Chapter 238 Gao Xi fled
Zhu Yunwen had been insomnia for two days. At a moment when he never dreamed, the King of Yan suddenly rebelled, killed his ministers, and took away his army, 500,000! The King of Yan actually had an army of 500,000 in his hands. What else could he do if he cut this vassal? What should he do now? He was already in a mess if he fought or not.
"Your Majesty! I think the first thing I need to do is severely punish Ye Tianming." Huang Zicheng gritted his teeth. He believed that all the responsibilities should be borne by Ye Tianming. It was because he persuaded the emperor to join forces with the two kings of Qin and Jin to jointly eliminate the King of Yan, which forced the King of Yan to rebel, thus disrupting the court's deployment to reduce the vassal states.
Since the kings returned to Beijing to worship the ancestors, the court gradually divided into two parties. One was the reform radicals led by Huang Zicheng, Fang Xiaoru, Qi Tai and others, especially Huang Zicheng. Shortly after he proposed the reform of the military system and implemented the ten-army system, he introduced the reform of the tax system. The first was to use money instead of paying taxes in kind. The people no longer paid grain, but paid a fixed amount of silver and money as rent. He believed that this could reduce the exploitation of the people by officials in the middle link. The second was to establish a new tax office, abolish the power of local governments to collect taxes, and the people directly transferred the tax to the tax office, and the funds of local governments were allocated by the court, which could greatly increase the fiscal revenue of the central court.
However, their reform plan was severely criticized by the conservatives led by Ye Tianming, who believed that their reform would bring the Ming Dynasty into the abyss of suffering. The Ming Dynasty lacked copper and silver, and bartering was still widely present in various places. Without asking whether it was in line with the facts, the tax reform was promptly introduced. He turned a blind eye to the possibility that the collusion between officials and businessmen could easily manipulate the price of grain and silver. Secondly, depriving local financial power before the vassal states would definitely make the Ming Dynasty re-trace its old path in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
'Taxes are the foundation of the country. If they act rashly, they will harm the country. Since ancient times, they will be deeply damaged. If they are not yet established in the Ming Dynasty, the people's livelihood will be declining, and taxes will be arbitrarily, which will be the root of the disaster of the country!'
Ye Tianming said it very heavily, which deeply stimulated Huang Zicheng and failed to pass his tax reform. Huang Zicheng has since regarded Ye Tianming as a thorn in his eyes and criticized him if he had the chance.
But today his suggestion made Zhu Yunwen bored. Now that the King of Yan has rebelled, he does not think of a way to calm down, and it still triggers internal conflicts here. His master is really too difficult to distinguish priorities.
He suppressed his displeasure and said, "Huang Aiqing, now is not the time to hold anyone responsible. The King of Yan has seized all the troops in Hebei and is powerful. I want to know how to deal with it now? Please consider this issue more."
At this time, Qi Tai next to him interjected: "Your Majesty, I think that although the King of Yan seized the army of the court, his primary enemy was not the court, but Qin and Jin. Therefore, Your Majesty should now use their opportunity to merge and accelerate the army, so that the army in Your Majesty can form available troops as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the King of Yan defeats Qin and Jin, the next step is the court."
Zhu Yunwen nodded, but Qi Tai could understand himself and found the key point of the matter. Now that the military system reform is in progress, the guards in various places have been abolished, and the new army has not been built, there has been a chaotic situation where soldiers cannot find generals and generals cannot command soldiers. Fortunately, there is a Qin and Jin stewards. Otherwise, the King of Yan would have been driving south and the imperial army would not be able to resist. In fact, it is ridiculous. The reason for the slow progress of military system reform is actually some irrelevant details. For example, it took half a month to discuss the official titles and ranks of generals of each army. There is no conclusion yet. Some require the implementation of the Zhou system, some suggest the implementation of the Han system, and some advocate the implementation of the Tang system, expressing their own opinions, and there is no consensus.
