My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 320 We must strike hard!
——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial requesting the dispatch of censors to investigate the abuses of the Beijing Garrison was sent to the cabinet. The cabinet ministers reached a consensus on dispatching censors to conduct a large-scale investigation of the Beijing Garrison, but disagreed on how to deal with the garrison.

Zhang Juzheng expressed his agreement, while Zhao Zhenji opposed reducing the size of the Beijing garrison and drafted a memorial opposing yours.

The cabinet ministers could not reach a consensus, and the Longqing Emperor was also worried about causing chaos, so he kept your memorial.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige: 1150.]

[To fully approve your memorial, you need to pay 200 prestige points. Do you wish to pay?]

Only 200 points?
Su Ze was surprised that it only required 200 prestige points. He had thought he would need a lot more this time.

It seems that there is considerable support within the court for investigating the Beijing Garrison.

The court has long been dissatisfied with the enormous expenditures each year.

Su Ze selected "Yes," and now it was up to the system.

[Prestige points have been deducted, remaining prestige points: 950. Please complete the petition in real life as soon as possible.]

Su Ze put down the "Portable Ming Dynasty Court" device. Indeed, in politics, the easiest thing to solve is the problem itself.

The reason why problems drag on and are difficult to solve is often due to the political struggles behind the scenes.

The benefits generated by the reduction of the Beijing Garrison were too great; what the cabinet ministers were actually fighting over was the silver dollars saved.

It should be noted that the annual expenditure on grain transported by the three major camps and seventy-eight garrisons amounted to as much as two million shi (a unit of dry measure). According to the current grain price, one shi of rice in the capital was worth one silver dollar, which amounted to a full two million silver dollars.

Even if it's cut in half, it's still an expense of one million silver dollars.

If the court could have this extra silver coin, it would be able to accomplish many important tasks.

Su Ze had been planning this all along, starting from the Military Supervisory Bureau, and had finally reached this point. He had already planned how to use this silver dollar.
-
Su Ze's memorial was sent to the cabinet, and as expected, it caused controversy.

Zhang Juzheng was the strongest supporter of Su Ze's memorial, advocating for the dispatch of imperial censors to inspect the troops, re-evaluate the number of personnel in the Beijing garrison, and distribute military pay according to the final number of personnel in the Beijing garrison, while cutting the budget of the Beijing garrison that was receiving pay without actually working.

This is the most effective way to save on the government's expenses and solve the problem of financial strain.

Zhao Zhenji was the most opposed.

Zhao Zhenji was in charge of military affairs.

Zhao Zhenji believed that disposing of the Beijing Garrison was appropriate, but he opposed Su Ze's blanket approach of abolishing the garrison.

Zhao Zhenji believed that maintaining the existence of the Beijing Garrison was necessary, and that soldiers could be recruited after the investigation was completed, rather than directly cutting off the Beijing Garrison's organization and only retaining the soldiers who were actually registered, as Su Ze had suggested.

Gao Gong remained noncommittal about the opinions of both sides, but he was also unwilling to let the Ministry of Revenue monopolize the budget.

Since the fourth year of the Longqing reign, after the Ministry of Revenue completed the compilation of the "Longqing Accounting Records", its power has been expanding day by day.

As the second-in-command, Gao Gong also felt threatened by Zhang Juzheng.

If the Ministry of Revenue had an extra million silver dollars in budget, how far would Zhang Juzheng's power expand?
So the memorial was sent to the palace, requesting the emperor's decision.
-
In the palace.

As expected, Su Ze's memorial to the emperor once again caused him distress.

Unlike the disputes within the cabinet, the emperor's concern remained the stability of the capital.

In conclusion, Emperor Longqing had been on the throne for five years.

If he had just ascended the throne, and Su Ze had submitted this memorial, he would have immediately given his full support to Su Ze and reorganized the capital garrison.

If it were the second year of his reign, Emperor Longqing would probably have hesitated for a while, then offered his support to Su Ze with reservations, and sent people to investigate the situation before making a decision.

