Episode 141 Recovering the Homeland vs People's Happiness

The Northern Expedition of the Reconquest of the Homeland vs the People's Happiness, or the War of Unification, was called upon to be seriously discussed as a formal topic at the national meeting.

In the past, the ministers and generals of the Ming Dynasty had more or less had this idea, or had thought about this problem. Some people have seriously thought about and analyzed the possibilities, but there are many more people who just think about it in their heads. Most people just take it as a slogan, and they always precede their high-sounding speeches with two lines: "...... In order to live up to the grace of God and settle the Central Plains as soon as possible, how and how do we ......", it seems to be similar to the feeling of "Internachonel will definitely be realized".

But since the last imperial meeting, when discussing which side the Ming should stand on in the Spanish War, the issue of the Northern Expedition was brought up, and it was also discussed by the way. But that time it wasn't an established topic and didn't call for anything to be discussed. But it was that discussion that made many ministers seriously face this issue for the first time, and also made the royal family and Shen Rongxuan see the result of the opinion of "half to half".

And so, they all had a number in their hearts. Today, a few days later, the "Northern Expedition", as an official topic, finally appeared in front of all ministers and generals unavoidably and hard.

……

As soon as Shen Rongxuan announced the topic of the meeting this time, there was an uproar below. At that time, several ministers were against it. But there are also a considerable number of ministers who support it. Of the dozen or so cabinet ministers, less than half of them spoke actively, that is, a few heavyweight ministries. The ratio of pros and cons is still half to half among these ministers. As for the other military generals, they habitually did not interject, but watched from the sidelines. Because the tradition of the Ming army is not to participate in politics. They all understand why they were called today. It is not for them to debate as enthusiastically as the ministers, but to ask them to give their professional opinions when they encounter military issues.

But as army generals, they were all in favor of the Northern Expedition. This question was posed to Xiaoqiang and the two chiefs of the General Staff before the exercise. At that time, Xiang Xiaoqiang was mainly speaking from the political point of view and the people's heart, and the two top officials listened to it at that time and were half persuaded by him. After the fortified exercises, they also saw the military viability. In this way, although there was no meeting on the part of the army, the idea that "the Northern Expedition is feasible" soon quietly spread among the top echelons of the Ming army.

Xiang Xiaoqiang is also from the army's side, and he, like the commanders on the left and right, sits in his seat, drinks tea, and listens to the ministers' debates. Although people are debating exactly what he dreams of, he is still not in a hurry. Because Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that he agreed with the Northern Expedition, Zhu Yourong agreed with the Northern Expedition, and although Shen Rongxuan was gentle and elegant on the surface, he was also a hawk like himself in his bones, so he should also agree with the Northern Expedition. So in today's Ming Dynasty, the three most influential people on the national policy have stood on the side of the Northern Expedition.

The military generals should all approve of the Northern Expedition. Then the rest is for the cabinet ministers. And the ministers now seem to be half in favor and half against. That is to say, even if the courtiers present were allowed to raise their hands to vote, it would be decided by the Northern Expedition.

But now the meeting allows everyone to fully debate, it is not a formality, but such a big national policy issue, which affects the future life and death fate of the Ming Empire, cannot be cautious. Among these Northern Expeditionary factions, Zhu Yourong and Xiang Xiaoqiang are both young people, and these commanders are soldiers, and they are not used to thinking about problems from the perspective of the overall political situation like politicians. Among several people, only Shen Rongxuan can be called a politician. And no matter how powerful Shen Rongxuan is, he is only a person after all, his vision and mind are limited, and there will always be places that are not well thought out and calculated. Shen Rongxuan knew that the matter that would decide the fate of the Ming Empire must be fully discussed by the cabinet, otherwise it would be too hasty.

……

Among the cabinet ministers, the representatives in favor of the Northern Expedition were the Minister of War, the Minister of the Navy, and the Minister of Industry. Opposition to the Northern Expedition was represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of International Trade.

