Generally speaking, when the emperor handles government affairs, he always consults relevant personnel, such as cabinet ministers, ministers of rituals, or six ministers, etc., and only a few people can discuss it. Once there are a large number of people in the meeting, there will be big things to talk about.
Obviously, this court meeting falls into this category.
Emperor Chongzhen was sitting on the throne, looking at the large group of people below, and nodded to Wang Dehua, the eunuch and eunuch in charge of the ceremony.
So Wang Dehua took a copy of the imperial edict and shouted loudly: "The emperor has an edict!"
Upon hearing this, all the ministers had to kneel down to listen to the decree. They were a little confused, wondering what the emperor's decree was? Could it be that so many ministers were summoned just for this purpose? Is it a characterization of what happened yesterday?
While they were still puzzled, Wang Dehua had already read in a mellow tone: Inherited by heaven, the emperor said: Xue Guoguan, the assistant minister of the cabinet, has both political integrity and talent, and is worthy of being the governor of the country; he eliminates rape and filth, and has no shame and uprightness; Xuande Expressing love is worthy of the message from the screen...
Just listening to the beginning, almost everyone was surprised. They did not expect that this decree had nothing to do with what happened yesterday, and they praised Xue Guoguan as soon as they came up. No need to listen anymore, Xue Guoguan must be promoted. And now Xue Guoguan is already an assistant minister in the cabinet. If he is promoted again, you can imagine where he will be.
As they expected, the end of the decree was to promote Xue Guoguan as the chief minister of the cabinet, so that he could share the emperor's worries, and call on other ministers to learn from Xue Guoguan, perform their duties together, and share the emperor's worries.
Listening to Xue Guoguan's loud voice to accept the order and thank him, many people secretly glanced at Yang Sichang, another assistant minister. Seeing his expressionless look, some people gloated, while others sighed for him.
After all the ministers stood up again, Emperor Chongzhen looked at them and suddenly said: "Some people may have objections to my decree and feel that Xue Qing is not qualified in terms of qualifications. But why am I here? The purpose of announcing the decree is to tell you that as long as there is someone who has both political integrity and talent and can share my worries, I will not hesitate to promote him. Do you know why this is? Do you know this?"
This serious question makes it difficult for people to answer. If the answer is not good, it will attract the emperor's anger. After all, as long as you are not blind, you can see that the emperor is angry in his heart.
Thinking about it, with so many bad things going on recently, it's strange that the emperor is in a good mood.
Most people think this way, and they become clay Bodhisattvas in the temple, watching their eyes, nose and heart without moving.
Emperor Chongzhen had already expected this, so he sneered and shouted: "Where is Tian Qing, the Minister of Civil Affairs?"
"Wei Chen is here!" When Tian Weijia heard the roll call, he just stepped out of the queue and echoed.
"Tell me what I asked you to do a few days ago!" Emperor Chongzhen demanded, seemingly with a little anger.
Tian Weijia had already guessed this matter. He sighed in his heart and reluctantly talked about the list of candidates in public.
Everyone in the imperial court knew about the recommendation list, but only a few people knew about the outcome.
Therefore, when Tian Weijia finally said that there was no candidate on the recommended list, everyone couldn't help but feel a little dumbfounded. When did such a delicious thing go unnoticed?
"Please tell us what the reason is!" Emperor Chongzhen demanded again in a cold voice.
"Being honest and honest is not yet known to what extent it requires, so...there is no final decision yet on the candidate for the court recommendation!" Tian Weijia had no choice but to tell the truth.
When he said this, all the officials immediately understood. Many secretly glanced at the emperor's face, and they had guesses in their minds. Could it be that the emperor already knew some official rules, so Tian Tianguan didn't dare to fool the emperor?
Seeing that no one was talking, Emperor Chongzhen shouted loudly: "Did you see that being honest and honest requires being specific to every detail? What does that mean? Most officials are worried that what they do is against the integrity of the public. Integrity! With such a simple condition, my official minister has been embarrassed to death! If I still put my seniority first and do my job according to my duties, can this court be saved?"
Although Emperor Chongzhen did not explicitly say: The official in question I am referring to is not one person, but all of you present. However, among these officials who can sit in the palace and discuss matters with the emperor, who doesn’t know the emperor’s This subtext! After all, those who can be on the imperial recommendation list, except for the feudal officials, are basically the ones standing in the palace.
For a moment, everyone was silent. No one has the courage to stand up and say that I am honest and honest, and the emperor can investigate at will!
In fact, even Xue Guoguan has some problems. Or in other words, in today's officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, those who can truly be honest and honest are probably as rare as a handful.
If it had happened before, someone might have taken the risk and tried it. But now, the head of the former chief assistant Liu Yuliang hangs on the Zhengyang Gate, and the heads of the former imperial eunuch Wang Zhixin and others hang on the palace gate. In addition, the assistant minister Fang Feng was bribed and demoted every year, the East Factory was raging, and a large number of people in the Jinyiwei were replaced. In this limelight, no one really has the courage.
