"Jianchang Hou, you can't use misunderstanding to explain this matter. Even if you misunderstand my will, you can't ignore it because the impact of this matter is extremely bad. As Liu Jin said, this matter may cause local
The anger of officials. I estimate that the plan to impeach you is already on the way." Zhu Houzhao said solemnly.
Zhang Yanling sighed and said: "Your Majesty, I understand, and I have no intention of shirk responsibility. No matter what the Emperor does, I just plead guilty. I am responsible for everything I do, and I misunderstood the Emperor's will. I can't blame the Emperor for not writing the imperial edict."
Are you clear? In the final analysis, I am still stupid."
Zhu Houzhao rolled his eyes, looked at the ministers in the imperial study and said, "How do you think this matter should be handled?"
There was silence in the room. Zhang Mao, his grandson, and Xu Guangzuo refused to speak. Yang Tinghe moved his lips but swallowed his words. Liu Jin really wanted to speak, but Zhang Yanling just pointed out the matter of Nanzhu, and she was muttering in her heart.
Zhang Yanling still knows a lot, so she doesn't want to jump too high at the moment.
"Your Majesty, I believe that this matter cannot be tolerated, and it cannot chill the hearts of local officials. It cannot break the rules of the court. Even if the Marquis of Jianchang seems to have misunderstood the meaning of the imperial edict, it cannot be used as an excuse. On the contrary, it shows that,
The Marquis of Jianchang cannot be reused and his actions are dull. I believe that he should be punished according to the law. He will be dismissed from his post in the regiment camp pending trial."
Jiao Fang, the cabinet scholar, said slowly.
He didn't want to waste such an opportunity. He finally caught Zhang Yanling making a mistake and had to face death.
"Dismissal?" Zhu Houzhao frowned and thought.
"Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate." Zhang Lun said loudly.
"Zhang Lun, don't say much," Zhang Mao shouted.
Zhang Lun became more stubborn this time, ignored Zhang Mao's scolding, and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, Marquis Jianchang did act a bit reckless this time. Not to mention whether he misunderstood the Emperor's will, just because he said in the memorial
Write
These things, even if we are in Guangzhou, we are going to take Li Siming and others. This gang of bastards colluded with Fanyi to smuggle for profit, betrayed the country for profit, ignored the life and death of the people, and allowed the Fo Langji people to do whatever they wanted. How can we condone it?"
"Zhang Lun, don't talk nonsense, do you want to make me angry to death?" Zhang Mao said angrily.
"Grandpa, am I right? What's more, these bastards allowed the Fanyi to occupy our territory in the Ming Dynasty. This is even more of a capital crime. I think that the soldiers in the border towns of the Ming Dynasty fought bloody battles for every inch of land and did not allow foreign enemies to interfere.
It would be better for them to let the Fanyi occupy Tuen Mun
He went out to the sea and harassed the ships of the people of the Ming Dynasty but ignored them and fought fiercely with them. Such people should be killed on the spot. Why don't you kill such an unfaithful and unjust minister and keep it as a treasure? You guys
Is this the truth when it comes to commenting?" Zhang Lun said loudly.
Zhang Lun's face turned red and he looked at Zhu Houzhao and everyone in the room.
Zhang Mao looked at his grandson like this and felt a little annoyed but also a little relieved. His grandson had never publicly contradicted him or obeyed his words. But today, it seemed to be different.
Although he was unhappy because of Zhang Lun's attitude, Zhang Mao was relieved that his grandson had finally grown up and finally had the courage to contradict him. To be honest, he had been looking forward to this for a long time.
The arrival of one day actually shows that Zhang Lun already has his own opinions and courage, and no longer needs to be protected under his own wings.
Zhang Mao is already over seventy this year, and his health has been very poor recently. This may mean that he can die with peace of mind.
Zhang Yanling was a little surprised. At this critical moment, Zhang Lun was able to step forward, which is extremely rare. Among relatives, interests come first. Most of them are bound by interests, and they are rarely able to help others at critical moments.
.
But today it seems that the young master Zhang Lun is loyal, and Zhang Yanling is very grateful for being able to say these words.
In fact, Zhang Mao, his two grandsons, and even his father-in-law Xu Guangzuo would not blame them even if they didn't say a word today. But in his heart, he naturally still hopes that they can defend himself. Zhang Lun has stood up, and this is enough.
"Young Master Zhang Lun, what you say makes sense, but the imperial court has its own laws. How can we act based on our own will? Furthermore, as I just said, this matter is doubtful. There is insufficient evidence." Jiao Fang said solemnly.
road.
Zhang Lun said: "Let's go and investigate and it will be clear soon. Your Majesty, I am willing to accept the order to investigate this matter."
Liu Jin couldn't help but said: "If you want to investigate, it's up to the imperial court's Third Law Department or Jin Yiwei to investigate. What's going on if the young master goes to investigate?"
