Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 176 Let the Prime Minister Go to Sea

Zhu Yuanzhang put down the silk book that the Japanese Emperor had given to Zhao Kuangyi during the Song Dynasty.

Compared with the Song Dynasty, Japan's current attitude towards the Ming Dynasty can be said to be a world of difference, which makes Zhu Yuanzhang feel very unhappy.

At the same time, he also told Teng Yi the purpose of his visit.

"The Ming Dynasty and Japan are only separated by the East China Sea, and even closer from Korea. However, in the more than ten years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we have sent people to Japan again and again, but they were killed and detained by the Japanese emperor instead. Afterwards, Japan was not only rude to the Ming Dynasty, but also ignored our legitimate throne."

The more he talked, the more uneasy Teng Yi felt. Zhu Yuanzhang had sent envoys such as Yang Zai and Wu Wenhua to Japan with documents from the Ming Dynasty to inform the other side that now the Central Plains dynasty had returned to the hands of the Han people. He hoped that Japan would treat the Ming Dynasty the same way it had treated the Song Dynasty in the past.

However, they did not expect that the Japanese were so bold that they directly detained Yang Zai and his group, and also killed many of his followers.

If Zhu Yuanzhang had not focused on the north and did not want to let bygones be bygones with Japan, he would have sent troops to Japan long ago.

Now that Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly summoned him and mentioned this matter, it meant that there must be a big movement behind it.

"Mr. Teng, as the Minister of Personnel, you probably know more about the civil and military officials of the court than we do. We plan to send someone to Japan for two purposes.

The first reason is to go to Japan to ask for punishment, and the second is to know what Japan really means to us. According to our understanding, Japan is now divided into two imperial powers, the North and the South.

According to Mr. Teng, who should we send to Japan?"

After hearing this, Teng Yi pondered for a moment and did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked Zhu Yuanzhang what he meant.

"May I ask, Your Majesty, what kind of people do you want to send?"

"We believe that this person must be highly skilled in martial arts, have the ability to command troops, and must be of a short age. He must be eight feet tall and have a handsome appearance, so that he can represent the image of the Ming Dynasty abroad. Otherwise, it would be disgraceful for other countries to see that our Ming Dynasty generals are slightly shorter.

What do you think? "

This was Zhu Yuanzhang’s original thought. He had nothing to hide, so he said it directly.

As for the rest, Zhu Biao supplemented them.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not hesitate at all and raised his hand to signal:
"If you have anything to say, just say it."

Got his father's approval.

Zhu Biao spoke out his opinion.

"I think that in addition to the military generals sent by your father to strengthen the Ming Dynasty, we also need a civil official to go to Japan with some merchants for cultural exchanges. In addition, Japan has previously harmed the Ming Dynasty envoys. In order to be on the safe side, this trip must lead more than 2,000 Ming Dynasty naval forces to prevent any accidents. A variety of weapons must also be deployed to guard against Japan's evil intentions."

Some time ago, Zhu Yuanzhang had privately discussed with Zhu Biao who should be sent to Japan.

However, the father and son discussed for a long time but could not come up with a rough idea.

There are two main reasons for this. First, it is not objective enough. Second, there are too many things that require the Ming Dynasty to think about now. This matter is already tiring, and if it is forced upon the father and son, no one can bear it.

For this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang called Teng Yi over and asked Zhu Biao to make a request together, and then let the other party select from among the civil and military officials.

Only in this way can we objectively find the most suitable candidate.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, and seeing his son's words make so much sense, he felt very satisfied, and turned around and said:

"What Biao'er said makes a lot of sense. Who do you think should be selected from the imperial court to be sent to Japan to be questioned?"

Hearing this, Teng Yi pondered for a moment, and after some thought, he screened out the two best civil officials and military generals.

The first is the military general. Teng Yi believes that Duke Cao of the Ming Dynasty is the most suitable candidate.

As the second youngest military general in the founding of the country, Li Wenzhong's achievements can be said to be very enviable.

When Li Wenzhong was still a child, Zhu Yuanzhang's second brother-in-law began to let his son do some odd jobs in the rebel army under Zhu Yuanzhang.

At that time, Li Wenzhong was not in a hurry, but helped his uncle with his work honestly, and tried hard to learn from his predecessors how to fight enemies and deploy troops.

Under the instruction of Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Tang He and others, Li Wenzhong led his own army as a servant to support Chizhou and defeated the Tianwan army. He was the bravest and best fighter among all the generals.

This also allowed him to gradually stand out in the rebel army, attracting a lot of attention.

With the accumulation of military merits, Li Wenzhong became one of the youngest figures in the founding six kilometers.

After the founding of the country, Li Wenzhong was appointed as the left general of the Grand Marshal's Office and was awarded the title of Duke of Cao.

