Chapter 9: Intermarriage between Man and Han? (IV)

To apply the sentence from the great poet Li Bai, "The road to Shu is difficult than climbing to the blue sky", in Zhu Yinglong's heart, it becomes "the difficulty of governing the country is difficult than climbing to the blue sky."

Zhu Yinglong's habit has always been to strangle bad signs to death in the bud. This is one of Zhu Yinglong's creeds in life, and this is also one of the reasons why he can now sit in the position of emperor in a stable manner.

"Emperor, Prime Minister Sun Chengzong of the Military Museum and Deputy Prime Minister Xiong Tingbi have important matters to ask for a meeting." Zhu Yinglong really didn't know what to say if he continued to stay with the two women. Xu Yingyuan's voice happened to be heard outside the door.

"National affairs are important. I will take a step first. You sisters will chat first!" Zhu Yinglong responded and kissed the two women's pink faces quickly. Magu and Li Yao were caught off guard and were successfully attacked by Zhu Yinglong. They were about to serve the pink fist, but they didn't expect that Zhu Yinglong had already thought of a way out before doing bad things. When the two women understood, they could only see a gap and a shaking door bolt appeared between the two doors.

"It's a bargain!" Ma Gu looked shy, twisted her waist, stomped her feet, and spat inwardly.

However, Li Yao had never experienced such intimate behavior between lovers. In an instant, her pretty face was covered with red clouds. She was almost thirty years old, and she was easily shy like a girl who had just fallen in love.

Seeing the emperor's figure coming out, Xu Yingyuan hurriedly lowered his head and followed him step by step, but he felt less comfortable. He suddenly turned from a general to a concubine. Wouldn't that sharp-tongued little girl also want to enter the palace? With such a hard backer, wouldn't he be revenge? His life is so bitter!

Perhaps it was because of Sun Chengzong and Xiong Tingbi that Xu Yingyuan brought a sedan chair with him when he came over. Zhu Yinglong didn't feel pretentious, so he opened it and sat in.

It is also a long way from Yonghe Palace to Yangxin Palace. During this journey, Zhu Yinglong took the opportunity to sort out his emotions and thought about how to mention Li Yao’s transfer to Sun Chengzong and Xiong Tingbi later.

Before Zhu Yinglong could enter the imperial study, he saw two old ministers, Sun Chengzong and Xiong Tingbi, rushing forward and greeting him in.

Zhu Yinglong saw that they all looked happy and thought to himself, could there be something happy that might have caused them to lose their calmness?

"Emperor, the old minister just received a good news from the governor of Sichuan and Guizhou Qin Liangyu. The King of Shu had run out of ammunition and food fifteen days ago and had surrendered to the court. Qin Liangyu ordered his son Shizhu General Ma Xianglin to escort the King of Shu's family and a group of surrendered generals to set off to Beijing and surrender!" Sun Chengzong said excitedly.

"Oh!" Zhu Yinglong said happily: "This is a huge joy. I must drink three drinks when I look back!"

Because the King of Shu was deep and the trees were big, and many of Qin Liangyu's generals had old age with the King of Shu, the forced expedition and suppression of the generals was very resistant. The rebels under the King of Shu were mostly from Shu, and everyone was the same. Although Qin Liangyu reversed the situation in Shu with a lightning speed, it was not easy to completely eliminate the rebellion of Shu.

Qin Liangyu understood this, and Zhu Yinglong also understood it. Moreover, King Fu was banned from the front. The vassal kings in various places were dissatisfied with his successor to the throne. In order to ease this contradiction, Zhu Yinglong changed the policy of suppressing the rebellion, instead appeased and persuaded surrender, and imposed various blockades on the areas controlled by the King of Shu, forcing him to bow to the court.

However, the King of Shu had a strong foundation and had to endure it until now. In the face of She Chongming and An Bangyan who were trapped in Guizhou, they did not have such good treatment. Qin Liangyu and Zuo Liangyu mobilized a large army one east and one west respectively. Under the attack between the east and west, the two rebels with poor equipment and training quickly collapsed. An Bangyan was captured, and She Chongming committed suicide in hopelessness.

