Chapter 200 199 It’s Rare to Be Confused

West Garden, Yongshou Palace.

Emperor Jiajing sat at the top, looking at his ruling team below. The cabinet, the six ministries, and the six ministries of the Supervisory Council, more than ten ministers, all stood with their hands down. At this time, only the Minister of War Nie Bao and the Minister of Revenue Fang Dun stood in the middle and argued.

Nie Bao analyzed the enemy warning played by Xuanfu again and the actions that the court should take, while Fang Dun explained the difficulties of the Ministry of Revenue in raising money and grain, and was unable to support Minister Xu's war preparation plan.

Well, war is actually fought for money and grain.

Nie Bao analyzed the movements of the Altan tribe. In fact, when entering the Yongshou Palace, everyone already knew it. The focus was actually on the final response, how to prevent the invasion of the Altan tribe.

According to Nie Bao's plan, it was to mobilize the entire northern Zhili garrison to press forward, and the Jizhen army was to send reinforcements to various passes along the Great Wall. Even if they encountered an attack by the Altan tribe, they had to delay until the reinforcements from the northern Zhili garrison arrived.

But the problem is, how to defend the hundreds of miles along the entire Great Wall, with dozens of passes of all sizes?

With only tens of thousands of troops in Jizhen, there are only a few thousand people left after being assigned to the passes below, what can they do?

The most important thing is that this time, more than 100,000 troops from most of the garrisons in the northern Zhili area need to be mobilized, and more than 100,000 taels of silver need to be allocated first. Military supplies along the way are another large amount of silver expenditure, and the Ministry of Revenue is crying poor and has no money.

Now Fang Dun and Nie Bao are standing in the hall arguing. One side insists that so many soldiers must be mobilized to participate in the war in order to withstand the attack of the Altan tribe, while the other side insists that so much money and food cannot be raised.

"Enough."

As the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue argued with each other, time passed quietly. Emperor Jiajing was getting impatient and interrupted the two people who were still chattering in the hall.

After saying that, Emperor Jiajing looked at the others again. The only ones of the six ministries and nine officials who could be related to the war were the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Works and the inner court had already stated that they would prepare sufficient weapons and armor for the army, so they were not involved.

Then he looked at the ministers of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Rites, as well as the Minister of the Supreme Court, the Left Censor-in-Chief, and others. They had been silent since they entered the Yongshou Palace. Except for speaking during the ceremony, there was nothing else. Emperor Jiajing also gave up the idea of ​​asking them.

They used to be good at speaking and arguing in the court. In the past, they dared to speak and argue even when they encountered military affairs. But today, they heard that Altan's tribe might raid the Great Wall again, so they became honest one by one.

It seems that it was the same situation a few years ago.

Emperor Jiajing fell into memories unconsciously. That was the 29th year of Jiajing. After his diligent governance of the country, the Ming Dynasty had developed prosperously. If it were not for the constant natural disasters, the Ming Dynasty at that time would have far surpassed its previous peak national strength and achieved a prosperous scene of peace and prosperity.

But in August of that year, the Mongolian Altan tribe, which he had never taken seriously, suddenly invaded. Although there were constant wars on the border wall before, they were all minor fights and could not affect the overall situation. But that time, he really lost face.

Tens of thousands of Mongolians could raid the vicinity of the capital to burn, kill and loot, while the border troops who thought they could fight were afraid of the enemy and cowardly.

At the beginning, the ministers in these positions could still make fierce remarks with passion, as if one person could resist a million soldiers, but after the Tartar invaded Huairou and Shunyi, they pretended to be deaf and dumb and no longer dared to speak, which was very similar to the performance of these people now.

The people at the beginning were replaced by a group, but I didn’t expect that it is still like this now.

In deep disappointment, Emperor Jiajing looked at the cabinet members on the left.

"What does the cabinet have to say? Speak up."

There are currently three cabinet ministers, namely the richest man Yan Song, the second assistant Xu Jie and the third assistant Lü Ben.

Originally Lü Ben should have been the second assistant, but his health has been failing in the past two years, so he has fewer things to do. Xu Jie has become the second-in-command of the cabinet. Today's matter is very important, so he also came.

Obviously, the cabinet had already had a plan before. After Xu Jie and Lü Ben looked at each other, they looked at Yan Song who was standing in the front. He still stood there calmly and had no intention of standing up to speak.

After years of tacit understanding, Xu Jie knew that this was Yan Song asking him to talk about the plan discussed before the cabinet came.

Without much hesitation, Xu Jie stood up and bowed to the Jiajing Emperor above before saying: "Your Majesty, after the cabinet received the news, we discussed it and believed that the current financial resources of the court could not support the mobilization of the army to participate in the defense of the Great Wall.

Therefore, it is suggested that on the one hand, the garrison troops should be summoned for diligent training and be ready for battle at any time, and on the other hand, court ministers should be sent out to inspect the border passes and urge local garrisons to strengthen their vigilance.