There are also discussions below on how to prevent generals from raising troops and discussing how the emperor commands the army. Without a year or two discussion, it is impossible for each general to take office. As for the understanding and prestige of the officers and soldiers below after taking office, it is even more distant.
If the King of Yan did not rebel, Zhu Yunwen was not in a hurry to do this. Now when Wen Tai mentioned it, Zhu Yunwen was anxious, "What should Wen Aiqing thinks should be dealt with in this matter? I tend to appoint a general first and then set the system."
"No!" Huang Zicheng opposed: "If the reputation is not right and the words are not right, the emperor must use generals. First, he must be cleared and limited. He has given them the title, but the power cannot be abused. Only by first setting a system, the general's heart can he be loyal and the army's morale can he be convinced. Your Majesty should not be eager for quick success and instant benefits. In the end, the vassal state has not been cut off, and separatist will arise again, and the Ming Dynasty is in danger!"
"Your Majesty, Ye Tianming, Minister of Personnel, asked for a meeting urgently!" A eunuch's report suddenly came from outside the door.
In fact, at some point, Zhu Yunwen was quite convinced by Ye Tianming. At least his plan was very practical. He didn't want his masters to talk too much and be less pragmatic. But Zhu Yunwen also knew that Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai were there, and Ye Tianming's plan would definitely be left unresolved in the end. He pondered for a moment and said, "I am a little tired, please summon him again in the afternoon!"
When Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai saw the emperor's order to expel guests, they bowed to say goodbye together. As soon as they left, Zhu Yunwen immediately ordered the eunuch beside him and said, "So quickly and Ye Tianming will come to see me."
Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai walked out of the palace, and Huang Zicheng said angrily: "It goes without saying that the emperor must send us away and then meet Ye Tianming alone."
Qi Tai sighed and said, "I don't like Ye Tianming either, but the situation is critical now. We can no longer have internal conflicts. Let's talk about it before we help the emperor through the current danger!"
Huang Zicheng remained silent. After a while, he said helplessly: "Yes, go back and think about the solution to avoid making the emperor unhappy again."
The two left the palace one after another and returned to the office.
In the imperial study room, Zhu Yunwen was listening carefully to Ye Tianming's suggestions.
"Your Majesty, the King of Yan has been planning the army in Hebei for a long time, otherwise there would be no betrayal of Zhang Xin. According to my judgment, since the King of Yan has already put forward the slogan to pacify Lan Yu's rebellion, his offensive line must be pre-Qin, Jin, and Sichuan, and finally enter Huguang. At this time, he had occupied half of the Ming Dynasty, and was enough to decide the victory and defeat with the court. Therefore, my suggestion is that he cannot wait and see him. The court must be firm in his attitude and directly announce the rebellion of the King of Yan, and then order the army to march into Hebei, restrain the King of Yan within a province of Hebei, and then encircle him on all sides. Perhaps there is hope of reducing the vassal."
Zhu Yunwen nodded. What he needed was this pragmatic plan, not the empty talk of Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai. He pondered for a moment and expressed his concerns, "The military system is now in chaos. I am the only thing I am worried that the court army cannot defeat the King of Yan, so I don't know what to do? Many ministers insist on establishing the system first and then sending generals, and I am worried that it will not be too late."
Ye Tianming sneered and said, "This must be the advice of Huang Zicheng and others! I know they are afraid that the generals will lead the army to rebel. They are really stupid opinions of guarding against gentlemen and not villains. What if they set up a system? If the generals really want to rebel, can they restrain them even if there are ten thousand systems? The situation is critical now, and they are still talking about the system here. When the system is built, the Yan King's army is also at the city. Who will the system be determined for? Your Majesty, although I am also a scholar, I also agree with the saying that scholars are in trouble. If Your Majesty wants to protect the country, you must act decisively. Fight when you should, and kill when you should! There is no hesitation at all."
