unclear

Chapter 203
Little did he know that Wang An still underestimated the emperor's insidiousness and viciousness. On the surface, he used huge profits to bribe or bribe the civil service group to temporarily form a united front.

But secretly, we also want to send some warmth and cheer to the military commanders and nobles, and encourage them in disguise to straighten their waists, show some manliness, fight bravely in the face of difficulties, and fight for the rights they deserve.

As a result, the Ming court will really become lively. In addition to the partisanship within the civil service group, the military commanders and nobles who have been sinking for nearly a hundred years will definitely not be willing to be second to others forever after receiving the support of the emperor. Then the civil and military disputes will begin. will be opened again.

As long as this situation occurs, Hong Tao will add fuel to the flames, allowing both sides to quickly enter the stage of actual combat, turning the court into a pot of porridge, and you and I will fight openly and secretly all day long.

It is certainly harmful to the administration of a country to have the courtiers engaged in a state of war with each other.In an environment where everyone has too much time to take care of themselves and everyone is in danger, even officials who want to do something practical for the people of the country may not have the time, courage, or ability to do it.

But for the emperor, it was a good opportunity to seize power. Wouldn't it be nice to stand aside and watch the excitement, fan the wind and light up the will-o'-the-wisp? From time to time, the referee would play a black whistle and fish in troubled waters.

Of course, everything has two sides. Provoking a civil and military dispute in the court can certainly relieve the pressure on the emperor, but it may also arouse the common hostility of both parties. In the end, the fun is not seen, the fish is not caught, and the emperor will burn himself.

However, Hong Tao is confident to grasp the situation. First, he has some force to rely on and is not afraid of jumping over the wall and making extra moves.The second is that he loves the art of provoking troubles and has rich practical experience. He also has many advantages such as thick skin, low moral bottom line, and control of public opinion. The chance of winning is still very high.

What kind of warmth can rekindle the cold fighting spirit of generals?The answer is very vulgar, one word, Quan!If I had to add another word, it would be more vulgar, money!
Hong Tao plans to plan the projects of cement burning, oil mining and refining, as well as the coking and ironmaking plants, to be run by nobles. He will get closer to them through partnership business and express enough goodwill. .

Why is it so troublesome? Shouldn't it be that a few distinguished military generals are called to explain the facts and reason, talk about the present and the future, and describe the beautiful prospects? They are as excited as chicken blood. , join the emperor’s camp immediately, are you willing to be a pawn?
This possibility does exist in other dynasties, and it is not low, but it is not easy to use in the Ming Dynasty.The reason is very simple. Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, the generals and nobles have been trampled under the feet of the civil servant group, and they have not been able to get up despite the support of several generations of emperors.

This incident must be blamed on Zhu Qizhen, the Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty. In the early Ming Dynasty, most of the honorees who were awarded the title were military generals. The six founding princes, except Li Shanchang, were all from the military.The power of speech is quite large. He can beat whoever he says. As long as the emperor agrees, he will not pay attention to the suggestions of the civil servants.

By the Yongle and Xuande era, as all parts of the country were basically returned to the imperial court, the power of the northern Yuan Empire gradually collapsed. The status of the noble generals declined slightly, but they were still on an equal footing with the civil service group.

However, the defeat in Tumubao destroyed almost all the elites of the Ming Dynasty military, causing the relative balance between civil and military affairs to deteriorate sharply.The civil servant group took the opportunity to grow bigger, and the situation of using civil servants to control military affairs did not change until the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

There is a saying in later generations that the failure of Tumu Fort was not at all due to Zhu Qizhen being bewitched by the eunuchs and rashly sending troops to ambush and being defeated first, but rather a trap set up by high-level officials within the Ming Dynasty.This was not so much a foreign war as a palace coup, and its planners and executors were the civil service group and some military generals at that time.

So why did they try to overthrow Yingzong?This has to start from the time when the emperor was a child.Zhu Qizhen was the eldest son of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Zhanji died when he was just 8 years old. After he succeeded to the throne, he took charge of Shao Guoji, and the government was basically presided over by his grandmother, Queen Zhang of Renzong of the Ming Dynasty.Although Zhang was the empress dowager, she could not directly manage the country, so she appointed Yang Shiqi, Yang Pu, and Yang Rong to assist the government, known as the Three Yangs in history.That is to say, from this time on, the position of cabinet bachelor, which was originally just the secretary of the emperor's office, turned into a real power agency similar to the prime minister.

The emperor is still young, the empress dowager is strong, and the auxiliary ministers are experienced. If you think about it carefully, does the scene Zhu Qizhen is facing look like Emperor Wanli?If San Yang is replaced by Zhang Juzheng, will it look exactly the same?

Hong Tao had nowhere to verify Zhu Qizhen's feelings at that time. The records of this period in the files of the Director of Ceremonies were not only sparse but also intermittent. It was obvious that someone had tampered with them.

But we must be very clear about the state of Emperor Wanli after he took charge. Even if the archives can be destroyed, many officials, eunuchs, and maids who have experienced it are still alive. It will only take a minute to find out.

Emperor Wanli only had two words for Zhang Juzheng: hate and fear.I hate it because I was taught lessons all day long when I was a child, and all kinds of restrictions were too strict and hurt my self-esteem.I'm afraid Zhang Juzheng is incapable of resisting. He can cover the sky with one hand and can even take care of the affairs of the harem.

As soon as Zhang Juzheng died, Emperor Wanli couldn't wait to fall out. He not only held him accountable but also implicated him, and almost wiped out the Zhang family.It can be seen that the hatred in his heart is so strong that it can no longer be concealed.

Zhu Qizhen's situation was similar, but he was more capable than Emperor Wanli. After enduring for a few years, he took charge. According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", Emperor Yingzong began to rule personally at the age of 16, but according to "Guoyan" records, when he was 14 years old, Emperor Yingzong took the lead in the Battle of Luchuan against all opinions.

In the first month of the sixth year of Zhengtong, Zhu Qizhen appointed Xue Gui, Dingxibo, as the chief military officer, with the seal of Pingman General, and dispatched troops from Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Huguang provinces to go to Burma to conquer the rebel Si Renfa and Si Jifa father and son.

According to archived records, Yang Shiqi firmly opposed sending troops, but he did not stop him in the end. It can be seen that Zhu Qizhen at that time was much more capable than Emperor Wanli, and he could already resist San Yang without having to hide himself in the palace.

The Battle of Luchuan did not go too smoothly. It was fought intermittently for eight years from the sixth year of Zhengtong to the 14th year of Zhengtong. The cost paid was indeed not small.But it also frightened the various ethnic groups in Myanmar and northern Thailand, and they did not dare to cause trouble again for more than 8 years. It seems to be a good value in terms of cost performance.

At the same time as he sent troops to Yunnan, in July of the sixth year of Zhengtong, Zhu Qizhen sent Hong Bao, the governor of the capital, to lead a fleet to Southeast Asia.Who is Hong Bao?He was Zheng He's deputy during his voyages to the West.This move has a very obvious intention. The emperor may want to launch a fleet to the Western Ocean again. Hong Bao's trip is just a warm-up.

(End of this chapter)