Chapter 395: Dismissal of Prime Minister (lower middle)
Of the five strategies listed by Luo Wanhua, the first three were to deal with and eliminate the impact of the Manila Incident, and the ministers had no way of commenting on it. However, the last two were derived from the first three, seemingly naturally leading the main direction of the Ming Dynasty's military power to the sea, although it was not unreasonable.
The truth is not impeccable.
So as soon as he finished speaking, Liang Menglong said: "Your Majesty, I think Mr. Kangzhou's last two strategies are a bit unreasonable. The sea is vast, and it will take nine months for the news of Manila to reach Europe. Even if Spain makes a quick decision, it can concentrate its forces.
It will also take one to one and a half years to fight me - more than two or even three years in total."
"Nowadays, the European countries are competing for hegemony. Even if Spain comes to compete with me, it is impossible to send a large army. We only need to strengthen the city defense in Luzon. Why send out a large army and waste tens of millions to take useless land?"
Liang Menglong's words were well-founded, and all the ministers in Wuying Palace who belonged to the local faction nodded in support. Luo Wanhua sat there with a calm expression on his face, and had no intention of refuting - as the leader of his faction, he came up with ideas
That’s it, Liang Menglong’s statement has Ma Zai’s refutation.
Sure enough, the Navy Commander Dongping Hou Lingyun Yi was sitting opposite him. Hearing Liang Menglong's objection to the expansion of the navy, he immediately said: "Prime Minister Liang's words are wrong! Nowadays, there is overproduction in the country, and the Southeast and Guangxi depend on trade. If we just close our doors in Luzon, we
If we keep it, domestic industry and commerce will inevitably suffer damage, and this is one of them."
"Now the trade in the Greater Triangle is bound to come to a halt due to the Manila incident. If our country cannot take Goa, the dumping channels to the Mughals will also be broken, and most of the dumped products are textiles - this industry is a large employer of labor!"
"Just now, Prime Minister Liang said, 'It's a waste of tens of millions of dollars to acquire useless land,' and I thought it was a big mistake. In recent years, I have made progress in all directions, including Northeast China, Myanmar, the Western Regions, Annan, and the total number of refugees accommodated has exceeded three million. Luzon, Manchuria, etc.
Although Jia is located in a hot place, it is more suitable for farming than Luo wilderness."
"The imperial court spent millions of military expenditures to capture Tangnu Wulianghai. The same amount of money was enough to capture the entire territory of Luzon!"
"The words of Marquis Dongping are wrong!" Ling Yunyi finished his words and was immediately refuted by Wang Xijue. "Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, the reason why China has invaded the Western Regions is for trade. Now the Ottoman Kingdom and the Western countries are accessible by land, which is advantageous
It’s no small matter.”
Gradually, the voices in the Wuying Palace became louder and louder, and the land and sea factions were arguing and arguing for their own interests. Because the emperor was present, everyone controlled their emotions, and the crooked building was not too powerful, otherwise there would have been personal attacks long ago.
Zhu Yijun blushed when he saw the ministers arguing, and lightly knocked on the imperial desk. Wei Chao hurriedly shouted: "Quiet!" The ministers stopped talking and waited for the emperor to speak.
Zhu Yijun changed his mind, looked at Zhang Siwei and said, "Mr. Fengpan, what do you think?"
Zhang Siwei encountered such a big event just after returning to Beijing, and it was impossible to give an opinion: he didn't know the backgrounds of Xiao Chongye and Xie Jie, didn't know why they made the decision to attack Manila, and didn't know if Luo Wanhua had dug a hole to wait for him
Or someone else could jump, let alone whether Pan Sheng and others had already jumped over this hole and dug it deeper.
But when the emperor asked, Zhang Siwei, the prime minister, could not say "I respectfully request the Holy See" in public. Therefore, he trembled and said: "I think everyone has his own reasons, but there is no objection to the first three of the five points mentioned by Kangzhou. The imperial court
You can do it first."
Wang Guoguang, who was sitting next to Zhang Siwei, seemed to have his eyes open and closed, but he could clearly see that the emperor's brows were furrowed and his face was obviously disgusted. He had a sneer on his lips and looked at Pan Sheng beside him. Pan Sheng was neither Jiu nor Jiu Guangguang.
