Chapter 125
There is no money in the treasury, this is something Emperor Chongzhen knew very well.
How to reward Ning Haijun for his great victory in Haizhou? In fact, Emperor Chongzhen had a simple mind. If he didn't have money to reward military merit, he would reward officials.
This is an unspoken rule throughout the ages. Any general who has made great achievements will either be promoted or make a fortune. Getting promoted and getting rich is like having a fish and a bear's paw, you can't have both.
But the problem is that after arguing for more than two months, no reasonable plan has been come up. Emperor Chongzhen himself feels a little embarrassed. He wants to allocate money from the inner treasury to reward Cheng Shijie, but the money from the inner treasury...
How much money Emperor Chongzhen had in his inner treasury is an old joke.
There were three theories that were circulated later, one was 37 million taels of silver. In fact, this was Guo Moruo's guess without any evidence.
The imperial edict of the fifty-second year of Kangxi mentioned: "Wanli of the Ming Dynasty hid two million taels of silver in the Yangxin Hall. When we entered the country with a large army, the enemy troops fled and were inconvenient to carry, so they were all thrown into the Yellow River."
In other words, when the Qing army entered Beijing, they actually made no money. Of course, when Li Zicheng's Dashun Army entered Beijing, they were busy with one thing: chasing stolen goods. Five thousand clamping sticks were made, and conditions were given, ranging from 100,000 for each person in the central hall, 30,000 to 70,000 for the ministry level, 30,000 to 50,000 for the science and education, and 10,000 to 30,000 for the Imperial Academy.
If you don't give the money, you will take it. Suddenly, the situation in Beijing changes, and the screams are endless. In the process of chasing pay, more than a thousand officials were killed or injured. Although more than 70 million taels of silver were stolen, the real rich were not the treasury, the internal treasury, nor the officials, but businessmen and wealthy households.
When the city of Beijing was besieged, the officials' money had actually been transferred, and their wives, children, and children were sent away. A total of 12 Kedao censors were dragged to execution, and they were beaten to death. In the end, only two of them paid, one is unknown, and the other paid two hundred and fifty taels.
The officials of the Ming Dynasty were not actually poor. They were just like the enterprises of later generations. Generally, enterprises have hundreds of millions or billions of assets, but their cash flow is probably less than 20 million. The same goes for the officials of the Ming Dynasty. They had antiques, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, fields, shops and mansions, but they really didn't have much money.
Just like Wang Zhixin, who was pinched to death by Liu Zongmin. He was the supervisor of the army for four years in Chongzhen and the director of the East Factory. Would this official position be without money? However, he could not hand over the 300,000 taels of silver demanded by Liu Zongmin and was pinched to death.
Emperor Chongzhen's inner treasury totaled less than 200,000 taels. Although this amount of money is a lot, it is too little compared to the emperor. The Beijing camp has not issued military pay for almost two years since May of the third year of Chongzhen.
On the one hand, Emperor Chongzhen hated the 200,000 troops in the Beijing camp who only ate and did not work. On the other hand, the treasury really could not come up with money. In a battle of the Daling River, the Ming Dynasty lost more than millions of taels of silver?
Which of Guan Ning's army's horses, chariots, armors, weapons, and artillery does not require money?
Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen did not just want to reward Cheng Shijie with money, but wanted to give Cheng Shijie power to expand his army. According to all reports from Emperor Chongzhen, Ning Haijun was not actually more than 48,000 men, but more than 8,000 men.
Emperor Chongzhen knew the basic calculation that one plus one equals two. He wanted to expand Cheng Shijie's army to 30,000 troops. If he had 30,000 troops, Cheng Shijie could press Jiannu to the ground and rub him. In this way, Jinshishan would no longer be The Great Victory beheaded 450 people at level 4, and the Great Victory at Haizhou beheaded more than 4,600 people at level 4.
