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"Zhang Cheng will be the uncle!"

In the Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace in the Imperial City of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen made a final decision, which shows that his excitement has not yet completely calmed down.

The ministers and internal eunuchs present were also happy in their hearts, especially the internal eunuchs such as Wang Chengen and Wang Dehua. They stayed with Emperor Chongzhen for the longest time, and they regarded him as their master and were the most loyal to him.

However, among the cabinet ministers, their performances are different, and everyone is different. On the contrary, Chen Xinjia, the Minister of the Ministry of War, who was born in Juren, may be the most truly happy person.

But even so, he didn't dare to answer the words of Emperor Chongzhen lightly, and had to wait a while to hear the attitudes of the chief minister, the second minister and other cabinet ministers.

But all of these people were sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, but none of them uttered a word, and all of them became dumb at this moment, not saying a word.

Zhou Yanru, Lianzhong Huiyuan and champion in the 41st year of Wanli, successively served as Xiuzhuan, Youzhongyun, Zuoshuzi, Shaozhanshi, Zhengzhan, and Youshilang of the Ministry of Rites in the Imperial Academy.

He was good at catering to Emperor Chongzhen's will. In December of the second year of Chongzhen, he entered the cabinet as Minister of Rites and Bachelor of Dongge University.

In February of the second year, he was given the title of Crown Prince and Taibao, and was changed to a Bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. He was changed to the Minister of the Ministry of Officials and entered the Jianji Temple as a bachelor.

However, the good times didn't last long. In June of the sixth year of Chongzhen, he was forced to resign because Chen Zanhua, the speech official, revealed that he had privately called Emperor Chongzhen "Master Xihuang".

However, God is not willing to let Mr. Zhou Da rest in peace.

In May of the 14th year of Chongzhen, Shaofu, Prince Taifu, and Jianji Temple University scholar Fan Fucui, who was the chief assistant of the cabinet at the time, resigned from office after releasing many officials imprisoned in prison by taking advantage of Emperor Chongzhen's amnesty. return.

And as early as April, before Emperor Chongzhen agreed to the resignation of the chief assistant Fan Fucui, he had issued an order to call three former scholars, Zhou Yanru, Zhang Zhifa, and He Fengsheng, into the court.

On August [-]th, Zhou Yanru and He Fengsheng arrived in Beijing by order, while Zhang Zhifa was unable to be called to Beijing because of his old age and illness.

And on the second day after Zhou Yanru and He Fengsheng arrived in Beijing, they were immediately summoned by Emperor Chongzhen, and the two of them entered the cabinet immediately. s position.

In fact, Zhou Yanru's comeback had already been foreshadowed. Wu Changshi, a member of the Fushe's Ministry of Rites, had written a letter to Zhang Pu, Zhou Yanru's protégé and leader of the Fushe, urging him to encourage Zhou Yanru to come back.

For this reason, Wu Changshi, Zhang Pu and others even spent 6 taels of silver and tried their best to make friends with eunuchs Wang Dehua, Wang Yumin, Wang Zhixin and others around Emperor Chongzhen, and wholeheartedly promoted Zhou Yanru's comeback.

Of course, the final decision will always rest with Emperor Chongzhen himself, but he also intends to use Zhou Yanru to join the cabinet again, so Zhou Yanru can make a smooth comeback and join the cabinet for the second time.

And Zhang Pu, the leader of Fushe, before Zhou Yanru came back, had already given him ten things to save the time. If he really came out as he wished, he must do so, and Zhou Yanru naturally agreed. …

In other words, the ten things that Zhang Pu mentioned are indeed good strategies for the current disadvantages of the Ming Dynasty, and they are really important rules for governing the country.

Just yesterday, when Zhou Yanru made his first pilgrimage to Emperor Chongzhen after entering Beijing, he replaced the ten things Zhang Pu said with his own words and made a concise statement to Emperor Chongzhen.

Among them, such as the release of grain and white grain owed to households, the exemption of non-government tax arrears over the years, the relief of this year's land tax for all soldiers who are dying and desolate places, the forgiveness of offenders below the crime of garrison, the recovery of wrongful recruits, the wide selection of soldiers, and the summoning and relegation of speeches. officials etc.

Emperor Chongzhen also agreed all the time, and gave him a banquet to wash away the dust. After Zhou Yanru resigned and left, Emperor Chongzhen was overjoyed and said: "It's still him!"

It can be seen from this that Emperor Chongzhen still placed high hopes on Zhou Yanru, and also very much hoped that with his assistance, he would be able to achieve a great Ming Zhongxing atmosphere.

It is precisely because Zhou Yanru fulfilled many of his original promises after his comeback, promoted a group of prestigious scholar-bureaucrats, and made some political achievements, so that he was praised as a virtuous prime minister inside and outside the court.

