unclear

Chapter 90 Military affairs
"Don't speculate blindly. Chen Yushi has been patrolling Yunnan for many years and has ensured that the southwest of Ming Dynasty is safe. He is a capable minister."

Hong Tao knew very well why Li Zhi hesitated to speak. In fact, most courtiers and internal officials were like this when talking to him. The root cause was that they could not guess what the emperor was thinking and did not dare to express their opinions casually.

Faced with this kind of situation, we have to classify and deal with it. If the other party is one of our own, such as Li Zhi or Chen Ju, we can let them relieve their psychological burden by revealing part of their thoughts and tell more truth.

If the other party is someone who can cooperate, such as several bachelors in the cabinet, including the empress dowager and the empress dowager in the harem, you can make up a reliable reason and fool them into saying more reliable words.

If the other party is just an ordinary official, then it can only be a matter of fact versus fiction. It depends on who is better at guessing riddles and making up stories.No way, the emperor cannot trust the officials, and the officials cannot trust the emperor. When there is no trust between the two parties, it is impossible to hear the truth, and even if it is the truth, no one will believe it.

"What your Majesty said is absolutely true. Yunnan has high mountains and deep waters, complex terrain, tough and uncivilized folk customs, and Burmese bandits often invade. It is not easy for Chen Yutai to maintain peace for 13 years with one area. If the generals from all nine sides can imitate it, , it’s really a blessing.”

With the emperor's guidance, Li Zhi finally dared to speak. Unfortunately, it was difficult to tell the truth. Just now he said he didn't know much about Yunnan and had few contacts, but he turned around and spoke highly of it again.

"According to Master Li's wishes, how should the Burmese thieves be dealt with?" Hong Tao was noncommittal about Li Zhi's evaluation. The conclusions of this external inspection have been sorted out by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Hundreds of work evaluations of officials from various places have been reviewed at a glance. It will also take some time.

But looking is necessary, especially Hong Tao, the official guarding the important border town, and found some problems, such as the Yunnan Governor Chen Yongbin.

In the inspection report of the Ministry of Personnel, his work achievements are still remarkable. The key point is that he did not consume the central government's property and controlled the situation in Yunnan relatively stably by relying on local output alone.Even though there were constant intrusions from the Burmese kingdoms in the south, they did not show much signs of defeat and were very good at using barbarians to control barbarians.

However, in the inspection report of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the official reputation of this feudal official was not very good.For example, it favored the local barbarian leaders, failed to command effectively in many battles against Burma and delayed fighter opportunities, etc. It cannot be said that the evaluation is very low, and it can be regarded as not very qualified.

Faced with two completely different evaluations, Hong Tao could only ask Jin Yiwei and Dongchang again, but Chen Ju gave a lower evaluation.According to the records of Dongchang and the tax officials, this feudal official was very uncooperative, especially in the area of ​​mining taxes, and was almost deliberately making things difficult. On the contrary, he was very tolerant of the local barbarians.

Three to one, the three supervisory departments, including the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Jinyiwei and Dongchang, all have a poor evaluation of Chen Yongbin. If it were replaced by another emperor, he would probably have to figure out how to replace him, or at least send someone to the local area. investigation.

Hong Tao did not rush to draw conclusions, nor did he take the reports from the Ministry of Personnel, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Jinyiwei and Dongchang seriously.All four families may be lying, or they may be adulterated.Especially the conclusion provided by Dongchang, the evidence is actually the withdrawn oral statement of the mine supervisor, which is too one-sided and too hasty.

Due to issues of stance, many mine supervisors will have conflicts with local officials, which is inevitable.The interests represented by both parties are different, and they have to compete for food from the same pot, so there will inevitably be conflicts.

A tactful official will not offend someone in person, but will make reports behind his back.Officials who are more outspoken are not so self-restrained, and there are not a few who break up with each other in person.If the mine supervisor's evaluation is taken as evidence, then at least two-thirds of the officials from various places will have to be replaced.

Not only did Hong Tao not believe the comments of the four supervisory agencies, but he also couldn't believe all Li Zhi's words.So how to determine whether Chen Yongbin is a capable minister or a mediocre official? There is only one way to call him back to see with his own eyes and chat more.But before that, we have to figure out the content of their work.The issue of Myanmar is also a long story.In the 14th year of Hongwu (1381 AD), Ming Dynasty general Mu Ying attacked Yunnan and defeated the Mongolian forces. After that, he was named Xipinghou and guarded Yunnan for generations.At that time, the Ava Dynasty of Myanmar submitted to the rule of the Ming Dynasty and became a vassal state.

However, as the strength of the Ming Empire gradually weakened, by the Jiajing period, most of the central government's energy was attracted to the north, and it was difficult to distract from the distant southwest.

As a result, the feudal states in Yunnan became a little unrestrained and often sent troops to attack Burma.The king of Burma quickly asked his eldest brother for help. Guess what?The Ming officials who guarded Yunnan did not take it seriously and did not report it at all.

Now the Burmese king had a grudge. After defeating the attack of the Yunnan princes, he immediately issued a memorandum accusing the Ming Empire of inaction, raised troops to rebel against the Ming Dynasty, and called himself the White Elephant King of Southwest Jinlou.

From then on, the originally surrendered vassal states became sworn enemies, causing cross-border harassment every day.The two sides were victorious. Although the Ming army had achieved several great victories, it was unable to annihilate it, and it has been delayed until now.

After taking office, Chen Yongbin changed his predecessor's style and used various means to build good relations with the local chieftains, with the purpose of using foreigners to control foreigners.The effect is definitely there, but the situation is over. In terms of fighting the Myanmar army, it is in passive defense and can only barely support it.

This is also an important basis for criticism by the Metropolitan Procuratorate. In the eyes of the imperial censors, Myanmar is just a tiny place. Once the Ming army arrives, it must be overwhelming and invincible.Failure to do this means poor command, and failure to do a good job will naturally lead to negative reviews.

"At this time, the national treasury is empty and the nine borders are unstable. The imperial court is afraid that it will be unable to go south, so it is better to appease him." Li Zhi did not hesitate about this problem, and very happily stated what he thought was the correct solution.

"Well... to appease... the Ministry of War said that Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong garrison, reported to the court that because Kuan Dien Fort, Chang Dien Fort, Yong Dien Fort, Damian Fort, Xin Dien Fort, and Su Dien Fort were isolated and difficult to defend, it was recommended to abandon the defense. All the residents of Six Forts have moved in. I haven’t made up my mind yet, Master Li might as well tell me about General Li’s past.”

The emperor still did not express his position, and did not even mention the matter in Yunnan anymore. The conversation changed from the southwest to the northeast, and then talked about the Liaodong general's suggestion to shrink the defense line and move residents inward.

"...The cabinet is also undecided. I know only a little about the use of troops and dare not make rash suggestions."

The memorial to abandon the garrison and move inland was delivered from the cabinet to the Supervisor of Ceremonies. Of course Li Zhi knew it, but he was a little confused by such a huge jump. After thinking for a long time, he didn't know how to answer, so he just told the truth that he was not good at fighting. thing.

"The Grand Scholar of the Xuan Cabinet and the Minister of the Ministry of War went to the Yangxin Hall to answer the question. This matter is not a trivial matter. I will discuss it with all the ministers before making a decision!" The emperor still had no expression and just said lightly to Wang Chengen, the head of the Yangxin Hall. He lowered his head and continued to read the memorial on the desk.

(End of this chapter)