Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 8 Domineering
Ding Kuichu looked up at Lu Daqi, who nodded slightly.
Ding Kuichu's backup was Lu Daqi. On the way to the Guiwang Mansion, Ding Kuichu had already had contact with Lu Daqi. After making some small concessions on the personnel issues of the new dynasty, Lu Daqi also agreed to stand on his side.
After experiencing the tyranny of military men such as Zheng Zhilong during the Longwu Dynasty, civil officials such as Lu Daqi also began to realize the influence of military men, or the powerful faction that holds military power, on the court.
Now is a time of turmoil. The days of Chongzhen Dynasty more than a decade ago, when military officers would obey orders as soon as they received one, are gone forever.

Ding Kuichu had 20,000 elite soldiers under his command, and was undoubtedly the most powerful person after the establishment of the Xin Dynasty. Although Qu Shisi also had some influence in Guangxi, he was obviously not comparable to Ding Kuichu.
The reason why Lu Daqi supported Ding Kuichu was that he had already determined that the political situation of the new dynasty in the future would inevitably be dominated by Ding Kuichu. He showed his favor to Ding Kuichu in advance, which would help him gain a foothold in the court.

On the other hand, because of Zheng Zhilong, Lu Daqi had no good feelings towards these local generals. At present, the political situation was undecided. If another general was transferred to Beijing, I am afraid that it would cause a lot of trouble.

Thinking of this, Lu Daqi spoke in a deep voice

"The Imperial Guards are an old system of the country. Your Highness has thought deeply about this and it is only natural to rebuild the Imperial Guards."

"But now that half of the country has been destroyed and the treasury is depleted, if we build a new army at this time, I don't know how much money and grain will be spent. I dare to ask Your Highness to put this idea aside for the time being and wait until next year when the national expenditure slows down before building a new army."

Zhu Lang narrowed his eyes and sneered in his heart. This Lu Daqi seemed to agree, but in fact he was still using delay as an excuse to stop it. Wait until next year. It's hard to say whether Zhu Lang will be in Guangdong Province next year.

Zhu Lang's face remained expressionless, his eyes rolled, and he said seriously
"The issue we are discussing now is whether or not to build the Imperial Guards. Since Lord Lu also believes that the Imperial Guards should be built, the remaining issue is how to allocate and raise money and food in the court."

"Of course it takes money and food to build the Imperial Guards, but I heard that the court has hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Does it mean that the court can't afford the money and food just to build another 3,000 Imperial Guards?"

Lu Daqi was also stunned when he heard this, not knowing how to respond.
You said that forming an imperial guard would cost a lot of money and food, but the imperial court now has an army of more than 100,000. His Royal Highness the Prince of Gui just wanted to build an imperial guard of 3,000 people, but the imperial court immediately ran out of money. Do you believe this when you say it?

Lu Daqi was choked and speechless. The audience fell silent. Qu Shisi and Lu Daqi both looked at Ding Kuichu.

They have both already charged forward. There is no reason for you, the one who is most determined against it, to remain deaf and dumb.

Ding Kuichu's face darkened slightly, then he straightened up and finally spoke loudly.

"The Guangdong Army is a strong and capable force. If Your Highness wishes to form an imperial army, you can directly select soldiers from the Guangdong Army. The Guangxi Army has always been rough and difficult to control. Moving troops across thousands of miles will not only cost money and food, but more importantly, a large number of troops passing through the border will inevitably cause disturbances to the local area. The people along the way will be frightened day and night, and I am afraid that..."

The young prince's expression became uglier as he listened, but Ding Kuichu seemed not to notice and continued talking. However, this time the young prince interrupted him directly.
"According to Lord Ding, the Guangdong Army is the only one in the world that has strict military discipline and bravely fights, while the armies in other parts of the court are rough and difficult to control, with lax military discipline and are useless?"

The young prince suddenly stood up and looked at the three people opposite him with an angry look on his face.
"I just want to build a royal guard, but the three of you are trying to stop me. How come the three of you are already planning to take control of the royal guard before I even take the throne as regent?"

"If that is the case, I will never accept the position of regent. The three of you should seek someone else."

"I dare not"

Qu Shisi and the other two changed their expressions and quickly stood up to apologize.
Ding Kuichu was interrupted and looked even uglier, but he had no choice but to apologize.

The three men apologized, but before they could stand up, Ding Kuichu raised his head with a cold and hard expression on his face.
"Your Highness has a deep prejudice against the soldiers and civilians of Guangdong Province. All the blame lies with me alone. Since Your Highness does not trust the soldiers and civilians of Guangdong Province, it means that I am incompetent. I resign."

"No"

The young prince looked angry and shouted loudly
"The world is in turmoil, half of the country has fallen into the hands of bandits. The country can survive at this time, all thanks to the three adults who work hard day and night. I am a small prince in a remote vassal state, how can I understand the affairs of governing a country? Therefore, the importance of the world lies in the three adults, not in me, Zhu Youlang. My Ming Dynasty can do without the King of Gui, but it can never do without the three adults."

The young prince was excited and clenched his hands
"I am terrified"

The three ministers also hurriedly bowed and retreated, but their expressions warmed up a little at this time.

"If the three of you abandon our Great Ming, what use will it be for me to take the throne and become regent? I am a leisurely prince, how dare I covet the divine weapon and the throne, so I asked the Concubine to come to the front court to make all the clarifications."

"The three adults are concerned about the country and think that the prince has some legal authority and can unite the people of the country. The prince dare not refuse. The Queen Mother also advised the prince that since he is of royal blood, he has already pledged his life to the country. The emperor guards the country and the king dies for the country. Since he has taken on this responsibility, the prince is ready."

