Domineering Daming

Cao Wenzhao looked at the corners of Zhu Xu's face, his face was bright and clear, and it reminded him of their first meeting in a trance.

At that time, he followed Sun Chengzong back to Beijing to recite meritorious service. In the main hall of Qianqing Palace, next to Emperor Tianqi, he saw a very wealthy seven-year-old child.

That little boy was His Majesty who had just been conferred the title of King Hui. At that time, the little boy was staring at him with a half-smile, and he felt hairy when he looked at him.

The performance banquet that should have been very happy, turned out to be very troublesome for Cao Wenzhao, always feeling that something bad was going to happen, and he was restless all night.

But he didn't expect that that day would be the biggest change in his destiny.

This change made him the number one confidant of Emperor Daming, and the Cao family became the most prestigious and unattainable family in Daming!

Doing the math, it has been almost 20 years. For such a long time, Cao Wenzhao is very clear about how difficult it is for this majesty in front of him.

In the face of this surging opposition, he persisted and supported it with all his might.

Cao Wenzhao's heart twitched in an instant, he didn't know how much, he was a little heavy, he was a little relieved, and he was a little bit emotional. After a while, he said with a concerned look: "Your Majesty, you must take care."

Zhu Xu was startled, looked up at Cao Wenzhao's expression, nodded tiredly, and said: "If you want to say that I am close to you, it is you."

Cao Wenzhao was the first to follow Zhu Xu and helped him the most, and he has also endured countless pressures over the years.

Listening to Zhu Xu's words, Cao Wenzhao moved closer and said, "Sun Shoufu is still trustworthy. The court situation is rapidly developing in a good direction. I have absolute confidence in the 'New Deal'."

Zhu Xu sat cross-legged on the soft bed, and said without hesitation: "Sun Baigu is capable, and Daming's problems can also be solved. The difference between problems is time. At the beginning, Old Bi Ge stabilized the chaotic court situation for me. After a dilapidated stage. Sun Baigu, or I, I am a little impatient. Next year will be the eighth year of Jingzheng. Qin Tianjian has observed it for many years, and it has been estimated that last year, this year and next year will be the three years with the most severe natural disasters. Survive it, the natural disaster will slowly pass, and the entire Ming Dynasty will recover. Plus two or three years of recovery time, that is to say, there are at most four years before the natural disaster will end. I will complete the reform within these four years, especially Land reform..."

Cao Wenzhao is probably the person who can understand Zhu Xu best. He listened to Zhu Xu's words, thought for a while, and said: "I am a little concerned about the court situation, and Sun Shoufu is also a key point to promote. Four years, it should be almost the same. .”

Of course, what Zhu Xu wants is not "almost", but to lay an important foundation for the transition from a feudal economy to a commodity economy.

Even if it was Cao Wenzhao, Zhu Xu couldn't say anything more, so he took another sip from his teacup and said, "What did the old general tell you?"

The name Old General is Zhu Xu's name for Qin Liangyu, and everyone in the Ming Dynasty knows it.

Cao Wenzhao knew that Zhu Xu valued Qin Liangyu very much, but at the beginning he went out of the city ten miles to meet him, and he was the only one in Daming!

Cao Wenzhao didn't hide anything, and said: "The old general means that he wants to wait a few years before she and Marshal Sun will serve together, and then the ministers will take over in order."

Holding the teacup, Zhu Xu nodded knowingly, and said: "The old general thinks this way, it should be for me, and I don't want to cause trouble for me. However, you still have to be wronged, wait a little longer, my plan all along, are you understandable."

Cao Wenzhao smiled immediately, and said: "I don't care about official positions, if I can do something for the emperor, it's the same everywhere."

Zhu Xu was very satisfied with Cao Wenzhao's attitude, smiled, and said: "Well, after entering the commander's mansion, he will clearly distinguish his responsibilities, fill in the gaps in Marshal Sun's policies, and conduct another review of all aspects of the army. I don't want Quantity requires quality, and elite soldiers are needed, and shortages are better than excesses!"

Cao Wenzhao said solemnly: "I understand!"

Zhu Xu said "hmm" and said, "I don't need to tell you about other things, just tell me if you have any ideas or difficulties."

Cao Wenzhao's expression remained unchanged, and he said in silence for a while: "I don't have any difficulties, but if I enter the commander's mansion, who will be the commander of the Royal First Army, please show me the emperor."

Cao Wenzhao is very familiar with the entire Ming Dynasty's military. It is not difficult to find a person who commands the [-] elite soldiers of the First Royal Army of the Ming Dynasty. too difficult.

Naturally, Zhu Xu had thought about this question a long time ago, and said: "You are still in charge, I don't worry about the others."

Cao Wenzhao did not expect such a result, he pondered for a moment, and said: "Yes, then I will watch for the emperor for another two years, and if there is a suitable candidate, I will let go."

Cao Wenzhao was already cutting off the Royal First Army Corps, and once he was promoted to the Deputy Marshal of the Grand Marshal's Mansion, he was a high-ranking and powerful man, and no matter what, he would no longer be able to hold heavy troops.

Chapter 1483 Arrangements for the Prince

For the time being, Zhu Xu really couldn't find a suitable person to take over the Royal First Army Corps, a hundred thousand elite, not to mention the issue of trust, whether it can lead is a big test.

