Ming politicians

The 77-year-old Sun Chengzong has experienced too much.

He is a typical late bloomer. At the age of 42, he took part in the general examination, ranked 110th in the five, and participated in the imperial examination. He was No.2 in the first place, which is the second place in the list. Later, he entered the Imperial Academy and became an editor. At the age of 48, he was the host In the general examination, Qian Qianyi, Fu Zonglong, Tao Bidao, Bao Hongkui and other Jinshi were admitted. These people are all well-known figures in Ming Dynasty. At that time, he served as Minister of the Ministry of War and concurrently as a scholar of the Dongge University. After that, he took the initiative to ask the supervisor of Shanhaiguan, and began to confront the Houjin Tartars. He reappeared as an official, and rushed to Shanhaiguan again to supervise military affairs. The most legendary thing is that at the age of 58, he served as the chief assistant of the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty and presided over the government.

After several ups and downs, Sun Chengzong saw through the world and understood too many truths.

He is very clear about the disadvantages of the Ming Dynasty. Under such disadvantages, if fundamental reforms cannot be made, there is still no way out.

Sun Chengzong valued Su Tiancheng very much, and believed that Su Tiancheng was the only hope for the Ming Dynasty. If Su Tiancheng could be appointed as the chief assistant of the cabinet, the Ming Dynasty would enter a new era from now on. It was only a matter of time before the post-Jin regime was wiped out. Su Tiancheng proposed Too many suggestions, including certain reforms that are being implemented, all hit the shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty and can play a decisive role. Unfortunately, these reform measures have harmed the interests of some dignitaries.

But Sun Chengzong also understands that one day, the emperor will fear Su Tiancheng, and even order to wipe him out, if this day really comes.The Ming Dynasty will fall into a state of eternal doom. At that time, no one can save the Ming Dynasty, and no one can guarantee that if Su Tiancheng starts to resist, who can stop it.

This kind of thinking tortured Sun Chengzong.

After such a long contact.Sun Chengzong clearly realized that Su Tiancheng was not an ambitious person, nor did he have the idea of ​​proclaiming himself emperor. He had always worked hard to change the embarrassing situation of the Ming Dynasty. He died, but Su Tiancheng didn't care about it, and continued to work hard as before.

Su Tiancheng's achievements are needless to say.After returning from Dalinghe City, the old-fashioned Sun Chengzong had already foreseen that Su Tiancheng would become the terminator of the Houjin regime.

But here lies the problem, once Su Tiancheng wiped out the Houjin regime, at that time, the emperor would have no way to reward Su Tiancheng, or Su Tiancheng's strength.It has become so strong that no one can easily shake it, and conflicts will definitely arise.And it will definitely explode. At that time, it may not be a question of whether Su Tiancheng wants to resist, but a question of having to resist.

Sun Chengzong still knew something about the emperor's mind, some officials represented by Tang Shiji.It is a force supported by the emperor. This force is enough to compete against Su Tiancheng, including himself. In the position of chief assistant of the cabinet, Sun Chengzong spared no effort to support Su Tiancheng.It is precisely because of this kind of support that the emperor has doubts and worries. It is embarrassing to say such worries, so he can only take such measures.

Once Sun Chengzong resigned from the position of the chief assistant of the cabinet, I am afraid that there will be some changes in the court. The chief assistant of the cabinet is basically determined to be Yang Sichang. Sun Chengzong still has some understanding of Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang is somewhat obsessed with the pursuit of power. His father, Yang He, once served as the governor of the three sides. As a result, in the battle against the bandits, he suffered a major setback because he advocated peace talks and was dismissed. At that time, Yang Sichang had already emerged and attracted the attention of the court. Afterwards, Sun Chengzong could conclude that Su Tiancheng's power would inevitably be affected to some extent.

The time has entered December, and Sun Chengzong has long thought of resigning from the position of the chief assistant of the cabinet, but unfortunately the emperor did not allow it, saying that he would consider this issue after the new year. In fact, this is the emperor's promotion for Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang has not been in the cabinet for a long time. , lacking a certain foundation, he can only stabilize the situation for a period of time. When the overall situation is settled and Yang Sichang is completely stable, at that time, he will be able to unload the burden on him, but this time must be It's not long, and it is estimated that the results will come out in the first month.

Sun Chengzong's mansion slowly became quieter. The civil and military officials in the court knew that he was going to resign. At this time, no one would come here to curry favor with the outgoing chief minister of the cabinet. On the contrary, Yang Sichang's mansion was very special. There was a lot of excitement, and there was an endless stream of visitors, all wanting to leave a good impression on Yang Sichang before he took office, and wouldn't it be logical for others to be promoted.

