The first assistant of the poor family

Chapter 542 The Southeast Japanese Plague 【4000 words two in one chapter】

Old people go, new people come.

Not long after Xie Qian resigned, the emperor issued a decree, ordering Gu Dingchen, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, to join the cabinet to participate in government affairs.

This decree did not cause much shock, because Gu Dingchen's entry into the cabinet was already a tacit matter among the big officials in Beijing.

It is unusual for Gu Dingchen to be promoted quickly, first as the deputy examiner of the general examination, and then as the right servant of the Ministry of Rites.If His Majesty didn't intend to pave the way for Gu Dingchen to enter the cabinet, how else could it be explained?

People, after all, are snobbish, and those courtiers who have been on good terms with Gu Dingchen on weekdays are all high-spirited at the moment, as if they have been crushed, they are just waiting to follow the trend.As for those who have little friendship with Gu Dingchen on weekdays, try to get in touch with Gu Dingchen as much as possible.

Although icing on the cake is not as good as giving charcoal in the snow, it is worse than nothing.

Zhu Houzhao was not interested in this kind of thing. The reason why he promoted Gu Dingchen was Xie Shen's attitude.As long as the master approves and recommends people, he will reuse them without hesitation.

The new cabinet team has been formed. Although there are only three people, it can be regarded as a combination of the old, the middle and the young, so that they will not be in a hurry to deal with government affairs.

In the blink of an eye, it came to October, and Japanese pirates broke out frequently along the southeast coast, not only in South Zhili and Zhejiang provinces, but also in Fujian, where Japanese pirates ran rampant, burning, killing, and looting.

The emperor was furious and ordered the cabinet to discuss a solution.

Li Dongyang, as the chief assistant, is naturally Dinghaishenzhen. He asked Xie Shen and Gu Dingchen successively about their intentions and sent a memorial to the emperor.

Zhu Hou felt a little better after reading the memorial, and summoned Xie Shen to meet him.

This is naturally because the basic views of Li Dongyang's memorial were all put forward by Xie Shen.

Speaking of the Japanese invasion in the southeast, it has always been a stubborn disease that plagued the Ming Dynasty, especially the middle and late Ming.

The Japanese plague broke out in the Jiajing Dynasty, but it was already very serious in the Zhengde Dynasty, and the situation is not optimistic.

Speaking of Japanese pirates, many people think of ronin warriors. In fact, these people are only a small part of the "Japanese pirates", and most of them are Zhejiang and Fujian merchants pretending to be.

These fake Japanese are leaders, and the ronin warriors can only be regarded as thugs at best.

Looting the local people is only a sideline of these Japanese pirates, and smuggling sea trade is the main business.

The reason why the Japanese invasion broke out in the fourth year of Zhengde is very simple. The imperial court ordered the five-port trade to officially open the sea.

Although private maritime trade is still very complicated and requires many procedures, at least there is no need to sneak around.

This naturally touched the interests of the great Zhejiang merchants and the great Fujian merchants.From their point of view, the smugglers are now suddenly open to the sea, not only can they not monopolize, but also have to pay a large amount of taxes to the court, can they feel at ease?
People are selfish.These great Zhejiang merchants and great Fujian merchants will not consider the difficulties of the court, they will only think that their interests have been violated, so they want to retaliate and demonstrate.

The best way to retaliate is naturally to plunder the people along the coast.

This is the most direct method, which can make the ruler feel afraid and change the policy without knowing it.

It's just that they misunderstood one point, that is, today's son has a strong personality and a strong fighting spirit, and it is even more difficult to make him surrender easily than ascend to heaven.

Coupled with Xie Shen who has an equally strong personality, it is by no means easy to take advantage of this pair of monarchs and ministers.

Before Xie Shen met Zhu Houzhao, he had already prepared the draft.Therefore, when Zhu Houzhao asked about the strategy of defeating the Japanese, Xie Shen talked eloquently, and Zhu Houzhao was elated.

What a leader wants to see most is naturally that his subordinates handle everything in an orderly manner.

In this way, he can be the hands-off shopkeeper with peace of mind.If you have to ask the leader about everything, why do you need this subordinate?
"Sir, do you mean that the newly formed army can be used in Pingwa?"

Zhu Houzhao has an inexplicable excitement about the war, which can be seen from his northern and southern tours.

Xie Shen nodded and said: "Your Majesty is right, this new army has been training for more than a year, it's time to test its quality."

The new army Xie Shen mentioned was naturally mercenaries recruited from various places.

Compared with the officers and soldiers of the guards, these people do not have such a deep military brand, and it is easier to write on a piece of white paper.

The biggest difference between the new army and the guard army is that it is equipped with flintlock guns, and there is no shortage of one shot per person.

This is also what Xie Shen ordered the craftsman to make.

With the sharp weapon of the flintlock gun, facing the vicious Japanese pirates, the new army of the Ming Dynasty will surely become famous in one battle.