Until now, the four states in southern Liaoning are in the hands of Cheng Shijie. Jiannu suffered such a big loss and did not even think about coming back for revenge. This shows that Cheng Shijie beat Jiannu sorely during the Haizhou victory, and Jiannu hid. I'm licking my wounds on the side.
These memorials to impeach Cheng Shijie, whether they say that Cheng Shijie was arrogant and domineering, or that he treated the gentry harshly and competed with the people for profit, are basically based on rumors. The only thing with real evidence is that he killed three strong women. A scholar who fucks women.
In Chongzhen's eyes, what is this?
What does it count as?
What do these ministers want to do?
Is the merit equal to the demerit?
If he really does this, who will give his life to the Ming Dynasty and his emperor in the future?
Cheng Shijie, the commander-in-chief of Ning Haijun, spent his own money and raised military salaries to form an army. This nature is similar to that of Lu Xiangsheng, the prefect of Daming Prefecture. Although there are speculative elements, it is more worthy of praise.
"Somebody come!"
"The slave is here!"
"It is said that Mr. Xu Ge has come to the palace to pay an audience!"
"yes!"
About an hour and a half later, Xu Guangqi, who was nearly seventy years old, arrived belatedly.
"My lord, Xu Guangqi pays homage to your majesty. May your majesty be safe!"
"Xu Aiqing is exempt from the courtesy!"
Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand and said: "Please come and sit down!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Chongzhen waved to the young eunuch beside him, who was holding dozens of memorials, all of which were for the impeachment of Cheng Shijie.
Xu Guangqi picked up one copy, glanced at it hastily, and then the second and third copies.
Xu Guangqi read seven copies and finally stopped. He quickly stood up and left his seat, then knelt down towards Emperor Chongzhen, took off his black gauze hat, and put it in his hands: "I have committed a crime of negligence, and I request to be appointed!"
This is an unspoken rule of the Ming Dynasty. As long as a big cabinet minister is impeached, he must go to court to defend himself. Even if he defends himself, he will act like he is sincere and afraid of losing his official position.
"Xu Qing, didn't you see something?"
"What do you see?"
Xu Guangqi was a little confused about what Emperor Chongzhen meant. He muttered: "Your Majesty means..."
“Some people’s selfishness is so strong that you can smell it ten miles away in the wind!”
Emperor Chongzhen said angrily: "Cheng Qing was fighting bloody battles with Jiannu in southern Liaoning. Instead of providing any support, the imperial court was held back. What were they thinking? Xu Qing, you are brave enough to do your job. I know that. You want to train a new army to boost the country's prestige, and you want to cultivate fine seeds so that the world will no longer have the worry of famine. I have wronged you these years."
Xu Guangqi was silent, listening to the young emperor's chatter.
As a minister, who can know His Majesty's thoughts?
If he can't figure out his intentions, can such a minister be in the cabinet?
Can it be ranked above the court?
Do you really think that leading cadres are all losers? A bunch of stupid pigs?
Actually, that's not the case. In the Ming Dynasty, those who could pass the Jinshi exam were all outstanding among the people. Do you really think that you can pass the Jinshi exam by rote memorization?
It would be naive to think so.
To borrow a classic line from teacher Li Xuejian: "The world of martial arts is not about fighting and killing, but about human relationships." The county, government and college examinations to obtain the title of scholar are actually a huge audition. Some people pass the examination to be a scholar at the age of fifteen or sixteen, but they spend their whole life unable to pass the examination. Some people pass the examination, but they cannot pass the examination no matter what.
For example, Sun Yuanhua and Mao Yuanyi, don't these two have talents?
The answer is yes, they are all talented people, but they have flaws in their temperament. They are proud of their talents and not proficient in the world. Therefore, they cannot pass the Jinshi test.
Fortunately, Mao Yuanyi was supported by Sun Chengzong, and Sun Yuanhua was supported by Xu Guangqi, so they could become officials, but they were basically at the top.
