My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 447 The Outer Court's Backlash

National and military policies!

Li Rusong's eyes were filled with excitement after hearing Su Ze's evaluation!
Dean Su acknowledged that his memorial to the throne was a policy document for the nation and the military!
You have to understand that these grassroots officials don't even have the opportunity to participate in discussions, let alone propose national or military policies!

Su Ze's praise was genuine.

Of course, this national and military policy cannot be compared with those famous national and military policies in history.

Li Rusong and other military students focused on military issues, discussing mainly military matters and providing specific military plans, but their political perspective was somewhat lacking.

However, Su Ze's praise was because this was probably the first complete military plan, and it was a memorial submitted to the emperor by the new generation of military officers!

This memorial will surely have a place in history.

Li Rusong's military strategy focuses more on military technology and military geography, considering regional strategy, and is highly feasible!
In the original timeline, this would be a strategic plan.

As military technology becomes increasingly specialized, the historical trend is that the power to formulate military policy will shift to the elite officer class.

Su Ze knew very well that the strategic plan proposed by the new-style officers would soon emerge, but he did not expect it to be so fast. It was actually a spontaneous creation by Li Rusong and other military academy students.

This five-city plan can be described as a fairly complete military plan, and it is also quite feasible and highly accomplished.

If the five cities are built and the Ming Dynasty controls them, the Jianzhou Jurchen tribe hiding in the Changbai Mountains will have no room for development and will inevitably be crushed by the powerful national strength of the Ming Dynasty!

Upon hearing Su Ze's evaluation, Li Rusong and Liu Jinchen were overjoyed.

Li Rusong was pleased that he had been recognized by Dean Su.

Liu Jinchen was pleased that Dean Su wouldn't blame him, and he wouldn't be beaten by his father when he got back.

Li Rusong immediately said:
"I apologize for the intrusion, but may I ask the dean of academic affairs to sign this with us?"

Su Ze shook his head and said:

"No."

Li Rusong felt a chill in his heart again.

These officers were of such low rank that even if they co-signed, it wouldn't be taken seriously. So, they went to Su Ze's door to ask him to take a look at the memorial and also to ask him to sign it.

"Two memorials per month, no exceptions without a valid reason"—if Su Zeken were to sign his name, then this military proposal would be approved.

Su Ze said:

"If I were to sign my name, everyone would assume that I was the main writer. How could I, Su, be the kind of person who would take credit for a student's work?"

Hearing Su Ze say that, Li Rusong felt a warmth in his heart.

Su Ze continued:

"If you are worried that your petition will lack weight, you don't need to worry about that."

"I will inform the Ministry of Justice that after this memorial is sent to the five offices of the Secretariat and Chancellery, I will personally deliver it to the Grand Secretariat for the Grand Secretaries to review."

"If there is any mishap, I will simply submit another memorial to second it."

Upon hearing this, Li Rusong was so moved that he almost cried, and pulled Liu Jinchen to bow again.

Su Ze said:

"I am already very pleased that you have been able to share the burden of the court and have not tarnished the reputation of the Military Supervisor."

"But the Beijing Garrison is crucial to the stability of the capital, and its daily training must not be neglected."

"The students will keep in mind the Dean of Academic Affairs' instructions!"
-
The next day, Li Rusong led a group of military officers from the Military Supervisory Bureau to the Office of Transmission to submit a memorial.

Because Su Ze had given prior notice, Xu Shuli personally signed their memorial and promised to send it to the cabinet as soon as possible.

Li Yiyuan, the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs, cooperated fully with the process, and the military strategy was sent to the Fifth Office of the Secretariat-Chancellery.

Su Ze personally delivered this military strategy to the cabinet.

Su Ze specifically chose to come when all four cabinet ministers were in the cabinet. He presented the memorial to Gao Gong and said:
"Your Excellency, please take a look at this memorial."

Gao Gong lowered his glasses and looked at Su Ze.

Normally, Su Ze, as the chief inspector of the Secretariat, wouldn't do such menial tasks as delivering memorials.

The Zhongshu Jianzheng official was not the secretary of the Grand Secretary, but the leader of the five departments of the Zhongshu Menxia, ​​and was a proper political official.

A memorial delivered personally by Su Ze is naturally extraordinary.

Gao Gong put down the official document he was reviewing, picked up the "Memorial Requesting the Construction of Five Cities to Secure the Northern Border," and began to read it carefully.

After carefully reading it, Gao Gong's eyes lit up.

The Andong Protectorate has encountered setbacks in its expansion efforts and has repeatedly petitioned the cabinet for assistance.

However, the cabinet did not have a good solution. They could only instruct the Andong Protectorate to prepare for the winter and continue to organize immigration, hoping to solve the problem by increasing the Han population.

As a result, the Northeast issue became a large-scale project that required a long period of investment.

This was naturally bad news for the Longqing Dynasty cabinet, which was committed to increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.

