Chapter 1529 Zhao Wenhua’s Plot
“Shi Yan, I still have the impression that you organized the Cangtou Army to guard Zhengyang Gate the year before last. What suggestions do you have for the Japanese invasion in the south of the Yangtze River?”
Jiajing After listening to Lu Ben's suggestion, the emperor stretched out his finger, nodded Li Mo, and asked for his opinion.
When Li Mo heard Emperor Jiajing mention that he had organized the Cangtou Army to guard the Zhengyang Gate, he couldn't help but feel a touch of complacency on his face as he had profound Qi-nurturing skills.
The Cangtou Army guarding Zhengyang Gate mentioned by the Holy One is one of the things Li Mo is most proud of in recent years, and it is also a great confidence for him to return to the Ministry of Personnel. This happened the year before last During the Gengxu Revolution.
At that time, Anda, the leader of the Mongolian Tatar tribe, sent troops to invade Datong. The troops crossed the Great Wall and marched straight in, arriving at the gates of the capital. Since a large number of troops were sent to the border towns of Datong to defend against the Tatar and other northern invaders at that time, the total number of troops remaining in the capital was only 40,000 to 50,000, and there were quite a few old, weak, sick and disabled among them. As early as after the Tumu Fort Incident, the Beijing camp was no longer as elite as it had been in the past. In desperation, Emperor Jiajing had to order the civil and military ministers in the capital to guard one gate every thirteen people. Only the thirteen ministers could ask which gate had a problem. Li Mo was the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs at that time, and he was ordered to take five thousand men to guard Zhengyang Gate.
The Tatar soldiers guarding Zhengyang Gate were watching with eager eyes. Li Mo only had 5,000 soldiers, and less than half were old, weak, sick and disabled, leaving a serious shortage of major generals. In order to defend Zhengyang Gate, Li Mo thought deeply and selected 5,000 young people from the square near Zhengyang Gate. They organized them and named them the "Cangtou Army", armed with armor and weapons from the treasury. They ordered them to defend Zhengyang Gate together with five thousand soldiers. The Tatars who guarded Zhengyang Gate saw that there were many soldiers and horses at Zhengyang Gate, more than 10,000 people with bright armor, sharp weapons and flying banners. They regarded it as a hard nut to crack and never dared to attack Zhengyang Gate.
Li Mo's calm coping ability was appreciated by Emperor Jiajing. Not long after, Xia Bangmo, the Minister of Civil Affairs, retired, and Li Mo was promoted to Minister of Civil Affairs.
Promotion in this department is not easy.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been a precedent for being promoted from the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel to the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. This shows how special this step is.
It can also be seen that Li Mo holds great importance in Emperor Jiajing's heart.
"Your Majesty, I propose to recruit troops to organize and train the new army. From the reports on the Japanese invasion in the south of the Yangtze River in recent years, it can be seen that the soldiers in the guard station are no longer good at recruiting and fighting in the past. Now they are not trained in fighting and are not good at standing. Your Majesty. Investigations have shown that it is not uncommon for military households to flee, live on empty pay, and be old, weak, sick, and disabled, making them unable to shoulder the current heavy responsibility of suppressing Japanese invaders."
Li Mo stepped forward and bowed to report.
"Recruiting troops and training a new army? Well, this is all right. Let's discuss it later. Does anyone have any suggestions?"
Emperor Jiajing made a noncommittal comment, and then asked again road.
The hall was quiet for two seconds.
With the suggestions from Yan Song, Xu Jie, Lu Ben and Li Mo, all the officials in the palace thought they had no better suggestions.
It was quiet for two seconds, and just when Emperor Jiajing showed dissatisfaction, someone stood up.
It is Zhao Wenhua!
Zhao Wenhua is now the Minister of Industry and is also qualified to participate in court discussions.
"Go back to your Majesty, I would like to remind you to guard against the seven Japanese pirates." Zhao Wenhua took a step forward and bowed deeply.
Zhao Wenhua was feeling a little excited at the moment, yes, he was excited. He has been preparing for this day for half a year. As early as six months ago, he realized that the Japanese plague was getting worse.
When the Japanese pirates are in danger, the Holy Emperor will definitely hold a court meeting to discuss countermeasures to eliminate the Japanese pirates in the south of the Yangtze River.
This is a great opportunity.
Back then, he went behind the back of his adoptive father Yan Song and risked offending his adoptive father Yan Song by offering Baihua Wine to the Holy One, just to take a step forward. It's a pity that although he offered Baihua Wine, he couldn't go further and offended his adoptive father Yan Song. If he hadn't begged his adoptive mother to intercede for him and begged his adoptive father to forgive him, he would have probably ended his career. Fortunately, I survived this disaster without any danger.
After seeing the increasing trend of Japanese pirates, Zhao Wenhua predicted that the Holy Emperor would hold a court meeting.
So, he started to prepare for this court meeting half a year ago. He consulted local chronicles, read military books, humbly asked for advice, and was not ashamed to ask. After countless days and nights of hard thinking, he finally achieved this "Seven Things to Prevent Japanese Pirates" 》.
