Before the meeting, the ministers arrived early, and they also knew about the internal reconciliation of the Tatars in advance. Some people even thought that this was Zhang Zhou's "misdeeds", and using a victory to stop the Tatars from fighting among themselves was simply a shame. Doing big things is not helpful.
"When do you think it is not good for him to go to Weininghai? It must be before the internal war between the Tatars begins. This is a good time. Does the result of this war compare with the losses caused by internal fighting among others?"
A group of people are under criticism.
The emperor did not come, nor did several of the eunuchs from the Supervisor of Ceremonies. At the same time, Liu Jian, Ma Wensheng and Zhang Mao were summoned to Qianqing Palace. It seemed that important meetings were to be held before the court meeting.
Li Dongyang and Xie Qian seemed very quiet among the crowd.
They did not participate in any discussion. If someone approached them to ask questions, they would naturally keep the person away. This means that no matter what matters you are discussing about the northwest, please do not involve our cabinet in it. Our cabinet is responsible for No opinion on this.
"Tu Butang, why is Your Majesty so late in coming today? Is there something important to discuss in the inner court?"
Others could not find out the result from the cabinet ministers, so they had to go to Tu Yu.
Tu Yu also kept his secrets secret.
Yuan Shouzhi had a strong opinion against Zhang Zhou before. He walked over and asked, "Does your Majesty intend to transfer the newly appointed general commander of the Xuanda and other military affairs departments back to the capital?"
Tu Feng asked: "The situation in the northwest has changed, and war will break out at any time. Changing the commander before the battle is probably not a good idea."
This means that although I don't know the emperor's purpose of summoning Liu Jian and others, I also know that the emperor is unlikely to replace Zhang Zhou.
Zhang Zhou's army was defeated, or he did nothing in the northwest, so he changed the people, which is easy to explain.
Now that a great victory has occurred, Zhang Zhou needs to be replaced? Why? Do you think the emperor cannot live without Zhang Zhou, or do you think the emperor feels that the northwest is already at ease and does not need Zhang Zhou anymore?
…
…
Inside the Qianqing Palace.
The sun has risen outside and the sky is already a bit hot. Zhu Youtang asked someone to open the door of the palace, while Dai Yi was fanning him personally.
The three people standing below did not receive such treatment.
"Two copies of the above list, one is Batu Munch, the other is Fire Sieve..."
Zhu Youtang said, and asked Xiao Jing to take the memorial and circulate it to the three people present.
When they read the contents of the memorial, Zhu Youtang probably explained the situation: "Batu Meng wanted to reopen the horse market and pay tribute. Huo Si wanted the Ming Dynasty to return his people and submit to the Ming Dynasty. They met around the Weining Sea. We selected a site to build the city and submitted to the Ming Dynasty from then on."
Liu Jian reminded: "Your Majesty, they are ministers of the Ming Dynasty."
"hehe."
Zhu Youtang smiled.
He wanted to ask, Mr. Liu Ge, this is just talk, do you really believe it?
Liu Jian added: "The wolves in the grassland have always had ulterior motives and have no credibility at all. The Duoyan Sanwei and the Liaodong Jurchens are the precedents."
"Um."
Zhu Youtang nodded.
Strictly speaking, the entire northwest and even the grasslands were under the control of the Ming Dynasty, but in fact the so-called surrender of these vassal states was just a formality. Duoyan and other guards in Liaodong once actually submitted to the Ming Dynasty, but After surrendering, they immediately rebelled. In the ninth year of Yongle, when Zhu Di was expedition to the northern grasslands, the three guards of Duoyan had already joined the Tatar coalition.
Therefore, the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty did not believe that Huo Si would sincerely submit to the Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Maoze said: "Your Majesty, it is inappropriate to use the precedent of Wu Liangha and other tribes to submit to the Ming Dynasty to describe today's events. Now the fire screen is weak on the grassland, or it is desperate. If it cannot be recruited, and the order If their tribe continues to be used by the little Tatar prince, or even annexed, it will be harmful to the border towns of the Ming Dynasty but not beneficial."
"Yeah." Zhu Youtang also nodded.
This made the three of them somewhat unclear about the emperor's intentions.
If you say you can't be trusted, don't recruit or accept submission, you nod.
When he said he accepted submission, you nodded.
Emotionally, you support whatever we say... Obviously this is not in line with the current situation between the DPRK and China. You should probably ask Zhang Bingkuan what he thinks of this matter now, right?
