Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 52: Prime Minister
It is true that Sun Chengzong had his own unique understanding of the war situation in Liaodong, but Zhu Changgan did not want to transfer him to Liaodong.

Later generations have different opinions about him.

Some people commented that Sun Chengzong was not good enough in attack but was good enough in defense. Judging from his talent, it is not easy to restore the country, but to let him be responsible for it would be enough to defend the country carefully.

There were also some people who spoke up for him and rushed to eliminate him, because they thought that he was a virtuous man and his fortune would change, and no one could stop it.

This means that if Sun Chengzong had always been stationed in Liaodong, it would have been difficult for the Qing Dynasty to enter the pass.

It was he who kept the Qing Dynasty out of the country, thus extending the life of the Ming Dynasty and delaying its demise.

Of course, some people also say that he is the number one sinner in Liaodong, saying that his ideas were too naive, and he consumed the national strength and military forces of the Ming Dynasty, and built the Guanningjin Defense Line outside the Great Wall.

It was too expensive, and not just ordinary money. The imperial court simply could not afford such huge military expenditures. You have to know that during the Tianqi period, the imperial court's fiscal revenue was only 200 million taels of silver.

The Ming Dynasty, which was plagued by internal and external troubles, was simply unable to support Sun Chengzong's plan to build a huge group of fortresses to recover Liao. It became a black hole that dragged down the Ming Dynasty's finances.

Another celebrity who holds this view is Wang Zaijin.

Obviously he had a say, as he was in charge of the military supply of the entire Liaodong region, and his official title was "Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works."

Naturally, he clearly knew the financial revenue and payment capacity of the Ming Dynasty. So much so that he wrote in his memorial that Liaodong was a bottomless pit that swallowed up the financial revenue of the court, and if the strategy was not changed, the consequences would be disastrous.

Both views have arguments and evidence.

However, Zhu Changgan believed that Sun Chengzong's greatest strength was not his military proficiency, but his ability to coordinate, his ability to mediate in the court and his ability to judge people.

A man who passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi at the age of forty, but thrived in the court of the Ming Dynasty and escaped unscathed, his mediation ability is evident.

As Xia Yunyi said: Since the Liao incident, few people we employed were competent.

Among the Liaodong generals, Liu Jing, Du Song, Man Gui, Zu Dashou and Wu Sangui were all promoted by him.

Qian Qianyi also once commented on him: Even good men and gentlemen are afraid of his fierceness!
Zhu Changgan believed in Sun Chengzong's character. He led his entire family to climb the city wall to resist foreign enemies and sacrificed his life. His sons, nephews, and grandchildren, a total of 19 people, also died in the battle. This is enough to show that he was willing to devote all his energy to the Ming Dynasty until his death.

finally,
Zhu Changgan decided to let Sun Chengzong be the chief minister.

The reason why he drove Zhang Zhifa and Wen Ti out of the court was not without the intention of paving the way for Sun Chengzong.

"Wang Chengen!"

"Your Majesty, the eunuch is here!" Wang Chengen trotted in from outside and knelt on the ground.

"Pass on my decree, appointing Sun Chengzong as the chief minister."

Wang Chengen looked up at the emperor, opened his mouth, and finally replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

According to convention, after Wen Tihen was dismissed from office, it should have been Zhang Zhifa, the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, who was next in line, but Zhang Zhifa had just resigned after being severely reprimanded.

Kong Zhenyun just entered the cabinet last year, so logically he should be more qualified, but he has an unclear relationship with Wen Tihen.

There is no problem with Sun Chengzong's qualifications.

The iron rule of the Ming Dynasty: Only Hanlin scholars can enter the cabinet.

Sun Chengzong ranked second in the first class of the imperial examination in the 32nd year of Wanli's reign, and was appointed editor of the Hanlin Academy. He can be said to be a man of good family background and had no problems despite his ups and downs in the officialdom.

The reason why Sun Chengzong was promoted to the position of Prime Minister was not because Liaodong was not important, but because it was in Zhu Changgan's heart.

