CIATB Chapter 959: The Emperor and the General in the 35th Year of Zhengde
Chapter 959: The Emperor and the General in the 35th Year of Zhengde
Chapter 959: The Emperor and the General in the th Year of Zhengde
The title of first-class prince has been announced, and the emperor’s divine will is so clear.
Originally, this matter was only to be discussed by Prince Rui and the Academy of Sciences, and a funding plan was just to be proposed first, but the cabinet intervened the next day.
As the head of the cabinet, no one could say that Yan Song had no right to interfere, let alone offend him.
As a result, this matter became a major event that involved many government departments including the Ministry of Science and Technology and Industry, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of the Imperial Household, and the Ministry of Rites. A simple funding plan became a construction and completion plan when it came to implementation.
The Ministry of Rites could still get by with it, because laying such long distances of rails would make people worry about the destruction of feng shui, and the rumbling of the rails through the countryside would easily conflict with local rural customs. These matters of "human consciousness" were not the exclusive responsibility of the Ministry of Rites, and in fact they had never paid much attention to them before, but now they have been brought up by the Ministry of Rites themselves.
To put it bluntly, I just want to wait for the day when the motorcycle goes on the road so that I can get some credit.
The Ministry of Rites let it go, but later on the Ministry of Personnel also felt that it was related to them. Such a big project would require a lot of capable officials, right?
Even the Ministry of War wanted to contribute, with the reason being that such a large project would require the use of a large number of slaves and might even cause the people to resist the work, so stability needed to be ensured.
"How did our Lord Yan do it?"
The emperor sat by the lake in the Western Garden and fished quietly.
You Zhi on the side replied, "Lord Yan has agreed."
"As the old saying goes, a new emperor appoints new ministers. It seems that the cabinet appoints new ministers as well. He has just come to this position, so he must consolidate the people's hearts. Let him do what he wants."
As long as the job can be done, he is very tolerant of what method is used.
"Even so, Lord Yan must obey the emperor."
"They said that they wanted to let Minister of Personnel Xia Yan join the cabinet. What do you think?"
"I feel that Old Tianguan and Lord Yan are not of the same kind."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said nothing.
After a while, someone came to report that Yan Song wanted to see him.
Zhu Houzhao readily agreed and also arranged a fishing rod.
This famous treacherous minister in history finally reached a position second only to the emperor and above everyone else under his leadership.
Watching him gradually approaching, Zhu Houzhao had a feeling of being in another world. Perhaps it was an illusion. He saw a young and energetic Yan Song walking towards him, and then he turned into an old man when he stood in front of him.
"Your Majesty, I, Yan Song, pay my respects to you."
"Lord Yan, you are old."
The emperor suddenly said this out of the blue.
Yan Song smiled blankly, "I am sixty-one years old, my hair is all white, my teeth are loose, my bones are weak, I am old."
"If I remember correctly, you were a Jinshi in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi."
"Your Majesty is in the prime of life, well-informed and with a strong memory. I am indeed a Jinshi in the 18th year of the Hongzhi reign."
"The previous emperor passed away that year, and I was only fifteen years old. It has not been easy for me to come this far. Since then, you have been loyal and dedicated for thirty-five years. We can be considered a good match between monarch and minister, right? Come, sit down, and go fishing with me."
"Your humble servant obeys your order." Yan Song was a man who would follow the rules. He only sat one-third of the way, then tilted his head and said, "Your Majesty has not abandoned me and has entrusted me with important tasks many times. As a minister, I should think about how to repay your majesty's kindness. If I can get another word from your majesty that the monarch and his subjects get along well, I will die without regrets."
Zhu Houzhao said: "I don't want you to die. Starting from Liu Jian, I have not let any of my prime ministers die. Although they all left their positions for various reasons, I tried my best to preserve their reputations after their death.
In the court, people have different positions and disagreements, which is normal. There are so-called non-partisans and all kinds of things. But the reason why I did not kill those prime ministers is that I do not want this disagreement to evolve into a vicious fight.