Although Xu Guangqi was a scientist who was proficient in Western learning and agriculture, he was even more proficient in the ways of the world.
When Emperor Chongzhen ordered him to appear in court, he really did not guess what Emperor Chongzhen meant. However, as Emperor Chongzhen tearfully told him about the difficulties of being the emperor, he also placed the memorial to impeach Cheng Shijie in front of him.
The meaning is very obvious. Emperor Chongzhen wanted to use his own words to settle the issue of rewards for the Haizhou victory that had been debated for more than two months.
You know, you know, but Xu Guangqi also wants to lose face. If he follows Emperor Chongzhen's wishes this time, then he won't have to hang out in the court in the future.
There are some unspoken rules that cannot be broken. How much effort did the civil servants and bureaucracy put in to suppress Wu Xun and military generals?
If Cheng Shijie breaks this pattern, Xu Guangqi will be sprayed to death.
After wandering around for a long time without getting to the real topic, the young emperor Chongzhen was a little overwhelmed. He couldn't figure out whether he didn't express himself clearly enough or whether Xu Guangqi was playing dumb with him.
Emperor Chongzhen said stiffly: "Xu Qing... To be honest, I am convening Xu Qing today to discuss the issue of rewards for the great victory in Haizhou."
"Your Majesty, the state treasury has no money. This is the truth. Civil and military officials have not been paid their salaries for eight months. Even veterans, if they don't still have some money and food at home, they will be in trouble!"
Xu Guangqi's face was full of emotion, his true feelings revealed, and he said in a dilemma: "But if merit is not rewarded, it is the country's foundation that is shaken. What should we do?"
Emperor Chongzhen's face turned red and white, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Master Xu, let's get straight to the point! Now the imperial court is unable to reward Cheng Shijie and Ning Haijun in a short time. However, as the emperor, I cannot not reward merits, and can only reward them if I have no money. With the title of official title..."
The problem is back to square one.
Xu Guangqi smiled bitterly and said: "But Cheng Shijie is already the general of Zhenglu, the governor of the left, and the commander-in-chief of the Ning navy. He has reached the first rank and cannot be promoted!"
Emperor Chongzhen clenched his fists and held it down with all his strength, and his tone became a little aggressive: "I want to promote Cheng Shijie to be the Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong Capital to manage Liaodong!"
The level of the governor of the Ming Dynasty is different from that of the governor of Ning Haijun. To give a very simple example, this is like the governor of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. There is a governor of a county, and the level is the same as that of a county lieutenant or a prefect. There are also The rank of the governor of a state depends on whether he has integrity and whether he has the rank of general.
The Liaodong Dusi is one of the seventeen Dusi in the thirteen provinces of the two capitals. It has jurisdiction over the Dingliao Zuowei, Dingliao Youwei, Dingliao Zhongwei, Dingliao Forward Guard, Dingliao Defender, Tieling Guard, and Dongning Guard. , Shenyang Zhongwei, Haizhouwei, Gaizhouwei, Jinzhouwei, Fuzhouwei, Yizhouwei, Liaohaiwei, Sanwanwei, Guangning Zuotunwei, Guangning Youtunwei, Guangning Qiantunwei, The Guangning rear garrison and the Guangning middle garrison (later changed to garrison) totaled twenty-five guards.
As the de facto supreme military commander of the Liaodong Military Region, if Cheng Shijie was added as the Liaodong Capital Secretary, no one among the ministers would object to this official position. After all, the Liaodong Capital Division had been abolished as early as the first year of Tianqi, leaving only an empty title.
Now Cheng Shijie has recovered the four states in southern Liaoning and actually controls southern Liaoning. The effect is the same whether he adds the Liaodong capital commander or not, but the problem is to manage Liaodong.
