In the lobby of the Kong family, there was silence again.
It is true that the oral message came at a very bad time. The emperor had just returned with his army and would summon them to see him tomorrow.
Is it because they haven't been summoned for so long, or because they want to know the results of the investigation into collaboration with the enemy, or because they want to use the power of victory to beat them?
Kong Shangda glanced at everyone: "The Holy Son will stay, and the others will disperse first. Do what you have to do, and don't mess up the situation!"
"Second uncle, this..."
"Don't express any opinions during the whole interview tomorrow. Let me make the decision. Go and rest!"
…
Early the next morning, the ministers were waiting outside the Meridian Gate. Kong Shangda and Kong Xingxie stood quietly aside. No one paid attention to them the whole time. The two of them were like transparent people.
On normal days, these civil servants would have gathered around him, but now, they didn't dare.
As Chen time approached, the ministers lined up to enter through the corner gates on both sides, leaving only Kong Shangda and Kong Xingxie standing alone outside the Meridian Gate. The emperor did not announce it, so they could only wait.
Kong Xingxie looked at the leaving ministers and wanted to say something, but when Kong Shangda shook his head, he fell into silence again.
In the Huangji Palace, Chongzhen sat on the dragon chair and looked at the ministers: "My beloved ministers, if you have the foundation, you can start the memorial, but if you don't have the foundation, withdraw from the court!"
"Your Majesty, I have a script to start with!"
As soon as Chongzhen finished speaking, Hou Liu, Minister of the Ministry of War, came out: "Your Majesty, although Jiannu was annihilated in this siege, many problems were exposed.
First, several border guards in Ji Town surrendered on their own initiative, and even Li Fengze and others in Hanerzhuang City took the initiative to shave their heads and surrender, which is really hateful.
Although these rebel generals were all killed by our army, many of their family members followed the slave transport team and evacuated to various Mongolian tribes. I request your Majesty to issue an order to hunt down and kill the family members of the rebel generals as a warning to others.
In addition, he was responsible for handling the oversight of Zhu Guoyan, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen. "
After hearing this, Chongzhen looked at Yuan Keli: "Yuan Aiqing, as the commander-in-chief of this battle, you will be stationed in the three camps. What do you mean?"
"Your Majesty, I agree with Master Hou's proposal. When I was at the Santun Camp, Zhu Guoyan performed extremely badly, and several deputy commanders and generals also passively prepared for war.
Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zhu Lai and others persuaded Zhu Guoyan to abandon the city and surrender before the ministers arrived.
Such incompetent generals caused the tragic death of nearly 20,000 of our soldiers. They really deserve to be killed.
I sincerely request your Majesty to issue an order to investigate whether the commander-in-chief of Jizhen and his subordinates had the power to engage in financial transactions during the promotion process. "
Yuan Keli had already reported these things to him when he was in Hanerzhuang City, and he was still full of anger after hearing it.
Because of a fool like Zhu Guoyan, nearly 20,000 soldiers surrendered, and were then exploited by the Jiannu, which consumed the combat power of the white pole soldiers and warrior battalions. Otherwise, the Ming army would have lost at least 10,000 to 20,000 lives in this battle.
"Li Ruolian sent out the imperial guards and quickly escorted everyone mentioned by Yuan Aiqing to the imperial prison where they will be tortured and served!"
"Zhang Tingdeng, your Inspectorate has sent several censors to investigate the generals in Jizhen. My request is to investigate thoroughly! You can report this matter to me at any time in the palace!"
"I'm waiting for the order!"
"Your Majesty, Ji Town is holding Jiubian Town and Beijing Camp at bay while resisting the Mongolian invasion. Several cities have been destroyed in this battle, and the commander-in-chief Zhu Guoyan has been captured. I ask your Majesty to quickly send some powerful generals to guard it!"
"Does Yuan Aiqing have a suitable candidate?"
"Your Majesty, Sun Zushou, the commander-in-chief of Zunhua, has shown bravery, wisdom and bravery in this battle. I think he can temporarily take over the post of commander-in-chief of Ji Town, and we will make a decision after the rewards are awarded in this battle!"
"Fang Aiqing, Hou Aiqing, this matter will be handled as a special matter by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel as mentioned by Yuan Aiqing!"
The two responded immediately.
