Chapter 439: Duke Cao Guo walking in front of the court
The first half of Hongwu's twenty-eight years was a long and frightening time.
But the second half feels extremely fast.
July has just arrived, and Taisun Mansion is already tense.
But under this tense atmosphere, there is also a suppressed joy that is just waiting for the final result.
The grandson's concubine and the grandson's concubine have both given birth.
Near the Jiuqu Qingxi River, there are more and more young people who hang around all day long.
The fourth generation of the Ming Dynasty is about to be born, causing tension in the court and palace.
In the court, the New Deal seemed to have entered a gradually better state.
The emperor's tough attitude towards the New Deal, starting with the approval of hundreds of Beijing officials, made the world understand that the emperor's will cannot be changed.
The local gentry and the countless local officials who have never expressed their opinions. Faced with the officers and soldiers of the guard who have become thirsty for war and glory because of the restoration of the Qin Fajun meritorious service, no matter how dissatisfied they are in their hearts.
, they didn’t dare to show it at all, lest the head on their neck become a first-class military merit on the road to becoming a king.
At the beginning of the New Deal, after a fierce collision between imperial power and official power, it unexpectedly entered a relatively relaxed situation.
In Wenyuan Pavilion.
Another day of cabinet meeting.
The first assistant, Ren Hengtai, was sitting on a couch with a tea cup. Beside him was the second assistant, Xie Jin, who was reading several memorials.
As for the young Gao Yangzhi, and Xu Yungong, who was temporarily representing the Ming Army, they gathered around the desk between them and sat on the chairs that had been purchased for the midsummer.
"Over at Taisun Mansion, we not only need to send people from Yingtian Mansion and Shangyuan County to keep an eye on it and be on guard against unexpected events, we also need to ask the Military and Horse Division to set up a few more shops there."
Ren Hengtai took a sip of the herbal tea he had gotten up early in the morning and looked at Xu Yungong on the left.
Xu Yungong nodded and said: "The Soldiers and Horses Division has opened five new shops around Taisun Mansion in the past few days. There are people on standby at any time. As long as there is a slight movement outside, they can seal off the various places.
Jinyiwei has also added more manpower in the surrounding area. Ma Hongqing, the Qianhuguan who was transferred from the Beijing Army Majun Camp to the Shangzhi Personal Military Guard, is now stationed in Taisun Mansion with his own troops."
Xie Jin put down the memorial in his hand, raised his head and said expectantly: "Ah, may God bless me, and may my dynasty be safe for generations to come."
Ren Hengtai was more realistic: "My grandson has been too forward in recent years. No one knows if anyone is harboring resentment and waiting for the opportunity. The reproduction of the clan's heirs is a matter for the country. As a cabinet minister, we have a heavy responsibility."
These days, the Duke must be more careful and make sure nothing goes wrong."
Xu Yungong nodded, as it should be.
Gao Yangzhi thought for a long time, and when he saw several people speaking, he whispered: "Should we go to the gate of Yingtian City, and start checking all the people entering the capital, so that if there is any secret, we can find it early.
"
Xu Yungong looked at the youngest cabinet member: "Old Gaoge, those gates of Yingtian City have already received military orders from the Governor's Office."
Gao Yangzhi opened his mouth, and then cupped his hands towards Xu Yungong.
The Metropolitan Government seems to think that there is no need to go to the cabinet at all, which is undoubtedly another outstanding performance of the military in the cabinet.
Ren Hengtai glanced at Xu Yungong and then said: "The cement road from Yingtian to Huai'an Prefecture and Fengyang Prefecture is a matter assigned by His Highness. The official documents for conquering the people along the road have been issued. The imperial court still needs to urge the Ministry of Household Affairs to transport grain and grass.
Road construction materials; the Ministry of Works will also send skilled craftsmen to assign work; the Metropolitan Governor's office will also order the local guard station to be prepared to protect the road and beware of damage by bad guys."
The man who had just been slapped raised his head and was about to clasp his fists and speak.
