Time is too thin, slipping quietly through the fingers, always inadvertently.
A year has passed by in a hurry, and the twelfth lunar month of winter has arrived again. After an auspicious snowfall, the bustling capital city has completely turned into a world covered in snow.
As in previous years, the plum blossoms in Zhao Mingyu's courtyard bloomed in the cold weather again.
With beautiful scenery, how can we lack elegance?
So, after a sunny day, Mr. Zhao met up with his friend Qi Yu to enjoy the plum blossoms, make wine, and play the sea music.
"Without being surprised, I watch the flowers blooming and falling in front of the court; I don't care if I leave or go, I watch the clouds rolling and relaxing in the sky." Qi Yu looked at the petals falling in the yard, feeling emotional about the scene, and sighed with emotion.
Zhao Mingyu stroked his beard and smiled: "Master Qi is peaceful, indifferent and natural. Compared with when he first became an official, he is a little more serious."
"Master Zhao, thank you very much."
"We will encourage each other."
"..."
This year, a lot of things have happened, some big and some small.
What attracted the most attention was the emperor's personal expedition. After a stalemate for more than half a year, the war in Shandong Mansion finally ended with the surrender of King Yan.
It is said that in the early days of being besieged by the imperial army, King Yan tried to break out several times, but was repelled by the emperor's army. King Yan had to retreat back to the city and continue to defend Le'an City.
After that, it completely fell into a war of attrition.
The imperial army was well-supplied and was waiting for work. However, the besieged Le'an City was slowly depleted because it could not get supplementary supplies of food and grass. The merits of both sides were immediately decided.
The emperor was not only good at fighting crickets, but also learned how to boil eagles.
Facts have proved that the emperor's strategy is correct. First, he overwhelms the opponent in terms of momentum, and then performs a reversal, which is really surprising.
Some people summarize King Yan's failure into two points.
First, at the beginning of the war, he did not dare to fight hard, and his advantage in fighting was directly strangled in the cradle. The result was low morale, panic among everyone at the top, and no desire to fight.
Secondly, he underestimated the emperor and misjudged the situation of the battle, thinking that the opponent was planning to attack the city. In the end, he dragged himself into a quagmire that was difficult to escape from.
Qi Yu thought that there was another point that was not mentioned, that is, King Zhao did not dare to follow King Yan to make noise.
From the beginning, the emperor understood that King Zhao was the key factor that determined the success or failure of this war. Because of this, he took charge of the expedition in person, with the intention of showing a tough posture and thus intimidating the cautious King Zhao.
If the emperor doesn't take action personally, the outcome is really hard to predict.
In war, we only look at the results and not the process. As long as we can win, it is a good strategy.
It’s just that we don’t know yet whether this clever strategy was thought up by the emperor himself? Or if it was contributed by someone else.
The current situation is that after the victory, the imperial army has begun to return to the court, and will arrive in Beijing in triumph in two days.
Fortunately for the country, Qi Yu's official career has not fallen behind, and he has also made further progress.
In the past year, Zhang Chengdong, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, took advantage of his position to continuously put pressure and obstacles on the Minister of Xingtaipu Temple, and finally succeeded in pulling him down from that position. At the same time,
The second-in-command Shaoqing was also transferred to other departments.
In order to fill the vacancy, Zhong Shoufu temporarily appointed Zhao Mingyu as Dai Siqing and Qi Yu as Dai Shaoqing to stabilize the daily administrative affairs of Xingtaipu Temple.
As for whether the two of them can truly take this position, it depends on whether the emperor after his return agrees.
Normally speaking, it should be close to ten.
Currently, both of them are facing the same 'promotion' opportunity, so they have a feeling of sympathy for each other.
However, the two of them did not show much joy, and being unfazed by honor or disgrace was their current true state of mind.
why?
Zhao Mingyu was originally a fourth-grade magistrate, but he was demoted to Xingtaipu Temple because he took the blame. Even if he was rewarded with a third-grade horse officer, there would be nothing surprising.
Qi Yu's reaction was relatively dull. Even if he was promoted, wouldn't he still be a horse breeder? He still had no real power in his hands!
The two have different perspectives, but their mentality is exactly the same, coincidentally.
Zhao Mingyu said with emotion: "Actually, I have always wanted to do something for this country, but it's a pity that I don't hold an important position, I don't talk much, I have empty ambitions, but I can't do anything!"