Zhang Lun glared and shouted: "What do you mean? Are you saying that I am protecting the Marquis of Jianchang? Liu Jin, please speak clearly, don't let your stinky nonsense come here."
Zhang Mao shouted sharply: "Zhang Lun, you are not allowed to be impudent in front of the emperor, how can you speak vulgarly?"
Zhang Lun saw that his grandfather seemed really angry, so he stopped talking.
Zhang Mao cupped his hands to Zhu Houzhao and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Zhang Lun said something rude. It's all because of the incompetent teachings of the old ministers."
Zhu Houzhao didn't mean to be angry at all. He kept frowning and listening to everyone arguing. Hearing Zhang Maozhi's words, he waved his hands and said: "Young Lord, how can I blame you? Zhang Lun is a straight-tempered person, so he just speaks more straightforwardly. However,
It makes sense. In any case, the fact that the Fo Langji people occupied Tuen Mun Island is well-documented. Li Siming and Wang Hong both mentioned this in the book."
Everyone nodded.
Zhu Houzhao said: "However, didn't Li Siming's memorial say that the Folangji people were temporarily berthed for rest? What was berthed was a cargo ship. But from what Jianchang Hou said, it doesn't seem to be the case. These Fanyi don't seem to be guarding
The rules are not friendly enough.”
Liu Jin said softly: "Your Majesty, these things cannot be confirmed yet."
Zhang Yanling sneered and said: "Can't prove it? Although I did not escort Li Siming and the group of prisoners of the Folangji Kingdom back to the capital, I did bring back the evidence. Your Majesty, I brought back the three-door Buddha of the Folangji Kingdom that was captured.
Lang Machine Cannon, as well as some Franco Machine People and
Li Siming and others colluded to smuggle a large amount of goods. What came from the Folangji Kingdom were not merchant ships at all, but three powerful centipede ships, which belonged to the Eastern Fleet of the Folanji Country. Each ship was equipped with more than a dozen Folangji ships.
A gunboat with a cannon. It is extremely powerful."
Zhu Houzhao said in shock: "Eastern Fleet? What is that?"
Zhang Yanling said: "It was a maritime gunboat army of the Fo Langji Kingdom. According to the prisoners, it was huge in scale and owned dozens of gunboats. They came all the way east and showed off their power. They attacked many overseas countries along the way and occupied other countries' lands.
They burned, killed and looted property. They did all kinds of evil. They
Knowing that the Ming Dynasty was not easy to mess with, they first established themselves on Tuen Mun Island, established a good relationship with Li Siming and others, and colluded with each other through the smuggling business. At the same time, they built Tuen Mun Island into a military port as a springboard. Once they established a foothold, a large number of gunboats would
If you come here, it will be a great threat to our Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Houzhao and others were all surprised when they heard this.
"Under their coercion, merchant ships from all over the country came to Guangzhou in the Ming Dynasty to gather, and with the tacit approval of the government, they traded with a local merchant named Lu to make huge profits. Li Siming and others deceived the saints and said what the Buddha said.
The Chinese people are just stopping to rest, which is actually a lie. They have no intention at all
Tell the court that Wang Hong led troops to drive out the people of the Folangji Kingdom but failed. They knew that Wang Hong refused to stop, so they submitted a memorial to deceive the court. Wang Hong was transferred to Dongguan County and only gave him fifty patrol soldiers.
, making him unable to move. This is the fact that Chen Tan heard." Zhang Yanling continued.
Zhu Houzhao pondered for a moment and asked: "Did you really take back Tuen Mun Island? Had a battle with the Fo Langji people? Their gunboats were so powerful, did you really defeat them?"
"Your Majesty, I not only defeated them and rescued dozens of people who were captured by them, but also captured three centipede boats and dozens of Franco machine guns. Not only did I annihilate more than 300 Franco soldiers,
Many prisoners were also captured. Originally Wang Hong was escorting Li Si
Ming and others and a large number of captives returned to the capital with me, but unfortunately they were attacked by bandits. The captives from the Folangji Kingdom were killed, but Li Siming and the others disappeared. Otherwise, the emperor could see with his own eyes the people from the Folangji Kingdom at this moment.
Help the red-haired ghost." Zhang Yanling said solemnly.
"How did you defeat them? Tell me." Zhu Houzhao suddenly became very interested. He wanted to know how Zhang Yanling succeeded. This is also something in military operations that he has always been interested in.
But when he asked this question, Liu Jin and others knew in their hearts that today's plan to severely punish Zhang Yanling was probably in vain.
Zhang Yanling reported the battle in detail. He knew that Zhu Houzhao liked to hear about the war, so he added extra fuel and jealousy, and made the story thrilling. When it came to the final battle at sea, eighty civilian ships hung red lights and rushed toward the sea in a suicidal manner.