Jie Jin, who was opposite him, had already raised his hand to stop Gao Yangzhi's words, and turned to look at Ren Hengtai with a smile: "I'll go to the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works.
The construction of new cement roads was originally proposed by me. Now that the construction of two cement roads in Yinghuai and Yingfeng is about to begin, it is up to me to do some of these things well."
Ren Hengtai nodded. This was originally a matter of Jie Jin. Now the cement road from Yingtian to Hangzhou Prefecture has reached the final stage. There is the cement road from Taiping Prefecture to Yingtian City. These cement roads are one of them.
Zhuang’s great contribution.
He is not yet at the point where he needs to take credit.
Xu Yungong spoke directly: "Fengyang Prefecture, Huai'an Prefecture, as well as the Chuzhou Prefecture and Yangzhou Prefecture along the way, all have written documents from the Governor's Office. Labor disputes, road construction, land occupation, money and food supply, these matters are all handled by the government ministries and yamen.
Local government. But if there are gangsters and thieves who cause trouble and intend to destroy the road, then it is the military merit of the soldiers under the governor's office!"
Now the Metropolitan Governor's Office has been re-established, just like in the early days of the Kingdom, it commanded the Five Armies Governor's Office and commanded the Ming Dynasty's million-strong army.
Ren Hengtai frowned slightly and said: "The Ministry of War needs to urge us. The recruitment of soldiers into the army is a long-term matter and should not be rushed. Rewards for meritorious officers on the front line and merit tests, and pensions for casualty officers only need to be based on
Just verify the official documents sent by the Governor's Office. Now it's time to urge the Ministry of War to supervise the military discipline of the guards, and arrange them as soon as possible."
As soon as the chief assistant said this, the Wenyuan Pavilion suddenly became quiet.
With the re-establishment of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, Wei Guogong, Liang Guogong, and Xipinghou became bachelors of Wuying Palace and were appointed to Wenyuan Pavilion. The authority of the Ministry of War was exploited layer by layer.
The Ministry of War has been in charge of the selection and examination of military officers, native officers, military system, training, recruitment, garrison, border defense, ceremonial guard, imperial guard, evangelism, stable husbandry, ordnance, talisman survey, military registration, martial arts and other military administration in the past.
The officers in his hall often supervise the troops on expeditions, and the headquarters is responsible for rewarding and punishing the advancing and retreating generals.
Until now, only a few powers and responsibilities are left.
It is only a supplement to the Governor's Office and related matters that do not involve the Ming army's conquest and training.
As for the armed forces belonging to the Ministry of War or the imperial court, now there are only government servants, local city gates to assist in defense, and postmen on official roads.
However, although many of the functions of the Ministry of War were deprived of it, in the end it still retained the crucial power of reviewing military merit and supervising military discipline.
This is a power struggle between civilians and the military, and it is almost common today in cabinets.
As Ren Hengtai spoke, Xie Jin leaned back holding a memorial in his hand. Gao Yangzhi turned his head. The scenery outside Wenyuan Pavilion was very beautiful today.
Even though there is nothing outside.
Xu Yungong stepped up her eyebrows and pondered for a long time.
Since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, vassal towns were separated, conquests were made every year, and the Central Plains was in chaos. The founding of the Song Dynasty, and with the emperor's cup of royal wine, the generals who founded the country were disarmed and returned to their fields. Military men have become objects that civil officials can command at will.
It is now twenty-eight years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Fortunately, the emperors of the Zhu family are not as cool as the emperors of the Zhao family. Over the years, people have come and gone in the court, and many people from Huaiyou in the Ming Dynasty have been executed for their crimes.
But after all, the emperor never really treated the warriors badly.
However, the constraints and suppression in the court are also real.
Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty has begun its foreign conquests and expanded its territory a few years ago. It has also been proved that the country does not engage in militarism, and war can also bring huge profits to the country.
