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 ministers: Wen Tiren, Qian Shisheng (Donglin Party), Wu Zongda (Donglin Party), Wang Yingxiong, Wen Zhenmeng, He Wuzuo, Zhang Zhifa (Qi Party), Lin Wei.
There used to be Xu Guangqi, who unfortunately passed away from 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 Zhuo is also very good. Three years ago, he accepted bribes 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 whitewashed!
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. He once transported 24 artillery pieces to Beijing. They were the earliest Hongyi artillery pieces in the Ming Dynasty. Eleven of them were shipped to Liaodong. The Battle of Ningyuan "seemed" to have hit Nurhaci.
Zhou Shipu, 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 also figured out the way. Now they all "protect themselves wisely".
The first assistant, Wen Tiren, stood there dumbly 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 he was young, this man 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 clean and honest. 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 chief minister 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?
He just needs to say a few nice words casually, and it has no impact on him, and he can save some officials who are really doing things. But he just doesn't express his position and watches the officials who are doing things go to jail. He is selfish to the extreme and has no trace of the cabinet leader. auxiliary responsibility.
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 the Ministry of Personnel, immediately argued: "If a minister is neither party-minded nor selfish, how can he 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 also commended this man Chen Qiyu for killing more than 170 thieves during his tenure as governor of Yansui. head.
In fact, they were all thieves who accepted the imperial court's appeasement and returned to their hometown to work in the fields.
However, the actual problem has not been solved. Although the rebel thieves returned to their hometowns to farm the fields, they were unable to bear the heavy taxes and servitude. Naturally, those who had been thieves did not want to be oppressed again, so they committed many illegal things, and some even rebelled again.
Chen Qiyu either suppressed or deceived, beheaded more than 170 thieves, beheaded 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 censor of the right capital, governor of the military affairs of the five provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan. All armies must be under his control, and no
Let the rebels continue to roam!"
This appointment almost wiped out the rebels from the northwest. 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 raise funds as soon as possible," Emperor Chongzhen said.
Hou Xun bowed and said, "I will do my best."
Emperor Chongzhen suddenly remembered: "Nanzhi and Zhejiang still owe hundreds of thousands of taels of gold and silver. 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, said nothing, and did not dare 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 increasing the number of factions. After all, money and food were not in his hands. With more taxes and taxes, Hou Xun would not get even half a dime of benefit, but would be blamed for harming the people. He was not willing to take the blame for the emperor.
None of the six ministries in the cabinet want to take matters into their own hands.
With the emperor and his chief ministers as examples, all the important ministers in the cabinet became pot-sitters and did not stick to the pot.
The scene suddenly turned cold because no one spoke.
Under the rule of Emperor Chongzhen, important ministers did not even dare to directly attack political opponents. If two or three ministers attacked one person at the same time, the emperor would suspect him of forming a party, and his political future would be basically over.
"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 of Jishui. He captured Ji'an Fucheng the day before yesterday. Dozens of officials in Ji'an and Luling died for their country. Xie Xuelong, the governor of Jiangxi, was killed in the battle while recapturing the city. Zhang Yin, the eunuch in charge of Ji'an
, led his troops to attack by force, 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 expressionlessly: "I have learned about this matter. All loyal ministers who died for the country should be commended."
Li Kang, the Minister of Rites, bowed his head and said: "The governor Xie Xuelong and the prefect Xu Fusheng can be posthumously awarded three levels, and 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 in 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 assign two thousand pacesetters to 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 imperial censor of Zuodu, suddenly said: "Lu Xiangsheng, the envoy to the imperial examination, can be appointed governor of Jiangxi."
Wen Tiren moved his steps slightly, as if he was tired from standing for too long.
Xue Guoguan, who was involved in 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 man who was good at suppressing bandits. 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 enlightened. Su Song, the supervisor of Li Maofang, has both moral character and integrity, and can be the governor of Jiangxi."
Zhang Yandeng was furious and said: "Your Majesty, the bandits in Jiangxi have not been eliminated. Even the bandits from Zhao have fled into the mountains. They must be suppressed by someone who knows how to fight!"
In fact, many ministers know the real 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 the DPRK and China, First Assistant Wen Tiren is in trouble, and the Donglin Party is making trouble with eunuchs.
Historically, they succeeded. The Donglin Party used the knife to kill people, leaving Cao Huachun and Wen Tiren to bite the dog. An eunuch with a pen and a chief minister of the cabinet actually suffered both losses, and they all 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, the court will decide!"
The nomination was held on a different day, and 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, so 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, in the summer of this year, a letter was found in the East Factory of Nanjing. An official asked another official to help him and seek promotion from Zhang Yandeng.
The letter was not even sent, and Zhang Yandeng had no idea about it, but 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. After he recovered, he could return to the court to serve as ministers. Among the ministers who dared to take up their posts, no one 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 (a political enemy of Wen Tiren), it was purely out of personal grudges. Although Li Maofang was not a Donglin Party member, 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.)