The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The news that the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaoyang, Hei Chun, had died in battle spread like the wind throughout the officialdom of the capital, and the officials of the Ministry of War also felt as if they were mourning their heirs.

I was overjoyed just after receiving the report of the war in Fujian, and even the memorial had not been sent to Emperor Jiajing. Then something big happened in Liaodong, and the deputy commander-in-chief was defeated and killed.

In terms of military positions, the commander-in-chief is the highest level, and the deputy commander-in-chief and the commander-in-chief are not much different in nature. They both have the right to lead the regular soldiers alone and are the highest local military attaches.

Those who guard one side of the main town are called guards, those who guard all the way alone are called divided guards, and those who guard the same city with the main general are called assisted guards.

The deputy commander-in-chief of Liaoyang is divided into separate guards. That is to say, after Hei Chun's death, the guard posts around Liaoyang will have no commanders. The Ministry of War must arrange for someone to take over as soon as possible, but before that, they may have to accept questioning from Xiyuan.

As for Liaoyang, the General Military Officer of Liaodong will temporarily take over the defense here.

Sure enough, at almost noon, Prince Yu's Mansion received news that Yang Bo, Minister of the Ministry of War, was summoned to Xiyuan.

What exactly happened in Xiyuan is unknown to the outside world, but for the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaoyang who died in the battle, the posthumous gift came out first.

After hearing the news about the defeat of Liaodong, the superior said that Heichun's death in battle with great courage was a pity, and the imperial edict was given to the governor and his colleague, Yinzi Zheng, who was hereditary to thousands of households.

In Prince Yu's Mansion, Wei Guangde and Zhang Ju were chatting together, waiting for the next shift. When they saw the news coming from outside, they asked cheerfully: "Shandai, is there anyone you would like to recommend?"

"Recommend?"

Wei Guangde was stunned for a moment, then understood the meaning of Zhang Juzheng's words and asked him if he wanted anyone to be the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaoyang.

Wei Guangde had no such intention and made himself look like a broker selling official positions.

There are only a few cards in his hand. Ma Fang is already the chief soldier, so naturally he despises the official position of deputy chief soldier. Yu Dayou is already the deputy chief soldier, so there is obviously no need to transfer from Fujian to Liaodong.

Shortly after the opening of the government at the beginning of the year, Xiyuan agreed to the resolution of the Ministry of War to build a town in the four counties of Xingning, Chengxiang, Anyuan and Wuping in Jiangxi Province. It was named Shenwei and Yu Dayou, the general of Southern Jiangxi, was appointed as the assistant guard of Southern Jiangxi. Tingzhang Huichao, Deputy Commander-in-Chief.

At the same time, he was promoted to the prefect of Ningguo. Fang Feng was appointed as the deputy envoy of the Guangdong Prosecution Department at the right time. He organized the troops and stationed all troops in the city to prepare for bandits. After dismissing the Southern Gansu General, he replaced the garrison with one person and added three general officers to station at key points. He listened to the deputy general's instructions. Be prepared and temperate.

Now Yu Dayou is the deputy commander in chief of Shenwei City. Is it necessary to go to Liaoyang?

He shook his head and said to Zhang Juzheng: "Soldiers are more valuable than more. There are not many generals who can impress me. As for the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaoyang, I really don't like him very much."

"The main reason is that there is no one in the pocket, right?"

The two have been together for a long time, and Zhang Juzheng also roughly knows the manpower on Wei Guangde's side. The officialdom in the capital is mainly composed of colleagues and people of the same year, and the military seems to be those two.

However, both Ma Fang and Yu Dayou were indeed very successful, which made him envious.

But Zhang Juzheng had no choice. He was not as lucky as Wei Guangde and had the opportunity to visit the border town.

At this time, there was a popular concept in the official circles of the Ming Dynasty, that is, the generals who could fight were all from the Jiubian generals. Therefore, if you want to recruit generals in the army, the first choice must be the generals from Jiubian.

