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Chapter 434 Why bother?

"Gao Aiqing, have you forgotten that the Censor of Zuodu and the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment are all involved, how can I trust you again? Is it possible to clean up the Ministry of Punishment and the Imperial Procuratorate first to find out if there are any traitors? Comrade, we can’t hold another trial!

Let's take a closer look. Was Cao Yubian also included in the confession in the case of Zuo Gui of the Criminal Division? If you ask him to sign a driving letter, do you think those people might know the news in advance? In just two quarters of an hour, all these letters will be turned into ashes!

Don't forget that the ban I issued has not yet been lifted. During this period, Dongchang and Jinyiwei not only have to defend against foreign invaders, but also guard against internal enemies. I have to work hard both inside and outside all day long to be punished. I don’t know how the Ming Law is written, but I know that doing so will chill the hearts of all loyal officers and soldiers, and all rebels and traitors will have no worries.

At this point, I have to say something from my heart to you. You are really disappointing to me. There were many guard posts along the way, with tens of thousands of soldiers. Facing the less than ten thousand Jurchens, they had no structure or fighting spirit, and they were all on the verge of collapse. Only then did Jianlu become more courageous and daring to attack the capital with a partial division.

What about the Custodes? The three major battalions had 50,000 men facing less than 10,000 men, and they were still defeated despite being backed by a fortified city. If I hadn't been prepared on weekdays and the navy was helping me, it would have been Chu Ying sitting in the Yangxin Hall right now.

This is the case for the Jingying Camp and the Shuntian Prefecture Guard Station. Presumably other local guards stations and frontier troops are not much better. However, the imperial court's annual military pay has not been reduced. You must have an answer in your mind as to where the money and food went.

Now I want to ask a question, if the three major battalions are gone, who should guard the capital? Look, I just mentioned something, but before I get to the point, some people can't help it anymore.

Don't worry, just listen to what I have to say. I have not yet decided who should guard the capital, but I have a request, that is, whoever is in charge of the troops will be responsible. The Beijing camp is different from the garrison and the border army. It does not have to be good at attacking but it must be good at defense. It doesn’t take much, as long as you fail once, the Ming Dynasty will be gone.

Dear friends, please sit down, think carefully about the issue in Beijing, and then give me a clear answer. How to guard it in the future, who will guard it, how many men and horses are needed, and how much food is needed. "

The emperor did not hesitate when faced with Gao Panlong's trick and immediately gave an answer. Not only did he refute the accusation of arresting people without driving notices, but he also raised a more thought-provoking question.

"..." As soon as these words came out, the officials present immediately understood the context of the whole matter. Some people frowned, some gritted their teeth, and some hesitated to speak, but no one stepped forward to offer suggestions.

No way, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were plotted again. The whole thing started from the Jurchens' entry into the country as a chess game. The emperor made three moves first, and now he is waiting for the courtiers to take over.

But no one can complain about the emperor's poor character. All calculations and methods are obvious. It is a hundred times brighter than those officials who are the enemy and do not want to be loyal to the emperor and the country, but are secretly plotting to move the capital. One is a conspiracy, the other is a conspiracy, and the superiors and superiors make judgments.

Now that the emperor had the upper hand, not only the three major battalions were defeated, but the courtiers were also suspected of treason. It was obvious that the emperor not only wanted to replace the three major battalions, but also asked the courtiers to take the initiative to express their opinions. It is best to ask the emperor to seize military power, and if they don't agree, they will be killed.

In the past, the courtiers could nominate a certain or a few military generals to reorganize the three battalions with meritorious service. Anyway, they are still far away from the front line, and it is impossible for the Jurchens to easily enter the border again and again. Even if it does happen again, whoever leads the three battalions to fight will be the one to withstand the thunder.

But now this trick was obviously useless. The emperor personally led the troops to defeat the Jurchens, and he had a benchmark for combat effectiveness. Compared with the improvised defense team put together by Katoji, navy sailors, and factory workers, who dares to say that the three rebuilt battalions can surpass them? Not to mention surpassing, I'm afraid I can't even achieve equivalence.

At this time, no one dared to find anyone to defy the thunder, and even if they did, no one would come forward unless the emperor issued a decree. The question is, will the emperor cooperate? Clearly unlikely. This emperor, who could annihilate his enemies with a snap of his finger, wanted to muddle through on military issues, which would be a disgrace to himself.