It was precisely with the existence of the Southern Expedition Army and the Japanese-Suppressing Army that we had solid evidence and confidence to resume the meritorious service of the Qin French Army.
Now that the Metropolitan Governor's Office wants to take back power from the Ministry of War, there will inevitably be a lot of friction.
Xu Yungong nodded slightly and narrowed his eyelids: "In the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu, His Majesty appointed the capital guard post for the whole world. There are seven out of ten capital posts, one left behind, three hundred and twenty-nine internal and external guards, and sixty-five guard posts for thousands of households. And
Add Jiaozhi Road, occupy the city road, and build ten guard posts. For all the above, if we consider the internal and external guards and the guards of thousands of households, the Ministry of War still needs more than 400 military discipline officials to descend.
The Grand Governor's Office will naturally cooperate fully to strictly enforce military discipline and eliminate bad apples in the army. However, His Majesty also has a verbal message that the generals are used for conquests and battles, and they must be commanded by generals who understand military formations.
Military discipline officials under the Ministry of War must know their duties and refrain from making military formation drawings."
This is a statement and a warning.
Ren Hengtai did not refute.
In fact, the former Song Dynasty civil servants took military formation drawings and asked the frontline generals to fight according to the formation drawings. In his own opinion, this was an extremely stupid thing.
In the former Song Dynasty, we had to guard against warriors to this point, so we should forget about it.
Ren Hengtai just calmly replied to Wei Guogong: "Ruyu, Minister of the Ministry of War, is a man who knows how to do things."
"Huh!"
Suddenly, he was lying on the couch and flipping through the memorials. He let out a puzzled sound and immediately sat up from the couch.
Gao Yangzhi immediately raised his head and looked at his mentor: "But what happened?"
Ren Hengtai and Xu Yungong also looked sideways at Xie Jin, who had a strange expression on his face.
Xie Jin put the memorial on the table and looked at a few people: "Gong Cao Guo has submitted the memorial before. The gold and silver in the second quarter of this year will be shipped soon. It is expected that the gold will be 5,000 taels and the silver will be 800,000 taels."
Ren Hengtai was a little puzzled: "I have read the memorial of Cao Guogong, but now it is in short supply?"
Xie Jin shook his head.
Xu Yungong, on the other hand, directly stepped in front of Gao Yangzhi and grabbed the memorial.
After a while, Xu Yungong frowned and said: "Li Jiujiang reported that there have been sea troubles along the coast of Japan recently, and he was afraid that the imperial ship transporting gold and silver would be attacked. He asked the imperial court to mobilize the navy to sail between Shandong Road and Japan.
"
Ren Hengtai immediately frowned and said: "Where are the sea troubles on the sea now! Where are the Japanese pirates! What happened to Li Jiujiang?"
At this moment, Ren Hengtai had already thought of various possibilities in his mind.
Li Jiujiang wants to embezzle gold and silver!
Or, something happened on the Japanese side, which may affect this year's output, and the Japanese army is preparing to use maritime trouble as an excuse in the hope of avoiding the imperial court's accountability.
The output of the Japanese-suppressing army now occupies a large weight in the court.
The court cannot afford to lose this income.
Thinking about the possible impact on the output of the Japanese-controlled army, coupled with the various reforms in the imperial court and various major local projects, Ren Hengtai couldn't help but feel his scalp numb.
The imperial government's finances must not be better off for a few years, but then they have to tighten their belts and continue the old days of looking for money everywhere.
"Very weird!"
Xie Jin was puzzled for a moment, and then he slowly let out a sound after a while.
Now everyone knows that nine out of ten Japanese pirates were fake. Since the anti-Japanese army was stationed in the Japanese country, an additional one was later sent.
Those Japanese who were so poor that they had to go to sea to become Japanese pirates had long been deceived by Tie Xuan, the leader of Wenhua Palace and the head of the Ministry of War, and went to Shanxi Road to dig coal.
