Chapter 292: There is a turmoil, who is plotting it?
Early the next morning, as expected, Zhang Siwei, the chief assistant, came to ask for additional cabinet ministers.
Zhang Siwei wrote thousands of words in this eloquent speech. The general meaning is that the affairs of the imperial court are much busier now than more than ten years ago, and the cabinet is overwhelmed. Young and promising new cabinet ministers are urgently needed to share the pressure to avoid delays.
event.
What are the specific things? Zhang Siwei also gave some examples.
For example, more than ten years ago, due to the Japanese pirate rebellion, the imperial court only needed to prevent and control the left and right wings of Mongolia. Even after Anda paid tribute, it only needed to prevent and control the Mongolian left wing, and the military pressure was very small.
However, with the victory of the Monan War, the imperial court's plan to control the West and Huaidong has entered a new stage. Now it has begun to fully prepare for the war in the direction of Jiliao, upgrading armaments, storing grain and grass, training soldiers, etc., all of which are being vigorously promoted.
At the same time, the Burma War broke out this year. The imperial court paid nearly one million yuan and sent nearly 200,000 troops (including Yunnan's local defense troops and the troops mobilized by the chieftains). The north and south were exerting force at the same time, and there were many reports. Although the cabinet managed to maintain it,
But it is already at the end of its strength.
As for other aspects, there are more. For example, the post station system was not reformed more than ten years ago, and the court could ignore the problems of the post stations in various places. However, the current post stations have to face irregular inspections by the court and local governments every year;
There are also port issues. The imperial court sends personnel every year to inspect the operations of various ports to prevent tax evasion and tax evasion. The workload of the cabinet and the Ministry of Household Affairs has been greatly increased.
There are also the usual floods, droughts, and locust plagues. In the past, the imperial court basically had no control or was unable to control it. Now at least after a major disaster occurs, it will try its best to mobilize manpower and material resources for relief and resettlement. Although it is difficult to say how effective this kind of work will be, it has
It is better than nothing, and this will also increase the pressure on the cabinet and various ministries.
All in all, the cabinet is short of manpower.
By the way, Zhang Siwei also mentioned Yu Youding's long-term inability to perform his duties - it is not good to mention this too much, otherwise it will appear unkind, but it must be mentioned, otherwise there will be insufficient reasons for adding two cabinet ministers at once.
The cabinet documents were submitted to the emperor and archived by the General Affairs Department. However, the General Affairs Department has always been one of the focuses of competition among all parties. Once such public documents reach the General Affairs Department, it is actually equivalent to the entire capital officialdom.
Got it all.
Outsiders were still discussing privately whether there was any connection between this succinct article and Gao Pragmatic's actions yesterday, and the emperor's edict came out in the afternoon.
"Yuan Fu and the gentlemen have been working hard recently, and I know it. When I was young, Mr. Gao once said: The treasure of the country lies in the virtuous ministers, not in the pearls and jade. Now that the affairs of the country are becoming more and more complicated, and the gentlemen have piled up documents, my heart
If you are uneasy, you should agree to the request. Yuan Fu can recommend someone who is worthy of the post."
The emperor really agreed once and for all, without "following the procedures"!
Not to mention that everyone in the outer court was surprised when they heard the news, even Shen Shixing in the cabinet was stunned for a while when he heard the emperor's reply, and then immediately realized that something big had happened.
The current situation in the cabinet is that there are two people from the practical school, two people from the heart school, and one person from the neutral school. It is basically in a balanced state. Although Yu Youding is too sick to get out of bed, as long as he is still there, he will have one vote.
Quan, this situation can be maintained.
But why did Zhang Siwei add more cabinet ministers? Could it be that he wanted to take advantage of his success in pacifying southern Xinjiang and directly overthrow the Xin School in order to monopolize full power?
This possibility is of course unlikely to exist in normal times, but the Practical School has been making great achievements since Gao Pragmatic patrolled Guangxi, and now it can be regarded as completing the north-south killings! At this time, do they feel that they are sure to conquer Guangxi?
Did the Heart School just kick him out and go it alone?
Very possible!
Although this kind of thing is contrary to common sense and may trigger a full-scale resistance from the Xin School, Shen Shixing thought about it and actually thought of a possibility: once the Xin School starts to counterattack, the Shi School will immediately launch the Jiliao border army and attack Yuan Ting in a large scale!
At that time, the emperor's mind will definitely be attracted by this battle, in order to establish the most glorious achievements since the second ancestor's sect. How can he be interested in whether their school is dead or alive?
Thinking of this, Shen Shixing suddenly frightened himself into a cold sweat. He didn't care that he happened to be on duty today, and hurriedly sent someone to ask the emperor for leave. He hurried out of the palace in three steps at a time to "visit" Yu.
Ding is gone.
The green sedan stopped in front of the Yu University Scholar's Mansion. Shen Cifu's performance was almost no more calm than Gao Pragmatic's performance yesterday, except that he didn't directly push away the servants of the Yu Mansion like Gao Pragmatic did. Fortunately, everyone in the Yu family knew it.
