jdhmnovel Chapter 566 No major mistakes, but constant minor ones
Chapter 566 No major mistakes, but constant minor ones
Seeing the way Emperor Zhu's eyes lit up, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but want to laugh.
At this point, Emperor Zhu seemed to be a cunning and calculating man, but also someone who couldn't quite figure things out.
For example, this indulgence.
Old Deng's main concern was definitely how to print indulgences and how to get Xia Yu to arrest a few missionaries willing to cooperate.
But shouldn't the real focus be on using the opportunity of issuing indulgences to let people understand the situation in Europe?
Not to mention sending the Ming army to spread education.
At the very least, we must recover the lost territory.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "Father-in-law, I just remembered that our Ming Dynasty still has a lot of land that we haven't reclaimed."
Emperor Zhu glanced at Yang Shaofeng and snorted coldly, "What's the rush?"
"Eat your food one bite at a time and walk your journey one step at a time."
"We haven't even completely wiped out the Hu Yuan yet, and you're already eyeing the lands in Europe?"
Yang Shaofeng raised his voice and said confidently, "The Ming Dynasty has recognized the legitimacy of the Hu Yuan Dynasty, so it should naturally recover the lands that were developed during the Hu Yuan period. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of recognition?"
Emperor Zhu was so angry he laughed: "The land you expanded during the Yuan Dynasty? Aren't you afraid of choking to death?"
The territory expanded during the Yuan Dynasty was vast.
The territory of the Golden Horde, the Chagatai Khanate, the Ögedei Khanate, and the Ilkhanate alone was immense.
If we include the later Timur Khanate, the entire territory of the Yuan Dynasty was boundless.
The reason why the Ming Dynasty recognized the legitimacy of the Hu Yuan Dynasty was that it could one day eliminate the Hu Yuan Dynasty and then take over all these territories.
But plans are plans, and reality is implementation.
The Ming Dynasty at present has not even been able to realize its plan to eliminate the Yuan Dynasty, let alone recover the territories of the four Khanates.
Emperor Zhu said with a forced smile, "Furthermore, if we really want to recover those lost territories, it would be best to have the legitimacy of the Yuan dynasty, but it wouldn't matter if we didn't."
"Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king. On the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king."
"How sharp the knife in your hand is, whether the national treasury is full, and the number of people—these are the key factors in determining whether or not to recover those lost territories."
"Legal system and such are not important."
Yang Shaofeng expressed his admiration.
Perhaps this unreasonable yet self-righteous demeanor is Old Deng's true face?
Just as Yang Shaofeng was secretly complaining, Emperor Zhu turned his gaze to Xia Yu: "Hurry up and get things done with the missionaries, and also find out more about the indulgences."
Yang Shaofeng quickly added, "We also need to be careful of those missionaries. We absolutely cannot let them take things like the 'Agricultural Book' out of the country, but they can take as many copies of things like 'The Romance of the Western Chamber' as they want."
……
While Yang Shaofeng and Emperor Zhu were scheming in Europe, Zhu Biao, Li Shanchang, and Liu Bowen, far away in the capital, were looking at the memorials before them with a headache.
"Hundreds of herders came from Xifengkou to seek refuge with Daming, requesting that they be taken in and settled in Luanxian."
This is a memorial sent by Geng Xingming, the magistrate of Zunhua County, via express horse.
Zhu Biao almost laughed out of anger.
Geng Xingming had previously led his yamen runners to fight with the magistrate of Luan County for people, and they even wrote memorials to impeach each other.
Are they already saying they're going to relocate people to Luan County?
"This is a complete mess."
Zhu Biao rubbed his forehead and sighed, "None of the officials from Ningyang County are any good."
Li Shanchang also looked both amused and exasperated.
To be fair, Li Shanchang could understand the actions of Geng Xingming, the magistrate of Zunhua County.
Zunhua lacked manpower but not herders, or rather, Zunhua wanted to accept these hundreds of herders who had come to seek refuge with the Ming Dynasty, but dared not settle them.
After all, there are several hundred herdsmen. Who knows if there are any of Hu Yuan's spies among them?
However, directly refusing to accept the package is not a good idea either.
What if these herdsmen are sincerely coming to join the Ming Dynasty?
If Hu Yuan loses even one herdsman, it's equivalent to losing one archer, which weakens their military strength.
Similarly, the more herdsmen the Ming Dynasty gains, the stronger its own power will become.
After all, this kind of situation is not uncommon.
When the rebellion against the Yuan dynasty began, the most ruthless fighters were the Mongols who had defected to the Ming dynasty.
Even during Xu Da and Chang Yuchun's several northern expeditions, the most ferocious attackers were the Mongols, who seemed intent on burning Karakorum to the ground.
It was perfectly normal for Geng Xingming to want to accept these herdsmen who had come to seek refuge with the Ming Dynasty.
But Geng Xingming's methods are not ethical.
They wanted to accept the people but dared not resettle them, so they tried to push them to Luan County.
Have you asked the magistrate of Luan County what he thinks?
As for the prefects of Yongping and Beiping...
just forget it.
I guess they don't really want to get involved in those messy things in Luanxian and Zunhua.
Even if Geng Xingming wrote an official document to the prefect of Beiping, the prefect's only response would be to report it up the chain of command.
Li Shanchang sighed helplessly, and finally bowed to Zhu Biao, saying, "Your Highness, I think it would be better to send these hundreds of herdsmen directly to Dengzhou for resettlement."
"After all, there are several hundred people. If we leave them in Luan County, it will eventually become a hidden danger."
"But it's different in Dengzhou Prefecture."
"Even if there are indeed Hu Yuan's spies among them, they can't cause any trouble."
Zhu Biao hummed in agreement, but Liu Bowen coughed and said, "Your Highness, I think this is inappropriate."
Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang were both slightly taken aback, while Liu Bowen stroked his beard and said, "It is certainly safe to settle the herdsmen who come to seek refuge in Dengzhou Prefecture."
However, Li Shanchang was just too cautious in his actions.
Doing everything in a rigid and methodical way will certainly prevent any major mistakes, but when it comes to Hu Yuan herdsmen coming to seek refuge with the Ming Dynasty, is this a matter of seeking stability rather than security?
Liu Bowen said meaningfully, "Aren't the Emperor and the Prince Consort in Ningyang County? Wouldn't it be better to send someone to Ningyang County again so that the Emperor and the Prince Consort can handle it?"
As Liu Bowen finished speaking, Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang's eyes lit up.
Yes.
There are two large Buddha statues in Ningyang County.
If we don't give them a headache now, when will we?
Moreover, this also involves several county magistrates from Ningyang County.
The thought of those county magistrates, who were even more troublesome than tough nut to crack, gave Zhu Biao a headache.
They never make big mistakes, but they are always making small ones.
Punishing them is not a fair approach.
It wouldn't be fair not to punish them.
Give them a reward; none of these scoundrels are any good.
If we don't reward them, they all have outstanding political achievements.
Whether it was encouraging agriculture and sericulture, leading the people to reclaim wasteland, or setting up various workshops, these twenty-odd county magistrates were all extremely capable and indeed achieved remarkable results.
However, they were equally adept at causing trouble by leading their yamen runners to seize relocated people, cursing their colleagues, writing articles to criticize them in the newspapers, or offending local gentry and elders.