Han ride

Chapter 409 Oral Instruction
In November of the sixth year of Chongzhen, Chuang Wang Gao Yingxiang led a rebel army of more than [-] people, and successively conquered the three counties of Mianchi, Yiyang, and Lushi. The army entered Henan, and Henan was shaken.Before the imperial court responded, a report was received saying that after Gao Yingxiang occupied the three counties, he did not stay in the three counties for a long time. In Kuizhou, the imperial court was in chaos caused by this rebel army, and the sky over Beijing in December seemed to be shrouded in an ominous atmosphere.

In Xinuang Pavilion, two bronze crane incense burners taller than a person are emitting thin smoke, filling the hall with strange fragrance, and the yellow forged curtains block the indoor and outdoor.It was cold and humid outside the hall, and the wind was howling, but it was warm as spring inside the hall.It's just that the atmosphere in the hall is not good at the moment, and Emperor Chongzhen's face is gloomy.Wen Tiren and the others stood obediently in front, not daring to speak.

"Gao Ni broke through Henan and entered the Huguang area. There are few soldiers and horses in the imperial court, and there is no unified command. What can you do?" Emperor Chongzhen said indifferently, and glanced at everyone.

Wang Yingxiong and the others glanced at each other, and finally their eyes fell on Wen Tiren. Countless thoughts flashed through Wen Tiren's mind, and then he said: "Since we are doing our own thing, why doesn't the emperor appoint one person to be the governor of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang and Sichuan military affairs, unified command, and suppressed Gao Yingxiang and other rebels."

"Who does Mr. Wen think can take on this important task?" After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen's expression immediately improved.Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

"Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, can take on this important task." Wen Tiren recommended Hong Chengchou, the court's first bandit suppressor, with the mind of not seeking nothing but nothing.

"Sanbian Hong Chengchou can't leave for the time being, and change to someone else." Emperor Chongzhen thought for a moment, then shook his head and said.

Wen Tiren was surprised, but he didn't think too much about it, and said, "How is Lu Xiangsheng?"

"Although Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong army is good at fighting, there are few Tianxiong troops. Lu Xiangsheng is still a little weaker. Let's change another one." Emperor Chongzhen thought for a while and said again.

"Your Majesty, I may be able to recommend one person." Wu Zongda saw that Wen Tiren's recommendation of two people was not recognized, so he couldn't help but said: "The minister recommended Chen Qiyu, Governor of Yushi Yansui, Youqin Capital, to take on this important task."

"Governor of Yansui, Chen Qiyu?" Emperor Chongzhen glanced at Wang Chengen.

"Chen Qiyu, a native of Baode, Shanxi, named Yuxuan. Jinshi in the 44th year of Wanli. He first served as the magistrate of Luoyang. In the second year of Tianqi, he was promoted to Li Kezhi Shizhong. When Yang Lian impeached Wei Zhongxian, Qi Yu also wrote a letter to criticize Zhongxian. , served as deputy envoy of Shaanxi, and was promoted to the right to participate in politics, responsible for guarding Nanyang. In the first year of Chongzhen, he was promoted to inspector, and served as the left and right political envoys of Shaanxi. Killed the Mountain Tiger, Liu Robber Zhi, Golden Chipeng, Xue Rengui, Yilong, Diamond Diamond, Kaishan Harrier, Heisha God, Human Tiger, Five Hell Kings, Ma Fei, Wang Denghuai, Ma Honglang, Man Tian Fei, Man Goose . Roll on the spot, Little Yellow Oriole, Fang Ritu, Manager Jia, Forced to Heaven, Little Red Flag, Flying on the Grass, A Tiger, Flying with One Wing, Hand in the Cloud, Four Heavenly Kings, Xue Hongqi, One-tailed Wolf, all the bandits in Yansui area They were completely beheaded by him and his generals." Wang Chengen didn't dare to neglect, so he hurriedly got Chen Qiyu's information and read Chen Qiyu's resume.

"Is this person so good at fighting?" Emperor Chongzhen opened his eyes wide. He knew that every time Wang Chengen read a name, it meant that Chen Qiyu had killed so many bandits.It is indeed heroic and good at fighting.Even Wen Tiren and the others opened their eyes wide.But they didn't know that Wang Cheng'en was actually playing a trick. Chen Qiyu had killed many thieves, but these thieves were hundreds or thousands of people, and only a few dozen people.How many bandits can there be in a Yansui area?How many real gangsters like Gao Yingxiang have formed an army?
"Indeed." The corner of Wang Chengen's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but nodded.

