In history, Cao Huachun was vilified by those shameless scholars, and even later film and television dramas were affected. Cao Zhengqin, Cao Shaoqin, and all the father-in-laws with the surname Cao were villains.
But in fact, Cao Huachun did not do anything bad in history. He was much better than those literati who always talked about benevolence, morality, loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.
For example, when reorganizing the Warrior Battalion and the Four Guard Battalions, Eunuch Cao was very attentive and selected loyal and brave generals such as Sun Yingyuan, Zhou Yuji, and Huang Degong, which rapidly improved the combat effectiveness of the Warrior Battalion and made it a fire brigade in the late Ming Dynasty.
For example, after Chongzhen's death, Eunuch Cao rushed from Tianjin to Beijing to submit a petition, requesting that the construction of Emperor Chongzhen's tomb be properly handled.
In order to win people's hearts, Emperor Shunzhi agreed to Cao Huachun's request and put him in charge of it.
Okay, let’s not talk about the blame that Eunuch Cao took for now, nor about how he died with hatred, leaving behind the lament of “being slandered for six years at home, and believing in the false history.” Let’s just talk about the Warrior Camp and the Four Guards Camp.
After Eunuch Cao's meticulous selection of the strongest and weakest, the Warrior Battalion and the Four Guards Battalion had been revitalized. However, to achieve a complete transformation, they still had to undergo the rigorous training of this new army.
At this moment, Eunuch Cao was delivering the Emperor's instructions to several officers in a shrill voice, "The Emperor said, if you can't even withstand this kind of training, then stop wasting the court's food and silver and get the hell out."
Your Majesty said this?! He truly has the spirit of Taizu!
The newly promoted Lieutenant General Sun Yingyuan lowered his head slightly and couldn't help but pursed his lips slightly.
The so-called style of Taizu was that Zhu Baba often issued imperial edicts in vernacular, and was laughed at by many scholars as a country bumpkin and uncultured.
For example, if a place is often invaded by Japanese pirates, how should the local officials deal with it by making a special report?
Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial decree: "By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor declares, Tell every citizen to prepare their knives. When these men come, kill them first."
The most famous is the Five Dynasties Imperial Edict Stele in the Imperial College, which contains Zhu Baba's instructions:
"Listen up, students! When Song Ne was the chief priest, the school rules were very strict. The scholars followed the rules and were willing to learn. That's why every one he taught was useful, and the court had many talented people...
A rural atmosphere is blowing in your face. Emperor Taizu was so down-to-earth that the common people could understand his imperial edicts.
It was for this reason that Sun Yingyuan had this idea when he heard the oral order announced by Eunuch Cao.
The newly promoted guerrilla commander, Zhou Yuji, was impatient and quickly assured, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, Eunuch Cao, please rest assured. I will train the army well and it will definitely be better than those foreign troops."
Sun Yingyuan twitched his lips again and said with a cupped hand, "Your Majesty, I look forward to your supervision. I will do my utmost to train a strong army to repay your majesty."
Eunuch Cao felt slightly relieved and nodded, saying, "The Warriors and the Four Guards Battalions are both formed by gathering the best of the garrisons. Even the newly recruited ones are carefully selected and are brave and strong. You've seen those foreign soldiers too; they're not as good physically..."
Cao Huachun was very dedicated and hardworking in the task of reorganizing the two camps, and was determined to get it done well.
Cao Huachun came from a poor family when he was young. Influenced by the custom of "being close to the emperor and raising parents", he entered the palace at the age of twelve or thirteen.
Because of his intelligence, diligence and love of learning, Eunuch Cao received a good education in the palace. He was proficient in poetry, calligraphy and painting. He was highly appreciated by the eunuch Wang An, who was relied upon as a close confidant.
However, Wang An was plotted against by Eunuch Wei and exiled to Nanhaizi. Cao Huachun, whom Wang An admired, was also implicated.
If Zhu Youxiao had not selected Cao Huachun for the task, Eunuch Cao would have been expelled from the capital and sent to Nanjing to guard graves.
Therefore, this mission must be done well and to the emperor's satisfaction so that he can gain a firm foothold and avoid being excluded and expelled.
After watching the training of foreign soldiers, Eunuch Cao was very dissatisfied with the Warriors and Four Guards camps, which led to this scene of supervision and training.
Not only did Eunuch Cao want to do his job well, but Sun Yingyuan and Cao Yuji also had the same mentality. Because they were also selected by the emperor to have their current official positions and power, how could they not do their best to serve him?
Sun Yingyuan and others made assurances again and again, which finally put Eunuch Cao's mind at ease and he got up and left.
"Tomorrow's training will be more intense! If you don't die of exhaustion, train me to death."
Sun Yingyuan sent Eunuch Cao away, then turned back and glared at the generals, issuing an order in an unquestionable tone, "Guarding the capital is such a heavy responsibility. If you are not as good as the foreign troops, as your Majesty said, you can all get the hell out of here."
………………
What is an emperor, or how do you act like an emperor?
Zhu Youxiao, who had been somewhat cautious before, now had the answer. It didn't matter if you looked like or not. As long as you were alive and could continue to work, you would be the emperor.
The self-indulgent Emperor Zhengde, the invisible Emperor Wanli, the spiritual practitioner Jiajing, and the foolish Emperor Sima Zhong of the Western Jin Dynasty, all sat on the throne, ruling over all the people.
Of course, Zhu Youxiao had to be more restrained and reserved in front of others. Who doesn't have some shame?
But in the harem, he was becoming more and more relaxed. Why bother pretending at home? Putting on a show was exhausting.
As for leaving a name in history, or being evaluated as a foolish or wise ruler, Zhu Youxiao cared less and less about it.
Just like Cao Huachun, he argued and found evidence on his own during his lifetime. Was it useful?
Before his death, he still lamented helplessly: "If it is circulated widely and the writer does not examine it carefully, it will become endless filth."
Zhu Youxiao was able to let go after seeing things clearly. He didn't think about what would happen after his death. He just lived a good life now and had a clear conscience.
Therefore, he was not polite at all to those civil servants who could criticize and slander him in the future, and kicked them out one after another.
Zhu Youxiao did not tolerate the extreme memorials of those conservative officials. He issued an imperial edict to reprimand them and published them in the court bulletins and newspapers.
"...The Western Barbarians' firearms can defeat the Eastern Tartars, but what about us..."
Who is this brainless idiot who can't even tell the difference between Portugal and Spain and yet still insists on importing and manufacturing red-haired cannons? What's the point of having a loser like you?
Zhu Youxiao snorted and muttered, "If you can defeat the Eastern Tartars, or offer some advice and meritorious service, I'll give you some pointers. Otherwise, shut up."
Liu Ruoyu grinned secretly, feeling that the emperor's temper had been getting worse in recent days. He didn't even use the word "Qing" and his attitude towards officials was getting worse and worse.
Of course, this was only true for certain officials. For people like Sun Chengzong, Xu Guangqi, and Li Qiyuan, the emperor still respected them very much, even giving them extraordinary courtesy.
"Shaanxi Governor Zuo Guangdou reported: The military settlements in Yansui, Ningxia, and Guyuan are nearly abandoned. They are no longer practical, and the military farms are just empty names..."
What I want is to "clear the garrisons" and your fearless spirit. If you can't even do this, Zuo Guangdou is not worthy of being a frontier official.
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