Early the next morning, a large number of courtiers gathered outside the Meridian Gate. Everyone was frightened because the guards outside the Meridian Gate at this time were not the Han generals and guards in the past, but the New Army officers and soldiers under Liu Yan. Even on the streets in the capital, New Army cavalry can be seen everywhere on horseback.
"Didn't Liu Yan's new army leave the city after being reviewed yesterday? Why are they still in the city?"
"Didn't you hear the sound of the cannon yesterday? There are New Army soldiers and horses everywhere in the city now. I heard that the school field and the Beijing Camp were occupied by the New Army, and many people died. This is going to change!"
"What? Then Your Majesty is convening a court meeting. Is it because he wants to announce something?"
"This meeting was not convened by His Majesty. Those who didn't notice the meeting were all soldiers of the New Army. They were probably Liu Yan who wanted to announce something!"
At this time, every courtier had such a doubt in their mind. Jiang Dejing stood in the crowd, frowning, still thinking about the words he received from the New Army General Qian last night: "The Duke of Lu has an order: Tomorrow morning, Must be there!”
"Mr. Ge?"
At this time, Li Daiwen, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, and several imperial censors came over. Everyone thought that Jiang Dejing would know something, so they came over and asked, "What happened? Duke Lu's soldiers and horses yesterday Aren't you going to the city to be reviewed? Why are you stationed in the city and not leaving? Is it because His Majesty has a decree?"
Jiang Dejing shook his head and said: "You don't know the inside story, how can I know it?"
"Then what's going on!"
"Yes, are these soldiers brought in privately by the people of Lu State, or has His Majesty issued an edict?"
At this moment, the Meridian Gate slowly opened, and an eunuch screamed: "Everyone, please
Team, enter the palace for discussion! "
Jiang Dejing said: "Don't even guess, everything will be clear when you get to Qianqing Palace!"
Immediately everyone lined up, Jiang Dejing walked at the front, leading the civil and military officials into the Meridian Gate and walked towards the Qianqing Palace.
After everyone entered the Qianqing Palace, they lined up on both sides as before, and then quietly waited for Emperor Chongzhen to arrive.
However, after waiting for a long time, Emperor Chongzhen still did not arrive. Instead, everyone heard the sound of large groups of soldiers and horses mobilizing outside the hall. The sound of the bursts of armor was so harsh that it made everyone in the court feel afraid.
"problem occurs!"
Jiang Dejing and Li Daiwen next to him looked at each other. They both looked back like the ministers, and saw Liu Yan wearing armor, striding into the Qianqing Palace accompanied by Miao Shao and Xu Ming.
Behind the three people, more than 200 soldiers from the New Army Guards Battalion held flint-haired muskets. Some of them entered the hall and lined up around the hall to guard. Most of the soldiers were outside the hall, guarding the entrances and exits of the hall. , sealed off the entire Qianqing Palace.
"What, what is this going to do!"
"What does Duke Lu mean by this? Why did he bring troops to court?"
"What should I do?"
For a moment, the hall was buzzing, and all the ministers were in a state of confusion. Coupled with the current corrupt situation in the world, everyone had a sense of the end of the country in their hearts.
However, Liu Yan ignored everyone's inquiries. Instead, he walked to the head of the ministers, smiled at Jiang Dejing, and then said loudly: "Everyone, please be quiet. I will wait here for His Majesty to arrive!"
Everyone's voices became much quieter when they heard this, but many people were still whispering.
At this time, Miao Shao and Xu Ming raised their heads
Standing to the left and right of Liu Yan with their chests raised, their eyes kept scanning the ministers. The ministers who were being targeted felt their hearts tingling and lowered their heads involuntarily.
After a while, Jiang Dejing hesitated, and then said to Liu Yan: "Duke Lu, do you have any explanation for what happened today?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Jiang, you will know in a moment."
"Uh, okay, okay."
At this moment, Wang Chengen sang loudly from outside the palace: "Your Majesty is here!"
Everyone stood respectfully, only Liu Yan, Miao Shao, and Xu Ming stood in front of the ministers with their heads held high.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen entered the main hall from the side hall with a gloomy face. After sitting on the dragon chair, he said: "Today's meeting, I have two things to talk about with you dear friends. Let me talk about the first one first. "
Then Emperor Chongzhen looked at Liu Yan and saw that after Liu Yan saluted, he took out the edict he had received yesterday and gave it to Miao Shao to read out.
