Chapter 98: Defeat Chuan Gongye, Split and Disintegrate

The emperor's words were completely unexpected to Wang Chonggu, and also threw him into disarray.

Enter the cabinet!? What does the emperor mean by this?
Trustworthy?

Winning over?

play off?

Wang Chonggu felt an inexplicable mood, a mixture of complex emotions such as surprise, joy, vigilance, and exploration.

His thoughts raced as he racked his brains, but because he didn't know much about the emperor, he was not sure.

Wang Chonggu came back to his senses a little, and was about to say something but stopped himself - he had been caught in a dilemma in the past few days. Before the matter was resolved, another even more difficult matter arose.

He was dragged into the palace by the emperor in a state of bewilderment.

Zhu Yijun observed Wang Chonggu's expression and body movements inconspicuously, and seeing that he was still a little wary, he understood.

He did not give Wang Chonggu a chance to answer, and kept saying, "Yang Qing has served three dynasties for more than 40 years. He is a trusted minister of the Ming Dynasty. Although I have tried to retain him several times, it is inevitable that the years will pass and no one can disobey."

"However, Yang Qing has been in and out of the ranks of generals and ministers, and is a man of both civil and military knowledge. He is the one the whole country relies on for its safety. Now that he has been appointed to the office, there will no longer be an important official in the cabinet who is so insightful and familiar with military affairs."

He looked at Wang Chonggu: "I tossed and turned last night, thinking over and over, and then I thought of Wang Qing! I'm afraid there is no one more suitable than Wang Qing to take over the cabinet's military affairs."

As he said this, he asked the eunuch to give Wang Chonggu a seat and let him eat with him.

He picked up a bowl of Tremella and lotus seed soup and started eating it with Gui Shunzhai's pastries.

Wang Chonggu was silent for a while, and did not sit down. He slowly said, "Your Majesty, the one who is now acting on behalf of Lord Yang in the cabinet affairs is my nephew."

"Your Majesty has shown favor to the uncle and nephew by not avoiding suspicion. How can I have any more extravagant hopes and let Your Majesty bear the reputation of being too doting?"

It would be a lie to say that I am not moved.

After all, he is a cabinet minister and the head of all officials. No minister can remain indifferent.

His grandfather Wang Xin was only a scholar, and his father Wang Yao was a businessman of low status. It was not until his generation that they were able to bring honor to the family and be recorded in the county annals.

What lies before him now is the pinnacle of being a minister and the ultimate in bringing honor to his family.

Xuan Ma was appointed prime minister!

But Wang Chonggu did not lose his mind and agreed directly - although he had been at the frontier for a long time, Wang Chonggu still did not lose his basic qualities.

The fact that a nephew and an uncle enter the cabinet at the same time is bound to arouse suspicion.

Even if the emperor trusts him, the court officials will still impeach him like crazy.

Therefore, the emperor could not allow his nephew and uncle to enter the cabinet together no matter what.

He said this just to retreat in order to advance and listen to the emperor's attitude - the emperor put himself on a high pedestal and wanted to send him to the cabinet, it was hard not to think that he was playing the "two peaches to kill three men" trick.

Do they really need him, or do they want to use him to sow discord among the people of Jin and then discard him after use?
After Zhu Yijun swallowed the food, he said slowly, "Don't even mention your nephew. Even the Prime Minister, Gao Ge Lao, Lu Ge Lao, etc., have never been a governor of a place or a governor of the nine frontiers."

"Now I need an important official who understands local affairs and is aware of the threat posed by the invaders on the borders. He can be my assistant and plan military affairs on the nine borders in the cabinet."

"Who else can take this position except Wang Qing?"

He did not respond to Wang Chong's old saying, uncle and nephew entering the cabinet together? Not true!

Speaking of the Jin Party members, Zhang Siwei was the most selfish, sinister and cunning.

Things like clearly marking prices to support big merchants and writing epitaphs are minor matters.

It is normal for him to accept bribes and do things for others.

Promoting fellow villagers and supporting Shanxi merchants to embezzle state assets can also be ignored.

However, after hearing about his historical deeds, it is almost impossible not to feel disgusted.

At that time, Zhang Juzheng was in power, and Zhang Siwei started to flatter him. After Zhang Juzheng died, he immediately turned against him. This shows his character.

