I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 504 Zhang Juzheng, what are you going to do!
Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Yes, the Xuanzan Bureau is a newly established office under the Central Military Governor's Office.

The main duties are propaganda, agitation, education and guidance.

On weekdays, we encourage the morale of our army and boost the morale of the army. In wartime, we divide and disintegrate the morale of the enemy army and educate and guide the enemy's mind. Yang Fengming, the chief of the Xuanzan Bureau of the Nanhai Xuanwei Envoy, did an excellent job!

Xuan Zanju and Yang Fengming made great contributions to the successful destruction of the Mo family, the pacification of the Zheng family, and the subjugation of the Nguyen family in this Annan war.

I grant Yang Fengming the title of Supreme Guardian and transfer him back to the capital."

Zhu Yijun paused and continued, "There is rebellion in Hunan now, so I have transferred Wang Yi'e to be the governor of Huguang.

Those small soldiers and crab generals are not worth Wang Yuying's efforts. However, the transformation of the chieftains in Guangxi has been quite effective. I have asked the Supervisory Office and the General Staff Bureau to make a good plan. It is planned to spend fifteen years and three stages to transform all the chieftains in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Hunan into officials.

What Wang Yi'e has to do is the first stage of the task. First, he has to deal with the chieftains in western Hunan, western Hubei, northern Guangxi, and southern Sichuan, and start the process of transforming the chieftains into officials in the southwest.

Li Mingchun and Shen Wanxiang looked at each other and said excitedly: "Your Majesty is really generous!"

Zhu Yijun subconsciously wanted to cover his sleeves with his hands, but as soon as he crossed his hands, he realized that he was in military uniform and his sleeves were sticking to his body, so he had to give up.

"The Ming Dynasty must not only change the accumulated problems of the country for two hundred years, but also change the accumulated problems of our civilization and nation for two thousand years. In the great changes of a thousand years, every move may be a big deal.

You have just happened to encounter this turbulent era, and have the opportunity to become a trend-setter who changes history."

Zhu Yijun encouraged the two of them again.

"The peace of the southwest is related to the strategy of the South China Sea and the Indochina Peninsula. It is also an important part of the Ming Dynasty's permanent territory.

In order to reform the chieftains, besides conquering with military force, the most important thing is to conquer their hearts and minds. Therefore, the Xuanzan Bureau must play an important role. Not only must we boost our morale, but we must also strike a blow to the morale of the chieftains, and we must also win the hearts and minds of the soldiers and civilians from the chieftains!
Ziyang!"

Li Mingchun responded loudly: "I am here!"

"Go to the Southwest Propaganda Bureau and be Yang Fengming's assistant. Don't feel wronged. So what if you are the third place in the imperial examination? You must learn with an open mind!"

"I will obey your order and serve Mr. Yang as his assistant, assist him in his work and study hard!" Li Mingchun replied with a bow.

In the afternoon, Feng Bao came to Xishan to pick up Zhu Yijun and bring him back to Beijing.

With the farewell of all the ministers, tens of thousands of soldiers and students, Zhu Yijun got on a carriage and left Xishan and returned to Beijing under the escort of thousands of Yulin cavalry and Fengchensi military school.

The four-wheeled carriage was equipped with leaf springs and ran steadily on the official road.

The carriage was very comfortable and covered with dark gray velvet. Light came in through the windows on both sides, making the interior very bright.

Zhu Yijun sat in a comfortable seat, while Feng Bao sat half of his butt on the seat opposite.

He reported: "Your Majesty, Datong sent an urgent report. Sanniangzi established Bingtu, the fourth son of Altan Khan, as the new Khan, and called himself Boktu Khan."

Feng Bao recounted the contents of the memorial submitted jointly by Huo Ji and Wang Daokun.

"Your Majesty, now the Third Lady is requesting the canonization of Boktu Khan."

"The Third Lady made a prompt decision. She couldn't handle it herself, so she simply led our Ming Dynasty to the south of the desert. She is indeed a heroine. Boktu Khan? Some people on the Mongolian right wing may not admit it."

"Your Majesty!"

Feng Bao replied.

"The Tang newspaper said that Bodidala, Buyan, Yeseng, Gugeru, Darhanlab Taiji, Shaxing Taiji, Wusili Taiji, these brothers and nephews of Altan Khan, did not respect Boktu Khan, and they were all gathering their own forces, colluding with each other, and trying to establish themselves."

"Well, once they have internal strife, the situation on the Mongolian right wing opens up for us."