"In this case, let him be the governor of military affairs in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan, and take the title of Minister of the Ministry of War." Emperor Chongzhen thought for a while and said: "Order Yunyang Lu Xiangsheng to lead the troops all the way!" The Emperor Chongzhen suddenly thought of Lu Xiangsheng The Tianxiong army, plus Lu Xiangsheng still has some talents, very simply assigned Lu Xiangsheng to Chen Qiyu's command.

"Your majesty is wise." Wen Tiren actually hoped that Emperor Chongzhen would move Hong Chengchou, but it was a pity that Emperor Chongzhen chose Chen Qiyu. Who is Chen Qiyu, Wen Tiren really has never met.

"Ahem!" Emperor Chongzhen nodded, suddenly coughed twice, and the hall fell silent again.But Wang Chengen waved his hand, making all the maids and eunuchs serving around him back out.

Eunuchs and maids like Wang Chengen have been with Chongzhen for a long time, and they have to understand what his every movement means.These people don't need the emperor's instructions on weekdays, they will act according to some slight movements of Chongzhen's eyebrows, eyes, lips or beard, and fully care for the emperor's mind.This is also the way for these eunuchs and court ladies to survive in the palace.At this time, Chongzhen coughed, and Wang Chengen quickly understood that Emperor Chongzhen had a secret important matter to discuss, and these eunuchs and court ladies were not suitable to be present, so they dispersed the crowd without hesitation, and he personally served Chongzhen and approached Emperor Chongzhen Hot water was added to the dragon cup of the azure Xuan kiln case, and then he stood quietly aside.

"Look, this is a secret copy sent by Yang Sichang of the Xuanfu, and Jiang Yu, General of Zhenshuo and Datong Commander-in-Chief, also signed it." Emperor Chongzhen took out a memorial from a stack of memorials and asked Wang Chengen to pass it to Wen Tiren.

In fact, Wen Tiren and others knew that something big was about to happen when Emperor Chongzhen drove away the court ladies and eunuchs. Sure enough, Chongzhen handed over a memorial.It was sent by Yang Sichang from the Xuanfu. If there was only one Yang Sichang, perhaps Wen Tiren would not be surprised, but later he added a general of Zhenshuo, Jiang Yu, the general of Datong, which is surprising. Although Xuanda is one, but There is quite a distance between Jiang Yu and Yang Sichang.The communication between the two is even rarer, and now the two actually urinate into the same pot, which shows that there is a problem.

"Li Xin, the Northern Army?" Wen Tiren thought of Jiang Guan, and immediately thought of someone.I am afraid that only this person will unite Yang Sichang and Jiang Yu.

Sure enough, when opening the memorial, Yang Sichang really mentioned Li Xin, and even proposed an unbelievable plan. Looking at the contents, Wen Tiren's heart suddenly turned upside down. It was too scary. This Yang Sichang and Jiang Guan are really too courageous.After scanning it once, he handed the memorial to Wang Yingxiong in an instant, but he himself was digesting everything said in the memorial.

Wang Yingxiong, Wu Zongda and others below also looked at it one by one, and everyone's expressions were not very good-looking.Strategies may seem daring, but they can be done.It's just that this person involved too much. If it succeeds, it's a good thing. If it doesn't, it will force the princes like Li Xin to turn against him.Emperor Chongzhen brought this matter up and handed it over to everyone for discussion. Obviously, he saw the problem, and he couldn't make up his mind.

but.But Wen Tiren knew that Emperor Chongzhen had moved on purpose.Although the emperor, who was eager to make great achievements, allowed Li Xin to exist on the surface, he always thought about taking the Northern Army in Yunzhong into his pocket.It's just that he didn't have this opportunity before, but now that Yang Sichang proposed this plan, he saw the hope of recovering Yunzhong and completely merging the North Army into Daming.It's just that this matter is very important, and Chongzhen himself is not good at making decisions, so he called everyone together, hoping to get everyone's support.Numerous thoughts flashed through Wen Tiren's mind, support or not?

