In the Ming Dynasty, there were very few dukes and not many marquises.
Counting from the beginning of Yingzong, there were less than a hundred dukes and marquises. Hereditary, except for relatives, all have military achievements (Qiu Luan, Shi Heng and others are not counted).
Only those with military merit can be knighted. Even prime ministers such as Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Shen Shixing, Shen Yiguan, and Fang Congzhe did not have knighthoods.
Liu Zhaosun led his army to fight the Sarhu in the first battle and turn the tide on the Hunjiang River; in the second battle, he opened the plains and inspired Liaodong; in the third battle of the Hunhe River, he wiped out the Jiannu.
After three great victories, it is reasonable to be granted the title of Marquis.
But, what does this cracking of soil mean?
Could it be that the emperor wants to grant Liaodong to himself?
However, Liu Zhaosun quickly rejected this idea.
As far as he knew, there seemed to be no precedent for the Ming Dynasty to award territory to princes with different surnames, except for the Mu family in Yunnan.
But I heard Yuan Yingtai continue.
"General Liu, the main purpose of my trip is to verify military merits. The imperial edict will be read out by the Eunuch Wang, the Supervisor of Ceremonies."
The prince in Yuan Yingtai's mouth is just the ceremonial supervisor Bingbi Wang An.
Historically, this person had a favor for promoting Wei Zhongxian. In the early years of the Apocalypse, after Wei Zhongxian gained power, he killed Wang An and expelled all Wang An's party members.
The appearance of Liu Zhaosun made the struggle between the two eunuchs more intense.
As the person involved, Liu Zhaosun didn't know who the prince was, and he didn't realize that the danger was approaching him.
Yuan Yingtai and others stationed in Shenyang City that day and lived in the former Liaodong Governor's official residence. Two thousand people from the Model Battalion were stationed in Wengcheng, South Gate.
For several days, Yuan Jinglue and several Liao Town generals inspected the city. During this period, they visited the North Gate Wengcheng once and watched the drill of Kaiyuan Army with a gloomy face.
On the eighth day of November, Liu Zhaosun led Kang Yingqian, Deng Changxiong, Wang Erhu and other important figures in Kaiyuan to a banquet in Qixing Tower with Yuan Yingtai, Yuan Yingtai, He Tingkui, Cui Ruxiu, Zhang Quan and others to formally greet them.
Seven Star Restaurant is located next to the Hun River in the northeast corner of Shenyang City. According to Kang Yingqian, it is the most upscale restaurant in Shenyang.
The whole floor was filled with people.
From where Liu Zhaosun was sitting, he could see the famous Seven Star Tower on the north bank of the Hun River when he opened the window.
Further north, you can still see Qixing Mountain. Kang Yingqian told Liu Zhaosun that if it is in the evening, you can overlook the sparkling Hun River from the tower and enjoy one of the eight scenic spots in Shenyang - "Hun River Sunset".
Kang Yingqian had traveled to Shenyang in Kaiyuan a few days ago. In a short period of time, he had a very clear understanding of the anecdotes of Shenyang, which Liu Zhaosun felt was inferior to him.
After traveling for more than half a year, he rarely visited such luxurious places.
It's not because of lack of money, it's just that I can't bear it.
Since the bloody battle of Hunjiang, he has been leading troops. The poverty of the guest soldiers is beyond imagination, which is shocking.
Liu Zhaosun spent all his energy on fighting and collecting military pay, and he didn't even have time to touch a stunning woman like Jin Yuji.
Let me add that it may be different in the future.
In his previous life, he had a generous personality. Whenever he saw his subordinates freezing and dying, and then looking at the wages that had not been collected, he would naturally not want to go to these places to squander.
However, under Kang Yingqian's advice, he still followed the official rules and gave a red envelope of two hundred taels to the manager.
In addition to giving red envelopes to Yuan Jinglue, he also sent one hundred taels of silver to the supervisors He Tingkui and Cui Ruxiu each, one hundred taels to the imperial censor Zhang Quan, and fifty taels of silver to a general named Fan in the standard army camp. The two generals who came to accompany Liao Town , and each person was given fifty taels.
Just like that, five or six hundred taels of silver were gone in the blink of an eye. This was just a greeting gift.
