Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 112: The Imperial Guards are dispatched to attack the Imperial Academy officials
The Minister of War Wang Xian already knew the contents of the Tangbao from Datong.

Because the so-called Tangbao is an urgent military report sent by the Tang soldiers at each post station, and it will first arrive at the Ministry of War.

So, Wang Xian knew about this first.

Wang Xian had served as the governor of Datong during the Zhengde period, so he was naturally familiar with Datong's border affairs.

What's more.

During the reign of Emperor Zhengde, great importance was attached to the Nine Frontiers, so Wang Xian naturally had his strengths in becoming the Governor of Datong during the reign of Emperor Zhengde.

Zhu Houcong remembered that in history, Wang Xian was indeed very talented in border affairs.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong immediately summoned Wang Xian.

After Wang Xian met the emperor, Zhu Houcong asked him, "What do you think about this matter?"

"Return to Your Majesty."

"I think the little prince is just using his majesty to intimidate."

"Because the little princes are very divided right now and have not yet been unified. Although the two brothers Jinang and Altan have performed outstandingly recently and have conquered the eastern and western tribes, and have a tendency to unify the tribes, they are still young and have not grown up enough. In the next 10 to 20 years, they will not be able to invade our capital on a large scale!"

"So your majesty can ignore it."

"Just order the border officials to strengthen the defense."

Wang Xian replied.

Zhu Houcong walked to a map hanging on the wall, took a look, and asked, "If that's the case, do you think it's possible that someone is deliberately using the captives to cause trouble?"

Wang Xian couldn't help but tremble in his heart.

"answer!"

Zhu Houcong suddenly replied in a stern voice.

Wang Xian knelt down hurriedly and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report that I dare not speak without clear evidence. After all, this matter involves border affairs! Please do not suspect border officials at will!"

"You are cautious!"

Zhu Houcong smiled slightly.

Subsequently.

Zhu Houcong turned around and said, "Well, let's not talk about this for now, but since you said that the little prince would not pay attention to it, I will believe you."

"Also, I did not directly bypass your Ministry of War when it comes to military affairs."

"So, you know that I have already sent an order to Wu Wending, asking him to strengthen the power of Yebushou and draw up a list of important enemy information rewards."

"And ten days ago, I asked Deputy General Zhou Shangwen to lead his troops to meet him with a deposit of 200,000 taels of silver to help him defend Jizhou. This 200,000 taels of silver was the capital for him to keep as a reward."

"I can't say I'm smarter than anyone else when it comes to guarding against foreign aggression, but I know that a big reward will always attract brave men. If we want to stabilize the border defense, we must first spend money well!"

"You didn't object to that."

"I just assumed that you agreed."

"But I want you to tell me now, can Yang Zhixue and Hang Xiong from Datong, and Ning Gao and Zhu Zhen from Xuanfu cooperate well?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Wang Xian was stunned.

How could he not know that the emperor was dissatisfied with the fact that the power in Datong, Xuanfu and Jizhou was too dispersed, and did not want the court to defend them in sections alone. Instead, he intended to send a commander-level figure to take the initiative to teach the little prince a lesson.

Wang Xian didn't know whether the emperor was young and therefore brave, or whether he intended to establish military power at the beginning of his reign so that he could deal with his ministers more easily.

Wang Xian himself did not want the emperor to be too martial, as that would not be a good thing for the civil officials and literati.

But Wang Xian knew that he couldn't play dumb in front of the emperor and say that these people could cooperate well.

After all, he also knew that the current emperor was extremely smart. He could choose not to please him, but he could not have the intention to deceive the emperor.

So Wang Xian suddenly had an idea and said, "I think it would be perfect if we let Yang Ge Lao take charge of the three borders!"

Yan Song could not help but shake his head, thinking that this Grand Marshal Wang had a really good plan. He asked Yang Ge Lao, who was very prestigious in the court, to be in charge of the three borders. This meant that the tax reform would have to be postponed, and he himself would not have to go to the border town to suffer.

"What do you think?"

Zhu Houcong looked at Liang Chu and Yan Song, the recorder of the daily life.

Yan Song knelt down and said, "I, your humble servant, believe that there is no one more suitable than Grand Marshal Wang Gong. After all, Wang Gong once fought against the little prince with the late emperor when he was the governor of Datong. With Wang Gong in the three borders, the prestige of the Ming Dynasty will be there, and the storms outside the Great Wall will not blow into the Great Wall!"

Liang Chu and Wang Xian looked at Yan Song in surprise at this time.

after awhile.

Liang Chu couldn't help but nodded.

But Wang Xian couldn't help but close his eyes, and then he looked fiercely at Yan Song who was kneeling on the ground.

Zhu Houcong folded his hands over his chest, looked at Yan Song, and said, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Houcong then looked at Liang Chu and asked, "What do you think, Prime Minister?"

"I congratulate your majesty!"

Liang Chu replied.

Zhu Houcong asked with a smile: "What is there to be happy about?"

"Your Majesty has found another talented assistant!"

Liang Chu replied with a smile.

After Yan Song heard Liang Chu's words, he felt as if he were in spring breeze, and thought to himself: "This Liang Chuanfu is really a good person!"

Liang Chu continued, "I also think that it is appropriate for the Grand Marshal to go to the Three Borders! Firstly, if Lord Yang goes to the Three Borders, it will be too much of a show for the little prince, and it will show that our Ming Dynasty is really afraid of him; secondly, the prestige of the Grand Marshal is enough to intimidate the small people; thirdly, the financial reform of the court is the focus, and the focus of financial reform is on national taxes, which need to be managed by important officials, so Lord Yang should stay to manage national taxes."