You are the Prime Minister I approve of, but you are not upright enough, and many people are dissatisfied with you. Even so, you should not set a precedent for vicious fighting. Whether you can sit firmly in this position does not depend on what they say, but on what I think. "
Yan Song's hands trembled, and he was about to stand up, "Your Majesty, how dare I do this?"
The emperor was relaxed and patted his arm, "Sit down, sit down, don't scare away my fish."
"Your Majesty, have I made any mistakes?"
"No, I am talking to you like this because I am thinking of the friendship between the emperor and his subjects for more than 30 years. Don't think too much about it. If it were someone too unfamiliar, I would not talk to him, so as not to scare him half to death."
Yan Song thought to himself, you are good at talking, old man, but don’t you know that you scared me half to death?
This is the style formed by the emperor over the past few decades. He usually seems gentle and friendly, but when he gets really angry, no one's plea will help.
As the saying goes, there are policies from above and countermeasures from below.
Since the emperor has such a temper, the smart ministers naturally dare not take his gentleness and friendliness as the real thing. Most of them think that the emperor is a rather strict kind of emperor.
Moreover, most people do not believe in the so-called friendship between the ruler and his subjects.
Who knows, Yang Yiqing and Gu Renyi might have heard such words back then. What was the result?
Zhu Houzhao didn't care what they thought, because they had special status and what they did concerned thousands of households, which was the most important thing. As for the feelings between them, they were secondary.
"Your Majesty's teachings, I will remember them."
"I am already fifty years old and my energy is running low, so I don't want to see chaos in the court, people fighting over unimportant things. I want to focus my limited energy on what is really important. If there is someone you really don't like, try not to kill him. At most, you can demote him to a subordinate continent, so that he won't be bothered."
Yan Song sighed, "Everyone says that Emperor Renzong of Song was kind and benevolent, but your majesty is far more kind and benevolent."
"You are talking nonsense. He never killed scholars and officials, but I did." Zhu Houzhao was a little proud when he said this. "Some people should be killed if they should be killed."
Yan Song was not sure what to say.
He is afraid.
"By the way, what brings you to the palace?"
Yan Song then reported, "Your Majesty, I am here to report on the steam locomotive track. I have discussed this with the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of the Imperial Household. Since Your Majesty attaches great importance to this project, the Cabinet and the various ministries will naturally do their best to build it. Therefore, we plan to allocate 3 million yuan and recruit slaves from Japan for construction. In addition, I think it is more appropriate to operate it as a company. I will set up construction, operation, and locomotive production companies in imitation of the new official road that was previously built. I wonder if Your Majesty thinks this is appropriate?"
"It is appropriate to operate it as a company. I mentioned yesterday that material supplies were for wartime. In peacetime, we can undertake the transportation needs of ordinary goods, and then let merchants pay according to the distance and weight of the goods. As for the amount of funds, don't just give a total number. I want to know how 3 million yuan is composed, and you can decide how many people to use."
"Yes, Wei Chen understands."
Zhu Houzhao asked: "Anything else?"
"There is one more matter that I would like to ask Your Majesty for your judgment."
"Just tell me."
"Yes. This matter is about the Fourth Prince." As he said this, he took out a memorial from his sleeve and lowered his head.
Zhu Houzhao reached out and took it, then frowned after a quick glance.
Asked: "Do you think it's true or false?"
"Your Majesty, I want to say something from the bottom of my heart regarding the Fourth Prince."
"That's it."
Yan Song knelt down and said, "Your Majesty and the Fourth Prince are father and son, and I have no intention of stirring up trouble. However, the history books are full of blood. The key to this matter is not whether it is true or false, but that the Fourth Prince is too powerful.
Everyone in and outside the court knows that the Fourth Prince is brave and good at fighting. He commands calmly and with moderation. His lieutenants, such as Ma Fang, are extremely brave and powerful, and are as powerful as tigers and leopards. As for the cavalry he leads, they are all young and strong elites from the Han, Mongolian and Liaodong tribes. Such a tiger-like army is terrifying. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, I beg Your Majesty to think twice!"
