Chapter 374 Qi Jiguang takes command and Hai Rui gets promoted
This day is the birthday of Queen Mother Xia.
Emperor Zhu Zailei and a group of cabinet ministers and Privy Council ministers came to the Royal West Garden to congratulate the Queen Mother Xia on her birthday.
Zhu Houzhao took the opportunity and asked Chen Hong to call these people to his study.
Although Zhu Houzhao is no longer the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, as the Supreme Emperor, he still has high prestige in the Ming Dynasty and even the entire world.
Therefore, Emperor Zhu Zailei and others did not dare to disobey, and they all came to Zhu Houzhao's study to pay tribute to Zhu Houzhao.
"Excuse me. I came to you today for one thing only, which is to destroy the Japanese. The Japanese have been harassing our country since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Now that the Ming Dynasty is rich and its people are strong, it is the time to destroy the Japanese." The best time, now that you are in charge, Let’s talk about what your plans are for destroying the Japanese. Jin Yiwei has information. Now that the Japanese shogunate Ashikaga Yoshiteru has been killed, the Japanese country has once again fallen into civil strife. Now is the best time to destroy the Japanese. It cannot be delayed for too long. ! ”
Zhu Houzhao rubbed his temples as he spoke. The still cold wind still gave him a headache.
Emperor Zhu Zailei smiled slightly. He actually didn't understand why his father wanted to destroy the Japanese country so much.
Because it stands to reason that the current Japanese state cannot bring much threat to the Ming Dynasty, and even destroying the Japanese state will not bring much benefit to the Ming Dynasty.
Moreover, with the opening of sea trade and the severe crackdown on smuggling, Japanese plagues have basically not happened again. Now there is no need to rashly destroy the Japanese country.
Of course, Zhu Zailei also knew that he could not disobey the Supreme Emperor. After all, it was the Supreme Emperor who really had the final say in this world.
Therefore, Zhu Zailei replied with a smile: "What my father said is that right now we are discussing how much money should be spent to fight this war."
"That's very good. Let's discuss the charter as soon as possible." Zhu Houzhao nodded.
At this time, Xu Jie saw the embarrassed look on Emperor Zhu Zailei's face and knew what he was thinking, so he couldn't help but boldly speak out for Zhu Zailei: "I would like to report to the Supreme Emperor that the current Japanese country is only a problem of elbows and armpits, so it is not a big concern. Moreover, Taizu once listed the Japanese country as a country that should not be conquered. Now, if he rushes to conquer it, is it a waste of money and food and an act of injustice? "
Zhu Houzhao raised his eyes and glanced at Xu Jie: "Is this what you alone mean?"
"It's what everyone in the world means!" Xu Jie bowed deeply, not daring to look directly at Zhu Houzhao.
"It seems that the scholars and people of our dynasty do not know the dangers of Japan!"
Zhu Houzhao said something and looked at Zhu Zailei: "There is no room for negotiation on this matter. The Japanese country must be destroyed!"
Zhu Zailei stood up and said solemnly: "I obey my father's instructions!"
There is no room for negotiation on this matter. If Zhu Zailei and his ruling team do not implement Zhu Houzhao's will to destroy the Japanese, Zhu Houzhao will replace them.
Therefore, on the second day after leaving the Royal Xiyuan, Zhu Zailei summoned the ministers: "Have your Privy Council come up with regulations on the matter of destroying the Japanese?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the First, Third, Sixth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Army of the Guards, totaling more than 100,000 officers and soldiers, are ready to attack Lushunkou, Weihaiwei, Songjiang, Jilong, and Quanzhou. Local areas have gathered for training, and the four naval fleets of Fujian, Zhejiang, Liaodong, Shandong, and South Zhili have also deployed three Japanese expedition fleets, and the new Air Force First Division has also been transferred to Zhoushan. ”
Privy Councilor Tan Lun replied.
"At the moment, the commander has not yet been decided. In my opinion, for such a large expedition, it is better to appoint a civil servant who knows military affairs as the commander. After all, the expedition is not as simple as killing the enemy and seizing the city. It also involves governance and peace of the people. Therefore, I recommend Zhao Zhenji, the left minister of the Ministry of War, to be the commander-in-chief!”
