Chapter 4 Chapter Four Talents
The Ming court once again seemed to be put into a steamer, and the people in it were all rotting, their hearts and lungs were shattered, and they were in unbearable pain—except for Emperor Tianqi, who enjoyed himself as a carpenter, everyone fell into the abyss .
Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen, who returned to the capital from Liaodong, immediately went to prison. Although the punishment has not yet been determined, the Ministry of Punishment Minister Wang Ji, Zuodu Yushi Zou Yuanbiao, Dali Temple Minister Zhou Yingqiu and others have all advocated death; the Ministry of War Minister Zhang Heming is terrified Since the front-line inspector was invited—and these were just punishments for mistakes, they were only minor details. The real focus of the problem—the national defense of Liaodong—no one could come up with specific propositions.
The cabinet and the officials of the Ministry of War discussed with woeful faces for several days, and the only thing that was decided was that the capital be under martial law again, in order to prevent the Jin army from crossing the Shanhaiguan Pass; Improvement does not help, but leads to the bad influence of panic.
When Liaoyang and Shenyang fell, the negative practice of "Liaodong lost land and the capital was under martial law" has already made many people lose confidence in the imperial court and national defense. Many wealthy families have been quietly moving to the south; Guangning was lost in time, and the court still had no countermeasures. Not only did the number of people migrating to the south increase sharply, but even many court officials began to calculate: "It's only two days' journey from Shanhaiguan to the capital—it's too much. It's dangerous!"
Those who still had their minds on the country and the society decided to move to Nanjing, so as to avoid the golden iron cavalry driving straight in; those who were a little more selfish simply resigned—some even planned to "resign without notice." Farewell" abandoned his official position and moved south to avoid disaster.
The person who presided over the meeting was Ye Xianggao, who was in the cabinet for the second time. Like many Donglin gentlemen in important positions, he has reputation, morality and knowledge, and he knows more about human relationships and official studies than others. These skills cannot be used when encountering the Liaodong issue; he was so anxious that his eyebrows turned pale, and he immediately complemented Yang Lian, who was in a hurry because of the "moving the palace" case; but it still didn't help. After a large group of people discussed for several days , Only barely solved the personnel problem.
Although Liaodong has become a "dangerous land" and "desperate land", after all, there are still some "country lands" that have not been taken by the enemy. Only when these remnants of mountains and rivers can be defended can the capital rest in peace. As Zhang Heming, Minister of the Ministry of War, has gone, the vacancies must be filled-these positions are the most important, most urgent, and most in need of capable people.
But, what "capable people" are there in the court?
Finally thought of a person - Sun Chengzong.
However, recommending Sun Chengzong requires another kind of effort: persuading Emperor Tianqi.
Because, as early as when Liaoyang and Shenyang fell, the censor Fang Zhenru asked Cui Jingrong, the Minister of the Ministry of War at that time, to dismiss Cui Jingrong, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and let Sun Chengzong, who "knows the soldiers", and the ministers recommended Sun Chengzong to be the Ministry of War. But Emperor Tianqi disagreed, and the matter had to be abandoned; the reason why Emperor Tianqi objected was not because he hated Sun Chengzong, but because he liked Sun Chengzong very much-Sun Chengzong was the second in the list in the 32nd year of Wanli, and he had successively served as editor and other positions; Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne From then on, he used Zuo Concubine as an official lecturer, and then went into Shaozhan's affairs; his appearance was magnificent, his voice was loud, he talked about classics and history, and his eloquence was as good as every sentence, which won the emperor's heart. Therefore, Emperor Tianqi didn't want him to leave Lecture Yan went to Liaodong; not long ago, he was promoted to the right servant of the Ministry of Rites and assistant manager of Zhan Shifu; it was obvious that the attention he received had risen to a higher level.
However, things are not hopeless; because Emperor Apocalypse has long since stopped going to the banquets and lectures since he was addicted to carpentry; The emperor is very likely to agree with Sun Chengzong to be in charge of the Ministry of War.
And the one who really nodded in agreement was Wei Zhongxian...
On this day, Wei Zhongxian pinpointed the time and came to Qianqing Palace to meet him with the memorials of the ministers.
Emperor Tianqi was concentrating on sawing off the measured size of the wood block - he made an exquisite design, to make a wooden tiger that could turn its head, open its mouth, and swing its tail, and hollow out the tiger's belly. Install lots of small drawers for rouge pollen.
He has conceived the design of the wooden tiger for two full days, the sketches have been drawn, and the materials have been prepared; he is scheduled to complete the work within ten days, so that he can present it to Ke Qingfeng on the first day of March—Ke Qing Feng's zodiac sign is Tiger, born in March, and he wants to give her the most special birthday gift in the world: "This wooden tiger will be the most delicate wooden utensil in the world—the number one utensil in the world—I will make it myself Do it, discipline is unmatched by anyone in the past and present!"
He focused on this work, and during the whole process, he forgot to sleep and eat, and enjoyed it—and since the matter happened in the Qianqing Palace, Wei Zhongxian certainly knew it well—it was too easy to pinpoint the time.