Zhang Juzheng also accepted this concept. After all, Jiubian was at war with the Mongols all year round, and the generals there must be the most powerful in the Ming Dynasty.

"hehe."

Hearing what Zhang Juzheng said, Wei Guangde just smiled.

"Our Ming Dynasty has many soldiers and generals, but as you said, there are still not many truly capable generals, otherwise Jiubian would not be in emergency all the time."

Zhang Juzheng sighed again and said.

"Did you get any news there?"

Wei Guangde was curious as to why Zhang Juzheng said this to him today.

"No, I was just talking casually."

Zhang Juzheng just smiled.

In the eyes of these capital officials, Liaodong is a bitter and cold place. If it were not for the ancestral system and huge resettlement pressure, they would be eager to withdraw the troops and all the Han people from Liaodong.

Yes, since the early Ming Dynasty when Liaodong was recaptured from the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, the imperial court has been providing military pay, money and food to Liaodong. Until now, it has only been self-sufficient for a few short years.

The original abolition of sea transportation to Liao was only because food and grass could be self-sufficient, but money still had to be transferred.

I didn't think so before, but in recent years the imperial court has been in financial straits, and many people are thinking of going to Liaodong, hoping to save military expenditures on the nine sides.

Wei Guangde didn't know why Zhang Juzheng suddenly seemed to value the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Liaoyang. When the time came, he chose to leave Prince Yu's Mansion immediately. There was nothing to do anyway. Today, Zhang Juzheng was the same as him. The two of them almost left Prince Yu's Mansion together. .

Seeing Zhang Juzheng get into his sedan chair and leave in a hurry, Wei Guangde shook his head, got into the carriage and went home.

On the swaying carriage, when Wei Guangde was alone, his thinking was particularly clear, and he gradually came back to his senses.

Zhang Juzheng asked about the position of deputy commander-in-chief of Liaoyang. He didn't have a candidate in mind, but he was afraid that he would also want to recommend someone, so he asked first.

However, Zhang Juzheng did not mention the matter in Prince Yu's palace, which means that he planned to ask his teacher Xu Jie to take care of it.

Xu Jie is now the de facto chief assistant of the cabinet. Although he has not been promoted, it is impossible for Yuan Wei to get in front of him in terms of seniority.

Anyway, he has no one to recommend, so just wait and see who Zhang Juzheng wants to recommend.

On the next day, Ge Jin, the minister of war, recommended Yang Zhaoqian to be the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaoyang. The memorial was sent to the General Affairs Department.

When Wei Guangde saw the note, he glanced at Zhang Juzheng, wanting to see if the person recommended by Ge Jin was the one Zhang Juzheng was interested in, and also wanted to see if the minister Ge Jin also favored Xu Jie.

The Ministry of War is a bit special. When Yan Song first became the first assistant, Ding Rukui, the Minister of War, was still Yan Song's subordinate. However, after he was tricked into death during the "Gengxu Incident", the successors of the Minister of War all distanced themselves from Yan Song, regardless of how he showed favor. , which is also a weapon to avoid rat attacks.

Since they could not fall to Yan Song, they naturally did not dare to fall to Yan Song's biggest rival, Xu Jie, and became a complete neutral faction, forming the third force in the court together with the Ministry of Rites.

However, Zhang Juzheng frowned when he saw the copy of Ge Jin's memorial recommending Yang Zhao. Wei Guangde knew that Yang Zhao was not the person Zhang Juzheng liked, and Ge Jin did not seem to be from Xu Jie's side.

Soon, Wei Guangde saw another copy of Xu Jie's memorial.

Xu Jie, a bachelor, and others reported to the cabinet to handle affairs. In the past, three or four members were used. Recently, Yan Song became an official and begged the emperor to order one of them to consult with the ministers and others.

Now there are two more cabinet ministers left in the cabinet, Xu Jie and Yuan Wei. This is a bit against the rules, or it is customary. This is to ask Emperor Jiajing to add one or two cabinet ministers to make up the old routine.