The border faction is not the returnee faction, and now they just look like they are watching the fun.
Wang Guoguang sneered again in his heart and cursed secretly: "How did this fool become a cabinet minister? Prince Zhongxing was too kind to him."
Although he and Zhang Siwei are fellow Shanxi fellows, Wang Guoguang has a very distant relationship with the Jin Party. Because he could not understand the actions of the Jin Party when he was young, he refused many solicitations from Yang Bo and others - almost all of his reputation in his hometown is
The Jin Party was corrupted, so Wang Guoguang would be worthy of his hometown people if he did not hinder the Jin Party.
Wang Guoguang was greedy for money and lustful, with a lot of problems, and his mass base was extremely poor. However, because of his unparalleled achievements, he was deeply appreciated by Zhang Juzheng and Zhu Yijun, and his status was very stable. Now he is over seventy-five years old and is about to retire. If it weren't for Zhang Siwei
After going back and forth to attend funerals, he had long been approved for official service.
He had no intention of changing from the second assistant to the first assistant before retiring, so his status among civil servants was very aloof. No one in the court, no matter the dignitaries or the "parties" dared to provoke him in the past two years, Wang Guoguang was also willing to be the emperor's lone minister.
.
Although he found an opportunity to overthrow Zhang Siwei at this time, he would not take advantage of others' fire. He would only touch the long beard under his chin, his eyes seemed to be closed, and he pretended to be confused.
Although he was pretending to be confused, Zhu Yijun refused to let him go. Seeing that Zhang Siwei didn't express any opinions, he asked him, "What do you think, Mr. Shu'an?"
Wang Guoguang stood up and bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, I thought that the policy of advancing simultaneously by sea and land was a long-term decision made at the imperial meeting last autumn, but it has only been a year now. If the plan is changed due to the Battle of Manila, I really don't know what the old plan was.
Why is it necessary? As for the princes quarreling over this, haha."
Upon hearing this, the quarreling ministers all felt feverish on their faces. Zhu Yijun nodded and said to himself: "It's a pity that Wang Guoguang can't convince the crowd and is too old." Seeing Zhang Siwei's trembling appearance, he became more and more disgusted.
Looking at Pan Sheng again, Zhu Yijun felt bitter in his heart when he saw that he still looked like he was watching a show. Looking at Luo Wanhua, this guy looked at his nose and his heart, sitting upright with no expression on his face.
Although Liang Menglong lowered his head, he raised his eyelids and looked up hard. Seeing Zhu Yijun's eyes rolling on the faces of the prime ministers, he couldn't help but think wildly. He also remembered that the emperor just called Luo Wanhua by his character instead of his nickname, and his heart was pounding.
, I don’t know if I will offend the Sacred Heart by rushing forward hastily.
Then he thought again: "Your Majesty will not allow all parties to compete with each other. Although a good opportunity has appeared now, I cannot go into battle naked." Seeing that Shen Shixing and Xu Guo were not ready to make a move, he could only suppress the wildfire in his heart.
But if he couldn't go there, his comrades could. So he raised his head and winked at Yan Qing, the Minister of the Post Office in charge of the post office.
Yan Qing, nicknamed Gongzhi, was born in Yunnan. He was a Jinshi in the 23rd year of Jiajing. He once served as governor of Shaanxi and governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Now he has just entered his sixtieth year. In the first year of Wanli, he went home to recuperate due to bad relations with Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng
After his death, Liang Menglong suggested that the emperor resurrect him because of his outstanding achievements and became the Minister of Post Office.
After Yan Qing was reinstated and put in charge by Liang Menglong, because they were both people who valued "work", the two of them cooperated quite well. Liang Menglong felt that this person was "one of his own".
Seeing Liang Menglong wink at this moment, Yan Qing felt a little guilty. Zhang Siwei's phase was shaky, and everyone here except Pan Sheng basically judged it. Combined with Luo Wanhua's "countercurrent" movement in the Huangji Palace, Yan Qing
Qing also guessed that Luo Wanhua might be eyeing Xiang.