Shen Cifu was his master's life-and-death friend. Although he was stunned for a moment, he quickly invited him into the house.
When Shen Shixing walked into Yu Youding's bedroom, he felt the smell of Chinese medicine in the room. Although it had been less than ten days since he last visited, Yu Youding looked even more haggard than last time.
Old Yuge's sallow face had long been covered with countless black age spots the size of mung beans. He was also extremely skinny, with dense wrinkles like knives and swords.
"Brother Bingzhong..." Shen Shixing seemed to have a premonition, and felt sad for a moment. When he stepped forward to hold Yu Youding's right hand, his voice was choked up.
Yu Youding struggled to show a comforting smile, and said in a voice like a mosquito: "Don't be anxious, I can still hold on... What happened?"
Shen Shixing had a lot of things to say, but he didn't dare to say them at the moment, for fear of irritating Yu Youding, so he hesitated for a moment.
Yu Youding shook his head slightly: "I'm already like this. If you have anything to say, just say it, otherwise... I'm afraid I won't have the chance to help you again in the future."
Shen Shixing couldn't bear it anymore. Two lines of hot tears overflowed from his eyes, flowed down his face, and dripped onto the crane patch on his chest. He was choked and speechless.
Yu Youding turned his hand back tremblingly, grabbed Shen Shixing's hand and shook it, still saying in the same tone as when he supported Shen Shixing in the past: "Just say it, Rumo, what else can't I accept?"
Shen Shixing realized from the weak strength in Yu Youding's hand that his energy was really about to run out. He didn't dare to let sadness ruin his work anymore. He took a deep breath, calmed down his mood and breath, and compared the situation of the past two days with what he had just done.
I expressed my considerations as simply as possible, and then looked at my best friend for many years, hoping that he could point out a clear path for me - or that he could share this huge political pressure for the last time.
But Yu Youding did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked away from Shen Shixing's face and stared at the roof.
Shen Shixing wanted to call him, but he thought about it but didn't dare, so he had to wait calmly.
After a long while, Yu Youding suddenly said: "You should have this concern."
Shen Shixing immediately asked: "My brother, can you give me some advice?"
Yu Youding probably really didn't have the energy to say any polite words, so he said directly: "We can no longer let Gao Pragmatic stay in Liaodong."
Shen Shixing was stunned when he heard this and said hesitantly: "This matter was done by Zhang Fengpan..."
"Then why did Gao Pragmatic go to see him yesterday?"
Shen Shixing said in astonishment: "Brother Bingzhong said...Liaodong has completed war preparations, so Gao Qiuzhen used this to persuade Zhang Fengpan to launch a political struggle?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Yu Youding shook his head slightly: "But whether it is or not, as long as Gao Pragmatic is in Liaodong, it is possible for them to do this."
"My brother is telling me to transfer Gao Pragmatic away and replace him with one of our people as the governor of Liao?"
Yu Youding nodded lightly.
Shen Shixing shook his head: "I'm afraid this is too difficult - my brother should know that all the towns in the north are interested in the food they have on their plate. I want to seize the food from the tiger's mouth, how will they be willing to give in?"
Yu Youding said calmly: "If you give in, he will recommend the addition of cabinet ministers; if you don't give in, I will mobilize all the ministers inside and outside my school to oppose with all their strength. Rumo, there is already a cliff behind us. If we take one more step, we will surely be defeated."
Death without a burial place.”
Shen Shixing couldn't believe it and frowned: "Just because of a high pursuit of truth?"
Yu Youding sighed softly: "The battle of Annan was fought with pragmatism; the battle of Monan was fought with pragmatism; the battle of Liaonan was fought with pragmatism; the battle of Yunnan and Burma... you dare to say that it was not fought with pragmatism.
Are you serious about beating me?"
Shen Shixing was speechless for a while.
Yu Youding sneered and said: "Liu Shizeng is a mediocre person. He can maintain peace in times of peace, but he will inevitably act blindly in times of war. If he had not sought help from the truth, he would have ended up depriving himself of his status and serving the people."
Shen Shixing said in astonishment: "Is it so serious? Gao Qiuzhen will just..."
Yu Youding shook his head and interrupted: "He just got a treasure banknote for the Yunnan War and sent 20,000 troops across the sea? You are wrong, Rumo, he has done a lot."
A dying man no longer had any scruples about speaking. Yu Youding ignored Shen Shixing's astonishment, closed his eyes gently, and said quietly: "Think about it first, who will command the army of our imperial court in this battle of Yunnan and Burma?"
Soldiers going on an expedition? Liu Wei, Deng Zilong. Let me ask you: Who recommended Liu Wei and Deng Zilong to go to Yunnan, in what year did they go, and who tried every means to change their troops early?"
Shen Shixing was shocked: "This all happened a few years ago! Brother Bingzhong, you...are you saying that Gao Qiuzhen came to this battle a few years ago, so you have already made preparations?"
