Seeing the good news presented to the emperor, Liu Yuliang laughed and said: "Your Majesty is wise and has a keen eye to promote capable ministers. Lu Shangshu has lived up to his holy expectations. Congratulations!"
While saying this, he forgot that the reason why he asked himself to be the supervisor in the first place was that he felt that Lu Xiangsheng was not capable enough and had failed to live up to his holy expectations.
Emperor Chongzhen quickly scanned the memorial, then looked up at Liu Yuliang, and said with a half-smile, "Does Liu Qing know what this memorial mentions?"
Seeing the emperor's face, Liu Yuliang's bad premonition suddenly came out again, and he felt a little uneasy again. Just when he was waiting for an answer, Cao Huachun, the admiral of Dongchang, arrived.
Seeing him arriving, Emperor Chongzhen didn't bother to pay attention to Liu Yuliang. He looked at Cao Huachun and said seriously: "Cao Daban, you went to inform Liu Shoufu according to my order. I want you to tell me what you saw here. .”
Seeing the slightly confused look on Cao Huachun's face, he added: "Liu Shoufu said that after leaving the capital, he interacted with the Manchu and Qing troops, and because of him, he was able to break the siege of Lu Shangshu. Later, he also impeached the magistrate of Jinzhou. Chen Hongxu refused to obey orders and wanted to put him in danger. He is suspected of being an internal agent of the Qing Dynasty. In all matters outside, I only want the facts. If there is anyone who deceives me, I will never be lenient!"
When Cao Huachun heard this, he couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Liu Yuliang. He knew very clearly in his heart that the emperor had sent a very clear signal. If he dared to make up nonsense and talk nonsense, he would be deceiving the emperor. He could only rely on the facts. say. It seems that the emperor wants to punish the chief minister for deceiving the emperor!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel sad for Liu Yuliang. After returning to the capital, he did not inquire about what was happening in the capital in advance. The emperor had become much smarter after Taizu's dream. How could he be as easy to deceive as before?
Sorry, I am a dead Taoist friend but I am not a poor Taoist. May you wish for more blessings!
So Cao Huachun immediately accepted the order and told him everything he saw about Liu Yuliang's movements after leaving the capital, as well as every word and deed he heard in the army.
When Liu Yuliang heard what Emperor Chongzhen said to Cao Huachun, he already knew something was wrong. Suddenly, his face turned completely white.
An unspoken rule in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is that everyone will deceive and induce the emperor for their own benefit. However, this kind of thing cannot be put on the table. If this were brought up, the matter would be serious.
In the end, it depends on the emperor's attitude. He can let it go lightly, but he will definitely feel uncomfortable; if he doesn't let it go, he will be punished for the crime of bullying the emperor, which is a serious crime!
What does it mean to be unforgivable? The ten grave sins of rebellion, great rebellion, betrayal, subjugation, evil rebelliousness, unrighteousness, disrespect, unfilial piety, unrighteousness, and civil strife cannot be forgiven. The disrespect refers to the words and deeds that do not respect the emperor; this crime of deceiving the emperor is more serious than the words and deeds that disrespect the emperor.
In fact, if investigated, the crime of deceiving the emperor is the crime of beheading. Because daring to deceive the king and allow the king to make misjudgments will usually lead to serious consequences, this is strictly prohibited.
Thinking about these consequences, so what if the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty was killed in the Chongzhen Dynasty. At this moment, Liu Yuliang's body was covered in cold sweat. He didn't know why things turned out like this, but no matter what, he could not admit the crime of deceiving the emperor.
While listening carefully to Cao Huachun's words, he was immediately thinking about how to explain and refute.
"Your Majesty, what I have said is all true. There is no deviation from the facts." After Cao Huachun finished speaking, he immediately assured, "As for the matter of Jinzhou Zhizhou, I have left and returned to Beijing. I don't dare to speak nonsense if I don't know the truth!"
After hearing this, Liu Yuliang did not wait for Emperor Chongzhen to speak, or in other words, he took the lead before Emperor Chongzhen made a decision, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, I am using myself as bait to attract the Manchu and Qing troops. Unexpectedly, the Manchu troops came over." The Qing army finally came to attack Wei Chen, so Wei Chen thought the strategy worked."
He was greedy for life and afraid of death. He was far away from the Qing army, but he could shamelessly think that he was using his body as bait to attract the Manchu army. He was really thick-skinned!
Emperor Chongzhen thought so, sneered in his heart, turned to Chen Baoting, who was serving beside him, and said: "Show Wang Chengen's victory memorial to the chief minister!"
"I obey the decree!" Upon hearing this, Chen Baoting immediately agreed, turned around, found the memorial and handed it to Liu Yuliang. In this memorial, the story of the original rescue was reported in detail. This contribution cannot be erased by Liu Yuliang's few empty words.
When Liu Yuliang saw it, he suddenly felt a little dizzy, and quickly explained forcefully: "Your Majesty, maybe Wei Chen misjudged it, but it is also true that Wei Chen used his body as bait to attract the Manchu and Qing troops to attack!"
Emperor Chongzhen was too lazy to answer his words, and asked Chen Baoting to pass Lu Xiangsheng's victory memorial to him.
At this time, Liu Yuliang was already very nervous. The hand holding the memorial was trembling slightly. He finally opened the memorial and read it.
In this memorial, Lu Xiangsheng strongly praised Chen Hongxu, the magistrate of Jinzhou, for mobilizing all the gentry in the city to defend the city and save the people of Jinzhou when surrounded by 100,000 Manchu troops. , was the first city that the Manchu and Qing troops were able to defend after they invaded the pass.
Therefore, Lu Xiangsheng recommended Chen Hongxu in his memorial and suggested that Chen Hongxu's measures should be immediately spread throughout the capital and neighboring provinces, so that all local officials can learn from it. As long as the Manchu and Qing dynasties cannot capture the city and cannot get supplies, this Manchu and Qing army will not be a concern.
By the way, Lu Xiangsheng also mentioned the conflict between the chief assistant Liu Yuliang and the prefect Chen Hongxu in the memorial, describing in detail the cause and effect of the incident at that time, as well as the dialogue between the two sides above and below the city.
From his perspective, he explained to Emperor Chongzhen the possible consequences if the army led by the chief assistant was allowed to enter the city. Lu Xiangsheng concluded that for the safety of the people in the city, it was necessary not to allow undisciplined troops to enter the city. He bluntly stated in the memorial that Chen Hongxu was a responsible person and suggested that the emperor should handle the matter as appropriate.
Perhaps to illustrate this point, Lu Xiangsheng also wrote a memorial to Emperor Chongzhen, revealing the current status of the Ming army. Many armies have become like thieves, causing harm to the people due to lack of military pay and of course other reasons. I hope that the emperor will reorganize the army as soon as possible to restore the reputation of the army.
If Liu Yuliang could still quibble with Wang Chengen's previous memorial, Lu Xiangsheng's memorial is of completely different weight. He is the military commander, commanding the Qinwang army in the world, and has extremely high authority in the military field. Everything stated in the memorial was on Chen Hongxu's side. In and out of words, he not only blamed Liu Yuliang for being greedy for life and fearing death, but also for being incompetent in commanding his troops.
Before reading all of Lu Xiangsheng's memorials, Liu Yuliang felt his eyes darken.