Zhu Houzhao shook the memorial in his hand. "Since my fourth son has won many battles, there has never been a lack of such memorials. Reliable people will find a few serious things to say that his subordinates have violated military discipline, while unreliable people will simply say that he is arrogant and reckless. The governor of Xinjiang went a step further and said that Prince Yu's deputy general only obeyed the king's orders and did not obey the imperial edict. In my opinion, the biggest fault of the fourth son is that he won too many battles."
When Yan Song saw that the emperor didn't listen, he shut up.
Zhu Houzhao urged, "Why don't you say anything?"
"I want to say that what Your Majesty said is the truth. If Your Majesty is sure that nothing will happen, may I ask why Your Majesty wants to keep the other princes in the capital instead of enfeoffing them like Emperor Taizu did?"
Zhu Houzhao frowned and his face became serious. In fact, he didn't say Zhu Di, they are all powerful fourth brothers, don't you know how your ancestors did it?
"I don't want to be like Emperor Gaozong of Song. The soldiers are fighting outside, but the emperor is dragging his feet at home. The front and the back are in a tight spot. It's despicable."
"In this case, I beg Your Majesty to send Prince Yu to attack again!"
Zhu Houzhao understood what he meant. Since the fourth brother was so powerful, there was no need to let him stay stable and consolidate and preserve his power. He should be allowed to go out and continue fighting with others.
"If you do this, I'm afraid it will attract criticism from the court officials."
Yan Song thought to himself, "When have you ever cared about the criticism of the officials in the court?" "I will take full responsibility for all the criticisms!"
Zhu Houzhao was satisfied in his heart, but he said, "You can't say that."
"I am your Majesty's chief minister, and I am willing to do it."
"Okay, okay, look at him, he feels like he is going to die." Zhu Houzhao pulled You Zhi aside and said this jokingly.
You Zhi also said: "Lord Yan is loyal, but the Fourth Prince has always been filial. Lord, you don't have to be so excited."
"Okay, since you, Lord Yan, asked me to do you a favor, I have to give you some face. Tell me, what do you think?"
Yan Song said: "The Fourth Prince's talent is naturally a blessing to the court, but the court does not only have the Anxi Protectorate, but also has disputes with Westerners in Nanyang. How can we not use such a great general? Prince Yu is loyal to Your Majesty, and he will be able to go to war immediately when the imperial edict arrives."
What he meant was, you trust him, so if you do, why don't you try to transfer him? He is so loyal, so it wouldn't be a big deal if he was transferred to another battlefield, right?
This is indeed not an exaggeration.
If the emperor cannot transfer a general to lead troops somewhere else, then that is a big problem.
After he was transferred from his post, his previous network of relationships was broken, and naturally he could not command the support of so many people as when he was in office.
To be honest, if the Fourth Prince starts a rebellion in Southeast Asia in the future and can still make a group of generals in the Northwest work for him, this kind of personal charm is too great, which shows that he is a talent that appears only once in a hundred years. Then he should sit on the throne of the emperor, and after he sits on the throne, the Ming Dynasty will surely reach its peak again.
Even in the underworld, Zhu Houzhao would applaud him.
"I agree. Take advantage of his return to Beijing to let him take over as the commander-in-chief of the Nanyang War Zone."
Yan Song raised his head slightly, as if he was surprised that the emperor would agree. In short, there was something strange on his face.
"Why, do you have anything else to say?"
boom!
Yan Song bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I will lose my head if I say something like this."
"The truth is hard to hear but it's also hard to hear. Tell it."
"The Fourth Prince was raised by His Majesty. His Majesty is willing to trust him, but can brothers have such trust? If His Majesty really favors the Fourth Prince, he shouldn't let him serve as the commander-in-chief of Nanyang. A gentleman is innocent, but he is guilty of possessing a treasure!"
As soon as he said this, You Zhi glanced at the emperor's face and immediately knelt down.
"Yan Song, you talk too much!"
"Death penalty!"
"Get out!"
Yan Song was driven away by his words.
But after Yan Song left, Zhu Houzhao lost interest in fishing and threw away his fishing rod in annoyance.
why are you mad?
Because it's right.