Not only Wen Tiren had such thoughts, but other Wang Yingxiong, Wu Zongda and others were also hesitant. Everyone could go to the position of cabinet minister. Although they chose the taller one among the short ones, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were constant party disputes, and everyone could climb to this position. To the point that he has already experienced many battles, he naturally has a set of principles for handling things.Although Yang Sichang was talking about the hype, he said the prospect of the matter as if it was true.But everyone still has to consider the powerful relationship here.If it succeeds, Yang Sichang will go straight up, and finally wiped out the most powerful potential enemy of the imperial court.At that time, Yang Sichang can go straight to the center, but if he fails, who will be responsible for this?
Wen Tiren and the others looked at each other, and immediately saw a trace of fear in each other's eyes. Li Xin is not so easy to deal with. Jiannu, Hong Chengchou, etc. have all been fooled before. It is of course a good thing to succeed in dealing with Li Xin. However, if it fails, the cabinet and others will bear the brunt of it, because the cabinet can only issue orders. Seeing Chongzhen like this, although he is a little moved, he is not sure.So he wants the cabinet to order, and if it fails, it can be pushed to the cabinet.Everyone immediately wanted to understand the problem.

"Your Majesty, I think this matter is inappropriate." Wang Yingxiong said quickly: "The Duke of Liao did not rebel. He is still the Duke of Liao of the imperial court. You should add insult to injury, let alone deal with a meritorious minister indiscriminately."

"Your Majesty, I also think so. Although Li Xin is rebellious and reckless, he has not made a clear rebellion after all. He wants to kill Hukou because he doesn't want his food and lifeline to be handed over to others. After all, the last time Hong Chengchou also used to conscript the Northern Army once, and he didn't want this to happen this time." Wu Zongda thought for a while, and said: "I still think that let the Zhengbei Army sit on the grassland and send Xuanda soldiers to join Hong Chengchou and Chen Qiyu. In the army, this can increase the two armies by nearly 10 horses, which is enough to solve the rebellion in the Central Plains. Why let the Northern Conscript Army go south?"

"Mr. Wen, what's your opinion?" After hearing what the two said, Emperor Chongzhen frowned inadvertently, and turned to look at Wen Tiren again.

Wen Tiren's heart trembled. He sensed Chongzhen's displeasure from Chongzhen's words. According to reason, he should support Chongzhen's idea. Chongzhen, let alone whether this matter can kill Li Xin, if Li Xin cannot be wiped out, people all over the world will say that the cabinet is wrong, and many political opponents will attack the cabinet, attack him, and force Wen Tiren to step down. There is Yang Sichang, a member of the holy family, who will take this opportunity to enter the cabinet and fight against Wen Tiren.And whether Wen Tiren can beat Yang Sichang, is he really not sure?So no matter what, he won't get any benefit from being warm and benevolent. No one would do such a thing.

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Liao is treacherous. Whether he can occupy Yunzhong is another matter. What's more, now that the rebellion in the Central Plains has joined forces, it is reasonable for the court to focus on dealing with Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong. Fighting on two fronts, the minister is worried about whether the court will have enough food and pay." Wen Tiren looked at it for a moment, and Fang comforted him.After he said so much, he meant the last thing, that is, he did not support this matter, or in other words, he could not fall out with Li Xin at this time.

As soon as Wen Tiren finished speaking, the hall fell into silence again. Wen Tiren and the others stopped talking, waiting for Chongzhen's decision.Emperor Chongzhen, who was sitting on the upper hand, looked cloudy and uncertain, with a hint of anger in his eyes, looking at everyone coldly.

"Okay, I'm tired today, everyone, step down!" After a long time, Emperor Chongzhen said quietly.Wen Tiren and the others didn't dare to be negligent, and quickly retreated, not daring to stay in the Xinuang Pavilion at all.

"Lord Wen, do you think the emperor will persist? To be honest, if the opponent is not the Zhengbei Army, the lower officials really want to agree to this." Wu Zongda asked softly when everyone left the Xinuang Pavilion.

"Li Xin is treacherous, the next official is not sure!" Wen Tiren narrowed his eyes and sighed while stroking his beard.As for the real thoughts, only he himself knows.

