From arriving in Liaodong in August of the 20th year of Wanli to returning to Daming at the end of March of the 21st year of Wanli, Xiao Ruxun used eight months to end the war that had been going on and off for five or six years in another time and space. The end of the war also meant the first failure of Japan's mainland policy and the complete collapse of its invasion plan. Daming had maintained its authority and status, and declared to the world that it was still the powerful and invincible Celestial Empire.
Xiao Ruxun had three main purposes in leading the war. One was to frustrate Japan's wild ambition, the other was to drive the tiger to swallow the wolf, so that the Jianzhou Guard Girls would not grow up in vain, and the third was to end the war as soon as possible so that Daming would not suffer too many losses. Xiao Ruxun had achieved these three strategic goals perfectly. Daming did not sink into the quagmire of war like before. For Xiao Ruxun, the purpose of this war had been achieved.
Japan was split into three parts. The Jianzhou Guard Girls had lost more than four thousand elite cavalrymen, and more than two thousand who had broken arms and legs. That was equivalent to six thousand strong men being destroyed. More than a third of Nurhaci's elite forces had been destroyed. Their vitality was greatly damaged, and they could not continue to fight for a while. Moreover, General Daming rewarded them according to their contributions and some silver could not help Nurhaci recover.
The loss of population, especially the loss of elite cavalrymen, was particularly serious for a small tribe like Nurhaci. Although Nurhaci knew that he could get a lot of silver, he still could not be happy. On the other hand, Li Rusong was so happy that he felt that he would definitely be conferred the title of nobility after making such a great contribution. At that time, he would not be lower than Xiao Ruxun. Li Rusong and his son would be conferred the title of nobility. How glorious that would be!
The army left Korea by ship in batches and headed directly for Tientsin Garrison on the coast of Northern Zhili. After arriving at Tientsin Garrison, the army regrouped and slowly headed for the capital. In the capital, the Emperor would come out to welcome them in person to show off the army's great achievements and show his honor to the generals.
At this moment, it was the most glorious time for the generals. The civil officials also needed to be polite to the generals who had made great contributions. Of course, this was only limited to the generals who had made great contributions. The civil marshals were not included in this category. Generally speaking, the civil marshals who had made great contributions would immediately fall into the hell of impeachment.
Any small matter that occurred in the course of the war that might cause the civil marshal's achievements to be discounted would be magnified and then picked out. Pointing at these trivial matters, they would accuse the civil marshal of harboring evil intentions. The powerful officials of the cabinet would then use this opportunity to suppress the civil marshal. Back then, Wang Yangming had been suppressed in a place like this, unable to fulfill his political ambitions for the rest of his life. It was truly a pity.
Song Yingchang had long since anticipated this attack, so he had long ago sent a letter back to the capital and mobilized his connections. Xiao Ruxun had also used the connections he had in the capital to move against Song Yingchang, doing his best to prevent Song Yingchang from staying in the capital to take up a post in the capital. Both of them had their own ideas.
However, the chaos in the capital at this moment had far exceeded anyone's initial expectations. Whether it was Wang Xijue or Zhu Yijun, they had never imagined that the capital would be so chaotic. It was far beyond their imagination, and they had never imagined that the court officials would retaliate so strongly. They even ignored the victory ceremony and demanded an explanation from the Emperor no matter what.
The one who dealt a heavy blow to Zhu Yijun was his mother, the Empress Dowager Li. She had sent a decree to ask the Emperor who he planned to make the Crown Prince. Her words revealed a hint of ridicule. Zhu Yijun was rather flustered and exasperated. He had Wang Xijue secretly attack the Emperor and angrily rebuked him, asking what exactly was his idea? Why did the court officials react so fiercely? Why did even the Empress Dowager mock the Emperor?
As a result, the play that Zhu Yijun had arranged for the Empress to thank the Emperor became a joke. The Emperor's face had been damaged. How could the Emperor accept this?
Wang Xijue returned to the Cabinet dejectedly, sighing endlessly. The Vice Minister of the Cabinet, Zhao Zhigao, comforted him, "The court officials are turbulent. The struggle for the foundation of the country has dragged on for a long time. There are many tricks in the court. How can the court officials not be angry?"
Wang Xijue sighed and said, "The strangest thing today is that the world will want to rebel against the right and wrong in the court."
No one knew when it started, but the officials all believed that opposing the decisions made by the Emperor was the most correct. Not opposing the decisions made by the Emperor was incorrect. Submitting a memorial to scold the Emperor was politically correct, while agreeing with the Emperor was a dishonorable move to please the Emperor. In short, they had to oppose the decisions made by the Emperor, stop the things that the Emperor wanted to do, and refute the Emperor's words.
They really didn't know who ruled the world!
Gu Xiancheng, the Officer of the Examination Department of the Ministry of Appointments, was reporting to the Cabinet. After hearing this, he immediately ridiculed, "I see that the world will want to rebel against the right and wrong in the court!
It's not that we want to oppose the Emperor. It's that the Emperor wants to oppose what the world thinks is right and wrong! It's the Emperor who wants to oppose the world! "
Hearing such righteous and awe-inspiring words, Wang Xijue's heart did not waver. He even wanted to laugh.
"You can represent the world?"
Gu Xiancheng said without any shame, "I should disappoint the world!"
"Can you replace an illiterate farmer or a peasant woman? The people you disappoint are the landlords and aristocrats! "
Gu Xiancheng's expression changed. His anger flared and he actually flicked his sleeves and left.
Although Wang Xijue wanted to reprimand him, he also understood that his current identity on the street would not be able to regain credibility no matter what. Everyone thought of him as the Emperor's dog. Wang Xijue's credibility and prestige were once again seriously questioned. There were already people shouting the slogan "the Emperor's dog Wang Xijue". Presumably, there would be people calling for Wang Xijue to be removed from office and replace him with a new Cabinet Chief.
However, it was a good thing that the Cabinet Chief was not a position that just anyone could take. It was fine if these people did not want Wang Xijue, but who could they find to replace him? Currently, there were only three people in the Cabinet. Other than Wang Xijue and Zhao Zhigao, there was also Zhang Wei. If Wang Xijue were to step down, according to the rules, the muddle-headed Mister Zhao Zhigao would be the Cabinet Chief. At that time, he would still be the Emperor's marionette. How could they play?
However, in the current situation, the officials were enraged, the Empress Dowager was fanning the flames, and the Emperor was furious. As the Cabinet Chief, he was stuck in the middle and could not move. Ever since the Cabinet Chief was created, he had never been in such a difficult situation. Yan Song still had his own Yan Party to rely on, but Wang Xijue did not have his own Royal Party to rely on. Under such circumstances, Wang Xijue really wanted to retreat.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
