The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 660: There was an end a year ago
As soon as Zhang Zhou arrived at the port, things became very busy.

After Zhang Zhou handled a lot of official duties that night, before he even had time to rest, another report came from the other end saying that Xinning Bo Tan You, the honorary minister responsible for assisting in guarding the port, came to visit.

Tan You is in his fifties. He looks energetic and has the demeanor of a warrior. Zhang Zhou also knows this kind of old man who belongs to the court. Originally, Tan You had the opportunity to follow Zhang Mao to the northwest, but on the eve of the deployment of troops , was sent to the port by the emperor.

The name was to assist Zhang Zhou, but in fact, such honorable ministers had no power at all when they arrived at the port. The total number of soldiers they could mobilize was less than the manpower of a hundred households, and they were all confined to a corner of the city.

"I've met Cai Guogong."

Tan You also understood the importance of courtesy and bowed to Zhang Zhou when he came up.

Then the two of them went to the small hall nearby. In the candlelight, tea was delivered to the table, but it was obvious that Tan You did not come to drink tea at night.

After a while of greetings and compliments, Tan You said: "I heard that the Marquis of Anbian and the Marquis of Jingshan came here with Cai Guogong, but they are expected to help guard the town here? I have a lot of military matters on my hands, and I have reported them to you many times. I couldn’t get a reply, so I had to visit rashly.”

The Ministry of War is responsible for the affairs of the port itself, and as the Minister of War, Zhang Zhou is equivalent to Tan You's immediate superior, and is higher than him in title and military position. He must obey orders.

Tan You also came to Zhang Zhou directly to inquire.

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty sent Uncle Xinning here for a profound reason. As for the Marquis of Anbian and the Marquis of Jingshan, they are all here for the war in Liaodong and will not stay here long."

"This..." Tan You said, "Speaking of the Liaodong War, I heard that tens of thousands of soldiers and horses will be dispatched from Beijing Camp, Shandong and other places to come here recently, and cross the sea from here to march eastward. However, there is currently no place in the city to place these sergeants. There are too few, and there are few people at my disposal, so I really can’t help.”

This is about trying to gain power for yourself.

Tan You seems to know very well that he is just a soy sauce player at the port. If he cannot help him gain power while Zhang Zhou is here, he will not be able to get along here when Zhang Zhou leaves.

Xunchen, who was working as a sergeant in the capital camp, was transferred to the port. He originally had great expectations, but when he arrived, he realized that this was really Zhang Zhou's place. Everyone else here was just a foil, and no matter how awesome his reputation was, it was all in vain. pull.

Zhang Zhou said: "You don't need to worry about the dispatch of soldiers and horses everywhere. Uncle Xin Ning. They all prepare some military rations by themselves. As for the baggage, etc., the imperial court will allocate it, and the city will also set aside it, and someone will transport it there. As for the arriving soldiers, they can just camp outside the port."

"If we set up camp... will it affect the order in the city? I mean, if this foreign sergeant cannot enter the city, he will cause trouble outside the city and it is not appropriate to judge." Tan You continued to pull.

Zhang Zhou shook his head and said: "We have also mobilized soldiers and horses from Jizhou Town this time. If someone really dares to cause trouble, we will not let them do so. It is said that in the north, except for the border troops, there are very few local officers and soldiers. Firearms, even if they make trouble, they won’t make too much noise.”

The Ming Dynasty had been developing firearms for several years. As the northern frontier troops were gradually equipped with advanced artillery and muskets, local soldiers could only look forward to it and sigh.

The dispatch of local troops and horses to Liaodong this time is also a change of garrison.

If the northern frontier army is allowed to dominate, even if the Beijing camp is also trained, it will still be a factor of instability for the Ming Dynasty. Once the frontier army breaks into chaos, the so-called "King of Qin" will be meaningless, because the combat strength of the local soldiers of the Ming Dynasty will be There is still a big gap with the steppe Tatar cavalry, let alone compared with the frontier troops equipped with advanced weapons.

……

……

Tan You's efforts were in vain.

Zhang Zhou summarizes one point here, that is, don’t even think about what doesn’t belong to you, and fighting for it is in vain.

While Tan You was feeling emotional, he seemed to still want to shine, and he said very eagerly: "Mr. Cai Guo, I also have some old friends with the British Duke, but he said that he was in Ningxia, but he asked someone to find me. He said that if he had the opportunity, he must follow me. Please tell me about his situation. He is old and frail, and he would like to return to the capital to serve as an official, or to this port, as long as he is the same as Wei Guogong. "

After Wei Guogong Xu Er retired from the post of guarding Nanjing, he has been working on Jinghai affairs in Hainingwei.

Zhang Zhou asked: "The British prince has been pampered for a long time. If he is allowed to go here, I'm afraid he won't be able to adapt. Does Xin Ning Bo hope that he will replace you?"

"This……"

Tan You thought for a while.

