Wang Yuan learned about Zhu Houzhao's condition that night.
It was not that Wang Yuan had an informant around the emperor, but Zhang Yong sent a young eunuch to inform him. Zhang Yong not only conveyed news to Wang Yuan, but also secretly conveyed news to Yang Tinghe. This old guy was very versatile in his work.
The next day, Zhu Houzhao summoned Wang Yuan to the Leopard Room. He was in high spirits and showed no signs of illness.
Throwing the caught carp back into Taiye Pond, Zhu Houzhao said calmly: "Datong mutiny, all the soldiers defected to the North."
"What?"
Wang Yuan was hanging the bait when, to his surprise, his finger was pricked by a fishhook. He calmed down, shook his head and said, "They all surrendered to the Beibei. This must be an exaggeration. How many Datong officers and soldiers have no blood feud with the Mongols? If not,
If you are desperate, you will definitely not surrender to the alien race."
"Perhaps so," Zhu Houzhao said, "Datong governor Zhang Wenjin was killed, and the general Jia Jian was quartered by the rebels."
Just as he said this, Yang Tinghe, Yang Yiqing, Jiang Mian, Mao Ji, and Wang Qiong arrived one after another, and even Wang Xian, the Minister of War, was summoned to discuss the matter.
The ministers gathered at the Taiye Pool. Yang Tinghe first said: "Effective ministers and governors should be sent to three sides. The first is to find out the whole story of the mutiny, the second is to prevent the situation from expanding, and the third is to quell the mutiny as soon as possible."
Zhu Houzhao asked: "Who will be sent there?"
"Peng Ze, the censor of Zuodu, knows the soldiers." Yang Tinghe said.
Yang Tinghe simply recommended Peng Ze to go there. As long as the mutiny was quelled, he could be transferred to the position of Minister of Household Affairs.
Wang Yuan said: "There was a mutiny in Datong, and the governor was killed and the generals were cut into pieces. I'm afraid it was because the officials forced the soldiers to rebel, and they were forced to have no way out. If this is the case, we should focus on appeasement and not rashly engage in war.
President Peng does know the military, but he has a bad temper. Once President Peng loses his temper, I am afraid the situation will become more serious."
Yang Tinghe was speechless for a moment, because what Wang Yuan said made sense, and Peng Ze did have a bad temper.
Zhu Houzhao asked: "Erlang thinks we should send someone to control the three sides?"
"The Cangchang Minister (Xi Shu) is okay," Wang Yuan said.
Mao Ji immediately jumped out to object: "Although Shi Lang participated in quelling the rebellion in Guizhou, he himself does not know the military. If recruitment fails, how to deal with the mutiny?"
In fact, Wei Ying and Li Chongsi were both very suitable, and they also had a good relationship with Wang Yuan, but Wei Ying had passed away and Li Chongsi was old.
Of course Wang Yangming is also suitable? But Wang Yangming is far away in Nanjing? He cannot rush to Datong immediately.
The two examiners of the martial arts examination, Bian Xian and Yu Jian, are also very suitable. But these two veterans who know the military have not survived this winter? They both fell ill and passed away a few days ago.
Yao Rong, the father of No. 1 pick Yao Lai, is also a suitable candidate? But now he is fighting chaos in Guangxi.
There are also several ministers who know the military, and they are all here to quell the chaos!
Although Zhu Houzhao and Wang Yuan continued to win battles, rebellions broke out again in the Ming Dynasty.
Several provinces in the north have suffered from severe drought for three consecutive years. Due to the large-scale cotton planting in Shandong, food prices have skyrocketed. Due to the disaster, people are starving and dying everywhere. The peasant uprising army has spread to three places - Wang Yuan's steam engine and textile factory?
It also played a role in fueling the flames.
Is the riot in Guangxi getting worse? The chieftain rebellion captured more than ten states. Yao Rong led 100,000 troops to suppress it. The suppression lasted for two years but was still not finished.
The border areas of Guangdong, Guangxi, Huguang and Jiangxi are now dominated by rebels. When the officers and soldiers leave, they go into the mountains to hide? When the officers and soldiers leave, they come out to plunder the prefectures and counties.
Land annexation is too serious. If there is no comprehensive land clearing reform? Even if the uprising is successfully suppressed, it will come back a few years later.
As for Wang Yuan? It is impossible for the dignified Minister of Rites to quell the chaos personally? Otherwise, where would the court's face be?
Wang Yuan pulled a rod to catch a fish and said: "Shilang Xi doesn't need to know the soldiers? As long as he goes to Datong, the rebellion will be put down."
"Wang Shangshu is too sure." Jiang Mian's words were sarcastic.
Wang Yuan said: "Shilang Xi is my teacher. As long as we use this sign, the rebellion in Datong will naturally be eliminated."
Zhu Houzhao suddenly laughed and said: "This is reasonable, let Xi Shu take charge of the three parties."
Seeing that the Chinese New Year was about to come, Xi Shu couldn't wait for the beginning of spring and rushed to Datong immediately after receiving the order.