This military strategy, drawing on classical texts, explains the importance of the five cities and proposes a strategic plan to build cities and compress the Jianzhou Jurchens. It is clearly highly feasible!
After Gao Gong finished reading it, he looked at the last part of the memorial.

He had assumed it was a petition from a Ministry of War official, or at least a Ministry of War official who had passed the imperial examinations, and he wanted to remember the name.

However, what Gao Gong saw was a row of officers' names, with Li Rusong, the flag commander of the Kelu Army, at the head.

The remaining signatures were all from junior officers of the rank of New Army Flag Commander.

This memorial was actually written by a group of military officers!?

Gao Gong looked at Su Ze, and Su Ze said:
"Your Excellency, these officers are all graduates of the first class of the Military Academy. Since the Khalkha Army had no opportunity to go to the battlefield, they studied documents at the Imperial Academy and wrote this strategy for pacifying Liaodong."

Gao Gong read it again and found that the style of this military strategy was indeed very special, different from the military strategies submitted by civil officials in the past. Only then did he believe Su Ze's words.

This made Gao Gong hesitate.

If it were submitted by a civil official in the Ministry of War, Gao Gong would certainly approve it, and that official in the Ministry of War could then expect to rise to prominence.

However, this was a military strategy presented by a group of officers who had graduated from the Imperial Academy, which made Gao Gong conflicted.

Since the Tumu Crisis, national and military policies have always been the domain of civil officials.

Power should not be touched by others. The civil officials had finally managed to squeeze the noble group out of the core of decision-making and turned them into harmless mascots.

How can we get the officer corps to compete again?
Gao Gong was the Grand Secretary and the head of the civil service.

Su Ze understood Gao Gong's dilemma, and just as he was about to persuade Gao Gong, Gao Gong sighed and said in a low voice:

"I understand what Zilin means. Since I advocate practical learning, then we must be realistic."

"Since this is a policy that benefits the country, I will support it no matter who proposed it."

"Let the senior cabinet members take a look, and then the cabinet can discuss it."

Su Ze looked at Gao Gong with some respect. It seemed that his mentor, the prime minister, truly regarded practical learning as his governing principle.

Su Ze then showed the memorial to the other three cabinet ministers. After reading it, all three, like Gao Gong, felt a mix of emotions.

If only this military strategy were written by a civil official!

This was also the opinion of the other cabinet ministers.

After everyone had finished reading, Gao Gong cleared his throat and said:
"Have all the Grand Secretaries read it? Let me first share my opinion. This military strategy is excellent. We can have the Ministry of War send people to Liaodong to investigate the mountains and rivers, and then discuss building the city after spring."

Gao Gong's opening remarks set the tone; he himself supported the memorial.

After Gao Gong clearly expressed his support, the expressions of the three cabinet ministers present all changed.

First, Zhu Dashou, who had recently joined the cabinet, said: "This matter is unrelated to education and health preservation, so I will not draft a proposal."

Zhu Dashou voluntarily gave up the discussion, after all, he was a cabinet minister and had just joined the cabinet, so he simply did not express his opinion.

Second Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and said:
“The commander of the Beijing garrison is also a high-ranking official of the imperial court, and he is qualified to submit memorials to the emperor to discuss politics.”

Zhang Juzheng made his stance clear.

Since the Office of Transmission could send the memorials to the Cabinet, there was no problem with the procedure.

In any case, such national and military policies, after being drafted by the cabinet, all required the emperor's approval.

The cabinet should address the issues raised in the memorials, express its opinion, and draft recommendations to send to the palace.

Su Ze was also somewhat surprised that Zhang Juzheng did not protect the interests of the civil service group; on the contrary, his attitude seemed to support the memorial submitted by these young military officers.

At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on Zhao Zhenji.

Zhao Zhenji himself was in charge of the Ministry of War, and he said:

"Military discussions are the Ministry of War's primary responsibility. However, the Ministry of War officials are all incompetent and lazy. I agree with this memorial and believe it should be printed and distributed to the Ministry of War so that they can see how military policies should be written."

Su Ze almost couldn't hold back.

After establishing the five departments of the Secretariat and Chancellery, Zhao Zhenji began a new round of reforms to the Ministry of War.

With the assistance of the Military Affairs Office, Zhao Zhenji simply dispatched Song Xun, the head of the Military Affairs Office, to be stationed at the Ministry of War to oversee the reforms. The long-delayed reforms of the Ministry of War finally began to move.

However, Zhao Zhenji remained dissatisfied with the Ministry of War, so whenever he had the chance in the cabinet, he would criticize the Ministry of War.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhenji actually wanted to use the memorials of young military officers such as Li Rusong to put pressure on the Ministry of War.

Thus, Li Rusong's memorial was unanimously approved by the cabinet and then sent to the inner court by Su Ze.
-
The Longqing Emperor stared blankly at the memorial, then sighed again.

Feng Bao, the chief scribe of the Directorate of Ceremonial, understood why the emperor sighed.

