Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 95: The new king is sharp, and the old heroes are hard to deal with

If the emperor is determined to do something, there is no problem in giving it a start and setting the direction, but the key is how much it can be implemented.

It can be predicted that, although the crimes of the meritorious officials involved in the subsequent elimination of abuses in the Beijing camp and the cleanup of occupational service will not be investigated, there will be attacks on other old meritorious officials for other reasons, attacks on the new lords, and attacks on Tian Le.

There should also be people in the cabinet who take the blame.

The subsequent court disputes are a matter for the future, and the current court meeting is back on track.

The next item is what Mr. Xiao said about the Shanhaiguan uprising.

This is comforting again.

The governor of Liaodong was suspected of inciting civil unrest, which was already considered a serious crime of "treason".

The emperor's decree only dismissed him from his post and made him a commoner, which was naturally considered merciful.

Ma Lin was also involved and was directly demoted from the commander-in-chief of Liaodong to a guerrilla general in the Fifth Army Camp.

"The rest of the officials who have exploited merchants over the years will be punished by the three judicial departments. Liaodong border defense is the most important thing, Xing Jie will remain in his original position, and Ninglu Bo Ma Gui will be transferred to Liaodong as the general commander. After the Ministry of Personnel evaluates the merits, I will select Liaodong governors. Ningyuan Hou, you should send a letter to the Liaodong military forts, telling them to focus on border defense this winter and next spring before the new general and governor take office. If there is any change, I will execute them without mercy!"

There will be no further thorough investigation to implicate more people from both the government and the opposition.

The newly-appointed Li Chengliang was criticized by him alone and accepted the order calmly.

Nowadays, there is a saying that there is Li in the East and Ma in the West. So, Ma Gui going to Liaodong is certainly one of the solutions.

Whether Liaodong can gradually change from "surname" Li to "Li and Ma obey Zhu's orders" requires the cooperation of Li Chengliang.

What the emperor gave Li Chengliang was a kind of trust: the knives of the Beijing Camp that were always placed next to the emperor were given to him. Isn’t that enough?
Li Chengliang, who had experienced many ups and downs, knew very well that this was what he got by taking a gamble and cutting ties with the civil officials.

From now on, the civil officials would only attack Li Chengliang and his sons and old generals. In this case, they would have to rely entirely on the emperor's protection.

What he got was the title of marquis, a title he had never thought he could have before.

He was also in charge of military affairs in the capital and no longer just lived in the capital.

In this way, the ruler of the new dynasty and the veterans of the old dynasty gradually deepened their understanding of each other and established new interest relations.

In the eyes of clever civil officials, it was clear that the emperor was not simply protecting and promoting meritorious military officers, but also knew how to show favors while also not forgetting to punish them.

This also means that the emperor is equally confident in suppressing civil officials.

Suddenly I miss the past.

At this moment, the extremely slow pace of handling everything suddenly has a very relaxed and leisurely beauty.

As long as you don't pursue things too much, you won't have any conscience worries.

The difficulty is too high nowadays. Being too confused will lead to being a slacker, while being too stubborn may lead to committing stupid crimes.

By this time in the court meeting, the sky had finally brightened.

After a few days of snow and gloom, the sun finally came out today.

The early morning sunlight came from the southeast, from the direction of the civil officials' train to the direction of the military officials' train, and then to the Longdao Pavilion located west of the Qianqing Gate.

When Empress Dowager Li heard about the unexpected changes over there, she was worried for a long time, but she finally let it go.

Zhu Yijun felt mixed emotions.

He could actually be convicted for being stupid...and yet those ministers had no objection, which seemed to show that they had already acknowledged that the boy was extremely smart.

So why did they always come to the rescue when I wanted to cure those who sold direct invitations in the past?

Is it because he failed to force the person to confess a serious crime in front of the emperor?
At this moment, one could hear people from the Qianqing Gate shouting "Your Majesty is wise".

what happened again?
Tian Le looked at the emperor with some concern: Why did he agree to pay the reward money for this meritorious service from the imperial treasury?
What should I do if I have financial difficulties every year after next year?
Zhu Changluo didn't care.

Shen Yikuan's request to the emperor to give money as a reward was an open conspiracy.

For the above: Help Your Majesty win over the hearts of the troops.

As for me: financial affairs are becoming increasingly difficult!
Shen Yi Guan was a smart man. He just wanted to gain a little more reputation before leaving. After all, he had emptied the emperor's pocket and saved some reputation for the civil officials who were already dissatisfied and uneasy.

Although he also intended to make it more obvious to all officials and gentry that the new monarch was most concerned about military power after he ascended the throne.

At today's court meeting, it can be said that there are only three themes: military power, military morale, and using titles and treasury to regain military power and military morale!

As for the forgiveness of arrears that the gentry all over the country had been looking forward to, he had a firm attitude, and would discuss the specific places and reasons later to show his favor.

Zhu Changluo spent more than two million taels of silver at his first court meeting, what a lavish sum!
The excessive issuance of titles and the loosening of treasury funds, the twists and turns of the discussion on granting titles sacrificed a military official. Wasn't it just to stimulate the lifeless Ming Dynasty government and people?

At the court meeting, a large number of civil and military officials finally had a more intuitive understanding of the new monarch.

