Chapter 1060

Why was Qi Jiguang not greedy when he was young, but when he got older and suddenly saw the dragon robe, he was dazzled?

Birth, aging, sickness, and death are curses that no one can escape.

Once a person gets old, they become stubborn, reclusive, and distrustful of everyone, finding even the slightest disobedience from their own children unbearable.

When Qi Jiguang was young, he was truly too busy; after finishing the Ningyuan Guard, he went to attack the Kaiping Prefecture, and after finishing Kaiping, he went to fight the Andahan Khan. Once the Andahan side was cleaned up, he spent two years suppressing bandits in the Yanshan and Taihang Mountains. Just as he caught his breath, he went on an eastern expedition to Korea and Japan, busy realizing his ambitions.

By the time the peace he desired was achieved and the grasslands he wanted were calm, his body was already suffering from the "three excesses and one deficiency"—excessive thirst, hunger, and urination, with weight loss instead of gain. Relying on great willpower, Qi Jiguang starved himself back to health; he could no longer fight.

Before he resigned, he was busy day and night; after resigning, his ambition, having lost the support of strength, became irrelevant.

Zhu Yijun did not care about Qi Jiguang's behavior, which had suspicions of overstepping.

This was not the Emperor testing Qi Jiguang; the human heart cannot be tested. Zhang Juzheng had lectured on this countless times—monarchs who test the human heart will eventually be devoured by such tests.

A complete accident.

The East Flower Hall was not a place for receiving guests, and the twelve-symbol imperial robe had always been kept there. It was only because this court session occupied the West Flower Hall that a temporary audience was held, leading to this incident.

And when it came down to it, Qi Jiguang only looked at it and reached out his hand but did not touch it. Since he did not touch it, for him, the Emperor, to make a big fuss would be the truly reckless act.

Qi Jiguang was the greatest military official of the Wanli Reform, and the illustrious name of the Duke of Fengguo had spread throughout the world.

The Wanli Reform had not yet achieved great success, so to "slaughter the donkey after the millstone is put away" would be equivalent to hiding the bow before the country was even conquered; that would turn him into Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi.

The dilemma of the Zhao family was that they began to "slaughter the hunting dogs" before they had even conquered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, leaving them longing for those lands for three hundred years.

It is not strange for a greedy desire to arise when a person can reach it.

Zhu Yijun had seen too many jinshi; when these jinshi took the examinations, they all had a dream of supporting the world to realize. They looked down upon treacherous officials, sycophants, and corrupt officials, and even hated them to the bone.

Because at that time, they could not reach it.

Later, they obtained official status and appointments from the Ministry of Personnel, and after taking up their posts in the provinces, they slowly turned into the very things they hated most. In many cases, they were even worse, preying on the people with increasing severity.

The phenomenon of corruption in the Great Ming was extremely serious. The Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested the corrupt with heavy hands, yet it still could not stop human greed. Heads rolled and blood flowed like a river, but this greed still scratched at the heart like a cat's claws; if they didn't take a little, their hands would itch.

Qi Jiguang really could reach it. Zhu Yijun's complete reliance on the Duke of Fengguo to strengthen the military was essentially pushing his own life onto the gambling table, betting that Qi Jiguang was a loyal official. The Emperor won the bet, winning the glory and heavenly might of the Great Ming military.

Being only one step away from that position, anyone would be greedy. No dynasty could be an exception. The Great Ming had the Jingnan Campaign and the Capture of the Gate Incident; the struggles surrounding imperial power were never gentle.

When a greedy desire arises, greed and reason begin to fight for control of the body. If reason cannot defeat greed, one will become a slave to greed.

Without a doubt, Qi Jiguang's reason defeated his greed; he remained himself, and he didn't even touch it.

Shen Li sat to one side, feeling truly terrified. The front lines were at war, and this conflict between the Emperor and the General was likely the greatest crisis since the Wanli Reform.

Shen Li felt that the Emperor's response was excellent; this matter could be called big, but if called small, it was not small at all.

If not explained clearly, this small matter would gradually become a dead knot, eventually turning into a big one; once explained clearly, this big matter became a small one.

