Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 277 To do great things, you must have the courage to cut off your own arm!
Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent for a long time.

He weakened the influence of military generals and concentrated military power in the Five Military Commanderies. At the same time, he ensured that the court could always mobilize troops under the rule of the emperor. He also further suppressed the voice of military generals by abolishing the "military title", and expanded his original intention of "separating soldiers from generals, soldiers not knowing generals, and generals not knowing soldiers".

This will lead to military centralization.

By controlling the military power, the later emperors of the Ming Dynasty had the confidence to control the court.

Moreover, the saying "a new emperor appoints his own ministers" also applies to the military. When the new emperor ascends the throne, if he does not trust these personal soldiers, he can directly dismiss them and select a group of trustworthy elite soldiers and generals from other soldiers.

Use the entire military strength of the Ming Dynasty to safeguard the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty.

Think of this.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded secretly.

This is a completely new concept of military management.

However, this kind of battalion system cannot be like the garrison soldiers, which need to allocate manpower to cultivate the land. The food supply and salary of the recruited soldiers all come from the national fiscal expenditure. Moreover, if one wants to make these soldiers loyal to him, I am afraid that the salary will have to be much higher than that of the garrison soldiers and the militia.

This is a considerable expense.

But thinking of the benefits to the Ming Dynasty's imperial power, Zhu Yuanzhang made up his mind.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "This is a good idea. We will think about it carefully after we go down. However, he mentioned this matter, I am afraid he is determined to make us plow the south. Otherwise, it will cost a lot to support such a group of elite soldiers loyal to our Ming Dynasty royal family."

“Where does this money come from?”

"But it can only come from the south."

"His plan has fallen upon us." Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, his face looking a little unhappy.

Zhu Biao smiled awkwardly and did not respond to the conversation.

He said slowly, "I just think that these people in the south have gone too far. My Ming Dynasty has only been established for a short time, but these people can't hold back and want to make money from the court. How long will this last?"

"In the past, the imperial court could only turn a blind eye to the situation in order to maintain stability in the country."

"But what in return?"

"These people are pushing their limits and getting carried away."

"How can the court continue to do things without doing anything?"

"Xia Zhibai obviously has his own plan for 'cutting down the feudal lords', and his entry point is very appropriate. He pretends to test them first, but stops at a certain point. When these people relax their vigilance, the court will strike with lightning speed, make some adjustments to the army, and weaken the strength of these meritorious groups. At that time, the court will make detailed targeting of the South, and the resistance in the South will not be so fierce, and the court will be able to recover the financial power relatively smoothly."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

He held the jade ruyi, scratched his back, and said in a deep voice: "Since you have made up your mind, let's do it."

"We can't make the decision now."

Zhu Biao smiled bitterly and said helplessly: "Father, I am also thinking about the Ming Dynasty."

"We know." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "We just don't trust Xia Zhibai. This man is very cunning. He went to the south once and fooled the southern officials. I guess these idiots are still in the dark. Let him make trouble this time."

"Let's also ask Jiang Li to investigate thoroughly."

"I want to see what the southern part of our Ming Dynasty has become like."

"Does what we said still count?!"

Yuhang, Zhejiang.

The first meeting of the official-business conference has ended.

The city fell into a brief silence.

But this silence was destined to be temporary. As Hua Lun and other officials came into closer and more frequent contact with Lu Cang, information about Lu Cang's identity gradually surfaced. Especially when they heard that this little beggar was arranged by Xia Zhibai, many officials were shocked.

Salt Transportation Department.

Li Benmo sat in his seat, playing with a jade ring, but seemed a little absent-minded. He said sinisterly, "Have you found out? Was that little beggar really someone Xia Zhibai had planted in advance?"

Zhang Tong's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth angrily and said, "I've checked everything."

"That little beggar was adopted by Xia Zhibai in Yingtian Prefecture two years ago. He came to Yuhang ten days ago."

"Ten days ago?" Li Benmo's face suddenly changed, like an angry lion, staring at Zhang Tong, and said coldly: "What do you think the people you arranged are for? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on Xia Zhibai without blinking? Such a big man is missing, and you didn't even notice it."

"You are really promising."

"You missed something so big, aren't you busy enough?"

Zhang Tong said with a wronged look on his face: "Master Li, this is not my fault. Who knew Xia Zhibai was so treacherous? He arranged to go out several days in advance. Moreover, at that time we didn't know who was in Xia Zhibai's group. Even if we wanted to guard against it, we didn't know where to start."

"It's all Xia Zhibai's fault for being cunning!"

Li Benmo didn't want to listen to Zhang Tong's explanation, and asked coldly: "Are you asking me to say this now?"

"Haven't you figured it out yet?"

"I'm afraid Xia Zhibai has already heard some news."

