On the ninth day of March in the third year of Tianqi, the news of the fall of Wuchang City was rushed to the capital along with a memorial signed by 26 civil and military officials below Chen Daoheng of Hanyang. It traveled 800 miles to the capital. In the early spring, the capital was extremely cold. This news was even more disturbing. Chilling.
Then another report came: Zhu Huakui, the ninth king of Chu, was captured by the pirates when Wuchang City fell. The palace of the Prince of Chu had been plundered by the pirates. All members of the royal family including the concubines, princes, princesses and other members of the royal family below the King of Chu were captured. .No one can escape from Wuchang City.
Just one day later, a memorial came from the Jingzhou prefecture. It was reported that ten naval gunboats had bombarded Jingzhou City and showed signs of landing on the shore...
The vast inland of the Ming Dynasty, except for Sichuan, which has inconvenient transportation, has been divided into north and south. The Zhu family world is in danger.
These news shocked the entire court inside and outside. Emperor Tianqi, who was obsessed with his superb carpentry skills, had to put down his tools and convene the cabinet ministers to discuss matters. This cabinet minister meeting, even Xu Guangqi, who had just been promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Rites and the bachelor's degree, was Was summoned.
Xu Guangqi was really an alternative officialdom. He was keen on doing practical things and was unwilling to join the party struggle. However, he was misled by the party struggle: the people in Donglin borrowed his academic reputation but did not agree with his political ideas; and Wei Zhongxian, who was expanding his power, originally wanted to win over Xu Guangqi. . But seeing that he was not on the road, he ostracized Xu Guangqi everywhere. On the pretext that he was harming the country by making peace with the pirates, he sent him to Qin Tian Prison to revise the calendar.
After the New Army rebellion, although Xu Guangqi had no direct responsibility, he was implicated because he was the first to preside over the establishment of the New Army. He was almost removed from his position as a bachelor. At this point, Xu Guangqi submitted his speech and asked to return to his hometown, but was rejected. The first assistant Ye Xianggao persuaded him to stay.
At noon that day, Xu Guangqi was summoned from the Qintian Prison by several young eunuchs. Before he could figure out what was going on, he was taken to the Qianqing Palace to meet Emperor Tianqi.
In the main hall, Xu Guangqi saw Ye Xianggao, the chief minister of the cabinet, and Han Xu, a bachelor of Dongge, who had already arrived. Later, Zhu Guozhen, who had just been appointed as a bachelor of Wenyuange, and Gu Bingqian, who was despised by the Donglin Party, arrived one after another. Wei Guangwei, the two newly promoted cabinet bachelors. Gu Bingqian and Wei Guangwei, both of whom are bearded men, eagerly ran to show their courtesy to Wei Zhongxian. The former openly told Wei Zhongxian that he wanted to worship Wei Zhongxian as his father. He just "wanted to worship Wei Zhongxian." I'm afraid I won't like this white-bearded child, so I asked the young son to recognize his grandson."
Wei Guangwei was from the same hometown as Wei Zhongxian. He called himself a "brother" and considered himself Wei Zhongxian's nephew. He summoned the Minister of Rites and participated in the maintenance of the machine. At that time, he was called "the Duke of Wei". At the beginning of the third year of Tianqi, he had just entered the cabinet as a bachelor. His father's good friend Zhao Nanxing hated him and refused to accept him. He would say to others, "Jian Quan (Wei Yunzhen, Wei Guangwei's father) has no children."
Gu Bingqian and Wei Guangwei were able to join the cabinet as bachelors. They all relied on Wei Zhongxian's help. Therefore, the cabinet affairs at this time were gradually controlled by Wei Zhongxian.
Subsequently, the heads of the six ministries also arrived. Many of these positions were in the hands of Donglin Party members. There were Zhang Wenda, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Li Changgeng, the Shangshu of the Hubu Department, etc. Sheng Yi, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, was appointed as the commander of the Tongguan Guards. In the sixth year (1598), he was a Jinshi. He was appointed as Minister of Rites by Shuji Shili. He was from the Ming Dynasty. He was a member of the Wei Dynasty and was distinguished by the imperial examination. There were only Sheng Na, Sheng Yihong and his son. They had always been friendly to the Donglin Party members. He On the contrary, other parties such as Chu and Shaan were disharmonious.
