After Zhu Houzhao returned from Zhang Zhou, he thought about participating in the military exercise.

"If I can get the best grades in this military exercise as he said, and the results are better than those experienced generals, then my father will definitely be impressed by me, and when I say that I know how to fight, my father will not refute me again, and see if those ministers dare to throw their faces at me in the future!"

Zhu Houzhao was anxious to prove himself.

But Zhang Zhou doesn't seem to be "powerful", after all, according to what Zhang Zhou said, the new martial arts arena will not officially start to operate until June, and the previous martial arts arena is obviously not good in terms of configuration, and there is also a certain bias in the test results.

Zhu Houzhao even gave his father a separate lesson, urging the imperial court to fully consider the results of actual combat drills in the selection and appointment of military generals, in fact, urging his father to transfer manpower and material resources to complete the construction of the martial arts arena.

After Zhu Youzhu saw this kind of playing, he almost wanted someone to call the bear child to teach him a lesson.

But Zhu Youzhi is a child, and he himself thinks that Zhang Zhou's plan is effective, so he still asked people to promote the construction, in order to facilitate the understanding of the ministers of the DPRK and China, he also specially asked the cabinet to send a person to supervise and do a good job of communication, and this task fell on Xie Qian's head.

……

……

On this day, Xie Qian first sent someone to make an appointment with Zhang Zhou, and then went to the arsenal in the city to check the inventory and other things.

Just like Zhu Youzhu saw the cannons and guns full of warehouses, Xie Qian was also a little surprised by Zhang Zhou's desperate development of the military industry, if he didn't know how many taels of silver the imperial court allocated to Zhang Zhou, and also knew that Zhang Zhou relied on his personal ability to manufacture these weapons, he would definitely go to the imperial court, saying that Zhang Zhou was trying to use the army and force for the purpose of doing things that cost the people and money.

"Elder Xie Ge, you have also seen that they are all iron tools, and they use a lot of labor, but even if they are not cast into artillery, they can't become the taxes of the Ming Dynasty, so they can't let me sell the mined coal and pig iron, right?"

Zhang Zhou also seemed to think of what Xie Qian was thinking, and then blocked Xie Qian's mouth in advance.

But with Xie Qian's eloquent words, he was never willing to fall behind in the matter of tongue.

Xie Qian said: "Cai Guogong, you can really toss, even if the iron tools are enough, then the charcoal can also be used by the people, why can't it be gathered together to reduce the annual expenses of the imperial court, and even bring revenue to the treasury?" ”

"What?" Zhang Zhou said, "I mine coal, send it to the treasury to pile it up, and then what do I do?" ”

"You ......"

Xie Qianben had countless arguments to refute Zhang Zhou, but because of Zhang Zhou's special status, he really didn't know which direction to speak.

Lao Xie also had times when he was speechless.

Because a significant problem is that the imperial court has always been prevaricated and perfunctory in the allocation of money and grain proposed by Zhang Zhou, and none of them are allowed.

The approximate meaning is that Zhang Zhou spent a lot of effort to mine minerals, sell them or send them directly to the imperial court for storage, and then they were controlled by the traditional ministers of the imperial court, and would rather pile them up in the treasury than allocate them to Zhang Zhou......

It's as if Zhang Zhou is questioning him Xie Qian, I tried my best to dig a pit for myself to find trouble, am I sick?

Xie Qian sorted out his emotions, his momentum was still very strong, and asked, "What's going on with the martial arts arena?" There are so many school fields around Beijing Normal School, isn't it enough for you to make this trip? In the past, you set up an artillery field outside the city, but hundreds of hectares of land were vacant, and now what kind of martial arts field you are engaged in, won't it harm the interests of the people of Gyeonggi again? ”

Talking to the people about everything is in line with Wenchen's idea of "serving the people wholeheartedly".

But to Zhang Zhou's ears, these were just means for Wenchen to carry out political struggle, that is, to first put himself on a moral high ground to oppose political opponents.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Xie Ge Lao misunderstood, the new martial arts arena was only rebuilt on the original site, and the scale was not expanded, but a lot of facilities were added to simulate the environment on the battlefield. I know what Xie Ge Lao is worried about, the people are hurting the money, rest assured, the transformation of the martial arts arena this time is all based on the people of the Beijing camp, and the money and food are also supported by the inner government. ”

"Didn't the money in the inner house be transferred by the household?" Xie Qian seemed to have found a breakthrough in arguing with Zhang Zhou.

Xie Qian was blowing his beard and glaring, and Wang Qiong, the left attendant of the household department, also heard that Xie Qian came to inspect and brought people over, just when he heard Xie Qian shouting at Zhang Zhou.