He has long been familiar with the contents and knows them by heart.
At this moment, he had been preparing for a long time, how could he not be excited?
"Speak." Emperor Jiajing nodded.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I have seven things to do to prevent Japanese pirates: First, send officials to the south of the Yangtze River to worship the sea god. Second, order some officials to bury the bones and reduce the corvée labor. Third, recruit more strong men from the Jianghuai River to serve as naval forces, and overhaul warships to strengthen coastal defense. Fourth. , increase the land tax in the south of the Yangtze River, and those who have more than 100 acres of land in the four prefectures of Su, Song, Chang, and Town will pay heavy taxes on their land, and at the same time, they will levy tax and grain on official land in advance for three years, making them rich. The person's financial resources will be self-effective, and he may be exempted from the crime after quelling the Japanese invasion. Sixth, he will send important officials to monitor the military situation in the south of the Yangtze River. Seventh, he will recruit Tongfan's old party and salt disciples to penetrate into the Japanese pirates' interior and investigate the enemy's situation. "
Zhao Wenhua bowed his body deeply and replied loudly. After finishing speaking, every cell in his body pricked up his ears and looked forward to it.
This seven-year plan to prevent Japanese pirates has been his hard work for half a year, and it is also a long-planned opportunity for him to advance.
Half a year’s work, whether it will be successful or not depends on this time.
"Well, it's rare that you have the intention." Emperor Jiajing nodded slightly and looked at His Highness, "What do you think?"
The Holy One said that I am interested. Zhao Wenhua couldn't help but be very excited. If it weren't for His Highness, he would almost shout out of joy.
When Zhao Wenhua was excited, Nie Bao, Minister of the Ministry of War, glanced at him deeply, took a step forward, and said loudly, "Returning to the Holy Spirit, regarding the seven things that Master Zhao said about preventing Japanese pirates, I think that the second one is Things 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 are feasible, but things 4 and 6 are not feasible. The south of the Yangtze River is flooded, and the Japanese invasion is becoming more and more serious. The people are struggling to survive, so how can we impose more taxes? As for the sixth matter, sending important ministers to supervise the military situation in the south of the Yangtze River. Since we intend to establish a governor in the south of the Yangtze River, it is unnecessary to send important ministers to supervise the military situation in the south of the Yangtze River."
Nie Bao just took office as Minister of War this year. The matter of Shangshu Preparing for Autumn was highly praised and adopted by Emperor Jiajing. He then requested the construction of the outer city of the capital, which was also adopted by Emperor Jiajing. After the outer city was completed, he was awarded the crown prince Shaobao for his merit.
Nie Bao was a disciple of Wang Xue. He was known as an honest official and had always disliked the strict party.
"Master Nie, maybe you didn't listen carefully to the seven things Xiaguan said. When Xiaguan said to increase the land tax in the south of the Yangtze River, he specifically refers to two categories. One category is the people's land in the four prefectures of Su, Song, Chang, and Zhen that exceeds 100 acres. Those who focus on science Because the four prefectures of Su, Song, Chang, and Zhen are prosperous, and the floods this year are not serious, and the people who are under the official position are those who have more than 100 acres. They are rich, and the emphasis on the tax will not affect their livelihood. The second category is official land Official land is the official land of our court, and taxes and grains are levied for three years in advance. In the final analysis, the taxes and grains levied are from our court and will not affect the livelihood of the people. Only by having money to tax and grain can we better eliminate Japanese pirates. One day average Determine the Japanese pirates in the south of the Yangtze River. As for the sixth thing, sending important ministers to monitor the military situation in the south of the Yangtze River is to share the worries of the governor of Jiangnan and assist the governor of the south of the Yangtze River in destroying the Japanese pirates. As the saying goes, one person can plan shortcomings, but two people can plan longings. "
After Nie Bao finished speaking, Zhao Wenhua retorted.
He has been preparing for this matter for half a year, and has already thought about how to deal with various objections.
Therefore, Nie Bao’s rebuttal sounds reasonable and well-founded.
"The Japanese plague is serious, and it is a time when money is needed to sacrifice money to sea disciples." Li Mo, the Minister of Personnel, also raised objections.
"Master Li's words are wrong. All things have spirits, let alone the sea. The reason why the Japanese pirates are becoming more and more fierce and coming across the sea and oceans one after another must be caused by sea monsters. If there is trouble in the sea, pray to the sea god to bless our Ming Dynasty, kill the sea monsters that cause trouble, and help our Ming Dynasty to destroy the Japanese pirates. In this way, we can destroy the Japanese pirates, if there is divine help."
Zhao Wenhua was the first to refute and defend Li Mo after he finished speaking, and was equally well prepared.
Yan Song nodded approvingly.
"It's about offering sacrifices to the sea, what is the opinion of the Ministry of Rites?" Emperor Jiajing did not comment, but looked at Xu Jie.
"I think it is feasible and necessary to sacrifice to the sea." Xu Jie lowered his head and said.
Li Mo glanced at Xu Jie with disdain.
"Well, I agree." Emperor Jiajing nodded slightly.
Zhao Wenhua was ecstatic. (End of this chapter)