eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 825: The son-in-law asks for an order to conquer

Emperor Zhengde's early dynasty was not considered diligent. He was more accustomed to reviewing memorials and summoning ministers according to business needs.

But even so, it is relatively rare to summon the Shaofu Ling Fan Yuchang, the Minister of War Gui E, the Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Officer Yan Song, and the Minister of Household Jiang Yong all at once like today.

Not to mention the cabinet ministers Gu Renyi and Wang Tingxiang.

In the past few years, there have been a lot of changes in officials, big and small, in the DPRK.

For example, He Jian, the original Minister of Household Affairs, passed away in the seventeenth year of Zhengde, but he lived a long life at the age of eighty.

and also,

Liang Chu was in poor health and had already retired from office.

Wang Jing, the former Minister of War, died of illness, and everyone is gone.

Wang Shouren's father, Wang Hua, also went there three years ago.

Nowadays, there are a lot of new stars rising in the court. If you want to talk about the old school, Wang Qiong may be considered. This guy drinks wine and eats meat, and his body is normal.

Among the new stars, the one who has been promoted the fastest is probably the current Minister of War, Gui E.

Gui E was originally a Jinshi in the sixth year of Zhengde. He "debuted" early, but he became the magistrate of three places, but he was never promoted to the magistrate. It was because this guy had a hot temper and had a sense of righteousness. Besides, he The officer was a bit reckless.

For example, he was a county magistrate who agreed with the imperial court's order to clear land, and he personally promoted it regardless of the objections of the Qingliu gentry, but at the same time he would also yell at Zhang Cong.

As a result, people on both sides actually don't like him very much.

Historically, Gui E was also a very vigorous person. At that time, no emperor forced the land to be cleared, but Gui E was able to measure the land in the county under his control. Because he repeatedly contradicted his superiors, his official career was not smooth, and he even went to Nanjing to work as an idler. Finally, he caught up with the great ceremony incident in the early years of Jiajing. He was reused because he supported Emperor Jiajing and opposed Yang Tinghe.

Later history proved that he was a very capable minister who dared to propose reform suggestions for the many shortcomings of the Jiajing Dynasty.

It is worth mentioning that everyone knows that there was an important reform in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, which was the "One Whip Method" implemented by Zhang Juzheng. This was completed in 1581, but the main content of the "One Whip Method" was mentioned It came out in 1530, fifty-one years ago.

This year is the ninth year of Jiajing,

It was Gui E who proposed the reform of these tax and servitude laws.

Of course, the name "One Whip Method" was not chosen by him himself, but was named after the summary by the imperial censor Fu Hanchen.

After Gui E proposed it, he was fiercely opposed by conservative ministers at the time such as Yang Yiqing and others.

Therefore, on the one hand, the resistance was huge; on the other hand, he failed in the political struggle in the first month of the following year and unfortunately died of illness six months later.

When the people died and the government ceased, although Gui E proposed a whipping method, it was never actually implemented.

Of course Zhu Houzhao knew this person, but he had not paid much attention to Gui E in the past ten years or so, because he always thought that Gui E was a courtier during the Jiajing period, so he ignored him a little.

Around the thirteenth or fourteenth year of Zhengde, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. The elder Ge from the Jiajing period had to show his face in the Zhengde Dynasty no matter what, so he took a closer look.

When we caught him, this guy was already nearly fifty years old. As a person who doesn't live long, this is really a pity.

However, in the past few years alone, Guihe did not disappoint Zhu Houzhao.

He is an official who pays great attention to people's livelihood and emphasizes practice. One of the core points of academic debate with others is that he must avoid empty talk.

Later, Zhu Houzhao asked him to go to the Ministry of War.

These days, there are still some officials who care about people's livelihood, but not many are soft-hearted and hard-tempered. Therefore, if he is asked to act as the deputy director of the Ministry of War, he should apply his emphasis on people's livelihood to the soldiers, and at the same time, let his anger be unleashed in the military camp. .

Otherwise, it would be strange to have a literary talent who reads poetry go to the military camp.

As for Gu Renyi and Wang Tingxiang joining the cabinet, this is not surprising.

Zhu Houzhao always valued his employees. As soon as a few stools were placed in the Qianqing Palace, those who could be given seats were all people with extraordinary means.

"Now, this is an emergency... King Suleiman II of Luzon must have been reminded by someone. His initial negotiation was to borrow money, not to borrow troops, just to prevent my hands from inserting deeper. This is This is the second secret report from Luzon Governor Zhu Feng, please read it."

After speaking, Zhu Houzhao picked up the teacup and took a sip.

The emperor is already in his thirties, and he looks more mature and steady after having a beard.