Zhu Yunwen walked a few steps behind his back, and he finally made up his mind, "Okay! I heard from Lord Ye this time, I don't know if you have a specific plan?"
"Yes!" Ye Tianming took out a memorial and presented it to Zhu Yunwen and said, "My plan is to advance three routes in the east, middle and west, and recommend three generals as generals, and recommend three important officials as Guan Junying Envoys to stabilize the morale of the army. His Majesty of the Eastern Army can order General Sheng Yong as the governor, and the Minister of Revenue Tie Xuan as Guan Junying Envoy, leading an army of 200,000 to march into Shandong, first cut off the vassal of the Qi kingdom, and then to Dezhou, Jinan Prefecture; the Minister of the Central Army recommends General Geng Bingwen as the governor, and the Minister of Justice Bao Zhao as Guan Junying Envoy, and also leads two
A hundred thousand army entered Daming Prefecture, Hebei, and echoed the Shandong Army; and the Western Army recommended Zhang Yi and Gao Wei. Zhang Yi led 200,000 troops to Hanzhong to prevent the King of Yan from entering Shu, while Gao Wei led 100,000 troops south to Chongqing to monitor Lan Yu. As for their military appearance, I recommend Jing Qing, the Censor, to enter Hanzhong. In this way, the generals will lead the troops, the important officials will stabilize the army, and the civil and military will be together. There will be no mistakes. Many of my specific plans are in the memorial. Please make your Majesty a decision early."
Ye Tianming's suggestion made Zhu Yunwen's blood rush. After all, he was a young man. He also deeply agreed with this extremely offensive plan. This time, he really became decisive and made a quick decision: "How can you know if you don't fight? I'll give it my best."
Just the day after King Yan Zhu Di raised his army, Zhu Yunwen finally decisively ordered that the King of Yan would rebel and that all the soldiers and civilians in the world could be punished. He ordered the former Shandong military guards to Sheng Yong and Tie Xuan, the former Henan military guards to Geng Bingwen and Bao Zhao, the former Zhejiang, Fujian and Sichuan military guards to Zhang Yi and Jing Qing, and divided the troops to march northward. At the same time, he issued a secret order to Tie Xuan, ordering him to cut off the vassal of the King of Qi in Shandong.
The war was about to begin, and the world was shaking, but the Tianjing was under extremely strict control in the capital, with troops searching from door to door everywhere, and portraits were posted at every pass, rewarding 30,000 taels of silver to capture the second son of the King of Yan, Zhu Gaoxi, who was hiding. Those who had hiding were regarded as crimes of rebellion against the Communist Party.
This is something that no one expected. Zhu Gaoxi, who has been closely monitored, suddenly disappeared under the eyelid of the monitor. Of course, there is no magic trick, but he has spent a lot of money to bribe the monitor. The reason for bribery is very simple. Zhu Gaoxi is fascinated by brothels and always likes to go out at night and come back during the day. This secret bad behavior starts in June. It almost happens every two days, and is very trustworthy. Just after keeping his promises again and again, the monitor gradually loses his vigilance.
Just when the Yan King was unfavorable to attack Liaodong, Zhu Gaoxi never came back after a night out. The Thousand Houses officers responsible for monitoring him were extremely frightened. He did not dare to report it, but secretly concealed the matter. However, within a few days, the news that the court announced that the King of Yan had rebelled spread throughout the capital, and the Thousand Houses also fled for fear of crime. It was not until this time that the court realized that Zhu Gaoxi had fled. Zhu Yunwen was furious and ordered Zhu Gaoxi to be intercepted along the way and searched the capital house.
However, what everyone could not imagine was that Zhu Gaoxi was neither in the capital nor on the way to escape.
