Zhang Zhiji has been thinking about what his father is going to do, just at this moment, I don't know if it is a blessing to the heart, such an idea has arisen in his mind.

Once this idea is born, there is no way to go away.

Raising his head and glancing at his son, Zhang Weixian said with a smile: "Yes, it's a little interesting, but your pattern is still a little smaller." What can you do by relying on those nobles and relatives who can only make money? Their pattern is too small, and the people are too wasteful, so they can only wave the flag and shout, and there is no great use. ”

Listening to his father's words, Zhang Zhiji was even more frightened, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and with a grunt in his throat, he said slowly: "Father, this is a taboo thing!" ”

At this moment, Zhang Zhiji already understood what his father was going to do.

In the Ming Dynasty, or all dynasties, not many people dared to involve one thing, that is, military power. This thing is so sensitive, so sensitive that it makes people scared.

If it's just a combination of nobles and relatives, this may not be too much of a problem. With the title of his own family, coupled with his father's status today, it is not a big deal to rule the nobles and relatives, and His Majesty will not say anything.

But if my father really wants to attack the military power, then the matter is a big deal. This is also where Zhang Zhiji is frightened, once his hand is stretched too far, it is a matter of raiding the house and destroying the door.

Military power is nothing else, and His Majesty will not allow anyone to touch it.

Glancing at his son, Zhang Weixian smiled with a smile of "You are still too young", shook his head and said, "You think too much." It is not to get involved in military power, but to integrate the military. ”

Zhang Weixian looked at his son, who was still a little puzzled, took a sip of tea, and then said slowly: "Since you want to know, then I'll talk to you." His Majesty has done a lot since he ascended the throne, and you know who that reminds me of? ”

"Who?" Zhang Zhiji had several answers in his heart, but he didn't feel like it, he hesitated and didn't dare to say, so he could only ask slowly.

"Many people say that His Majesty is like Emperor Chengzu, and even some like Emperor Taizu, but in my opinion, this is not the case. I think Your Majesty is more like Emperor Xianzong. ”

Zhang Weixian said with a smile: "This is where I have different views from them. When Emperor Xianzong ascended the throne that year, the Ming Dynasty had just experienced the change of Tumubao, and the nobles of the court were gone, and the army was weak. In the northwest facing the Mongols, they retreated one after another; The Liaodong Jurchens were also not stable; The DPRK and China are treacherous, and the whole world is in danger. ”

"The civil officials are in chaos, the military generals are in decline, coupled with the restoration of Emperor Yingzong, the entire Ming Dynasty has been tossed for decades, and the imperial court is insufficient, and it has long been full of holes."

"If you look at the present, the civilian government is in power, and the Donglin Party is powerful; The imperial court was insufficient, ****, and was defeated and retreated in Liaozhong, and had just experienced the defeat of Salhu; There are rebellions in the southwest, which shows that the situation in the DPRK and China is very similar to that of Emperor Xianzong during his reign? ”

Hearing his father say this, Zhang Zhiji seemed to be awakened, nodded slowly and said, "It's really similar." ”

"After Emperor Xianzong ascended the throne, he renovated the court and changed a group of courtiers, the most famous of which are naturally several important ministers of the court who are known as the three pavilions of paper paste and the six books of clay sculptures."

"At the same time, Wang Zhi was reused, you must know that Dongchang and Jinyiwei at that time were already unusable, and they had long been in collusion with civil officials, so Emperor Xianzong used Wang Zhi."

"Looking at the things that His Majesty has done since he ascended the throne, can you find some context?"

Hearing this, Zhang Zhiji sighed, slowly sat down on the chair, and said with a shocked tone: "I am afraid that the only person who can understand this point is my father!" ”

"There are a lot of capable people in this world, and there are many people who can understand things, I'm afraid some people have already seen through it. Look at these old monks in the court today, how are these people? You say they don't have the ability? ”

"Han Yi, Sun Chengzong, Xu Guangqi, which one is a good match? Besides, Huang Kezhang, that's not easy to mess with. Hasn't that Feng Congwu of the Royal Academy also been prosperous recently? ”

"Although His Majesty did not set up the West Factory, he still used Wei Zhongxian. Luo Sigong of Jinyiwei was a little useless, and His Majesty replaced it with Xu Xianchun, what is this doing? ”

"Look at the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Your Majesty asked Wei Zhongxian to put his hand into the Metropolitan Procuratorate, what is this doing?"

"There seem to be a lot of disputes in the court, but they are all in each other's hands, and the overall situation is all in the hands of His Majesty. This is the wisdom of His Majesty. Zhang Weixian's tone was full of appreciation.