However, this is now the fifth year of his reign. The Ming Dynasty has enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests in recent years, and its finances are not so strained that it needs to target the Beijing Garrison.

The emperor initially hated the corruption of the Beijing Garrison, but now he is more afraid of causing trouble by dealing with them.

Every company spends money to employ some troublemakers who don't do any work. It's not that there's no way to fire them, but rather that upper management lacks the motivation to outwit and outmaneuver these troublemakers.

Anyway, the imperial court has been supporting the Beijing Garrison for more than just a year or two; it's been supporting them for a century.

The Longqing Emperor looked at the three officials from the Directorate of Ceremonial and asked, "What does the Directorate of Ceremonial think?"

Li Fang and Chen Hong both fell silent.

Li Fang was conservative, and like the emperor, he believed that the finances were not so strained that it was necessary to abolish the Beijing Garrison.

Chen Hong, however, was indifferent to the matter. The money saved by abolishing the Beijing Garrison was in the national treasury and had nothing to do with the imperial treasury under his control. He also knew nothing about military affairs, so he did not intend to express his opinion.

Facing the gaze of the Longqing Emperor, Feng Bao finally spoke:
"Your Majesty should discuss these military matters with your meritorious officials."

Emperor Longqing thought about it and nodded in agreement. It would be good to ask the nobles for their opinions. If the nobles objected, it would be a good opportunity to reject Su Ze's suggestion.

Having received the imperial decree, Feng Bao went to summon the nobles to the palace. After leaving the imperial study, he said to a trusted eunuch beside him:

"Go to the cabinet and bring this note to Grand Secretary Zhang."

The young eunuch took the note and left, and Feng Bao sighed.

If it were up to him, he wouldn't want to get involved in this matter.

But starting this year, Li Fang has aged considerably.

This Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has also begun to consider retiring and wants to leave the palace to retire.

If Feng Bao wants to compete with Chen Hong for the position of Director of Ceremonial, he needs to win over all available forces.

The cabinet cannot influence personnel appointments within the Directorate of Ceremonial, but cabinet ministers can.

The cabinet members were all close to the emperor, and if the position of the Director of Ceremonial Affairs became vacant, the emperor would certainly have to consider the private opinions of the cabinet ministers.

Therefore, starting after the New Year, Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng began to have more and more secret contacts.

This time, from the moment the Ministry of War assigned military students to the Beijing garrison for temporary posts, Zhang Juzheng secretly contacted Feng Bao, asking him for help at a critical moment.

Feng Bao didn't know why Zhang Juzheng was so confident in getting the nobles to support the reduction of the Beijing garrison, but he had already helped and thus fulfilled Zhang Juzheng's request.

Moreover, by helping out this time, I was essentially doing Su Ze a favor.
-
The attitude of the meritorious officials also surprised the emperor.

This time, the meritorious officials sided with Su Ze, supporting the dispatch of imperial censors to investigate the Beijing Garrison and reduce its size.

Emperor Longqing looked at the meritorious officials, and he really didn't understand why they would support reducing the size of the Beijing Garrison.

With such a unified attitude from the meritorious officials, the emperor had no further hesitation. He issued an edict approving Su Ze's memorial, first ordering troops from Xuanfu, Datong, and Zhigu to enter the capital, and then dispatching censors to the Beijing garrison to clear out the troops.

Now that the deed has been done, the Ming Dynasty court must start operating at full capacity.

To maintain secrecy, all the meritorious officials who entered the palace were stationed inside, and the cabinet also stayed in the palace overnight. The palace was sealed off and placed under a state of emergency.

The emperor then ordered the police to take over the city gates and prohibit military movements in the capital region.

Once the Xuanda army arrives at the outskirts of Beijing, the emperor will issue a formal decree ordering the censors to investigate the Beijing garrison.

The nobles arrived at the guard post in the palace. Duke Dingguo, Xu Wenbi, glanced at Duke Chengguo, Zhu Shitai.