And Emperor Chongzhen admired him very much, always calling him "Yuanfu" and "Mr.", but never calling him by his name directly. Whenever he made a pilgrimage, he was also given a seat and a meal frequently, and his favor was growing day by day. Straight to catch up with the original Yang Sichang.

However, what Emperor Chongzhen didn't know was Zhou Yanru's extortion of bribes.

Zhou Yanru, the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty, used Zhang Pu's ten things to win the favor of Emperor Chongzhen and thus controlled the government. Then he used Wu Changshi, Dong Tingxian and other cronies to make friends with his servants and extort bribes at the same time, which in turn exacerbated the corruption of the Ming Dynasty.

However, these things are just beginning now, not to mention that the Emperor Chongzhen didn’t know about it, even the courtiers in the capital, as well as those border officials, fuchens, and local magistrates, magistrates and other officials, there are only a few beneficiaries Only then did I know.

And since Zhang Cheng traveled through time, he has always had the habit of "burning cold stoves"!

As a man of two lifetimes, he naturally understands the truth of this. If he is really rich and powerful, he will continue to bet on the old treasures and catch up on the hot ones while burning the cold stove.

But today's Zhang Cheng, although he can be regarded as a big business, with sufficient money and food, and a lot of income every month, his expenses are also very huge.

Not to mention that there are nearly [-] soldiers in the army under his command, how many horses, mules and horses need to be raised, and Zhang Cheng's Xuanfu soldiers are all paid as real soldiers.

Furthermore, the Yunzhou Workshop is working day and night, working overtime to produce the armor ordnance, firecrackers, artillery, and chariots needed by the army. Improvement and R&D trials.

Even if he had Yunzhou cigarettes, burning knives, fine salt, sugar, and rare glass to live in, he basically didn't have to worry about selling them, except that the production speed couldn't keep up, but even if he made so much money, he couldn't afford Zhang Cheng's huge expenses.

The main reason why he can maintain and develop well in Xuanzhen lies in the recognition and wide use of silver tickets, food tickets, cloth tickets, and silver dollars.

Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, Zhang Cheng has no shortage of ways and means to make money, but they don't know that these silver, food, and distribution tickets are actually the basis for Zhang Cheng's huge expenditure. …

When Zhang Cheng started his business in Xuanbei, he had a total of less than 2 taels of silver. It was precisely because of the forced use of bank notes and food coupons that he was able to maintain the expenses of recruiting soldiers and camp operations in the early stage.

Therefore, all of Zhang Cheng's money was used on the cutting edge, and there was no way to manage the extra money everywhere, and "burning the cold stove" saved a lot of money!

After all, they are still in the stage of not being successful, and some of them are not even as strong as Zhang Cheng in terms of status and power, so they don't have a big appetite and are easier to feed.

"Use the least money to do the biggest thing!"

This is the principle of doing things Zhang Cheng believes in.

However, this cold stove is not so easy to burn. After all, even if Zhang Cheng is a different kind from later generations, he doesn't know everything about Daming's previous chief assistants.

But there is one thing that Zhang Cheng is really familiar with, that is the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty in the Chongzhen Dynasty. It seems that there is no long-term person except Wen Tiren.

Therefore, when Fan Fucui was still serving as chief assistant, Zhang Cheng had already begun to attach himself to the next chief minister of the cabinet. However, he did not expect that Zhou Yanru, the former chief assistant, would come back, score twice, and become the prime minister again.

Therefore, the cold stove he burned was Chen Yan, the second assistant of the cabinet, but even though he was as smart as Zhang Cheng, he didn't take into account that Chen Yan's cold stove was really cold!
Sure enough, there will be no good words if you don't make an offering.

Hearing that Emperor Chongzhen couldn't bear it any longer, his expression darkened, and he asked, "Yuanfu, what do you think?"

After being named by the emperor, Zhou Yanru knew that he could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb, but the military affairs of Liaodong had always been solely in charge of by Chen Xinjia, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and everything was planned before he was reinstated as chief assistant.

Now, even if he has made great contributions, it is difficult for him to distinguish. Even if he has some achievements, how can he compare to Chen Xinjia, who works day and night for this?
Although outwardly he was amiable, but in his heart, Zhou Yanru was like everyone else, looking down on Chen Xinjia who came from Juren.

Moreover, he was even more jealous and guarded against Chen Xinjia, because he had also heard some news before that Chen Xinjia was also extremely favored in front of Emperor Chongzhen, and was often summoned alone.

Now Zhang Cheng, the deputy general who has made brilliant military exploits in Liaodong, is the direct descendant cultivated by Chen Xinjia. If he continues to develop freely, he may threaten his status in the near future.

After Zhou Yanru thought for a while, he leaned back, revealing a corner of the woolen cushion on the seat. Looking at all the cabinet ministers in the Qianqing Palace, he was the only one who received this treatment.

Only Zhou Yanru replied softly: "Your Majesty, I have just returned to the central hub, and I don't know much about Liao affairs. I want to hear the opinions of all the elders first."