"Well, but in Zhejiang Province, will the relatively short training time of the new army in Nanzhi affect it? Or should I transfer the Shenji Battalion to the south?"

Zhu Houzhao rubbed his palms together and said excitedly. "

"Uh, Your Majesty, the Shenji Camp is one of the three major camps of the capital, and it has the responsibility of defending the capital. Yichen thinks it's not appropriate to transfer it."

Zhu Houzhao was slightly disappointed.

In fact, it is false that he wants to adjust the Shenji camp to fight against the Japanese, and it is true that he wants to take the opportunity to conquer himself.

The Rebellion of King Ning gave Zhu Houzhao a good opportunity to lead the army. Although he didn't come to the front line in person, it was more real than having eunuchs line up in the deep palace.

After tasting the sweetness, Zhu Houzhao naturally hoped to have another chance to fight in person.But the problem is that the princes of the Zhu family have long been scared out of their wits, who would dare to rebel again?
The prince of the Zhu family did not dare to rebel, but the Japanese pirates dared to make trouble, which was exactly in Zhu Houzhao's arms.Zhu Houzhao was gearing up for a big fight, but at this time Xie Shen poured cold water on him.

In Xie Shen's view, whether it is the Shenji Battalion or the new army formed by Zhejiang Province and Nanzhili, they are all equipped with the sharpest flintlock guns. This is an upgraded version of the firecracker, which was absolutely advanced in the middle of Ming Dynasty .

And what do the pirates have in their hands?Japanese sword?

The Japanese sword was born out of the Tang sword. Although it is extremely sharp, it is still a sword.How can a knife compare with a gun?It is still the flintlock gun that the Frang robot is proud of.

What he wants is to make the new army famous in the first battle, so as to stop those who oppose the new army.

Only in this way can the new army gradually replace the guard army and complete the upgrade.

"Well, let's use the local new army from Nanzhi and Zhejiang Province."

Although Zhu Houzhao is belligerent, he respects Xie Shen's opinions.

Xie Shen said that it is not appropriate to transfer the Shenji camp to fight against the Japanese, so he stopped fighting.

"In your opinion, who should lead the army?"

Zhu Houzhao turned the topic to practical questions.

His Majesty the Emperor made a difficult question for Xie Shen.

To explain the famous anti-Japanese generals of the generation, Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang must be counted.

But the problem is that these two are both famous generals of the Jiajing Dynasty, one is just a baby, and the other has not been reincarnated at all. Xie Shen can't recommend Yu Dayou, who is still a baby, to His Majesty the Emperor, can he?

In fact, there are other outstanding generals, but they are not as famous as these two.It is really difficult for Xie Shen to recommend someone so immediately.

"Why do you have something to hide, sir?"

"Your Majesty misunderstood, I just feel that it is inappropriate for me to recommend you. After all, this is not my duty. I still have to avoid suspicion."

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said, "Avoid suspicion? What kind of suspicion do you avoid?"

Xie Shen smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, people's words are awesome. Your Majesty may think that there is nothing wrong with recommending Pingwo generals, but some people don't think so. They will impeach the minister for violating his authority."

"Then who do you think I'm going to ask?"

Zhu Houzhao asked sullenly.

"Your Majesty should ask the Ministry of War."

"The Ministry of War?" Zhu Houzhao was amused, shaking his head while saying: "The current Ministry of War is not the same as it was a few years ago. Should I ask that peacemaker Lu Wei, or that flatterer Zhang Qian? If Ma Wensheng is still there That's fine. But when that old guy gets upset, he pats his ass and leaves, leaving me with all the mess!"

It can be seen that Zhu Houzhao is still brooding over Ma Wensheng's resignation.It's no wonder that among the veteran officials of the Hongzhi Dynasty, there were countless Qingliu civil servants, but Ma Wensheng was the only one who was proficient in military strategy.

With Ma Wensheng in charge of the Ministry of War, there will be no chaos. Now look at the attitude of Zhengyin Shangshu to the left and right servants, and there is no sense of doing things for the country.

"If your Majesty really wants to ask, the minister will recommend someone."

"Oh? Tell me quickly, sir."

"Wang Shouren."

Xie Shen paused word by word.

The name Zhu Houzhao is naturally no stranger to him. Wang Shouren made great contributions to quelling the chaos of King Ning and showed his outstanding ability to lead troops.But after all, what he led was only a small army. It would be risky for him to lead the overall situation in the Southeast Pingwa, right?

Xie Shen saw Zhu Houzhao's hesitation, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, there are naturally people who are more suitable to lead the anti-Japanese war than Wang Shouren, such as Yang Yiqing, Yang Tinghe, for example. But they have heavy burdens on them, and Your Majesty does not want to see the Northwest either. Is something wrong with Xuanda?"

Xie Shen's words went straight to Zhu Houzhao's heart.

Compared with the southeast, the stability of Xuanda in the northwest is more important to Zhu Houzhao.