"The Emperor, who has been entrusted by heaven, issued an edict: Today, the Duke of Lu, Liu Yan, has served the country loyally and made outstanding achievements. He has specially appointed Liu Yan as the chief minister of the cabinet and in charge of the government. I appreciate this!"
This edict was very brief, but for the ministers, it was no less than an earthquake. Liu Yan was directly appointed as the chief minister of the cabinet, and Emperor Chongzhen also specifically emphasized the four words "to lead the government." Liu Yan has already controlled the strongest military force in the Ming Dynasty, and now he is also in charge of the government. It can be said that he has great power, and he has already wielded all the power in the government!
At this time, all the officials looked at Liu Yan, but Liu Yan could not take his eyes away, with no special expression on his face.
Immediately afterwards, Emperor Chongzhen issued a second edict: "Order Liu Yan, the chief minister of the cabinet and Duke of Lu, to governor Shandong, Beizhili, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, and the four provinces.
Sichuan and Southern Zhili military affairs, money and grain affairs, an overview of the war to suppress Li Zicheng! "
Although the Ming army north of the Yangtze River had been basically destroyed at this time, with only a few stragglers left, Emperor Chongzhen directly handed over the military and political power of the two capitals and five provinces to Liu Yan, basically entrusting half of the Ming Dynasty to Liu Yan .
At this time, all the ministers were wondering: Didn't His Majesty almost turn against Liu Yan? Why are you so dependent on him today?
After the two edicts were announced, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Liu Yan with very complicated eyes, and then said: "Mr. Liu Ge, I will leave the meeting to Aiqing today. I am too tired during this period, so I will not preside over it here. .”
Then, Emperor Chongzhen said loudly to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty: "I will ratify all the decisions made by Mr. Liu Ge today. I also hope that all my dear friends will help me."
After saying that, Emperor Chongzhen left the main hall of Qianqing Palace with a gloomy face, accompanied by Wang Chengen.
In the main hall, everyone's eyes were focused on Liu Yan. Jiang Dejing and other ministers with heavy thoughts suddenly realized that Liu Yan's soldiers were now inside and outside the palace. It seemed that Emperor Chongzhen was forced to make an agreement with Liu Yan. Some kind of agreement was reached, even forced by Liu Yan!
Thinking of this, some imperial censors immediately stood up and began to attack Liu Yan.
Hou Jingde, the censor of Zuodu, loudly rebuked Liu Yan because Cao Cao was still alive, and he should immediately hand it over to the Three Laws Division to be charged with disrespect.
Li Rixuan, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, also said angrily: "What the Duke of Lu did today is an act of stealing the country, and all the Dukes should be punished together!"
Chen Xinjia, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, looked at Hou Jingde and Li Rixuan, these two "second-rate" people. How old are they? They are still famous here. They really don't want their lives.
Can
Immediately afterwards, Jiang Dejing and Li Daiwen, the Minister of Household Affairs, also stood up one after another and accused Liu Yan. They believed that Emperor Chongzhen was completely forced by Liu Yan's troops, so they issued two edicts.
Chen Xinjia sighed deeply when he saw this, lowered his head and stopped talking.
Liu Yan stared at Li Rixuan, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Hou Jingde, the censor of Zuodu. Liu Yan still had an impression of these two people. They were not good people in history. When Li Zicheng invaded Beijing, both of them surrendered directly. Later, when the Qing army entered Beijing, the two of them changed their identities and defected to the Manchu and Qing Tatars.
At this time, the officials looked at Liu Yan and thought that Liu Yan would be impassioned to show his "legitimacy" as the chief minister of the cabinet. However, Liu Yan disappointed everyone.
I saw Liu Yan saying to Miao Shao next to him: "Remove Li Rixuan, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Hou Jingde, Censor of Zuodu, from their posts and imprison them. Immediately send troops to confiscate their residences. If evidence of corruption is found, they will be beheaded immediately." Show it to the public!”
Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and now they started killing people?
Li Rixuan and Hou Jingde also couldn't believe it. According to the normal "process", shouldn't they have an argument first, then beat the two of them with a court stick, and then the officials would plead for mercy, and then Liu Yan would show his magnanimity and let them go? , thus Li Rixuan and Hou Jingde won a good reputation.