That would be fine. If he could counterattack and then put on a new skin and continue to innovate, he might be a great figure.

However, he petitioned to abolish the new law as well, arguing that the gentry had suffered too much harm and had "lost their desire to live."

He then personally stopped the clearing of land accounts, abolished the performance evaluation system, restored the two-tax system, and so on.

How can such a person who is only selfish and has no ideals or beliefs be allowed to enter the cabinet?
Zhu Yijun has already opened his clairvoyance, but he still allows such people to join the cabinet. Isn't that deliberately making things difficult for himself?
In comparison, Wang Chonggu can still be saved.

Zhu Yijun read through all of Wang Chonggu's memorials during the Longqing period.

Whether he was the governor of Ningxia or the governor-general of Shaanxi, Wang Chonggu was at least conscientious in his job.

In particular, Wang Chonggu's positive attitude towards Altan Khan's tribute showed the effectiveness of the former when compared with Wang Zhigao's reluctance and hesitation when Hetao Jineng offered tribute.

Although he has selfish motives, he is also a useful person.

The emperor's words were reasonable and Wang Chonggu could not find any fault with them.

Compared to his own nephew, Wang Chonggu is indeed more suitable to succeed Yang Bo.

In terms of his understanding of the nine border bandits, no one else can compare to him, not to mention the recent invasion of the border by the Tuman Khan and the emperor's desire to reorganize military preparations.

The most important thing is that my nephew is still young!
This may be the last chance for my career!
The only thing worth worrying about is that this might not be conducive to the unity of the Jin people.

If, after meeting the emperor, I squeezed out my nephew and entered the cabinet myself, what would my fellow villagers and in-laws think of such a thing?

Besides, his nephew is not an easy person to deal with. What if he feels resentful?
Wang Chonggu did not answer easily, but fell into deep thought.

Zhu Yijun waited patiently and gestured to Wang Chonggu to sit down and have breakfast together.

He is naturally very confident.

After all, it was Xuan Ma who was appointed prime minister, and few ministers could resist such temptation.

What's more, the relationship between uncle and nephew is not that close.

These merchant families are all allied based on interests, and kinship is at most a hub.

Zhang Siwei's fourth brother, Zhang Sixiang, first married the daughter of a merchant named Wang. Less than a month after Wang died, Zhang Sixiang married the daughter of a more prominent merchant named Fan.

Wang Chonggu's brother Wang Chongyi was a salt merchant in Changlu. Because of some business unhappiness with his eldest sister's husband's family, Shen Tingzhen, he also fell out with them and reported them to the government.

Uncle and nephew? If they can get promoted and make money, I don’t know how many people would rather let their wives die than care about your uncle and nephew.

Seeing that Wang Chonggu was still hesitating, Zhu Yijun added fuel to the fire: "Now there are ugly barbarians in the nine borders. In Xuanda and Shanxi, there are the tribes of Altan, in the three narrow and western borders, there are the tribes of Jineng, in Ji and Liao, there are the tribes of Tuman and Huang Taiji's followers."

"Although the Western barbarians claim to surrender, they are unpredictable and treacherous."

"The enemy still lives in the West Sea, but I am afraid they will take advantage of the spring to return to the East, passing through the inland areas and plotting to pass through the border."

"The Eastern Tartars have been spying on the borders frequently. Dong Huli and Chang Ang have not gained any advantage for a long time. We should be on guard against the dangers of Zhu Tu as early as possible."

"My Lord, I have heard that your long-cherished wish is to annihilate the enemy invaders and stabilize the nine borders. Now that our country is in a time of trouble, how can you bear to refuse?"

People are complicated, and Wang Chonggu is no exception.

Even though he was very selfish, it could not deny his desire to wipe out the invaders.

Wang Chonggu was already vaguely tempted at this time.

But he still hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, I am the Minister of War. It is my job to direct military preparations. I don't necessarily need to join the cabinet."

"Besides, I have just arrived in Beijing and I am not necessarily as good as Zhang Siwei in making decisions on the central government's secrets. I am afraid that the court officials will be surprised."

Zhu Yijun nodded.

He naturally understood Wang Chonggu's concerns.

He had just arrived in Beijing, which meant that his foundation was still unstable, and the favors he had bestowed on the Jin Party were not as great as those of Zhang Siwei.

