Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 243: Brewing a Grand Plan
"Mu Weng (Du Yinxi) was loyal to his country, courageous in his duties, and devoted himself to his work until his death. The court must follow the law to uphold justice and inspire future generations."

Du Yinxi was an important minister, but he had many political enemies. It would be inappropriate to make the relief too heavy or too light. The relief was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites. Zhu Tianlin, the Minister of Rites, was a senior official of the Dongge. He was in the cabinet to assist in the administration. He knew that this was a serious matter and discussed it with the ministers of the cabinet. As for how to make the relief, the cabinet had already discussed it, and Wen Anzhi was also aware of it.

"The shepherd's last will has been delivered to the court. His words are sincere and make people cry after reading them. He should be given generous pensions after his death. Zhuoru is a leader in the town, what suggestions do you have?" Wen Anzhi said these two words lightly and passed the buck to Cen Danchu.

Danchu was not polite either, saying, "Although Mu Weng's official title was not as high as that of the King of Zhongxiang during his lifetime, his contributions were not inferior to those of the King of Zhongxiang. In terms of risking one's life, taking the overall situation into consideration, enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens, Mu Weng was superior to the King of Zhongxiang. When he is given a posthumous pension, he should at least follow the example of the King of Zhongxiang and be generous."

During his lifetime, He Tengjiao was promoted to Grand Tutor, granted the title of Marquis of Dingxing, and served as a military supervisor, the highest position among officials. After his death, the court stopped attending court for seven days, bestowed upon He Tengjiao the title of Grand Secretary of Zhongji Hall, posthumously granted him the title of King of Zhongxiang, and posthumously named him Wenlie.

During his lifetime, Du Yinxi was only Guanghuabo, the governor of military affairs, and the prince's guardian, and his official title was lower than He Tengjiao. Naturally, his funeral rites after his death were different from those of He Tengjiao.

The four ministers of the cabinet, including Zhu Tianlin, were hostile to the peasant army and disagreed with Du Yinxi's political views. Wang Huacheng advocated an alliance with the invaders to pacify the barbarians, and was considered Du Yinxi's support, but he was talented but not virtuous, had a low reputation, and his words did not carry enough weight.

Therefore, the relief agreed upon by the cabinet was not grand, and it was proposed to give Du Yinxi the titles of Shangzhuguo, Taifu, Zhongjidian University Scholar, and Liuguogong. The most important thing was the posthumous title, which was the court's final verdict on Du Yinxi, and the cabinet had the most intense debate. After some debate, it was finally proposed to posthumously name Du Yinxi "Zhongsu".

According to Cen Danchu, it would be difficult for Du Yinxi to match He Tengjiao's pension policy.

Wen Anzhi felt very embarrassed, but he remained calm. He pondered for a moment and said, "Zhuoru, please explain in detail."

This old man is really impeccable. Danchu held his temper and said, "He should be given the title of Grand Master, Grand Secretary of Zhongji Hall, and the title of King of Two Characters, and the posthumous title should be 'Wen Zhong'."

When Wen Anzhi heard the word "Wen Zhong", his expression changed. Wen Zhong, this is the posthumous title that all civil officials dream of.

According to the Ming system, the highest posthumous title for civil officials was "Wenzheng", followed by "Wenzhen", then "Wencheng", and then "Wenzhong".

From the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Chongzhen period, there were two ministers who were posthumously named Wenzheng (Li Dongyang and Xie Qian), three who were posthumously named Wenzhen (Yang Shiqi, Xu Jie, and Qian Xiangkun), two who were posthumously named Wencheng (Liu Ji and Wang Shouren), and slightly more who were posthumously named Wenzhong, but no more than seven.

In the eyes of the court officials, He Tengjiao had made outstanding contributions, supported the battle situation in Huguang, and died a heroic death. After his death, he was only posthumously named Wenlie. The cabinet proposed to posthumously name Du Yinxi "Zhongsu", which is far worse than "Wenzhong".

Danchu requested the posthumous title of Wen Zhong for Du Yinxi, which was higher than He Tengjiao. This was tantamount to a slap in the face of the court and criticized the court for its poor selection of personnel and its consequent failure to make overall decisions.

Wen Anzhi said: "Prince Zhongxiang was a military commander during his lifetime, a high position among officials, but his posthumous title was only Wenlie. Mu Weng was recommended by Prince Zhongxiang, so he was also from Prince Zhongxiang's family. If he was posthumously named Wenzhong, he would be above Prince Zhongxiang, which is not in line with the court system."