"You know that our list was tampered with. Given Xia Zhibai's cunningness, yesterday's meeting was a deliberate trap for you, and you jumped into it. Now we don't know how much Xia Zhibai knows, and whether we should tell others about those hidden salt factories."

"You are throwing all this mess on my head!" "Do you think I can bear it?"

Zhang Tong was silent.

He had a premonition that something bad was going to happen, so the moment he got the news, he ran to tell Li Benmo, wanting Li Benmo to make a decision. Although he looked down on Li Benmo in his heart, what qualifications did a foreigner have to give orders to him?
However, he also admitted that Li Benmo was indeed smart and thought quickly.

Every time I encounter a problem, I can think of a solution.

Li Benmo glanced at the jade ring in his hand, and then glanced at Zhang Tong who dared not even breathe, his eyes full of contempt. He took the jade ring off his finger, put it directly on the table, and said lightly: "I can't solve this matter."

"Xia Zhibai came down with the Imperial Sword."

"They don't buy into our tricks at all."

"Now that he has the evidence against us, it's impossible to force Xia Zhibai to stop."

"And Xia Zhibai had already made it clear yesterday."

"The salt merchants who didn't attend the meeting will be confiscated by the court, so the best way is to completely shut down the salt factories that are not on the list, at least to get us out of the way first. It's not that we didn't register well, but that these salt factories have indeed been shut down, so we didn't report it."

Hear the words.

Zhang Tong was stunned.

He smiled bitterly and said, "Master Li, this may not work. Those masters will not agree. Moreover, they have already made enough concessions. If we shut it down directly, it will be a waste of effort. Who can afford this?"

"That's absolutely not possible."

Zhang Tong shook his head like a rattle.

He couldn't bear the anger.

"Stupid!" Li Benmo cursed angrily, "Don't you have any brains? Xia Zhibai does want to confiscate the equipment of these closed salt factories, but this takes time, and we need this time. Even if Xia Zhibai really does that in the end, these machines are under our jurisdiction after all. We may be able to seize them if we operate them privately. The most urgent task now is not to give Xia Zhibai any trouble!"

"Once Xia Zhibai thinks we are deceiving us, this matter will be difficult to deal with."

"That Xia Zhibai is not a good person."

"He has been reporting us to the court since the first day he came to Yuhang. If this memorial accusing us of deceiving our superiors and subordinates is delivered to His Majesty, do you think you and I still have a chance to survive? Only if you and I are alive can we function. If we die, then we will have nothing."

"Now we have to stop Xia Zhibai from taking things too far!"

Li Benmo glared at Zhang Tong fiercely.

Sometimes he couldn't understand how a good-for-nothing like Zhang Tong could get this position.

He is not capable of accomplishing anything, but is always capable of causing trouble. This is what people like Zhang Tong are like. He doesn't have much ability, but he has a greedy temper. He is always arrogant and thinks he is insignificant. But when he encounters something important, he panics. It's really embarrassing.

He is ashamed to be associated with him!
After being scolded by Li Benmo, Zhang Tong looked a little embarrassed.

Li Benmo's official position was indeed higher than his, but he was after all an experienced person in the Salt Transport Bureau, and his mother's family was related to Shi Linxian, the commander of Mingzhou Guard.

But he also knew that this matter was indeed very serious. If it was not handled properly, it might cause a big disaster. He did not dare to be too embarrassed and said coldly: "How could I not know? But how easy is it to convince those adults?"

"I can not do it."

"If you can't do it, then die!" Li Benmo didn't tolerate it either.

"Now Xia Zhibai has made it clear that he wants to rectify the salt market, and he has already discovered something. It is no longer realistic to play tricks under Xia Zhibai's nose. You don't really think Xia Zhibai is blind and can't see anything, right?"

"I don't care what method you use, tell Lin Xian and the others not to try to be clever anymore."

"Don't provoke Xia Zhibai again."

"If you lose, you have to admit defeat."

"Otherwise, you will get burned and no one can save you!"

"Remember to tell them to stop when enough is enough. If this fire spreads to other things, then I'm afraid that Lin and his men will not be able to suppress it."

Hear the words.

Zhang Tong's face changed drastically.

He looked at Li Benmo with horror, as if he understood the hidden meaning of Li Benmo's words.

Li Benmo waved his sleeves and said in a cold voice: "I will personally attend the meeting tomorrow, and I will try my best to make things smaller and smaller. If any of you still don't know what's good for you, don't blame me for turning my back on you. I don't want to die with you idiots!"

"The farce of the salt administration must end tomorrow."

"And the sooner the better."

"The longer you delay, the higher the chance of something going wrong."

"As for your broken jade ring, you'd better take it back. I'm not interested in this broken stone." Li Benmo picked up the jade ring on the table, threw it to Zhang Tong, and left without any hesitation.

Zhang Tong stood there, his face blue and purple.

Finally, he left angrily.

(End of this chapter)