The eighth day of March, Meridian Gate, early morning.
From the beginning of the court meeting that day, the Ministry of Revenue was reporting on the drought situation in various places after the beginning of spring. Li Mengyang, the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was almost worn out.
"...To avoid the drought, the thirty-four prefectures and counties under Dongchang, Qingzhou and other prefectures in Jinan, Shandong, and the five health centers such as Jinan Dongchang, the tax revenue gap in the summer of the 11th year of Hongzhi... To avoid the drought, the prefectures and counties under Datong Prefecture in Shanxi
, the health offices affiliated to the Xingdu Division, as well as the prefectures and counties under Kaifeng and other prefectures in Henan, and the health offices such as Xuanwu and Nanyang, there was a difference in grain and grass grains in the eleventh year of Hongzhi..."
There are reports of drought conditions in various places, and not every application for reduction or exemption will be approved.
And it's "different", which means it depends on the situation in different places.
Li Mengyang was born in the grain industry. In October of the eleventh year of Hongzhi, he was appointed as the governor of Nanjing Grain Reserve and the right deputy censor of the capital. In April of the thirteenth year of Hongzhi, Xu Jin, the left minister of the household department, was transferred.
He went to the northwest to supervise the military affairs of Datong. After being ordered to retire in July because he and Chen Rui were afraid of the fire, Li Mengyang was changed to Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Household Affairs. In June of the 15th year of Hongzhi, he was elected as the Minister of the Ministry of Industry of Nanjing and became an official in the first year of Zhengde.
This person is very proficient in food matters.
But no matter how professional he spoke, the emperor had no thoughts at all. From time to time he would call Dai Yi over to ask a few words, appearing to be careless.
Some ministers below have noticed that the emperor seems to be concerned about something, and they don't know what the emperor is asking. Anyway, Li Mengyang hasn't finished his report yet, so the ministers can only listen.
…
…
Zhu Youtang's side.
Just when Li Mengyang was about to finish his presentation, Dai Yi hurried over and said: "Your Majesty, Xiao Jing has ushered Mr. Zhang into the palace."
"Where's Zhijie?"
"Start again and go east."
"well."
What Zhu Youtang was concerned about was naturally Zhu Feng's journey from Piantou Pass to the capital, and his non-stop trip to Ningyuan, Liaodong.
Because the preparations for the war were in a hurry, a distinguished minister with the rank of general was transferred from the northwest to serve as the chief military officer in Liaodong. In order to ensure the success of the battle, Zhu Youtang asked Zhu Feng to pass through the capital without entering. There was no need to enter the city to talk to him.
Instead of reporting on his duties, the emperor asked Zhang Zhou to go outside the city to meet Zhu Feng, give him a face-to-face discussion, and then give Zhu Feng instructions and arrangements for everything he could take care of.
Zhu Feng and Zhang Zhou probably didn't meet for more than an hour before and after, so Zhu Feng was sent to Ningyuan to be the commander-in-chief in charge of the entire war.
In fact, Dai Yi and other eunuchs also felt that the emperor seemed to trust Zhang Zhou too much. After all, it was not Wang Weining who led the army this time, but Zhu Feng, the chief soldier, and Zhang Yanling, the deputy chief soldier. The only one who had the ability to take charge in the past was another man.
The deputy commander-in-chief defeated Jiang Bo and Chen Rui, but with Chen Rui's current reputation... even in the army, no one would be convinced.
Fortunately, there was Zhang Yong, the supervisor who had previously collaborated with Wang Yue to achieve a great victory at Piantou Pass, and Wang Qiong, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue who was responsible for supervising grain.
It seems that this combination has a basically complete personnel structure from civil servants to military officers, but even Dai Yi and other close confidants of the emperor feel that this combination is a bit strange, and it may be good unless there is a big mess.
Is the nominal coach Zhang Zhou commanding from behind remotely? Or is he just meeting the coach Zhu Feng for less than an hour to arrange the battle situation?
Dai Yi wanted to say, who would dare to believe it?