Dong Hanru, the minister of the Ministry of War, attended the meeting. The main reason was that Sun Chengzong, the minister of the Ministry of War, was still trapped in Jinling City by the pirates. This person was not from the Donglin faction and was moving closer to Wei Zhongxian.
The Minister of the Ministry of Justice is an old man in the officialdom who is nearly seventy years old. His name is Sun Wei, whose courtesy name is Chunyu. He is from Weinan. He was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Wanli. He went from local to central, Nanjing to the capital, six ministries at all levels, supervisory envoys, etc. He He has served in all of them. He has done his duty as an official, but he is also very careful not to offend others. Therefore, his official career is not prosperous, but it has been steadily rising. He has always expressed a good impression of the Donglin Party.
Zhong Yuzheng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, does not belong to Donglin, but he does not follow Wei Zhongxian. His courtesy name is Shulian. He is from Zhongjiazhuang, Yidu, Qingzhou. He is 69 years old this year and is well-known as a good old man. When he was appointed magistrate of Huaxian County, Henan The local people called him a good official who benefits the people. Now he is waiting to retire. Zhong Shangshu was helped into the palace by a young eunuch. After kowtowing to Emperor Tianqi, he had to be supported by a young eunuch before he could stand up.
Ranked last is the man of the hour. Zhao Nanxing, the leader of Donglin and the censor of Zuodu. His courtesy name is Mengbai. His nickname is Pehe. His nickname is Qingdu Fingke. He is from Gaoyi (now Gaoyi County, Hebei Province). Zhao is now 73 years old. Nanxing has white beard and hair. He is tall and energetic. He is older than Zhong Yuzheng, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, who needs help to stand up straight. But he looks strong and strong with age. He speaks in a loud voice. He does not look like a 73-year-old at all. old man.
Opposite these highest-ranking civil servants of the Ming Dynasty, the young face of Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao was full of impatience. He was only 18 years old. He had been neglected since childhood. Although he studied under Sun Chengzong, he did not have much education. But he was A carpentry genius. A self-taught top carpenter. Managing national affairs and handling world affairs is a very boring and boring thing for him. If it weren't for the fact that the matter involved a royal family like the King of Chu and the fall of the famous city Dayi, he would not have been able to do it. I don't want to sit on the throne and see these ministers. I think they are too annoying.
Standing behind him was Wei Zhongxian, whom he trusted most. At this time, Wei Zhongxian had just become the eunuch Si Li Bingbi. The former eunuch Si Li Bingbi, the eunuch Wang An who was once Wei Zhongxian's benefactor, was just dismissed in January. Wei Zhongxian was tortured to death.
The man who held the supreme power of the Ming Empire spoke. His voice was rapid and hoarse: "Zhu Qing's family, it has been three months since the pirates invaded the country. They surrounded Jinling and captured Anqing. Master Sun is still trapped in Nandu. Now the pirates are more active. Wuchang was broken. The vassal king fell into the trap and was among thieves. This is something that has never happened since the founding of the country. Now, gentlemen and ministers, what should we do to deal with this pirate? To pacify or to suppress it? Today we must discuss a charter. "
Everyone looked at Ye Xianggao, the chief minister of the cabinet. The old man in the political arena who served as chief minister for the third time raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the humble ministers are in vain. They cannot defeat the pirates and pacify the sea areas. They really deserve to be punished. Death. In the current situation, we can only rest with the people by paying money to the pirates. We will focus on training the new army, purchasing firearms, and then plan to suppress the bandits."
The so-called line of payment is a political term, but it actually means negotiating a peace.
Everyone looked at each other: His Majesty the Emperor first brought up the topic of "suppression or pacification". The first assistant immediately proposed to pay the pirates. This seemed to have been discussed long ago. They sang and made peace.