Up to now, Li Wenzhong has been assisting state affairs in the Governor's Office.

According to Zhu Yuanzhang's requirements, the military generals who went there must be young and promising, more than eight feet tall, and be able to embody the image of the Ming Dynasty's national prestige when they were outside. From a distance, people would think that the generals of the Ming Dynasty were not easy to mess with.

Obviously, Li Wenzhong fits this image. He is not bad in either his abilities or appearance.

Teng Yi, who knew something about Japan, could already foresee the scene when the eight-foot-tall Li Wenzhong traveled around Japan and how those short guys would look up at this mighty general of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the civil officials
Teng Yi believed that in the entire Ming Dynasty, there was probably no one more suitable as prime minister than Hu Weiyong.

Logically speaking, Teng Yi should not dare to challenge Hu Weiyong, who was at the pinnacle of power in the Secretariat.

Before the position of prime minister was abolished by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Secretariat was Zhu Yuanzhang's think tank. Hu Weiyong, the most powerful person in the team, had the means to deal with all the first-rank officials in the court. Even the six ministers could not talk back to Hu Weiyong.

However, Teng Yi opposed Tian Gang and dared to come up with this idea in his mind. The reason was that in recent times, the entire court could feel that Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have some obvious changes in his attitude towards this prime minister.

This story starts from Zhenjiang Prefecture where Yang Chen happened.

Yang Chen cleared up all the dirty collusions in Zhenjiang Prefecture, and Zhou Shizhong was detained in the imperial prison. Everyone knew that Zhou Shizhong had been very close to Hu Weiyong, and there must be a conflict of interest between the two.

Seeing his men being imprisoned, Hu Weiyong wanted to go and see Zhou Shizhong. Unexpectedly, Hu Weiyong's unauthorized actions made Zhu Yuanzhang very unhappy.

There have been similar incidents in the past, but Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care much about it. This time it was different. Hu Weiyong's unauthorized actions made Zhu Yuanzhang very angry, so he directly notified Hu Weiyong in the court to lock him up for a month.

No one is allowed to leave the Prime Minister's Mansion without his order.

This is telling everyone that in the entire Ming Dynasty, only Zhu Yuanzhang has the final say, and no one else, no matter who comes, will be of any use. When the Zhongshu Province saw that their minds were locked, they suddenly realized that it turned out that this emperor had wanted to take action against the prime minister for a long time, and it was not because he couldn't bear it at all.

In order to avoid being implicated in this matter, many officials in the court began to express their views, saying that they had nothing to do with Hu Weiyong. They just hoped that when there was a reckoning in the future, it would not be on their heads.

In the past, when the six ministries needed to report information to Hu Weiyong at the Secretariat, Teng Yi and Hu Weiyong did not get along well.

The Minister of Personnel is the personnel department that mobilizes all officials. However, Hu Weiyong, relying on the fact that he is the prime minister and is highly regarded by Zhu Yuanzhang, often interferes with his work, which makes Teng Yi feel resentful.

Let me ask you, if you want to place your own men somewhere else, then you can arrange it yourself, without letting me do it. If something goes wrong in the future, who will be responsible?
Zhou Shizhong is a shining example. He originally worked in Jiangxi, but was later transferred back to the capital because of a crime. Originally, he would not have held any official position, but under the influence of Hu Weiyong, he was directly appointed as the prefect of Zhenjiang Prefecture.

When Teng Yi learned that Zhou Shizhong was in trouble, he was worried, fearing that he would be affected by this incident.

At the moment, Zhu Yuanzhang needs a civil official and a military general to go on a diplomatic mission to Japan. The best candidate for the military general is Li Wenzhong, and the best candidate for the civil official is undoubtedly Hu Weiyong.

He has both status and talent. Although Teng Yi and Hu Weiyong don't get along well, he has to admire this old friend's ability to flatter.

At the beginning of the Hongwu period, Li Shanchang had just abdicated for a short time, and the position of prime minister became Hu Weiyong's. Teng Yi absolutely did not believe that there was no deal involved.

While thinking, Teng Yi quickly expressed his opinion.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, among the civil and military officials who can meet your Majesty's requirements, I think Duke Cao is the most suitable candidate for the position of military general."

Zhu Yuanzhang put them on the table, his eyes as calm as well water, tapping the tabletop with his fingers in an orderly manner, and asked in depth the reason:
"Why Paul?"

Li Wenzhong was once entrusted to Zhu Yuanzhang by his father. At that time, all Zhu Yuanzhang's subordinates were adopted sons like Mu Ying, so Li Wenzhong also had a nickname called Baoer.

In private occasions, Zhu Yuanzhang preferred to address his relatives and close family members by their titles rather than doing anything seriously.