Working at the port does not give you much power, but because you work under Zhang Zhou, this is actually a political resource.

Just like when Zhang Zhou was in the capital, not all the honorable ministers had the opportunity to meet Zhang Zhou alone. It was obvious to all the honorable ministers in the capital how difficult it was to enter Zhang Zhou's mansion. But now because he was working at the port, he actually There will also be visits late at night.

Zhang Zhou said: "The British Lord said that he is not adaptable to the bitter cold and dry weather in the northwest, but I think he may not be able to adapt to the cold and humid climate here. Coming from the northwest is a long journey, so why bother? It's not as good as Xinning I conveyed my intention to him. His dispatching matters are not my responsibility. If he has any opinions about the errand at hand, let him just submit a petition to your majesty to make the decision for him."

Tan You sighed: "I also know that the British Lord is a bit... pretentious. For an ordinary person, being able to lead troops in the northwest would be a blessing."

This was to show that he and Zhang Zhou were of the same mind, and Tan You actually took the initiative to disparage Zhang Mao.

Those who serve as ministers also know how to adapt to the changing circumstances. In the past, Zhang Mao could compete with Zhang Zhou, but now Zhang Mao is not worthy of carrying Zhang Zhou's shoes.

Tan You said: "Everyone in Beijing is talking about Mr. Xie Ge's case. I wonder if Mr. Cai Guogong has any opinion on this?"

Zhang Zhou just smiled.

It seems to be saying that you are asking too many questions and this is not what you should care about.

In other words, you think too highly of yourself to ask me such a question? But you know that I won’t even talk about this in front of the people around me, let alone someone as unfamiliar as you?
"Business matters are business. Your Majesty did not allow me to participate in it. Whether Mr. Xie Ge is guilty or not, or how much he is guilty of, will be decided by the court. It is none of his business." Zhang Zhou laughed.

Tan You said: "I believe that Mr. Xie Ge is guilty of dereliction of duty, good talk about military affairs, and is suspected of causing trouble in the country. If it is fair to judge, he should be dealt with severely."

"Oh, is it so?"

Zhang Zhou smiled.

Only then did he realize that Tan You didn't come to him to find out the truth, but to express his stance to him.

This is to tell him that the two of them are of the same mind, which is equivalent to a way of surrendering to show loyalty.

Tan You continued: "Mr. Xie Ge is usually in the court, and there are many people who make jokes and make excuses. And many times he relies on his elders to show off his talents, but he never thought about how this will affect the outline of the court. When using military affairs in the north, he is good at discussing military affairs and the use of troops. Dao, regardless of the safety of the soldiers on the front line, such people should be judged according to the law, so that they can intimidate people and determine the military power. "

Zhang Zhou said: "Xin Ningbo's words are very powerful, but I don't know whether to use them as a tribute?"

Just express your opinion in front of me?
Anything you say to the emperor without going directly to the memorial sounds like bullshit to me.

What's the use of just telling me this?

Tan You stood up and said: "Not only me, but also many colleagues in the army have this view. Many people in the governor's office have petitioned to take this as an example, saying that officials are not allowed to interfere with the march. If you, Duke Cai, can come out and take charge of the overall situation, It would be best if we take the lead in co-signing.”

Zhang Zhou smiled.

I've already said that I don't care about this matter, but you actually asked me to take the lead in jointly impeaching Xie Qian?

Tan You said again: "Even if Cai Guogong does not want to take the lead, we are still willing to help the country. This matter is obligatory."

Zhang Zhou asked: "Has Your Majesty asked the Governor's Office to participate in the investigation of Mr. Xie Ge's guilt?" "This..."

Tan You was speechless for a moment.

The emperor asked various government offices in the court to discuss Xie Qian's crimes, but did not involve the governor's office. Perhaps in the emperor's view, it was a bit absurd for a group of military men to discuss the conviction of a civil servant, so this matter was not involved at all. I don't plan to let the military attache participate in the discussion.

This also shows that no matter how high a minister's status is, he still does not have much say in the decision-making level of the DPRK.

But Zhang Zhou was different. He was not only an honorable minister in the governor's palace, but also the minister of the Ministry of War, and he was the emperor's absolute think tank.

Zhang Zhou said: "Uncle Xin Ning really doesn't have to worry about this. I can only stay here for a few months at most. Recently, you have to worry about the military training in the city. Why don't we go to the school grounds together tomorrow and take a look? How was the sailor's drill?"

"Very good, very good."

Tan You is very happy.

Although nothing he came to tell Zhang Zhou happened, he seemed to be "looked at differently" by Zhang Zhou.

In his opinion, his statement was useful and made Zhang Zhou feel that he was trustworthy. Otherwise, why would Zhang Zhou give him the right to participate in military training and exercises?

As a result, when he said goodbye and left, his steps seemed very light, and he felt as if he had found a second spring in his life.

……

……

The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month.

