Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Changes in the Palace Dynasty
Within a few days of winter, fine snow like goose feathers began to fall in the city of Beijing. Gently turn the hem of the skirt and overlap the toes, creating a beautiful poetic scene.
Literati and refined scholars were attracted by this beautiful illusion, completely forgetting themselves, and only thought of composing poems after recovering; ordinary people immediately thought of the actual meaning of "auspicious snow heralds a good harvest" and began to be happy; Some people regarded it as an auspicious and auspicious omen for the new emperor, combined with their longing for a prosperous age and a prosperous year, so new hopes were ignited, and the children were more and more indulged to play snowball fights happily——
However, this snow was not a good thing for Wang An who lived in the Daming Palace.
His illness had gradually improved after a period of recuperation, and he saw that he was about to leave the decoction. Unexpectedly, when the weather became cold, his weak body couldn't bear it, and his unhealed condition immediately deteriorated, and he had to be recuperated again; then, When it snows, it gets worse.
There is a copper brazier in the room, which is as warm as spring; of course, he dared not go out when he was ill, and tried to raise him in the house as much as possible; however, once the little eunuchs who served him came in and out, they would bring a gust of cold wind in, and he couldn't help it. He would cough, and cough for ten days.
And the more his body couldn't recover, the more anxious and irritable he became. The Prison Supervisor was originally the head of the twelve prisons, with a high position and authority, and he was in charge of many affairs. An emperor has so many things to deal with and heavy responsibilities. Originally, he can't take a day off. How can he be sick for two or three months?
He ordered people to send the official affairs to the bedroom to watch, but due to his lack of energy, he couldn't read half of them in a day, let alone have other things to do, and Emperor Tianqi had to take care of them, and the government had to pay attention to them.
It's not that there are no confidantes in the eunuchs—if you want someone, at least a few hundred eunuchs will obey him—but most of them are mediocre people who are more than loyal to him but not capable enough, so it's hard to do anything for them. He shared his worries and relieved his labors, and took on responsibilities; the only person who could be regarded as his right-hand man was Wei Chao, and since his illness, Wei Chao had managed everything by himself, and was so busy that he was about to fall ill.
One day, Wei Chao came to see him early in the morning, his eyes were red and bloodshot, and his face was full of tiredness, he knew without asking, "I have a lot of things to do, I haven't slept much—"
He couldn't help but said to Wei Chao: "You rest for two days and let go of the big things, otherwise, everyone will fall ill together, and the situation will be even worse!"
After speaking, he coughed again.
Wei Chao didn't dare to respond, and stood respectfully with his hands down; the little eunuch who was waiting on the side hurriedly brought over hot ginseng tea, and gently patted his back and stroked his chest, finally letting his cough subside temporarily.
Then, he said to Wei Chao again: "Look at me—this virtue, I don't know how long it will take!"
As he said that, he said to Wei Chao very sincerely: "You try to pick as many helpers as you can! Don't be picky, as long as they can be used!"
Wei Chao muttered for a while, and finally plucked up the courage to report to him: "I used to know someone who has been in the palace for more than ten years and served in the Salary Department. He is very clever and sensible; but I just can't make up my mind. I don't know if I should reuse him!"
Wang An asked, "What worries do you have?"
Wei Chao replied: "The first one is that he has never been educated and illiterate, so it is not suitable for him to come to the Supervisor of Rites; secondly, his past before entering the palace was not very good. I heard that his character at that time Very bad-"
The man he was talking about was Wei Zhongxian, a native of Suning; when he was young, he was a rogue in the market, he was fond of gambling, lost a lot of money, and forced debts, when he was desperate, he eunuched himself into the palace, and was first assigned to serve as a servant under the name of Sun Xian , Later, Kui Yuan entered the Jiazi library, and began to have the opportunity to show his face, and some of his performances were also praised; soon, he did a very special thing, that is, he tried to ask himself to serve the king who was not favored. .
At that time, Xi Li, who was favored by everyone, was so deserted under Wang Xuanshi's family, but he seemed to have spotted it, and served Wang Xuanshi wholeheartedly, because she was the biological mother of the emperor's eldest grandson!
And many years later, it really proved that he had a unique vision—the eldest grandson of the emperor grew up smoothly and became the emperor. Of course, he had a special impression on him, and he still remembered his name among thousands of low-ranking eunuchs——
Wang An pondered, and asked, "Will he still gamble after entering the palace?"
