The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty

Tang Hao led the fleet and spent more than a year to finally return to the Ming Dynasty.

He seemed quite worried at this moment. After all, according to the time, his wife was about to give birth.

In other words, he missed the day of his first bloodline, and he didn't know what the situation was.

As soon as he returned to Qinghe Shipyard in Shandong, Tang Hao learned a good news from Chu Tianfang.

Chu Tianfang was a hundred households of Jinyiwei and a confidant of Zuo Yidao, so he was responsible for guarding Qinghe Shipyard.

It was through the Jinyiwei channel that Tang Hao learned a good news from His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Houzhao.

This news only had four words-mother and child are safe!

After hearing the news, Tang Hao couldn't help laughing, and suddenly felt that the Ming Dynasty had become lovely.

Mother and child are safe, of course, he means something.

In this era when medical technology and medical equipment are quite backward, and he is not by his side, his wife Zhang Jingshu was pregnant alone for ten months, and then gave birth to a big fat boy for him, Tang Hao alone, this is simply a great joy!

After hearing this, all the generals came forward to congratulate him.

Tang Hao simply held a celebration banquet at the Qinghe Shipyard, one to celebrate the victory of defeating Japan, and the other to celebrate his wife's safe birth of a child.

At the banquet, there was a lot of toasts and cups, and it was very lively.

After all, the people present were all warriors, and they could be said to be all family members, so the atmosphere was very warm.

However, after someone drank some horse urine, he couldn't control his mouth.

One-eyed Lei Xiong picked up the wine glass and said drunkenly: "My Lord, you will definitely be promoted to Duke of the State for your contribution in destroying the country this time, but we brothers don't know when we can be granted the title!"

"To be granted the title of Marquis and appointed as a general, this is for every brother..."

"Lei Xiong!" An Guo suddenly shouted coldly, "Get out if you drink too much, don't make a scene here!"

"You are now a thousand-householder of the Beijing Army and the commander of the beheading camp, how can you not be a general? Are you still dissatisfied?"

"If it weren't for the Marquis's constant support and giving you the opportunity to make achievements, you would have died in the bloody selection with those twelve marquis' followers!"

The military positions of the generals of the Ming Dynasty were divided into two types: permanent and dispatched.

Permanent official positions had ranks, and most of them were hereditary, especially the guards and the local command offices. Dispatched official positions had no ranks, and most of them were temporary or long-term appointments.

The main permanent military positions, the highest level is naturally the governor of the Five Military Governor's Office, for example, Tang Hao, the governor of the Central Military Governor's Office, is of the first rank, similar to the commander-in-chief of the central military region!

The next level is the Duzhishisi, the Duzhishi is of the second rank, the Duzhitongzhi is of the second rank, and the Duzhiqianshi is of the third rank, similar to the provincial military region.

The next level is the local garrison, the commander is of the third rank, the commander-in-chief is of the third rank, and the commander-in-chief is of the fourth rank.

The local garrison is under the jurisdiction of Qianhu Suo and Qianhu Suo. The Qianhu Suo's regular Qianhu is of the fifth rank, the deputy Qianhu is of the fifth rank, the Qianhu Suo's Qianhu is of the sixth rank, the trial Qianhu is of the sixth rank, and there are also the general flags of the seventh rank and the small flags of the seventh rank!

This is the permanent military position of the military generals of the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the specific basis for the payment of salaries.

In addition to the permanent military positions, there are dispatched military positions.

For example, the garrison commander of the Nine Border Military Towns and the chief officer of the provincial war zone can mobilize all the soldiers of the military town in the war zone according to the size of the combat mission, similar to the commander or army commander of the war zone in later generations.

The assistant general, usually called the deputy general, assists the general or is responsible for the combat in a certain strategic direction. According to the specific responsibilities, he is similar to the deputy commander or army commander of the war zone in later generations.

The lieutenant general guards various routes and sections, with a force of 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers, similar to the division commander or brigade commander in later generations; the guerrillas lead the mobile troops to defend, the infantry and cavalry mobile forces, not necessarily cavalry, with a force of 1,000 to 3,000 soldiers, similar to the brigade commander or regiment commander in later generations; the garrison leads the troops to garrison a city or a certain area, with a force of 1,000 to 3,000 soldiers, similar to the regiment commander in later generations.

The lieutenant general and guerrillas are mostly served by the commander-in-chief and other officials, while the garrison is mostly served by the thousand households.

For example, Lei Xiong, the commander of the Zhanpei Camp, was originally the commander of a camp with more than 6,000 men under his command. Although he was nominally a garrison commander, his military strength was actually enough to rival that of a lieutenant general.

