The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 381 Discussion on the Restoration of Hetao
The next day, early morning court.

"If you have something to say, please report it. If not, please leave the court——"

As usual, Zhang Yong's voice echoed in every corner of the Golden Palace.

Ministers who had things to report were ready, while those who had nothing to report continued to daydream and rest.

"I have something to report to your majesty!"

Soon a minister came forward to make a report.

It was similar to the past, except that there was a flood here or a locust plague there, and they requested His Majesty the Emperor to exempt the affected areas from taxes this year, or to allocate funds for disaster relief.

When a disaster occurred in a local area, the imperial court had its own procedures for providing disaster relief and helping the people.

First, local officials reported to the Ministry of Revenue, which then asked the emperor to send someone to the disaster area to verify the disaster situation. After that, they returned to Beijing to report to the court, and the emperor and the nine ministers discussed relief measures before relief began...

Apart from anything else, countless innocent victims have lost their lives following this tedious and complicated process.

At the same time, there were also chieftains in the southwest who would cause trouble from time to time, and these chieftains also needed to be appeased by the court. If the trouble became too fierce, it would naturally be necessary to send troops to clear out and suppress it.

These chieftains are hereditary, and now they seem to be too powerful to be eliminated, so the imperial court has to treat them with caution!
In addition, there were memorials from local officials, impeaching certain military heroes, saying that they had nothing to do every day and that they bullied men and women and seized people’s land.

Anyway, in such a huge Ming Dynasty, there were many things happening every day. These were just trivial matters. As long as there was no large-scale famine or the Tatars and Oirat moving south, it could basically be said that the country was peaceful and prosperous.

In the eyes of civil officials and gentry, this is a peaceful and prosperous era!
As for whether the common people can have enough food and clothing, it’s none of their business!

After a while of playing, more than an hour had passed.

Zhu Houzhao was also a little tired and was about to announce his resignation.

As a result, Xu Mengchun, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stepped forward again and said, "Your Majesty, the Hetao area is sparsely populated. In the past, Your Majesty Renzong moved the Dongsheng Guard and a small number of tribes to the interior and included them in the interior, aiming to create an uninhabited area as a military buffer zone."

"Moreover, the Hetao area is not suitable for farming. Due to the lack of rainfall, the land has become severely desertified and farming cannot be sustained. In addition, the Mongolian barbarians are watching closely, so it is really not suitable for the people to farm."

"The Hetao area is a piece of chicken ribs that is 'tasteless to eat and a pity to abandon' for our Ming Dynasty. There is really no need to waste money, food and manpower on it!"

"I ask Your Majesty to give up the strategy of Hetao!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole court was in an uproar.

Zhu Houzhao was so angry that his face turned blue and his eyes were fixed on Xu Mengchun.

Even Yang Tinghe was furious.

Anyone with a bit of common sense would not say that Hetao is a useless place!
But what happened immediately afterwards made them even more angry.

"Yes, what Lord Xu said is not necessary!"

"That's right, what Lord Xu said is very reasonable!"

"I second the proposal. Your Majesty, please stop the Hetao campaign and give peace to the people!"

As soon as Xu Mengchun finished speaking, a large number of officials followed him! Officials from the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Rites, Metropolitan Censorate, and the Ministry of Public Administration... all six ministries and hundreds of departments came out to agree with Xu Mengchun and request His Majesty the Emperor to give up the strategy of governing Hetao!
It's obvious that this was premeditated!
For civil officials and gentry, anything is acceptable as long as their own interests are not affected.

But there is no doubt that launching a northern expedition against the Mongols from the Hetao region would give rise to a new group of people who would be granted titles based on military merit. On the contrary, the civil officials and gentry themselves would not be able to reap any benefits from it. As a result of this balance, naturally no one would want to see a war.

Xu Mengchun stepped out again and said, "Your Majesty, because of the Hetao, the country has mobilized 30,000 troops and 100,000 civilians. Every day they are in the Hetao, they have to spend countless money and food!"

"If we use this money and grain to improve people's livelihood, I wonder how many hungry and displaced people we can save..."

Zhu Houzhao looked coldly at this veteran of three dynasties, as well as many court officials who echoed him, and murderous intent suddenly arose in his heart!
These civil officials and gentry are such bastards!
Recovering Hetao is a national event, which is enough to affect the destiny of the Ming Dynasty!

However, these civil officials and gentry, for their own selfish gains and to protect their vested interests, could actually say such things, just like when they discredited Zheng He's feat of sailing to the West. This is extremely despicable!
Zhu Houzhao made a gesture to Yang Tinghe, who understood and said, "This is simply ridiculous!"

"Shaanxi is located at the upper reaches of the world and controls the fate of the world. Shaanxi is to the world like the head of a person. If the head is in trouble, it will inevitably lead to death!"

Shaanxi is very important!
"The Hetao looks south to Guanzhong and controls the world. Whoever controls the Hetao can rule the world, and whoever loses the Hetao can lose the world. If the Hetao is safe, the world is safe. If the Hetao is in chaos, the world is in chaos!"

Hetao is crucial!
"The benefits of the double-entry are not only immediate, but also a good deed that will benefit all living beings and extend to future generations. How can you be so short-sighted?"

"Has the Prime Minister ever calculated how much food and manpower are needed to recover Hetao?" Xu Mengchun pointed the finger directly at Yang Tinghe, with endless anger in his words.

Yang Tinghe sneered and said sarcastically: "My Great Ming is now prosperous and strong, can't it support the battle to recover Hetao?"

"Has the Prime Minister ever thought that retaking Hetao is just the beginning? Without this buffer zone, the Ming Dynasty will face the Mongols directly, and there will be no defenses. Facing the Mongol barbarians who are skilled in archery and horsemanship, I wonder how many soldiers will be sacrificed for this useless piece of land?"

Xu Mengchun spoke again, and the word "chicken ribs" sounded particularly harsh!
But when it comes to officers and soldiers, no one has more say than them except the Five Military Commanderies.

Xianning Marquis Qiu Yue stepped out and shouted passionately: "My soldiers in the capital have long been prepared to sacrifice their lives for the country. The court regards the soldiers as their backbone. Apart from fighting on the battlefield, we don't know how to repay them!"

"My fellow soldiers haven't said anything yet, why are you, Xu Mengchun, worrying about this?"

"Lord Xu, why don't you go to the military camp and ask, who among our Beijing army soldiers would be unwilling to recapture Hetao!"

Xu Mengchun turned around and asked sternly, "Does Xianning Hou dare to issue a military order to win this battle?"

"Why not? Do you think they are all cowards like you who have no balls?"

Qiu Yue's vulgar curse instantly ignited the anger between the two factions. The entire hall suddenly became noisy and filled with all kinds of unbearable curses.

The grudge between the two sides has been accumulating for too long.

Now these damn civil officials and gentry, regardless of the soldiers fighting bravely on the front line, want to stab them in the back, which undoubtedly aroused the anger in the hearts of the military heroes!

Zhang Yong saw that the situation was not right, and immediately shouted sharply and loudly: "Silence! Do you want to lose your manners in front of the palace?"

But his warning was like adding fuel to the fire, and the verbal battle between the two sides became more and more intense.

Military heroes joined the battlefield one after another. Even the Duke of Baoguo Zhu Hui did not back down this time. He pointed at Xu Mengchun and cursed him, accusing him of bringing harm to the country and the people and having bad intentions, and saying that he wanted to shake the Ming Dynasty!
This time, the military heroes are unprecedentedly united!

(End of this chapter)