Chapter 817: Court Meeting

During the Yongle period, Zhu Di had unresolved matters, and he often sent them to Wenyuan Pavilion with imperial seals, and then listened to Yang Rong and others' proposals, and made a decision at his discretion, and there were very few times when he really held a court discussion. Hong Xishi has always been the same because of the goodwill between Zhu Gaochi and Yang Shiqi and others. Now that Zhu Zhanji has ascended the throne, because civil officials are often old ministers of the Third and even Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, Empress Dowager Zhang instructed that there are many ministers to decide everything, and the number of court meetings has gradually increased. There is no limit to the number of people, but generally speaking, the cabinet and Jian Xia are must-haves.

Jian Xia had just relieved the ministry, and although the two cases today were also important military affairs, neither of them had attended the meeting. The six departments only have Zhang Ben and Zhang Yue of the Ministry of War, Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and a squire from the Ministry of Households.

Due to the unresolved military affairs of Luchuan, the emperor will patrol the border by himself, and the two things are combined, and the court discussion on this day is filled with a heavy atmosphere. Yang Shiqi, who was sitting in the center, glanced around at everyone, and then said: "Everyone knows today's topic, first of all, Luchuan military affairs. First, whether to advance or retreat; Both, if reinforcements are sent, who leads the army. ”

"It's not the first time that the Luchuan Si clan has rebelled, again and again, and no one has stopped, and everything that can be given to them in the name of the official position has been given to them, and this time they have annexed several places such as Nandian and Mangshi, which shows the ambition of the wolf. It is absolutely impossible to withdraw troops, not only can they not withdraw their troops, but they must also send generals to increase their troops as soon as possible. ”

It was Yang Rong who spoke. Compared with the noncommittal last time, this time he came up with an unquestionable tone. Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites who was about to speak, was stunned by his words, and then his face showed deep annoyance.

"To put it simply, where did this soldier come from and where will he come from? In the past, the soldiers were transferred from Guangxi and Yunnan, and the Duke of Qianguo lost the battle, half of which was because of the carelessness of the troops, and the other half was nothing more than because the soldiers in Yunnan were already tired! The war in southern Xinjiang is unhindered by the overall situation, and the Si clan does not dare to go eastward, so why not leave it there for the time being, you must know that the treasury is limited, and it is not a bottomless pit! Also, the Duke of Qianguo is guarding Yunnan, and there are only a few princes and uncles in Jingshi at the moment, who is the right person to send over? Don't say anything about pulling a cat and a dog from the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, otherwise it would be better not to increase the troops! ”

Zhang Yue once went to Jiaoluan himself, and when he heard Hu Hu say that the soldiers in Yunnan were tired soldiers, his face suddenly froze, and he thought that this was simply talking nonsense with his eyes open. Not to mention that Mu Sheng did not move for many days in Mengzi County, and when the overall situation in front was decided, he sent soldiers and horses to slowly enter the hand, and there were not many people in total. Besides, Yunnan is not as good as other places, from the capital division to the general military office, there are a lot of soldiers under its jurisdiction, where are they all tired?

It's just that at this time, no one else has finished talking one by one, and besides, the half of Hu Hu's last half is not unreasonable, so he didn't say anything. In the past few days, he has been thinking about Luchuan military affairs, and he just heard Yang Rong's words and vaguely had an idea, so he simply pondered it by himself. However, before he could think about it for long, Shangshu Zhang Ben next to him suddenly coughed.

"Hu Shangshu, this so-called matter of Yunnan tired soldiers, everyone here is afraid that none of them can know clearly about Zhang Yuanjie, so let him talk about whether there is such a possibility. As for Mu Sheng, the prince of Qianguo...... When he returned to Beijing, he also happened to see what his temperament was, whether he was sure of fighting again, and whether it was appropriate to send another person as a general, and he might as well listen to what he had to say. ”

Zhang Ben turned his head to look at Zhang Yue as he spoke, with a smile on his face that was difficult for ordinary people to detect, and then added in a low voice: "Although you are young, no one is as good as you have really been to Jiaolu and Yunnan, so you can be outspoken." If there is a suggestion, just say it, this is a court discussion, and it is a matter of military strategy, and our military department is duty-bound. ”

On weekdays, the old Shangshu Zhang Ben doesn't hum or ha, he is not a person who talks much, but this time he has made his attitude clear, and he will support it no matter what he says, Zhang Yue was a little more surprised. Seeing that everyone else was looking at him with blazing eyes, he pondered for a moment, and then said bluntly: "Previously, the soldiers were mainly recruited from Guangxi and Guizhou, and the soldiers led by the Duke of Qianguo were stationed in Mengzi County, originally to protect the grain road and the back road, and to prepare for emergencies, so the soldiers in Yunnan were not tired soldiers. As for the Duke of Qianguo, with all due respect, the Duke of Qianguo is not the first to compete in everything, so the generals are inevitably not enterprising, but he is the Duke of the State after all, and if he rashly sends other nobles there, his face is likely to not be able to get down. And ......"

