Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 23 The merits and demerits do not equal each other

As expected, the ministers debated and concluded that it was just an old practice of strengthening border security and renovating the Great Wall. And because the imperial court had no money, it couldn't even come up with money to repair the Great Wall, so it had to let various regions repair it on their own.

Zhu Youjian was dissatisfied, but he couldn't change the money. In addition, Liu Zhao, the current governor of Jiliao, and others were members of the eunuch party, so it was hard to rest assured that the money was allocated to them.

Liu Zhao dared to lead his troops directly to the capital. If he was given enough money, he might cause trouble if he was moved in the future.

But if you touch him now, it will cause the eunuchs to be alert and fight back, so you can only keep him for now.

On the other hand, it seems that it can be moved in other places.

Recalling that Liu Zhao's full title was Governor-General of Jiliao, Baoding and other places, in charge of military affairs and in charge of food and wages, Zhu Youjian deliberately separated the affairs of Baoding and other places, strengthened his control over these places, and said to the ministers:
"Mr. Liu once told me that Lu Xiangsheng, who was of the same age as him, was both civil and military and could wield a sword weighing more than 100 kilograms."

"Lu Xiangsheng is now the prefect of the Daming Prefecture and the deputy envoy of the Shandong Ancha Division, so he will increase the order of the Daming army."

"Let him recruit troops from the three prefectures of Daming, Guangping and Shunde to clean up thieves and serve as reserve troops to guard the Great Wall."

In the name of his teacher Liu Hanru, he added an extra burden to Lu Xiangsheng.

This kind of blatant promotion of private individuals, but the officials could not express their objection. After the new emperor ascends to power, his teacher Liu Hanru in Qiandi will definitely be of great use. At this time, the same year who opposed the promotion of Liu Hanru, wouldn't he have seriously offended the other party?
Smart people in the government would not do such stupid things. Some people even decided to promote Liu Hanru to get rewards.

After successfully promoting a talent, Zhu Youjian's anxiety eased a little and he continued to deal with things.

Seeing that Ge Jiusi, the eunuch guarding Xuanda, asked the five thousand cavalry to be transferred to the left and right camps, Zhu Youjian frowned and said:

"What's going on with these five thousand cavalry?"

"Is it the mobile troops of Xuanfu and Datong?"

None of the ministers answered, and Zhu Youjian did not ask further questions. At this time when he had just ascended to power, he was unwilling to increase the number of troops for the eunuch eunuchs.

In addition, Lin Danhan's incident gave him a reason. After careful consideration, Zhu Youjian said:
"Who in the DPRK has served in Xuanda?"

"I plan to send an important minister to command these five thousand cavalry and contact King Shunyi and other right-wing tribes."

"If Lin Dan Khan insists on moving westward, then beat him back."

Now no one dared to answer. Zhu Youjian had no choice but to let them push.

In the end, the courtiers pushed around and pushed out an old minister, Wang Xiangqian, who was over eighty years old.

Zhu Youjian was very angry after hearing this. He had no hope for this generation of courtiers and asked them:

"Wang Xiangqian is over eighty years old. If he dies in office, how will the world view us?"

"Is this the reason why the imperial court treats its veterans preferentially?"

The ministers were speechless, but in the end Liu Kongzhao, the sincere uncle, bravely said:

"Your Majesty, although Wang Xiangqian is old, he is energetic and physically strong and is still capable of doing this."

"Moreover, he is familiar with the grassland conditions, has a reputation in Jiubian, and can liaise with various ministries."

This made Zhu Youjian a little more accepting, and he had no choice but to use this eighty-year-old veteran as recommended by the ministers.

At the same time, in order to show his respect for his veteran minister, after Zhu Youjian learned that Wang Xiangqian had accumulated a number of minor divisions and the crown prince's grand division, he ordered to add Taibao, with the title of Minister of the Ministry of War, to supervise the Great Wall border affairs of Xuanda, Jiliao and other divisions, giving him a very high level of security. Great treat.

After this appointment, the officials were a little envious. Although the titles of Taishi, Taifu and Taibao in the Ming Dynasty are empty, they have always been quite valuable. Especially for civil servants, except for Zhang Juzheng, those who did not have three sons during his lifetime were given posthumously. Even Yang Tinghe and Master Shengjia were rejected by him.

Zhu Youjian gave Wang Xiangqian a Taibao when he was still alive. Regardless of whether Wang Xiangqian accepted it or not, it was a good talk. In the future, when someone asks Wang Xianggan about his achievements, he can simply say "Your Majesty will give him a Taibao" to explain everything. After solving the matter, Zhu Youjian saw Wei Zhongxian's resignation notice. Although he had the urge to agree, he suppressed it when he looked at the courtiers in front of him.