Wei Chao replied: "I've never heard of this before!"
Wang An meditated for a moment, and said to him: "He didn't enter the palace at a young age, and he is a bit different compared with the general people who enter the palace at a young age; if he thinks better, he has already experienced outside and seen the world. Sensible, understands the world, and has a lively mind, no more than the little eunuchs we raised and trained ourselves, who have stayed in such a big house or a small house all their lives. Talented; but, if you think about it in a bad way, people who have seen the world have a lot of eyes, and it is easy to exercise power—”
He is a meticulous person, and he will think about everything carefully; after a pause, he asked again: "Did he help you take care of anything these days?"
Wei Chao replied: "I don't have it here, but I did one thing for the Long Live Lord, which made the Long Live Lord very happy; I gave him another thing yesterday, and now, he must have already thought it through!"
As he said that, he briefly explained: "Long Live Lord met Wei Zhongxian a few days ago, and for some reason, he remembered that when he was young, Wei Zhongxian not only made delicious snacks, but also carpentry, and made small snacks for him. Tables, chairs, and a small wooden ball, let him play for several days, very happy; he asked Wei Zhongxian to make another one to play with, Wei Zhongxian not only made it right away, but also told Long Live Lord that he would enter the palace. In the past, I met a friend who was a thousand times better at carpentry than him. He could only make wooden balls, but his friend could make sets of balls. There are still balls in the center of the ball, and he can set six of them. , Coke, he kept saying that he wanted to find this person to enter the palace, and asked Wei Zhongxian to do it immediately; Wei Zhongxian was also capable, and it only took a few days to find a person who hadn't seen or heard from him for more than ten years; Bring it to Lord Long Live, and make a set of balls in front of Lord Long Live, and Lord Long Live is so happy that he laughs and dances around in circles!"
Wang An sighed: "Long Live Lord is still a child!"
Then he asked, "Is there another one?"
Wei Chao blushed a little, and said in a low voice: "Long Live Lord wants to seal Qingfeng, I don't know what to seal, I need Wei Zhongxian to help you think of an idea!"
Hearing this, Wang An showed a special smile, and said half-jokingly: "Ke Qingfeng is your 'opposite food', why did Long Live Lord let Wei Zhongxian worry about this? It should be up to you Thinking about it!"
Wei Chao said embarrassingly, "Ah, I should avoid suspicion!"
But Wang An said: "Go ahead! Whether you want to reuse this person will be decided in two days; when you are at your convenience, pay more attention to his words and deeds now!" So Wei Chao resigned.
However, after two days, there is no need to think about whether to reuse Wei Zhongxian—Wang An and Wei Chao have already lost the right to decide on this matter, because Wei Zhongxian has already won a lot of money because of the introduction of skilled carpenters. Emperor Tianqi's favor, and because he came up with a decent and satisfying title for Ke Qingfeng, Ke Qingfeng was so happy that he looked at him differently, and advised Emperor Tianqi for him, he has become a celebrity in the Qianqing Palace.
A few days later, Emperor Tianqi formally issued an edict, conferring Qingfeng as "Fengsheng Lady", and Wei Zhongxian was promoted from Xixin Division to Eunuch of Rites.
Yang Lian, who didn't understand Ke Qingfeng's special status in Qianqing Palace, felt very disapproving of her being named "Fengsheng Lady", and privately told Zuo Guangdou: "Since the founding of this dynasty, there has never been a new king. Ascending the throne, seal the nanny first—maybe the Lord Long Live is young, and he cares about the breastfeeding and hugging of the nanny, but the breastfeeding love can only be generous with property; such an edict and canonization will make the subjects of the world laugh secretly ?”
He planned to go to the Shu to persuade and ask Emperor Tianqi to cancel this edict.
However, after thinking about it for a while, Zuo Guangdou suggested to him: "This matter is strange, and there may be some reasons that neither you nor I know about it—it's better to discuss it with Wang Sili first, to find out what Lord Long Live is thinking, and then It's not too late to go to school!"
Yang Lian agreed, so he contacted Wang An; but because Wang An was ill and couldn't go out of the palace to meet him, he sent two confidantes to meet him; after asking Yang Lian what he wanted to discuss, Wang An was anxious He quickly braced himself up, wrote a letter in his own hand, and sent someone to send it to Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou respectively.
