Chapter 250: Either or Not Multiple Choice Question

The next morning court.

Emperor Longwu, who had not slept all night, came to Fengtian Hall early and accepted the worship of all civil and military officials. After shouting for a long time, the civil and military officials were divided into two shifts. Zhang Zian, the eunuch in charge of the Sili Supervisor, shook the whisk in his hand, and took two steps forward and shouted in a sharp voice: "Xuan... Huang Degong, the general of Nanjing of the Ming Navy, and Shi Lang, the garrison of Zhenhai, saw..."

The civil and military officials turned their eyes to the entrance of the hall in unison.

Wang Pu, who was standing in the squad of military generals, couldn't help but change his face. He really didn't expect that the young Emperor Longwu would actually do this with him! Wang Pude admitted that Emperor Longwu's move was very beautiful. Compared with the General Officers of the Central Army, Zhao Xin, Tang Sheng and other generals, Huang Degong and Shi Lang were not Wang Pu's direct descendants, and it was easier to win over.

However, it is hard to say how much he could win over Huang Degong and Shi Lang in Fengtian Palace.

Amid the heavy footsteps, two majestic figures appeared at the entrance of the hall.

Seeing Huang Degong and Shi Lang actually went to court in the new military uniform of the CSKA, Wang Pu was stunned for a moment, but he would soon feel it. There was a hint of undetectable smile on his lips. Among all the troops of the Ming Dynasty, only the CSKA had changed into new military uniforms, and the guards and navy troops in various places were still wearing old combat robes.

Obviously, Emperor Longwu's summoning came very suddenly. Huang Degong and Shi Lang had no time to send news to Wang Pu first, and they could not refuse the emperor's summoning. So they had to borrow two new military uniforms from the Central Army, trying to show their loyalty in this way.

There is no doubt that Huang Degong and Shi Lang chose to be loyal to Wang Pu instead of Emperor Longwu.

In Huang Degong and Shi Lang's view, only Wang Pu could give them the stage and opportunity to display their talents, but the court could not give them anything! Both of them were smart people, and knew that if they left Wang Pu, they would be nothing, and even if Emperor Longwu supported them, they would not be able to do so.

Huang Degong and Shi Lang turned over and bowed at the entrance of the hall, knelt three times and kowtowed nine times and sang: "My name Huang Degong/My name Shi Lang, long live my emperor..."

Emperor Longwu happily reached out and said, "Two dear friends, please calm down."

"Long live thanks."

Huang Degong and Shi Lang thanked the emperor for their kindness and stood up respectfully and stood at the end of the palace.

Emperor Longwu said again: "Please come forward, two dear ministers."

Huang Degong and Shi Lang dared not resist the order, so they rushed to the hall in a few steps. After seeing the two of them clearly, Emperor Longwu couldn't help but be happy and praised: "It's a real tiger general."

Zhang Zian shook the whisk and shouted sharply: "Huang Degong, Shi Lang listened to the seal."

Huang Degong and Shi Lang hurriedly knelt under the elixir of the ground, not even breathing.

"Fengtian, Emperor Chengyun ordered: Huang Degong, the general of Nanjing, the Ming Navy, was appointed as the governor of Shi Lang, and was responsible for the army in Zhenhai, and was appointed as the boss of Jinghai, and was appointed as the governor of Nanjing Navy. He was awarded the first building of the house, with 500 taels of gold and 500 silk and satin. He also granted Shi Lang as the general of Zhenhai, and hanged the seal of the general of the Japanese, and gave him 100 taels of gold, 100 silk and satin, and 500 pieces of cotton cloth of Songjiang. He was awarded this."

The sound of the hall was lingering, and the civil and military officials in the court looked at each other in front of each other.

Zhang Zi'an walked to Huang Degong and Shi Lang with the imperial edict, but the two were so shocked that they did not dare to accept the edict for a long time. In terms of merit, such a reward was obviously over.

Except for Huang Degong and Shi Lang who were kneeling on the ground, almost everyone's eyes focused on Wang Pu. Emperor Longwu also looked at Wang Pu with a smile. They were all waiting to see Wang Pu's reaction. To everyone's expectations, Wang Pu smiled slightly and reminded him: "Huang Degong, Shi Lang, why don't you receive the order to thank me?"

Huang Degong and Shi Lang then took the imperial edict from Zhang Zi'an, kowtowed and sang: "I will thank my emperor Long's kindness."

Emperor Longwu said happily: "Two beloved ministers are in a state of peace."

At that moment, an eunuch came forward to lead Shi Lang out of Fengtian Hall, and Huang Degong was directly led to the ranks of military generals. He had just been named Jing Haibo and was already a court honoree, and was qualified to attend the court meeting like Wang Pu.

Then Zhang Zian stepped forward and shouted sharply: "Long live the order, report it early if you have something to do, and leave the court if you have nothing to do..."

"Long live the memorial, I have this memorial."

Wu Yingji, the head of the Ministry of Rites, took the lead and knelt down above Danmu.

