After Zhou Yanru had a first-hand understanding of the inside details of the Huguang war situation, he was naturally well prepared when he went to court, and he was able to make some mistakes.
However, he would not be reckless. He knew that Fang Kongzhen's trouble could only be regarded as a trivial matter. The subject of today's meeting must still be the overall rewards and punishments for the Huguang generals and governors, and he did not need to rush to mention it right away.
As the time expired, the ministers came in one after another, and Chongzhen, with the support of Wang Chengen, climbed up and sat down, and the court meeting officially began.
Chongzhen did not include Hu. As soon as the ceremony started, he directly mentioned to Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia the list of Yang Sichang's legacy that he had read the day before yesterday for everyone to discuss.
"My lords, Yang Sichang has made a statement. He talked about the victory in the Huguang War, the restoration of the state capital, and the heavy damage to Zhang Xianzhong. We will all discuss the merits and demerits, rewards and punishments. Chen Xinjia, you know the situation best. Please tell everyone about it first."
Among the courtiers, Chen Xinjia was the first to know about the great victory against Zhang Xianzhong, so he was in high spirits and recounted the latest battle situation in Huguang in front of many colleagues.
When he spoke, his face was glowing, energetic and proud, and he described every detail in Yang Sichang's memorial without missing a beat.
It seemed that even he, the Minister of the Ministry of War, had a share in this great achievement - although strictly speaking, the Minister of the Ministry of War did have a share, at least in the overall planning and selection of talented generals.
Some of the other civil and military ministers were slightly surprised, but most of them naturally took the opportunity to shout long live and congratulate Chongzhen. Correct update@
“It turns out that the situation in Huguang has been reversed!”
"Your Majesty's sage and wisdom bring great blessings to the heavens. Only by ordering the soldiers to use their lives can we achieve this victory!"
"It won't be long before Zhang Xianzhong is hit hard like this! He will be dedicating his head to the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the near future!" Zhou Yanru, the chief minister of the cabinet, led the memorial.
"If Zhang Xianzhong is destroyed, the imperial court's "suppression" expenses will definitely be much more generous, the people will be able to breathe, and the number of stupid people who can be coerced by thieves and rebellious people will inevitably decrease sharply. There is hope for the revival of the Ming Dynasty!"
The person who said this was Jiang Dejing, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue. He also had a close relationship with the Shen family. Naturally, he took the opportunity to say a few good words to Shen Shuren from the perspective of his own work and emphasized Shen Shuren's victory in a different way.
of great significance.
"Okay, okay, what you have said is very popular with me! Then tell me, is it appropriate for Yang Sichang to represent Shen Shuren as governor of Huguang?" Chongzhen could not help but have another rare moment of wandering, forgetting the recent series of hardships.
Forced, I was temporarily anesthetized again by the illusion of ZTE.
Some relatively flattering courtiers saw that Chongzhen was in a good mood, and after pondering his intentions, they thought that Chongzhen really wanted to re-employ him, but they were afraid that he would be promoted too quickly and would not be able to convince the public, so they immediately jumped in to help Chongzhen solve his problems.
The selection of officials is mainly the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel, but the Ministry of Rites is in charge of the imperial examination and has a certain understanding of the selection of talents. At this moment, Zhou Yanru, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who is the chief minister, is reserved and does not express his position immediately, so people in the Ministry of Personnel are also waiting and watching.
, and was overtaken by people from the Ministry of Rites.
I only heard Wei Zaode, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, go out and say: "Your Majesty! It is our great fortune that Shen Shuren has achieved this military exploit. Now that we have completed our duty of eradicating evil and chasing down the poor bandits, just adding the title of governor is not conducive to cross-border suppression of bandits."
It is better to make an exception and promote him as the governor of Huguang, and give the supervisor the power to suppress Zhang Xianzhong! No matter where Zhang Xianzhong escapes, he must do his best to eliminate evil!"
Maybe some readers will be surprised - how come Wei Zaode, the Minister of Rites, has the same name as the top scholar of the same year when Chen Shuren was ranked second in the imperial examination two and a half years ago?
But the reality is so ironic. This Wei Zaode is really the same person who was the top pick two and a half years ago.