This official position is about to be terminated. This is a military commander, which has always been held by civil servants. The first Ming Dynasty Liaodong Economic Strategy Envoy was Xiong Tingbi. In fact, during Xiong Yanbi’s tenure, the imperial court urgently appointed Xiong Tingbi, and Shenyang and Liaoyang were saved. Although Liaodong was in danger , can still barely support it. Until Yuan Yingtai replaced Xiong Tingbi, Liaodong was completely lost.
By the time Sun Chengzong was managing Liaodong, the situation in Liaodong had collapsed, and he could only passively defend along the Liao River, putting western Liaoning at the forefront.
Although, the officials given to Cheng Shijie were all empty ones, whether it was Liaodong Manager or Liaodong Dusi, in fact, they were all gone.
However, the ministers were worried that once Cheng Shijie defeated Jiannu again, regained Guangningwei, and pushed the front to the northeast, Cheng Shijie might really become Li Chengliang's second.
In the Wanli Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty had two famous generals, Qi Jiguang in the southeast and Li Chengliang in the northeast. Li Chengliang was far more famous than Qi Jiguang.
At this time, Xu Guangqi was honest: "I dare not obey the imperial edict, please allow me to beg for my body!"
Emperor Chongzhen stared at Xu Guangqi and said, "I'm not allowed!"
"But veteran..."
"I am sending my message to the world with my central decree. If the cabinet blocks it, I will abdicate in favor of someone more worthy!"
Emperor Chongzhen's patience had been exhausted by the ministers, and he wanted to overturn the table.
The news spread quickly, and the entire court was shocked. Emperor Chongzhen, a diligent young emperor, suddenly stopped the court meeting for the first time.
Now all the ministers saw clearly what Emperor Chongzhen meant, and he was acting forcefully.
If the ministers did not agree with his reward for Cheng Shijie, the matter would not end.
…
Xu Guangqi immediately wrote to Sun Yuanhua. In the letter, Xu Guangqi told Sun Yuanhua that there was no way for the ministers to stop the emperor's wishes and that Cheng Shijie's rise was unavoidable.
Faced with this situation, Sun Yuanhua had no choice but to bite the bullet, cross the sea by boat, and go directly to Jinzhou City to have an honest conversation with Cheng Shijie again.
Sun Yuanhua was sitting in the lobby of the Ning Haijun General Military Mansion, looking at Cheng Shijie who looked tired and said: "Beiping!"
Cheng Shijie was slightly stunned. Only then did he remember that Beiping was his own name, and it was Sun Yuanhua who gave it to him!
"Please give me your instructions, Mr. Futai!"
"Do you know why this constitution acquiesces to you taking away the power of this constitution?"
Cheng Shijie didn't understand why Sun Yuanhua came across the sea for a while, let alone why Sun Yuanhua suddenly said such irrelevant words.
Cheng Shijie replied cautiously: "Xiaguan was also forced to have no choice. Master Futai originally arranged for Xiaguan to guard Ning Haijun, but Xiaguan had no intention of seizing Dengzhou to stand on his own feet. If the Zhang family in Laiyang did not want Xiaguan's life, Xiaguan's tribe would not launch a mutiny. Although Xiaguan did not know about that incident in advance, it was caused by Xiaguan after all, and Xiaguan did not deny it. Court. The one who controlled that mutiny was the official himself..."
"It doesn't matter what happened."
Sun Yuanhua shook his head and said: "When I got the news, you had already taken control of the military and political affairs of Dengzhou City, with the support of the army. I was powerless. But despite this, that is not the reason why I recognized you."
Cheng Shijie and Sun Yuanhua were right. At first, he thought that Sun Yuanhua would not break the rules. However, Sun Yuanhua was not a follower, and Ning Haijun's mutiny was not large-scale, and he did not kill everyone like Kong Youde. Even if it was announced Going out, Sun Yuanhua can also put Cheng Shijie in a dilemma.
But the problem is, Sun Yuanhua didn't do this.
Sun Yuanhua then smiled and said: "You can fight, and you are dedicated to Ning Haijun, and you have the ambition to eliminate the military disaster in Liaodong for the court. This is just one of the reasons why this constitution commends you."