…
It took two full hours for each ministry to bring up the backlog of matters that could not be handled by themselves at the court meeting.
This court meeting went extremely smoothly, perhaps because after experiencing the battlefield in front of Longjing Pass, Chongzhen did whatever he said, and there was almost no objection from the officials.
"My dear friends, if nothing happens, let me tell you something!"
After Chongzhen finished speaking, he looked at Qiao Yunsheng, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishments: "Qiao Aiqing proposed a general amnesty to the world a few days ago. I thought about it and said that it is possible to grant amnesty to the whole country, but there are a few requirements.
“First, the ten heinous crimes and common heinous crimes are not within the amnesty scope.
Second, those who commit corruption, accept bribes, or evade taxes will not be forgiven!
Third, it is limited to prisoners before the end of the war.
Qiao Aiqing, your Ministry of Punishment determines the amnesty list, Dali Temple is responsible for reviewing it, and the Supervisory Office is responsible for supervision and random inspections. Anyone who dares to practice favoritism and take advantage of the opportunity to amnesty will be executed! "
"Also, remember, a general amnesty is a general amnesty. Anyone within the scope of the amnesty will be punished if he commits the crime again!"
"Sun Aiqing, after resigning from the court, the cabinet drafted an edict on amnesty and submitted it to the Supervisor of Ceremonies for review.
After I reviewed it, I immediately sent the battle report to four hundred miles of expedited delivery. It spread to all counties in the Ming Dynasty before the Mid-Autumn Festival. I want to share the joy with the people! "
"I understand!"
The several ministers who were called responded in unison.
The emperor's request for amnesty made all the ministers tremble in their hearts. Without thinking much, they heard the emperor say: "Okay, if everything is fine, dear friends, then you can retreat from the court!"
"Your Majesty, the head of the Kong family and the Holy Son are still waiting to see you at the Meridian Gate!"
"the Kongs?"
There was a sneer on the corner of Chongzhen's mouth: "There are too many things to do, and I have been busy forgetting them. Since you have been waiting, let's announce it!"
Wang Chengen glanced behind him, and a young eunuch left immediately.
At this moment, Kong Shangda and Kong Xingxie were waiting outside the Meridian Gate, but they couldn't bear it anymore.
In August, the hottest month of the year, the two of them were swaying from the scorching sun, their clothes were almost soaked, and they were extremely embarrassed.
If he hadn't kept silently thinking that this was the Meridian Gate and waiting to see him, Kong Shangda would have wanted to faint directly.
But they dare not and cannot, so they can only support themselves hard.
The arrival of the little eunuch who delivered the message was like a savior, but because of standing for a long time and the heat, he fell to the ground as soon as he took a step, and his sweaty clothes were immediately covered with a lot of dust.
Under the guidance of the young eunuch, the two entered the Huangji Palace and immediately knelt down to salute.
"My minister Kong Shangda and his descendant Kong Xingxie are here to see your majesty. Long live my emperor!"
Kong Shangda was in charge of the Wenshang Confucian Temple, and the imperial court granted him the title of Doctor of the Five Classics. Although he had a good rank, it was just a title in name. Like the title of Duke Sheng, it was an honorary title. It was not wrong to call him a minister.
"Kong Xingxie, a few days ago you asked Liu Aiqing of the Ministry of Rites to forward a request to meet with me. What do you mean?"
Kong Xingxie's heart trembled, and he was about to speak, but he remembered what his second uncle said last night, and immediately looked at Kong Shangda beside him.
"Your Majesty, this time you will serve Lu (Kong Xingxie's name)..."
"Is your name Gong Xingxie?"
Although Chongzhen's voice was calm, it made Kong Xingxie and Kong Shangda tremble in their hearts, and the emperor became angry.
Kong Shangda wanted to say something but didn't dare to open his mouth again, while Kong Xingxie was a little confused. The emperor asked him, and he had to answer, but he didn't know how to answer.
He replied that he came to the capital to ask the emperor to issue an edict for his sins, so the matter of establishing slaves and breaking the customs was a bit unclear. The key point was that the Kong family could not explain it.
If he said no, the emperor would probably convict him of deceiving the emperor. After all, this matter was not a secret, and Jin Yiwei might have already found out about it.
"Kong Xingxie, answer my question!"
