Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 499: Yan Song entered the cabinet and allowed the Tartars to wreak havoc in Annan!

Yang Shou felt that he was very unlucky. He had avoided punishment because he was a relative of Liu Daxia's nine clans, but now he had to be imprisoned because he was a relative of the Chen family's nine clans.

Of course, Yang Shou did not expect that Chen Ting would actually kill the prime minister in the cabinet.

It is obvious that Chen Ting himself has great prospects.

After all, he had become the Secretary of the Cabinet.

But many times, such accidental events would accompany the Ming Dynasty's reform journey towards prosperity.

No one can be sure when someone whose interests are damaged will break down.

"From now on, the Zhongshu Sheren are not allowed to marry the children of officials!"

"It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. Letting these rich young men take charge of confidential matters may allow you to do favors to your relatives and friends, but it will also bring danger to other upright officials!"

"Xia Qing's death is a good example."

After Zhu Houcong called Li Shi, Huo Tao and other cabinet ministers, he began to talk about his ideas.

Everyone nodded in agreement and no one raised any objections.

"Li Shi will take over as the new Prime Minister, and Huo Tao and Wu Wendi will join the cabinet to assist in the administration."

"The seven ministerial positions that are vacant shall be recommended by the court officials."

Zhu Houcong then started making new personnel arrangements.

At this time, before the promoted ministers had time to accept the decree and express their gratitude, Li Shi suddenly knelt down:

"Your Majesty, I am old and frail, and I am suffering from illness. I cannot take on the important task of serving as the Prime Minister. Please allow me to retire and return home."

Zhu Houcong was slightly stunned.

"Are you scared?"

Zhu Houcong therefore asked directly.

Li Shi actually trembled at this moment, and said with a sad face:

"I dare not hide the truth from Your Majesty. I was indeed frightened by the scene of Lord Xia being killed. Even now, when I close my eyes, I still see that scene!"

"I am afraid that if I become the Prime Minister and continue to follow Xiao's rules, I will die on the spot!"

"I have ordered the Secretariat to no longer select the children of officials. Those wealthy and treacherous people who are dissatisfied with the government will not have the opportunity to approach you."

Zhu Houcong started talking.

Li Shize cried, "But Your Majesty, doing this will further offend the wealthy, and make it even more difficult for them to know the core secrets in advance. Even if I can escape the first day, I can't escape the fifteenth! Besides, it's impossible to guard against thieves even if you can only be a thief for a thousand days."

"I am as timid as a mouse and lack the talent to be the Prime Minister. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and make me a success!"

Li Shi kowtowed and begged again.

Zhu Houcong then looked at the other ministers and asked, "Anyone else wants to resign?"

No one answered.

Zhu Houcong looked at Li Shi again and said, "Then go."

Li Shi was pardoned as if in a dream, and he kowtowed to Zhu Houcong again with tears of joy on his face: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Then Huo Qing will take over directly as the Prime Minister."

"The Minister of Rites Yan Song will be appointed to the cabinet, and the remaining seven ministers will be nominated by the court officials as usual."

Zhu Houcong gave the order at this time.

Only then did the ministers accept the order and thank him.

Zhu Houcong then waved to Li Shi and said, "You can leave first."

With a grateful look on his face, Li Shi stood up and said yes, then limped out of the hall.

Zhu Houcong couldn't bear to watch this, so he sent an eunuch to help Li Shi leave.

"What he said just now is not wrong. It is said that a thief can steal for a thousand days, but it is not said that you can guard against thieves for a thousand days."

"But what I don't understand is why when they commit thieves, some ministers are afraid, but when the people commit thieves, few ministers are afraid?"

Zhu Houcong raised his hand and said to the ministers, "You can also speak."

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, it is not that there are no ministers who are not afraid of the people becoming thieves, it is that loyal ministers are afraid of the people becoming thieves, but disloyal ministers are not afraid of the people becoming thieves!"

"And Lord Li's action is clearly disloyal. He is unwilling to serve his country because of fear of death. He has failed the grace of the country."

"Under your Majesty's diligent governance, the Ming Dynasty has made rapid progress and is heading for the same glory as the beginning of the country. In fact, the lives of the people are better than at the beginning of the country, catching up with the three previous dynasties."

"This is not a flattery, but a statement based on facts. However, it is not easy to get to this point, and it is bound to make many evil people unhappy and make many conservative people furious."

"But this is no reason for us to retreat on the road to strengthening the country and enriching the people!"

"Because to do this, it is not as simple as expanding the territory and gaining more wealth. After all, those who only want to weaken the country and impoverish the people are not unwilling to make the country strong and the people live a better life because the benefits of the world are not enough. Therefore, the court needs to clean up the old things first, so as to make room for improvement."

