On March 16, Zhen Shu, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, accompanied by Fang Zhenghua, the chamberlain who was ordered to come, visited a felon detained in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. It was Sun Chuanting, the former governor of Baoding who had made great military exploits for the imperial court. Because he was arrested by the Minister of the Ministry of War, Yang Sichang was exposed for pretending to be deaf and was hated by Chongzhen, who was immediately arrested and imprisoned.
"Sun Wuwei, are you okay?"
Zhen Shu was very polite to Sun Chuanting. Whether he was leading troops or a person, what this governor did was admirable. The emperor adopted the slanderous words of the narrow-minded Yang Sichang, and Zhen Shu felt sorry for Governor Sun. If there is no noble help in this matter, I am afraid that Ming Dynasty will lose its talents again.
In the Ming Dynasty, officials at the same level were often addressed with their place of origin as a suffix. Sun Chuanting was born in Wuwei, Daizhou Town, so he was naturally Sun Wuwei.
The prisoner in the cell was already in tattered clothes, with messy hair, but his eyes were bright. Hearing the visit from his old friend, he showed no sign of awe. Instead, he laughed when he saw the situation: "Zhuanting is already a prisoner, Zhen Zhongzai (official department) Don’t misunderstand me, everything seems to be well prepared. May I ask Zhong Zai, are you going to be punished (Ling Chi), or abandoned (Owl Chief)?"
During these days in jail, waiting for news, Sun Chuanting, who was constantly reflecting, had already vaguely guessed his fate. As long as he offended the emperor who favored the villain Yang Sichang, no matter how many military exploits he made for the court, the end would not be as good as Yuan Chonghuan.
There is a saying that if the king allows his subjects to die, they will have to die.
Sun Chuanting was already mentally prepared for this, waiting for the imperial edict to come down...
Zhen Shu understood that the other party had misunderstood her, so she cupped her hands with a smile on her face and said, "Wu Wei misunderstood. Admiral Fang came here this time to ask Wu Wei to be released from prison. Wu Wei's skills will be put to great use by the Holy One!"
As the envoy to extract Sun Chuanting, Fang Zhenghua did not shy away from what happened in the Forbidden City. He gave an overview and let Zhen Shu have a brief understanding. Tomorrow morning, the chamberlain will announce to the public the prince's supervision of the country. It won't be long before everyone in the world Everyone will know.
Fang Zhenghua did not dare to neglect the important ministers whom His Highness the Prince of the other party named to support, and congratulated the governor with a smile: "What Zhen Zhongzai said is true. I hope Sun Wuwei will be magnanimous and ignore past grudges. These are the food and wine prepared by our family. Please use it slowly, Sun Wuwei, then take a shower and change clothes, then enter the palace to meet the Holy Spirit!"
At Wu o'clock last night (19 o'clock), the imperial envoys were ordered out of the capital and rushed towards Shanhaiguan. The leader of the team carried an imperial edict, which ordered Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, to return to the capital immediately with his troops. Judging by the time, Hong Chengchou will be able to return to the court with his troops within a week.
Yaoji believed that it was completely unnecessary to accumulate heavy troops on the Ningjin defense line. Hong Chengchou's troops were unable to fight in the field with the main force of Donglu who went south to the Liaoxi Corridor, and they had no other use than wasting food and grass. From Jinzhou to Shanhaiguan, it is enough for the relevant Ning troops to guard. No merit is required of them. As long as they have no faults, the court can pay military pay on time.
His Royal Highness the Prince has also thought about the personnel for the new Governor of Ji Liao. Feng Yuanbiao is too old, Yang Sichang is embarrassed to use him, and Fu Zonglong is far away in Sichuan. At present, the most suitable candidate is Yan Yingyuan from Tongzhou, plus Chen Mingyu and Feng Houdun. , Jiangyin's three anti-captive princes gathered together. There is no need to take the initiative. As long as the Donglu attack the Ningjin defense line from the south, they only need to use cannons in the city to blast away.
If he can be killed, a Donglu soldier can be exchanged for one hundred taels of silver, and he will be reimbursed in real terms. Guan Ningjun must know exactly what to reimburse...
Governor Ji Liao appointed Yan Yingyuan, who was not even a minister of the Ministry of War, to take the post. There must be people in the court who would criticize this and even make wild remarks. However, the prince is definitely not a scapegoat who wants to save face. There is no need to pay attention to the slanders of those sanctimonious guys, just treat them as hiccups and farts. Using extraordinary people in extraordinary times is an extraordinary strategy. How can you ordinary people understand the mystery? Let me play with you all!
Of course, there is also a military master whose status has been reduced. His ability is not inferior to that of Sun Chengzong. If he can be found and mobilized, he will naturally be entrusted with important tasks. I wonder if the other party is discouraged and does not want to get back into officialdom for the rest of his life. If he could go out in the face of the current prince, it would be twice the result with half the effort.
Just after Gui Shi (9 a.m.), Fang Zhenghua led Sun Chuanting into Kunning Palace before giving up.
"The guilty minister, Sun Chuanting, comes to see His Royal Highness the Queen and His Highness the Prince..."
Although Sun Chuanting was full of suspicions, he still could not slack off in the due etiquette. He wondered whether the mother and son were just like the emperor, who relied on treacherous villains.
Empress Zhou was not as harsh as she was with her chamberlain. She did not wait for Sun Chuanting to finish saluting, but she very kindly agreed in advance: "Sun Aiqing, please get up quickly, and I will be free of ceremony!"
Maybe in the future, their mother and son will have to rely on these frontier officials to stabilize the country, so it is very necessary to release some goodwill at this time. Even if they cannot move the other party, they must still show a royal attitude.