Xu Jie stood up and said a few words at this time. He knew that the conquest of the Japanese country was inevitable, and now he could only try his best to keep the conquest in the hands of civil servants. The last conquest of Jiaozhi and the expedition to Folang The opportunities were all used by military officials, so that military officials began to enter the center of the court. This made Xu Jie deeply realize that if military officials were to lead the expedition to Japan this time, the wise people in the world would inevitably emphasize military force and neglect literature.
In fact, Xu Jie has now discovered that in the admissions examinations of various universities in the empire, it is obvious that various military academies are as popular as prestigious schools such as Capital University and Central University. On the contrary, some Confucian academies and the Northern and Southern Imperial Colleges are already empty. The windows are covered with cobwebs.
As a civil servant, Xu Jie did not want to see the decline of civility like this, so he put forward such an opinion.
"Although Zhao Zhenji is loyal and courageous, he does not have any experience in commanding troops. Although our Ming Dynasty has excellent soldiers and strong generals, if the commander does not know the military affairs, he will inevitably make mistakes. I believe that this commander should be Qi Jiguang, Liu Xian, and Lu Bor It would be good for such a famous general to preside over it."
Tan Lun couldn't help but say.
"It's just a small country. It can be destroyed in three months. The commander-in-chief can only control the situation from the middle, and he is not in charge of the troops himself. How could he mess up things?"
Xu Jie seemed determined to let his protégé Zhao Zhenji take command and take the credit for destroying the Japanese.
"Your Majesty, military affairs are not civil affairs. Although Zhao Zhenji is capable, he does not have the talent to lead the army. I believe that even if civil servants are to be promoted in this matter as Yuan Fu said, they should be civil servants who know military affairs, that is, they are both civil and military. Sir, it stands to reason that Mr. Tan and Mr. Yang are the most suitable. But the two princes are old, and from my perspective, it would be most suitable for Yin Zhengmao, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, to take command. Yin Zhengmao has fought against barbarians on land and suppressed bandits at sea in Guangdong and Guangxi. He is familiar with both land and water warfare, so it is most suitable."
Gao Gong stood up at this time and recommended the officials he was optimistic about.
Xu Jie was a little angry. He didn't expect that he had managed to survive Xia Yan and Yan Song. When he became the chief assistant, his superiors could not stop the Supreme Emperor's decision to destroy the Japanese, and his subordinates could not control Yang, Tan, Gao and other colleagues. For a moment, he couldn't help but secretly He snorted and said:
"Although Yin Zhengmao has general talents, he has always been greedy and cruel. Otherwise, he would not have caused chaos among the chieftains in Guangdong and Guangxi. The imperial censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate also had many impeachment complaints. If His Majesty had not thought of his talents, he would have been skinned long ago. How can we leave the matter of destroying the Japanese to him, unless he can be as incorruptible as Zhao Zhenji!"
Xu Jie denied Yin Zhengmao's qualification to serve as the coach of the Japanese extermination team, but still insisted on letting Zhao Zhenji take charge.
Seeing this, Zhu Zailei couldn't help but ask Zhang Juzheng and others who had been silent: "What are your opinions?"
"Your Majesty, I would like to hear what Duke Yang has to say. Duke Yang has been in charge of the Ministry of War for a long time and has always known people well. Now in the choice of commander-in-chief, Duke Yang naturally has the most say," Zhang Juzheng said with a smile.
Xu Jie looked at his student with some disappointment. At this time, he should support Zhao Zhenji with him. Why did he give up the right to recommend to Yang Bo?
Zhang Juzheng knew in his heart that he could not recommend Zhao Zhenji, who had no knowledge of military affairs, against his will, and he could not directly oppose his mentor Xu Jie, so he could only recommend it to Yang Bo.
"I recommend Cao Bangfu. This man is good at leading troops, well versed in the art of war, and has experience in fighting against Japanese invaders!" Yang Bo stood up at this time and recommended the person he thought was a suitable candidate.