An adult emperor controls a unified dynasty and has worked tirelessly for more than 20 years. Now the emperor and his ministers are ruthless, and his words are inevitably a bit loud.

Gui E said directly, "Your Majesty, it is not easy to transport grain by sea. For example, the country of Manchuria is thousands of miles away. Behind Shitang Port is millions of acres of fertile land. It is not easy to have such a good transit place. They If we can't manage it properly and civil commotions break out every day, why not issue an order telling us to take control of it!"

"It's not millions of acres, it's tens of millions of acres." Fan Yuchang, the Shaofu's order, corrected.

In this way, the hearts of the ministers became sensitive.

Zhu Houzhao's eyes fell on the head of a person standing at one side, "Yan Song, you are in charge of foreign affairs, what do you think?"

Yan Song came out and said, "Your Majesty, the Luzon Kingdom is a vassal state of our Ming Dynasty, that is, a country that is a vassal state of our Ming Dynasty. Since there is a rebellion in the country, I believe that the Celestial Empire should help to put it down."

Gu Renyi, who had gray hair, turned around and said, "But Suleiman II only talks about borrowing money, not troops. This is because he doesn't want to give us such an excuse."

"That's why it can't go as he wants." Yan Song pointed his finger and emphasized.

Jiang Yong stepped forward, "What does Yan Wai mean by this?"

Yan Song handed over to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I have been in contact with envoys from various countries for a year. I understand that the exchanges between countries are not about etiquette. Because the customs of each country are different, we give them supreme honor and unique Courtesy, but none of the overseas ministers knew it, and naturally they did not understand the good intentions of the Celestial Dynasty.

Therefore, we value the division's reputation, but the other party may not value it. They can only understand our Ming Dynasty's ships and soldiers. Since Suleiman II has surrendered to me, the Ming Dynasty, he must not have any dissent. If we don't get rid of the evil spirit, how can the Chinese empire gain national prestige in Nanyang? They don't know the word "tolerance", and they think it's my imperial connivance. "

When Zhu Houzhao listened to these words... and recalled twenty years ago, the corners of his mouth sometimes twitched.

damn it,

Now these people have figured out his thoughts, and they all follow his ideas.

Wang Tingxiang followed up and said, "The Ming Dynasty has more than ten vassal states in Southeast Asia. If it does such a thing to Suleiman II, what will other countries think? This must also be considered."

Zhu Houzhao nodded, this makes sense...

……

……

Outside the Qianqing Palace, there was a little eunuch holding something in his hand and looking anxious. From time to time, he would stick his head out to see what was inside.

By chance, a young man with slightly dark skin and a tall and tall figure came up the white marble steps.

When he saw such a person outside Qianqing Palace, he immediately shouted angrily, "What are you doing?!"

The little eunuch turned his head and saw that he was so frightened that he immediately came over and knelt down, "Slave, please see His Highness the Third Prince!" Yes, the person who came was none other than the fifteen-year-old Third Prince Zai Yao. He is already fifteen years old this year. According to the practice of the Ming Dynasty, princes usually get married at the age of sixteen, so this guy is actually sensible and able to do his job.

He saw someone sneaking around outside his father's Qianqing Palace, and immediately became rude, "Where are you from? Who gave you the courage to peek outside the Qianqing Palace? Do you know what kind of place this is?!"

"Your Highness, spare your life, slave... I have something urgent to report to Your Majesty, but His Majesty is discussing matters with the ministers. It has been more than an hour now. I dare not disturb you, and I am afraid of delaying the Emperor's important affairs, so I am so anxious." Running around in circles!”

Zai Yao was dubious, "Seriously?!"

"It's true. The sealed box is right here. How dare you lie?"

There was probably a noise outside, so at this time a person walked out from inside, and he was the current attendant in the attendant's room.

Zai Yao recognized him. He was Xu Jie, who had won the imperial examination in the 18th year of Zhengde's reign and was a new scholar.

I saw him taking small steps, stepping forward and bending down to salute, "I have met His Highness the Third Prince. Your Highness wants to see the Emperor?"

"Yes, but I heard that my father is summoning his ministers."

"Indeed, we don't dare to disturb the Central Committee's confidential matters. If His Highness is anxious, you can wait aside and I will report to His Highness when it is over."

Zai Yao smiled slightly and said slowly: "Excuse me, Attendant Xu. Since it is a state matter, I should wait."

Xu Jie bowed slightly.

The third prince knows etiquette at a young age and has always had a good reputation.

Zai Yao looked at the young eunuch beside him and said, "Servant Xu, my matter is not urgent, but what he is holding is said to be an urgent secret. So what should I do?"

Xu Jie was also in trouble for a while.

Of course it was difficult, otherwise the little eunuch wouldn't be jumping around in a hurry.