At present, Han Xu, the more mature and prudent scholar of Dongge University in the cabinet, is in favor of paying the money first and trying to restore it later. However, Zhu Guozhen, the academician of Wenyuange who is upright and frank, stands up to express his opposition.
Gu Bingqian and Wei Guangwei, who belonged to Wei Zhongxian's faction, also expressed their opposition to "paying money" to pirates.
At this emergency joint meeting of the six cabinet departments, the cabinet split into two factions from the beginning. What surprised everyone was the attitude of the two bachelors, Han Xu and Zhu Guozhen. They had always agreed with the opinions of the chief minister Ye Xianggao. He was not the same person as Wei Zhongxian. But today, Zhu Guozhen opposed Ye Xianggao. The two bachelors Wei Zhongxian placed in the cabinet maintained a united front with him.
The main opinion of the opponents is: We cannot tolerate the arrogant actions of the pirates. We must use the power of the whole country to regain the lost territory. Zhu Guozhen made a specific suggestion: take the main force of the pirate army in the south of the Yangtze River. The remaining Jurchen Eight Banners in Liaodong are still fighting against the pirates. It should be Take the opportunity to send troops to regain Liaodong.
Donglin Party members have always adhered to the principle of "the enemy's opinions must be opposed no matter what" when dealing with actual government affairs. Ye Xianggao now seems very isolated. He is afraid that his Donglin colleagues will stand up and speak, so he has been secretly signaling to the heads of the Sixth Department. Don't speak yet. In the case of serious cabinet disagreements, although most of the six ministers, imperial envoys and others who were mainly Donglin supporters did not agree with the recruitment, it was indeed inconvenient to express their opinions due to Ye Xianggao's face.
Ye Xianggao has a favorable impression of the China Company. Everyone knows this: In addition, his family secretly has business dealings with the China Company. When Ye Xianggao Zhishi was at home, he also had dealings with the China Company. He was very interested in the Taiwanese maritime merchants. He has a better understanding of strength, so he advocates appeasement.
At this time, everyone turned to Xu Guangqi. The six bachelors split into two factions. Only he had not expressed his position.
Wei Zhongxian took a step forward, handed the young emperor a cup of tea, and signaled secretly with his eyes.
Zhu Youxiao frowned and turned to Xu Guangqi: "Mr. Xu, you were the one who presided over the last time we appeased the pirates. Although the matter did not go well, it made the country stable for several years. This time, the pirates once again used the ban on sea pirates as a way to appease the pirates. Excuse. Raising troops to invade the country. What do you think we should do?"
From the bottom of his heart, Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao did not want to fight. Wei Zhongxian privately encouraged him to propose a "bank payment" first: Those Donglin Party members who pride themselves on being upright will definitely oppose recruitment. In this way, Eunuch Wei will have the opportunity to eliminate dissidents.
Unexpectedly, Ye Xianggao actually proposed to recruit him from the beginning. Wei Zhongxian was caught off guard. The two bachelors he arranged to enter the cabinet had to raise objections.
Everyone was paying attention to Xu Guangqi. He was forced to have no choice but to stand up and kowtow on the ground. Then he stood up and said: "The last time I appeased the pirates, I got twice the result with half the effort. I gave up halfway. Although I won a few years of peace for the people in the southeast, it is true. The emperor relied on his strength, and the officers and men relied on their lives. The ministers were weak and dull, and failed to live up to the emperor's favor and trust. Since entering the cabinet, there have been internal rebellions and rebellions in various places, and external invaders have invaded. The vassal king Losing his opponent has caused His Majesty to worry about work at night and have trouble sleeping and eating. In fact, the crime deserves death..."
"I understand your problem very well. No need to say more." Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao impatiently interrupted Xu Guangqi's self-blame and asked: "I'm here to ask you, which of the current plans, pacification or suppression, is more appropriate. "
Xu Guangqi had already expected that the emperor would ask him this question sooner or later. He was already prepared in his heart. However, once he expressed his opinion, he would definitely offend Wei Zhongxian's group and be directly involved in the party struggle. This was a situation he had always wanted to avoid.
