This day is the birthday of the Empress Dowager Xia.

Emperor Zhu Zailei and a cabinet minister and a privy councillor who were suspended as ministers of parliament all came to the Royal West Garden to congratulate the Empress Dowager Xia on her birthday.

Zhu Houzhao took the opportunity to ask Chen Hong to call these people to his study.

Although Zhu Houzhao is no longer the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, as the emperor, he still has high prestige in the Ming Dynasty and even the whole world.

Therefore, Emperor Zhu Zailei and others did not dare to disobey, and they all came to Zhu Houzhao's study to greet Zhu Houzhao.

"All excuse me, today I came to you, just for one thing, that is, to destroy the Japanese, the Japanese have repeatedly disturbed my Ming since the founding of my Ming Dynasty, and now the Ming Dynasty is rich and strong, it is the best time to destroy the Japanese, now since you are in charge, you should say, this matter of exterminating the Japanese, what are you planning, Jinyiwei has information, saying that now the Japanese shogunate general Ashikaga Yoshiki has been killed, and the Japanese country has fallen into civil strife again, and now is the best time to destroy the Japanese, not for a long time!"

Zhu Houzhao rubbed his temples as he spoke, and the still cold wind still made him have a headache.

Emperor Zhu Zailei smiled slightly, he actually didn't understand why his father wanted to destroy the Japanese kingdom so much.

Because it stands to reason that today's Wa State cannot bring much threat to the Ming Dynasty, and even destroying the Wa State will not bring much benefit to the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, with the opening of maritime trade and the severity of the smuggling crackdown, the Japanese plague has basically not happened again, and now there is no need to destroy the Japanese state again.

Of course, Zhu Zailei also knew that he couldn't dismiss the emperor's intentions, after all, it was the emperor who really had the final say in the world.

Therefore, Zhu Zailei also replied with a smile: "What my father said is that we are discussing how much money we should pay to fight this battle. ”

"That's very good, come up with the charter as soon as possible", Zhu Houzhao nodded.

At this time, Xu Jie saw that Emperor Zhu Zailei had an embarrassed face, and he knew what he was thinking, so he couldn't help but dare to say it for Zhu Zailei first: "Emperor Qiyu, the current Wa Kingdom, but the trouble of elbows and armpits, is not a big concern, and Taizu once listed the Wa State as a country that is not to be conquered, and now he is rash to conquer it, is it in vain to waste money and food, and it is unkind?" ”

Zhu Houzhao raised his eyes and glanced at Xu Jie: "This is what you mean?" ”

"It's the meaning of the world!" Xu Jie bowed deeply, not daring to look at Zhu Houzhao.

"It seems that the people of our dynasty don't know about the harm of Dongying!"

Zhu Houzhao said a word, and looked at Zhu Zailei: "There is no room for negotiation in this matter, the Japanese kingdom must be destroyed!" ”

Zhu Zailei got up and said solemnly: "I respect to follow my father's instructions!" ”

There was no room for negotiation in this matter, and if Zhu Zailei and his ruling team did not carry out Zhu Houzhao's will to destroy the Japanese, Zhu Houzhao would have to replace them.

Therefore, on the second day after leaving the Royal West Garden, Zhu Zailei convened the Minister of Parliament: "Have you come up with a charter in the Privy Council for the extermination of the Japanese?" ”

"Returning to Your Majesty, the First Army, the Third Army, the Sixth Army, the Ninth Army, and the Fourteenth Army of the Guards Army, totaling more than 100,000 officers and men, have been prepared to assemble and train in the five places of Lushunkou, Weihaiwei, Songjiang, Jilong, and Quanzhou, and the four naval fleets of Fujian, Zhejiang, Liaodong, Shandong, and Nanzhili have also been deployed to recruit Japanese fleets, and the first division of the newly formed air force has also been transferred to Zhoushan."

The privy envoy Tan Lun replied.

"At the moment, it's just that the commander has not been decided, with the meaning of the minister, this kind of big expedition is better to send the military governor Wenchen as the commander, after all, the expedition is not as simple as killing the enemy and capturing the city, it also involves governance and peace of the people, therefore, the minister recommended Zhao Zhenji, the left servant of the military department, as the commander!"

Xu Jie stood up at this time and said a few words, he knew that the conquest of the Wa Kingdom was inevitable, and now he could only try his best to let this conquest still be in the hands of Wenchen.

Even, Xu Jie has now discovered that in the entrance examinations of various universities in the empire, it is obvious that all kinds of military academies have become as popular as famous schools such as Beijing Normal University and Central University, but on the contrary, some Confucian academies and the sub-prisons of the northern and southern kingdoms have become full of cobwebs.

As a Wenchen, Xu Jie didn't want to see Wendao fall like this, so he put forward such an opinion.

"Although Zhao Zhenji is loyal and daring, but he does not have any experience in commanding the army, although I am a strong soldier, but if the commander does not know the military affairs, it is inevitable that he will make a mistake, the minister believes that the commander is still presided over by Qi Jiguang, Liu Xian, Lu Bo and other famous generals."

Tan Lun couldn't help but say.

