The matter of the Fang family passed like this, but at this time, the side report of Shanhaiguan caused a panic in the core of the Ming court - Jianyu wanted to use troops in Korea and the alliance with the Mongolian tribes. For Wei Zhongxian, the reason for the panic was the fear that his position would not be secured, as it was a clear sign that Jianyu wanted to loot Guanzhong. The alliance with Mongolia can not only "merge with the longitudinal", but also open up the road connecting with Guanzhong, creating conditions for attacking through the channel; The intention of conquering Korea was to obtain more food supplies and eliminate future troubles.

Wei Zhongxian rushed to the cabinet and asked the first assistant Gu Bingyao to give advice. But I saw that in the cabinet room, in addition to Gu Bingyao, several ministers were also there, and they were also discussing this matter.

Some of these officials in the core of power have completely surrendered to Wei Zhongxian, such as Cui Chengxiu, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and although others are not Wei Zhongxian, they also show respect for Wei Zhongxian, so they have the opportunity to ascend to the position. So when Wei Zhongxian walked in, the officials saluted one after another, and they were respectful in etiquette.

Wei Zhongxian didn't care about etiquette, and his anxious mood was clearly expressed on his face: "If it goes on like this, our family will really have the courage to come to Beijing to see that Jianyu is really going to come to Beijing, and everyone has come up with any way?" ”

The officials of the ministry all looked at Gu Bingyao, Gu Bingyao frowned, the three vertical lines between his eyebrows gave people a serious and steady feeling, and he said with some reluctance: "Duke Wei is right, according to such signs, Jianyu is very likely to enter the customs and plunder." A few of us have come up with some ideas, and now it's too late to send troops to support North Korea, the key is the attitude towards the Mongolian side, tough or soft, we have some differences. ”

Wei Zhongxian said: "What are the methods?" ”

Gu Bingyao said: "Lord Hubu Shangshutian feels that Dongyi and Mongolia have long been eyebrows, and they already have an advantage in the north, Mongolia will not be sincere in allied with my Ming Dynasty in order to survive, and the line is meat buns and dogs......"

At this time, Cui Chengxiu couldn't wait to pick up the conversation: "Godfather, we can't sit back and watch Jianyu toss like this." Think about it, if the Mongols and Jianguo were brought together, wouldn't it be much easier for the Jianyu cavalry to make a detour through the Mongols to attack the pass? ”

Cui Chengxiu brazenly called Wei Zhongxian's godfather in front of so many important ministers of the court, which immediately attracted several disdainful glances. There is no way for everyone to take refuge in Wei Zhongxian, but don't go too far, no, the demeanor of the scholar is completely trampled on by this guy!

But Wei Zhongxian didn't think so, he listened to Cui Chengxiu's words, and felt that Cui Chengxiu was the most loyal among so many ministers, and our family was the first thing to think of in everything.

Wei Zhongxian said: "Cui Chengxiu is right, if Jianyu hits the Jingshi, Zhang Wen and the party must not frame us to death?" When the time comes, the impeachment can drown us! ”

Hubu Shangshu said: "Duke Wei, at this time, whether Jianyu wants to fight the Beijing division or not, we have no choice, and we can only use our minds to resist the enemy soldiers and reduce losses." The lower officials felt that it was useless to negotiate funds for Mongolia, but would increase the financial burden on the household department, and it was better to use the money for border defense and armaments. ”

Cui Chengxiu said with an unhappy face: "Lord Tian! Do you still have Grandpa Wei in your eyes? Isn't this matter obvious, as long as Jianyu arrives at the Jingshi realm, it will be very unfavorable to us! Don't you see that? ”

Cui Chengxiu is short and not good-looking, but he can speak loudly and eloquently.

In contrast, Gu Bingyao, the first assistant of the cabinet, is an old fritter, he said a few nonsense words at the beginning, and did not state his position at all, maybe he already has a position, but he also has to borrow Tian Ji's point of view to express it. Anyway, it was Tian Ji who said it, not his Gu Bingyao's idea.

Tian Ji seems to be more upright, of course, he is much more stupid, and he says such things in a high-sounding manner, as if he is the only one who thinks about the country and others are seeking personal gain, which is completely a way to offend people. Sure enough, after a few rounds of confrontation between Tian Ji and Cui Chengxiu, they said a few words, and Wei Zhongxian immediately felt that Cui Chengxiu was loyal and Tian Ji was not loyal enough.