The contents of the two letters were roughly the same. After receiving the letter, they met and discussed it, and they quite agreed with Wang An's opinion.
Zuo Guangdou took the lead in saying: "This matter has nothing to do with the government, and it has nothing to do with the country. Why don't you just let him go!"
However, in fact, he sighed quietly: "Young master ascends to the throne, this is the first thing you want to do, don't pour cold water on it!"
Yang Lian was silent. Although he somewhat agreed with Wang An and Zuo Guangdou's thoughts in his heart, he still had a slight thought of persuading him. His lips trembled slightly, and his long beard, which had all turned white, Followed by no wind; it was snowing heavily outside the house, his heart trembled slightly, and a little chill rose from the bottom of his heart.
After a while, he said to Zuo Guangdou in a half-hoaring voice: "Anyway, this matter is just a joke!"
Of course Zuo Guangdou understood his feelings, so he simply said the most sincere words in his heart: "In my opinion, forget about this matter quickly! Wang Sili's letter seems to have something in it: it has nothing to do with government affairs, It has nothing to do with the country——in the palace, there is a deep secret, you and I are foreign ministers after all, how can we intervene? What's more, after the Long Live Lord came to the throne, he can be said to obey Brother Nian, and the chief minister of the cabinet and other officials who suggested by Brother Nian He agreed to all the candidates for important positions, which can be described as "the emperor's grace"; if there is anything in the palace that has nothing to do with the government and the community, let's save face for the Long Live Lord!"
His words were also fair - Emperor Tianqi's respect and courtesy to Yang Lian was already a rare kindness.
A few days ago, Yang Lian pointed out to Chen that Fang Congzhe was old and could not make any achievements. He proposed to replace the chief assistant of the cabinet, and suggested that Ye Xianggao, the former chief assistant of the cabinet, be called back to serve as the first assistant of the cabinet again—replacing the first assistant of the cabinet , was originally the most important matter in the imperial court, but Emperor Tianqi nodded in agreement without thinking, and immediately sent someone to Ye Xianggao's hometown to pass the decree; The emperor also accepted all the orders, and employed people according to the list made by Yang Lian.
Even the list of officials who have been deposed and dismissed is according to Yang Lian's meaning——
"Yeah! It's time to be content!"
Yang Lian completely gave up on Shangshu's persuasion. He agreed from the bottom of his heart to the practice of saving the little emperor's face and not asking about trivial matters in the palace. At the same time, he took the initiative to say to Zuo Guangdou: "That's true. Let's go to the government! The day when Dong Lin will be in power is coming soon, and creating an 'apocalyptic rule' is the right thing to do!"
Hope has arrived, and a bright future is in front of you, so don't worry about some trivial matters—the two have reached a consensus and will no longer discuss Ke Qingfeng's title issue.
However, the "major event" that the two are concerned about is nothing more than the upcoming position of Donglin's people - neither of them is a military expert, so naturally they will not pay special attention to Liaodong. Yuan Yingtai, who has changed his position due to disputes, doesn't care about his mood——
On the way out of Shanhaiguan to Liaodong, it was raining heavily, the ground was muddy, and it was difficult for vehicles and horses to walk. It made Yuan Yingtai, who had just risen to the top and became the chief officer of Liaodong, so anxious that sparks appeared in his eyes and oil juice came out of his hands. .
No matter how majestic the mountain or the steep terrain, he had no intention of admiring it. Along the way, the only voice choked in his throat was: "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up— hurry up!"
He was eager to get to Liaoyang as soon as possible. Apart from the fact that Liaodong was threatened by Houjin, he had a heavy sense of responsibility and wanted to take up the post as soon as possible to guard the rivers and mountains. He also wanted to meet Xiong Tingbi in person before he left Liaodong.
For Xiong Tingbi, he not only has a deep personal friendship, but also because Xiong Tingbi is the only person in his mind who really understands Liaodong, he wants to ask Xiong Tingbi for advice and seek Xiong Tingbi's experience in governing Liaodong as his own reference.
Moreover, in the deepest part of his heart, he still has a special feeling that he wants to meet Xiong Tingbi in person.
