Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 210 The Emperor's Ambition

The true face of the Privy Council unfolded before Li Hualong.

Once the team is fully confirmed, the Privy Council will become the first central government agency in the court with an actual prime minister.

The first-rank Privy Councilor was not a title bestowed upon the emperor, but a military minister who assisted the emperor in handling military affairs.

Two deputy envoys, the right commander of the Fifth Army, the chief of staff...

The halls in the courtyard...

Civil officials hold both military posts and receive both civil and military salaries...

There is only in but no out...

Only then did Li Hualong fully understand why the emperor had arranged such courtesy to meet them.

"Only the grace of God is as deep as the sea and as heavy as the mountain..."

Tian Le was about to conclude when the emperor's voice came from outside the Wuying Palace: "It's not just for the emperor's grace!"

All eight people stood up and bowed to greet him.

Zhu Changluo walked to the first person on the right, who was Li Hualong.

After looking at him with a smile, Zhu Changluo looked at the others, nodded, and walked to the emperor's throne placed in the center of the hall. He sat down and pressed his hands.

"The importance of the Privy Council is not only for the emperor's favor, but also for the protection of the country and the people at home, and for the expansion of territory and the foundation of China abroad."

Li Hualong looked at the emperor, who said solemnly: "I rule the world, and I not only want your loyalty, but also your righteousness. I also want you to work with me for the benefit of the Ming Dynasty and its people!"

"I am ashamed..." Tian Le stood up and saluted.

"I just thought about it. I know that Tian Shumi is loyal and righteous." Zhu Changluo laughed again and waved his hand. "If he didn't know my ambition, Tian Shumi would be as cautious as Li Yutian."

When Li Hualong heard the emperor's evaluation of himself, he couldn't help but think of what his mentor had said to him before.

When I met him today, I felt that the emperor was a very contradictory person.

The emperor who was in the Qianqing Palace before was obviously a very scheming emperor with a lot of experience and tactics. Using the four generations of the royal family living together to treat the ministers with courtesy and make them loyal to the emperor was certainly a tactic.

Of course, Li Hualong had heard some rumors behind this unprecedented event of the emperor's abdication and transfer of power.

At that time, it felt like the emperor was mentally far superior to his peers.

But at this moment, the emperor's words before entering the Wuying Hall, his behavior after entering, his words and gestures, were obviously those of a young man full of vigor and vitality, and there was a feeling of real closeness.

"It seems that Tian Shumi has already told you about the Privy Council." Zhu Changluo looked at Li Hualong, "Is there anything you don't understand?"

"Your Majesty..." Li Hualong thought for a moment, hesitated, and then asked, "Your Majesty is the right commander of the Central Army. I don't know what your mission is. I am in Nanjing..."

"The provincial capitals, state garrisons and guard posts under the jurisdiction of the Five Military Commandery are ready for adjustment."

Zhu Changluo spoke briefly and asked Chen Ju to unfold the new map that he had drawn up after discussing with Tian Le.

For those who are familiar with the Five Military Commanderies of the Ming Dynasty, the changes are indeed significant.

Now Li Hualong was even more confused, because the Central Military Governor's Office was obviously directly connected to Beijing and Nanjing.

"In the Privy Council, the Privy Envoy, the two Deputy Privy Envoys, and the Chief of Staff are all civil officials. In the Five Military Commandery, the military officials are on the left." Zhu Changluo clearly pointed out a key point, "For major military affairs, the central government still needs a balance between civil and military officials. But in the five local governments, both civil and military officials follow orders. In major military affairs, military officials are respected and civil officials assist them..."

At the local level, civil officials in the Privy Council also have military officials, and the positioning given by the emperor is very clear: military officials are respected, and civil officials are assistants.

This is a significant change, even if only at a local level.

After that, he described in detail the changes in local military affairs. The more Li Hualong listened, the more frightened he became. The more he listened, the more he couldn't help asking: "Your Majesty, let's not talk about Nanzhili. The local commanders are also military officials, but the Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi criminal inspection commissioners..."

