First Minister of Ming Dynasty

Mrs. Ma looked serious, waved his hand and said: "Chongba, this is what I want to tell you. Mr. Zhang will help you formulate national policies, write articles, explain the truth, and win the hearts of the people. I'm not polite, Mr. Zhang is just like your head, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded vigorously and said without hesitation, "Yes, that's true!"

Ma Shi said: "Since you know it, then you shouldn't hand over your hands and feet to Mr. Zhang, it's good for everyone!"

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, and when he looked at Ma Shi again, he showed a little more respect.With just a few words, he explained such a big matter clearly, and he really deserves to be his good wife.

The relationship between Ma Shi and Zhang Ximeng is definitely not shallow, and she does not mean to separate the monarch and his ministers. .

In fact, Ma's positioning of Zhang Ximeng is very accurate. He is almost equivalent to Zhu Yuanzhang's brain, responsible for providing ideas... If the execution part is also handed over to Zhang Ximeng, then why do you need Zhu Yuanzhang?

And if Zhang Ximeng assumes the position of prime minister and takes charge of the executive work, it will inevitably affect his ideological output.Being trapped in complicated government affairs all day long, it is impossible to think carefully about planning the future.

So from a certain point of view, Zhang Ximeng has already reached the peak at a young age... The two things of getting promoted and getting rich have nothing to do with him.

There is nothing more tragic than this in life!

It's really a long song to cry, it's time to cry!

As if noticing Zhang Ximeng's tragedy, Mrs. Ma said again: "Chongba, Mr. Zhang is still alone now, he is not too young, it's time to consider starting a family."

Old Zhu was taken aback, "Is it so fast? Our Biaoer is only this big, and he is ten years younger than us!"

Mrs. Ma couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled, "You're also confused. Most people get married in their 20s and [-]s. Who made you marry a wife when you were poor in your [-]s?"

Old Zhu smiled dumbfounded, "We've been waiting for a girl, we don't like other people either!"

Ma rolled his eyes, when did this guy get so thick-skinned?

Could it be that a person became the king of Wu, and his face is getting bigger and bigger?

What about my own Princess Wu?

Will it also become thick-skinned?

……

As for civil servants, the existing structure is still maintained. Li Shanchang is in charge of the six departments of Zhongshu and is in charge of administration. Zhang Ximeng, as the right minister, supervises the Imperial Academy, Guozijian and other yamen.

Moreover, Lao Zhu made adjustments. He singled out Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment, and Zhang Ximeng was also in charge... This responsibility is not for Zhang Ximeng to encroach on Li Shanchang's power, but for Zhang Ximeng to be in charge of legislation.

Since it is necessary to redefine the rules and recreate the universe, all propositions must be implemented in the provisions of the law.Laws and regulations that did not conform to this purpose in the past must be amended, and where there are deficiencies, they must be supplemented.

Even if Zhang Ximeng didn't accept this matter, no one else would dare to take it on. After all, Zhang Ximeng's ideas belonged to him, and he naturally had the right to interpret them.

In addition, Zhang Ximeng is also responsible for the education of the son.

In this way, Zhang Ximeng's responsibilities are very clear. He is responsible for drafting the will, training senior officials, educating, making legislation, and cultivating the prince.

In addition, there are some counselors on military affairs, banking, commerce, and trade matters... If he is involved in everything, it is estimated that 48 hours a day is not enough for him.

Fortunately, Zhang Ximeng also has his own team. After Liu Ji left, Song Lian took full responsibility. In addition, he has recently recruited a large number of young talents. After they are able to take charge of government affairs, Zhang Ximeng can greatly reduce the difficulty of work.

If you look at it this way, Zhu Yuanzhang's becoming king really has little impact on Zhang Ximeng. Apart from increasing his salary, it seems that there is nothing special about it.

The sun rises as usual, the day goes on as usual... But, for a person, the years are not so quiet.

The only remaining one of the Four Scholars, Mr. Huang Mo Huang, after a debate, his vitality was severely injured and he failed miserably.During the entire debate, Zhang Ximeng was even amiable all the time, and did not rely on authority to bully him.

