Yang Sichang reported victory and Shen Shuren made meritorious service, but Chongzhen first promoted Shen Tingyang to an official position and secretly demoted him.
This is not because Chongzhen is not clear-headed and confused, but there is no need to rush the promotion of Shen Shuren and can be discussed slowly.
The promotion of Shen Tingyang involved the court's finalization of the Lijin New Deal, which had just been tried for two or three months.
As long as Shen Tingyang's official position is promoted in name, it means affirmation of the Lijin policy and can transform this system from a pilot to a long-term policy.
Those who did not object to Shen Tingyang's promotion today would be too embarrassed to bring up the old matter tomorrow and individually opposed Lijin's promotion, so the matter just went by.
After the court meeting, Shen Tingyang, who was standing in the civil service train, was still a little dizzy.
In the past few months, he has been very diligent in his official duties on the reform of gold and water transportation. He has carefully checked and calculated the progress and results of the reform in each province, and checked for omissions and made fine-tuning adjustments.
After all, he was born as a businessman. Even if his attainments in the Four Books and Five Classics are not good, he is still very capable of calculating accounts and controlling costs. It is easy to achieve results when doing things that are professional and relevant.
He felt that he had "hard work without any merit".
But despite this, he never expected that his eventual promotion to Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing would come so quickly.
And he was once again assisted by his son's meritorious service. It was because "it was explained that after the implementation of the Lijin policy, the efficiency of local military pay distribution increased, military morale improved, and combat performance improved." He was finally promoted.
Regardless of whether the reason is far-fetched or not, the result is good anyway.
This kind of promotion is really a dream.
Shen Tingyang couldn't help but pinch his thigh several times, trying to confirm whether all this was true.
"I served as an official for twelve years, and it took five years to be promoted from the secretary of the cabinet to the chief minister, and it took another five years to be promoted from the chief minister to the minister. But it only took one year to be promoted from the minister to the minister, and it only took one year to be promoted from the minister to the minister.
for a year.
God has really blessed our Shen family. In the past two years since Lin'er became enlightened, our family's official fortune has been really prosperous, and we are promoted once a year. I'm afraid the ancestral graves are covered in smoke. After returning south this time, I must go to Suzhou to repair the ancestral graves.
."
Shen Tingyang couldn't help but think wildly in his heart, so much so that others retreated from the court, and he remained there dumbly, unable to react.
Fortunately, Wang Chengen, the most trusted eunuch around Chongzhen, also came over at this moment and gave him a few instructions quietly, which just relieved Shen Tingyang's disgrace and embarrassment.
"Shilang Shen, His Majesty asked you to stay for a while. There will be a solo after the court is over."
Shen Tingyang quickly thanked him.
After a while, the other civil servants dispersed, and Shen Tingyang also came to the Wenhua Hall next door and continued to accept the emperor's questions.
Chongzhen didn't have anything else to do. He just wanted to explain a few words before letting Shen Tingyang take office, and give him a final test of his character.
There is no doubt that Chongzhen was suspicious. Others kept advising him that "Although Lijin is good, it can easily lead to local financial autonomy." Chongzhen was also a little worried in his heart.
After Shen Tingyang was released this time, there was no one left in the Shen family in the capital. His intuition still made Chongzhen a little worried.
He himself didn't realize that the real reason buried deep in his subconscious was just that he felt flustered.
Therefore, he subconsciously asked: "Shen Qing, when you are promoted to Nanjing as Minister of Household Affairs, you are promoted openly and secretly. You won't blame me, right?"
Shen Tingyang was sincere and frightened: "Your Majesty's Holy Grace, how can I dare to speculate randomly? How can I say that the minister is noble and noble? He was promoted openly and secretly. I am a businessman and neglect the righteousness of the saint. If I stay in the capital, I am afraid I will not be worthy in this life."
Serve as a minister."
A trace of suspicion flashed in Chongzhen's eyes: "It seems that you like to be an official in Nanjing. By the way, you won't hate Zhou Shipu for what he said about criticizing the Lijin policy, right? He said that Lijin will eventually lead to the separatism of feudal towns, which is retrograde.
,What do you think?"
After Chongzhen asked, he felt a little hopeful in his heart. This question was a tricky question. If Shen Tingyang wanted to conceal his dissatisfaction with his political opponents and deliberately said it in a conciliatory way, it would appear false.
Fortunately, Shen Tingyang also sought truth from facts. He never held any grudge against Zhou Shipu. So he took a deep breath and sighed:
"Your Majesty, when we first discussed the pros and cons of Lijin's policy, I and Quanzi both said this to Your Majesty. How could I hate Shangshu Zhou because of what he said today? What he said was the truth.
But I still insist on implementing Lijin, just because I feel that things have priorities. Our country is currently suffering from internal and external troubles, so we must obey the power in an urgent matter. Let us overcome the immediate difficulties first--
When Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty ascended the throne in Lingwu and faced the Anshi Rebellion, could it be that because he delegated power to Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, it would easily lead to the separatism of vassal towns in the long run, so he should not quell the Anshi rebels in front of him? As for the subsequent changes in the Tang Dynasty, it was not Suzong's fault.