Zhu Xu chatted with Cao Wenzhao for a long time, perhaps because the atmosphere was better, or maybe Zhu Xu was a little depressed recently, reminiscing about the past with Cao Wenzhao, recalling the long past, and chatting a lot.

Both of them were very happy, and felt that the time passed quickly.

After chatting for an indeterminate amount of time, Cao Wenzhao seemed to suddenly remember, and said curiously: "Your Majesty, when I came, I saw His Highness the Second Highness sweeping snow with a broom..."

Zhu Xu smiled and said: "Well, I punished him, my son...by the way, what do you think of Xuan'er, does he have the potential to become a commander in chief of an army?"

Cao Wenzhao was startled, looked at Zhu Xu, not knowing how to answer.

Almost everyone in the Ming Dynasty had the same concern, that is, although the Qianqing Palace formulated the clan regulations and had strict regulations on the clan, there was only one thing missing.

That is the arrangement for the current princes. No one knows what Emperor Jingzheng plans for the future of his princes?

Should he go out of the capital and become a vassal, or should he be imprisoned in the ten princes' mansions in the capital?

Or is it that the government and the public are most worried about becoming an official and participating in government affairs?

Cao Wenzhao also didn't understand Zhu Xu's plan for this, so he said cautiously: "I don't have much contact with His Highness the Second Highness, so I dare not speak nonsense."

Zhu Xu looked at him, thought for a while, nodded, and suddenly stood up and said, "Go, go for a walk."

Cao Wenzhao stood up and walked outside.

Just after the heavy snowfall, the Palace of the Qing Dynasty is covered in silver, and at night, under the dim reflection of the lanterns, it is beautiful.

Zhu Xu walked slowly, and said: "This year's report of the commander's mansion will be made by the old general Qin. After the big discussion, I will issue a canonization order, and the commander's mansion will add another chair. The mixed army of the first army is still the same. Stationed in Langfang, Zhao led the teaching, Man Gui, Zu Dashou, etc. to carry out rotations. The Royal Military Academy should strengthen the training of new students, not only to build a new army, but also to replace the old army..."

Cao Wenzhao didn't dare to be careless about these words similar to "chatting", and listened carefully.

Zhu Xu said as he walked, "Among the five divisions of the Ninth Bureau, the staff division, combat division, and military intelligence division are the most important, and the logistics division and equipment division cannot be ignored. You know the others better than I do, so I won't say much. Grand strategy, the first is the expansion of overseas territories based on the vanguard of the joint fleet and the navy as the backing. The second is Siam and Burma in the southeastern peninsula, which are mainly in charge of the southern theater. You have to keep an eye on it. The third is to use The fan-shaped expansion aimed at Moxi Mongolia, the first is Moxi Mongolia, the second is the Mughals, and the third is Russia. What we need to do now is to make full preparations, sharpen the knife and cut the firewood by mistake, it is really here On that day, it will definitely get twice the result with half the effort..."

Cao Wenzhao has always known that Zhu Xu has great ambitions, and this is the first time Cao Wenzhao heard Zhu Xu say it with his own ears.

He remained expressionless, and said in an unusually firm tone: "Don't worry, the emperor, I will definitely follow the hadith!"

Saying that, a group of servants led Zhu Xu and Cao Wenzhao to a corridor not far from Qianqing Palace.

At the end of the corridor, the second prince Zhu Cixuan was holding a broom, sweeping vigorously, and let out a low growl.

The two inner eunuchs held lanterns and led him on the way, and the illuminated road was full of snow.

The little guy is full of motivation, constantly sweeping, meticulous, and the sweeping is extremely clean, and will rinse with water after sweeping.

Zhu Xu looked at the little guy, and said to Cao Wenzhao with a smile on his face, "Let's see again this time?"

Cao Wenzhao looked at Zhu Cixuan, thinking that this was the second time Zhu Xu had asked, he vaguely heard some of Zhu Xu's meaning, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, do you want to put the Second Highness into the First Army?"

Zhu Xu put his hands behind his back and said: "Well, the little guy has been fond of wielding knives and guns since he was a child, and he doesn't care about reading at all. After thinking about it, I can only let you go. In two days, I plan to let him On my behalf, go to Zhangjiakou to meet Badali, and send 2000 people from your army to escort Xuan'er there."

Cao Wenzhao's eyes moved, and there was no concealment in it, which foreshadowed the future development track of the second prince.

These Cao Wenzhao did not raise their beaks, but smiled and said: "Yes, I understand. I ordered the two thousand elite soldiers from Langfang to rush to the gate of Anding as soon as possible. I will come early tomorrow morning to invite the Second Highness to introduce some people and things."

Zhu Xu laughed, satisfied with Cao Wenzhao's arrangement, and said, "By the way, you can't let him alone, and you can't miss the books you should read. Also, don't you want to build a boy scout camp over there? Let Xuan'er be the first batch, don't reveal your identity, and come as ordinary people."

Cao Wenzhao frowned slightly, glanced at Zhu Cixuan who was still hard at work sweeping the snow not far away, and said with relief on his face, "Yes, I will know how to measure."