The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 380 Yang Tinghe's Choice
The next day, in the main hall of the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Houzhao walked into the hall in high spirits, accepted the ceremony of three bows and nine kowtows from the ministers, and then signaled everyone to stand.

"My dear ministers, I believe you have all heard the news of the great victory, right?"

as predicted!

Before his ministers had even finished reporting their daily trivia, His Majesty the Emperor could not wait to bring up the great victory in the North. His intention was self-evident!

Wu De, the military official, suddenly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, there are rumors that the news of the great victory is false. Jinglu Bo Anguo's Hetao Army did not fight at all. The heads of the Tartars sent to the capital were obtained by trading firearms and artillery with the left and right wings of Mongolia!"

"Your Majesty, I request that you immediately order the capture of Jinglu Earl Anguo and bring him back to the capital for strict interrogation!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole court was in an uproar!

It is really jaw-dropping that such a shocking scandal broke out at this time of great victory!

Those Tartar heads were not trophies at all!
Instead, they obtained them by trading firearms and artillery with the Mongolian barbarians in order to gain military merit!

This is really... very courageous!
Xu Mengchun, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, this case involves a wide range of people. I request that the three judicial departments send officials to the Hetao area to investigate and try the case, and temporarily detain Jinglu Earl Anguo and other generals!"

The appearance of Xu Mengchun instantly brought the atmosphere to the freezing point, because he was a veteran of three dynasties, and he was an upright person with a good reputation!

His statement made many civil officials unable to sit still any longer, and they echoed his words, vowing to investigate the truth behind this great victory and put Jinglu Bo Anguo to death!
Zhu Houzhao's face had already turned pale, and it became even uglier when Xu Mengchun stepped out!

How could he not understand at this moment that this was a counterattack by the civil officials group!
They were unwilling to remain silent, unwilling to give up the power and interests in their hands, and unwilling to see this great victory give birth to another group of court nobles, so they tried every means to find the inside information of this great victory!

To be honest, Zhu Houzhao naturally knew it.

Because this was originally the plan of the wild man Tang Hao, to appease the people through a great victory and shut up the civil officials and gentry.

However, neither Zhu Houzhao nor Tang Hao had expected that these civil officials and gentry had already seen through the truth of the great victory, so that they were now at a disadvantage!

Yang Tinghe noticed something strange about the Emperor and had some rough guesses about the inside story of the matter.

But it is undeniable that the Ming Dynasty needed such a great victory to inspire people and boost morale, so this time Yang Tinghe chose to stand on the side of His Majesty the Emperor.

"Wu De, where did the rumor you mentioned come from?"

"Why have I never heard of it?"

Yang Tinghe looked at Wu De coldly.

"Just because of some rumors, the imperial court is going to ignore the achievements of the frontline soldiers and even send someone to investigate and hold them accountable? This is simply ridiculous!"

"If we act this way, won't it make the soldiers of the three armies lose their faith in the imperial court?!"

Faced with the harsh questioning from the Prime Minister, Wu De was unable to give a clear answer.

He is just a pawn, taking orders from the big man behind the scenes. As for the source of the information, how would he know?

Yang Tinghe was keenly aware of this and immediately requested to report: "Your Majesty, Wu De, the military official, deliberately spread rumors and deceived the people. I request that he be arrested and imprisoned immediately and tortured severely!"

A smile finally appeared on Zhu Houzhao's face.

"allow!"

Then some soldiers came in and carried Wu De out.

The military censor finally panicked and struggled frantically for mercy, but it was of no use.

Then Yang Tinghe turned his gaze to Xu Mengchun, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

"Minister Xu, how did you get the news?"

Xu Mengchun's expression froze for a moment, then he said calmly: "It's just a rumor."

"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right. We cannot let this happen and let the soldiers lose their faith in the court!"

"But there must be something fishy about this matter. Your Majesty, please treat it with caution!"

His words undoubtedly cast a shadow on this great victory and were also a disguised way of silencing Emperor Zhu Houzhao.

Now that we can't even tell whether the victory was real or fake, how can you, Your Majesty, have the nerve to ask for credit and reward for those soldiers?

Zhu Houzhao was upset and simply stood up and left. After the emperor left, the ministers looked at each other and then dispersed.

Yang Tinghe called out from behind Xu Mengchun, the veteran of three dynasties with a good reputation.

"Mr. Xu, why do you do this?"

"No reason, I just don't want to see a warrior in power!"

Xu Mengchun replied calmly, then stroked his white beard and looked at Yang Tinghe.

"Yuan Fu, you've gone astray."

"If Liu Jian were still in the court, he would never act like you!"

Liu Jian was also the chief minister of the cabinet and the teacher of Emperor Hongzhi, but his stance was more inclined towards civil officials and gentry.

However, the stance of Yang Ting and the Emperor Zhengde's tutor has always been confusing, and today is the best proof of this.

Yang Tinghe's face changed slightly, and then he spoke his true feelings.

"The Ming Dynasty needs such a great victory to boost morale."

"Even if this great victory is mixed with some water, it is a fact that 30,000 Mongolian Tatars died, and their tribe's strength was damaged, so why can't it be a great victory?"

Yang Tinghe looked at Xu Mengchun.

"I am not Liu Jian, and the current emperor is not the late emperor!"

"There are many things Liu Jian wants to do but cannot do, so he can only choose to smooth things over and struggle to maintain the normal operation of the Ming Dynasty!"

"But in the Zhengde Dynasty, the situation is completely different. In the Zhengde Dynasty, there is the emperor who likes military strategy, the brave and warlike Marquis Zhongshan, and me, the chief minister who is unwilling to be mediocre. How do you think we can truly revive the Ming Dynasty?"

"Is it like the late emperor?"

Hearing this, Xu Mengchun's face changed drastically and he glared at Yang Tinghe fiercely.

"Yang Tinghe, you are so brave!"

"Even if the late emperor had many faults, you shouldn't offend him!"

"I never offended my superiors, I just told the truth!"

Yang Tinghe looked at these remnants of the old era and couldn't help but sigh.

"You and I both know what the result was when the late emperor and the scholars ruled the country together!"

"The people are poor and penniless, the military and civilians are impoverished, and the people are living in misery. This is the result of co-governance!"

Yang Tinghe ignored Xu Mengchun's ugly expression and said to himself: "Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao once said something that I think makes sense. I will give it to Mr. Xu today."

"The biggest cancer of all dynasties is the rentier class. They are vulgar and unable to plan for the long term!"

"In the Ming Dynasty, the gentry were the largest rentier class and the root cause of the dynasty's decline!"

"It is abnormal and ridiculous for civil officials and military generals to control the government. The rise of military officials and nobles is an inevitable trend. Don't you understand, Mr. Xu?"

Xu Mengchun looked at Yang Tinghe coldly, and finally sneered: "You are destined to become the target of public criticism!"

"So what?" Yang Tinghe's eyes sparkled with a brilliant light, "I have lived my life for nothing else but to have a clear conscience!"

"I will live up to the expectations of the people, the court, and the Ming Dynasty. That's all!"

Seeing that they were not getting the point across, Xu Mengchun left in anger.

Yang Tinghe looked at the back of this veteran of three dynasties, and his expression gradually became solemn.

Today is just a test. The civil officials and gentry will never sit idly by and watch military men rule the country.

The methods they use next will only become more unscrupulous and more cruel!

Daming, the wind is about to blow.

(End of this chapter)