When the enemy ship created an opportunity for the combat ship to approach, the elegant birds in the imperial study were silent, and everyone was shocked and sighed.
"Wonderful, wonderful. This battle is so wonderful. It really shows the prestige of our Ming Dynasty. The people are not afraid of death, and the army and the people work together to win this battle. I am really excited and excited. It's a pity that I am not there. Alas!" Zhu Houzhao
He praised loudly.
"Yeah, it's really awesome. The Marquis of Jianchang is very smart and brave, and his courage is beyond words. He first held a Hongmen Banquet and captured the opponent's leader. Then he took the opportunity to attack the enemy. He was really clever and bold. This is Jianchang.
Hou's handiwork is as amazing as the surprise attack on Ningxia City." Zhang Lun praised loudly.
Regardless of whether they knew how to fight or not, everyone on the table had to nod in admiration. For example, Zhang Mao, Xu Guangzuo and others knew what it meant to fight at sea and have the opponent's gunboats with strong firepower. While marveling, they also felt sweaty for Zhang Yanling. This
People really dare to work hard.
"The Marquis of Jianchang is indeed a good leader in fighting wars, but the Marquis of Jianchang said that the opponent has a powerful Eastern Fleet. If you fight like this, will they come out to retaliate against us? Guangdong and other coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty
, isn’t it true that there will never be peace?” Jiao Fang suddenly said.
"What kind of nonsense is this? They don't have good intentions, why should they beg for mercy? The beast is there, and it wants to eat people after all. Hit it with a stick, break one of its legs, and knock off its fangs.
, maybe scare it away and let it weigh the consequences. According to Mr. Jiao, we have to swallow our anger and let them run amok?" Zhang Lun shouted loudly.
Jiao Fang blushed and knew that she had said the wrong thing. How could she say such words easily?
"No, what I mean is that it may lead to the coastal terminals being... always more peaceful." Jiao Fang said hurriedly.
Zhu Houzhao scolded: "What the hell, my Ming Dynasty is still afraid of the Fanyi? Even if the Fanyi fleet comes, how many soldiers and horses do they have? Dare they attack my Ming Dynasty? If they dare to do that, I will personally conquer them with my imperial commander.
Got them."
Jiao Fang was speechless and quickly shut up. She scolded herself for talking too much and shouldn't have mentioned this. The main reason was that she really didn't want to see Zhang Yanling foaming at the mouth. So she wanted to use this matter to criticize his reckless behavior. But she didn't expect it.
This statement is wrong and cannot be mentioned at all.
Zhu Houzhao ignored him and said in a deep voice: "Although the Marquis of Jianchang overstepped his authority in the case of Li Siming and other local officials, he annihilated the Fanyi soldiers and horses, took back our Ming Dynasty territory, rescued the people, and shocked
Conquering the Fanyi kingdoms. This is also merit. Those who are guilty should be punished, and those who have merit should be rewarded. I am also
I won’t shield you. In view of the fact that overstepping your authority may cause dissatisfaction among local officials and have a considerable impact. You were originally going to be dismissed. But you have made meritorious service after all. So let’s punish you by suspending you from duty to reflect on your mistakes, and leave the regimental affairs to others.
I will give you half a year's salary as punishment. Jianchang Hou, are you convinced?"
Zhang Yanling was speechless. He didn't expect that he would be punished like this after having been in trouble for a long time. Although it can't be regarded as a severe punishment, being suspended from his job was unexpected. It seems that he has taken into account the feelings of other people. Now that the matter is over, it doesn't matter.
It's easy to say. It's just that suspension is not dismissal, which is already a barely acceptable result.
At that moment, he had no choice but to say: "I have nothing else to say, I just accept the punishment."
Zhang Lun shouted: "Your Majesty, this is unfair. It is better to send someone to find out the facts, so that what Ruo Jianchang said is the truth and there is nothing wrong at all. We have to find out and deal with it. How can we stop Jianchang?"
Position?"
Zhu Houzhao said: "Don't talk nonsense. I did this because I didn't want others to say it. Because Marquis Jianchang is my uncle and a close relative, I spared him lightly. I also hope that the anger of local officials can be calmed down."
"
Yang Tinghe said loudly: "Your Majesty, I will also comfort and advise some officials. At the same time, I suggest sending people to investigate the matter. If what the Marquis of Jianchang said is true, Li Siming and others will die innocently, and everyone will die."
If I get it, there is no overstepping of authority. Then I will give a thorough explanation to others."
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "What the chief assistant said is true, accurate!"
Liu Jin was extremely annoyed. Zhang Yanling was dissatisfied, and he was even more dissatisfied. The emperor obviously intended to protect him, this time he raised it high and put it down gently.