Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 705 Denial
Many people agreed with this statement. Whether it was the Donglin Party or other parties, as a member of the civil official group, they did not want the nobles and military generals to become powerful and affect their status. In the eyes of most people, it was the safest way to control the military with civil officials. The Ming Dynasty had been doing this for so many years, which also proved that this method was the most appropriate.

From this point of view, it is natural to determine the assistant manager of the military affairs of the Beijing camp as soon as possible. Not only this position, but also the subordinates are applicable. Only when the army is in the hands of civilian officials can it be safe.

Wen Tiren scoffed at this. How dare these civil servants use Zhao Kuangyin as an example? Don't they know how Zhu Shenzhui became the regent?

At his instruction, his subordinates immediately stood up to refute. As everyone argued, there was an endless quarrel in the court. You say you are right, and I say I am right. They were tit-for-tat and neither side would give in.

On the contrary, Zhu Shenzhui, who was sitting there, acted like an outsider. Not only was he not angry, he was watching the scene happily.

Zhu Shenzui's behavior made several bigwigs feel strange. Wen Tihen was a little uneasy, Yang Sichang was thoughtful, and Fang Fengnian, Zhang Fengxiang, Fang Kezhuang and others frowned slightly, not understanding why Zhu Shenzui was so calm?

On the contrary, Zhang Xijun, Zhu Shenzhu's confidant, said nothing and stood in the queue pretending to be a invisible man.

After these people had been making noise for a while, Zhu Shenzhui coughed lightly, and Li Guofu, who was standing nearby, immediately shouted loudly, asking the hall to be quiet. As Li Guofu's shout sounded, the noisy crowd finally stopped and finally became silent.

"What you said makes sense." Zhu Shenzhui tried to smooth things over, and then said, "This is all for the sake of state affairs. You don't have to hurt the harmony."

Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly to Yang Sichang, then glanced at Wen Tiren, and finally his eyes fell on Gong Dingzi and others: "Mr. Gong's suggestion is not wrong, not to mention that the position of assistant military affairs is indeed important. Of course, Mr. Yang, Mr. Wen and other ministers are also right..."

Zhu Shenzhui talked for a long time, but his words were vague and he still didn't express his opinion, which made everyone confused.

Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile: "I just want to ask one thing, is this position of assistant military affairs right or wrong? Who can answer me?"

"Regent, I think it is right, otherwise Emperor Jiajing would not have established this position, and subsequent emperors also continued this position according to the precedent." The Donglin Party expressed their attitude immediately, and some other officials also expressed similar views. Even Yang Sichang said that this position was still necessary after hesitation. Although Wen Tihen wanted to object, although Wen Tihen was the prime minister, he could not completely stand against all the civil servants. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

At this time, Zhu Shenzhui did not wait for Wen Tiren to speak, but spoke first to help him out: "Since everyone has their own opinions, and this position is already a common practice, I, as the regent, must naturally act according to the rules. Previously, due to the war in the north, this position has been vacant, and now that the army has returned to the court, it is natural to re-establish it."

At this point, Zhu Shenzhui said to Wang Jinwu, "You are the commander-in-chief, and you are in charge of the military affairs. After the personnel are selected, you, as the commander-in-chief, should cooperate with the assistant to rectify the Beijing camp. You should also listen carefully to the assistant's suggestions on weekdays. Do you understand?"

"I know. I will do whatever the Regent says. Please rest assured, I will cooperate with you." Wang Jinwu replied firmly without blinking.

Zhu Shenzhu nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "According to the rules, the assistant military official should be the Minister of War, Vice Minister or the Left and Right Censor-in-Chief. At present, I am not suitable for this position. The bandits in the northwest have not been pacified yet, and the affairs of the Ministry of War are complicated. I think it is more appropriate for the Censorate to take the position."

As he spoke, he cast his gaze towards Deputy Chief Censor Fang Kezhuang and said with a smile, "I think Lord Fang is a suitable candidate. I wonder if Lord Fang is willing to take on this position?"

Fang Kezhuang had never thought that he would be chosen, and was stunned for a moment. But the other members of the Donglin Party were overjoyed when they heard this. They had originally planned to compete for the candidate and were secretly gearing up to take the position. But now Zhu Shenzhu directly named Fang Kezhuang, and the meaning of his words was very clear, that is, he intended to let Fang Kezhuang be the assistant military affairs manager of the Beijing Camp.