No one would hesitate to give money. The unspoken rule of officialdom in this era is to give money. It would be weird not to give it.
After collecting the money, the atmosphere in the restaurant relaxed a lot, and everyone looked at Liu Zhaosun more favorably.
Today's official banquet was originally booked by Kang Yingqian several days in advance, and the deposit alone cost twenty taels.
The banquet cost Liu Zhaosun fifty taels of silver in total, not including the cost of inviting the actors to sing. The total cost was estimated to be more than a hundred taels.
Kang Yingqian originally thought that Yuan Yingtai was an easy boss. Treating them to a meal and giving them a few thousand taels of silver would be enough to build relationships.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Yuan Yingtai came to Shenyang, he would give himself a slap in the face. It seemed that he couldn't spend a few thousand taels of silver.
Kang Yingqian was scolded by Yuan Jinglue at the south gate that day. He was disgraced and humiliated.
However, Kang Yingqian is a veteran in officialdom after all, so he immediately changed into a flattering smile at the banquet today.
Before and after running, he poured wine and food for Mr. Jinglue, and sometimes whispered into Yuan Yingtai's ear. The two of them laughed while talking. People who didn't know better thought that this person was the new Jinglue's confidant.
The wind was biting on the banks of the Hun River, but it was warm inside the house.
Charcoal fires were lit in the four corners of the private room. Amidst the crackling sound of the coals, a small table was set up in front of everyone.
A bit like the buffet of later generations.
Of course, the dishes on the small table are much more exquisite than the buffet.
The dishes in front of each person are unique.
Liu Zhaosun took a cursory glance and found:
Cooked quail with flowers, chicken tongue soup, deer tripe stuffed with Jiang Yao, fried mandarin duck tendons, shredded rabbit with chrysanthemums, fried deer legs, ginger vinegar gold and silver hooves.
There are also some dried fruit preserves.
He didn't recognize the rest of the dishes.
Liu Zhaosun shook his head and sighed. He had some knowledge in his previous life, but he didn't expect that the food in the Ming Dynasty could be so exquisite.
"The meal Guo Jing treated Huang Rong to was not so sumptuous."
Liu Zhaosun couldn't help but feel heartbroken when he thought of another sum of money being spent on the soldiers' military pay.
Two delicate actors sang a Kunqu opera in Yiyang style, which seemed like "Du Shiniang sank the treasure chest in anger".
Liu Zhaosun heard Kun Opera when he was traveling in Suzhou and Hangzhou in his previous life, and he knew a little bit about it.
He was quite surprised. He didn't expect that Kun Opera could be heard in Liaodong. It must be very expensive.
Looking at the delicacies on the table, thinking of the homeless refugees in the city and the soldiers from Kaiyuan still drinking the northwest wind in the Wengcheng at the north gate, I couldn't help but shake my head and sigh in a low voice.
These days, Kang Yingqian spent a lot of money and didn't care at all whether Liu Zhaosun felt sorry for him. He approached Yuan Yingtai and asked in a low voice:
"Yuan Jinglue, this Seven Star Restaurant is the most famous restaurant in Shenyang. The chef cooking today is also from Shaanxi. I wonder if it is suitable for adults?"
Yuan Yingtai, who was born in Shaanxi Province, took a sip of duck tongue soup, frowned slightly, put down his chopsticks like a food critic, and commented:
"It's a little lighter. Compared to the capital's Liufangzhai, it's a little less hot."
Liu Zhaosun looked at Yuan Yingtai coldly.
Yuan Yingtai was a Jinshi in the 23rd year of Wanli. He had great political achievements as a local official. To be fair, he was one of the few talents in the Donglin Party.
During his tenure as the magistrate of Linzhang County, Yuan Yingtai built a 40-mile embankment to protect the Zhang River; he diverted the river through the Taihang Mountains and diverted Qin water to irrigate tens of thousands of hectares of farmland.
During his tenure as Huaixu Military Preparatory Councilor, a great famine occurred, and a porridge factory was set up to relieve the victims.
Because he spent tens of thousands of taels of extra tax and horse-priced silver to provide relief to the victims, he was impeached by the officials for "moving to officialdom without authorization" and resigned from office.
After Xiong Tingbi resigned, the imperial court sent him to manage Liaodong, which was a major mistake of the imperial court.