Tian Ji is in his forties, full of poetry and books, and when he was very young, he was a Jinshi and a full stomach, and he was also a Shuji Shi at the beginning. Because the road ahead was very good, he was naturally somewhat ambitious in his heart, and he was not very tactful, of course, he made a little mistake, leaving a bad impression on Wei Zhongxian and others.

"Which eye did you see that the old man didn't have Wei Gong in his heart? The old man is not like some people, who only care about shaving and patting horses, and there is no useful advice at all! Everyone knows that it is not good for Jianyu to fight in Beijing, but is it useful for Mongolia? It's useless, so what's it for? Tian Ji said loudly with his eyes and beard.

Cui Chengxiu sneered: "I don't think you don't want to slap the horse, but you don't have different intentions!" ”

"Cui Chengxiu, you are so bloody!"

Cui Chengxiu pointed at Tian Ji's nose and scolded: "If you can't get the money, you don't care about Duke Wei's plan?" Then what are you still doing in the position of the head of the household department, what is the use of you? ”

Tian Ji was so angry that his face was flushed, and he said angrily: "You say that I am not qualified to be the head of the household? What qualifications do you have to say that I ......?"

"Enough!" Wei Zhongxian stretched his horse's face and said angrily, "Noisy, noisy! What's the use of arguing around? You'd better come up with a better way to come out! ”

Gu Bingyi said at this time: "It's the old man who is incompetent and can't coordinate the officials of various ministries, and the old man is responsible." ”

Wei Zhongxian looked at Gu Bingyao: "What does Elder Gu Ge think this matter should do?" ”

Gu Bingyao was stunned, if he was in his heart, his views were the same as Tian Ji's, fighting for Mongolia, the Ming Dynasty had no advantage over Jianyu at all, and it was useless to waste money and grain. But just now Gu Bingyi had already seen Wei Zhongxian's attitude, Wei Zhongxian didn't want Jianyu to bypass the Mongolian side, so he had to try his best to stop it. There is even Cui Chengxiu who even said that Tian Ji's opinion is dissenting!

So Gu Bingyi didn't really want to show his true attitude, one was useless at all, thinking that he insisted on holding Zhang Wen up, Wei Zhongxian didn't disagree; The second may be suspected of having different intentions. Such a thankless task, Gu Bingyao didn't want to do it very much.

Seeing Wei Zhongxian's questioning, Gu Bingyi had no choice but to say: "As far as our current situation is concerned, we should naturally win over Mongolia and stop the offensive of Jianyu as much as possible. But this method is a little difficult, let's not talk about the tight finances of the imperial court, after all, the bank is not a glorious thing, and it will definitely be criticized...... From the standpoint of Mongolia, we are currently weak in force, and we have suffered defeats, and since the Battle of Sarhu, there has been no victory, so there is not much threat to Mongolia; On the contrary, the Jurchens were aggressive and annexed a large area of eastern Liaodong, and under such an offensive, the Mongols were very likely to submit, so it was difficult to do this. Gu Bingyao's words changed sharply, and he said, "Of course, difficulties are difficulties, and only in this way can we be most advantageous, so we have to think about it first." ”

Gu Bingyao's words are actually nonsense that can no longer be scrapped, not a word is useful, but it makes people sound very solid, Wei Zhongxian felt that the first assistant of the cabinet was knowledgeable and saw everything thoroughly. He said: "What Gu Ge Lao said is the truth, what's the use of you arguing about that?" Hurry up and come up with a charter and work out a strategy as soon as possible. ”

Gu Bingyao said again: "Duke Wei, it's not time to make the charter yet. This matter can only be done after the emperor's approval. ”

Wei Zhongxian suddenly realized and nodded immediately. After talking for a long time, how did you forget the emperor? In our Ming Dynasty, the emperor was often scolded and questioned, but the status of the imperial power was not to be said, and if the emperor did not agree, he would not want to do it.

So the quarrel broke up unhappily, and Wei Zhongxian reported the news of Shanhaiguan to the emperor. What Wei Zhongxian didn't expect was that this time the emperor decreed that it would be discussed in court. This situation is really not easy, Zhu Youxiao, the emperor, has been the emperor for almost three years, and he only cares about playing with him on weekdays, and he has personally paid attention to the court discussions less than three times!

