Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

In the front hall of Qianqing Palace, sandalwood scent curls up.

Liu Jin is a very careful person. Before the sandalwood is about to burn out, he replaces it with new sandalwood.

Zhu Youtang looked at the old man from Jiangsu and Zhejiang who was strong but not tall in front of him. In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, which paid attention to the "appearance" of officials, it was not easy to win the title of Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War with such a figure.

Ordinarily, given He Cong's previous words and deeds, I shouldn't use this kind of person. It's just a very real problem in front of me. Everyone in this civil servant group has their own selfish thoughts. They can only distinguish between people who can do things and those who can't.

Zhu Youtang met He Cong's uneasy gaze and asked lightly: "He Qing, are you from Renhe, Zhejiang?"

"Exactly!" He Cong didn't know why, but he nodded honestly.

Zhu Youtang saw He Cong's inner uneasiness and asked seriously: "The fifty-fifth Jinshi in the second place in the fifth year of Jingtai, first awarded the magistrate of Haifeng County, Guangdong?"

"Not bad!" He Cong's eyes looked even more puzzled, but he still nodded honestly.

Zhu Youtang looked at the old man with gray hair on his temples and said with some sympathy: "He Qing was promoted from a remote small magistrate to the left minister of the Ministry of War, and now he can walk along the palace road to me. I'm afraid it will be a long journey. Isn’t it easy?”

"I...it's not...not easy!" He Cong had never been an emotional person, but when he heard these words from someone close to him, his eyes suddenly became moist, and even his voice became choked with sobs.

He was born in an ordinary farmer's family in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Although he obtained the title of Jinshi through hard work, he, the Jinshi officer who was envied by everyone, also had hardships.

In the same class as him, there were proud disciples from prominent families such as Xu Pu, Sun Xian, and Yu Zi, but he had no official resources or money to manage, so he was eventually assigned to a remote county magistrate thousands of miles away.

If he hadn't been pedantic since he was a child, and he knew how to please both sides in the officialdom, let alone the high-ranking Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War, I'm afraid he wouldn't even be able to get a chief envoy now. Only local prefects or chief secretaries without real power would participate in politics.

From the fifth year of Jingtai to the first year of Hongzhi, it had already taken him more than twenty years to step onto the palace road and come in front of the emperor.

At this moment, he was facing his monarch alone for the first time, and when he heard the monarch's intimate words, how could he not be moved?

Zhu Youtang saw He Cong's reaction in his eyes and said calmly: "The clothes are not as good as new, and the people are not as good as before! He Qing, although I am very dissatisfied with the material supply of Camp SHIELD, we, the monarchs and ministers, cannot let this happen." So I took off your hat, it would be too ruthless of me!"

"Your Majesty has been kind to me today. I am grateful and grateful, and I thank you for your kindness!" Tears suddenly burst out of He Cong's eyes, and he knelt down in complete submission.

Huh?

Liu Jin just walked back to Zhu Youtang's side, but she didn't understand that His Majesty just didn't choose to take off his black gauze hat. How could he be treating him favorably?

Zhu Youtang knew that no matter how the civil service group united, he had basically abolished Jiuqing Tingtui, and now that he had taken back the power to appoint personnel, there were not many officials who dared to openly challenge him.

He Cong, who has walked cautiously all the way, is naturally not exempt from vulgarity, and now he is also worried about taking off his bad hat. Now if he doesn't take off his bad hat, he will naturally be grateful to himself.

Zhu Youtang didn't need to use any tricks now. He only needed to loosen and tighten the officials below, which was enough to let them know who was the emperor. He looked very calm and said: "He Qing, you get up first! I will be alone this time." I keep you here, firstly, I hope you will do your work carefully in the future, and secondly, I want to discuss a relatively secret military innovation with you!"

"Your Majesty, please tell me, I am willing to break my body to pieces to repay your kindness!" He Cong immediately wiped away his tears and showed his loyalty seriously.

Zhu Youtang gave Liu Jin a wink, and then said calmly: "The little prince is already eyeing me, the Ming Dynasty, and the military information transmission between the imperial court and Jiubian is still too slow, so I want the Vehicle and Driving Department of the Ministry of War to set up a pond report!"

"Your Majesty, what is Tang Bao?" He Cong asked in confusion when he heard this term he had never heard before.

Liu Jin came to He Cong and handed him a plan that had been prepared for him to read.

