Chapter 84: But if you have meritorious deeds, don't hesitate to reward
In the Zhaoren Hall of the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty, the old prince-in-law Ran Xingrang, the chief minister of the cabinet Fan Fucui and other courtiers knelt on the ground and kowtowed in apology.
However, Emperor Chongzhen had no intention of placing the blame on his ministers today. He waved his hand and asked the ministers who were kneeling on the ground to stand up.
He picked up a few more memorials from the desk, briefly flipped through them, and then called Zhang Jinyan, who was in charge of military matters, to kneel down in front of his imperial desk and asked: "What happened in Henan that you mentioned in the memorial?"
, now play it in person."
Zhang Jinyan kowtowed once more before replying: "After Luoyang fell into the hands of thieves, there are different legends about the whereabouts of the Prince of Fu. I thought that at this time, the relationship between my relatives and the feudal family was very important.
Because I met Fu in Henan, according to the report I sent to Tang, I did not give a detailed and conclusive account of the matter. I am originally from Henan, so I heard that Prince Fu is now in Meng County."
"How do you know such details?"
"I have relatives who came to the capital from my hometown. I asked him about the matter in detail, so I know it. He saw the Crown Prince of Fu Domain in Meng County wearing mourning clothes, so he knows that His Royal Highness Prince Fu was killed."
Emperor Chongzhen sighed and tears fell from his eyes again.
Zhang Jinyan added: "Prince Fu was always loved by Emperor Shenzong, and he lived in the country for more than forty years. Now that the country has changed, and he died in the country, it is appropriate to be generous in all funerals and condolences."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said: "You are right."
He picked up another memorial and said: "According to Zhang Cheng of Xuan Town, the prince has indeed been rescued by him and is now escorting him to Huaiqing City to settle down. Chen Xinjia and Zhang Cheng reported that Luoyang was dedicated to the city by internal thieves.
What caused the loss, specifically?
Where is Fuchen Li Xianfeng now?"
Chen Xinjia was originally standing at the end of the cabinet. Hearing the emperor's summons, Chen Xinjia hurriedly walked two steps to the imperial case. He first recounted to the emperor the story of the fall of Luoyang as stated in Zhang Cheng's secret letter, and then replied: "According to Li Xianfeng's previous report.
According to the report, he has led the troops of Chen Yongfu, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Henan, to go to northern Henan to suppress the bandits. As for where he is now, there is no new report."
Emperor Chongzhen shook his head in dissatisfaction and said: "The thieves went from Luoyang to the south of Ruzhou, but Li Xianfeng led his troops to the north of the Yellow River. He was obviously avoiding it and was afraid of fighting with the thieves.
Let’s just say that Gao Mingheng first reported that Luoyang City had fallen and King Fu was still there, and then reported that he had been killed. The two are contradictory and too hectic!"
He then asked the cabinet ministers: "Prince Fu told the thieves to 'kill kings and kill officials'. What other king was killed in Henan Prefecture?"
Several cabinet ministers in the palace had not heard anything.
Emperor Chongzhen was worried, so he asked again.
They still claimed that they did not know. Chen Xinjia knew this clearly from Zhang Cheng's secret letter. However, seeing that several cabinet ministers were avoiding talking about the matter, he could not make too much publicity about himself, so he did not say anything.
Become silent.
Still in the midst of the incident, Zhang Jinyan walked out of the class, knelt down and said: "Before Luoyang fell, the thieves had broken through Yongning, and King Wan'an was killed inside. He was the county king of Yiwang's branch."
Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen stopped asking questions, he continued: "Luoyang fell, and all the palaces, palaces, officials and people inside and outside were burned and robbed terribly. At this time, the thieves had left the city and headed south. They were elected to send an army to quickly recover Luoyang and stabilize Henan.
West.
Your Majesty has previously sent 30,000 taels of silver to Henan for relief, should you first transfer five or seven thousand taels of silver to Luoyang and collect the embers to save the urgent need?"
Emperor Chongzhen said: "Nowadays, there is famine everywhere in Henan, and it is urgent everywhere. I will make further arrangements, and I will send officials to take them with me."
At this time, Fan Fucui, the chief minister of the cabinet, came forward and knelt down to say: "I heard that King Fu has two ministers beside him, and their loyalty is commendable."
Emperor Chongzhen glanced at him and said: "In other places, the Taoist government, government officials, county officials, rural eunuchs, and people who served loyally when the city was destroyed should be found out, and I will commend them all.
"
When Fan Fucui heard the emperor's words, he suddenly felt ashamed and hurriedly kowtowed and retreated. He secretly blamed himself: "Oh, why did I only think of two ministers?"
Chen Yan, the second assistant to the cabinet, also bowed and saluted, saying: "His Royal Highness Prince Fu died in the country, and I have proposed that a special temple should be built."
Emperor Chongzhen remained silent and did not comment on this.
At this time, Li Yan, who was in charge of military affairs, knelt down and made a speech: "In the history of military use, only by defeating the enemy can we establish military prestige and conquer the enemy invaders. It has been many years since the cabinet minister Yang Sichang, the superintendent of the army, suppressed the bandits.