Seeing that the three of them were suddenly speechless, Zhu Youtang sighed: "Three Qings, I am actually worried about whether to accept the submission of Huoshii. This man is so ambitious that he has repeatedly harassed our Ming border. Even if His father and ancestors also often had a disobedient heart, and if they are not of my race, they will have a different heart."
"I have also thought that if I accept him, it is better to secretly execute him... and disperse his people to various towns in the Ming Dynasty, which can solve the temporary trouble."
"But this is not conducive to the Ming's long-term peace and stability on the grassland in the future. It sets a bad precedent. It will make it difficult for other tribes to believe in the sincerity of the Ming's recruitment in the future, so they will no longer mention the matter of surrender."
Ma Wensheng said: "Your Majesty, if you want to solicit, it is better to ask him to show his sincerity and not return it to the people of his tribe for the time being. Let him fight with the little Tatar prince. My Ming soldiers may wave flags and cheer for him, but they cannot go into battle in person. If he is really sincere and willing to help, even if he is defeated, he can be brought under the rule of the Ming Dynasty."
Liu Jian, Zhang Mao, and several eunuchs all looked at Ma Wensheng.
They are all thinking.
Do you want to be ruthless, or are you ruthless and let Huo Si hand over the name certificate and let him risk his life with Dayan Khan?
Not to mention that he doesn't have this strength now, even when he was completely victorious, he wouldn't have the qualifications to challenge even with his own strength.
Zhu Youtang shook his head and said: "The purpose of Huo Si Ti's surrender is to use the power of the country to give him the capital to survive on the grassland. Now he is asked to fight to the death with the little Tatar prince. It is also not good. Precedent. I still want to spread benevolence to all parts of the grassland, do you have any other suggestions?"
The emperor actually said that he would be benevolent to prairie wolves?
Are you kidding me?
Huo Si was the enemy of the Ming Dynasty, and he was defeated by force. Do you expect him to submit to the Ming Dynasty wholeheartedly and become a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty?
Your Majesty, can we not be so naive?
Even Liu Jian did not agree with this statement, but the emperor said that etiquette should be used to teach benevolence and virtue to influence the grassland tribes. This probably means that some gentle policies can be implemented on the grasslands in the future, which is consistent with Confucian concepts. .
Liu Jian was too embarrassed to come out and object, saying, Your Majesty, forget it, don't act like they are benevolent, let's just be unbenevolent and unjust!
You still have to install it.
Or was the emperor himself just pretending to be benevolent?
Zhang Mao cupped his hands and said, "Since your Majesty has summoned the ministers today, he must have a good proposal, and the ministers are willing to listen to your Majesty's will."
Zhu Youtang waved his hands and said: "I have already said that I have no final plan for this. In fact, Bingkuan just mentioned a few words in passing when handing over these two forms. I hope I will not trust others easily. But You can't refuse people thousands of miles away, I've been thinking about it for a long time."
Gone?
Liu Jian felt that this was not like Zhang Zhou's style.
Emotions just mentioned the pros and cons, saying "you want both", and then just fooled the emperor like this?
The emperor actually thought about it for a long time?
Liu Jiandao: "Your Majesty, with the current situation in the northwest, the towns should not be able to send troops, right?"
"Yes." Zhu Youtang said, "Bingkuan's advice to me is that it is not suitable to send troops for the time being. But if the barbarians invade the territory, everything will change."
"Then, Your Majesty, why not use the fire sieve as a shield and let him station troops outside the Ming Dynasty Pass. If the Tatars invade, he will be the vanguard. If they don't invade, everything will take precedence with the old system..." Liu Jian continued Make suggestions.
Zhu Youtang asked: "Is there any difference between what Mr. Liu Ge said and what Ma Qing's family said?"
Liu Jian hesitated.
Accept the sieve of fire, fearing that the sieve of fire will pretend to surrender and turn around to rebel.
If you don't accept it, you will feel like you missed the opportunity.
In this situation of both wanting and wanting, it is difficult for even a chief minister like him to come up with a decision. In addition, he knew that Zhang Zhou didn't seem to have any better suggestions for this, so he didn't force it. Make a proposal that sounds earth-shattering.
Zhu Youtang said: "What Bingkuan means is to let Huo Si lead his troops to enter the pass, and let him come to Beijing to see him."
"ah?"
Zhang Mao screamed in surprise, but then he held it back.
Zhu Youtang couldn't help but glare at him, you old boy is so immodest, what are you yelling about here?
Ma Wensheng said: "If Huo Sieve sincerely surrenders, it is natural for him to come to the capital to see him. Should he be detained?"
"No." Zhu Youtang said, "Bingkuan's intention is to transfer him to the Hetao area so that he can help the Ming Dynasty build fortresses and farm in the Hetao area."
