The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Imprisonment.

Yang Peng was personally presiding over the interrogation of Li Dongming. After the torture, Li Dongming was covered in blood, but Yang Peng seemed still unsatisfied.

Wang Shi walked over and said, "Eunuch Yang, no matter how you torture him, he refuses to admit that the crime he committed was related to Lord Li."

Obviously, Yang Peng wanted to do something big, which was to put the blame on Li Dongyang, and the best way was to pry open a gap with Li Dongming.

Yang Peng personally walked up to Li Dongming, pried his head up with a whip, and said in a cold voice: "Criminal, you still refuse to confess the truth, it seems that you really deserve to die. The court initially decided to behead you, but it seems that we don't have to wait, we can execute you directly."

Li Dongming's voice was barely audible, but he still struggled to say, "Eunuch, I'm not trying to make excuses. My brother really doesn't know."

"You are fooling people?" Yang Peng said angrily, "Your brother doesn't know about it, and people will give money just because you sit there? Or is it because you have a lot of face that you can get a good living in the capital? Isn't it because of your brother?"

"It could also be..." Li Dongming said, "As my father-in-law said, they did it for my brother's sake, but my brother really doesn't know about it."

Yang Peng sneered, "You won't cry until you see the coffin. You are relying on your brother's reputation. It may work once or twice, but if you don't do things for them once, who will give you money? Who will invite you to a banquet? You are taking us for fools by saying this."

"I really don't know..."

Li Dongming seemed to be determined that the matter had nothing to do with Li Dongyang.

Regardless of whether the matter is true or not, at least Li Dongming knows that if Li Dongyang is implicated, not only will he be dead, but the Li family will also be finished.

Yang Peng said sternly: "Torture me again."

Wang Shi hurriedly reminded him in a low voice: "The torture has lasted for two hours. If it continues like this, I'm afraid he won't be able to hold on and will die here."

"Aren't there enough people who died here?" Yang Peng disagreed. "Let alone those who have been convicted, even if there is no evidence, if a few people die in the imperial prison, no one outside will say anything."

"But... after all, he has the background of Lord Li. I'm afraid that if he really dies, it will be difficult to communicate with foreign countries." Wang Shi was very embarrassed.

Although Wang Shi, like his father Wang Yue, likes to curry favor with the powerful, he still has a conscience in many things.

At least he couldn't stand this kind of torture, or he was still a little soft-hearted and not suitable for the job of Jinyiwei.

Yang Peng hated him for not fighting back and said, "Captain Wang, you will soon be the commander of the Jinyiwei. If you can't even get one or two words of truth out of a case like this, how can we expect you to handle important matters in the future? Are we doing this for ourselves? This is for the peace of the court in the future."

Wang Shi quickly lowered his head to admit his mistake.

Yang Peng said: "Then take a break first and let us think about it later."

Obviously Yang Peng also began to waver.

"This kind of tough guy is really rare. He is just a scholar. Scholars with tough bones are considered capable people. We have seen the stones of this group of latrines!"

Yang Peng went out angrily.

Wang Shi looked back at Li Dongming, seeming a little reluctant, and then hurriedly followed Yang Peng out.

……

……

It's quiet at night.

At Li Dongyang's mansion, someone came to help plead for him, and the Li family was also worried about Li Dongming's affairs.

"The blood-stained clothes and other things have been sent out, which clearly tells us that the fourth master is being tortured in there." The people in Li Dongyang's house were crying and complaining, "The government has sent someone to deliver the verdict, saying that he has been sentenced to death with a stay of execution, but the crime is still under strict investigation, and the verdict may be made later."

Li Dongming's son Li Zhaoyun said, "Uncle, please think of a solution quickly. My father is weak and I'm afraid he can't stand the hardship in prison."

Li Dongyang said, "Because your father has been convicted, they can torture him without restraint. Before the case progressed, they dared not torture him casually. But because the case has already gone through the Ministry of Justice, I can't ask about it anymore."

"My mother... cries all day long."

Li Zhaoyun wiped his tears.

Li Dongyang said helplessly: "I will not stand idly by when it comes to the Li family affairs, but it will take some time, so you should go back first."

"Yes."

Li Zhaoyun didn't dare to argue any more. He bowed and left Li Dongyang's mansion.

……

……

Imperial Palace, Qianqing Palace.

