Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 692 Uncharacteristically

When Xu Pu faced the emperor's proposal to appoint Li Zisheng as governor of Shanxi, he only symbolically resisted for a while.

He quoted some of Ma Wensheng's views, but then he remained silent.

In Xu Pu's opinion, getting the emperor to revoke his decision should not be the job of just the cabinet ministers or the lecturers in the Eastern Palace. You bigwigs in the Imperial Household Department should also do your best.

At today's inner court meeting, Huai En and others were clearly avoiding the issue.

Since you are not taking any action, I, Xu Pu, do not want to be the first to take action, so as to avoid causing the emperor's displeasure.

"Since you have no objection, let's decide this."

Zhu Youtang made the final decision, “Immediately send an order to the northwest, asking Li Zisheng to take over as the governor of Shanxi, and temporarily set up the administrative center in Pianguan. We will make arrangements after the war is over.

"As for Tan Chang, he will serve as the eunuch guarding the city and assist him in completing the next battle. In addition, Duke Baoguo will be appointed as the general commander guarding Shanxi, and will guard Pianguan and other places."

The emperor seemed to have made arrangements in advance and he immediately laid out a complete set of personnel arrangements.

This also made the confused Huai En realize that the emperor seemed to have made a decision long ago and had made such a mature personnel arrangement without consulting them in advance.

The little emperor began to become shrewd.

Huai En was quite uneasy. He didn't know whether this was good or bad. After all, a young emperor had transcended the system of control by civil officials, acted on his own, and even had a tendency to be independent. In the short term, it seemed to demonstrate the imperial power and reflect the emperor's growing maturity and stability, but it might not be a good thing in the long run.

Once the emperor is out of the control of the civil officials, he is likely to act arbitrarily. Wasn't this emperor's grandfather, Emperor Yingzong, such a coward? He almost single-handedly dragged the Ming Dynasty into the bottomless abyss!

Qin Ji reminded him, "Your Majesty, if Li Zisheng takes charge of Shanxi's military affairs, what should be done with the troops he transferred from Datong Town?"

Huai En glanced at Qin Ji. Although he was dissatisfied with his wavering position, he quickly agreed: "Your Majesty, if Li Zi Province continues to use the troops of Datong Town to guard the border of Shanxi Town, it will encounter problems such as cross-regional troop transfers. After all, this is something that only the military censors of Xuanfu, Datong, Pianguan and other places can do."

After saying this, Zhu Youtang couldn't help but glance at Huai'en.

Li Rong and others were also very puzzled.

What do you mean by saying this at this time, Huai En?
Could it be that they felt that giving Li Zisheng the title of Governor of Shanxi was not enough, and they wanted to promote him to the governor-general of Xuanda?

Xu Pu said, "Indeed, as Eunuch Huai said, the defense of Pianguan and other places should be carried out by local Shanxi troops, and no troops should be dispatched from Datong. Moreover, troops from the Beijing camp will also be involved. There will likely be a series of conflicts in the transmission and execution of military and political orders, which will be detrimental to the overall situation."

Zhu Youtang shook his head and said, "It's just a transfer of troops from Jingping Qianhu Suo. It's almost a drop in the bucket for Datong Town. It's harmless. Besides, this unit has participated in the battle against the Tatars before, so it will be easier for Lizi Province to dispatch them. When this battle is over, we will transfer the troops back. There is no need to make any changes now."

The emperor did not fall into the trap set by Huai'en at all, and did not think of further promoting Li Zisheng, which would have caused a backlash from the officials.

He just firmly decided to let Li Zisheng serve as the governor of Shanxi.

Xu Pu said: "I'm afraid that this person is not capable enough, which will cause the situation on the front line to collapse. Leading troops to fight on the battlefield is fundamentally different from governing a place."

Zhu Youtang said: "Li Zisheng has been an official for more than a year and has rich experience in politics. Moreover, he has been in charge of the Tongzheng Department for many years and has seen countless relevant cases. Even if he has no actual experience in commanding troops, he should have vision and understand how to deal with various crises. I think he doesn't need others to explain it to him.

"On the contrary, governing the local area may be more troublesome. After all, we need to adapt to local conditions and develop people's livelihood. We cannot just imitate successful examples. Fortunately, I don't expect Li Zisheng to make any achievements in civil affairs at the moment. I just hope that he can successfully resist the invasion of the Tatars and maintain peace in the area."

After hearing this, Xu Pu felt that he could no longer object.

The emperor seemed to have thought of everything. If I kept finding fault, it would appear that I was against the emperor everywhere, that I was talkative and obviously not very smart.

"Huai Daban, do you think there is a problem with this matter?" Zhu Youtang once again put on his previous attitude of being open to advice and asked for Huai En's opinion.

