I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 207 Three Key Strategies for Entering the Cabinet! Zhang Siwei: Only I Can Suppress the Northern Border
On the first day of June, the weather gradually warmed up.

It was dusk when the government offices were closed.

Shen Nian walked out of the Hanlin Academy and got into the carriage driven by Aji, heading home.

After the Anlan Conference ended, Shen Nian had some free time.

However, with land surveying proceeding smoothly across the country, officials in various government departments are busier than ever before.

Including Shen Nian.

In the present Ming Dynasty, it is the norm for officials to be busy.

There are those who lie down and do nothing, but as soon as they are discovered, someone will immediately replace them.

In the first half of this year, over a hundred officials have been dismissed for failing to properly measure land.

Some officials complain that the work is too arduous and that being an official is not as good as being a businessman, but they have no intention of resigning.

Because they knew that there was no better profession in the world than being an official.

……

Sitting in the carriage, Shen Nian looked out at the bustling street and asked Aji outside the curtain, "Aji, has anything interesting happened on the streets lately?"

Recently, Shen Nian's daily routine has been: once she leaves the Forbidden City, she goes straight to the Hanlin Academy; once she leaves the Hanlin Academy, she goes straight home.

He didn't have time to read the local tabloids on his desk and knew very little about the hot topics and interesting stories among the people.

But he also loved listening to these things.

Aji thought for a moment and said, "There's nothing interesting, but some people have been saying these past two days that there might be a war going on in the north?"

"A war? Who spread that rumor? And what's the reason?"

Shen Nian looked puzzled.

If there is war in the North, the first to know should be the Ministry of War, the Drafting Office, and the Cabinet, not the ordinary people on the streets.

“I don’t know who spread the rumor, but it’s said that because of the nationwide land survey, there’s been unrest in the north, and the Tatars want to take this opportunity to start a war and plunder. I’ve heard several groups of people discussing this today, so I can’t tell if it’s true or not,” Aji said.

Shen Nian thought for a moment and said, "The tabloids will most likely publish this story tomorrow morning. Before I go to the yamen, go to the street and buy all the newly published tabloids."

“Yes,” Aji said.

Whether the news of war is true or false, its spread will cause widespread panic among the people.

After all, the capital is too close to the northern border.

After investigating the situation, the imperial court should have immediately refuted the rumors.

The matter has not been disseminated by any government office in the capital today, most likely because it only reached the capital today and its impact is not yet significant.

……

The next day, at dawn.

As soon as Shen Nian got into the carriage, Aji handed him several tabloids and said, "Young Master, the top tabloid contains news that there may be war in the Northern Border."

Shen Nian took the newspaper, opened the car window, and began to read it carefully.

The tabloid stated:
Several merchants traveling from the northern border to the capital received inside information: within the next three months, several Tatar tribes would launch wars in the northern border of the Ming Dynasty, among which the Tuman tribe would invade Liaodong within a month.

The motivation for starting the war was that after the Ming Dynasty launched the nationwide land survey this year, many powerful landlords harbored rebellious intentions. They wanted to invade the northern border, plunder resources, and win over these people to strengthen their own tribes.

Shen Nian frowned after reading it.

The contents of the tabloids were so vivid and detailed that the more you read them, the more believable they seemed.

The Tatar people had many sub-tribes.

Among them, the most powerful army, Anda, accepted the peace treaty during the Longqing era. Anda Khan was conferred the title of Shunyi King by the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty also opened markets with him. Anda tribe has always been very honest and lived peacefully with the Ming Dynasty.

But some smaller tribes are not so obedient.

Among them, the most unruly were the Tuman tribes near Liaodong.

The battle reports sent back by Li Chengliang, the general of Liaodong, in the past two years have mainly focused on defeating the Tuman tribes. The Anda tribe even provides Li Chengliang with some intelligence about the Tuman tribes.

The reason why the Tuman tribe kept invading Liaodong.

On the one hand, it was to plunder resources and control Liaodong.

The climate in which they lived was cold and resources were scarce. Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty had never traded with them, so they constantly plundered, hoping to occupy Liaodong and seize the territory of the Jurchens.

