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

Chapter 952 Obsession
"Why do you ask about this, sir?" Zhu Shenzhui laughed. Sun Chengzong rarely asked about government affairs. As the chief teacher of the teaching hall, he did not have any other official position in the court, so he did not have to attend court. The matter of Wang Jinwu entering the cabinet was a hot topic outside, but Sun Chengzong had never expressed his opinion. Today, he suddenly asked about this matter.

Sun Chengzong said: "Cabinet changes are a national event. Although I am not involved in government affairs, I have heard a lot of criticism from the outside world while I am in Beijing. In recent days, many people have come to my house to persuade me to dissuade Your Majesty..."

"Sir, are you going to convince me today?" Zhu Shenzhui asked back.

"No!" Sun Chengzong said solemnly, "Today, I am not trying to persuade Your Majesty to take back your decision, but I hope Your Majesty will stick to it. From my perspective, the change in the cabinet system is a well-thought-out move by Your Majesty. I have been an official for many years and have served in the cabinet. I have a deep understanding of the shortcomings of the court. There is nothing wrong with having a military officer as a cabinet minister. On the contrary, having the military in the cabinet can prevent the cabinet's chief minister, deputy minister, and cabinet elders from being ignorant of military affairs or talking about military affairs on paper."

"Although I am a civil official, I do know military affairs to a certain extent. I have personally experienced and served in Liaodong for many years, so I naturally understand that military affairs are a matter of great importance to the country, a matter of life and death, a matter of survival and destruction, and must be carefully considered. However, it is easy to understand the truth, but it is difficult to put it into practice. Although there are many civil officials who know military affairs in the Ming Dynasty, there are only a few who are truly capable of both civil and military affairs. Many so-called military experts only have a superficial understanding. Once such people lead troops or make decisions for the country, it is not a good thing."

"Since the reign of Emperor Yingzong, the Ming Dynasty has valued civil officials over military officials. The original intention was to suppress military officials and avoid the chaos caused by military officials during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms after the Tang Dynasty, and the division of military towns. Although it is slightly inappropriate to control the military with civil officials, it is the best choice during the peaceful years. Military officials are not scholars, and most of them only know how to fight for power and are short-sighted. They put their own interests first and do not know what loyalty and patriotism are. However, this is a different time. The country is in chaos and military officials are gradually rising. At this time, if we continue to suppress them, it will not only be ineffective, but will be counterproductive. In this case, it is not a bad thing to make adjustments."

"Sir, you have a broad mind that is incomparable to ordinary people. Your vision is far-sighted and you see things more clearly." Zhu Shenzhui nodded in praise. He had not expected that Sun Chengzong would have such an opinion. This alone made him much better than many people. He was even more happy to get Sun Chengzong's understanding.

Sun Chengzong smiled faintly and continued, "In fact, the difference between civil and military officials did not originally exist. Whether it was the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period of the pre-Qin period, or the later Han Dynasty, there were countless officials who became generals when they mounted their horses and became prime ministers when they dismounted their horses. The so-called civil and military officials were just different official positions."

"But later, Dong Zhongshu proposed to promote Confucianism and dismiss all other schools of thought, which gradually led to the distinction between civil and military officials. When the world was in chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, Cao Wei established the Nine-Rank System, and the distinction between civil and military officials was completely formed. After thousands of years, it has evolved into what it is today, so it cannot be said to be a pity."

Zhu Shenzhu agreed with Sun Chengzong's words. Sun Chengzong was right. In the past, there was no distinction between civil and military. Which of the nobles and ministers was not good at both civil and military affairs? The generals and ministers were just different positions. Being a general or a minister was just the needs of the monarch and the situation at that time.

Let's not talk about the distant past, let's talk about the recent ones. Wasn't Dou Ying in the early Han Dynasty like this? He was the prime minister first, and then the general, and assisted Emperor Jingdi in quelling the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms. And who of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and others after him was not a man of both civil and military talents? They could govern the country and lead troops to fight. As for the ministers, there were even more such people, such as the three Zhuge brothers, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and even the extremely infamous Sima Yi and his son.

