golden scales

Since he is a lonely minister, it is more difficult to climb to the position of chief assistant in the cabinet than a famous minister with a party.Standing here, Chen Yanneng was able to stand up to the emperor calling him "Old Mister", so naturally he would not be as stupid and mediocre as his political opponents slandered him.It's just that the trick of avoiding the truth and exchanging the pillars can be seen one or two.

Emperor Chongzhen was really stuck because of the problem of money and food.

It is very simple for the generals to go out. A piece of imperial edict grants military power, and immediately takes the Ministry of War to Guanfang to lead the troops in the Dudu Mansion.Every military general who can stand on his own has his own servants, and these servants are the main force of the army. They naturally help him handle all the affairs under his command, and there is no need for the court to send additional officials.At most, they are only dispatched to supervise the army, as well as civil officials and scribes who communicate with food and grass and record merits and demerits.

It is even easier for the supervisor to go out. As long as the edict is ready, he can go to the front to supervise the generals.In Yuan Chonghuan's time, even if he was as tough as the general of Liaozhen, he had to listen to the supervisor's words, and at most made some small moves secretly.To this day, even important ministers like Hou Xun and Ding Qirui can't control Zuo Liangyu anymore.As for Shanshan, the two supervisors, Wang Qiaonian and Fu Zonglong, were immediately abandoned by their generals and died in the battle.

This is also the reason why the university scholar Wu Yan must lead the soldiers in the Beijing camp to supervise the division.

If the emperor had conscripted himself, it would be very different.

First of all, there must be no less than one of the Shangzhi personal guards, and secondly, all the three major battalions of the capital must be dispatched.According to the ancestral system, the Shenji Battalion is guarded outside, the [-] Battalion is in the center for patrolling, and the Fifth Army Battalion is guarded inside.

In addition to military preparations, the political center must also follow the emperor, and the cabinet assistants, officials of the Six Departments, and Taiyuan Kechen must also accompany him.The official documents of various ministries have been transferred from the capital to the line, and they have to be delivered by post horses day and night. People eat horses, and there is no money and food.

What Chen Yan said clearly meant: Your Majesty the Emperor, now that you have no money, don't even think about conquering yourself.He looked at Chongzhen whose face was full of confusion, as if he had been pulled to the bone, and then changed the topic again, and said calmly: "That day, His Majesty wanted Wu Zhen to supervise Huguang, and Wu Zhen refused to go because he had no soldiers. If Your Majesty How can Wu Tong shirk if he can gather a large army?"

Wu Tong was a Jinshi in the 41st year of Wanli. He was enlisted and awarded as a censor during the Tianqi period. His official career was bumpy and experienced several ups and downs.In June of the 15th year of Chongzhen, he was promoted to Minister of Rites and Bachelor of Dongge University, and was the second assistant of the cabinet.The Dongge University scholar has the duty to educate the East Palace, and when the prince happens to be at the age of school, he has to come and go to the East Palace more or less, not to mention what he is really teaching, at least he has to be familiar with him.

Zhu Cihong had a deep impression of Wu Tong. Compared with the famous calligraphy and painting officials before him, Wu Tong had a rich experience.He has the strategy and wit to fight against Wei Zhongxian bravely in the court; kindness.

When Wu Sheng entered the cabinet, it happened that Zhou Yanru was the head and assistant.Zhou Yanru, the old-fashioned chief assistant, secretly formed a party, and Wu Sheng was also able to contend with it.Because of the native places of the two assistant ministers, people at that time called Zhou Yanru the Jiangnan Party and Wu Chen the Jiangbei Party.It can be seen that this second assistant also has the ability to raise the flag and fight for the party.

Today's Wu Zhen has already been sent to Jinyiwei Imperial Prison, it would not be an exaggeration to say that his life is at stake.

"My lord, the East Palace has come here by order and is waiting to be summoned." Wang Zhixin saw that Chen Yan mentioned Wu Tong, and knew that the chief assistant meant to beat the dog to death with a stick, and also knew how much the Crown Prince liked Wu Tong. Showing signs, he stepped forward and changed the topic, expecting that Chen Yan would never dare to talk about Wu Zhen again in front of the prince.

As expected, Chongzhen was drawn away from the focus of attention unknowingly, and said: "Please come up from the East Palace."

Wang Zhixin quickly turned to the conversation, and after a while, he saw Donggong wearing a red dragon robe steadily coming up. Although his figure was not plump and thick, he already showed the posture of walking like a dragon and walking like a tiger, which made people feel awe.

Zhu Cihong went up to the cloud platform, and with a light sweep, all the officials were already in his eyes.

In addition to a few cabinet scholars, all the important ministers of the Seven Ministers have also arrived today.Among them, Li Banghua, the royal censor of Zuodu, was considered one of his own, Feng Yuanbiao of the center, and Li Yuzhi of the official department were all ministers who showed good feelings for him.

