Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 414 Relaxation and Order
"Woo-"

On August 20, amidst the roar of the river, a fleet of nearly a hundred ships slowly sailed out of the port and headed east on the river outside Dinghuaimen Pier in Nanjing.

On the deck, Chen Xuan, Yang Wen, and Xu Zengshou each rode a treasure ship. The scene of the running navy, Yang sails, and horns made the whole scene powerful.

Tokaiwei and Toyowei, who had just been reorganized for two months, took on the main role of escorting Ashikaga Yoshitsugu back to the country and ascended the throne.

There are 11,200 people in the two guards and 3,800 ship-handling auxiliaries, totaling 15,000 people.

Their opponent is Ashikaga Yoshimochi, who is quelling civil strife in Japan.

Although Ashikaga Yoshimochi had 70,000 men, for Yang Wen and Chen Xuan, it had long been the tradition of the Ming army to fight with fewer troops.

Except for the Battle of Jingnan, the Ming army rarely fought with more troops than the smaller ones. Especially after the Battle of Jingnan, the Ming army, equipped with matchlocks and cannons, became more sophisticated. A navy of 15,000 was enough. Sweeping across Japan.

As the Taira-Japanese fleet moved away, the people watching the excitement on the pier began to gradually disperse.

Compared with the bustle here, the current scene inside the West Point Gate seems even more lively.

Xia Yuanji and others, who did not want to stay and be implicated, left one after another. Hu Guang, Hu Yan, and Jin Youzi, who had left the court, rushed towards Xie Jin's mansion.

"The supervision of Hanlin bachelors Xie Jin and Yang Shiqi was unfavorable. Xie Jin became the right counselor of the Chief Secretary of Guangxi, and Yang Shiqi served as the left counselor of the Chief Secretary of Shaanxi Province!"

Just when they were wondering why the emperor would deal with them, the two people who exited the west corner gate saw Ji Gang who was smiling but not smiling.

In the past, there were at least 200 officials of the fifth rank and above participating in the regular dynasty at Xijiaomen, but today there are only less than 150 people, a quarter less.

"Hmph!" Xie Jin hummed disdainfully and waved his sleeves away.

"Li Shimin from the household department, Fang Jie, the censor directly under the supervision of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Tongzhi Wang of Songjiang Prefecture... and other 125 people engaged in favoritism and took bribes privately. They were tried by the three divisions and severely punished according to the law."

As the minister of Honglu Temple opened his mouth to bow, all the ministers in the hall subconsciously sang and knelt down, bowing five times and kowtowing three times.

On the other hand, Jie Jin's face looked a little ugly after he reacted, but he still bowed and agreed.

"Your Majesty, I request that Chen Ying and others be punished!!"

His words were heard by Yang Shiqi and Xie Jin. The two of them had dark faces and quickened their pace to leave the west corner gate.

"Long live your Majesty, long live long live..."

Facing Chen Ying's impeachment, Liu Guan refuted it as if he had been stepped on, but his refutation seemed feeble.

"Your Majesty, I want to impeach Chen Ying, the imperial censor of Zuodu, Ji Gang, the imperial censor Yuan Gang, and Qin Heng, the commander of Jinyiweidu, for being cronies who deceived the emperor, framed innocent people, and killed innocent people without permission. I request that Chen Ying be punished. Several people."

When they arrived, Yang Shiqi was already in the mansion, and the two men, still wearing official robes, were sitting in the hall with gloomy expressions.

Before they could go far, Ji Gang touched his mustache and said disdainfully: "What kind of situation are you in? How dare you show your face to me."

"Two great bachelors, the mountains are high and the road is far, please walk slowly..."

Seeing so many people coming forward, whether they were officials from Jiangzuo or Huaixi, they all knelt down and begged Chen Ying and others to be punished. This made Chen Ying's face turn pale, and Ji Gang, who was peeking outside the door, couldn't help but feel a little more anxious. nervous.

"We order Hu Lun, the commander of the West Factory, and Zhang Chun, the judge of Dali Temple, to investigate the case and hold a joint trial. Both parties will not be imprisoned for the time being!"

Hu Guang, Hu Yan, Jin Youzi and other Jiangzuo academicians felt nervous, but fortunately Wang Yan did not read out the imperial edict about them.

Watching them walk away, Ji Gang snorted, turned around and continued to stand at the door of the west corner gate, as if there were better dramas waiting for him to listen.

