In the hunting ground of Xiaohongshan, Xia Yuanji, the head of the household, spoke in a euphemistic way, and Zhu Gaoxu understood it. Zhu Gaoxu is no stranger to this kind of exhortation. At the monthly feast, there is no shortage of officials who persuade through the words of saints and historical facts.

Zhu Gaoxu paced between the bookshelves in the Rouyi Palace, calmed down, and recalled Xia Yuanji's words again.

He had to admit that from a certain point of view, Xia Yuanji's proposition had some truth. It was not easy for the imperial court to confine the vast majority of the common people to work on the land, and did not hesitate to maintain the order of the rule through ideological control methods such as "indoctrination"; If the New Deal is not successful, it may cause unintended side effects.

In Xia Yuanji's political opinions, he also believed that the threat of nomadic civilization was the natural disaster of an agrarian country like the Ming Dynasty. If one is limited to two thousand years of experience, there is no problem with this insight.

Human perceptions are the hardest to change. Many of the ministers may not have wanted to "get along with the emperor," but they did believe that they were right.

The most serious problem is that Zhu Gaoxu guessed that even Qi Tai, Gao Xianning, Hu Hu and other ministers who supported the New Deal would inevitably think that Xia Yuanji's statement was reasonable. He is obviously not the only one who has Xia Yuanji's concept.

The reason why Zhu Gaoxu is "rigid and self-serving" is to believe in his own judgment; Or is it because he doesn't belong to the people in this "circle", but has really seen the real world that is one step ahead. Otherwise, if all that lies ahead of him is an unpredictable fog, he will probably doubt his own opinion.

Just as before Columbus discovered America, medieval Europeans believed that the depths of the Atlantic Ocean were hell, and no one dared to sail into the unknown without hesitation.

Zhu Gaoxu also realized that even if the Son of Heaven was the supreme in power, it would be very difficult to push this big ship forward by himself, and he could not withstand too many setbacks.

People who are full of fear of the unknown, setbacks will only make them more convinced that this course is going in the wrong direction!

At this moment, a man with colored eyes came in from the door of the main hall, he was the eunuch Meng Ji. Meng Ji bent down a little uneasily and said, "Emperor, you sent someone to summon the slave maid?" ”

Meng Ji is not a favored eunuch, he is the person left by Zhu Di. He was obviously surprised by today's summons.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "You come over and talk." ”

"Yes, Emperor." Meng Ji stepped forward in small steps and stood on the ground with a bow.

Zhu Gaoxu turned around and asked, "Last time, why did Liu Sheng marry that Annan woman, Ruan?" You didn't talk in too much detail, and I don't remember it very well. You elaborate again. ”

Meng Ji thought carefully for a while, then clenched his fists and said in fluent official words: "Back to the emperor, the husband before the Ruan family was Ruan Xuan, and he was the squire of the military department under Chen Jikuo. When Marquis An Yuan captured Thanh Hoa, he captured Ruan Xuan's family, but let him go. That Ruan Thi Huai'en, learned of the conspiracy of Li Li and Ruan Jian in Yanzhou, so he took the risk to go to the informant. At this time, the Ruan family betrayed her husband and couldn't go back, so Marquis An Yuan promised to marry her. ”

"What conspiracy?" Zhu Gaoxu asked.

Meng Ji said: "It is probably that there is a road bridge in the north of Yanzhou, which is the only way for the Ming officials and soldiers. Li Li's men and horses were defeated many times, luring Marquis An Yuan to lead his troops to rush across the bridge, and then burned the bridge and cut off the front army and rear reinforcements of Marquis An Yuan, and the rebels suddenly ambushed and attacked in groups. ”

Zhu Gaoxu listened and said, "You remember it very clearly. ”

Meng Ji hurriedly said happily: "The slave maid has stayed in Annan for more than a month, and she has found out a lot of things. ”

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly asked in a deep voice: "If there is no Ruan family's informant, will Liu Sheng be tricked?" ”

Meng Ji looked puzzled: "The slave doesn't know." ”

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at him: "If you don't know, forget it." Today's conversation is as if it hadn't happened, understand? ”

Meng Ji immediately glared and said, "Don't worry, even if the slave and maid are tortured, they will never say half a word." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Who will torture you?" ”

"Yes, yes." Meng Ji said.

The generals are very face-saving, and most of them will not admit that their skills are inferior. The effect that Zhu Gaoxu wants to achieve is that he knows in his heart and does not show distrust of anyone's ability.

Just like Qiu Fu, the Duke of Qiguo, Zhu Gaoxu thinks he is capable; However, Qiu Fu, as a veteran of the martyrdom and a lord of the country, cannot be subservient to others on the battlefield, so it is quite difficult to use. And Zhu Gaoxu can't say that Qi Guogong can't lead the troops, so he can only make excuses.

Zhu Gaoxu thought about this Liu Sheng again. If the married Annan woman Ruan's informant is just a superfluous move, Liu Sheng is a marquis, why does Ming Media have to marry Ruan?

Liu Sheng fought in a decent manner, and he was qualified to manage the army and arrange the troops, so he performed well on the left flank of the Crime Cutting Army during the "Huguang Battle". He was open-minded and attached great importance to firearms, and during the Northern Expedition, he used firearms to break the Mongol army's attack, which also made Zhu Gaoxu very satisfied. However, this person is vaguely not sophisticated, and there is no problem if he sets up a decisive battle, but he seems to have some weaknesses when dealing with complex situations.

