The imperial court sent me south to lead an expedition against Dongwu Country.
This sentence made the originally harmonious atmosphere at the dining table strange.
It was quiet for a while.
"What? One and a half months? South to lead an expedition against Dongwu Country? No, Si, didn't you just come back from the Wei Nation? Why are you leaving again? "
"That's right! Si, you just came back victorious, and the imperial court is not without capable generals. Why did they only give you one and a half months' leave and then lead the troops south? And in such a southern place too? This is against the rules! There is no rule to lead the troops south immediately after a general returns! "
"That's right, Si. What did the imperial court say? This is too unreasonable! Fourth Sister is still pregnant and is about to give birth. The imperial court won't stop you from holding a one-month banquet, right? Then why did the imperial court give us three months' leave? We came back to reunite with our family. If we can't reunite with our family, what's the point of this holiday? "
The eldest brother, second brother, and third brother were very angry and felt it was unfair for Xiao Ruxun. Only his father was calmer. He slammed the table and calmed the three brothers down.
"Shut up! The imperial court's order is His Majesty's order, and His Majesty's order is the imperial edict. As generals, we must obey His Majesty's order! This is the rule! If we break this rule, none of us will have a good life! In the future, be it in public or in private, even if we are only talking to our own family, I will not allow you to speak ill of His Majesty! Do you understand? "
Xiao Wenkui was unprecedentedly serious. Xiao Ruxun felt that he was right to be serious. In this country of spies, you would never know if there were Imperial Bodyguards or spies from the East Faction Guards around you. Even in the current Xiao Residence, were there really no spies from the Emperor or other important figures? With Xiao Ruxun's current status and situation, the possibility was not low.
In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang was in a frenzied state of purging and killing. All the officials felt insecure and did not dare to say a word at home. The Imperial Bodyguard of that era was as pervasive as cockroaches. That was the era when one really needed to be cautious. However, times were different, and so were the circumstances.
Unlike the early Ming Dynasty, the Emperor's control over the country and the officials depended on the strength and power that the Emperor held. Zhu Yuanzhang had almost everything in his hands, so when he killed his meritorious officials, no one dared to resist. Zhu Di also had almost everything in his hands, so even if he killed ten of Fang Xiaoru's clans, even if he conquered the Mobei Desert five times, his empire was still stable. But as time went on, the Emperors gradually lost control over their officials.
The Tumu Castle incident was a turning point. It indicated that the Ming Dynasty Emperors began to lose control of the officials' power. The spear that the Emperor relied on to fight against the civil officials was taken away by the civil officials. Emperor Jingtai was like an obedient little quail in front of Yu Qian. Whether it was the restoration of Emperor Yingzong or the ascension of the new Emperor, this situation could not be changed. It was not until the Jiajing Emperor used the Great Ceremony Incident to regain part of his authority that he was able to suppress his officials again.
However, this suppression also failed because the Jiajing Emperor did not support the civil officials in time to fight against them. The Jiajing Emperor hated eunuchs and did not give them real power. He did not like military affairs and did not give the generals a chance to turn around. So the civil officials were only confused for twenty years. After twenty years, the Jiajing Emperor's routine was figured out, and the civil officials began to fight back again.
This time, even the Imperial Bodyguard was infiltrated.
At the critical moment, Zhang Juzheng, the animal trainer, appeared. Yes, he was a civil official, but as the highest civil official who was the closest to the prime minister or even surpassed the prime minister, he should have been the leader of the civil officials. However, because of the reform, he became the mortal enemy of most of the civil officials, so he was also the Emperor's natural ally.
He helped the Emperor regain the Imperial Bodyguard and part of his authority. Unfortunately, young Wanli was successfully brainwashed by the civil officials, and almost all of Zhang Juzheng's efforts were destroyed. When he woke up, it was too late to regret it. He only had two forces, the Imperial Bodyguard and the East Faction Guards, left in his hands.
So now, the civil officials were almost not worried that they would be monitored by the Imperial Bodyguard, and the generals were not worried about the Imperial Bodyguard, but the spies of the civil officials. Although those pervasive guys were not the Imperial Bodyguard, they did the same thing as the Imperial Bodyguard, which was to suppress the generals. However, they were also worried that some overly powerful generals might appear and steal the authority, so they had to suppress them in advance.
Now the people they were most afraid of were not the father and son of the Li family, but the father and son of the Xiao family. Now, they had reunited the father and son, and they probably had other intentions.
Xiao Wenkui had been in the capital for decades, so he was very clear about this. He had also seen with his own eyes the people of the Dingguo family find out a spy who worked for an unknown person and beat him to death, killing the chicken to scare the monkey. But except for the five top aristocratic families, no other generals dared to do this.
Nowadays, the generals of the Daming Dynasty were not much better than the generals of the Song Dynasty. The difference was only in the depth of the degree and the traditional view. Of course, there were still a few families that had a little bit of face.
The Xiao brothers weren't stupid. When they saw their father winking at them, they immediately came to a realization. Everyone obediently shut their mouths and sat down. Even so, they didn't know where to vent their anger. However, when they calmed down and thought about it carefully, they felt that this matter wasn't a bad thing.
"For us generals, having a war to fight is the best thing. Without a war to fight, there is no need for us generals to exist. Having a war to fight is always better than having no war to fight."
Xiao Ruzhi said.
"It is indeed a good thing to have a war to fight, but there is no need to do it like this. There has never been such a precedent in the past. After a war here, there is another war there. When has the Daming Dynasty ever had such a precedent? Moreover, they have used the same general twice, and the duration is only one and a half months. Unless the entire southern border is in a state of emergency, then it is understandable to urgently use a general. But right now, it is only a matter of Yunnan Province, and I have not even heard of it. This proves that it is not a big deal. Why are they so anxious to have Si go on a southern expedition?"
Xiao Ruhui said in a cold voice, "Isn't it obvious? Anyone with discerning eyes can see it. It is just that we do not say it. If we expose it, it will do no good to anyone! "
After saying this, Xiao Ruhui looked at Xiao Ruxun and said, "Si, since this matter is already irreversible, you should go and talk to Fourth Sister. These days, Fourth Sister has suffered the most. Moreover, in less than one and a half months, you have to go on another expedition, and it is to such a far place. Once you go, you do not know when you will return. You should accompany Fourth Sister more."
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