To be honest, after receiving the news, Xiao Ruxun let out a long sigh of relief …
Just as he expected, the news of Zu Chengxun's defeat in Pyongyang gave the generals and nobles in Beijing a huge shock. Those "tiger sons of generals" who had been eager to follow Xiao Ruxun to North Korea to grind monsters and gain EXP were all crying to their fathers at home, telling them not to go, not to die, and not to send themselves to their deaths. Their families were worried sick!
They had just come to an agreement with Xiao Ruxun, to ask the old driver to guide their good-for-nothing descendants. She had also said that the war was risky, and the young masters might not be able to bear the hardships. Everyone tried their best to persuade Xiao Ruxun to agree. They were still celebrating just now, but in the end, the Liaodong army was defeated, causing an uproar in the family of generals.
It wasn't a cat, but a tiger!
The generals were at their wits' end. In the end, they had no choice but to find a few old and thick-skinned men to visit Xiao Ruxun. As soon as they entered and explained their purpose, they saw Xiao Ruxun's face darken. "I didn't want it back then, but you insisted on giving it to me. Now that I want it, you want to take it away?"
"Are you kidding me?"
As soon as the five words left her mouth, the few old men could no longer hold on to their faces. They bowed and apologized. With Xiao Wenkui "mediating" from the side, Xiao Ruxun helplessly agreed with a livid face. She felt that her face had been greatly damaged, and she felt that she would no longer be able to happily play with everyone!
This was not nonsense. The fact that Li Chengliang had become a civil official had already made their lives a lot harder. If they really pushed Xiao Ruxun, who had real ability, to become a civil official, their lives would only be more difficult!
Everyone thought about it and said, "What request do you have? As long as we can do it, we will try our best. Anyway, we will still be friends in the future, and we will play together. If you want to leave us, please don't! " "We know we were wrong!"
Xiao Ruxun ignored them for two days, and then put forward his request. "I want to go to North Korea to fight with the Japanese, but I heard that Li Chengliang is also making arrangements in the court. He is going to use his son, Li Rusong, to fight for the Liaodong Army and himself. Since no one wants to see Li Chengliang continue to be arrogant, then think of a way to let me be the chief commander and suppress Li Chengliang!"
Xiao Ruxun had no prejudice against Li Rusong. Li Rusong was a very good soldier, but Li Chengliang was too cunning, and later it developed to the point of bringing disaster to the country and the people. Therefore, he absolutely could not let him go out of Liaodong as before.
Although the military officers had no status and power, they were rich and powerful. They gathered together and took action against the civil officials who had been bought over. On the one hand, they were eager to repair the relationship with Xiao Ruxun, and on the other hand, they did not want to let Li Chengliang live an easy life. They burst out with amazing fighting power, and also let Xiao Ruxun understand the degree of decadence of today's civil officials' politics.
The direction of the court had changed, and the pro-war faction had gained the upper hand!
A group of people led by Zhao Zhigao, the First Minister of the Cabinet, and Shi Xing, the Minister of War, supported the war. Then, the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Rites expressed their opinions, saying that "defending Korea is actually protecting China." The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Works had never had the right to speak, and the Ministry of Personnel was left alone. The pro-war faction had overwhelmed the pro-peace faction.
And the military officers' methods were very mature. Soon, under the premise that the Emperor did not express his opinion, the number of court officials who supported Ningxia's meritorious northwest general, Xiao Ruxun, as the commander-in-chief began to catch up with the number of people who supported Li Rusong.
The reason for supporting Xiao Ruxun's faction was his military achievements and ability. The ability to behead 6,000 people and the means to destroy the city of Ningxia were enough to prove that this person was proficient in the art of war and was good at commanding troops. He also had the support of the documents from the Ministry of War, so they were sure that Xiao Ruxun was the best candidate. But the opposing faction had the same reason — he was too young, only 22 years old. How could he become a commander-in-chief? At most, he could be a deputy general! Li Rusong was mature and experienced, so he was the best candidate!
The faction that opposed Li Rusong was also quite powerful. Most of them were not on good terms with the Liaodong faction's supporters. They believed that they could not give the Liaodong faction a chance to rise at this time. They had finally taken down Li Chengliang, so they could not give him a chance to rise again!
Therefore, the opposing faction strongly suppressed Li Rusong, saying that Li Rusong had fought for so many years, but the number of people beheaded in one battle was not as many as the number of people beheaded by Xiao Ruxun. War depended on talent. When Huo Qubing led tens of thousands of troops to war, he was only 18 years old, but Xiao Ruxun was already 22 years old! Not to mention that the Liaodong army had been defeated, and the military discipline was not good. The North Koreans had protested more than once or twice!
At this moment, the letter of credence submitted by the North Korean envoy requesting for the southern cannoneers to fight in North Korea instead of the Liaodong army, which was close at hand, became an important bargaining chip, and also the biggest stain on the Liaodong army.
Under such a background, the forces that supported Li Rusong began to weaken.
Then, there was news from an unknown source that the emperor seemed to intend to send Xiao Ruxun to North Korea as the main general. Suddenly, a group of people who were on the fence suddenly turned to Xiao Ruxun.
This made Li Chengliang and his backer very angry. They had no choice but to carry out the last resistance. They asked Xiao Ruxun to go to the Ministry of War to consult about the war situation, which was also an interview. They planned to make things difficult for Xiao Ruxun at this stage, so that he would back off.
Of course, they did not know what kind of preparation Xiao Ruxun, who had been living at home like a prince for three months, had done.
Grow a beard! Yes! It was to grow a beard!
These old guys in the officialdom always liked to say that people without hair were not reliable. In fact, it was not necessarily true. Otherwise, how could there be so many high-ranking officials who had fallen from grace? It was just a psychological trick, but he had to cater to it. After all, the environment was like this, and growing a beard was not difficult. It was just a little troublesome when he was intimate with his beloved wife.
There were two strokes of beard on his lips, a layer of short beard on his chin, and he tied up his hair, put on a net scarf, put on light armor, leaned on his sword, and tidied himself up. Beijing was still very hot in August and September. However, in order to secure the quota for this expedition, Xiao Ruxun threw caution to the wind. It was not enough to just get the appreciation of the emperor. If the main general of the army did not get the approval of the officials, it would be very troublesome.
Ever since the Tumu Castle incident, the Ministry of War's yamen had been the place that controlled the lifeline of the entire military. It was not that the Minister of War himself was a great deterrent. In fact, the real deterrent was the department called the Martial Selection Department.
The four richest departments in the Ming Dynasty were the Ministry of War's two departments, the Martial Selection Department and the Arsenal Department, and the Ministry of Personnel's two departments, the Literary Selection Department and the Examination Department. One controlled the lifeline of the promotion of military generals and the army's equipment, and the other controlled the lifeline of the promotion and salary of the civil officials.
Now, Xiao Ruxun was facing the joint interview of the Minister of War and the officials of the four departments. It was said that all the officials in the Ministry of War who had nothing to do had come to watch the interview today. They wanted to see what this young man, who could compete with the famous Li Rusong in the imperial court, looked like.
Of course, other than those who were purely here to watch the excitement, many people also came with other intentions. The latter group was more numerous.
The selection of generals was a major event in every dynasty. Although the Daming Dynasty had a civil official as the supreme commander, the main general also had a considerable degree of autonomy. Some of the more powerful generals sometimes did not pay attention to their civil official superiors and made their own decisions. Therefore, a valiant general who was good at fighting was also very popular.
Originally, if there was no Xiao Ruxun, Li Rusong would be the best candidate.
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