"Xiao Ruxun cannot stay in the capital to prevent the Emperor from having other ideas. However, we cannot suppress Xiao Ruxun either openly or secretly, lest the Emperor be dissatisfied. After all, I am not the Daming Son of Heaven. The Daming World still belongs to the Emperor. It does not matter if I suppress Xiao Ruxun, but you, who are following the imperial edict, will severely offend the Emperor. The Emperor will think that you are adding insult to injury, which will make the Emperor even more resentful. I am afraid that your future will be bleak."
Wang Xijue's heart trembled. He hurriedly said, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, for the reminder."
"Then, is there any place that Xiao Ruxun can go that won't make the emperor unhappy?"
Wang Xijue thought for a moment and suddenly remembered that the Ministry of War had mentioned that the southwest Dongwu Kingdom was constantly invading the Yunnan border. The Governor of Yunnan, Chen Yongbin, had written a request to the imperial court to send soldiers and pay to help the Yunnan border soldiers defeat the Dongwu Kingdom and ensure the stability of the Yunnan border.
The Ministry of War had just received a large sum of money from Shi Xing during the spoils distribution meeting of the Six Ministers. Originally, the Ministry of War had planned to buy some new weapons and make special adjustments based on the complaints of the frontline officers about the lack of practicality of the firearms during the Battle of Korea. However, considering that the Dongwu Kingdom had gone too far and kept invading the border for more than a decade, and that they did not know what was good for them, someone in the Ministry of War suggested using the power of the victory to completely solve the problem of the Dongwu Kingdom.
Wang Xijue thought that he could transfer Xiao Ruxun away from the capital and make it difficult for the Emperor to handle the situation alone. At the same time, he could also use Xiao Ruxun's ability to the best of his ability. Therefore, he decisively made a suggestion. "Empress Dowager, recently, the Governor of Yunnan, Chen Yongbin, wrote a letter saying that the southwest foreign country, Dongwu Kingdom, has once again sent soldiers to our Daming border.
In view of the fact that the Dongwu Kingdom has been harassing the borders of Yunnan and killing our people for more than ten years, they are extremely hateful and refuse to mend their ways. Previously, the national treasury of the Daming Kingdom was empty and we were unable to launch an all-out counterattack. Now that the national treasury is full, why don't we let Xiao Ruxun lead the troops to Yunnan and finish off the Dongwu Kingdom once and for all? What does Empress Dowager think? "
Empress Dowager Li didn't have any ideas on how to use troops, but she knew that Xiao Ruxun had brought ten million taels of silver to the Great Ming Dynasty. The Great Ming Dynasty's accounts suddenly became a lot more comfortable. Many things that couldn't be done before could now be done. Right now, the national treasury was full, so she might as well take advantage of the fact that those blood-sucking worms had yet to react and use this silver first. It was better to use it to expand the territory and solve the problems at the border than to let it be embezzled.
Empress Dowager Li nodded in agreement.
"In this case, Minister Wang, why don't we just confer the title of Marquis on Xiao Ruxun and then send him to the southwest to lead the troops to pacify the Dongwu Kingdom. This is considered making the best use of his manpower. Let's see if we can get some more money for the Daming. If possible, it doesn't matter if we confer him the title of Prefectural Duke. What do you think, Minister Wang?"
Wang Xijue didn't have any objections, so he said, "Since Empress Dowager has spoken, I will naturally obey. Let's confer the title of Marquis on Xiao Ruxun. He will be rewarded with land, gold, silver, and jewelry. His wife, Xiao Yang, will be a second-rank Imperial Madam and will be allowed to have two sons. In addition, he will be given the title of Commander of the Yunnan Border Army. He will be assigned to his post regularly to pacify the Dongwu Kingdom for the Daming."
Empress Dowager Li nodded with satisfaction. "In this way, we won't hurt the Emperor's heart. This is also considered making the best use of his manpower. This Xiao Ruxun is quite capable. Daming has so many generals who only know how to fight wars for money. Not only does Xiao Ruxun not want money, but he also gives money to the Daming's family. The Emperor has a good eye for talent. He just can't control the people around him, and he can't control his own mouth. Otherwise, he wouldn't be in trouble today. Minister Wang, don't you think so?"