For the rest, Agate Mountain achieved a small victory at the beginning, but thereafter it fell into obscurity and its power gradually declined.
I think that we should choose another general to assist him, so that we can accomplish our task and eliminate the bandits as soon as possible."
How could Emperor Chongzhen fail to understand the meaning behind his words? He really wanted to offend Yang Sichang in order to seize his military power. He simply said: "The governor is thousands of miles away in Henan. How can I take care of him?"
Even though the length of the whip is not as long as the horse's belly, when you speak, you must also put yourself in their shoes. If you just criticize the courtiers at will based on your opinions of love and hate, it will be wrong."
However, Li Yan refused to give up and said: "It is precisely because he cannot take care of him that he is asked to send another general to help him."
Although Emperor Chongzhen was unhappy, he did not want to be angry with Li Yan at this time. He said perfunctorily: "I have also sent Zhu Dadian. This is the general."
After Li Zhen stood up and retreated, Emperor Chongzhen glanced at the ministers again and asked again: "Where did Li Zicheng come to Henan from?"
Another military officer, Zhang Zhengchen, saw the opportunity and hurriedly bowed and said: "I heard that the thieves are coming from Sichuan."
Chen Xinjia, Secretary of the Ministry of War, was standing aside. Hearing this, he quickly corrected him: "The thieves are from Shaanxi, not from Sichuan, not from Sichuan..."
Emperor Chongzhen did not want to pay attention to this. He was thinking that Yang Sichang's news came from Shitang, saying that Zhang Xianzhong had defeated the army in Kaixian. At this time, he might have arrived in the eastern Sichuan area, or even left Sichuan. This was the last thing he wanted to do.
See the results.
So he looked at Chen Xinjia, Minister of War, and asked, "Where is Zhang Xianzhong now?"
Chen Xinjia knelt down and recited: "The Ministry of War now only knows that the fierce tiger army was frustrated in Huangling City, Kaixian County, and the thieves fled eastward. At present, there are no new reports coming to Beijing."
Emperor Chongzhen's face showed anger, and he asked in a deep voice: "The Xian thief is between Dazhou and Kaixian. If he escapes, wouldn't Kui and Wu be shocked? If the Xian thief escapes back to Chu, how can he be controlled?"
Is Kuizhou heavily defended?"
Chen Xinjia felt a little frightened when he saw that the emperor was pressing the question very urgently. He replied: "Wan Yuanji should be stationed in Kuizhou now."
"Should it? Wan Yuanji was ordered by the governor to hunt down the Xian thieves. After Kaixian was defeated, where was he?
How to deploy to pursue and intercept the traitor?
How to prevent the thieves from escaping eastward into Chu?
Do you know all this?"
When Chen Xinjia saw the emperor's questioning, he was frightened and replied tremblingly: "Wan Yuanji has not yet renewed his report to Beijing. The Ministry of War really does not know the details."
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Chen Xinjia with a stern look and said: "The Ministry of Qing is responsible for dispatching, and rewards and punishments must be strict. I must enforce the law impartially and not be ambiguous.
If you tolerate and make mistakes from now on, it will all be your fault!"
Chen Xinjia hurriedly leaned over and kowtowed, saying: "As a soldier, I performed my duties without status, which led to the fall of Luoyang, the disaster of my own vassal, and the Sichuan suppression campaign. There were also minor setbacks. I really deserve death."
From now on, we must strictly abide by the imperial edicts, enforce the law strictly, and make rewards and punishments clear, so that the generals of the ministries dare not treat the national law as child's play. As for the suppression of Sichuan and Chu, it has not yet been a serious disaster, and it is not too late to repair the situation.
Your Majesty, please be patient and patient, put the health of your holy body first, and don’t be overworked or worried.”
Emperor Chongzhen asked again: "Do you know where Zhang Cheng is now in Xuanzang?"
Every time Zhang Cheng reported to Beijing secretly, Chen Xinjia knew his whereabouts, but where exactly was he stationed? He couldn't tell, so he had to reply: "Zhang Cheng went to Shitang to report that he was stationed on the bank of the Yellow River to watch for intruders, hoping to wait for an opportunity to return to Luoyang first.
, and then plan to suppress the thieves."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said: "Tell Zhang Cheng, you must do your best to suppress the thieves. Don't make the intruders so powerful that the situation in Henan Province becomes difficult to deal with. As long as he devotes himself to the king's affairs and has meritorious service, I will be generous to him."
Reward."
Chen Xinjia replied: "I will convey the Holy Majesty's decree to Zhang Cheng. When he first entered Henan Province, he subdued tens of thousands of people from Dengfeng and Li Jiyu. He also returned to Yanshi and rescued the prince of Fu Fan. Now he is spying on Luoyang. It must have profound meaning.
, maybe it won’t take long for good news to arrive in Beijing.”
Emperor Chongzhen continued to chat about some political matters with the ministers, and then ordered everyone to retreat. The ministers kowtowed again and retreated. They filed out and waited for a while outside the Dongjiao Gate. When they saw that the emperor did not call back, they were relieved.