Before Xi Shu could reach the Xuan Mansion, he received a memorial from Zhu Zhen, the leader of the mutiny, saying that the chaos in Datong had been resolved and he requested the imperial court to recruit soldiers.
This mutiny should have broken out long ago.
Just because Wang Yuan spent a lot of money to regain Daning and reset the Daning capital, the defense project in Datong was delayed for a long time, which delayed the outbreak of the mutiny for two years.
The incident arose due to Zhang Wenjin, the governor of Datong. When King Ning rebelled, Zhang Wenjin happened to be the prefect of Anqing. He organized troops and fortified the army in advance and held King Ning's army in Anqing. Therefore, he was promoted for his great achievements and was regarded as a well-known soldier among civil servants.
man of.
After Zhang Wenjin was transferred to the governor of Datong, he immediately began to repair border defense facilities in the face of successive invasions from the right-wing Mongolia.
Zhang Wenjin took advantage of the opportunity to build the castle and got greedy. This was an unspoken rule, and something would happen, but Jia Jian, the general in charge of supervising the construction project, was even more greedy!
Under Jia Jian's crazy corruption, the third line of defense in the north of Datong City was full of rubbish, and no relevant living facilities were built.
Zhang Wenjin had no idea about this. Seeing that the castle was still repaired, he immediately dispatched soldiers from three halls to garrison it.
The soldiers of Santang were the elite of the Datong frontier army, and they had always been very arrogant. They were transferred to garrison the newly built castle, and their wives, children, and children had to go with them. After arriving, they found that they had no place to live - the castle had cut corners, there were very few housing for soldiers, and the military residences were directly
No. Except for high-level officers, middle- and low-level military attaches and soldiers, the whole family can only squeeze into a broken house.
It is impossible to withstand the cold winter under such conditions, and many people will freeze to death as soon as winter arrives.
As a result, middle and low-level officers took the lead in the mutiny. They cut into pieces the corpses of General Jia Jian, the supervisor of the work, to vent their anger, and then invaded Datong City and killed the governor Zhang Wenjin. The Datong border generals were caught off guard and fled one after another.
Then, the officers and soldiers who participated in the mutiny were dumbfounded. None of them could take the lead.
Fearing accountability from the imperial court, a large number of soldiers fled, many of whom went to seek refuge with Mongolia. The remaining soldiers opened the prison and rescued Zhu Zhen, and established Zhu Zhen as the leader of the mutiny.
Zhu Zhen had appeared before, in the Battle of Yingzhou, where he killed the little Mongolian prince. Zhu Zhen also made many contributions.
Shortly after the war, Zhu Zhen was promoted to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the Datong Army, but was imprisoned for corruption. He has been locked up in a prison cell in Datong. With the rebel army leaderless, Zhu Zhen was forcibly elected as the leader.
Regardless of Zhu Zhen's previous bad deeds, he is now being roasted on the fire, and if he is not careful, he will be annihilated.
So Zhu Zhen became smarter, and he made a three-part agreement with the rebels. If the soldiers did not agree, he would rather die than come out to take charge of the trouble: first, he must not invade the imperial village; second, he must not plunder official warehouses; third, he must not
Murder and arson.
It's really a ghost. These mutinous soldiers actually became very disciplined. Under the command of Zhu Zhen, they attacked the fleeing rebels along the way and collected countless fugitive soldiers. They didn't make any mistakes wherever they went.
On the way to quell the chaos, Xi Shu found that Zhu Zhen had already occupied half of the border town of Datong, managed Datong in an orderly manner, and then took the initiative to request the imperial court to appease him.
After receiving Zhu Zhen's memorial, Xi Shu sent someone to send it back to Beijing, but abandoned his entourage and went on his way alone.
Before the memorial arrived in Beijing, Xi Shu had already galloped on horseback and arrived outside Datong in the snow.
After getting off his horse and putting on his official uniform, Xi Shu shouted: "Xi Shu, the governor of the three sides, has come to quell the chaos under the emperor's order. Why don't you open the city and surrender quickly!"
The soldiers in the city were in an uproar and rushed to report Zhu Zhen.
Not long after, Zhu Zhen personally came out of the city to greet him: "The guilty minister Zhu Zhen, please come to see the chief minister!"
Xi Shu asked: "Have you restrained the mutinous soldiers?"
Zhu Zhen said: "The war in Datong has ceased. Sergeant Qiu has committed no crime. He only asks the court to forgive his guilt."
Xi Shu said: "Whether the imperial court will forgive or not will be discussed by ministers."
Zhu Zhen was surprised and said: "Didn't President Xi bring the order to appease the emperor?"
"Not yet," Xi Shu said, "I will follow you into the city and tell you the beginning and end of the mutiny in detail."
Zhu Zhen accompanied Xi Shu into the city and explained the mutiny in detail.
After entering the city, Zhu Zhen asked again: "Xi Zongzhi, is the imperial court willing to recruit soldiers?"
Xi Shu smiled and said: "You are so good at restraining the soldiers, I will report it truthfully."
Zhu Zhen was even more unsure. He didn't know much about Xi Shu either. He only knew that this man had provided disaster relief in Shaanxi and suppressed an uprising of hungry people in Shaanxi.