There is a small temple in the southern suburb of the capital, called Baiyun Temple. The temple originally had more than 20 monks. This temple was built by King Zhu Chuang of Qin, and was specially built for him to eliminate disasters and pray for blessings. The abbot of the temple was called Zhiguang. Like all the abbots in the world, they racked their brains to find ways to earn the temple every day. The king of Qin now only raised soldiers but not monks. As early as a year ago, he stopped offering sacrifices to the temple. Baiyun Temple had no source of livelihood. The monks left one after another, leaving only a few old monks who lived by planting more than ten acres of thin fields. Master Zhiguang even went out early and came back to Beijing to beg for alms every day, trying to find some grain and rice.
However, Master Zhiguang has not gone out of the temple to beg for alms these days. He used the excuse that he was sick and no longer allowed other old monks to enter the city. In the past few days, he accepted another disciple, the Dharma name Wuchen. The disciple is tall and square, but has no eyebrows. However, his family seems to be very wealthy. He donated a large sum of money to the temple, so that the temple can have food and clothing for at least one year. In addition, he is strong and can go to farm fields, so the old monks can chant Buddha's name and chant scriptures in the temple with peace of mind.
This monk is naturally Zhu Gaoxi, the second son of King Yan, who is wanted in the world. It was his plan of becoming a monk by his husband, Lu Siyuan. From the first day he became his master, Lu Siyuan began to plan his escape plan. This temple was his favorite. It was remote and there were only a few old monks who were easy to control. It was also the temple of the King of Qin. No one would have thought that the son of King Yan would become a monk and hide in the temple of the King of Qin.
There were only two people who escaped with Zhu Gaoxi this time, one of them was Mr. Lu Siyuan, and the other was his confidant guard, Wu Si, a blue-faced man with great martial arts skills. The majority of people would be exposed. Lu Siyuan was not in a hurry to flee back to Peking. He knew that at most one month later, the court would not find anyone, so he would think that he had fled back to Peking and give up the search, and then he would leave calmly.
Although he hid it secretly, Lu Siyuan still thought deeper and shaved his eyebrows. Zhu Gaoxi's biggest appearance feature is that his eyebrows are very thick, like two big brushes. The portrait of his arrest also focused on this feature. Without eyebrows, no one could recognize him even if he went to Beijing.
Zhu Gaoxi highly praised his master. He had more force and lacked wisdom, but his master was a master of strategy, especially his favorite conspirator. From this escape, you can see his master's methods and actually let him enter the brothel at night. This made him like it very much, and in the end he was able to leave calmly.
Early that morning, Zhu Gaoxi came to Lu Siyuan to discuss it. He was a little annoyed when he could return to Peking. He wanted to conquer the world for his father for his general.
"Master, I have been a monk for ten days. When will I be able to return to Peking?"
Lu Siyuan lived alone in a thatched hut next to the temple. He lived a leisurely life every day, while Wu Si lived in the temple to protect the little prince.
Seeing that Zhu Gaoxi was anxious, he put down the book and smiled slightly, "If your dream is just to be a general in the army, then we will leave now, but if you want to inherit the great cause of your father, then you can live patiently for another month."
Zhu Gaoxi became interested and sat down and asked, "Of course I want to inherit the great cause, but what does this have to do with living for an extra month?"
"Because your father will know that you are a handsome man, not just a talented man, do you understand?"
Zhu Gaoxi shook his head and said, "Master, I still don't understand."
Lu Siyuan narrowed and smiled, "Do you know what the difference between Shuai Cai and Jiang Cai is? It's just the word 'tolerance!'"
'Tolerate?'
"Yes! Tonic, don't underestimate the word Tonic. It means that you can capture the best opportunity to fight a battle rather than a fight. As long as you go back a month later, your father will definitely look at you with admiration."
Zhu Gaoxi suddenly realized, "Master, I understand, I will endure it for another month."
Lu Siyuan glanced at him and smiled faintly, "Then do you know, do you have to do with being a head coach and inheriting a great cause?"
Zhu Gaoxi nodded and sneered: "With the army in his hand, there is the capital to compete for the throne."
Chapter completed!