Such a good thing was simply what they had been longing for. For a moment, all the Donglin Party members were smiling from ear to ear, especially Gong Dingzi and others who had initially proposed it. They were so happy that they danced with joy and said hurriedly that this candidate was perfect. Fang Kezhuang was the most appropriate candidate in terms of both official position and status, and he was the only one who could assist in the military affairs of the Beijing Camp.

Just like that, before Fang Kezhuang could come to his senses, Zhu Shenzhui finalized the matter and announced that Deputy Censor-in-Chief Fang Kezhuang would be appointed to assist in the military affairs of the Beijing Camp and take office immediately. He also asked Wang Jinwu to cooperate with Fang Kezhuang to do a good job in the Beijing Camp.

It was not until he thanked the regent and accepted the position that Fang Kezhuang came to his senses. He had suddenly become the assistant to the military affairs of the Beijing Camp? Such a big pie fell directly on his head, and he was really a little dizzy.

At the same time, Fang Kezhuang was also inexplicably happy. After all, this position was not low, and it was a real position among the civil officials who controlled military power second only to the Minister of War. As the assistant manager of the military affairs of the Beijing Camp, the Beijing Camp was nominally in his hands. Wasn't this their original purpose? He was even more delighted.

While the Donglin Party and others were happy, Yang Sichang didn't know what he was thinking. He looked at Zhu Shenzui's smiling but nonchalant expression, then looked at Wang Jinwu standing opposite him with his eyes and nose indifferent, and Zhang Xijun who was hiding in the crowd and didn't say a word. Thinking carefully about what Zhu Shenzui had just said, Yang Sichang seemed to understand something.

Wen Tiren was the same, with a thoughtful look in his eyes. His gaze subconsciously met that of Yang Sichang beside him. The moment their eyes met, they seemed to understand something, but soon their gazes looked away, as if nothing had happened.

After talking about this matter, they began to discuss other matters. After more than an hour, almost everything that needed to be said had been said. When they were about to leave the court, Yang Tinglin stood up and said that he had something to report.

Yang Tinglin's official position was not high. He was a Jinshi in the fourth year of Chongzhen, a scholar from the Shujishi family. He was previously an editor in the Hanlin Academy, and now he is a censor in the Censorate. "I heard that someone in the court tried to negotiate peace with the Jiannu, preparing to reduce the military expenditure in Liaodong and abandon the defense line in Liaoxi. I wonder if this is true?"

"Heard? Where did you hear that?" Wen Tiren asked directly, his tone extremely harsh.

"I am the Censor and have the right to report matters based on hearsay. Moreover, I have heard that the Lord Minister agrees with this matter. I wonder if the Lord Minister can tell me whether this is true or false?" Yang Tinglin asked directly without fear of Wen Tihen.

Yang Tinglin's words immediately caused an uproar, and many people looked at each other in surprise.

However, several bigwigs of the Donglin Party had sneers on their faces, looking like they were watching the fun, as if they had known about this for a long time, or that Yang Tinglin's move was the intention of these bigwigs.

"Nonsense! There is absolutely no such thing!" Wen Tiren replied firmly, his face was even more furious. He cursed in his heart, this thing was not false but true. Zhu Shenzhu had discussed with Wen Tiren privately before, preparing to reduce the military expenditure in Liaodong, abolish the Liaoyang salary previously levied by Emperor Chongzhen, shrink the Liaodong front, switch from offense to defense, strictly guard the Shanhaiguan to Liaoxi corridor defense line, and change the Liaodong strategy.

As the Prime Minister, Wen Tiren supported Zhu Shenzhui in making such a change. The problems of the Ming Dynasty were very serious, especially the financial situation was on the verge of collapse. The war in Liaodong had been going on, and the annual military expenditure in Liaodong remained high. In addition, the strategy of the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong had always been to attack and recover lost territory, which made the Ming Dynasty suffer repeated defeats and continuous bleeding in Liaodong.

If this continues, the war will not only fail to bring benefits to the Ming Dynasty, but will make the Ming Dynasty weaker and weaker. Knowing that you can't win, but still continue to fight, what is the point of this kind of face-saving behavior?