Qi Yu felt the same and sighed: "How could I not be like this? I came from a dignified family, but I couldn't get into the Hanlin Academy. I could only waste my time in this Taipu Temple and do nothing."
Complaints are complaints, and you have to face reality.
Qi Yu suddenly remembered something strange and asked, "Sir, you have been running between the stables frequently recently. I don't know why?"
Zhao Mingyu chuckled: "Nothing else, the main thing is to take care of those little ponies."
Oh, so that’s what happened.
Qi Yu suddenly remembered that last year, Zhao Mingyu fought Wu Wanrong's big black horse day and night, and many mares became pregnant as a result. Now, they have given birth to foals.
Regarding this matter, Zhao Mingyu has never explained the real motive.
"My lord, this move shouldn't be just a simple hobby and research, right?"
Seeing Qi Yu's inquiry, Zhao Mingyu didn't hide it anymore and said: "The purpose of my doing this is to prove with facts that the offspring produced by our local horses after crossing with Hu horses are of superior quality. My intention is
Replace the current northern horse breed."
At present, the imperial court's idea of raising horses is to respect the Mongolian horses in the north, and it is quite disdainful to the Hu horses from outside the region. This is a deep-rooted concept.
It is precisely because of this deviation in thinking that the quality of war horses has been seriously affected, so that our Chinese cavalry will never be able to return to the glory of the Hanwu era.
Regarding these shortcomings, Zhao Mingyu's "Horse Theory" has a very detailed explanation, and Qi Yu is still impressed.
It is not easy to change this deep-rooted thought. The only feasible way is to speak with facts and correct cognitive deviations through actual comparisons.
This is Zhao Mingyu's true intention.
Qi Yu suddenly smiled and said: "Master Zhao, do you know that your opportunity to show your talents is coming soon?"
Zhao Mingyu asked in confusion: "How do you say this?"
"Now that the King of Yan has been defeated and internal troubles have subsided, only foreign troubles remain. Among the many foreign troubles, the most serious ones are the Tatars and Oaras in the north. I believe that in a few years, the northern part of our country will
There is a battle."
"However, the battle in the north is dominated by cavalry, so war horses have become a top priority. With the wisdom of the emperor, it is impossible not to think of this. Now that I have thought of it, we must find a way to solve it. Therefore, I think that the replacement of horses
The time is ripe, and sir, as long as you use facts to advise, you will definitely attract attention." Qi Yu offered advice.
Zhao Mingyu thought for a while, nodded and said: "It makes sense! It can be seen from His Majesty's overhaul of the Great Wall that he is still a little wary of the two northern powers. The reason is not because our Chinese cavalry are not strong. It is urgent to improve the war horses."
"That's right! The emperor is not a weak monarch and will definitely strive to strengthen himself."
Zhao Mingyu first expressed his approval, and then worried: "Buying Hu horses abroad is a huge expense. Will Your Majesty be willing to spend this money?"
Qi Yu thought for a moment and said, "I think it should be possible!"
"How can I see it?"
"It is indeed a huge expense to go abroad as an envoy, but compared with the cost of the voyage to the West, it can be said to be a drop in the bucket." Qi Yu first made a comparison, and then made an analysis, saying: "In my opinion
Come on, the voyage itself is a stupid behavior that wastes people and money and has no practical significance. You see, apart from promoting the power of our dynasty, this kind of distant friendship has almost no practical benefits. If this can be done
If all the money is spent on improving war horses, why worry about not defeating the two strongest powers in the north? How can your Majesty not understand such a superficial truth?"
Makes sense.
To put it more intuitively, it is a matter of how to spend money. Is it to engage in meaningless face-saving diplomacy, or is it to be used to do some practical things?
Only a stupid king would choose face, and being strong is the last word!
However, today's emperor is not a mediocre king. He has always had his own ideas and political ambitions. The "three noes" he openly shouted out are strong evidence of this.
After Zhao Mingyu thought it through, he laughed loudly and said: "As the saying goes, bystanders are clear but the authorities are confused. When you said this, my heart immediately became brighter. Well, after His Majesty returns to Beijing, I will definitely write a letter to advise and clarify the truth.
No matter what the interests are, if I try my best to promote this matter, it will not be in vain for me to sit in the position of the minister of Taipu Temple."
The acting temple minister is also a temple minister, and he also has the obligation to offer words to the war horse.
Qi Yu praised: "Congratulations, sir, for being able to use your talents. Come, let's have a drink!"