Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 366: Kaiyang Emperor's Personal Expedition (I)
"My Lords, you have almost finished your work. I have something to tell you."
"Your Majesty, please give us instructions."
"Siam was originally a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, but who knew it would be so ambitious and take the initiative to invade. Now, all the armies of our dynasty and the armies of its vassal states have been mobilized, and the decisive battle will be in the near future. Therefore, I intend to choose a day to go south and lead the army in person."
"ah?"
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not allowed!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I beg your pardon for not being able to obey your order."
As expected, there were voices of opposition. Unexpectedly, except for Wen Tihen, others such as Wang Xiangqian, Xu Guangqi, and Wu Daonan remained silent.
"My lords, my great ancestor was a commoner from Huaiyou. He took up a three-foot sword and drove out the Tartars and restored China. My Chengzu conquered the desert five times and wiped out the Northern Yuan Dynasty. After my second ancestor, there was also Emperor Wuzong Yi, who personally went into battle and killed the Tartars with his own hands, making Altan afraid to go south for more than ten years. The ancestors of the Zhu family were so great and heroic. As a descendant of the second ancestor, how can I not lead the army in person?"
Looking at the silent but eager ministers, Zhu Youdong smiled: "I know what you want to say. You want to bring up the Tumu Incident again? How do you think my ability to lead troops compares to Yingzong? Do I have a fool like Wang Zhen by my side? As for what you want to say, I'm afraid the country will be unstable if I go away for a long time right after ascending the throne. Ha, this cabinet has been running smoothly for many years. Tell me, is this cabinet the longest in the past few decades?"
This cabinet is not only the longest-running in recent decades, but also the best-running and most effective. Moreover, there is no Donglin Party in this cabinet!
Therefore, after Zhu Youdong's questioning, the ministers who had just spoken out did not stand up and shout. After they looked at each other and exchanged glances, the Prime Minister Fang Congzhe stood up.
"Your Majesty, it is only natural that a country like Siam will be destroyed this time and its royal family will be killed. Your Majesty wants to lead the army in person, and I think there is nothing wrong with that. However, there are a few problems that need to be solved urgently."
"Please speak, Lord Fang."
"First, the Grand Empress Dowager is preparing to go on a trip. Could Your Majesty please ask the Grand Empress to allow her to stay in the palace for the time being?"
"Yes, I will go to Xiyuan to meet the Grand Emperor in person later."
"Secondly, there are only me and Elder Wen in the cabinet right now. After the emperor left for the war, the cabinet's decision-making power is obviously insufficient. In your opinion, should we add new elders?"
The Ming Dynasty's cabinet began with Zhu Di. At first, the cabinet members were appointed by the emperor himself. But later, they were recommended by the court. However, during the years when Zhu Youdong was the regent, he had already taken back the right to appoint.
Among the two current cabinet ministers, Fang Congzhe is a paperhanger: he has no problem coordinating conflicts among all parties and making overall arrangements for execution, but his decision-making ability is really poor. And what about Wen? Wen is good at personnel, and his specific government affairs ability and decision-making ability are not very good. In the past, with Zhu Youdong in charge, decision-making was not a problem at all. Now that Zhu Youdong has left Beijing, who will make the final decision? Wanli?
At least Fang Congzhe was unwilling to do so: the years when the Emperor Taihuang was in charge were really disgusting.
"What the Prime Minister said makes sense. Can I transfer the Southeast Governor Yuan Keli to Beijing and let him join the cabinet?"
"I am convinced of Li Qing's ability and integrity, and I have no objection."
"I have no objection."
"Okay, the Ministry of Personnel will quickly draft the relevant documents and I will send them to Nanjing immediately after I stamp them. Well, after Mr. Yuan enters the cabinet, he will be in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War."
"Your Highness obeys your order."
"So, Lord Fang, is there anything else?"
"Your Majesty." Fang Congzhe knelt down rarely when he said this: "I dare to speak frankly. Although the Queen and the Imperial Concubine are pregnant now, it is unknown whether it is a boy or a girl. Although Siam will be crushed to pieces once the Ming army arrives, the war is fierce and dangerous, and we must guard against things that we cannot bear to talk about. Therefore, I dare to ask for Your Majesty's permission to allow King Lai to return to Beijing from Tianjin."
