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Chapter 91 Is this normal?

All the cabinet ministers gathered in the Yangxin Hall to discuss state affairs face to face with the emperor. This kind of scene was not unprecedented in this dynasty, but it was absolutely impossible in the Wanli dynasty.The bachelors who had never experienced such a scene were a little uneasy. They all knelt on the ground. No one was willing to take the lead in speaking. For a while, there was only the sound of turning the pages of the memorial.

"Who among you is well versed in the Liaodong war?" After about an incense stick, the emperor slowly raised his head, as if he had just seen the ministers kneeling on the ground. He rubbed his eyes and asked a question, but did not let everyone stand.

"..." The six bachelors looked at each other with their peripheral vision, and finally fell on one person's face.

Sun Wei, the Minister of the Ministry of War, was born in Weinan, named Yuchun. He was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Wanli. He served as the censor of Shizhong and Youdu, and was promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of War in the 29th year of Wanli.His father, Sun Yicheng, once served as the commanding officer of the Tongguan Health Department and received many awards; his uncle, Sun Yizheng, was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Jiajing, and was promoted to the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, with a good reputation.

"Your Majesty is asking about the dismantling of the Sixth Fort in Liaodong?"

Sun Wei is fair-skinned, slightly fat, with a sparse beard, laughs before he speaks, and is harmless to humans and animals. In fact, he joined the officialdom at the age of 20 and has already become a man after more than 30 years in the officialdom. In private, he has already used eye gestures with several colleagues who came first. After communicating with each other, they were able to cope with the emperor's sudden attack with ease.

"Sun Aiqing, please tell me in detail the origin of the Six Fortresses and why they need to be abolished...Wang Cheng'en, why don't you watch your seat!"

Since he came to the throne, Hong Tao has read many memorials about the Nine Sides and listened to cabinet reports. However, in order to avoid the suspicion of seizing military power, he did not dare to pay too much attention to it, especially he did not discuss it with professionals.It's all right now. Something big is going to happen in the Liaodong Report, so I'd like to take this opportunity to make up for my mistakes.

As Wang Chengen and the two ministers ran forward and backward, the ministers no longer had to kneel to answer. They sat on both sides. Only Sun Wei, who was called by the emperor, had to kneel in the middle.

"Well... the Sixth Fort is a long story. If Your Majesty wants more details, can you please allow me to go back and think about it carefully before I report to you?"

Hearing the emperor's question, the flesh on Sun Wei's cheeks twitched. If he kept talking like this, even if he only focused on the key points, he might not be able to finish talking before lunch, and he wouldn't want his legs.

"Sit down and speak slowly...Wang Chengen, please go to the dessert room immediately to prepare more pastries and milk." But the emperor missed the delaying strategy and ordered the little eunuch with a smile to prepare for food and drink. It seems that lunch is not available. Went home and ate.

"Wang Cheng'en, take my picturesque map of the country and spread it out. Come on, come on, dear friends, please come forward and sit down. Today we, the monarchs and ministers, will circle around the map to carefully plan the situation in Liaodong. If there is anything unknown, But I sent six troops to wait outside the governor's palace to take orders."

Is that enough if we just don’t let you eat lunch?The emperor has more ruthless tricks.He asked the little eunuch to bring over a huge map. When unfolded, it was wider than the Imperial Bookcase. It only contained geographical information about Liaodong, Zhili, Shandong, and Korea, including the locations of states, counties, military forts, ports, and the Great Wall. It was very detailed. .

Then the ministers sat in a circle around the map at the emperor's call, eagerly waiting for the Minister of War to start his lecture.To be able to make the emperor pay so much attention to it, let alone lunch, I don't know whether dinner would be enough to leave the palace. Let's try the craftsmanship of the imperial chef.