The distinction between civil and military officials was gradually formed later, and became more serious with the rise of Confucianism. By the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, it had become a consensus that military generals were a nuisance. This led to the saying that the emperors of the Song Dynasty and the literati ruled the world together. At that time, military generals not only had a low status, but also had to have a tattoo on their foreheads as a humiliation. This is the origin of the so-called "thieves paired with soldiers."

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang killed many meritorious officials. Wasn't it because he saw the threat to the imperial power posed by those founding generals? He used this opportunity to clear out most of them and eliminate hidden dangers to ensure the continuation of the imperial power. After the reign of Emperor Yingzong, due to the Tumu Fortress Incident, Yu Qian used the power of the Ministry of War to take over most of the powers that originally belonged to the Five Military Commandery, thus completely reversing the civil and military structure of the Ming Dynasty. This is why the saying that civil officials are more important than military officials came into being.

Sun Chengzong continued, "This is why the civil officials in our Ming Dynasty are more important than the military officials. Although it can prevent the military officials from becoming too powerful and causing the separatist regimes, it also has its drawbacks. The example of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties happened before. The Northern and Southern Song Dynasties first had the Jingkang Rebellion, and then the Mongols came south and destroyed the country. The main reason for this, apart from the national strength, was that the civil officials suppressed the military officials too harshly."

"The same situation also exists in our Ming Dynasty, especially in the past few decades. Military officers, regardless of their official rank, are afraid of offending civil officials, and civil officials, regardless of their rank, can give orders to military officers. This situation is common in the army. In addition, many civil officials are corrupt and use dirty means, which has caused the combat effectiveness of our Ming Dynasty army to be low and no longer as good as before."

"When I was leading the army in Liaodong, I noticed these shortcomings. For this reason, I carried out many rectifications in Liaodong. In addition, I also restrained the civil officials, which was effective and the Liao army's combat effectiveness was greatly improved." Sun Chengzong sighed and shook his head and said, "It's a pity that I didn't do my best and ultimately failed. After I left Liaodong, I didn't trust the right people, which led to the Pi Island Incident and the Jiannu invasion of the pass..."

"Sir, don't blame yourself. You are not to blame for these things. It was not easy for you to do this with your authority. And people's hearts are the most unpredictable in the world. You can't guess what some people are thinking. No one is perfect, and this is unavoidable." Zhu Shenzhui comforted him. What Sun Chengzong couldn't get over the most was that he trusted Yuan Chonghuan wrongly. He trained Yuan Chonghuan as his successor and devoted a lot of effort to him. Before he left Liaodong, he gave Yuan Chonghuan many instructions and entrusted him with important tasks. But everything that happened later disappointed Sun Chengzong. Sun Chengzong smiled bitterly and shook his head. Wrong is wrong. He made such a mistake in his life, and the price he paid was too high.

Putting this matter aside, Sun Chengzong said to Zhu Shenzhui in a serious tone: "Your Majesty's adjustment of the cabinet and allowing the military to join the cabinet is a good thing at the moment. If the Ming Dynasty still has the civil officials in power and the military officials in power in a low position, it is not the right way. There needs to be a balance in the court. Your Majesty has obviously thought of this step. In addition, there is only one military officer in the cabinet, and Your Majesty has set a rule that he cannot be the chief minister. This also avoids the possibility of military officers dominating in the future."

"In my opinion, this is a great step, but Your Majesty is under great pressure. I am worried that Your Majesty cannot bear it. If you fail to achieve your goal and withdraw your decision, then there will be no possibility of changing the situation. Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to stick to your decision and change the cabinet structure. Although I am too old to serve Your Majesty, I can work hard for Your Majesty to make this happen. As for those who talk big and even use this to seek fame, Your Majesty does not need to pay attention to them. Just deal with them as you should. Please relax."