After Fang Congzhe said this, Zhu Youdong didn't say anything, but Wen Tiren stood up and said, "Yuan Fu, do you know what you are talking about?!"
Hey, it seems that Prime Minister Fang is also planning to retire after I finish this expedition and return to Beijing, right?
Why did Zhu Youdong make such a judgment? Because, from the perspective of personal interests, Fang Congzhe really shouldn't have said such a thing.
It was right for Zhu Youxiao to return to Beijing to take charge from the perspective of national interests: Zhu Youdong had no heir at the time, and Wanli was old, so a young royal family member had to return to the Forbidden City - that is, legally, if Zhu Youdong was killed in battle, there would be a new emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
However, when Fang Congzhe said this, it seemed that he was not only cursing Zhu Youdong to get into trouble, but also cursing Zhu Youdong's entire family to death!
If Zhu Youdong died in battle, Zhu Youxiao would succeed him, and the first thing Zhu Youxiao did after taking the throne was to order the death of Liu Yun and You Yi, including the fetuses in their bellies.
After Zhu Laosi succeeded in his rebellion, all of Zhu Biao's other sons and all of Zhu Yunwen's sons died suddenly in a short period of time. After Emperor Shenzong Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, the first thing he did was to execute all the women Zhu Houzhao had favored in the six months before his death. This has nothing to do with cruelty. The imperial power must be absolutely stable. It is absolutely impossible for the direct sons of the eldest clan to survive in the world after the younger clan succeeds the older clan.
But what Fang Congzhe said just now cannot be said to be wrong: the emperor is not equal to the country. Even if the emperor is gone, the Ming Dynasty must continue to exist. Therefore, before the emperor leads the army in person, he must first designate a temporary successor.
As the Prime Minister, it is right to consider the country first. But speaking to the emperor like this would be very unpleasant even for a time traveler.
That is why Zhu Youdong said that Fang Congzhe didn't want to do it anymore - the Prime Minister was using his own career to seek protection for the country.
Alas, if you want to win this battle between time travelers, you really need to pay a lot and give up a lot.
But what can he do? Lian Zhen's talent is too much for Zhu Youdong. If he doesn't go to the scene in person, what if Lian Zhen hides away? Moreover, Kaiyang's talent forces him to go on expeditions in person frequently...
"Please stand up, Prime Minister. I am deeply moved by your loyalty to the country. So, Tian Ergeng, the Imperial Guard will immediately send someone to Tianjin to bring Prince Lai to Beijing."
"I... accept your order."
…
The meeting could not continue at this point. After the meeting was hastily adjourned, Zhu Youdong first went to his harem.
"Your Majesty is going to lead the army in person? What a pity." You Yi looked at her belly which had already bulged out completely and said, "It's a pity that I am pregnant and cannot accompany Your Majesty to the south."
"Why do you say that, sister? Even if you are not pregnant, what is the point of a woman like you following the emperor to lead his army to war?"
"Hahaha, Queen, please don't say that. In the future, there will be many wars, and I will have to go on many expeditions myself. Who knows, Concubine You may really be able to accompany me on the expedition. When the time comes, this palace will have to rely on you to support it."
After saying this, Zhu Youdong stretched out his hands full of apology and held his two daughters-in-law: "I will try my best to come back before the baby is born."
"Husband." The two women reluctantly took Zhu Youdong's arm and said, "Please give the two children names first."
"Alas, my Zhu family's great ancestor has already chosen most of the names for his descendants. We, as fathers, can only choose half a character. Well, the next generation is Ci, and wood gives birth to fire, and Ci is followed by the character for fire. So, if it is a son , then we can call him Zhu Ciyi or Zhu Ciyan."
"Hate it, how can there be such a lazy father."
"That's right...but this name seems good. Well, what if it's a daughter?"
"Haha, the mother chooses the daughter's name, so the father shouldn't interfere."