The old emperor is still alive, and the brothers will remain in harmony no matter what. He was so relaxed before because even if the fourth brother really rebelled, he did not have that much strength. Could he have fought his way through the Xinjiang Military Region, the Hetao Military Region and the Beijing Garrison District?
boast.
But the problem lies after the emperor died.
Now so many people are afraid of the fourth prince, but they are suppressed by him. As for the future emperor, not to mention being suppressed, even he himself may be afraid. In this case, if the fourth prince still holds a large army.
Then the successor emperor must kill him!
What's worse is that if the fourth brother has this awareness and realizes that he is about to be trapped in a dead end, he will give it his all even if he is not strong enough.
Just like the Fengtian Jingnan back then!
Zhu Houzhao stared at the lake in a daze. He could not make the same mistake again. He wanted to leave a stable court and border for the next emperor. He could not be stubborn and think that he could control the situation. When a person dies, he can no longer control anything. People will fight for their own survival.
Ugh.
With a sigh, he called You Zhi over and said, "Go tell Yan Song that I will no longer let Prince Yu serve as the commander-in-chief of Nanyang."
You Zhi's expression changed a little. The emperor was rarely persuaded by others.
"Yes."
……
……
In June of the 35th year of the Zhengde reign, the Fourth Prince, the General of the Western Expedition, the Grand Protector of the Anxi Protectorate, and the Prince of Yu Zhu Zaiji, who had been traveling for four months, finally arrived in the capital.
Perhaps because of his Mongolian ancestry, this guy is tall and strong, about nine feet tall, with broad shoulders and a round waist. At the age of thirty, he has a beard and is truly a fierce general.
As for the men behind him, they were all big men of this size. Some of them had Mongolian faces, and the young eunuchs in the palace were all scared when they saw them.
Zhu Houzhao leaned against the hollow wooden door and saw this guy coming in. He knelt down twice and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, I respectfully ask you how your Majesty is doing!"
"I'm fine." He walked out.
The fourth child raised his head excitedly, "Father, I missed you so much in the past two years!"
Zhu Houzhao sneered, "You are a general now, please pay attention to your manners."
"Hehe, Father is right."
"Let me see if you are injured anywhere."
"Being in the army and fighting in wars is not the same as being in Beijing. There will always be bumps and bruises. But don't worry, father. I'm fine!" The fourth son was full of joy on his face. "Oh, by the way, I haven't had time to wish you a happy birthday!"
As he said this, he knelt down and presented something from his arms, "Your Majesty, this is a map of the Anxi Protectorate. I know you like it, but it's too far away and the capital can't draw such a map, so I ordered someone to survey it and specially gave it to you."
"Have you seen Xihai?"
"Yes! But you can't call it the West Sea anymore. There is another sea to the west of the West Sea, but it's dark and doesn't look like a sea."
"Is there an empire called Ottoman Türkiye?"
The fourth elder was surprised, "Father knows?"
"Yes, their envoys came to Ming Dynasty last year. But they came from the sea with Western merchants, so you didn't know. They have filed many complaints against you, saying that you have been fighting wars everywhere and disrupting the local power order."
"What?! How dare these untrustworthy villains report me! Dad, I will take care of them when I get back!"
Zhu Houzhao did not respond. He pulled the fourth brother over and asked him to sit on the chair.
"Old Four, you can't go back."
This guy was stunned, "Father, what do you mean by this? Why can't I go back?"
"Because I am your biological father, there is no way a biological father would let his son go to his death."
"I don't understand."
"Go find your fifth brother. He understands."
After making Yan Song angry that day, Zhu Houzhao had been thinking about it.
After much consideration, this is the only way left.
He is going to start suppressing the fourth one.
Keep suppressing me until I die.
In this way, the successor emperor can grant grace and promotion again.
This is the best way to not waste the fourth brother's talents while ensuring harmony among brothers and stability in the country.
The relationship between the emperor and the princes, and between the princes, is really difficult to handle. Moreover, he is a bit like the first generation of emperors, that is, the sons he gave birth to have been trained in practical work and received standard education, so each of them has decent abilities and is difficult to choose.
