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

Chapter 949 Military Representative
Seeing Wang Jinwu's hesitation, Zhu Shenzhui asked, "After the Tumu Incident, almost all the nobles in the court were wiped out. The Mongols were about to enter the capital and the capital was in danger. Yu Shaobao was ordered to take over the government temporarily as the Minister of War. Only then did he turn the tide and save the Ming Dynasty."

"Yu Shaobao was sincere in his patriotism and loyal to the court. It was because of him that our Ming Dynasty was able to continue after such a huge change. Otherwise, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty would have perished at that time." At this point, Zhu Shenzui sighed. Everyone in the Ming Dynasty knew about Yu Qian and Yu Shaobao. Although the Tumu Fort Incident was too strange and there were different opinions on what led to such a result, no matter what, Yu Qian did make contributions to the country under the circumstances at the time, and it was because of his courage that the political situation was stabilized.

"At that time, Yu Shaobao used civil officials to control the military and political affairs. Although the situation was urgent, it was the best choice. However, in my opinion, Yu Shaobao's actions at that time were not only public-spirited, but also selfish. It was because of him that the structure of the Ming Dynasty court changed drastically afterwards."

"Your Majesty means... a dispute between civil and military officials?"

Zhu Shenzhui nodded, "Yu Shaobao took control of the military power as the Minister of War. At that time, most of the elite members of the Five Military Commandery died in Tumu Fortress. Although the remaining members survived, they were too scared to be reused. In order to defend the capital, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager ordered Yu Shaobao to act at his discretion. This was the only way to turn the tide. Although Yu Shaobao was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, he was also a civil official. As a civil official, the difference between civil and military was inevitable. It was inevitable that he took this opportunity to weaken the authority of the Five Military Commandery and change its position to be controlled by civil officials."

"No matter what Yu Shaobao was thinking back then, perhaps he just wanted to suppress the military generals and turn to civil officials to control the military. But in fact, since the reign of Emperor Yingzong, the political status of the military officials of our Ming Dynasty has plummeted. The powers of the Five Military Commandery were mostly occupied by the Ministry of War. In addition, there have been few talented people among the nobles. As time goes by, the status of the civil officials becomes higher and the status of the military generals becomes lower, which eventually leads to the result that the civil officials are more powerful than the military officials."

Zhu Shenzui's words left Wang Jinwu speechless. As a representative of military generals, he knew this situation too well. In the past, the situation of civil officials being more important than military officials in the Ming Dynasty had reached an indescribable level. A senior military general of the third rank was not equal in political status to a mere seventh rank civil official. Even if the rank of the civil official was lower, he was still superior to the military general, who would scold him in person at any time, and even humiliating him was common.

The same is true for military commanders, who are like dogs with broken spines. They wag their tails and beg for favors when they see civil officials, just like seeing their masters. In this way, what use is there for the army of the Ming Dynasty? Moreover, the army often has civil officials. Although these civil officials are of low rank and grade, the military commanders of the army have to listen to the arrangements of the other party.

It would be fine if this civilian official understood something about military affairs, at least he would not interfere or give orders recklessly. But if he is just a boaster and a paper talker, then what kind of war can such an army fight?

When Nurhaci just rose to power, Emperor Wanli sent troops to conquer him. Wasn't that the outcome of the Battle of Sarhu? In such a war, military generals were not trusted, but civilian officials were used as the commanders of the three armies. The commander of the army at that time was Yang Hao. Although Yang Hao was the Minister of War and had experienced the Korean War, he was considered a "military-savvy" minister in the court, but his military ability was just average. Moreover, Yang Hao was arrogant and looked down on Nurhaci. After going to Liaodong, he was self-righteous, his combat command was a mess, and he did not pay attention to confidentiality, resulting in his combat plan being known to Nurhaci before the army set out.

In this case, how could it be justified that the army led by Yang Hao was not defeated? The main reason for Yang Hao's defeat was that the army was led by a civilian official. As the saying goes, an incompetent general can tire out the entire army. The disastrous defeat in the Battle of Sarhu led to the heavy loss of the main military force of the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong, which led to the rise of Nurhaci's Later Jin.

As mentioned before, civilian leadership is the future trend, but this so-called civilian leadership only refers to civilian management and control of the army, not letting civilians lead troops to fight. These are two completely different concepts. Once all military power is controlled by civilians, even battlefield command falls into the hands of civilians, then this is definitely not a good thing for the country, but will cause serious consequences.

In later times, the so-called civilian leaders were mainly responsible for the highest-level control of the army, including logistics, weapons, and infrastructure. In addition, the civilians were also responsible for controlling whether a war should be launched, and for determining the general direction of policy on whether to fight or not.

In addition to these situations, the actual war command is still the responsibility of the military, including the General Staff Office and generals at all levels. In other words, the civilian officials decide whether to fight or not, and the military generals are responsible for how to fight. This is the real civilian leadership.

This situation did not change until Zhu Shencui entered Beijing. It was precisely because of this change that Zhu Shencui was able to resist foreign invasion at the Great Wall on the one hand, and use domestic troops to encircle and suppress bandits on the other hand, ultimately resolving the problem of bandits that had plagued him for nearly a decade.