“So, a loyal minister is not afraid of dying for the world, but is only afraid that in his own world, there are people who follow the enemy! Let them know that they have not done their best to bring peace to the people of the world.”

Yan Song spoke first at this time.

He now only intended to let Emperor Jiajing see his loyalty, and no longer dared to protect himself as he did before.

Zhu Houcong smiled after hearing this and said: "That makes sense. To do a good job in the great cause of stabilizing the country, one must be prepared to die."

"And I also believe that justice cannot be killed!"

"You must continue to do a good job in land surveying and maintaining the rites and laws, so that all the barbarians in the world can be educated and brought to the world so that peace can be achieved forever."

"But I have also made it clear. If any of you are really afraid, you can resign from me and frankly admit that you are afraid. I will give you a chance to part ways in peace. However, if any of you pretend to obey but actually disobey, and covet the feeling of holding power but don't want to work for the country, then don't blame me for being rude!"

Zhu Houcong gave a few more reminders at this time.

The ministers immediately replied: "We dare not!"

Xia Yan's murder did not affect the direction of the Ming Dynasty's government.

The expedition to Annan is still ongoing.

Anyuan Hou Liu Xun had even brought the navy to Qingdu where Annan King Li Ning was.

Wu Tingju and Guo Xun also led land troops into Annan.

The number of Ming scouts in Annan also increased dramatically.

These scouts were all Tatars recruited from the Nine Frontiers.

Although these Tatars could not stand the scorching heat and humidity here, they were very active in scouting around in Annan because the Ming army treated them very well and rewarded them generously for their military merits.

"I have sent envoys to apologize and ask for tribute, but the Ming Kingdom still won't let me go." "I usurped the throne, what does the Ming Kingdom have to do with it? Why did they insist on coming to me to punish me?"

Therefore, in the autumn of the 20th year of Jiajing, Mo Dengyong was certain that the Ming Dynasty had not given up its conquest of him, and he complained very depressedly.

Ouyang Yan, who was still beside Mo Dengyong to give him advice, said very disappointedly: "The determination of the Ming emperor to defend the dignity of etiquette and law is indeed unexpected! He really wants us to obey his rules!"

boom!
Mo Dengyong suddenly slammed his fist on the table and said through gritted teeth: "In this case, I, Mo, can only fight him and kill the Tatars he sent first!"

So, not long after, Mo Dengyong's main force took the initiative to attack the nearby Tatar scouts.

"what!"

A large number of Tatars were shot and killed in the dense forests of Annan.

Bawang saw with his own eyes that his companion under the general flag was shot in the eye by Mo Bing who was hiding in the dense forest, and fell to the ground screaming.

Then he saw another companion of his, also covering his chest with an arrow in it, rolling down a small slope in front of him, and saying to him in Mongolian that it hurt.

Bawang was both afraid and angry about this, and he could not help but clench his fists and grit his teeth and said, "Sooner or later, we will kill all these barbarians and make them pay the price!"

After saying this, Bawang simply got off his horse and walked into the dense forest. When he encountered a large number of Mo soldiers appearing in the dense forest, he drew his sword.

The Tatars under his command also drew their swords, and some raised their bows and arrows.

A fierce battle is therefore inevitable.

Soon, the two sides started to kill each other and arrows rained down.

However, due to the strong national strength of the Ming Dynasty, even the recruited Tatar soldiers were equipped with armor and firearms such as three-barreled guns and bird guns. Therefore, in close combat, these Mo soldiers were quickly defeated and fled in all directions.

The Tatar soldiers also left behind a lot of corpses.

On the way to conquer Annan, many Tatar soldiers died here.

The corpses that were brought back piled up like mountains.

But Zhu Houcong did not feel bad about it.

He wished that more Tatars would die on the road to expanding territory for the Ming Dynasty.

As for the Tatars who did not die in battle but instead made meritorious contributions, he was generous in rewarding them and directly promoted them to hereditary positions, in order to make these Tatars more willing to risk their lives and make meritorious contributions.

Soon, in the spring of the 21st year of Jiajing, the Ming Dynasty pushed the main force of its army to Liangzhou, Xuanhua and Anbang.

The Mo regime had to retreat to the city of Dobang.

The Ming army can be said to be able to crush the ancients with ease.

After all, there is a huge gap in strength between the two countries, and the Mo family is indeed unpopular in their own country. The Ming Dynasty came at the request of King Li Ning.

"My Lord, you must make sure that the troops pay attention to discipline. We cannot allow the troops to plunder and plunder as we did during the reign of Emperor Taizong."

"Even if we want to ensure the safety of the grain route, the task of eliminating bandits should be left to the Tartars."

“When the time comes, when the officials and gentry of Annan ask me about this, I can also put the blame on the Tartars.

Anbang.

After Wu Tingju came here from Liangzhou and met Guo Xun, he reminded Guo Xun about the next advance.

