I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 246 Gao Gong hesitated, should he give in?

"Master, you invited Minister Gao to sit in the signing room of the Ministry of Revenue, and he agreed." Gao Shisan reported outside the sedan window.

"it is good."

Gao Gong felt very tired. After saying something, he sat in the sedan chair and fell into a light sleep.

The sedan stopped and landed, and he woke up suddenly.

After shaking his whole body for a few times, Gao Shisan lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, and Gao Gong came out. He turned around twice on the spot, stamped his feet, and twisted his neck.

After a while, Gao Yi's sedan chair was carried in.

Both of them were Shangshu and were qualified to carry the sedan chair into the sedan room in the central courtyard.

They bowed silently, with Gao Gong walking in front and Gao Yi following closely behind. The two of them walked through the side corridors and alleys, avoiding the people in the yamen, passing through the doors and halls, and soon arrived at the signing room in the backyard.

After sitting down and being served tea, Gao Gong went straight to the point.

"Zi Xiang, the Bao En Temple case has finally been closed."

"It's good that the case is closed. As long as this case is not closed, I will never be able to settle down."

Gao Gong sighed slightly, "No one expected that the biggest benefit from the Baoen Temple case would be obtained by Xiyuan."

Gao Yi stroked his beard and answered slowly, "There is some truth in this. The Baoen Temple case was a plan within a plan, targeting the cabinet elder Chen Yifu. He didn't want to be discovered by the prince, so he interrupted it in advance and saved Chen Yifu.

Duke Xinzheng, Chen Yifu was originally the one in the cabinet who was the furthest away from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Now, he has to accept the favor from the Crown Prince. "

"Yes, my students and former officials did this without telling me, and they ended up losing more than they gained. But Zixiang, I have made up my mind."

"What decision have you made?" Gao Yi asked back.

"Jump out of the mud and do something practical with your heart."

Gao Yi looked at Gao Gong, with a hint of disbelief in his eyes.

"Gao Xinzheng, are you serious?"

"Really!" Gao Gong replied unhappily, "It's as real as real gold!"

"Haha, I won't get involved with Wang Lin and the others anymore."

"They are more concerned with theoretical knowledge, while I am more concerned with practical actions. In the end, we can't get along."

Gao Yi was somewhat relieved when he heard Gao Gong speak so frankly.

"Gao Suqing, tell me, where do you want to start?"

"To be honest, Brother Zixiang, I have been studying in Xinzheng for the past two years and have been thinking about the many problems of the Ming Dynasty. The first is the nine borders. If the nine borders are not peaceful, the capital will be in turmoil. We must maintain hundreds of thousands of troops every year, and we need to fill them with millions of taels of silver in money and food.

After much thought, I feel that the only way to stabilize the Nine Frontiers is to negotiate peace with Altan Khan and open up border trade. "

Gao Yi replied solemnly, "It's a pity that this matter was done by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Yes. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has put a lot of thought into this matter. First, he broke up the old Jin party and eradicated the old Jin merchants.

I was extremely angry before, but later I figured it out.

If I were you, I would do the same. Opening up border trade, with such huge benefits, why should we give it to others? Of course, we should give it to our own people."

Gao Yi nodded.

We have all been fighting openly and secretly in the court for half our lives, so we all understand this truth.

"However, when it comes to negotiating peace with Altan Khan, His Royal Highness did a better job than I did. He first plotted against Xin'ai, won a great victory at Liuhe, and got the upper hand over the Tumed tribe before negotiating with Altan Khan, and finally came to a good agreement.

I was in the Ministry of Revenue and read the trade terms with Shanxi and the subsequent border areas of Ningxia and Gansu. The Ming Dynasty took advantage of it. Wang Jianchuan (Wang Chonggu) mentioned in a letter that Altan Khan secretly returned the Songshan area west of the Yellow River and east of Gulang and Zhuanglang, which had been occupied by the Tatars, to the Ming Dynasty, so that Ningxia and Gansu could be connected.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince's strategy is beyond my reach."

Gao Yi excitedly continued, "Not only that. After making peace with Altan Khan, the prince also designed to force Xin Ai to rebel, causing Altan Khan's eldest son Huang Taiji to rebel against the Ming Dynasty, Tumed, and Chahar, seeking his own death.

The Ming Dynasty took advantage of the situation and sent troops to defeat Xin'ai in one fell swoop, annexed one-third of the Kalaqin tribe, built the three cities of Xinghua, Fengning, and Chengde, and occupied the Luan River. The situation in Jiliao Town suddenly changed. "

Gao Gong was also full of admiration. "This chain of attack and elimination has suddenly eased the previously severe situation in the Nine Frontiers. Not only has the pressure been reduced by half, but there is also enough energy to carry out military reforms, and then march eastward to eliminate the Jianzhou Haixi Jurchens and eliminate the biggest threat to the eastern flank of the Nine Frontiers. It's just that Xin Ai suffered, and she gave up her whole family's lives to complete this achievement for our Ming Dynasty."

