In the Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Chongzhen, who was very interested, pointed to the memorial on the imperial case and said, "You all know about Kaifeng, right?"
After hearing this, Fan Fucui, the chief minister of the cabinet and the official minister, stood up and bowed to him again: "I congratulate your Majesty. Congratulations to your Majesty on the great victory in Kaifeng City. The rebel army was defeated in one battle. It was because of the joint efforts of all the city guards that they joined in the reinforcements and bravery of the generals. Your Majesty The blessing, the blessing of the Ming Dynasty!"
Then the Second Assistant, the Minister of Hubu Chen Yan, the cabinet minister Zhang Sizhi, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, the Minister of Industry Wei Zhaocheng, the Minister of War Chen Xinjia and others also stood up to congratulate Emperor Chongzhen.
Facing the congratulations of several cabinet ministers, Chongzhen's face was full of smiles, and his heart blossomed with joy. At this moment, he felt like an emperor, and he seemed to see that Ming Dynasty had some hope of reviving.
He also circulated the eyebrow review he had just written on Gao Mingheng's memorial during his tour in Henan to all cabinet ministers.
After seeing it, Chief Assistant Fan Fucui first said: "All the officials in Kaifeng are using their lives. If it were not for the strong defense of the city, Zhang Cheng, Chen Jiugao and other generals would not be able to defeat tens of thousands of bandits in one battle. They should indeed be rewarded."
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the ministers and suddenly asked: "If the official cities in Kaifeng are well defended, they must be rewarded. I summoned you and other ministers today to discuss how to reward Zhang Cheng, Chen Jiugao and others!"
Fan Fucui just coughed a few times when he heard this, but did not answer Emperor Chongzhen's question. He just looked at Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, who was bowing his head in silence.
But Zhang Sizhi, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, said at this moment: "Your Majesty, although Zhang Cheng has some minor achievements, the matter of taking concubines in front of the battle has been widely spread in the court, and many censors and ministers have been impeached. Hand it over."
Wei Zhaocheng, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, then took over and said: "Your Majesty, this trend cannot last long! There are bandits making trouble inside, and Dong slaves outside are besieging Jinzhou, endangering Liaodong. Just when the generals are fighting bravely to kill the enemy, if everyone follows suit , everyone takes wives and concubines in front of the battle, how can they still work together, kill the enemy bravely, and be loyal to the king!"
Emperor Chongzhen was in a very good mood, but was disturbed by the words of the two of them. He looked up at Fan Fucui, the first assistant, and saw that he had no intention of speaking. He then looked at the second assistant, Chen Yan, until When he looked at Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, he coughed twice.
Chen Xinjia had been sitting there with his eyebrows lowered and his eyes lowered. Although the emperor was in high spirits now that the news of Kaifeng's victory had come, he was still pounding in his heart.
Since the previous time when Yang Sichang, the cabinet minister, said in the military report that he was leading troops out of Sichuan to pursue and suppress the two Xian Cao thieves, there has been no news, and there has been no movement from the two Xian Cao thieves.
Although all the officials in the Ministry of War were discussing: "Even if Xiancao breaks through from Shu and enters Chu, he will not have many men and horses, and he will not be able to do anything big. When the commander-in-chief's army enters Chu from Shu, they will be able to encircle and annihilate him." Almost exhausted!"
However, Chen Xinjia could not completely relax. Once the bandits suddenly emerged, or there were changes in the suppression of the situation, he, as a soldier, would be the first to bear the brunt.
Therefore, he has always adhered to the principle of caution. Apart from paying close attention to the movements of bandits in Henan and Chu provinces, he never came forward on weekdays to avoid being caught by those idle officials and ministers, which would lead to calls for impeachment.
Today, he did not want to participate in the discussion. Even if the finger was pointed at Zhang Cheng, Chen Xinjia had no intention of coming forward. However, Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and coughed continuously, so he had to speak out to share the emperor's worries.
"Ahem!"
Chen Xinjia also coughed twice. When all the courtiers looked at him, he stood up and clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, Zhang Cheng is taking concubines in front of the battle. This trend cannot be encouraged."