Chen Shuren has made so many military exploits outside, annihilating four of the five Gezuo battalions, and now severely injuring Zhang Xianzhong. He has just been promoted to full provincial governor. Compared with the governor half a year ago, he has only expanded
Many of the jurisdictions under its jurisdiction have gained more benefits, but their administrative levels have not been promoted.
And this Wei Zaode was in the capital, relying on his slender beard to flatter the horse and sing a high-pitched voice, being a moral model of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism and calling on everyone to donate money to help the army, and he actually reached the level of a minister of the Sixth Ministry!
In just two and a half years, from the Hanlin Academy editor to the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, it can only be said that some Beijing officials in the last years of Chongzhen were really devalued!
Wei Zaode's words certainly muddied the waters immediately.
First of all, his boss, Huang Jingfang, the Minister of Rites, felt that Wei Zaode had always been good at figuring out his superiors' intentions. Moreover, he had expressed his position on behalf of the Ministry of Rites that he was very good.
If you want to confront him, it will be better to ignore him on both sides.
So Huang Jingfang quickly said: "Your Majesty, I also second the proposal. Previously, Li Chuang and Zhang Ni were not clean, and they were all blamed on the local government. Now that Yang Sichang is old and ill, it is time for loyal and upright people to carry out his legacy."
But at the same time, the stance of the Ministry of Rites certainly aroused the dissatisfaction of many mature and serious censors.
When Shen Shuren was about to be promoted last year, Liu Zongzhou, the censor of Zuodu, who had opposed it, and Huang Daozhou, who was under Liu Zongzhou, really jumped out again this time, and they all reprimanded Wei Zaode for talking nonsense.
Liu Zongzhou: "Your Majesty! Wei Zaode's words are really ridiculous! How can Shen Shuren, who is so young, hold the position of governor? What's more, there will be no reward for one year. He became governor only in February of the first year of the year. It has only been seven years since then.
After eight months, he was promoted to governor again, how will your majesty use him in the future?"
Huang Daozhou: "Your Majesty! Wei Zaode and Shen Shuren are friends of the same age, and both have criminal records. Does he have selfish motives in recommending him like this? Is it suspected of cultivating party members? Doesn't he think that Shen Shuren is promoted quickly, and there will be no success in the future?
Will people say that these people who graduated from Chongzhen in their 13th year have been promoted too quickly?"
Wei Zaode was very angry after hearing this, and quickly retorted: "Zhuang Daozhou, you are such a slanderer! How dare you make such a fuss in front of His Majesty? I am fair-minded in what I say, and the sun will tell!"
What's more, during the Imperial Examination, His Majesty personally summoned the opponent and found out that I had different political views with Mr. Shen Shu, and I have never been friends with him. This can be said to be an external act without avoiding hatred!"
Wei Zaode's words were quite good. Chongzhen personally heard the whole process of the meeting after the imperial examination two and a half years ago. He knew that Wei Zaode and Shen Shuren belonged to two different political factions, and they even criticized each other at that time.
Therefore, Chongzhen was really not worried that Wei Zaode would collude with Shen Shuren. So he gave Huang Daozhou a slight warning and told him not to talk nonsense.
Seeing that the emperor personally testified, Zodiac Zhou became silent.
However, Liu Zongzhou's mature and prudent words of "Shenshu people are too young and cannot be promoted in one year" still played a great role, and many ministers in the court also agreed.
As for the people from the Ministry of Official Affairs, seeing that Old God Zhou Yanru was silent, they wondered whether Zhou Ge Lao had some disagreements with the Ministry of Rites and wanted to wait and see.
Therefore, Zhou Yanru's close disciple Wu Changshi, a doctor in the Literary Selection Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, also jumped out and said some conciliatory words:
"Your Majesty, I think Shen Shu is indeed very talented, and he knows how to fight and is good at carrying out tasks. However, considering his age, he is still strong-blooded and prone to impulsive advances. If he is afraid of being strong, he will be easily broken and will not be able to handle big tasks. He should be used slowly."
After all, Shen Shuren is only twenty-three years old. Being such a young governor is too unnatural to be a governor.
After all, it was his age that hurt him. If he were ten years older, preferably fifteen years old, then there would be absolutely no one stopping Chen Shuren from becoming the governor.
Chongzhen felt uncomfortable being quarreled by his men, so he had to wave his hands and call them by name: "Zhou Yanru! Chen Xinjia, you two, tell us how to dispatch the suppression of the south!"