Zhu Youtang knew that a military intelligence innovation was actually being carried out, so he explained ambitiously: "Tang Bao, this is military intelligence reported to the court by Tang soldiers and junior officers. The Chariot and Driving Department has added two agencies: one is the Horse House, and the other is the Horse Pavilion. The special officer is responsible for conveying military information to and from the army; the first is the victory reporting office, which sends and receives incoming and outgoing messages. The other nine military officers are stationed on the nine sides, and pond stations are set up everywhere to convey the frontline military information from the commander-in-chief or the governor!"

Although the transmission of military information also existed in this era, the speed of collecting and transmitting military information was far from being comparable to the Tangbao system, which was actually conducive to strengthening the central government's dominance over local governments.

For example, in the famous Gengxu Incident in later generations, Qiu Luan, the commander-in-chief of Datong and the Marquis of Weining, sent a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry to the enemy camp in order to sue for peace to the invading Andu.

If there is a pond newspaper system, although it is impossible for these Wu Xun to stand up straight, it will also deter these Wu Xun who are greedy for life and fear of death from doing such a shameful thing.

"The Tang soldiers who collect information have spies, guerrillas, eh? Jinwei secret guards?" He Cong looked at the plan in his hand, and suddenly looked up at Zhu Youtang in confusion.

If the previous staff could understand it, this last Jinyiwei secret guard was unheard of, but he was very sure that Jinyiwei did not have this title.

Facing He Cong's surprised gaze, Zhu Youtang nodded gently and said: "On the surface, Tang Bao collected as much information as possible based on what Tang Bing saw and heard with his own eyes and ears, and personally interrogated the surrendered prisoners or surrendered. All relevant intelligence from the front line, the border or the enemy is compiled, but it will also be a channel for the Jin Army's secret guards to transmit military information. The nine military officers at Tang Station are all served by Jin Yiwei. You order all the armies to cooperate to send the best night guards. Hand them over to the commander of the Jinyi Guards, and the outstanding ones will be incorporated into the Jinyi Guards!"

In fact, many people don't know that there are specialized messengers in the Ming Dynasty army, and they have a unified name-Ye Bu Shuan.

Ye Bushou are actually personnel sent out by the Ming Dynasty's border army to conduct sentinels or investigate the enemy's situation. Now the main targets of investigation are against the Mongolian tribes.

There are two main types of overnight departures, one is called the long whistle and the other is called the distant whistle. The departure range of long posts is roughly between fifty and one hundred miles, and the departure range of far posts can reach hundreds of miles.

In addition to these searches and investigations, there are also night-time agents who will lurk in the Mongolian grasslands and conduct espionage work for several years.

In the early days of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, great emphasis was placed on military intelligence work. As a result, all armies now have night guards who are responsible for going out to investigate the enemy's situation. They are one of the most important sources for collecting military intelligence.

The number of people who pass through the customs at night will not exceed ten. Many of them are actually Mongolians who came to the border, or Han people who have lived in Mongolia.

It's just that they are soldiers at the bottom after all. Whether they can display their talents depends largely on the side generals. But most of the current side generals are greedy for life and fear of death. Naturally, they follow the principle of doing more than doing less.

Zhu Youtang knew that his ancestors actually left a rich legacy, and now he needed to pull the Ming Dynasty cavalry back from the edge of the cliff before the border army was completely corrupted.

He knew that he would have to fight to the death with Dayan Khan, so he now set up Tangbao to grasp the military situation on the nine sides for his own deployment and dispatch. On the other hand, he sent Ye Fushou to lurk in various Mongolian tribes to grasp the military trends in the prairie.

No matter in which era, intelligence is the most important thing, and if you want to lead China to rise, you will definitely defeat Mongolia unified by Dayanhan.

Liu Jin saw that He Cong had read through the specific design plan, but knew that this matter could not be leaked, so he took the plan back.

"Your Majesty, I am going to run the Tang newspaper now, but I don't know how to arrange the personnel of Jinyiwei?" He Cong immediately expressed his position, and then looked confused.

Zhu Youtang had already made up his mind and said calmly: "The King of Jinyi Guard Qianhu will meet you and he will provide the list of personnel stationed at Tang Station. You can just do it when the time comes!"

Although he knew that Dayan Khan was unlikely to infiltrate him, he still wanted to keep things secret just in case. You know, there are many people who have betrayed the country throughout the ages.

"I obey!" Although He Cong didn't understand the deep meaning, he already felt the emperor's ambition and said as if he was expressing his stance.

When Zhu Youtang saw that the business was finished, he seemed to be unkind and exerted pressure: "He Qing, we must hurry up to prepare the armament of the SHIELD Camp!"

"I must urge the two factories to step up production!" He Cong complained secretly in his heart, but still expressed his stance solemnly.

Zhu Youtang didn't want to embarrass He Cong too much, so he raised his hand to let him leave.