"one?"
Cheng Shijie was also confused at this time.
Sun Yuanhua said: "The reason why this constitution allows you to ask for merit is not entirely because of your outstanding martial arts, but because you let the entire Zhang family of Laiyang go without killing them all..."
Cheng Shijie captured more than 600 members of the Laiyang Zhang family in southern Liaoning. Instead of killing them, he ordered them to be reformed through labor reform. This was not because he was merciful, but because he knew very well that letting a rich man die would not actually do anything. It's not a difficult task. Death is sometimes a relief for many people.
But the problem is that the Laiyang Zhang family are not ordinary people. They are the richest group in the Ming Dynasty. Because they were born well, they have been well-fed and clothed since childhood, and have enjoyed prosperity and wealth.
The most uncomfortable thing for a rich man is that instead of killing him, it turns him from having assets of over 100 million to a penniless pauper.
But now, among the more than 600 people of the Zhang family in Laiyang, all the adult men are engaged in coal mining at the Luomashan Coal Mine in Jinzhou, while the women are engaged in textile work at the Baliwan Textile Factory. They are not allowed to eat unless they work.
"The army mutinied at every turn, these are nothing. The most unbearable thing is not these, but that the people in the whirlpool regard power and tactics as the foundation of their lives, and the affection between people and the words and deeds of the ancient saints The way of benevolence and forgiveness has been thrown out of the sky. It seems that apart from killing, there is no other way to solve the problem. All things in the world are only killing, and only violence is replaced by violence..."
Sun Yuanhua suddenly looked at Cheng Shijie and said, "Beiping, do you know why I like you?"
Cheng Shijie shook his head: "The lower official is stupid!"
Sun Yuanhua said solemnly: "Laiyang Zhang family wanted to kill you and want your life, but you took power. But you didn't turn around and kill all the Zhang family. Although I don't know what you think, but I am still very pleased because you are a very sober and calm person. You are not a murderous common man."
Speaking of which. Cheng Shijie understood it completely, even though he was a time traveler from the civilized century. He had a clear understanding of the limitations of ancient thought, but at this moment, he looked up at the governor in front of him.
In fact, many people from the Zhang family in Laiyang should be killed, and Ling Chi can't go too far, especially Zhang Huairen. Even if he deserves to die, Cheng Shijie has not let him die easily until now. Instead, he beats him every day in different ways. Tortured.
Those who kill will always be killed. This is the simplest law in troubled times.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was a reckless emperor who emerged from troubled times. He was so righteous that no one could match him. Why did he improve the status of scholars instead of focusing on military force?
In fact, the sour scholar Zhu Yuanzhang didn't like it at all. But he knew that the saints respected by these scholars preached the way of mercy and forgiveness, and did not advocate extermination.
Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to reuse these talents and make abstaining from killing and killing carefully become the law of the world again. Let the troubled times where people are killed at every turn come to a complete end. So that future generations will not continue to live in killing and being killed all day long, so that there will be fewer and fewer miserable people in the world...
Only then did Sun Yuanhua tell Cheng Shijie: "Beiping, congratulations, His Majesty has decided to reward you as the commander of the capital of Liaodong, to control the twenty-five guards of Liaodong, to manage Liaodong, to manage the army on horseback, and to govern the people!"
At this time, Sun Yuanhua had to admire Cheng Shijie's fortune. From August of the fourth year of Chongzhen, he served as the Dengzhou Weizuo Qianhu Office. In May of the fifth year of Chongzhen, he served as the Liaodong Capital Secretary and Liaodong Economic and Strategic Envoy. This was the real official of the border.
Cheng Shijie was stunned.
What he really didn't expect was that Emperor Chongzhen would actually reward him with such an official position.
Although this is a flashy official position, the problem is that this is exactly what Cheng Shijie needs. He has no shortage of money and weapons and equipment. Nowadays, Cheng Shijie no longer looks down on the equipment in the capital.