However, the Jingjun soldiers were different from the Nine Frontiers. After all, they were under the Emperor's watch, so only the Emperor could give higher-level military commanders. Therefore, Tang Hao could only give the garrisons such as An Guo and Chang Kuohai the title of a thousand households.

There is a very sensitive issue here.

Because the Five Military Commandery existed in name only, the promotion and transfer of the military commanders of the Jingjun soldiers were nominally still under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War.

Of course, Yang Yiqing, the Grand Sima of the Ministry of War, had a hard time. He was tricked by Tang Hao to go to Shaanxi to solve the problems of horse politics just after he took office. Therefore, the Jingjun soldiers were still under the control of the Marquis of Zhongshan.

However, even so, if the Zhengde Emperor Zhu Houzhao did not nod, Tang Hao would not be qualified or dare not promote these trusted generals on his own.

Military power has been a sensitive thing since ancient times.

Tang Hao didn't want to be suspected by Zhu Houzhao for promoting these generals, thinking that he was cultivating his own party in the army. If that happened, more than one or two people would die.

After An Guo's angry scolding, Lei Xiong finally came to his senses. Seeing that the Marquis of Zhongshan was sitting in the main seat with no expression, he immediately bowed to Tang Hao in a panic and apologized.

"My Lord, I...drank too much...said some things I shouldn't have said. Please forgive me..."

Then An Guo also helped to plead: "My Lord, you know that One-Eyed Lei has a bad temper. He just complained because he was drunk. Don't take it to heart."

The rest of the generals also spoke up. After all, they had fought together for so long, and there was still some comradeship.

"That's enough!" Tang Hao glanced at the generals unhappily, "Don't I know your little tricks?"

"I once said that no matter who the generals or soldiers are, as long as they are willing to fight for the Ming Dynasty, they will get the military merits and rewards they deserve!"

"Speaking of which, One-Eyed Lei is right. After so many years, your position should be promoted. Don't worry, I will make the decision!"

After receiving Tang Hao's personal promise, the generals were overjoyed, and then they stood up and toasted Tang Hao.

At the end of the banquet, I don't know how many people got drunk at the banquet.

After the banquet, Tang Hao was supported by Zuo Yidao back to the room.

Zuo Yidao also attended the banquet, but he did not drink because he was a Jinyiwei, so he could not drink at this moment.

After Tang Hao sat down, his eyes immediately regained clarity.

"Yidao, what do you think of what happened at the banquet today?"

Zuo Yidao pondered for a moment, then tentatively replied: "I think that after so many years of fighting, Lei Xiong and An Guo only received rewards of money and property, but their official positions and titles have never been seen. They are more or less resentful in their hearts."

"It's normal. After all, the soldiers shed their blood for the Ming Dynasty, but they can't be made marquises and generals. No one can accept it."

Hearing this, Tang Hao looked at Zuo Yidao with suspicion.

"It's unexpected that you can say this."

Zuo Yidao is a Jinyiwei!

A close confidant of His Majesty the Emperor.

But he expressed his dissatisfaction with the court!

Zuo Yidao smiled bitterly and spread his hands.

"I've drunk too much and I'm talking nonsense."

"You little brat!" Tang Hao cursed angrily, and then took out a secret letter from his arms.

"Send someone to send it back to the capital, let His Majesty prepare first, and I'll discuss it with His Majesty carefully after returning to the capital."

Zuo Yidao took the order and left.

Tang Hao sat alone and pondered for a long time.

The soldiers were dissatisfied with the money and property rewards, which was naturally a good thing.

The Five Military Governor's Office has been just an empty shell until now, because the central court did not have enough high-level military merits.

And this time, the merit of slaughtering Japan is enough to give birth to a group of high-level military merits, at least a few earls and marquises, which can barely support the Five Military Governor's Office!

As long as the five offices are rebuilt, the military merits will really begin to rise, with their own base camp, and the right and qualifications to protect the interests of the soldiers!

But the problem is, how can the civil officials and gentry compromise?

Facing these greedy people, the best way is to give enough benefits!

Tang Hao pondered for a long time again, and finally fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Tang Hao led the meritorious soldiers to Tianjin by boat and rushed back to the capital as quickly as possible.

Finally, in the early summer of the seventh year of Yongle, Tang Hao and his party arrived at the gate of the capital.

Unexpectedly, there were crowds of people outside the gate of the capital at this moment, and it was very lively.

There were also three important officials in the court, Wang Ao, the Minister of Personnel, Yang Yiqing, the Minister of War, and Zhu Youju, the Minister of Rites, as well as Zhang Yong, the popular inner court eunuch, to welcome them here!