"Don't trust my patience too much. How can I be silent when a minister is asked about such important matters in the imperial court? Is it possible that the charge of treason against the same party is too vague, and I am afraid that Dongchang's investigation will be unfavorable, so I have to let him Do I have the reputation of being a bloodthirsty person?"

After waiting for a full cup of tea and still no one answered, the emperor was finally irritated and stood up abruptly. He put his hands on the table and stared at everyone, his words full of threats.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. I am the Minister of the Ministry of War. The defense of the capital is slack and the three major battalions cannot be used. I am the first to bear the brunt!" At this time, everyone present understood that if he did not answer the question, the emperor would most likely break up completely and take advantage of someone or someone. Some people treated them like chickens and killed them. But no one in the room knew how to answer, and they couldn't let go of their dignity and asked the emperor to take control of the military against his will.

Doing this can definitely avoid the immediate trouble, but it cannot avoid the contempt of the civil and military officials of the court. It is hard to define which is more serious than being beheaded by the emperor if you are cast aside by the entire class. In the end, it was Wang Xiangqian, the Minister of War, who stepped forward to take over the emperor's wrath, which made everyone present, including Wang Chengen and Wang An, breathe a long sigh of relief.

"If I remember correctly, Wang Aiqing was appointed Minister of War in October of the fifth year of Jingyang, and it has been more than three years now. Then tell me in detail, during this period, how did you turn the three major battalions from more than 100,000 to After paying 50,000, how did the elite become old and weak?

Wang Chengen, serving with pen and paper. Every name mentioned by Wang Shangshu must be written down clearly, and no one can be missed. They are all the culprits who hollowed out the Forbidden Army. Killing three tribes and cutting them into pieces is not enough to offset their sins! "

If you want to simply admit your guilt and use one person's official career to save the entire court officials from the desperate situation, and then be regarded as a benefactor by the civil and military officials of the dynasty later, this is too disrespectful of the emperor's IQ. If Wang Xiangqian is willing to sacrifice his life to save his colleagues, Hong Tao really doesn't mind exonerating the three camps for false reports and corruption.

However, this crime is a bit serious, and the lives of hundreds of members of the Wang family are definitely not enough to kill him. To cause such harm to the three major battalions, the Ministry of War must be unable to hold on alone, and it must involve the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion no matter what.

Now we have to see if this old cunning guy is willing to bring all the generals and nobles into it, and whether the generals and nobles will cooperate and be willing to sacrifice their lives to feed eagles.

"Your Majesty, I have the divine grace and I am willing to accept the punishment. However, the three major camps have been decommissioned for a long time, and it is definitely not the fault of Wang Shangshu alone. Speaking of which, when Emperor Wuzong was in power, there was no longer enough.

If you want to restore the past glory of the three major battalions, you not only need to select ministers who train and manage troops, but also need to select elite soldiers from the guards to fill them. But I'm afraid the guard station won't be able to provide enough manpower, and it won't be possible to freeze three feet in a day. "

Sure enough, Yongnian Bo Wang Mingfu and Wu Qingbo Li Mingcheng, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally couldn't bear it anymore, looked at each other, stood up and knelt down to apologize.

It was not unprecedented in the Ming Dynasty for military generals and nobles to attend imperial meetings, but it had not been seen for more than a hundred years since the orthodoxy. The sudden summons to the palace made the two nobles frightened.

I entered the Yangxin Hall with an uneasy feeling. Although my buttocks were sitting on the chair, my heart was still anxious. I was afraid that in order to shirk responsibility, these civil servants would blame all the blame for the defeat of the three major battalions on the governors' offices. .

But as soon as the emperor showed up, he used a storm-like offensive to knock the six ministers and nine ministers into a daze. Most of them were suspected of treason against his party, and he could no longer protect himself. The issues discussed next are indeed related to the three major camps, but they are getting further and further away from taking the blame.

When Wang Xiangqian spoke, the two nobles finally understood. After struggling for a long time, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses from the three battalions were sent in. The final focus was not on defending the capital, nor on who was held responsible, but on They are fighting for control of the Beijing camp.

On this issue, Wang Mingfu and Li Mingcheng have nothing to hesitate. As a noble military commander, I have long been fed up with the criticism and gesticulation of civil servants. As a relative of the emperor, once the emperor loses power, his future is basically lost. Regardless of position or relationship, one must and can only support the emperor.

(End of this chapter)