On the fifteenth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, just ten days after the Dragon Boat Festival, the emperor ordered the Beijing officials above the fourth grade to discuss in the Wenhua Palace. Zhang Wen is a third-rank official, although he has no actual authority at the moment, but this kind of court meeting is also to be attended. He changed into a bright red official robe and cleaned up at home, because his face was handsome, and when he wore clothes of this color, he looked even more handsome, like a groom. His body has not yet been fat, and there is not much fat on his waist, so the belt of this official robe is more loose, and it falls loosely on the waist and sways, which affects his movement very much, Zhang Wen usually doesn't like to wear this dress.

Zhang Wen sat in a sedan chair, escorted out by a group of male and female guards, and a group of honor guards came out of the remote and deserted alley, and walked north, becoming more and more lively. When you walk to Qipan Street, it is extremely crowded and prosperous. Qipan Street is next to the Lamp Market, next to the Forbidden City, and is probably the most prosperous commercial street in Beijing.

Coming out of Qipan Street, Donghua Gate is not far away. Donghua Gate is in the southeast corner of the Forbidden City, and civil and military officials generally enter from here on weekdays, not through the noon gate. Entering the Donghua Gate, there is a river called the Jade River, and there is a white marble bridge on the Jade River, which is the Wang'en Bridge. Zhang Wen walked across the Wang'en Bridge, and the forbidden city was driven by sedan chairs and horses, which was not something that ordinary people could do...... Wei Zhongxian seems to be sitting in a sedan chair in the palace.

The Wenhua Hall is not far from the Wang'en Bridge, and you can walk across the bridge for a while. Entering from the Wenhua Gate, I saw that there were already many officials standing in the main hall, and the red light was very festive. There are tens of thousands of officials in the two capitals, and there are hundreds of officials above the fourth grade in the Beijing division, so today's court meeting is very lively.

The court discussion is generally carried out in the branch hall, but this kind of matter related to the entire imperial court strategy is also discussed collectively in the forbidden city. The emperor does not need to participate in the court meeting, he only needs to wait for the result of the court meeting, and let the emperor rule if there is a disagreement. However, today's court meeting can be regarded as a court meeting, and Zhu Youxiao was also present.

After the eunuch sang, Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne, and the officials saluted according to the courtesy, and after three bows and nine bows, they stood in order. When he saluted just now, Wei Zhongxian avoided it far away, otherwise he would be impeached for deliberately accepting the worship of hundreds of officials, and when everyone stood up, Wei Zhongxian ran back to Zhu Youxiao's side and stood next to the throne.

Wei Zhongxian listened to Zhu Youxiao's words, and then said aloud to the hundred officials: "The emperor said that a few days ago, Zhang Wen Shangshu said that Jianyu threatened the Beijing Division, and laid out a strategy, and the emperor has issued an order to do it, and asked the cabinet and the officials of various ministries and halls, how is it done?" ”

At this time, Gu Bingyao stood up from the bench, because he was the head of the cabinet, so he would normally be given a seat. This situation has existed since the Jiajing period, but the actual situation of the cabinet is completely different from that of the Jiajing period: in the early Jiajing and Wanli periods, the cabinet was extremely powerful and commanded hundreds of officials, and the current cabinet is ......

Gu Bingyao said: "Your Majesty, the ministers are doing their best to comply, but in view of the actual situation in the imperial court, the progress is not very smooth. This year's tax and silver have not been collected, and the budget has not been in place many years ago, and there is nowhere to withdraw money and food for this kind of emergency; There are many events at the border, and the rebellions in the southwest, southeast, and various places have not been completely resolved, and it is difficult to mobilize large troops; There are also many differences in how to arrange it. Please let the emperor know clearly, this matter is by no means something that can be done in a short period of time. ”

Zhang Wen immediately said, "The minister has something to say." ”

After getting Zhu Youxiao's consent, Zhang Wen walked out of the queue from the middle crowd, holding the ivory card and said: "What Yuanfu said, Weichen doesn't dare to agree. To contain the rear of Jianjiao, why do you have to spend a huge amount of actual mobilization of imperial court soldiers and horses? Why bother with something that can be done by just one person? ”

Just kidding, let them say whatever reason, push the responsibility cleanly, is there such a light thing?

As soon as Zhang Wen spoke, some civil officials from the Suzhou and Hangzhou Academy factions immediately seconded the proposal.

