"The rogue bandits caused trouble and committed lawlessness. They killed Li Hongye, the governor of the state, Ma Rujiao, the imperial censor, and even Tang Jiuzhou died. Tell me, what should you do now?"
In the Wenhua Hall, Chongzhen's face turned livid: "Do you want me to conquer it myself? Or do you have to wait for the bandits to go to Fengyang to dig my ancestral grave again? Do you have to wait for the bandits to hit me before you are happy?"
"Your Majesty, calm down, I am guilty." The ministers said in unison.
"Guilty, guilty, what else can you do besides saying that you are guilty!" Chongzhen said with anger still lingering.
"Your Majesty, urgent report from Liaodong!"
Upon hearing the words "Liaodong Urgent Report", everyone from Chongzhen to the ministers felt a sense of foreboding. Could it be that Liaodong suffered another defeat?
While he was upset, he saw a general from Liaodong running into the Wenhua Palace and loudly said: "The commander-in-chief of Liaodong, Zu Dashou, is reporting to your majesty. In December of the eighth year of Chongzhen, the Jinlu took Gushan Beile Duduo as their commander-in-chief.
A big violation of the border, our border officers and soldiers fought a decisive battle with the Jinlu at the Daling River. Wu Sangui, the commander of the right battalion of the Liaodong forward, and Ding Yunyi, the Taiwanese general, were both brave and good at fighting. Among the Jinlu's ten thousand troops, they entered and exited nine times. Ding Yunyi killed the Jinlu.
The mighty generals Oreshun, Mengbaha, Horhaqi, Zhehan, and Wu Sangui killed the mighty Jinlu generals Narbu, Cheng Liuba, Feharasi and others, a total of sixteen famous Jinlu generals. We beheaded three thousand people at the border.
Level 908, 812 prisoners captured. Great victory at Daling River!"
"This...killed so many Jinlu generals? Beheaded so many heads?" Chongzhen did not react to the huge joy for a moment, and kept muttering something there.
"Your Majesty, what a great victory at Dalinghe! My Ming Dynasty is mighty, Your Majesty is mighty!" the ministers said in unison.
"Haha, yes. Great victory at the Daling River, great victory at the Daling River! The Ming Dynasty is mighty, and the soldiers of Liaodong are mighty!" Chongzhen finally woke up, and his excitement could not be contained at all. Since His Majesty ascended the throne, the ministers have never seen His Majesty so happy.
While laughing, Chongzhen suddenly thought of something: "Wait a minute, besides Wu Sangui, who else did you say nine times in and nine out?"
"Taiwanese General Ding Yunyi!"
Chongzhen was a little confused: "Didn't Ding Yunyi go back to Taiwan after he suppressed the bandits in the Central Plains? Why did he go to Liaodong again?"
"Back to Your Majesty, Ding Shen will select war horses for Taiwan. So I went to the border, and it happened to be the second battle of Daling River. General Zu used Ding Shen's strategy to falsely defeat the enemy three times and lure the enemy deeper. Ding Shen and the two generals
Thousands of cavalry burned the Duduo camp and destroyed its food, grass and baggage. After that, Wu Sangui and Wu Shen generals joined forces, clashed with the enemy, and defeated the Jinlu! After the great victory at Daling River, Zuzong Town was busy cleaning the battlefield and consolidating the results. The reward was late.
Yes. Mr. Zu, please forgive me."
"He is guilty." Chongzhen said with a smile: "Such a good news came to me so late. I will punish him by drinking three large bowls of wine. And that Ding Yunyi. He went to Liaodong to buy horses, but he was punished by me.
He has achieved such great military exploits. I will punish him by drinking a jar of wine!"
The ministers all had smiles on their faces, but they had never seen His Majesty make such a joke.
"Good news! Good news!"
At this time, such a voice suddenly came from outside the hall.
The monarch and his ministers looked outside together. Good news? Where did the good news come from?
"Great victory, great victory! Capture the rebel leader Gao Yingxiang alive! Capture the rebel leader Gao Yingxiang alive!"