"No, as the ancients said, a posthumous name, though small, affects the fate of the world." Danchu refused to give in and refuted, "When Mu was alive, he was loyal and brave, and he took the overall situation into consideration, far surpassing the King of Zhongxiang. When he died of illness, the entire army of the Loyalty Camp wore mourning, and the officers and soldiers burst into tears. If he is not given the posthumous name Wen Zhong, it will be difficult to reassure the people of the world."

Hearing the words "loyal camp", Wen Anzhi was shocked. He was from Jiangxia, Huguang, close to Kuidong. Some Dashun troops refused to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and gathered in the Kuidong area. They were very powerful and the Qing army was helpless. Most of these peasant troops were elite soldiers who had fought many battles and were much stronger than the official army of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

Du Yinxi had helped the Zhongzheng Battalion, which was stationed in Liuzhou and should not be underestimated. It seemed worthwhile to posthumously name Du Yinxi Wenzhong in order to establish a good relationship with the Red Army and the Zhongzheng Battalion. The Red Army was strong and Cen Danchu had become the biggest military leader in Guangxi. The court had to listen to his opinions.

Wen Anzhi had made up his mind and said, "Zhuoru is right. Mu Weng was posthumously named Wen Zhong, which is well deserved and also shows the emperor's wisdom."

He changed the subject and said, "However, when Mu was alive, his official title was lower than that of the King of Zhongxiang. If the relief is too heavy, it would be inappropriate and easy to attract criticism. We have to choose one lower than the King of Zhongxiang to show humility. Why not posthumously confer the title of Duke?"

It seemed to make sense. Danchu had achieved his goal on the most crucial posthumous title, so he should give in a little. He said, "The old gentleman is right. Then let's posthumously confer the title of Duke of Mu Weng. The rest remains unchanged."

The two men quickly reached an agreement on the issue of pardoning the "Five Tigers". This was because Wen Anzhi had not been in the court for long and had not had many conflicts with the "Five Tigers". Among them, Jin Bao and Ding Shikui were from Qu Shisi's school, so Wen Anzhi was happy to rescue them and do Qu Shisi a favor.

Danchu said: "The current situation is chaotic, and the officials should work together to overcome the difficulties. They should not start a large-scale prison without authorization and disrupt their own situation."

Wen Anzhi replied, "Most of the 'Five Tigers' are censors. Although they have been rebellious, they are concerned about the king's affairs after all, so it is not a capital crime. The Prime Minister also does not agree with 'hunting tigers' and has already submitted a petition for help. I think Yuan Pengnian has been dismissed from his post and there is no need to worry about him. The other four have been caned and can be dismissed from their posts to avoid causing trouble in the court."

"Well, very good." Danchu replied.

The major plans of the court were often brewed in private, rather than decided in the court. Danchu and Wen Anzhi reached a tacit understanding and were confident about the major plans of the court.

"Duke Qing has sinister intentions. Jinbao's impeachment of him as 'ten punishable by death' is not an exaggeration. As long as he is in Wuzhou, the imperial court is in danger. I have made sufficient preparations for my trip to the east to aid Guangdong. I am only worried about the safety of the emperor and Duke Qing's decision to cut off my retreat."

The ministers had to try their best to mediate the dispute between the nobles and the generals. Wen Anzhi said cautiously: "The emperor has ordered Zhuoru, Yunguogong, and Qingguogong to go east to aid Guangdong. The Red Army and the Loyalty Camp have already sent troops, and Qingguogong cannot be intimidated by the enemy and stand back."

"The old gentleman is right. The overall situation is corrupt, and I also want to work together with Duke Qing. If fighting with words works, there is no need for fighting with force."

A fight of words? A fight of arms? Wen Anzhi got a headache just by hearing this, and said quickly: "Zhuoru, this is an important place. The Tartars have invaded, the court is fighting tigers, and the officials are in a panic. We must always focus on peace and not start a war without authorization."

"I know, I know." Danchu said, "Duke Qing has already sent a letter to ask for peace, but he did not mention anything about aiding Guangdong. When Liu Guochang arrives, I will join forces with him and force Chen Bangfu to cooperate with us to go east. By then, the emperor will urge him strictly and the ministers will persuade him kindly, and Chen Bangfu will not dare to disobey."

Being able to drive Chen Bangfu away would be a good thing for the court, and Wen Anzhi was happy to see it happen.

Danchu said again: "I think that the imperial court should not be stationed in the military garrisons in such an important place. Chen Bangfu is leading troops to aid Guangdong, so he should not stay in Wuzhou. The Red Army and the Loyalty Camp should not be stationed in Wuzhou either. The imperial camp should be stationed exclusively in the imperial court to prevent the military garrisons from interfering with the government."

Wen Anzhi looked serious and said, "Zhuoru is a man of foresight. I will work with him on this matter."

(End of this chapter)