Guo Xun nodded, "I know, Minister, don't worry. I have already let the Tartars know that they can act recklessly. As long as they hand over half of the looted people and property, they will not be held accountable. We will still promise to give them land and people in Annan! But whoever does not hand over will be pushed out as a scapegoat and have to give an explanation to the King of Annan."

"That's right."

Wu Tingju stroked his beard and nodded, then looked at Guo Xun and said, "In addition, His Majesty also issued a secret decree. Although the royal army was sent to Annan to maintain the rites and laws, the goal was also to relocate the captives to become new grain households to reduce the northern captives' power."

"At the same time, Your Majesty also intends to grow cotton here, using the cheaper wages and warmer land here to replace the cotton-producing areas in Jiangnan, forcing the landlords in Jiangnan to turn the cotton fields back into grain fields, so as to further reduce the domestic grain and cotton prices; therefore, as for the population, you can plunder them for future cotton-growing slave labor, but you cannot kill them! The same goes for the Tatars!"

Guo Xun smiled after hearing this and said, "No wonder your majesty intends to let me be the governor of this place in the future. It turns out that there is such a plan. Your majesty's strategy is really admirable!"

Wu Tingju was from Wuzhou, Guangxi, so he was naturally happy to see Annan become an important cotton-producing area.

Because in that case, the cotton from Annan would inevitably pass through Wuzhou when it goes north, which would help Wuzhou's trade routes become more prosperous, so that big families in Wuzhou like the Wu family could benefit as well.

Therefore, Wu Tingju also echoed at this time: "It is indeed an admirable and brilliant strategy, and it is also a good strategy to prevent the world's wealth from being concentrated in Jiangnan. At the same time, it can also prevent the country's grain from always relying on Huguang because of the large-scale cotton and mulberry planting in Jiangnan, which will reduce the country's ability to resist famine. It's just that the officials and big families in Jiangnan don't know your majesty's intentions yet, and when they know it, it will be too late."

Wu Tingju laughed when he said this.

Guo Xun also smiled.

A month later, in March of the 21st year of Jiajing, the Ming army captured Duong Bang and Thang Long, occupied Xianzi Pass, and completely controlled the Qiluo estuary.

At the same time, Liu Xun's troops and Nguyen's troops who arrived in Qingdu also went north to capture Jianchang and Haiyang, and together with the Ming army, they encircled Dongjing of Annan.

Because the Ming army issued an order saying that as long as Mo Dengyong surrendered and handed over the traitors who betrayed the emperor, the minors and female relatives of his nine clans would not be executed, so Mo Dengyong chose to tie himself up and surrender, and also had people tie up Ouyang Yan and other traitors who betrayed the Ming Dynasty.

Ouyang Yan was terrified and shouted to Mo Dengyong: "Mr. Mo, you can't learn from Altan. This will make the scholars in the world even more afraid to help you external forces in the future!"

"I am about to lose my power, so why should I care about what I will do in the future?"

"Besides, I have fallen to this point today because of you. It was you who allowed me to usurp power and establish my own regime. You also deceived me by saying that I could take over China and become the ruler of China in the future."

"Now, it is only fitting that you accompany me to be slaughtered by the current emperor."

Mo Dengyong said with a wry smile.

Ouyang Yan cried out in a state of despair: "Mr. Mo, please understand! We really didn't mean to harm you. We just didn't expect the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to really mobilize a large army to uphold the law! Woo woo!"

"That's it!"

"What's the point of saying this now? You shouldn't have thought of using etiquette and law to restrain the emperor of the Ming Dynasty from the beginning. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so concerned about maintaining the order of etiquette and law!"

Mo Dengyong, who had tied his hands, sighed and walked out, shouting, "Open the door!"

Ouyang Yan was still very sad and kept sobbing in the prison car.

"Don't run! If you run again, I'll kill you!"

At this time, outside the city of Tokyo, the Tatar soldiers of the Green Camp of the Ming Dynasty were frantically capturing the Annan people outside the city.

Mo Dengyong saw with his own eyes a Tartar soldier with double braids chasing an Annan civilian, and he could not help but gnashing his teeth: "These damn Tartars!"

"Father, these Tartars have been setting fires and looting along the way. Should we report this to the Ming officials? Even though we have already become prisoners, are they really willing to cause the people of Annan to rebel everywhere because of looting?"

Mo Dengyong's son Mo Dengling also spoke to Mo Dengyong at this time and asked about Mo Dengyong.

Mo Dengyong asked: "What about the military discipline of the Ming army?"

"According to reports, they did not harm anyone, only walked on the main roads and did not enter houses. They also provided relief to the victims of the war along the way and sent military doctors to treat our wounded and sick."

Mo Dengling replied at this time.

(End of this chapter)