prosperous age

Chapter 1168 1259 The Ming Army's Little Trouble
When Wei Guangde heard that there was no old precedent, he said with a smile, "You can always find it by looking through the classics."

Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Siwei both nodded slightly when they heard this.

The Ming Dynasty's rituals all referred to ancient books in an attempt to restore the old systems of the Han and Tang dynasties.

"Is this matter urgent? The Ministry of Rites has been busy with the selection of the empress recently."

Fang Fengshi spoke.

Fang Fengshi suddenly mentioned the matter of selecting a queen, which was naturally the most attention-grabbing thing in the court in recent times besides the foreign wars.

Yes, even the wars in the southwest and Liaodong were not as important as the wedding of the young emperor Zhu Yijun.

For the officials in Beijing, victory was inevitable in the wars in the southwest and Liaodong, but they didn't know where the court would get the money to deal with the aftermath.

After all, there are two key points in fighting a war: one is military rations, and the other is military pay.

Military rations. The Ming Dynasty court really had no shortage of food.

The annual grain tax of tens of millions of shi is real, but it is a little troublesome to allocate manpower for transportation.

However, military pay had to be paid in real money, which was a huge issue for the imperial court which was short of money.

Moreover, in order to prepare for the emperor's wedding, the Ministry of Revenue's treasury was opened directly, and no one dared to say anything about this major event.

Normally, when the palace issued an order asking the Ministry of Revenue to provide money to purchase various things, someone from the Ministry of Revenue and the Censorate would jump out and sing a different tune, asking the emperor to be frugal and set an example for the world.

But after the election, there was total silence, no one said anything.

The Ming Dynasty had completely different considerations in terms of attitude and appearance when selecting empresses than previous dynasties. They paid more attention to whether women had proper behavior and attractive appearance.

Regarding a woman's family background, if it is too noble it will become an obstacle to being selected as a queen.

When selecting empresses, the Ming dynasty preferred to choose women from poor backgrounds so that they could support the emperor with their wisdom and simple qualities.

This situation in the Ming Dynasty was mainly due to the terms set by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

In fact, this is required not only for the queen, but also for the selection of concubines and even palace maids.

The reason why Emperor Taizu acted in this way was mainly to prevent the royal power from being monopolized by relatives by marriage, thus posing a threat to the imperial power.

This method of selecting a queen was indeed novel and completely different from that of other dynasties, and it almost eliminated the risk of external relatives.

This matter happened in the first month of the fifth year of the Wanli reign, when Emperor Wanli was fifteen years old. The two empress dowagers, Empress Dowager Chen, his stepmother, and Empress Dowager Li, his biological mother, issued an edict to the Ministry of Rites to select a queen for Emperor Wanli.

The selection activities this time were mainly held in the capital, Zhili and other regions, and a total of more than 450 people were included in the candidate list.

Because the Ministry of Rites was in charge, the Cabinet did not intervene. After all, it had not reached the final step yet.

However, when Fang Fengshi suddenly mentioned this matter, Wei Guangde remembered that after teaching the little emperor a few days ago, Zhu Yijun pulled him to a corner of the Wenhua Hall to ask about the selection of the queen.

Yes, Zhu Yijun was no longer an ignorant boy and he already knew how important the election was to him.

Therefore, he wanted to see the selected beauties with his own eyes before entering the final stage of the selection.

Of course, the emperor's selection of a queen was not a blind marriage. According to the rules, when the candidates were the final two or three, the concubines had to meet the emperor to determine the candidate for queen.

That is to say, the final right of choice lies in the hands of the young emperor Zhu Yijun, but he is already itching to see what kind of woman the Ministry of Rites has chosen for him.

It is worth mentioning that because of the matter of Emperor Longqing, Feng Bao privately contacted Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde, and the inner court was ready to send the collected books back to the Qianqing Palace.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde asked, "Minister Fang, how far has the Ministry of Rites' selection of personnel progressed?"

"Your Excellency, the Ministry of Rites has selected more than 400 concubines in the southern and northern Zhili provinces. After multiple rounds of screening, there are now more than 30 left. They have all arrived in the capital and are waiting for the final selection by the inner court."

Minister Fang opened his mouth to answer.

"The post-election involves major national affairs, so it naturally takes precedence over Myanmar affairs. The Ministry of Rites still has to focus on the post-election."

When Wei Guangde said this, he glanced at Zhang Juzheng first, and when he saw him nod, he continued, "The Ministry of Rites has conducted many discussions on the selection of the empress, and I think there should have been rules in place, so just follow them.

As for matters in the southwest, they were also decided by the two Empress Dowagers and cannot be delayed.

It would be better if the Ministry of Rites continued to focus on the matter of selecting the empress, and let the Hanlin Academy stop what they were doing and consult ancient books to draft the ritual notes. "

Wei Guangde suggested.