Shen Li believed that the reason this matter could be resolved so easily was primarily because the Emperor was in his prime, while Qi Jiguang was already old and frail.

Both the Emperor and the General were the foundation of the Beijing Tianjin Tianjin Weisuo, but the Emperor was still young, while Qi Jiguang already had a head full of white hair. Any soldier, junior officer, or commander with a brain would choose the Emperor, not the General, just as in the past, the Yan faction listened to Yan Shifan, not Yan Song.

If their ages were swapped, I fear this matter would not have been so simple to end.

During the Tang Dynasty's Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin killed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, forcing Li Yuan to name him Crown Prince. Soon, Li Yuan abdicated to become the Retired Emperor, and Li Shimin ascended the throne.

During this process, there was one person who, throughout the entire process of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, did not participate and even leaned toward neutrality: another military god of the Great Tang, Li Jing.

Li Jing was originally an old official of Emperor Yang of Sui. After Li Yuan raised his army in Taiyuan, Li Jing quickly informed Emperor Yang of Sui and actively mobilized troops in Chang'an to defend against Li Yuan's attack.

After Li Yuan captured Chang'an, he hated Li Jing for his stubborn defense which caused huge casualties and intended to execute him.

Li Shimin pleaded for him and went to see Li Jing to persuade him to surrender. Li Jing refused, and Li Yuan issued another decree to kill him, but "Taizong pleaded firmly again," which saved Li Jing's life.

Besides saving his life, Li Shimin also had the grace of recognizing his talent.

Li Jing joined the Prince of Qin's mansion in the first year of Yining and became a general under Li Shimin, not leaving until the third year of Wu De. The military achievements Li Jing made during the founding of the Great Tang were all made under the Prince of Qin's mansion.

Whether it was the grace of saving his life or the grace of recognizing his talent, both should be repaid.

Yet, regarding the seizure of the throne during the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Jing's stance was somewhat difficult to justify.

After Li Shimin successfully seized the throne, in the first year of Zhenguan, he had Li Jing take over as Minister of Justice and concurrently serve as the Left Guard Commander of the Crown Prince. In the second year of Zhenguan, Li Jing became the Secretariat Chancellor, becoming a chancellor of the Great Tang as a military general.

Because at that time, Li Shimin was still very young and had the ability to tolerate others, he didn't care at all about Li Jing's somewhat wavering and evasive stance during the Xuanwu Gate Incident and entrusted him with heavy responsibilities.

But by the time Li Shimin was old, it was completely different.

Qi Jiguang was a full thirty-five years older than the Emperor; the Emperor could afford to wait for Qi Jiguang to live out his life in peace, achieving the beautiful reputation of harmonious monarch and subject.

"Keep an eye on the censors and do not let them talk nonsense." Zhu Yijun looked at the Grand Secretary Lu Guangzu, telling him to keep an eye on the censors; driving a wedge between the Emperor and the General would truly earn them the Emperor's iron fist.

"I accept the decree." Lu Guangzu was very confident about this.

The censors criticized everything day and night, daring even to criticize the Emperor, but they dared not criticize Qi Jiguang. If they forced Qi Jiguang to rebel, who would be responsible? If they got hot-headed and he rebelled, he would rebel!

Zhang Hong looked at the position of the Secretariat Drafter; the Secretariat Drafter had already gone to the restroom when the eunuch returned in a hurry and hadn't come back yet.

The Secretariat Drafter had also earned a nickname in the Great Ming: "The Latrine Spirit."

"Maozi" is a Baoding dialect word meaning latrine or restroom. "Latrine Spirit" meant he was particularly fond of going to the restroom, implying this Secretariat Drafter did nothing but soak in the restroom.

Zhu Yijun continued the court session regarding the establishment of military colonies and garrisons after the conquest of Annam. Qi Jiguang expressed his approval and shared his views.

"The field army itself grew out of the military colonies and garrisons. The Marquis of Ningyuan had only three thousand retainers in Liaodong, yet he could beat the Eastern Barbarians until they couldn't find north. These retainers were all military households." Qi Jiguang first told the ministers a basic fact.

Field armies and retainers were all selected from military households, not recruited from so-called "knights-errant and heroes." These knights-errant and heroes, under the banner of "acting on behalf of Heaven," "eliminating harm for the people," and "removing violence to bring peace," were mostly just tormenting the people because they did not engage in production.

