The ministers, eunuchs and maids in the Qianqing Palace didn't know why the emperor was crying so bitterly. Most of them knelt down cautiously, for fear of harming themselves. However, Wang Dehua, Wang Chengen and other eunuchs could not do like them. I saw them urging each other, "Your Majesty, be careful."
The first assistant of the cabinet, Fan Fucui, and the second assistant, Chen Yan, also knelt on the ground and softly exhorted. Several others touched their heads to the ground and did not dare to say a word, even Chen Xinjia.
At this moment, Chen Xinjia felt the most frightened in his heart. He felt faintly uneasy, as if Emperor Chongzhen was like this when he first heard about the disaster of Fu Fan, and he didn't know why he was like this now.
When the intruders were defeated, they fled to the southwest according to Zhang Cheng's tip. They were suspected to be escaping to Funiu Mountain. However, there is still no trace of the two Xiancao thieves after leaving Sichuan. Could it be that they attacked Xiangyang?
Thinking of this, Chen Xinjia immediately trembled all over, with cold sweat running down his forehead. His mind was spinning, and he began to think about how to answer in order to deal with it in front of Emperor Chongzhen.
At this moment, everyone in Dongnuan Pavilion suddenly heard Emperor Chongzhen crying and saying: "I never thought of it in my dreams! I never thought of it!"
He then asked again and again: "Yang Sichang...Yang Sichang...what are you doing?"
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Just when everyone was confused, Emperor Chongzhen stopped crying and suddenly asked: "Chen Xinjia, tell me, why did Zhang Xianzhong suddenly attack Xiangyang and kill King Xiang?"
"ah!"
Chen Xinjia's head twitched, and he felt his eyes go dark. He pressed his hands firmly on the ground to barely support his body, and kowtowed: "Back to the emperor, Yangge reported that he had led the troops out of Sichuan, and the upright general Zuo Liangyu was sent. We chased and suppressed the Xian thieves all the way, but how did Xiangyang fall and how did the Xian thieves break into Xiangyang? I really don’t know!"
Because Emperor Chongzhen had stopped crying, Wang Dehua stood up and stepped forward, took Gao Mingheng's secret memorial and passed it on to Fan Fucui, Chen Yan and others for reading.
Gao Mingheng's secret memorial was sent to the palace together with the memorial from Zhu Changcheng, the second son of King Xiang, King of Fuqing. The elders of the various pavilions passed the memorials one by one, and there was silence in Nuan Pavilion.
Wei Zhaocheng read the memorial and handed it to Chen Xinjia. He glanced at Zhang Sizhi slightly and saw that he was shaking his head slightly, clearly implying that it was not appropriate for him to impeach Yang Sichang at this moment.
"I'm tired, please leave!"
Fan Fucui and other cabinet ministers were at a loss for words to persuade the emperor not to be sad. When they heard that the emperor actually told them to retreat, they all felt relieved.
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Seeing that there was no one around, Wei Zhaocheng quietly said to Zhang Sizhi beside him: "Master Zhang, I think it will be difficult for Yang Wenruo to pass the test this time."
Zhang Sizhi walked forward in small steps, minding his own business, and said calmly: "I have shown great favor to Yang Wenruo now, so I may not punish him."
After taking a few steps forward, he said again: "We have lost two feudal vassals. Yang Wenruo is so ashamed of himself. I'm afraid he will not be able to survive!"
Wei Zhaocheng was stunned, then asked: "Brother Yibai means..."
Zhang Sizhi hurriedly cut off his words and said: "In short, Yang Wenruo's holy family has not declined. You and I are no better than those academic officials. We must not get entangled in this matter. Let's wait and see what happens."
Gu Chun and Wei Zhaocheng looked understanding, stopped talking, and ran straight back to his office.
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"Yang Sichang, where are you now?" After everyone left, Emperor Chongzhen asked loudly again.