At the same time, an order should be issued to order Xuanfu and Datong border towns to draw troops and horses to be ready to enter the guard to reinforce Jizhen at any time to prevent Altan's troops from breaking through the pass and harassing the surrounding areas of the capital."

After Xu Jie finished speaking the cabinet's opinions, he bowed and retreated, and the rest depended on the emperor's attitude.

However, according to past practice, for such military and national affairs, the emperor would consider the opinions given by the Ministry of War more. After all, it was a government office prepared for war. No matter what the final result was, the Ministry of War would have to bear the final responsibility.

"What do you think, Ministry of War? What do the other ministries have to say?"

After a brief thought, Emperor Jiajing accepted the cabinet's opinion, but still asked for the opinions of others.

As a result of Nie Bao's initial discussions with the Ministry of War, as can be seen from the urgent report sent by the Xuanfu, the Anbao Ministry planned to repeat the old trick and raid the capital again. For the sake of safety, he formulated a plan to mobilize a large number of surrounding guards to participate in the war. He hoped that Taking advantage of the high mountains in the north that severely weakened the Mongolian cavalry advantage, the Anta tribe was severely damaged, so that they would no longer dare to think of invading the south.

As for the imperial court's lack of money to mobilize the army, this is not within the scope of the Ministry of War's consideration.

In the war, they will get credit if they win. If they lose, they will be thrown into the field in embarrassment. The choice is still very simple.

The Ministry of Household Affairs blocked them from implementing the agreed plan on the grounds that they had no money. In fact, it only relieved the Ministry of War a little, but it was not of much help. Therefore, Nie Bao did not intend to give in and insisted on arguing with Fang Dui in the main hall, hoping to get Emperor Jiajing's support suppressed the Ministry of Household Affairs.

According to Nie Bao and his left and right ministers' deductions, as long as the Jizhen army can drag the Tatars in the mountains, and with the continuous arrival of guards from the surrounding areas, even if it is an encirclement and annihilation, it is not impossible to capture An Da alive. This is Such great achievements can eliminate the chance of humiliation caused by the "Gengxu Revolution".

However, just now, after Xu Jie expressed the opinions of the cabinet, it was clear that Emperor Jiajing's attitude changed. He had no intention of fighting according to the ideas of the Ministry of War. Perhaps he had little confidence in the combat power of the Ming army. other.

However, for the benefit of the Ministry of War, Fang Dun still planned to take a gamble.

"His Majesty."

Fang Blun stood up again, first saluted Emperor Jiajing and then said: "It is feasible to send border patrol ministers, but this will not solve the immediate crisis at all. It has been several days since our Anda tribe left Xuanfu. Counting the time, I'm afraid they are already looking for weak points in the Great Wall passes between Xuanfu and Jizhen, and are preparing to launch a surprise attack.

At this time, apart from mobilizing the Jizhen army for emergency reinforcements, it is difficult to ensure the stability of the border wall before this. Even if the border patrol ministers are gone, there are not enough defenders on the Great Wall pass to defend against the Tatar attack. "

"But the Ministry of Revenue cannot mobilize money and food, and the mobilization of the army requires a lot of money, so how can we solve it?"

Emperor Jiajing asked with a frown.

When he was arguing with Fang Rui, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, he understood what the Ministry of War was planning, but he didn't dare to bet.

A few years ago, Emperor Jiajing was still blind, so he knew exactly what it was like when the Xuan Da border troops returned to defend the capital.

Although some personnel adjustments have been made in recent years, the foundation of the Guard Army is rotten, and we cannot expect it to undergo fundamental changes in the short term.

The guard station was now something that even he, the emperor, was afraid of.

He did not investigate clearly how his cousin died, but how Liu Jin died was very clear.

Emperor Zhengde liked martial arts, so Liu Jin wanted to clear the land of his father's guard station and revitalize its combat power. Then he was joined by two forces that had little interaction with each other, the civil servant group and the Xungui group above the court. Done.

The things Liu Jin did before only affected the civil servants and did not have much impact on the Xungui Group. In the end, the civil servants still relied on the imperial power. Even though their influence spread all over the world and they could influence the government, they still lacked the knife. .

After Liu Jin affected the interests of the civil servant group, he chose to commit suicide by relying on Zhengde's favor and support to affect the interests of the Xungui group. In the end, both parties joined forces to kill him.

Well, Emperor Jiajing didn't like this kind of guard house, but he didn't want to mess with it, it was too troublesome.

If you obtain the art of immortality and have enough time, you can also consider how to slowly deal with these cancers.

Emperor Jiajing was already disappointed with the millions of Ming troops on paper, so he did not think that according to the plan of the Ministry of War, the Anda tribe could be wiped out in the high mountains.

The most worrying thing is that he will not be rushed out and killed under the walls of the capital when the time comes. He has no troops to mobilize. That is the most dangerous situation.

