Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 689 Who is more important?

Inner court meeting.

It was only after Zhu Youtang repeatedly sent people to urge him that Huai'en hurriedly took several people from the Imperial Household Department to the Qianqing Palace to meet the emperor. Also arriving at the same time was Xu Pu, a representative of the cabinet.

As a result, Xu Pu would not be able to inform Huai En in advance, which meant that neither side could fully understand the other's position.

The meeting begins.

Zhu Youtang looked at the ministers sitting on both sides of the dragon throne and said loudly, "I am very happy today. Li Qing defeated the Tatars in the northwest and greatly enhanced the prestige of our Ming Dynasty. This is cause for celebration. Before this, I was still very worried about whether he could be competent for this task, and I was worried for a while."

While listening to the emperor speak, Xu Pu paid attention to the emperor's breath and physical condition to determine whether the emperor was pretending to be sick or was really sick.

After some observation, it was finally confirmed that the emperor was indeed ill. He looked haggard, his voice was hoarse, and he coughed frequently, which was obviously caused by a cold.

Huai En glanced at Xu Pu opposite him and raised his chin slightly, as if asking, "Aren't you going to come out and express your opinion?"

Qin Ji was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, should we send someone to invite Zhang Guozhang to the palace? He knows a lot about this war, and maybe if he can interpret the war, it will be more convenient for the court to make further arrangements."

This statement was obviously intended to target Huai En.

Huai En never expected that Qin Ji would jump out at this time and openly sing against him.

Li Rong questioned, "Eunuch Tan, is it inappropriate to invite an outsider to the palace to discuss military affairs at this time? Besides, His Majesty is not feeling well and needs more rest. We can just explain the general situation to him. Why go to so much trouble?"

Qin Ji sighed, "Isn't it because we didn't come up with a good strategy after our previous internal discussion that we thought of asking Zhang Guozhang to come and ask for advice?"

Li Rong got angry when he heard this.

I thought to myself that from what you said, it was clear that you were questioning our abilities, and that this ran counter to our original intention.

Isn't what we want to do is to keep relatives by marriage away from the decision-making level?
You really are good at pretending to be ignorant even though you know the truth!
Zhu Youtang said, "No need. My father-in-law is seriously ill and won't recover anytime soon, so I won't bother him for now! If there is any major change, I will send someone to ask for countermeasures."

Now everyone understands who the most important decision-makers are.

You guys discuss it first. If the result is clear and can bring positive feedback, then there is no need to bother my father-in-law.

If you guys fail to do this and end up not being able to come up with a coping strategy, or even mess things up, then I'll have to trouble my sick father-in-law.

Huai En looked at Xu Pu opposite him with sharp eyes, as if to say, in order to prevent your civil service group from being controlled by a relative by marriage, it now depends on your performance on the spot.

If you can't come up with a solution, you can't blame Zhang Laizhan for getting in.

Xu Pu stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that Mr. Zhang is suffering from a stubborn disease, and it is a highly contagious disease. I wonder if this is true?"

"what?"

Zhu Youtang did not expect Xu Pu's focus to be so peculiar, and immediately asked curiously, "How did Lord Xu know this?"

Xu Pu sighed and said, "Master Liu had personally visited his house to check on his condition before, and heard what his family said."

Zhu Youtang asked Tan Ji who was standing beside him: "My dear, is this true?"

Tan Ji looked very embarrassed.

It was said before that it might be an infectious disease, but Zhang Guofu refused to admit it and kept talking nonsense. How could I know what disease he had?

"This one……"

Qin Ji was relatively honest. He would not say anything if he didn't know. However, the other party claimed that they were Zhang Luan's family members who told outsiders. Logically speaking, Liu Ji and Xu Pu would never lie for such a small matter. This made it difficult for him.

Huai En said: "It's all because of my poor health recently. It seems that I have become the source of the plague, causing many people in the palace to be infected with the disease.

"I am not feeling well. I hope Your Majesty will allow me to return home and rest as soon as possible."

Before the topic of northwest border affairs was even started, they first talked about Zhang Luan's illness and Huai En's resignation.

Zhu Youtang shook his head and said, "Daban is too important to the court. I can't handle so many daily affairs without your assistance. Please stay for a few more days so that I can get used to it." Huai En said, "Your Majesty is really embarrassing this old slave."

