Chapter 183

Zhu Yuanzhang stared fixedly at Zhu Houcong and said

"Then just pick out the key points and speak."

The old Daoist Priest took a deep breath and said with a sigh

"The accumulated problems of the Zhengde era lie in the Hongzhi era. During the reign of my royal uncle, he indulged the civil officials, causing the power of the civil officials in these two reigns of my brothers and me to become so great that it cannot be reversed."

"The only thing I could do was to weigh the situation and proceed slowly."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Jiajing and asked

"The civil officials have grown so powerful, but how powerful can they actually become?"

"All capable people in the world are part of their factions; the officials the Son of Heaven can use are either greedy or mediocre!"

"Take my reign as an example. In the twenty-ninth year of Jiajing, the Mongol Altan Khan invaded the border, besieging the capital for three days."

"I pondered for half a day, yet found not a single person I could use!"

Zhu Youjian in the chat group asked with a puzzled expression

"Great-Grandfather, when Altan Khan invaded the border, you used Qiu Lian, but history books say that Yang Bo, the Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief at the time, was the most suitable candidate."

"Even Yan Song's son said he was one of the three heroes of the world."

Unexpectedly, a look of disdain appeared on Zhu Houcong's face.

"If I had used Yang Bo, that would have been the path to chaos!"

Looking at Zhu Youjian in the chat group, the old Daoist Priest said calmly

"Yang Bo is originally from Puzhou, Shanxi."

"Since entering the court in the eighth year of Jiajing, he had accompanied the army several times to inspect the Nine Border Garrisons."

"Starting from the twenty-fifth year of Jiajing, he served as the Provincial Governor of Datong and the Hedong region for nearly ten years."

"If I had used him to repel the invaders at that time."

"Except for Liaodong, all military and political power in the Nine Border Garrisons would have fallen into his hands alone; within half a year, it would surely have become a warlord disaster!"

"It is not that I wanted to use Qiu Lian, but that I had no one else to use besides Qiu Lian!"

What Zhu Houcong did not know was

That the eight great Jin merchants of the late Ming Dynasty were established during Yang Bo's border governance, taking advantage of the horse markets.

When later generations see Yang Bo in history books, they only know him as one of the three heroes of the world.

28 But for an Emperor

The best way to use a person who serves near his hometown and has formidable ability is to transfer him to the central administration.

But there was no one on the border.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the old Daoist Priest, his brows furrowed, and asked

"What you did was correct, but this does not mean that those civil officials have already refused to obey imperial orders, does it?"

Local powerful officials growing too strong is not a good thing for the world.

What Zhu Houcong did was not without fault.

But that was only a matter of appearance.

There was no actual evidence showing that these civil officials had reached the point of refusing to answer the summons.

Jiajing clasped his hands and said

"Great-Grandfather, there is one more matter."

"Speak."

"After Qiu Lian died."

"I sent eunuchs from the inner court to serve as Army Supervisors, and appointed Yang Bo as the Grand Coordinator to lead the border military affairs."

"In the second month of the thirty-first year of Jiajing, a report of victory came from Xuanfu, beheading a brave general from the grasslands."

"Later, the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigated and found that this general was named Yatou Zhi."

Zhu Yuanzhang's brows suddenly tightened.

Then he asked

"Is this person a fraud?"

"Yes!"

"Afterwards, the Embroidered Uniform Guard discovered that Yatou Zhi did not come south to plunder the border, but came to open the market!"

"It was the generals of Xuanfu who killed him on their own initiative and reported it as a merit!"

Hearing this

Zhu Yuanzhang's brows immediately tightened.

He immediately gritted his teeth and roared

"Are they trying to Nurturing bandits to increase one's own importance?!"

"They have rebelled!"

Zhu Youjian also whispered on the side

"History books only record that in the late years of Jiajing, the Nine Border Garrisons were constantly at war, and only gradually calmed down until the Longqing era."

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression gradually grew gloomy.

"These treacherous villains, why did you not kill them directly?!"

Jiajing shook his head slightly and sighed

"How could I not have killed them? I have killed virtuous officials, and I have also killed mediocre officials. Take Qiu Lian for example; in the end, I even dug up his coffin and mutilated his corpse, but did it serve any purpose?"

"The trend of court officials forming factions has already taken root; if I kill too many, the Great Ming might truly perish."

Until this moment

Zhu Yuanzhang saw it too.

The problem Zhu Houcong faced was actually much the same as Zhu Youjian's.

It's just that Zhu Houcong was smarter than Zhu Youjian, and the external threats to the Great Ming during the Jiajing reign were too weak.

Therefore, Jiajing could barely maintain the situation.

Zhu Yuanzhang's brows gradually furrowed.

"Then there's no way our Great Ming can do nothing about this group of scholars, is there?!"

Jiajing looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in the screen and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to speak but held back.

But in the end, he closed his mouth again.

A way.

Jiajing had one.

It's just that Jiajing dared not say it.

Although he did not know the history of later generations, in some vague way, Jiajing had a feeling.

To break the civil officials' deadlock, one must only open the seas!

After all, that was the ancestral rule set by Old Zhu himself.

Look at Zhu Di behind him, broad-shouldered and muscular.

Zhu Houcong ultimately chose to stay silent.

Secure oneself first, then speak!

In the end, Jiajing looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in the screen and sighed,

"If this deadlock is not broken, it will surely become the root of our Great Ming's downfall."

Everyone looked at one another in silence.

Only Zhu Youjian looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked,

"Great-Grandfather, no, why don't you ask Su Qiao?"

Hearing this name,

Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but pause in surprise.

"Su Qiao?"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but pause in surprise.

"We don't even know if Su Qiao is still alive."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di also wore a look of confusion.

"Father, do you intend to kill Su Qiao?"

"No, you are confused! Such a lone minister, such a virtuous minister, how can you kill him!"