The cabinet fought against Jingcha, and Wanli used anger to help the cabinet

In February, Wang Xijue, the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty cabinet, received a report on the Korean war and learned that the war situation had reached a stalemate, so he asked Zhao Zhigao, Zhang Wei, Shi Xing, the secretary of the military department, and Jian Da, the squire of the military department, to discuss. Wang Xijue said: "I heard that the army recovered the four provinces at the beginning of North Korea and won a complete victory, why is it still standing now, and the DPRK also played the Ming Dynasty to ask the imperial court to order Song Yingchang to attack again, and the emperor is still waiting for our reply, whether the reason for not fighting is really as Song Yingchang said, can the military department verify?" ”

Shi Xing replied: "Bingge Lao, the military department always pays attention to the war in Korea, and the investigation is continuous, and the army has caused a dispute between the north and the south because of the false report of military exploits, and the military spirit is turbulent, and Song Yingchang is trying to stabilize it. If the army is not aligned and the north and the south are hostile, the war will not be won. After the battle, the Japanese army gathered on the front line, and the army was greatly strengthened, and the defense was tight, and there was no opportunity to take advantage of it. The number of our army was far inferior to that of the Japanese army, and it was easy to lose heavy losses and return without success if we started a war rashly, so we had to wait and see for the time being. ”

Zhao Zhigao was deeply worried about the army: "It is a big war, and the chaos in the army's heart is not only not conducive to the war, but will also become the laughing stock of the vassal state." According to my guess, it must be caused by the merit of the northern soldiers, and Li Rusong is from a famous family in Liaodong, and most of the army is his cronies and cronies. ”

Jian Da said: "Fighting for merit and infighting in the army is a taboo for soldiers, but fortunately, with Song Yingchang here, he will be able to stabilize the morale of the army." After that, the military planning can be done, and the military department will also urge Song Yingchang to calm down the matter as soon as possible, so as not to detect the Japanese and take the opportunity to attack. The army consumes a lot of food and grass every day, and how can it be forced to delay the war because of internal strife. ”

Zhang Wei also opposed the delay in the war, and he calculated the military quartermasters: "I have listened to the calculations of the household department and the report from the front, the rations of the army are one liter of five hes per person per day, and the daily demand of beans for each horse is three liters, and the army consumes nearly 720 stone of grain a day, and the total amount of beans used by horses a day is nearly 800 stone. If the war drags on, it will be against us. ”

Shi Xing praised: "What Elder Zhang Ge said is extremely true, the situation of the army's grain and grass is indeed like this, I can't imagine that Elder Zhang Ge is so concerned about the matter of military grain and grass, which is really a blessing for the officers and soldiers." However, the battle between the two armies must always be well planned, if you are not careful, the whole army will be defeated, but there are no fighters at present, and you can't easily go to war, Song Yingchang and Li Rusong have ordered Yang Yuan to defend Pyongyang and prevent and control the Datong River; Li Rubai Town Baoshan, Cha Da was guarded in Imjin and supported each other; Zu Chengxun guarded the city, and the troops were divided into four roads to stabilize the rear. Fortunately, the transportation of grain, grass and military supplies is only a little slow, and I will also send special personnel to supervise along the road in various places. ”

Zhao Zhigao said: "I agree with Shi Xing's opinion, if there is no order for the monarch outside, it is better to leave the specific behavior to Song Yingchang to decide, and the top priority should be to stabilize the morale of the army and supply military supplies, and then find fighters." If the war can be ended as soon as possible, the class will return to the dynasty, the world will be stable, and it will be good to save money and food to deal with state affairs. ”

Zhang Wei echoed the proposal: "What the elder said is also the ministers of the world, and the people of Li are looking forward to it. The cabinet also needs to send a letter back to Song Yingchang, clearly informing him of the intentions of the imperial court, and the opinion of the cabinet, from the perspective of the overall situation, must annihilate the Japanese as soon as possible and recover the entire territory of Korea, so if there are fighters, they must not be delayed, and if necessary, they should be reported to the imperial court as soon as possible. ”

Wang Xijue turned to Jian Da and asked: "The Japanese are cunning and cruel by nature, and if they can't hit the enemy's vital points, it will be difficult to attack and win quickly." I heard that the power of the Japanese guns is stronger than that of our army, and half of the Japanese army has this firearm, so our army has a large number of artillery, and it can also reduce casualties on the battlefield by exploiting its strengths and avoiding its weaknesses. What does Shao Sima have to say? ”