Speaking of which, in the past few years, there were actually only two people working in the cabinet, namely Yan Song and Xu Jie. However, there was also a nominal assistant, Lu Ben, which could be regarded as enough for three members.

It's just that after Lu Ben became official, Emperor Jiajing added Yuan Wei to the cabinet. This time Yan Song became official, someone should really come in to replace him.

Wei Guangde is not worried about who can enter the cabinet. Anyway, he will not promote people from the strict party.

As for the others, Wei Guangde guessed that there was a high probability that they were still those Qingci masters. They were loyal to the emperor and would not be affected by Xu Jie's influence.

Wei Guangde has now roughly figured out Emperor Jiajing's plan. To seek stability in the last few years, he will go to neutral people, preferably obedient people. Xu Jie's power must be under certain control. Maybe there will be some in Prince Yu's Mansion. Chance.

Wei Guangde didn't know what Zhang Juzheng had in mind, but he didn't mention it in Prince Yu's palace, and he didn't bother to ask. Anyway, he had more connections than him.

Sure enough, on the next day, the military department reported that Zhang Yi impeached the minister Ge Jin for improper recommendation. When he was appointed as the commander of the Liaodong vanguard and guerrilla general, he made many rash attacks, resulting in the loss of troops and generals. He believed that Yang Zhao was brave and unwise and should not sit on one side.

At the same time, Zhang Yi also impeached the governor Yang Xuan, the governor Jicheng, and the commander-in-chief Wu Ying who were involved in the Liaodong defeat.

When Zhang Juzheng saw this memorial, the smile that appeared on his lips inadvertently made Wei Guangde understand that Zhang Yi's impeachment memorial might have been written by him.

Looking at this, Zhang Juzheng should have wanted to ask his teacher Xu Jie to contact the Ministry of War the day before yesterday to recommend someone, but Ge Jin beat him to it and recommended someone else, so today's impeachment took place.

Wei Guangde regarded all this as watching a show, wanting to see how the future master of the Ming Dynasty would control this matter.

Well, it can be regarded as learning.

"Shandai, have you seen Fujian's salary petition?"

At this time, Zhang Juzheng suddenly spoke to him.

"As you can see, Fujian has been using troops for many years. It is normal that the soldiers' salaries cannot be provided."

Wei Guangde replied with a smile.

"If you don't come early, you won't come late. It's easy to win the battle and then come to ask for money. If you want to deduct the silver you paid, it seems that life in Fujian is not easy.

No wonder that memorial was sent to the capital in such a hurry, haha."

Zhang Juzheng continued to smile.

Wei Guangde nodded. What Zhang Juzheng was talking about was the memorial that they thought was weird. The battle process was unclear in it. When it was connected with today's memorial, its purpose became clear.

There is no money left, and after a victory, the superiors no longer care about much, they only think about gaining military merit and paying soldiers.

"I really want a lot of money, including 4,200 taels of silver for imperial examinations, 8,670 taels of silver for temple fields, more than 16,000 taels of silver for case studies, and 19,900 taels of silver for forty years of settlement. Twenty-two taels, the thirty-nine-year fruit is worth 3,836 taels of silver, the regular price of wax tea is 14,193 taels, and the supplementary price in Beijing is 14,387 taels. Both are exempted to support military needs."

"Fujian has been plagued by Japanese invaders frequently, and this year there have been rebels again. The soldiers are running out of pay. I'm afraid the money will be gone long ago."

Zhang Juzheng sent out a memorial asking for the money left behind, and Wei Guangde smiled.

"Yes, it may be that the soldiers in Zhejiang are well-paid, but they should all be in the governor's palace of Hu Zongxian. In other places, soldiers who do not pay money will not obey orders.

By the way, Shandai, I’ve heard that if you don’t send out Kaibaba silver before setting off for a war, the military will not be willing to go out. Is this true? "

When Wei Guangde heard this, he also knew that Zhang Juzheng might have really been in contact with an unknown general, and he began to know the actual situation of the Ming army.