"However, the Concubine Dowager is kind and loving. She has protected me in every possible way during my years of wandering. Even if I were to reincarnate for a thousand lifetimes, I would never be able to repay her kindness and love. The prince wants to build an imperial army just to protect the Concubine Dowager from danger when the time comes."

"This is the only wish that I have in mind. I hope that you gentlemen can show some pity for my filial piety. If the Concubine Dowager can be safe, I will have no regrets even if I die for the country."

The young prince's eyes were red, and he bowed deeply to the three ministers.

The three of them also hurriedly avoided him and bowed in return, "Your Highness is extremely benevolent and filial, and will surely be a wise ruler for our Great Ming. This is a blessing for our Great Ming."

Qu Shisi seemed to be moved by Zhu Lang, and continued with a sigh:

"Your Highness, why do you need to be so discouraged? Our Great Ming still holds half of the world in our hands. We have hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers in the court. We only need to re-establish the orthodoxy and win over the people's hearts. We will surely be able to drive out the Eastern Tartars and restore our Great Ming."

"The year before last, Emperor Lie died for his country, last year Emperor Hongguang was captured, and two months ago the late Emperor died in Tingzhou."

Zhu Lang had a silent expression on his face. He simply listed the three emperors and stopped talking. The excitement on Qu Shisi's face also suddenly froze.

You said that my great Ming army is strong and capable of recovering the country and ensuring my safety, but you have killed three emperors in three years. How can I believe you when you are like this?

Since you can't guarantee my safety, isn't it reasonable for me to build an imperial army?
The three of them were speechless at this moment. It was not until this moment that they finally realized that the young prince in front of them probably really did not want to be the emperor.

In their view, they supported Zhu Lang as emperor, and Zhu Lang should be grateful.

But Zhu Lang on the other side obviously did not think so. This young prince really thought that this was a dead end and really did not want to be the emperor. Moreover, the other party had reasons and evidence. Even they now felt that being the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was really a high-risk job.

If we don't agree to their request to form a royal guard, they might just quit.

The three ministers were in a state of confusion, and for a moment they were undecided. In fact, the moment they submitted their petition to persuade the emperor to ascend the throne, they had already lost their way.

Although Zhu Lang's persuasion process was not completed, the Ming royal family was still recognized by the people as the legitimate monarch. If they changed their minds and appointed a new monarch, they would immediately become like Cao Cao and Wang Mang, and would be condemned by everyone at home and abroad.

Moreover, judging from Zhu Lang's statement just now, this young prince is obviously very self-aware and intends to hand over the government affairs to the three of them.

No matter what happens in the future, at least a promise has been made to the three of them. Even if a new emperor is appointed, he may not be more sensible than Zhu Lang.

So at this point, Qu Shisi and the other two actually didn't have many choices.

Qu Shisi and Lu Daqi remained silent, looking at Ding Kuichu in the middle.
Ding Kuichu was silent for a moment, then he finally raised his head and looked at the young prince, and asked in a deep voice:

"Why did Your Highness specify Jiao Lian by name and insist on transferring him to the capital to form the Imperial Guards?"

Zhu Lang's eyes flashed with joy. Ding Kuichu asked this question, obviously intending to give in, but his face remained expressionless.
"I am a lazy prince, how can I know any court officials or generals? My Ming Dynasty naturally has countless famous generals and heroes, but I only know and trust General Jiao Lian," the young prince said with a moved expression on his face.

"Then why does His Highness only trust General Jiao Lian?" Ding Kuichu stared at Zhu Lang.
Zhu Lang was about to speak, but Qu Shisi beside him spoke first.
"Several years ago, His Royal Highness the Prince of Gui fell into the hands of the Western Bandits. It was General Jiao Lian who led his troops to defeat the bandits and personally welcomed His Royal Highness the Prince of Gui into the province of Guangxi."

Lu Daqi, who was standing by, suddenly realized something. No wonder the King of Gui was so obsessed with Jiao Lian.
It turned out that the King of Gui was frightened by the chaotic army and was afraid of death. He wanted to transfer Jiao Lian, who had saved his life, to guard the palace in the hope that he could save him in the future when he was in danger.

The three courtiers were also silent at this time, because they found that they had no reason to object.
Zhu Lang wanted to transfer his lifesaver to guard him, and at the same time promote him to a higher position to repay his lifesaver's kindness. What could they say against this?

"Since the King of Gui has issued an order, we will naturally follow it. However, mobilizing troops over a thousand miles involves many parties. I am afraid that General Jiao will not be able to arrive in the city before Your Highness ascends the throne."

After a while, Ding Kuichu finally agreed in a stiff tone.
"It's okay, it's okay, I just want to get General Jiao, and I'll leave the affairs of the previous dynasty to the three adults."

Zhu Lang's eyes flashed with joy, knowing that Ding Kuichu had finally given in, and he quickly agreed.
Ding Kuichu's request was that Jiao Lian could come, but he had to enter the city after Zhu Lang became regent, and he could not interfere with the persuasion.

Zhu Lang obviously understood Ding Kuichu's hint and directly promised to let the three of them decide the affairs of the previous dynasty.

As for whether he would really let the three of them handle it, he would wait until Jiao Lian's three thousand men entered the capital, and then he would find a way to get the thousands of men in his plan. At that time, he would let these people know what it meant to have different offensive and defensive situations, and what it meant to have the strongest soldiers and horses as the king.

(End of this chapter)