I

Forbidden City, Wenhua Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen convened the cabinet, six ministries, and six subjects to discuss matters.

Today's Ming Dynasty has entered the era of Wen Tiren, and there are a lot of cabinet ministers: Wen Tiren, Qian Shisheng (Donglin Party), Wu Zongda (Donglin Party), Wang Yingxiong, Wen Zhenmeng, He Wuzou, Zhang Zhifa (Qi Party), Lin Mao.

There used to be Xu Guangqi, who unfortunately died of illness a month ago.

Among these cabinet ministers, everyone must be familiar with Wen Zhenmeng's great-grandfather, Wen Zhengming, one of the four great talents in Jiangnan.

Lin Wei is also very good. He accepted bribes three years ago and wrote a memorial to report his victory. The content was to the effect: Zheng Zhilong, the righteous man, had meritorious service in surrendering Zheng Yiguan.

If Zheng Yiguan becomes a pirate, what does it have to do with me, Zheng Zhilong?

Zheng Zhilong was instantly cleared!

In front of me, there were six ministers who were summoned for discussion.

Li Changgeng, the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was "subjected to the Donglin Party". In order to oppose Wen Tiren, the chief minister, he had become very close to the Donglin Party.

Hou Xun, the Minister of Household Affairs, was a member of the Donglin Party and the father of Hou Fangyu, the fourth son of the late Ming Dynasty.

Li Kangxian, the Minister of Rites, was making friends with the Donglin Party and jointly boycotted Wen Tiren, the first minister.

Zhang Fengyi, Minister of the Ministry of War, was born in the eunuch party, but was not liquidated because of his status as a border official.

Hu Yingtai, Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, was born in the Chu Party and once transported twenty-four artillery pieces to Beijing. They were the earliest Hongyi cannons of the Ming Dynasty, eleven of which were shipped to Liaodong. The Battle of Ningyuan "seemed" to have hit Nurhaci.

Zhou Shipu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, was very close to the Donglin Party, and his main political enemy was the eunuch who supervised the Ministry of Science and Engineering.

Zhang Yandeng, the censor of Zuodu, was a capable minister and official, and was versatile in both civil and military affairs.

Emperor Chongzhen seemed a little tired and said, "The bandits have entered Sichuan, Henan, and Huguang. How should we suppress them?"

No one answered, no one dared to answer!

Emperor Chongzhen has been on the throne for several years, and the ministers have figured out the way. Now they all "protect themselves wisely".

The first assistant, Wen Tiren, stood there blankly like a Bodhisattva.

Although he cultivated party members in private, he was a solitary minister on the surface and won the trust of Emperor Chongzhen.

When this person was young, he was very high-spirited. Regardless of his ability or means, he could be an important minister who could turn the tide of the country. Moreover, he was also incorruptible. Although the Donglin Party hated him deeply, they did not dare to say that Wen Tiren was corrupt.

A capable and honest minister who served as the first assistant for several years in the late Ming Dynasty... well, he never did anything serious.

Under Chongzhen, as long as he doesn't do serious things, there will be no mistakes.

If Chongzhen is the emperor who throws away pots, Wen Tiren is the leader of non-stick pans.

A wise king and a wise minister complement each other!

To what extent is Wen Ti Ren non-stick pan?

As long as he says a few nice words casually, and it has no impact on himself, he can save some officials who are really doing things. But he just didn't express his position and watched the ministers who did the work go to jail. He was selfish to the extreme and showed no sense of responsibility as the chief minister of the cabinet.

Seeing Chongzhen looking towards him, Wen Tiren immediately looked at Zhang Fengyi.

Zhang Fengyi, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, could only bite the bullet and answer: "We should set up governors of five provinces to take charge of the suppression of bandits in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan."

"Is there a suitable candidate?" Chongzhen asked again.

Wen Tiren said: "The person in Li Shangshu's pocket should be someone who is qualified."

Li Changgeng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, immediately argued: "I am not party-minded or selfish, so how can I be the one holding the bag?"

"Tell me about it," Emperor Chongzhen said.

Li Changgeng said: "Chen Qiyu, governor of Yansui, may be able to take on this important task."