"This old fox is really cunning!"

Chen Xinjia still lowered his head and eyebrows, but he had already greeted the eighteen generations of the first assistant Zhou Yanru's ancestors in his heart.

Emperor Chongzhen did not make things difficult for Zhou Yanru, but turned his head to look at the second assistant Chen Yan, his eyes were slightly stern.

Chen Yan was also dissatisfied with Zhou Yanru in his heart, but he didn't show it on the surface. He also knew that he had to express his position at this moment, and he didn't write any more at the moment.

I saw him slowly get up and bow down: "My congratulations to the emperor, I have a strong general like Zhang Cheng in Ming Dynasty, who can suppress the thieves and regain Liaodong, just around the corner!"...

Chen Yan is worthy of being an old Jiang Hu, he used the name of He Xi to exaggerate the bravery of Cheng, although he did not express his support for making Zhang Cheng uncle, but the meaning behind his words has already shown his heart.

Emperor Chongzhen nodded, then looked down again, looking at He Fengsheng, who was also a newcomer to the cabinet.

"Your Majesty, I don't think Zhang Cheng can be made an earl."

He Fengsheng got up and knelt down, and continued: "Although Zhang Cheng has made great contributions to the country, he is still young after all. I am afraid that he will feel arrogant and arrogant if he receives this kindness, and lose his aggressiveness. This will be a tribute to the country. Towards the disadvantage.

The minister thought that it would be enough to grant Zhang Cheng the post of Chief Military Officer of Xuanfu Town first, and worship him as General Zhenshuo. To serve His Majesty.

Although he is commendable for his loyalty and bravery to me, he has not yet reached the age of standing. With his current ability, he will definitely make great achievements in the future. If he is awarded too much today, how will he be awarded in the future?
In my opinion, for today's achievements, Zhang Cheng should be worshiped as a general, and he will be honored as a lord when he makes great achievements in the future. "

Emperor Chongzhen felt slightly displeased when he heard He Fengsheng's words, but then he thought that He Fengsheng was also out of a public heart, and he was thinking for his own sake, so he let it go.

Next, all the cabinet ministers expressed their opinions. Among them, Zhou Yanru was the last one to express his opinion. He fully supported He Fengsheng's opinion. As a soldier, Chen Xinjia originally wanted to fight for Zhang Cheng, and he could also show his favor to Zhang Cheng.

But in the end, seeing that the opinions supporting He Fengsheng prevailed, and after Emperor Chongzhen calmed down, it seemed that he no longer insisted on making Zhang Cheng an earl, so he remained silent and became the only one who did not say a word in this court meeting.

Before the cabinet ministers withdrew, Emperor Chongzhen sent another message: "Chen Xinjia, the Ministry of War urged Zhang Cheng to transport the bodies of slave chief Duoduo and others to the capital as soon as possible. I want to offer sacrifices to the Taimiao to comfort the spirit of our ancestors in heaven."

"I obey the order." Chen Xinjia hurriedly knelt down to receive the order.

…………

After all the cabinet ministers retired, Emperor Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen, the eunuch next to him, "Wang Chengen, what do you think about making Zhang Cheng uncle?"

After Wang Chengen heard the words, his face turned pale in an instant, and he hurriedly knelt on the ground and played back: "Old slave, don't dare to discuss state affairs indiscriminately."

Emperor Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen, who was kneeling on the ground, shaking like a sieve, and nodded with satisfaction, but he was still a little unwilling in his heart, so he said, "I pardon you for not guilty."

Even though Emperor Chongzhen said so, Wang Cheng'en still didn't dare to talk about government affairs. He kowtowed vigorously and said, "This old slave is dull, I don't know how to answer."

He paused for a moment, and then added: "The Kuang ancestors have taught that the ministers should not talk about political affairs indiscriminately."

"I want you to tell me!"

Emperor Chongzhen had clearly expressed his dissatisfaction, and his words were extremely cold.

Hearing this, Wang Chengen couldn't help but get agitated. He had been with the emperor for a long time, so he naturally knew that Emperor Chongzhen was moody, so he didn't dare to refuse at the moment, so he could only reply softly: "This old slave thinks that Mr. He Ge is a minister who seeks the country."

Emperor Chongzhen didn't say a word when he heard the words, he was stunned for a moment, and then said lightly: "I'm tired, let's all step down."

The eunuchs and eunuchs in the Qianqing Palace were all serving in front of Emperor Chongzhen, so they naturally understood that the emperor wanted to be quiet, so they all quietly left the Qianqing Palace.

After all the eunuchs and maids retreated, Emperor Chongzhen stood up. He came to the carved window and closed his eyes, letting the setting sun shine on his face, feeling very comfortable.

After a while, Emperor Chongzhen quietly said: "Won't Zhang Cheng feel dissatisfied with the high meritorious service?"