Seeing them both standing there, Zai Yao stopped talking nonsense and said, "Let's do this. I will go out for you. I will go in and ask my father to explain the reason. Then I will listen quietly and don't disturb you." ”

Xu Jie hesitated, "This..."

Zai Yao said: "If my father is to blame, the most he can do to me is to reprimand him, but to blame you two is not something he can do lightly."

The young eunuch was immediately moved and fell to the ground, "My maid, Deqing, thank you for your great kindness, Your Highness!"

"It's okay." Zai Yao persuaded again, "Servant Xu, I am doing this because of urgent matters that my father has asked me to do. It is not for personal gain. My father will understand."

"Well, please invite His Highness the Third Prince to accompany you." Xu Jie said no more, but he knew in his heart that only the Third Prince, who still had some youthful mentality, could do such a thing.

Zai Yao stepped forward, reached for the wooden box, and then stepped in.

Zhu Houzhao, who had already stepped off the throne and was pacing in the room, felt a little strange when he saw Zai Yao coming straight towards him. Is this courageous?

"My son, I will meet my father."

Zhu Houzhao looked unhappy, "Who let you in?"

Zai Yao then explained, "My son, I have nothing important to do, so I should wait. However, someone outside the palace said that there is something important, so I, my son, suddenly acted rudely and asked my father to punish me."

The wooden box in his hand is true.

Zhu Houzhao asked someone to take it over and take a look.

Although there were so many ministers here, there was something wrong with the etiquette system, but he had been the emperor for so many years, and he no longer cared much about these rules. When he walked back to open the box, he did not forget to wave to Zai Yao. "Now that you're here, just wait aside."

"Yes!"

Because he is a prince, Gu Renyi, Wang Tingxiang and others did not dare to show off, and all saluted, "I have met His Highness the Third Highness."

Zai Yao was also very polite, "Everyone, please be polite, state affairs are important, don't worry about me."

He spoke very modestly and kept his position low, so people liked him, so all the ministers smiled and praised him.

Zhu Houzhao, who was sitting on the dragon chair, changed his expression. He immediately picked up a pen and sketched, and waved to You Zhi, "Send this Zhu batch back quickly, don't delay."

At the same time, I also had doubts in my mind, what happened to Sichuan? From the governor to the prefect, Xia Yan was accused of various crimes.

He has no control over the people Zhang Cong wants to employ. He should be employed.

But, this is deceiving the emperor.

"Slave, go now."

You Zhi quickly left Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Houzhao adjusted his mood, "Zai Yao?"

"My son is here."

"You have done a good job. Important matters must be known to me immediately. You could have ignored it, but it is commendable that you are not afraid of punishment for the sake of official court affairs." Zhu Houzhao did not hesitate to praise, and at the same time he also praised his son in front of everyone. Return to the circle.

After all, father and son are one, and the son is absurd and unruly. How can I have a good face?

Sure enough, when the emperor praised him, all the ministers knew that the emperor's third son not only knew the key, but also had the courage to do it not for himself but for the public, and he was a gentleman.

"My father has given me too much praise, and I am now apologizing to my seniors for interfering with my father's affairs."

Zhu Houzhao touched his beard and said, "You are studying at the Naval Academy. It just so happens that you should also listen together. How to solve the civil unrest in Luzon?"

"This is why my son is here." Zai Yao knelt down, "My son asked my father for orders. I am willing to serve as a soldier in the navy, make contributions to my father, and expand the border for the Ming Dynasty!"

Tuobian?

Zhu Houzhao's forehead went black. In twenty years... the world has really changed. Now he has to go overseas to attack places that were previously considered to be inhospitable places.

Gu Renyi quickly pulled back the conversation and said, "Your Highness, Third Highness, I have not yet talked about the step of expanding the territory."

After all, he started talking about taking over other people's territory in public. If this spread to the ears of envoys from other countries, it would cause a lot of discussion.

Zai Yao still didn't think there was anything excessive, "The minister suggested that Luzon Island be conquered! That Suleiman II was incompetent and immoral, and the people couldn't survive, so they naturally turned against him. And my father ruled the island. Thousands of miles of land and billions of people, there has never been such a disaster. The strength of our celestial dynasty has also made these small countries yearn for it. The people in these places are also looking forward to joining the celestial dynasty. Therefore, I beg my father to order the conquest of this country. , this is truly a move that conforms to the people’s will!”

After saying these words, all the ministers in the court were stunned, and even Yan Song showed a look similar to "You're a kid."

Zhu Houzhao was even more dumbfounded. They had just discussed it for a long time, and no one had said that yet. In other words, how could such a shameless thing be said so confidently?

(End of this chapter)