When Lu Shusheng heard what Wang Xilie said, he wanted to give him a slap in the face. All the important ministers in the court knew that last winter, the emperor sent Jin Yiwei to deliver a letter to the general soldiers of Jiubian, attaching several formation diagrams, claiming that they were trained to be able to block cavalry with infantry.
At that time, many ministers wanted to dissuade him, but then they regarded the matter as a joke, thinking that it was normal for the emperor to have a young mind and be wary. Therefore, there were a total of three or five inscriptions admonishing this matter, but Zhu Yijun did not publish it, and it did not cause any waves in the court.
When the officials talked about this matter, except for a few who knew the military, they all said that they finally saw the childish side of the emperor. At this time, Wang Xilie mentioned the formation plan and elevated it to the level of national subjugation. This was simply a slap in the face of the emperor on behalf of the Ministry of Rites.
Sure enough, Zhang Jing on the other side heard this and shouted: "Wang Xilie is talking nonsense! The Royal Horse Supervisor actually practiced the formation chart invented by ***, and he can indeed restrain the cavalry charge!"
Wang Xilie heard this and choked out without thinking: "Practice? Act!" Lu Shusheng heard that he had stepped into Zhang Jing's trap and wanted to strangle him to death.
Sure enough, Chen Ju also spoke: "This year, outside Ji Town, there have been concrete examples of the emperor inventing phalanx to restrain the cavalry. The Ministry of War has verified it! What do you mean by this? The emperor will destroy the country after he distributes the formation map. Do you mean it?"
Wang Xilie had already made fun of the Royal Horse Supervisor's training formation. If he said yes again, his official clothes would be stripped off by the inner court today.
Zhang Juzheng coughed heavily and said to Chen Ju: "Director Chen, Shilang Wang definitely didn't mean this. The harm caused by the Song Dynasty formation diagram is difficult to describe in history books and has nothing to do with the hollow square array invented by the emperor. Please discuss the matter on the matter and don't get involved."
Lu Shusheng, who was nearby, suddenly discovered the difference between this kind of meeting and the court meeting - the court meeting was attended by the minister of fashion, and the minister could not represent the department and had no chance to represent the department. The emperor asked the minister directly about matters that concerned each department.
If the ministers of various ministries want to speak, they can only do so when the minister is away, and they cannot deviate too much from the political stance of the minister in their respective departments. Otherwise, the affairs of the department will be chaotic, and it will be the ministers who suffer.
When the court debated something about something, such as the Great Ceremony or the Opening of the Sea, most memorials were used to reflect personal political stances, and the emperor could not blame the minister.
But in this kind of face-to-face discussion, if the matter discussed has nothing to do with ministry affairs, the personalized minister can speak freely, or speak freely based on his own political stance! After a while, the emperor came out and looked at the minutes of the meeting - how did the emperor know which section Wang Xilie belonged to? They would only think that he was Lu Shusheng from the Ministry of Rites!
The more Lu Shusheng thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He used to think that although Wang Xilie, an old guy, was a bit stubborn, he was skilled in the ministry, had a high level of work, and was quite protective of himself. I didn’t expect that I would speak so wildly on this occasion today. If the emperor feels that the Ministry of Rites views the emperor in this way in private, who am I to reason with, Old Lu?
But looking back, the benefits of this kind of meeting are obvious - there were not many emperors in the past dynasties who were diligent, otherwise they would not have set up a platform to summon the right people and even sue their ancestors.
The emperor's way of holding small meetings greatly accelerated the court's decision-making. Moreover, I am afraid of poor communication and overthinking. At this meeting, the ministers played gongs and drums in front of each other, and the advantages and disadvantages of something were all exposed, and those in power could easily make a decision.
At this time, if we could go back to the old days of arguing with the ministers at court meetings, just the Yushi Kedao gang could make everything drag on for a year and a half. Lu Shusheng shuddered just thinking about it.
Zhang Juzheng interrupted the quarrel between Wang Xilie and the inner court. Just as he was about to speak and conclude, he suddenly heard the inner prison officer say: "Your Majesty has arrived!"
Zhang Juzheng and other ministers stood up quickly, took two steps back from their chairs, and knelt down in the open space. Wang Xilie breathed a sigh of relief and followed Tan Lun, kneeling in front of the throne.
After waiting for a while, I heard the door behind the throne open, the sound of boots, and the emperor stood still on the steps.
The eunuch praised: "Salute!" Zhang Juzheng and others shouted long live in unison. Hearing the emperor say: "Pingshen." He thanked the emperor and stood up.
Zhu Yijun changed into a lightweight silk red background, white collar and golden silk dragon robe today. When he saw that all the ministers were lying flat, he sat down on the throne. When the ministers raised their heads, they peeked at the king's face and saw that his lips were red and his face was pale, his chin was a little thin, and his eyes were bright and bright. Compared with a year ago, my temperament is more elegant and confident, and my imperial posture is gradually showing.
Zhu Yijun said: "Give me a seat." Zhang Juzheng bowed to thank him and then returned to the chair. Wang Xilie's eyes suddenly turned red and he cried softly.
Lu Shusheng couldn't bear it anymore and shouted: "Wang Xilie, why did you lose your dignity before the king?!"
