Chapter 2774 Capital (one hundred and twenty-seven)
If this person were to resurrect, the first person he would have to deal with would be himself... To be precise, if Zhou Yanru were to resurrect, the Donglin-Fushe Group would first have to eradicate himself...
When Wen Tiren thought of this, he felt a thorn in his back. This matter must be resolved as soon as possible!
How to solve it? Zhou Yanru had a very bad reputation, and he had a lot of misdeeds during his reign. Some people even wanted to dig up his ancestral graves in his hometown. But these alone were not enough to ruin the emperor's perception of him. After all, these were considered "minor details".
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Wen Tiren has been an official for many years and knows very well that the "holy family" are very fickle, and the chief minister of the cabinet is at the forefront of the storm, and if he is not careful, he will become the target of thousands of people.
The threat must be eliminated as soon as possible.
At this moment, he already had murderous intent.
Before he could continue thinking, the emperor came.
The emperor's complexion is better today than in previous days, and is no longer gloomy. The ministers know that the situation has been stable recently, and the emperor's mood is probably much better.
After the monarch and his ministers had seen the ceremony, the emperor sat down on the throne. Although he had a strange dream last night, he slept well afterwards. When he woke up today, he felt that his energy was much better than before. Since Concubine Tian went to Nanyang every night
After eating the fruit, he felt more energetic than before, maybe because of the effect of the fruit.
There was also some controversy among the imperial doctors about the efficacy of this fruit, because the imperial doctors had never seen it before and could not tell whether it was a Chou Yinmao. Whether it "causes internal heat" or "removed internal heat" was also debated for a long time. Chongzhen was very angry.
He simply dismissed the opinions of the imperial doctors.
Wen Tiren saw that the emperor did not have any specific issues, so he selected some more important things to report from various reports in recent days. Most of the reports were drafted directly by the cabinet without having to read them carefully, and were handed over to the Secretary of Ceremony.
Only a few important military and national affairs need to seek advice from the cabinet. From the perspective of the situation, it is still a "holy dictatorship".
Chongzhen came to the throne at a young age and had not received complete imperial education and experience. In actual handling of specific government affairs, he still relied on the suggestions of cabinet ministers. Wen Tiren was best at figuring out the intentions and was good at practical matters, so his memorials were often in line with the requirements.
The emperor's wishes. As for the other cabinet ministers, most of them were Wen Tiren's party and would rarely put forward opposing opinions. Therefore, the political affairs of the court were mostly decided by him alone.
Wen Tiren made decisions on cabinet affairs by himself, treating his colleagues as puppets and wielding power through voting. The emperor did not find it strange, but felt that he was "lonely and loyal". Therefore, everyone at that time thought that the emperor was "suffering from the plague".
After the government affairs had been discussed for a while, the emperor slowly said: "The bandits have been rampant for a long time and have trapped two provinces. There is nothing the imperial court can do. Is there any strategy that can be used to cure this problem?"
Since the Kun bandits made a surprise attack on Guangzhou, the "Kung bandits" have also been on the agenda of the imperial court's military and state affairs, and they were often mentioned in large and small court meetings.
When it comes to the power of the Kun bandits, they are actually much greater than those of the Donglu and rogue bandits. So far, the Donglu have only occupied the capital of Liaodong and the hometown of Guangning. Not to mention the land inside the pass, it means Jinzhou and other areas outside the pass.
The key passes were still under the control of the imperial court; the rogue bandits were as fast as fire, but they were swirling and scurrying around. Although they once captured the central capital and caused great damage, they were never able to occupy the prefectures and counties for a long time.
Only this bandit took over the territory of Guangdong and Guangxi in just two years. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, except for the abandonment of Annan, there has never been such a "loss of land".
In recent years, the court has discussed the matter of conquering the Kun bandits more than once, but they have never been able to get to the point. There are too many places where troops and money are needed. Compared with Guangdong and Guangxi, which were originally in the southern border, they are only a few hundred miles away from the capital. They have been defeated several times.
The threat from the Donglu who entered the country and the rogue bandits who had been charging left and right in the hinterland of the Central Plains seemed less "imminent".
Therefore, from the emperor to the ministers, except for some officials from Guangdong, most of them did not pay much attention to the "conquest of Kun". Moreover, the strong mysterious temperament of the Kun thieves made it impossible for the officials to make suggestions. At first, the imperial court consulted the ministers
During the campaign to suppress Kun, there were many memorials of various kinds, many of which were ridiculous.
Some people say that the thieves have sharp artillery, and the artillery is used to attack the city. If the city gates were hung with the memorial tablets of the ancestors of the Zhao and Song Dynasties. Since they claim to be descendants of the Zhao and Song Dynasties, they must not be such a kingless and fatherless person. This thieves
They absolutely dare not fire on the memorial tablets of the ancestors of the Zhao and Song dynasties. Some people also suggested sending people to the tomb of the Song emperor to destroy the feng shui and dissipate the royal spirit. Some even said that after the Kun thief claimed to be the Song Dynasty, there was never any official notice.
As for the seal of the Song Dynasty, there is news that he is a rebel traitor of the Song Dynasty in Australia. An envoy can be sent to find the location of the Song Dynasty and ask the emperor of the Song Dynasty to send troops to jointly exterminate the traitors.
This matter was postponed while being discussed but not decided. In recent years, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Fujian and other places either the imperial court issued documents or the governors took matters into their own hands. They have done some "preparation" work and built forts.
New artillery was cast and the number of soldiers was replenished... But compared to the Guan Ning army gathered at Shanhaiguan, these preparations were just a drop in the bucket.