Yaoji would not let his beautiful mother apologize to foreign ministers, so he had to say it himself, so he solemnly said: "Sun Aiqing has suffered. Previously, my father mistakenly believed in the slander, which caused Sun Aiqing to be imprisoned. I apologize to Sun Aiqing on behalf of my father, and ask Sun Aiqing to accept my respect!"
Sun Chuanting was shocked when he saw the prince saluting him. The prince was so noble, but he did not dare to step forward to stop him, and he could not return the gift. Both methods were considered disrespectful. In desperation, he had to kneel down in a hurry.
Sun Chuanting felt helpless, kowtowed and said in thanksgiving: "Your Highness, please do not offend the guilty ministers, for the guilty ministers must not be punished!"
It's just that in my heart, I still can't let go of Chongzhen's fault. After all, there is a villain Yang Sichang among himself who is obstructing him. He tried every means to prevent him from going to Beijing to face the saint, and maliciously slandered himself. It was really a fake and a tiger's power.
Yao Ji has already felt Sun Chuanting's grievances to some extent. He summoned him today to put aside his past grudges: "Everyone has committed a crime, and Governor Sun blames himself so much. Is it possible that he is still unhappy in his heart? If you tell me face to face, do you want me to give up?" Governor, can’t you kneel down?”
The prince thought to himself: I will bow, and you will kneel down. If I kneel down, what should you do? Jump into a pit and kneel down? Or just lie down?
Sun Chuanting has offended the emperor, and now he does not dare to provoke the prince again, lest he be imprisoned again: "Sin... I don't dare to do it. Your Highness saves... my minister in prison. I am already grateful and don't dare to have any extravagant hopes." "
When meeting the Queen and the Prince for the first time, it was better for me to be careful with what I said. As the saying goes, too much words lead to mistakes. Besides, having trouble with a ten-year-old child makes me look too mean and mean, and there is no need for it.
The prince of the dynasty bowed and apologized to himself alone in front of the queen. This was a great honor given by the royal family to the ministers. It was unprecedented since Taizu.
Even if the queen asked the prince to do it deliberately for her to see, it was not easy, so Sun Chuanting was mostly relieved about being imprisoned.
Yao Ji didn't want to continue the stalemate, otherwise the actions of the monarch and his ministers would be really laughable: "That's good, Sun Aiqing, please get up quickly, come and give me a seat!"
"this……"
As the sole commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Sun Chuanting had never received such favorable treatment, so he didn't know what to do for a while.
Seeing that Sun Chuanting was still in awe, Empress Zhou said kindly: "This place is not comparable to the Huangji Palace, and it is not the upper court at the moment. Sun Aiqing does not have to be afraid, just sit down if you have a seat."
Brother Xun had previously said that this man was the number one military man in the dynasty. His ability to command troops was not inferior to that of Sun Chengzong, and he was also very loyal to the court. With a little favor, he could be brought under his command, which could be described as a huge benefit. In addition, this governor had been favored by His Majesty before and had indeed made many military exploits for the court. Therefore, Empress Zhou, who was not familiar with military affairs, took a particularly high look at Sun Chuanting.
With no way out, Sun Chuanting had no choice but to salute again: "Thank you so much, Your Highness the Queen, and thank you so much, Your Highness the Prince!"
After Yao Ji sat down, the important minister dared to sit with his buttocks in front of him. The prince saw this and said with a smile: "Where did you just say? Oh, yes, extravagant hope! Even though Sun Aiqing is already a very popular minister, You should pursue something. In my opinion, Sun Aiqing’s military talent is no less than that of Marshal Xu Da back then!”
Since you want to praise, you need to find a high-value reference for comparison. Moving out Xu Da is perfect. This is a bit miserable for this marshal. Anyway, Yaoji will not let Sun Chuanting eat goose meat. There are many places where this capable man is needed.
Hearing that the prince thought so highly of himself, Sun Chuanting hurriedly apologized and said: "His Royal Highness, you are ridiculous. I have humble abilities, but I was lucky enough to win. I have really betrayed the trust of your Highness. I don't dare to compare with Marshal Xu!"
Sun Chuanting still didn't know what the prince wanted to do by sending people to take him out of the prison, so he was still careful to be wary of the prince trying to kill him.
Yao Ji thought highly of this commander who also had the same surname as Sun. He waved his hand and said, "Sun Aiqing is belittling himself again. The others are just laymen, and the slanderous comments are all due to jealousy. Sun Aiqing is well versed in the art of war and strategy, and is good at commanding and running the army. He has won many battles." Repeated victories are definitely not due to luck. If we can win a big victory this time, it will be just around the corner for Sun Aiqing to become a noble."
In order to make moon cakes for Zhang Ni and others on time, the biggest military operation this year is to encircle and suppress the various gangs entrenched in northern Huguang.
If it times out, it can only be made into Yuanxiao. If it times out again, it can be made into rice dumplings!
"This time" is a word that Sun Chuanting caught in his words. The meaning is of great significance, so he asked tentatively: "I am stupid, please express it clearly, Your Highness the Prince!"
This may be what Zhen Shu said about another important use. Sun Chuanting secretly made up his mind that no matter what, he could not miss this good opportunity to meet the Second Saint. Not to mention taking charge of the army again, even if he stayed in Beijing to serve, he had escaped. Robbed.
Yao Ji deliberately sighed softly, pretending to be betraying your personal feelings, and said in a gentle tone: "I still want to wait for Governor Hong to return to Beijing to discuss this matter, but I might as well talk to Ai Qing today. Zhang Xianzhong said The tribe has been pretending to surrender for a long time, and now the area around Huguang Gucheng is heavily armed and ready to move. We have received a tip-off that this beast will rebel against the imperial court around May, echoing Luo Rucai and others in the Xunyang area, so we plan to pre-emptively attack and assemble heavy troops to attack it. Advance and suppress."