With the majority among the seven ministers already obtained, Zhu Cihuang has greater confidence in obtaining the clear decree to oversee the army today.

"My son pays homage to His Majesty the Father." Zhu Cihong stepped forward to pay homage.

"Xing." Chongzhen slightly raised his arm, showing a trace of love and affection under his tired face.He ordered the left and right to give seats, and then returned to Huguang's military affairs, saying: "The shuchen asked for an order to send the prince to Huguang. What does the prince think?"

"The sons and ministers should share the worries of the monarch and father, and serve the country!" Zhu Cihong agreed without hesitation.

It was no surprise that Feng Yuanbiao and Li Banghua had known the prince's ambitions for a long time.Because Feng Yuanbiao has already performed carefully, the task of beating the side drum now falls on Li Banghua.The old man coughed lightly, and went out of the class to play: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Eastern Palace is loyal, brave and filial.

The corner of Chongzhen's mouth raised slightly when he heard this, and his eyes swept to the few senior scholars in front of him.

Chen Yan couldn't bring up Wu Tong's matter again, and felt a little regretful, but kept silent.Jiang Dejing and Wei Zaodeping said that what happened to the prince was just a rumor, and as cabinet assistants, they didn't dare to pay too much attention to it, so it was inconvenient to speak up.Another cabinet minister, Huang Jingfang, has been asking for an official post repeatedly in recent days, so he is unwilling to open his mouth to cause trouble again.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty," it was Jiang Dejing who finally broke the silence and stepped forward and said, "I think that your Highness will spend as much money as conquering the army yourself."

Zhu Ciwang looked at Jiang Dejing, and also stepped forward to follow up: "Your Majesty, the sons and ministers of the army, follow the custom of the guest army, and do not need to pay the army's salary separately from the treasury." The human army lasted for more than half a year, and this was because the treatment under Donggong's command was extremely high, even exceeding the standard of Qi's army in Qi Jiguang's time.

Moreover, fundraising has become a trend now, and a part of the military expenditure of the Eastern Palace Guards Battalion is clearly listed.This part of the money is used as the cost of maintaining the refugee camps and quarantine camps outside the city as a guard camp, which is equivalent to reimbursement of part of the cost of raising soldiers.As for the refugee camps and quarantine camps, they are naturally listed separately, so His Royal Highness does not need to worry about them.

"The practice of the traveling army?" Jiang Dejing was expressionless, but just repeated it, thinking to himself: Did the prince grow up in the deep palace, although he was familiar with the rules, he didn't know how heavy the "customs of the traveling army" were.

According to the regulations of the Emperor Ming Dynasty, the guest army only needs to prepare food for three days, and then eat local states and counties from the second day of the garrison.However, there are policies and countermeasures under the policy. When there is a change in the past, the Qin Wang guest army from all over the country rushed to the capital, and according to the rules, they will eat the counties in the capital from the next day.The Ministry of War, the household department and the counties were in difficulty, unwilling and unable to provide supplies, so they thought of a way: let the guest troops stay for one night, and then transfer troops to other counties the next day.

Naturally, other counties followed suit and refused to pay for military rations.The king's guest army from all walks of life has been rejected by people, always on the road, without food and supplies, how can they fight against the golden soldiers?Instead of being unable to fight, some of the guest troops broke up directly and became chaotic soldiers, which soon became the main force of the later rogues.

Thinking about the early years of Chongzhen, when the refugees rebelled, where were there any military orders?Didn't they disperse when they saw the imperial army?It is these guest troops, especially those from Xuanfu and Datong, who have become the strength of the exiles, which has given the refugees the ability to fight against the official army, and finally formed the current situation.Among other things, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and even many giant bandits from the [-]th Battalion of Gezuo were all officials of the Ming Dynasty who had eaten the imperial rations.

"I'm afraid there are also difficulties in the local area." Jiang Dejing added.

Zhu Cihong replied: "Since the imperial court wants to send reinforcements, no matter who is in charge of the army, there is a place to eat. If they can do it, why can't Gu do it?"

Jiang Dejing looked at the prince, wondering if the prince was pretending to be stupid on purpose, or if he had other intentions.Others lead the army to cross the border, and they can collect food on the spot because they have enough evil spirits.Haven't you heard of "stealing is like a comb, soldiers are like a grate"?As a prince, can you be as rascal and arrogant as those Qiu Ba gang?If it is reasonable, even a county magistrate was born as a scholar in two lists, can you really speak up to him?

Emperor Chongzhen did not expect that the current government officials are so unbearable, but he thinks what his son said makes sense.Since anyone who is sent out has a problem with food, it makes no sense to say that His Royal Highness should eat more, so that the place can't bear it.It's just that at his son's age, can he lead the army? Is it necessary to summon the assistant ministers who are walking under the gate of the East Palace?If you see them, I'm afraid that those people will cling to them, and it will be difficult for the East Palace to suppress them in the future.If you don't see it, I'm really worried. (To be continued.)