"If it's all His Majesty's calculations, it seems a little scary." Zhang Zhiji gasped and said.

"There are some things that should not be described as scary." Zhang Weixian looked at his son with a smile and continued to explain: "Originally, it would have been okay to come here, but Your Majesty did the opposite and directly established the Staff Office. If it's like what you think, why did Your Majesty set up a staff office? Is it just for everyone to see? ”

"The establishment of such a yamen is naturally to do things, so this staff office is not an idle child of His Majesty. There has always been news in the court that His Majesty is going to set up a chief of staff, but it seems that it has always been groundless, but it has been spread like a god, as if it is indeed true, where did this news come from? ”

"The people in the staff office don't know about such important information, and the people in the cabinet don't know either, so who can know? It is said that it came from the palace, but the palace wants to spread some news, do you think it is so easy? ”

"You mean that His Majesty deliberately released it?" Zhang Zhiji stood up, looked at his father with some uncertainty, and slowly paced in the room.

Zhang Weixian didn't bother his son, and quietly let Zhang Zhiji think.

After a while, Zhang Zhiji's eyes became brighter and brighter, and then he clapped his hands violently, turned his head to look at his father and said, "Your Majesty is testing several ministers of staff, and at the same time, it is also releasing signals to the outside world. ”

Brushing his beard slightly, Zhang Weixian nodded with satisfaction and asked with a smile, "What signal do you think Your Majesty is releasing yet?" ”

"Your Majesty wants to tell everyone that he wants to reuse the Staff Office, and that he wants to choose a competent person!" Zhang Zhiji said excitedly.

"Exactly." Zhang Weixian nodded with satisfaction, looking like a teachable child.

Subsequently, Zhang Weixian said with a smile: "Everyone can see that the General Staff Office is weakening the power of the cabinet. Not to mention anything else, a military justice department alone is already a weakening of power. ”

"In the past, when people in the military violated the law, it was also investigated by civilian officials, tried by Dali Temple of the Criminal Department, and managed by the Ministry of War. But now it has been transferred to the Judge Advocate General's Office, what does that mean? ”

"This means that civilian control over the military is being eased, and His Majesty is loosening the military bonds. In such a situation, His Majesty needs someone to stand up and integrate the military for him. ”

"The integrated military, that is the military that His Majesty wants, this is also the purpose of His Majesty's establishment of the General Staff Office, and it is also the criterion for selecting the Chief of Staff."

Speaking of this, Zhang Weixian said with a smile: "Now you understand what you have to do as a father, right?" ”

"Understood." Zhang Zhiji nodded and said: "First of all, this person should isolate himself from the nobles and relatives, and it is best to stink all the reputation and popularity." He can unite the military, but he can't form a group or form a party for personal gain. ”

"That's why Your Majesty put Cheng Guogong in the staff office, which is a back hand left by Your Majesty. If everyone is not able to satisfy His Majesty, His Majesty will choose to become the Duke of the Kingdom. ”

"Although Chengguo is ambitious and talented, and he is cowardly, he has already achieved self-isolation from the nobles and relatives. This is what His Majesty likes, and if there is really no one to choose, His Majesty will let him do it. ”

"That's right." Zhang Weixian smiled and nodded, "If Yuan Keli can isolate himself from the civil official, then this position may also be his." But one thing is certain for a father, Yuan Keli does not have the courage. ”

"But is it worth it?" Zhang Zhiji said hesitantly.

"You!"

Zhang Weixian nodded at his son and said, "Take a long-term view, do you think that if I don't do this, Your Majesty will not move the honors and relatives?" ”

"That's impossible. His Majesty will not let these people go, and the collection of the Zhuangtian tax is just the beginning. At this time, if anyone still holds the glory of their ancestors and does not move, who will not end up very well. ”

"Especially those honorable relatives, who have a bad reputation, and they have no credit to the court, do you really think that Your Majesty can't do it?"

"At this time, only change can be passed, if you stick to it, it can only be meat on the chopping board, whatever your majesty cuts."

"Then why did my father let Dingguo Gong do it?" Zhang Zhiji looked at Zhang Weixian and asked slowly.