That night, Zhu Zhen hosted a banquet in honor of the soldiers, and the mutiny officers also came to attend.
Zhu Zhen's situation was very embarrassing. Although he occupied half of the border town of Datong, he could not completely control his soldiers. He said that he could ask the court for appeasement, so the mutinous officers listened to him, and they even made no mistakes all the way.
But once the court is unwilling to recruit him, or plans to punish the mutinous officers, Zhu Zhen may be the first to be killed by his men.
Zhu Zhen has no say in today’s banquet!
One of the hundred households asked: "General Xi, what does the court plan to do with us?"
"I don't know," Xi Shu would not give in with words, otherwise he would condone the mutiny, but he could not push too hard, and said, "After the ministers of the imperial court discuss it, they will come up with rules and regulations. What you have to do is to restrain your soldiers and not to fight again.
Any violation of law or discipline."
Another Qianhu said: "If the imperial court does not issue regulations, how can we dare to recruit people?"
"Just wait." Xi Shu said.
"Hey!"
Another hundred households pounded the table, pointed at Xi Shu and said, "You governor, you don't know anything about it. What is the use of the emperor sending you here?"
Xi Shu sneered: "As the governor of the three sides, I dare to enter the city alone. Am I not sincere? The imperial court intends to appease you, but if you kill too much, what will happen if you send troops to suppress it? I will stay in the city.
As soon as the emperor's order comes, whatever is done will be done. You dare to mutiny, but you are still afraid of me, a civil servant?"
The officers were speechless.
Xi Shu then asked, "Are you sure you are guilty?"
Zhu Zhen took the lead and knelt down: "I acknowledge my sin and ask the court for forgiveness."
All the officers looked at each other and could only kneel down.
Xi Shu said: "Now that you have been convicted, please get up and wait for the court to report. In this case, I will report to the court in the same way."
The officers returned to their seats and complained one after another.
One of the hundred households said: "General Chairman, you must make it clear to your majesty. We have no choice but to do it. Zhang Wenjin and Jia Jian were too greedy. Our wives, children, and children were transferred to the north, but they didn't even build the house properly.
Many brothers and family members froze to death in the past few days!"
Another officer said: "In the battle of Yingzhou, we also followed His Majesty to fight against the little Mongolian prince. But in terms of rewards for meritorious service, we were only given a few buckets of rice, and most of the rewards were eaten by the superiors!"
Another officer said: "I followed Wang Erlang to rescue him. At that time, His Majesty was chased by Mongolian cavalry. Wang Erlang led us to rescue His Majesty, but the little Mongolian prince blocked him in the mountains and could not get out. At that time, Your Majesty was only two or three meters away from me.
Zhangyuan, I handed over the firewood that Your Majesty kept warm at night. Damn it, I followed Your Majesty to fight desperately, but in the end I was only rewarded with one tael of silver!"
Xi Shu turned to look at Zhu Zhen: "When it comes to rewards based on merit, are you serving as the commander-in-chief of Datong?"
Zhu Zhen said awkwardly: "Not yet. At that time, Commander-in-Chief Wang resigned and I had not yet taken office. The eunuch who was guarding the place was in charge of the merits and rewards."
Xi Shu instantly understood that the guarding eunuch had probably deliberately transferred Wang Xun, the commander-in-chief, and had hurriedly awarded the war merit reward before Zhu Zhen took office. He did not know how much money was wasted due to the time difference.
Xi Shu said: "I will report your grievances truthfully and I will certainly give you justice."
An officer asked: "Does President Xi mean what he says?"
Another officer said: "It would be great if Wang Erlang were here. I heard that Wang Erlang has clear rewards and punishments, and he can speak well in front of His Majesty."
Xi Shu said: "I am Wang Erlang's teacher."
"Oh, that's great!"
"President Xi, we were blind and blind just now. I apologize to you for this cup!"
"President Xi, don't worry. We will definitely restrain the soldiers. We are just waiting for the imperial court to take action. We can kill and punish at will, without any hesitation!"
"..."
Anyone can be killed and punished at will. If the imperial court really intends to kill a group of leaders, the group of officers in front of them must really rebel.
After Xi Shu stabilized the mutiny leaders, he immediately wrote a letter telling the court the truth. His letter was carefully checked by the mutiny leaders, and only if there were no problems could it be safely sent out of the city.
Is it really just appeasement without any punishment?
How can it be!
When such a commotion broke out in Datong, Wang Yuan happened to appoint Wu Jinshi and Wu Juren. The relevant responsible persons will certainly not be dealt with seriously for the time being, but in a year or two they will be able to settle the accounts later in the year.
Of course, no matter where the guarding eunuch who enriched himself has been transferred, Wang Yuan will pursue it to the end!
The main culprits that caused the mutiny this time will also be investigated and punished one by one, and the military fields will be cleaned up and displaced generals will be installed.
Xi Shu does not need to return to Beijing for the time being, and the Minister of Household Affairs can also be handed over to Yang Tinghe's people. The top priority is to seize the opportunity to rectify the border town of Datong!