Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

"Presumptuous!" Zhou Yanru immediately yelled loudly, "A merit is a merit, and a demerit is a demerit, how can they be confused? The imperial court must have restrictions on such domineering generals."

In fact, in Zhou Yanru's heart, he also agreed with the official's statement.But now the primary consideration is how to calm Emperor Chongzhen, not really to solve Wu Shigong's crime of concealing his military strength and military situation, so Zhou Yanru still looks upright and awe-inspiring.

"Then can we transfer the generals under Wu Dangkou, or pay them a separate military salary?" Another official said.

However, this idea is somewhat reliable, and it is nothing more than using the method of differentiation.But an official who was more familiar with the Runing Army replied: "The generals of Wu Dangkou all started with him. I heard that they are all his book boys and house slaves. All those who were recruited by him, those who were married, one of them has become his apprentice. So now the Runing camp has become his family army.

The official didn't say anything about paying military pay separately.The Runing Army has not received military pay for many years, let alone pay the military pay separately, the imperial court can't even afford such an expenditure now.

"Then let's talk about how to deal with Master Hou!" A bachelor saw the silence, so he changed the subject.

"Deceive the emperor? Take the lock back to the capital?" Another scholar suggested.

"But without Hou Ruogu, who can suppress Wu Dangkou and Zuoping Bandit?" An official raised an objection.

But as soon as these words were said, there was another silence in the conference hall.It is easy to help Emperor Chongzhen, but it is troublesome to clean up the mess.What if after Hou Xun was arrested, the situation would take a turn for the worse, and the Emperor Chongzhen would come to settle accounts after the autumn and take his anger out on the minister who made the idea now, wouldn't that be asking for guilt?

"Let Hou Ruogu take the blame and make meritorious service!" It was Wu Xin who broke the deadlock. "Now that the siege of Kaifeng has not been resolved, the thieves are also running rampant in the Central Plains, and Wu Dangkou's wolf ambitions have not yet been revealed. Watch his actions before convicting him! Wu Dangkou's wife, son, father and brother's family are all in the capital, and it is wrong to say that it is the opposite. If he can't convince others, he will be more domineering than others. Go to an order to make him act cautiously, and then let the local restraint, I hope he will find his way back!"

What Wu Sheng said was just a delay. They were looking forward to the change of the current situation, which would give the Ming Dynasty a chance to breathe.Afterwards, he gradually drew pictures of Wu Shigong.

Zhou Yanru nodded, knowing that although Emperor Chongzhen would not be very satisfied with such a response, it was quite satisfactory, so he said: "The old man also wrote a letter to Wu Dangkou! If you have friendship, you can also send a letter to persuade him. Fan. Luo Zhongxin. Your daughter is also married to Wu Dangkou, and she will also send a letter!"

Luo Zhongxin, the servant of the Ministry of Punishment who was hiding behind, could only bow and agree with a bitter face.

"Also. Ask Marquis Wu and Marquis Xue to go to the letter. It is even more important to win over these two marquis' mansions. Wang Gonggong, where is the emperor...?"

Wang Cheng'en quickly agreed: "You elders, please rest assured, the miscellaneous family from the emperor's place will go to persuade you."

An official immediately wrote down the terms of the discussion and handed them over to Wang Chengen to bring into the palace.The ministers who finished the discussion were also relaxed, and bid farewell to the great scholars like Zhou Yanru.

But Zhou Yanru saw Zhang Guowei winking, and he fell behind.Asked: "What do you want to say, my soldier?"

So Zhang Guowei asked: "Then Wu Dangkou can really suppress the bandits? Where does he get his confidence in his troops? Don't let the disaster of Governor Ding happen again!"

Zhou Yanru secretly looked around and found that the officials avoided the two of them, so he whispered: "When I lived in the countryside, I heard that Ru Ning was full of gold. Wu Dangkou not only knows how to rule the army , and will make money, that's why they can afford to support the [-] troops. You can also check the previous documents of the Ministry of War. The Wu Dangkou was really victorious and undefeated, and now there is a climate, which makes the emperor a little worried If he dares to send troops, he is sure to win, otherwise, why would the emperor be furious?"

"So what to do? Isn't this driving tigers out of the front door and wolves in through the back door?" Zhang Guowei said worriedly.

"At least he hasn't raised the flag of rebellion yet. Are the Liaodong Wu admirals and Xiangyang Zuoping thieves easy to get along with? It's a virtue to be with Wu Dangkou. At least the court is still Zhengshuo, and they don't dare to go too far. Next time we will find an official to talk to him in person! Give him what should be given to him, and always let the court have time to recover!"

"If I knew today, why bother!" Zhang Guowei said angrily, "At that time, Wu Dangkou should have been simply made a supervisor, so he would be ashamed to disobey the order of the imperial court! Call out its elite, and then mix sand into some troops , being able to be a civilian thief and control his ambitions, it will be much better than the current situation."

"This is an afterthought." Zhou Yanru smiled wryly, "Even if we agree, the emperor will not agree. Fortunately, we always have Wu Dangkou's family!"

"Family? I heard that Wu Dangkou has more than ten sons, and he has no shortage of descendants. There are also people like Luo Zhongxin who send their daughters away. They really have no sense of shame." Zhang Guowei despised.

