In the Zhaoren Hall of the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty, the old consort Ran Xingrang, the chief minister of the cabinet Fan Fucui and other courtiers knelt on the ground and kowtowed in apology.
However, Emperor Chongzhen had no intention of placing the blame on his ministers today. He waved his hand and called on the kneeling ministers to stand up.
He picked up a few more memorials from the desk, briefly flipped through them, and then called Zhang Jinyan, who was in charge of military matters, to kneel down in front of his imperial desk and asked: "What happened in Henan that you mentioned in the memorial?" , now play it in person."
Zhang Jinyan kowtowed again before replying: "After Luoyang fell into the hands of thieves, there are different legends about the whereabouts of the Prince of Fu. I thought that at this time, the relationship between the relatives and the feudal lord was very important.
Because I saw the report from Fu and Yin in Henan, I did not give any detailed and conclusive information on the matter. I am originally from Henan, so I heard that Prince Fu is now in Meng County. "
"How do you know such details?"
"I have relatives who came to the capital from my hometown. I asked him about the matter in detail, so I know it. He saw the Crown Prince of Fu Domain wearing mourning clothes in Meng County, so he knows that His Royal Highness Prince Fu was killed."
Emperor Chongzhen sighed, tears falling from his eyes again.
Zhang Jinyan added: "Prince Fu has always been loved by Emperor Shenzong and has lived in the country for more than forty years. Now that the country has changed and he died in the country, all funeral and condolences should be treated generously."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said, "You are right."
He picked up another memorial and said: "According to Zhang Cheng of Xuan Town, the prince has indeed been rescued by him and is now escorting him to Huaiqing to settle down. Chen Xinjia and Zhang Cheng reported that Luoyang was dedicated to the city by internal thieves. What caused the loss, specifically?
Where is Fuchen Li Xianfeng now? "
Chen Xinjia was originally standing at the end of the cabinet. Hearing the emperor's call, he hurriedly walked two steps to the imperial case. He first recounted to the emperor the story of the fall of Luoyang as stated in Zhang Cheng's secret letter, and then replied: "According to Li Xianfeng's previous report. According to the report, he has led the troops of Chen Yongfu, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Henan, to go to northern Henan to suppress the bandits. As for where he is now, there is no new report."
Emperor Chongzhen shook his head in dissatisfaction and said: "The thieves went from Luoyang to the south of Ruzhou, but Li Xianfeng led his troops to the north of the Yellow River. He was obviously avoiding it and was afraid of fighting the thieves.
For example, Gao Mingheng first reported that the city of Luoyang had fallen, but King Fu was still there, and then reported that he had been killed. The two were contradictory and too hectic! "
He then asked the cabinet ministers: "Prince Fu told the thieves to 'kill kings and kill officials'. What other king was killed in Henan Prefecture?"
Several cabinet ministers in the palace had not heard anything.
Emperor Chongzhen was worried, so he asked again.
They still claimed that they did not know. Chen Xinjia knew this clearly from Zhang Cheng's secret letter. However, seeing that several cabinet ministers were avoiding talking about the matter, he did not want to make too much publicity about himself, so he did not say anything. Become silent.
Still in the midst of the incident, Zhang Jinyan walked out of the class, knelt down and said: "Before Luoyang fell, the thieves had broken through Yongning, and King Wan'an was killed inside. He was the county king of Yiwang's branch."
Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen stopped asking questions, he continued: "Luoyang fell, and all the palaces, palaces, officials, gentry and people inside and outside were burned and robbed terribly. At this time, the thieves had left the city to the south. They were elected to send an army to quickly recover Luoyang and stabilize Henan. West.
The emperor has previously sent 30,000 taels of silver to Henan for relief. Should he first use five or seven thousand taels of silver to help Luoyang and collect the embers to save the urgent need? "
Emperor Chongzhen said: "Nowadays, there is famine everywhere in Henan, and it is also urgent everywhere. I will make further arrangements, and I will send the officials to take them with me."
At this time, Fan Fucui, the chief minister of the cabinet, knelt down and said, "I heard that King Fu has two ministers beside him, and their loyalty is commendable."
Emperor Chongzhen glanced at him and said: "In other places, the Taoist, government, county officials, rural eunuchs, and people who served loyally when the city was destroyed should be found out, and I will commend them all. "
When Fan Fucui heard the emperor's words, he suddenly felt ashamed and hurriedly kowtowed and retreated. He secretly blamed himself: "Oh, why did I only think of two ministers?"
Chen Yan, the second assistant to the cabinet, also bowed and saluted, saying: "His Royal Highness Prince Fu died in the country, and I have proposed that a special temple should be built."
Emperor Chongzhen remained silent and did not comment.
At this time, Li Yan, who was in charge of military affairs, knelt down and said: "In the history of military use, only by defeating the enemy can we establish military prestige and conquer the enemy invaders. It has been many years since the cabinet minister Yang Sichang, the supervisor of the division, suppressed the bandits. For the rest, Agate Mountain achieved a small victory at the beginning, but since then it has been unknown and its power has gradually declined.