ZTE’s fault.”
After hearing this, Chongzhen was shocked.
He really didn't expect that Shen Tingyang would be so sincere and say that what Zhou Shangshu said was correct, and it was also a long-term perspective, but water from afar could not quench the thirst of the nearer.
And the key is that the example Shen Tingyang gave later was very useful to Chongzhen.
He was not the culprit who caused Ming Dynasty to decline to this point! When he took over, Ming Dynasty was already in such a state of decay!
He worked diligently for fourteen years and worked hard every day to save the Ming Dynasty!
And Shen Tingyang's words are undoubtedly comparing him with Suzong of the Tang Dynasty who put down the Anshi Rebellion and revived the Tang Dynasty.
The Anshi Rebellion was caused by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty! Tang Suzong was not at fault, but he saved so much. Even if the vassal towns were separated in the end, can Tang Suzong be blamed?
Nowadays, the "Tang Xuanzong" of the Ming Dynasty should obviously be counted as his grandfather, Emperor Wanli!
Although he had been emperor for forty-eight years and was said to have reigned the longest in the Ming Dynasty, nothing major happened during his tenure. In the end, the people were depleted and money was exhausted, there were signs of a civil uprising, and there was the great defeat of Saarhu.
All of this can be compared with "Yuyang frowned and encouraged the land to come"!
In his heart, Chongzhen suddenly felt that he had never been so relieved.
This feeling is like that of an African uncle. There is a beautiful woman in front of him but there is no Tao Tao. He was still hesitating whether to have sex, but now someone finally cheered him up:
"You live in a country where the average life expectancy is 30 years old, but you still worry about infectious diseases? Will you live to the age of disease onset? Only countries with good medical conditions should worry about that!"
If Shen Tingyang could tell him the truth and analyze it like this, there is absolutely no problem with his loyalty.
Let him go to Nanjing.
…
After completely trusting Shen Tingyang, Chongzhen began to think about how to arrange his son's merit and promotion.
This incident happened suddenly, and Chongzhen himself was not sure about it, so he had to consult several cabinet ministers in the civil service system first.
When Shen Shuren was promoted to an official position last year, the cabinet elders in charge of handling personnel affairs were still Xue Guoguan, Cai Guoyong and others.
These guys were all members of Wen Tiren's party at the beginning. After Wen Tiren died in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the two of them stayed together in the Central Committee for two years.
But in the second half of last year, Xue Guoguan and two others were also killed by Chongzhen for various crimes, so the relevant positions now replaced by the senior officials and the main officials of the Ministry of Personnel have become Wei Zhaocheng and Zhang Sizhi.
These two people had more junior official qualifications. They were originally recommended by Xue Guoguan to join the cabinet. It was like they were replaced by their benefactors after they were killed by the emperor.
And according to the original historical development, these two people did not work for a short time. In more than a year, they would be deposed by Chongzhen. Fortunately, they were not killed directly like Xue Guoguan, and finally saved their lives——
It can be seen that in the last three to five years of the Chongzhen Dynasty, being a cabinet minister was also a high-risk occupation. It was normal for someone to be killed and replaced every one or two years on average.
In addition, according to the original history, after April of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Chongzhen had already begun to call Zhou Yanru back to the capital, and Zhou Yanru would arrive in September of that year to serve as the first assistant.
But now, due to Shen Shuren's butterfly effect, the two vassal defeats in Luoyang and Xiangyang have not yet happened, Yang Sichang has not yet died of illness, and the Yang Sichang faction's strategy of suppressing thieves has not yet gone bankrupt. This has led to the delay in the emperor's return.
I thought of asking Zhou Yanru to come back and clean up this mess.
(Note: Historically, Yang Sichang died of illness at the end of March in the 14th year of Chongzhen. Zhou Yanru was summoned in April, which happened to be the month Yang Sichang died. In this time and space, Yang Sichang has lived three more years in vain than in the same period in history.
month.)
Taking into account the fact that Zhou Yanru came back later, Wei Zhaocheng and Zhang Sizhi in this generation may be able to serve for a few more months than during the same period in history.
For the time being, I have no time to lament the changes in the fate of these pavilion elders.
Anyway, Chongzhen found Wei Zhaocheng and Zhang Sizhi, and asked them to stand on the standpoint of the officials and negotiate a reward for Shen Shuren.
It is required that people be able to make the best use of their talents and be rewarded for their merits, and that capable ministers who have fought bloody battles for the country cannot be wronged. It is best to arrange a position of real power to coordinate the cross-border suppression of bandits.
The reason why Chongzhen had such specific requirements is also related to a description in Yang Sichang's victory document——
Yang Sichang emphasized in the memorial that Shen Shuren led troops to pursue Huguang and Henan provinces when they reached Tongbai Mountain and stopped the pursuit. Fortunately, Liu Guoneng's troops stationed in Henan pursued bravely and attacked Erhe, and finally surrounded and destroyed Erhe.
Main force.
