My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 76 Cabinet meeting!

The chief minister of the cabinet, Li Chunfang, took leave, so the main seat was vacant.

Gao Gong sat in the first seat below the main seat and said to Su Ze:

"Zilin, I'll leave it to you to record the minutes of this meeting."

Su Ze hurried forward and took the paper and pen from Gao Gong.

The administrative system of the Ming Dynasty was already very complete. Detailed records were kept for every meeting. Who spoke and what was said at such cabinet meetings were all recorded and later sent to the emperor for his review.

The minutes are usually written by the youngest officials or those with the lowest official positions.

However, the cabinet meeting was of too high a level, as it discussed major national affairs, and lower-level officials were not allowed to attend. Therefore, Gao Gong gave this task to him, and no one present objected.

Su Ze immediately took the pen and paper, then sat down in the corner of the hall and honestly acted as a recorder.

Although he was just a recorder, Su Ze knew that many people outside wanted to be the recorder but had no way to do so!
The matters discussed in cabinet meetings are all important matters with intelligence value. Being able to know this information in advance is the so-called information gap.

Many times, the top decision-makers are stronger than other senior officials because of this information gap.

Gao Gong's words "Zi Lin" were also announcing to the cabinet ministers present that Su Ze was the one he was protecting.

Immediately afterwards, Gao Gong took the lead in raising the question:
"Xuan Da Governor Wang Chonggu is familiar with Xuan Da's military affairs and has no faults in defending the border. He should not be transferred."

Friends who have made decisions know that the most important thing for any policy is personnel.

Therefore, in meetings involving major border policies, the first thing discussed is personnel matters.

As the second-in-command of the cabinet and the Minister of Personnel, Gao Gong immediately recommended Wang Chonggu, the current governor of Xuanda.

This was within Su Ze's expectations.

In the history before Su Ze traveled through time, Wang Chonggu was an important driving force behind Altan's tribute, and Gao Gong was an important helper of Wang Chonggu in the court. It can be said that Altan's tribute was completed with the tacit understanding of the two.

Wang Chonggu should be a member of Gao Gong's party. Keeping Wang Chonggu's position as the governor of Xuanda also means that Gao Gong wants to take the lead in this war to pacify the Rong people.

Sure enough, after Gao Gong spoke, the Minister of War Huo Ji immediately followed and said:

"Since Governor Wang's conquest of Xuanda, the situation on the border has improved somewhat compared to the previous emperor's time, and the barbarians have not invaded the capital region again. This time, we must rely on capable and experienced officials who are familiar with border affairs to pacify the border."

These two people set the tone, and Wang Chonggu's position as Governor of Xuanda was retained.

The other cabinet ministers could not come up with a better candidate, so the matter was passed.

Su Ze took out his [Model Writing Brush] and quickly wrote down Gao Gong's speech and the responses of other important cabinet officials.

There are rumors now that the court is going to replace Wang Chonggu, the governor of Xuanda, but Su Ze now knows in advance that Wang Chonggu will continue to serve and even lead the war against Mongolia.

This news is worth a thousand gold.

This is just the opening of the cabinet meeting.

By ensuring that Wang Chonggu would continue to serve as the Governor-General of Xuanda, Gao Gong had achieved his goal and had taken control of the initiative in pacifying the Rong and border areas in his own hands.

However, Gao Gong was only the second assistant minister in the cabinet, so he was not qualified to have the cake all to himself.

Zhang Juzheng stroked his shiny beard and said:
"The Governor of Xuanda does not need to be replaced, but pacifying the barbarians and stabilizing the border is not just Xuanda's business. In February, the former Governor of Ji and Liao, Cao Bangfu, returned to the court after completing his term. The position of Governor of Ji and Liao has been vacant until now, and we need a steady minister to be in charge of Ji and Liao to prevent the barbarians from attacking Liaodong." As soon as Zhang Juzheng spoke, Gao Gong nodded slightly. The defense of the nine borders is a whole. The two largest military posts in the north are the Governor of Xuanda in Xuanfu and Datong, and the Governor of Ji and Liao in Liaodong.