With a "hoo", Chongzhen suddenly stood up, and the ministers were also completely shocked.
"Could it be that Hong Chengchou finally caught Gao Yingxiang?" Chongzhen, who was still immersed in the excitement of the Liaodong victory, could hardly believe his ears.
"Your Majesty, it's not Commander-in-Chief Hong, it's Taiwan's military commander, Commander-in-Chief of the Qingchao, and General Zhaowu Ding Yunyi captured Gao Yingxiang alive!"
Chongzhen and the ministers were stunned. What was going on? What was going on? Ding Yunyi had just killed Jin Lu in Liaodong and suffered a huge defeat. Why did he go to arrest Gao Yingxiang again?
"Ding Yunyi captured Gao Yingxiang? You didn't report the mistake, did you?" Chongzhen said doubtfully.
"Your Majesty, Huangfu Yunjie, a subordinate of General Ding Shen, is waiting outside the palace to declare."
"Quickly, call him in!" Chongzhen walked a few steps in front of the dragon chair and sat back down again. He was restless. What he was worried about was not anything else but making sure not to make a mistake.
"I submit to Taiwan..."
"OK OK!"
As soon as Huangfu Yunjie spoke, Chongzhen said impatiently: "Forget those false courtesy, tell me quickly, what's going on? Really, Gao Yingxiang was really caught?"
"Back to Your Majesty." Huangfu Yunjie read aloud: "Ding Shen's General Fifty-Three Riders wanted to return to Taiwan. On the way, he captured the bandit spy Han Xiaolu. When he learned that the bandits wanted to rob the war horses, Ding Shen will devise a plan to use justice.
My younger sister... Shao Luchun ventured into the camp of rogue bandits in Shaanxi and successfully lured Gao Niyingxiang, the leader of the bandits, to Shuilonggou in Shanxi. Ding Shen took the lead and defeated the bandits with fifty-three cavalry and three hundred cavalry, and captured Gao alive.
Ni Yingxiang, we are currently on the way to Beijing, and we have sent a special minister to report our victory. We are afraid that there may be something wrong on the way, so we specially request your Majesty to increase our troops to support us."
"Quick, quick, lead five hundred Imperial Guard troops to pick up Ding Yunyi. We must not make any mistakes." Chongzhen shouted out, and then he was stunned for a long time, and suddenly burst into tears: "The bandits are digging up my imperial mausoleum. I deeply hate it and have no face."
To our ancestors, Ding Yunyi, Ding Xiangwen, help me, help me avenge this blood feud..."
After crying for a while, he suddenly laughed loudly: "Ding Yunyi, Ding Yunyi, I am not wrong about you. You are a pillar of our Ming Dynasty. You are the most famous general in our Ming Dynasty!"
"Your Majesty!" The ministers all knelt on the ground.
"Get up, get up, all get up. Today is a day of great joy. Double happiness is coming to the door. Double happiness is coming to the door. The golden prisoner has been defeated, and the thief's leader has been caught. You don't have to kneel to me, and no one has to kneel!" Chongzhen's voice sounded a little different.
He became trembling: "I want to see Ding Yunyi, and I also want to see his adopted sister. I want to reward them well. I will give them whatever they want!"
The ministers looked at each other and smiled. Your Majesty is in such a good mood today. It seems that everyone is having a good time.
"Ding Yuanzhao, the right minister of the Ministry of War." Chongzhen suddenly shouted.
"Your Majesty Ding Yuanzhao is here."
Chongzhen was delighted: "Ding Yuanzhao, you have given birth to a good son. One of your sons is worth a hundred thousand soldiers. I heard that Ding Xiangwen took a concubine before marrying a wife. Are you not happy?"
Ding Yuanzhao trembled in his heart. How did His Majesty know about this? He quickly said: "I dare not deceive Your Majesty. There is such a thing. Taking a concubine before marrying a wife is a violation of etiquette."