This national policy and military strategy received unanimous support from the cabinet. The arguments were well-reasoned and supported by evidence, and specific implementation steps were also proposed.

If this memorial had been submitted by an official from the Ministry of War, the emperor would have approved it without hesitation, and that official would have embarked on a path of rapid advancement.

However, this memorial was jointly signed by a group of junior officers of the Khrushchev army.

Feng Bao understood, of course, how much opposition such a memorial would provoke from the civil officials if it were sent to the outer court.

Not all civil officials have the same awareness as the Grand Secretaries.

With the New Year fast approaching, Emperor Longqing, whose health was already poor, naturally did not want to cause any further trouble.

But this policy document on national affairs and military matters was simply too tempting.

By building five cities to control the Changbai Mountain region, they not only militarily completed the encirclement and annihilation of the Jianzhou Jurchens, but also opened up the situation in Northeast China and controlled the resources of the entire Northeast.

Finally, the Longqing Emperor took out a note and wrote the words "after the New Year" on it.

Feng Bao naturally understood the emperor's intention: to discuss the matter again after the new year.

Feng Bao then asked:

"Your Majesty, should this memorial be sent to the Six Ministries for discussion first?"

The Longqing Emperor nodded and first sent the memorial to the Six Ministries to test the reaction of the censors. If the civil officials reacted strongly, then the discussion would not continue after the New Year.

“Pavilion”

The emperor wrote down another character, and Feng Bao immediately understood and said:
"I understand that you should also convey the opinions of the Grand Secretaries to the Six Ministries."

The Longqing Emperor nodded in satisfaction.

Of the three officials in the Directorate of Ceremonial, only Feng Bao fully understood his intentions, which is why the Longqing Emperor became increasingly dependent on him.
-
As expected, the emperor's worries came true.

After this memorial was sent to the Six Ministries, the Six Ministries were the first to be in an uproar.

"These kinds of national and military policies are hardly something these low-ranking military officers can discuss!!"

"You are making arrogant comments about national affairs! You should be punished!"

"Since Emperor Yingzong, we finally managed to drive military men out of politics! And now the Grand Secretaries want to let them make a comeback!"

When Su Ze stepped into the public room, he overheard the discussions from the Sixth Department and knew that Li Rusong's petition was not going well.

Sure enough, after he sat down, Luo Wanhua hurriedly came in and said:
"Your Excellency, the Six Ministries and the Censorate are jointly impeaching the Grand Secretary based on Wu Jiansheng's memorial!"

Su Ze sighed.

The recent centralization of power by the cabinet has severely offended the outer court.

The outer court had accumulated resentment, and this memorial on state affairs became an outlet for their venting.

Su Ze could only sigh. He finally understood that in the late stages of many dynasties, many problems had good solutions, but they could not be implemented because the political struggles were too intense.

Li Rusong and his colleagues' memorial touched a nerve with the civil officials of the outer court, and it became the clarion call for the outer court to unite against the cabinet.

Su Ze produced a memorial that had already been drafted.

"Should the prosecutor submit a memorial in support?"

Luo Wanhua and Su Ze were friends for many years, so he naturally understood Su Ze's thoughts.

He said somewhat hesitantly:

"Why not wait until after the New Year to submit the memorial? His Majesty's decree also states that it will be discussed after the New Year."

Su Ze shook his head. He knew the emperor's personality very well and said:
"If we don't suppress the unrest in the outer court, we won't be able to reach a conclusion after the New Year."

Luo Wanhua thought about it and nodded. He also had experience with public opinion. If you can't suppress the trend in the early stages of public opinion, it will be too late to take action. By then, public opinion has already become a trend, and even if you try to suppress it, it will only backfire.

"Second Proposal to Build a City to Secure the Northeast"

After Luo Wanhua left, Su Ze stuffed the memorial into the "Portable Ming Dynasty Court" app.

——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial entitled "Secondly Proposing the Construction of a City to Secure the Northeast" was sent to the Cabinet.

The cabinet supports your opinion, and the memorial has been sent to the inner court.

The outer court learned of your memorial supporting the military officer, and their attention began to turn against you.

The censors were thoroughly enraged, and Zuo Shunmen knelt outside the palace gate to remonstrate with the emperor to the death.

Officials from the Six Ministries and Nine Courts also submitted memorials opposing the movement.

The controversy grew stronger, and the Longqing Emperor accepted your memorial and rejected the "Memorial Requesting the Construction of Five Cities to Secure the Northern Border".

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige: 5450.]

To fully approve your memorial proposal, you will need to pay 1000 prestige points. Do you wish to pay?

Sure enough, normally, a new class, the new military officer class, must go through several suppressions before it can rise to the historical stage.

However, Su Ze was unwilling for his students' national and military policies to become victims of political struggles.

He chose "yes" without hesitation.

[Ding! Prestige points have been deducted. The host has submitted a memorial in reality. The simulated settlement will take place after the memorial is executed!]

[Remaining Prestige: 4450.]

(End of this chapter)