Huai En looked extremely embarrassed at this time.

Before, the emperor usually asked for his opinion before making a decision and acted according to his suggestions. Only on rare occasions would he listen to Zhang Luan.

This time no one listened, or perhaps someone had already prepared the emperor psychologically and only asked for his opinion after everything was decided.

In an instant, Huai En felt as if he had fallen out of favor.

Huai En forced himself to be energetic and said with a smile: "It is appropriate to do so, but it stands to reason that the Tatars have been badly beaten, and their intention to attack Pianguan has been exposed. Even if they want to retaliate, it will probably be just a formality. Just like after the battles of Hongyanchi, Weininghai, and Heishi Cliff in the past few years, the Tatars also raised troops to attack and retaliate, but most of the thunder was loud but the rain was small, and in the end nothing came of it."

Zhu Youtang blinked and asked, "Huai Daban, what do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that Your Majesty doesn't need to worry too much. There shouldn't be any major wars before the beginning of this spring." Huai En said firmly, "This matter can be settled!" Having said that, Huai En looked at Xu Pu opposite him meaningfully.

Zhu Youtang seemed to have completely failed to understand the intention of Huai En's words, and his face was full of confusion.

Xu Pu was an old bureaucrat after all, and he immediately understood the purpose of Huai En's special reminder.

Is Huai En trying to reassure the emperor that he doesn’t need to worry?

Do not!
This was a reminder for me to tell Ma Wensheng and other civil officials behind me to let them know that the arrangement for Lizi Province was only temporary and the so-called revenge of the Tatars was just a statement.

Your concerns about Li Zisheng abusing his power or becoming too powerful to be controlled are actually unnecessary.

When you go back, Xu Pu, you must explain everything to them and put their minds at ease.

I am now helping the emperor to share his worries!
……

……

The inner court meeting ended.

Huai'en took Li Rong, Dai Yi and others back to the Imperial Household Department, and the emperor arranged for Xiao Jing to escort Xu Pu out of the palace.

Qin Ji was originally kept by the emperor to discuss matters, but before long, the emperor yawned frequently and looked very tired, so Qin Ji tactfully took his leave.

Arriving at the Silijian duty room, Qin Ji lowered his head and quietly returned to his seat, fearing that Huai En would ask him about matters in the inner hall of the Qianqing Palace, and also afraid that he would be unable to cover up and be exposed.

At the same time, Qin Ji was thinking in his heart, if Huai En knew that not only Zhang Luan was making decisions for the Ming Dynasty, but even his son had begun to participate in military affairs, wouldn't he be furious?

But after waiting for a long time, Huai En didn't seem to have any doubts about it, and his attention was focused on reviewing the memorials.

Finally, Qin Ji took the initiative to walk over and asked, "Eunuch Huai, what do you think about Li Zisheng's promotion to the governor of Shanxi? If you object, you may as well tell His Majesty."

Huai En raised his head and asked, "Is this what His Majesty asked you to ask?"

"No... His Majesty did not give any instructions."

Qin Ji emphasized this point.

Huai En smiled and said, "Your Majesty has obviously made up his mind. Besides, the local governor is the one who was discussed by the ministry and recommended by the court, and then handed over to Your Majesty for decision. The final decision still lies with Your Majesty. Today's decision by the inner court can also be regarded as a court discussion, not a direct decree from Your Majesty, which is very good."

It’s almost like saying this is much better than the previous emperor’s arbitrary appointment of officials.

Qin Ji said: "Don't you think today's arrangement is a bit..."

"how?"

Huai En looked over curiously.

Qin Ji immediately realized that he had spoken out of turn.

Huai En clearly had no doubts from the beginning to the end, but he had to move forward with a frown on his face, determined to make things clear... If he continued like this, wouldn't he be exposing himself?
Qin Ji said: "I just feel that your majesty seems to be a little too persistent in this matter."

Huai En put the documents on hand aside and said seriously: "Your Majesty can have your own persistence and opinions, which is a good thing. Which emperor who has made achievements since ancient times is not like this?"

"Correct."

Tan Ji nodded.

"Your Majesty trusts Zhang Guozhang and values ​​the people he recommends. If this person has no ability and is appointed out of nepotism, then it is indeed inappropriate. But the problem is that now both Zhang Guozhang and Li Zisheng have fulfilled their duties and responsibilities, and have made achievements and stabilized the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. What's wrong with that?"

Huai En continued to laugh.

When Qin Ji heard this, he was a little confused.

What is going on? You, Huai En, don't object to Zhang Luan abusing his power?

Could it be that the sun rises from the west?
(End of this chapter)