"Ask Bingkuan to wait at Qianqing Palace, and I will go see him after the dynasty is over."
"yes."
…
…
After Zhu Youtang learned that Zhang Zhou had entered the palace, he was not in the mood to listen to the minister's report on the drought.
"Let's end today's court meeting here." Zhu Youtang finally waited for Li Mengyang to finish speaking, and wanted to end the court meeting without making any decisions.
Liu Jiandao: "Your Majesty, the drought in the north is serious now. We should send envoys to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth."
Zhu Youtang frowned slightly.
In the past, there was no need to deliberately discuss this kind of matter. As long as the minister proposed it, the emperor would definitely agree.
But the question is... now that Zhang Zhou is here, shouldn't we first discuss this matter of offering sacrifices to heaven with Zhang Zhou, who can "know the will of heaven"?
At this time, Zhou Jing, the Minister of Household Affairs, also came out and said: "Your Majesty, the rivers in the capital are blocked. All the rivers in the city are smelly and there are many complaints from the people. Please use Shuntian Prefecture to cooperate with Jingying and others to dredge the rivers."
Zhu Youtang said: "Okay. Order the Ministry of Industry, together with the internal officials, the imperial guards and the censors to dredge the ditches in the capital. The court meeting will be here first. Liu Ge Lao and Ma Shangshu will stay one step ahead, and the other ministers of the Qing family will His job!"
Apart from agreeing to dredge the ditches in the city, the emperor did not make any direct statement.
The ministers also didn't understand. Since the emperor had something to discuss with Ma Wensheng and Liu Jian, why didn't he summon them to Qianqing Palace instead of just saying a word at Meridian Gate?
If it wasn't an important matter, why would the Minister of War and the Chief Minister be left alone to speak?
…
…
The ministers dispersed.
Ma Wensheng and Liu Jian walked up to Zhu Youtang.
Zhu Youtang asked Dai Yi to tell them that Zhu Feng, Zhang Yong and Zhang Yanling had passed by the capital and continued eastward to Ningyuan.
"I also asked Uncle Ping Jiang to lead the Qian Shenji Battalion to set off yesterday. The personnel transfer has been completed. As usual, I would like to say hello to the two Qing families."
What Zhu Youtang means, I don't want to discuss with you, I just want to talk to you.
Don't be too sentimental to advise me, I won't change this matter.
Liu Jian cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, if Di Yi invades and the soldiers of the three armies shrink back or suffer battle losses, who should bear the responsibility?"
This issue still requires the emperor to make an oath.
Don't act blindly when deploying troops. If the troops of Duoyan Sanwei really come, then somewhere in Liaodong will be plundered again, or even Ningyuan will be plundered. There will always need to be someone who can take the blame, right?
Zhu Youtang looked very unhappy after hearing this.
what is this?
I mobilize my troops to win the war. You tell me first who will take the blame if we lose?
Wei Bin, the eunuch and eunuch Bingbi, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, walked out from behind and said with a smile, as if to reconcile the relationship between the monarch and his ministers: "Two of you, who will take the responsibility for this, and who will take the credit, aren't they all corresponding? This still needs to be asked. ?"
The general meaning is that whoever wins this battle will be the first to make the first contribution, and whoever loses will be the first to pass.
That sounds right.
But Zhu Youtang glared at him without any politeness. Wei Bin realized something was wrong and quickly took two steps back and lowered his head.
The emperor was very angry.
Can't you Wei Bin hear that Liu Jian means to let Zhang Zhou come out and be the person in charge?
Are you still making noise?!
What?
Did Zhang Zhou hurt your interests by asking Zhu Feng to go to Liaodong? At this time, he started to pretend to be pretentious and stir up trouble here in the name of easing the conflict between the emperor and his ministers?
Zhu Youtang said: "Although Bingkuan was not the first to take credit for the battle in the northwest, his contribution was not bad. In this battle, I dare to ask, if there is any deviation, where is his fault?"
"Your Majesty, this is not what I meant."
Liu Jian did not expect that the emperor would choose his words so clearly.
