In early November of the fourth year of Zhengde, the imperial envoy Zhang Cong returned to Beijing to resume his duties.
After Ningxia killed two princes, five commanders and various princes' comrades who were implicated in the rebellion, things became much easier to handle.
The cleanup of military settlements has also made great progress.
Zhang Cong returned to Beijing with such achievements. As soon as he returned, he was promoted to the right deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which was a high-ranking official at the level of minister.
After Zhang Fuhua became official, Zhang Mao took charge of Lantai, and the position of left deputy capital censor was vacant. The emperor did not think much and replaced him with right deputy censor Mao Cheng.
This man was a Jinshi in the sixth year of Hongzhi. He was forty-eight years old this year. When Zhu Houzhao was still the prince, he served as the right envoy of Zhan Shifu.
However, in these years, he has only stayed in three places: Hanlin Academy, Zhanshifu, and Metropolitan Procuratorate, and his personality is relatively stubborn and not very lovable. Therefore, since Zhu Houzhao came to power, this person has been tepid in the officialdom. .
In fact, during the Jiajing period, this veteran argued with Emperor Jiajing during the Great Ceremony Incident and refused to accept weakness. He had a bad temper.
This kind of person cannot be said to be unnecessary. If the emperor only has a yes man, there will be problems. Moreover, he is an old member of Zhan Shifu. It would not be good if Zhu Houzhao does not take care of him, so he is still thrown into the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
At the beginning of this year, Xie Guangxie, the former right deputy censor of the capital, was demoted to Guangdong as a county magistrate due to the Huai'an Mansion incident. Mao Cheng was successfully promoted to this position, and now he was transferred to the left deputy censor of the capital. It was a turn of events for him.
Of course, compared to Zhang Cong's promotion speed, he is slower.
After Gu Zuo, three new officials appeared in the Zhengde Dynasty: Wang Tingxiang, the governor of Shaanxi, Wang Shouren, the governor of the Hetao area, and now Zhang Cong.
For Zhang Cong himself, he finally changed from an unknown and easily ignored person to what he imagined.
And he knew exactly how it all came about.
The young emperor was very methodical in doing things. After the results were achieved in Ningxia, he immediately issued an order to assign eight important ministers of the imperial court to take charge of cleaning up the remaining eight towns.
The movements in the court were even more frightening. A group of officials from the Qing Dynasty kept clamoring that the clan was causing trouble and oppressing the people. I think the princes in the eight towns must have been frightened.
"That Ma Bin... was originally just a hundred households?" Zhu Houzhao asked while looking at the memorial.
Zhang Cong bent down and bowed, "Go back to the emperor, this person is indeed from a hundred households."
"One hundred households can do best. It seems that it is not how difficult the thing is, but whether it wants to do it or not."
"What your Majesty said is absolutely true. I have personally experienced it and seen it with my own eyes. The imperial edict is indeed meant to offend some people, but no one dares to disobey the imperial edict. It's just a question of how much effort the person in charge puts into it."
"Do you think the cleanup of military camps in the other eight towns will go smoothly?"
Zhang Cong's mind wandered for a moment and he said in a low voice: "I thought it would not go well."
"What is the worst-case scenario? Can you describe it?"
"There are still sects and vassals who have rebelled. Even the sergeants have mutinied."
Zhu Houzhao closed the memorial and walked back and forth with the back of his hand. In fact, during the Wanli period, Zhang Juzheng also cleaned up all the fields in the world, because this matter did not threaten the country. The righteousness in history caused such disaster to the country, and the rebellion of King Anhua and King Ning did not cause much waves, so the vassal king had nothing to worry about.
Moreover, his military power, civil servants and generals, and his image in the outside world are all considered to be relatively prosperous.
There were not many emperors in the Ming Dynasty who were as powerful as he is now.
Maybe he can't compare with Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di. After all, one is the founding emperor and the other was defeated immediately. As for the others, he is not convinced.
"Even if there is a local military disturbance, this matter must be done. The truth is clear, and there are examples from Ningxia. If there is anyone who objects, it is because they are determined to poach the court for their own selfish interests."
"Your Majesty, Holy Ming!" Zhang Cong could feel the emperor's power up close. After all, carrying out government affairs despite military chaos was not something that could be done with words.
"My sage is of no use, I still have to rely on the help of a group of ministers. Bingyong (Zhang Cong), you did an excellent job in this matter. Although there were some twists and turns in the process, and there was also the rebellion of King Anhua, but He has been disobedient for a long time, and he can't blame you. Throughout the entire process of this errand, you have always put my intentions first, and the results of the handling are just right. To be honest, I didn't even expect it. You can do so well.
Furthermore, if you clean up the military garrison in Ningxia, you will be able to hand over 200,000 shi of grains next year and save millions of shi in food and salary for the court. Just for this credit, although I have promoted you to be the right deputy censor, Still not enough. What matters most to me is that Ningxia Qingtun has set a good start for Qingtun in other towns. This is your first achievement.
I have informed the Ministry of Rites to designate your wife as a royal lady. When you enter the palace, it should have been read out in your house. "
"Ah." Zhang Cong was shocked and moved upon hearing this, and immediately kowtowed, "I thank your Majesty for your kindness!"
Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly.