This time Ma Wensheng was a little speechless after hearing this.
"I have thought about it, if the Weining Sea is given to Huoshan, it will be a disaster. It is said to be a city, but it is difficult for the Ming Dynasty to send troops to garrison. Instead, it seems to be helping Huoshan. Now the Hetao land has been deserted for a long time. , the towns in the northwest are temporarily unable to immigrate to farm and manage, so it is better to let Huoshi move there." Zhu Youtang's words were obviously following Zhang Zhou's wishes.
Liu Jiandao: "Your Majesty, the land of the Hetao is very important to the Ming Dynasty. If there is a rebellion in the Hetao, it will be very harmful, and the Ming Dynasty may completely lose control of the Hetao."
Zhu Youtang asked: "What do you mean, Mr. Liu Ge?"
Liu Jian was in a dilemma.
He didn't want to accept Zhang Zhou's proposal, but he couldn't come up with any good suggestions. This was the dilemma... Civil servants were very good at opposing others and could analyze the pros and cons of other people's suggestions to the point where they thought they were good. They have a good idea, but if they are allowed to do it on their own, they will not be able to do what they want.
"It is difficult to feed all the 100,000 cattle and sheep in the Ming Dynasty. They still have to be sent out of the pass or slaughtered on the spot. As for the more than 10,000 herdsmen, they cannot be killed, nor can they be kept... If they are not moved to We can only leave them to mine in Hetao, but what can a group of old, weak, women and children do?"
Zhu Youtang also looked very anxious.
The fire sieve has changed from the once heroic leader of the grassland to a useless one.
It's hard to chew something, but it's a pity to spit it out. It's really... winning is worse than not winning.
Isn’t this causing trouble for the Ming Dynasty?
Dai Yi reminded: "Your Majesty, in fact, the court can ignore Huo Si's submission proposal."
Zhu Youtang said: "If you ignore it, doesn't that mean you don't accept it? There is nothing new in such suggestions."
There are drawbacks to accepting it, and there are also drawbacks to not accepting it. The emperor and the court seemed to be in a dilemma.
Liu Jiandao: "It can be discussed in court."
At this time, the small meeting could not produce any results. Liu Jian felt that it was completely unnecessary for the emperor to hold such an inner court meeting. It would be better to discuss it in the court.
Zhu Youtang suddenly said firmly: "If you don't have any good suggestions, then I will adopt Bingkuan's suggestion, accept Huoshi's surrender, and let him come to the capital to see you, regardless of whether he will be loyal to the Ming Dynasty in the future. At least he must set an example for the grassland tribes by surrendering to him, what do you think?"
"Very good." Zhang Mao was the first to agree.
Liu Jian thought for a while.
Since the fire sieve is useless, it doesn't matter whether you keep it or not, or it may be said that if you stay, you will rebel again in the future, so first use the fire sieve to surrender, boost the morale of the Ming army and the people, and at the same time publicize that the grassland tribes can still surrender. Ming Dynasty in exchange for peace... This is all desirable.
Liu Jiandao: "Old minister seconded the proposal."
Ma Wensheng said: "But if Huo Si had any disobedient intentions on his way to Beijing..."
Zhu Youtang said: "It would be reasonable to kill him at that time. In fact, I hope that he will not be so convinced, otherwise even I will look down on him!"
…
…
After the inner court meeting ended, the emperor and the three people arrived at Fengtian Hall.
During the dynasty, the emperor immediately told Huo Shi that he wanted to submit to Huo Shi, and that he was prepared to accept Huo Shi's submission. He also told Huo Shi to come to the capital to see him, but he did not mention this proposal and Zhang Zhou's.
"Gentlemen, what do you think?" Zhu Youtang still seemed very friendly and wanted to discuss the matter in the court.
Immediately, an official came out to report: "Your Majesty, the Tatars are ambitious..."
The words used were similar to the key points mentioned in the previous inner court meeting, which said that the sieve of fire was not trustworthy.
Zhu Youtang listened carefully to what he said, and then said calmly: "Dear ministers, I think you all should know that the conflict between the Central Plains Dynasty and the Northern Diyi has lasted for thousands of years. Generally speaking, it has not been eradicated, but when it is stable, it usually comes from the comfort after the suppression, rather than blind eradication! The Ming Dynasty cannot control the grassland for a long time."
If a dynasty in an agricultural society goes to the grasslands to operate and send people to herd, these herders will later develop into nomads and become the opposite of the Central Plains dynasties.
If one family is destroyed, the next one will rise, so why not change their way of life, let them change from herdsmen to farmers, and then try to use their power for the Central Plains Dynasty?