Regardless of today's decisions, the new monarch did not simply read out orders based on a few things that had been prepared long ago.

This is not the level that a new monarch who has lived in the deep palace for a long time, is known to be weak and timid, and has only been studying for six or seven years should have. Except for a few times when the cabinet ministers and nine officials came out to say some meaningless words, the middle and low-ranking officials who took the initiative to jump out today deeply understood this point.

Look at Hou Xianchun, what a painful realization!

The new king has shown his edge, and his tactics are skillful and decisive!
The impression of the retired emperor cannot be applied to the new monarch at all. Ming officials must start to change their mindset about being an official.

At least it's about dealing with the thinking of this new monarch.

Shen Yi Guan was calm and composed, and only wanted to find an opportunity to learn from Zhao Zhigao after the change of the reign title next year, so he declined the offer out of respect.

After realizing the emperor's purpose and level, everyone will naturally show corresponding respect and level and think of more solutions.

The emperor cannot be like the retired emperor who does not care about anything, but the emperor cannot be as ruthless as Taizu and Chengzu, and he cannot be as scheming and cunning as Shi Miao.

How to reconcile this contradiction? It’s up to whoever wants to love him. Let’s see whether Shen Shixing really wants to be completely ruined.

Shen Yiquan just wanted to slip away as soon as possible. No matter who won or lost, he could at least go back to his hometown to take charge of the family situation and respond flexibly.

This is called moderation!

After the court meeting, the previous controversy over the fact that the edict of enthronement did not mention exemption was no longer a small matter.

The year-end salary, the internal treasury loans, and the small-scale handling of the Shanhaiguan uprising are certainly all good news.

But the emperor offered sacrifices to Hou Xianchun and conferred titles on him three marquises and five earls, ordered the generals to reorganize the Beijing camp, and arranged the ceremony of presenting prisoners for the next day, so he was sharpening his sword.

While sharpening the knife, the cabinet, six ministries and the Censorate were discussing how to increase revenue. Those who understood would understand.

How can open source be done without sharpening the knife?
I just don’t know where to start and dig out the source of wealth.

Zhu Changluo simply returned to the Qianqing Palace from the Qianqing Gate, changed into casual clothes, and then went to the Yangxin Palace.

The advantage of being close is that relatively serious occasions are in the Qianqing Palace, while relatively private occasions are in the Yangxin Palace.

"Summon them openly and let everyone who wants to know know." Zhu Changluo said, "Have they all been sent to the Five Prefectures?"

"Yes, I have told Duke Dingguo and Duke Yingguo to gather at the Central Military Governor's Office beforehand on the pretext of training in the Beijing camp," Cheng Jing replied.

"Go ahead. In addition to Marquis Wu Ding, first summon the eighteen old marquises and come from Tianjie clearly."

On both sides of Tianjie outside Chengtian Gate, on the east side are the five ministries other than the Ministry of Justice and other civil offices, and on the west side are the Five Military Governor's Offices and other military offices.

As the eunuchs came to announce the news, the eighteen contemporary marquises or their sons went to the Forbidden City with heavy hearts.

This situation caught the eyes of a group of people with ulterior motives: it was no longer surprising that the emperor could predict that the old meritorious officials who had suffered the most damage this time might still be instigated to cause trouble.

……

There is no denying that the old lords are a huge interest group.

Although their power in the court is getting weaker and weaker now, even if they are treated extremely harshly, the only consequence is that the military generals will feel disheartened.

They can't make any big waves on their own.

Today Xu Wenbi and some other people were sensible, but some of them were stupid and caused trouble.

Most of them had their interests cut from the Beijing camp, so they still had to be appeased and motivated.

At the same time, let me remind you again.

"You may be wondering why Marquis Wuding didn't come, even though Marquis Ningyuan came."

In the Yangxin Palace, Zhu Changluo spoke, and the eighteen marquises all lowered their heads.

"You've seen and heard it all today. How difficult is it for me to confer another title of nobility?" Zhu Changluo pointed his finger at the ground. "This is the result of me getting the three cabinet ministers and the nine ministers to stop speaking out to stop me yesterday. It's the result of the Grand Marshal's proper strategy and the result of me letting everyone in the capital know that I'm worried about the imperial power being overwhelmed! Otherwise, do you think there's only one Hou Xianchun who's been chasing after me?"

Cheng Jing suddenly muttered, "It's also the result of His Majesty giving away so much money."

The eighteen marquises all looked at Cheng Jing, only to see that the emperor was also looking at him.

Cheng Jing bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for talking too much. I just feel wronged. So much silver..."

Zhu Changluo felt amused, this old guy also knew how to play the supporting role.

But he also sighed: "I can spend so much money to reward so many lords at once to boost the morale of the army, so how can I treat the old lords badly?"

Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"All the people in the land are my subjects, so I can use you." Zhu Changluo looked at them one by one, "Some of you are contemporary nobles, and some are heirs who should inherit the title. But I want to ask you first, can you live up to my expectations by using you? Don't rush to show your loyalty! You all spoke up during the court dispute, who was stupid enough to say the wrong thing?"

Everyone lowered their heads immediately: the last person who committed a stupid crime had just been removed.

(End of this chapter)