Teng Yi bowed his head and said:
"Because Duke Cao is the most suitable candidate, bar none. Among the six dukes, the only ones who are strong and healthy enough to personally fight the enemy and arrange the troops are Duke Song and Li Wenzhong. But as you know, Your Majesty, Duke Song was implicated some time ago because of a woman. Your Majesty arranged for him to go to Tubo to recover the western Sichuan area to make up for his mistake. If you let him come back and serve as a military general to be sent to Japan, it will definitely not work.

Compared with Duke of Song, Duke of Cao is more suitable.

Duke Cao has been following Your Majesty to learn since the war period. He is proficient in both civil and military strategies. He can charge into battle on the front lines as well as deploy troops in the rear. He has Confucian knowledge and is eloquent. When he goes to Japan to hold the Emperor accountable, he will surely be able to give the other party a hard time.

Even if Duke Song is also in the capital, I think Duke Cao has better advantages and there is no one more suitable to go to Japan than him."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and then looked at Zhu Biao.

"Biao'er, what do you think?"

Seeing this, Zhu Biao did not say much, but responded:
"I think what Minister Teng said makes sense, but I don't understand why Hu Weiyong was chosen as the civil official. He was arranged by the emperor to recuperate at home. Wouldn't it be a bad idea to summon him out rashly?"

Teng Yi also thought of an excuse for this and immediately put forward his idea.

"I understand what the prince said, but Prime Minister Hu is still the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty. Although he made some mistakes in principle, I think he should still be given a chance. Moreover, it is too embarrassing for the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty to fail to set an example when the Ming Dynasty needs capable ministers.

As far as I know, Hu Xiang's ability to maneuver between the two forces has been revealed since the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

If the Ming Dynasty sends an envoy to Japan to question Japan, Prime Minister Hu will certainly be able to question it in the tone of Your Majesty. "

Originally, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to use Zhou Shizhong's incident to eliminate Hu Weiyong, but afterwards, Hu Weiyong broke away from Zhou Shizhong too quickly.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not yet have enough evidence, so even if he could convict Hu Weiyong, the most he could give him was the death penalty.

The other party has a golden medal of immunity from death, and the number of his crimes must exceed the number of the golden medals in order to eliminate him completely. This is Zhu Yuanzhang's style.

If he wants you dead, he has plenty of ways to deal with you even if you have ten golden medals of immunity from death.

At most it just requires a little more thought.

Zhu Yuanzhang said nothing, but just looked at Zhu Biao, and they both nodded at the same time.

Soon, Zhu Yuanzhang personally drafted an imperial edict appointing Li Wenzhong as the military representative and Hu Weiyong as the civil representative to the diplomatic mission to Japan.

Zhu Yuanzhang also took out the identity seal of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and stamped it with his own hands.

From this moment on, the team members of the Ming Dynasty's diplomatic mission to Japan were established.

"Mr. Teng, I'll give you this imperial edict. Go back and prepare it. I'll announce this matter at the morning court in a few days. By then, you should know what I want you to say."

Everything was implied in his words, how could Teng Yi not understand it.

Everyone thought the matter was over, so after Zhu Yuanzhang handed the imperial edict to Teng Yi, he did not let him leave immediately.

"Mr. Teng, today, in addition to asking you to find a candidate to be sent to Japan, I have another matter I want to discuss with you."

In an instant, Teng Yi felt his heart beating several times, wondering what was going on with the Emperor today. Not only did he look for him again and again, but he also asked him to do so many things. He had never seen such a phenomenon before.

After he finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang did not stop, but continued:

"That's right. After the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to Japan, I predicted that an unprecedented war would break out between the Ming Dynasty and Japan.

By then, the Ming treasury will be in great shortage. As you know, Teng Qing, the treasury has confiscated a lot of money from the Jiangnan region in recent times. However, no matter how much money there is, it cannot withstand the turmoil in order to prevent the collapse of the court.

We want to issue Ming Dynasty national bonds. These bonds are certificates of benefits after we set out to colonize Japan in the future. Whoever buys them will be eligible to enjoy the benefits first after Ming Dynasty develops Japan.

I wonder what Mr. Teng thinks of this move?"

Hearing this, Teng Yi felt dizzy. He was the Minister of Personnel, who was in charge of the government, and the Emperor actually came to him today to discuss matters concerning the Ministry of Revenue.

Teng Yi didn't dare to answer this question easily. After thinking for a long time, he dared to speak.

"Your Majesty, this is the matter of Yang Siyi from the Ministry of Revenue. If I, as the Minister of Personnel, report this to Your Majesty here, Yang Siyi will definitely be rude to me when he finds out.

However, since Your Majesty has asked, I cannot help but answer.

I think that the Ming Dynasty can issue national debt, but I have a question. I wonder if Your Majesty can tell me?"

(End of this chapter)