If the strategic goal of Liaodong is changed, and only Shanhaiguan is used as the bottom line to garrison the Liaoxi Corridor, the pressure on the Ming Dynasty will be greatly reduced. Liaodong will not need to maintain so many soldiers, and will not need to spend huge sums of money to repair and establish various defense lines.

Setting up defenses everywhere means being attacked everywhere. Not only will there be no gains after a battle, but there will be losses of soldiers and millions of dollars. This is why Wen Tiren agreed with Zhu Shenzhu's idea after listening to it. As long as the financial problem is no longer a problem, then his position as the Prime Minister will be much easier, and the Ming Dynasty will be able to recover from the endless weakness.

This plan was only a concept and had not yet been officially implemented. Both Zhu Shenzhui and Wen Tiren knew that once it was officially announced, it would cause a lot of trouble. So they decided to change the situation step by step, without announcing it, and then officially announce it when the time was right.

But he didn't expect that this matter would be known by the Donglin Party. Wen Tihen was furious. He was not afraid of Yang Tinglin's accusations, but of Zhu Shencui's attitude towards him. Once Zhu Shencui thought that he had leaked the news, he would lose Zhu Shencui's trust. Without trust, could he continue to be the prime minister?

"Prime Minister! You said that this absolutely did not happen, so can you swear to heaven that this really did not happen?" Yang Tinglin asked Wen Tiren aggressively.

Wen Tiren's forehead was slightly sweaty. Although he could swear to heaven, the nature of the oath would change. Moreover, this matter was not a trivial matter. It was Zhu Shenzhu's plan. What was his oath? Going against Zhu Shenzhu? The most he could do was to deny it and delay time.

"My dear Yang, the Prime Minister really didn't know about this matter. I just heard about it today and was very surprised. How could such a thing exist?" Zhu Shenzhui suddenly spoke and asked with a very concerned attitude.

Yang Tinglin saluted Zhu Shenzhui and said solemnly, "Reporting to the Regent, this incident did happen. I was very angry when I heard about it. Since the Jiannu rebelled during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, our Ming Dynasty has fought against the Jiannu many times in Liaodong, but we were unable to resist the enemy, resulting in the loss of Liaodong's territory and the capture of local people. This is truly a national humiliation!"

"Our Ming Dynasty is a great country. How can we accept such humiliation from such a clown? From the Wanli to the Tianqi period, the three previous emperors all made it a national policy to recover Liaodong and wipe out the Jiannu. Now the Chongzhen Dynasty is still the same. The court is eager to eat the flesh and blood of the Jiannu! To recover Liaodong!"

"As a Ming official, I have no mortal enemies with the Jiannu. Anyone who negotiates peace with the Jiannu is a traitor to the country! Liaodong is the territory of our Ming Dynasty and should be recovered. How can we allow Liaodong to fall into the hands of the enemy and the people to be humiliated by them? I am an incompetent official. I beg the regent to investigate this matter, punish the traitors, and gather the strength of our Ming Dynasty to recover Liaodong!"

"Good! Well said!" Zhu Shenzhui cheered loudly and even stood up. "This goes straight to my heart. Lord Yang is indeed a loyal minister and a pillar of the court! Anyone who intends to negotiate peace with the Jiannu is indeed a traitor to the country and should be severely punished. But who is this traitor to the country? Lord Yang, do you know?"

"This..." Yang Tinglin opened his mouth but said nothing. He couldn't say that the traitor was you, Zhu Shenzhui, could he? Although he was an imperial censor and had the right to report things based on hearsay, he had no real evidence, and he only knew a little about the matter and had heard some rumors.

"Why? My dear minister, you don't know? It doesn't matter. You are the censor. It is your duty to report the rumors." Zhu Shenzhui explained considerately for the other party, and then said to Wen Tiren seriously: "Mr. Wen, you are the Prime Minister. The cabinet should investigate this matter strictly!"

"I understand, I will investigate it thoroughly!" Wen Tiren quickly expressed his opinion. Being an old and cunning man, he knew very well that Zhu Shencui was trying to help him out, but he was also wondering why Zhu Shencui took such a clear attitude instead of trying to smooth things over.

Just as Wen Tihen was puzzled, Zhu Shenzui's next words made Zhu Shenzui and Yang Sichang's eyes light up. They instantly understood what Zhu Shenzui's real intention was.

(End of this chapter)