The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The court meeting is about to resume, and the issue of who will be the chief governor of the three frontiers has already begun to be discussed within the court. At least among the powerful class, they can see that this is the focus of the current court struggle.

Cabinet value.

Li Dongyang came back from outside, and only Liu Jian was there at this time. Someone was about to join the cabinet, but Cheng Minzheng was not very keen on cabinet affairs. In addition, there were many things to do in the Hanlin Academy and more people were needed to stay in the Shangting Office during wartime. Therefore, Cheng Minzheng would basically stay in the cabinet for less than an hour every day.

Li Dongyang brought Liu Jian news from outside.

"There is basically no need to discuss Wang Dehua's transfer back to Beijing as the Left Censor-in-Chief. The matter has basically been settled."

Wang Qiong's return to the court meant that Dai Shan, the Left Censor-in-Chief, had to give up his position. As for whether to let him retire directly or go to Nanjing to be a minister or something, it was obviously not something they could agree on for the time being.

Li Dongyang said: "If Wang Dehua is transferred back, someone will have to take charge of the three border defenses. After all, the war in Ningxia is not over yet. Although changing commanders before the battle is a taboo, Wang Dehua did not show up in this battle, so it is reasonable for him to be transferred back to the capital."

Liu Jian said: "It would be best if he were transferred to Nanjing."

Obviously, Liu Jian did not want Wang Qiong to return to the court to serve as the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. This meant that there would be one less government office in the court under their control. In any case, Dai Shan was still under their control, but if Wang Qiong was replaced, he might become the second Lu Wan.

Although up to now, Wang Qiong has not done anything like Lu Wan, which would "incur the wrath of God and man."

Lu Wancai is a negative example in their eyes.

Li Dongyang sighed, "We need to give a direction as to who will take over, so that someone can make a recommendation and then discuss it in the court tomorrow. If this person is not recommended by us, then it will be up to Zhang Bingkuan to decide, so we still have to be careful."

Liu Jian asked: "Who do you think is suitable?"

Li Dongyang sighed: "At present, there are only two people who are suitable, but they don't seem to be the best candidates."

Liu Jian thought about it and nodded.

In fact, from the perspective of the cabinet, if they want to choose someone who is close to them to be the head of the three-party system, and who is suitable in terms of qualifications and reputation, there are indeed only a handful of people who can be chosen.

"But if Liu Shiyong is included, there will be three people." Li Dongyang added.

This is referring to the current Xuanfu Governor Liu Daxia.

Liu Jian said: "Liu Shiyong has no experience as a minister of the six ministries in the court, and his qualifications are slightly inferior. Even if he is in the Ministry of Revenue, it seems that there is no way to directly promote him to the three-border general unless there are some special circumstances. Or he can make extraordinary achievements in Xuanfu in the near future."

Li Dongyang said: "I heard a piece of news, I don't know if it is true or not, that your majesty seems to have secretly sent troops to attack the grassland, and this group of troops may have come from Xuanfu."

"Is this true?" Liu Jian was also curious.

When the Ming Dynasty dispatched troops, no matter how confidential the information was, the Cabinet was able to obtain accurate information. The need to rely on hearsay and rumors now was only after Zhang Zhou rose to power in the court.

Li Dongyang said helplessly: "Since Zhang Bingkuan took charge of the Ministry of War, he has been more stubborn and self-willed, and the way to send troops is also determined by the dictation and discussion of the inner court, which is illegal."

Liu Jian asked: "When did it happen?"

Li Dongyang shook his head and said, "It's not confirmed yet, so it's hard to say. It's estimated that when the battle of Huamachi in Ningxia was at a stalemate, Your Majesty might have wanted to use a surprise attack to break the deadlock. Who knew that Wang Bo'an had mobilized troops from thousands of miles away to the grassland and lifted the siege of Huamachi? The matter of Xuanfu sending troops may have only remained on paper, and it may not be confirmed."

Liu Jian nodded slightly, seeming to agree with this statement, and said: "Previously, Xuanfu needed to send troops, and now it may just be a matter of waiting for the result. Where the Tatars will withdraw from now, and whether the local garrison in Ningxia can stop them, or how much they can stop, that is the key. Binzhi, tell me what you think of the two candidates."

This brings us to the cabinet, or the traditional civil officials' selection of the three-sided general system.

Li Dongyang said: "Dai Shan and Shi Lin, both of them have experience in commanding troops, but Dai Shan's experience is mostly in the inland areas rather than at the border. Only Shi Lin made many achievements in the army during the Chenghua period, but his official position has remained stagnant in recent years."

At this time, Shi Lin was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

The post of the commander-in-chief of the three borders of the Ming Dynasty would usually be held by an old and respected minister, such as Wang Yue or Qin Hong.