This day was normal. It was approaching the end of the year, and the emperor did not go to court because he was ill. All major and minor matters in the court could basically be resolved internally. For ministers, it did not make much difference whether there were court discussions or not. After all, most things happened before the year I have already made up my mind, most likely I will just stay until the end of the year and wait for the spring break.

Every year, the emperor would give ministers a holiday on Zhengdan, at least ten days.

But just because there was Xie Qian's case to be dealt with at the end of the year, the ministers in the DPRK were also very anxious about it.

That morning, Liu Jian came to the cabinet early to check on the room, but before the three cabinet members had arrived, Li Zhang came in person to send a message, saying that the emperor had summoned the three cabinet members.

"Who else?" Li Dongyang couldn't help but ask as he came in from the door.

Li Zhang said: "Other than the two ministers from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishments, including Lu Shilang from the Shangting Office, they are all from the Bureau of Rites."

This means that in addition to the three cabinet ministers summoned by the inner court, there are also three people, Lu Wan, Lin Han, and Wang Shi, and then there are the three current chief rites supervisors, namely Chen Kuan, Li Zhang, and Wei Bin.

Then Li Zhang left first, leaving the young eunuch waiting to lead the three of them to Qianqing Palace where they were given the chance to meet.

Li Dongyang took advantage of Cheng Minzheng's absence and said bluntly: "I'm afraid that the result of Yu Qiao's case will be today."

Liu Jian asked: "Are there any unfavorable rumors everywhere?"

Although the emperor asked each yamen to deliberate on their own, the cabinet was very powerful and each yamen had its own people, because each yamen could not make decisions by the person in charge and had to conduct internal discussions. In the end, the results of the internal deliberations of each yamen would be truthfully communicated to Li Dongyang heard this, and Li Dongyang told Liu Jian about this.

Li Dongyang said with some relief: "Yu Qiao's popularity is not bad. Except for Shang Ting Chu, no one has tried to convict him yet. If Your Majesty follows the agreement and only Shang Ting Chu makes remarks about Qiao's guilt, then Yu Qiao He should be able to get rid of this matter.”

Liu Jiandao: "Except for the Shang Ting Department, no one thinks Yu Qiao is guilty?"

"Yeah." Li Dongyang nodded, "After all, it's all about face."

On the contrary, Liu Jian said worriedly: "If it were your Majesty, I'm afraid there would be prejudice about this."

"You mean..."

Li Dongyang seemed to feel that there was something wrong with it.

It was clear that Xie Qian did something wrong and could be considered guilty or not guilty. However, the people in the court unanimously felt that Xie Qian was not guilty. How did this look to the emperor? Doesn’t it mean that everyone in the DPRK wears a pair of trousers?

Liu Jiandao: "Even if all the ministers and ministers in the DPRK agree, you and I cannot be too laissez-faire."

"Understood." Li Dongyang said, "We should not defend Yu Qiao. Instead, we should fight for him, so as to make His Majesty feel that this matter was not ordered by us."

"That's all. I wonder if His Majesty will ask about this matter today. If he really wants to ask about it, Wang Yongjing may come forward with a different argument. Such different voices will also make Your Majesty feel at ease." Liu Jian is politically aware and knows This will not be unanimous.

Li Dongyang said: "Then what argument should Wang Yongjing make? This crime...if we really want to discuss it, I'm afraid..."

If you say it's too big, it's a death penalty, if you say it's too small, it won't have any effect.

Liu Jiandao: "Don't deliberately give instructions, let him make his own decisions. Considering that he has been in power for so many years, as a minister of the Ministry of Justice, does he not even have this sense of propriety? Before going to the Qianqing Palace, just give him a hint, and you must not give him instructions. Too many things to talk about.”

"understood."

Li Dongyang nodded, as if he already knew what was going on.

……

……

Outside the Qianqing Palace, several people who had been summoned were waiting to enter.

Li Dongyang also briefly exchanged a few words with Wang Shi. He seemed not to be involved in the case with Xie Qian, but he tactfully expressed that he wanted Wang Shi to figure it out by himself and not to follow the crowd.

After Lu Wan arrived, the emperor notified several people to come in. Cheng Minzheng followed Li Dongyang, reminding him intentionally or unintentionally: "Are you sure you can suppress the matter this time?"

Li Dongyang didn't answer.

Several people came in together.

The emperor was sitting behind the desk. Because the room was heated, the emperor was in good spirits. Several ministers would feel a little hot when they came in.

After the emperor and his ministers saw the ceremony, Zhu Youtang immediately waved his hand and asked people to prepare chairs for everyone present except the eunuchs, so that they could sit down.

Zhu Youtang got straight to the point and said: "I invite you all to come. There is something that has been unresolved for a long time, and there should be a result. Go and bring out the results of the discussions in the public houses in Beijing. I want to see what their opinions are on this. This matter should have been settled before the end of the year.”

(End of this chapter)