No matter in any aspect, Yuan Yingtai cannot compare with Xiong Tingbi.
He can be a good local official, but it is difficult for him to be a commander-in-chief like Liaodong Economic Strategy.
Historically, Yuan Yingtai ignored the dissuasion of his subordinates and sent Mongolian troops into the city. Later, Hou Jin Li Ying Wai cooperated and defeated Shenyang.
Yuan Yingtai was quite courageous and retreated to Liaoyang. After the Hou Jin soldiers invaded the city, he wore a sword with the official seal and hanged himself in the flower tower in the northeast of Liaoyang. His servant Tang Shiming couldn't bear that his master's body fell into the hands of the Hou Jin soldiers. Set yourself on fire.
Two supervisors and censors also died in the Battle of Liaoshen.
Later generations commented on Yuan Yingtai's governorship of Liao Dynasty:
Xiong Tingbi maintained strict laws and regulations in the Liao Dynasty and kept his troops in order. Yuan Yingtai corrected them by being lenient. The use of troops was not his strength and his planning was rather sparse. (1)
To put it simply, Yuan Yingtai did not know how to use troops, lacked planning, and was too tolerant of foreign affairs.
Liu Zhaosun didn't know much about these historical details.
He only thought that Yuan Yingtai was a Donglin boss, but he didn't know how much people's wealth and support this person could earn on a daily basis.
"Xiong Manzi's campaign in Liaodong cost the emperor millions of money. It is said that Xiong Manzi tasted delicious food and had more than a dozen cooks. Why didn't Supervisor Kang bring them here and let the two supervisors have a taste of their craftsmanship?"
Yuan Yingtai pushed away the duck tongue soup, with a look of disgust on his face.
The supervisors He Tingkui and Cui Ruxiu who were sitting next to them just laughed in apology after hearing this. The rest of the people also smelled the smell of gunpowder and did not dare to speak.
The two Liao Town generals waved their hands, and the actor singing Du Shiniang quickly withdrew, and the surrounding singing girls and maids also left far away.
Kang Yingqian smiled and said:
"The official has seen with his own eyes that Xiong Jing is an incorruptible official, and his food is not heavy on taste. Apart from official uniforms, he doesn't even have a few brocade clothes. I don't know who the officials in the capital are who spread these rumors."
After Kang Yingqian finished speaking, he turned around and filled Yuan Yingtai's glass with wine. Yuan Yingtai blocked the glass with his palm.
When the censor Zhang Quan saw that he was talking about Yan Guan, he said in a strange way:
"Kang Jianjun's words are wrong. They are not true. We, the officials and censors, have the power to speak out. How can we be afraid of power and cover up? There has been discussion in the court that Xiong Manzi The Liao soldiers enriched themselves by indiscriminately killing Liao town generals in Shenyang and swallowing up the Liao soldiers. These rumors must also have roots. Unfortunately, Xiong Jinglue's whereabouts are unknown now. It is impossible to find out where the millions of internal funds given to him by the emperor were spent... ····”
Liu Zhaosun was furious, and Xiong Tingbi was insulted before his body was even cold. It was unbearable!
He clenched his fists, regardless of whether he caught the wind or not, and was ready to pick up the censor and beat him up first.
Kang Yingqian said quickly:
"Xiong Jinglue visited Liaodong for half a year. He tried his best to protect Liaoshen. In the end, he was killed by the slaves and died tragically for the country. Everyone in the Liao Dynasty saw it. Xiong Jinglue's body was still cold. Zhang Yushi said such nonsense. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"
Zhang Quan suddenly became excited when he saw someone speaking for Xiong Tingbi:
"Haha, everyone in the capital is saying that Xiong Jingwei has a forgotten friend. He is a young hero and has received many benefits from the strategy. Kang Supervisor, you have been supervising the army in Liaodong for many years. You should know this matter better than me!"
Seeing that there was no way to retreat, Kang Yingqian stood up suddenly and said angrily:
"Zhang Quan, you provoked your colleagues and framed Zhongliang. Today's banquet is supposed to be a joy. If you dare to talk nonsense again, you, the censor, will probably end up doing it!"
"So what if I say so? Do you still dare to threaten the dignified censor?!"