"Chen Ying, the imperial censor of Zuodu of the Imperial Procuratorate, impeached Liu Guan, the Minister of Punishment, for accepting bribes in private, and his subordinate officials such as Wang Zhang, Xiang Hui, Liu Ju, Geng Tong, etc. were corrupt and indulgent without any scruples."

After Zhu Di said that, he immediately stood up and left his position. Seeing this, the minister of Honglu Temple quickly sang a salute: "Retreat from the court!"

In the entire hall, only Xia Yuanji and the others, as well as a dozen officials from the New Deal faction, were still standing. The other 130 or so people were kneeling on the ground, which showed that Chen Ying and the others had already aroused public anger.

It seemed that it had aroused public anger. Under the leadership of Geng Tong, nearly 30% of the officials in the temple knelt down to sing.

"The Hanlin Academy reviewed sixty-seven people including Liu Jun, editor Zeng Qi, etc., who were frivolous in writing books and made many mistakes. They were demoted and were not allowed to be promoted for three years."

Inside the Xijiao Gate, as Chen Ying initiated impeachment again, the one who was impeached this time was Liu Guan, the Minister of Punishment, who was born in Beizhili but relied on the Jiangdong School.

Yang Shiqi reacted the fastest and bowed respectfully to receive the order.

Ji Gang chuckled and turned sideways, signaling for them to leave Miyagi quickly.

"Both sides are attacking each other, and the testimonies are not credible."

Standing in the crowd, Xia Yuanji, Huang Fu, Guo Zi and others had no doubt that if the emperor hadn't left completely, then this group of people would even have a fight here at West Point Gate.

The confusion in their minds disappeared at this moment. As long as they were not fools, it would not be difficult to see that all this was the result of Ji Gang's operation.

Zhu Di gave the order with a gloomy face. Yang Shiqi and Xie Jin bowed one after another, covering their faces with their sleeves, and stepped back step by step.

"Go back!"

Before they could get up, Wang Yan, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, began to read out the imperial edict, and the content caught everyone off guard.

"Long live your Majesty, long live your Majesty..." The ministers bowed and sang respectfully before raising their heads and making eye contact with their enemies.

"My lord, take the order..."

"absurd!"

Yang Shiqi just glanced at Ji Gang and left the west corner gate without doing anything.

Regarding this situation, Zhu Di had a suspicious expression on his face, and subconsciously looked at the position where Zhu Gaoxu was going to court. However, he remembered that Zhu Gaoxu had sent Chen Xuan to send troops to Japan today, so he withdrew his gaze and said in a deep voice:

Wang Yan's words were like a blow to the head, instantly darkening the eyes of Xie Jin, Yang Shiqi and other ministers.

"Singing voice——"

Seeing Hu Guang and others arriving, Xie Jin cursed: "Little man Ji Gang, one day I want him to kneel down and beg me!"

"Guangxi has high mountains and long roads, and it has not yet rehabilitated its people. You have to be careful, Sir." Hu Guang and others looked at Xie Jin worriedly.

When Xie Jin heard this, he shook his head: "Isn't it just a trip to Guangxi to serve as an official? Just wait for my news."

"I just didn't expect that just after the initial revision of "Yongle Dadian" was completed, Ji Gang would immediately use this as an excuse to impeach me."

"But neither Yao Guangxiao nor Sun Cheng found anything. I was the only one who found out."

Jie Jin tightened his grip on the teacup in his hand, while Hu Guang and the others looked at each other, not able to say anything.

Yang Shiqi, on the other hand, understood Jin's words. His face looked uncertain for a few moments before he said, "I'm afraid that what happened this time was ordered by His Highness or His Majesty."

"Huh?" Xie Jin frowned and looked at Yang Shiqi, who also analyzed:

"A group of people like me were demoted and criticized, and there were many fewer Jiangzuo officials in the temple who were in the fifth rank."

"Taking this opportunity, the imperial court can just seize the time to implement a new policy on Jiang Zuo."

"Right now, we can't stand up and fight, but we should take advantage of the situation and wait for problems with the new policy to arise in the future before taking the opportunity to attack."

Yang Shiqi's words sounded nice, but in fact they simply couldn't resist the implementation of the New Deal.

Things are different now. In the past, they could rely on the fact that there were not many scholars in the world to wait for a price, but now they have become replaceable manpower.

For an incompetent monarch, he wishes that all his ministers would be wise, but for a thoughtful and determined person like Zhu Gaoxu, he only needs executors, not people with his own ideas.