"The rise of the military and political affairs in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty was due firstly to Bingkuan's uncanny calculations, which repeatedly predicted the direction of the Tatars; secondly, to the mighty sky gunpowder, divine long-range cannon and other firearms produced by Bingkuan, which could only reverse the occupation. For a while, because I am not sure when the Tatars will learn the technology of these firearms."
"There is no need to delay the matter of leveling the grassland. According to my preliminary idea, it will take ten years, but it is best to shorten the time limit, to five or six years."
"During this period, it is inevitable that there will be wars in the border towns, and there will also be tribes who are frightened by the military power of the Ming Dynasty and surrender. If no precedent is set, no one will dare to surrender. I just want to gather the fire sieve first and let him give the rest of the Ming Dynasty The tribe sets an example."
Tu Fu came out and said: "Your Majesty, the fire sieve will harm the future for a long time, and the imperial court will not tolerate it!"
This means that my soldiers have been grudged against Huo Si for a long time. This man killed my soldiers of the Ming Dynasty before, but now he wants to recruit him? What do the soldiers think? What do the people think?
Zhu Youtang said: "The local rebellious bandits can still be appeased and collected, so why can't they be sieved by fire? He wants to be a minister of the Ming Dynasty, and I will give him a chance. If the frontier army really has a chance to pacify the grassland in the future, will it also kill the herdsmen on the grassland?" "
"This..." Tu Yu was speechless.
It was not that he was unreasonable, but that the emperor had a firm attitude and seemed unable to listen to advice.
As a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, you also need to be able to assess the situation carefully.
"In the next ten years, after all, Bingkuan cannot stay in the northwest all the time. Only with his power can he intimidate the grassland tribes. Now it is better to take advantage of him to stay in the northwest to plan and prepare for war, and integrate Huo Si into the Ming Dynasty, without giving him any chance to advance. If there is an opportunity within the pass and he is left outside the pass, if he really intends to betray, the Ming court will have done its utmost to be benevolent and righteous."
The essence of Zhu Youtang's words was also grasped by these ministers.
Even if Huo Si is a villain who wants to challenge Qin and Mu Chu, we, the Ming Dynasty, will still have to show a grand side. If you dare to come and vote, we will accept it.
What this means is that the grassland is part of the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Because it is afraid of you grassland people, it will not even accept your submission. If you rebel again, the Ming Dynasty has also done its utmost to be benevolent and righteous, setting an example for the other tribes.
Take a look.
Da Ming had the heart to accept him, but he was ignorant and had to take risks. Da Ming was not ashamed of anyone.
This realm...
Many ministers felt very happy after hearing this.
No wonder the emperor was so insistent on recruiting a Huoshi who would most likely betray the Ming Dynasty again. It was like buying a horse's bones for a thousand gold.
Fire Sieve, we don't treat you like a horse, we just treat you like a skeleton to serve as a model for the other tribes.
As a result, those who originally wanted to propose that Huo Siif be made on the way to the capital for the audience would not be able to come forward and propose it again.
Since it is a proof, then the show must be done well, which is to show that Ming Dynasty attaches great importance to Huo Si's submission. Of course, he cannot be rewarded generously, but only provides him with a shelter... Otherwise, it will really become a poaching for himself. pit.
Zhu Youtang said: "Huo Si's surrender is mostly because his tribe is weak and can no longer gain a foothold on the grassland surrounded by enemies, so he wants to use the Ming Dynasty to support him."
"Placing him in the Hetao not only gave him pasture, but also gave him farmland, and also gave him the opportunity to make meritorious deeds." Zhu Youtang said this again, and it was easy for the minister to accept it.
Xie Qian came forward and asked: "Your Majesty, how should the captured people of the Huoshai tribe be resettled?"
Zhu Youtang said: "They were all placed south of Mao'erzhuang, giving them pasture and livestock. At the same time, the Ming Dynasty will station a regular army in Mao'erzhuang, rebuild the imperial fortress, and leave artillery in Mao'erzhuang. General Xuan Da Zhang Zhou controlled the military affairs and moved the town to Datong Town."
The ministers present called him a good guy.
The emperor was preparing to restore the Ming Dynasty's Beiguan territory to the limit. Mao'erzhuang had been abandoned for more than half a century, and he actually thought of rebuilding the city fortress?
Now we don’t even have enough money to reward the three armies. Where will the money come from to build the fortresses?
Zhang Zhou was stationed in Datong Town just to let him intimidate Weininghai and other grasslands north of Maoerzhuang, which may be occupied by Dayan tribe and others?
