Chapter 1751, Zhu Houzhao finally became a marshal
At the train station in Huofengcheng, the capital of Northwest Province, trains filled with Ming soldiers slowly stopped, accompanied by waves of whistles.
Soon, accompanied by bursts of neat footsteps, groups of Ming soldiers wearing neat uniforms, military boots, and military hats quickly left the train station.
At the same time, a large number of arms and weapons, new rifled breech-loading single rifles, new Miyun cannons and various military supplies were also transported.
At the end, there are actually a series of large trucks produced by the Mercedes-Benz automobile factory. These trucks use multi-cylinder diesel engines and have sufficient horsepower. They are perfect for transporting military supplies or troops.
Large trucks were transported here one after another by train, loaded with various military supplies. After arriving at the station, they quickly drove away in rows, and there were hundreds of them.
In addition to large trucks, there were also Mercedes-Benz cars driving out. These cars were all painted with the logos and flags of the Ming Dynasty army, making it obvious that they were military vehicles at a glance.
“Finally arrived in the Northwest Province!”
In a carriage, the Ming Dynasty Prince Zhu Houzhao was wearing a military uniform, military boots, and a military cap. He didn't look as lazy as before, and his eyes were shining, as sharp as an eagle's eye.
He has been waiting for this day for many years.
My childhood dream was to imitate Huo Qubing and grant the title of Langjuxu. However, he was young and Emperor Hongzhi only had one son, so he would not be allowed to go to the battlefield at all.
Although he studied at the Ming Dynasty Royal Military Academy and served in the army, he even quietly went to war and participated in the Liaodong campaign against the Jurchen tribe.
But he never got a real opportunity to show off his military talents and personally command a battle.
This time, Emperor Hongzhi got his wish and appointed Prince Zhu Houzhao as the Grand Marshal of the Western Expedition, Yang Yun, the Australian Duke, as the Deputy Marshal, Huo Yun and Huo Ying as the vanguard generals, and led an army of 300,000 to sweep away the Kazan Khanate.
The Erhanate, the Muscovite Principality, the Crimean Khanate, and the Principality of Lithuania expanded their territory towards the Ming Dynasty and included the fertile land of Eastern Europe into the Ming Dynasty's territory.
When he heard the news, Zhu Houzhao was a little dumbfounded. He even wondered if his cheap emperor, I, was a little old and confused, and he would let himself lead the army in the Western Expedition for the first time.
You must know that in the past, even begging grandpa and grandma failed to get Emperor Hongzhi to agree to his expedition with the Ming Dynasty. Now he actually took the initiative to serve as the generalissimo of the Western Expedition.
Of course, this is also because times have changed and times have changed.
In the past, Emperor Hongzhi had only one son, Zhu Houzhao, and he had no grandsons. Zhu Houzhao was still young, so of course he could not be allowed to go to the battlefield. What's more, in the past, everyone actually had no confidence in their hearts. Is the Ming Dynasty's army capable of doing so? If it were to be completely defeated.
, then it will shake the foundation of the country.
It’s different now. Zhu Houzhao gave birth to nearly a hundred grandsons to Emperor Hongzhi, and the older ones are already good at making soy sauce. In addition, Zhu Houzhao has also grown up. He has become an adult, and he is much more mature and stable.
Already.
The Ming army is no longer the same as before, it is now invincible in the world.
With the current weapons, equipment and combat literacy of the Ming Dynasty's army, it can easily sweep any country. The prince leads the army to fight, and the risk is very small.
Furthermore, Emperor Hongzhi is getting older and older. He will be fifty in a few years. Since ancient times, the number of emperors who can live to fifty is not that many. Although his health is still good now, once he reaches fifty, he will be
It's time to pave the way for Prince Zhu Houzhao.
The Ming Dynasty is now prosperous and powerful, but it also has its own problems. The Ming Dynasty's army is directly under the jurisdiction of the emperor and is loyal to the emperor. Even military expenditures are paid for by the emperor's internal funds.
Therefore, in order to consolidate the control and leadership of the Emperor of Heaven over the army and enhance his influence, it is necessary to place the successor in the army to hone his skills.
Within the necessary period of time, allowing the prince to lead the army for a period of time and become familiar with the senior generals in the army will also be conducive to increasing control and influence over the army.
The prince serves as the generalissimo of the Western Expedition. Leading these generals of the Ming Dynasty in the western expedition is also a good opportunity to win over people's hearts and help the prince gain more support.
If it were in other dynasties, the emperor might be very disgusted with the prince's contact with the army in advance, taking over military power, or having contacts with ministers of the court and the army. What he was afraid of was that the prince would alienate the emperor when he became more powerful.
But it will be different tomorrow!
In the entire Ming Dynasty, starting from the first prince Zhu Biao, there were a total of fifteen princes, basically all of them could succeed to the throne smoothly. Zhu Biao died young, otherwise he could have become emperor, and if he had become
The emperor said that even if Zhu Di was given a hundred courages, he would not dare to rebel, and his rebellion would not be successful.