He knew that these courtiers in front of him seemed incompetent, but they were all good at playing power. Once they were no longer suppressed by Wei Zhongxian, they would soon use civil servant tactics to lock themselves firmly in the palace.

I must continue to accumulate strength, and when I drive away Wei Zhongxian, I will sweep away these incompetent and flattering eunuch officials and replace them with suitable people.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian made a cross and typed back Wei Zhongxian's resignation. Without even giving the ministers a chance to discuss, they directly discussed the next thing:

"Therefore, Ning Yuan Bo's wife Li Rusong's wife, Wu Shi, requested to attack Ning Yuan Bo and grant him the title."

"Everyone, let's discuss this!"

Rumors about this matter had spread a few days ago, and even caused a big discussion in Beijing. Some people believe that Li Chengliang is responsible for the Liaodong incident. Not only should the Li family not seize the title, but they must also be held accountable and even imprisoned.

Some people believe that Li Chengliang was not convicted, and Li Rusong died fighting for the country. Since Ning Yuanbo's title is a hereditary title, he should be passed on to the Li family. The title system of the Ming Dynasty cannot be abolished because of the Li family.

The two opinions were still being debated a few days ago. Today, news came from Lin Danhan that the Great Wall north of the capital was threatened by Hou Jin. The ministers felt the pain of the Liaodong disaster, and those who supported Li Chengliang's guilt suddenly gained the upper hand.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Youjian could only talk about the achievements made by Li Chengliang, Li Rusong and others to see if he could save some. This chess piece used to test the courtiers should not be thrown away easily.

The ministers became more energetic and came to Zongdao in silence just now. Now they said actively:

"Your Majesty, my merits and deeds are unknown. Which of the border officials are willing to serve?"

"Li Chengliang is guilty of abandoning his land. He should be punished according to the law and his title should be stripped away."

Zhu Youjian frowned and asked:

"Aren't Li Chengliang's achievements enough to offset his sins?"

Lai Zongdao once said:

"When Taizu founded the country, Xue Xian was brave and achieved great military success. Taizu named Xue Xian the Marquis of Yongcheng, but refused to grant him a world certificate and banished him to Hainan."

"This is because he killed innocent people indiscriminately and committed many crimes. So Taizu divided his salary into three parts, one for the family of the person who was killed, one for his mother and wife, and only one for him. , let the merits and demerits not cover up each other.”

"Although Li Chengliang has meritorious service, his crimes cannot be covered up or offset each other."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, agreeing with this statement, and at the same time understood why Emperor Chongzhen in history killed many meritorious ministers. In fact, this is the custom of the Ming Dynasty. As long as the emperor can't find a way to protect it, the guilty ministers will be killed according to law. Li Chengliang's matter, according to the current point of view, should be investigated and expelled.

Admiring this trend very much, Zhu Youjian did not intend to destroy it, and decided to remove Li Chengliang's title in accordance with the wishes of the ministers.

The ministers shouted sagely and cheered for this. Just when they thought they had won, they heard Zhu Youjian ask again:
"Li Chengliang deserves his punishment, but how should Li Rusong's title be determined?"

"He has made great achievements and died fighting for the country. He cannot be removed from the title without reason, which will chill the hearts of the heroes."

　"History of the Ming Dynasty": Since then, the number of people gathered has increased, reaching more than 64,000 households. In the thirty-fourth year of the reign of Emperor Chengliang (Li Chengliang), the land of Chengliang was isolated and difficult to defend. He and the governor, Fu Jianda and Zhao Ji suggested that it be abandoned and all the residents moved inland. The residents were in love with their families, so they used the army to drive them away, and the dead were left in a state of disarray. …

　　(Li Rusong) Rusong led his light cavalry to go far away to destroy the nest, but was killed in ambush.

　　The emperor mourned deeply and ordered him to be buried with clothes and hats. He gave them to Shaobao and Ning Yuanbo, built a shrine, and gave him the posthumous title of Zhonglie.

　　He appointed his younger brother Rumei as the chief military officer, and appointed his eldest son Shizhong as the commander of the Jinyi Guards. He was in charge of Nanzhen Fusi, and he still served as Ningyuan Boxunwei. Fuyin's son was the commander of the Benwei, and he was hereditary.

　　The generous gifts are all due to special kindness.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)