Emperor Gu Yin and Chongzhen showed no expression, just looked at Chen Xinjia coldly, and heard him continue: "Since the eleventh year when King Qin was king, Zhang Cheng has repeatedly made extraordinary achievements, and now he is favored by the Holy One and given the task of suppressing thieves. Despite the important task, he could also remember the emperor's favor, fight bravely on the battlefield, and serve the country.
Since entering Henan Province, Li Ji has first recruited and pacified the bandits and met tens of thousands of bandits. He has also successively attacked the cities of Yanshi and Luoyang, and even rescued the prince of Fu Domain. Thousands of people defeated tens of thousands of rebel troops in one battle, which was a great service to the country. "
When he said this, he stood up and walked to the middle, knelt down and worshiped: "Your Majesty, I beg you to be clear about rewards and punishments. Don't let the hearts of the soldiers on the front line who are working hard to kill thieves be chilled!"
Chen Xinjia's words were so emotional that he was very moved. Emperor Chongzhen did not wait for the ministers to speak, but directly asked Chen Xinjia based on Chen Xinjia's words: "According to Chen Qing, how should I punish you and how should I reward you?"
The hot potato was kicked back to Chen Xinjia again. He knelt on the ground and thought for a moment before replying: "Your Majesty, I am stupid and thought that I was severely punished for taking concubines in front of the battle, but I can't be wrong because of this." The soldiers on the front line who bravely kill bandits will be rewarded."
He took a peek at Emperor Chongzhen's expression, and then added: "In order to make Zhang Cheng feel the majesty of God's grace, after being harshly reprimanded by a strict decree, Zhang Cheng was awarded the rank of Zhaoyong General, the third rank, and the special honor was promoted to the third rank. The captain got on the light chariot.
To encourage him to bravely kill thieves and achieve great achievements again! At the same time, he rewards the meritorious officers and soldiers of his subordinates so that they can work together and kill the enemy with all their strength. "
Emperor Chongzhen said in a deep voice: "Yes, let's handle it according to Chen Qing's wishes!"
He raised his voice and continued: "There is also Chen Jiugao, the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp. He has also made great contributions and has not embarrassed me. I want to reward him as well."
Chen Xinjia immediately responded: "My lord, take the order!"
The emperor's golden words and the final words of agreement with the Minister of War were finalized. After Zhang Sizhi and Wei Zhaocheng quietly looked at each other, they both lowered their heads and did not dare to mention the impeachment of Zhang Cheng by the public officials.
At this moment, Wang Chengen, the eunuch who happened to be on duty at the Bureau of Ceremonies, sent an urgent confidential document.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw the secret memorandum sent by Gao Mingheng, he couldn't help but think: "Could it be that Li Zicheng has been seriously injured and died?" But on further reflection, if the "intruder" died of serious injuries, he could expose it and let the world know about it. As we all know, there is absolutely no need for secret playing.
Could it be that Li Zicheng was being chased by Zhang Cheng, Chen Jiugao and others in a hurry, so he approached him if he wanted to, but Gao Mingheng and others did not dare to make a decision, so they sent a letter first to ask for advice? "
He was full of expectations. Under the gaze of all the cabinet ministers, he opened the documents and said to Wang Chengen, who was holding the dental plaque box in his hand: "Wait a minute, don't be anxious."
Emperor Chongzhen excitedly opened Gao Mingheng's secret memorial and took a look. It was as if a thunderbolt hit his head. He was shocked, and his face turned pale instantly. He shouted loudly: "This is happening! How could this happen?"
Then he burst into tears. Fan Fucui, the chief minister of the cabinet, was also full of doubts. He didn't know why, but his many years of experience in accompanying the emperor made him immediately get up from his chair and kneel on the ground first, not daring to make any sound, for fear that the emperor would be sad. You will blame yourself.
Like him, the other ministers stood up and knelt down in the palace. All the eunuchs and maids in Nuan Pavilion also knelt down. Even the eunuchs and maids waiting in the main hall knelt down.