It was only after Zhu Shitai firmly expressed his support for Su Ze's memorial to the emperor that the dissenting voices among the meritorious officials were suppressed.

Besides Zhu Shitai, Xu Wenbi also looked to Liu Shiyan, the newly restored Earl of Chengyi. Liu Shiyan also unequivocally supported Su Ze, echoing Zhu Shitai's sentiments, which finally convinced the emperor to make a decision.

Xu Wenbi was able to take over the sacrificial work of the Ming Dynasty, which shows that he was a shrewd person. It is clear that Zhu Shitai and Liu Shiyan had reached some kind of agreement.

what exactly is it?
Xu Wenbi could guess Liu Shiyan's motives: his family had only recently been restored to their noble status, so he was eager to impress the emperor.

Moreover, because of his sincere intention to restore his title, he had no connection with the affairs of the Beijing Garrison.

The Duke of Cheng was already at the pinnacle of meritorious officials, so why was Zhu Shitai ranked so low?
Just as Xu Wenbi was wondering, Duke Zhu Shitai of Chengguo walked over and said:
"Uncle Xu, it's too stuffy in here, shall we go for a walk?"

Xu Wenbi stood up, and the two of them came out of the duty room and took a walk in the courtyard.

Zhu Shitai said:
"Back when Xu Shishu served as the late emperor's Red Helmet General, wasn't he stationed here?"

Xu Wenbi nodded. The Red Helmet General was a son of a meritorious official who was in charge of the emperor's guards. Back when the old Duke of Dingguo was alive, he entered the palace to guard the late emperor. Emperor Jiajing even praised him for his proper handling of affairs in front of the old Duke of Dingguo.

Zhu Shitai said:
"It's a pity that my father passed away too early, and I, his nephew, never had the chance to enter the palace to guard His Majesty."

The previous Duke of Cheng was in poor health, so Zhu Shitai stayed at home to serve his father and never served as a Red Helmet General.

Xu Wenbi didn't know why Zhu Shitai was bringing up these old stories at this time.

But he knew that Zhu Shitai definitely had something to say to him.

As the two grew further away from the duty room, Zhu Shitai finally spoke:

"Uncle Xu, after this incident, Grand Secretary Zhang wants to petition for the training of a new army."

Xu Wenbi was stunned. He stared intently at Zhu Shitai, and his previous doubts vanished instantly.

Yes, no wonder Zhu Shitai and a group of meritorious officials supported the investigation of the Beijing Garrison. So that's why!
Zhang Juzheng supported the training of a new army, which became a stepping stone for the sons of meritorious officials to advance in their careers!

These nobles at the pinnacle of officialdom naturally didn't need it, but their families always had sons who couldn't inherit their titles.

Training a new army is a matter of great interest, so it's no wonder that these meritorious officials supported it.

The most important thing for training a new army is money.

When Zhang Juzheng took charge of the Ministry of Revenue, the money saved from the investigation of the Beijing Garrison could be used as the budget for training a new army.

Zhu Shitai continued:

"I didn't discuss it with my uncle because I knew he would definitely support it."

"Grand Secretary Zhang said that all officers of the new army must come from the Military Academy."

Xu Wenbi understood that this was a price to be offered to win him over.

Or rather, these are conditions that one cannot refuse.

Xu Wenbi was the deputy director of the Military Affairs Bureau. Zhang Juzheng's move was indeed brilliant, and he had absolutely no reason to object.

Xu Wenbi narrowed his eyes. Zhang Juzheng was trying to win over the nobles in order to seize Zhao Zhenji's sphere of influence.

Is the cabinet, which has been stable for so long, about to start fighting again?
Xu Wenbi sighed. These matters concerning civil officials were none of his concern, but he looked at the young Zhu Shitai, who was ambitiously training a new army.

For no apparent reason, Xu Wenbi thought of Su Ze's saying about "an era of great contention".

Each had their own plans, and it seemed that the nobles were not content with their original mascot positions and wanted to get involved in this "great struggle".

Xu Wenbi suddenly felt that he might really be getting old, and that he was starting to lose touch with the thinking of the younger generation.