In the military, these people would only become thorns in the side and factors of instability.

The selection for the Beijing Tianjin Tianjin Weisuo would examine one's background; if a grandfather had committed a crime, one would not be selected for the Beijing Tianjin Tianjin Weisuo. Only those with a clean family background entered the garrison; those without, even if selected for physical strength or martial prowess, would not enter. The retainers led by Li Chengliang were the same.

"Before the ninth year of Wanli, the military garrisons along the Nine Frontiers were severely in arrears with pay. What you ministers do not know is that at that time, the soldiers on the frontiers were all doing business." Qi Jiguang spoke of the past; the ninth year of Wanli was more than ten years ago.

Wang Guoguang began to resolve the military pay arrears in the third year of Wanli, and it was not until the ninth year of Wanli that the pay distribution was initially completed.

Before the ninth year of Wanli, the soldiers in the military garrisons doing business could truly be described as lawless. There was nothing the garrisons dared not sell; as long as you could produce money, even firearms and gunpowder were available.

"Driving horses and raiding nests—when the Duke of Wencheng was alive, he told me that from the Jiajing years until the ninth year of Wanli, the soldiers of the Nine Frontiers would go out of the camps to the grasslands every summer and autumn to seize the barbarians' horses and destroy their nests." Zhu Yijun corroborated this point.

The soldiers of the Nine Frontiers not only did business but also burned, killed, and looted.

There was no other way; the imperial court did not provide pay, so the soldiers, holding weapons, could only find ways to provide for themselves. Robbing the people would lead to accountability from the court, so going out of the border to seize people, horses, and livestock became the best way to provide for themselves.

They didn't cherish the money they seized. These soldiers took the wealth they had seized with their lives, along with their blood-stained bags, and scattered the money in gambling dens and brothels. As the saying goes:

The brave soldier on a white horse in the purple autumn,

If not on the battlefield, then in the wine house;

A night of gambling and the green coins are gone,

Still holding the blood-stained skull in the bag.

In the ninth year of Wanli, Qi Jiguang mentioned to the Emperor that military garrisons should not engage in commerce. This matter began to be implemented, and after more than ten years, it had been thoroughly completed. "Driving horses and raiding nests" had turned into going to the Xianbei plains to purchase furs, which could be considered a livelihood.

"Military affairs are actually just three things: military equipment, military governance, and military struggle."

Qi Jiguang said with a solemn expression: "No matter how perfect the initial concept and institutional construction are, two hundred years of time is enough to change everything; good and evil, right and wrong, will all change."

"Political affairs and military affairs, in their long-term actual operation, will eventually return to the state of least resistance."

"Specifically regarding military affairs, military equipment is produced by artisans and farmers organized by the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War; military governance, the management of the army, must eventually fall upon the soldiers; and those responsible for military struggle are the hereditary nobles."

"And this system of military colonies and garrisons, from the early years of Hongwu to the present, two hundred years, has undergone many changes, but in the final analysis, the military colonies and garrisons provided the production of farmers and artisans, excellent sources of soldiers, and a large number of hereditary nobles to guard them."

Military households are hereditary, and even the Duke of Qian's mansion is part of the hereditary military nobility. From dukes and marquises down to ordinary soldiers, all are hereditary. They dare not dream of great wealth, but it is enough to survive. This also explains why the Great Ming army, despite being in arrears with pay, could still fight.

Because the military colonies and garrisons themselves also possess production functions.

And the hereditary military household, battalion commander, regiment commander, and marquis/duke systems—these garrisons are a collective that will instinctively protect the interests of their own garrison.

Ministers did not read much of Qi Jiguang's "On War," but Zhu Yijun, on the contrary, kept it in his hands and read it often. Qi Jiguang stated these points more clearly in "On War."

"The key to the matter of the Annam garrisons lies in how to prevent the garrison land from being annexed. As long as the land still belongs to the garrison, then civilizing Annam will become a matter of course." Qi Jiguang pointed out the key to the problem.

Not letting the garrisons lose their land can ensure there is enough food, weapons, and qualified soldiers who will spontaneously protect the interests of their own garrison.