"It's just a small country, it can be destroyed within three months, and the commander is only in the middle of the dispatch, and he is not personally in charge of the troops, how can he make a mistake."

Xu Jie seems to be insisting on letting his protégé Zhao Zhenji take command and take advantage of this extermination.

"Your Majesty, military affairs are not civilian, although Zhao Zhenji has talent, but there is no talent to command the army, the minister believes that even if this matter is as Yuan Fu said, he should be a civil minister who knows the military affairs, that is, a minister who is both civil and military, it stands to reason that Tan Gong and Yang Gong are the most suitable, but the two dukes are old, this matter is seen by the minister, Mo Ruo let the governor of Liangguang Yin Zhengmao take command is the most suitable, Yin Zhengmao in Liangguang is not only on land and barbaric, but also on the sea to suppress Kou, familiar with water and land warfare, the most suitable."

Gao Gong stood up at this time and recommended the officials he was optimistic about.

Xu Jie was a little resentful, he didn't expect that he had finally survived Xia Yan and Yan Song, and when he was the first assistant, he couldn't stop the decision of the Emperor Taishang to destroy the Emperor, and he couldn't control Yang, Tan, and his senior colleagues, so he couldn't help but snort secretly for a while, and said:

"Although Yin Zhengmao has a talent, he has always been greedy and cruel, otherwise he would not have caused chaos in the two Guangxi Tusi, and there are many impeachment words in the imperial history of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, if it weren't for His Majesty's talent, he would have already skinned it, how can this matter of exterminating the Japanese be handed over to him, unless he can be as honest as Zhao Zhenji!"

Xu Jie denied Yin Zhengmao's qualifications to serve as the head coach of the extermination, and still insisted that Zhao Zhenji be in charge.

Seeing this, Zhu Zailei couldn't help but ask Zhang Juzheng and the others, who had been silent: "What are your opinions?" ”

"Your Majesty, the minister wants to hear what Yang Gong means, Yang Gong has been in charge of the military department for a long time, and he has always known people, and now this commander's choice, Yang Gong is naturally the most vocal," Zhang Juzheng said with a smile.

Xu Jie glanced at himself as a student with some disappointment, at this time, he should support Zhao Zhenji with himself, how could he give up the right to recommend to Yang Bo?

Zhang Juzheng knew in his heart that he couldn't do it against his will to promote Zhao Zhenji, who didn't know about military affairs, and he couldn't directly oppose his mentor Xu Jie, so he could only push it to Yang Bo.

"The minister recommended Cao Bangfu, this person is good at leading troops, proficient in the art of war, and has experience in fighting against the Japanese!"

Yang Bo stood up at this time and recommended the suitable candidate he thought was suitable.

"Cao Bangfu has passed the age of sixtieth year, and now he is hanging on to his life with medicine, and it is still difficult to teach students at the Daming Military Command Academy, how can he lead more than 100,000 troops now!"

Xu Jie retorted.

Zhang Han stood up at this time and added: "The minister also thinks that Cao Gong is not suitable, and I ask Your Majesty to personally decide the matter of exterminating the widows this time!" ”

Seeing this, Zhu Zailei had no choice but to announce his retreat from the dynasty.

……

"Do you mean that the ministers of the DPRK and China cannot agree on a suitable person to command the army? He Zhi has been in power for so many years, trained so many military students, and fought so many wars, so there are not many generals? ”

Zhu Houzhao had learned about the court from Chen Hong at this time, and he couldn't help but feel funny for a while.

"There are generals, but Xu Yuanfu said that he wanted to select generals from Wenchen, so he didn't find a few suitable ones for a while," Chen Hong replied.

"Ridiculous! What is the difference between this and picking those who can draw from those who can sing, Xuanzhen's will is given to the Privy Council, let Qi Jiguang be in charge, Tang Kekuan, and Lu Bo will be the deputy marshal, and then let Hu Zongxian be the strategy, responsible for the enslavement, education and rule of the occupied areas! ”

Zhu Houzhao once again made a master for Zhu Zailei, although Qi Jiguang is young, he already has the talent of a commander, and he is a military commander in the new era that Zhu Houzhao insists on cultivating in the direction of multi-arm and large group army movement warfare.

Xu Jie couldn't help but sigh after knowing it, and couldn't help but twist his beard and said to Hu Zongxian, who was about to go out with the army to fight against the Japanese Kingdom: "Hu Jingluo, this war to exterminate the Japanese, you must also know, but it is the wish of the Emperor Taishang, and the people of the world still don't want this kind of reckless military thing to happen, even the Holy One doesn't want it, but since the Emperor Taishang has decided, we who are courtiers can't disobey it, you say yes or no." ”

"What Yuan Fu said is extremely true", Hu Zongxian naturally heard what Xu Jie's meaning was, it was nothing more than that he didn't want the imperial court to destroy the Japanese.

"But now the Emperor Taishang has let his own guard chief officer Qi Jiguang take command to destroy the Japanese, but this Qi Jiguang is only forty years old, and he has leveled the Japanese in the south a few times, in the final analysis, it is still borrowed Zhu Gong (Zhu Kun) and the Emperor Taishang himself has a good plan, so, according to Xu, the two old generals Tang Kekuan and Lu Bo are afraid to be dissatisfied with their lieutenants!"