But the more so, the more damage it caused to him.

Huang Jin didn't lie when he said that he came here with the intention of dying, he really thought so.

His own words were not pleasant, and his loyal words were harsh, which irritated Zhu Yuanzhang and lost his old life. He was still a figure in Shilin, and his reputation would even become even louder.

Seek benevolence to get benevolence, ask for hammer to get hammer.

Can die without regret.

However, things were completely different from what he thought, and nothing was said, and he even lost his old face.

People in their seventies and eighties, do they still have the face to go back?

How can we face our parents and fellow villagers?

He seemed to be thinking about it, going back and forth a thousand times, but he never came to a conclusion. The old man lay paralyzed on the hospital bed for three whole days, and almost swallowed in one breath.

Fortunately, several genius doctors were able to save the old man's life.

After five days, Huang Jin was able to walk around.

But when he was walking slowly on crutches, he suddenly heard cheers from the street outside the courtyard wall.

"Kneeling, it's really a kneeling statue!"

Huang Jin tried his best to widen his dim old eyes, and finally found a carriage with a kneeling statue...with a long curly head on its head.

It's Zhao Gou!

Zhu Yuanzhang really made Song Gaozong kneel down!

In an instant, Huang Jin seemed to have been struck by nine lightning strikes, his liver and gallbladder were torn apart, and his soul was scattered!

He looked at it stupidly, and knelt down involuntarily.

"No, you can't bully the sky!"

Old Huang Mo burst into tears, weeping bitterly, he struggled hard, and wanted to do something, but under the struggle, he fell headfirst on the ground, only gasping for breath, muttering to himself non-stop.

When people found him, the old man was already foaming at the mouth and incontinent. This man had a stroke!

At this age, he has been hit hard and suffered from a stroke, so he may have a few days to live.

But why did this scholar Hongru die because of Zhao Gou?

In other words, if Zhao Gou knew that there were still people who died for him so many years after his death, would he smile at Jiuquan?

In fact, anyone who has a little understanding of some key points can clearly see that as Zhao Gou knelt down, some things were permanently changed.

In the past, scholars spared no effort to praise the Holy Son of Heaven, but also despised ordinary people. Although they shouted "Long Live the Emperor", in fact, they were unwilling to give the Emperor any authority. They only wanted the Son of Heaven to become a mascot and enshrine it on the shrine just fine.

The reason for this is very simple. Between the emperor and the people, there is a group of scholar-officials.

The higher the emperor is touted, the deeper the common people are squeezed, and the range in the middle is dominated by the scholar-officials, a typical middleman who eats both ends.

However, with the overthrow of the theory of interaction between heaven and man, the emperor directly governed the country according to the will of the people... This is tantamount to putting the scholar-officials on fire, and there is no longer a detached position.

In the future, the emperor can also communicate directly with the people, so as to reform the officials and cut flesh from the scholar-bureaucrats.

A scholar civilization that lasted for 2000 years has come to an end!

As the most famous Confucian scholar in Shilin, how can he survive?

The day before Zhu Yuanzhang came to the throne, Huang Jin died on the hospital bed. He was extremely painful and entangled. He wailed indistinctly in the middle of the night.

The news reached Zhang Ximeng, and they were still arguing together a few days ago. Although the old man called him a traitor and wanted to beat and kill him, but the old child, the young child, at such an old age, he can only act like a child and act like a spoiled child. Zhu Biao pissed on you , can you still be like a child?

After all, there are some emotions.

It just so happened that at this time, a descendant of Yue Fei came and gave Li Shanchang a bronze noble. It is said that this object was originally made by Yue Ke, the grandson of Yue Fei, with four characters on it.

loyalty!

"Zhang Xiang, do you want to put this bronze prince in front of King Yue's tomb?"

Zhang Ximeng's face was a little dignified, serving the country loyally, with a word of loyalty, although Zhao Gou was not worthy of loyalty, but it was somewhat against harmony.