Because in Shen Shuren's previous official position, the magistrate of Huangzhou could only work within the territory of Huangzhou, and could not even go to Suizhou Prefecture. The official position of Hubei Military Preparation Qianshi could go beyond the government to lead troops to suppress bandits.
But from Suizhou to Xinyang, it is no longer as simple as Yue Prefecture, but Yue Province, so Shen Shuren cannot go. Legally speaking, the coordinator of this previous battle was still Yang Sichang himself, and Shen Shuren was Liu Guoneng who requested Yang Sichang's dispatch
Reinforcements.
Chongzhen was of course very unhappy with the fact that such capable ministers who "could obviously do more for the Ming Dynasty" could not contribute more due to limited authority.
Although he is emotionally unstable, as long as he thinks a person can be used, he still hopes to give full play to his talents as soon as possible and make full use of them. Just like how he trusted Yuan Chonghuan who praised Haikou at the beginning. What kind of power do you want to give him?
What kind of power, but in the end he had to kill people if things were not done.
After Wei Zhaocheng and Zhang Sizhi made some plans, they were also quite embarrassed by the emperor's specific request.
After all, in order for the Chenshu people to cross provinces to fight against thieves, it is basically possible to obtain the level of governor. Only the governor can supervise divisions in several provinces under normal conditions. But how can the Chenshu people be promoted to governor?
Even for a governor, Chen Shuren's current qualifications are far behind, and under normal circumstances a governor can only govern one province. It is also very difficult to fight across Huguang and Henan——
Let's put it this way, if you are an official in your thirties, with enough official years and seniority, and you have made a contribution to killing Erhe today, then it is still possible to be promoted from the Taoist level to the governor.
But Shen Shu is only twenty-one and a half years old. After the 22nd year of the new year, he will be governor too quickly, and he will not be rewarded for his merits in the future. If he wants to be promoted to governor, he must at least have more achievements than other officials in their thirties and forties.
Double the work.
Otherwise, the court would rather give only real power and no level treatment, and would rather give some titles rather than directly give them to the governor.
After Wei Zhaocheng and Zhang Sizhi repeated their calculations, they finally found a precedent from the pile of old papers and advised Chongzhen:
"Your Majesty, if you really trust Shen Shuren and want him to contribute more to the country, it is better to follow the story of Shi Kefa in the ninth year of Chongzhen and first remove Shen Shuren from the post of magistrate of Huangzhou, retain Hubei troops to prepare for military affairs, and then add another officer
The title of the Censor of the Capital City, and the scope of duties performed by the Censor of the Capital City.
If the follow-up performance is indeed outstanding, and all the five battalions of Ge Zuo are wiped out, and the bandits in the dangerous and remote areas at the junction of Hubei, Henan, and Anhui are wiped out, then the censor of Qiandu will be added to the actual duties of governor."
In fact, Chongzhen did not attach much importance to remuneration, but to real power. In other words, as long as the people below can do more, wages and benefits are not important, and it is not impossible to do important and powerful work with a low salary.
So after thinking for a while, he just asked: "The censor of Qiandu generally can't conduct inspections across provinces, right?"
Wei Zhaocheng hurriedly responded: "Have you forgotten, Your Majesty? When Shi Kefa was given the title of Qiandu Censor five years ago, it was a temporary arrangement so that he could inspect Taisi Mansion in Anluchi, Wan District, South Zhili.
And Guangzhou, Gushi, Luotian in Henan, Qizhou, Guangji, Huangmei in Huguang, Dehua and Hukou in Jiangxi.
At that time, Shi Kefa was temporarily given this flexible dispatch because Lu Xiangsheng pursued the 5th Gezuo Battalion to this point, and the 5th Gezuo Battalion fled into the mountains at the junction of the three provinces. There must be a dedicated person to take charge of the coordination.
Later, Shi Kefa performed outstandingly and was promoted to the post of Governor of Anlu in the following year. Now His Majesty had hoped that Shi Kefa would officially take over Zhu Dadian's post as Governor of Water Transport, and he had started planning the handover last year.
Therefore, the position of governor of Anlu will soon be vacant. Your Majesty can you suggest Shen Shuren to continue his efforts and treat him according to the treatment that was legal five years ago. Lin Chengcheng and Ma Shouying are all wiped out to ensure that the mountainous area at the junction of the three provinces is completely free of thieves.
Chenshu people are actually appointed as governors by the imperial censor of Qiandu. I think Chenshu people will be more diligent and grateful."
Chongzhen touched his beard and felt that this was feasible, and it also solved the problem of Shen Shuren being too young.
In the ninth year of Chongzhen, when Shi Kefa became the censor of Qiandu, he was thirty-five years old, which was fourteen years older than Chen Shuren today. Chen Shuren's achievements so far are already more than five years ago.
Shi Kefa's qualifications are still a little higher. In the final analysis, he suffers from his age and seniority.
"Okay, that's it for now. You go and draft the decree. Then we'll see if this Chen Shu man has performed any other outstanding things recently. If so, then we can find a way to reward him in other ways than official positions.
, we can’t chill the hero’s heart.” Chongzhen finally accepted this condition.