Jian Da replied: "Our firearms are insufficient, although the performance of the bird gun is not as good as that of the Japanese gun, it is much stronger than the three-eyed gun, and the Fran cannon is still lacking. I am also training artillery cavalry, artillery carriages, guerrilla warfare, and other artillery warfare methods, and I have organized them into specialized camps in various localities and trained them strictly. It can be used in North Korea to see how effective it is. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, firearms have become heavier and heavier, and martial arts have flourished, but firearms tactics are difficult to popularize, and the texture of firearms is uneven, and it will be harmful after a long time. ”

After hearing this, Shi Xing had objections to Jian Da's words: "What Jian Gong said is reasonable, and he can't be too hasty in his training, if he can catch up with this battle, he will observe how effective it is." Shoufu Mingjian, although our army did not bring bird guns this time, but the three-eyed guns, abduction guns, hundred out of the franc machine, five thunder god machines, etc. are all suitable for the northern army to break into the battle, in my opinion compared to the bird guns are much more convenient, and also have the car battalion artillery, compared to the firepower of our army far above the Japanese Kou. The northern and southern soldiers have their own strengths, this selection is the elite of the battle formation, judging from the battle report, even if the Japanese field war is concentrated several times the strength of the troops, it is difficult to defeat me, so the city is sticking to each other, supporting each other, at this time I and the Japanese are waiting for the fighter, the first assistant also needs to encourage Song Yingchang is. ”

Everyone agreed, and Wang Xijue then concluded: "The confrontation between the two armies is mutually scrupulous, and it is the time to wait for a good opportunity to use strange tactics. It is difficult for us to know the rapid changes in North Korea from thousands of miles away, and we can only hope that Song Yingchang can hold on to the danger, seize the opportunity, and break the deadlock. Sent a message to Song Yingchang not to be in a hurry, collected military information to find fighters, and won a big victory. At the same time, it is also necessary to sternly admonish, rectify military discipline, not to bully the Koreans, and not to indiscriminately kill prisoners. Shi Xing agreed, and the cabinet and the military department each sent a letter to Song Yingchang to inform the collegial opinion. Wang Xijue also reported to the Wanli Emperor to ask for relief.

The twenty-first year of Wanli is the time of the great plan of the Beijing Inspection, the Beijing inspection once every six years, the Beijing officials above the fourth grade are personally inspected by the emperor, and the Beijing officials below the four grades are often inspected by the Ministry of Officials and the Inspectorate. Incompetent officials in Beijing are divided into those who are old, sick, inactive, greedy, cruel, imprudent, impetuous, and incompetent. The Jingcha plan first sent a visit to the ministries and institutes for anonymous inspection, and then the cabinet voted to go and stay, and then sent it back to the ministries and institutes for deliberation and then made a book for the emperor to adjudicate. If there are still officials who impeach those who remain in office after the Jingcha is over, it is called a gleaning, and those who have been dismissed because of the Jingcha are often not allowed to be recalled.

By March, the Kyoto Cha was over, and the cabinet was in deliberations. Zhao Zhigao complained: "Many of the officials in Beijing who were recommended and appointed by the Jingcha cabinet were dismissed, but my brother was diligent and thrifty, and he was dismissed because he was incompetent and incompetent. It's ridiculous. What do the officials and the Inspectorate want to do? ”

Zhang Wei replied: "Elder Zhao Ge, have you forgotten, when the foreign officials of the 20th year of Wanli were in the Renchen plan, the officials promoted many cronies, and after the momentum was great, they repeatedly quarreled with the cabinet on the matter of recommending the court. This time, Wang Ge Lao succeeded to the first assistant, intending to strengthen the power of the cabinet, which made Sun Yan, the secretary of the ministry, feel the pressure. Therefore, this time the Kyocha was used to weaken the power of the cabinet in North Korea. ”

Zhao Zhigao's body was weak, and he was even more anxious, so he couldn't help but stand and sit on the couch: "It was really premeditated to say this, this time Jingcha Sun Yan personally sat in charge, Li Shida, the left capital imperial history, Zhao * Nanxing, the assistant director of the Ministry of Meritorious Service, the joint efforts of the ministry, and Gu Xiancheng to help behind. Zhang Wei added: "Not only that, but Sun Yan in Jingcha first gave his nephews Lu Yinchang and Zhao * Nanxing's in-laws to Wang Sanyu in the matter to be deposed, so that Jingshi competed for praise. ”