This was not because he was afraid of surprising the court officials, but because he was afraid of causing chaos within the Jin Party, which would result in him losing more than he gained and damaging the foundation of the local party.

Zhu Yijun said calmly: "You also said that the Ministry of War is responsible for military preparations, while the Cabinet is responsible for making decisions on important matters. How can they be the same?"

"When the time comes, you can make the decision in the cabinet, and Shi Maohua will take over the Ministry of War and cooperate with Lord Wang."

This is for Wang Chonggu to show his kindness.

The Ministry of War was originally under the control of these people, so he didn't care about promoting Shi Maohua to a higher level.

As long as Zhang Siwei can be kept out of the cabinet and Wang Chonggu can be used for his own purposes, it will be worth it.

Wang Chonggu understood the meaning of the string and nodded immediately. "As for the court officials' surprise, there is no need to mention it again."

"My Lord, I will tell you straight away."

"As long as you are in the cabinet, don't be afraid of impeachment by the censors. If the court officials are surprised about such matters, I will make the decision!"

"In recent days, have you seen anyone in the cabinet whose impeachment documents are not half a person's height?"

"There are people who use natural disasters as an excuse, people who use man-made disasters as a backstab, and even people who directly say that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Minister are treacherous ministers. I can't even count them all."

"But, as long as they are of one mind with me, I will not let the ministers in the cabinet be disappointed just because some of the ministers are surprised."

Zhu Yijun paused, looked at Wang Chonggu, and said seriously, "As long as you enter the cabinet, I will definitely go down in history, but at least, I will give you a decent treatment no matter what."

In the current court situation, the New Party and the Emperor's Party have merged, headed by Zhang Juzheng, Gao Yi, and Lu Diaoyang in the cabinet, with Shen Shixing, Wen Chun from the Ministry of Personnel, Wang Guoguang from the Ministry of Revenue, Ge Shouli from the Censorate, Hai Rui, and Li Zaiting from the Imperial Censorate as their backbone. Relying on the support of the emperor, they have gained a clear upper hand.

But at the same time, the rural parties in Nanzhili and other places, the Jin Party representing the interests of merchants and gentry, and the conservative civil servant party also joined together to oppose the new policy.

The trouble with this group of people is not who is leading the way or what they are going to do to rebel.

Instead, these people firmly occupied the so-called middle and high-level positions below the top of the Ming Dynasty bureaucracy, and carried out their counterattack through impeaching ministers, spreading public opinion, intensifying conflicts, non-violent non-cooperation, relying on the authority of departments to reject orders from superiors, and so on.

As long as the center relies on the bureaucratic system to operate, this confrontation will not stop.

It is not something that can be solved by killing one or two people or demoting someone.

Only through continuous self-innovation can these bureaucrats who are out of step with each other and have corrupt ideas be gradually eliminated, and the outdated machine of the Ming Dynasty can be updated with difficulty and slowly.

Once this process of self-iteration is stalled, people like Zhang Juzheng and Gao Yi will be immediately counterattacked.

Therefore, Zhu Yijun never concealed his support.

If I join the cabinet, I will definitely get his support.

Once you enter the cabinet, you will definitely have a decent position.

This was a guarantee to Wang Chonggu, who was worried about his life and property, that he would not abandon him or simply use him.

He was also reminding Wang Chonggu that they were now in the same direction, all focused on the nine frontiers, so how could they not rely on each other?

Wang Chonggu understood what the emperor meant.

I couldn't help but remain silent.

This was the first time he met an emperor who spoke fluently.

It is said that a king never jokes. The emperor never makes promises easily, nor does he easily express his views on future matters - such promises will be recorded in history books.

Just as the emperor said just now, he will certainly give the cabinet ministers a decent treatment. But what if he encounters a cabinet minister who openly rebels in the future?

The emperor should not wear shackles.

But at this moment, the emperor actually told him in person that no matter what, he would have a decent position as long as he joined the cabinet.

This is to reassure him.

Too hasty.

Wang Chonggu sighed in his heart.

When he first stepped into Chengguang Hall, he still regarded the emperor as an imaginary enemy, thinking about how he would respond if the emperor wanted to coerce or intimidate him.

But after the emperor's statement, he already felt a little bit of sympathy.

