Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 471 An Unprecedented Proposal

But what about how to settle the conquered countries and how many officials to appoint?

The civil and military officials in the Fengtian Hall argued fiercely, but they couldn't reach a conclusion.

This is not a conclusion that can be drawn in a short time.

Leaving aside the smaller countries, just considering the five kingdoms of Sui, Southern Song, Northern Song, Liao, and Yuan, only the Northern and Southern Song were slightly smaller in territory than the Ming Dynasty, and the others were not much smaller, and the Yuan Dynasty was even larger.

The six ministries, five temples, and various departments discussed the matter heatedly, but for the time being, they could only reach one conclusion.

That is……

Unless the best scholars in the Ming Dynasty are selected and the imperial examinations are skipped, the number of officials in the Ming court, scholars in the Hanlin Academy, and talents recommended by local governments is far from sufficient to govern the entire country.

This, in turn, will lead to new problems.

With officials of varying quality, or even those who are simply filling positions without merit, it would be better to select talented individuals directly from the existing officials of each country for management.

Zhu Jinzhen and the court officials discussed the matter until late at night, but still could not come up with a concrete answer. He could only dismiss the court and let them go back to rest, and also asked the Six Ministries to draft a set of regulations.

This morning assembly has just ended.

……

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

After the court assembly ended, Zhu Jinzhen did not rest.

His idea at the court meeting was not a spur-of-the-moment thought, but a genuine intention.

In fact, Zhu Jinzhen had spent the entire day adapting to and familiarizing himself with the unique power of the Rat Talisman, the source of life that transforms stillness into movement, until the end of the court assembly when he finally grasped it completely.

Zhu Jinzhen glanced at the generals of Cangyun and Tiance who had come to request an audience and ask for permission to fight, and gave them a disdainful look: "I know you want to share my burdens, but we really don't need you to conquer Dongying."

"It's not a matter of using someone's talents for a lesser purpose."

"It's not that you are the most suitable candidates."

"This……"

The group looked at each other in bewilderment. The most capable generals of the Ming Dynasty were all here. Could there be anyone more suitable?

Finally, it was Changsun Wangqing who noticed their troubled expressions and asked with a smile, "Then, Your Majesty, who do you intend to appoint as general for this campaign against Japan?"

"I am preparing to send Bai Qi to lead the army."

Zhu Jinzhen didn't hide anything and said with a smile.

Bai Qi?

At first, the group was stunned and did not think of the Qin Wu'an Jun or the butcher Bai Qi. However, seeing the inexplicable smile on Zhu Jinzhen's face, the Cangyun and Tiance generals in the Yangxin Hall gradually took it seriously.

"Is the Bai Qi that Your Majesty is referring to the Lord of Wu'an of Qin?"

"Yes, that's him."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded with a smile. Seeing the eager eyes of the people in front of him, he simply revealed his plans: "Not only Bai Qi, but I also intend to appoint Martial King Ran Min as deputy general, Chang Yuchun as left vanguard, Huang Chao as right vanguard, and Jia Xu as military advisor, and Cheng Yu as strategist."

The reason for specifically mentioning the strategist was that he saw that Feng Yebei, the strategist of Cangyun, and Zhu Jianqiu, the strategist of Tiance Mansion who had already been granted the title of Marquis, were eager to make their move, so he simply wanted to dispel their thoughts together.

"this?"

Changsun Wangqing looked puzzled and curious: "Your Majesty is unfathomable. You have long intended to let Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi, lead the army. I am not surprised at all. Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi, is indeed an unparalleled military genius."

"But why appoint Ran Min as deputy general and Chang Yuchun as left vanguard? And who is Huang Chao?"

"Strategist, since His Majesty has chosen Jia Xu and Cheng Yu, why not choose Zhuge Liang, the Prime Minister of Shu?"

Such doubts were not only shared by Changsun Wangqing, but also by the generals of Cangyun and Tiance in the Yangxin Hall.

However, given their identities, it's not appropriate to ask.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jinzhen smiled slightly and asked in return, "Does Wang Qing remember who Jia Xu is?"

"He was a strategist under Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period, and also a notorious ruthless strategist."