Wang Xijue said angrily: "This is the truth of concealing the attack of the party in the name of impartiality and no favoritism. According to the practice of the Beijing Chacha, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Officials presided over the inspection, and finally passed the cabinet. Sun Yan, Zhao * Nanxing and others must have been worried that they would not be able to attack the cabinet under the guise of public affairs for personal gain, so they skipped the cabinet and went directly to the emperor, which allowed the officials to succeed. ”

Zhao Zhigao was puzzled: "Sun Yan and others do not act according to the convention, which is clearly suspicious, why does the emperor still play it?" Zhang Wei thought for a while, and suddenly realized: "The battle between the cabinet and the cabinet in the Jingcha plan is like watching the fire, but even if the two do not help each other, they will respond to their needs." In my opinion, as long as the ministers choose the opportunity to ask for another invitation, the emperor will also help. ”

Wang Xijue was indignant: "The officials of the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Rites are all important ministers of the imperial court, and hundreds of officials of the Ministry and the Ministry are the pillars of the government. It is precisely because of this that I want to strengthen the power of the cabinet, govern the ministries and courts, purge the rule of officials, and stabilize the people's livelihood. It is precisely because of this that there is an urgent need to cultivate the talents of the pillars. I didn't expect the ministry to be so disregarded about the overall situation. Anyway, there will be a gleaning after every Beijing inspection, and I will wait for the news. ”

Sure enough, the next day, the official impeached Yu Chunxi, a member of the Ministry of Officials, Yang Yuting, a staff member of the Ministry of War, and Yuan Huangjing, the director, for making false comments. Sun Yan, the secretary of the ministry, was surprised, and Zhao * Nanxing persuaded: "Da Situ, Yu Chunxi is your fellow villager, not to mention that the ministry is fair and selfless in the investigation results of Yu Chunxi, Yang Yuting, and Yuan Huang, so why not be afraid of other people's words." ”

Gu Xiancheng felt that this should be done by Wang Xijue, and said bluntly: "Maybe this is not a coincidence, but the cabinet instigated, Jingcha Zhongjiao asked for the dismissal of many cabinet ministers, presumably the cabinet must be very angry, waiting for an opportunity to retaliate." The sanctimonious will make the villain tricks. What a little trickery is enough, please don't worry about it. ”

Sun Yan said: "How can I be worried, but I am shocked to find that there are such shameless villains among the officials, presumably they should be instructed by others, and I don't know if they were secretly instructed by the ministers." However, the officials presided over the Jingcha but with public intentions, how could colleagues sit idly by and ignore the wronged participants, not to mention that I was the presiding officer of the Jingcha, so naturally I should also defend myself. ”

Li Shida, the imperial history of Zuodu, said: "In this way, I can't shirk, and I am willing to go up together with Da Situ." It's just that I'm worried that the emperor won't listen to us and remove the three of them, how can I do it? Gu Xiancheng offered a plan: "For the matter of three people, only one person can be recalled." But Shang Shu defended Yu Chunxi and Yang Yuting, and was ambiguous about Yuan Huang and asked for recall. In this way, there was an explanation, and Yuan Huang, the head of the Ministry of War, was in North Korea to praise military affairs, which was quite meritorious. The emperor attaches great importance to the great plan of the military state, and will not disrupt the war of peace and security for this reason. In this way, if there is no accident, the three of them can be insured. ”

Li Shida also said that the Inspectorate will make every effort to protect Yu Chunxi and Yang Yuting, and Sun Yan will act according to the plan. On the same day, Sun Yan, Li Shida, Zhao * Nanxing and others summoned officials to defend Yu Chunxi and Yang Yuting, and the courtiers continued to be negligent. Emperor Wanli did not approve it.

In order to cater to the cabinet, Liu Daolong's impeachment of the officials was explained by the Criminal Division, and only Yuan Huang was discussed, which was not physical. The cabinet also took this opportunity to impeach the Ministry of Officials and the Inspectorate for their authoritarian power. Emperor Wanli laughed when he saw it: "Look at Zhang Cheng, these officials are fighting in Jingcha, and they are fighting after Jingcha, and they want to fight through me, and I also want to fight through them." ”

Zhang Cheng, the master of ceremonies, praised repeatedly: "If the master watches the fire, the court knows the major affairs of the court, but the slave and maid don't understand, how will it be unfair for this Beijing inspector to make such nonsense and hinder the master's rule of the world." Emperor Wanli suddenly changed color: "Zhang Cheng, you don't pretend to be confused in front of me, this is a bully!" ”