Then these individual garrisons will be nails for suppressing the barbarians, capable of guarding Annam for generations. After three generations, Annam will be like Yunnan, belonging to the Great Ming forever.

When the Great Ming recovered the Hetao, an inconspicuous event occurred. At that time, the Viceroy of Shaanxi, Shi Maohua, was ordered to move the garrisons to the Hetao, and only then did the chaotic situation in the Hetao gradually disappear.

The garrison system is not invincible; its greatest weakness is that it requires production materials like land.

The court session lasted for nearly an hour before it ended, finally determining a complete set of policies: conquest, relocation of people, establishment of military colonies and garrisons, provision of weapons and grain seeds, long-term tax exemptions, and a series of systems such as garrison land not being allowed to be bought, sold, or long-term leased.

The "Theory of Contradictions" is a very effective methodology.

Contradictions are universally present, and regulating the conflicts of interest between various classes and interest groups is the mission of the imperial court.

To regulate contradictions, one must break a contradiction into countless small contradictions and eventually find the principal contradiction among them.

After solving the principal contradiction, some secondary contradictions will be alleviated and become easier to solve, or they may have already been solved.

But exerting effort only on secondary contradictions will not only fail to solve them but will also complicate the principal contradiction, making it even harder to deal with.

Clearly, Qi Jiguang divided the Great Ming's conquest of Annam into two parts: military victory and political victory. Because the Great Ming army's leading edge in appearance, equipment, and discipline made military victory very easy, but political victory was very difficult.

Breaking down the issue of political victory, one finds that the principal problems to be solved are the Annam people's will to resist and preventing internal traitors of the Great Ming from stealing the fruits of victory.

And these two principal contradictions both point to one solution: military colonies and garrisons.

After summarizing the historical lessons of the military colonies and garrisons, it was found that the principal contradiction in the decay of the garrisons was annexation. Finding a way not to let the garrisons lose their production materials became the key part of the key problem.

After the court session's deliberation, this matter would still not be decided; instead, it would be sent to the local authorities in Guangzhou to ask for the opinions of local officials, and also to ask for the opinions of front-line commanders. Liu Jiwen, Wan Wenqing, Chen Lin, and Luo Shangzhi were closer to Annam and understood the situation there better.

Combining the suggestions from the local level to finally perfect the decree and implement it was the decision-making mechanism established under the guidance of the "Theory of Contradictions" during the Wanli years.

"Your Majesty, the Lu Kun case is set for the last day of the seventh month." The Minister of Justice, Wang Jiaping, reported a matter. Lu Kun's sentence had been set. This clown who jumped out after Wang Guoguang's death had been caught after several months of rigorous investigation, and all his accomplices had been arrested.

August was the month of the Longevity Festival; in principle, no executions were to be carried out this month, as bloodshed was considered inauspicious.

"Is no one going to save him?" Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Jiaping and asked calmly.

Wang Guoguang's consolidation of the world's taxes into the imperial court offended too many people, especially with the reduction of land taxes in an environment where local finances were severely in deficit. There were simply too many people who hated Wang Guoguang; Lu Kun just happened to be the one who jumped out.

According to Lu Kun's plan, if he were really arrested, the officials of the world would submit memorials. Seeing the public indignation, the Emperor would choose to drag it out rather than insist on killing him against the opposition of all the officials. As long as it was dragged out, there would be a chance to survive.

Dragging it out until no one cared, dragging it until everyone gradually forgot, and then spending some silver to lobby the powerful eunuchs and ministers to say some good words, he, a high-ranking official of the second rank, would go through the process of the "Eight Deliberations" and get out.

"No one." Wang Jiaping shook his head and said: "After he was thrown into prison, everyone avoided him, fearing any association with him."

"Truly heartless." Zhu Yijun shook his head. Scholars are often the most heartless. Lu Kun's behavior was clearly a collective tacit action. When Lu Kun was severely punished, this collective immediately cut ties with him, which made it impossible for the imperial court to handle it as a group case.

Zhu Yijun approved Wang Jiaping's memorial with a vermilion mark, granting the joint request of the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Grand Court of Revision.