He came over and saluted, but he didn't know what to say.

"Dehua, you came just in time, tell me, how much money is estimated to cost this martial arts exercise?" Xie Qian seemed to remember to pull Wang Qiong on the right path, and with Wang Qiong's traditional civil servant background, he wanted to unite to put pressure on Zhang Zhou.

Wang Qiong said: "The household department does not know about this. However, with His Majesty's intentions, the cost of the transformation by the Beijing camp was paid by Xishan Town. It was carried out together with the construction of the city wall in the West Mountain. ”

"What?" Xie Qian frowned.

said that it was paid by the inner government, but in fact, Zhang Zhou paid out of his own pocket.

Zhang Zhou's industry is not simply in Xishan, but also Yongping Mansion and Datong, the income of various minerals is very rich, after all, what Zhang Zhou excavated and found people to mine are rich ores, as well as the mining methods used, as well as various tools, etc., are relatively advanced in this era.

It is more efficient than traditional mining methods, and the amount of silver earned is naturally not something that Xie Qian, who was born in a corrupt country, can understand.

Zhang Zhou sighed: "I'll answer Xie Ge Lao's question, building the city wall of Xishan is not counting the cost of labor for the soldiers of the Beijing camp...... Of course, this part will also be used as a stipend, plus the renovation of the martial arts arena, it will cost about 150,000 taels of silver in total. ”

"How much?"

Xie Qian was anxious when he heard this.

150,000 taels of silver, if the imperial court wants to come up with such an additional expense, it will not be able to do it in a few months, and Zhang Zhou can casually take out 150,000 taels of silver here to build the city wall and renovate the martial arts arena.

There is a feeling of a small court outside the big court.

Wang Qiong said: "This is a conservative estimate, if you want to build the wall of Xishan more solidly, I'm afraid these are not enough." ”

Zhang Zhou nodded and said: "Theoretically, this is the case, but if Xishan wants to exist as an acropolis around the Beijing Division, it naturally cannot only rely on the depth of the city wall, but also rely on the blessing of firearms. ”

Only then did Wang Qiong understand what Zhang Zhou meant.

Building a city wall is only one part of it, and the new city wall must be in line with the new combat style of the Ming army, that is, to add a lot of shooting holes, and then increase the placement points of artillery, so as to form a barrier, so that even if the city wall is not too high, any enemy can not penetrate it.

Xie Qian listened to the conversation between the two and was a little angry.

Ben still thinks that Wang Qiong is a "normal person", but listening to the conversation between the two, I feel that Wang Qiong has been completely brainwashed by Zhang Zhou, and this conversation seems to not take him, a cabinet minister, seriously.

"Zhang Bingkuan, the old man asked you, since you have 150,000 taels of silver, why do you have to ask the imperial court for the silver to make ships? Isn't it good to use these 150,000 taels for shipbuilding? ”

Xie Qian thought of Zhang Zhou's previous request for shipbuilding silver from the imperial court in the name of the military department.

Finally find a reasonable reason why you are not doing your job.

Zhang Zhoudao: "One yard is one yard, if the imperial court thinks that it is unnecessary to allocate money and grain to build ships, it is not necessary, and I can't force it, but things such as the construction of the martial arts field and the city wall of Xishan are imperative, of course, I am also raising the cost of shipbuilding, and Tang Yin, who is responsible for handling this matter, is also about to return to Beijing, and he may as well explain to you the need to build ships." ”

Xie Qian turned his head to the side, he didn't bother to deal with Zhang Zhou.

"Elder Xie Ge still wants to visit the place where the martial arts arena is transformed?" Zhang Zhou asked.

"Of course I want to go." Xie Qian said, "The emperor's order is here, but you don't need to accompany me anymore, Dehua, you go with the old man." You Cai Guogong is such a busy person, even the person who can often be absent from court meetings, and the old man will not disturb you to do things. ”

Obviously, Xie Qian didn't want to communicate too much with Zhang Zhou.

At present, it is not to rein in Zhang Zhou, or that the time has passed, the two sides have formed a fundamental antagonism, and there is no hope of resolving this contradiction for the time being.

As an old-timer in the court, Xie Qian will still hold it tight to maintain the face of traditional civil servants.

……

……

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youzhu summoned Liu Jian alone.

Liu Jian thought that he was going to discuss major affairs related to the imperial court, but when he arrived, he realized that Zhu Youzhu had no intention of talking to him about general court affairs at all.

In addition to summoning Liu Jian, Zhu Youzhu also stood beside Xiao Jing and Li Rong.

"Liu Ge Lao, since the establishment of the listening office, there has been no customization, once on duty in the listening office, there are Wuchen British Duke, Baoguo Gong, and Wenchen also has a few people, and now the official name is four, but there are few people in ordinary times."