"You have to have a helper to do things, and the other thing is very important, it's one thing to want to do it, it's another thing to be able to do it. Your Majesty is looking for someone who not only wants to do it, but also can do it. I can make Dingguo Gong obedient, and naturally I will be able to make others obedient in the future. ”

"I see." Zhang Zhiji nodded, then glared and said, "Your Majesty did not promote the Duke of Dingguo, and even snubbed the Duke of Wei, is this because of this?" Or are these two people the targets set up by His Majesty? ”

Glancing at his son appreciatively, Zhang Weixian said with a smile: "This is to the point." Only the fool of Dingguo Gong would think that this time was a trivial matter, if they didn't make a big move this time, their family would be the first to fall. What's bigger than the fall of a prince? When the time comes, countless people will be implicated. ”

"Will Your Majesty really do this?" Zhang Zhiji said with some hesitation: "This matter is too big, right?" ”

Glancing at his son, Zhang Weixian said with a smile: "You don't understand this, things have to be looked at from different angles." If it really reaches a certain level, a national prince is a fart. King Fu has moved, and there is still a Dingguo Duke missing? ”

Zhang Zhiji sat on the chair and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

Zhang Weixian didn't say anything, just looked at his son quietly, waiting for him to recover from the shock.

After a long time, Zhang Weixian continued: "This is the general trend, Your Majesty is pushing, either melt into it or be crushed to death." ”

"You think those old guys in the cabinet don't know anything? Why is it that the establishment of such a big thing as the General Staff Office did not splash at all? Do you really think those old guys can't see anything? ”

"It's not that they can't see it, they're pretending they can't see it. Because each of them knows very well in their hearts that His Majesty must do this matter. If anyone is against it, then whoever goes home, there is no possibility of negotiation. ”

"This time, Your Majesty has also used a lot of civilian officers in the staff office, do you know what that means? If the nobles and relatives do not fight, His Majesty will put the civilian officials in charge of the General Staff. If we don't even have that little foundation in the army, what's the use of us people keeping it? ”

I heard my father say that. Zhang Zhiji was taken aback, nodded slowly and said, "Yes, it's really useless." ”

"Isn't Your Majesty afraid of collusion between the General Staff and the Cabinet?" Zhang Zhiji asked suspiciously.

"You've seen businessmen who make money, right? Making money is addictive, and although he has enough money to spend several lifetimes, he still wants to earn it. ”

"It's the same with being an official, being an official is also addictive. Once this person enters the officialdom, it is like having a demonic disease, the seventh grade wants to be the fifth grade, the fifth grade wants to be the third grade, and the third grade wants to enter the cabinet, who doesn't want to call forward and hug the back, and live in eight seats? ”

"Those scholars studied hard, the officialdom has been up and down for decades, and finally sat in a high position, who do you think is willing to give up the power in their hands? Is it the Cabinet or the General Staff? ”

"What's more, there are also people from the Royal Academy, those people have entered the staff office, they are all reserve forces, they themselves are not allowed to be in the officialdom, and they have come to a new yamen like the staff office, and they must also be excluded. How can it be so easy to join the same stream? It's all about fighting for yourself and counting one point, how can you let people? ”

Zhang Zhiji nodded, sighed and said, "But in this case, isn't Your Majesty's plan a little too deep?" Isn't it father, you think too much? ”

"You'll find out if you want to try more." Zhang Weixian said with a smile: "When the question book is handed in this time, you will understand what is going on." ”

At the same time, the West Garden.

Zhu Youxiao sat on the chair and drank tea, his body swaying slightly, his eyes squinting slightly, looking half-awake and half-asleep.

Standing beside Zhu Youxiao, Chen Hong was reporting on the situation outside.

"Emperor, that's probably it." After Chen Hong finished speaking, he bowed and stood aside.

"When Dingguo Gong went back, how was the expression on his face?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Chen Hong and asked slowly.

"I don't know this, it's too dark to see clearly." Chen Hong also replied slowly.

After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao himself laughed first, and then waved his hand and said: "Dingguo Gong is desperate, so he ran to beg the British Duke, but Zhang Weixian is a good match?" ”

"It is estimated that this time Dingguo Gong Xu Xi will be sold by him for a few dollars. But I'm afraid Xu Xi is not reconciled, and there is a lively look. ”

After a moment of silence, Zhu Youxiao said: "If you go and release the news, just say that I see that the children of the nobles and nobles in the capital are carrying cages and birds all day long, bullying men and women, and not doing business, and I want to take care of them." ”

"Let's just say that I plan to set up a school in Xiyuan, so that the children of these nobles and relatives can come to study, so that they can learn literature and martial arts, and serve the country."

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao instructed again: "Just release the news and see the reaction." ”

"Yes, Emperor." Chen Hong hurriedly agreed: "The slave will arrange it after she goes back." ”

Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction and slowly closed his eyes.

n.