And Zhou Yanru had already completely figured out Chongzhen's true intention through observing his words just now, and then the old god put on an impartial and fair expression and said:
"Your Majesty, Shen Shu is young and will not be promoted in a year. It is really not appropriate to suddenly become a governor. However, your Majesty can give him an additional favor on the basis of the governor of Huguang and temporarily grant him the authority to cross the border to pursue Zhang Xianzhong.
However, this authority must be limited in time and responsibilities, and can only be used to pursue Zhang Xianzhong, and cannot be used for other purposes, so as to avoid chasing the thieves repeatedly, causing the enemy to be self-respecting, and the tail of the army cannot be lost."
Chongzhen originally felt that there was some truth to both sides. Seeing Zhou Yanru's explanation in such detail, he patted his thighs and thought it made sense, so he asked in more detail: "What does Zhou Qing think is the appropriate time limit for this authority?"
Zhou Yanru thought for a while: "This matter needs the approval of the Ministry of War. I don't know the soldiers, so what I say may not be appropriate. In my opinion, since Zhang Xianzhong has suffered a heavy loss in military strength and even killed several puppets, I want to focus on the suppression next year."
, for a period of one year, it may be effective.
In the autumn and winter of this year, Chen Shu's soldiers and horses have been recalled to assist Sun Chuanting in defending Li Zicheng and relieving the siege of Kaifeng. They cannot use troops against Zhang Xianzhong for the time being. Counting from next year to the end of the year, if the performance is really outstanding, he will be promoted to governor.
It’s not too late, if it doesn’t work, replace it with other governors and generals.”
Chongzhen touched his beard and turned to Chen Xinjia: "Chen Qing, you know this.
Is it appropriate for military affairs to last for one year?"
Chen Xinjia thought for a while: "Zhang Xianzhong's daughter's cunning cannot be judged by common sense. I think it is still a bit difficult within the one-year period. However, His Majesty did not say that he will be held accountable if he cannot do it. He just said that if it does not work after the expiration, he can
It is also suggested that he should replace him, which is not inappropriate.
Nowadays, Yangge is old and dangerous, and there is no one to coordinate the suppression of bandits. However, the number of bandit chieftains has also been greatly reduced. This year, the bandits have merged with each other to harm each other, and the situation is very miserable. Last year, there were more than ten bandits, and now only Li Zicheng is left.
, Zhang Xianzhong is the two chief culprits.
I thought that I could let Shen Shuren be in charge of suppressing Zhang Xianzhong while he was the governor of Huguang, and let Sun Chuanting be in charge of suppressing Li Zicheng in addition to being the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu. The term was set for next year, but this autumn and winter, there are still
The two governors need to work together to break the siege first."
Chongzhen thought about it carefully and found that Chen Xinjia's idea was more detailed than Zhou Yanru's. The new powers given to Shen Shuren and Sun Chuanting were also temporary assignments and only targeted at specific matters. In this way, the imperial court had no control over these matters.
The governor's control should still be maintained, and the tail will not be too big to fall off.
If Shen Shuren can really get Zhang Xianzhong's head as a tribute next year, then of course there is no need to say anything. Even if he becomes the governor of Huguang or even the governor of several provinces, it will be no problem.
Because there was an oath from the Imperial Ancestral Temple, whoever kills Zhang Xianzhong can directly become a duke. Can a governor be more valuable than a duke?
Chongzhen completely straightened out his thoughts and formally issued an edict: "Then it's settled. The Ministry of Officials has drafted an edict to raise and sink Shuren as governor of Huguang, and also to pacify the various prefectures in Xinyang, Jiujiang, Anluchi, and order him to lead his troops northward.
, first assist Sun Chuanting in unblocking the siege.
Once the siege of Kaifeng is lifted, I think Sun Chuanting will be able to gain a firm foothold. Since Yang Sichang is seriously ill and cannot take care of his duties, Zuo Liangyu's tribe will also be placed under the leadership of Sun Chuanting.
Next year, I will use Sun Chuanting to attack the north and coordinate the war against the intruders. I will use Chen Shuren to attack the south and coordinate the pursuit of Zhang Xianzhong."
Those old school censors saw that Chongzhen did not directly promote Chen Shuren to governor, but only gave him some temporary dispatch authority, so they stopped making trouble, so this was considered passed.
