The shattered teacup lay in front of Zhao Zhigao and Shen Li, making them tremble in fear.
"The soldiers at the border can't even eat, so how can they fight a war! They can't even stand up! No wonder they're in such a crushing defeat! You bastards hide in the capital and feast on fish and meat, but you dare to starve my soldiers! What are your intentions?! Are you tired of having your head on your neck for too long?! "
The Emperor was truly enraged, and the two were so frightened that they kneeled on the ground again. Zhao Zhigao hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, do you remember the debate this old subject and Zhang Wei had in front of you? This old subject wanted to immediately transport the grain to the border of Datong, but Zhang Wei obstructed it. This old subject was incapable and couldn't suppress him. "
Zhu Yijun suddenly recalled the argument between Zhang Wei and Zhao Zhigao ten-some days ago and was instantly stunned.
At the time, Zhao Zhigao had strongly advocated for the grain to be transported to the border, but Zhang Wei had argued against it. He advocated for the grain to be transported outside the capital to provide relief to the people of the capital. The reason was that if the people of the capital rebelled due to hunger, it would directly threaten the capital. Datong could at least hold on for a little longer and wait for the next batch.
At the time, he had also considered that the people of the capital were closer to the capital. If they rebelled, the capital would not be safe, and the Emperor would lose face. Thus, he didn't know how to deal with it, and later forgot about it.
But …
Now that he thought about it, how could the threat of the people compare to that of the Mongolians? If the people rebelled, it was enough to mobilize the Imperial Army to control the situation. There was still room to salvage the situation. At worst, they could just send all the grain to Myanmar. But the Mongolians … they were fatal!
As Zhu Yijun inwardly blamed himself for being muddle-headed, he also hated Zhang Wei even more for misleading him.
"Where is Zhang Wei?"
"Your Majesty, this old subject wishes to submit a memorial to Zhang Wei!"
Zhao Zhigao's sudden words left Zhu Yijun dumbfounded.
"The nation is in danger, and you still want to fight?!"
"Your Majesty, I'm already old, and I don't have much time left. I'm really not fighting for power, but for this national affair! Because Zhang Wei saw that the old minister was getting old, he coveted the position of First Minister while holding the position of Second Minister. He only wanted to make political achievements and gain the support of the ministers, as well as the favor of His Majesty, so he acted recklessly!
This time, this old minister wanted the Ministry of Revenue to follow this old minister's request and immediately send provisions to Datong, ignoring Zhang Wei. However, Zhang Wei has interfered in the matter, stubbornly singing a different tune from this old minister.
The hateful officials, seeing that this old minister is old and useless, think that Zhang Wei will definitely be the next First Minister. They don't have time to curry favor with Zhang Wei, and actually go against this old minister's orders, disregarding this old minister's orders. This old minister is incompetent, and can't even work for Your Majesty. Your Majesty, please execute this old minister to vent your anger! "
Hearing this, Shen Li's eyes widened. After thinking for a while, she was even more surprised. She really couldn't tell that Old Zhao was so ruthless and cunning. He wanted to kill Zhang Wei!
Usually, it was very difficult for the Emperor to kill someone, but it was different now. The Mongolians had invaded the border, and Datong had been routed, and the ministers were all in danger.
If the biggest victim, Zhu Yijun, wanted to kill someone, no one dared to stop him. No one would stop him, not to the extent of not even giving him a chance to vent his anger. They were afraid that the Emperor would completely fall out with the ministers, and that would be the end.
At this time, if the Emperor wanted to kill someone, the ministers would only use him as a scapegoat, hoping that the Emperor would kill him, so that everyone's life would be better, even if he was a cabinet minister.
Just as well, there's a hole for every carrot. If one dies, we can get another. Maybe even if the Emperor didn't kill him, they would still move around and kill one or two ministers to make room.
This was called looking for opportunities in a crisis, turning an unfavorable situation into a favorable one. Mature politicians were very good at doing this, and it was a very valuable personal awareness.