"Cao Bangfu has passed his sixtieth year and is now relying on medicine to survive. It is still difficult to teach students at the Ming Military Command Academy. How can he command more than 100,000 troops now!"
Xu Jie retorted.
Zhang Han stood up at this time and added: "I also think that Duke Cao is not suitable. I ask your Majesty to personally decide on the matter of destroying the Japanese!"
Seeing this, Zhu Zailei had no choice but to announce his withdrawal from the court.
……
"You mean that the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Government cannot come up with a suitable candidate to lead the army? He Zhe has been in power in the Ming Dynasty for so many years, trained so many military students, and fought so many wars, but there are not many generals?"< br>
At this time, Zhu Houzhao had learned about what happened in the court from Chen Hong, and couldn't help but feel funny for a moment.
"There are generals, but Xu Yuanfu said that generals should be selected from civil servants, so he couldn't find a few suitable ones for a while," Chen Hong replied.
"Absurd! What's the difference between this and selecting those who can paint from those who can sing? Announce my will to the Privy Council, let Qi Jiguang take command, Tang Kekuan and Lu Bor will be deputy commanders, and let Hu Zongxian be the manager, responsible for Slave education and rule in the occupied areas!”
Zhu Houzhao once again made the decision for Zhu Zailei. Although Qi Jiguang was young, he already had the talent of a commander. He was a new era military commander that Zhu Houzhao insisted on cultivating in the direction of multi-arm large group army mobile warfare. Naturally, he would use it to destroy the Japanese this time. Qi Jiguang, and the two veteran generals Tang Kekuan and Lu Bori each have rich experience in land and water warfare, so they can naturally serve as Qi Jiguang's advisers.
After Xu Jie found out, he couldn't help sighing, and he couldn't help twisting his beard and said to Hu Zongxian, who was about to go out with the army to conquer the Japanese country: "Hu Jinglue, I believe you also know that this war to destroy the Japanese country is just the wish of the Supreme Emperor. I still don’t want this kind of militarism to happen, even the Holy Emperor doesn’t want it to happen. However, since the Supreme Emperor has decided something, we ministers cannot violate it, even if you say yes or no.”
"What Yuan Fu said is absolutely true." Hu Zongxian naturally understood what Xu Jie meant. It was simply that he himself did not want the imperial court to destroy the Japanese.
"But now the Supreme Emperor has asked Qi Jiguang, the chief military officer of his bodyguard, to take command to destroy the Japanese. However, Qi Jiguang is only forty years old and has only fought against the Japanese a few times in the south. In the final analysis, he still borrowed Zhu Gong (Zhu Wan) and the Supreme Emperor to make arrangements for himself. There is a way, so in Xu’s opinion, the two veteran generals Tang Kekuan and Lu Borang may not accept it as their deputy generals.”
Xu Jie said worriedly.
Hu Zongxian nodded: "Yuan Fu is very worried."
"Although you are a civil servant accompanying the army and cannot interfere in the military affairs, you can still participate in the matter of mediating conflicts. It is better not to let the generals fight among themselves and cause the defeat of the Japanese to be defeated," Xu Jie said.
Hu Zongxian understood what Xu Jie meant. Although he said he was asked to mediate, in fact he meant to instigate himself.
But Hu Zongxian also had his own ideas. He thought that if he really followed Xu Jie's wishes and became a villain who stirred up trouble, causing the success of destroying the Japanese to fail, he was afraid that he would be dissatisfied with the Supreme Emperor. After all, he was still the Supreme Emperor's secret agent. As a minister, that is to say, I have to take care of myself at any time Reporting all the important things he encountered to the Supreme Emperor meant that he could not just watch the conflicts between Tang Kekuan and Lu Tiang and Qi Jiguang without reporting it. If the time came, the success of destroying the Japanese would be in vain because of this incident. The first thing the Supreme Emperor will pursue must be his own responsibility for not reporting the crime.