After Emperor Jiajing finished speaking, Nie Bao fell silent.

"Does anyone else have any opinions? Tell them."

Emperor Jiajing saw Nie Bao being silent and asked the others.

"I respectfully request your Majesty's Holy Judgment."

There was a tacit understanding that the other five ministers and ministers did not say much and returned the ball.

"Is there a candidate for the Border Patrol Minister in the cabinet?"

Seeing other people, there was no other way. Emperor Jiajing had no other choice at this time and could only consider the opinions of the cabinet.

At this time, Xu Jie stood up again and said loudly: "The cabinet recommends Weng Pu, the right minister of the Ministry of War. Weng Pu has served in many places and has made many achievements in the system. He even proposed to take charge of the affairs of King Yiyang's Ningguo Mansion. Suggestion, now all the eight Ning Mansion families have no objections.

Since being transferred to the Ministry of War, he has also been diligent in royal affairs. Last year, he reorganized the Beijing Camp and restored the three major battalions to combat effectiveness. Weng Shilang is very good at military and civil affairs. This border patrol will not only urge the border troops to strengthen their combat readiness, but also solve problems. Due to some local conflicts, the cabinet believed that he could take on the important task of patrolling the border. "

"Xu Shangshu, do you have anyone to choose?"

Emperor Jiajing did not give an answer immediately, but asked Nie Bao for his opinion.

"I have no objection."

Nie Bao just bowed his head and said.

"What about you? Do you have a candidate for Border Patrol Minister?"

Emperor Jiajing frowned slightly, and then asked others if there were any candidates for him to choose from.

"I have no objection."

What I was waiting for was still the neat answer.

Emperor Jiajing looked at them and then at the cabinet ministers. At this time, they all bowed their heads and waited for him to make the final decision. Although he had the power in his hands, he did not feel that the world was in his hands.

"Draw up the decree. Weng Pu, the right minister of the Jin Military Department, has the title of censor of the right capital of the Imperial Palace. He will inspect Jizhen and Xuanda."

In the end, Emperor Jiajing agreed with the cabinet's opinion. Although Weng Pu had no experience in personally leading troops to fight, he did serve as a landlord official for many times and visited Huguang and Jiangxi.

It has been more than two years since I was transferred to the Ministry of War, so I should be able to do it in terms of experience.

After speaking, Emperor Jiajing inadvertently looked at a crumpled calligraphy work on the side of the desk. There were only four words on it, and they were all written in cursive script. It could not be considered a work by a famous artist. In fact, it was made from paper. You can tell by the crumpling that the person who wrote it didn't take it seriously. After writing, he just crumpled it into a ball and threw it away.

"It's rare to be confused."

Emperor Jiajing recited it silently in his heart, looked at the ministers, and then turned to look at the words again.

The writing is not brilliant, but what Emperor Jiajing saw in these words was a way of doing things. Facing all the troubles in the world, he might as well treat them with a relaxed and tolerant attitude.

At this time, Emperor Jiajing no longer had the disdain he had when this calligraphy was first sent to him, and suddenly realized the deeper connotation of this calligraphy.

"Isn't this the way that boy should be an official?"

Emperor Jiajing was still carefully comprehending the rich philosophy of this calligraphy, and such an idea came to his mind for no reason.

It's a cunning way to wander around the officialdom based on this principle. I just hope that "rarely confused" will not turn into "irresponsible and irresponsible".

Thinking of this, Emperor Jiajing glanced at the room of ministers again, but none of them had been to the battlefield in person. He stood up suddenly and said again: "Wei Guangde, who was promoted to a commoner in the Hanlin Academy, reviewed for the Hanlin Academy, and was the deputy patrol envoy, along with Weng Pu. Patrol along the Great Wall.”

As soon as he received the emperor's order, Xu Jie sat down behind the writing desk. He picked up the brush on the pen holder and dipped it into the inkstone. The ink inside had already been ground by the waiter. Without thinking, Xu Jie wrote the imperial edict that he had already prepared into the edict. After a while, Emperor Jiajing saw that there were no problems, and he could be approved immediately by the Supervisor of Ceremonies, and sent out by the Military Affairs Department on duty.

Just when Xu Jie was writing furiously, he suddenly heard Emperor Jiajing's decree again and was stunned. However, he did not dare to delay at this time and wanted to write the edict in one go.

"Your Majesty, Wei Guangde ordered him to be appointed as a reviewer only two months after entering the Imperial Academy. This is not in line with the ancestral system. At least he must wait until the academy is dismissed."

Everyone else was wondering in their hearts what kind of bad luck this Wei Guangde and Wei Chuanlu had, to be so favored by the emperor, and Jane was in the emperor's heart. Yan Song, who had always been quiet before, frowned inadvertently, but one person had already stood up to object. .

Emperor Jiajing glanced at Wu Shan. As the Minister of Rites, he was indeed qualified to speak out against the decision he had just made.

However, now that the decision has been made, will it be changed?