Judging from the things he did to his ministers, it would not be an exaggeration to call him a tyrant. It's a pity that all the things he did were done in the Yongle Dynasty. No matter how you talk about these things, you can't say anything about him.

"Okay, you and I should go back home first. We don't want to see each other in the near future. We will meet again in the future."

Yang Shiqi stood up, bowed, and left in a hurry after saying something.

Upon seeing this, Hu Guang, Hu Yan, Jin Youzi and others also comforted Jie Jin and then walked out of Jie Jin's mansion shaking their heads.

Although Xie Jin was still angry, he was also afraid of Zhu Gaoxu. After all, Zhu Gaoxu could suppress him steadily regardless of his talent, ability, or vision. This kind of suppression was as helpless as the provincial champion meeting the national champion in both subjects.

He suppressed his temper and did not immediately start committing suicide in the capital. Instead, he thought that when he went to Guangxi, the mountains were high and the emperor was far away, so no one would be able to keep an eye on him.

"When he gets to Guangxi, he will show his flaws. You don't have to keep an eye on him."

In Jiming Temple, Zhu Gaoxu, who was sitting on a futon, listened to Hu Lun's report and casually waved his hand to signal him to sit down and rest, while Zhu Gaoxu himself turned his attention to the black-robed old monk in front of him.

In this world, the only person who dares to dress like this and sit face to face with Zhu Gaoxu is Yao Guangxiao.

Looking at Yao Guangxiao, who was still full of energy at the age of seventy-five, Zhu Gaoxu took a sip of the tea he had just poured for him, and then said slowly:

"Master has just finished practicing the "Yongle Grand Ceremony", and he can't wait to change into his monk's robe and return to the temple to worship the Buddha?"

"The temple is not suitable for poor monks, so why bother to stay..."

Yao Guangxiao had a smile on his face, counting the beads with one hand and putting the other on his lap, ready to pour tea for Zhu Gaoxu at any time.

It's just that his words sounded wrong to others.

Although Zhu Di's rise of troops was based on the premise that Zhu Gaoxu took the lead in raising troops, everyone knows that among the few people who supported Zhu Di's rise of troops, the most important person from the Yan Mansion was Yao Guangxiao.

Such a person actually says that he is not suitable for the temple, which is indeed difficult to evaluate.

"If you are not suitable, there will be no suitable person in the world."

Zhu Gaoxu put down his tea cup, and Yao Guangxiao also added new tea for him.

Seeing that the tea was seven, Zhu Gaoxu continued: "To deal with this group of people in Jiangnan, as long as you have the military power, money and food, it will be very easy to deal with them."

"I don't worry about things during my lifetime, but things after my death start to worry more and more as I get older."

"Therefore, I would like to ask the master to teach my son Zhan He. I don't need to teach him too much. It is enough to let him understand who is the person who stands with him." Zhu Gaoxu said his intention, and Yao Guangxiao knew that he refused after hearing this. He couldn't, so he nodded and said: "Your Highness has invited me, and a poor monk dare not refuse."

"But based on His Highness's thoughts, the poor monk suggested that Your Highness could ask Harimah to serve as his teacher, so as to facilitate the control of Xifan in the future."

If it were Zhu Gaochi, Yao Guangxiao would not say anything about controlling Xifan, but Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaochi are different.

Zhu Gaochi didn't care about Xifan, but Zhu Gaoxu cared about Xifan very much and even sent troops to station in Xifan. He would rather spend millions of money and food every year than withdraw.

Anyone who is capable likes a king with great talent and strategy. Historically, Yao Guangxiao did not stand on either side of Zhu Gaochi or Zhu Gaoxu. In terms of relationship alone, he was even closer to Zhu Gaoxu.

When it came to establishing the crown prince, he never made choices for Zhu Di. Instead, he let Zhu Di make choices for him and became the prince's young master, assisting Zhu Gaochi and tutoring Zhu Zhanji.

Even if these two people are not to his liking, Yao Guangxiao has no reason to refuse.

But things are different now. In Yao Guangxiao's view, people like Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu are the ones worthy of his assistance.

However, he also knew that compared to Zhu Di who needed advice from others, Zhu Gaoxu always knew how to take this path and did not need anyone's guidance. This was what Yao Guangxiao found most magical and terrifying.

His thoughts were the same as those of Yang Shiqi and Xie Jin. Assisting Zhu Di could achieve success, but assisting Zhu Gaoxu would cause some trouble, because they all had their own ideas and wanted to govern the country according to their own ideas.