Zhang Yue paused, and said carefully: "In the eyes of the Dian people, in addition to the former King of Qianning, it is the current Duke of Qianguo, if you ask them about the old title of Xiping Marquis, they will even be at a loss to know who it is." Only the Duke of Qianguo and a Mu character can deter most of Yunnan, so if you increase the number of troops in southwest Yunnan, you must always take this into account. The Luchuan Si clan is not only ambitious, but also often unstable internally, and the imperial court supports one person, and there are often rebel forces in the tribe, which is far less stable than Nandian Mangshi and other places. Therefore, in order to achieve long-term peace and stability in southern Xinjiang, it is necessary to remove this nail, but it is necessary to choose the right person. ”

This is an extremely fair word, even if Hu Hu was dissatisfied with Zhang Yue's refutation of his tired soldiers at first, he couldn't find any thorns, just sneered: "In this case, I won't say anything else, just ask, who will carry the burden to partner with the Duke of Qianguo?" ”

This is undoubtedly an extremely thorny problem, and now there are only a few people who can take on the important task of leading the troops in the Governor's Office of the Five Armies - Chen Mao, Marquis of Ningyang, Xue Lu, Marquis of Yangwu, Wang Tong, Marquis of Chengshan, and Marquis Mengying of Baoding, the latter two are still the second generation of nobles who have not experienced a major battle. Moreover, who would be happy to serve as Mu Sheng's deputy general and fight on the border of Yunnan?

Du Zhen has been silent, not because everyone knows that it was his son-in-law who just spoke, but because he was also hesitating about this candidate. Those who can be gracious have already been grateful, this led the troops in the past, the victory is limited in merit, and the defeat is a lifetime of fame, and besides, they are no longer the group of people who are used to fighting on the battlefield, and it is natural to not be able to pick out people. At this moment, he couldn't help but look at Zhang Yue, but found that Zhang Yue was looking in another direction. Following that look, he saw Yang Rong with a sinking face.

Yes, Zhang Yue once said to him that Mu Sheng, the Duke of Qianguo, had many gifts to the court, and Yang Rong had made a tactful statement for him several times, this time if Mu Sheng was not in a good battle, it would be too hasty to retreat, Yang Rong was afraid that he would still be towards Mu Sheng. Moreover, Zhang Yue just emphasized that it is necessary to choose the right person......

is both a son-in-law and a teacher and student, Du Zhen has always known Zhang Yue's thoughts very well, and an idea burst out between the lightning and flint. Seeing that the others were still arguing about which prince was more suitable, he said lightly: "Since there is no one to pick out from the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, why do you have to let the nobles lead the troops?" Wouldn't it be better to choose a soldier or horse from Guizhou or Sichuan, and then choose a person who is proficient in military affairs to sit in the town, and the name is to assist in the military affairs of Luchuan? ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone present immediately looked at each other. It has always been a wartime practice for civil and military affairs, whether it is the three northern expeditions or Zhang Fu's southern expedition, there are always civilian officials with the army counselor, but that is only a counselor, after all, the honorable is a super product, even if it is a civil official who is a scholar, he is only supported to be transferred there. It's just that Mu Sheng, the prince of Qianguo, is said to be a salute doctor, and he has always been extremely enthusiastic about the court. But the problem is that Luchuan is different from Jiaoluan, different from Mengyuan, this place is not familiar to ordinary people, who is suitable to send there?

Just as the group of people bowed their heads and groaned, a soft knock suddenly came from outside the closed door, followed by a low voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, the staff of the Ministry of War has transferred an emergency military report from Luchuan!" ”

Hearing this, Yang Shiqi nodded to a celebrant on the side, and the middle-aged eunuch hurriedly walked to the door, opened the door and took the two documents. After turning back, he came to Yang Shiqi with the paperwork in his hand and presented it with both hands. Seeing this scene, everyone present had their own ideas, but Yang Shiqi quietly opened it and looked at it, and then handed it to Yang Rong. After the things were passed around in everyone's hands and looked at it, Yang Shiqi coughed lightly.

"These two things, one is that the Duke of Qianguo played Si Renfa's 'repeated invasion of Ganya, Nandian, Tengchong, and Golden Tooth, and the momentum is becoming more and more rampant, and he begs for a large army to beg for it'; the other is that Si Renfa said that the land was invaded, and now he is only sending troops to recapture it, and he will send people to Beijing to ask for tribute."

Although everyone here said that Luchuan was ambitious, they were all people who were in charge of military affairs, and they better understood what Luchuan, which had been divided from the emperor in the Yuan Dynasty, had become now. First, the struggle for the throne fell apart, and later because of the connivance of the Ming court, many Tusi under Luchuan voted to stand on their own, and only Luchuan, Longchuan, and Shafang, which were strong for a while, were left. Since Si Renfa ascended the throne, he has made great efforts to seize his homeland, however, it is easy to divide and rule southern Xinjiang, how can he allow Si Renfa to make a comeback?