But Liu Yan skipped these procedures and went straight to jail and ransacked his house. What does this mean?
"No, Duke of Lu, we are all loyal to our country!"
Li Rixuan was immediately discouraged, while Hou Jingde collapsed on the ground.
Liu Yan obviously had no intention of quarreling with these two people any longer. Miao Shao on the side shouted loudly.
A voice: "Take it down!"
The four New Army officers dragged Li Rixuan and Hou Jingde out. No matter how they begged for mercy, Liu Yan remained unmoved.
Then, Liu Yan looked at Li Daiwen. To be honest, Li Daiwen was capable of doing some things, but he was too upright and pedantic, and was no longer suitable for the court under the New Deal.
So Liu Yan said: "Li Daiwen, the Minister of Household Affairs, was dismissed from his post and sent back to his hometown. However, since Li Daiwen was considered diligent, the governor took out his own money and took out one hundred silver coins as Li Daiwen's return expenses. Today Let’s go out of the city!”
Miao Shao next to him waved his hand again, and the two New Army soldiers took off Li Daiwen's black gauze hat, and then left with the pale Li Daiwen.
When Li Daiwen walked to the door of the hall, he remembered something, turned around and bowed to Liu Yan, and left without looking back.
At this time, Liu Yan looked at Jiang Dejing and said: "Although Mr. Jiang criticized this governor, he has still done meritorious service in maintaining the government's situation during this period. He will be fined for half a year and continue to serve the country in the cabinet."
Everyone saw Liu Yan issuing orders to put the two men in jail. According to Li Rixuan and Hou Jingde's style, a large amount of greedy money and food would definitely be found in the government, and the two men would inevitably die.
At the same time, Liu Yan also punished one person and dismissed another person. With these tricks, all the ministers in the court became quiet.
Liu Yan saw that the ministers in the DPRK had been restrained by him, and he immediately said: "Since all the ministers and ministers have no objections to my appointment as the chief minister of the cabinet, I will announce the first decree: reform the official positions in the DPRK and mobilize the personnel in the DPRK. !”
"What!"
The ministers were wrong again
Startled, Jiang Dejing said in disbelief: "Isn't Mr. Liu Ge too impatient? He has just secured his position as the chief minister of the cabinet and is about to take action against the DPRK?"
Liu Yan looked at Jiang Dejing, who looked desperate, and then realized that he thought Liu Yan was going to go on a killing spree.
So Liu Yan burst out laughing and said: "I am just preparing to implement the Shandong New Deal nationwide. Therefore, it is necessary to reform the six ministries of the DPRK and Central Government and adjust some official positions. It is not about killing people with swords. Ministers and ministers Don’t think of me as a bloody butcher!”
Everyone is doubtful.
"Does Mr. Liu Ge really mean what he said?"
Liu Yan said loudly: "The promises made by this governor are never compromised!"
Jiang Dejing, Chen Xinjia and other ministers all looked at each other, and now they could only obey the order. After all, there were New Army soldiers inside and outside the hall. If they didn't obey the order, could they get away with it?
Jiang Dejing immediately raised his hand and asked, "I wonder how Mr. Liu Ge plans to reform official positions and how to adjust personnel in the court?"
At this moment, Wang Chengen, the eunuch of Bingbi, entered the main hall from the side hall. He saw that the faces of the officials were not very smooth, and they did not see Li Rixuan, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Hou Jingde, the censor of Ezuodu, and Li Daiwen, the minister of the household ministry. His eyes widened immediately.
Liu Yan asked: "My father-in-law has gone and returned, but your majesty has a decree?"
"Haha, Mr. Liu Ge, please don't misunderstand. His Majesty has no decree. He just ordered his servant to come and observe the court proceedings."
Liu Yan didn't take it seriously either. It seemed that Emperor Chongzhen had said before that he would not participate in this court meeting and was unwilling to sit in front of the ministers for Liu Yan. In fact, he still wanted to know what Liu Yan was going to do.
"Since it's like
Now, father-in-law, just do what you want. "
Then Liu Yan looked at Jiang Dejing and said: "This governor has decided to add six more departments and adjust the candidates for ministers in each department."
Everyone was shocked.