"Brother Li, can you make Zhao Gou kneel down, but face the Central Plains?"

Li Shanchang hesitated a little when he heard this, and then he grinned, "Wonderful, really wonderful! Zhang Xiang is really a genius!"

Chapter 3 and Four

Li Shanchang is now smiling and elated. If an emperor kneels down, he will be in trouble. Even if he doesn't care, he has to think about future generations. This is something that Zhang Ximeng, who has not yet married, can't understand.

But let Zhao Gou face the land of the Central Plains, return to the lost land of mountains and rivers, and the collapsed country and society. This connotation is quite different. It can even be interpreted as kneeling down in the Song Dynasty.To put it simply, kneeling to the northwest is kneeling to the mausoleum of Yanhuang, and it is guilt and apology for the fall of the Central Plains.

Conversely, Zhu Yuanzhang's banner is to restore the Central Plains, so that the offense to the imperial power can be downplayed. All in all, there are too many benefits.

"Zhang Xiang, you have been of great help... Just in time, I have something here, and I need to ask Zhang Xiang for help."

Zhang Ximeng hurriedly said: "Brother Li, just tell me, I will know everything without saying anything."

Li Shanchang smiled and said: "Master Zhang, I have been putting pressure on Fang Guozhen these days. He has already come and will attend the ceremony in person tomorrow."

When Zhang Ximeng heard this, he couldn't help being surprised. He had been busy setting the tone for Zhu Yuanzhang's enthronement, but he didn't take into account Li Shanchang's affairs.

Although Zhang Ximeng didn't know exactly what Li Shanchang did, but being able to force Fang Guozhen, who was a minor overlord, over here was enough to see how powerful Li Shanchang was.

Han Liner ascended the throne, Zhu Yuanzhang did not go, Xu Shouhui ascended the throne, and other leaders of the Red Turban Army will not go either.

However, when Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, Fang Guozhen could be brought in to serve as the atmosphere group. There is no doubt that it is a matter of adding luster.

"Zhang Xiang, how do you arrange Fang Guozhen, how can you add luster to our superiors?" Li Shanchang asked curiously.

Zhang Ximeng really thought about it seriously, "Brother Li, Fang Guozhen is not alone. We should put Fang Guozhen, Chen Youding, and Zhang Shicheng together to see...By the way, has Chen Youding been here?"

"No, he just sent his important officials."

"Where's Zhang Shicheng?"

"He asked Zhang Shixin to come here." Li Shanchang thought for a while, and then added: "Liu Futong only sent a congratulatory letter, but no one was sent."

Zhang Ximeng thought for a while and couldn't help chuckling.

It stands to reason that Liu Futong and Zhu Yuanzhang have the closest alliance, so they should come to congratulate, or at least send someone to come... But Zhu Yuanzhang has already dug up the ancestral grave of the old Zhao family.

But there is no need to worry about anything. After all, what Liu Futong wants is the food and material support of Zhu's army, and Zhu's army needs Liu Futong to weaken the Yuan court's strength.

This premise still exists, and the covenant between the two parties still exists.

Old Zhu will not Sun Shiwan.

The Cao family is so dark and beautiful, and the Shu Han is righteous and upright. Only Sun Shiwan, who repeatedly jumped between the loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty and the King Wu of the Wei Dynasty, served as a foil for the Three Kingdoms struggle for hegemony in vain. Take a play, are you tragic or not?

"Brother Li, let's ignore Liu Futong for now, why is Fang Guozhen willing to come here?"

Li Shanchang chuckled, "We won Hangzhou, and we also have a port. A Hangzhou city is bigger than all his prefectures combined! Fang Guozhen and Yuan Ting fought back and forth, and Zhang Shicheng was able to fight back and forth. , but if he meets us, he will not end well!"

At present, there are three other factions to the east of Zhu's army, namely Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, and Chen Youding... Zhang Shicheng is the strongest, and Chen Youding is the farthest. Swallowed, there is really no way, dare not not come.

