Chapter 942 1031 Divide

There was nothing wrong with the Ming army capturing Wang Gao and holding a captive offering ceremony, but Wei Guangde's request was a bit high, so Zhu Heng and Tan Lun had to oppose it.

That is, Wei Guangde was going to execute Wang Gao as an enemy chief, not the Confucian set, and the benevolent monarch should pardon the enemy chief's guilt and let him go.

Whether it was Zhu Heng or Tan Lun, after the Ming army won the Liaodong War, they were not as happy as Wei Guangde.

In their view, defeating the Jurchen tribe was a matter of course and not worth making a fuss about.

If they lost, it would be a strange thing and unacceptable.

They didn't know how fierce the Jurchens would be in the future, so it was normal to have such a view, but Wei Guangde couldn't.

He knew that in the most difficult time of the future Ming Dynasty, it was the Jurchen tribe that stabbed the Ming Dynasty in the back and directly destroyed the Han Dynasty.

As for whether Wang Gao was a rebel chief or an enemy chief, Wei Guangde actually preferred the latter.

The Jurchens have always been only superficially submissive, and they have no sense of belonging to the Ming Dynasty in their bones.

Therefore, Wei Guangde chose the highest standard of captive offering this time, and he also killed people to deter those people with ulterior motives in the Jurchen tribe.

Even this time, it was Li Chengliang who brought Wang Gao back to the capital, and he left Qi Jiguang in Liaodong, preparing to let Qi Jiguang take over the job of Liaodong General after rewarding Li Chengliang.

Qi Jiguang's task also included arresting Wang Gao's sons, Atai and Ahai, to completely cut off Wang Gao's lineage.

Cutting the grass and rooting out the roots is hatred for the Han people, and it is also a very cruel deterrent to the Jurchen tribe.

In fact, since the "Chenghua Liting", the Ming Dynasty has not cut the grass and rooted out the children of the Jurchen tribal leaders. As long as they are willing to surrender, most of them will be granted their original positions to reflect the emperor's grace.

But Wei Guangde knew that it was useless to show favor blindly. He had to kill the source of the troubles so that other Jurchen tribal leaders would be afraid to start a war against the Ming Dynasty.

They could not bear the consequences.

"The captive offering ceremony can be carried out according to the standards of the rebel chieftain, but Wang Gao must die."

Wei Guangde suddenly figured it out. What he wanted was to execute Wang Gao. As for the standards for holding the captive offering ceremony, there was no need to argue.

"Shan Dai, if he is killed on the battlefield, then he will be killed. But if it is killed by the order of His Majesty, then"

Zhu Heng hesitated, "If Wang Gao must be executed, you can ask His Majesty to issue an order to transfer him to the Ministry of Justice at the ceremony, and the Ministry of Justice will sentence him to death."

"Not good."

Wei Guangde answered directly: "Your Majesty is twelve years old, not a child, and you should have the spirit of killing."

Wei Guangde said something that made Zhu Heng and Tan Lun's eyes widen. Not only did he want to kill him, but he also wanted the young emperor Zhu Yijun to issue an order himself.

"It's not appropriate."

Tan Lun said immediately.

"I am not only a cabinet minister, but also the emperor's teacher. Your Majesty must not only learn to handle government affairs, but also act decisively. You must not hesitate when encountering war. You must fight when you should fight and kill when you should kill.

As for your worries, there is actually no need to worry. With Uncle Zhang teaching him how to be a monarch, what are you worried about?

What I can teach him is actually how to act.

Uncle Zhang's education is mostly about thoughts, but lacks practical work. In the long run, it will only make your Majesty good at thinking but not capable.

Let him issue an order to execute the enemy chieftain, exercise his courage, and also let him think about the difference between killing and not killing earlier."

Wei Guangde said, "I will talk to your Majesty about this matter, and I will also explain the reason to the Queen Mother."

In fact, Wei Guangde looked down on these civil servants. For their own selfish reasons, they wanted to raise the emperor like a bird in a cage, without any deterrence.

So the idea that Zhang Juzheng instilled in the young Emperor Wanli was to be kind and not to use the sword lightly.

The consequence was that after Emperor Wanli took power, he was not restrained by Zhang Juzheng and was very indecisive in his actions.

In addition to avenging Zhang Juzheng's deception of him, his methods towards other court officials were too gentle, and he did not have the skills of Emperor Jiajing at all.

For the civil service group, such an emperor is good and easy to bully, and they will keep their anger in their hearts.

But Wei Guangde did not think so. After all, he came from the future, and the political skills of the head of state were very important, which was related to the prosperity of the country.

He never regarded himself as a member of the civil service group. Although he enjoyed the benefits of his status, he knew that everything was nothing after the collapse of the dynasty.

He hoped that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty could rise up and lead the empire to a bigger stage, rather than becoming a toy at the mercy of others.

He must have considered himself in his actions, but he was just taking advantage of the situation and would not damage the foundation of the country.

So when he taught the little emperor, in addition to normal lectures, he would also talk about other things.

From the war stories he heard from Yu Dayou, Qi Jiguang and others, as well as some geographical knowledge and customs of the earth.