This situation made Wei Zhongxian's party very angry, and Cui Chengxiu was the first to stand up and point to Zhang Wen's nose and say, "One person can do it?" Zhang asked, you have such a big breath, I don't know if that person has three heads and six arms, or is it a fairy? Tell me what kind of people are so capable! ”

Zhang Wen said unhurriedly: "Xiaguan is about to recommend someone to the Ministry of War, Liu Ling." As long as the imperial court gives Liu Ling a certain amount of power and money, and lets him go to southern Liaoning to recruit soldiers and arrange them by himself, he will be completely competent. It's both trouble-free and worry-free, and it can do good things for the court, so why not use this method instead of having to go around drawing your own people? ”

As soon as these words came out, many officials were thinking in their hearts, this Liu Ling had already committed a real crime, and he was squatting in prison, Zhang Wen really wanted to fish him out?

This is an attitude, and Zhang Wen needs to show that he cares about his own people, so that he can have the potential to build up the power of his henchmen...... Although everyone is clamoring that they are not friends or parties, can they really mix up the court without the relationship between left and right?

Cui Chengxiu was surprised when he heard this: "Liu Ling has been convicted and imprisoned, do you want to shield the criminals?" ”

"Liu Ling is guilty, that's true. But in the Korean, Salhu and other wars, can Liu Ling's credit to the Ming Dynasty be ignored? Liu Ling is familiar with Liaodong and is a veteran of the battlefield, where can he find such a person, and now that the country has the opportunity to use people, doesn't it just give him a chance to make up for his mistakes? ”

Cui Chengxiu said coldly: "Let him go alone, he spent the money of the imperial court and didn't get things done, is this responsibility for you to ask?" ”

Zhang Wen stood up and made a confident look, "This time Liu Ling is recommended by me to go to Liaodong, if he messes up, I Zhang Wen will be impeached, it is an ironclad matter, do you need Lord Cui to ask more?" Besides, the situation is compelling, although this thing may not succeed, but this is the most effective way, you can't try it without trying, right? ”

Seeing that Zhang Wen Zhenzhen had words, Wei Zhongxian was a little flustered: letting Liu Ling come out is only beneficial to Zhang Wen, and it will not benefit the Wei Party at all. You must know that more than a month has passed since Zhang Wen wrote the book, even if Liu Ling is released now, in the future, when the Beijing division encounters the police, Zhang Wen has nothing to say, saying that you have delayed the opportunity!

Wei Zhongxian made a look at Gu Bingyao, and when Gu Bingyao saw this, he couldn't pretend not to see it, so he bowed to the north and bowed: "Your Majesty, Liu Ling lost the city and lost the land, and he can't help but give severe punishment!" Otherwise, if the law is messed up, how can the soldiers be treated justly if they are not effective in fighting in the future? At present, Jianyu has frequent contact with Mongolia, and there are already signs of attacking the Ming Dynasty, and the priority of things is different, and one cannot hope for one person. Even if Liu Ling is released and let him go to southern Liaoning to preside over military affairs, recruit soldiers, and arrange the battle situation, how much time will it take! In a short period of time, it will not be possible to threaten the security of Jianyu at all. If you must use the strategy of containment, you can only mobilize heavy troops, take the initiative to attack, and open up new battlefields in order to get immediate results! ”

At this time, Zhang asked again: "Isn't Yuanfu saying this tantamount to advocating doing nothing?" opened up a new battlefield, and Motosuke said that there was no money and no soldiers; The appointment of Liu Ling, you said that it had no effect. So what should I do? ”

Gu Bingyao said tepidly: "Lord Zhang, if you are in a hurry, the entire court is in a hurry. You have to do things one by one, right? If you dare to make a military order, saying that Liu Ling is appointed, Jianyu will definitely not dare to invade the Guannei, and the old man will definitely stand on your side and support you! You also said just now that you may not be able to succeed with Liu Ling, and the old man feels that it is useless at all! The urgent question now is what strategy should be adopted for the diplomatic relations of Mongolia! ”

Zhu Youxiao saw that everyone was arguing, and he also had a headache, he was originally a layman in the military, so he never spoke. At this time, he finally said: "Containment strategy, let's discuss it later, what does Gu Ge Lao have to say about Mongolian diplomatic relations?" ”

At this time, Gu Bingyao didn't want to take a stand, so he adapted and threw out the words he said to Wei Zhongxian, on the surface, it seemed that he was in a hot mood to be anxious about the country, but in fact, when he pondered, didn't he stand in the middle, didn't he say nothing?

At this moment, Cui Chengxiu bravely stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the minister feels that he should take gentle measures against the Mongols, and he can't let them surrender to Jianyu. ”

"Huairou?" Zhu Youxiao was stunned, thinking about the gentle methods that the Ming Dynasty has always had, and said two more words, "Okay?" ”