Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 407 The Emperor's Inquiry into Politics: The Ability to Change Faces

The lake in front of Wan Jin Ge rippled with the young emperor's angry words.

Zhou Ming adjusted the fishing rod, and finding no fish biting, he simply pulled up the bait and started fishing again.

The young emperor's words were filled with complaints about the ten generals on the border, and he was very angry about their secret collusion with Zhu Wushi.

But in reality, how many people in the imperial court had connections with Zhu Wushi over the past few decades?

It should be noted that Zhu Wushi was not only the current imperial uncle, the master of the Dragon Guard Manor, and one of the three pillars of the court, but also had long cultivated an image of being upright and patriotic.

Under such circumstances, how many officials would have had dealings with him, or even had close relationships with him, or even be Zhu Wushi's cronies?

Like a young emperor, he only purged the most core members, letting everyone else go.

The ten generals on the other side were said to be in cahoots with Zhu Wushi, but in reality, their relationship with Zhu Wushi was not even one-tenth as close as that of many court officials.

However, the young emperor still cared deeply about their relationship with Zhu Wushi.

This is not just because ten generals held military power.

Most importantly, they are currently at the border!

The young emperor, who has just regained power, currently only has authority over the entire capital city.

Although his influence could extend to other regions, his orders still carried some weight at the border, something the young emperor was completely unsure of.

Therefore, what angered him was actually his own inability to control power.

In particular, the inability to control military power.

Under these circumstances, the secret collusion between the ten generals and Zhu Wushi becomes even more conspicuous.

If this had happened before, Zhou Ming might have said it outright.

At that time, the young emperor did not have much power, and he still needed to rely on Pei Ju, and even Zhou Ming.

But now, he has secured his throne.

Therefore, Zhou Ming absolutely must not reveal that he has completely seen through the young emperor's mind.

Even when giving advice to the emperor, one must proceed indirectly.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Ming said, "Has Your Majesty heard that not long ago, the King of Jin discussed with his ministers in court the matter of going south to plunder the Song Dynasty?"
The young emperor nodded: "Of course I've heard of it."

He then chuckled and said, "The Jin Kingdom is quite interesting. Important military matters discussed in the court are quickly known to all countries. I wonder how the Jin emperor controls intelligence."

He wasn't mocking the Jin Dynasty's intelligence leaks.

In fact, the imperial court itself is a huge sieve.

Each of the numerous officials has their own stance and must uphold their own interests.

Getting them to keep it a secret is harder than climbing to heaven.

He was mocking Jin Huang for his inappropriate handling of the matter.

Such important military matters should not be discussed in the imperial court at all.

Important matters are discussed in small meetings, while minor matters are discussed in large meetings.

Such matters should be discussed privately in a small, private room with a few high-ranking officials.

After the matter is settled, the court officials will be notified.

Now, the news has spread to many countries.

Even if Song's intelligence system is terrible, it can still find out this kind of information.

Moreover, although the young emperor had always looked down on the ruler of the Song Dynasty, the two sides were, after all, allies of the Central Plains and were allies in the face of the northern barbarians.

Therefore, once the Ming Dynasty receives this news, it will definitely inform the Song Dynasty.

Zhou Ming smiled and said, "Perhaps the Jin monarch is very confident. He believes that even if this news is told to the Song, the Song army will not be able to stop the Jin cavalry."

The young emperor laughed heartily: "That's true!"

Zhou Ming said, "Your Majesty should also know that the Yuan Kingdom has always been eyeing our Ming Kingdom covetously. Last year, when Master Zhang displayed his divine power and defeated the two great masters of the Yuan Kingdom, Pang Ban and Meng Chixing, forcing the Yuan Emperor to apologize, the Yuan Emperor sent a letter to the northern countries, wanting to go south with them, but the countries refused."

Now, given last year's heavy snowfall that killed countless livestock, various countries are already eager to plunder southwards. At this time, the Yuan Emperor will certainly not stand idly by; he will inevitably participate!

The emperor clapped his hands and said, "Excellent, excellent! Changping's words are truly insightful. It's a real pity that you don't serve in the court."

Zhou Ming remained silent.

They say that, but who knows how wary they are inside?

The reason the emperor is able to coexist peacefully with Pei Ju is because Pei Ju is old, and Zhou Ming has no intention of entering the court.

Otherwise, Zhou Ming's identity would naturally allow him to inherit Pei Ju's vast political legacy, making him a huge threat to the emperor in the court.

