If there were not these rumors, these poems written by Zhang Juzheng, plus the white lotus and white swallow he sent to the palace, would still be suitable for the occasion.
In addition, the young emperor Zhu Yijun will soon be elected as a queen and will get married next year. In fact, some of the so-called metaphors of "coming out of a couple and entering a couple" may refer to this.
But now it's different. When rumors spread outside, no one will believe it no matter what the person involved says.
In line with the words of later generations, silence is acquiescence, explanation is sophistry, and mud stuffed into the crotch is either shit or shit.
Wei Guangde actually didn't bother to care about the rumors about Zhang Juzheng, but the timing was too coincidental.
If Zhang Juzheng is forced to leave office in embarrassment because of this incident, what will happen to Zhang Juzheng's unfinished reforms?
Should we let him, the dignified old man Wei Ge, continue to implement it?
Wei Guangde can't do it.
The stakes involved are quite horrifying. Without the courage of "I will go to hell if I don't go to hell", I really can't do it.
Wei Guangde also considered that if Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Juzheng really had such a relationship, sending this poem to the palace might have the purpose of stabilizing his status.
After all, with Feng Bao's current attitude towards him, he also needs help from the palace.
But again, Wei Guangde felt that it was unlikely that Queen Mother Li had an affair with Zhang Juzheng.
If it is true, then Li Fang is really blind.
Because of the rumors, the atmosphere in the cabinet and even the entire court was very delicate in the following days.
Although everyone didn't discuss this matter in the yamen, they couldn't bear to share their views on it in private.
Wei Guangde received the news that Zhang Juzheng was also quiet during this period. Except for cabinet work, he returned directly to the government after leaving office and did not go out to socialize.
Of course, even if Zhang Juzheng doesn't go out, those officials he has good friendship with will still come to his door.
In such an atmosphere, it was not until the report of the Liaodong war was sent that Qi Jiguang's troops captured Hongli Village and killed Atai and Ahai, and finally there was a festive atmosphere in the court.
Yes, although it was the remnants of Wang Gao who were beaten, those who dared to challenge the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong were the two children left by Wang Gao, who kept inciting the Jurchen leaders in Liaodong to rebel.
While they gathered the Jurchen tribe in Liaodong, they also recruited wild Jurchens from further north to strengthen their strength.
After this period of time, Ming Dynasty also basically understood the tribes among the Jurchen tribe in Liaodong that opposed Ming Dynasty.
After capturing Shaji City, Atai and Ahai gathered in Hongli Village, trying to use the terrain advantages to resist the Ming army's encirclement and suppression.
At the same time, they also summoned their allies Tuman, the chief of the Han tribe, Subahai, the chief of the Taining tribe, and others to lead their troops to help.
It is said that the remnants of Wang Gao's tribe were beaten, but in fact they were also mixed with Mongolian and other Jurchen tribes.
The battle formation was no weaker than last year's siege of Wang Gao's tribe. Qi Jiguang ordered his troops to besiege Hongli Village, and he commanded the main force to defeat the reinforcements such as the Han tribe and Taining tribe. After completely defeating the foreign enemies, he attacked the Hongli village. Lizhai launched the final general attack.
In the end, the two brothers died in the war, and Wang Gao's tribe was all wiped out this time.
Without the instigation of Wang Gao and his son, I think the Jurchen tribes in Liaodong will be honest for a while.
Especially this time the Jurchens and the Mongols invested 70,000 to 80,000 troops, but were eventually defeated by the Ming army.
Even now, Qi Jiguang's troops are still stationed in Shaji City and Hongli Village. It is possible that the northern border of the Ming Dynasty will continue to expand northward. Kuandian Liubao is no longer the northernmost border of the Ming Dynasty.
"The Ministry of War must plan carefully and carefully determine whether the impact of occupying Shaji City and Hongli Village will be beneficial to our Ming Dynasty."
In Wei Guangde's duty room in the cabinet, he was meeting with the Minister of War and two ministers at the ministry to learn more about the situation in Liaodong.
"It's not that we must occupy that place and get the so-called credit of opening up territory for the imperial court, but we have to consider whether occupying this place is beneficial to the Ming Dynasty and whether our Ming army can occupy it.
If it is captured, it will complicate the situation in Liaodong, or if the burden on the capital of Liaodong is too heavy to stay for a long time, it is better to directly distribute these villages to other tribes loyal to my Ming Dynasty to strengthen their strength. ”
Wei Guangde thought about the situation in Liaodong mentioned by Tan Lun and others, and expressed his thoughts.
Although he really wanted to send the Ming army directly to Nuergan City, Wei Guangde also knew that he should not be impatient about this matter and had to do it step by step.
If the Jurchen tribes cannot be completely surrendered, the lone army sent will easily suffer huge losses.
By then, it will be a big event in the court and cause a commotion.