As soon as the real Japanese pirates disappeared, the fake Japanese pirates along the southeast coast also disappeared immediately. However, the Jinyiwei never relaxed. In recent years, with the cooperation of the Zhongshan Prince's Mansion and others, many people who had engaged in Japanese pirate activities in the past were successively identified.
Ming people.
As for why the Prince of Zhongshan and others cooperated with Jinyiwei to arrest people.
This is all because nowadays, shipping outside the official offices of the Ming Dynasty is in the hands of a series of people such as the Prince of Zhongshan.
Profit dictates.
Xu Yungong sighed softly and looked a little embarrassed.
The Japanese-suppressing army was also under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Palace, and Li Jiujiang was also a son of a meritorious general.
If something really happened, his situation in the cabinet would be very sad.
"Tai Sun has already revealed his intention to comprehensively manage the Japanese country. The original plan of the Governor's Office was to wait for the gold and silver to arrive in the treasury in the second quarter before mobilizing troops and horses to reinforce the Japanese army. If..."
Xu Yungong found it very difficult to handle, and wished he could sneak him back to Li Jiujiang right now, so that he could ask clearly about the situation.
But at this moment.
Outside Wenyuan Pavilion, there was a sound of footsteps.
Very hasty.
During this period, there was a faint sound of armor.
Everyone was already filled with distracting thoughts, but when they heard that someone outside Wenyuan Pavilion was so ignorant of the rules, they couldn't help but look sideways outside.
Not long.
An officer and soldier with red feathers on his back and hemp rope wrapped around his body quickly walked to the inner and outer doors of Wenyuan Pavilion.
Plop.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The officer and soldier landed heavily on one knee, with their armor skirts under their knees, and they hit the ground with a dull and harsh sound.
The officers and soldiers were already clasping their fists, lowering their heads and saying in a deep voice: "Urgent report from the Japanese suppressing army! This year, the Japanese suppressing army will release a deposit of 3,000 taels and 800,000 taels of silver in the second quarter.
There was no trace, and no one knew where he was going. The Japanese army was searching by speedboat, but there was still no trace. We only found out that it might have been done by the Japanese. We reported to the imperial court and asked what we should do to suppress the Japanese army."
In Wenyuan Pavilion, the expressions of Ren Hengtai and the four others changed drastically at first, and they were all shocked.
Just turning around, I don't know who chuckled.
The tensed shoulders of several people also relaxed.
Xie Jin asked softly: "Do you know how many fleets there are and how to configure them?"
The officer and soldier opened his mouth and replied: "There are three treasure ships, five blessing ships, tower ships, mengchong ships, fighting ships, and seat ships, a total of twenty ships."
Xie Jin stopped talking and just held back his laughter.
Gao Yangzhi blinked and originally wanted to ask, but he quickly responded.
Xu Yungong on the side sneered, then leaned back on the sofa, looking at the chief assistant Ren Hengtai indifferently.
Ren Hengtai was very troubled.
Duke Cao Guo actually walked in front of the court!
This made Mr. Shofu very helpless and sad.
Ren Hengtai raised his head, looked at the three of them, and smiled bitterly: "Is Mr. Cao Guo loyal to the country, or does he disrespect the emperor's order?"
Xu Yungong coughed slightly, but refused to speak.
The young young Gaoge old man looked left and right, and finally saw his husband give him a look, and then he said: "It is better to anticipate the enemy and understand the superior's intentions. The country and the dynasty carry out benevolent and righteous actions, and the soldiers carry out the king's expedition. Is the cabinet going to do it?"
Should I give Mr. Li a compliment?"
"He, Li Jiujiang, did such a trick without informing the court in advance, and he still wants praise from the court?"
Ren Hengtai exclaimed, his face full of displeasure.
After scolding for a while, he sighed again and waved his hands to the officers and soldiers who were rushing to report.
Wait until the officers and soldiers leave.
Ren Hengtai leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes slightly: "Ask the Ministry of Rites to draft the text. The Ming Dynasty does not bully the weak, but it cannot tolerate hungry wolves pecking away."