But Zhu Gaoxu’s idea is that everyone in the world should proceed according to his ideas, and he does not need people with ideas.

When the king is strong, his ministers are weak. People like Zhu Gaoxu are people like Emperor Qin and Han Wu who have strong ideas.

The same thing happened, if it were Zhu Gaoxu, then Xie Jin would not be able to survive today's court meeting, but Zhu Di could tolerate it, because Zhu Di regarded his ministers as ministers, and Zhu Gaoxu regarded his ministers as consumables.

Yao Guangxiao would not be lost because of Zhu Gaoxu's so-called courtesy and small favors such as being able to sit in the Chunhe Hall. He knew clearly that Zhu Gaoxu only respected these scholars on the surface, but he didn't care about them at all in his heart.

Scholars can only be respected when there are not many of them. Once there are scholars everywhere, in Zhu Gaoxu's eyes, those scholars are no different from the Lifu on Jiangdongmen Pier.

To deal with Zhu Gaoxu, you have to follow his ideas.

Because of this, even Yao Guangxiao felt that there was no need to station troops in Xifan, but he was still thinking of ways to help Zhu Gaoxu control Xifan.

"Tell me carefully." Upon hearing Yao Guangxiao's words, Zhu Gaoxu picked up his teacup and asked for details.

Seeing this, Yao Guangxiao did not hide it and said directly:

"If Halima can become a close friend of the emperor's grandson, then the court can send Halima to lead the Western Fan monks in the future and change the teachings of Western Fan Buddhism to make it easier for the court to rule the Western Fan area."

Yao Guangxiao knew very well that Zhu Gaoxu did not like Buddhism in the land of Xifan. After all, as far as Zhu Gaoxu took Xifan by force, it was not something that a person who respected Buddhism could do.

Since Zhu Gaoxu doesn't like it, it must be because the teachings of Xifan Buddhism do not conform to his ideas.

In this case, it is better to start with religious teachings and transform them bit by bit.

"This is a way, but it is too slow to take effect."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded slightly and did not see any problem in changing the teachings of Xifan Buddhism.

After all, the current Buddhist teachings of Xifan basically started to become demonic starting from Phagpa.

From Pasiba to the present, only over a hundred years have passed, so there is nothing that has happened since ancient times.

Even the reincarnation of a soul boy was just something that the Karma Kagyu Sect came up with in the early Yuan Dynasty and had not spread at all.

Because of this, many religious policies that may seem stubborn to later generations are nothing new in this era.

"I'll ask the master to help me with matters related to Xifan Buddhism. In short, I hope it will bring stability rather than destruction."

"If we talk about destruction, then I don't mind destroying the entire Buddhist temple in Xifan."

Zhu Gaoxu stood up slowly, and Yao Guangxiao also stood up and respectfully escorted him out of the Zen room.

"Master, there is no need to send it away. I will send Zhanhe over tomorrow."

When he walked to the door, Zhu Gaoxu made an explanation and left with Yishiha and Hu Lun.

Watching him go away, Yao Guangxiao returned to the meditation room and sat down to think.

Not long after, the young monk who often served him walked into the Zen room, brought him a meal, and said in a low voice:

"Why doesn't Young Master directly participate in politics, but instead works for the imperial court in this capacity?"

"..." The monk's words slowed down Yao Guangxiao's calculation of the beads. He slowly opened his eyes and thought for a moment before saying:

"Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger. I have already left my name in history, so why should I get involved in what happens next."

"It is not difficult to take advantage of a victory, but it is difficult to retreat bravely from the rapids."

After saying that, Yao Guangxiao waved his hand to signal him to exit. Upon seeing this, the monk returned the courtesy and slowly walked out of the meditation room.

When he walked out of the Zen room, Zhu Gaoxu, who had left Jiming Temple, took a carriage and arrived at Jian'anfang not far away.

Compared with the outer city, the inner city is very crowded. Even the ten-foot-wide Songjing Street only has an official road less than one foot wide, and people on the left and right streets are basically crowded, shoulder to shoulder.

“What’s the current population of the inner city?”

Seeing this scene, Zhu Gaoxu frowned and asked. Hu Lun bowed after hearing this: "Today, Nanjing has a population of more than 729,000, including nearly 500,000 in the outer city and more than 230,000 in the inner city."