Now Zhao Zhigao played the pity card, which made Zhu Yijun, who originally only wanted to drive Zhang Wei away, even more certain that Zhang Wei was mainly responsible for this matter. He bullied and humiliated the old First Minister, abused his power, and wantonly ordered the lower officials like they were his servants, all of which violated the Emperor's taboo.
There was also the fact that Zhang Wei had previously led a group of ministers to force the Emperor to appoint a crown prince, and when he wanted to become the First Minister, he was eager to curry favor with the Emperor. In a moment of dizziness, he actually punished a few Imperial Censors who tried to harass the Emperor. He couldn't curry favor with both sides, and he really didn't know what to do.
If it wasn't for the fact that he didn't have any powerful competitors and that the Jiangxi officials in the court all supported him, perhaps he really wouldn't have any hope of becoming the First Minister.
However, the problem was that Zhang Wei wanted to be the First Minister too much, loved power too much, and even liked to form cliques to pursue personal interests. It seemed that he was drawing closer to Zhang Juzheng. The Emperor was such a sensitive person, how could he not sense Zhang Wei's ambition?
Just now, Zhao Zhigao had acted pitiful and ruthlessly pushed Zhang Wei, who was originally already at the edge of the cliff, completely sending him into the bottomless abyss.
Shen Li quietly looked at Zhu Yijun, who had an extremely bad expression.
The Emperor was still young and had not been tempered in the officialdom, so he was easily fooled. However, what Zhao Zhigao did was not wrong. Shen Li also felt that Zhang Wei really deserved to die. In order to make him the First Minister, he almost sacrificed all the people in Shanxi.
Which First Minister needed millions of people as sacrifices to become a First Minister? If there was, the Daming Dynasty would have been finished long ago.
However, in this way, it more or less felt like the fox mourning the death of the rabbit.
"Order the Imperial Bodyguards of the East Faction Guards to quickly arrest Zhang Wei, dismiss him from his post, and put him in prison. Search his house, confiscate all his property, and put him in prison together with his family, regardless of age or gender. We will make a decision after the truth is found out in the future!"
Although the enraged Zhu Yijun said that the truth would be found out in the future, the truth was in Zhao Zhigao's mouth. In Zhu Yijun's own heart, Zhang Wei would definitely die.
"Zhao Zhigao, I will not say anything else. I have already taken down Zhang Wei. What do you plan to do about the Mongolians? Don't give me any more empty promises. I want to hear a practical plan. Otherwise, you can go home and enjoy your retirement! "
Zhu Yijun stared at Zhao Zhigao as if he was staring at an enemy, causing Zhao Zhigao to feel uncomfortable all over.
"Your Majesty, the only thing we can do now is to protect the foundation. We cannot let the Northern Barbarians break through Pingxing Pass. We need to quickly send troops to support Pingxing Pass. If the situation turns bad and Pingxing Pass falls, we must do our best to protect Zijing Pass! These Northern Barbarians have a big appetite. Otherwise, they would have returned north after plundering Datong.
In the end, not only did they attack Yanmen Pass, they even wanted to attack Pingxing Pass. They are taking the same path as An Da. It is obvious that they are up to no good. They are heading towards the more prosperous capital region.
These Northern Barbarians are obviously prepared in advance. They are not rushing south to plunder. This old subject suggests that we immediately select elite troops to support Pingxing Pass. At the same time, we should send troops to support Yanmen Pass. If we can protect these two passes, the situation will still be manageable! "
"Elite troops and strong generals? How would I know what troops and generals are? Call Shi Xing here! I want to ask him personally! "
The eunuch beside him immediately rushed out to call for his men. Zhu Yijun sat on the Dragon Throne, his heart burning with anxiety.
This was a big deal, a really big deal!
Datong's garrison of eighty thousand was actually routed at the first encounter. In just a few days, the army was defeated like a landslide. Their defensive line was like a piece of paper. If Datong was like this, what about Shanxi? What about Xuan Manor? What about Ji Town?
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.