Wang Xilie turned around, kowtowed to the ground, and said in a low voice: "Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, it has been a long time since the ministers received this special favor of 'Three Dukes Sitting on the Forum'. This dynasty's ancestral system refers to the Song Dynasty, and only the crown prince has the ability to embroider clouds and flowers." Sitting on a pier; the first grade is a red pier, which holds clouds and flowers; the second grade and below and the third grade and above are with Pu piers and no ornaments. For civil servants of the third grade and military generals and below, even the elderly and old people can only stand."
"Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has treated me as a nobleman and given me a seat more than once or twice. Today, I even placed a chair with a lamp and a cushion embroidered with clouds and flowers to prevent my legs from getting cold. I am so grateful for God's grace that I cannot express my gratitude enough. I just shed tears in front of you."
After hearing this, all the ministers fell down. Everyone thought to themselves: "You just said that Li Chengliang's memorial was full of sycophants. Your flattery is no worse than that of Li Chengliang! You also said that you can't explain it in words. The old mouth is clear and logical. It not only shows that you are familiar with etiquette." , and you showed your loyalty!" Zhang Jing, who was opposite, was even more impressed. He wished he could give a thumbs up and say, "High! It's really high!"
Zhu Yijun was indeed "overjoyed" and said with a smile: "I treat you as a national scholar. I hope you will be loyal and repay me."
After Zhang Juzheng heard this, he had no choice but to stand up from his chair, return to his original position, kneel down and play back: "I dare you not to try your best to repay your kindness!"
Zhu Yijun said: "Okay, let's all go back and sit down. There is a memorial today, so we can sit on the chairs and say it." Zhang Juzheng and others all expressed gratitude like Wang Xilie, thanked him and returned to his seat.
Zhu Yijun asked: "How was the discussion? Is there a resolution?"
Zhang Juzheng replied: "Your Majesty, there is no consensus on whether Li Chengliang should be knighted. After considering the opinions of both parties, I still favor the knighthood."
The emperor nodded after hearing this and said, "Bring me the minutes of the meeting." The secretary of the cabinet quickly knelt down and presented the records. The internal supervisor next to the emperor took them and forwarded them to Zhu Yijun.
Zhu Yijun browsed through it quickly, frowned and said: "Old sir, when you discussed the reward, you didn't take into account that Li Chengliang's department had not yet completed all the merits?"
Zhang Juzheng stroked his forehead in his heart and said to himself: "How can I forget this matter? It's all because of Wang Xilie's evildoing!" He said with shame: "The emperor's instructions are that when Wang Gao's whereabouts are known, it will not be too late to decide on Li Chengliang's knighthood. "
Zhu Yijun heard this and said: "But the officers and soldiers can't wait until Li Chengliang is knighted before rewarding him. The Ministry of War will talk about the regulations."
Tan Lun said: "Your Majesty, according to the example of Shizong and the previous emperors, when the Tartars beheaded, the court would no longer show the true color, but only the lower color."
"The heads of Tatars are worth forty taels of silver, and the heads of Donglu are worth thirty taels of silver. This time, the beheadings are six thousand, the Jurchens are worth three thousand two, and the Tatars are worth two thousand eight. The court needs to spend two hundred and eight thousand. More than 20,000 taels. Including the rewards from the Tartar ministers and the small chieftains, it will take more than 30,000 taels. The Ministry of War has calculated that the total reward for the head is 241,866 taels."
"In this battle, our army suffered 4,650 casualties, including a total of 95 generals and above. To support their families and reward the injured, we need 250,000 stones and 12,000 bolts of cloth. One hundred and fifty-five thousand six hundred and sixty taels of silver."
"In addition, if a general or commander above Xiaoqi dies, the court will give preferential treatment to his family. The minimum monthly salary for Xiaoqi and above is two shi of rice and two coins of silver. If the widow has no children and does not remarry, the court will support her for the rest of her life. If she has a son, one will be added to the age of fifteen. Suspension of service after grade-level assault."
Zhu Yijun was secretly speechless after hearing this. After a great victory, not counting the cost of food, grass and salary, the reward of silver, rice and cloth alone would be worth more than 400,000 taels of silver. This is still a victory. If the battle is lost, the pension money will be endless.
Zhu Yijun changed his mind and said: "How can the families of soldiers who were killed or injured be compensated? In addition, how can we reward those who have not received their heads?"
Tan Lun responded: "If a soldier is injured and is disabled and cannot support himself, the court will give him five taels of silver and two bolts of cloth to save his family from miscellaneous work. Those who are not disabled will still be paid by the army and will be given five taels of silver to save them." Liang, two pieces of cotton cloth; for the deceased, ten liang of silver, five stones of rice, and two pieces of cloth will be burned and buried. The household will be exempted from miscellaneous work, and the family will be given half salary for three years. After three years, it will be reduced to half for one year, which is calculated as four The supply will be discontinued after the year.”
He also said: "For the soldiers who have not received the head level, the chief soldier will make a book according to their merits. After reporting to the Ministry of War, the division of the head level silver will be arranged."
After hearing this, Zhu Yijun said: "There is a big difference between the superior officers and the soldiers; and the power to distribute money lies with the general soldiers." Tan Lun nodded in agreement.
Zhu Yijun muttered: "I have some other thoughts regarding the follow-up in Liaodong and the reward of soldiers. I will tell you today and you will discuss it."