Although Xiong Tingbi's resignation this time caused his own promotion, he was sad and happy; but, in fact, he felt very wronged for Xiong Tingbi.
"Integrity and self-sufficiency, diligence in handling affairs, courage and courage; and familiarity with Liao affairs, making the enemy intimidating-these are unmatched among courtiers!"
And the real reason for resigning this time is actually offending Donglin earlier - the cause and effect of this incident, and he knows the inside story better than ordinary people.
Xiong Tingbi himself came from a humble background, and he had no father or elder brother to rely on, and no shadow to inherit. He relied on his own hard work to make progress; thus, he not only developed the habit of being hardworking and down-to-earth, but also made him have hidden thoughts different from ordinary people. : I especially hate the children of aristocratic families who have the shadow of their fathers and grandparents. They always think that these blessed sons and daughters are all flamboyant trousers, without solid knowledge, but they are privileged members of society; Depreciate.
That year, he placed Gu Yuting, who was not a dandy but the son of a father, at the end of the year-old exam. It was not because Gu Yuting didn't study hard and got poor grades in the exam, but because of his This kind of mentality caused troubles, and he had a preconceived aversion to Gu and Ting, and then deliberately belittled it-although this incident made him feel happy for a while at the time, he tasted the bitter fruit many years later.
Donglin's momentum has risen again, and will form a huge political group and power in the court. Xiong Tingbi has lost his position this time, and he wants to get back up again. He doesn't know when he will have to wait!
He was full of emotions: "It's all on the spur of the moment! The result is that I lost the available talents of the Ming Dynasty!"
Ruining Gu Yuting's future is the court's loss of a talent; dismissing Xiong Tingbi's official position is also the court's loss of a talent!
"Right now, the enemy's foreign aggression is approaching; however, our dynasties' talents and usable talents have been damaged by internal fighting—"
He didn't secretly rejoice at the fact that he "gained benefits" because of the infighting between the two parties, but was worried—there were many and complicated thoughts in his heart, but the journey was not going well, which made his mood worse!
Watching the crashing raindrops like feather arrows through the car window, as if they were about to hit his face directly, he frowned tightly, and the gray hair on his temples spread rapidly.
As for Xiong Tingbi, who was about to leave Liaodong, the gray hair on his temples was also spreading rapidly.
Regarding his resignation, he is of course far more aggrieved than Yuan Yingtai; and because he understands the situation in Liaodong far better than Yuan Yingtai, the various thoughts, feelings and worries he entangles in his heart are of course far more complicated than Yuan Yingtai. .
Two days before his departure, he couldn't fall asleep, and sat alone under the lamp, listening to the deafening bang caused by the surge of anger in his heart and the back and forth impact.
He clearly remembers that when he first arrived in Liaodong, he traveled tirelessly through mountains and rivers, inspected the terrain and terrain himself, and then formulated a strategy of "sticking to the four dangerous points, sitting in Liaoshen, and recovering Xu Tu"; he felt that the strategy he had made was correct. , is not wrong at all; it is the best, most feasible, and most effective strategy drawn up according to the actual environment when the overall situation is not in your favor. And move.
According to this strategy, he felt that he could recover Liao in about five years—although, the resources available to him in the actual environment were really pitifully small.
He hoped that there would be 180,000 soldiers available—this was the minimum number he had come up with after careful consideration—however, the imperial court couldn’t support it at all; After that, the dead, the wounded, the fleeing, and minus the old and the weak, only about 30,000 people can really be used; moreover, there is a shortage of food, equipment, and horses, which is completely "end of the mountain" No, his hope is simply a "fool's dream"!
At that time, he had to try to recruit troops in Liaodong by himself and intensify his drills; method to deal with Nurhachi.
He kept sending people to spread the news, saying that the Ming Dynasty was mobilizing troops and would dispatch 300,000 to 400,000 troops to guard Liaodong. name, let’s go to Liaodong together to help Ming defend the city——
Thoughtful, he certainly knows that Nurhachi, who has experienced many battles, may not be affected by these rumors and give up continuing to annex the mountains and rivers of the Ming Dynasty; The delay in the offensive allowed him to buy some time to increase his combat power; secondly, he hoped that through these rumors, he could increase his morale and confidence, which would indirectly increase his combat power—the civil and military officials of Liaodong, All the soldiers are afraid of Nurhachi like a tiger, which is already a problem that cannot be ignored. It is also a big gain to be able to use this method to resolve the first and second!