He stood up suddenly, patted the imperial case, and said sadly in his heart: "Xiang and Luo occupy the most beautiful places in the world, and Xiangyang is located in the upper reaches of the river, with a high position to the southeast.
King Xiang was the beloved son of Renzong, and he moved to Xiangyang and became a Ping vassal in the upper reaches of the capital. This is quite meaningful. Now that Xiangyang has been captured, the capital must be greatly shocked! "
He sat back on the throne dejectedly. After a while, he felt even more pessimistic and self-hateful. He said in his heart: "I am seeking thief for the world. Unexpectedly, within half a month, I lost the feudal vassal, King Fu and Xiang." The royal capital fell to thieves.
Could it be that God has abandoned my family and wants to use this to destroy the descendants of my Zhu family? Otherwise, how could the thieves be so rampant! "
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Two days later, Emperor Chongzhen, who was anxiously looking forward to news about Yang Sichang, finally waited for the eight-hundred-mile flying memorial of Wan Yuanji, Yang Sichang's supervisor and Dali right judge.
The content of the memorial was like a bolt from the blue to Emperor Chongzhen: Commander-in-Chief Yang Sichang died of illness in the governor's camp at Shashikou before dawn on the first day of the first month of the 14th year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty. His edict, seal, and sword were all missing. It has been sealed and temporarily stored in the Jingzhou treasury.
At the same time as Wan Yuanji's memorial was delivered to the palace, there was also a memorial from Gao Mingheng, the new governor of Henan, saying that Yang Sichang, the governor's assistant minister, "suicided himself by taking poison or hanging himself" in Shashikou. In short, he was not exhausted from state affairs and overworked. Became ill and died due to illness.
Emperor Chongzhen now hated and pitied Yang Sichang, and he felt even more helpless and powerless as to how to control the military "suppression of thieves" in the future.
After he urgently summoned Chen Xinjia, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, to the palace for discussion, he issued a decree to appoint Ding Qirui, the governor-general of Shaanxi Trilateral Military Affairs with the title of Right Minister of the Ministry of War, to take over Yang Sichang's position as governor.
Therefore, Ding Qirui was promoted to Minister of War and renamed as Superintendent. He was also governor of Huguang, Henan, Sichuan and the armies north and south of the Yangtze River. He was also governor of military affairs on the three sides of Shaanxi. Ding Qirui was also given Shangfang sword, Feiyu uniform and seals.
Emperor Chongzhen insisted in his heart that although Ding Qirui had some talents, he could never compare with Yang Sichang. However, he looked through the ministers in the court and could not find anyone who could serve as governor on his behalf. .
In fact, long before the news of Yang Sichang's death reached the capital, some academic officials came forward to impeach him, but most of them had no solid evidence, and Emperor Chongzhen ignored them. But now that Yang Sichang's death was quickly reported, the impeachment attack He wrote more memorials, and new chapters were sent to the palace every day.
Emperor Chongzhen spent millions on Yang Sichang, but failed to suppress the "thieves", which led to the successive losses of Luoyang and Xiangyang. It was really hateful. He impulsively issued an edict: "As the assistant minister Yang Sichang has been working hard for two years, he will be able to survive after two years of hard work." The emperor has completed his life. However, his merits cannot be concealed, and his crimes will be heard!"
When the officials and censors saw this edict, they attacked and impeached Yang Sichang more and more fiercely. Some even asked Emperor Chongzhen to cut Yang Sichang's body into a coffin.
But after Emperor Chongzhen's mood calmed down a little, he often remembered what he had said when he gave Yang Sichang a farewell banquet on the platform if he failed to suppress the thieves, he would "follow them with death", and the lingering sound was still in his ears.
He has always hated the sectarian strife in the court, where the same party and the opposite party have no distinction between right and wrong. This situation has become even more intense amid the impeachment of Yang Sichang.
Emperor Chongzhen was very angry about this. He ordered the eunuchs to tell officials such as Liubu, Jiuqing, Ke, and Dao to come to Qianqing Palace as soon as possible.
