Chapter 791 890 Conditions

How did the Ming Dynasty come to be established?

That is to expel the Northern Yuan Dynasty and restore the mountains and rivers of the Han people.

After they took control of the country, Ming Taizu and Ming Chengzu both went north to the grasslands several times. Why did they exhaust the national strength for this?

That is because, in the eyes of the Ming emperor, the Mongols were always a threat to the Ming Dynasty, and they were always eyeing the new empire.

In fact, in the decades when the Mongols were expelled, the Mongols' biggest goal was to come back and drink from the Yangtze River.

It can be said that since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the eradication of grassland forces has always been regarded as the most important task and it has been completed with all its strength.

The first northern expedition of Ming Taizu was from January to November in the third year of Hongwu, a large-scale unification war to eliminate the remnant forces of the Hu Yuan Dynasty.

After fleeing to Shangdu in the north, Yuan Huizong stayed in the border area of ​​Ming and invaded the south twice in an attempt to regain the original Dadu and restore it.

In June of the second year of Hongwu, Yuan Huizong moved the capital to Yingchang Prefecture, which was only two or three days' journey from Dadu in Yanshan, posing a substantial military threat.

In view of the previous experience of the Yanshan area being lost again within two years at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty decided to march north to eliminate the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

The Ming army won a great victory in this northern expedition, and the remnant forces of the Yuan Dynasty near the border suffered a heavy blow.

The subsequent northern expeditions were all aimed at the remaining Mongolian Yuan forces near the Ming Dynasty borders such as Xuanfu and Ningxia, and gradually expelled the Mongolian Yuan forces close to the Ming Dynasty.

In these wars, Zhu Yuanzhang also wanted to complete his success in one battle and completely eradicate the Northern Yuan Dynasty, but because of the mobility of the cavalry, although he won a great victory, the remnant forces could quickly escape the encirclement of the Ming army.

Although the Ming army had established a powerful cavalry unit at this time, the main body of the army was still mainly infantry.

After Zhu Yuanzhang found that the Mongols were slippery on the grassland and difficult to annihilate, he was concerned about the huge consumption of each attack, so he gradually reduced the scale of the Ming army's northern expedition, and the distance of the Ming army's attack was also farther.

In fact, although Zhu Yuanzhang still did not give up the plan to completely destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty at this time, he still hoped to drive them away from the border of the Ming Dynasty, even farther away, and even to the west like the Huns did.

The purpose of the Ming Chengzu's Northern Expedition was actually similar to that of Zhu Yuanzhang, except that in addition to driving out the Northern Yuan Dynasty to ensure the safety of the empire, he also had the purpose of boasting about his martial arts.

After all, no matter how Zhu Di washed himself, he ascended to the throne by usurping the throne, which was somewhat unjust.

Just like Tang Taizong Li Shimin, because he came to the throne unjustly, he listened to the opinions of his ministers and accepted advice humbly in the early days of his reign.

Internally, he governed the world with culture, practiced strict economy, encouraged agriculture and sericulture, achieved recuperation, and peace and prosperity for the country and the people, and created the "Zhenguan Reign".

He expanded the territory, conquered the Eastern Turks and Xueyantuo, conquered Gaochang, Qiuci and Tuyuhun, severely damaged Goguryeo, established the Four Towns of Anxi, lived in harmony with the various ethnic groups in the northern region, and was honored with the title of "Heavenly Khan", laying an important foundation for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty for more than a hundred years.

In the final analysis, the two emperors actually did the same thing.

The confrontation between the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols can be said to be in their bones.

Although the cabinet ministers all thought that it was not appropriate to continue the confrontation under the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, hoping to ease the pressure on the border, save military expenditures, and alleviate the financial difficulties, Emperor Longqing was not a fool, and of course he understood this truth.

Perhaps at the beginning of his accession to the throne, he did not understand that it was not easy to be the Ming Dynasty, but after all, he had been the emperor for so many years, and he actually had a deep understanding of the importance of money.

But he also had to consider the consistent attitude of the Ming Dynasty towards the Mongols after its establishment, and the huge impact that might be caused if he easily changed his course.

This is Wei Guangde's current analysis of Emperor Longqing's psychology. He wants to reconcile but is also worried that domestic opposition will be too strong, which will affect the stability of his imperial power.

Just now, when several people in the cabinet were analyzing this matter, Wei Guangde "inadvertently" revealed this idea.

All the memorials expressing their attitudes were kept by Emperor Longqing, so it is very likely that the final decision of the emperor was to see how many people supported him.

Now hearing Li Chunfang reiterate Wei Guangde's previous conjecture, Gao Gong only thought for a moment and replied: "This makes sense. The most important thing is that if we really look at the opinions of the court officials at this time, we cabinet officials will not be able to cast our five votes.