Well, in fact, he also had only a vague understanding of the latter, but the Ming Dynasty actually had a foundation.

Since Zheng He's voyage to the West, successive Ming emperors actually knew that the world was vast and boundless. Although the Ming Dynasty called itself "China", it actually knew that there were ten or a hundred times more land overseas than the Ming Dynasty.

When Wei Guangde took out the geographical atlas found by the Ministry of War, which was said to be drawn by Zheng He's men, to explain to the young emperor, Zhu Yijun was surprised to ask, since there is such a vast land outside, why did the eunuch Sanbao not establish more Xuanweisi, but only established the Jiugang Xuanweisi.

Wei Guangde's explanation for this is that today's transportation technology limits the connection between the two places, and it is not possible to connect well. Sometimes it is difficult for the court to respond in time, which delays important matters.

Of course, what Wei Guangde said was not meaningless. The main purpose was to instill in the little emperor the idea that overseas lands should be taken as long as conditions permit.

Explaining the old port is also a move to send the navy to take the lead in Nanyang later, so that the little emperor knows that there is actually a forgotten land in Nanyang left by his ancestors.

As for the overseas territories, Wei Guangde told him according to what he remembered from Western colonies. The imperial court appointed governors and only determined the tributes to be paid every year. They arranged regular visits by the navy, delivered news and transported tributes. The overseas governors were responsible for everything else. .

Wei Guangde even suggested that willing vassal kings be allowed to join the vassal overseas and be given the right to open a government office, set up a flag, and handle military and political affairs of their own.

A vassal king with such power could only occupy territory overseas rather than on Ming Dynasty territory.

The income can only be the supply of that land. If you can hold it or even expand it, it's your own ability. If you can't hold it, you can run back, but you will lose your title and become a commoner.

For clan reasons, the royal family will still support them, but they are just common people.

However, Wei Guangde also knew that no vassal king would be willing to go with such a suggestion.

The unknown risk is too great. Unless the imperial court sends troops to occupy it and take care of it, they may not consider it.

The next day, after Wei Guangde handled some government affairs early in the morning, he entered the palace with Zhang Juzheng.

"The prisoner presentation ceremony is condescending, but Wang Gao must die by His Majesty."

Wei Guangde said while checking in with Zhang Juzheng.

"There is no correction, which is not conducive to His Majesty's good reputation."

Zhang Juzheng just said.

"Wang Gao has killed too many generals. It will be difficult to convince the public if he is not executed."

Wei Guangde continued.

The military generals hoped to execute Wang Gao to avenge his colleagues, but the civil servants thought it didn't matter. They hoped that the emperor would not kill anyone.

As for the execution of the rebellious chief, it depends on the emperor's decision.

Of course, the emperor was young and they were in control of everything.

"There are so many unruly people in the Jurchen tribe, and killing them can make them fear the imperial court."

Wei Guangde continued.

Zhang Juzheng knew that this was Wei Guangde's hope that when he saw the Queen Mother of the two palaces later, he could stand by him and support his decision.

After only a moment of hesitation, Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "Okay."

Meeting the two empress dowagers and the young emperor today is about three things.

The first was Dongfan Island, the second was to execute Wang Gao as a prisoner, and the third was to keep Li Chengliang in the court to prevent changes in the southwest.

The empress dowagers of the two palaces hesitated when they learned that the cabinet's plan violated the ancestral system and wanted to regain Dongfan Island.

However, Wei Guangde's attitude softened after he explained that the geographical location of Dongfan Island could effectively protect the coasts of Zhejiang and Fujian, and that there were countless resources to support the development of the navy.

After all, both cabinet ministers support the occupation of Dongfan Island, so there is nothing wrong with it.

But it took a lot of effort to execute Wang Gao.

After all, the queen mothers of the two palaces still hope that the young emperor Zhu Yijun can have a reputation for kindness and be a good emperor, so when it comes to killing the rebellious chief who has been caught, they feel that they can just lock him up and there is no need to execute him.

Wei Guangde dug up the list of generals who died at the hands of Wang Gao forty years after Jiajing. After more than ten names appeared, from deputy commander-in-chief to guerrilla generals, the empress dowagers of the two palaces realized that Wang Gao's evil deeds were obvious.

"Wang Gao was cruel by nature, refused to obey the king's rule, and committed unforgiving crimes. The generals in Liaodong would like to eat his flesh raw.

This time Governor Li captured him, and many of his soldiers wanted to execute him on the spot. However, because of his heinous crimes against the chieftain, he had to be sacrificed as a prisoner before he was spared.

Such a villain should have been cut to pieces with a thousand swords, but it would still be difficult to extinguish the anger in the hearts of the soldiers. "

When Wei Guangde said this, he glanced at the two empress dowagers and the young emperor above, and then continued: "However, it was His Majesty who personally issued the decree to deal with Wang Gao this time. In order to clear His Majesty's name, he changed the punishment from punishment to execution. Very kind, enough to spread our emperor’s name around.”

