The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The first day of March in the fifteenth year of the Hongzhi reign.

The ministers entered the palace very early that day, and the court meeting was held in the Fengtian Hall. There were two important events in the court meeting that day. One was related to the changes in court personnel, and the other was related to the announcement of the examination results that day.

When Zhu Youtang appeared in the Fengtian Hall, the emperor seemed very strange in the eyes of the ministers. Zhu Youtang did not look sick at this time. After passing through Binhai City, Zhu Youtang looked radiant, as if he was younger than before.

The meeting begins.

Zhu Youtang spoke in a very loud voice, saying: "I traveled outside the capital and came back from a trip. I saw many local customs and people, and I was moved. If the people can live in peace, I will be very happy."

To the ministers, this was the emperor's excuse for his private trip. In the ministers' view, the emperor left the palace and even left the capital without the court's consent, which was tantamount to disregarding the interests of the court. It was not an act of understanding the people's sentiments, but an act of misconduct.

However, none of the ministers present wanted to argue with the emperor about this.

They know that it is useless to care about it, so no one comes out to sing a different tune.

Zhu Youtang then waved his hand and asked Chen Kuan, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, to come out and read out the relevant personnel appointments and dismissals in the court.

"The vacancy of the Minister of Personnel is filled by the Minister of Rites Lin Han; the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Dai Shan is appointed as the Minister of War in Nanjing, and the vacancy is filled by the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Wang Qiong..."

Four personnel changes were announced in a row.

First, Lin Han was promoted to the Minister of Personnel, and then Wang Qiong was promoted to the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. These two events were basically known to people before.

But the subsequent changes were unexpected by many people present. The Minister of Rites was replaced by Fu Han, the Left Vice Minister of Personnel. Although this was reasonable, Fu Han was directly replaced without any court discussion, which obviously exceeded the psychological expectations of the ministers.

The last change was that Lu Wan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was further promoted to the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but the position was not extended any further. In other words, although Lu Wan was promoted, it seems that he has nothing to do with the Three Border General System at the moment.

Zhu Youtang waited for Chen Kuan to announce the contents, and then he said in person: "I have said before that the energy of several cabinet elders is limited, and we need to find someone to fill their positions to carry out their duties. After much thought, I think that the family of Wang Ao, a Hanlin scholar, is the most suitable. I have asked the opinions of many officials in the cabinet and the Hanlin Academy, and they also agreed."

Wang Ao's entry into the cabinet has been planned for a long time.

When the emperor proposed this, no one present would object. Although Wang Ao was not a backbone of the traditional faction, he was at least a Hanlin scholar and his abilities were obvious to all.

There was no hesitation and Wang Ao's joining the cabinet was decided immediately, and even Wang Ao himself came out to receive the order.

……

……

After the announcement, there was almost no controversial personnel arrangements.

The emperor did not immediately proceed with those controversial projects. He first asked the Ministry of Rites to report on the announcement of the imperial examination results.

Zhu Youtang said: "The imperial examination selects the best talents in the world. Now that the imperial examination has passed, the palace examination will be held soon, and the selection of examiners for the palace examination will also be carried out soon. The time is still set for March 15, and I will set the questions myself."

This is also not controversial.

Immediately afterwards, the Ministry of Rites and others came forward to report on the progress of the examination to ensure that everything was in compliance with regulations and no cheating was found.

The imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty was relatively fair. Although there were some deviations in educational resources, at least the candidates were not judged by their background or reputation. As long as the essays were well written and appreciated by the examiners, there was hope of being admitted.

Only at this point did Zhu Youtang remember to set the tone for events in the northwest.

"Since the beginning of February this year, the Tatars have repeatedly invaded Ningxia Huamachi and other places. The local garrison officers and other officials have resisted them with troops and horses. Although they have been effective, they have also suffered heavy casualties. According to the news from the front line, the Tatars are attacking with firearms. They have abandoned the previous tactic of cavalry charge and are trying to imitate the tactics of the border soldiers of the imperial court. However, they do not have weapons such as the Shenwei Cannon that can cause great damage, so they have achieved the form but not the essence."

When Zhu Youtang said this, there was a hint of pride in his tone.

It seems that the border soldiers I trained are still not at a disadvantage when fighting against the Tatars with firearms.

Even if the Tatars wanted to imitate it, they couldn't.

Liu Jian came out and said, "Your Majesty, the war in the northwest is showing signs of failure. We should rebuild the 800-li pass in Ningxia to strengthen our defenses and prevent the Tatars from attacking again."

