Chapter 156 First report

The cabinet bachelors were Zhu Yuanzhang's personal secretary. They have been a group of special figures in the Chinese officialdom since ancient times. Today they are called think tanks or experts. They were called Hanlin scholars in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and have always been the emperor's aides. By the time of Xuanzong of the Middle Tang Dynasty, the power of Hanlin scholars reached its peak. They were used by Li Longji and became a means of dealing with powerful prime ministers. They were divided into part of the power of drafting edicts in the Secretariat, which finally gave the emperor the power to issue direct orders. However, this was illegal, so the power of Hanlin scholars quickly declined again. In the Song Dynasty, they were the most powerful and had only a false reputation.

In the Ming Dynasty, the Hanlin Bachelors evolved into the Cabinet Bachelors, which really ushered in its spring. Zhu Yuanzhang kicked away the principle of checks and balances gradually formed in China since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and abolished the prime minister. Therefore, there was no prime minister in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and only the monarch was dictatorial. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty could not bear the hardship of his ancestors and had to entrust the court to private people. The cabinet bachelors gradually gained power as the emperor's private secretary. Although they seemed to be a prime minister, they were essentially the emperor's private secretary. The emperor was worried that the secretary was in charge of power alone and asked the eunuchs to check and balance. This was the fundamental reason why eunuchs were rampant in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the Qing emperor could easily abolish the power of the cabinet bachelors and monopolize the power, just like a house built privately was demolished. Although he was dissatisfied, where could he go to seek justice?

This is also the root of China's gradual decay and darkness in modern times. It loses the checks and balances of the monarchs and ministers that have been formed for thousands of years, just like losing white blood cells in the blood. With a person's dictatorship, how can he not end up in destruction?

Zhu Yuanzhang was a monarch who did everything by himself, so the cabinet bachelor of this era was just a secretary. He occasionally provided some references when making decisions for Zhu Yuanzhang, and most of the time he just decorated his storefront. It was rare for Zhu Yuanzhang to ask Song Na to refer to him today.

Zhu Yuanzhang told him about Li Weizheng's story and finally said: "He has made contributions to combating Japanese pirates and guarding cargo ships. I admit that he taught the Goryeo people a lesson. I think it is feasible, but he 'abuses the power of making decisions on the opportunity' is a consensus among the ministers, especially since he advocates immigration overseas and aiming at the ban on the sea. This is something I cannot tolerate, so I am still unsure about how to deal with him. I want to ask sir, what do you think I should deal with this person in the end?"

Although the Cabinet Bachelor's knowledge is good, he is not good at the art of emperors. He usually has to find answers from books and classics. However, Song Na is an alien among the Cabinet Bachelor. He is not only good at knowledge, but also good at adapting and can come up with ideas. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang always likes to let him follow him. Song Na thought for a long time and said, "Your Majesty, I think the so-called "abuse of the power to make decisions on the opportunity" is just a dissatisfaction statement. Power is power. Since I have given it, how can I talk about the word "abuse". Li Weizheng faithfully implemented Your Majesty.

The power given to him is inconsistent with reason if it is used as an excuse to make a mistake; secondly, immigration violates the maritime ban. I listen to Your Majesty’s statement and only he suggests to Your Majesty or asks for instructions. I think the key is whether he has done something illegal. If he does it, Your Majesty can punish him openly. If he does not do it, it is just an idea. Your Majesty does not have to take this matter seriously. Just reject it directly. Warn him well and don’t let him violate His Majesty’s bottom line again.”

Speaking of this, Song Na bowed deeply to Zhu Yuanzhang and advised him tactfully: "Your Majesty, I have always heard from Your Majesty that this person is a rare talent, so I have promoted him several times. Since he has been repeatedly favored by the holy people, he will of course be jealous. If Your Majesty thinks he is too strong in the limelight, then you should suppress him appropriately and not give him rewards. The above is my foolish opinion. Please give your Majesty a self-taught self."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. Song Na made a very reasonable statement. Even if he wanted to punish Li Weizheng, he could not use the charge of "abuse of power". He knew it in his mind and smiled at Song Na, "It's getting late, sir, go back to the house to rest! I will have to rest after I have approved a few more memorials."

"Please take care of your dragon body, I will take my leave." Song Na bowed and slowly retreated.

Zhu Yuanzhang put together several memorials of Li Weizheng, and he picked up his pen and began to review the memorials that would not end.