"As for the Minister of War, I recommend Governor-General Wang Yangming!"

Liang Chu replied.

"Da Sima, what do you think now?"

Zhu Houcong looked at Wang Xian again. Wang Xian had no choice but to kowtow: "How dare I refuse to do my duty to share your worries! However, I also see that Yan Hanlin is quite quick in judging people, so I ask Your Majesty to give up his favor and allow him to serve as a Langzhong of the Ministry of War to supervise the grain and military supplies with me."

Yan Song: “…”

"allow!"

Zhu Houcong did not refuse.

After all, Wang Xian was willing to give up his position as Minister of War and was willing to go to the border to work hard for himself. As a monarch, he should satisfy any reasonable request.

A Hanlin official like Yan Song should indeed go to the border to gain some experience, and not just focus on calculating people and scheming for personal gain.

What Zhu Houcong needed more was talent who was not only proficient in political schemes but also able to do practical things for the people.

Next.

Wang Xian and Yan Song really started their journey to the border town.

of course.

Although it is said to be going to the border town, it is actually not far from the capital.

Because the capital of the Ming Dynasty was not far from Xuanfu, Datong and Jizhou.

Otherwise, how can the emperor be asked to guard the national border?

However, Wang Xian's departure from the capital soon attracted the attention and agitation of the ritualists who had long wanted to use the foreign military action to stop the court's new policies.

"We can't wait any longer!"

"We should take this opportunity to let Yang Yiqing go to the border town, but not let Wang Xian go!"

He Mengchun then spoke.

But not for long.

The Sanfashi also officially closed the case.

The Minister of Punishments Lin Jun, the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Zun, and the Minister of the Dali Temple Yan Yishou jointly submitted a memorial to close the Kong case. The memorial said: The Kong family had indeed committed acts of treason, such as plotting to murder the imperial envoy, beating and humiliating members of the royal family, usurping the power of the law, deceiving the emperor and being disrespectful, robbing and killing merchants and civilians, and plotting rebellion, all of which were proven to be true.

then.

Zhu Houcong ordered that the crimes of the Kong family be announced to the world, and that a stele be erected to record them and placed in the Confucius Temple. All members of the Kong family would be beheaded and displayed to the public the next day.

Upon hearing this, the court officials who supported rituals could no longer sit still.

Plus.

Shortly after.

Another report came from Datong, saying that the little prince had sent another 10,000 cavalrymen, and Datong's general Hang Xiong was unable to resist.

This further aroused the panic of the court officials who protected rituals, and they wanted to use the power of foreign invaders to force the emperor to pardon the Kong family, correct the rituals, and give up the idea of ​​reform.

After all, as conservatives in nature, the ritualists are more afraid of external threats than others, and they may even have the natural motivation to collude with external forces and suppress internal progressive forces.

"During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, all officials cried at Wenhua Gate and competed for the funeral of Empress Dowager Ciyi. This is a story from our dynasty and we should follow suit!"

Coincidentally.

The next day was the day when Zhu Houcong was going to hold court with all officials at Zuoshunmen.

So, after hearing about this, He Mengchun was the first to speak out that night.

Zhang Zan echoed, "That's right! We should follow the old example and argue at the gate, asking the emperor to follow public opinion and pardon the descendants of the saints, reconsider the great ceremony, and put an end to the enemy's power!"

"Not only that, but we should also send someone to the execution ground immediately to stop the execution."

Minister Qin Jin said at this time.

Following Yang Tinghe's instructions, Yang Shen, an editor who was close to the ritualists, said, "I will go and call on a few Hanlin colleagues who don't have to attend court!"

He Mengchun and others knew that Yang Shen had always been popular among young officials, so they nodded with confidence.

The next day, Yang Shen called on all the Hanlin editors, reviewers, and scholars below the fifth rank to gather together and said, "The country has nurtured scholars for 150 years. It is time to fight for your integrity and die for your principles!"

"Sheng'an is absolutely right. The descendants of the saints cannot be killed. We should reconsider the great ceremony to put an end to the enemy's power!"

Wang Yuanzheng, the reviewer, followed suit and raised his arms and shouted.

"The descendants of the saints cannot be killed! We should reconsider the great ceremony! To stop the enemy's power!"

"The descendants of the saints cannot be killed! We should reconsider the great ceremony! To stop the enemy's power!"

A group of Hanlin scholars who protected rituals came to the execution ground, shouting slogans excitedly.

And gradually it becomes a torrent.

They were heading towards the prison van that was escorting Kong Wenshao and others to the execution ground.

Kong Wenshao was greatly surprised by this.

"In order to eliminate the enemy's power, are the old nobles of the Yuan Dynasty willing to come and save my Kong family?"

"So these court officials dare to defend themselves at this time?"

"Does this mean I won't die?"

But that's it.

A large number of militiamen appeared, shouting slogans, and appeared behind the prison van.

"Destroy the Kong Family Store and rescue Master Kong!"

Kong Wenshao couldn't help but look back, and saw that the number of militiamen who appeared was much greater than the court officials who were coming towards him.

Seeing this, Yang Shen remembered his father's instructions early in the morning, and ran out decisively, shouting, "I suddenly have a stomachache, I'm relying on you to protect the gift!"

Subsequently.

Yang Shen decisively hid himself among the crowd of people in the capital who were watching the excitement.

Yu Hao simply nodded, then took the initiative to walk towards these civilians, pointed at them and cursed: "You fools, how dare you interfere in government affairs? Get out of the way!"

"beat!"

(End of this chapter)