Zhu Youtang said: "The pass needs to be repaired, but now the war has not ended, everything has to wait for the result. I temporarily transferred Wang Qiong, who was in charge of military affairs in Yansui and other places, back to the capital because he was not effective in making progress in the three borders and often lost the enemy's initiative. He was too conservative."

The ministers present heard it.

Is this still available?

Wang Qiong, who loves war and is capable of fighting, is considered conservative by the emperor? Who should be replaced to be considered enterprising?

Then it would probably be more appropriate to arrange Zhang Zhou to go there, or to let Wang Shouren go.

Zhu Youtang asked: "My dear ministers, the northwest is still in turmoil, and I cannot just dismiss the people without sending a new commander to take charge of military affairs. Who do you think would be more suitable to go?"

Li Dongyang immediately wanted to recommend Ma Zhongxi or Shi Lin.

He recommended this matter in order to highlight the cabinet's position on this matter, abandoning the previous tradition of letting others take the lead while the cabinet waits and sees from the back. It is also a sign that the cabinet is going to move to the front and even to the front line of the struggle.

But before Li Dongyang took this crucial first step, Liu Jian glanced at him sideways. Li Dongyang immediately understood and did not take any steps forward.

Although the tactics were set, Li Dongyang also knew how to assess the situation.

Liu Jian clearly meant that the emperor was setting a trap. He pointed out that Wang Qiong was replaced because he was too conservative. But look at the two people we are going to choose, Shi Lin and Ma Zhongxi. Which one is not conservative? Even more conservative than Wang Qiong.

So the focus now is not on who we recommend, but on who the emperor likes. We first point out the faults of this person and then push our people forward.

Didn’t you, the emperor, set the tone for progress?

This kind of thing is just talk. Is Wang Shouren very aggressive? Or is Lu Wan very aggressive?
Even if they are stubborn and send troops the next day after receiving the order, it is already very aggressive, but for such ambiguous things that need to be defined, we just need to take the opposite stance.

We just say they are not aggressive enough!
What can you do to us?

For a long while, no one spoke. They were all waiting for Li Dongyang to come out and set the tone. When Li Dongyang didn't come out, many people were wondering if there was something wrong with the situation.

Chen Kuan came out and asked loudly, "My dear ministers, your majesty is asking, who is suitable to take over the military affairs of the three borders from Wang Junmen, who can repel the Tatars, stabilize the morale of the army, and deter the scoundrels so that the Tatars dare not invade?"

As soon as this condition was put forward, everyone present instantly understood why Li Dongyang did not speak out. This condition was so harsh, whoever mentioned it first would be pushed into the fire pit.

Who else in the world could be such a useful person besides Zhang Bingkuan? Even if Zhang Bingkuan went, would the Tatars really not dare to come? Who gave the Ming Dynasty the courage to say such words in the court?

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhu Youtang frowned slightly and said, "My dear ministers, is there really no better candidate?"

The people present remained silent.

The first one to speak is wrong; if you don’t speak, then it is definitely not wrong.

"Speak first, I also want to hear your opinions. I also have some opinions here and would like to discuss them with you." Zhu Youtang suddenly said this.

The people present suddenly became nervous.

It turned out that the emperor was not without an idea, but had already had a candidate, but it seemed that this had not been leaked before.

Even Chen Kuan did not expect that the emperor had actually turned a blind eye. There was clearly a candidate, but he had not mentioned it in front of him before. This meant that... the emperor did not trust him enough.

Li Dongyang then stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, given the current situation in the northwest, we need a commander with actual combat experience to defend against the enemy, and he must also have experience in governing the court. In my opinion, the best choice would be to have the Minister of War lead the northwest military affairs."

I don’t recommend anyone else, I will directly recommend Zhang Bingkuan, and see how Your Majesty responds.

Everyone present was also very curious.

Did the cabinet reach a compromise with Zhang Zhou? Or did they have some secret conspiracy, so that the cabinet had to speak for Zhang Zhou and even recommend him?
Zhu Youtang said: "Although Bingkuan is very capable, if he goes to the three borders, what about the military affairs in Liaodong and Xuanda? Every time there is something, do we have to pass the news to the three borders and let him give his opinion? The Minister of War is in the capital at this time, so he can't go anywhere."

Li Dongyang said, "But your majesty, the Minister of War has been lingering in the coastal city and has not returned yet. The military affairs of the court have not been delayed. Why not let him go to the three borders? The Minister of War can foresee in advance that the Tatars will invade from Huamachi and has deployed heavy troops. If he is in charge of the military affairs of the three borders, he will be able to predict the enemy's actions in advance and seize the initiative. He will definitely be successful."