On the ninth day of the fifth month of the fifth year of Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty promulgated an edict, the right minister of the Ministry of War and the censor of Qiandu, Fu Zonglong, the governor of Jimen, Liaodong and Baoding military affairs, and a group of 124 people and more than 400 guards, a total of five More than a hundred people arrived in Jinzhou. The imperial edict formally announced to Cheng Shijie, the general who conquered the captives, the governor of the left, the commander-in-chief of the Ning navy, and the Dongjiang army, that the Ming court appointed him as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong and the manager of Liaodong.
The next day, which was the tenth day of the fifth year of Chongzhen, at noon, a grand ceremony was held at the school military field at the west gate outside Jinzhou City. Fu Zonglong, the envoy of the imperial edict, awarded Cheng Shijie the status and official seal symbolizing the status of Liaodong economic envoy to Cheng Shijie on behalf of the emperor. and double jings and double festivals.
On this day, Ning Haijun's left division, right division, navy, and cavalry, totaling six generals and more than 6,000 men, were fully armed and marched to the school grounds. They stood in a square formation with sentries as units, quietly waiting for the ceremony to begin and to witness The moment came when his commander-in-chief officially became the highest military and political officer in Liaodong.
Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai and Huang Long, the commander-in-chief of the Dongjiang Army, and all officers above the general level attended the ceremony.
Chen Guodong and Zhou Yandong led all the officers of Ning Haijun to stand on the other side, all wearing official uniforms of scarlet, green or blue. Zhou Yandong, who was the official of the Hundred Households of the Qianhu Office in Dengzhou Weizuo a year ago, Shen Mingyu, the son of Qianhu in the Guide Mansion, who was a refugee a year ago, and Chang Yu, who was nothing, were all extremely excited.
In particular, Zhou Yandong has been a soldier for more than 20 years, and he has been cautious for 20 years. In the end, he relied on his superior Cheng Shijie to rise from the second rank to the general of the country, and wear something that no one in his family would even dare to think about in his ten lifetimes. Lion official robe. Chen Guodong also wore the second-grade lion official robe, while Shen Mingyu, Zhang Yu, Li Zhixiang, and Zhao Wencai wore leopard official robes.
The most excited person was not actually these promoted Ning Navy generals, but Song Xiance, who was barely four feet tall and ugly in appearance. After the great victory in Haizhou, in terms of merit, he, as an aide to Cheng Shijie of Ning Navy, praised military affairs and was rewarded with a Cheng Wulang. This is an official position from the sixth rank. He is a Confucian scholar. If there is a rank, there is no position.
To be honest, before following Cheng Shijie, Song Xiance could only rely on his skills to deceive others and gain the respect of others. Of course, what others respected was his skills, not Song Xiance as a person.
But yesterday at the banquet hosted by Cheng Shijie for Fu Zonglong and his entourage, Fu Zonglong, who was the minister of the Ministry of War, the censor of Qiandu, and the governor of Jimen, Liaodong, and Baoding military affairs, toasted him and called him "Fengxiao". Although it was said that Wolong in later generations Feng Chu is not a good word, but in the Ming Dynasty, it was a compliment.
To be fair, in Cheng Shijie's team system, Song Xiance was not promoted the fastest. He was still responsible for that whole thing, Jinzhou Academy, talent deception, no, it should be said, recruitment, and secondly, publicity work.
As for the counselor of military affairs, Cheng Shijie has basically never used him from the beginning to the present. But the problem is that he is worried about Cheng Shijie's development.
At a quarter past noon, the worship ceremony officially began.
PS: There is always a lot of work to do. I have been helping my mother clean up the house in my hometown for the past two days. I am so tired that my back is sore and I almost can’t get up. Lao Cheng will reconsider the following part of the imperial edict. It is 6,300 words. Everyone. Watch first.
(End of chapter)