The Hanlin Academy is a very leisurely place. As long as one does not hold an official position in other government offices, one can spend the whole day reading books and enjoying romantic affairs.

Of course, that’s not entirely true.

For example, the task currently assigned to the Hanlin Academy is to revise the "Veritable Records", but the requirement is actually not urgent.

It’s okay to let it go.

"The Hanlin Academy is still revising the Veritable Records. This..."

Fang Fengshi was a little hesitant, but Zhang Juzheng also said at this time: "Shandai's suggestion is good. The most important thing for the Ministry of Rites now is to ensure that there will be no problems after the election, and not to delay the establishment of a province in Burma.

Relatively speaking, the latter one might be more troublesome, as it would be a lot of work to search for similar activity rituals in the vast ancient books.

Let’s put aside the matter of “Record” for now.”

The opinions of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister were the same, so Fang Fengshi had no choice but to nod and agree.

"Then I will inform Wang Xilie when I get back and ask him to arrange this matter."

Fang Fengshi replied.

"By the way, can the concubines be sent to the palace? Or is the Ministry of Rites still selecting them?"

Wei Guangde asked again.

If the little emperor wanted to see the concubines, it would be a big deal if it was made known to others, but it would be fine if it was kept quiet.

However, if the final selection of the beauties has not yet been completed, that means everyone is still outside the palace. If the little emperor wants to see them, Wei Guangde would not dare to be bold enough to take the little emperor out of the palace to see the beauties.

If all other conditions are met, the selected concubines will be sent to the Chuxiu Palace in the imperial city to live for a period of time.

During this period, the palace will conduct a new round of screening for these beauties, and finally a few candidates will be selected by the two Empress Dowagers.

The winner will naturally be able to meet the emperor.

There are many procedures and they are very strict, and Wei Guangde doesn't want to get involved.

If the little emperor secretly sees someone he likes and that person is rejected by the Ministry of Rites, there will be trouble.

It would be better to throw it into the palace and let the little emperor see it himself.

By then it will be a matter of the inner court. Even if something happens, I believe Feng Bao will be able to keep the news secret.

"Most of them have been selected now, and only a few are still being checked by the Ministry of Rites. Those who have been sent out in the next few days should be able to come back."

The first step in the Ming Dynasty's selection of concubines was for local governments to select women of appropriate age, and then conduct a preliminary selection of them, requiring them to have a clean family background and dignified character and appearance.

At this stage, the local government will investigate the family situation of the selected girls, and no one dares to cheat. Moreover, during the selection, some officials took the opportunity to select beauties for themselves, but at least no one dared to do this at the moment.

The reason is very simple, as long as the requirements are met, they must be reported to higher authorities.

Even if it is dropped, there must be a good reason.

Once it is discovered that the conditions are met but not reported, local officials can expect to receive a poor comment during the inspection.

In fact, if a queen appeared in a locality, it would be a great political achievement for the officials who reported it.

The requirements for the queen are extremely high. If one is chosen, it naturally means that the local officials are outstanding, so a talented woman will appear.

At the same time, the one who is close to the water gets the moon first, and has a good relationship with the queen's family. Although it cannot guarantee a high position and a generous salary, it is still possible to say good things.

This is a relationship that leads directly to the harem. No one would interfere in this important matter, unless they don't want a better career.

After the local reports are submitted, they are screened through various levels, and finally the Ministry of Rites will verify the circumstances of the women sent to the palace.

If it is in the capital, it will naturally be simple and quick, but if it is in a remote prefecture, it will take a lot of time to check back and forth.

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This is also because the talent shows are mostly concentrated in North and South Zhili, so the time required for verification is relatively short.

"Hurry up and send the selected beauties to the palace as soon as possible, so that the Ministry of Rites will have one less thing to worry about."

Wei Guangde smiled.

"Yes, I will take Elder Wei's words back to the Ministry of Rites and urge them to complete the selection work as soon as possible."

Fang Fengshi said hurriedly.

In fact, the Ministry of Rites also hoped to complete the work as soon as possible so that they could wait to receive the reward. Since the matter was at their own office, they were always worried about something going wrong.

As long as the selection is completed and the chosen beauties are sent to the palace, the Ministry of Rites will no longer have any work to do.

The worst that could happen is that the Ministry of Rites would arrange for people to send back the women who were not selected.

During the Qing Dynasty, unsuccessful concubines would usually stay in the palace as maids, but the system in the Ming Dynasty was different.

In the Ming Dynasty, failed concubines were usually sent home instead of staying in the palace to serve as maids, and even those who failed could not be chosen as concubines.

For example, in the selection of the queen, the two or three people who finally appear in front of the emperor, after the emperor chooses the queen, the eliminated people will not be kept in the palace to become concubines, but will go back home directly and be arranged by the Ministry of Rites to be sent back home.

However, some of those who had failed in the palace selection before would be retained and serve as candidates for concubines.