Zhang Cheng hurriedly knelt down to plead guilty, and Emperor Wanli said: "I know the officials of the world well, and the selection and appointment of officials is free in my heart. In order to compete for power in the DPRK and for the power in the DPRK, Sun Yan and Zhao * Nanxing and the righteous annihilation of relatives in the Jingcha were commendable, and in the blink of an eye, they asked for the dismissal of the people recommended by the cabinet ministers with poor evaluations. The rest of the unqualified officials were recognized by both the government and the opposition, and there was no problem. It's just that I think Sun Yan is deliberately using it as a cover to attack the cabinet forces, and as a result, he wants to cover up. Wang Xijue, Zhao Zhigao, and Zhang Wei will not sit idly by, and sure enough, these twists and turns came. Originally, the Ministry of Officials and the Inspectorate inspected each other together and supervised each other, but now they are working together, which inevitably makes people suspect that they have formed a party for personal gain. Look at it again, just wait for the next few days, this music has to come every day. Zhang Cheng took the order.

Seeing that the cabinet was sparse, Sun Yan also pleaded again, but his words were too strong, and Emperor Wanli looked at it and said angrily: "Yu Chunxi is poor and studious, Yang Yuting has merit in quelling chaos, and he can't be guilty of merit, and he even advises me to distinguish between right and wrong!" What does he mean! Are you talking about mediocrity? A secretary is so bold! ”

Zhang Cheng and Chen Ju knelt down to ask Wanli to calm his anger, and Chen Ju persuaded: "Master, how can Sun Yan have such courage, but he is in a hurry to show his heart, and he uses inappropriate words." Wanli was furious: "He has this courage, and the officials of the Manchu Dynasty have this courage!" He Sun Yan didn't hesitate to offend me to save those people, is it because they are the pillars of the Ming Dynasty! No, they are also worthy? It must be because they have a relationship with each other! It's a party! Zhang Cheng, passing on my will, Sun Yan, the secretary of the ministry, did not blame himself for his guilt and was punished for three months. Zhao * Nanxing Guan Yi was demoted by three levels, and Yu Chunxi and Yang Yuting were immediately dismissed, and they were never used. Zhang Cheng took the order.

Later, the cabinet exonerated Zhao * Nanxing, but in fact, Zhao * Nanxing was not a person and was too badly criticized. Sun Yan also threatened to resign, and the palace did not approve it. At the same time, Li * Chang * Chun, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Zeng Tongheng, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, Li Shida of the Inspectorate Zuodu Yushi, Wang Ruxun of the Inspectorate Zuo Yushi, Wei Yunzhen of the Right Tongzheng, Zeng Qianheng of the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, Kong Jian of the Ministry of Rites, Chen Tailai of the Wailang, Gu Yuncheng, Zhang Nama, Jia Yan, and Xue Fujiao, the assistant teacher, also interceded for Zhao * Nanxing again.

Emperor Wanli listened to the master of ceremonies read to him the recitals of each person, and sometimes there were words accusing the cabinet or insinuating Wanli, and when he heard Sun Yan's recital, "Now to keep the two officials as the dictatorship, there is nothing to do." If you want to stay in the second Beijing post as a party, you will have no way to go to the party. After that, Emperor Wanli stopped and said, "Am I too arrogant to the officials since I ascended the throne?" Where do the courtiers often insinuate the monarch's father? When I was a ten-year-old? So many things over the years, I have endured so many years, these people are really ........."

The celebrant asked to calm his anger, and Emperor Wanli said: "Sun Yan and I ignore it, and I don't look at his performance." That Yuan Huangzhen didn't care, and he didn't have to fight the war. There are so many officials at all levels to protect Zhao * Nanxing, so it seems that the mastermind should be this Zhao * Nanxing, this person I understand, honest and upright, but he is just a man who is ambitious and narrow-minded, and a crazy fool. Since they are all the same, then I will fulfill them. passed the decree, Zhao * Nanxing, Yu Chunxi, Yang Yuting, and Yuan Huang resigned for the people; Chen Tailai was demoted and sent to the frontier to listen to it; Li Shida, Wang Ruxun, Wei Yunzhen, and Zeng Qianheng were fined for three months; Li * Chang * Chun, Zeng Tongheng, Kong Jian, Gu Yuncheng, Zhang Na Majesty, Jia Yan, Xue Fujiao and other friends conspired to disrupt the government, and were demoted to three levels and transferred out of Beijing. "The celebrant commanded.