That's right, Prince Xing Zhu Youju has been promoted to the Minister of Rites, which is the result of the struggle between the royal family members and the civil officials.

The last time Yang Tinghe searched for evidence of Prince Ning Zhu Chenhao's guilt, he lost a censor, and then because of the inexplicable attitude of His Majesty the Emperor, both sides stopped fighting.

However, soon after, Prince Ning Zhu Chenhao began to make trouble.

It is also very interesting to say that there were some outstanding talents in the imperial examination in the sixth year of Zhengde, such as Yang Shen, the son of Yang Tinghe, who was the great talent who wrote "Linjiangxian".

Originally, after this joint examination, Yang Shen was selected as the top scholar because of his extraordinary talent. However, when Zhang Sheng, the Minister of Rites, and other officials such as the examination supervisor and the examiner, took the top 50 test papers to the emperor for his judgment, the candle flames actually fell on them and burned the papers directly.

His Majesty the Emperor was furious. While ordering a new strategist, he severely punished Zhang Sheng, the Minister of Rites, and sent him directly to Nanjing to retire. It is estimated that there will be no chance of reinstatement in this life.

As soon as Zhang Sheng left, the position of Minister of Rites was vacant, and according to the system, it should be elected by the court.

As a result, at this juncture, Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao started to make trouble again. He accused Yang Shen, the son of Yang Tinghe, the chief minister of the cabinet, of making friends and cultivating party members for his father!

The most famous person among them is Cui Xian!

Cui Xian was born into a family of officials. In the 18th year of Hongzhi, he took part in the imperial examination. At that time, Cui Xian's examination paper was under the curtain of Liu Wuchen, the examiner. The examiner thought that his essay was profound, ancient, abstruse, harsh and harsh, and thought that he was not a virtuous person, so he rated him as low and did not admit him.

At that time, Yang Tinghe and Zhang Yuanzhen were co-examiners of the imperial examination. Yang Shen served Yang Tinghe in the examination room of the Ministry of Rites. After seeing Cui Xian's unique and witty writing, Yang Shen liked it very much and recommended it to his father. Yang Tinghe then promoted Cui Xian to the top of the "Book of Songs". After Cui Xian knew about it, he called Yang Shen "little host". The two became close friends and respected Yang Tinghe as "host".

When Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao made this matter public, it instantly caused an uproar.

What is "Zuozhu"?

The examiner of the provincial and metropolitan examinations is called "Zuozhu" by the successful scholars.

The Ming Dynasty followed the imperial examination system of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and scholars participated in the county, provincial, and national examinations. Those who passed the county examination were called Xiucai; the provincial examination was called the provincial examination, and those who passed the examination were called Juren; the national examination was called the metropolitan examination, and those who passed the examination were called Jinshi. The chief examiner was appointed by the Ministry of Rites for each provincial and metropolitan examination.

Especially for the metropolitan examination, the chief examiner was often selected and appointed by the emperor himself. If the scholars who participated in the provincial and metropolitan examinations passed the examinations as Juren or Jinshi, they had to worship the chief examiner of the undergraduate course as Zuozhu, and the Zuozhu called these disciples as disciples.

In other words, the civil officials and gentry actually secretly promoted the younger generation through this special relationship to cultivate their party members and select successors, and the chief examiner of the metropolitan examination became one of the good jobs that the civil officials and gentry competed for, enough to bring honor to the family.

After all, once you become an examiner, you can show favor to the vast number of scholars, which is indirectly equivalent to having your own interest group, cultivating your own party members, and forming your own power.

Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, there were also powerful officials who selected examiners from their own party members to show favor to the candidates, in order to win over these scholars, or support someone to serve as an examiner, in exchange for the benefits of supporting someone as an examiner, which is the exchange of interests in the imperial examination system.

For example, Wei Zhongxian once wanted to win over He Fengsheng, so he sent someone to inform him to serve as the chief examiner, in order to show favor to He Fengsheng, but He Fengsheng himself naturally disdained to associate with Wei Zhongxian, so he did not agree.

For the relationship between the host and the students, the court and the public have always held a positive attitude. They did not oppose the behavior of the chief examiner to establish private favors with the candidates, because the title of the host comes from the teacher, but it is more respected than the teacher. Because the host has the dual identities of a teacher and a career leader, the host of the Ming Dynasty is generally a loyal minister of the emperor. Cabinet ministers such as Xie Jin, Fang Xiaoru, Yang Shiqi, Yang Tinghe, Xia Yan, Yan Song, Xu Jie, and Gao Gong have all served as chief examiners of the imperial examination. Once they hold power, they will promote and reuse their own students.