Zhu Youtang instantly felt Li Dongyang's strong malice.

Is this what he meant?

You are simply causing trouble for him. I told you that Bingkuan is not suitable, but you still insisted on recommending him. Are you really trying to make things difficult for me?

"Bingkuan is not suitable, let's choose the next candidate." Zhu Youtang said with a cold face.

Li Dongyang said again: "In addition, I think we should send civil officials who have experience in military administration in the northwest and are highly respected to stabilize the morale of the army."

Zhu Youtang said: "Experience is the most important, and the second is to be enterprising. We must give the Tatars enough deterrence and let them know that he is not afraid of a fight."

The more the ministers present listened, the more this person looked like Wang Shouren, and the emperor was just about to report Wang Shouren's name.

But suddenly the tone of the painting changed, and the emperor asked directly, "My dear ministers, do you think that Tang Yin, the current governor of Ji and Liao, is suitable for this job?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present fell silent.

Even Li Dongyang seemed to be shaken. He had already made plans to come out and oppose, or to continue the fight, but the emperor did not play by the rules.

Many people were also listening attentively.

Who?
Tang Yin?

Who is Tang Yin?

Why does he become the chief minister of the three parties?

He is Zhang Bingkuan's fellow apprentice? That one?
Even if he is Zhang Bingkuan's master, he has to stand aside. Besides, can the arrangements for the Northwest Commander be made according to the fellow disciples of so-and-so?
Are you trying to treat the Ming Dynasty’s border military affairs as a joke?
Liu Jian seemed to sense the emperor's ill will. He walked out and said, "Your Majesty, Tang Yin is not suitable."

"Oh." Zhu Youtang said, "Lord Liu, do you think that when I was talking and joking with you, I actually had another candidate, and I just recommended someone who was not very suitable to test your opinion first?"

Liu Jian didn't think so, but many people present actually thought so.

Because no matter how you look at it, Tang Yin is not a good choice. The emperor may just be saying it for fun, or he may want to make this person a target first, and then let subsequent candidates come out to compare with him in some aspects.

"You are right not to answer. How can I take this lightly? Although Tang Yin has no experience as a minister or a minister in the court, he previously served as the right minister of the Ministry of Works to supervise the Yizhou Mountain Factory, so he has indirect experience. The position of the commander of the Yizhou Mountain Factory is, after all, a real vacancy, not a nominal position."

At first glance, this makes sense.

Although he was not a full-time Right Vice Minister of Works, it cannot be said that this Right Vice Minister of Works was just a part-time position. After all, when he was the Superintendent of Yizhou Mountain Factory, he used to hold the title of Minister of Works.

This person has done practical work, that is to say, he has served as a minister, which meets the requirement.

"As for the marching experience, Tang Qingjia has led the army in Liaodong several times. Each time he was on the front line, and he was alone and brave enough to go deep into the enemy's territory. He was never afraid of the retreat. This shows that he is a man of strategy, courage and wisdom." Zhu Youtang continued to praise Tang Yin.

This sounds... awkward.

Many people in the court knew that Tang Yin was trapped in Duobi City. Did that mean Tang Yin became a lone hero?

He had no choice. Besides, the troops he brought were not from the Ming Dynasty!
Every time he brings North Korean soldiers, this guy likes to stir up trouble in North Korea.

Zhu Youtang added: "He was able to stick to his position and make contributions during his several diplomatic missions to the vassal states, demonstrating the kingly way of the imperial court and comforting the vassal states."

This is true. This guy likes to lead others to make trouble and even overthrew the King of Korea. It is true that he is courageous.

"I have thought about it and realized that if an experienced and prudent person were to go to the three borders to command the army, he would inevitably be hesitant. On the contrary, Tang Yin has basically been at the borders or in the vassal states since he became an official. He has not been influenced by the habits of the Confucian officials in the court and will not be constrained by these things."

Many people were dissatisfied with what they heard.

What do you mean?
We just have the habits of Confucian officials. Does that mean we are not suitable to be the governor of the three frontiers?

Tang Yin is more suitable because he has never been an official in the court? Does it mean that the habits of our group of people are a burden?
Zhu Youtang said: "What's even more commendable is that he served as the General of Ji and Liao, and he is also familiar with the military affairs of Jizhou and Liaodong."

Li Dongyang finally couldn't help but come out to refute: "Your Majesty, the current situation of the Liaodong war is unclear, I am afraid that this person cannot be transferred back, and he... has little experience in politics. Being a rookie is not an advantage, but it is easy to cause trouble." (End of this chapter)