"What I'm most worried about now is that the emperor will agree with Yang Sichang's suggestion. If he wins, it's a good thing. If he loses, he's provoked a devil." Wang Yingxiong glanced at Wen Tiren, although he didn't know what Wen Tiren was thinking, But I also know that Wen Tiren will never be as selfless as he said on the surface.

"Let's go! Let's go! Anyway, we have already expressed our suggestion. If the emperor is arbitrary, the officials and the others will have nothing to do." Wen Tiren said with a smile.What he said was not unreasonable. In the Ming Dynasty, the so-called imperial edicts had to be issued by the cabinet before they counted.The imperial decree of the emperor does not pass through the cabinet, it can only be said to be the central decree, which is not counted.As long as Wen Tiren and the others did not agree, it would be useless even if Emperor Chongzhen issued an imperial edict.

In fact, as Wen Tiren thought, after driving away the cabinet scholars, Emperor Chongzhen did not review the memorials as usual, but sat there with a gloomy expression. In the entire hall, only Wang Chengen was by his side .

"Look, these are my ministers, and these ministers are assisting me." Emperor Chongzhen smiled angrily, pointed to the outside of the yellow satin curtain, and said with a sneer, "I am so short-sighted to be able to be in the cabinet. I am really blind." .”

"Returning to the emperor, although Lord Wen and others are somewhat selfish, what they said must be reasonable." Wang Chengen thought for a while, and said a fair word.

"It makes sense? Selfishness? What kind of selfishness?" Emperor Chongzhen was stunned after hearing this, and looked at Wang Chengen in surprise, waiting for the other party's answer.

"The slave is not Mr. Wen, I don't know what he thinks, but the slave believes that Mr. Wen and others objected to this matter. On the one hand, they didn't want Mr. Yang to enter the cabinet by virtue of their military exploits. On the other hand, they won the matter. Their contribution is not great. Mr. Yang is the first person, but if it fails, the cabinet will be the most guilty. Mr. Yang is just a suggester, but the cabinet gave the order. Mr. Wen does not want to take this responsibility. Of course, they are also because of There is no certainty about this matter, so why?"

"Humph, it's a matter of being loyal to the emperor. People like Wen Tiren are so short-sighted. I think these people just don't want others to make meritorious service for the court and can't share the worries of the emperor's father. It's really abominable." Emperor Chongzhen didn't listen to Wang Chengen's explanation, but Furious, he said coldly.

Wang Chengen on the side sighed silently in his heart. Emperor Chongzhen regards his family as his country and the country as his home, but in the eyes of Wen Tiren and others, home is home, country is country, and the prosperity and wealth are their own, but the Ming Dynasty is Chongzhen. Emperor's.Emperor Chongzhen could sacrifice his life for the court, but Wen Tiren and others paid more attention to their own interests besides this.That's why they objected.It's just that it's hard for him to say this sentence.

"This is a good opportunity. Yang Sichang's three-way attack, relying on the strength of Shahukou, Zuoyun, Youyu and Datong, dragged Li Xin to Datong. Jiang Rang led the army out of the pass, attacked Yunzhong, and occupied Shahukou. , Blocking Li Xin's way back to the army, Yang Sichang led the Xuanfu's elite troops to sweep across the grasslands, enough to destroy Li Xin." Emperor Chongzhen walked back and forth in the hall with a hint of excitement on his face.

"Your Majesty, it would be a good thing if the imperial court defeated Li Xin. If not, the imperial court would have another powerful enemy." Wang Chengen persuaded cautiously.

"Then find a way to get the best of both worlds." Emperor Chongzhen said without even thinking about it: "Chengen, you have a lot of ideas, so you can help me think about it." Emperor Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen and said that he could not refuse.

"This?" Wang Chengen finally figured it out. Emperor Chongzhen had already made up his mind, but he was worried that Yang Sichang would fail and force Li Xin back, so he wanted to save himself a ray of gold.He thought about it carefully, and said, "My lord, I don't know if the decree is secret or not? Or is it oral?"

"Secret decree? Oral edict?" Emperor Chongzhen's eyes lit up, he nodded after thinking for a while, and said: "Then send someone to the Xuanfu to pass on my oral edict! Let Yang Sichang do things cheaply."

"Yes." Wang Chengen quickly agreed.

(End of this chapter)