Li Dongyang, the old fox, openly expressed his support, saying: "The master's students have been a thing since the birth of the imperial examination. He even abolished this practice in the Song Dynasty because he was afraid that candidates and examiners would abandon public interests for personal gain. As a result, party disputes became more intense. Party disputes became more intense."

Therefore, students are all respectful to their masters. In addition to the morality between teachers and students, there are also some utilitarian factors.

To put it bluntly, the relationship between the master and the students is, to put it bluntly, the relationship between the master and the students is like the relationship between a tree and monkeys. When the tree is big, there are many monkeys, and when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. This is a community of interests. The master promotes and protects the students; the students are dependent on and obedient to the master.

But the problem is that you can't say this kind of thing in front of His Majesty the Emperor, and you can't put it on the table openly.

After all, the hidden rule of the master and the disciple in the imperial examination is an act of establishing private favors under the imperial system. The autocratic imperial power requires all the subjects in the world to be loyal to the emperor, and this behavior is not allowed to appear, so the Song Dynasty once abolished the ban on calling each other the master and the disciple.

However, the emperor essentially still needs to appoint officials layer by layer to govern the entire country. He cannot rely on one person to govern the entire country, and the selection of talents cannot be completely determined by him alone. These all require a fixed mechanism to operate, so the relationship between the master and the disciple is inevitable.

So the emperors of the Ming Dynasty could only turn a blind eye, but they were slapped in the face.

Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao, this ruthless man, did just that, and he also cited evidence.

The result was that Emperor Zhu Houzhao was furious again and ordered Cui Xian and Yang Shen to be thrown into the imperial prison for severe interrogation. Who gave them the courage to dare to despise the court and the imperial power so much!

In order to save his only son, or to protect this tacit exchange of interests in the imperial examination and maintain the unspoken rules of the imperial examination for his master's disciples, Yang Tinghe chose to bow to Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao. The final result was that Cui Xian was exiled to the border, Yang Shen failed again, and Xing Wang Zhu Youlu was promoted to the Minister of Rites.

This time in the court struggle, the clan members can be said to have won a big victory!

Tang Hao thought about the news passed by Jinyiwei and locked his eyes on Xing Wang Zhu Youlu.

This prince Xing, who seemed to be inconspicuous, was undoubtedly the biggest winner in these court struggles!

Although Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao was jumping happily, anyone with a discerning eye could see that this Guanglu Temple Minister was not far from death.

However, in stark contrast, Xing Wang Zhu Youlu not only had a very good reputation, but also became a bigger and bigger official.

To be honest, Tang Hao was a little frightened at this moment, or a little worried.

After all, he knew the methods of Zhu Youju's son Zhu Houcong very well. It seemed that the son really inherited from the father. This Zhu Youju was not a simple person. He was worried that he and Zhu Houzhao would go too far in the future and really shoot themselves in the foot.

But now was not the time to consider these things, after all, they were still waiting there.

Tang Hao immediately rode forward, and when he came close, he immediately turned over and knelt on the ground respectfully.

Zhang Yong also sang the imperial edict loudly, and all the subjects present knelt on the ground.

The general idea was that the Japanese were despicable and shameless. First, they killed and imprisoned the Ming angels during the Hongwu period, and then they disguised themselves as Japanese pirates to go out to sea to plunder the coast of the Ming Dynasty and slaughter the people of the Ming Dynasty... All kinds of crimes of the Japanese were listed, and finally the Ming Zhongshan Marquis led the army to an expedition, crossed the vast ocean, and completely wiped out the rebellion and conquered the Japanese.

When Zhang Yong finished singing, the whole capital instantly cheered and turned into a sea of ​​jubilation.

Thanks to Tang Hao and Zhu Houzhao's previous propaganda offensive, the people in the entire capital hated and hated the Japanese.

Now, suddenly hearing that the Great Ming Zhongshan Marquis had wiped out the Japanese rebellion and raised the prestige of our Great Ming Dynasty, all the people and scholars couldn't help but cheer.

"Great Ming wins!"

"Great Ming wins!"

"Great Ming wins!"

At this moment, the cohesion and national confidence of the Chinese nation reached its peak!

After a round of cheers, a strange voice suddenly emerged from the crowd.

"Mr. Zhongshan is mighty!"

"Mr. Zhongshan is mighty!"

"Mr. Zhongshan is mighty!"

Tang Hao was stunned when he heard this, and then a smile slowly appeared on his lips.

Zhu Houzhao, you really know how to play!