"This is the biggest change for the local governments." Zhu Changluo also answered clearly, "Under the Inspection Office, there are governors and governors-general of each province. In the past, governors and governors-general were also in charge of military affairs. But later, the Criminal Supervision Office will be changed. Military affairs will be under the Privy Council, and local criminal cases will be under the Administrative Office."

How local changes will be made in the future still needs to be discussed.

But in general, the situation at the local level is very strange right now.

Originally, the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office, the Criminal Court Commissioner's Office, and the Military Commissioner's Office were in charge of civil affairs, criminal law, and military affairs respectively, but just as the Five Military Commissioners' Office declined, the local commissioners' offices also gradually declined, and many military and political affairs were handled by the Criminal Court Commissioner's Office.

The provincial government had no right to interfere in the military affairs of the judicial commissioner's office, but the local authorities could not sit idly by and watch the judicial commissioner's office grow larger and larger, so the status of the original local supervisory system had to be gradually raised.

The Inspector General, Governor-General, and Governor-General were nominally just temporary assignments, but in reality they became real frontier officials.

Then the provincial units have become the Censorate, which holds more power and intervenes in many areas. They are both athletes and referees, which is also unhealthy.

After entering the Privy Council, Wen Chun felt that it might not be a good idea to continue to stay in the Inspection Council. "So don't worry about it now. The Front Army Governor's Office is mainly Nanjing and the garrisons involved. Your first task in Nanjing is to participate in the maintenance of the Nanjing Garrison Office and help Nanjing Garrison Wei Guogong Xu Hongji and the Front Army Left Governor Pingyi Bo Chen Lin to train the Yangtze River Navy."

Li Chengliang and others couldn't help but look sideways, this was the first Left General they knew.

However, Duke Wei Xu Hongji was not given any of the five ministries' official positions.

Nanjing does not have a Privy Council. What should be done with the five prefectures in Nanjing?
The emperor did not explain, and Li Hualong did not ask any further questions after listening, but just bowed and accepted the order.

"Duke Wei, in compliance with my order, will use the Xiaoling Guard as a base to train the guards who will stay behind. If the Yangtze River Navy is successful, it can directly reach Huguang, Jiangxi, Henan, and Shandong through rivers and lakes." Zhu Changluo looked at Li Hualong, "First, lay a good foundation for military affairs in Jiangnan, and use the Yangtze River Navy to manage the coastal defense of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian. The Grand Commander of the Front Army will be the Earl of Xiangcheng. Just remember that the Front Army Commander's Office will focus on the navy and the sea in the future!"

At this point, the top team of the Front Army Governor's Office was determined: Li Chenggong as the Grand Governor, Chen Lin as the Left Governor, and Li Hualong as the Right Governor.

The emperor has also clearly pointed out the important mission of the Front Military Governor's Office: the navy and the naval force.

The Yangtze River Navy and its land-based counterpart, the Xiaoling Guard, were actually Nanjing's capital camp, which was designed to facilitate maneuvering to key points in the south of the Yangtze River.

Liu Jing, Xiao Ruxun and Zhang Weixian looked at the emperor expectantly.

Zhu Changluo did not disappoint them and quickly announced his decision: Zhang Weixian would be the Grand Commander of the Right Army, and Liu Jing would be the Left Commander of the Right Army.

They also knew who the Right General of the Right Army was: Peng Guoguang, the current governor of Xuanda Shanxi.

The emperor also made it clear what the future focus of the Right Army Governor's Office would be, as its territory had now shrunk significantly: managing the southwest.

The Duke of Qian also did not hold any position in the Five Military Commandery.

Xiao Ruxun served as the Left General of the Rear Army and worked with Mei Guozhen.

The post of Left Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army was given to Wang Chengxun, the Earl of Xinjian, to work with Xing Jie.

The commander-in-chief of the central army is undoubtedly Li Chengliang, while the position of commander-in-chief of the left army will remain vacant for the time being.

At this point, among the five military governorships of the front, back, left, right and center, only the Left Army and the Rear Army had not yet appointed a grand governor, and the Center Army had not yet appointed a left governor.