"Wei Chen believes that for the present plan, we can only regain Liaodong and the southeastern coast by paying up front and buying a few years to train new soldiers and purchase new firearms."
After Xu Guangqi finished speaking, he said with unfinished meaning: "Wei Chen believes that at present, pacifying the situation is beneficial to the country. It can be relied on for the time being. If we take advantage of this moment to warn the soldiers, reorganize the armor, and rest and replenish .This is what Gou Jian means by lying down on the firewood and tasting the courage."
Gu Bingqian stood up to object and said in his Kunshan dialect: "What Xu Xuesi said is different. The pirates are now sweeping the southeast and their power is arrogant. If we tolerate their actions, in time, they may not become a serious problem for the imperial court. Besides, the pirates have captured me now." The lord of the vassal is making money at this time. There must be many opponents in the court..."
Xu Guangqi secretly thought: The pirates are now a serious problem. These guys can't see the current situation clearly. He got excited and was about to make some unpleasant remarks. Ye Xianggao stood up in time and said: "You promised me money back then." There were not many opponents. When the payment was completed, I accepted the title and exchanged tributes and horses. From then on, everything was peaceful. The imperial court was able to relieve the troubles on the northwest frontier and send troops to the East Hu. Everyone knew that the payment for my payment was a plan. Today. Something similar to it."
As soon as the chief minister spoke, Zhao Nanxing, who received the signal, Zhang Wenda, the Minister of Personnel, and Li Changgeng, the Minister of Household Affairs, immediately stood up to echo Ye Xianggao.
After everyone discussed it, everyone looked at the supreme arbiter on the throne.
Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Zhongxian beside him. He snorted twice and pointed at Xu Guangqi and said: "You have many opinions. I think Mr. Xu is right. As for the payment, Mr. Xu should still be in charge. Mr. Ye, what do you think?"
Ye Xianggao quickly lowered his head: "The Holy One is wise. The humble minister will definitely assist Mr. Xu to handle this matter."
Wei Zhongxian secretly signaled to Zhu Youxiao again. The young emperor suddenly remembered something: "Oh, by the way. Regarding the payment to the pirates, no one is allowed to copy from the Di newspaper. No other newspaper is allowed to be published. What was discussed today. It cannot be spread outside. Everyone can know."
Xu Guangqi reluctantly took on the task of "bank payment".
Ye Xianggao treated him well. Although he disapproved of Xu Guangqi's deviant behavior of believing in foreign religions and focusing on Western learning, he also admired Xu's knowledge and integrity. After the meeting that day, Ye Xianggao invited Xu Guangqi to his home for a talk.
In the study room, Ye Xianggao scolded the retired servants, leaving Xu Guangqi alone. The two sat opposite each other. They felt that they were connected and looked at each other with a smile.
"Master Xu is knowledgeable and talented. Naturally, he knows that what I said in the palace about the payment is completely different from today's situation." Ye Xianggao pointed directly to the topic: "There is no way to make the payment now. Presumably Master Xu is thinking the same way."
Xu Guangqi nodded: "The chief minister is willing to sacrifice his own reputation for the country. I admire you. Practically speaking, I agreed to peace with you that day. Emperor Longqing has managed the world well. The foundation of the country is still very strong. In addition, there are famous names such as Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong. I am in the court, and there are Qi Shaobao and other famous generals guarding the nine sides. The court is much stronger than Anda, so I can make such a payment. The situation today cannot be compared with that of the past..." Xu Guangqi sighed: "I will take over this matter. .It’s like a heavy weight on your shoulders. The road ahead is so bleak.”
Ye Xianggao also sighed: "Few people inside and outside the imperial court can see the current situation clearly. If we don't train the new army and prepare firearms, I am afraid that something unspeakable will happen... Mr. Xu, I entrust you with the peace negotiations and payment." Now. I am in the middle of the court and I am doing my best to promote the training of the new army and the preparation of firearms. You have to buy some time for the court..."
Two important ministers of the Ming Dynasty who usually had different political views were shocked by the Chinese army's capture of Wuchang. However, how many people in the Ming Dynasty could have such a common understanding of the current situation?