Therefore, we must win over every official and noble above the third rank in the court to gain their support."

The reason for saying this is that Gao Gong has actually treated this matter according to the model of the emperor convening a court meeting.

In the Ming Dynasty, there are three main forms of handling government affairs, namely, the emperor's decision, the cabinet meeting and the court meeting.

The emperor's decision is "the emperor's arbitrary decision", which is the emperor's personal decision. This method is the most important decision-making method in both tradition and legal theory.

In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet was also an informal advisory body to the emperor, similar in nature to the Shangshu, Zhongshu, and Shumi.

Later, the cabinet gradually became a formal institution, but its main task was still to provide advice to the emperor and assist the emperor in handling government affairs.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor often participated in the cabinet's meetings, but after Chenghua, he basically stopped participating. Only Xiaozong occasionally summoned cabinet ministers.

In the Ming Dynasty, the submission of memorials and the emperor's reply and even the final copying and implementation had to go through the cabinet. When the cabinet was voting, the cabinet ministers had to gather and discuss, that is, the cabinet meeting, to reach a consensus.

Since Yingzong, the emperor was generally lazy in government, and the cabinet's vote became the most important basis for the emperor's decision-making.

Although the cabinet vote must be approved by the emperor before it can become a decision, the dissemination of the edict without the cabinet vote is considered to be inconsistent with the procedures, and the six subjects can be rejected. Therefore, to a certain extent, the emperor only implemented the cabinet discussion decision.

China has always had a tradition of "major matters must be discussed together", that is, the monarch and ministers discuss state affairs collectively to find solutions to problems.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, a mechanism for the emperor and his ministers to discuss decisions had been developed. This mechanism became more mature in the Tang Dynasty, and developed into a court meeting, or assembly meeting, by the Ming Dynasty.

Depending on the content of the decision, the participants, and the location of the meeting, there are court meetings, cabinet meetings, court meetings, ministry meetings, etc., but they are all considered a type of court meeting.

Among them, the Ministry Meeting mainly refers to the memorials about the headquarters handed over by the six ministries to the emperor, for internal discussions and resolutions, and to put forward specific opinions on how to deal with them.

The cabinet meeting mainly discusses government affairs beyond the jurisdiction of the six ministries and nine ministers, and proposes countermeasures. Generally speaking, the cabinet meeting discusses problems that arise in the country's daily government affairs.

More important decisions must be submitted to the court council for discussion, that is, the court meeting and the court meeting.

The results of all these discussions must be reported to the emperor for final decision.

As courtiers who discuss important and confidential decisions, they refer to the small group of people who are qualified to enter the palace at the court meeting, that is, the civil and military officials of the third rank and above.

Although whether it is a court meeting or a cabinet meeting, the final result requires the emperor's "sacred ruling", but because of the unique political system in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the emperor generally would not object to the results of the cabinet meeting and the court meeting, but would choose Approval, because this represents the court's decision.

It should be said that Wei Guangde's conclusion that the emperor might want to determine his attitude towards Mongolia through court discussions was the most unfavorable result for several members of the cabinet, which meant that they could not play a role in this important matter.

But the result of the court discussion is also the most effective, blocking the mouths of the courtiers.

Because once a matter reaches the result of the court discussion, other officials, even Kedao Yanguan, must shut up and can only accept the results of the court discussion unconditionally.

Even if you have opinions, you can only keep them.

Even Gao Gong recognized Wei Guangde's guess, and Zhang Juzheng and Yin Shizhen naturally had no doubts. Therefore, everyone in the cabinet knew that before the emperor ordered the court meeting, they could only win over as many officials who supported them as possible. Guaranteed victory in the court meeting.

At this time, Bao Chongde, the envoy sent by Wang Chonggu, the governor of Xuanda, also walked into a heavily guarded camp. In the middle of the camp was a huge yurt.

But this is actually nothing new. All Mongolian camps are the same. The leader’s tent is often the most luxurious and magnificent tent in the entire camp, and it is often chosen to be set up in the center of the camp, so that it is convenient for him. Receive news from all directions.

But this yurt is a little different. It is similar to the tents we saw along the way. They are all white in color, but the roof here is not the common white or blue, but gold. This is what the sweaters on the grassland have to say. Available colors.

Moreover, there is a large black bamboo pole erected in front of this yurt, which fully reflects the extraordinary nature of the owner here.

When Bao Chongde saw this, he couldn't help but swallow the saliva in his mouth. He knew that the person he was about to meet was the target of his trip, Mongolian Khan Altan.

Passing through the surrounding crowd of strong Mongolian guards, Bao Chongde walked into this huge golden yurt following the person leading the way, while his entourage could only stay outside, surrounded by a group of Mongolian guards.