He didn't say who was responsible, but just revealed that he wanted Zhang Zhou to take the blame.
But Wei Bin didn't dare to breathe after hearing the emperor's words.
Based on their experience as eunuchs, they naturally knew that the emperor was really angry.
Anyone who wants to cause trouble for Zhang Zhou is causing trouble for me. Although your questions are only hypothetical, as long as your motives are not pure, I will be angry.
Zhu Youtang was even a little too lazy to continue talking to Liu Jian and Ma Wensheng. He stood up and said: "I have informed the two Qing families of the progress of the Liaodong war. There is no need to talk to outsiders. Please step back."
After saying this, Zhu Youtang was not polite and went to Qianqing Palace with the Supervisor of Ceremonies and several others.
…
…
As soon as the emperor left.
As soon as Ma Wensheng and Liu Jiang left the Meridian Gate, Ma Wensheng reminded: "It seems that His Majesty is determined to achieve martial arts achievements in Jiubian. With the current situation around Ningyuan, Liaodong, Mr. Liu Ge does not need to worry, nothing big will happen."
"Um."
Liu Jian naturally knew that nothing big would happen.
He just wanted the emperor to treat Zhang Zhou as a normal courtier.
The first merit is the first pass. This is the most basic truth. Why is Your Majesty unwilling to admit it?
Ma Wensheng sighed: "Your Majesty favors Zhang Bingkuan and hopes that there will be no trouble. Taoist priests are not as good as Confucian ministers in governing a country."
This is actually a reminder to Liu Jian that no matter whether your cabinet likes Zhang Zhou or not, it is best to bring Zhang Zhou into the civil service camp.
This is not a matter of likes and dislikes, nor is it a matter of closeness or distance, it is a matter of necessity.
If the civil servants do not accept him, then he is a Taoist priest, and his philosophy of governing the country will become increasingly different from that of the civil servants.
…
…
Inside the Qianqing Palace.
When Zhu Youtang met with Zhang Zhou, his expression became much better. He did not blame Wei Bin for anything. From the emperor's point of view, the eunuchs of Si Li Superintendent were always his "own people". Sometimes they made a mistake or two. In a word, it is not unforgivable.
Before getting to know Zhang Zhou, the emperor relied heavily on the opinions of the ceremonial supervisors in governing the country. They were also the emperor's most loyal staff.
"Bingkuan, is it okay over there at Zhijie? I'm afraid it's too hard for him. He even submitted a petition earlier, saying that he wanted to be transferred back to Beijing, and I also sent him back. After the First World War in Liaodong, I asked him to come back and rest for a while. , let him do some errands in Jingying."
Zhu Youtang mentioned Zhu Feng as if he were referring to his own nephew. He felt that Zhu Feng was useless, but also wanted Zhu Feng to make a difference.
Zhang Zhou smiled and nodded: "I told him that this battle will not last until the end of the month. He left happily after hearing this."
is that so?
Not really.
Zhang Zhou wanted to say that that boy complained so much now that he almost thought the whole world was trying to harm him.
It took a lot of talking to calm this kid down.
How can he still be the commander in chief? Thanks to your trust in him, Your Majesty, even I dare not let him lead the troops.
"How is Uncle Jianchang's situation?" Zhu Youtang asked again.
Zhang Zhou said: "I haven't seen it, but it is said that he was complaining about the hard work of traveling all the way."
"well!"
Zhu Youtang couldn't help but sigh.
Even he, the emperor, could see that this was a combination of shrimp soldiers and crab generals. Even with Zhang Zhou strategizing behind the scenes, it felt like these guys were just going to Liaodong to cause trouble. How could they have any intention of fighting a serious war?
"Bingkuan, thank you for your hard work." Zhu Youtang said with remorse on his face.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "If you plan things, people will do it. God will do it. I am not afraid of hard work. Besides, I didn't go to Liaodong, so it's not hard work."
Saying this is also a reminder to the emperor that you are biased in employing people. No matter how complete your plan is, you are still afraid of the executor. Just don't bring unreasonable blame to me.