However, there will also be situations where newcomers like Wang Qiong take on the role. However, it is obvious that Li Dongyang still prefers traditional civil officials like Shi Lin who are mature and steady and have experience as ministers in the court. Although Shi Lin is not too old and has no experience of serving as the governor of the northwest recently, he is also the second best choice that the civil officials have to make.

Liu Jian asked: "If we put it forward like this, what are the chances of being selected?"

Li Dongyang said: "That depends on who Zhang Bingkuan wants to take over. At present, the most suitable ones are Wang Boan and the other one... is... ah!"

Speaking of Lu Wan, Li Dongyang didn't even want to mention his name.

Obviously, Lu Wan hurt the cabinet too deeply. Recently, the cabinet and the Ministry of Public Security have been in increasing conflict. Lu Wan presided over the impeachment and removal of Xie Qian, and was the instigator. This can be regarded as a complete offense to the cabinet.

Liu Jian said, "Who do we least want to replace Wang Dehua? It could be that person. Wang Bo'an has been running Datong for a long time, so there is no need to replace him. He is too young and energetic. Zhang Bingkuan has only been in office for three years, and Wang Bo'an is no more than that. How can we allow two rookies to hold high positions?"

Liu Jian looked down on Zhang Zhou and wanted to suppress him, but he felt there was nothing he could do.

But if we suppress Wang Shouren, there might still be a chance.

After all, Wang Shouren is a descendant of officials, and he has a "weakness", which is his father. Although it seems that the Wang family does not care much about Wang Hua's career, after all, Wang Hua is now one of the people being excluded in the Hanlin Academy.

"That is to guard against Lu Quanqing. This man has an advantage, that is, he has great prestige in the army. In terms of military management performance alone, Shi Lin may not be able to defeat him. The only thing that can be compared is perhaps seniority." Li Dongyang felt helpless when he said this.

If Shi Lin were to compete with Wang Shouren, some of the conditions would be easier to bring out.

That's because Wang Shouren is too young. It won't be too late for him to take over after a few years of experience. After all, he is a young man with a lot of training to do. Why is he in such a hurry?
But if it was Lu Wan, the style of painting would be different.

Lu Wan was also a veteran, having served in the court for sixteen years. He had military achievements in Liaodong and had experience in serving as a minister. He was more stable than Wang Shouren, which was the point that traditional civil officials cared about the most, and Lu Wan grasped it.

Civil officials like to talk about seniority and other things the most. Compared with Lu Wan, Shi Lin does not have much advantage, or it can be said that he has no advantage at all.

Liu Jian asked, "Do you think Zhang Bingkuan would be interested in Lu Quanqing?"

This question made Li Dongyang lose consciousness for a moment. After considering it, he shook his head and said, "I'm not sure."

Liu Jian stood up and said, "In the past two years, Lu Quanqing has been in the limelight. He was first transferred back to Beijing from the Liaodong Governor and promoted to the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. However, he has put almost all his energy into the Shangting Office, and the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue have been mediocre without any highlights. However, in terms of interpersonal relationships, everyone hates him. Can such a person really get along with Zhang Bingkuan? Or do you think Zhang Bingkuan can tolerate such a person?" Li Dongyang said, "If it is not Lu Quanqing, who else is more suitable?"

After much thought, the only person we can infer now is Shi Lin, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

Now we don't have to wait for the opponent to play a card, but let us choose by ourselves to see who is the weak one on the opposite side. It would be best if the opponent plays this card, then we have a chance of winning.

But the question is, since we all know that the other side is a soft persimmon, then the other side doesn't know? Will it still give us a soft persimmon to pick on?

Liu Jian asked, "Why can't it be Ma Zhongxi, the governor of Pianguan?"

"he?"

Li Dongyang frowned.

Obviously, classmate Ma had been ignored by him from the beginning. No matter whether it was his own nominee or Zhang Zhou's candidate, he had never considered Ma Zhongxi.

"Do you think he is inappropriate?" Liu Jian asked.

Li Dongyang sighed, "This man is too stubborn, too straightforward in what he says and does, and has offended many people. His reputation in the northwest is not very high. Previously, the court planned to transfer him back to Beijing to serve as the Minister of the Six Ministries, but later he resigned and returned home. He was only reappointed last year. If he is promoted to the General of the Three Frontiers, it may cause quite a bit of controversy."

Liu Jian said: "I am not saying to nominate him, but to ask Zhang Bingkuan to nominate this person?"

"Is this feasible?"

Li Dongyang was actually speechless too.

Although we are also analyzing the situation on the other side, it would be a bit ridiculous to let Zhang Zhou nominate someone who is unlikely to get promoted and who has a non-close relationship with Zhang Zhou.

Can we decide the direction of Zhang Zhou's faction?

Liu Jian said: "In terms of the ability to march and command troops, Shi Lin may not be as good as him, and Lu Quanqing may have his say. But in terms of seniority and reputation, how many people can surpass Ma Zhongxi?"