"During the Yongle period, Si Renfa once sent an envoy to Beijing, and paid tribute to six elephants, a hundred horses and a number of gold and silver utensils. It was with this effort that Si Renfa was able to recuperate and rectify internal affairs, and now he is making a comeback. Sirenfa's tribute is just a matter of delaying time. ”

Zhang Yue pressed again and again, and when he saw that no one spoke, he inevitably took the lead in breaking the silence. Originally, he wanted to talk about the importance of the Ming Dynasty in Ping-Burma, but he thought that some words would be shocking, so he put them aside for the time being. As soon as he said this, there was a lot of discussion at the moment, but because it was Mu Sheng, the prince of Qianguo, who changed his previous statement that he would withdraw his troops and begged to increase his troops in Luchuan, everyone quickly reached a consensus and transferred troops from Guizhou and Sichuan, totaling 10,000 into Yunnan. As for the candidates for leading the troops, we will discuss them later. The army that followed the Son of Heaven to patrol the border was agreed upon, but the people who obeyed it were somewhat controversial.

For a moment the crowd dispersed. Zhang Yue originally wanted to go back to the military department with Shangshu Zhang Ben, but was stopped by Du Zhen, so he said hello to Zhang Ben and stayed. When the others walked away, Du Zhen asked, "You have been looking at Yang Mianren, but you are beating his idea?" ”

Although he knew that he couldn't hide his thoughts from Du Zhen, but at this time, it was completely exposed, Zhang Yue couldn't help laughing: "Sure enough, Mr. still knows me." First, he knows the soldiers, second, he has a good relationship with Qianguo, and third, if he changes someone, even if Qianguogong has a good temperament, I am afraid that he will not listen to the real soldiers. The kind of place in the southwest is not a place to train young military attachés, and the military affairs of Luchuan are complicated, and it is related to the Mang clan in Burma. Have you seen the newly drawn map of the Ministry of War? Burma was nominally a vassal of our courtiers, but now the Burmese Mang clan is actually more ambitious than the Luchuan Si clan. Thinking about the law is the end of the crossbow, and after the fight, it has to take into account the side of Myanmar, even if Myanmar does not have the heart of disobedience for the time being, and cannot be taken by force, but it cannot be ignored. ”

Zhang Yue is not easy to say these words to others, but he can pour them out to his mentor and father-in-law, regardless of whether Du Zhen will reprimand him for deviant. Sure enough, Du Zhen didn't ask any more questions, just asked him to come to the house at night to discuss in detail, and then blew him away.

Since he said the things that were depressed in his heart, he was naturally much more comfortable, and his steps slowed down all the way, and as he walked, he found that there were raindrops floating in the air. When he arrived at the palace gate, the rain turned into a big raindrop, and the sky and the earth were white for a while, and the continuous rain smashed the water splash everywhere on the ground, and he was blocked in the door and couldn't move, so he had to stand there and wait. Just when he was impatient and was about to find someone to borrow rain gear, a man in a coat and hat hurriedly rushed out behind him, and actually rushed straight at him.

"Master Zhang!"

Zhang Yue originally felt that this voice was somewhat familiar, but when the man took off the hat full of rain, he recognized that it was Cao Jixiang. Seeing him saluting with a smile on his face, and saying that he had just been transferred back to Beijing two days ago, he suddenly remembered something and felt a little strange in his heart. Wang Zhen is dead, the mouth of the civil fort can't be said to be all blocked, but at least a small half of it is sealed, if it can really save the turmoil, whether it is Yu Qian, Xu Youzhen or Shi Heng Cao Jixiang, I am afraid that there is no power to control the wind and clouds.

"You got back so soon?"

"Isn't this the first to play the same as the servant? Gonggong Zhang said that the town guard Zhongguan may not be kept in the future, and the small one is still serious about returning to Beijing, so he mentioned it to the prince, and the prince also allowed it, and transferred the small one to the celebrant supervisor. Although it is just a long follower of errands, it is better to be able to enter the master of ceremonies than anything else, so Cao Jixiang is very satisfied with the current situation, seeing Zhang Yue nodded thoughtfully, he smiled again, "If it weren't for the small contribution of the Marquis of Zhenyuan before, and the small one would not have the opportunity to be recommended by Gonggong Zhang, I would like to thank Master Zhang." ”

Zhang Yue couldn't help but feel strange when he heard this thank you - Cao Jixiang wouldn't know that Yu Qian's matter caused a series of incidents like a fuse, and finally because of Empress Dowager Zhang's speech, the inner study hall was temporarily pressed down, and at the same time, the eunuch forces in the palace underwent a reshuffle. And among them, he didn't just push behind his back. However, without Wang Zhen, it is likely that there will be Li Zhen and Zhang Zhen, and the affairs of the eunuchs can only be slowly figured out, which is just the beginning.

Zhang Yue didn't want to be too close to Cao Jixiang in this place where people came and went, so when he saw that the rain was getting lighter, he nodded with a smile and said, "Follow the prince well, as long as you don't make a mistake, there will be a chance." ”