"Your Majesty, please send someone to the Ministry of War to bring the previous reports for emergencies..." Sun Wei really couldn't shirk this battle, so he told the truth while wiping the cold sweat on his forehead.It’s okay to talk in general terms, but if you want to be so detailed, you can’t just talk nonsense. There must be material support. "Absolutely..." Wang Chengen was quite busy today. Not only did he have to go to the Ministry of War to get materials, he also had to call the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, and by the way, he also brought back the relevant archived information from the Ministry of Hubu.

For four whole hours, from the morning lecture until the sun set in the west, the emperor reluctantly said that the meeting could be dismissed, but he would go to the Yangxin Hall to continue the conversation after the morning meeting tomorrow.It is useless to know the whole story. We must work out countermeasures. Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, is still waiting for a reply. The military affairs at the border are extremely urgent and cannot be delayed.

"Wang Cheng'en, do you know that Li Chengliang's Li family and Ma Gui's Ma family have been fighting at the border all year round. They have rich experience and brave soldiers, but why they have been unable to eliminate the border troubles and will come back every few years?"

The meeting was over, and he had a general understanding of the situation on the northern border of the Ming Empire. Hong Tao did not go to Cining Palace to have dinner with the Empress Dowager of the West Palace as usual. Instead, he chewed the pastries on the table and looked at the map in a daze. After a long time, he asked quietly. Say a word.

"... I listened carefully to the words of the Grand Scholar and Sun Shangshu. It seems that the northern barbarians did not dare to face the Ming army and always hid in the mountains. Long live the Lord, don't worry. You only need to guard the transportation thoroughfares to prevent thieves from going south to plunder. Hungry You have to starve to death too!”

After two years of training, the little eunuch, who is just in his early tenth year, already feels a bit reborn.Not only is his body soaring due to adequate nutrition, but his thinking patterns and habits are also fundamentally different from other eunuchs in the palace.The most obvious thing is that he is brave, even in front of the emperor, he dares to think and say whatever he wants.

In the past, I was afraid that if I did this, I would be beaten every day. If I didn't survive for half a year, I would be thrown into a mass grave with a roll of straw mat.Not doing this now is a serious crime. In the first half year or so, almost every day there were Cuju team members who were spanked with small bamboo sticks because they did not dare to tell the truth.

"Oh? Tell me, how do you know that thieves will not open up wasteland for farming in the mountains!" Hong Tao is quite satisfied with the growth of these dozens of young eunuchs, and he is most relaxed only when he is with them.Patting Wang Chengen's hat, he continued to ask with a smile.

"My slave's family has many mountains. When I was a child, I often followed the villagers to collect mountain products. I heard from the old man that there is not so much food in the mountains, and you can't grow food without water. If there are thieves in the mountains, the government will clear all the roads into the mountains. Send troops to block it, and no one is allowed to transport food or livestock into the mountains.

After being blocked for several months and half a year, the thieves fled far away without even a single soldier.It's a bit difficult to catch all the thieves. When a large army enters the mountains, they also need food. Without carriages and horses, they may not be able to eat for a few days just by carrying them on their shoulders. "

Wang Chengen's face glowed with excitement at being praised by the emperor in person. He put down the map in his hand and started talking about his childhood experiences. He couldn't help but dance when he got to the crucial point.

"Well, that makes sense. Let's take these pastries and share them. Everyone on duty today will have a share. I'll send someone to Cining Palace to report to the Empress Dowager that I have some government affairs to handle. I won't go back for dinner."

Hong Tao listened very carefully, with a smile on his face. He received not only verbal praise but also physical rewards.Every pastry made in the inner court dessert room is made with great care, without any technology or hard work. Even the concubines are not allowed to eat it casually on weekdays. To reward the eunuch with this is already a heavy reward.

"Damn... Even children understand this truth, but you, a bunch of saints who have read poetry and books, don't mention it at all. Your conscience is so broken!" But as soon as Wang Chengen left, the smile on Hong Tao's face disappeared in an instant. One eye is high and the other is low, and the grin is all ferocious.

(End of this chapter)