The main reason the two were able to sit here and have a proper conversation was that Zhou Ming did not attend court.

If he joins, the relationship between the two will instantly turn into one of enmity.

"No, the intrigue and backstabbing in the court are not what I want. I'd rather fish here at Wan Jin Ge and enjoy a leisurely life."

"Haha, aren't you afraid that all your talent will go to waste?"

"What are my meager talents worth? I suppose Your Majesty had already anticipated that the Yuan Kingdom would cooperate, or even unite with other northern countries, to march south and invade."

"That's right, I had guessed it too."

The emperor said, "That's precisely why the problem of those ten generals must also be addressed."

With war imminent, attacking the general at the border is clearly not a good idea.

However, if left unchecked, no one can predict what these generals, who already harbor ulterior motives, might do at such a critical moment.

"May I ask Your Majesty, besides you and me, who else knows about this matter?"

"At the moment, it is indeed only you and I who know."

Zhou Ming said, "In that case, Your Majesty should elect someone to inspect the border under the guise of patrolling, and once war breaks out, he should immediately become the commander-in-chief and lead the border troops to fight the enemy."

He then secretly instructed this man to transfer these ten generals to either the most dangerous or the least important locations.

"Most dangerous? Least important? Isn't that a conflict?"

"If Your Majesty wishes to deal with them, send them to the most dangerous places to charge into battle and kill the enemy. But this is also risky. If they actually achieve great merit, it will be even more difficult to deal with them."

If you only want to postpone the issue, assign it to the least important places and deal with it after the war is over.

However, the most crucial point is that these ten people absolutely cannot gather together; they must be distributed in at least three or four different places.

The emperor quickly understood the reason: the ten men should be dispersed to prevent them from gathering and causing trouble.

In this way, even if someone realizes that something is wrong, they won't cause any trouble.

"I never imagined that you, my dear minister, would be so familiar with matters concerning this border."

Zhou Ming shook his head: "Your Majesty is mistaken this time. My approach is not based on border military matters, but on the hearts and minds of the people. Similar situations can be handled in the same way, whether in the court or in the local areas. It's just that the border is a bit more sensitive."

The emperor nodded.

In fact, he had also thought of corresponding solutions, but they were not as detailed as Zhou Ming's.

Eliminating Cao Zhengchun and Zhu Wushi at the same time, while giving him great power, also had its side effects.

That is, there's no one around to discuss this kind of thing with.

Whether it was Liu Xi or Yu Huatian, framing loyal ministers, manipulating power, and currying favor with the emperor were their specialties.

But when it comes to matters of military importance, these people probably don't have the ability to handle them.

In particular, these people are adept at guessing what their superiors want, and the solutions they propose are all based on what their superiors think, without any regard for the facts.

For example, the emperor might be inclined to deal with these ten generals. If this matter were discussed with Liu Xi, Liu Xi's first consideration would not be the border or the country, but rather the emperor's thoughts.

If he were to guess the emperor's thoughts, he would likely immediately suggest sending troops to capture the emperor and behead him.

This is clearly a bad idea.

But it was an idea that the emperor himself was inclined to have.

Therefore, the emperor never even considered discussing this matter with Liu Xi, Yu Huatian, and others.

As for Pei Ju, he was also slightly apprehensive and ultimately remained somewhat wary.

As for the other court officials, needless to say, they haven't been around long enough to be trusted.

Moreover, prior to this, in order to avoid implicating too many people in Zhu Wushi's affair and causing turmoil in the court, the emperor only removed some ministers who were extremely close to Zhu Wushi, while the rest were all released by imperial decree.

The investigation revealed that ten border generals were suspicious and implicated with Zhu Wushi, which happened after that.

According to his previous decree, these ten generals were also within the scope of being spared.

An emperor can't very well contradict himself.

After much thought, he finally decided to come and discuss it with Zhou Ming.

If Zhou Ming provides a good solution, that would be ideal.

If they cannot provide it, Zhou Ming will inevitably inform Pei Ju about this matter.

At that time, Pei Ju will naturally submit a memorial to him and come up with a solution.

However, he felt that the solution Zhou Ming had proposed was quite good.

Whether Pei Ju provides a solution later or not is irrelevant.

"With a major battle imminent, Changping, who do you think I should appoint as the best commander-in-chief?"

Zhou Ming smiled and said, "Your Majesty, if you ask me about strategies for winning people's hearts, I can give you an answer. If you ask me about methods of political maneuvering, I can also give you a reference. Even some civil officials in the court, I know a few of them thanks to my adoptive father's connections. But if you ask about military generals... I know absolutely nothing about them."