If he had to make a choice, Zhu Houzhao would definitely choose to give priority to preserving Northwest Xuanda.

"Wang Shouren is good, but his qualifications are still young. Asking him to host Pingwazhen is worried that some people will not accept it."

Zhu Houzhao's worries are not unreasonable.You must know that the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is the place where seniority is the most important.

Even if your qualifications are not up to date, no matter how capable you are, you can only line up obediently, and the people in front of you will only be able to fill in the empty seats.

But more often, the people above are unwilling to vacate their positions.The reason is also very simple. There are too many hidden benefits brought by officialdom, not only for individuals but also for families.

How many of the ministers want to retire early after being a great official in the frontier?

Shouldn't we pave the way for our descendants to earn a lot of money and then "retire after success and return home with good clothes"?
"If Your Majesty abandons Wang Shouren because of his seniority, I am worried that it will chill the hearts of young and ambitious officials."

One of the most important qualities of being a leader is to understand what your subordinates need and want.

Naturally, what young officials most hope for is a high promotion, continuous promotion, all the way up
And if they saw that the most capable and promising Wang Shouren was abandoned by the emperor because of his qualifications, who would have the courage to continue to work hard?

Since it's impossible to climb up if you do a good job, let's mix it up.

Anyway, the old guys will have to beg for bones one day, and they will be able to come out on that day.Before that, it was just mixed up. Doing more is also the salary, and doing less is also the salary.

Xie Shen didn't think that Zhu Houzhao didn't understand this, but Zhu Houzhao didn't want to admit it, because he was afraid of facing the protest of the entire civil society.

It's okay for one or two people to protest, and it's okay for dozens or hundreds of people to protest, but what if all the officials quit?
Those who are in power now are all old guys. If they ascend to the top, countless people will surely respond. Zhu Houzhao dare not take risks.

After being silent for a long time, Zhu Houzhao said helplessly: "Then I have to arrange someone to assist him, so that when encountering difficult problems, I can discuss it with more individuals."

Xie Shen knew that Zhu Houzhao could only do this, so he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The emperor issued an imperial decree, conferring on Wang Shouren the post of governor of Nanzhi, in charge of the southeast Pingwa affairs.

This decree immediately caused a great shock in the government and the public.

After hearing the news from the mansion newspaper, the hall officials of the ministry organized a group to protest, and jointly signed a letter to protest against the emperor.

In their view, Wang Shouren is just a rookie in the officialdom. Why should he be the governor of Nanzhili?

They were impassioned and asked the emperor to add a governor of Zhezhi to the governor of Nanzhi, so that the actual person in charge of Pingwo became the governor of Zhezhi, and Wang Shouren became a wingman.This is much more acceptable.

But Zhu Houzhao didn't intend to do more.

He assigned Wang Shouren's deputy as a compromise to the civil servants.Now these civil servants want him to set up another governor of Zhezhi to evade Wang Shouren, which is really deceiving.

Zhu Houzhao does not use people without suspicion. Since he has decided to use Wang Shouren, he will never add superfluous things to the governor of Zhejiang Province.

In this way, do you listen to the governor or the governor?
Listen to the governor?Wang Shouren is the chief person in charge of the Anti-Japanese War.Listen to the governor?The governor's office is even bigger.

In the end, the emperor simply suppressed these memorials and responded to the public opinion violence of the civil officials in a cold manner.

The usual tricks of civil servants are nothing more than crying, making trouble and hanging themselves.

Seeing that the emperor didn't respond to them, the civil servants rushed to the Leopard Room and the foreign minister couldn't kneel down, trying to force Zhu Houzhao to submit in this way.

Zhu Houzhao didn't care either.If you want to kneel, then kneel, anyway, I'll pretend I didn't see it.

Gradually, the civil servants realized that the rhythm was wrong.Their knees were sore, and they were dizzy from hunger, but the emperor didn't even touch them at all.If things go on like this, even if they kneel to death, the emperor probably won't even blink.

This business is sure to lose money, it's too damn bad.

The civil servants are all extremely shrewd, so they naturally don't do business at a loss.I don't know when the courtiers who knelt in front of the leopard room began to withdraw, one by two, a hundred, scattered like birds and beasts.

The Son of Heaven resolved the crisis so cleverly, which made Xie Shen dumbfounded.

It seems that civil servants are all strong outsiders and capable in the middle. Don't look at their tough appearance on weekdays, as long as their core interests are involved, they will be soft.

Wang Shouren was naturally very excited when he heard the news.

Which courtier doesn't want to be a general and a prime minister, and Wang Shouren's reading of sage books is no exception.

Now that he has been promoted several levels in a row and has become the governor of Nanzhili, the satisfaction cannot be described in words.

Moreover, Wang Shouren also hated Japanese pirates deeply. After all, his hometown Shaoxing Prefecture was also a hard-hit area by Japanese pirates. This time, he must eliminate the Japanese pirates in one fell swoop and return the people in the southeast to a peaceful life.

(End of this chapter)