Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 374 Qi Jiguang Takes Command and Hai Rui Gets Promoted

Chapter 374 Qi Jiguang Takes Command and Hai Rui Gets Promoted
This day was Empress Dowager Xia’s birthday.

Emperor Zhu Zailei and a group of cabinet ministers and privy council ministers who were ministers of state affairs all came to the Royal West Garden to celebrate the birthday of Empress Dowager Xia and present gifts.

Zhu Houzhao took the opportunity to ask Chen Hong to call these people to his study.

Although Zhu Houzhao is no longer the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, as the emperor emeritus, he still enjoys high prestige in the Ming Dynasty and even the whole world.

Therefore, Emperor Zhu Zaile and others did not dare to disobey and all came to Zhu Houzhao's study to pay their respects to him.

"No need to be polite. I called you here today for one thing only, which is to destroy the Japanese. The Japanese pirates have repeatedly disturbed our Ming Dynasty since the founding of the country. Now that the Ming Dynasty is rich and the people are strong, it is the best time to destroy the Japanese. Now that you are in power, you should tell me what your plans are for destroying the Japanese. The Jinyiwei has intelligence that the Japanese shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru has been killed and Japan has fallen into civil strife again. Now is the best time to destroy the Japanese and we cannot delay any longer!"

Zhu Houzhao rubbed his temples as he spoke. The wind was still cold and gave him a headache.

Emperor Zhu Zailei smiled slightly. He actually didn't understand why his father wanted to destroy Japan so much.

Because logically speaking, Japan today cannot pose much of a threat to the Ming Dynasty, and even destroying Japan will not bring much benefit to the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, with the opening of maritime trade and severe crackdown on smuggling, the Japanese invasion has basically ceased to occur. There is no need to rashly destroy Japan now.

Of course, Zhu Zailei also knew that he could not go against the wishes of the retired emperor. After all, the retired emperor was the one who had the final say in the world.

Therefore, Zhu Zailei smiled and replied: "Father is right. We are currently discussing how much money we should spend to fight this war."

"That's great. Let's work out the rules as soon as possible," Zhu Houzhao nodded.

At this time, Xu Jie saw that Emperor Zhu Zailei was embarrassed and knew what he was thinking. He could not help but speak for Zhu Zailei: "Your Majesty, Japan is just a threat to us now. It is not a big concern. Moreover, Taizu once listed Japan as a country not to be conquered. If we rashly conquer it now, wouldn't it be a waste of money and food, and also be considered unkind?"

Zhu Houzhao raised his eyes and glanced at Xu Jie: "Is this your opinion alone?"

"This is the opinion of the people of the world!" Xu Jie bowed deeply, not daring to look directly at Zhu Houzhao.

"It seems that the people of our dynasty are completely unaware of the harm caused by Japan!"

Zhu Houzhao said this and looked at Zhu Zailei: "There is no room for negotiation on this matter. Japan must be destroyed!"

Zhu Zailei stood up and said solemnly: "I will follow the instructions of my father!"

There was no room for negotiation on this matter. If Zhu Zailei and his ruling team did not carry out Zhu Houzhao's will to destroy the Japanese, Zhu Houzhao would replace them.

Therefore, the day after leaving the Imperial West Garden, Zhu Zailei summoned the ministers to discuss politics and asked, "Does your Privy Council have the rules for destroying the Japanese?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards' First, Third, Sixth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Armies, totaling more than 100,000 officers and soldiers, are ready to gather in five places, namely Lushunkou, Weihaiwei, Songjiang, Jilong, and Quanzhou, for training. The four naval fleets of Fujian and Zhejiang, Liaodong, Shandong, and Nanzhili have also deployed three fleets to fight against the Japanese, and the newly formed First Air Force Division has also been transferred to Zhoushan."

Privy Councilor Tan Lun replied.