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment, "We are now responding to all changes with the same attitude and taking the initiative. We have great righteousness and strength, so we are not in a hurry.

Ask the Supervisory Office to send a letter to Datong and confer the title of Shunyi Marquis to Bingtu. If he thinks the price is too low, he can come back to ask for the title after he unifies the right wing of Mongolia! "

"Yes, sir." Feng Bao responded immediately.

After he reported a few important matters, he looked at Zhu Yijun's face and spoke cautiously.

"Your Majesty, in a few days it will be the first day of February, your Majesty's first morning court. Those people have been planning for a long time, and are ready to embarrass the emperor.

Your Majesty, would you like me to take precautions against this?"

"No need." Zhu Yijun waved his hand. "Feng Bao, you don't have to intervene in the factional struggles in the court. Let the civil officials fight. All you have to do is open your eyes and understand the situation."

Feng Bao knew that the emperor was warning him, so he quickly responded, "Your Majesty, I know my crime, but I dare not ask any questions. From now on, I will do my best to be your eyes, ears and mouth."

Seeing that he understood what was best for him, Zhu Yijun gave up and sighed.

"Now that my grandfather and father have handed over the Ming Dynasty to me, the first step for me to take on the throne is to give the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty a good valuing!"

Feng Bao's face changed, and he reminded carefully: "Your Majesty, I feel that if the first court meeting is too turbulent, I am afraid the scene will be ugly and difficult to clean up."

"It's not a good scene?" Zhu Yijun laughed. "I know the methods of those civil servants. Do you know why I hurried to come to Xishan for the military review today?"

"Your Majesty is a man of foresight, and I dare not speculate."

"After reviewing the troops today, I feel more confident. In a few days, I will hold my first morning court session. Even if the scene is ugly, I can handle it!"

Feng Bao immediately understood and said repeatedly: "Your Majesty is wise!"

On the twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month, there were still three days before the first day of the second lunar month, the first court meeting of the Wanli Dynasty.

In the cabinet duty room, Prime Minister Li Chunfang and Deputy Prime Minister Zhao Zhenji were talking.

Li Chunfang looked anxious. "Meng Jing, Wang Jijin and others are pressing on us. What do they want to do? Are they crazy?"

Zhao Zhenji sighed, "They are blinded by greed and have indeed gone crazy.

They thought that since they had used the strange phenomena from heaven to create public opinion and repeatedly submitted petitions, but the emperor ignored them, they thought that the emperor was cowardly and gave in. "Li Chunfang slammed the table fiercely, "What a fool! How could they have such a ridiculous idea?"

Zhao Zhenji shook his head: "Prime Minister, they still don't understand our Emperor!"

Li Chunfang closed his eyes in pain, "Yes, they think highly of themselves and always do what they want, and never really understand our Emperor.

Before this, the emperor was still the crown prince, governing the country on behalf of the late emperor. Some of his methods were inconvenient to use, so they thought that the emperor had weaknesses.

Now that the emperor has kept silent about the strange vision from heaven, they think that the emperor has also been frightened by the vision, and they are pressing forward step by step with their fangs and claws bared. "

Li Chunfang suddenly opened his eyes, stood up with the help of the table, and walked back and forth in the open space with his hands behind his back. He said to Zhao Zhenji in great dissatisfaction: "Don't they think about the fact that the emperor is so determined that he would be frightened by just two strange phenomena?

Lure the snake out of its hole.

The emperor indulged them blindly, waiting for Wang Jijin and others to break the previous situation of fighting but not breaking. After the tacit understanding that Xu Xiang and the emperor had secretly reached was broken by Wang Jijin and other bastards, the emperor could justifiably carry out the new policy with thunderous force. "

Zhao Zhenji smiled bitterly, "Yuanfu, it's useless. I talked to those imperial censors and also privately invited those upright officials to meet with me. I tried to persuade them, but they just thought they had a sure win this time. They were so proud of themselves that they refused to give in and even scolded me righteously.

These short-sighted, ignorant, and pedantic people know too little about the emperor. "

Li Chunfang joined in scolding Wang Lin and other sour Confucian scholars.

The two were close ministers of Zhu Yijun and knew his temper and methods too well. The emperor was too low-key about the strange phenomenon during the national mourning period, and the two vaguely guessed what he was trying to do.

They were extremely anxious. If the emperor seized the opportunity, the civil officials and scholars would suffer a heavy blow, which they did not want to see.

As the chief and second assistant ministers of the cabinet, they hoped to continue the tacit understanding previously reached between the imperial power and the civil officials and move forward step by step.