The ideal candidate for Liaodong is still Hong Chengchou, or someone like Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng who dares to kill and fight.

You have to be cruel and dark enough to succeed.

Only by defeating the Jiannu fiercely can Liaodong be stabilized.

After doing all this, Zhu Changgan concentrated, and blue characters appeared in front of him again.

"Name: Zhu Changgan"

"Main quest: Save the Ming Dynasty Completion: 49/10000"

"The Ming Dynasty's national fortune value: -9666, (the people are living in dire straits, the national fortune is negative, and natural and man-made disasters continue.)"

"The Ming dynasty has been extended for 33 days" "Modern life bonus: 33 days"

「Funding reward: 904 yuan」

He stood up and straightened his dragon robe. The eunuch came in and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Song from the Armory Department wants to see you."

"Let him in."

I originally wanted to ask about the progress of the Armory, but when I was dozing off, someone brought me a pillow.

"Song Sizheng, how is the progress of the Arms Department these days?"

"Your Majesty, we are currently researching the structure of the breech-loading rifle. Compared to the previous flintlock rifle, the effective range has been increased by 20 steps."

Zhu Changgan nodded. It was originally 60 meters, but now it can reach 90 meters, which is indeed a big improvement.

Song Yingxing carefully took out two black paper rolls from his pocket, with bullets on the front. "Your Majesty, is this the paper shell fixed bullet you mentioned last time?"

The eunuch took it, held it in both hands and came before the emperor.

Zhu Changgan took a closer look and asked, "The bullet and the gunpowder are separated?"

He shook his head and said, "We need to find a way to combine the two things. The purpose of making paper shell bullets is to combine gunpowder and bullet into a whole, so as to reduce the complexity of loading ammunition."

"If you separate like this, you're going in opposite directions!"

"But the bullets are round. Even if they are placed together, they will easily fall out. Then we will have to re-proportion the bullets."

"Then wrap them up completely." Zhu Changgan couldn't help but frown when he heard this. "Have you found anything about the primer problem I told you about last time?"

The flintlock was still too slow to operate, and he remembered that the invention of the primer seemed to be not far away from this time.

"Your Majesty, I haven't found the material you mentioned yet."

"Don't panic, take your time to search. I see that there are differences between the two bullets. If you can't guarantee consistency, then it's even more impossible to guarantee that the bullet will hit far and accurately after it leaves the chamber."

"Your Majesty, it is impossible for each person to file it by hand to have the same size."

Zhu Changgan sighed: "You have to use a mold!"

"Your Majesty, what is a mold?"

"That's it." Zhu Changgan was suddenly stunned and explained the meaning of the mold in a different way.

Song Yingxing's eyes suddenly brightened, "Your Majesty, this method is very wonderful!"

"I will take my leave now."

"." Zhu Changgan's mouth twitched. This guy came quickly and left even faster.

"Your Majesty, Song Yingxing is behaving badly. Should we issue an oral order to reprimand him?" A eunuch watched this scene, knelt down on the ground with shining eyes, and looked excited.

He had been observing people's expressions for so long and thought he could finally take a step forward.

Zhu Changgan stared at him with a burning gaze, sneered and said: "From now on, you can go to the Baochao Division to smell the smell!"

"Smell it." The joy on the eunuch's face still remained on his face. The next moment, his head was struck by lightning and he stood there in a daze.

His head made a buzzing sound and he collapsed to the ground.

……

ps: There were "four departments" in charge of logistics in the Ming Dynasty palace. They were Huntang Department, Xixin Department, Zhonggu Department and Baochao Department.

The Xixinsi was in charge of matters concerning firewood and charcoal; the Zhonggusi was in charge of the bells and drums used when leaving the court, as well as the internal music, legends, brocade, and rice-beating performances; the Baochaosi was in charge of the production of coarse and fine straw paper; and the Huntangsi was in charge of bathing.

At first glance, this Baochaosi sounds like it deals with money, or prints money, but in fact, it is responsible for the production and distribution of toilet paper. To put it bluntly, it is the department in charge of toilet paper.

(End of this chapter)