Emperor Ying Shi, seated on the dragon throne, merely glanced at the scene, but this still put considerable pressure on the entire court.
Although the one sitting on the dragon throne looked young and didn't seem as domineering as the Hongwu Emperor, it's unclear when it started, but this relatively young emperor with somewhat delicate features began to give off an increasingly suffocating aura.
He is indeed a descendant of the Hongwu Emperor, and truly worthy of being the successor carefully cultivated by the Hongwu Emperor. Even though he is not yet thirty years old, his shrewd political skills and his inherent meanness and domineering nature are simply impossible to conceal.
The Emperor's furious outburst in court yesterday left a lingering sense of unease, making the atmosphere in the Fengtian Hall noticeably tense. At this time, the civil and military officials were generally cautious, absolutely not wanting to become the trigger for conflict.
Xu Huizu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, three days ago the Duke of Ying reported that the army had arrived in Qingzhou."
Zhu Yunying nodded slightly and said, "Based on the army's development speed, the army will return to Yingtian Prefecture soon. The Five Military Commissions, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, and other relevant departments shall draft regulations and make proper arrangements for welcoming the royal army and rewarding its merits."
This didn't surprise anyone; in fact, everyone had been preparing for it. It's just that now the army is about to return in triumph, which naturally means they need to be ready and formally welcome the victorious army.
Looking at Xu Huizu, Zhu Yunying asked, "Has the Crown Prince received the report?"
Li Jinglong stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince previously instructed us to welcome the royal army with the rites due to the destruction of a country and the expansion of its territory."
Zhu Yunying smiled faintly. He had previously mentioned that the Ming Dynasty's military merit system included both a merit-based system based on the number of enemy heads taken and a system based on the number of enemy heads taken. In reality, the current system primarily relied on the number of enemy heads taken.
Therefore, Fu Youde and others naturally had the merit of expanding territory and defeating rebellious forces.
“Your Highness handled it well. I will report to you after the court session.” Zhu Yunying nodded calmly and made a decision. “Your Highness should also know about these matters. Military and national affairs are of utmost importance. Your Highness should know why the court dispatched troops and how the troops were deployed.”
Many military officers were slightly encouraged, as the current emperor has always valued military officers and can ensure their continued strength. However, some military officers also worried that with the world becoming more peaceful, their status might decline.
However, for the time being, there is no need to worry about these things. Military merit remains the most valued force by the emperor and his reliance.
As for the civil officials, their feelings were complicated. The current emperor valued military merit, which meant that the already powerful military faction had been constantly suppressing the civil officials, leaving them feeling suffocated. If this continued, it was estimated that the court structure of military strength versus civil weakness would persist for some time.
This isn't the early years of a dynasty. It's true that in the early years of most dynasties, the military was strong while the civil service was weak, with powerful nobles suppressing the civil service. But the Ming Dynasty, now over thirty years old, still maintains this pattern.
It's fair to say there's still no chance of change, and suppressing Wu Xun seems a distant dream. In fact, forget about suppressing Wu Xun altogether; just maintaining a balance, rather than being continuously suppressed by him, would be a blessing.
Unfortunately, this is just the most beautiful imagination; it's really not easy to achieve these things.
Just look at the current emperor's attitude; while he wouldn't allow military men to rule the country, there's absolutely no indication that he intends to suppress military officials. This is naturally the worst news for civil officials.
Unfortunately, even with these concerns, there were no other options. Restoring the status of scholars from the Song Dynasty was essentially impossible. Perhaps the only hope was to try and change some of the Crown Prince's views, hoping he would develop a more favorable attitude towards scholars.
After saying this, Zhu Yunying looked at the assembled officials and said, "In the past, the retired emperor was just a small soldier under the command of Prince Chuyang, and was greatly ostracized. He led twenty-four men away from Haozhou and marched south to Dingyuan, where he finally found a place to settle down. Li Shanchang from Dingyuan came to join him and offered his advice. In the seventeenth year of the Zhizheng era, Zhu Sheng, a hermit from Xiuning, joined him. His strategy of building high walls, stockpiling grain, and delaying the proclamation of kingship can be considered the foundation for establishing the empire."
Zhu Yunying's voice was calm, but the civil and military officials below dared not be careless, because they knew what the emperor might be about to do.
Zhu Yunying continued, "In the sixteenth year of the Zhizheng era, the retired emperor conquered Jiqing and renamed it Yingtian. Liu Ji from Qingtian was invited by the retired emperor and submitted a memorial outlining eighteen strategies for current affairs, which were highly valued. Subsequently, the Hall of Respect for the Worthy was built to attract talented people from all over the country. The emperor summoned the Confucian scholar Tang Zhongshi to inquire about the way to pacify the country."
Many civil and military officials were familiar with Zhu Yunying's words, as they reflected the experiences of Emperor Hongwu in establishing his rule over the empire—these were all events that had actually occurred. One could even say that some civil officials had reason to be proud, because while Emperor Hongwu commanded numerous elite troops, many decisive strategies in his quest for hegemony were devised by the advice and suggestions of scholars.
However, Zhu Yunying slowly added, "It's just that the Emperor Emeritus came from a humble background, and although he sought out many talented people, he often encountered setbacks. The Emperor Emeritus was very sincere in his search for talent, repeatedly instructing that 'the way to seek out talent is not to act improperly, but to seek out genuine talent and to educate and guide them with propriety.' Even if 'among the talented people recruited, some are unwilling to go, the officials must not force them, but let them do as they please.'"
Upon hearing Zhu Yunying's words, many scholars felt that Emperor Yingshi might be planning to settle scores later. In fact, it wasn't just Emperor Yingshi; Emperor Hongwu had also done so before.
Despite Emperor Hongwu's apparent eagerness to recruit talented individuals, he was magnanimous and forgiving towards those unwilling to serve during his conquest of the empire.
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