Zhang Juzheng's proposal can be regarded as a national benefit.

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, the Minister of Justice Mao Kai suddenly said:

"Su Zilin's 'Strategies for Subduing the Enemy' includes a plan to mobilize southern troops to the north. Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Tan Lun, performed exceptionally well during the Japanese invasion. I recommend him for the position of Governor-General of Ji and Liao."

Su Ze glanced at Mao Kai. According to Shen Yiquan's intelligence, this Minister of Justice should be a follower of Prime Minister Li Chunfang.

But from this perspective, it seems that Shangshu Mao and Zhang Juzheng were in sync and had supported Zhang Juzheng.

That's right. Li Chunfang was recommended by Xu Jie, and Zhang Juzheng was also Xu Jie's student. Mao Kai's defection to Zhang Juzheng was equivalent to changing factions within his own forces, and it did not count as changing allegiance.

In the history before Su Ze traveled through time, when Zhang Juzheng was fighting against Gao Gong, he secretly gathered the Zhejiang military group left by Hu Zongxian and re-employed Tan Lun, Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang.

From this perspective, Tan Lun should have established some kind of connection with Zhang Juzheng at this time.

That's right, how could an important official like Tan Lun not see the opportunity to choose a side? After all, he was the first to advocate for peace with the Rong people, so Tan Lun had to do him a favor.

Both the Governor-General of Xuanda and the Governor-General of Ji and Liao were given the title of Vice Minister of War. In just a quarter of an hour, a new Vice Minister of War of the third rank was appointed.

Su Ze thought of the people outside the door who were vying for a low-ranking military position, while the cabinet meeting decided on a commander of a major military region and a high-ranking official at the level of Deputy Minister of National Defense in just a few words. Only then did he have a new understanding of the weight of important cabinet officials.

Now that the two governor-level candidates have been decided, the atmosphere has become much more relaxed.

At this time, the Minister of War Huo Ji suddenly said:

"The man who submitted the petition to pacify the Rong people is in the hall. He was the one who proposed the strategy of sending southern troops north. Let's hear his thoughts on who should lead the troops to pacify the Rong people."

Everyone's eyes fell on Su Ze in the corner. Su Ze looked at Huo Ji and immediately understood what Huo Ji was thinking.

From the conversation just now at the entrance of the Ministry of War, Gao Gong and Huo Ji actually understood Su Ze's intention, which was to recommend Qi Jiguang to lead the troops.

Huo Ji also had no objection to this appointment.

Gao Gong and Huo Ji had just decided that Wang Chonggu would remain in office. If they continued to interfere in the selection of the general, it would seem too arbitrary.

So Huo Ji directly let Su Ze speak. If other cabinet ministers had no objection, he would take the opportunity to accept Qi Jiguang and take over the key position of General of Xuanda.

Both Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng realized that after Hu Zongxian's downfall and Xu Jie's complete retirement, these civil and military officials who had made contributions in the anti-Japanese war would be ownerless and in high demand.

Whoever proposes to reuse them at today's meeting will become their benefactor and gain their loyalty.

If there is any opposition, it is Su Ze's proposal anyway, so we can discuss it again if it doesn't work.

A bunch of old foxes!
However, Su Ze naturally didn't mind proposing the candidate for the Xuanda general himself. In this way, Su Ze could be considered half of Qi Jiguang's sponsor.

Since Gao Gong asked him to speak, Su Ze was not polite. He said in front of the ministers:
"I dare to ask that Qi Jiguang, the general of Fujian, be dispatched to the north to lead the troops and quell the rebellion!"

However, the ministers present obviously would not let Gao Gong's faction enjoy the benefits alone. As expected, as soon as Su Ze finished speaking, someone jumped out to object.

(End of this chapter)