For Zhang Guowei's contempt, Zhou Yanru just smiled.But he was also secretly funny in his heart: "There are so many people in the imperial court who want to give up their daughters without shame. Even the old man himself is a little tempted."

In the end, under the persuasion of ministers and trusted eunuchs, Emperor Chongzhen was still prepared to endure this tone.In fact, this time the Runing Army sent troops and did not submit a memorial to the court. It is true... that the court is not taken seriously.But in any case, from the surface, they are dealing with the peasant army and are going to rescue Kaifeng City, and there is nothing wrong with their actions.

But Emperor Chongzhen's reaction was a little hysterical.However, such a reaction is also understandable. He is afraid of the sudden appearance of the [-] soldiers from the Runing Army, and it is also the fear of losing control of his opponent, General Wenchen.

In order to cover up his fear, Emperor Chongzhen acted even more extreme.He couldn't do anything to Hou Xun, Wu Shigong, Zuo Liangyu, etc., so he had to punish the courtiers who could be dealt with there, in exchange for psychological balance.And this time it was Jiang Cai and Xiong Kaiyuan, the vice-deputy of the pedestrian department, who hit the gunpoint this time.

But once Emperor Chongzhen accused the Yanguan: "Being selfish and paranoid, and fighting for victory." Afterwards, Jiang Caishangshu expressed his different opinions. He believed that the emperor's accusations against the Yanguan were really exaggerated.

In the Ming Dynasty, the verbal dispute between the emperor and the officials was also the main theme. In fact, it was not a big deal, it was just talking about it.However, the tone of Jiang Cai's memorial was relatively tough, and there were several refutations and questions, which were almost arguing with the emperor.Emperor Chongzhen, who was full of evil fire and had no place to vent, immediately became furious when he saw such a disrespectful chapter.He immediately ordered: Let Jin Yiwei arrest Jiang Cai and put him in imperial prison, torture him to extract a confession, and track down the accomplices and mastermind behind it.

Xiong Kaiyuan's problem is more complicated.This old man was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Tianqi, and Shi Brown had nearly 20 years of experience. His qualifications were very old, but his official career was not going well.

Therefore, Xiong Kaiyuan once visited the chief assistant Zhou Yanru for his official career, and asked Zhou Yanru to exert influence on him and give him some special care.But Zhou Yanru happened to be in a hurry that day, so he just met him politely, and politely invited him out without listening to his explanation.This incident made him very angry, and decided to participate in the impeachment of Zhou Yanru at any cost.

It just so happened that Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict and asked courtiers and common people to speak out, so Xiong Kaiyuan signed up at Huijimen to state relevant matters to the emperor.So Emperor Chongzhen received Xiong Kaiyuan in Wenzhao Pavilion the next day, but because the cabinet scholars were always by the emperor's side, Xiong Kaiyuan was timid before the battle and did not dare to attack Zhou Yanru, but only made a statement about the military situation at that time Resigned after a little frivolous discussion.But since he had made up his mind, he would feel unhappy if he didn't bite Zhou Yanru hard, so after ten days, he asked to be summoned again.

To be honest, Emperor Chongzhen, who pretended to be modest, was quite patient, and he summoned Xiong Kaiyuan again.And summoned him in the Hall of Dezheng, but this time, the ministers were still by his side.Obviously, Xiong Kaiyuan is unlucky enough, so don't pretend to be that big garlic if you don't have the guts!

So this time Xiong Kaiyuan had no choice but to say: "It is said in "Book of Changes", 'If the emperor does not keep secrets, he will lose his ministers, and if the ministers do not keep secrets, he will perish'. Please retreat for a while." Zhou Yanru and others quickly asked for recusal, and Emperor Chongzhen But not allowed.

So Xiong Kaiyuan had no choice but to bite the bullet and said: "Since your majesty ascended the throne, he has used dozens of ministers. Your majesty thinks they are sages, and your majesty's left and right think they are sages, but the ministers and the people of the world may not necessarily think they are sages. The ministers are the heart of the emperor." They are easy to use, so that mediocre people are in high positions, and they commit adultery one after another, so there is no end to natural disasters. Wait until the officials expose their crimes, and then punish them and repel them, but it is useless."

In fact, these remarks are just general talks, which are basically empty words and empty words, with no actual content at all.However, Emperor Chongzhen felt that there must be something implicit in this empty talk, so he repeatedly asked him to speak out.

While Xiong Kaiyuan denied it, he glanced at Zhou Yanru with his eyes.Only then did Zhou Yanru realize that Xiong Kaiyuan had come for himself, and immediately expressed that he was incompetent and asked to be dismissed.

But at this time, Emperor Chongzhen was already very disgusted with the timidity and hesitation of this little man Xiong Kaiyuan, so he still insisted on letting him perform in person.

In desperation, Xiong Kaiyuan could only retort: ​​"Your Majesty wants ministers, big and small, to play face-to-face from time to time, and let the ministers stay close to each other. Who would dare to put forward different opinions to cause trouble for themselves? What's more, the ministers back then were heavily punished. Therefore, the sages and gentlemen attacked him; now the assistant ministers pursue virtue, release the accumulated prisoners, exempt the owed taxes, and use the abolished books. The sages and gentlemen are all quoted by him. That’s all.” (To be continued..)