of Baoding has a larger jurisdiction and has jurisdiction over six prefectures including Baoding Prefecture, Zhending Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, Daming Prefecture, and Guangping Prefecture. Control and contain the passes such as Zijing Pass, Daoma Pass, Longquan Pass, Gu Pass, Tumen Pass, etc., and also manage the rivers.
These two positions were established during the Chenghua period, and Hongzhi retained and inherited them. At this time, they were also considered two senior officials in the Gyeonggi region.
With the two of them here, Liu Jian, the governor of Shandong, could be the first to meet the emperor, so it has a special political connotation. After all, this is the closer.
Governor Shuntian is not young, probably over fifty. He has a sinister face, a big mouth, a long beard, and cold eyes. He looks quite fierce.
This person's surname is Hu, his given name is Gongxu, and his courtesy name is Liangchen.
After listening to what he said, Zhu Houzhao felt that he was really a good minister.
"Shuntian Mansion's tax revenue this year is actually 160,000 dan. I remember last year it was 117,000 dan. Why has it increased so much?"
Hu Gongxu's voice was a confident baritone, and he said: "To answer your Majesty's question, this year's increase in taxes and grains is firstly due to the Emperor's Hongfu, and secondly, His Majesty strongly promotes the conversion of pastoralism into agriculture, returning agriculture to the people, and the people are greatly improved." I appreciate the emperor's virtue and don't have to share the labor of raising horses, so I can concentrate on the fields, so the tax revenue has greatly increased."
Zhu Houzhao was a little surprised at this increase.
50,000 shi is not much, and it is nothing in the hands of a governor who pays more than 2 million in taxes and grains every year.
But here in Sunchon Governor, the income in previous years was just over 100,000, but it suddenly increased by nearly 40%. This is not easy.
However, Hu Gongxu’s explanation is not false.
Pastoralism is indeed harmful to the people. Suddenly there is no need to raise horses, and the enthusiasm for farming has greatly increased, which is logical.
Zhu Houzhao suppressed the doubts in his heart and said: "I said when I was still in the East Palace, all the merits cannot be attributed to the superiors, and all the faults should be blamed on the subordinates. You governor Shuntian and have such achievements are a manifestation of your ability. I will not Forget the merits of ministers who can do things well.”
Hu Gongxu was shocked.
The emperor's words before the great court meeting were more than just a commendation!
"Your Majesty appreciates it, but the humble minister is afraid! I will continue to work hard on the king's affairs to repay His Majesty's kindness!"
He is already over fifty, and if his position as Governor of Shuntian is not promoted, it will basically end there. Especially since the governor was already a high-ranking official, he would naturally think so if he moved on to become a minister or minister.
Zhu Houzhao nodded with satisfaction. He was quite concerned about the matter of Minmu. Asked: "Good minister, please tell me carefully how the people and pastoral areas where Shuntian Mansion has withdrawn are doing?"
"Yes. The most important thing when changing from pastoralism to agriculture is that the people lack enough food to make the transition. According to His Majesty's decree, the government will provide people who quit pastoralism with food, housing, and cattle breeding, and help them resume farming. As long as they survive the transition During the lean period, when the harvest comes, everything will be worry-free.”
Zhu Houzhao suddenly thought of another thing, "Do they have fields?"
Hu Gongxu's eyelids twitched, "Yes. Pastoralism does not ask people to just raise horses. On weekdays, people also engage in farming."
oh…
Zhu Houzhao wondered whether he was too nervous, because in his impression, the contradiction between man and land in the North Zhili area was very prominent.
The reason is simple. There are many yamen here.
Just like after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, the people of Fengyang became miserable. Called: Talk about Fengyang, say Fengyang, Fengyang is a good place. Since the birth of Emperor Zhu, there have been nine out of ten years of drought.
What's the point? It’s just that there are too many high-ranking officials here. At that time, the concept of wealth was to own land, so these people went back to enclosure.
The same is true in the Northern Zhili region.
But Governor Shuntian was right, the people did not just raise horses and did not cultivate the land. From this point of view, this policy is also correct. The problem is just not withdrawing enough.
Zhu Houzhao held the memorial in one hand and tapped slowly with the other. He was trying to recall the details of the Liu Liu and Liu Qi uprisings. Now that the farmers have returned to the people, Shuntian Mansion should be fine... Nothing will happen again...