Once Shu is pacified, the entire Ming Dynasty will truly enter a period of peaceful development and restoration of national strength. This means that the civil war has basically ended, the full development of domestic economic construction, and the reform will be carried out simultaneously!

"Emperor, is the court going to prepare to implement the policy of changing land and returning to the land next?" Sun Chengzong asked with a smile.

Zhu Yinglong knew that he could not hide it from this shrewd old minister, and smiled and said, "Those who know me are Old Master Sun's beloved!"

"Now that the world is pacified, She Chongming, Anbangyan, Wu Heimiao and others have been wiped out. The imperial court's military power is strong, which is a great opportunity to implement the reform of the land and return to the current. The previous ban policy was too generous. The imperial court should take this opportunity to incorporate these remote tribes into the jurisdiction of the court, and they cannot give them another chance to rebel." Xiong Tingbi said.

"The policy of banning is no longer appropriate today, so it must be changed. The policy of equality among all ethnic groups must be implemented. Therefore, it must be changed. No private armed forces are allowed in the local area, and there must be no abuse of lynching or private establishment of a court. If the law is violated, it will be decided by the court. Of course, some customs and habits can be retained, but they must not conflict with the court laws, otherwise they should be banned!" Zhu Yinglong made a great determination this time, but it is not only related to those banned prefectures and counties, but also to the old customs and bad habits of some major families in the Han ethnic group who replaced the law with family rules and family laws. These must be banned.

If the nation wants to make progress and society needs to develop, these old customs and habits can no longer exist. This is another long-term project, and it is obviously impossible to get it done in one step.

After hearing this, Sun Chengzong and Xiong Tingbi were secretly shocked. It turned out that the emperor still had the idea of ​​breaking the "old customs and bad habits" behind the reform of the land. They also knew that some people in the mountains did not go through the court if they committed any crimes. Instead, the village chief or patriarch of their village or clan had the final say, and they simply excluded the court. Sun Chengzong encountered such a situation when he was released as an official in his early years, but even if the court knew about it, he could not do anything to them. For example, a widow steals people, which was not a death sentence in the court's law. However, once the tribe members knew about it, the widow would be tied into a bamboo cage and threw it into the river and drowned alive. There were some superstitions passed down from tribes to sacrifice living people, etc.

Zhu Yinglong, a man who was originally despised by these ignorant things, was unwilling to watch these inhumane things continue to pass on, and there would be countless tragedies!

The so-called law does not blame the masses is just a joke. If we really blame the masses, no one can escape punishment. Whether it is the law or the heaven, today's cause is the future result.

"I wonder how the emperor dealt with the King of Shu?" Sun Chengzong asked. This was an important purpose other than coming to report the good news today.

Zhu Yinglong pondered for a moment and said, "The King of Shu's crime of rebellion was actually caused by the instigation of others. Now he can stop his horse in time and return to his lost path. I plan to pardon his death sentence, and be banned like King Fu to end his life!"

Sun Chengzong and Xiong Tingbi both breathed a sigh of relief. They were both worried that the emperor would behead the King of Shu in anger. Although it was not an exaggeration to behead the King of Shu, the King of Shu was still pretty good in the minds of Shu people. It would be much better to kill the people in Shu than not to kill the King of Shu.

"I have something to discuss with my two beloved ministers." Zhu Yinglong said.

"Prince, please tell me."

"I want to draw a brigade from the new army of the Beijing camp and merge it into the Imperial Guards, and organize the Imperial Guards into eight brigades of about 10,000 people." Zhu Yinglong spoke, and kept observing the expressions of the two.

"Emperor, the Imperial Guard now has six brigades and more than 7,000 people. It seems that the safety of guarding the palace is enough. Why did the Emperor suddenly add two brigades and draw them from the new army of the Beijing camp?" Sun Chengzong asked inexplicably.

"The reason why I added two brigades is to make emergencies in sudden changes. As for why I have to choose from the new army in Beijing, there are two reasons. First, the new army in Beijing is loyal to the court and is a tiger-bearer. Second, the new army has been trained and formed. After the merger, as long as you have a little training, you can take on the responsibility of guarding."