"At the moment, the commander-in-chief has not been decided. In my opinion, it is better to send a civil official who knows military affairs to lead such a large-scale expedition. After all, the expedition is not as simple as killing the enemy and capturing the city. It also involves the affairs of governance and peace of the people. Therefore, I recommend Zhao Zhenji, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, as the commander-in-chief!"

Xu Jie stood up and said a few words at this time. He knew that the expedition to Japan was inevitable, and now he could only keep the expedition in the hands of civil officials as much as possible. The last expeditions to Jiaozhi and Portugal had used military officials, so that military officials began to enter the core of the court. This made Xu Jie deeply aware that if the expedition to Japan was led by military officials again this time, then the knowledgeable people in the world would inevitably value military over civil.

In fact, Xu Jie has already discovered that in the entrance examinations of various universities in the empire, various military academies are obviously as popular as famous universities such as Imperial University of Peking and Central University. On the contrary, some Confucian academies and the Imperial Colleges in the north and south are deserted and the windows are covered with cobwebs.

As a civil official, Xu Jie did not want to see the decline of literature, so he put forward such an opinion.

"Although Zhao Zhenji is loyal and daring, he has no experience in commanding troops. Although our Ming Dynasty has elite soldiers and strong generals, if the commander-in-chief does not know about military affairs, he will inevitably make mistakes. I think it is better for the commander-in-chief to be a famous general like Qi Jiguang, Liu Xian, and Lu Tan."

Tan Lun couldn't help but say.

"It's just a tiny country. It can be destroyed within three months. The commander-in-chief is just in charge of the coordination. He doesn't lead the troops himself. How could he make mistakes?"

Xu Jie seemed determined to let his disciple Zhao Zhenji take command and take credit for the victory over the Japanese.

"Your Majesty, military affairs are not civil affairs. Although Zhao Zhenji is capable, he is not good at commanding troops. I think that even if we should appoint a civil official as the Prime Minister said, it should be a civil official who knows military affairs, that is, an official who is good at both civil and military affairs. Logically, Mr. Tan and Mr. Yang are the most suitable, but they are both old. In my opinion, it would be most appropriate to let the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Yin Zhengmao, take charge. Yin Zhengmao has pacified the barbarians on land and suppressed bandits on the sea in Guangdong and Guangxi. He is familiar with both land and sea warfare and is the most suitable."

Gao Gong stepped forward at this time and recommended the officials he favored.

Xu Jie was somewhat resentful. He had not expected that after having finally managed to get rid of Xia Yan and Yan Song, when he became the Prime Minister, he could not stop the decision of the retired emperor to destroy the Japanese, nor could he control his colleagues such as Yang, Tan, and Gao. He could not help but snort secretly and said:

"Yin Zhengmao is a talented general, but he is also known for his greed and cruelty. Otherwise, he would not have caused the chieftains of Guangdong and Guangxi to revolt, and the censors of the Censorate have also impeached him. If it were not for your majesty's consideration of his talent, he would have been skinned alive long ago. How can the task of destroying the Japanese be entrusted to him, unless he can be as honest as Zhao Zhenji!"

Xu Jie denied Yin Zhengmao's qualifications to serve as the commander-in-chief to destroy the Japanese, and still insisted on letting Zhao Zhenji take charge.

Seeing this, Zhu Zailei could not help but ask Zhang Juzheng and others who had remained silent: "What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I would like to hear what Lord Yang thinks. Lord Yang has been in charge of the Ministry of War for a long time and knows people well. Naturally, Lord Yang has the most say in the selection of the commander-in-chief," Zhang Juzheng said with a smile.

Xu Jie looked at his student with some disappointment. At this time, he should have supported Zhao Zhenji with him. Why did he give the power of recommendation to Yang Bo?
Zhang Juzheng knew in his heart that he could not recommend Zhao Zhenji, who knew nothing about military affairs, against his will, but he could not directly oppose his mentor Xu Jie, so he could only recommend Yang Bo.

"I recommend Cao Bangfu. He is good at leading troops, familiar with military tactics, and has experience in fighting against the Japanese invaders!" Yang Bo stepped forward at this time and recommended the person he thought was a suitable candidate.