Yu Youding didn't even raise his eyelids and asked calmly: "What do you think?"
Shen Shixing gasped: "This...this is too...unbelievable!"
"Unbelievable? There are even more unbelievable things." Yu Youding continued: "Huang Zhiting came here and said that he brought 20,000 of his own wolf soldiers. I don't think so... I have seen the investigation sent by Liu Shouyou before.
Although her family might not be able to send 20,000 troops, she couldn't leave her family's foundation in Annan and come all the way out.
However, Gao Jing was in Annan, but he controlled two armies in the name of the Dutong Envoy. According to Liu Shouyou's estimate, the two armies combined must have at least 70,000 to 80,000 troops. Therefore, I think Huang Zhiting's expedition was
In Myanmar, the main force under its command is probably a highly pragmatic private army!"
Shen Shixing had also seen the things Liu Shouyou had originally investigated, but the emperor himself knew about the fact that Jinghua was in charge of Annan, so it was meaningless to use this as an excuse.
As for the issue of private armies... firstly, how to characterize the two garrison armies is very complicated. Gao Pragmatic can infer that they are the Annan army controlled through Beijing; secondly, the two armies are far away in Annan, and they have indeed always been
In suppressing the various civil unrest in Annan, unless Gao Pragmatic controlled them with evil intentions, his fellow emperors would certainly not believe it.
However, if the main force of this expedition is these two guard armies, then the combat effectiveness of these two "private armies" is too strong - the total number of the two armies is less than 40,000, and they are actually pacified.
Three countries? Even if these small southern barbarian countries are not worth mentioning, it is still too astonishing that 40,000 people can determine the three countries.
What's even more astonishing is that if Gao's pragmatic military training skills are so powerful, he has more than 100,000 troops in Liaodong that can be mobilized, and famous commanders such as Qi Jiguang from Ji Town can cooperate with him. Once he really launches an attack on Yuan Ting
, can Tumenhan, who has been beaten half disabled, really be able to withstand it?
This is actually the limitation of the scholarly vision of Shen Shixing. Gao Pragmatic's army in Annan is controlled by his own servants. How can the army in Liaodong be so "pure"? Not to mention that the command is not so satisfactory, and the uniforms are changed.
Things are much more troublesome - he can change the uniforms of the garrison at will, but obviously he cannot change the uniforms of the regular army of the Ming Dynasty at will.
Even if he is very patriotic and is willing to spend his own money to do this, he still has to consider what the court will think and what the emperor will think!
Do you want to turn this town in Liaodong into your own? Li Chengliang is not as desperate as you!
Yu Youding didn't know if he didn't see it or if he saw it and didn't say anything. He opened his eyes, looked at Shen Shixing who looked shocked and continued: "Now Rumo knows how powerful Gao Jingshi is?"
Without waiting for Shen Shixing's reply, he let out a long sigh: "We were careless! When Gao Xinzheng paid so much attention to his nephew, I thought he was just thinking about the long-term wealth of the Gao family, but now I know...
I’m afraid he was already convinced at that time that whether practical learning can take precedence over my spiritual learning is not Guo Pu’s or Zhang Siwei’s—it all depends on this guy!”
Shen Shixing closed his eyes, calmed down his mood, and said: "If all the above are true, then this pursuit of truth is... so wise that he is almost a monster. It is indeed impossible to let him stay in Liaodong. At least in my mind.
If Yiline cannot control the overall situation of the imperial court, we can no longer let him stay in Liaodong."
Seeing that Shen Shixing finally accepted his opinion, Yu Youding breathed a sigh of relief and added: "Rumo, if you believe me, you don't have to care who Zhang Siwei recommends to the cabinet this time. As far as I know
, Zhang Siwei's parents were not considered strong in body and bones. He himself was also a sick man and had asked himself to leave his job to recuperate in the early years.
You are nine years younger than him and in good health. As long as you follow the example of Xu Huatinggong, you can survive him even if you have to endure it. At that time, it will naturally be the time for you to display your ambition. The top priority is to transfer Gao Pragmatism from Liaodong.
Transfer them away and replace them with our people to ensure that there is no possibility of Ji Liao's Northern Expedition in the short term. Rumo, as long as you wait for this period of time and wait for you to take power, then you can complete your achievements in one battle.
The disadvantage will be evened out.”
Shen Shixing sighed and nodded, and then asked: "Even if we exchange the quota of two pavilion elders for Gao Pragmatic's transfer, where will he be transferred? Brother Bingzhong may not know yet, but after yesterday's dynasty, he has already
He is the Prince Shaobao, the right minister of the Ministry of War, and the right deputy is the censor."
Yu Youding shook his head indifferently and said: "No matter what, as long as you don't let him take up foreign posts, just transfer him directly back to the capital. It's up to you to decide what position he should be in. If you can, you can take it down. If you can't, it doesn't matter... In short
You must let him stay in the capital, under your nose!"
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