He knew that if he wanted to strengthen his country, he needed a strong army. Only by putting the Aegis Battalion he had built on the altar of the altar could China's military spirit truly return.

That's why, if anyone dares to stop him from building the Aegis Battalion, he will naturally not be able to do so easily, and he really hopes that the Ministry of War can complete the heavy armor as soon as possible.

In the first month of the year, the capital was still covered in snow.

Although the Zhengdan holiday has passed, the atmosphere of the New Year is still there. The sound of firecrackers continues to sound throughout the capital, children wearing new clothes are still running around, and many ordinary people are still visiting relatives.

Just when He Cong, the left minister of the Ministry of War, returned, the Yamen of the Ministry of War in Dongjiangmi Lane seemed to be busy like a dog, and He Cong's roar could be heard constantly.

The five military and political policies and the Tongbao need to be implemented immediately. Three of the five military and political policies belong to the Ministry of War. Therefore, the Ministry of War has a total of four important new policies to implement.

Two of the five military and political policies were assigned to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Under the leadership of Li Si, the Ministry of Household Affairs was also very busy. In particular, it was necessary to identify candidates to dispatch the Governor-General Tea Horse Division.

The Five Military Policies originally had nothing to do with the Ministry of Industry, but Jia Jun, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, took the initiative to build the Yangxin Hall, so they had to come up with an effective construction plan immediately.

For the three yamen, it is painful and joyful.

"What does it mean to have a regular court meeting every month?"

"On the eighth, eighteenth, and twenty-eighth days of the lunar month, go to court on these three days!"

"There are ten days of holiday in July. This Longevity Festival is really something people are looking forward to!"

…

Although the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry were the first to get busy, many middle- and lower-level officials reacted positively and authentically after learning about the new morning system and holiday system.

Just when the atmosphere in various yamen seemed very harmonious, disharmonious things eventually appeared.

The sky above Beijing was originally fine, but suddenly it darkened. Just when many officials looked up at the sky with disapproval, a look of horror suddenly appeared on their faces.

But there was a solar eclipse in the sky. The area covered by the sun was only increasing a little bit, and it was evolving in the direction of a total solar eclipse.

"Your Majesty has lost his political integrity?" Xu Qiong, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, saw this and immediately fell to the ground and said in shock.

After hearing the news, Chen Qiong and other senior officials from the ministry walked out of their duty rooms one after another. When they looked up and saw a solar eclipse in the sky, they felt a chill in their hearts.

"The five military and political policies are the policies of mismanagement!" Liu Jian, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, looked up and saw the sky where the solar eclipse was taking place, and his eyes flashed with joy.

This era still believed in the idea of ​​"respecting heaven and protecting the people" originated from the Western Zhou Dynasty. It is believed that "God" only entrusts the "mandate" of ruling the world to those with "virtue". Once the rulers "lose their virtue", they will lose the protection of God, and new virtuous people can emerge and replace them. As a ruler who rules over the world, he should "match heaven with virtue."

Once celestial phenomena such as solar or lunar eclipses occur, this is the reason for the emperor's lack of morality and lack of governance.

But is there a way to "save the king"? Yes, after so many years of repeated "research", I have figured out the remedy method of "rescuing the king" by hundreds of officials.

As ministers loyal to the emperor, whenever they encounter a solar or lunar eclipse, they must perform rescue rituals as usual to save their emperor who has lost his moral integrity and failed to govern.

Whenever there was an abnormality in the movement of the sun and the moon, the emperor and the ruling ministers had to strengthen their self-cultivation activities around the government affairs at that time. At the same time, the cultivation of virtue and government became the most critical remedies in imperial politics.

Like now, the "Five Military and Political Policies", "Early Court System" and "Holiday System" that were just promulgated are undoubtedly the root cause, so "political revisions" should be carried out afterwards.

According to the system of the Ming Dynasty: during a solar eclipse, all civil and military officials in the capital must be rescued by the Ministry of Rites.

"Hurry, come to the Ministry of Etiquette!"

"Your Majesty, I'm here to save you!"

"Why are you still sitting in a sedan? Run over quickly!"

…

When they saw the solar eclipse, officials from various yamen rushed to the Ministry of Rites like a tide, preparing to perform rescue rituals to save the corrupt emperor Hongzhi.

But no one expected that the five military policies, the morning court system and the holiday system that were just about to be promulgated would actually encounter a solar eclipse and a celestial phenomenon. It was really unpredictable.

"God, I didn't let you play like this!" Zhu Youtang walked out of Qianqing Palace after hearing the news. When he saw the sun being slowly swallowed, he couldn't help but cursed.