Rewards also pay attention to methods.
People like Zhang Cong came from a poor background and were short of money. However, once they were promoted from civilian to official, they would be particularly eager for honor. To put it bluntly, they wanted respect from others, so this time they specially rewarded his wife. .
"Okay, let's go back home. After a long journey, I will rest for a few days. After the New Year, I still need you for important things, and I hope you will make new achievements again!"
"Yes, Wei Chen resigns!"
People feel refreshed when happy events happen, and this is what Zhang Cong is talking about now.
After he left, Mao Yuwen and Han Ziren came out of the room next to Qianqing Palace.
The emperor lowered his head and continued to read the memorials, and at the same time said: "Did you all hear what he said?"
"I understand what your Majesty means."
"Jinyiwei has been working hard recently to keep an eye on the situation in these eight towns."
"yes!"
…
…
The next day.
Zhang Cong went to Yang's house to hand over a greeting card and asked to see Yang Yiqing.
Mr. Yang Ge was kind to him, and Shaanxi Governor Wang Tingxiang fully cooperated with him because of Mr. Yang Ge, so he had to come this time.
"Have you met His Majesty?"
"See you."
"The reward is not small."
"This official is just lucky."
"lucky?"
Zhang Cong sat on the side of his hand and said: "Your Majesty's kindness to the subordinates is so great that it is eye-catching. It is just to tell the ministers that the cleanup of military camps is very important. If you do it well, you will be rewarded heavily. If you don't do it well, you will be rewarded." I can only punish him."
Yang Yiqing couldn't help but nodded. This guy who was the county magistrate a year ago was somewhat politically sensitive.
"Your Majesty has brought the entire imperial court under pressure. There are eight people and eight towns. The one I am taking is Guyuan Town, one of the three northwest towns. There are many old acquaintances, so it is easy to do things."
"With Ziheng (Wang Tingxiang's nickname) here, Mr. Ge can rest assured."
"I'm a little more optimistic than you. I don't think there will be much of a problem in Qingtun in the remaining eight towns. Since the rebellion of King Anhua, the generals and deputy generals of each town have stepped up their guard against the feudal kings under their jurisdiction. Even if someone becomes a My heart is in turmoil, and I have to keep my tail between my legs recently. No one wants to become the second Jiang Han. At least there will be no one at the banquet at the palace. Besides, you should have heard about the recent events in Beijing."
"Lao Ge is referring to the dispute between Yan Song and Li Mengyang."
"Yes. The imperial court is eager to investigate the feudal king's faults. Is there anyone else who wants to test the law?"
There are some complementary flavors between the two.
None of them believed that the emperor had not deliberately created this situation.
"Your Majesty is truly an outstanding person."
Yang Yiqing said: "You and I are ministers for this day, to eliminate the ills and revive the Ming Dynasty, which is just around the corner. Bingyong, you have been promoted to the right deputy chief censor, do you have any plans in the future?"
"Your Majesty will obey the Holy Orders."
"I'm asking you, what are your plans?" Yang Yiqing asked him, "What is the holy intention? Officials big and small in Beijing are trying to catch him, but in the recent dispute between Yan and Li, most people think that His Majesty is going to fight with Zongfan. To settle the accounts, they all agreed with Li Mengyang, but the memorial was detained in the palace. In addition, Yan Weizhong was originally a close aide of His Majesty. Therefore, many people do not understand the holy will now. "
"I believe that His Majesty is still determined to reform the old and usher in the new."
Yang Yiqing thought thoughtfully, Yan Song would not disobey the holy will, so there should be some hidden secrets in this matter.
"Bingyong, please go back first. This trip has been hard."
Zhang Cong cupped his hands and said nothing else.
In the next two days, he visited Zhang Mao and Mao Cheng respectively. Both of them were relatively upright Confucian scholars. They only talked to him in a casual manner, so it didn't matter.
In fact, Shoukui's vision was better than his.
In mid-November, there was a commotion in the court because of King Liao's memorial. King Liao actively responded to the court's decree of Qingtun and returned the civilian fields occupied by the palace. By the end of the month, King Su also complied with the decree.
The imperial court also abided by its promise and would not be blamed for past sins, and ordered King Su and King Liao to come to Beijing to have an audience.
With the two kings setting an example, it would be pointless for other princes and clans to pretend to be innocent.
Therefore, in terms of Qingtun, there is not much resistance from the palace.
However, Zhang Cong knew that the palace occupied only a part of the military camp, and the palace was even simpler, because with just those few targets, there was nothing they could do no matter how dissatisfied they were.
But the problem lies in the officials of the border army health inspection schools themselves, from the commander to the Qianhu, Baihu, General Banner... these officials, large and small, are all attached to this criminal chain.
The reason why Ningxia Town went smoothly was because an Anhua King conspired to rebel. Many such people were killed. As long as they saw blood, the remaining people could be frightened. However, this process did not happen in the other eight towns.
Zhang Cong is in the capital and has been paying attention to this matter.
However, in early December, while Jingli was waiting for news from various towns, something happened in Jingli itself!
Li Mengyang, the general secretary of Huang Youtong, was attacked in the evening in the capital and beaten in the street! !
This kind of thing offended the public, and the entire court was in an uproar for a while!
(End of chapter)
