afterglow

Chapter 299 The imperial meeting; the characteristics of civil and military opposition

Looking back at the official document system, the Ming Dynasty is undoubtedly the master of this system. The mature document system has improved administrative efficiency to a certain extent, or it is a reasonable evolution after the abolition of the prime minister.

In the early days, it was relatively common to discuss matters in the upper court, but as time went by, the regular courts that used to be once a day became less and less.

However, under the influence of the cabinet system and the perfect official document system, even the two emperors, Jiajing and Wanli, who were not used to going to court, could control the government. The official document governance can be said to be one of the characteristics of the Ming Dynasty.

It is the same today, Zhu Shiyan never liked to call a group of people together to discuss matters, he thought it was very inefficient.

As a result, although the cabinet is used to meeting and discussing on its own every three to five times, the imperial meeting is not common, and it may only happen three or five times a year.

But now that the new emperor is on the throne, an imperial meeting to clarify the interests of all parties and finalize national policies is obviously indispensable.

It can be said that the dignitaries and merchants of the entire empire are always paying attention, and how the general direction of the policy changes is really important to them.

For example, in a garment factory, the owner has to do everything possible to obtain all kinds of information to clearly arrange the production plan-when will the Ministry of War place an order?During this period, should I wait in vain or take other private orders first?If you receive other private orders, what is the maximum quantity you can receive?

If the grasp is not in place, it will be a waste of time to wait for several months or more than half a year. The whole factory will undoubtedly suffer a huge loss if it does not start work; Order.

As for whether it is necessary to temporarily recruit more workers and purchase new machines, these are also not reckless. Workers need to be paid, and machines need to be assembled and maintained.

This is the value of information, and the rich and powerful are often the ones who can get first-hand information. Even if they are sitting at home, all kinds of people will come to give money to them, and they only hope to find out a little effective information.

Wenyuan Pavilion, which was used to store books and handle cabinet affairs in the past, now has its second function changed to hold meetings, and they are basically high-level meetings.

And today's imperial meeting was held in the chamber here.

"His Majesty is here."

The car carrying Zhu Lingjing slowly stopped in front of Wenyuan Pavilion, and the shuttle bus on which the rest of the entourage were riding also stopped.

The Jinyiwei sergeant of the leading car got out of the car and walked over, reached out to open the car door and retreated to the side.

At 38:24 am on September 10, Zhichang 03, the meeting started a little later than planned because the emperor was a little late.

Zhou Changfeng and the others followed Zhu Lingjing about three or four steps away, and Fang Shujun and Su Yiyi were accompanying him.

In the spacious and bright hall, a group of square tables are arranged neatly, one row on the left and one row on the right, and the imperial case and imperial seat are placed separately in the middle.

The tables and chairs here are all made of nanmu, carved with exquisite patterns; there are no large ceiling fans on the ceiling, but two central air-conditioning outlets at the front and rear instead.

The first feeling when you walk in here is the coolness. There is still some residual heat in Nanjing in early autumn, but under the action of the air conditioner, the indoor temperature is just controlled at 26°C.

It is known that there are more than a dozen bigwigs who participated in the meeting, including Prime Minister Gao Qingkui representing the imperial court, Minister Lin Xi of the National Defense Cabinet, Minister Yu Shenhua of the Cabinet of Foreign Affairs, and Minister Li Guangyuan of the Finance Cabinet, representing the President of the Advisory Council Chen Jieli and Vice President Ma Mingli, Wu Weihuan, the governor representing the army, and Tongzhi, the governor of the army, navy and air force department of the governor's office.

The huge hall gathered the most core group of people of Ming Dynasty, and Zhou Changfeng, who was used to seeing the big scenes of war, couldn't help but speed up his heartbeat - the aura coming from here was completely different from the dangerous battlefield.

The dozen or so people present all stood up, turned around slightly, then bowed and saluted together, "I have seen Your Majesty."

The emperor took his seat, and then called everyone to sit down. However, Zhou Changfeng and the three had no place to sit. They stood side by side a few steps behind the emperor's right.

Everyone here is a busy person and there is no extra time to waste, so it is impossible to be unprepared for the meeting, otherwise it is very easy to fall into endless arguing and evasion.

Prior to this, the relevant agenda had been arranged long ago, and the specific topics were all listed on paper one by one. During the meeting, it was not allowed to change the topic unless necessary.

The first topic is the most simple and direct, and it is about the posthumous title and burial of the crown prince.The crown prince died young, and the Supreme Emperor insisted on proclaiming him emperor and burying him directly in the existing mausoleum.