Originally, in history, Wang Gaoxian was sent to the Ministry of Punishment for interrogation after being captured. The final conviction was due to his relationship with the generals such as Li Chengliang and Qi Jiguang. They had access to Zhang Juzheng, and finally sentenced him to the most brutal punishment among ancient tortures. - Punishment.

This kind of punishment was mainly used during the Five Dynasties period. Its execution method included first cutting the flesh and separating the bones, then breaking the limbs, and finally cutting the throat, which is commonly known as mutilation.

In fact, Wei Guangde didn't care much about the method of executing enemy chiefs.

By beheading, the head can be circulated to nine sides, so that the leaders of various Jurchen tribes can see the consequences of rebelling against the imperial court.

Wei Guangde felt that this kind of treatment would have a more deterrent effect.

If Wang Gao's sons Atai and Ah Hai can be caught as soon as possible, the heads of the three father and son will be passed down together, and the deterrent effect will be even greater.

Originally, after Li Chengliang captured Wang Gao and sent them to the capital for disposal, he let Atai and Ah Hai go. He had no intention of eradicating the trouble forever, and perhaps he also deliberately wanted to cultivate the bandits' self-respect.

But this time, Li Chengliang was asked to take Wang Gao to the capital and asked Qi Jiguang to stay in Liaodong to arrest Wang Gao's two sons. The history of Liaodong has actually changed drastically.

If Li Chengliang had not raised troops to attack again a few years later, naturally there would not have been the tragedy of Nurha Chizu and his father dying in the rebellion.

Without the support of Li Chengliang, it would be difficult for him to easily stand out from the Jurchen tribe and complete the unification of the Jurchen tribes.

Wei Guangde finally said that the emperor's benevolent reputation would be spread among the neighboring countries, which finally impressed Empress Chen.

After Wei Guangde asked the Queen Mother for a holy judgment, she just glanced at the little emperor and saw a trace of determination on his childish face. She actually understood the little emperor's attitude.

"Okay, I agree with Wei Ge Lao's suggestion to execute Wang Gao."

As for leaving Li Chengliang in the capital, the two Queen Mothers didn't care too much.

It was just that Wei Guangde mentioned that there might be something wrong in the southwest, which made the two Queen Mothers look worried.

What they least wanted to face was a big event in the court, and if there was a war in the southwest, although it was a border, it would also shake the Ming Dynasty.

Hearing that Wei Guangde wanted to keep Li Chengliang for defense, they naturally agreed with both hands.

This General Li had just made meritorious deeds in Liaodong, and was obviously a capable warrior. It was naturally a good thing to keep him in the court as a reserve.

"Since Wei Ge Lao thinks there may be something going on in the southwest, it is better to send General Li to the southwest to take charge. If there is any unusual movement in the foreign vassal states, it is better to suppress it this morning."

The one who spoke was the young emperor's biological mother, Empress Dowager Li.

Although she was in the harem, she and Empress Dowager Chen had also read the memorials from the court and noticed that the memorials from various places took a lot of time to reach them.

Both of them were not stupid and easily figured out the reason.

"Empress Dowager, all this is just speculation. We have to wait for the Jinyiwei to send back the information before we can make an accurate judgment."

Wei Guangde said.

"I remember that it has been a long time since Wei Ge Lao mentioned this matter last time. Has the Jinyiwei not received the news yet?"

Mobilizing the Jinyiwei, even though Wei Guangde and Liu Shouyou had a good relationship in private, did not dare to make a decision on their own.

So, the matter was reported to the two Empress Dowagers and they were allowed to arrange for the Jinyiwei to spy on foreign affairs.

For this reason, a large number of Jinyiwei personnel had already secretly gone to Southeast Asia and Myanmar to spy on intelligence, and even Korea and Ryukyu were also arranged.

If they were native Ming people, they would think that foreign vassals had nothing to do with me, but after all, Wei Guangde came from the future, and history has proved the importance of intelligence, so Wei Guangde would naturally not neglect it.

Wei Guangde just shook his head at what Empress Dowager Li said.

"What does the cabinet think is the best way for Myanmar to benefit our Ming Dynasty?"

At this time, Empress Dowager Chen asked.

Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng glanced at Wei Guangde and nodded to him.

When talking about this matter, Wei Guangde emphasized that since the six Xuanwei Divisions were divided at that time, according to the ancestral system, a unified Myanmar would not be in the interests of the Ming Dynasty.

"Since the Hongwu period, Emperor Taizu Gao Guangdi sent General Mu Ying to attack Yunnan and defeat the remaining Mongolian forces. Mu Ying was named Marquis of Xiping, and his descendants were further named Dukes of Qian, ruling Yunnan for generations.

The Ming court set up six major Xuanweisi in the extreme border areas west and south of Yunnan, namely Mengyang, Mubang, Myanmar, Babai, Cheli and Laos Xuanweisi.

The chieftains were granted the title of Xuanweishi, accepted the title from the court, and obeyed the three Yunnan departments.

I think that the rule of the six departments is the ancestral system, and it should remain the same regardless of the past, present and future."

Wei Guangde said, and what he didn't say was that only divide and rule is the best way to manage, and merging is troublesome.