Wang Xijue wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. He understood what Empress Dowager Li was implying. He knew what to do now that his life was saved. He nodded and said, "Empress Dowager Li is right."
"Yes." Empress Dowager Li nodded with a cold smile. She then asked, "What about the other meritorious officials and generals? Do you have a plan on how to reward them? "
"The other generals are easy to reward, but I don't know how to reward Song Yingchang, the Military Administrator. Before Song Yingchang left for the war, he was already the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War. After that, he would be the Minister of War. However, the current Minister of War, Shi Xing, has not made any mistakes and has made great contributions. Now, I am in a dilemma. Song Yingchang has made great contributions and must be rewarded. However, Shi Xing has also made contributions and has not made any mistakes.
"Why should I demote Shi Xing? Can't I just give Song Yingchang a new position? Are there any Ministers of the Six Ministries who have unclear achievements, made many mistakes, and are corrupt? "
Empress Dowager Li was swift and decisive.
"Yes, if you insist on saying so, then the Minister of Works and the Minister of Justice do not have obvious achievements. They usually do not do much, but …"
"But what? I have heard that among the Six Ministries, the Ministry of Personnel is the most important, the Ministry of Works the least, and the Ministry of Justice the lowest. The Ministers of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice do not have much say and their positions are not very important. Since we can't touch the Ministry of War and the other three ministries, let's touch the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice! "
Hearing Empress Dowager Li speak so easily, Wang Xijue could not help but roll his eyes.
"Empress Dowager, the Minister of Personnel, Chen Younian, resigned a few days ago. The officials are discussing whether Sun Piyang, the Minister of Justice, should be transferred to the Minister of Personnel to take charge of the Ministry of Personnel. The vacant Minister of Justice position can be given to Song Yingchang."
Empress Dowager Li frowned.
"Chen Younian? Why did he resign? "
Wang Xijue still felt a little guilty because this matter was also related to him. That day when he was in the Cabinet fighting for Zhu Yijun, it was heard by Gu Xiancheng. Gu Xiancheng mocked Wang Xijue and Wang Xijue could not stand it, so he retorted. Who knew that Gu Xiancheng was so angry when he went back that he submitted a petition to impeach Wang Xijue, which happened to hit the muzzle of Zhu Yijun. Zhu Yijun waved his pen and dismissed Gu Xiancheng as a commoner, never to be employed again.
This made the old fuddy-duddy Chen Younian unhappy. I'm the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. You didn't even greet me before demoting my subordinate. Aren't you looking down on me a little too much? Chen Younian was unhappy and submitted a petition to resign. At this time, the Emperor was planning a coup and ignored him. Chen Younian was very unhappy and submitted seven petitions to resign, but Zhu Yijun still ignored him. Now this matter fell to the Cabinet, Wang Xijue was having a headache.
"Empress Dowager, this person is fighting for the Minister of Personnel, Gu Xiancheng, who was demoted by the Emperor."
Empress Dowager Li frowned as soon as she heard this. "A dignified Heavenly Official is fighting for an official and resigning. Is there anything more important than official duties? What is the use of such an official who does not care about the overall situation? If Master Zhang was still here, how could there be such an official? Bastard! If he wants to resign, then we'll allow it. Let him go! Moreover, you are not allowed to give him the treatment of a Minister. He is a demoted official and will never be used again! "
Wang Xijue finally experienced the power of Daming's Iron Triangle. That year, Daming's Iron Triangle ran amok in the world. Everywhere they went, incompetent officials were removed from their positions. The imperial court turned losses into profits and had a lot of financial surplus, enough to support the imperial court for several years. Unfortunately, when Zhang Juzheng died, the reform was over. In fact, Wang Xijue himself admired Zhang Juzheng. Unfortunately, Zhang Juzheng had died and offended too many people. Zhang Juzheng had to die.
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