Therefore, although everyone was like this, the matter could not be brought up to the public. The emperor was angry about this, so he could only remain silent.
Emperor Chongzhen was silent for a while, glanced at the ministers below, and after a while he softened his tone and said: "Now that the country is in trouble, I have also discovered some talents. Chen Hongxu, the magistrate of Jinzhou, is just a man, but he is He has done better than many people who were born in Jinshi! Then Chen Weiquan is a Jinshi, not as good as a pig or a dog! The previous magistrate of Changli County, Zuo Yingxuan, was a talented person and was also born in Juren, but he was demoted due to jealousy. I will tell you that from now on I will As long as I employ people who have both ability and political integrity, or who have just a little problem but can achieve great results, I will use them in any way. If Chen Hongxu and Zuo Ying choose them, I will definitely put them to great use."
Having said this, he suddenly sneered again and said in a stern tone: "Don't be dissatisfied. If you have the ability, show me what you can do with greater credit than the two of them. I will also use it in the same way." you!"
A large group of Jinshi gentlemen bowed their heads and were speechless. The emperor was furious, and they did not dare to speak out as they had no tangible achievements. If Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting and others were here, they might be qualified to speak out, but they would not confront the emperor at this time because of their different backgrounds.
When there was no response, Emperor Chongzhen publicly ordered his new chief minister, Xue Guoguan, to make a clear edict for the world. As long as he has both ability and political integrity, or if he has made great contributions to the country despite minor mistakes, he can come to Beijing to report. Once verified, the imperial court will Immediately select the best and no longer need to follow the previous methods of becoming an official.
In fact, the Ming Dynasty originally had this system at this time, which was to recommend officials to officials. Many officials in the palace were recommended to the emperor by ministers. It's just that most officials are from Jinshi background. Now that the emperor had made it clear, he seriously expanded the scope to include people.
In the future, it is no longer necessary to be a master or a county magistrate. If you really have talent and are recommended to the emperor, you can also become a bigger official.
Of course, there is such a person in the Ming Dynasty now, that is, Chen Xinjia. Under the circumstances of a large group of Jinshi and other officials, he became the governor of Xuanda despite his background. I have to say that in the officialdom of the late Ming Dynasty, money can really make a difference!
Just after saying this, before Emperor Chongzhen started to say the next thing, suddenly there were rapid footsteps outside the palace, and at the same time came the excited shouts of the chamberlain: "Your Majesty, a great victory, Your Majesty, a great victory..."
Everyone in the hall was stunned when they heard this. It's been a long time since they heard the word "great victory".
Emperor Chongzhen was not surprised, because early in the morning, he learned the news of the victory from the eavesdropping seeds on Wang Chengen. Of course, he didn't know the specific situation. After all, the news from Wang Chengen's office was just a rough idea of what happened and he rushed back all night to report.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Hong and Sun have annihilated more than 5,000 Jianluo. What a great victory, Your Majesty..." Entering the main hall, the chamberlain was full of excitement and shouted loudly, while presenting a document reporting the victory.
Many civil and military officials in the palace couldn't help but be surprised when they heard this.
In the previous battle, due to Jianlu's shameless threats, Jianlu took back hundreds of beheaded soldiers. Therefore, although there was talk of success, many officials in the palace were skeptical. Now, only one day and one night had passed. The second report of victory came over, and the content was even more exaggerated. It said that more than 5,000 Jianlu people had been annihilated. For a while, not many people in the palace believed it, and everyone started talking in low voices.
"The Ming Dynasty has never had such a great victory against the Liaodong Jianlu, right?"
"No, don't you just falsely report your military exploits?"
"Where's the head? You must check the head when you come back!"
"..."
The people below were talking in low voices, and Emperor Chongzhen had already opened the victory document and started reading it. Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Sun joined forces to complete the battle of encirclement and reinforcements, which was presented in detail before his eyes.
After reading it, Emperor Chongzhen did not have an ecstatic expression on his face, but he was just a little happy. He ordered Wang Dehua to read out the victory document to everyone on the spot.
As soon as the shrill eunuch's voice rang out, the palace fell silent, and everyone listened with their ears pricked up. Some want to see what kind of victory it is, and some want to find out the flaws. Anyway, everyone has their own thoughts.
After reading it, Chief Assistant Xue Guoguan first came out and said: "Congratulations to Your Majesty, what a great victory. This great victory of annihilating more than 5,000 rebels is impossible to escape!"
"Your Majesty, it's time to inspect the head to verify the authenticity, and then declare it to the world!" Yang Sichang, who had not spoken for a long time, spoke next, but he insisted on following the procedure.
Other ministers also spoke up one after another, supporting two opinions respectively.
One is that this great victory is inspiring and should be announced to the world immediately; the other is Yang Sichang's point of view.