That morning, Zhu Youtang summoned Zhang Zhou here and also saw two test papers of his own children. Zhang Zhou had given them questions before and asked them to discuss military strategies for the war in the north.

"Bingkuan, do you know who wrote whom on these two documents?" Zhu Youtang asked.

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty will know after reading it. According to the previous decision, outsiders must not know who did it. Your Majesty can find some clues from the answer sheet."

"Ah."

Zhu Youtang nodded, and as he looked at them, he asked, "Then Bingkuan, who do you think has better insights?"

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Each of them has his own strengths and points of discussion, but generally speaking, the Crown Prince and the Princess each have their own opinions, and they are unwilling to give in to each other on many issues."

Zhu Youtang laughed and said, "The Crown Prince has studied military affairs for many years and studied maps every day. If Xiurong's knowledge can be comparable to his brother's, it means that Xiurong is more talented. Is that what you mean?"

Zhang Zhou just smiled and didn't answer.

Zhu Youtang then carefully reviewed the two papers.

When he saw the first one, he couldn't help but frown.

The above mentioned are all large-scale group army operations, with points marked on the map, such as Guanshan, Maoerzhuang, and Weininghai. They are about going out of the Hetao area and marching straight into the enemy territory. They even proposed various combat strategies, including the proposal of more than a dozen armies to attack, and the main force of the central army to be stationed...

Just by looking at the situation, Zhu Youtang could probably understand that it was Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao who did it.

"The content is empty, even almost nonsense. What's the good of it?" Zhu Youtang frowned.

Zhang Zhou said: "There is one thing that is correct in this discussion, that is, we cannot rely on one army to pacify the grassland. We need to attack from all directions. The central army also represents the soul, which is in line with the overall strategy of attacking the grassland in the future."

After being reminded, Zhu Youtang immediately thought of it.

Isn't your dream to lead an expedition to the grassland in person?

If that's the case, then what his son listed is actually very similar to what he thought. After all, Zhu Youtang was going to command the central army and become the leader of this war.

Even if you are just a nominal leader, you still need to be the soul-fixing stone.

Isn’t my son’s plan for a large-scale army operation tailor-made for himself?
"Ah."

Zhu Youtang nodded. Then he opened the second copy.

The handwriting was the same, and it was copied by the same person, so he couldn't tell who wrote it from the wording.

But when he saw the content, he immediately felt something different from what his son had described.

"This……"

Zhu Youtang only took a look at it for a while and was immediately attracted by the content.

Zhang Zhou said: "In this discussion, the grassland is divided into more than a dozen areas, and the Ming army is also divided into more than a dozen groups. According to the plan, each group involves several areas on the grassland. Then the division of regions is formed, which will be based on the fortresses within the Ming pass, and after entering the grassland, they will be responsible for their own areas."

Zhu Youtang frowned and said, "It looks familiar. When they were discussing matters in the inner court earlier, didn't they mention that they wanted to establish a temporary residence on the grassland, or even build a few more cities?"

Zhang Zhou said: "In this discussion, building the city is secondary. Instead, each group of troops should radiate their own areas and deal with the Tatars. They don't seek to destroy the Tatars all at once, but adopt a strategy of advancing step by step."

Zhu Youtang said: "It's not appropriate. If we do this, it will be too difficult to supply food and grass. The deeper we go into the grassland, the more difficult it will be to supply."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "So one point was also mentioned in the discussion, that is, to build roads on the grasslands and increase the population migration to the north to squeeze the Tatars' space for activities."

"Oh?"

Zhu Youtang pondered for a moment, then shook his head, "It's almost empty talk."

Zhang Zhou said, "Your Majesty, these are the questions for the Crown Prince and the Princess to take the exam. For many things, you only need to give a general idea. Perhaps you are... taking it too seriously."

"Oh, that's right." Zhu Youtang smiled bitterly, "I still haven't gotten out of the rhythm of reviewing memorials. If, as she said, we have established so many strongholds on the grassland, if the Tatars gather superior forces to attack, can we defend them with just these strongholds?"

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, at this point, the question is not whether to fight, but whether to not fight. If the Tatars' movements are clear, this will give us an opportunity."

"Ah."

Zhu Youtang nodded again, "But, if we do this, won't it... take too long?"

