prosperous age

Chapter 952 1041 Panic Li Chengliang

The sky in the capital was dark, but stars were already burning in the ancient city, and many people had already gotten up and started to prepare for the new day.

It's not ugly now. For ordinary people, they are still sleeping in warm quilts at this time, but for Ming officials, they have to leave there at this time, get up and start washing up, and prepare for today's court meeting.

Fortunately, starting from the Zhengde period, the emperor seemed to have developed the habit of not going to court in the morning. After that, Emperor Jiajing did not go to court all the year round, and rarely even appeared in front of courtiers.

Emperor Longqing was a little better, but he only lasted for two years. After that, he stopped serving as a regular dynasty and only appeared at the great dynasty meetings.

This habit was maintained until the Wanli Dynasty.

After all, Emperor Wanli was young, so it was already good to show up on the first and fifteenth day of every month.

What's more, although the courtiers could not see the emperor, the cabinet and Hanlin lecturers could still see the emperor in the Wenhua Hall every day. Except for the day of the court meeting, they did not have to lecture, and they had to study with the teacher at other times.

As for the current court meeting system, even though Kedao Yanguan is still quibbling in private, everyone knows in their hearts that now is the best.

There is no need to get up before dawn every day to go to court and complete all the procedures. In fact, nothing is done.

When it was time to go to work in the morning, I was hungry, so I had to find a place to get some food to fill my stomach.

Meeting in court is really hard work.

Soon, cars and sedans appeared on East and West Chang'an Street, and some military attachés rode horses to attend the court.

The family held lanterns in front and behind, and soon they gathered into a long queue.

Not far from the imperial city, the cars and sedans gradually stopped. The officials got off the cars, got off the sedans, and walked to Chengtianmen.

When meeting familiar officials on the road, they inevitably walk together and chat quietly.

After passing through Chengtian Gate, hundreds of officials in Beijing quickly gathered outside the Meridian Gate, waiting for the palace gate to open.

A court room was built at the corner of the palace gate for officials to rest and wait for the court.

Of course, only high-ranking officials can enter the court room. Those of fifth rank and below have no chance to enter and rest.

The court room closest to the palace gate naturally belonged to the cabinet. At this time, Wei Guangde and Lu Tiaoyang were already inside.

The separation time was late, and everyone actually didn't have a good rest that night. It was inevitable that they were all a little sleepy now, and they just took a nap after saying a few words.

After a while, the door opened and Zhang Juzheng walked in.

"Both."

It was a habit to be polite, but when he saw both of them dozing off on the back of the chair with squinted eyes, Zhang Juzheng hurriedly shut up.

But after all, it was the court, and the two of them were actually just dozing off, and there was no way they could fall asleep. So they both opened their eyes one after another, saw Zhang Juzheng coming, and stood up to say hello.

Zhang Juzheng sat down and then said: "If you two are sleepy, just squint for a while."

"Close your eyes and meditate, who can be here, haha."

Wei Guangde smiled lightly.

"hehe."

Lu Tiaoyang laughed twice, and then heard Zhang Juzheng say: "I came here a little late and saw Li Chengliang waiting outside."

"He did not become the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies"

Lu Tiaoyang only said half a sentence before he stopped, remembering that although it had been arranged for him to take charge of the Right Army Governor's Mansion, the news didn't seem to spread widely, so he might not know about it yet.

Wei Guangde just glanced at Zhang Juzheng, knowing clearly what Zhang Juzheng meant.

Although he had some objections to Wei Guangde's arrangement for Li Chengliang to return to Beijing, after all, Wei was responsible for the affairs of the Ministry of War, and Zhang Juzheng could not say more.

"I'll talk to him when I get down."

Wei Guangde took advantage of the situation and said.

I originally planned to find an opportunity to have a fight with Li Chengliang, but I just happened to use these words to say it.

Not long after, a chamberlain came in and announced that it was almost time.

The three people left the court room, and other officials also came out one after another and gathered outside the Meridian Gate to stand according to rank.

Today's civil service queue has not changed much, except that there is an additional Li Chengliang in the front row of the military attache queue, and his son Li Rusong is not qualified to go to court because of his low rank.

I don’t know if I am resting at the inn or waiting outside Chengtian Gate.

Not long after, the eunuchs of the Bell and Drum Department rang the bells and drums. When the third drum sounded, they opened the east and west gates first, and the officers and flags were put in line first. The officials continued to line up in order in front of the gate, and waited until the bell rang. Open the door again and enter.

After the court bell rang, the doors on the left and right were opened, and all the officials walked through the doors in order of rank.

The officials began to enter the palace, with civilian officials entering through the Zuoye Gate and military attachés entering through the Youye Gate. They were first arranged in order according to rank south of the Jinshui Bridge.

After the whip was sounded, they crossed the bridge one by one and arrived at Danqi of Huangjimen. The civil servants were on the left class and the military officers were on the right class. They faced each other on the imperial road and established marquises.

Outside the neatly arranged team of officials, there are censors in charge of picketing to supervise. Anyone who coughs, spits, is crowded or has poor manners will be recorded and awaiting treatment.