Chongzhen was immediately impressed. He had also commended this person - during Chen Qiyu's tenure as governor of Yansui, he killed more than 170 people, including Jieshanhu, Liupiozhi, Jinchipeng, Xue Rengui, Yilong, Diamond, and Mountain Harrier. A thief.

In fact, they were all thieves who accepted the imperial court's favor and returned to their hometown to work in the fields.

But the actual problem has not been solved. Although the rebels returned to their hometowns to farm the fields, they were unable to bear the heavy taxes and servitude. Those who had been thieves naturally did not want to be oppressed again, so they often committed illegal things, and some even rebelled again.

Chen Qiyu either suppressed or deceived, beheaded more than 170 thieves, killed more than a thousand old thieves, and released all ordinary thieves back to farm.

Emperor Chongzhen was very satisfied with this and nodded: "Promote Chen Qiyu to the right minister of the Ministry of War and the right censor of the capital, governor of the military affairs of the five provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan. All armies must be controlled by him, and they must not be allowed to do so. Let the rebels continue to roam!"

This appointment almost wiped out the Northwest rebels. The rebels relied on bribery and false surrender to escape narrowly and narrowly.

Including Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, and Li Zicheng, they were all blocked by Chen Qiyu in the carriage gap. As long as Chen Qiyu was more cold-blooded and more decisive, the history of the late Ming Dynasty would be different.

Emperor Chongzhen suddenly asked again: "Will the food and salary be sufficient to suppress bandits in the five provinces?"

Hou Xun, the Minister of Household Affairs, replied: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not enough."

"The Ministry of Revenue should make arrangements as soon as possible." Emperor Chongzhen said.

Hou Xun bowed and said, "I will do my best."

Emperor Chongzhen suddenly remembered: "The gold and silver from Nanzhi and Zhejiang are still owed hundreds of thousands of taels. Let them be deported to the capital as soon as possible!"

Hou Xun said: "Your Majesty, please leave gold flowers and silver to suppress the thieves."

"No!" Chongzhen flatly refused.

Gold flowers and silver belong to the income of official fields and are sent directly to the emperor's private treasury. How can they be used for war?

Hou Xun retreated, saying nothing and not daring to give any more advice.

The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works are almost broken.

Especially the Minister of Household Affairs, who already had other ministers supervising the warehouse, Chongzhen hired a eunuch to take charge of it.

After Hou Xun took charge of the household department, he was too lazy to do anything, too lazy to take care of anything, and he couldn't take care of so much.

Moreover, Hou Xun was firmly opposed to adding more troops. After all, money and food were not in his hands. Hou Xun would not get half a dime of benefit from the increase in taxes, but would instead be blamed for harming the people. He was not willing to take the blame for the emperor.

The six ministries of the cabinet are unwilling to interfere.

With the emperor and his chief ministers as examples, all the important ministers in the cabinet became pot-sitters and non-stick cooks.

The scene suddenly turned cold because no one spoke.

Under Emperor Chongzhen's rule, important ministers did not even dare to attack political opponents directly. If two or three ministers attack one person at the same time, they will be suspected by the emperor of forming a faction, and their political future will basically be ruined.

"Ahem!"

Chongzhen coughed twice, breaking the awkward atmosphere in Wenhua Hall.

Wen Tiren immediately said: "There is a rebel Zhao Yan in Jiangxi, who is said to be a scholar in Jishui. He seized the city of Ji'an the day before yesterday. Dozens of officials from Ji'an and Luling died for their country. The governor of Jiangxi, Jie Xuelong, was killed in the battle while recapturing the city. Zhang Yin, the eunuch of Ji'an. , led his troops to attack, was seriously wounded, and recaptured the city. The appointment of rewards and punishments here still needs to be discussed by all my colleagues. "

Chongzhen said with an expressionless face: "I have learned about this matter. All loyal ministers who have died for the country should be commended."

Li Kang, the Minister of Rites, bowed his head first and said: "The governor Xie Xuelong and the prefect Xu Fusheng can be given posthumously to the third level. Each of them will have a son to serve as the imperial supervisor."

"Correct." Chongzhen said.

Zhang Fengyi added: "There are reports of thieves in Pingxiang and Duchang, Jiangxi. I suggest that two thousand pacesetters be assigned to the governor of Jiangxi to order him to quickly quell the civil unrest."