The commanders that Zhu Gaoxu valued most were Sheng Yong and Qu Neng. Especially Sheng Yong, who has rich experience and a good vision of the overall situation. During the "Battle of Jingnan", the Jianwen army was defeated and the elite was lost, and when Sheng Yong took over the military power, only some village warriors and remnants were left, and they could still hold on to Shandong and threaten the flank of the Jingnan army. When he was in charge of the "battle of crime", he often faced difficulties, but he was also flawless.

This is a good general who can find rules in any adverse situation. At that time, Zhu Gaoxu's uncle Xu Huizu, the most valued commander was also Sheng Yong, who was not of high status at that time, and Xu Huizu still had some vision.

And if Sheng Yong has a safe cavalry cooperation, it will be even more powerful. As long as the imperial court does not exert pressure indiscriminately, Zhu Gaoxu feels that he personally commands the army, and he may not be able to defeat the army led by these two people.

Usually, the imperial court sends troops, and the commander is a general recommended by a minister who knows people. But Zhu Gaoxu doesn't need to be recommended, he himself is the one who commands the troops, and he knows the generals in his hands very well.

"Meng Ji, you go to the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies and call Sheng Yong, Ping'an, and Liu Sheng." Zhu Gaoxu finally spoke.

Meng Ji hurriedly bowed and said: "The slave obeys the order, go and do it immediately." ”

Zhu Gaoxu sat back behind his large table, flipped through the chapters, and waited for a long time.

There was a sound of talking outside, faintly the voices of Ping An and Liu Sheng, but Sheng Yong should not have spoken. Meng Ji came first to report, and then the three generals kowtowed outside the door. Zhu Gaoxu said loudly: "Come in and speak, no courtesy." ”

When the three of them thanked them and entered, Zhu Gaoxu beckoned them and took a seat on the stool opposite the table.

Zhu Gaoxu heard that Sheng Yong and Ping'an had a bad personal relationship, and after observing Sheng Yong, he was indeed very impatient with Ping'an, so he shook his head and smiled: "I have always thought that General Sheng and General Ping have known each other for many years, and they share weal and bene. ”

Liu Sheng said: "I'm afraid that the falling flowers are intentional and the flowing water is ruthless." ”

Sheng Yong suddenly rolled his eyes, and Ping An pointed at Liu Sheng and shook his finger.

Sheng Yong unceremoniously saluted: "Holy Lord, the ministers and the Eguo are not the same. National affairs, the upper is the emperor's grace, the lower is the Li people, and the public of Hubei is deeply favored by the emperor, but he is frolicking and treats him as child's play, and he has no bearing, and the ministers are really ashamed to be with him! ”

Ping An said embarrassedly: "Sheng Yong, you are ruthless." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "General Ping has an uninhibited temperament, but he is still very serious about fighting. ”

Ping'an hurriedly said: "Holy Governor...... Sheng Yong, you still have a long face, why do you train me? ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and was silent for a while, thinking that Sheng Yong might have deliberately shown that his personal relationship with Ping An was very poor in front of the emperor.

Sheng Yong is a little disgusted with peace, it may be true; However, Sheng Yong must not despise Ping An in his heart, because the two have worked together in many wars, and Sheng Yong trusts Ping An's strategy very much.

"In the battle of the Japanese Expedition, the main force of our army and land division should only be more than 20,000 people." Zhu Gaoxu said, "But the soldiers are all elite in Beijing. The sailors, who were in charge of water warfare and transportation, called in almost all the ships of the sea; Coupled with the reinforcements of the Korean state, the scale of this battle was not small. I want to use two princes and one marquis to command the army to ensure that this battle is foolproof. ”

The expressions of the three of them were serious, they should have understood that the person who came today was the emperor's candidate for the commander.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The level of our personnel, as well as the scale of the sea vessels, and the unruly strength of the armaments equipped with firearms, armor and ordnance; You should understand that I am looking forward to this battle, and there must be no rashness or the slightest mistake. ”

Sheng Yong stood up first, and then Ping'an and Liu Sheng also got up, bowed and bowed together: "The ministers will live up to the trust of the saints." ”

Liu Sheng may have guessed in advance that he could be the coach of Zhengri. However, Zhu Gaoxu arranged two national commanders, and Liu Sheng was one of the deputy generals and did not wronged him.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "After the land division is mobilized and rectified, you will go to the army to make preparations, lead the light cavalry to Korea by land, and then cross the sea." ”

The three of them bowed and said, "The ministers obey the order." ”

At this time, it is somewhat risky to take the Yangtze River estuary and direct shipping route to Japan. It is much easier to cross the sea along Tsushima Island and Iki Island in the Korean town of Busan. Zhu Gaoxu didn't want the most warlike generals in the imperial court to be lost at sea.

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "In a few days in the court, I appointed Sheng Yong as the general of Zhengyi, Ping'an as the left deputy general of Zhengyi, and Liu Sheng as the right deputy general, preparing to carry out the war against Japan. The fleet of the sailors will be led by Chen Xuan, Wang Jinghong will be the chief envoy, and all the civil and military and eunuchs will be controlled by General Zhengyi. Who are you going to choose for coordinating the relations between the Ming Dynasty and the Korean State and supervising the heavy grain and straw? ”

They were silent for a while, and Sheng Yong said: "The left envoy of the Imperial Marquis, Pei Shilang of the military department, is thorough and well-versed. ”

Ping'an said: "It has always been the civilian officials who recommend military generals, and this is good." ”

Sheng Yong turned his head and glanced at Ping An coldly,

Zhu Gaoxu patted the table lightly: "It's decided." I will ask the ministers of the court to write a letter again, and you will follow the decisions of the court and let things go. ”