There is a throne in the middle of the upper corridor of Huangji Gate, called the "Golden Platform". On the left and right side of the steps are the bands of the Bell and Drum Division. Between the pillars of the palace gate are "generals of the Han Dynasty", wearing full armor. To the left and right of the royal road and behind the civil and military officials are Each has a captain standing with a sword in hand.

The Bell and Drum Division played music, and the emperor arrived at the imperial gate. Guards in golden robes held five umbrella covers and four groups of fans, climbed up the Danqi from the east and west sides, and stood on the left and right behind the throne.

There are two people inside, one holding the umbrella cover and standing on the seat, the other holding the "weapons" and two fans, standing in the middle behind the seat.

Emperor Wanli soon sat on the throne, and the whip was blown again under the city tower. Honglu Temple "singed" and entered the class. The left and right civil and military classes marched into the imperial road together. At this time, the civil servants "went north to west" and the military attachés "went north to east." Perform a ritual of bowing and three kowtows.

The princes, consorts, and uncles formed their own group of honorable relatives, who lived in front of the military attache group and were slightly away from each other.

Today's procedures have already been informed, so after all the officials saluted, the young emperor Zhu Yijun waved his hand and asked the eunuch beside him to continue.

"When there is something going on, we will start, and when there is nothing going on, we will retreat."

The shrill voice of the eunuch standing next to the young emperor on the city tower echoed in the field.

In the Ming Dynasty's court meetings, officials did not come forward directly if they really had something to do. In fact, they would report to Honglu Temple as early as a day before, what matters they wanted to report, etc. Honglu Temple officials would order them according to the matters reported by the ministers. One by one, they went out to play in class.

However, the first thing that happened at every court meeting was that the officials of Honglu Temple went out to report to the emperor the officials who came to the capital to express gratitude and left the capital to resign.

These people also reported at Honglu Temple one day in advance. If the emperor wanted to summon him, they would go to the palace to see him first. If the emperor was not there, they would go to the courtyard or outside the Meridian Gate to perform five bows and three kowtows. After the ceremony, they would go there. That's it.

Now that the emperor is young, all matters large and small are left to the cabinet, so they just reported the number of people, and the Honglu Temple officials withdrew.

After that, Tan Lun, the Minister of War, started his memorial, which was actually about yesterday's prisoner presentation ceremony, asking for rewards for meritorious soldiers.

"I have read the report from the Ministry of War. It is the practice of the imperial court to reward meritorious deeds and punish responsibilities. Now that the rebel leader is being executed, it is natural that the meritorious soldiers should be rewarded."

The childish voice sounded on the Huangji Gate, "Declare the decree."

"The emperor was appointed by heaven to control the sun. He rebelled against the chief Gao and ensnared and killed our general Pei Chengzu and others. The governor Zhang Xueyan and the commander-in-chief Li Chengliang marched forward to take advantage of the victory. Li Chengliang was granted the title of governor-general of the right army and left governor of the governor-general, and was in charge of government affairs."

Before the eunuch announced the decree, Li Chengliang, who was among the military generals, had already left his duty and knelt down under the platform. He was very happy, but he was also curious about what reward the court would give him this time. Originally, according to regulations, the person who escorted Wang Gao to Beijing should be Zhang Xueyan, the governor of Liaodong, or Liu Tai, the censor of Liaodong governor, but the capital asked him to come to the capital by name, so Li Chengliang was very curious.

However, his happy face changed color instantly after hearing that he was asked to serve as the governor of the Right Army Governor's Mansion.

Although becoming Zuo Dudu was the highest military position in the Ming Dynasty, it was not a good thing for him to stay in the capital.

It's not that he has any rebellious intentions. At this time, rebelling in the Ming Dynasty is no different from eating arsenic for an old man. Very early on, because of the troubles of inheriting his position, Li Chengliang had already made up his mind to strive to leave a better life for the Li family. A few pages of the book are about conferring titles to the marquis and worshiping the prime minister.

Of course, because of the different paths of civil and military affairs, it is impossible to worship the prime minister now. Only in the previous dynasty, there was the saying of running the army with horses and governing the people with horses. What he wanted was nothing more than to be granted a title.

Only by becoming a member of the honorable family can we have a chance to maintain the prosperity of the Li family.

Yes, during the years when he took office in the capital, he saw the pomp of the noble families in the capital. Although their rights were weakened, they were still a force that could not be ignored in the court.

The emperor, in particular, still trusts his nobles and these nobles who live with the country.

Look at the command of the Beijing camp and the imperial palace. They are all held by nobles. Even though there are civilian and military officials, the power is still in the hands of nobles.

If you can't go to the border town, you won't be able to perform meritorious service. A general who can't perform meritorious service will have no chance to become a marquis.

To be ennobled, one must have military merit. Otherwise, even if he becomes the Governor of the Left today, what will happen to him later?

The edict was read out, but Li Chengliang was still kneeling there, and there was no movement.

The Honglu Temple official on the side carefully reminded him in his ear: "Captain Li, it's time to thank you."

After hearing this, Li Chengliang felt as if he had woken up from a dream, packed up the disappointment in his heart, and knelt down to Emperor Wanli on the top of the city to thank him for his kindness.