The emperor smiled and asked, "What do you think of Zhuge Liang?"

Zhou Ming was taken aback: "Zhuge Shenhou is extremely skilled in martial arts and his political tactics are also quite good. But, does he also understand military affairs?"

The emperor nodded and said, "The Six-Five Divine Marquis is both scholarly and martial, and his Divine Marquis's Mansion is skilled in solving cases. He has four famous constables under his command, each of whom is a talented individual."

Zhou Ming understood instantly.

Whether Zhuge Liang understood military affairs or not was actually unimportant to the emperor.

The main reason he chose Zhuge Shenhou was because of his skill in solving cases.

His primary objective was not to defend against the Yuan Dynasty, but to deal with those ten, and at the same time to test whether the many generals on the border would obey orders, so as to consolidate military power.

The secondary objective was to resist the invasion of the Yuan Dynasty.

If his choice were to become public, it would likely draw fierce criticism from the people.

However, from the emperor's perspective, he had never wielded much power during his many years on the throne, let alone military power in remote border regions.

He even had reason to doubt all the border generals.

The ten generals who had ties with Zhu Wushi can only be considered representatives of this group.

With this great war about to begin, the emperor should handle this matter even more carefully.

As for the threat from the Yuan Kingdom... it will certainly take some time to prepare before a real war breaks out.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty had a sound and powerful defense mechanism on its borders. As long as the generals did not cause problems, the soldiers were paid their full pay, and the logistics were guaranteed, it could resist the Yuan Dynasty for a long time.

This is the strength and confidence of the Ming Dynasty.

From this perspective, the young emperor's decision to send Zhuge Liang to the border to consolidate military power at this time was actually a wise one.

Moreover, he chose the right person.

Because Zhuge Liang was truly a man of both literary and martial prowess, capable of outwitting his ministers in the court and fighting bravely against the enemy on the battlefield.

After all, his surname is Zhuge.

You might doubt whether people with the surname Zhuge in real life truly possess extraordinary wisdom.

However, in all film, television and novel works, the name Zhuge is synonymous with wisdom.

If you add the official title of Marquis after those two words... you're all set!
It's absolutely a sure thing!

"I am unaware of this matter. Since it is Your Majesty's decision, I naturally support it."

As he spoke, Zhou Ming glanced at the emperor again and said, "If Your Majesty is willing, I may also ask my godfather."

"This……"

The emperor thought about it for a moment, but ultimately he was not entirely confident in his decision, so he nodded and said, "Very well."

After finishing his business, the emperor casually cast his line a couple of times, but caught nothing, and then took his leave.

Zhou Ming put away his fishing rod and suddenly shook his head.

"As expected, people change once they sit on the throne. And this one has clearly begun. I wonder how long he can maintain this facade of being courteous and respectful to scholars..."

Today's dialogue.

The young emperor's words were laced with hidden meaning several times.

Clearly, they didn't completely trust Zhou Ming.

Moreover, although he claimed to be asking for advice on various issues, his demeanor was truly that of a ruler and his subject.

Although the two were originally ruler and subject.

But it's important to know that the young emperor's attitude wasn't like this before.

Zhou Ming had long anticipated that the emperor's attitude towards him would definitely change after he regained power.

But I never imagined it would change so quickly.

"However, such a high level of face-changing ability is something an emperor should possess..."

Zhou Ming himself is not actually averse to this kind of face-changing.

This was especially true for the emperor.

On the contrary, I actually admire it.

If... the person whose face was changed wasn't him.

The following day, Pei Ju submitted a memorial to the emperor, agreeing with the emperor's decision to send Zhuge Zhengwo to inspect the border.

Soon after, Zhuge Zhengwo received the imperial decree and led the Four Great Constables to the border.

At the same time, the Ming Dynasty also mobilized internally, began to inventory and organize supplies, and summoned laborers to transport grain and fodder.

These actions clearly cannot be hidden from those who are interested.

Soon, the fact that a great war was about to break out had become a consensus throughout the world.

Even the State of Song, faced with this situation, could only reorganize its military and confront the war head-on.

The Yuan and Ming dynasties were even more excited.

Needless to say, the Yuan Kingdom had been preparing for war since last year, and the fact that the war only started this year was already considered slow for them.

In the Ming Dynasty, the young emperor had just regained power and was feeling quite pleased with himself.

He was not afraid of war at all.

In fact, I'm really looking forward to it!
(End of this chapter)