But a fourth child is always impossible, bloodline is a factor.
Also, being an emperor and being a general are not the same thing. The fourth brother has been good at martial arts for many years and not good at literature. If you ask him to deal with some civil affairs, he will scream every day.
"Father, is there anything wrong with my son?"
Zhu Houzhao was a very special emperor. He didn't beat around the bush and said directly: "You are not wrong, but the 20 troops under your command have scared too many other people. They are afraid that you will not recognize your father, start a rebellion, and become emperor yourself."
The fourth brother was anxious, "Who is this bad guy who talks too much? Father, how could your son do such a treasonous thing? Everyone in my army knows how much your son respects you!"
Zhu Houzhao laughed loudly, "No one knows a son better than his father. I knew you were going to say that! All right, go find your fifth brother and inform the other brothers. We will be reunited when you come back. I will hold a banquet in the palace tonight. All brothers, come and welcome you!"
……
……
The fourth brother had doubts in his mind, so he naturally couldn't wait to go to Prince Rui's mansion.
Just as the old emperor said, Prince Rui knew everything. After hearing this, he sighed, "Fourth brother, father really loves you."
"No, you are the one that the emperor loves the most, and you are the smartest."
"It's different. I respect my father eight points and I'm two points afraid of him. This fear comes from what you call being smart. But my fourth brother doesn't care about the court and concentrates on the battlefield. Everyone thinks you're a rough man, so when you're a little rough in front of the emperor, my father not only doesn't get angry, but he also feels close to you. As a younger brother, I really envy you for this."
The fourth brother didn't care. "I can do this, which means that my father doesn't care. You are just putting shackles on yourself."
"Indeed."
"Then why do you think Father doesn't allow me to go again?"
The fifth child has always had a good relationship with him. The fourth child doesn't like the eldest child because he obviously doesn't have much ability, but he always puts on airs. The second child rarely communicates with him. As for the third child, he liked him very much when they were young, but as they grew up, the two of them became distant from him.
The third brother seems to be a "virtuous" person, but he is actually a bit selfish and wants to keep some benefits for himself. Everyone is smart enough to see that.
However, the two brothers have always been in harmony.
"Because father is afraid that his brothers will fight each other a hundred years from now. Fourth brother, why I said that father loves you is because there are only a few princes who can allow a prince to have 200,000 soldiers and horses. Do you understand?"
The fourth brother is not that stupid. "You mean the future emperor will not tolerate me."
"Don't say such things when we go out."
"Then will you let me?"
The fifth brother was even more shocked. "Fourth brother, our father is in his prime, we can't talk nonsense. Besides, fourth brother is the eldest brother..."
"Well, I am your eldest brother, but my mother is Mongolian, as you know, so we don't care about the order of brothers in this matter. I never want to do that." Then the fourth brother changed his expression and whispered, "But fifth brother, you should fight for it. Father loves you. If you take over the position, fourth brother will definitely help you with all his strength. So fourth brother has to go back. Only when he goes back can he support you at the critical moment."
It is hard to tell whether this statement is true or not. Maybe he is trying to win his support temporarily in order to keep the power in his hands, or maybe it is true.
From a personal perspective, Zai Jian hoped it was true, and subconsciously felt it was true, but perhaps because of his innate political sensitivity, he immediately thought of the possibility of temporarily winning his support.
No matter what, he still pretended to be angry and stood up, "Fourth brother, if you keep talking nonsense, I won't welcome you. As sons, we always hope that our father will live a long life! Also, you can't talk about helping anyone anymore. We must respect our father's will in everything. If the person our father has chosen is really not you or me, will you do something against our father's will and be a disloyal and unfilial minister?!"
Oh, those are some serious words.
"Tsk, why are you still angry? I won't say anything more, okay?"
Zaizhen apologized again, "I was offended just now, please forgive me, fourth brother."
"What's the problem? I just have a headache. These things are too complicated."
“But this is our future.”
"Later? I really hope that the later you mentioned will come later, the later the better..."
This is all he could say for politeness, but Zaizhen knew that his good relationship with his fourth brother was one of his advantages.
====
(End of this chapter)