Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 41 Gao Di and others
Most of the evaluations of this Gao Di in the history books are that he is "honest, timid and fearful of trouble." He has been very clean and honest for decades as an official, and has no style problems. Basically, he can't find any fault. If he had been a local official, he should still be honest. Not bad.

But asking him to manage Liaodong and lead troops to fight would be a bit difficult. Therefore, from the moment he was favored by Wei Zhongxian and pushed to Liaodong to replace Sun Chengzong, his life was rewritten. "He is an honest man." "This one was erased, and in addition to the remaining one of "cowardly and afraid of getting into trouble", another one of "shameless and incompetent" was added!
Gaudi's "shamelessness" is reflected in his lack of moral bottom line and his willingness to serve as Wei Zhongxian's gunman, impeaching and slandering Sun Chengzong for free.

And his "incompetence" is precisely reflected in the fact that he not only failed to bring down Sun Chengzong, but was tricked by Sun Chengzong, making his situation in Liaodong almost desperate. You know, the soldiers in Liaodong don't care whether you are the governor or the general. Governor, if you don’t pay me, I, the King of Heaven, will still cut you off!
Of course, these are still small things. What really nailed Gao Di to the pillar of shame was his "contribution" to Liaodong during the past year as Liaodong Economic Strategy.

Within a year, he ordered all soldiers and civilians to withdraw into Shanhaiguan. From Shanhaiguan to Jinzhou, a total of more than [-] miles of rivers and mountains, hundreds of strongholds, fortresses, and countless fields and houses were all abandoned by him!
In a word, the results of Sun Chengzong's painstaking efforts for many years were destroyed in one day!
So much so that Nurhaci, who heard the news, woke up from his sleep with laughter. The iron hooves of the Jiannu cavalry soon set foot on this land impatiently, and the Ming people in this land could only give up their houses. , fields, crying and running for their lives, with people fleeing everywhere, Liaodong once again fell into chaos!
But one person stood up at this time. He did not retreat. He chose to stay and defend Ningyuan City. His name was Yuan Chonghuan!

In fact, when it comes to this, Gao Di should really thank Yuan Chonghuan, because if Yuan Chonghuan hadn't persisted and kept the Guanning defense line, he would have become a sinner through the ages.

Moreover, Yuan Chonghuan not only defended Ningyuan City, but also sent Nurhachi away with one shot, achieving a "great victory in Ningyuan". For a moment, everyone's attention shifted to Yuan Chonghuan, but they did not bother to scold Gao Di, leaving Gao Di Being able to leave Ning Yuan quietly and escape without a trace, isn't this worthy of his gratitude to Yuan Chonghuan?
It was Yuan Chonghuan's feat that saved the Guanning line of defense and turned the situation in Liaodong out of danger, which made Sun Chengzong not hate Gao Di so much and only regard him as a clown-like figure.

I even occasionally tried to excuse him in my mind, thinking that Gao Di was forced to do nothing. After all, the ministers at that time said that the military expenditure in Liaodong was too much, which brought a great burden to the court. They advocated abandoning Liaodong and retreating to Shanhaiguan. It can be found everywhere, and Gaudi may have made such a decision under pressure from the court.

However, no matter what Sun Chengzong thinks of Gaodi, Zhu Tianqi looks down on him anyway. Maybe what he did in Liaodong at that time was forced to do nothing, but what is recorded in the historical records about his future actions is not always forced to do nothing. Bar?
After the fall of the Eunuch Party, many officials who were framed by the Eunuch Party were rehabilitated, and Gao Di was one of them. However, this guy really failed to live up to expectations. Then in 1630, three years later, Hou Jin attacked Yongping, and this guy... After hearing the news, he immediately ran away with his whole family, leading to the fall of Yongping.

For such a person, it is difficult to tell whether the reason why he did not commit corruption before was because he was very honest, or because he was simply timid and did not dare to corrupt. In short, Zhu Tianqi would not dare to use such a person. Can I be rehabilitated? Can I be recalled as an official?Haha, let’s rest at home!
Now that the truth is clear, we have to discuss how to reply to these memorials. Zhu Tianqi directly asked Sun Chengzong: "Teacher, in your opinion, I should arrest Gao Di and let him tell the truth. Are you innocent, or what should you do?"

Sun Chengzong smiled and shook his head, and said nonchalantly: "Your Majesty, I think this matter is unnecessary. Whether I am innocent or not is not important. Your Majesty does not need to bother so much. I am also willing to accompany the emperor to stage this drama. .

Your Majesty can tell the ministers that it is true that I embezzled Mo's military salary. However, I have already taken the initiative to tell the truth to Your Majesty and bowed my head and confessed. Therefore, according to Your Majesty's previous decree, naturally I will not be held accountable and will be pardoned. Your sin! "

The method of handling Sun Chengzong mentioned was naturally the simplest, but Zhu Tianqi still felt that something was wrong. After all, Sun Chengzong was obviously the biggest victim. Not to mention taking the blame for embezzling military pay, in Liaodong Years of painstaking efforts have also been ruined. If he is not returned to his innocence, I am afraid it will not be justified.Thinking of this, Zhu Tianqi couldn't help but shook his head: "I'm afraid this is inappropriate, isn't it wronged you too much, Teacher?"

Sun Chengzong had something to say. He smiled bitterly and shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, don't care about such trivial matters at this time. Besides, I was also guilty in Gao Di's case. I only wanted to punish him at that time. Gao Di has brought the crisis of possible mutiny to Liaodong. If they catch this matter, it will be enough for me to drink a pot, so it is better to do less than to do more!"

After Zhu Tianqi heard this, he was suddenly enlightened. Fortunately, he was not impulsive. He nodded and said, "Teacher, you are still thoughtful, so I have to wrong you, teacher!"

Zhu Tianqi then followed Sun Chengzong's wishes and replied to these ministers. Because of the previous decree, these ministers could not argue.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Tianqi sent Zhang Weixian back home, and released the news that Zhang Weixian had also explained his affairs clearly, which was basically consistent with what the court found. He had not concealed any lies, so he would not be held accountable either. be pardoned.

But even so, no one stood up and took the initiative to explain the situation and plead guilty. Zhu Tianqi had to resort to ruthless tactics and picked a few insignificant people to be arrested by Jin Yiwei.

There was no torture to extract confessions, nor was there any coercion. It was just simple questioning, asking them to answer questions on their own initiative.

Those who are willing to take the initiative to explain, follow the temptation, compare the situation that Jin Yiwei found in advance, try to let them explain everything, don't hide anything, and send them home after the explanation is clear.

As for the stubborn duck, he refused to speak, and no one forced him to do so. He was harshly tried, beheaded, and ransacked his home based on the charges that Jin Yiwei had discovered in advance!
Facts have proved that when you try to reason with a gangster, the other party may become more and more shameless, but when you turn over the table and raise the sword, they will sit down and reason with you!
　I wish you all a happy New Year’s Eve and good health to your family!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)