Wang Xijue, the first assistant of the cabinet, learned that he was mentioned in the crowd, and he also asked for his resignation from Wanli's edict, saying, "I am due to the rise of the fire in the New Year, and my eyes are painful, so I can come out immediately, and when the fire heals, the edict will discuss state affairs." "Emperor Wanli trusted Wang Xijue so much that he entrusted state affairs to the cabinet. The steward of the palace bowed and said: "The lord is deeply trusted by the saints, congratulations to the lord for passing this pass." Wang Xijue said: "The old man and the emperor and the ministers know each other, how can they be compared with Sun Yan, Zhao * Nanxing, Li Shida, Gu Xiancheng and others. It's not that I have any means, but the emperor has this in mind, hurry up and prepare the car, I need to enter the cabinet for discussion. The steward was ordered to go out and prepare a car to send Wang Xijue to Donghua Gate.

After the three cabinet ministers talked about the matter of Jingcha, Zhang Weihe said, "The battle of the cabinet department is completely defeated, and we can devote ourselves to state affairs from now on." This Sun Yan is really stubborn, and it can be seen from the fact that the official department Shangshu can not avoid the cabinet sedan chair, when Lu Guangzu was in charge of the ministry, in order to alleviate the total number of contradictions in the cabinet department, he instructed the sedan chair man to avoid the cabinet sedan chair in advance. And Sun Yan didn't understand the mystery and only followed the old routine. It can be seen that this person is lonely and does not know how to be flexible. ”

Zhao Zhigao was extremely sad and uneasy: "It's just that this fight is a bit big, the emperor has disposed of so many officials at once, they will definitely think that the cabinet ministers are obstructing it, causing the emperor to be angry and guilty." In the future, these accounts will be counted on the head of the cabinet, and the dispute between the cabinet and the cabinet will never end, so how can state affairs be done? ”

Wang Xijue replied: "Don't worry about Zhao Ge, this is also a last resort, although I have opposed Zhang Juzheng's blocking of his words, but I still feel the same way." If you want to rule the world, in addition to the unity of the monarch and the minister, you need to order and prohibit, the government and the opposition are unanimous, and you need extraordinary courage and talent and bearing to do it. I'm very prepared for that. As long as the emperor supports me, I will help the emperor to create a prosperous world. ”

Zhao Zhigao therefore advised: "The first assistant is also the wish of the world's scholars, but this matter is difficult, like climbing a high mountain, and countless people in all dynasties have exhausted their efforts for this." There are still many malpractices in the Ming Dynasty that are difficult to solve for a while, so they can only operate steadily and not in a hurry. so as not to backfire. ”

Zhang Wei said: "What Elder Zhao Ge said is extremely true, and I also agree. Shoufu is talented, political talent is the best Ming, the emperor trusts, just need to adjust slowly, and over time will welcome the prosperous world, and pass on the good stories of the monarch and ministers. However, the ministry will have revenge in the future, and it must be dealt with carefully, and this time the emperor was furious, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry were dismissed. If the court official is vacant, the emperor will also issue a public opinion to elect him, and he should be selected as soon as possible to see who is more suitable. ”

Wang Xijue said: "Thank you for the compliment, I deserve it." The two of them pointed out that sometimes there is impatience, which is not conducive to national affairs. Regarding the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry Hall official candidates, Nanjing Ministry of Officials right Lang Luo Wanhua erudite and talented, self-denial and public service, the first emperor had hand-picked a first name, at that time Zhao Ge Lao was only the third, can be promoted as the Ministry of Rites, Nanjing Ministry of Officials Wen Chun successively served as Henan Senator, Dali Temple, Zhejiang Governor, Household Servant, Shentong Government Affairs can be pushed to the Ministry of Works. ”

Zhao Zhigao praised: "Well, these two people are impeccable in terms of talent and morality, and the world knows it, if these two people are the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry, there should be no objections from the court and the central government, and the emperor will also praise the cabinet for impartiality." Especially Luo Wanhua, because of his straightforwardness, he offended Zhang Juzheng many times, but he was not promoted for ten years, and Juzheng was gradually promoted after he went, and the court also owed it something. Later, Luo Wanhua and Wen Chun were appointed as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry, and there was no objection from the court and the central government, and Wanli was allowed to play.