newbobooks Chapter 242
Chapter 242
"Isn't that inappropriate? Zhou Hengqi has no experience in commanding troops. This is no ordinary matter. In my opinion, we should find someone else."
Upon hearing Zhou Chu's name, Yang Yiqing immediately perked up and retorted.
Although Yang Yiqing knew that Zhou Chu had done a lot of things in Jiangnan before, such as eliminating Japanese pirates and suppressing a rebellion of several thousand people, these things were ultimately not something that could be brought up in public.
No matter how you look at it, Zhou Chu is just a Jinyiwei centurion with no experience in commanding troops. It seems unreasonable to let such a person lead troops to quell the rebellion.
"I remember that the Grand Secretary used these words to refer to Lord Lu Wenfu last time. Now look at it again: Lord Lu went to Annam and recovered Annam in an instant, making an unparalleled contribution to our Great Ming Dynasty."
Yang Shen said in a sarcastic tone.
"Besides, didn't the Grand Secretary just say that the Zhang brothers are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Yiqing was immediately rendered speechless.
In fact, when the battle report came back from the front lines saying that King Le Tuan of the Le Dynasty had submitted to the Ming Dynasty under the might of the Ming, Yang Yiqing was also dumbfounded. He couldn't understand what had happened in Annam. How could it have submitted to the Ming Dynasty so quickly?
In Yang Yiqing's opinion, even if Lu Bing could lead troops and fight, it would still take at least a year and a half to fight Annam.
If things really come to that, Yang Yiqing can join forces with all the officials to submit a memorial to the emperor, urging him to withdraw his troops and stop the endless wars that waste the people's wealth.
However, the outcome was so unexpected that he couldn't utter a single word of his prepared remarks.
"Your Excellency is mistaken. Just because Lord Lu has the talent to lead troops does not mean that Commander Zhou does. It is highly unlikely that two young men with no experience in leading troops could both fight."
Seeing that Yang Yiqing remained silent, an official from the Ministry of War stepped forward to refute him.
The main topic of the court meeting then became whether Zhou Chu was suitable to be the commander-in-chief.
The two sides went back and forth, spitting as they spoke, while Jiajing sat firmly on his dragon throne watching the spectacle, wishing he could have Huang Jin bring him some melon seeds.
"Shi Cong, do you think Wen Xian's words make sense?"
Whenever Yang Yiqing felt tired and wanted to close his eyes to rest, Jiajing would always remind him at the right time.
This left Yang Yiqing feeling extremely helpless. At his age, having risen so early for the morning court session, he should have already finished by now, but the emperor seemed to be in no hurry at all.
The court assembly dragged on until the sun was high in the sky. All the civil and military officials were parched, and some were even unable to hold their bladders. Only then did Jiajing wave his hand in a gesture of resignation.
"It's settled then. Zhou Hengqi will lead the troops in Jiangnan to quell the rebellion."
When Jiajing said this, many officials, though dissatisfied, did not want to argue any further. They were all hungry and thirsty, having risen at dawn to attend court. They had been up for so long, even training hawks hadn't been this long.
If Yang Yiqing hadn't been holding a piece of wild ginseng in his mouth, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold on.
Even so, Yang Yiqing felt a little dizzy and lightheaded. Hearing that the emperor had finally made a decision, Yang Yiqing breathed a sigh of relief.
Just when the officials thought the court session was over, Jiajing was not prepared to let them off so easily.
"Wang Yangming resigned from his post to fulfill his filial duty, and I cannot force him to stay. In your opinion, who would be the most suitable person to succeed him as the Governor of Southern Zhili?"
When Jiajing said this, all the officials were dumbfounded, and Yang Yiqing, who was originally ready to leave the court, suddenly felt his vision go black.
But this matter cannot be conceded, after all, the governor of Southern Zhili is of great importance, and Wang Yangming is implementing the so-called performance evaluation system in Southern Zhili. Once this system is fully implemented in Southern Zhili, it will surely spread to the entire Ming Dynasty in the future.
No official wanted this to actually be implemented. They all wanted to coast along, make some money—could there be a better life? Why insist on this performance evaluation system? Wasn't this just putting an extra constraint on them?