"But," Chongzhen actually agreed to provide two thousand pacesetters for the governor of Jiangxi, and then asked, "Who can be the governor of Jiangxi?"

The first assistant warms the body and keeps silent.

Zhang Yandeng, the censor of Zuodu, suddenly said: "Lu Xiangsheng, the envoy to the inspection, can be the governor of Jiangxi."

Wen Tiren moved his steps slightly, as if he was tired from standing for too long.

Xue Guoguan, who was in charge of the matter, immediately retorted: "Lu Douzhan was very successful in suppressing the bandits in Beizhi. He is obviously a man who knows the military. He can be transferred to the governor of Yunyang to help suppress the bandits who broke into Huguang!"

Lu Xiangsheng was a member of the Donglin Party, and Wen Tiren did not want him to take over as governor of Jiangxi.

Chongzhen had a very good impression of Lu Xiangsheng and immediately nodded: "The problem of bandits is worrying, so I asked Lu Xiangsheng to go to Yunyang to suppress the bandits."

Zhang Yandeng could only recommend another candidate: "Shen Youlong, the young minister of Taipu Temple, can be the governor of Jiangxi."

Shen Youlong was also a bandit killer. Historically, he was defeated and died for his country because of his resistance to the Qing Dynasty.

Xue Guoguan said: "Jiangxi is a land of prosperous culture, and chaotic people can also be educated. Su Song, the supervisor of Li Maofang, has both morals and conduct, cleans himself and keeps upright, so he can be the governor of Jiangxi."

Zhang Yandeng was furious and said: "Your Majesty, the Jiangxi bandits have not been eliminated. Even the Zhao bandits have fled into the mountains. They must be suppressed by someone who knows the military!"

In fact, many ministers know the true situation in Jiangxi.

Because there are too many officials in Jiangxi, any servant who comes to Beijing to report a message will quickly spread throughout the central court.

But this matter involves eunuchs, so it is not convenient to expose it directly.

In the situation between North Korea and China, First Assistant Wen Tiren is the big boss, and the Donglin Party is making trouble with eunuchs.

Historically, they succeeded. The Donglin Party used knives to kill people and let Cao Huachun and Wen Tiren fight dogs. An eunuch with a pen and a chief minister of the cabinet, both of them suffered losses and both resigned and returned home.

The two sides quarreled over the choice of governor of Jiangxi. The quarrel made Emperor Chongzhen's head hurt, so he had to say: "Don't quarrel anymore, Tingtui will decide!"

The court election was held on another day. Shen Youlong naturally received the most votes, while Li Maofang only had a few votes.

Then the result is obvious, Chongzhen chose... Li Maofang.

Zhang Yandeng, the censor of Zuodu, was angry and asked to resign.

He wants to do things, but the situation in the DPRK does not allow him to do things. He might as well resign and return to his hometown to retire.

The emperor refused, and Zhang Yandeng had no choice but to continue to suffer as an official.

Fortunately, this summer, Nanjing East Factory found a letter. One official asked another official to ask for help and seek promotion from Zhang Yandeng.

The letter was not sent, and Zhang Yandeng had no idea about it, but he was implicated in it.

After three requests and three resignations, Zhang Yandeng finally got out.

But Chongzhen knew that he was capable, so he only allowed Zhang Yandeng to go home to recuperate, and then return to serve in the court after he recovered. Among the cabinet ministers, no one who dared to take office was left.

In the spring of the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign, Li Maofang set off from Suzhou and sailed to Jiangxi to serve as governor.

how to say?

Wen Tiren was mistaken, and Li Maofang was also disobedient.

Although Li Maofang impeached Zhou Yanru (Wen Tiren's political opponent), it was purely out of personal grudges. Although Li Maofang was not a member of the Donglin Party, he was not in the same pot as Wen Tiren, and he was already close to the Donglin Party when Su Song was the supervisor.

This man is also capable of leading troops to suppress bandits!

However, compared to Xie Xuelong, Li Maofang is weaker in fighting and more powerful in corruption and bribery.

(Opened a new volume to organize my thoughts. There are only two updates today.)