In fact, these opening credits are not rewards, but to make up for the arrears of military pay.

When soldiers go out to fight, life or death is uncertain, so they naturally want to leave some money for their families.

In fact, the Ming army did not receive pensions, only rewards. When a person died, someone from the family would fill the gap, and he would continue to serve as a soldier and eat food. There was only some money burned and compensation, but it did not count as a pension.

Wei Guangde explained what he knew to Zhang Juzheng, so that Zhang Juzheng also knew the current plight of the lower-level military households. Perhaps in the future, when this man, who is still like history, becomes the master of this era, he will consider solving some of the problems of military households.

Wei Guangde did not mention the matter of the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaoyang. He just wanted to see how Zhang Juzheng would operate and whether he could succeed in the end.

After all, reaching the level of deputy commander-in-chief cannot be decided by the Ministry of War and the cabinet. In the end, it still needs the approval of Emperor Jiajing.

There are two memorials surrounding Xu Jie today. Xu Jie also submitted a memorial to ask for replacement cabinet ministers. I don’t know who Emperor Jiajing will ask.

At least in Wei Guangde's view, Yan Na, Guo Pu and Li Chunfang all have similar opportunities. After all, cabinet ministers do not have to choose from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. Ministers from the two departments also have opportunities.

Early the next morning, news came out in Xiyuan that Emperor Jiajing was very unhappy with Xu Jie's memorial.

To be honest, Wei Guangde was very surprised to see this news. After all, Xu Jie's proposal was in line with convention, and there were only two cabinet ministers left in the cabinet.

"How did His Majesty give the instructions in the memorial?"

Wei Guangde handed the note to Zhang Juzheng, turned to Yin Shizhen and asked.

"I don't know. It's not written on it. I should have heard it when His Majesty was giving instructions yesterday afternoon or evening, but it will be soon. This memorandum should be sent back to the cabinet, and we will know it then."

Yin Shizhen was also a little confused and couldn't figure out what was taboo about such a memorial.

"The Sacred Heart is unpredictable."

Zhang Juzheng read the news and listened to Yin Shizhen's words, so he just answered it casually.

At almost noon, news came from the cabinet. Emperor Jiajing personally gave instructions, "You know, there are people who are of the same mind assisting the government, why don't you hear about it."

As for the cabinet ministers, Xu Jie and Yuan Wei, it is said that after deliberation, they decided to leave it at that. If the emperor didn't want to replace them, they would not replace them. Anyway, they had already asked for instructions.

Yin Shizhen, Wei Guangde and others didn't think it was anything, but Tang Ruji had a different view.

I think that since it is a custom, Your Majesty should abide by it. How can you be so perfunctory?

The reason why there is a custom of three to four people in the cabinet is not because of the need to brainstorm ideas. With only two people in the cabinet, even if they are "people who work together to assist the government" as His Majesty said, there will inevitably be times when thinking is inappropriate.

If the first memorial fails, the cabinet should submit a second and third memorial.

Wei Guangde didn't say anything to his face, but looked at Tang Ruji as if he were looking at an idiot.

In fact, the fact that the Jiajing Dynasty actually only had two cabinet ministers is not a new thing. It had already happened before. Perhaps it was for the convenience of management or the emperor just wanted to place obedient people in the cabinet.

Working together to assist the government actually means listening to the emperor's words.

Such instructions are actually a good thing for Xu Jie and Yuan Wei. Although there are too many things to do, the relative rights are also concentrated and will not be scattered to a third party.

However, Zhang Juzheng was not very happy about the teacher's gain, because Zhang Yi's impeachment memorial also had results.

Due to impeachment, the imperial edict deprived Governor Yang Xuan of his salary for one month, and Governor Jicheng's Commander-in-Chief Wu Ying for two months respectively. Yang Zhao was promoted to Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Liaoyang.