"Is 230,000 people so crowded?" Zhu Gaoxu didn't quite believe this number, but Yi Shiha added:

"Hu Lun is talking about the permanent resident population, but on weekdays merchants from the outer city and other cities flock in, and the inner city has a population of no less than 500,000."

His words made Zhu Gaoxu nod. Then Zhu Gaoxu observed some pedestrians on the street, and finally said:

"After we return, let the Ministry of Industry plan to move the Sixteenth Floor and the Imperial College to the outer city. The martial arts school can also be abolished and merged into the National Defense University."

"After these places are relocated, people will be asked to tidy up the small school grounds and imprison the rare and exotic animals brought back by Zheng He. I will draw the drawings by hand. At that time, you will ask the Ministry of Industry to follow suit and transform the small school grounds into a zoo. Anyone who enters the park will The admission fee of two cents is enough, not much.”

Because of the map hand-drawn by Zhu Gaoxu, Zheng He brought back far more animals than ever before.

The cost of caring for these animals every month is as high as nearly a thousand guan, and in a year it is 12,000 guan, which can support an army of 500 people.

Anyway, if it is kept alone in the Imperial City, not many people will go to see it. It is better to turn it into a zoo and collect entrance fees. Even if it cannot make money, it can at least subsidize the zoo.

"Yes" Yi Shiha nodded and wrote down the matter, and it was Hu Lun who also said: "Your Highness, here we come."

"Yeah." Before Hu Lun could speak, Zhu Gaoxu saw the person he wanted to see.

I saw two inconspicuous figures strolling around among the crowd, and these two figures were Zhu Zhanhe and Zhu Zhanqi who were truly freed.

Ten-year-old Zhu Zhanhe and six-year-old Zhu Zhanqi skillfully shuttled among the crowds. Occasionally they saw something delicious, so they stopped to pay for it, and ate while walking with snacks.

"Shouldn't we be studying at this point?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked Yi Shiha, but Yi Shiha said: "I have asked for some lessons from you, and the time set for your two highnesses is to study for three hours from the hour to the end of the day. You will not study after the end of the hour, but you can play as you like."

"Three hours... is not a short period of time." Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said nothing more.

As far as the coarse linen clothes worn by the two boys are concerned, there are still certain benefits to free-range food, as long as they don't get the bad habit of fighting crickets like the eldest nephew.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu looked at the two boys carefully and asked the carriage to follow them.

Not long after, they shuttled from the bustling Jian'an Square to the open space on the river behind Chaotian Palace.

Here, many people setting up stalls and performers have spontaneously set up a market, and there are various games to play.

Among them, Zhu Gaoxu also saw small stall vendors who cheated money by pulling beads and guessing dice in his previous life in elementary school. He did not expect that these skills had been passed down for so long and had already become large-scale in the early Ming Dynasty.

"They don't play with these, do they?"

Zhu Gaoxu was worried that these two boys were giving money to others, so he quickly asked but failed.

"Your Highnesses don't want to play, they..." Yi Shiha was a little embarrassed to say it, and at this moment the carriage also stopped.

Zhu Gaoxu turned around and saw that Zhu Zhanhe and Zhu Zhanqi were already sitting in a booth, and in front of them was a ring-like existence.

"Is it a fight? Or a martial arts?" Zhu Gaoxu became interested and said with satisfaction: "It's good for boys to play more and see how..."

Before Zhu Gaoxu could say the good words, he saw two strong rural women walking onto the ring.

They had ropes tied around their waists, exposing their strong arms. Even Zhu Gaoxu was shocked.

"Your Highnesses don't do these things... you just like to watch women's horns..."

Yi Shiha felt a little guilty, but at this time, the two strong women in the ring had already started a wrestling game.

Although the atmosphere in the early Ming Dynasty was strictly regulated by Zhu Yuanzhang, by the Yongle period, both Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu began to gradually relax.

Therefore, this game of women's horns appeared again on the streets.

Under the ring, some people began to place bets, mostly men. Even if the women were watching, they would stay far away and did not dare to get so close.

Although Zhu Zhanhe and Zhu Zhanqi did not participate in gambling, the two boys excitedly cheered for their favorite fitness woman.

Looking at the audience, among the hundreds of spectators, they were the youngest and the loudest.

Looking at this scene, Zhu Gaoxu's face darkened. While closing the window, he explained resentfully:

"Let the teacher give them an extra hour of class time. If they don't study literature, they can also learn more about equestrian skills."

"Yes……"

As the words fell, the carriage gradually drove away from this place filled with smoke and smoke.

(End of this chapter)