Gao Gong and Gao Yi smiled at each other.

Any capable official who is devoted to the Ming Dynasty and brave enough to take on responsibilities would be overwhelmed with emotion and extremely excited after reading the series of strategic deployments and actions taken by Zhu Yijun to ease the crisis in the nine borders.

"Yes, since the Xuande period, the Ming Dynasty suffered repeated setbacks in the nine borders and had to retreat step by step. When the emperor was left to guard the national border, he was unable to stop the Oirat and Tatar people from invading the border dozens or even hundreds of times.

Since we negotiated peace with Altan Khan, built a city on the Luan River, and attacked Jianzhou, how long has it been since the Nine Borders saw the smoke of war rising from the enemy?"

Gao Gong was stunned and shocked by Gao Yi's words.

Gao Gong personally experienced several border disturbances during the Jiajing period.

When the situation was serious, the smoke of war rose every day in the nine borders. And every time the smoke of war rose, it meant that a group of soldiers and civilians in the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty would be killed or injured.

How long has it been since the smoke of war rose in the nine borders?
This means that the military and civilians in the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty spent hundreds of days and nights in peace without realizing it.

Gao Gong put his hands behind his back, looked out the window, and said with a sigh: "We failed to protect the country and the people, but the prince did."

He turned around abruptly, his eyes still gleaming, "Brother Zixiang, I was wrong before. If you want to do big things, you must first seize power. I just didn't expect that there are more people in this world who want to do big things than me.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also wants to do great things. I think the great things he wants to do are greater than any of us!"

Gao Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief, happy that his old friend had figured it out.

"Su Qing, you finally figured it out."

"I have figured it out. If I don't figure it out again, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not give me another chance. He will send me back to Xinzheng without any hesitation and appoint Zhang Shuda as his new boss.

Until then, I can only open up new territories in maps and build great achievements in books!"

"Okay!" Gao Yi was even happier. "Su Qing, where do you want to start?"

"Of course it's the Ministry of Revenue! The Crown Prince summoned me to the capital and appointed me as the Minister of Revenue. At first, I thought that the Ministry of Revenue was a pitfall, a shackle that the Crown Prince and Xu Shaohu had joined forces to restrain me.

Only now have I figured out that this Ministry of Revenue is a test from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to me."

Gao Yi stood up excitedly and walked back and forth with his hands behind his back.

"Brother Su Qing, you really have realized it and figured it out. When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince talked with his close ministers, he repeatedly talked about establishing a sound financial and taxation system. Many of his ideas and details have long been spread throughout the court and the public, and are no longer secrets.

Brother Su Qing, if you bravely take up this banner and lead the Ministry of Revenue in this direction, I believe His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will fully support you!"

“Yes, I have been thinking about it for so long.

The nine frontiers, maritime transport, and salt administration have all been handled by the Crown Prince. Now I must seize the opportunity and learn from Pang Shaonan’s (Pang Shangpeng) ten-section brocade and one-whip method in Henan and Zhejiang to promote new fiscal and taxation laws and try them out in Shanxi, Henan, and Zhili.”

"Good! Good! Good!" Gao Yi excitedly circled Gao Gong three or four times, and finally stopped, "Su Qing, I suggest you find a chance to go to Xiyuan."

"Go to Xiyuan?" Gao Gong hesitated.

Going to Xiyuan is equivalent to surrendering to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!
No, I can't do it!
I can secretly surrender to the prince and use his authority to implement the new laws I have been planning for a long time and realize my ideals.

But I really can’t go directly to Xiyuan and publicly admit defeat to the prince.

Seeing Gao Gong's expression, Gao Yi guessed what he was thinking and stamped his feet in anxiety!
"Gao Suqing, my dear elder brother, no, you are my dear uncle! So what if you go to Xiyuan? Can your seniority in the court compare to that of Lord Shaohu?
Mr. Xu was the first cabinet minister in the Longqing Dynasty who took the initiative to visit the prince in the Western Garden. A real man can bend and stretch!

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been beating you up, but he has not given up on you. Don't you know it? He is the good grandson of the late emperor, and the art of political manipulation is inherited from him.

If you have talent but no loyalty, His Highness will only use half of you; if you have talent and loyalty, like Hu Ruzhen, Zhang Shuda, and Xu Wenchang, His Highness will make full use of you and regard you as a pillar!

Tall Beard, don't you understand?"

Gao Gong stood in the room with his hands behind his back, looking like a green pine tree in the sunlight.

In the afternoon, Zhu Yijun was reading a report in the Ziguang Pavilion when Feng Bao hurried over to report.

"Minister Gao of the Ministry of Revenue wants to see you?" Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment, then a relieved smile appeared on his face: "This stubborn donkey from Henan, I have been waiting for him for almost a year."

(End of this chapter)