If you do something, you may make a mistake, but if you don't do something, you will definitely not make a mistake.
It's not that Wei Guangde is lazy and doesn't want to continue to expand northward, but he knows that the Ming army's northward strategy must be steadily advanced, step by step.
It can be said that Emperor Yongle occupied the city for a slave, almost at the expense of the court.
Tens of thousands of troops were stationed along the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River, and their purpose was to protect the smooth flow of the river and transport supplies to Nurgan City.
Of course, the army was stationed along the river and also directly controlled the area near the river basin.
However, this kind of expenditure is not something that Daming can sustain for a long time.
Therefore, in the end, the Ming army had to shrink and move the troops of Nurgandusi inward. They only continued to control the place in name by paying tribute to the local tribal leaders.
"The Ministry of War must have a clear attitude, that is, the northern border of our Ming Dynasty is Nurgan City, and it is definitely not Kuandian Liubao, or Hongli Village.
The Liaodong Dusi should have warships that can transport a thousand households to Nurgan City at any time. ”
Hearing what Wei Guangde said, Tan Lun and the two ministers were slightly surprised, but they just looked at each other and no one said anything.
"It will definitely be too late this year, but the Liaodong Dusi can prepare. I hope that next spring and summer, the Liaodong Dusi can exclude two or three hundred households from inspecting Nurgan City along the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River.
There are insufficient warships in Liaodong, so the Ministry of War must coordinate and mobilize ships from Shandong or other places. ”
After Wei Guangde finished speaking, he looked at Tan Lun, waiting for his answer.
"Mr. Wei Ge, during this northern tour, are you preparing to garrison troops in Nurgan City again?"
Tan Lun asked directly.
"The imperial court has not understood the situation in the north for many years. This time it is mainly to understand the current situation in Nurgandusi. This fleet only went over to see if other forces have penetrated there.
I remember that there is a big island across the sea from Nurgan City, and there are still residents on the island. ”
Wei Guangde replied.
"Mr. Ge is talking about Kuyi, there are thousands of Kuyi people living on the island."
A waiter interrupted.
"Kuyi. Kuye"
Wei Guangde muttered in his mouth that the Sakhalin Island in later generations should now be Kuyi Island, but later he may have thought that the name was not good, so he changed the name to Tongyin.
"If possible, let them visit Kuyi Island and give something to the people there to promote the majesty of my Ming Dynasty.
After so many years, the people there may have forgotten that they are still my ministers of the Ming Dynasty. ”
Wei Guangde continued.
Tan Lun understood what Wei Guangde meant, and was not in a hurry to resume garrisoning in the north. Instead, he went around to remind those people that these were Ming Dynasty's lands and they were still Ming Dynasty's ministers. "Bring some grain, cloth and cotton as a reward from the emperor, and I will go there every three to five years."
After Wei Guangde said this, he looked at Tan Lun and said with a smile: "You adults should understand what I mean.
By the way, I heard that it is very close to the Japanese country, so we should pay attention to collect relevant information after the army lands on the island.
With such close neighbors, I believe that the Kuyi people should have had contact with the Japanese.
It is necessary to let the Japanese know that Kuyi Island is the territory of the Ming Dynasty, so that they should not think about getting involved. ”
After the official conversation was over, Wei Guangde saw off the people from the Ministry of War, and then returned to the check-in room to think for a moment, and then simply wrote a memorial asking the Liaodong capital to send troops to patrol Nurqian City in the north.
This matter is not a small matter, it is a military matter after all, so Wei Guangde plans to chat with Zhang Juzheng later to see what he means.
The quantity of grain, cloth and cotton received by the military department is limited each year, and they are all closely allocated to the border troops.
The extra supplies will have to be allocated to the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The number doesn’t need to be too much, just go there and take a look at the situation and remind the locals that this was land managed by the Ming Dynasty a few decades ago.
If they just send some supplies in three to five years, it will make the local people think about the Ming Dynasty. Wei Guangde feels that this transaction is not a loss.
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After all, it was bitterly cold in that place, and it was really not easy for people to live.
Otherwise, there would not have been so many deserters, and in the end they would have had to withdraw their troops and abandon that land because of the heavy burden.
Wei Guangde clearly wrote down the plan and the benefits that the court could get. In fact, if the memorial is about discussing politics, it is very simple, that is, it is a congratulatory memorial, such as a congratulatory form. It takes a little effort to write it in a colorful way. .
Anyway, it is similar to the eight-legged essay, constantly piling up rhetoric and pursuing magnificence.
Wei Guangde just wrote it casually and circulated it among the cabinet ministers. Naturally, it was not a formal memorial. In the end, it had to be submitted by the Ministry of War. The cabinet vote was approved and stamped by the Supervisor of Ceremonies very early.
After finishing writing, Wei Guangde waited for the ink to dry, then got up and went out, going directly to Zhang Juzheng's check-in room.
