Fu Youde couldn't stand it any longer and immediately stood up, shouting angrily, "Lord Mao, in the first year of Ying Shi, the imperial court launched a northern expedition, and the Tatars fled far away. Now the northern border is peaceful, so where does this talk of northern barbarians come from? Does Lord Mao think that we lied about military intelligence back then?"
At this point, Xu Huizu, Chang Mao, and others also stepped forward, launching a fierce attack on Mao Dafang. The reason was simple: these people were representatives of the Wuxun Group, and their past achievements in crippling the Tatars were a major accomplishment for the Wuxun Group.
Mao Dafang's previous statement made some sense; moving the capital to Beiping would indeed cause some problems with the defense line.
From the long-term perspective of the Central Plains civilization, enemies from the north have always existed, and this is the most dangerous and deadly threat.
However, in the short term, the Ming Dynasty doesn't seem to need to worry about these things, since the Tatars have already been driven out. For the time being, there isn't really any major danger in the north, so Mao Dafang's statement is somewhat alarmist.
At this point, a third-rank official like the Left Censor-in-Chief certainly couldn't compete with a duke or marquis of a higher rank. That's when someone of sufficient influence from the civil service group would need to step in, such as a minister of one of the six ministries. Only then could it be considered a battle of soldiers against soldiers and generals against generals.
At this moment, Chen Di stepped forward and spoke up in support, "Duke Ying, Lord Mao is not questioning the victory of the Northern Expedition. It's just that the Northern barbarians have always been impossible to completely eliminate. Although there are no hidden worries now, it is hard to guarantee that peace will be restored in a hundred or so years."
At this point, Chang Mao said in a somewhat sarcastic tone, "That's perfect. I remember that Lord Mao has always thought that the construction of the Great Wall was not a clever plan. Since the capital has been moved to Beiping, which is closer to the land of the barbarians, Lord Mao can use the teachings of benevolence and righteousness to educate the barbarians and solve the problem of future troubles once and for all."
This caused many of the military officers to burst into laughter, which was a mockery of Mao Dafang.
In fact, Mao Dafang was somewhat pedantic. His orthodox ideas, such as loyalty and filial piety, were very strong, and he was a representative of traditional Confucian ethics. At times, he appeared extremely pedantic and ridiculous.
Regarding foreign enemies, he was just like many pedantic scholars. He always believed that educating the barbarians with the teachings of benevolence and righteousness would be very effective in resolving political, historical, and ethnic disputes. This argument was extremely naive and laughable.
What's even more problematic is that many scholars share Mao Dafang's view, believing that the teachings of sages can solve all problems. They think the reason why the Song Dynasty and even earlier dynasties failed to accomplish these things is because of this.
These people are sometimes naive, and indeed quite frightening, which is why Zhu Yunying thinks they've become stupid from studying too much.
Mao Dafang can be quite pedantic at times, and these guys are sometimes similar to Huang Zicheng and Fang Xiaoru. But the better thing about Mao Dafang is that even though he has a lot of 'ambitions,' he won't act recklessly.
Zhu Yunying was indeed very annoyed with these people at first, wishing he could drive them all out of the court so he could avoid seeing them and getting annoyed. He also felt that these people should be permanently expelled from the court, which was the best solution.
However, Zhu Yunying's views have changed somewhat, and these people still have some influence.
Some people may hold naive or outdated political views, which is fine, as long as they are not allowed to occupy certain positions. They are more reliable if they are good at being outspoken officials or fulfilling their duties in the judicial system.
The reason is actually quite simple: these people are relatively morally upright, possessing their own sense of pride and integrity. In their specific positions, they can indeed make significant contributions.
Therefore, we cannot be too extreme, nor can we condemn all people based on a single example. These can also be considered part of Zhu Yunying's growth.
The argument broke out in the court, and no one found it strange at all; it would have been odd if there hadn't been an argument.
However, many people have now realized that although the debate over relocating the capital has not yet reached a fever pitch, and is only in the early stages, it has already sparked controversy, and many people's stances have begun to emerge.
Many people understand that this is just an appetizer; the real infighting in the court will begin when the relocation of the capital takes place. At that time, even more conflicts are inevitable.
Zhu Yunying did not intend to let these matters continue, but simply asked, "The matter of moving the capital was a national policy formulated by the retired emperor. I am the succeeding emperor, and I must not overturn this national policy. There is no need for you gentlemen to discuss this matter further."
While Emperor Ying's decision wasn't a final word, it essentially set the tone, and he didn't want to discuss it further. Regarding the relocation of the capital, he was determined to push it through; there was simply not much room for negotiation.
Even though the emperor made it clear that he needed to put up a fight, some civil and military officials still felt that they should resist.
Before paying a higher price, before suffering a complete and utter defeat, one should always try to fight for it, for there may still be a sliver of hope.
Since there is some hope, we should strive to achieve it. If we give up easily, our ambitions, pursuits, or interests may not be better protected.
Everyone understood Zhu Yunying's thoughts, and he was also very clear about the thoughts of the civil and military officials.
This is a protracted battle, and it will inevitably continue until the dust settles. There's no doubt about that, so let's just keep competing. There's nothing to worry about.
Looking at the civil and military officials, Zhu Yunying continued, "With the passing of the Emperor Emeritus, the handling of state affairs was indeed delayed for some time. Now that I have decided to deal with state affairs, my beloved ministers should not neglect their duties."
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