"Indeed." "As the saying goes, Jia Xu's advice may offend Heaven, but it does not offend Literature."

"He was sent to Japan as a military advisor, and I believe he will surely shine on that land."

Changsun Wangqing was taken aback, as were the others.

Hearing Zhu Jinzhen say this, they seemed to have guessed why Zhu Jinzhen did not choose them to be the commanders, and why he chose Bai Qi, the Duke of Wu'an of Qin, who had already passed away.

"Your Highness's choice of Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi, could it be because you value..."

"That's right, Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi, nicknamed the Butcher."

Everyone's eyelids twitched. Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi, nicknamed the Butcher and God of Slaughter, was his emperor sending Bai Qi to carry out a large-scale massacre?

"Warrior King Ran Min, could it be... the order to kill the Hu?" Li Chengen guessed.

"clever."

Zhu Jinzhen gave him an approving look.

Xue Zhi's expression also turned somewhat strange: "Then His Majesty favors Prince Chang Yuchun of Kaiping as the Left Vanguard. Could it be that he values ​​Prince Chang Yuchun's fondness for killing surrendered soldiers, or even..."

"Yes."

"But Your Majesty, who exactly is Huang Chao?"

"He."

Zhu Jinzhen was stunned for a moment before realizing that there was no such person as Huang Chao in the Zongwu World. In normal history, he was the gravedigger of the Tang Dynasty, but the Sui Dynasty in the Zongwu World had not yet been destroyed, and the Li Clan and Li Erfeng had still established their own kingdoms. Many figures from the middle and late Tang Dynasty had not appeared.

This is a bit difficult.

"A gravedigger."

Zhu Jinzhen could only answer like that, but in his heart he was already thinking about whether to consider sending someone else to Japan, since there were quite a few replacements.

"Then Your Majesty's appointment of Jia Xu as military advisor and Cheng Yu as military strategist is something I could have guessed." Zhu Jianqiu and Feng Yebei exchanged a glance, seeing the lingering wry smile in each other's eyes.

Yang Ning, Wang Bukong, and the others turned their heads to look curiously.

Zhu Jinzhen remained silent, only looking at them, gesturing for them to continue.

Zhu Jianqiu then bowed respectfully and explained, "Jia Xu is known for his ruthless tactics, and Cheng Yu has a precedent of using people as military rations."

"Your Majesty has appointed Bai Qi, the Lord of Wu'an, as commander-in-chief, and Ran Min, the King of Wudao, as deputy commander-in-chief. Your Majesty's intention is to eliminate them completely. Furthermore, you have appointed Chang Yuchun, the Prince of Kaiping, who likes to kill surrendered soldiers, as the left vanguard, and Huang Chao, the gravedigger, as the right vanguard. Your Majesty wants to ensure that the Japanese devils of the East will not have peace even after their deaths."

"I wonder if my guess is correct?"

After saying this, Zhu Jianqiu, though speaking in a questioning tone, had an extremely confident expression on his face.

"Clap clap clap, not bad, not bad."

Zhu Jinzhen clapped his hands with a smile, his face full of praise: "That's right, that's exactly what I think. Simply destroying their country is too easy for them. I want them to experience what despair is, and to repay the pain of my Ming people a thousandfold."

When the Japanese pirates were causing trouble along the southeastern coast, had they truly angered His Majesty?!

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Cangyun and the generals of Tiance instantly guessed what was going on.

Yan Yimei, standing to the side, frowned and made an unprecedented suggestion: "If Your Majesty is going to be so ruthless, why not let that immortal whom Your Majesty has subdued also go to Japan?"

"Ok?"

Zhu Jinzhen looked on curiously, as did the others.

At this moment, Yan Yimei thought to herself, "Killing surrendered soldiers, destroying countries, and digging up graves—one can only imagine the rage in His Majesty's heart."

The next moment, a bright smile bloomed on Yan Yimei's cool and handsome face: "Since you're going to exterminate them all, why not just crush their bones to ashes and reduce them to ashes as well?"

"With the intervention of an immortal, they might not even have a chance to be reborn, right?"

"If even immortals can't do it, there's still the Water Moon Grotto, and we can help."

(End of this chapter)