"Cao Bangfu is already over 60 years old and is now relying on medicine to stay alive. He has a hard time teaching students at the Ming Military Command Academy, so how can he lead an army of more than 100,000 now!"

Xu Jie retorted.

Zhang Han stood up and added: "I also think Cao Gong is not suitable. Your Majesty, please make the decision on this matter of destroying the Japanese!"

Seeing this, Zhu Zailei had no choice but to announce the adjournment of the court.

……

"You mean to say that the ministers in the court can't come up with a suitable candidate to lead the army? I have been in power for so many years, trained so many military students, and fought so many wars, but there are not many talented generals?"

Zhu Houzhao had already learned about what happened in the court from Chen Hong at this time, and he couldn't help but laugh for a moment.

"There are talented generals, but Xu Yuanfu said that they should be selected from the civil officials, so we couldn't find a few suitable ones at the moment," Chen Hong replied.

"Ridiculous! What's the difference between this and selecting someone who can paint from someone who can sing? Announce my order to the Privy Council, let Qi Jiguang take command, and let the two veteran generals Tang Kekuan and Lu Tong be deputy commanders, and let Hu Zongxian be the general manager, responsible for enslaving and ruling the occupied areas!"

Zhu Houzhao once again made the decision for Zhu Zailei. Although Qi Jiguang was young, he already had the talent of a commander. He was the new-era military commander that Zhu Houzhao insisted on training in the direction of multi-service large army mobile warfare. This time to destroy the Japanese pirates, he would naturally have to use Qi Jiguang. The two veteran generals, Tang Kekuan and Lu Tong, were both experienced in both naval and land warfare, and could naturally serve as good advisors to Qi Jiguang.

Xu Jie couldn't help but sigh after knowing this, and couldn't help but twirling his beard and said to Hu Zongxian who was about to join the army to attack Japan: "Hu Jinglue, I'm sure you know that this war to destroy Japan is just the wish of the emperor. The people of the world don't want such a war to happen, even the emperor doesn't want it. However, since the emperor has decided, we, as his subjects, cannot go against it. What do you think is right or wrong?"

"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right." Hu Zongxian naturally understood what Xu Jie meant. It was just that he himself did not want the court to destroy the Japanese.

"But now the retired emperor has asked his personal guard commander Qi Jiguang to lead the army to destroy the Japanese. However, Qi Jiguang is only forty years old and has only defeated the Japanese a few times in the south. In the final analysis, it is still thanks to Mr. Zhu (Zhu Wan) and the retired emperor's good command. Therefore, in my opinion, these two old generals Tang Kekuan and Lu Tong may not accept being his deputy generals!"

Xu Jie said worriedly.

Hu Zongxian nodded: "The Prime Minister is very worried."

"Although you are a civil official accompanying the army and it is not convenient for you to interfere in military affairs, you can still participate in mediating the conflicts. It would be better not to allow the internal fighting among the generals to lead to the failure of the mission of destroying the Japanese pirates," said Xu Jie.

Hu Zongxian understood Xu Jie's intention. Although he openly asked him to mediate, he actually wanted him to instigate discord.

But Hu Zongxian also had his own ideas. He thought that if he really followed Xu Jie's advice and became a villain who stirred up trouble, causing the mission to destroy the Japanese pirates to fail, it would not be a big deal. He was afraid that it would also cause dissatisfaction among the retired emperor. After all, he was still the retired emperor's secret minister, which meant that he had to report to the retired emperor all kinds of important things he encountered at any time, which meant that he could not watch the two old generals Tang Kekuan and Lu Tong have conflicts with Qi Jiguang without reporting it. If the mission to destroy the Japanese pirates really failed because of this incident, the retired emperor would definitely hold him accountable for not reporting it first.