There were only a few young eunuchs behind him, and there was no ostentation; he walked quickly into the Qianqing Palace, knelt down respectfully in front of the Emperor Tianqi, knocked his head three times, and then said loudly: "Your maidservant, report to me!" Long live, the adults of the cabinet have sent an urgent report, please long live for the ruling!"
Emperor Tianqi, who was concentrating on his work, was interrupted, so he had to stop the saw, raised his head to look at Wei Zhongxian, then frowned, and said in a reproachful tone: "Didn't I tell you that if you have something to do, you can do it for me." Do it well, don't bother me!"
As he spoke, he involuntarily vented the unhappiness in his heart, so he emphasized his tone: "You didn't see, I'm busy! This matter cannot be interrupted, as long as the size is half a cent, there is something wrong with this wooden tiger Yes! Either the stomach can’t close the drawer, or the two rows of teeth can’t close!”
When Wei Zhongxian heard this, he immediately fell on the ground in great fear, and said repeatedly: "I am guilty—I deserve to die——I ask Long Live Lord to forgive me, I will try my best to do things, and I will use my merits to pay off my crime!"
Emperor Tianqi waved his hand and said, "Go quickly! From now on, when I don't call you, just don't come in and interrupt me!"
On the one hand, he told Zhao Ming: "Let's continue to do it!"
Wei Zhongxian kowtowed his head three more times, then got up, lowered his head, stepped back slowly, and quietly exited the Qianqing Palace.After going out the door and walking to the long corridor, he slowly showed a smug smile; then, after thinking about it all the way, when he returned to the Prison Officer, he had already made up his mind.
I entered the palace at middle age, and for many years, I have served in lowly jobs. I came to power by chance. In fact, the foundation is not stable, the reputation is not enough, there is no solid team in the palace, and there are no ministers who are too close to the court. , and even less familiar with political affairs - if he calmly thinks about his situation, he will know what he needs most urgently.
"Make friends with ministers—" he said clearly to himself: "In the past, Wang An's power had a lot to do with his ties with courtiers. Now, I have replaced his seat. If I want to sit firmly, I have to connect with his This relationship is also taken over!"
And this time—the first time he directly took care of the government for Emperor Tianqi—it was his chance to curry favor with the ministers.
Of course he knew what to do, and even thought about the next step.
"Simply, arrange for Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou to be promoted together!"
Yang Lian was promoted to the official position, Zuo Guangdou was promoted to Zuoqian Du Yushi; as for Sun Chengzong's matter, it would be easier to say-he decided to give a higher official position than the ministers asked for!
The next day, the imperial decree of "Everyone is happy" was issued:
Sun Chengzong served as Minister of the Ministry of War and a Bachelor of Dongge University, and worked in Zhizhi.
A few days later, Sun Chengzong was appointed as a cabinet minister to take charge of the ministry; while Xiong Tingbi's economic strategy was left by Wang Zaijin, who was originally the left servant of the added military department, who was appointed as the Minister of the military department and the right deputy capital censor, and managed Liaodong, Jizhen, Tianjin , Deng Lai.
A new weather has arrived, and everyone unanimously pinned their hopes on Sun Chengzong, as if deliberately exaggerating this new hope in order to sweep away the shadow in their hearts. The celebration banquet held by everyone for this new personnel order It is several times that of the past...
And in such a special atmosphere, another voice rose from the court. This voice was not as loud as the one celebrating Sun Chengzong's being reused, and the light it emitted was not very dazzling, but it carried super power .
It originated from the censor Hou Xun Shangshu, who asked: "See Yuan Chonghuan, the magistrate of Shaowu County, who is on a pilgrimage. He is heroic and magnificent. You might as well make an exception and keep it—"
Hou Xun is the son of a famous father—his father Hou Zhipu is also listed in Donglin, and he is highly regarded—his younger brother Hou Ke has also passed the test. The three of them are officials in the court, and they are members of the ruling mainstream. Of course, his weight is different from that of ordinary people; moreover, his sponsor Yuan Chonghuan was not just a joke or because of human feelings; but he sincerely believed that the Liao affairs were urgent and the court was employing people, and Yuan Chonghuan was a real talent.
In addition to Shangshu, he also solemnly recommended to Ye Xianggao, Sun Chengzong and others in person: "If Yuan Chonghuan is reused, he will definitely become a pillar of the country—"
He promised himself that he came from a famous family, had read countless people, and would never misjudge anyone; he repeatedly stated that although Yuan Chonghuan had only been an official for three years in the mid-term examination, and his qualifications were not deep, he had talked with Yuan Chonghuan about side affairs and admired Yuan Chonghuan's character. Knowledgeable and highly recommended.
And this request was granted.
Therefore, Yuan Chonghuan, who was a Jinshi in the forty-seventh year of Wanli and served as magistrate of Shaowu County, was appointed exceptionally and promoted to the head of the Ministry of War.
Before the Tianqi Emperor's wooden tiger was completed, the atmosphere in the court had become vigorous.
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