On the other hand, it was to use war to promote peace.

The Tuman tribe claimed to be the legitimate successors of the Mongol Tatars and wanted to replace Altan Khan's position. They were also recognized by the Ming Dynasty, so they wanted to unite with other tribes through war to continuously grow stronger, which attracted the attention of the Ming Dynasty.

Li Chengliang's strategy for dealing with them was to stop the war with war.

Friction frequently occurs between the two sides.

The Tuman tribe was highly mobile, but lacked the ability to attack fortified positions, rarely winning battles and seldom engaging in major wars.

Whether what the tabloids are saying is true or false is still hard to determine.

After all, some merchants were able to obtain intelligence from Tatar merchants in advance so that they could move their goods ahead of time.

……

soon.

News of an impending war in the north spread throughout the capital's various government offices.

After the cabinet reported to the young Wanli Emperor, he immediately dispatched an urgent courier service to Fang Fengshi, Zhang Xueyan, Qi Jiguang, and Li Chengliang in the northern border region to verify whether the matter was true or false.

The Ming Dynasty at present is not afraid of war at all, but it is unwilling to fight.

Once war breaks out, the nationwide land survey will be put on hold, and the imperial court will lose a lot of tax revenue.

at the same time.

The Shuntian Prefecture posted notices in front of the government office and city gates, ordering the people not to spread rumors.

The truth of this matter.

This not only affects the imperial court, but also the current trade in the northern border region.

The express courier service, which could only travel 800 li in a day, could only cover about 600 li. However, the total distance from the capital to Liaoyang in Liaodong was only about 1,400 li.

Within five days at the latest, definite news will arrive from the North.

……

The third day of June.

Just as the imperial court was prohibiting ordinary people from spreading rumors and discussing whether war had broken out in the north,

A memorial submitted by Du Jieli, the Imperial Inspector of Liaodong, was delivered to the Forbidden City.

He impeached Li Chengliang, the general of Liaodong, claiming that he had committed three major crimes, each punishable by death.

Crime 1: Killing innocent people and claiming credit for their crimes, fabricating a great victory.

He claimed that in a battle against the Tuman tribe commanded by Li Chengliang not long ago, a small-scale conflict was exaggerated into a major victory, which was called a great victory. He claimed that most of the enemy killed were old, weak and coerced followers, and there were very few real bandits.

The Ming Dynasty's border generals were assessed based on the number of heads taken, which led some generals to kill civilians for heads.

This move will not only be detrimental to the situation in Liaodong, but will also exacerbate the conflicts between the Mongols, Jurchens and Han Chinese, making the situation in Liaodong increasingly chaotic.

Crime Two: Supporting bandits to enhance one's own power.

To consolidate his power in Liaodong, Li Chengliang sought military merit and supported several Jurchen tribes (enemy bandits). He sometimes tolerated their burning, killing, and looting, and at other times he launched a strong siege against them. His purpose was always to gain personal military merit and to consolidate his position in Liaodong.

Crime Three: Training the soldiers of Liaodong into the private army of the Li family.

At present, Li Chengliang's family members and confidants hold important positions in the army, and even monopolize the military pay, horse prices, and salt taxes in Liaodong. In fact, he is using the court's money to support his own people and train his own troops.

Once this impeachment memorial was published, many other officials in the censorate also impeached Li Chengliang.

This is not the first time Li Chengliang has been impeached.

Because he had previously committed acts of killing innocent people and claiming credit for them, and he also had a tendency to raise bandits for his own power and to cultivate a private army.

In the past, Zhang Juzheng protected him, and there was no evidence, so no one impeached him.

But this time.

The memorial submitted by Du Jieli, the Imperial Inspector of Liaodong, was very detailed. Based on the understanding of Li Chengliang among the officials, at least half of what was said in the memorial was true.

Emperor Wanli was very anxious after reading this memorial.

Whether the Tatars will start a war is still under discussion, but unexpectedly, Li Chengliang, the commander of the northern border, has been impeached.

If it were an ordinary official, the young Wanli Emperor would have immediately suspended him from his post and confined him to his quarters.

