The Prosperous Era of Longwan

After the first month of the lunar month, the major yamen in the capital have resumed normal operations. Various memorials and official documents from the two capitals and thirteen provinces are sent to the capital, and then assigned to various yamen for processing. Finally, the various ministries report the decisions to the emperor for his knowledge. It is urgent. Except for memorials, which must be addressed directly to the Holy Spirit and will be issued after processing.

This is how the officialdom of the capital operates.

The Ming Dynasty has been under the Ming Dynasty for more than a hundred years. Logically speaking, the world should be peaceful and peaceful. Even though there are minor disturbances in some places and constant natural and man-made disasters, the affairs have not decreased.

Every day, a stream of official documents was sent to Beijing and returned, managing all the big and small things that happened in the entire Ming Empire.

After so many years, although Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang set the framework of the imperial court in the early Ming Dynasty, various ministries had a large accumulation of official duties from time to time. In order to operate smoothly, the manpower had to be expanded again and again.

When it comes to local areas, similar situations are not obvious, and the positions in the three provincial departments and local government offices have increased several times.

There is a very interesting situation in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, that is, Zhu Yuanzhang established a relatively reasonable official system, but at the same time there were problems of redundant officials and official vacancies.

Redundant officials refer to officials who do not have full-time duties and are ready to perform temporary tasks. It also refers to officials who are idle and idle.

In ancient China, overstaffing and bloated institutions often became a heavy burden on society. This was especially serious during the Northern Song Dynasty. There are records of "redundant soldiers, redundant officials, and redundant expenses" in the Northern Song Dynasty in history textbooks.

Throughout the Northern Song Dynasty, the excessive number of officials had always troubled the court.

The official system of the Ming Dynasty was divided into three parts, namely central, local and military. At that time, there was a saying in the selection of officials called "three ways combined". It is also recorded in "History of Ming Dynasty·Election History" that "Jinshi is one way, and tribute is one way." One way, officials and so on are one way, the so-called three ways are used together." That is to say, one can become an official through any of these three ways.

When Zhu Yuanzhang set up the official system, he fully considered the functions of officials to restrain each other and dispersed the power of officials. This not only added some official positions, but also to win over people's hearts and implement a patronage system.

Officials with meritorious service can often be protected, and their descendants can enjoy privileges and be qualified to serve as officials.

There are more officials, and the affairs they handle are scattered. As a result, when things happen, there will often be mutual disputes and buck-passing, so often a new official position can only be set up to manage the disputes.

When a cycle is formed, it leads to overstaffing and mutual evasion of responsibilities, making the officialdom more and more bloated, almost becoming a disaster, and placing a huge financial burden on the country.

The reasons for the official vacancy problem are mainly due to party disputes and normal official recruitment, as well as the wanton impeachment of officials by the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

It is normal for officials to retire due to old age, it is normal for officials to be dismissed due to party disputes, and it is normal for officials to have rumors about their actions. However, when an official position becomes vacant, due to various reasons, suitable officials are often unable to be found to replace the official position after it becomes vacant.

It's not that there is no one, but because there are too many people fighting for the vacant position, the result is often no consensus, and in the end the official position remains vacant.

In the early Ming Dynasty, when the country was founded, it was still in the exploratory period of establishing rules and regulations. Many scholars who had experienced wars lived in seclusion. In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang had extremely high requirements for officials, and there were too few scholars willing to become officials, so he began to implement policies that were beneficial to scholars. Exemption regulations.

In the middle and later stages, it is basically related to party struggles, and battles for some important positions often cause huge disturbances in the court.

The negative impact of the lack of officials is also very obvious. It brings low work efficiency. For example, when a matter needs to be solved but the corresponding official cannot be found, the solution to the matter will be very slow. It can also lead to maladministration.

Occasional official vacancies and the temporary inability to find suitable candidates for some positions are normal. However, the official vacancies in the Ming Dynasty were long-term. This was a situation that was very unfavorable to the development of government affairs.

It can be said that from the Hongwu Dynasty to the Zhengde Dynasty, the number of officials in the Ming Dynasty continued to grow. In the early days of the Jiajing Dynasty, Emperor Jiajing carried out a large-scale streamlining. However, in the middle and late periods of Emperor Jiajing's reign, in the face of endless domestic affairs, The official backlash was swift.

However, Emperor Jiajing may not be able to see these changes. After all, in his eyes, the imperial court now seems to only have six ministers and ministers, as well as other officials from the five temples, two prisons, two courtyards and one government.

"Two days ago, Yang Shangshu went to Miyun to meet Yang Xuan. Unexpectedly, something like that happened at the Ministry of War."

In the capital, in a study room of Prince Yu's Mansion, Prince Yu was sitting on his seat and said with some worry.