"The commander-in-chief of the Central Army will be decided after the competition between the Beijing Army and the left army. The commander-in-chief of the rear army will be vacant for now." Zhu Changluo looked at them, "Throughout the dynasties, the northern barbarians have always been a source of trouble. After a long period of peace, internal troubles are always complicated. Jiaozhi is a rich place, and Burma is rich in products, but the Beijing Army is always weak in the imperial court, because the internal and external troubles cannot be completely eliminated."

"I said, loyalty, righteousness and profit are more important! You already know that the Western barbarians have expanded their territory in Southeast Asia and even invaded the Ming Dynasty. The Japanese pirates first caused trouble in the southeast and are now trying to invade from Korea. If you don't plan ahead, you won't succeed. I'm going to give up the positions of these two great commanders, and those who have made great contributions will take them in the future!"

"The left army is guarded by the rear army. I am close to Beijing, and I have the Privy Council and the left and right governors. It will not affect the overall situation. But the front army and the right army..."

Zhu Changluo looked at them one by one and said, "Duke Ying, your ancestors made great contributions in the southwest."

"Zhang Yongbo, you have made great contributions in repelling the enemy in Yunnan."

"Yu Tian, ​​you have made great contributions in patrolling Liao and suppressing Bo. Now you are exempted from punishment and have a heavy responsibility in Nanjing!"

Finally, he looked at Li Chengliang and said, "Zhangyong Bo and Pinglu Bo are appointed as the Left Commander-in-Chief. They will both select 3,000 elite soldiers from the Beijing Camp as standard soldiers. The Beijing Camp does not need to be replenished. The more elite soldiers they are, the more useful they will be!"

Next, while Li Hualong, who was capable of commanding a large army, was also present, the eight men synchronized the current internal and external situations with the emperor.

Needless to say, the internal situation was of course serious, but it was the first time that Li Hualong heard the emperor clearly reveal his ambitions.

That was an ambition that no one dared to think about. Regardless of actual combat or control, the emperor's eyes were indeed on the grasslands and Liaodong after completely conquering the northern barbarians, on the Tianshan Mountains in the west, which he called a better "golden bowl", and on the coastal defenses in the east, south, and southwest - so naturally he had to move the defense line outward.

In the simultaneous situation in Outer Burma, the emperor clearly described how the previous ruler of the Toungoo Dynasty was captured and killed - the enemy actually hired the barbarians from the West and took advantage of their firearms.

"In the past, the Japanese pirates were only armed with long swords and sharp knives, but they came and went like the wind, and some of them cooperated with each other, which caused headaches for the Ming Dynasty for decades. Although we have defeated Western warships several times since the Jiajing period, we have also suffered a lot of losses!"

Zhu Changluo looked at Li Hualong who was going to the southwest to re-prepare the southwest border defense and go to Nanjing: "Now I have set up a house and four courtyards to plan for the future! Although the Ming Dynasty is the Celestial Empire, Japan now dares to violate my majesty, and the Western barbarians have invaded my vassal state's sea borders. There are great troubles on land and strong enemies on the sea. The Ming Dynasty must have a monarch and ministers who plan for the country in the long run. This is what I said. Trusting you is not only to show your grace, but also to protect our homes, the country, the borders and the people, and to expand our territory and lay the foundation for China."

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Some people sincerely praised the emperor's ambition, while others just felt that the emperor had outlined a great future for the civil and military officials of the Privy Council.

However, Zhu Changluo did not need to exaggerate the hidden worries of the maritime age. After all, the Ming Dynasty suffered heavy casualties in Korea and failed to defeat Japan easily.

Malacca had been a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty for a long time. The Guangdong and Fujian coastal defense regions had both fought against Western warships, and this had a history of several decades.

What’s important is that the Ming Dynasty was indeed still an empire where monarchy was supreme.

The emperor's will determines the direction in which the entire empire will move.

It may be slow, but as long as the emperor is still there and the will is firm, the direction is certain.

Today, the emperor and his family of four generations met with these important officials of the Privy Council, perhaps to tell them that this is the common will of the royal family and will be passed down.

It seemed that the emperor did not hide such an important matter as the major changes to the central government offices from the Empress Dowager and the Emperor Retired.

Have you forgotten the earnest look in the eyes of the retired emperor?
(End of this chapter)