…
After Shen Shuren and Sun Chuanting's promotion and power distribution were settled, there were of course some other issues to be discussed at the court meeting.
Zhou Yanru didn't care too much and let other issues advance, occasionally expressing his own opinions appropriately.
Until the time came, Chongzhen had already asked Wang Chengen to say, "If there is something to report, I will withdraw from the court if nothing happens." Zhou Yanru saw that no one else responded, so he came out and said:
"Your Majesty, there is one more small matter that I should not comment on. However, I am the first and second-in-command. If I see anything inappropriate in any aspect of government affairs, I will inevitably overstep my authority——
As far as I know, the imperial court has made quite some mistakes in determining the merits and demerits of Huguang civil and military personnel in responding to Zhang Xianzhong's battle. Now that the first contribution has been made to Shen Shuren, the other ministers who assisted the left and defended the country should also find out their merits and demerits.
.
Fang Kongzhen, the former governor of Huguang, was imprisoned for questioning because of the fall of Changsha and Hengzhou and the murder of the vassal king. Now he has been imprisoned in Beijing. However, the Ministry of Punishment has not yet begun to investigate the reasons for the fall of Changsha and Hengzhou.
There were also witnesses who testified that the crime was imminent and the Ministry of Punishment did not take over the case. It just used the military commander status of the relevant persons as an excuse and asked the Ministry of War to investigate itself first. I believe that the Ministry of Punishment has acted inappropriately and should immediately put things right."
When Chongzhen heard this, he suddenly became energetic.
The recovery of Shen Shuren is indeed worthy of commendation, but the rapid fall of Huguang Shufu earlier deserves to be severely held accountable. When things got to this point, Chongzhen felt an evil fire in his heart and wanted to kill a few people.
As a warning to others. First update @
Now that Zhou Yanru raised this topic, of course his face turned cold immediately, and he turned to Xu Shiqi, the Minister of Punishment: "Xu Qing, is this relevant?"
Xu Shiqi looked confused. The Ministry of Punishment did have a lot of work every day. He didn't know the person who had just been sent there, so he could only say: "I dare to ask Mr. Zhou Ge, who said that the same witnesses and witnesses, and the guilty general arrived in Beijing."
"I really don't know. Maybe the departments below have made mistakes and haven't reported them yet..."
At this time, Zhou Yanru put on a conciliatory attitude: "This matter has indeed been rushed, and your majesty does not need to criticize Xu Shangshu harshly. The people should have been sent to the capital just yesterday evening. There are Yin Xianmin, the commander-in-chief of Changsha, and He, the commander-in-chief of Hengzhou.
The Ministry of Punishment did not accept the case, so it was sent to the Ministry of War for custody.
These two men were theoretically controlled by Fang Kongzhen, the former governor of Huguang. However, they had thousands of troops, but they were company commanders.
Sha and Hengzhou could not hold it for two or three days, so they surrendered directly to the rebels. The reinforcements sent by Fang Kongzhen arrived in Changsha within five days after the battle in Changsha, but the city was already lost."
After hearing this, Chongzhen scolded Xu Shiqi, blaming him for not being diligent in his duties. He also asked Chen Xinjia to quickly ask someone to leave his post and bring him up. Today, in the court, he will briefly ask questions and give an explanation to everyone in the world.
After giving the instructions, Chongzhen turned to Zhou Yanru with a face of approval: "Qing Zhou is very perceptive and diligent in state affairs. How do you know about the delays of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War?"
Zhou Yanru gained a good reputation for diligence, so he no longer concealed anything and told the truth directly. He told the story of how Fang Kongzhen's daughter blocked his sedan chair to redress his grievance before he went to court.
Of course, what Zhou Yanru wanted to emphasize was that he was very aware of everything, quick to respond to matters, and had strong discernment skills, so as to improve his impression in front of the emperor.
After hearing this, Chongzhen didn't ask much about the situation of the other Fang family members. He was just curious about why the Fang family wanted to redress their grievances by using a female child.
"Is this Fang Kong Zhen childless? He actually allowed a woman to redress her injustice."
Zhou Yanru: "Your Majesty has forgotten that this eldest son of Fang Kong Zhen is Fang Yizhi, the magistrate of Wuchang. The year before last, he was in the same class as Chen Shuren and Wei Zaode. As far as I know, Fang Yizhi is now fighting thousands of miles from north to south in Huguang.