"I can't care about it, I can't care about it." Chongzhen said with a smile: "People like Ding Xiangwen have some losses in etiquette, so what's the problem? It's a pity that he has already married Deng Lianyu from the Deng family of Jiangnan Confucianism, otherwise this
I will marry him personally next time. He has made two such great contributions to me by marrying two concubines. If he has ten concubines, the world will be peaceful."
Ding Yuanzhao did not dare to say a word. Wang Chengen, who was next to Chongzhen, also frowned. His Majesty was probably a little out of character on his big day today.
"Huangfu Yunjie."
"I'm here."
"When can Ding Yunyi arrive in the capital?"
"We can probably arrive tomorrow."
"Wang Cheng'en, Ding Yuanzhao. You two will go out ten miles from the capital on my behalf to welcome Ding Yunyi!"
"I accept my order."
There are dark clouds in the morning and a spring breeze in the next court. This change is so rapid that it is difficult for people to adapt.
After going to court, Chongzhen still had not recovered from his excitement: "Wang Cheng'en and Ding Yunyi have made such extraordinary achievements, how about I directly mention him as the commander-in-chief?"
"Your Majesty, the ministers are so bold, but the ministers think it is inappropriate." Wang Chengen said unexpectedly: "In just over two years, Ding Yunyi was promoted from an inspection to a general, and the speed of promotion was staggering. He skipped it again.
He was promoted to commander-in-chief at the first level. Even if the ministers don't say it to his face, they will start to talk about it over time."
Chongzhen gradually calmed down from his excitement, and Wang Chengen continued: "The last time His Majesty promoted Ding Yunyi to the rank of staff general, and then promoted Zheng Zhilong to the rank of officer, it was because Fujian was far away and constrained each other, so Taiwan had Zhang Kentang, Zheng Zhilong and
Ding Yunyi's three forces, if Ding Yunyi is suddenly promoted to the rank of Commander-in-Chief, the ministers are worried that as Ding Yunyi becomes more powerful in the future, no one will be able to restrain him, which will be detrimental to the imperial court. Your Majesty, please think twice."
Chongzhen pondered there for a while: "Ding Yunyi is still loyal to the court. Do you think he has evil intentions?"
Wang Chengen said calmly: "Ding Yunyi is loyal. This is something that I am sure of. But if a loyal minister becomes more powerful, he will have his own ideas. This is something that I am sure of. Therefore, Your Majesty made him a deputy general, on an equal footing with Zheng Zhilong."
That's enough. What Fujian needs is balance. If Ding Yunyi's official position becomes higher than Zheng Zhilong's, I'm afraid Zheng Zhilong will not accept it."
Chongzhen nodded slightly and suddenly said: "Wang Chengen, Ding Yunyi saved your life, but you didn't speak to him?"
"The chamberlain is loyal to Your Majesty, not Ding Yunyi." Wang Chengen said calmly: "The chamberlain does owe Ding Yunyi his life, but if Ding Yunyi harms my name one day, the chamberlain will never blink an eye when he takes his head."
Chongzhen sighed and seemed to be filled with emotion: "The only true loyal minister around me is you, Wang Chengen! I know that there are many criticisms of you from the outside, saying that you are ruthless and unscrupulous in doing things, but I ignore them all, because I know that,
Even if one day, everyone betrays me, the last person left by my side will definitely be you!"
"Your Majesty knows the inner minister's heart..." Wang Cheng'en said with gratitude, but then he regained his composure: "Your Majesty asked Cao Huachun to secretly investigate Wen Tiren's matter, and the results have been obtained."
"Oh, tell me quickly." Chongzhen asked hurriedly.
Wang Chengen calmed down: "Wen Tirenyin is cruel and vicious, and he will never let go of anyone who has offended him. After Qian Qianyi was squeezed out by him, he has been living in the countryside, visiting and singing with some literati at that time, and his life was miserable.
He was also at ease. One day, a local stickman named Zhang Hanru came to his door and asked Qian Qianyi to help him with a private matter. Qian Qianyi knew that this person had bad character and refused. Zhang Hanru was so resentful about this that he actually
He went to the capital to report Qian Qianyi, saying that he had made a bunch of cronies in the countryside and spread strange rumors and slandered the government all day long. Wen Tiren took this opportunity to arrest Qian Qianyi and others..."