Because of the words "recovering the homeland" and "Beiding Central Plains", whether the current Ming people really think like this or not, they have been talking about it for hundreds of years. "To recover the homeland" has become a basic moral concept of the Ming people, just like "to be loyal, filial piety, courtesy, righteousness, and shame". Therefore, the biggest advantage of the pro-Northern Expedition faction is that it stood on the moral high ground from the beginning.

As for those who oppose the Northern Expedition, there are two kinds, one is to say: Okay, I am not against the Northern Expedition, but I am not in favor of the Northern Expedition of our generation. Because of the Northern Expedition of our generation, how immature the conditions are, how uncertain we are, and how our Ming Empire will be if it fails...... Since the historical task of the Northern Expedition has been passed down by all generations, why should our generation be so anxious? When we are not sure of victory, we should pass on this historical task. Wouldn't it be safer to wait until our descendants have the certainty of victory and the time is ripe for history to recover their homeland in one fell swoop?

The representative of this type of person is the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

The other is to directly state my position: I am against the Northern Expedition at all. Under the circumstance that our military strength was sufficient to defend our homeland, and when the Manchu Qing Dynasty did not take the initiative to attack us, we took the initiative to provoke a war against the Qing Dynasty and dragged the entire Ming Dynasty into a large-scale, long-term, and unpredictable war, which was not in the interests of the Ming people. The people don't want war. Especially the people of ours, who live in a democratic, affluent environment, do not want war. They want to continue their current happy life. Once the war is lost, the people will not even have what they have. The people of the Southern Ming Dynasty, like the people of the Northern Ming Dynasty, will also be reduced to slavery.

"When 'national unity' and 'people's happiness' collide," said the Minister of International Trade, "there is no doubt that 'people's happiness' should be put at the highest level." Because in the final analysis, the fundamental purpose of 'national reunification' is also for the happiness of the people. …… We don't have a referendum right now, but I don't think you can deny that if we have a referendum on this issue, the votes against the Northern Expedition will be overwhelming. Do you believe each other? ”

The representative of this type of person is the Minister of International Trade.

When the Minister of International Trade made this point, there was silence in the venue. No one spoke for a long time.

Obviously, the moral superiority of the Northern Expedition was cut in half at once. It must be said that the views of the Minister of International Trade are more practical and more in line with the new international trend after the World War. It can be said that they have stood on a new moral high ground. That is: the happiness of the people always comes first.

It's hard to argue with that.

And, as the Minister of International Trade said, once a referendum is held, they will definitely win the support of the people. On this issue, the anti-Northern Expeditionary faction dared to hold a referendum, while the Northern Expeditionary faction did not.

This is a killer move offered by the anti-Northern Expedition faction.

……

Xiang Xiaoqiang was sweating a little behind his back. He moved his butt in the chair, looking left and right. Several ministers on the other side glanced at themselves expressionlessly. Although his face was expressionless, Xiang Xiaoqiang could clearly feel the irony. It's as if they're saying, "Stupid, aren't you?" Lost words, right? Aren't you able to influence Your Majesty? Then you are dictatory! Once you coerce Your Majesty to disregard public opinion and arbitrarily launch a war, then the whole Ming Dynasty will see clearly: you Xiang Xiaoqiang is the Mussolini of the Ming Dynasty.

He glanced at Zhu Yourong in the first seat. Zhu Yourong's eyes were also flickering, dodging and dodging. Xiang Xiaoqiang knows that this Nizi has always put the happiness of the people first. This time, the new views of the anti-Northern Expedition faction hit her heart. Although she is not persuaded by others now, she can at least see that Zhu Yourong's heart is in turmoil.

And Shen Rongxuan, he was also sitting there, bowing his head and tasting tea, and did not speak. As the first minister, he must stand in a neutral position, guiding both the left and right sides to speak freely. Once he jumped out on his own and explicitly supported one side or the other, the meeting could not be discussed.

Xiang Xiaoqiang and Fourteen Gege glanced at each other. Fourteen Gege also lowered his head and pursed his lips slightly, saying nothing. Xiang Xiaoqiang looked left and right again, thinking quickly in his mind.

I haven't debated with someone in a long time...... It's time for me to speak in this situation......

He took a deep breath, coughed, and began to speak with a smile.