That's right, mercy.

It was only the second time he met the emperor, and he was already trying to win him over to join the cabinet and promised to let him rest assured.

Compromise and discussion, and sincerity are all well and good, but this is the emperor!
The fact that the emperor had to resort to this method showed how anxious the little emperor was.

It only means that the emperor felt that the preparation of the Beijing camp was urgent.

This also shows that the pressure brought to the emperor by the major case in Huguang was not as easy as he appeared.

Due to all these reasons, I, a person hated by the emperor, weighed more than a thousand pounds on the scale, and he had to make every effort to win him over.

After the emperor finished speaking, Wang Chonggu's mind changed, and in just a moment, he was ready to take over the position of cabinet minister.

Suddenly I remembered something.

When the words came to his lips, he changed his words: "Since Your Majesty has appointed me, it is to plan the nine frontiers and wipe out the Tatars."

"Then, I have one thing I don't understand."

Zhu Yijun straightened his back and said solemnly, "Please speak, Mr. Wang."

Wang Chonggu looked puzzled and said, "Your Majesty, since you want to annihilate the Tatars, why did you offer sacrifices to the former Yuan Dynasty when offering sacrifices to other emperors a few days ago?"

The reason why Emperor Shizu of Yuan was carried out of the temple by Emperor Shizong was not just a whim on his part or because he disliked them.

Before and after Emperor Shizong ascended the throne, the Ming Dynasty experienced several large-scale Tatar invasions. The soldiers and civilians in the border towns suffered terribly, and the people all over the country were in turmoil.

It was precisely because of this kind of grievances that the worship of Kublai Khan was abolished.

Now the emperor wanted to reorganize the military and focus on defeating the Tatars, but he also wanted to offer sacrifices to the former Yuan Dynasty, which puzzled him.

He had been confused some time ago but had no chance to ask. Today, he was waiting for a good price and it was a good opportunity to speak it out.

After hearing what Wang Chonggu said, Zhu Yijun suddenly smiled. He thought it was something serious.

He stood up, restrained his expression and said seriously: "My Lord, this is exactly what we have prepared for the time when the Tatars will surrender to us."

Wang Chonggu was stunned. The emperor was thinking about something so far ahead! ?
Zhu Yijun continued, "I understand what you mean. Our dynasty has driven out the Tartars and restored China, so we naturally cannot recognize the Tartars as our fathers."

"But, our dynasty is a country of etiquette and benevolence. Should we kill all of them after we have wiped out the Tatars?"

Wang Chonggu remained silent. He had been doing business with Altan Khan for several years.

Even if I don’t understand what ethnic integration is, at least I have some understanding of it.

I immediately understood what the emperor meant.

This is to pave the way for getting along with the Mongols after the outcome of the battle is decided.

He asked curiously, "Your Majesty is offering sacrifices to the former Yuan, but you also say that we cannot recognize a thief as our father. What does this mean?"

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "This is a long story, and it was Li Zhi who came up with the Chinese-barbarian debate. I will make it short for you, Lord Wang."

"This matter should be viewed in two parts."

"The former Yuan Dynasty was just a bandit group that stole the sacred artifact. They are definitely not part of our Chinese dynasty."

"But... since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the former Yuan Dynasty will belong to China!"

"The barbarians who stole from China were not Chinese people, but after being defeated by our great ancestor, they became naturalized vassals."

Wang Chonggu was stunned.

After a long while, he finally said, "I am sorry for the intrusion."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and let the matter go: "What do you think about entering the cabinet, Lord Wang?"

Wang Chonggu took a deep breath and bowed slowly.

He said in a serious tone, "I really wish for it, but I dare not ask for it."

"After completing the rotation of the Beijing Camp and the Yueyang Guard, I will follow your order and enter the cabinet."

Zhu Yijun hurriedly stepped forward and supported Wang Chonggu.

He breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense spirit relaxed.

His sight passed Wang Chonggu and looked outside the hall.

At dawn, a faint light appeared in front of Chengguang Hall, as if a hole had been quietly torn open in the Jin Party, which was an integral part of the Party.

He gently shook Wang Chonggu's hand, as if giving an order, or as if muttering to himself: "Invite the troops as soon as possible."

"I'm afraid my relatives in Huguang can't wait any longer."

(End of this chapter)