Therefore, Hu Zongxian wrote a secret memorial to Zhu Houzhao at night: "I was summoned by the Prime Minister recently. The Prime Minister reminded me that I should pay attention to General Qi's appointment as commander. Because of his young age, he would cause dissatisfaction among Generals Tang and Lu, and asked me to mediate their conflict. I think the Prime Minister's concerns are reasonable, so I came to ask the Emperor for instructions. I will follow the Emperor's instructions to mediate the relationship between the three."

Zhu Houzhao smiled, thinking that the officials of the Ming Dynasty were not simple people. Although they had a party, they did not only work for the party. No wonder they could usher in the prosperous era of Longwan in history. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao also instructed: "I know, you can act according to the situation, and I will make some arrangements!"

Zhu Houzhao could naturally guess Xu Jie's real intention, but he did not expose it. He also knew that everyone has their own political views. Xu Jie was able to be promoted to the prime minister not because of the same political views as himself, but because of various luck and his loyalty to his superiors at every stage. Now that Xu Jie is above the emperor, he naturally represents the emperor's will in many cases. Of course, he does not entirely represent the emperor's will. After all, Xu Jie is a human being, not a machine, and he has his own thoughts.

Therefore, what Zhu Houzhao needs to consider now is whether Xu Jie's current behavior is his own idea or the idea of ​​Emperor Zhu Zaile.

In the evening of that day, Emperor Zhu Zailei came to pay his respects to Zhu Houzhao as usual. Zhu Houzhao sprinkled fish food into the fish tank and asked Zhu Zailei: "Is there any news recently?"

"There is no big news. Recently, the Dongchang Inspection Office investigated Hai Rui because the public reported that Hai Rui had accepted money and property. As a result, they only found three baskets of potatoes in Hai Rui's home. This is because the Dongchang Inspection Office investigated the wrong person, which was quite embarrassing. Even his son had to comfort Hai Rui in person! Xu Jie also suggested to the Ministry of Personnel that Hai Rui be promoted to the chief priest of the Nanjing Imperial College, so that he can be selected as a minister in the future."

Zhu Zailei said.

"Since he is going to be used in the future, he can be promoted to the position of Nanjing Imperial College Priest. What experience can he gain? It is better to send him to a governor-general." Zhu Houzhao suddenly remembered something and said directly, "Promote Hai Rui to the position of Right Censor-in-Chief and Governor of the Ten Prefectures of Yingtian! Tell Hai Rui to do his job well. Yingtian Prefecture is one of the most capital-rich regions in the Ming Dynasty, especially the two prefectures of Suzhou and Songshan. The gap between the rich and the poor has been quite obvious in recent years, so they must be managed well!"

Zhu Zailei nodded in agreement. He couldn't help but wonder what his father's intention was in suddenly promoting Hai Rui to the position of governor of the ten prefectures of Yingtian?
When Zhu Zaile issued the imperial edict to the Ministry of Personnel, he also informed Xu Jie of the matter.

Xu Jie's heart skipped a beat and he quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I am from Songjiang Huating!"

Zhu Zailei suddenly realized and couldn't help but slap his knees: "Alas, father is really, really makes me not know how to describe it!" Zhu Zailei didn't say the word "sinister" out loud, but only comforted Xu Jie: "My dear, you are from a scholarly family, and you have always been well educated. You have done everything right in the local area, right?"

"Thank you for your comfort, Your Majesty. I have never dared to let my family bully others," Xu Jie replied, but he was still a little worried in his heart, because he was the only one who knew the situation of his family. For a moment, he couldn't help but say to Zhu Zailei: "Your Majesty, I have an unreasonable request."

"Tell me," Zhu Zailei said hurriedly.

"I want my son to go to the army for training and take part in the campaign to destroy the Japanese!" Xu Jie replied.

"No! The power to mobilize troops belongs to the Imperial Guards, and the power to mobilize civil officials belongs to the Ministry of Personnel. If you want to participate in military affairs, you have to cooperate with the Ministry of War. How can you just randomly send people in? Otherwise, where is the court's decree?"

Zhu Zaile rejected Xu Jie's request.

Xu Jie was helpless for a moment and had to nod in agreement.

(End of this chapter)

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