While the people accompanying him were frightened, Bao Chongde finally saw the appearance of An Dahan, an old man in his sixties. His face was covered with wrinkles from living in the North all year round. Although his eyes were still bright, he was no longer in his twenties. He looked like the high-spirited hero who led his men across the desert and plundered the capital.

Yes, in Bao Chongde's eyes, this Anda Khan who made people in the Ming Dynasty frightened was just an old man.

"Bao Chongde, the envoy of the Ming Dynasty, met Altan Khan."

Now that he had seen Altan, Bao Chongde immediately took two steps forward and bowed with his fists clasped.

Seeing the envoy from the Ming Dynasty bowing to him, Ida Khan frowned.

In fact, when the Mongolians paid homage to him as the Great Khan, they would kneel down on formal occasions, but usually they would kneel down on one knee with their left hand and put their right hand on their shoulders with a fist.

The Mongolian nobles and guards in the camp also saw Bao Chongde's salute to their Khan, and immediately felt great disrespect, and they were all eager to come out and teach the Ming man in front of them a lesson.

There were even impatient guards who had already put their hands on the handles of their swords.

Although Altan felt that the other party was a little rude and felt unhappy, he was more concerned about his grandson in Datong. He asked Bao Chongde to come to see him because of the news that the messenger from Ming Dynasty was here to tell him about Han Naji's situation. .

So he waved his hand and stopped the Mongolians from taking action.

"Bao Chongde, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty sent you to see me. If you have anything to say, just say it."

An Dahan said casually.

"Great Khan, I was not sent by the emperor, but on the order of the Governor-General of Xuan, King Chonggu, I came to see the Great Khan and inform him about Prince Hannaji's information."

Bao Chongde immediately replied and pointed out An Dahan's mistake to prevent him from getting the wrong idea.

"Wang Chonggu, Governor of Xuanda? Isn't it Chen Qixue?"

The last time he personally led Mengqi to attack Datong, he already knew that the governor of Xuanda was named Chen Qixue. It had only been more than half a year, so why did the Ming Dynasty change his name?

Replacing the governor, like changing the general, was a major military and national event for Altan Khan, so he immediately put aside his inquiries about his grandson.

"Governor Chen was transferred to the capital several months ago. The current governor of Xuanda is Lord Wang Chonggu, the former governor of the three borders."

Bao Chongde answered quickly.

Altan Khan frowned when he heard this, thinking that Chen Qixue was rewarded and returned to Dadu after the battle at the beginning of the year, and he didn't know that he was actually squeezed out and transferred back.

"Well, since Governor Wang asked you to come, then you can tell me, I'm listening."

Altan Khan smiled and continued to speak nonchalantly, but his hands had already quietly grasped the armrests of the chair.

So, Bao Chongde explained one by one how Han Naji surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, from his entry into the Baihu Fort to Fang Fengshi's personal soldiers escorting him back to Datong City, and the government specially found a mansion in the city for him to live in and provide good meals.

When Altan Khan heard Bao Chongde talk about the courtesy shown by the Ming Dynasty to Bahan Naji and his party, his first reaction was naturally disbelief.

After all, in terms of the relationship between the two sides, it was good enough that he didn't put his grandson in jail, so how could he treat them well?

However, he carefully observed Bao Chongde's words and deeds, and it didn't seem like he was lying.

In fact, in order to prepare for this trip, Wang Chonggu had already started making preparations before Bao Chongde received the order.

After he and Fang Fengshi decided on three strategies, they had already selected several people to be with Bahan Naji so that they could contact him and know some of their living habits.

Therefore, Bao Chongde's description of Bahan Naji's life in the Ming Dynasty was all based on what he saw with his own eyes.

Although his narration was interrupted from time to time by Altan Khan later, who asked various questions, he only answered what he knew, and said "not clear" to what he didn't see.

After Bao Chongde finished talking about Han Naji's life during this period, although Altan Khan still had some doubts in his heart, he could not find anything worthy of doubt in Bao Chongde's words, so he believed it a little.

"When does your Governor Wang plan to send my grandson back?"

After Bao Chongde introduced the situation, Altan Khan asked directly.

"Reporting to Altan Khan, the prince came to the Ming Dynasty voluntarily, so the prince's stay is not up to Governor Wang, but depends on his own intention and the intention of the emperor of his country."

Bao Chongde explained.

At this level, even if Han Naji wanted to leave, Wang Chonggu would not let him go without the emperor's will.

"How to make the emperor of the Ming Dynasty agree to let him return to the grassland?"

Altan Khan is not a fool. He knows that this is the condition that the Ming people want to put forward, so he simply talks openly.

Although Bao Chongde said that his grandson lived well in the Ming Dynasty, Altan Khan would not believe these nonsense.

Even if it is true now, it is only true when Hanaji still has value. If it loses its value in the future.