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Chapter 656 History is Stubborn

"Naval tactics are unique and require strong professionalism. Does anyone have any qualified people to recommend?" After settling the appointment and responsibilities of the General Staff, the emperor immediately stopped being so stern and humbly asked the important officials present who would replace Yuan Keli as the Governor of the Navy.

"..." But none of the military officials present responded proactively. They had seen this scene too many times. Why pretend? Just tell them who you want to appoint, and then everyone will nod in agreement.

In fact, even if the emperor didn't pretend, no one would dare to take this job. That's the navy, and any soldier can write and calculate, which is not comparable to the border troops. Without some skills and the emperor's authorization, I'm afraid I can't even handle the naval staff. If I go there, I will suffer and take the blame, and I won't get any benefits.

"Your Majesty, Commander Huang Nanping of the Naval Guard grew up on the sea and has rich experience in naval warfare. He has won every battle since he surrendered to the navy. He has passed all his new subjects and is loyal to the Ming Dynasty. He can be of great use." Of course, there would be no one to answer. As the former Governor-General of the Navy, Yuan Keli was the most qualified to recommend a successor.

But the candidate he proposed surprised most of the court officials present. They originally thought it would be the patrol commander Shen Yourong, but unexpectedly it was Huang Nanping, who was born a pirate.

"..." At this time, it can be seen whether the emperor has military power and military achievements. If it was before the establishment of the navy, Yuan Keli would be impeached and buried alive. If it was before the defense of Chaoyang Gate, he would also be showered with spit.

But now the emperor is the god of war who personally led the expedition to Liaodong and won a great victory, and conquered Luzon in a single battle thousands of miles away. Even if the ministers have many dissatisfactions, they dare not express them willfully.

Since I can't recommend anyone, I'll just listen to them. Anyway, there are Western monks who have become third-rank officials, so it doesn't seem particularly shameful to have another pirate governor.

"No, no, Commander Huang is good at naval warfare and is invincible. I have heard that he was awarded the title of General Xuanwei. But the Navy Governor does not need to go to the battlefield. What matters is to plan and strategize. I have heard that Commander Wang Sheng of the Land War Guard is steady and quick-witted. Let him try first."

The strange thing is that the emperor did not take advantage of the situation this time. He rejected the candidate recommended by Yuan Keli and appointed the governor of the navy himself. However, many people present had never heard of the commander Wang Sheng in the navy, and they looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Your Majesty is wise and enlightened. Wang Zhaoyi will surely burst into tears of gratitude when she hears the news!" Wang An spoke at this time. These simple words of more than ten words immediately made everyone present feel relieved, and they all congratulated the emperor.

Everyone should know who Wang Sheng is now. He is Wang Zhaoyi's younger brother and the emperor's brother-in-law! The navy is the emperor's personal army, so it is only natural to give the leadership to his family.

Moreover, the emperor only had one empress and two imperial concubines, and the number of his relatives was surprisingly small. This alone could save hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year. If anyone didn't give face at this time, he would really not be able to be an official.

So does Wang Sheng have the ability of Yuan Keli? The answer is no. He was born in a family of minor officials in Daxing County. He attended a private school but did not have a good reputation. In the sixth year of Jingyang, he was arranged to join the Marine Guard. Although he studied very hard and made great progress, he was far inferior to Yuan Keli in vision, pattern, talent and skills.

To be exact, it is very difficult to find another Yuan Keli at the moment. Talent cannot be acquired through acquired learning. Even if the best students in the Sea House Division are thrown into the Navy for training for a few years, they are still not as good as Yuan Keli when the Navy was first established.

At this time, we have to settle for the next best thing. The navy has now passed its infancy and has set rules for everything. It no longer needs a generalist like Yuan Keli to control it. To exaggerate, even if Li Chengliang is dug out of his grave and asked to serve as the governor of the navy, there will not be much error. Because the governor of the navy is just a link, more power has been divided by the navy staff, and no one can control the navy without the emperor's written consent.

In fact, it would be most appropriate for Hong Tao to choose one of the Navy Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff to be the Navy Governor, but they were still too young, so Wang Sheng could only take over the position. After all, he was the Emperor's brother-in-law, and no one dared to be too disrespectful when attending the Imperial Court meeting, so he could calm the situation.

It was for this reason that Yuan Keli was appointed Chief of the General Staff. The General Staff had great power, but its staff were all young men under 20 years old, which made it difficult for a group of important officials who were in their forties to adapt and even more difficult to get along with.

In another ten or eight years, it will be the golden age for these orphans of the Sea House Division. With sufficient resumes, rich experience, outstanding military exploits and more mature personalities, they can completely replace most of the important positions in the court.

The Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of War, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Taxation, Ministry of Agriculture, and Ministry of Industry, the six-department structure of the imperial court that had lasted for thousands of years suddenly became nine departments, plus the General Staff with an extraordinary status. This change was a huge one and shocked the government and the public.

Then the heavens also got excited, and fearing that it was not lively enough, they came to add another more explosive one. In early June, the navy sent news from Liaodong that Nurhaci was seriously ill and his eighth son Huang Taiji was currently in charge of all internal and external affairs of the Jin Dynasty.

The Naval General Staff could not tell the specific situation. They built Songshan Port south of Jinzhou Port. The Marines stationed there heard all this information from the Mongols in Jinzhou City.

It is said that after the Battle of Tashan, Nurhaci led his defeated troops northward into the mountains. As expected of a nomadic tribe that had lived in the mountains since childhood, they managed to get out without any logistical supplies.

They then successfully joined forces with the two troops led by Huang Taiji and Amin, broke through two large-scale interceptions by Mongolian tribes all the way eastward, and finally returned to the area occupied by the Great Jin Kingdom.

But it was not without cost. One third of the 30,000 elite Eight Banners troops were lost in the mountainous area, plus the less than 20,000 troops under Huang Taiji and Amin, and more than 10,000 were lost along the way. In the end, less than 30,000 people were able to return home alive.

Moreover, when Nurhaci led his team to break through the Mongolian interception, he was shot and fell off his horse. The wound was not serious, but he broke a leg and almost died on the road.

During the time when he was bedridden, Huang Taiji became the acting Khan. Although he was not officially appointed, if you counted on your fingers, basically all those who were qualified to take over the Khanship had died in the war, so unless there was a major accident, he would be the next Khan.

This news was no big surprise to Hong Tao, except that he lamented the stubbornness of history. It didn't matter who led the Jurchens. The only difference was that the Qing Dynasty, which was defeated by the Eight-Nation Alliance, might not have a chance to appear. It would be defeated by itself 200 years earlier. It was unclear whether it was good or bad, so we could only wait and see.

(End of this chapter)