He still remembered that as soon as he took office, he first ordered Han Yuanshan to go to Shenyang to caress the soldiers and civilians, but Han Yuanshan was too scared to go because Shenyang was Nurhachi's next target; Yan Mingtai went there, and Yan Mingtai ran back crying as soon as he reached the tiger skin post; in the end, he had to go in person—and even if he went in person with important subordinates, when he arrived in Shenyang, he planned to take advantage of the snowy night to arrive In Fushun, He Shixian, the commander-in-chief, also strongly dissuaded him. The reason was: "It's too close to the Houjin base. If you encounter the Houjin army, you will definitely die!"
In a word, he could only sigh secretly in his heart, he only prevented the new official from taking office, so he could not reprimand the subordinates who have reached the rank of the general army too harshly - he just said calmly: "The ground is full of ice and snow, Nurhachi didn't expect me I will go to Fushun in person!"
After speaking, he left immediately, and the generals had to follow closely; after arriving in Fushun, he felt a chill in his heart - after the war disaster, the originally prosperous land has disappeared for hundreds of miles. The desolate scene of human beings is like a ghost town!
He set up a memorial ceremony in the ghost land on a snowy night to pay homage to the officers and soldiers who died in battle, and returned weeping bitterly—this time, he truly realized: "The enemy army is not heavenly soldiers and generals, there is nothing to be afraid of! What is afraid is Our army has lost confidence!"
After this incident, the confidence of the soldiers was restored a little, and many of them obeyed his leadership earnestly, stabilized the morale of the army, and began to actively recruit strong men to join the army.
However, after the problems of people and hearts are solved, the problems still exist: there is not enough food, equipment, and horses; moreover, the city walls are damaged in many places and need to be repaired, and the repairs cost money!
He went to the eunuch many times and asked the imperial court to allocate money, food, horses and equipment; however, the imperial court often only gave one-tenth or two of what he needed, and it was often delayed for several months before allocating it, which made him often trapped in poverty. Dilemma——
That time, in March and April of the forty-eighth year of Wanli, the food stock was exhausted, and the household department had no news of appropriation at all; Standing in a circle with the generals in desperation, they couldn't bear to look up at each other, and finally wept bitterly from the grief; in the end, they borrowed food from the people and survived the distress——
"Ugh--"
Looking back on all kinds of past events, he summed them up with a long sigh, which was not only a combination of powerlessness and helplessness, but also vented the grief and indignation in his heart.
"People who don't understand Liaodong at all, impeach me for not attacking Houjin, recovering the lost land, and just sticking to it. The civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty all agree with this ignorant statement. What else can we do about Liao affairs?"
It is a miracle that Nurhachi has not let Nurhachi send troops to take down any big city for more than a year in a place where there are no people, no horses, no food, no food!
The official was lost. However, the introspection and review after losing the official made him more and more convinced that he was not wrong-he almost wanted to start writing immediately and write a letter, leaving it to Yuan Yingtai who will take over the position of economics: "My Liaodong policy is definitely not wrong-the current Liaodong can only stick to it and not advance lightly! If you stick to it for five years and reserve enough combat power, you can enter the Houjin and recover the lost land; now lead me to use troops against Houjin , will lead to the annihilation of the entire army and the loss of the entire Liao Dynasty, the consequences will be unimaginable!"
Even with this "unimaginable" consequence, he wanted to bite the bullet and say to Yuan Yingtaiming: "Once Liaodong falls, the Jin army will definitely concentrate on attacking Shanhaiguan, and then drive straight in, and the Central Plains will change hands!"
This is the hidden worry of subjugation!
However, when he really dipped in the ink and raised the pen, he paused, struggling hard in his heart: "How can I tell him this? Let him be cast a shadow in his heart right after he took office? Even , was immediately impeached by the speaker, and immediately resigned?"
This is an era of confusion between right and wrong, black and white, yellow bells destroyed, and tiles thundering. Even if Yuan Yingtai is willing to continue to implement his Liaodong policy, he may not be able to truly implement it; it will only increase Yuan Yingtai's pain in vain——
Therefore, even if Yuan Yingtai arrived in Liaoyang before he left and the two met together, he still held these words in his heart and did not say them.
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