Xu Wenbi looked at Zhu Shitai and said:

“Nephew, do you know that once you step onto this path, there is no turning back?”

Xu Wenbi was by no means exaggerating.

The nobles were happy to live as wealthy men, so the emperor and officials naturally treated them with respect and provided them with high status and privileges.

However, if the nobles are not satisfied with this and want to return to the forefront, then the civil officials will not be so polite in the future.

Zhu Shitai said sincerely to Xu Wenbi:

"Uncle, do you know what my father said to me before he died, holding my hand?"

Xu Wenbi thought of the old Duke Cheng, and the days when he followed the old Duke Cheng and learned how to preside over sacrificial rites.

Back then, was I also thinking about not following the old path of my predecessors and being content to be a mascot of this court?
Xu Wenbi remained silent for a moment before speaking:
“I understand what you mean, my nephew, but I only have one thing to say: I hope you will take your time and not be too hasty.”

Zhu Shitai immediately replied, "Nephew understands."

Xu Wenbi then added, "There is one more thing."

"Uncle, please teach me."

Xu Wenbi said seriously:

"I don't care what you do, but never stand against Su Zilin."

Zhu Shitai paused for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Uncle, what are you saying? Su Zilin is the Dean of Studies at the Military Academy. If it weren't for his proposal to establish the Military Academy, we nobles wouldn't have had the chance to turn our lives around."

“We are not ungrateful people, how could we possibly stand against him?”

Xu Wenbi glanced at Zhu Shitai but said nothing more. He simply put his hands into his sleeves and slowly returned to his duty room.
-
On February 18th, Shen Shixing, the military commissioner of Zhigu, was ordered to lead the Zhigu New Army from the Caohe River into the capital to take over the temporary garrison of the patrol battalion and take over the defense of the capital.

On February 20th, Qi Jiguang led the elite troops of Datong to camp fifty li outside the capital, which put the emperor's mind at ease.

Immediately afterwards, Su Ze's "Memorial Requesting the Dispatch of Imperial Censors to Investigate the Malpractices of the Beijing Garrison" was promulgated by imperial decree.

The capital declared martial law, and imperial edicts were issued to the Censorate and the Beijing Garrison. At this point, the high-ranking officers of the Beijing Garrison realized with despair that the court was really going to take action against them.

Perhaps the previous newspaper incident had angered the emperor, who was very disrespectful to the imperial edict from the Censorate, demanding that the Censorate thoroughly investigate the issue of empty salaries in the Beijing garrison. He also dispatched six departments to register and examine the records, requiring the censors to sign a pledge before departure, and to use the records to determine rewards and punishments afterward.

The Censorate dared not complain, and all thirteen circuit censors were dispatched to the three major camps and seventy-eight garrisons.

At this point, there are naturally still those who want to resist.

The high command of the Beijing Garrison secretly ordered that the censors be prevented from entering the garrison to conduct an investigation.

This thoroughly angered the emperor and his officials. Emperor Longqing issued another strict decree, stating that if the Beijing garrison did not obey the decree, it would be considered a rebellion, and the court would take strong action!
Most of the garrisons had already surrendered at this point, but some still put up a stubborn resistance.

But the Beijing garrison was so exhausted that even organizing a disturbance couldn't create much of a stir.

A mutiny broke out in the Shenji Battalion. The incited soldiers rushed into the armory, only to find that the gunpowder inside had become damp and was unusable.

These soldiers, in desperation, used their muskets as clubs to fight, but before they could even reach Qi Jiguang's border troops, they were directly suppressed by the joint defense team of the patrol battalion of a nearby village.

The garrison officer who caused the disturbance had a history of bullying the nearby villages. The joint defense team consisted of villagers from the nearby villages. After being arrested, the garrison officer was severely beaten with six lashes per second and then tied up and sent to the city.

At this point, the top brass of the Beijing garrison knew that the situation was hopeless.

How to deal with the Beijing garrison was another question that confronted the emperor.

(End of this chapter)