The court session drew to a close. Zhu Yijun kept Qi Jiguang behind alone to talk in detail about Annam, Japan, and especially Xiong Tingbi's equal-field camps on the Guandong Plain.

"The General should go fishing; it's not a big deal," Zhu Yijun said with a smile. "Autumn is coming soon. I have obtained a down-lined vest and would like to gift it to the General."

Zhang Hong brought the prepared down-lined vest and placed it beside Qi Jiguang.

"This lining is made of dodo bird down, which has excellent warmth. These dodo birds are indeed very easy to raise! They have many feathers, lots of meat, and taste delicious." Zhu Yijun spoke endlessly about dodo bird farming. The dodo bird was also called the "dodo duck" by the Great Ming people; it was a treasure from head to toe.

Zhu Yijun talked about a lot of techniques for raising dodo birds—sites, disease prevention, breeding, etc. He had raised a batch himself and had a deep understanding of the breeding process.

"Your Majesty, I do not understand. A live duck costs over a hundred wen, but a roast duck costs less than thirty wen. How is it cheaper when cooked?" Qi Jiguang had lived in Beijing for many years, and the price of Beijing roast duck had been falling; now the price had dropped to around thirty wen.

This peculiar phenomenon left Qi Jiguang somewhat puzzled.

Zhu Yijun explained the reason. The cost of a dodo bird or duck is over eighty wen, and if it encounters an epidemic, it might be more expensive. It is extremely reasonable for the price of a live duck to be sold for over a hundred wen. The secret lies in the down, feathers, and duck parts.

Down is the most expensive, followed by feathers, and the "eight treasures of the duck"—duck neck, duck feet, duck tongue, duck intestine, duck gizzard, duck heart, duck blood, and duck oil—also sell for a good price.

Under these circumstances, the cost of a roast duck is about seventeen wen. Adding the charcoal, seasonings, etc., the final price can be around thirty wen.

Roast duck sells cheaply; these ducks are not force-fed, nor are they soaked in chemicals. It is just a peculiar phenomenon that appeared with the maturation of the industrial chain.

"In fact, raising sheep in Suiyuan didn't make money before. It was the improvement of the Great Ming's wool textile technology that gave wool a higher price. The profit from raising sheep began to gradually increase, and the border people in Suiyuan naturally hoped to raise sheep rather than horses." Zhu Yijun applied the reason why roast duck was cheap to explain why a large number of sheep were raised in Suiyuan.

Initially, the Great Ming's wool textile industry was harboring ulterior motives, somewhat wanting to see "sheep eat people," but twenty years later, looking back, it eventually became "sheep eat horses," not people.

The evolution of systems always tends toward the method of least resistance.

After conquering the Andahan Khan and the submission of Suiyuan, everyone chose a less strenuous method rather than slaughter. Slaughter intensifies contradictions and creates great resistance. "Sheep eat people" might consolidate the resistance will of the border people, but "sheep eat horses" is something everyone can accept.

Once the grassland people lose the mobility they are proud of and begin a settled life, they are no longer a threat to the Great Ming.

Zhu Yijun also understood the reason why the civilizing of Suiyuan was so smooth during the process of raising dodo birds.

"So even without the General's conquest, the Duke of Wencheng's wool textile official factory would have made the Northern Barbarians lose their sharp claws and teeth." After listening to the Emperor's explanation, Qi Jiguang felt a little emotional. Conquering the Andahan Khan seemed like a useless effort, and Wang Chonggu's wool textile official factory seemed more gentle.

Zhu Yijun waved his hands repeatedly and said: "Not at all. Military victory is the prerequisite for all of this!"

"Without military victory, how could the Northern Barbarians honestly just raise sheep and not horses? If the pasture and forage are not enough, they will go south to plunder, intensifying contradictions, and war will lead to the severance of trade routes."

"Without military victory, there is only one final result: history repeating itself, and the Great Ming and the Northern Barbarians continuing to fight this rotten war for another two hundred years."

"The 'Theory of Contradictions' tells me that the development of contradictions is extremely complex and fundamentally unpredictable."

Contradictions are divided into principal and secondary contradictions, containing too many variables, and each variable changes the contradiction. Contradictions have universality, complexity, and unpredictability.