Now that the Kun thief is relatively "quiet", why did the emperor suddenly ask about this?
The ministers were obedient and did not dare to speak randomly before the emperor set the tone.
Wen Tiren knew the emperor's thoughts. The emperor had hinted at "pacification" many times before. Wen Tiren had no choice but to negotiate a peace with the Kun thieves. If the emperor wanted peace, he would never object to it.
But he knew the emperor's temper well and knew the direction of public opinion in the court. The word "peace negotiation" was almost the same as "traitoring the country for glory". The emperor refused to bear the reputation of "peace negotiation" and asked his cabinet ministers to come and give their opinions.
In fact, all the cabinet ministers knew about this idea, but none of them wanted to say anything. Because the emperor cherished feathers very much, and if the negotiation failed and the news leaked out, the emperor would not hold the vat for him.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Chongzhen asked directly: "Mr. Liu?"
Liu Yuliang was the second-ranked person in the cabinet. When he heard Chongzhen's question, he responded carefully and said: "The thief Kun claims to be a descendant of Zhao and Song Dynasties and an overseas loyalist. However, his hair is short and his clothes are short, but what he does is transform the barbarians into Xia."
The method is called Yi Zhong, but they are actually barbarians. Most of these bandits are from the south and are not accustomed to the climate, water and soil of the north. Although they are a immediate concern, they are not a major problem. I think the current plan is to suppress the rogue bandits first."
This statement is watertight. It does not talk about "suppression" or "pacification". It only talks about "suppressing the rogue bandits first." It also caters to the emperor's policy of "an internal peace" proposed not long ago. Even if the emperor is picky, he can't find it.
What's wrong?
Sure enough, Chongzhen looked dissatisfied after hearing this, but he didn't say much. He turned his attention to Xue Guoguan again.
Xue Guoguan was a person who "had no knowledge of literature" and had never stood up. During the Tianqi period, he served as a member of the household department, and he attached himself to Wei Zhongxian to impeach Donglin officials. Fei had to resign in the name of returning to the throne to avoid the limelight. Chongzhen only came back to power three years later. He was able to enter the cabinet only because of the recommendation of Wen Tiren, who was also one of Wen's party members.
When the emperor asked him about it, he had already made a plan to deal with it. He said: "Kun thief claims to be a Miao descendant of the Song Dynasty. Regardless of whether it is true or not, it is obvious that he yearns for China. Although he is not convinced by Wang Hua now, he has never heard of any false claims. To control matters; for officials who have fallen into the imperial court, they are sent out with many gifts. They are also given preferential treatment by the clan, so I think they are not arrogant and disrespectful people..."
Having said this, he quietly observed the emperor's face, and seeing that he was not unhappy, he boldly continued: "Kun thieves know their integrity, and I think they are different from the Donglu bandits. If they can learn to be loyal, trustworthy, benevolent and righteous, , not a stubborn stone."
This was a step further than what Xue Guoguan said, but it still didn't open the window. Everyone said the same thing next, going around and around, and they all meant "appeasement", but they refused to use the word "appeasement" as the second word. Say the words.
The emperor felt a little impatient and turned his attention to Wen Tiren again.
Wen Tiren said: "The matter of the traitors should be dealt with slowly and not too hastily. I think we should inform the newly appointed governor of Southern Jiangxi and order him to train troops and prepare for war, make multiple selections carefully, and find out the news in preparation for the imperial court's coming attack."
Everyone said some "mitigating" words, but he was the only one who sang the opposite. Everyone was startled. Then they heard him say: "The thief has been invincible since he started his army. It is said that he is invincible, so he will inevitably be arrogant and arrogant. If his edge is not blunted, , to show the majesty of our superior country, I am afraid it will be difficult to understand what loyalty is..."
Wen Tiren's words were somewhat incomprehensible, but the emperor understood what he meant. It was not difficult for these people to figure out what Wen Tiren meant, but to figure out the emperor's specific intentions and actions, it depended on each person's cultivation.
Chongzhen nodded slightly. Although he did not receive a clear suggestion of "appeasement", at least the cabinet ministers had a "consensus". Moreover, what Wen Tiren said just now was also very in line with his wishes. He was not willing to let the cabinet ministers handle specific matters. We all know that this is not a glorious thing after all.
"Recently, ministers have announced that Guangzhou has been captured, Yue Harbor has been abandoned, and maritime trade has been cut off. Please open Shanghai as a port in the south, allow Chinese and foreign merchants to trade in the port, reestablish the city shipping department, measure and collect taxes every year. It is estimated that we can get two hundred thousand taels of silver to cover our salary. What do you think?"
Strictly speaking, China in the 17th century had only two foreign trade ports, one was Guangzhou and the other was Yuegang. Guangzhou was an "old custom" and there were Portuguese trade middlemen, so it was of little significance to Chinese maritime merchants; Most maritime merchants sail to the Eastern and Western countries through the port of Yuegang.
The management models and trade forms of the two ports are different, so they are divided into "Guangzhong Case" and "Yuegang Case". Regardless of which case, the taxes collected have a strong local flavor. Until Wanli Eunuchs were sent everywhere to serve as tax collectors, and tax revenue from sea trade became part of the emperor's internal treasury revenue.
However, these two cases placed great restrictions on maritime trade, so Yuegang trade gradually declined in the last years of Tianqi, and was transferred to Anping under the control of Zheng Zhilong. Both the central court and local governments actually lost the maritime trade tax revenue of Fujian ports.