"So that's the case, I just don't know which brigade the emperor has taken a fancy to?" Sun Chengzong asked.

"The 9th Brigade of Xishan Camp!" Zhu Yinglong smiled and said the number of the troops where Li Yao was located.

"But the ninth brigade of Li Yao's brigade?" Xiong Tingbi said in surprise.

Sun Chengzong's reaction was half a beat slow, but when he heard Xiong Tingbi's exclamation, he suddenly understood that yesterday, someone was talking about the emperor's favored Empress Yi in the Military Pavilion and went to Li Yao's General's Mansion twice within a day. Two months ago, the emperor gave Li Yao a general's mansion without warning. Today, the emperor wanted to transfer her Ninth Brigade into the Imperial Guard. All this seemed clear, and Li Yao was going to take over the Imperial Guard!

Obviously, the emperor had been planning for a long time, and I am afraid that the parties involved had already received the exact order. The emperor also asked for his own opinions. This was just a kind of respect, which shows that the emperor had no intention of bypassing the military officers and the military officers of the military officers to issue this order. However, Li Yao's identity was special. Once the military officers agreed to Li Yao to transfer her brigade officers and soldiers into the Imperial Guard, they might have to endure the questioning of the civil servants in the cabinet!

Xiong Tingbi looked embarrassed when he saw Sun Chengzong, who was like his elder brother, and wanted to help him, but he didn't know how to help him? His copper-colored face was also anxious.

In fact, this is not because Zhu Yinglong has been planning for a long time, but because of accidental mistakes, Zhu Yinglong transferred Li Yao into the Imperial Guard, which has no major connection with the reward of the mansion two months ago.

After a while, Sun Chengzong finally thought of an excuse and said, "Emperor, although the old minister is the Prime Minister of the Military Machinery Pavilion and is responsible for national military affairs, the military machine hall is not the one-man of the old minister. Moreover, the new army of the Jingying camp is headed by the new army of the Jingying camp, Lord Lu Haotian, and the general of the Li Yao brigade is his commander. The old minister always needs to inform him and ask his opinions. Most of the 9th Brigade of the Xishan Camp are the old subordinates of the Li Yao brigade general. If they are transferred to the Imperial Guards like this, the old minister is afraid that Li Yao brigade general will not agree at that time."

Sun Chengzong's strategy is that since you don't explain yourself, you pretend not to know. You only talk about the officers and soldiers of the brigade, but you didn't say that you would transfer the commander and general together.

"Okay, I'll work hard on this matter with Old Master Sun." Zhu Yinglong knew that he was caught by his grammar, so he could not help but say.

"That's what the old minister should do." Seeing that the crisis had passed, Sun Chengzong quickly pulled Xiong Tingbi and left.

Zhu Yinglong didn't know how much shock his decision had brought to the officialdom in the capital. In short, the impact of this decision even diluted the joy of Sichuan's pacification and Shu King surrendering.

Many officials believe that this is a signal, a signal of a new generation of power struggles in the palace, and countless veterans in the officialdom suffered from insomnia that night after receiving this news.

The queen was lonely and although she gave birth to the eldest son, Concubine Xiong's father and brother both held military power. The army was powerful. In addition, Concubine Xiong gave birth to the eldest son of the emperor, it is still unknown who will take the position of the emperor in the future. In order to fear that the Xiong family will be in trouble, the emperor introduced Concubine Yi to confront him and let Li Yao, who was in the same place as Concubine Yi, take charge of the imperial guards. Fortunately, Magu was born a princess, but with the emperor's favor, it is also an unknown whether he will give birth to a prince in the future.

However, these subtle situations awakened Zhu Yinglong. Some of his unintentional practices were in line with the way of balance. As long as he controlled himself well, the power of Xiong Hu and Ma Gu would reach a relative balance on the surface. Under such a balance, the inside and outside the palace would also be relatively calm. Under deliberate guidance, a healthy competitive atmosphere might be created.

Although the Ministry of War had long been incorporated into the Military Pavilion, Liang Tingdong's official title of the Minister of War was not removed. At present, the official titles and ranks of the two major pavilions are being re-planned. The Minister of War was a senior official of the court before. As the second person in the Ministry of War, he had an important task. However, since the Ministry of War was incorporated into the Military Pavilion, Liang Tingdong's honor was over. He was transferred by Sun Chengzong to a department of the General Equipment Department, which was in charge of the whole country.