Except for Zhu Di who successfully rebelled and usurped the throne from his nephew, all the others who were appointed as princes in the Ming Dynasty successfully succeeded to the throne.
This is a very rare thing in the past dynasties. In any previous dynasty, the prince was a high-risk profession. There were not many successful successions, and they often did not end well.
The reason why the princes of the Ming Dynasty were able to successfully succeed to the throne is closely related to the princeling system of the Ming Dynasty.
Starting from Zhu Yuanzhang, the official system of the Prince's Mansion was established.
The official system of the Crown Prince's Mansion was not initiated by Zhu Yuanzhang. It has always existed. The Crown Prince and Tutor, the Crown Prince Xian Ma, etc. were actually empty positions with no real power and could not stir up any trouble. However, the Ming Dynasty was different.
.
The officials of the Prince's Mansion in the Ming Dynasty had two duties. During the day, they were Ming Dynasty officials. They had to share the emperor's worries. After the court meeting, they had to go to work in the Prince's Mansion, where they discussed world affairs with the prince and analyzed how to deal with business matters.
Moreover, these officials of the Prince's Palace are all important officials in the court. In one episode of the TV series "The Ming Dynasty", it was mentioned that almost 80% of the officials in the world came from the Prince's Palace, so it appeared later: Zhu Di wanted to change the throne of Han Dynasty
Zhu Gaoxu is the crown prince, and the ministers in the court do not agree with it.
Although there are exaggerated elements in the TV series, it is true that officials from all over the world leave the prince's mansion.
The princelings are equivalent to allowing the prince to become a trainee emperor in advance, and he has trained a group of his confidants in advance, and at the same time, it has strengthened political exchanges with the emperor.
Many officials in the Prince's Palace can basically quickly become important ministers in the court after waiting for the prince's rank. For example, Liu Jian, Emperor Hongzhi's teacher, used to give lectures to Emperor Hongzhi in the Prince's Palace.
Emperor Hongzhi immediately promoted him as soon as he came to power, and soon made him the chief minister of the cabinet.
In addition, in history, Yang Tinghe, Zhu Houzhao's teacher, when Zhu Houzhao became emperor, Yang Tinghe also became the chief minister of the cabinet.
In this way, the prince can quickly take over the power of the court smoothly after he succeeds to the throne, because the ministers are all from the prince's palace.
In addition, these ministers in the court basically all came from the Hanlin Academy. After coming out of the Hanlin Academy, many of them entered the Prince's Mansion as Zuo Yude, Zuo Shuzi, Zuo Chunfang, etc. These can be said to be the prince's class.
people.
In short, in one sentence, in the Ming Dynasty, as long as one was established as a prince, he would be a serious heir to the Ming Dynasty. The prince's team would be determined in the form of a national system and a princeling party would be openly created.
Therefore, letting Zhu Houzhao command the army was actually a way to build the prince's team. It allowed the prince to familiarize himself with the military affairs and generals in the army in advance, and to openly win over the generals in the army, laying the foundation for his future as emperor.
This would be unbelievable in other dynasties.
The emperor would not allow the prince to get too close to the ministers and military generals in this way, for fear that his power would be eclipsed, but the emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not seem to worry about this.
Because in essence, the country of the Ming Dynasty belongs to the emperor, and it also belongs to the prince, but in the end it still belongs to the prince.
Consolidating the prince's status and power in advance was very helpful for the stability of the Ming Dynasty.
The entire Ming Dynasty basically did not experience any major turbulence due to the matter of heirs. Of course, Zhu Di was an exception. Others ensured a smooth transition of power and ensured that power was always in the hands of the emperor.
Even when Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houcong, the son of a vassal king, succeeded to the throne, he quickly took control of the power of the government. The emperor could easily kill all the arrogant and coaxing eunuchs with just a word. The emperor also disliked the ministers in the court.
It can easily allow you to go home and retire.
Now Emperor Hongzhi is also making plans for the future. Many ministers in the court came from the prince's palace. Liu Jin and Wang Shouren have always had a good relationship with the prince. It is estimated that the older generation of ministers will not be able to survive for long.
The younger generation of ministers all hold positions in the Prince's Palace, and they can immediately take over the positions in the court when the older generation of ministers return to their hometowns to take care of themselves.
Of course, the army also needs to train people for princes, and the training must be done publicly so that the whole world knows that this is the Ming Dynasty's prince succession system.
The emperors of the past dynasties guarded their sons against their ministers, and did not build a team when they were established as princes. When the prince succeeded to the throne, it often took a long time to gain power. Some even failed to gain power until their death, which ultimately led to
Power falls away.
Instead of trusting his relatives and his ministers, he was unwilling to trust his own son, for fear that his son would gain power and make him useless.
In fact, as long as I am still alive, none of the princes of the Ming Dynasty will rebel and force the emperor to do nothing, because there is no need at all. Their status is so stable that other princes cannot pose any threat at all.
Just wait slowly to take over the position.
There is no need to rebel or force a palace or anything like that. Not only will it have a bad reputation, but the key point is that it may fail when the time comes. The benefits of the Crown Prince's official system can be reflected.