Naturally, it was impossible for Zhu Lingjing to have any objections, and the ministers also agreed. The crown prince's travels and sacrifices over the years are obvious to all. The posthumous posthumous title in name is appropriate for both emotion and reason, and it is just that one more mausoleum needs to be built.

In many cases, the new emperor began to build the mausoleum as soon as he succeeded to the throne. The construction of Zhu Shiyan's mausoleum started relatively late, about ten years ago, and was completed in half a year with the help of construction machinery.

What is embarrassing is that it is not himself who will be buried later, but his son.

The role of this topic now seems to be to familiarize everyone with the atmosphere?After unanimous agreement, the imperial meeting that had not been held for a long time became a little easier.

Next, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yu Shenhua stood up and explained the recent world situation.

"On August 27, special envoys from Britain, France, and Russia gathered in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss measures to coordinate efforts to limit Germany. The specific content is still unknown, but it is likely to focus more on the preparation of a military alliance."

"On the fourth day of this month, a small border war broke out between Italy and Austria. The former was defeated. It announced in a low-key manner that there were more than [-] casualties. However, according to the report of our embassy in Vienna, it actually lost thousands of people, and several cannon cars. .”

"On the ninth day of this month, the Russian Duma passed the amendment to the "General Mobilization Law", which aims to further refine the recruitment process and speed up the recruitment process. At the same time, they have also expanded their army and created [-] new infantry divisions."

"On the [-]th, according to the presidential decree, the United States has added an [-]-ton floating dock and ten large submarines on the basis of the second "Vinson Act" that has been implemented."

After his words fell, Chen Jieli, the president of the Advisory Council, asked, "Has there been any response from the German side in the past two days? At least there was no news the day before yesterday."

"There is no official external news, they have been silent." Yu Shenhua replied.

Afterwards, Prime Minister Gao Qingkui stood up, glanced at the dozen or so people present, and said:

"Your Majesty, everyone, the current situation is becoming increasingly tense, and it is not optimistic."

"In Europe, Germany, Austria and other countries are bound to fight a war with Britain, France and Russia. 20 years ago, both sides were exhausted and unable to fight anymore. Naturally, it is impossible to live in peace for a long time after recuperating now."

"Here in our country, the British plan to dispatch a large army to deter and restrict the pace of our army. The Dutch are following them everywhere and are doing their best to organize defenses."

"But no matter what, the United Kingdom is the first to focus on Europe, and the Netherlands has fallen into disrepair. Even though the two will have some troubles in joint resistance, it is not to be feared."

"In contrast, the United States, which seems to be on the sidelines on the other side of the ocean, must be on guard. After the expiration of the naval treaty, the American shipbuilding plan can be called huge."

"It is foreseeable that after one and a half years at the latest, its Pacific Fleet will not be inferior to our navy as a whole."

"Once a war in Europe breaks out, it will not end in a short period of time, and it will inevitably become long-term, widespread, and serious."

"The United States is still doing business with both sides, but it is impossible to sit back and watch the whole of Western Europe. That is to say, if the war is not beneficial to Britain and France, the United States is very likely to join the war across the ocean as in the previous European war.

"During this period, it is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for the country to attack the Nanyang region. If the military goes smoothly and the diplomatic means are appropriate, the British are very likely to retreat wisely."

"Correspondingly, the negotiation condition should be to suspend the southward movement, so as to ensure the safety of Australia."

"Based on this conclusion, the general strategy envisioned by the cabinet is to intensify preparations for war. Our government must complete preparations to cope with the most dangerous war as soon as possible, and use both hard and soft diplomatic means. There is also a slight possibility that the British side will voluntarily retreat. Naturally, everyone is happy."

"At the same time, if a war breaks out in Europe, wait and see for a while before considering sending troops (in Southeast Asia)."

After speaking in this way, he tilted his head to look in the direction of the emperor, cupped his hands and said: "The above is the conjecture of the ministers, please Your Majesty judge."

The military department didn't even open their mouths to speak, what a ghost!
Zhu Lingjing, who was leaning on the back of the chair, looked very relaxed, as if she regarded this place as her own home.

Well, strictly speaking, this is indeed her home.Zhou Changfeng on the side thought so.

She waved the folding fan in her hand, and said unhurriedly: "The summary is very comprehensive. So, what does Wei Guogong think?"

Wu Weihuan immediately stood up, and pondered: "This analysis is indeed correct, but it is not rigorous. Wait and see what happens after the war in Europe? Wait and see? How long will you wait and see? This must be clear, otherwise it is just empty talk."