Therefore, Hu Zongxian wrote a secret note to Zhu Houzhao at night: "I was recently summoned by Yuanfu. Yuanfu reminded me to pay attention to General Qi's command. Because of his youth, he will cause dissatisfaction with Commanders Tang and Lu. I think about it, and Yuan Fu's concerns are justified, so I came to ask the Supreme Emperor for his instructions, so that I can follow the Supreme Emperor's instructions to mediate the relationship between the three people."
Zhu Houzhao smiled, thinking that after all, these officials in the Ming Dynasty were not simple people at this time. Although they had the party, they were not just for the party. It is no wonder that they could usher in the prosperous era of Longwan in history. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao also The instructions said: "I know it, you can just act according to the opportunity, and I will also make arrangements!"
Zhu Houzhao could naturally guess Xu Jie's original intention, but he did not expose it. He also knew that everyone has their own different political opinions. Xu Jie's promotion to Yuanfu did not rely on the same political opinions as his own, but all kinds of luck. There is also loyalty to the superiors at every stage. Now Xu Jie’s superior is the emperor, which naturally represents the emperor’s will in many cases. Of course, it does not entirely represent the emperor’s will. After all, Xu Jie is a human being, not a person. Machines also have their own thoughts.
Therefore, what Zhu Houzhao has to consider now is whether Xu Jie's current behavior is his own idea or the idea of Emperor Zhu Zailei.
In the evening of that day, Emperor Zhu Zailei came to greet Zhu Houzhao as usual. Zhu Houzhao sprinkled fish food into the fish tank and asked Zhu Zailei: "Is there any news recently?"
"There is no big news. Only recently, the Dongchang Inspectorate investigated Hai Rui. Due to reports from the public, Hai Rui had received property. As a result, they only found three baskets of potatoes in Hairui's home. This was also the Dongchang Inspectorate. Check for errors It was so embarrassing that even his son had to comfort Hai Rui personally! Therefore, Xu Jie suggested to the officials that Hai Rui should be promoted to Nanjing Imperial College to serve as a minister in the future. "< br>
Zhu Zailei said.
"Since it is going to be reused in the future and promoted to Nanjing Imperial Academy, what can you gain from experience? It is better to be released as governor." Zhu Houzhao thought of something as he said it and said directly: "Promote Hai Rui to Yingtian, governor of Youqiandu." Shifu! Tell Hai Rui that you must act with sincerity. This Yingtian Prefecture is one of the most capital-rich areas in the Ming Dynasty, especially the Susong Second Prefecture. The gap between the rich and the poor has been quite obvious in recent years, so it must be managed well.”
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Zhu Zailei nodded in agreement. He couldn't help but wonder to himself what the purpose of his father suddenly promoted Hai Rui to be the governor of Yingtian Shifu.
When Zhu Zailei issued the decree to the officials, he also informed Xu Jie of the matter.
Xu Jie's heart couldn't help but trembled, and he quickly replied: "Your Majesty, I am from Huating, Songjiang!"
Zhu Zailei suddenly realized it and couldn't help but patted his knee: "Oh, my father is really, I really don't know how to say it!" Zhu Zailei did not say the word "insidious", and only comforted Xu Jie: "My love, my dear He comes from a scholarly family and has always been well-educated, so he does nothing inappropriate in the local area, right?”
"Thank you for your majesty's comfort. I have never dared to let my family bully others." Xu Jie replied, but he was still a little worried because he was the only one who knew about his family's situation. He couldn't help but said to Zhu Zailei: "Your Majesty, I have a problem. Please.”
"Speak," Zhu Zailei said hurriedly.
"I want Quanzi to go to the army to gain experience and participate in the extermination of the Japanese!" Xu Jie replied.
"No! The power of dispatching troops belongs to the Guards, and the dispatch of civil servants belongs to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. If you participate in military affairs, you have to cooperate with the Ministry of War. How can you just block people! Otherwise, where will the court decrees be!"
Zhu Zailei rejected Xu Jie's request.
Xu Jie had no choice but to nod in agreement.
(End of chapter)