The next morning, Li Weizheng did not attend the court meeting. He was a local military officer and he did not have to go to the morning court without special edicts. However, after the court today, the emperor wanted to summon him, so Li Weizheng went out early in the morning, entered the Forbidden City, and waited in front of the Meridian Gate.

Zhu Yuanzhang's morning court was not long and it ended in less than two hours. Then the guards came to announce the visit of Li Weizheng. Li Weizheng sorted out the court robes and hurriedly followed the guards to Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial study in Zhonghe Hall.

When he walked to the steps of Zhonghe Hall, Li Weizheng met Zhan Hui, the Minister of Personnel. Zhan Hui was going to meet Zhu Yuanzhang and report on the relocation of several officials, but was accused of the emperor of meeting with other ministers and asking him to come again in the afternoon. Zhan Hui had to withdraw in a bad mood, but he saw Li Weizheng who was coming with the guards at first sight.

He was stunned at first, then smiled and bowed to Li Wei, "When did Lord Li come to Beijing? I don't know?"

Li Weizheng also replied, "I was just Beijing yesterday, so I was not yet able to visit Lord Shangshu."

"You are polite, Lord Li!" Zhan Wei laughed dryly. He suddenly looked at both sides and lowered his voice: "You must be careful. The emperor is extremely dissatisfied with the scourge of Busan in Goryeo. If you anger the emperor again today, I am afraid that we can only collect the body for you."

After saying that, he laughed and turned around. Li Wei was sneering, "Then it depends on who collects the body for whom in the end!"

He ignored Zhan Hui and quickly walked towards Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial study. Li Wei was waiting at the door for a moment. A eunuch came out and said, "The emperor ordered the commander Li Weizheng of Weihai to meet him."

Li Wei took a deep breath. Whether this level can be passed depends on now. He quickly walked into the imperial study room, knelt down respectfully and kowtowed: "My dear Li Weizheng met His Majesty the Emperor, I wish His Majesty a long live His Majesty!"

"Li Weizheng, get up!" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was extremely cold. He put down his pen and looked at Li Weizheng. Seeing that he had become dark and thin compared to the beginning of the year, he suddenly remembered his hard work on Japan, so he calmed down slightly and said, "Have you ever seen the prince?"

"I was too tired after coming back at noon yesterday and fell asleep unknowingly. I haven't visited His Royal Highness the Crown Prince yet, and I'm going to visit this afternoon."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and admitted that he had overslept. This person was quite honest. He took out Li Weizheng's first report and searched for it, "Do you have any private money and materials when you are traveling to Japan?"

Li Wei was ready, so he took out a book from his arms and submitted it: "Your Majesty, whether in Japan or Goryeo, I have never greedy for one or two taels of silver, but I have also received some gifts. I specially made a list and prepared to hand it over to the treasury. Please check it out."

A guard came over and presented Li Weizheng's list to Zhu Yuanzhang. The list listed the various gifts he received in Japan and Danluo Island, including the items given by Emperor Kameyama, Prince Ryoseki, Takei Kikuchi and King Danluo. Zhu Yuanzhang took it and looked at it and smiled, "This last line of crystal can be removed. You used it to make Qianliyan, which is not counted as your gift."

He put down the list, took out the pair of Climax eyes from the drawer, and smiled and said, "I like the pair of Climax eyes you made very much and practical. In order to commend you, I will give you these gifts, and you can accept them."

Li Wei was bowing and said, "I thank the emperor for his gift!"

"Don't be busy thanking me for now." Zhu Yuanzhang's face changed as soon as he said. He looked at him with a climax. He said, "Although you have made great achievements, you have even greater guilt. You didn't even report me and occupied Goryeo land without authorization and bombarded Busan. Even I dared not make such a decision easily. Li Weizheng, you are so bold!"

"Your Majesty, please listen to me for explanation. The reason why I do this is because of a reason."

"You said!" Zhu Yuanzhang stared into his eyes fiercely.

Li Wei calmed down his nervous mood and then said slowly: "Your Majesty, I attacked Danluo Island because Danluo Island was occupied by the Japanese Dainai family. The Daluo family was behind the scenes of the planner who intercepted my Ming cargo ship for the first time. I seized Danluo Island from the Japanese, which could not be considered as occupying the land of Goryeo. Moreover, the strategic location of Danluo Island is extremely important. It is located between Goryeo and Japan, with a vast territory. The Mongols once established a general administration on the island to shed horses. If I got this island, I could control Goryeo and Japan at the same time. I wrote a book called "The Three Kingdoms" for this purpose. This is my opinion on the relationship between the Ming Dynasty, Goryeo and Japan. Please read it with Your Majesty."