Zhang Ximeng said: "Brother Li, since he came here sincerely, we can't neglect the distinguished guests... I remember that Yuan Ting gave Fang Guozhen the title of ten thousand households transported by water, so he surrendered to Yuan Ting. You must know that Da Yuan was given to Mrs. Zhang Shicheng." Wei! It shows that even the Yuan Dynasty didn't take Fang Guozhen too seriously. Although this person is cunning, he has no ambitions... Can we give him a high official and tie him down completely?"

Li Shanchang had a smile on his face, obviously, he thought so too.

"Zhang Xiang, I, to tell you the truth, I have already promised Fang Guozhen that I will give him the title of Duke of Yue... I have told the superior before, and this time I plan to invite Zhang Xiang to meet with the superior and discuss this If it is finalized in advance, it is better to complete the canonization and determine the title before the grand ceremony. Let Fang Guozhen participate in the grand ceremony as a subject."

Lao Li finally confessed his plan.

Zhang Ximeng made some calculations, and immediately felt that Li Shanchang's idea was very good, but he seemed a bit stingy, but considering Lao Li's understanding of sea power, it is already very good to be able to achieve this step.

"Brother Li, do you think it is possible to turn Duke Yue into King Yue?"

"King of Yue?" Li Shanchang's face turned pale with shock, "Master Zhang, the superior is only called King of Wu, and I'm afraid it's inappropriate to confer the title of King of Yue?"

Zhang Ximeng smiled lightly, "Then what if two more kings are added?"

Li Shanchang was puzzled, "Zhang Xiang, you might as well be straight."

"I want to canonize Chen Youding as King Fu, canonize Zhang Shicheng as King Huai, and then make an appointment for the Northern Expedition... If any of them dare to object, then join Fang Guozhen to use troops against them. It’s a pavement for the next step.”

"Oh!" Li Shanchang pondered: "Is this appropriate?"

Zhang Ximeng smiled, "Whether the other party accepts the canonization or not depends not on the lord's name, but on the strength in the lord's hands. What's more, didn't Xiang Yu also lead the canonization of the kings back then?"

Li Shanchang said: "Then, don't we want to be an overlord?"

Zhang Ximeng laughed: "Naturally impossible! In fact, I have another plan, that is, the country established by the Mongols is not only the Yuan Dynasty, but also many vassal states in the Western Regions. There are a large number of maritime merchants from these countries in Hangzhou. Like For a person like Fang Guozhen, if he is willing to honor his lord and expand overseas in the future, occupying land as king, he can be regarded as a person who can make the best use of his talents and lead the lord. Maybe one day, we not only need to overthrow the Yuan court and expel the Hulu, but also take advantage of the trend to go to other places. Take a look at the vassal state. Although it will take a long time, there is no harm in making arrangements early. Even if they are unwilling to accept it, isn't that one more reason to use troops?"

Li Shanchang thought it over and over again, and it was true that doing so would give Lao Zhu a lot of prestige. Li Shanchang didn't think about overseas vassal states, but if these people didn't know how to praise them, they would send troops to sweep them away!

The successful victory of Hangzhou this time also gave Li Shanchang great confidence.

It's time for layout.

"Success, let's meet the superior together!"

Li Shanchang and Zhang Ximeng had the final discussion with Zhu Yuanzhang, and it was not until the middle of the night that the matter was finalized. Li Shanchang still had to make arrangements, and there was no doubt that it would take all night.

Zhu Yuanzhang is even more unlucky. He needs to play with Fang Guozhen tomorrow morning, and then he has to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth and announce that he is the king of Wu. Then he has to go to Yue Fei's tomb to pay homage to Lord Yue. , the determination to expel the Hulu... Calculated in this way, there are as many as three or four speeches alone, and there is nothing wrong with it.

There is no doubt that Lao Zhu will have to recite the manuscript all night.

In other words, Zhang Ximeng can still take a nap for a while. Although it can't reach eight hours, he can't be too greedy.

When he got up, Zhu Ying had already put on a military uniform.