Xu Jie said worriedly.

Hu Zongxian nodded: "Yuanfu is very worried. ”

"Although you are a civil servant with the army, it is inconvenient to intervene in the military, but you can still participate in this matter of mediating conflicts, and it is better not to let the internal fighting of your generals lead to the failure of the extermination of the Japanese," Xu Jie said.

Hu Zongxian understood what Xu Jie meant, although he clearly said that he wanted to mediate, he actually meant to let himself provoke.

But Hu Zongxian also has his own ideas, thinking that if he really follows Xu Jie's intentions, he will be a villain who stirs up right and wrong, resulting in the failure of the extermination of the Japanese Emperor, but he is afraid that it will make the Emperor Taishang dissatisfied, after all, he is still the secret minister of the Emperor Taishang, that is to say, he has to tell the Emperor Taishang about all kinds of important things he encounters at any time, which means that it is impossible for him to watch the contradictions between Tang Kekuan, Lu Bo and Qi Jiguang and not report it. The first thing the Emperor Taishang held accountable must be his own responsibility for not retribution.

Therefore, Hu Zongxian took advantage of the night to write a secret recital to Zhu Houzhao: "The minister was recently summoned by Yuanfu, and Yuanfu reminded the minister to pay attention to General Qi's command, which will cause Tang and Lu Ershuai to be dissatisfied because of his youth, and ask the minister to mediate his contradictions. ”

Zhu Houzhao smiled, thinking that at this time, these ministers of the Ming Dynasty are not simple people, although there is a party, they are not only for the party, it is no wonder that the prosperity of Longwan can be opened in history, therefore, Zhu Houzhao also instructed: "I know, I can act when I see the opportunity, and I will also make arrangements!" ”

Zhu Houzhao can naturally guess the original intention of this Xu Jie, but he did not debunk it, he also knows that everyone has their own different political opinions, Xu Jie's promotion to Yuanfu does not rely on the same political views as himself, but on various fortunes and loyalty to the above at each stage, and now the top of Xu Jie's is the emperor, naturally representing the emperor's will in many cases, of course, it is not exactly the emperor's will, after all, Xu Jie's is a person, not a machine, and he also has his own thoughts.

Therefore, what Zhu Houzhao has to consider now is whether Xu Jie's current behavior is his own thoughts or Emperor Zhu Zailei's thoughts.

In the evening of this day, Emperor Zhu Zailei came to greet Zhu Houzhao as usual, and Zhu Houzhao asked Zhu Zailei while sprinkling fish food into the fish tank: "What news has it been recently?" ”

"There is no big news, only recently there was an investigation of Hai Rui by the East Factory Inspectorate, because the public reported that Hai Rui had received property, and only found out that Hai Rui had three baskets of potatoes at home, which was still the wrong person in the East Factory Inspectorate, quite embarrassed, and even his son had to personally comfort Hai Rui! Therefore, Xu Jie also suggested that the Ministry of Officials and Gao Shenghairui be the priest of the Nanjing Guozi, so as to be reserved for the choice of the ministers in the future. ”

Zhu Zailei said.

"Since it is to be reused in the future and promoted to the priest of Nanjing Guozi, what can you experience, it is better to release the superintendent", Zhu Houzhao remembered something as he said, and said directly: "Promote Hai Rui to the governor of the imperial history of the right capital Yingtian Shifu!" Tell Hai Rui, be sure to be honest, this Ying Tianfu is one of the richest areas of Daming capital, especially Susong Erfu, in recent years, the difference between the rich and the poor is quite obvious, be sure to manage it! ”

Zhu Zailei nodded yes, he couldn't help but secretly think that his father suddenly promoted Hai Rui to the governor of Yingtian Shifu, what was the purpose?

At the same time that Zhu Zailei issued the will to the ministry, he also informed Xu Jie of the matter.

Xu Jie couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, and hurriedly replied: "Back to Your Majesty, the old minister is from Songjiang Huating!" ”

Zhu Zailei suddenly realized, and couldn't help patting his knee: "Alas, my father is really, I really don't know how to say it!" Zhu Zailei didn't say the word "insidious", but only comforted Xu Jie: "Aiqing is from a scholarly family, and she has always been well-educated, so there is nothing wrong with the local government, right?" ”

"Your Majesty Xie is relieved, the minister has never dared to let his family bully others", Xu Jie replied, but he still had some hidden worries in his heart, because only he knew the situation of his family, and he couldn't help but say to Zhu Zailei for a while: "Your Majesty, the minister has a reluctant request." ”

"Speak", Zhu Zailei said busily.

"The minister wants to let the dog go to the army for training and participate in this extermination!" Xu Jie replied.

"No! The right to transfer troops belongs to the Guards, and the dispatch of civil ministers belongs to the Ministry of Officials. Otherwise, where will the imperial decree be! ”

Zhu Zailei vetoed Xu Jie's request.

Xu Jie was helpless for a while, so he had to nod yes.