Xu Pu quickly stood up, bowed and apologized, saying: "It is all my fault for speaking carelessly. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Zhu Youtang said, "Mr. Xu, you don't have to be like this. In fact, since my father-in-law entered the court, he has been busy and toiling. It can be said that he has become ill due to overwork. No matter what disease he has, I will have people treat him with all their strength. And he himself is a famous doctor in the world, I think he will have some control over his condition."

Zhang Luan became ill due to overwork?

Where is his labor?

Not only Huai'en and Xu Pu thought so, even Qin Ji, who usually helped Zhang Luan a lot, was secretly complaining that it was too far-fetched for the emperor to say that Zhang Luan was ill due to overwork.

But no matter what, the emperor felt that his father-in-law was very tired and fell ill because of it, and he was grateful for Zhang Luan's contribution. What could anyone do?

Zhu Youtang continued, "Just like this time, it was my father-in-law who figured out the time and place of the Tatars' invasion, and asked Li Qing to lead the troops westward. In this way, he not only sent clothes and money to the military garrisons in the northwest, but also dealt a heavy blow to the Tatars, extinguishing their ambition to invade. He has made a great contribution!"

Xu Pu reminded: "Your Majesty, the Tatars did not retreat. Instead, after Li Zisheng led his troops back to the interior of the pass, they followed. According to reports from Pianguan, the Tatars have at least 10,000 cavalrymen this time. We should not underestimate them."

"Are there that many?"

Zhu Youtang asked as if seeking confirmation.

Huai En nodded and said, "The exact number remains to be seen, but the report from Pianguan does say so."

Zhu Youtang understood and said, "Fortunately, we discovered it in advance and made proper arrangements. Otherwise, if we were invaded by so many foreigners, the people at the border would have to endure untold suffering.

"We have the previous victory as a guarantee, and we also have the two strong armies of Li Zisheng and Zhu Yong. Together with the local soldiers, we will surely be able to repel the Tatars and restore peace to the border."

Xu Pu said, "Your Majesty, I have specifically asked for the opinion of the Left Censor-in-Chief Ma Wensheng."

"Oh?"

Zhu Youtang asked curiously, "Why ask him? Is there any particular reason? If you don't understand border affairs, shouldn't you go ask your colleagues in the Ministry of War? It's also because I'm sick and it's inconvenient for me to see too many people. Otherwise, I would call everyone over now and ask them in detail."

Xu Pu seemed very emotional: "Ma Wensheng served in the northwest for many years, managed the army strictly, and knew the local roads and checkpoints in Pianguan like the back of his hand."

"Oh yes."

Zhu Youtang nodded and said, "I have long heard that Ma Qingjia is a capable person, so I specially invited him back to the court and entrusted him with important tasks. I hope that all officials in the court are as good as him... I wonder what he thinks of this battle?"

Xu Pu said: "Ma Wensheng's summary is six words: It is easy to win, but difficult to maintain victory."

"how to say?"

Zhu Youtang asked with a frown.

Xu Pu continued, "According to Ma Futu's opinion, since the Tatars did not choose to withdraw their troops, but continued to invade our border from the south, it means that they had done some reconnaissance in advance and were basically aware of how many troops the Ming Dynasty had deployed around Pianguan, and they believed that the Ming Dynasty was unable to stop the Tatars from invading from the south at Pianguan."

Zhu Youtang was very upset when he heard this and asked, "My Great Ming border troops can't even resist the Tatars' invasion? How can we defend our territory? Once the Tatars enter the pass, won't they run rampant and wreak havoc?"

Xu Pu said: "According to Ma Futu, since the 16th year of Chenghua, the Pianguan Pass has been damaged in many places, and the surrounding fortresses have not been repaired for decades, resulting in the pass's defense being extremely lax... The Tatars often enter the outer pass from here, plunder, and then retreat calmly."

“Why not build it and plug the gap?”

Zhu Youtang asked.

This question made Xu Pu feel embarrassed to answer.

Whether to repair or not...

The imperial court cannot guarantee either human or material resources, so how can it amend the law?
Do you really think that starting a project doesn't cost money?

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(End of this chapter)