With the military's weapons, a series of work has become his job, from the development, construction, testing, mass production, equipment and recycling of old weapons. This was originally a very important department, but in Liang Tingdong's eyes, this is a department for doing odd jobs. A mere assistant minister actually cared for armor and weapons. This second-rank official is really worthless. He is full of talent. What's the point of Yuan Manzi? It's just relying on a little military merit! What's so great about it!

These people who thought Liang Tingdong, who were depressed and unable to display their talents, gradually formed a small group in the court, and gradually wanted Yang He and others to get closer. In addition, Yang He's son Yang Sichang gathered many scholars as the chief of the Hanlin Academy. He used emerging newspapers to constantly criticize current affairs, gradually growing from the beginning of small fights and quarrels, and had a certain influence among the conservative forces among the people.

These have had a certain bad impact on the reform. Therefore, under the instruction of Zhu Yinglong, the Tongzheng Department also runs a newspaper, which specifically explains some misunderstandings or misunderstandings about the understanding of the new policies in the reform of the people, and invites some young officials in the implementation of these new policies to express their thoughts and comments.

The sage's speech to educate the people, which put forward by Yang Sichang and others, was in line with the new Confucian interpretation of "ideals, progress, openness, self-confidence, and development" led by several young officials such as Mao Xiang.

The New Confucian movement promoted by Huang Zongxi and others first entered the folk from the officialdom. After the folk took root and sprouted, after Yang He and other conservative Confucian masters discovered the huge impact of the New Confucian movement on them, the New Confucian movement moved from the main battlefield of the folk to the officialdom, which was no less than a revolution for the court.

Everyone knows that the supporter behind New Confucianism is the emperor, but the emperor never expresses any opinions or supports one side in any public occasion. He seems to be waiting for which side to achieve final victory before he will express his opinion. However, as the emperor, Zhu Yinglong himself knew that if he made a statement, he would immediately imbalance the power of the government and the opposition. Without the resistance of Yang He and others, New Confucianism will only be prosperous for a while even if it defeats traditional Confucianism, it is their biggest weakness. And because of himself, Yang He and others dare not tie a devastating knot on New Confucianism. Traditional Confucianism is much stronger in power. Not expressing his opinion is a protection of New Confucianism. At the same time, traditional Confucianism is not completely dross, which is also a training for New Confucianism. When New Confucianism gradually grows, even if he does not express his opinion, New Confucianism can replace traditional Confucianism, and the most taboo thing about academic growth is to pull out seedlings and encourage growth!

Liang Tingdong heard the news that Li Yao was about to enter the Imperial Guard at the internal meeting of the Military Machine Pavilion and immediately ordered someone to spread a message to Yang He.

Yang He was on duty in the cabinet. After receiving this news, he immediately informed several officials who had been in contact with him, including Kong Yizhen, the former right minister of the Ministry of Rites, and now the Deputy Minister of Education, etc.

After some discussion, Yang He and others unified their understanding. The emperor had already thought of transferring Li Yao into the imperial guards, but was temporarily delayed by Sun Chengzong, but Sun Chengzong could only delay at most, because Li Yao's immediate superior, Lu Haotian, the admiral of the new army of the Jingying Army, was the emperor's confidant. As long as it was the emperor's will, he would not refuse to let anyone go. In other words, Li Yao's entry into the imperial guards was a foregone conclusion. What they wanted to know was who would fill the vacancy after Li Yao left. This was a key position. Yang He's idea was naturally to let the generals they trained in the army take over, but they were divided into different military and political departments, and they could no longer interfere in the appointment of the military machinery cabinet. In this way, this arduous task fell on Liang Tingdong, who belonged to the same party.

Liang Tingdong was interested in Zhu Kezhen, the top martial arts scholar in the first year of Chongzhen. He made military achievements during the Southern Expedition and defeated some generals. He also intended to promote him as his confidant, so he started to move secretly.
Chapter completed!