Officials on both sides stood up at the same time. A Liao Town general on the opposite side actually wanted to draw his sword, but Yuan Yingtai shouted angrily to stop him.
Liu Zhaosun waved his hand to everyone to sit down and said calmly:
"Master Jinglue is used to being well-dressed and well-dressed in the capital, so naturally he can't eat this dish. The soldiers under my command are only paid two taels of silver per month. Today, our food and drink expenses are enough to feed a soldier for ten years. Your Excellency, I feel that there is no place to lay chopsticks, I really have nothing to say."
Everyone was shocked by his aura and fell silent.
The censors of the supervisory army looked at Liu Zhaosun one after another, and the expression of General Fan Shen of the standard barracks changed.
Liu Zhaosun suddenly clenched the wine glass tightly, and the wine glass was crushed into pieces:
"The bloody battle at Hunhe resulted in nearly 20,000 casualties among Kaiyuan Army, Biaobing Battalion, Zhejiang Army, Sichuan Army, and Liao Town."
"My officer is seriously injured, and since you are here to honor the emperor, please hurry up and verify your military merits and provide pensions to the soldiers. I will not give up the more than 30,000 first-level silver reward heads for the time being, and the total pension for those killed in battle is 200,000 taels. Please also ask the imperial court to distribute it as soon as possible to prevent the officers and soldiers from being discouraged!"
Yuan Yingtai, who had been silent all this time, twisted his body and looked up at Liu Zhaosun, his small eyes narrowed into a thin line.
"Hahaha, Mr. Liu, I know that you are brave and good at fighting and have made great achievements many times. You are in the heart of the emperor and have a close relationship with Xiong Tingbi. You have been promoted smoothly in the past six months, and you don't know the ups and downs of this officialdom."
"To tell you the truth, I can give you a maximum of one hundred thousand taels of pension money. How to distribute it is your business. I would like to say one more thing. There is no need to explain to you what you did in Kaiyuan today. , you are young and energetic, go back and think about it yourself."
It was the first time Liu Zhaosun was threatened like this. His blood surged and he said angrily:
"Master Yuan! The two hundred thousand taels of silver were all paid for by the soldiers' lives. Each of them is only ten taels. With ten taels of silver, I don't know how many families of orphans and widows are waiting for these 10 taels of silver to live. They can't lose a penny!"
Yuan Yingtai stared at Liu Zhaosun for a long time. Not to mention the pension money, the court could not even pay the military pay of the nine sides in full. In his opinion, Liu Zhaosun was completely blackmailing the court with his achievements in pacifying Liao Dynasty, which was really treasonous.
Yuan Yingtai knew that the court was in difficulty and that the emperor had no money.
When he came to Liaodong this time, he wanted to save as much as possible and spend as little as possible. One hundred thousand taels was enough to give Liu Zhaosun face.
I didn't expect Liu Zhaosun to be so stubborn.
"Xiong Tingbi was impeached for embezzling 800,000 Liao salary. Several generals in Liao Town were killed by you. Now they are dead without any evidence. I am here this time not only to express my merits to you, but also to investigate the matter thoroughly!"
Liu Zhaosun smiled sadly and said:
"Xiong Jinglue died tragically for his country. I didn't expect that he would end up like this. It's so sad!"
Yuan Yingtai ignored Liu Zhaosun and glanced at the angry Deng Changxiong and Wang Erhu behind him.
"During the Saarhu period, the imperial court formed an alliance with the Yehe tribe, and Xuanda and Jizhen were also negotiating trade with Mongolia."
"General Liu, you slaughtered the foreigners without mercy, even Ye He Jiang's soldiers were not spared. This method is even worse than Bai Qi's reincarnation."
Liu Zhaosun took action and argued with each other:
"Ye He slaughtered thousands of Liao people. How could I not care about it? So what if I surrender? I just want to kill too few!"
Yuan Yingtai waved his hand, refused to argue with Liu Zhaosun, and left with everyone.
He took a few steps, turned back to Liu Zhaosun and said:
"General Xuanwu, I have said everything I need to say. Someone must fill Xiong Tingbi's shortfall. I believe the court will release General Liu's pension as soon as possible. General, please wait and see."
Note: (1) "The Biography of Xiong Tingbi" in Volume 347 of Wan Sitong's "History of the Ming Dynasty"
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