But this wouldn't work with Li Chengliang; Liaodong at that time couldn't function without him. The young Wanli Emperor immediately ordered the courier to send this impeachment memorial to Liaodong.

He wanted Li Chengliang to defend himself and submit a written defense, and also ordered the cabinet to write a letter to Zhang Xueyan to inquire about the details.

……

The seventh day of June.

The memorials from Fang Fengshi, Zhang Xueyan, Qi Jiguang, and Li Chengliang regarding whether there was war in the northern border arrived in the capital one after another.

The four people spoke in unison.

It is said that several Tatar tribes are indeed not behaving well on the border, constantly provoking others, and there are even rumors among the people that war is about to break out.

However, the other side has not deployed a large army on the border, so the possibility of war with the Ming Dynasty is not very high. If war does break out, they are fully confident that they can drive these tribes back.

This response made the officials in the capital nervous.

This suggests that war is possible.

If war is possible, we need to prepare all kinds of supplies.

On that very day, the cabinet ordered the Ministry of War to begin preparations, and various weapons, armor, and firearms were transported to the northern border in preparation for any eventuality.

……

On the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, Lü Diaoyang fell ill again.

Lü Diaoyang's health has been poor this year.

Now, upon receiving news that war might break out in the North and that a Northern general might commit a serious crime, he is under so much pressure that he has become bedridden.

Cabinet matters can only be handled by Ma Ziqiang and Yin Zhengmao.

The young Wanli Emperor was extremely anxious.

Suddenly, the once-solid Ming Dynasty began to shake.

Just as he was pondering how to persuade Zhang Juzheng to return to court without taking leave.

A joint memorial signed by two censors from Huguang was presented to the young Wanli Emperor.

duo -

An investigation revealed that Zhang Juzheng's father, Zhang Wenming, had amassed over 80,000 mu of land through various means, including helping local powerful families evade taxes, local officials inflating tax exemption quotas, and Zhang family members registering private land under their names to evade taxes.

After the matter was investigated, Zhang Juzheng claimed to be unaware of it, and then returned the confiscated land within three days and paid all the taxes owed.

This matter has already spread to the streets and communities.

When some merchants and gentry in Huguang learned of this, they vehemently criticized Zhang Juzheng for being hypocritical and inconsistent in his words and deeds.

Emperor Wanli was certain that Zhang Juzheng was unaware of the matter, and since the Zhang family had already paid the taxes, the court would not punish Zhang Juzheng.

But after this incident...

Ordering Zhang Juzheng to return to court without mourning his passing is clearly inappropriate and will likely attract more opposition.

……

June 9th.

The memorials submitted by Zhang Xueyan, the governor of Liaodong, and Li Chengliang, the general of Liaodong, regarding Li Chengliang's "three major crimes," were presented to the young Wanli Emperor.

The two spoke in unison.

They all claimed that the three major crimes were pure fabrication.

The killing of innocent people to claim credit was due to the occasional chaos of battle, which led to accidental killings. The two also cited examples of the Liaodong army's guides, two Jurchens named Juechangan (Nurhaci's grandfather) and Taksi (Nurhaci's father), who were mistakenly killed in the chaos of battle.

The idea of ​​"nurturing bandits to enhance one's own power" is a complete misunderstanding of the strategy of "using barbarians to control barbarians," a strategy proposed by Zhang Juzheng.

As for the accusation of keeping a private army, the two claimed it was a complete fabrication. They said they were loyal to the Ming Dynasty, that they were paid by the emperor and that they were willing to share his burdens. If they could not gain his trust, they were both willing to return to the capital to be tried.

After reading the memorial, Emperor Wanli was still uneasy, feeling that there were signs of unrest in the northern border and that immediate measures were needed to maintain stability and prevent it.

He trusted Qi Jiguang, who was stationed in Jizhou, but he didn't quite trust Li Chengliang, who was stationed in Liaodong.

Qi Jiguang's policy toward foreign tribes was primarily appeasement, with war as a secondary measure; while Li Chengliang was overly reliant on force, using fighting instead of appeasement.