But this is far from enough. It is urgent to improve the political status of military generals. If this is not done now, I am afraid that in ten or dozens of years, as Zhu Shenzhui gradually grows old, or after the new emperor ascends the throne, the situation of civil officials being respected and military officials being despised will continue to occur. If there is no strong figure like Zhu Shenzhui by then, the Ming Dynasty will inevitably continue to slide into the abyss and eventually perish.

The key to politics is balance, and the same is true for governing a country and the military. This is the main reason why Wang Jinwu was allowed to join the cabinet. Only if there must be military representatives among the future cabinet members and they can have a seat in the cabinet and the court, then this situation will be completely reversed and become a system that continues.

Wang Jinwu thought silently for a moment, then said to Zhu Shenzhui in a serious tone: "I understand. Since Your Majesty wants me to join the cabinet, then I will join the cabinet."

"Okay!" Zhu Shenzhui was very happy to see that he understood what he meant. He smiled and nodded and said, "Go back and prepare. You will take office in the cabinet in a few days. When you arrive at the cabinet, listen more and talk less. The Prime Minister and other cabinet elders will handle government affairs. As for anything involving military affairs, you should do it as it should be. Do you understand?"

"I understand, I will definitely live up to your majesty's expectations." Wang Jinwu replied solemnly. After finishing the discussion in the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and asked Wang Jinwu to go back. After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Wang Jinwu walked out of the palace and went straight back to his residence without going anywhere.

When he got home, his wife, Mrs. Sun, learned that Wang Jinwu had returned and came out from the back house to greet him.

"Why did you come out? If you feel uncomfortable, just rest in the house." Seeing that his wife was pregnant, Wang Jinwu hurried forward to support her and helped her sit down.

"It's rare for the master to come back, so I have to come and greet him. I'm fine. I've already given birth to three children, so I'm used to it." Sun said with a smile. She and Wang Jinwu already have three children, two sons and a daughter, and now she's pregnant again. Judging from her belly, she should be able to give birth in three months.

"Even so, you have to be careful. The weather has just warmed up but it's still cold. What if you get hurt if you're not feeling well?" Wang Jinwu couldn't help but complain to his wife. He and his wife had a good relationship. Until now, Wang Jinwu has never taken a concubine and only has one wife.

Sun had mentioned it to Wang Jinwu several times, saying that the master was now a noble, a top noble in the Ming Dynasty, and it was not right for her to be the only wife in the family, and she advised Wang Jinwu to take a concubine so that he would have more people to accompany him when he was not able to do so. However, Wang Jinwu refused. On the one hand, Wang Jinwu did not have this idea, and on the other hand, he was very busy, often in the army, and he only returned home a few days a month, so he had no intention of doing so.

Listening to her husband's complaints, Sun felt very sweet in her heart. Although Wang Jinwu was a careless military man, he was really good to his wife. Sun understood this very well.

"I understand. I'll wait for you in the backyard when you come back." Sun replied with a smile, and then asked curiously why Wang Jinwu came back home today. It was neither a festival nor a day off. Wang Jinwu should be in the barracks. It was very rare for him to come back home suddenly like this.

"Your Majesty summoned me to the palace today." Wang Jinwu said calmly. He took a sip of the tea brought by the servant and asked his wife, "Do you know why Your Majesty asked me to enter the palace?"

"How should I know this? I am just a woman and I never care about state affairs. You are asking the wrong person." Sun said with a smile, but her expression was also full of curiosity. The emperor summoned Wang Jinwu? Could it be that he was going to use troops to fight a war? I heard that Huang Taiji died in Liaodong and a fake emperor came to power. Did the Ming Dynasty plan to take this opportunity to send troops to Liaodong and eliminate the Jiannu in one fell swoop?
Wang Jinwu sighed, and just when Sun thought he would say something, Wang Jinwu told her an answer she had never thought of.

"What? Are you joking, sir?"

"How can I joke about such a big thing?" Wang Jinwu saw that Sun was inexplicably surprised and smiled bitterly, "This is a real matter. His Majesty summoned me to the palace to make me a cabinet elder, and I'm afraid I will be officially appointed in the next few days..."

"Become a cabinet minister, but you are a military commander and a noble! How can you be a cabinet minister?"

"I also told His Majesty the same thing, but do you know how His Majesty said it?"

"What does Your Majesty say?" Sun asked curiously.

Wang Jinwu immediately told Sun what Zhu Shenzui had said to him. After listening to it, Sun seemed to be thinking about something and seemed to understand something.

"Your Majesty has far-reaching intentions. The situation of the Ming Dynasty where civil officials are valued and military officials are despised is indeed going to be reversed. It is a good move for you to join the cabinet. Once you become a cabinet elder, you will occupy a seat in the cabinet as a military general, and the status of military generals will inevitably be improved. Although it cannot reach the situation of military generals at the beginning of the founding of the country, it can change the current situation..." Sun hesitated and continued, "But if you do this, you will become the target of public criticism. You are the first military general to join the cabinet, and your relationship with Your Majesty is different. I am afraid that those in the court who target you will do something. The court is not like the army. Those scholars are cruel and ruthless. You must be on guard, Master!"

(End of this chapter)