The Great Ming and the remnants of the Hu Yuan had been fighting for two hundred years, gradually turning into a rotten war. Both sides were tired of fighting and needed a result.

That result being "all are Great Ming people" was clearly something everyone could accept.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for clearing my doubts." Qi Jiguang found that he was truly old; principles he could understand without thinking in the past now required the Emperor to explain them in detail.

"I take my leave." Qi Jiguang bowed again and left the Yanqing Palace Imperial Study. He went to fish in the Dragon Pond.

With His Majesty there, the storms outside could not blow on him.

The Emperor, the General, and the Grand Secretaries had completely overthought it. Regarding what happened in the East Flower Hall of the Yanqing Palace, all the ministers, eunuchs, and censors who knew about it chose to keep it buried in their stomachs. Even the eunuch who liked to chatter most chose to shut his mouth, refusing to say a single extra word.

Zhu Yijun placed the twelve-symbol imperial robe in the bedroom of the Imperial Study. Ministers coming to the Imperial Study would not go to the bedroom, avoiding similar incidents.

The renaming of the Yanqing Palace aroused the anger of the Six Ministries in Nanjing, who submitted memorials one after another to impeach the local officials of Songjiang Prefecture. How could a temporary palace be upgraded to a palace! This was simply not taking the Nanjing Six Ministries seriously. Doing so was wrong, and the name should be changed back.

If this were not stopped, it would be too late when a Minister of the Six Ministries of Songjiang appeared in the future!

Zhu Yijun stamped "I have noted" on each one. He then smiled and said to Zhang Hong: "The incompetent officials of Nanjing can only watch helplessly as Songjiang Prefecture succeeds, unable to do anything about it."

Nanjing was always a beat slow. The Emperor had already stayed in Songjiang Prefecture for the second time during his southern tour before Nanjing thought of inviting the Emperor to stay in Yingtian Prefecture and began to renovate the Mochou Lake temporary palace.

What were they doing earlier!

"The Nanjing ministers also have a point. Songjiang Prefecture is too close to the sea. If a maritime disaster were to occur, wouldn't it directly threaten the imperial carriage? In fact, Nanjing is very good; it can respond quickly and also maintain the safety of the imperial carriage." Zhang Hong felt that this point made by the Nanjing officials was very reasonable.

The Great Ming was powerful now, and its navy was strong, but there had never been an empire that was strong forever. Once the navy declined, the Emperor staying in the Yanqing Palace would have to face the threat from the sea directly.

Zhu Yijun said with great emotion: "This is why Emperor Chengzu Wen was determined to move the capital to the north. The Son of Heaven guarding the border can maintain the combat effectiveness of the army, preventing the border armies of the Great Tang from losing control, and also preventing the Great Song's policy of favoring civil officials over military ones, which led to military weakness."

In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, during the Battle of Songjin, Hong Chengchou led 130,000 troops in a meat-grinder battle against Huang Taiji around Jinzhou and Song Shan. The war lasted for two full years, with heavy casualties.

After these 130,000 men were lost, in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, Sun Chuanting raised another large army of over 100,000 men, intending to suppress Li Zicheng, but in the end, he still fell short, failing at the last moment.

Until Sun Chuanting died in battle, the Great Ming was only one year away from falling, yet it could still organize an army of over 100,000 loyal to the imperial court to fight.

This kind of control was extremely rare throughout the dynasties. Which dynasty could still raise 100,000 troops loyal to the imperial court when it was about to fall?

This miracle was certainly the success of the military colony and garrison system, but it also owed credit to Zhu Di moving the capital to the north.

Because the capital was on the border, the military threat was great, so even if they favored civil officials, it would not develop into the Great Song's policy of favoring civil officials over military ones.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were the two mountains that the Great Ming could not cross in military terms.

Zhu Yijun finally made up his mind to choose Songjiang Prefecture for his stay, also considering this aspect. While he was alive, the navy would guarantee combat effectiveness. If he died, with the auxiliary capital in Songjiang Prefecture, no matter how stupid his descendants were, could they still expose themselves to danger?

"I am dull-witted; Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Hong pondered carefully and understood the reason.