In the listening office, the nominally appointed ministers were only left at this time, Wang Qiong, the left attendant of the household department, and Xiong Chong, the left attendant of the military department.

Then there are Zhang Zhou and Li Dongyang.

But in fact, only Wang Qiong and Xiong Chong usually go to the listening office, which also leads to the listening office becoming an inconspicuous-looking yamen in peacetime, especially in non-wartime times, almost no one will treat Wang Qiong as the minister of the listening office, and more as a household servant.

While listening, Liu Jian was also pondering the emperor's intentions, and he said: "Your Majesty, the location of the Shangting Office was originally set up for the war in the territory, and now the northwest is generally peaceful, and there is no need to keep the Shangting Office." ”

Zhu Youzhu shook his head and said, "What I mean is to let the upper listening office set the rules for entering the value. I don't want to cut the authority of the cabinet, I mean to ensure the stability of the border towns. ”

Liu Jian felt a wave of annoyance in his heart.

The Emperor seemed to be discussing with him, but it was more of a notice.

Zhu Youzhu said: "Now that there are a few people on duty in the listening office, I have to do a discretionary replacement, except for Bingkuan, the remaining few people can be transferred back to their original positions first." ”

"Your Majesty?" Liu Jian didn't understand.

Only Zhang Zhou, who usually doesn't take care of things, is left, and how many of the rest have returned to their original positions? Xiong Xiu and Li Dongyang went back to their old jobs, Wang Qiong seems to be the "head horse" around Zhang Zhou, and doing things in the Shangting Office and the Household Department is also considered conscientious, although at the beginning many people thought that Wang Qiong's promotion to the left servant of the Household Department was a leap, and the people were not convinced, but with Wang Qiong's achievements in the Household Department and the Shangting Office, even the traditional Wenchen who picked and chose in the court had to recognize Wang Qiong's ability.

Zhu Youzhu said: "The upper listening office is not like the cabinet, I mean, you can change it at any time." I also ordered a few people, Liu Gelao, what do you think? ”

As he spoke, Zhu Youzhu waved his hand to Xiao Jing on the side, and then Xiao Jing picked up a list with only a few names written on it and handed it to Xie Qian.

After Xie Qian finished reading the names on it, he couldn't help frowning.

Zhang Zhou, Lu Wan, Qin Hong, and Tang Yin.

"Elder Liu Ge thinks that there is something wrong with these people?" Zhu Youzhu asked.

Liu Jianxin said, Your Majesty, you want to make the Shangting Office a yamen on an equal footing with our cabinet, and put Zhang Zhou in it, just forget it, Qin Hongren is the chief system on the three sides, how can he be the minister of the Shangting Office? As for Lu Wan and Tang Yin...... What kind of birdmen are these two?

Zhu Youzhu didn't wait for Liu Jian to answer, and explained his choice: "Qin Hong is on the three sides, he has resigned many times, and on the grounds of old age and good health, he hopes to return to his hometown earlier, but I think that he should be given a certain amount of glory, and after he is transferred back to Beijing, he will also be valued by him in the listening office." As for Lu Wan, when he was in the Tatar Koubian before, he was also considered to have made meritorious contributions to the three internal passes, and this time he was used as the usual duty to deal with the official affairs of the Shangting Department. ”

"As for Tang Yin, although he is not qualified, but fortunately, he has had too many experiences, after he returns to Beijing this time, I am ready to use him as the Langzhong of the Ministry of Works, and at the same time as he is on duty, I will be transferred to him to supervise the casting of cannons around the Beijing Division, and I am also ready to hand over the errand of the Yizhou Mountain Factory to him, and he can be promoted to the right attendant of the Ministry of Industry as appropriate."

The Ming Dynasty's Admiral Yizhou Mountain Factory, is responsible for the Beijing Division, firewood and charcoal, etc., in Jingtai can hang the Ministry of Labor to supervise, and in the middle of Hongzhi, it is generally the right attendant of the Ministry of Industry to go to the commander.

Now that the Ming Dynasty uses less charcoal and more coal, and most of the affairs are completed in Xishan, Tang Yin's current qualifications are not enough to promote the waiter, but if the right waiter of the Ministry of Industry goes to the commander of the Yizhou Mountain Factory, it is much more reasonable, after all, it is not the right waiter of the main position.

Liu Jian said: "Your Majesty has already decided?" ”

"I'm consulting with you." Zhu Youzhu heard that there was emotion in Liu Jian's words, he didn't deliberately try to appease him, but his words were still relatively gentle.