Once Zhang Siwei resigns as prime minister and cabinet minister, the momentum of the Jin Party will surely fall, and many positions will be able to be moved.
Luo Wanhua was originally in charge of the vassal affairs. He might have added the phrase "acting cheaply" to the political order that Xiao Chongye and Xie Jie received. The so-called "chess emerges from a broken place". If you want to expand the navy, by the way
To deceive Pan Sheng and Zhang Siwei, just let the two imperial envoys cause trouble - judging from the results, he really succeeded.
So it's not surprising that Luo Wanhua was very calm when everyone in the Huangji Palace was chanting saints. Yan Qing was just about to figure out what Luo Wanhua wanted to do, when he received a signal from Liang Menglong.
Although Yan Qing was close to Liang Menglong, they only had similar ideas and their personal relationship was very nonsensical - Liang Menglong was basically a hothead, and Yan Qing was arrogant and submissive in the face of his immediate boss.
Regarding such an important decision to attack the chief assistant, Yan Qing did not want to take advantage of the fire for Liang Menglong. But Liang Menglong winked and did not respond. Yan Gongzhi nodded to indicate receipt, then stood up and said:
"What Mr. Shu'an said is absolutely true! Nowadays, the reform is in the ascendant. As long as we persevere, we will naturally dominate the world in the future. I think that post administration, water conservancy, farmland, justice and other matters are complicated and need to be clarified by the court. How can we let go and fight now?
reason!"
Liang Menglong was stunned and said to himself: "Lao Yan didn't understand my look, and we don't have a tacit understanding." But he reluctantly expressed his agreement on his face.
For the local faction, holding on to the current position is considered a victory, so as soon as Yan Qing finished speaking, there was a burst of agreement from Wuying Palace.
Luo Wanhua's face remained unmoved. He had already calculated this to his bones when handling this matter, knowing that as long as there were big changes in Luzon, the emperor would definitely turn his attention to Europe.
As the cabinet member who knows the most about the vassal affairs, his rise in status is inevitable. As for the position of chief minister, I am lucky to get it - it is normal if I can't get it. As long as the national policy changes, Luo Wanhua has his own set of combinations.
If it is solidified, in the future the Prime Minister will not be able to escape from the palm of his hand.
Ling Yunyi saw that Wang Guoguang's speech won the hearts of the saints, but he was not discouraged. He used his trump card: "The prince-in-law Xu Guangqi is now deeply trapped in Europe. The more fierce the fight between our country and Spain, the more Spain will have to live with its rare goods. If we don't make a big fanfare, who will be safe?"
Can you be responsible?"
As soon as these words came out, all the "local factions" gasped. The emperor doted on Princess Leping, and the Queen Mother Rensheng was extremely concerned about Xu Guangqi's safety. If factors in the palace were taken into consideration, it was hard to say how the emperor would make a decision.
Sure enough, Zhu Yijun on the throne frowned immediately after hearing Ling Yunyi's words. Liang Menglong was upset and stood up and said: "Just now Kangzhou said that he had sent a message to the Europa mission, and Earl Xu can take refuge in England."
Ling Yunyi said calmly: "Even if we send a clipper today, we will arrive in Europa a month later than the Spanish messenger. Besides, since the provocation has begun and there is no winner or loser, it will be difficult for Count Xu to return from Europa. Otherwise, the sea will be vast -
—”
All the ministers were shocked. Judging from the time, it was too late for the imperial court to send someone to notify Xu Guangqi. The best way is to launch an all-out attack here and let the Spanish colonies continue to send messengers to Europe. The bigger the attack, the bigger the attack.
The safer Xu Guangqi is. The worst outcome is that Spain takes Xu Guangqi hostage instead of killing him to vent its anger.
Liang Menglong was speechless. At this time, Shangshu Yan Qing suddenly came up with a thought: "Now that the Western Region is connected, why not go straight to Europa? In this way, seven months is enough, which is two days faster than a sea messenger."
More than a month!”
"In two months, the prince-in-law will be much safer whether he returns by land or by sea!"