Wu Yingji was a Confucian scholar in Fushe. In his early years, he attacked Ruan Dacheng's "Liudu Prevention of Chaos" was drafted by him. He was considered a celebrity in Nanjing. Although he was not from a Jinshi, he became the head of the Ministry of Rites because of his identity as a party member of Donglin.

Emperor Longwu said: "What's the matter?"

Wu Yingji said: "Long live, the six ministries, the Censorate, the Thirteen Departments, the institutions of the thirteen departments are bloated and their functions are overlapping, so that people are overwhelmed and their efficiency is inefficient. Since the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, our Ming Dynasty has been constantly suffering from natural disasters and man-made disasters. The five northern provinces are even more rampant with Jiansen and thieves. Now is the time to work hard to govern and save expenses."

Emperor Longwu frowned and said, "So what?"

Wu Yingji said: "I think the staffing of the six ministries' Censorate should be reduced by at least two-thirds, and the Thirteen Departments should be abolished. The supervision function is exercised by the Censorate. In this way, the various yamen will lose more disputes, the efficiency of work will be greatly improved, and the court's salary and expenses will be greatly reduced!"

Emperor Longwu's brows frowned in an instant. There must be a behind-the-scenes pusher in this matter, otherwise Wu Yingji, the small head of the Ministry of Rites, would never dare to propose such a proposal of "infringing public anger"! The behind-the-scenes pusher can only be Donglin Fushe, or Sun Chuanting, whose purpose is nothing more than to squeeze out the Enke Jinshi who had recently been added to the Nanjing officialdom.

In counterattack, Emperor Longwu easily regarded Wu Yingji's proposal as a counterattack between Sun Chuanting and the Donglin Party.

"Just!" Gao Hongtu retorted, "When the new dynasty was first decided, when more than 600 Donglin Party members were added to the Sixth Ministry's Censorate, why didn't anyone ask for a reduction in staffing? Why did the more than 100 Jinshi of the Encao were just added to the various yamen? Some people proposed to reduce staffing? It also called reducing expenditures. How much salary can abolition of hundreds of officials save?"

Shi Kefa also gave a speech: "The salary of our Ming officials was very low. Even if they were first-rank officials, they would only be more than a thousand taels of silver per year. The annual salary of seventh-rank officials was only 180 taels. Even if all the seven or eight hundred officials in the court were reduced, how much money could they save in a year?"

Shi Kefa said that he was deliberately paused and said in a solemn tone: "Long live, dear sir, all the officials in the court have a salary of only one yuan per year, which is less than the salary paid by a battalion of the Central Army for half a year!"

"That's right." Gao Hongtu said with a grief-like look on his face, "The Central Army of Jingnan Hou should really reduce its expenditures. The Central Army has become a heavy burden for the court! The annual income of the court is still insufficient to support the 100,000 Central Army, and we can't do anything else."

Gao Hongtu obviously intends to lead the topic in the direction they expect.

"Sun Ge Lao." Gao Hongtu's target suddenly turned to Sun Chuanting and asked sternly, "I heard that after the Central Army's Northern Expedition failed, each soldier still had ten taels of silver rewards, and the 500,000 army would be 500,000 taels of silver! After the Zuo Liangyu rebellion, each soldier had twenty taels of silver rewards, which would be another one million taels of silver! The Xiaguan wanted to ask Sun Ge Lao, the Ministry of Revenue could give 1.5 million taels of silver to reward the soldiers of the Central Army, but he could not give 100,000 taels of silver to the six officials, the Censorate and the Thirteen Departments and the Taoist Office of the Thirteen Departments?"

Sun Chuanting was speechless. He couldn't argue about this matter without wanting to argue. The central military paid a lot of money and rewarded lots of silver had long been famous. In Wang Pu's words, silver is combat power. In ancient times when there was lack of ideology and awareness, if an army wanted to have strong combat power, it could only use silver to smash it.

"My dear sirs, the Ministry of Revenue has no money for a long time!" Gao Hongtu said and suddenly burst into tears. "Long live to repair the bedroom, and he has to lend the money from King Jian'an. Ten days later, the main hall of Marquis Jingnan and His Highness, the expenses of wedding banquets and dowry expenses were still borrowed by the Duke of Wei. I don't know who to borrow the money from the selected women? The treasury is so empty, it is the crime of our ministers!"

"We must stop the national policy of military military affairs!"

At the end, Gao Hongtu almost roared, "Ask peace talks, immediately send a condemnation mission to negotiate peace talks with the Qing Dynasty, and also significantly reduce the rewards of the Central Army. One million taels will be used for the wedding of the eldest princess, the selection of eunuchs, and the repair of palaces. The most urgent task now is not to be in war, but to rest with the people. What is the rest of the people! Dear lords, you can't fight anymore. Long live the emperor and all the adults have to go out to beg for the streets!"

Wang Pu felt cold in his heart, and Gao Hongtu finally couldn't help but jump out.

If Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu are the pro-war faction, then Gao Hongtu is now a clear-cut pro-political faction. Next, it depends on who joins Gao Hongtu's camp. This group of people is the target Wang Pu wants to deal with.

More than a dozen Jinshis qualified to attend the court meeting went out to echo Gao Hongtu. On the contrary, the Minister of Works Ma Shiying had no words. The Minister of War Shi Kefaze returned to the court without saying a word. The expression on his face seemed to disagree with Gao Hongtu's proposal for peace.

Qian Qianyi looked at Wang Pu with a consulting gaze, but Wang Pu shook his head in slightest.

The good show has just begun. Gao Hongtu's camp seems far from enough to compete with the Sun Wang group. Those hostile forces with deep hidden depths dare not easily expose their political tendencies. If Gao Hongtu is dealt with too early, there will be no way to capture all these potential hostile forces.

After stopping Qian Qianyi and Lu Daqi, Wang Pu himself stood up unexpectedly: "Mr. Gao, as long as the emperor approved the report, you will negotiate peace if you want to negotiate peace. If you want to send a condemnation mission, you will send a condemnation mission. This marquis is absolutely true, but if you want to reduce the rewards of the Central Army, you will not even have any door!"

"Marquis." Gao Hongtu said coldly, "In order to support the Central Army's Northern Expedition and pacify Zuo Liangyu's rebellion, Sun Ge Lao allocated all the money and grains that the Ministry of Revenue to the Central Army. If the Central Army's rewards were not reduced, what would the imperial court choose to select the show girls? What would the princess get for the wedding? What would the palace repair the palace?"

"I don't care about this." Wang Pu said arrogantly, "If anyone wants to reduce the rewards of the Central Army, he has to ask whether the 100,000 Central Army soldiers agree."

"You..." Gao Hongtu said angrily, "You are a threat!"

Wang Pu counterattacked: "Mr. Gao, the soldiers of the Central Army fought bloody battles and killed the enemy with their heads. Shouldn't this reward of thirty taels of silver? If you want to cut expenses, why not cut the silver for repairing the palace? Why not cut the expenses for the selection of women? Why not cut the expenses for the eldest princess' wedding?"

"Wang Pu!" Gao Hongtu said angrily, "Do you still have the Lord in your eyes? How can you reduce the cost of the royal family?"

"Why can't the royal family be reduced?" Wang Pu said in a hungry voice, "Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world. As the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he should bear greater responsibilities! It is now a turbulent time, and all the fees are extremely tight. What palaces should be built well? What palace maids should be chosen? Speaking of the princess' wedding and the selection of beautiful girls, this marquis also has something to say!"

Wang Pu's last words were said to Emperor Longwu.

Emperor Longwu was furious, but asked quietly on his face: "Please tell me if you are my dear."

"Long live." Wang Pu bowed to Emperor Longwu and said, "I think the age limit for the marriage of men and women stated in the Ming Dynasty is extremely inappropriate, so it should be modified! For example, a man's marriage period should be increased to twenty years old, and a woman's wedding period should be increased to eighteen years old! Also, the selection of a beautiful girl can be settled. If the Emperor reaches the age of twenty, he can naturally choose the daughter he likes to be regarded as a concubine. As for the labor service in the palace, he can summon secular women in Beijing to serve as a person. Why waste the youth of thousands of young women for this?"

Wang Pu's words were shocking. Emperor Longwu and all the civil and military officials were shocked to speak at that time.

Qian Qianyi and Lu Daqi were in a panic. According to the plan, these two proposals should be proposed by the Donglin pawns they arranged, and then they mobilized the Donglin party members to create momentum. In the end, the cabinet decided that there was room for buffering in doing things. If the opposition was too fierce, the Donglin pawns who proposed the proposal could still be sacrificed to restore the situation if necessary.

But now Wang Pu directly expressed these two proposals, which not only disrupted the overall plan of Qian Qianyi and Lu Daqi, but also blocked his retreat. From now on, things have become either one or the other multiple-choice questions. Either the collapse of the Sun Wang group or Emperor Longwu was completely undermined. All the civil and military officials in the court must make clear choices, and it is difficult to get away with it.

Only Sun Chuanting, who is familiar with Wang Pu's personality, guessed Wang Pu's intention.

Sun Chuanting snatched out of the squad in a tacit understanding and said furiously: "Rareless! The Ming Dynasty's rule was decided by Emperor Hongwu. It has been almost three hundred years since the escape. How can you allow you to blaspheme at will! Why don't you shut up with me quickly!"

In the eyes of Gao Hongtu and others, Sun Chuanting's harsh scolding was blatant to protecting his shortcomings, and his purpose was nothing more than to exonerate Wang Pu's guilt.

However, beyond Gao Hongtu and others' expectations, Wang Pu did not accept Sun Chuanting's affection at all, and said arrogantly: "Bad blasphemy, what's wrong with Emperor Hongwu? Emperor Hongwu is almost 300 years old now, so he can predict what is happening today? Could the ancients' words must be the golden rule?"
Chapter completed!