After Liu Jian sorted out the wording, he said: "Lao Chen believes that these people are not the best candidates to be on duty, and if a few of them are on duty, they are afraid that they will form a partisan opinion, and they are also afraid that there will be a party for personal gain." ”

Zhu Youzhu said: "Liu Ge is always afraid that Bingkuan's influence on them is too deep, and they will all take Bingkuan as the head and form a party?" ”

Liu Jian didn't answer, but it was tantamount to acquiescence.

"By the way, Liu Ge Lao, I am also going to use Wang Qiong to go to the northwest to replace Qin Hong, what do you think?" Zhu Youzhu finally solved a doubt in Liu Jian's heart before.

That's Wang Qiong did a good job, why did he give up his position?

Now I know, it turned out that Wang Qiong was asked to go to the northwest to replace Qin Hong, so ...... The military and political affairs of Xuanda and the three sides were nominally controlled by Zhang Zhou.

"I am not going to settle this matter immediately, after all, I have already decided to take Qin Hong as the commander of the border towns and preside over this patrol attack, and this matter will not be completely decided until the end of June as early as the end of June, and it may not be completely decided until the autumn at the earliest. Liu Ge Lao can also think about this matter recently, and he will take it to the court to discuss it when he returns. ”

Zhu Youzhu seemed to respect the minister's opinion.

But Liu Jian knew that since the emperor had already made this arrangement, it would probably not be able to change.

Liu Jian asked: "Your Majesty, the old minister knows that the matter of the military affairs of the Admiral of the Inner Three Passes has now been canceled, I don't know what arrangements will be made after Lu Wan returns to Beijing?" ”

Zhu Youzhu seemed to have made a decision, and even replied: "Take him as the right servant of the household department." ”

Liu Jian was a little anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "It has not been long since Wang Yan, the right attendant of the household department, has been promoted to this position, and he is diligent and diligent, why should he be replaced?" ”

"Liu Ge is too worried, I don't want Wang Yan to resign and return to his hometown, the governor of Datong has been vacant before, and the new uncle is also a new uncle, what I think is that I think it is more appropriate to send someone who can do things to assist him, and I think it is more appropriate for Wang Yan to go!"

Liu Jian couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this.

The rules for the promotion of official positions in the Ming Dynasty are usually the promotion of the political envoy to the governor, and then the governor to the servant, and now the reverse is the case, the right servant of the main household department is transferred back to be the governor, Wang Yan, as an old minister of the Ming Dynasty, is quite experienced, and he actually went to give the fledgling Wang Shouren a hand?

Moreover, according to the rules for the appointment of officials above the six departments of the Ming Dynasty, the candidates are discussed after the vacancy, and now the emperor is directly replacing for the sake of replacement, which is a bit not to treat Wang Yan and other traditional ministers as people.

"After Wang Qiong was transferred to the three sides as the general system, he planned to replace the position of the left servant of the household department." Zhu Youzhu said, "In this way, if Lu Wan is promoted to the right waiter, I probably don't have to worry about the affairs of the household department." ”

Liu Jian also heard some signs, although Xu Jin was nominally a traditional Wenchen, but now he is also advancing with the new school.

The main reason is that Xu Jin can't see the opportunity to be promoted to Zuo Shilang or Shangshu, so he is trying to get closer to Zhang Zhou's camp.

And arranging Lu Wan, a standard member of the Zhang Party, in the household department, is tantamount to giving the household department Shangshu Tong Zhong to the air, and it continues to be overhead, with Wang Qiong in front and Lu Wan in the back...... At this time, or the emperor needs to allocate money and food, there are still obstacles, but as time goes by, Liu Jian knows that in the future, the emperor will have to firmly control the finance, taxation and treasury power.

"Your Majesty, such an important matter should be discussed in detail at the court. The old minister didn't know how to reply for a while, and hoped that His Majesty would forgive him. ”

Liu Jian was a little disheartened.

The emperor now only believed in Zhang Zhou and those close to him, and less and less regarded the traditional civil servants, which in his opinion was the beginning of chaos.

Zhu Youzhu said: "Some things can be taken to the court to say, and some are not necessary." I consulted with Liu Ge Lao to gain your support. In the past two years, my health has not been as good as before, and I am also thinking that I also want to see the day when I can dominate the grassland in my lifetime, and I also hope that Liu Ge can give me this opportunity. ”

Liu Jianxin said, how old are you? Your lifetime is likely to be decades, and mine is just a few years away.

I don't want to see Wenchen weak in my lifetime, trampled on our heads by a group of martial artists and ministers!

"The old minister should do his best, but the matter of employing people in the court should also be considered in the long run." Liu Jian could only come up with a stubbornness that seemed to have no practical use to counter the emperor's partiality.