After Emperor Chongzhen waited for them to be noisy for a while, he suddenly shouted loudly with a cold face: "We have detailed battle history, and there are also battle losses on both sides. You can't tell whether it is true or not. You must have the heads examined to confirm? More than five thousand When will the head inspection be completed? The soldiers at the front paid such a heavy price, but in the end they were distrusted by the court. Wouldn't it chill the hearts of the soldiers who fought for the country to the death?"
A series of questions made many ministers lower their heads. Especially those ministers who were known as knowledgeable soldiers. Emperor Chongzhen's words were obviously directed at them. For example, Yang Sichang.
Seriously speaking, how could Yang Sichang fail to see that the great victory mentioned in the victory document was basically true. From the beginning, Lu Xiangsheng exhausted the enemy troops, and later Sun Chuanting created a false impression of obstruction to attract the Tatars to rush to rescue, thus making progress. The cavalry was separated, and then the main force of the Qin army used its superior strength to surround and annihilate the Tatar infantry. If this link-by-link strategy was implemented like this, it would be impossible to win this war.
However, Yang Sichang did not want to see this result. Because once this great victory was recognized by the court, Hong Chengchou didn't care, but Lu Xiangsheng was a meritorious minister, and Sun Chuanting was also a meritorious minister. How could he deal with these two people later?
It was for this reason that as soon as he opened his mouth, he asked the court to follow the previous process and send people to check first, and then there would be many opportunities to deny this great victory.
In fact, in the past, even the emperor did not want to see such a big victory. The reason was obvious. The court had no money and could not give out so much silver reward, so it wanted to cheat. However, this kind of thing will not happen with today's Emperor Chongzhen.
At this time, the emperor asked him so continuously that if Yang Sichang still insisted, he would have to take off his reputation as a military commander, and he relied on his reputation as a military commander to reach the high position of minister. Therefore, he could not The words came out.
He can't say it, but some people can say it, such as the Yushi Yanguan, who insists on following the procedures, who can say anything?
So, when he saw Liu Meicai, the censor, coming out, he was ready to play the right tune.
Yang Sichang was not the only one who didn't want to see Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting make meritorious deeds. After all, what these two people had done before had hindered others from getting rich.
However, Emperor Chongzhen did not give Liu Meicai a chance, and shouted sternly: "Don't think I don't know the tricks of some people. They take advantage of the opportunity to examine the heads to extort money from meritorious ministers. If they fail to achieve their goals, they will be punished." The crime of not matching the level of the head, killing a good person and taking credit, or exaggerating the results of the war can be committed easily. Even if these methods are not used, delaying and not replying to the court is one of the methods of blackmail, which chills the hearts of meritorious soldiers. !”
Upon hearing this, Censor Liu Meicai felt a little stupid. If he still insists on decapitating himself at this time, will he be deceived by what the emperor said?
What Emperor Chongzhen said just now actually existed not only in the late Ming Dynasty, but also existed more or less in other periods, except for the time when the founder of the country, the Emperor of Heaven, was in power. Of course, there were more in the late Ming Dynasty. Therefore, checking the head is a good job. After all, if you feel comfortable serving this imperial envoy, it will be easy to confuse right and wrong.
Killing a good person and taking advantage of the merit can be said to be a serious military exploit; killing a good person and taking advantage of the merit can be said to be a serious military exploit! How much say do you, a leading general (or minister), have? You will be able to accept it after you report it to the imperial envoy. Even if you are not convinced and ask the court to review it again, the head is not something else. It will rot no matter how you preserve it. If someone deliberately manipulates it, there will be no way to re-examine it later. The outcome of the war is basically in the hands of the inspection envoy.
Now for such a great military achievement, more than five thousand people were beheaded. If someone were to be sent to check, it would take an unknown amount of time just to check the heads. If the imperial envoy made things difficult, there would always be thorns in the heads, and it would be suspected to be fake. , and then began to exaggerate, turning around to win a big victory, believe it or not, it is possible to report a defeat.
The mouth of a civil servant is sometimes much more powerful than a sword or a gun!
The civil servants in the palace didn't know why the emperor knew all about it. Seeing that the emperor was angry, no one dared to speak for a while. Even Liu Meicai, who was already out of the queue, lost the courage. After all, the emperor had already said it from the beginning. As long as you know the soldiers, you can deduce the truth from the falsehood.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at them with a cold face and continued: "The report of victory was not submitted by individual generals, but by my governors of the three sides and the governor of Shaanxi. The content also involves the minister of the Ministry of War. Don't you think that all three of them will commit fraud? , are you deceiving me? If this is really the case, who else in the world can believe it? Besides, haven’t you heard the price paid by the Qin soldiers in this battle? You have finally won a great victory, and you are going to be embarrassed To win the hearts of all the soldiers? Who will fight for the imperial court in the future?"
At the end of the sentence, he added seriously: "If it were really a bunch of pig teammates, then Jianlu would have laughed happily. Defeat without defeat, win without victory!"
. m.