After returning to the queue of generals, he noticed that many people in the class in front of him were looking sideways at him.

After all, Li Chengliang serves as the left governor of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. Although there is not much to do in the Governor's Mansion now, he still occupies a position, which is still a very important position. This means that they have one less official position. Naturally, they will not It will make him look good.

There were many nobles who wanted to compete for this position at the beginning, but who would have thought that it would eventually fall into the hands of this general.

He is still a general with no backing in the capital.

The nobles looked at Li Chengliang with unkind eyes, and the military attachés behind Li Chengliang subconsciously moved away from him.

Before entering the palace, these people had called him brothers and had a very unpleasant chat with him.

In just a moment, the changes were huge.

It can be seen that the official position given to him by the court seemed to have stirred up a hornet's nest and was a big trouble.

It also made Li Chengliang more convinced that Xungui's influence in the military generals group in the DPRK was greater than he imagined.

Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde in front just looked at this side coldly, and no one said anything.

There is nothing much going on in today's court meeting. The announcement of a decree to reward Li Chengliang and a group of Liaodong generals is today's top priority.

After the edict was read out, there was naturally no need to continue, and the meeting soon dispersed.

The officials walked out in twos and threes, going back to their respective yamen.

Li Chengliang followed the military attaches and also walked out.

Although the will has been issued, he understands that it is difficult to change anything.

"Ugh."

With a deep sigh in his heart, Li Chengliang glanced around, trying to find Tan Lun, the Minister of War.

Now the imperial decree is for him to stay in Beijing and take charge of the Right Army Governor's Mansion, but before that he has to go to the Ministry of War to receive official uniforms and titles before he can take up the post. This is the rule.

Just when he saw Tan Lun's figure and was about to walk over, several chamberlains in front of him had already come this way. They stopped in front of Tan Lun, Wang Guoguang and Zhu Heng and whispered a few words.

Among the three, Zhu Heng and Tan Lun were walking together, talking and laughing, while Wang Guoguang was on the other side, talking to other officials.

After being summoned by the chamberlain, the three of them said goodbye to their colleagues around them, and then looked at Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and Lu Tiaoyang who were walking behind them.

The cabinet was summoned. Although they didn't know what was going on, they also knew that it must be a big deal.

The three ministers from the Ministry of Husbandry, Ministry of War and Ministry of Industry couldn't help but look at each other.

"Gentlemen, we have important matters to discuss today, so we should all go to the cabinet to discuss them."

Wei Guangde reached out and clasped his fists and said to the three of them.

The three of them immediately turned around and returned the salute, and then the six of them walked towards the cabinet together.

This made Li Chengliang, who had been waiting aside and planned to go up to say hello to Tan Lun, still depressed for a while.

Seeing that the surrounding officials had already left the Huangji Gate and exited the Meridian Gate, he had no choice but to follow them out quickly.

When he left the Meridian Gate, Li Chengliang noticed that something seemed wrong outside.

Because the officials who should have dispersed, many people were still gathering in groups outside the Meridian Gate, constantly glancing into the Meridian Gate.

Li Chengliang looked back in surprise and saw Tan Lun, Zhu Heng and Wang Guoguang who were supposed to go out of the Meridian Gate, following Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde, three cabinet ministers, towards the Huiji Gate in the east towards the cabinet.

It was Li Chengliang's first time to enter the Forbidden City, but he still had to deal with the officials and chamberlains sent by the Ministry of Rites and the inner court to teach etiquette, so the situation in the harem was unclear, but he still knew about it.

Obviously, Tan Lun was called to the cabinet to discuss important matters, while the officials outside the Meridian Gate were actually observing the six adults and judging the situation in the court.

Cabinet Minister.

Li Chengliang felt a headache just thinking about it. They were all superior adults, but he couldn't get in touch with them.

Thinking of this, Li Chengliang couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Qi Jiguang, who stayed in Liaodong, and got in touch with Wei Guangde, the deputy minister of the cabinet, through Tan Lun.

This time he was left in the capital, and Qi Jiguang, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, was afraid that he would be the one to take over Liaodong.

This is not just a matter of changes in official positions, but proof that he is not trusted by cabinet ministers.

The importance of Ji Town is the first among the nine sides. Li Chengliang couldn't help but feel shuddering when he thought about leaving such an important position to Liaodong.

Many of the things he did in Liaodong were not worthy of publicity.

In fact, what he fears most is that the court will move the tiger away from the mountain and liquidate him.

After leaving Chengtianmen with an anxious mood, Li Chengliang quickly reunited with his son Li Rusong.

"Dad, what reward did the imperial court give you? Why do you look so depressed?"

Li Chengliang's mood was completely reflected on his face, without any joy at being awarded the title.

Li Chengliang talked about the rewards from the court. When he heard that his father was staying in the capital to take charge of the Right Army Governor's Mansion, Li Rusong looked happy and said with a smile: "Dad, this is a good thing. We can finally leave the bitter cold place in Liaodong."

Li Chengliang just looked back at his son and said, "Without Liaodong, how can we make contributions, make marquises and become prime ministers? It's so confusing."

(End of this chapter)