Sun Chengzong's words made Zhu Shenzhu overjoyed. Although Zhu Shenzhu had made a series of preparations and won over many people, this matter was too big after all. There were still many opponents in the court, and there were many high-ranking and famous officials among them. If Zhu Shenzhu insisted on pushing it forward, it would not be impossible, but if he suppressed it, there might be reversals in the future. Now Sun Chengzong's statement was equivalent to standing firmly on Zhu Shenzhu's side and becoming a strong supporter in this matter.

Sun Chengzong's prestige is needless to say, and he has countless disciples and former officials inside and outside the court. In addition, Sun Chengzong was once a veteran of the Donglin Party. Although the Donglin Party has been in a slump after the Jiangnan Case and is even divided internally, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. The strength and ability of the Donglin Party should not be underestimated. However, with Sun Chengzong's statement, many people within the Donglin Party will change their positions and support this approach.

In addition, Sun Chengzong was also a representative of the centrists. He could win over a large group of centrists to support the emperor's reforms. Even if he could not do it all, just half or even one-third would be enough. This would not only strengthen Zhu Shenzhu's power, but also make those opponents fearful and thus quiet down.

Sun Chengzong showed no other expression of joy for Zhu Shenzui. For him, doing this was not only for himself, but also the last worthwhile thing to do for the country and the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, Sun Chengzong asked Zhu Shenzhui about his views on the future war situation in Liaodong. Since the two major battles of the Great Wall and the Battle of Jinzhou, the current situation in Liaodong has stabilized. After two consecutive battles failed to achieve their goals, the Jiannu no longer had the confidence to attack the Ming Dynasty in the beginning. With the sudden death of Huang Taiji and the ascension of the young Emperor Shunzhi, the situation within the Jiannu changed drastically. How the emperor planned to arrange the war in Liaodong next and how to solve the problem in Liaodong was what Sun Chengzong was extremely concerned about.

Sun Chengzong had extremely complicated feelings towards Liaodong, or it could be said that Liaodong had become a source of worry for him. The most glorious time of his life was in Liaodong. At the beginning, he was ordered to go to Liaodong to serve as the governor of Ji-Liao. When the Ming Dynasty almost lost all the territory east of Shanhaiguan, Sun Chengzong took back the Liaoxi Corridor step by step, and also set up the Ningjin Defense Line based on the terrain of Liaoxi, thus stabilizing the situation in Liaodong.

Unfortunately, Sun Chengzong failed to achieve the last step. Just when he was using both military and economic means to press forward step by step and suppress Nurhaci to the point of suffocation, Sun Chengzong was removed from his post as the governor of Ji-Liao due to court politics and party struggles, and had no choice but to leave Liaodong.

Originally, he placed his hopes on Yuan Chonghuan, hoping that Yuan Chonghuan could continue to besiege Jiannu according to the strategic deployment he had formulated and finally solve the Liaodong issue. Unfortunately, he misjudged his successor. After Yuan Chonghuan succeeded as the governor of Ji-Liao, he not only overturned all his deployments, but also killed Mao Wenlong without authorization, thus allowing Nurhaci and Huang Taiji to revive. In just a few years, the situation in Liaodong changed drastically. The Ming army, which originally had the upper hand, was suppressed by Jiannu, and finally Jiannu led troops to break through the Great Wall and kill their way to the capital.

This was an event that Sun Chengzong could never get over in his entire life, and it was also the reason why he could not forgive himself to this day.

Sun Chengzong knew that at his age, it was impossible for him to go to Liaodong to serve the country, and he could no longer lead the Ming army to recapture Liaodong. Sun Chengzong only hoped that before he left this world, he could see the fall of the Jiannu and see the Ming Dynasty completely recapture Liaodong. If he could do this, he would die without regrets.

(End of this chapter)