After Li Weizheng finished speaking, a eunuch next to him presented Zhu Yuanzhang with a thick booklet collected in advance. This was a book of 20,000 words when Li Weizheng returned to his voyage. He described some historical facts that happened later as a deduction, and pointed out that the root cause of Japan's invasion of the Kingdom and the later development of the confrontation with the Ming Dynasty was from Japan's shogunate system, which was actually the inevitable result of soldiers' control of Japan's power. For Goryeo, Li Weizheng also pointed out the two-faced and unremembered kindness of this nation. Although these were later historical facts, Zhu Yuanzhang, who controlled the Celestial Empire, seemed to him incredible. He only glanced at it and threw the booklet into the drawer. Is the small country like Goryeo and Japan worthy of being the three kingdoms alongside the Ming Dynasty? Zhu Yuanzhang was not interested in this at all.

"Is this the reason why you occupied Danluo Island without authorization?" Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, "It's because you thought of some strange things."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang did not understand the strategic importance of Danluo Island, Li Wei couldn't help but feel very depressed. He could only sigh secretly and retreat and said: "Any cause will have consequences. Goryeo took advantage of the war between His Majesty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty and had no time to look east, and occupied the territory of Liaodong of the Ming Dynasty and did not return afterwards. Your Majesty might as well take Danluo Island as its property and order Goryeo Li Chenggui to return the territory of Ming Dynasty."

This was the last bet made by Li Weizheng. He bet that Li Chenggui would inevitably refuse to return the occupied northern territory, which made Zhu Yuanzhang angry and occupied Danluo Island and refused to return it.

Li Weizheng's view was right, which Zhu Yuanzhang was willing to listen to. He was always very angry about Goryeo's invasion of the Ming territory. He ordered the King of Goryeo to withdraw from the occupied territory repeatedly, but the war with Beiyuan made him have no time to look east. This year, the Northern Yuan war slowed down a little, so he immediately ordered the formation of Tielingwei to prevent Goryeo from expanding north. Li Weizheng used Danluo Island to exchange for Goryeo's withdrawal from the Ming territory, which was in line with his intention. Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and asked again: "What about Busan Port? What is the reason for your bombardment of Busan Port?"

"Report to Your Majesty, if they hadn't bullied people too much, I would never dare to go to war with Goryeo without authorization." Li Weizheng told Li Yuanfang's attempt to swallow the Ming cargo ship.

In fact, Li Weizheng had already mentioned this in his work report. Zhu Yuanzhang also knew that he was not concerned about the bombardment of Busan itself, but why did Li Weizheng not come back to ask him for instructions? Occupy Danluo Island may be explained as trying to seize the fighter plane, but bombarding Busan can be done back and ask for instructions before taking action. However, Li Weizheng did not do this and still ordered without authorization, which made Zhu Yuanzhang extremely dissatisfied. Just as Zhan Hui analyzed to him, how could a monarch with great desire for power really give anyone "on-the-point decision-making power".

Zhu Yuanzhang did not hear Li Weizheng's confession of using the "on-time decision-making power", nor did he hear his apology for Ryukyu immigrants. His anger gradually grew and he forgot Song Na's advice to him. Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and stared at Li Weizheng's eyes and said gloomy: "You have occupied Danluo Island without authorization, bombarded Busan without authorization, reached an agreement with the Japanese homeland, and put pressure on Zhongshan without authorization. All of this comes from the so-called "on-time decision-making power at sea". Yes, this is the power I give you, and I have nothing to say, but it is as easy as killing you or killing an ant, without any reason, but you will definitely say that you have made contributions. Well, you will just say your five contributions. This is the bottom line for not killing people. If you can say it, I will spare you today. If you can't say it, I will kill you immediately."

Li Weizheng's khan had already oozed out of his forehead. Of course, he knew what Zhu Yuanzhang wanted, but whether he confessed his guilt or confessed, it was not difficult. But if he really did this, how could he ask for an order to conquer Kyushu, how to talk about sea power, and how to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang to take back Xiaoliuqiu Island. On the premise that the starting point was wrong, everything behind was nonsense, but Li Weizheng also knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting on it. Although he had not pressed his belt yet, as long as he said a wrong sentence, his head would fall to the ground. It involved his own life. Li Weizheng had to sigh secretly and kneel down and said, "I dare not take credit. I can only report some of the achievements to Your Majesty."

"speak!"

"I escort the cargo ship to Japan and return from Japan for silver, and live up to your majesty's trust."