Emperor Wanli pondered what to do next to ensure peace and prevent war in the northern border.

……

afternoon.

Inside the Hanlin Academy, Shen Nian was sitting at a table, lost in thought.

The recent spate of accidents left him feeling somewhat disoriented and uneasy.

First came the rumors of an impending war in the north, then came the three crimes of Li Chengliang, the general of Liaodong, the land grabbing by Zhang Juzheng's father, and finally, Lü Diaoyang's illness and bedridden state.

Shen Nian murmured, "These troubles, when put together, seem to be saying: the northern border is about to fall into chaos, and Grand Secretary Zhang will not be able to return!"

"This...this can't be someone's conspiracy, can it?"

Suddenly, a person came to Shen Nian's mind.

This person is the biggest beneficiary of all this chaos, but he cannot be sure whether this idea is true at the moment.

……

Night falls in Nanjing.

On the Qinhuai River, a magnificent ship slowly sails forward.

On the ship's deck.

A beautiful young singer, holding a pipa, is singing a very cheerful and festive tune.

"A celestial being, rare in the mortal world, we met on a beautiful spring day. Joyfully, her hair adorned with a jeweled hairpin, she smiled sweetly, her silk sleeves fluttering lightly..."

Sitting opposite the courtesan was none other than Zhang Siwei, the Minister of Rites in Nanjing.

Today, he was very happy to hear that Lü Diaoyang had fallen ill and was bedridden.

They couldn't help but board the boat to drink wine and listen to music.

He fabricated the news that war was about to break out in the north; he was the mastermind behind the censor's impeachment of Li Chengliang for three major crimes; and he was also the mastermind behind the report that Zhang Juzheng's father had annexed land.

This was his "three strategies to return to the palace" plan.

His goal was to make the young Wanli Emperor feel that the northern border was unstable and needed to be pacified, while Zhang Juzheng was unable to return to the capital.

Zhang Siwei, influenced by the two famous frontier generals Wang Chonggu and Yang Bo, was well-versed in border affairs and had a deep understanding of the dynamics of various Mongolian tribes and border defense strategies.

All the officials in the court knew this.

He played an indispensable role in facilitating the peace treaty with Altan Khan back then.

He believed that the young Wanli Emperor would soon remember him.

Fang Fengshi, the current Minister of War and inspector of Shanxi, and Zhang Xueyan, the governor of Liaodong, knew very little about the Tatars and were unable to shoulder the responsibility of suppressing them.

As for Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang, they were military generals who only knew how to fight and not how to make peace.

With Zhang Juzheng unable to return to court, only Zhang Siwei among all the officials was capable of resolving potential problems in the northern border region.

now.

Zhang Siwei had already figured out the arrangements that the young Wanli Emperor would make for him.

First, he was appointed to replace Fang Fengshi as Minister of War in Beijing, and then he was ordered to inspect the northern border and pacify the various Tatar tribes.

He will be able to rejoin the cabinet after returning to court in six months.

If Zhang Juzheng had not returned, the current three cabinet ministers would not have been his match in terms of political ability and physical strength.

His promotion to Grand Secretary is imminent.

If the young Wanli Emperor still didn't remember him after a few days, he would submit a memorial, volunteering for the mission.

This time, Zhang Siwei went to great lengths to implement the "Three Strategies to Return to the Cabinet" plan, even using his retirement savings.

In order to make it indistinguishable from the real thing.

He bribed many people in the Tatar tribes, instructing them to spread rumors that the Ming Dynasty's nationwide land survey had caused frequent local uprisings, and to spread rumors that the Tuman tribes would launch a large-scale invasion of Liaodong...

As for Li Chengliang's three major crimes and Zhang Juzheng's father's land annexation, they were not unjust. When he was a cabinet minister, he knew how to deal with these two people.

Just then, a cool breeze blew by.

Zhang Siwei stood up, first looking at the Qinhuai River reflecting the shadows of boats and lanterns, then gazing towards the capital, and murmured, "Under the Ming Dynasty, only I can subdue the northern border. This old man is finally going to stand up!"

(End of this chapter)