Zhang Zhou said: "This is exactly what I think is the difference between the two documents. As your Majesty said, although the first document also has a lot of empty talk, it represents the use of thunderous means to pacify the grassland in a short period of time, as short as one or two months, or as long as half a year to a year."

"The second part is to advance slowly, using several years to gradually expand the territory, squeeze the living space of the Tatars, and finally achieve the goal of pacifying the grassland."

Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "Bingkuan, you have summarized it well. After reading it, I didn't expect it to be like this."

Zhang Zhou continued: "I can only say that both views have their own strengths."

Zhu Youtang said: "Needless to say, I think the second one is better."

This is clearly a psychological tendency.

You can guess that this is my daughter’s work. How can a father not support it?
As for that brat the prince!

Stay where it's cool.

Zhang Zhou said, "Your Majesty, would you like to summon the Crown Prince and the Princess to explain the pros and cons to them in person?"

"No need." Zhu Youtang said confidently, "I think that sometimes the prince should be suppressed, otherwise he will think he is capable of everything. Besides, I think that even if there is something to do to pacify the grassland, he should not worry about it. He just needs to focus on his studies and learn how to govern the country."

……

……

Zhu Youtang was the final examiner, and once the results came out, no one could object.

But to be cautious, Zhu Youtang still expressed his opinion on the paper and made some comments on each of them... Of course, the father was also very cunning and would not say that he was biased towards anyone, but would only discuss the facts.

The comments on Zhu Houzhao's letter were mostly about "empty talk" and "general", while the latter one was more praised, indicating that the Ming Dynasty needed to pacify the grassland in a steady manner without relying on tricks.

That's roughly what it means.

Zhu Youtang agreed with his son psychologically, but when it came to marking the papers and writing comments, he completely stood on his daughter's side.

The test papers were handed over to the two younger ones by Zhang Zhou himself in the Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Youtang couldn't wait to take his paper back, and after taking a look at it, he asked curiously, "Sir, what does this mean?"

Zhang Zhou said, "Prince, isn't your comment obvious enough? You are a little behind in discussing this matter."

"What?" Zhu Houzhao was furious. "How do you know that I wrote this? It's unfair for you to do this! It's a shady deal! You're using any means necessary to help my sister! I... I did this all to pacify the grassland as quickly as possible. How... how can you be a teacher?"

Zhang Zhou looked indifferent and asked, "Have you seen your sister's paper?"

Zhu Xiurong even pushed his own paper towards Zhu Houzhao provocatively: "Here, do you want to see it?"

"dont see!"

Zhu Houzhao said, "It's not fair at all."

Zhang Zhou shook his head and said, "The review was not written by me, but by your majesty."

"Father..."

Zhu Houzhao was immediately a little discouraged.

Zhang Zhou said: "Before the papers are opened, no one knows who wrote them. If you haven't even read the princess's paper, how do you know that your sister's answers are different from yours? How can you conclude that there is any injustice?"

"bring here!"

Zhu Houzhao cursed, "Father said that my words were meaningless, I want to see what a little girl can say! Is this what you wrote?"

Zhu Xiurong said, "Brother, isn't this a transcript? I wrote it. It's there. Do you want to compare it?"

"no need."

Zhu Houzhao glared at Gao Feng because it was Gao Feng who helped with the transcription.

In this matter, Zhu Houzhao had his "own people", but Gao Feng was not a member of the marking team and was only responsible for recording both papers in exactly the same handwriting.

At first Zhu Houzhao was dismissive, but after reading it for a while, he was attracted by the content.

"Mr. Zhang, do you dare to say that this thing was not taught to her by you? Why do I feel that she can't write it at her age?" Zhu Houzhao obviously also realized that there was something in this paper.

Zhang Zhou said: "Have you read the reference materials I gave you?"

"Of course I have seen it." Zhu Houzhao said, "Not only have I seen it, but I also... Is the one you gave her different from the one you gave me?"

Zhu Xiurong leaned his head on the side and said with a smile: "Brother, if you lose, are you going to deny it?"

"What nonsense?" Zhu Houzhao said, "How did you win? I see what is written here, it is really nonsense. Do you know how big the grassland is? Divided into thirteen parts, and then each responsible for its own area, do you know how complicated this is? Do you know how much the Ming Dynasty's military expenditure is? How much food and grass are needed? How to ensure the farming? You don't know anything, your words are empty." (End of this chapter)