Since the establishment of the new dynasty, in order to rectify the decadent and degenerate officialdom habits of the former Ming Dynasty, the emperor has explicitly abolished the etiquette of bowing to each other, so even if he saw the head of the dynasty, Kong Zhang did not kneel and bow, but just bowed.

"You know why I'm looking for you, right?" As soon as he saw Kong Zhang, the prime minister didn't say much nonsense, "It's been a few days, I think you should have some ideas." ”

"Back to the prime minister, since he was taught by the prime minister face-to-face, the lower officials naturally did not dare to slack off, and as soon as he went back, he discussed with a special person, and after a few days of discussion, there are now some rules." Kong Zhang said as he took out Zhou Pu's compilation note from his cuff, "I have also brought the person who wrote this note, he has been in charge of Japanese affairs for many years, so he is very proficient." ”

"Okay, go and call him, I'll ask you two together, save time." The prime minister nodded, and then took the strip over as well.

Just as the attendant went out to summon Zhou Pu, the prime minister approached Kong Zhang slightly, and then lowered his voice, "Director Kong, how significant is this incident, you should have understood it when I told you last time, right?" ”

"Xia Guan understands." Kong Zhang nodded hurriedly.

"You understand?" The prime minister looked at him for a moment, then shook his head with a smile, "You still don't quite understand. ”

The prime minister said this...... Why? In front of the prime minister's gaze, which seemed to be able to see through the whole person, Kong Zhang wavered slightly.

"You're right, this is a good opportunity for your Foreign Affairs Department to shine, but at the same time, ......" Prime Minister Wang's face showed a slight smile, "This is also an opportunity for our entire Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet to show off, you have to stand taller and see the overall situation clearly......"

Stand taller and see the bigger picture clearly...... Because the influence must be taken into account, the prime minister's words are a little untrue and subtle, so Kong Zhang fell into a deep groan for a while, thinking about his true meaning.

"What does the prime minister mean that this time we are going to do a good job of Japan's errands for the prime minister and the cabinet?" After a moment, Kong Zhang asked tentatively.

"Yes, you have to use this incident to make a good name for the Foreign Affairs Department, and don't let them keep saying that you are following the army and eating ashes. By the way, I also want to use my name to restrain those soldiers and let them act according to our plan, and not blindly shout and kill. Remember, this attack on Japan was not for the purpose of killing people and setting fires, but for other purposes, and this is where only we can call the shots, and they can only listen to us. ”

"We are the main ......" Kong Zhang pondered for a moment, revealing a slight expression of understanding. Xia Guan probably understood. ”

In order to avoid being too reverent of literature and suppressing martial arts, the new dynasty deliberately stipulated that the cabinet did not care about the army, and the army only belonged directly to the Son of Heaven. Although this arrangement can safeguard the status of the armed forces, it will naturally bring about some estrangement, and both the armed forces and the government have some thoughts of competing with each other and showing each other's merits.

Because the prime minister is not directly in charge of the army, there are some feelings in the army that do not care about him, and sometimes he even does what he wants. Although no one usually shows it in front of him, even if it is for the sake of prevention, he doesn't want this kind of sign to continue-he has qualifications and fame, even if the people in the army don't listen in their hearts, they still have to be polite to him on the surface, but what about the prime minister behind him? That wasn't necessarily the case then.

Therefore, even for the sake of his successor, the prime minister hopes to take some opportunity to beat the army, so that they can understand that although they are indispensable knives, they still have to rely on the pen to maintain the world.

"This time, Xia Guan will definitely send a competent person to Japan, and he will definitely let him control the situation well, especially restrain the army, so that they can only act according to the plan, and they will not make any extraneous branches and ruin the big plan." Kong Zhang continued, "The forces of all parties in Japan are complicated, and only we can peel back the cocoon and realize the emperor's wishes. ”

"Very good, just understand. Don't worry about doing it boldly, the emperor will support you and won't embarrass you. Prime Minister Wang still had a smile on his face, "Do you know why the person sent to lead the army this time was Zhao Song?" ”

Under Kong Zhang's stunned gaze, the prime minister's voice was lowered. "Brothers belong to brothers, but the credit can't all be made to the brothers...... It's time for the people below to be promoted. ”

This...... Don't......? Kong Zhang was shocked by this plain remark, and he was a little uneasy.

As the prime minister said, these marshals have followed the emperor for too long and have made great contributions, and it is indeed time to take a break and give the newcomers a chance.

The emperor probably doesn't want to really suppress the marshals, but just starts to train a new generation of lords, and doesn't want to learn from the former Ming Taizu. Otherwise, the Prime Minister would not be so calm and leisurely, after all, if the emperor really wants to do something, he will be the first to bear the brunt......