"Do you have free time, Mr. Chief Assistant?"
When he arrived at the door, Wei Guangde asked.
"The adults are processing official documents, and the younger ones will report immediately."
The clerk in front of the door said hurriedly, and then he turned around and entered the house.
Soon, someone came out of the house again and said, "Mr. Wei Ge, please come in." ’
"Yeah."
Wei Guangde nodded and walked into the room.
During this period of time, there were almost no meetings in front of the cabinet office. After all, it was nothing major.
The biggest thing, apart from the election of the Wanli Emperor, was the two foreign wars.
The beautiful girl has entered the palace to learn the rules, so she has nothing to do with the outer court.
The wars in Southwest China and Liaodong Province were both won, and all that was left was to wrap things up and recount the achievements, which were all decided by the Ministry of War and handed over to the Cabinet and the Palace for the final decision.
As for other matters, of course there is no need for a meeting. A cabinet minister can just vote according to the rules.
Everyone knows Zhang Juzheng's current situation, so Wei Guangde will naturally not chat with him if nothing happens.
Zhang Siwei ran away from Zhang Mansion very early when he arrived. Wei Guangde heard Zhang Ji's report that night and didn't take it to heart.
After entering the room and bowing to each other, Zhang Juzheng led Wei Guangde to sit down. Wei Guangde took out what he had written and handed it to Zhang Juzheng, and then explained his considerations.
"Although the imperial court sent grain and cloth to the Nuergan tribe, which seemed to be a waste of national funds, furs, ginseng and other rare goods from outside the customs were naturally harvested as tribute.
With these things brought to the palace, the palace's purchases will be reduced this year, so after calculation, we won't actually lose much, but it has reaffirmed my Ming Dynasty's right to manage Nuergan. I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. ”
Zhang Juzheng asked while watching, and Wei Guangde also answered patiently.
Just now it was related to the end of the year, and the Ministry of Accounts was in financial distress, but this was actually just a lack of silver.
But there are still in-kind taxes collected twice a year, such as grain and cloth. Naturally, there is no need to be very good for those who give them away.
In fact, the physical taxes collected by the Ming Dynasty, especially cloth, with good quality are sent to the capital, while the poor quality is kept in the local area, either sold or used to make military uniforms, and there is a lot left, that is, the cotton is slightly nervous.
It's just allocating supplies, and the Ministry of Accounts should be able to complete it easily.
"That's fine, this is the warship. How do Shandai plan to solve it?"
Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and nodded. There were soldiers and horses in Liaodong. It didn't cost much to just transfer a few hundred households and hundreds of people to Nuergan City.
As for sending things over, there are also gifts in return.
What's more, they are all materials and the court can afford them.
But when it comes to the warships heading north, Zhang Juzheng has to ask.
Liaodong has a small number of ships along the coast, and they are all small ships, carrying hundreds of people north. I am afraid it will be difficult to find enough large ships, so they can only transfer them from the south.
"Shandong."
Wei Guangde whispered, "We will transfer some of the available ships from the Denglai Navy to the Liaodong Dusi. After the north freezes in winter, we will return to Denglai. After the ice melts next year, we will go north to build."
Wei Guangde naturally considered the ship problem, but he was not sure about the current situation of Denglai Navy's ships. He only knew that they were very bad and most of them were old ships.
The main force of the Nanhai Navy has never returned. Now the new ships in several shipyards in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are all ordered by the Nanhai Navy, and the money is also allocated from the south.
If the capital wanted the ship directly from there, the court would have to pay for it.
Again, now that the Ministry of Household Affairs has no money, the money should have been provided by the Ministry of Works. However, the Ministry of Works has shifted its focus to the management of the lower reaches of the Yellow River and has no money to build ships.
"I will write to the current Denglai Navy Commander and ask him to select the best warships and hand them over to the Liaodong Commandery. I will also transfer ships from the Nanhai Navy to supplement Denglai.
When the imperial court's finances become more abundant, it will also allocate money to the Denglai Navy to build new ships. If the Ministry of War issues further information, I don't think Shandong will have anything to say. ”
The current Denglai Navy is under the management of the Shandong Dusi. Unlike the Nanhai Navy, it is at the same level as the provincial capitals and only obeys the orders of the Ministry of War.
But because of this, Wei Guangde didn't think that the governor of Shandong would jump out and oppose the imperial order.
After all, his official hat is still in the hands of the cabinet.
Although he cannot be directly appointed or removed, his influence is still sufficient. Although it is a bit troublesome to replace someone, it is definitely not difficult to do.
"Oh, it's all because of lack of money."
Zhang Juzheng sighed and said, "Has Li Chengliang in the southwest reported how much money he could send back?"
Wei Guangde shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Calculating the time, I should have received the official document from the Ministry of War. Even if it is shipped immediately, it will take three to five months at the earliest." (End of Chapter)