"Yang Shangshu probably didn't expect that the situation in Xinghua would turn out like that. The military newspaper said that Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang had already arrived outside the city of Xinghua Prefecture."

Yin Shizhen also shook his head and sighed.

"The people have arrived, but the soldiers have not yet arrived. Naturally, we can only watch from the side, but there is nothing we can do."

King Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head.

In the past two years, his life has become more and more comfortable, and he has more opportunities to get in touch with the government affairs of the court. But now he has to discover that there seems to be not much good news in the court all day long. These are all terrible things.

The two of them were just in the middle of exchanging words when they heard footsteps outside the door. They stopped when they walked outside the door.

"Your Highness, Mr. Wei and Mr. Zhang are here."

The waiter outside the door led the way inside.

"Invite them in quickly."

When King Yu heard that Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng were coming, he shouted hurriedly.

As the door curtain was lifted, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng hurriedly walked into the house after being humble to each other.

"Shaloan, uncle, the weather is still cold today, please warm up by the fire first."

King Yu saw them entering the house and hurriedly asked them to warm themselves by the fire.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng hurriedly thanked them, and then rubbed their hands by the brazier to keep warm.

The arrival of the 42nd year of Jiajing seemed to go well at first, and nothing happened. However, unexpectedly, it seemed to be a late spring cold. In February, the weather suddenly cooled down again, and people felt even colder in winter when outdoors.

And with the arrival of the cold, there are also unfavorable battle reports from Xinghua Mansion.

"Your Highness, how big of a defeat did Xinghua suffer?"

While keeping warm, Wei Guangde did not forget the reason why they were summoned.

On the way, they had already listened to the messenger's statement, and they knew it was because they had heard news from the Ministry of War that it seemed that the Ming army had suffered another loss of troops in Xinghua.

"Why."

King Yu sighed first, and then said: "It is said that on the 29th of last month, the Japanese pirates suddenly withdrew from Xinghua Fucheng and retreated to the direction of Qitou. The terrain there is said to be good, surrounded by the sea on three sides, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack."

"oh."

Wei Guangde heard this and nodded in agreement.

"Commander Ouyang Shen thought he had an opportunity, so he led his troops to rush in while the Japanese pirates were on their way out. He wanted to catch them off guard. However, he was ambushed and his entire army was wiped out. He also died there."

King Yu added, "Afterwards, the Japanese pirates put on our army armor and pretended to be soldiers who had returned from defeat. They deceived the gate of Pinghaiwei City into open, and then the Japanese pirates swarmed in."

"Did the Japanese pirates escape to Pinghaiweicheng?"

Wei Guangde just frowned when he heard this.

Putting it into perspective, if he were a Japanese pirate, he would definitely not stay in Xinghua City. The longer he stayed, the more miserable his death would be.

If they defend a large city, the Ming army will only send out a steady stream of troops to surround it. When enough strength is accumulated, it is imperative to attack the city.

Faced with a well-prepared and organized military attack, the Japanese pirates were unable to resist.

"No, after the Japanese invaders occupied Pinghaiweicheng, they established a large camp in Xucuo to guard against the invasion of the army."

King Yu replied.

"That is to say, the Japanese pirates set up another camp in front of Pinghai Acropolis to prevent the army from directly surrounding Pinghai Acropolis?"

Wei Guangde asked.

"Exactly, it is said that from Xinghua Fucheng to Xucuo and then to Pinghai Acropolis, the terrain is surrounded by the sea on three sides, which is very unfavorable for the army to invade."

King Yu replied.

"Is the news true?"

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other and then asked.

"It should be reliable. The Ministry of War has been sealed off and the matter is being discussed internally. It's a pity that Yang Shangshu went to Miyun. I don't know when the Ministry of War will be able to strategize."

Yin Shizhen said at this time.

"By the way, I heard that the Ministry of War received intelligence that Anda Khan had threatened to attack Liaoyang in the middle of the year. Yang Shangshu went to Miyun to meet Governor Yang. Could it be because of this?"

Zhang Juzheng said.

"Anda Khan said he wanted to attack Liaoyang?"

Wei Guangde said in surprise.

Wei Guangde has never been to Liaoyang, but he has seen the map of Liaodong and roughly knows where it is. After Shenyang, it has always been the largest city in Liaodong in history.

When looking at the map, Wei Guangde also thought that the Ming Dynasty ruled the Northeast region in later generations, but he gave up this idea after learning the actual situation.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty, let alone the Northeast, even the Liaoning region in later generations was relatively reluctant.

The Ming Dynasty once controlled the entire Liaodong, and the scope of its power did extend to Jilin, Heilongjiang and other places in later generations, but this required a huge investment of resources from the court.

Based on the economic level of Jilin and Heilongjiang at that time, this investment was definitely a loss-making transaction and required supply from within the customs.