Being the chief assistant of the cabinet, Sun Chengzong had never thought about it before, but he had been the chief assistant of the cabinet for three years, and these three years were very crucial three years. The battle in the palace gradually began to balance. Unlike before, he was always beaten. Daming’s finances also began to ease. The emperor did not need to take out the ginseng in the palace. The silver in the household department exceeded 600 million taels, which solved a big problem. Shaanxi no longer needed relief from the imperial court. After the military guards in Shaanxi were abolished and the guards in Ningxia were integrated, the expenditure of the imperial court was also significantly reduced. The income has been increased and the expenditure has been reduced. Although the court is still in difficulty, it will not be the case that it could not pay the military salary in the past.

It should be said that the extermination of the rogues really stabilized the Ming Dynasty. In the past, the military pay for the extermination of the rogues, including the damage caused by the rogues, made the imperial court stretched. This piece of expenses is no longer needed, and the officials of the household department are much more relaxed. .

All of this is inseparable from Su Tiancheng, and I am afraid that in the future, maintaining this situation will also be inseparable from Su Tiancheng.

The incident of Hou Jin spies made Sun Chengzong sad. Such incidents must have had an impact on Su Tiancheng, even though Su Tiancheng did not show it at all in front of him. People who have no foresight must have near-term worries. Su Tiancheng is so smart Being wise, it is impossible not to think about the future, and it is impossible not to make corresponding preparations.

The performance of the emperor on this matter made Sun Chengzong, who was about to retire completely, uneasy. He had experienced four emperors, Ming Shenzong Zhu Yijun, Ming Guangzong Zhu Changluo, Mingxi Zong Zhu Youjian, and now Ming Sizong Zhu Youjian. The school analyzed these four emperors. Guangzong Zhu Changluo did not comment on them. He passed away only one month after ascending the throne. The other three emperors all had good abilities. Zhu Youjian was the most diligent, and Zhu Yijun was the most capable. The most generous is Zhu Youxiao.It's a pity that the shortcomings of the three are also very obvious. Zhu Yijun is lazy and unwilling to be dragged down by the government. Zhu Youxiao trusts the eunuchs and makes the government chaotic. Zhu Youjian's personal ability is not very outstanding.

Sometimes, Sun Chengzong would even analyze that if there hadn’t been a mainstay like Su Tiancheng, we still don’t know where the Ming Dynasty is headed. Maybe a lot of places have been occupied by the Houjin Tartars. It is difficult to destroy.

When the youngest son Sun Pei came in, he was holding a letter in his hand, and Sun Chengzong could tell at a glance that it was a letter from Su Tiancheng. After he returned from Dalinghe City, Su Tiancheng's letters came very densely.

Seeing Sun Pei, Sun Chengzong couldn't help but think of his family. The youngest son Sun Pei is one year younger than Su Tiancheng. He has six sons. The eldest son Sun Quan is 54 years old, the second son Sun is 47 years old, and the third son is Sun Qian, 40 years old, fourth son Sun Wei, 36 years old, fifth son Sun Yue, 34 years old, youngest son Sun Pei, also 26 years old.As for his grandsons, Sun Siming and Sun Sizong, who followed Su Tiancheng, have already entered the court as officials. The oldest grandson, Sun Zhihang, is also 30 years old, and the family has more than [-] people.

However, when he was a senior official in the imperial court, Sun Chengzong never sought the slightest benefit for his family. Until now, Sun Siming and Sun Sizong entered the imperial court as officials, and the rest were at home. It is a pity that Sun Chengzong rushed to the court. Among his children and grandchildren, no one has passed the Jinshi examination, so he has no chance to enter the imperial court as an official.

In this regard, Su Tiancheng once suggested whether to think about it, but Sun Chengzong refused. He believed that the imperial examination was to seek talents for the imperial court. Otherwise, the order of the imperial court would be broken. As for being an official, Sun Chengzong would not allow it. His status, he could not let his descendants be an official, that would be degrading to his family.

Maybe it's because he's getting old, maybe he's about to retire, or maybe he feels that his time in the world is running out. Sun Chengzong thought of this, but he has to pay attention to being an official in the imperial court. The officialdom is very complicated. If you don't pay attention, you may cause disaster for the family. In this hesitant state of mind, Sun Chengzong didn't take much action in the end.

Thinking of this matter now, Sun Chengzong pinned his hopes on Su Tiancheng. Many officials came from Su Tiancheng's side, all of them were recommended by Su Tiancheng, and some officials were not scholars at all. The imperial court, these people are doing things beside Su Tiancheng, and will not be coveted by those scholars. They said that one of their two grandsons, Sun Sizong and Sun Siming, stayed in Henan Province as a co-prefect, and the other stayed in Shaanxi as a Pingliang governor. The magistrate of the prefecture, but their identities, entering as students, this is unbelievable in the eyes of many adults in the court. (To be continued..)