This is actually a very clever consideration, because the candidate who can make it to the final step actually meets the qualifications in all aspects to become the queen mother of the country, it’s just a matter of who the emperor likes more.

If the final loser is left in the palace, there is no guarantee that there will not be someone coveting the throne of queen, which will lead to palace fighting.

Therefore, sending the unsuccessful candidates home directly can avoid such incidents.

As for those who lost the election early, they must have failed to meet the requirements to become queen in many aspects, so naturally they would not covet that position.

It can only be said that many of the systems established by Zhu Yuanzhang do have their merits.

Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister, said, "Taizu gained the world because he did not stick to the established laws."

By saying "not sticking to the established rules", he was praising Zhu Yuanzhang and at the same time giving his own reforms a gilded luster, because most of his reforms were like that.

At this time in the Burmese capital of Toungoo, Yu Dayou was frowning slightly.

It was not for any other reason, but because after knowing that the Ming army had broken into the city of Toungoo, the Siamese royal family became restless and wanted to take back what belonged to them.

While Siam sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty to express its sufferings from the oppression of Burma over the years, it also sent people to Toungoo City to find Yu Dayou, hoping to recover the treasures that had been seized by the Ming army from him.

Not to mention, the golden seal of Baoce bestowed by the Ming Dynasty on Siam back then actually confirmed the claim that Myanmar plundered all of Siam’s wealth after it destroyed it.

The fact that the imperial gift was lost and the incident was not reported to the Ming court afterwards can make the matter a big or small one.

Therefore, Yu Dayou did not intend to return those things to Siam, but just made a list and waited for the court's order.

Now he has received news that the war in the north has ended with a great victory for the Ming Dynasty, and the Burmese King Mang Yinglong and his subordinates have all been captured.

Due to insufficient military force, Yu Dayou did not send troops north, but waited for the northern Ming army to move south to meet him.

This means that although it would take them two or three months to travel by sea, if they travel by land, if nothing unexpected happens, they might be able to reach Yunnan in a month.

Yu Dayou never thought that they were so close to the Ming Dynasty.

Not to mention him, other naval commanders had similar expressions. It seemed a bit unfair that they had to go through a long detour by sea.

But the reason he frowned today was not because he had just driven away the Siamese envoy, but because the Ming army in the north had no intention of going south to join them.

Now there are many cities controlled by the Burmese blocking the transportation between the two parts of the Ming army.

You don't think that the Ming Dynasty can send messengers to enter and exit those cities at will, do you?
The navy is under-strength and it is now difficult for it to occupy the south. It urgently needs the Ming army in the north to come south for support. Li Chengliang would not still be waiting for him to lead his troops north.

Yu Dayou was thinking, and suddenly shouted to the outside: "Someone come."

He did not intend to wait any longer. He planned to send someone north to contact Li Chengliang and urge the Ming army to move south as soon as possible to support the navy.

Originally, the navy had no plan to capture southern Myanmar, but only to attack the Burmese capital to support the northern battlefield.

However, they found that the cities in southern Myanmar were easy to attack and that their troops were few in number, so they started the war throughout the south.

They were successful, but Yu Dayou was still terrified by the thought of such a small number of people ruling so many Burmese people.

After his personal soldiers arrived, he immediately arranged for them to find a guide and prepare to go north to contact Li Chengliang to go south.

While Yu Dayou was encountering some minor troubles, Li Chengliang in the north was also having some troubles.

Although the Ming army defeated the Burmese army with great force and captured many Burmese leaders, the Burmese army at Tiebi Pass also chose to surrender. However, if more than 100,000 Burmese prisoners of war were not dealt with quickly, it would be a time bomb for Li Chengliang, and he didn't know when it would explode.

The total number of Ming troops that entered Myanmar was 160,000, of which more than 60,000 were from Yunnan, accounting for the majority.

The total number of troops from other provinces is 100,000, which is also the limit of the elite troops that the southwestern provinces can mobilize.

In fact, Li Chengliang had just received documents from Guangxi and Guizhou, hoping that their troops would be released as soon as possible after defeating the enemy, on the grounds that the local chieftains showed signs of instability.

In addition, the lack of transportation capacity greatly restricted the Ming army's actions to continue pursuing the victory and expanding the occupied area. This was the main reason why his troops were unable to move south.

“Father, how about I lead 20,000 troops from Ava to the south, straight to Toungoo City, and first seize the passage to the south and the navy.

Then he sent people westward to attack the city of Pagan. I heard that it was the capital of the former Toungoo Dynasty, and I guess there should be a lot of good things left there.

We can take our time with other places, but we should stabilize the north first."

Li Rusong spoke.

The Ming army can now only say that it has occupied most of the cities in northern Myanmar, which are actually the territories of the Mengyang, Mengmi and other Xuanweisi.

After occupying Ava, the vast central and southern Myanmar appeared before them. Due to insufficient military force, Li Chengliang was a little at a loss for the time being.