The emperor can promote new policies, carry out reforms, and eliminate malpractices; the scholars also have room to maneuver, make improvements, and make further progress.

Now the tacit understanding has been broken by Wang Lin and others. Once the emperor fully implements the new policy, it will be a heavy blow to the literati.

"These sour scholars think that the world will fall apart without them? They are so foolish and arrogant! When the emperor was the crown prince in Xiyuan, he gathered and trained talented people for the new policy. There are so many talented people who can be used. Now he is waiting for an opportunity to replace them.

Wang Jijin and his group of fools are now giving themselves the opportunity to force the emperor. Who in the world can force the emperor?"

Zhao Zhenji asked, "Prime Minister, at the morning court on the first day of February, what should we do if the situation gets out of control?"

Li Chunfang stopped and faced the wall with his hands behind his back.

After a long while, he sighed and said quietly, "If it really comes to that, I will resign and take the blame for this strange phenomenon from the sky."

Zhao Zhenji was shocked. "Mr. Shilu, you absolutely cannot do this! Once you take the blame for the sin, you will never have a chance to recover."

Li Chunfang said sadly: "Meng Jing, the Ming Dynasty is now plagued by long-standing problems. If we don't implement new policies and reforms, I'm afraid this big ship won't be able to go far.

You and I have both been teachers of the emperor, and we know that the emperor is determined to eliminate corruption and reform, and to revive the Ming Dynasty. He has lofty ambitions, means, and courage, and he will definitely make the Ming Dynasty a new one.

However, getting rid of the old and establishing the new will inevitably cause great upheavals. Millions of Confucian scholars and scholars will inevitably be impacted. The emperor once told us that this is the price that must be paid for the change of the times.

But I cannot bear to see them struggling and finally being submerged in the tide of changing times.

On the one hand, I must reform, and on the other hand, I cannot bear it. These days, I have been restless day and night. If that scene really happens during the morning court session on February 1st, I am willing to sacrifice my life in exchange for temporary peace for both sides.

I know that the Confucian scholars need to change, but they also need time. "

Zhao Zhenji sighed. He felt that it was meaningless for Li Chunfang to sacrifice his position as Prime Minister in exchange for a temporary cessation of the fight between the two sides and to buy time for the Confucian scholars to turn things around.

When the emperor sets off the great wave of the times, those who follow the trend will prosper, and those who go against the trend will perish. Naturally, some people will be flexible and adapt to the times immediately.

There are definitely some people who are stubborn and are swept away by the tide of the times.

There is bound to be a conflict between the new and the old.

The short time that Li Chunfang bought with his official career could not allow the Confucian scholars to recoup for long.

But Zhao Zhenji could understand Li Chunfang's feelings and intentions.

He was born as a top scholar, a typical figure who stood out from the crowd in the literati circle. Now he is the chief minister of the cabinet and is the most popular among the civil servants.

But he is also the emperor's teacher, and he is well aware of the current bad policies in the Ming Dynasty, which must be reformed.

Being in such a dilemma, resigning might be a relief.

"Mr. Shilu, why are you doing this?"

"Meng Jing, I am a man of little talent and virtue. I have neither the courage and means to assist the Emperor in reforming the new policy nor the virtue and knowledge to protect the reputation and interests of the scholars.

I might as well resign so that I don’t have to struggle in this vortex.”

Zhao Zhenji shook his head: "Mr. Shilu, I am worried that some people will make your efforts go to waste."

Li Chunfang was startled and asked quickly, "Who?"

Before Zhao Zhenji could answer, someone outside the door said, "Master Yuanfu, Mr. Zhang sent a document from the Ministry of Personnel. Mr. Zhang said he had just drafted it and asked Master Yuanfu to review it before sending it to the West Garden."

"Bring it in." Li Chunfang glanced at Zhao Zhenji and said.

The clerk pushed open the door and handed over a document. After reading it, Li Chunfang's face turned pale and he said angrily, "Uncle Zhang! What is he doing?
Why is he adding fuel to the fire at this time? "

He turned to Zhao Zhenji and said, "Meng Jing, I have something urgent to do to Uncle Zhang. Please do as you please. I'm so sorry!"

Zhao Zhenji quickly bowed and said, "You are too polite, Prime Minister. If you have something urgent to do, please help yourself. I will go back to the duty room."

Li Chunfang arrived in front of Zhang Juzheng's room, and without waiting for notification, he pushed the door open and rushed in, angrily asking, "Uncle Zhang, what do you want to do?"

(End of this chapter)