Therefore, during the reign of Ming Xuanzong, Ming Xuanzong was unwilling to engage in money-losing business, so the Ming Dynasty withdrew its power from Jilin and Heilongjiang.

However, although the Ming Dynasty withdrew the guards stationed in these places, the indigenous tribes in Jilin, Heilongjiang and the outer northeast still paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty all year round, and the Ming Dynasty court would also canonize local chiefs.

Under such an environment, it can only be said that it is barely included in the territory, but the actual control is very weak.

After the Ming Dynasty's forces in the northeast retreated to Liaodong, the three Duoyan guards who once served as a border barrier often rebelled, leaving the Mongolian forces unchecked, and then moved into the vicinity of Liaodong, forming a mixed state of Mongolian and Han.

However, the Mongols who entered Liaodong were all members of the Sanwei tribe who claimed to have good relations with the Ming Dynasty. The real situation was naturally difficult to tell.

However, the Liaodong generation has always been threatened by the Mongolian tribes, but it is real. The Ming Dynasty army and the Mongolian tribes have large and small wars every year.

At the beginning of the year, the Ministry of War received news that Anda Khan's sons Xin'ai Huang Taiji and Tubot Heitaiji gathered their troops and announced that they would attack Liaoyang and then control the entire Liaodong region.

With this information, Yang Xuan, as the governor of Jiliao, naturally paid special attention to it and personally supervised the army to prepare for the battle.

However, in terms of strategic direction, his judgment had major differences with Yang Bo, Minister of War.

In Yang Bo's view, Xinai Huang Taiji and Tubot Heitaiji's so-called attack on the Ming army in the Liaodong area was just a plan to attract the main force of the Ming army to move eastward.

Because in Yang Bo's eyes, the Liaodong region was bitterly cold. In fact, the Ming Dynasty's rule over this place could only barely balance the balance of payments. It even had to spend money for relief when it encountered natural disasters. For example, the drought in Liaodong began in the 37th year of Jiajing. , the imperial court had to open a sea port to Liao.

How could the Mongols gain a foothold in such a place?

To put it bluntly, even if Anda Khan really conquers the territory, they will not be able to hold it, and it will only distract their already insufficient strength.

This was a loss-making business, and Anda Khan would definitely not do it, so he judged that these words were simply lies and could not be trusted.

However, judging from the behavior of the Mongols, Yang Bo is more worried that the Anda Khan tribe may launch a more sudden attack on Ji Town in the Ming Dynasty this year.

As the governor of Jiliao, Yang Xuan's view was contrary to Yang Bo. He believed that Anda Khan should have the intention to seize control of Liaodong from the Ming Dynasty and drive the Ming army back to the Great Wall.

At this time, the Northeast Plains had not been effectively developed, making farming very difficult for the Han people, but for the grassland tribes, it was a natural pasture.

Once the Anta tribe is allowed to occupy Liaodong, the capture of the entire Northeast Plain will undoubtedly strengthen the strength of the Mongols.

For this reason, Yang Xuan chose to gradually divide his troops and move eastward, determined to launch a war with the Anda tribe in Liaodong, and use the castles in Liaodong to consume the Anda tribe's strength so that it would no longer be able to go south to threaten Xuanda and Jizhen.

The two Yangs had serious differences. In order to ensure the stability of the border, Yang Bo went to Miyun in the name of border patrol, intending to persuade Yang Xuan that the Liaodong region should be on the defensive, focusing on strengthening the defense forces in Ji Town, especially along the Great Wall north of the capital.

Zhang Juzheng introduced the news he had heard before to Wei Guangde and let him know Yang Bo's purpose of going to Miyun.

After Zhang Juzheng said so much, he felt a little thirsty. After drinking the tea brought by the chamberlain, he asked curiously: "Shandai, after talking so much, do you choose to support Yang Shangshu or Governor Yang?"

At this time, King Yu had forgotten the reason for summoning Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng before, but listened to the news about Zhang Juzheng with relish.

King Yu had heard some news about the disagreement between Yang Bo and Yang Xuan, but he did not know the inside story. It was far less detailed than Zhang Juzheng knew, and Wei Guangde had never heard of it.

In fact, the news that Huang Taiji and Heitaiji planned to capture Liaodong was sent to the Ministry of War from the Jiliao Governor's Mansion. However, because of the seriousness of the matter, the Ministry of War had strictly blocked the news.

Of course, as the cabinet, Minister of War Yang Bo naturally has to reveal some information, hoping to get the support of the cabinet.

In fact, as long as the cabinet can be persuaded, it will be okay for the cabinet to join the Ministry of War to strictly order Yang Xuan to obey orders.

Of course, as an outsider, Yang Xuan could also choose to refuse, but by then, his career would be close to the end.

"The commander-in-chief of Liaodong, this must be Yang Zhao."

Wei Guangde asked hesitantly.