"This is your contribution, let's talk about it!"

"I have made a clairvoyance of the clairvoyance. Your Majesty once fought in the south and north, so you should know the importance of clairvoyance."

"The clairvoyance is beneficial to seizing the opportunity in the first battle. I know it in my mind, and it can be considered your contribution."

"I have obtained the permission of His Majesty to remove the Japanese pirate supply base in Zhongshan Kingdom, so that the King of Zhongshan will not dare to engage in Japanese pirates again."

"This credit is a bit of a slight contribution, but it is also yours."

"I have wiped out more than 1,500 Japanese pirates on Xiaoliuqiu Island, and severely attacked the arrogance of Japanese pirates. I have asked the Ministry of War for credit."

"The Ministry of War does not admit your merits, but I know you won't make false, so I'll calculate your merits."

The king and his minister were like bargaining vendors and buyers in the market. As they advanced and retreated, the atmosphere in the imperial study gradually eased, and Zhu Yuanzhang's murderous intent gradually faded. The guards and eunuchs next to him were all relieved when they saw the emperor lying gently on the dragon throne. The murderous intent next to him was secretly relieved. The murder would not happen today. Li Weizheng was lucky. If he could be praised by the emperor, he would be driven out of the imperial study room by the emperor. However, it was not that simple for Li Weizheng. He never wanted to give up his thoughts. If he wanted to gain something today, he would have to get a surprise soldier. He had a killer move and was ready to use it at a critical moment. Now is the time.

"Your Majesty, please tell me the fifth merit."

Zhu Yuanzhang's mood was completely calm. Li Weizheng was very smart. He did not regard Danluo Island and Busan as credit, nor did he boast about his preparation to immigrate overseas. This showed that he knew his bottom line in his heart. Zhu Yuanzhang liked to deal with such subordinates, and everything was dependent on his mind. He did not have to be honest, so as not to be unable to step down. A trace of curiosity surged in his heart. He didn't know what else Li Weizheng could do to take out, so he nodded and said, "Tell me!"

"I wonder if your Majesty still remembers something I said before. I can get a grain of several thousand kilograms per mu: sweet potatoes."

Zhu Yuanzhang sat up straight, food issues have always been a big thing he cares about. Is there really such a thing? He looked at Li Weizheng in a bit incredible and asked word by word: "You really got it?"

Li Weizheng nodded, "I told Your Majesty that I once placed a smuggling vendor when I was handling the case in Guangdong because he could get this item. More than half a year ago, he sent this item to Weihaiwei. I am already planting it, and I guess there should be a harvest in two months."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't resist his inner excitement and paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. He was a poor peasant, so of course he knew the importance of food. Over the years, the problem of food has been a big problem that has troubled him. The insufficient grain output has prevented him from promoting mulberry cotton planting, and also slowed down the recovery of the Ming Dynasty's national strength. If there were indeed several thousand kilograms of grain per mu, many people would not have to go hungry anymore. Although Li Weizheng's statement was just an expectation, it was enough to make Zhu Yuanzhang excited for a long time.

After a while, he slowly said to Li Weizheng: "This sweet potato has not succeeded in the end, so I can only count you as half of your contribution, but only half of your contribution is much more important than the four contributions in the previous ones. If you share my worries and solve my problems, I will feel sorry if I don't reward you. But if I really reward you, how should I punish your previous mistakes? I am very embarrassed. This is how I can agree to your small request, and then even if you have to compensate for your merits and demerits."

Zhu Yuanzhang's implication was to say to Li Weizheng that we should not make excessive demands. Even if you are let go today, Li Weizheng understood Zhu Yuanzhang's meaning. He quickly balanced his mind. In this case, we can no longer mention the power of the sea, nor can we mention the eastern expedition of Kyushu, Japan. But how can we get the greatest benefit from this small demand? Li Weizheng pondered for a moment and said, "I do have a small demand, please let Your Majesty know."

"You talk first!"

"In my last report, I mentioned that the King of Danluo was still there, and the people of Danluo admired Han culture. I brought back Prince Danluo and a hundred young people to learn Confucian culture, but they are still in Dengzhou. I am in a dilemma. I beg Your Majesty to allow them to study in Beijing."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Weizheng for a long time. This man was exhausted for Danluo Island. Although he was a little overestimated, his ambition was commendable. The Danluo people could use them to hit the Korean envoy. Thinking of this, he nodded slowly and said, "Okay! You can let them go to Beijing to study. I will arrange this matter. You can visit the prince!"
Chapter completed!