Chongzhen nodded slightly. He knew that Qian Qianyi had been squeezed out by Wen Tiren before, and he also had some responsibility for this matter.
Once the emperor and his courtiers, after Chongzhen ascended the throne, he vigorously eradicated the favored ministers of Xi Zong. He dug up the eunuch group headed by the traitor Wei Zhongxian, with no less than a hundred people sitting in it. In order to eliminate the remaining poison of Wei Zhongxian, Chongzhen made great determination.
The replacement of court officials resulted in the dismissal of a large number of officials, resulting in a serious shortage of officials.
The cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty limited to six members, called the first assistant, the second assistant, and the group assistants. In order to supplement the cabinet members, Chongzhen followed the ancestral laws and regulations. The nine ministers jointly nominated and selected more than six candidates, and then Emperor Chongzhen personally selected them.
The decision is made by drawing lots. The former procedure is called huitui, and the latter procedure is called divination.
After Wei Zhongxian was removed, the power in the court was once again in the Central Plains. Wen Tiren believed that the time had come and was eager to try. He wanted to step up the pace of his ambition to steal power. Unexpectedly, there was no hope of joining the cabinet. Wen Tiren was not willing to give up. He thought about it and went to the Ministry of Rites.
Shangshu Zhou Yanru.
Zhou Yanru was deeply trusted by Chongzhen and was considered a popular figure in front of the emperor. However, he was not nominated for this meeting, and he was aggrieved. Wen and Zhou were "connected with the same disease" and hit it off. They secretly discussed the conspiracy to overthrow
According to the results of the cabinet election, the negative council will recommend a list, exclude important ministers, and squeeze into the cabinet.
They first did a good job behind the scenes, winning over cronies among the courtiers, spreading rumors, and spending large sums of money to bribe eunuchs as traitors. They chose Qian Qianyi, who was at the top of the list of candidates, as a breakthrough point to find faults and exploit his materials.
Wen Tiren was the first to attack and submitted a so-called "treacherous and clique" book to Chongzhen. In the book, he attacked Qian Qianyi with bad words, dug up old accounts, used the topic to play on, and specially selected the charges that Emperor Chongzhen hated deeply to pin on Qian Qianyi.
.
In the second year of the Apocalypse, Qian Qianyi was ordered to take the exam in Zhejiang. After the exam, Qian Qianqiu, a talented scholar from Jiahe, was admitted as the first place in the provincial exam. Later, it was discovered that Qian Qianqiu's composition test paper quoted a slang poem: Once you rise to the sky, don't think about this sentence
The poem touched the taboo of the imperial court, so they arbitrarily accused Qian Qianqiu of disqualifying him from the joint examination and sent him to the border area. Qian Qianyi was also implicated. He was first fined his salary, and then he was demoted to civilian status and sent back to his hometown.
This was six or seven years ago, and Qian Qianyi had already been recalled to the court, restored to his original position, and received forgiveness from Tian Qidi.
In the memorial, Wen Tiren not only mentioned old cases, but also falsely accused him of making friends with party members, engaging in malpractice for personal gain, embezzling and accepting bribes, harboring evil intentions and other untrue crimes. These crimes were what Emperor Chongzhen hated the most in his life. After reading the memorial, Chongzhen became furious.
.
Qian Qianyi was dismissed again.
Now that Wang Cheng'en brought up these matters, Chongzhen put all the blame on Wen Tiren: "Wen Tiren is so hateful and jealous of virtuous people. I think your assassination has nothing to do with him. This time he is framed again.
Qian Qianyi, I must dismiss Wen Tiren as an official."
"Your Majesty is wise," Wang Chengen said calmly, "but this time the court is overjoyed and it is not appropriate to take action on him for the time being. The ministers thought that they could wait until Ding Yunyi left the capital before taking action."
Chongzhen nodded, and then said bitterly: "I, I must take off this old dog's head this time!"