This question should not be answered by Gao Qingkui. Faced with such a concrete rhetorical question, Lin Xi, who was a cabinet minister of national defense, stood up to answer.

"Of course we have to wait for the battle situation to become clear." Lin Xi smiled wryly, and continued, "Although this is vague, I think everyone can understand it."

God knows what the war will look like!We don't have the ability to predict the future.

The fearful French built a long and strong Maginot Line on the border, and the French army was known as the strongest in Europe.

After the war broke out, what should the Germans do?None of this is known.

Suppose the Germans were blocked by the defensive line and had to attack brutally and slowly, sawing back and forth near the border.So at least for the British, the scale of such a war is controllable and can be dealt with calmly.

As a result, they still have time to take care of the Far East.

This is not difficult to understand, and everyone present naturally understood, but Zhu Lingjing was not very satisfied with Lin Xi's words.

"Such vague words, Qing and others are aware of it, but maybe I didn't understand it?" She said flatly.

Usually, in order to communicate efficiently, Lin Xi definitely doesn't have the time to explain in detail. The image is the classic words used by leaders - first this and then that will do.

"Uh...Chen..."

"There's no need to explain this, let's continue the discussion."

Lin Xi, who was quite embarrassed by being teased, was at a loss for words for a moment, and was about to explain in detail, but Zhu Lingjing waved her hand and ordered to skip this episode.

Tsk!This woman's speech is still the same as always... making people feel uncomfortable.

Zhou Changfeng, who was standing behind her on the right, only felt a little awkward, and couldn't help but recall the conversation he had with her in the past.

"I have thought about it carefully," Wu Weihuan said bluntly, ignoring the awkward atmosphere at the scene: "Under the situation where it is impossible to predict how the war will develop, there is no need to wait and see. The best time is just at the beginning."

His words immediately attracted everyone's attention, except for a few other members of the military department - the governor and Tongzhi from the third division of land, sea and air in the governor's mansion, who remained calm.

Wu Weihuan avoided other people's eyes, and turned to look at the emperor directly.

"We can't predict it. Do the British have a solution? When the battle has just started and it is not clear, they will act immediately. It is expected that they will not dare to divide their troops to support them, so they can only respond with a conservative attitude."

"After that, no matter how the war in Europe changes, the time allocated is enough for our army to advance triumphantly."

"Besides, I'm not optimistic about the French defense. The Metropolitan Government's government has conducted several deduction, and the French army's decline is usually evident within three to four months. I agree with this result."

The highest state of war is to "command" the enemy, and the second is to predict the enemy's prediction.

Compared with the conservative conception of the cabinet, the plan of the military department is undoubtedly much bolder.

Just take advantage of the fight at the door of the British, and then make trouble in the backyard, so that the British can only pinch their noses to recognize it, otherwise they will lose sight of the other.

"But you haven't considered the variable of the United States." Lin Xi frowned and said: "We have long been aware that Britain and the United States are negotiating a secret agreement. It is not known whether it is a mutual defense agreement. If so, how can our army simultaneously To deal with the two major navies?"

"Is your assumption in line with what your cabinet said earlier?" Wu Weihuan was a little annoyed, and he asked back: "If Britain and the United States jointly defend Southeast Asia, what difference does it make if we wait and see the war in Europe before sending troops?"

"If the war in Europe is tight, the United States may not implement the agreement..."

"It's ridiculously childish, it's so funny! You don't have any guts at all."

Zhou Changfeng was distracted for a while, recalling the time required for the mobilization of the US Pacific Fleet, but when he recovered, he found that the atmosphere at the scene was not good.

Uh... how come the traditional customs of civil and military opposition can still be seen today?
Although there is no conflict between the army and the navy in co-authorship, there is a civil-military confrontation with Chinese characteristics, right?
Regarding the analysis just stated by the two parties, from a purely objective point of view, Zhou Changfeng is more in favor of the military's conception.

It's not that it's not good to strike late, but it's obviously better to take the initiative in the current situation.

As for the joint defense agreement between Britain and the United States, in his impression, it seemed that it was settled after [-] years in history. Before that, Britain and the United States were still playing with each other.

What's more, although the Americans are also preparing for war, the level is not high.Especially the army, with a small number and poor equipment, the M2A2 light tank can be called a tin can.

When the European side started fighting, the Germans indirectly helped share most of the attention. What's so scary about this situation?Just do it!
Zhu Lingjing, who looked normal, smiled lightly, then knocked on the imperial case, and said calmly: "This is not a place to quarrel."

(End of this chapter)