I think that we should choose another general to assist him, so that we can successfully accomplish our task and eliminate the bandits as soon as possible. "
How could Emperor Gu Chongzhen not understand the meaning behind his words? He really wanted to offend Yang Sichang in order to seize his military power. He only said lightly: "How can I take care of the commander who has traveled thousands of miles to Henan?
Although the whip is long, it is not as long as the horse's belly. When you speak, you must also put yourself in their shoes. If you just criticize the courtiers at will based on your opinions of love and hate, it will be wrong. "
However, Li Yan refused to give up and said: "It is precisely because he cannot take care of him that he is asked to send another general to help him."
Although Emperor Chongzhen was unhappy, he did not want to be angry with Li Yan at this time. He said perfunctorily: "I have also sent Zhu Dadian. This is the general."
After Li Zhen stood up and retreated, Emperor Chongzhen glanced at the ministers again and asked, "Where did Li Zicheng come to Henan from?"
Another military officer, Zhang Zhengchen, saw the opportunity and hurriedly bowed and said: "I heard that the thieves are coming from Sichuan."
Chen Xinjia, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, was standing aside. Hearing this, he quickly corrected him: "The thieves are from Shaanxi, not from Sichuan, not from Sichuan..."
Emperor Chongzhen did not want to pay attention to this. He was thinking that Yang Sichang had heard from Shitang that Zhang Xianzhong had defeated the army in Kaixian. At this time, he might have arrived in the eastern Sichuan area or even left Sichuan. This was the last thing he wanted to do. See the results.
So he looked at Chen Xinjia, Minister of War, and asked, "Where is Zhang Xianzhong now?"
Chen Xinjia knelt down and recited: "The Ministry of War now only knows that the fierce tiger army was frustrated in Huangling City, Kaixian County, and the thieves fled eastward. There are currently no new reports coming to Beijing."
Emperor Chongzhen's face was filled with anger, and he asked in a deep voice: "The Xian thief is between Dazhou and Kaixian. If he escapes, wouldn't Kui and Wu be shocked? If the Xian thief returns to Chu, how will he be controlled?"
Is Kuizhou heavily defended? "
Chen Xinjia felt a little frightened when he saw that the emperor was pressing the question. He replied: "Wan Yuanji should be stationed in Kuizhou now."
"Should it? Wan Yuanji was ordered by the governor to hunt down the Xian thieves. After Kaixian was defeated, where was he?
How to deploy to pursue and intercept the traitor?
How to prevent the thieves from escaping eastward into Chu?
Do you know all this? "
When Chen Xinjia saw the emperor's questioning, he was frightened and replied tremblingly: "Wan Yuanji has not renewed his report to Beijing so far. The Ministry of War really does not know the details."
Emperor Chongzhen looked at Chen Xinjia with stern eyes and said: "The Ministry of Qing is responsible for dispatching. Rewards and punishments must be strict. I must enforce the law impartially and not be ambiguous.
If you tolerate and make mistakes from now on, it will all be your fault! "
Chen Xinjia hurriedly leaned over and kowtowed, saying: "As a soldier, I performed my duties without any status, which led to the fall of Luoyang, the disaster of my vassal, and the Sichuan suppression campaign. There were also minor setbacks. I really deserve death.
From now on, we must abide by the imperial edicts, enforce the law strictly, and make rewards and punishments clear, so that all generals dare not treat the law of the country as child's play. As for the suppression of Sichuan and Chu, it has not yet been a serious disaster, and it is not too late to make up for it.
Your Majesty Fuqi, please be patient and patient, put the health of your holy body first, and don't be overworked or worried. "
Emperor Chongzhen asked again: "Do you know where Zhang Cheng is now in Xuanzang?"
Every time Zhang Cheng reported secretly to Beijing, Chen Xinjia knew his whereabouts, but he couldn't tell exactly where he was stationed. He could only reply: "Zhang Cheng went to Shitang to report that he was stationed on the bank of the Yellow River to spy on the intruders and wait for an opportunity to recover first." Luoyang, let’s plan another strategy to suppress the bandits.”
Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said: "Tell Zhang Cheng, you must try your best to suppress the thieves. Don't make the intruders so powerful that the situation in Henan Province becomes difficult to deal with. As long as he dedicates himself to the king's affairs and has meritorious service, I will be generous to him." Reward."
Chen Xinjia replied: "I will convey the Holy Majesty's decree to Zhang Cheng. When he first entered Henan Province, he subdued tens of thousands of people from Dengfeng and Li Jiyu. He also returned to Yanshi and rescued the prince of Fu Fan. Now he is spying on Luoyang. It must have profound meaning. , maybe it won’t take long for good news to come to Beijing.”
Emperor Chongzhen continued to chat about some political matters with the ministers, and then ordered everyone to retreat. The ministers kowtowed again and retreated. They filed out and waited for a while outside the Dongjiao Gate. When they saw that the emperor did not call back, they were relieved. Leave the palace and leave.