Li Dongyang was enlightened and seemed to suddenly understand. He said, "If two people come out to compete, then Lu Quanqing and Shi Lin may have their own advantages. But if Ma Zhongxi is also put forward, then three people will compete. The advantages of the three will be even less obvious, and Lu Quanqing will be suppressed in two items, so his chances of being selected will be even smaller."

Liu Jian nodded and said, "That's what I meant."

With two candidates, people are afraid that Shi Lin will lose. If Ma Zhongxi, who is bound to lose, is added as a candidate, then there will be three candidates, which will highlight Shi Lin's advantage.

Shi Lin's greatest advantage must be that he is mature and steady, and has the support of traditional civil officials in the court, mainly from the cabinet. In addition, Shi Lin is now the Left Vice Minister, which gives him an innate advantage over Lu Wan, who is about to become the Left Vice Minister. This can be regarded as suppressing Lu Wan.

Liu Jian said: "We can even propose to the court to appoint Ma Zhongxi as the governor of Ningxia. Ningxia has complicated local military affairs now, and Ma Zhongxi is suitable for coordinating complicated situations. With his qualifications, he can even manage the military affairs of Huamachi and prevent Liu Jin, Ma Yi and others from doing whatever they want."

"Haha, this is the best strategy."

Li Dongyang smiled and nodded.

Who said that we pushed Ma Zhongxi out just to use him as cannon fodder?

We can also transfer him to Ningxia, and isn’t Huamachi within the Ningxia defense zone?
With Ma Zhongxi's unyielding character, when he impeached Ma Yi, Ma Yi was like a grandson in front of him. Later, Ma Zhongxi was appointed as the governor of Pianguan, and as soon as he took office, he impeached Zhang Mao, who was leading the troops in Pianguan at that time...

In the end, Ma Zhongxi went to Ningxia to cause trouble.

With the cooperation of Shi Lin, perhaps the "rogues" in the three sides could be suppressed soon, so that the traditional civil officials could regain control of the northwest.

Li Dongyang said: "What about Lu Quanqing? If he stays in Beijing, I'm afraid it will affect the actions of the Supreme Court."

Liu Jian said, "I'm afraid he won't have an impact. Now that Zhang Bingkuan is in the court, His Majesty will definitely let Zhang Bingkuan preside over the affairs of the court. If Lu Quanqing stays in Beijing, he will definitely have contradictions and conflicts with Zhang Bingkuan. Isn't it better to let them fight among themselves?"

Li Dongyang asked: "But he was promoted to the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue..."

In Li Dongyang's opinion, if he was promoted to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, it would be best to be transferred to another post rather than being left in the capital and causing disgrace.

Liu Jian said, "It is not appropriate to appoint him as a local governor. It would be fine to transfer him to Pianguan as a governor, but it is better for him to stay in the capital. I am afraid that Your Majesty wants to take back the power of the Ministry of Revenue to dispatch money and grain. This time, our main dispute in the court is also about the Ministry of Revenue."

“This…is not easy either.”

Li Dongyang couldn't help but sigh.

Considering that Qi Zhong's performance in the past two years was mediocre, and even the emperor was fighting some wars without the allocation of money and grain from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue seemed dispensable in the military and political system of the Ming Dynasty, which made its existence very embarrassing.

Apart from maintaining basic court expenses, the Ministry of Revenue seemed to be less important. The money, grain and supplies from the northwest basically came from Zhang Zhou's requisition.

Even so, the Ministry of Revenue had a large surplus, but the imperial court still did not have enough money and grain every year and was always crying poor.

This led to the emperor being very dissatisfied with the Ministry of Revenue and wanting to reform it.

Liu Jian asked, "If Zhang Bingkuan were in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, where do you think he would start to increase the income from money and grain?"

Li Dongyang shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Liu Jian said coldly: "I sent people to check the new city of that port. Now they are using sea transportation to allocate money and grain, but they ignore the fact that the sea border has always been unstable, and the Ming Dynasty's ban on the sea cannot be relaxed because of this. If Zhang Bingkuan insists on changing the Ming Dynasty's ancestral system, there will definitely be many relatives in the court who will oppose him. Then there will be directions to target him."

Li Dongyang said: "The maritime ban... may not be related to a specific place. If Zhang Bingkuan only uses Zhejiang and Yongping Prefecture..."

"Will not."

Liu Jian said, "Given his personality, he won't be too low-key. Now that he has opened the door, he will definitely take it step by step. If the Ministry of Revenue inevitably falls into his hands, we must use the maritime ban to block his money and grain. Then we will ban him from sending ships out to sea, and his wings will be mostly clipped. Without money and grain, it is like losing wings, and he will never be able to fly." (End of this chapter)