Kong Zhang's mood finally calmed down.

"What are you doing when you're surprised? Be honest! The prime minister still smiled, "After the errand, you still have a long way to go, as long as you get what he wants for the emperor, what's the difficulty of giving you a cabinet chair?" ”

Kong Zhang stopped again, only this time he was no longer stunned, but surprised. The prime minister has already hinted that as long as his errand is done well this time, it will be possible to raise the Foreign Affairs Department to another level, become the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and promote him to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

It was the first time he had received such a promise, and with this promise alone, he had already dared to do anything.

"Xiaguan...... It must live up to the expectations of the prime minister! ”

Just when he was still excited, the attendant who went out had already brought Zhou Pu, who was waiting outside.

When the young petty official walked into the side hall, the prime minister sitting on the chair happened to open the notes he had written. "Zhou Pu? Good name. ”

"See the prime minister!" After forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart, Zhou Pu bowed respectfully.

"No courtesy." The prime minister waved his hand casually and motioned for him to sit down in the seat opposite his desk, "I heard Director Kong say that you are one of the people in the Department of Foreign Affairs who are specifically responsible for Japanese affairs, and you also wrote this statement with him?" ”

"Yes, it's Xia Guan." Zhou Pu replied immediately.

"Okay." The prime minister's gaze on Tiao Chen suddenly raised and put it on the young official, and the Tiao Chen in his hand was also closed together and thrown directly on the table, "I don't have much time during the day, so I won't look at this for now, you can tell me in detail about the current situation in Japan." I heard that Japan was a samurai who overthrew the king and ruled the country directly with the shogunate? So who are the people who are talking now? ”

"Yes, Japan has been ruled by the samurai family since the samurai leader Minamoto Yoritomo took office as the general of the expedition and established the Kamakura shogunate hundreds of years ago, and the emperor is like a puppet." Zhou Pu replied cautiously, "More than 100 years ago, the Muromachi shogunate at that time was in turmoil, and Japan was plunged into war for more than 100 years, until 30 years ago, Tokugawa Ieyasu broke the alliance against him after the Battle of Sekigahara again, and the emperor made himself the general of the expedition, and established the shogunate in Edo. He later passed the shogun to his third son, Tokugawa Hidetada, who passed the shogun to his son, who died last winter, and is now a third-generation shogun named Tokugawa Iemitsu. Although his father has just died, he has been a general for almost ten years, and he is a shrewd person who cannot be taken lightly. ”

"Succession?" The prime minister felt a little strange.

"Yes, both Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Hidetada passed on the shogun position to their son during their lifetimes, and then they moved elsewhere, called themselves the Great Imperial Palace, and divided the rule with the shogun, which not only clarified the inheritance, but also assisted his son in ruling the government."

"I'm afraid this arrangement is because of the ...... of domestic instability," the prime minister said meaningfully.

"That's true." Zhou Pu immediately replied, "The shogunate erected the emperor, which is not justified, and the Tokugawa family rose from the troubled times, and the means used are not all above board, so although they have ruled Japan for decades now, there are many ......people in Japan who are not convinced of them."

"This should be put to good use. Do you know who is dissatisfied? Did you have contact with those people? The prime minister asked again.

"The Tokugawa family coerced Japan by force, and it was not justified in its name, so there were people everywhere who were dissatisfied, and among them, two of them were the most rebellious and the most exploitable to us." Zhou Pu replied in a low voice, and immediately continued, "First, the emperor and the ministers of the imperial court, although these people still occupy the nominal position and occupy the highest official position in the Japanese court, but in fact, under the coercion of the shogunate for many years, they have long been in trouble. In Japan, the wealthy families who owned more than 10,000 koku of land became daimyos, and as far as the lower officials knew, the current Edo shogunate only gave the emperor a territory with a total grain output of 10,000 koku, which was not as good as the smallest feudal lord daimyo, and among the ministers, the most noble five families who intermarried with the emperor for generations, the Kujo and Konoe families only had 3,000 koku, and one family was 2,000 koku, while the two families of the Nijo family were even less, 1,700 koku and 1,500 koku respectively, so it can be seen that although the Tokugawa shogunate was nominally a minister, it was very oppressive to the imperial court and the minister. Naturally, these people were also full of resentment towards the Tokugawa shogunate. ”

"I heard that this so-called Five Families actually come from the same origin?" The prime minister asked with some curiosity.

"Yes, the five families are originally descendants of the Fujiwara family, which has produced powerful ministers since the Song Dynasty, controlled the imperial court, and then intermarried with the emperor for generations and controlled the imperial court. It's just that...... Later, the samurai family rose up, established the shogunate, and finally made Fujiwara and the emperor as puppets. ”

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