We went to Kaifeng to relieve the siege, but the logistics were in trouble and we couldn't escape, so we abandoned our filial piety because of loyalty. That's why we came up with this expedient plan."
After Chongzhen heard this, his impression of the other party Yizhi immediately improved a lot. He subconsciously felt that a person from such a loyal and filial family might not do anything to live up to the grace of the saint. The clearing of the suspicion of the other party Kong Zhen also made him a little more
A good first impression.
"This is like Tiying saving her father. She is a strange woman." Chongzhen said casually.
Soon, at the urging of Chen Xinjia, the Ministry of War's Staff Division escorted the two commanders-in-chief, Yin Xianmin and He Yide, to the main hall.
Chongzhen soon forgot about the Fang family and began to severely interrogate these people about the whole story of surrendering to the bandits, whether they were attacked by Zhang Xianzhong or whether they surrendered after only two days of siege warfare.
Mr. Yin and He Yide did not expect that he had just arrived in the capital and spent just one night, but he would be interrogated directly to the main hall. In front of the emperor, he was already frightened to death.
Of course they also wanted to defend themselves, but Zhou Yanru showed his wisdom and acumen. He cross-examined the doubtful points listed in Fang Yizhi's complaint that he had read very well on the way here in the morning, and soon found a lot of flaws.
.
There is absolutely no excuse for Yin Xianmin's surrender. He is just a weakling and a thief on purpose!
He Yide's situation was slightly better. In the end, when he knew that he was bound to die, he couldn't help shouting and criticizing: "Your Majesty! It's not a pity to die! But the loss of Hengzhou is really the first fault of King Gui!"
If King Gui had not been greedy for life and feared death, he ordered his general not to focus on defending the city, but to assemble the elite main force in the city and go out of the city to fight in the field to protect him from breaking out. How could our soldiers abandon the fortified city and be severely killed by Zhang Xianzhong's troops in the field battle!
After that, the morale of the army was mutinous. The soldiers were united and unwilling to die for King Gui who regarded everyone's lives as nothing. This was the reason why the general was coerced into surrendering to the thieves! Without King Gui, the general would have been able to defend Hengzhou until reinforcements from Shen Shuren arrived.
!”
When Chongzhen heard that he was still making such quibbles before his death, of course he was furious: "How outrageous! Why don't you kill this thief! As a general, isn't it natural to protect the vassal king! How dare you make excuses if you are greedy for life and afraid of death!"
Soon there were soldiers in brocade clothes from the corridor outside the palace, a big Han general, who came up with a court stick and beat He Yide directly. No matter where he was hit, a blow to the head caused a bloody wound.
When Zhou Yanru saw the blood in the palace, he was not too serious and quickly said tactfully: "Your Majesty, these two people are guilty of being a thief. It is too cheap to kill them directly. It is better to hand them over to the Ministry of Punishment to find out the details and clarify the legal punishment.
If Your Majesty's hatred persists, just order a severe punishment."
When Chongzhen heard this, he calmed down a little. He felt that beating him to death was really too cheap. If there was a trial, there would probably be a worse way to die than being killed with a stick, so he agreed to Zhou Yanru's request and also praised Zhou Yanru.
Two sentences.
"Forget it, since Zhou Qing has spoken, this matter will be handed over to the Ministry of Punishment, so as not to delay the ministers' time. Xu Qing, please ask the whole story carefully. I am waiting for your report. Please withdraw from the court."
Xu Shiqi was already sweating profusely and quickly expressed that he would get it done. @精品\/书馆*First update~~
The matter of Fang Kongzheng, Yin Xianmin, and He Yide sharing the blame for the fall of Changsha and other places has finally come to an end.
.
After leaving the court that day, Xu Shiqi personally intervened and expedited the trial. Correct update@
A few days later, it was concluded that all the guilt was indeed the fault of these general soldiers who surrendered without a fight. Fang Kongzheng was sent to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment for a few days and was soon released.
——
PS: It’s 5,000 words, and lately it’s been one chapter a day. Also, the comment server seems to be under maintenance these days, so it’s normal that you can’t see new comments posted by others.
Book friends who want to wait for the barrage to gain weight before reading, you can do it for a few days and then come back to read it.