A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 511
After the great battle on August 14, [-]th year of Chongzhen, the front line of Songshan was in an eerie calm. Both the Ming and Qing Dynasties were planning for the next war.

In the third day, the memorials of Hong Chengchou, Wang Chengen, Zhang Ruoqi and others were urgently sent to the capital at [-] li.Of course, this is just a claim, in fact, it is still moving forward at the limit speed of [-] miles a day and night reported by Mingtang.

There are no large groups of bandits in the Northland, and the couriers in various places are relatively complete. In addition, these good news were sent by the supervisors and supervising troops on the front line of Songshan. Arrived in the capital on the [-]st.

On the day when the good news arrived, the entire capital was in a sensation. The news of the great victory of the Ming army in Huangtuling, beheading more than [-] ranks in the first battle, and killing the enemy Chief Azig in the first battle, spread all over the capital and all over the capital.

The capital was boiling, and those who announced the victory were also treated beyond the standard. On August [-]th, during the early court specially held by Emperor Chongzhen, all the members were led to the imperial court as officials from Honglu Temple, and they read the victory one by one.

At that time, all the officials wore auspicious clothes. After waiting for the victory, the officials of the Honghe Temple gave a speech, and all the officials performed five prostrations and three kowtows. Make sacrifices and celebrations.

All over the capital, firecrackers and thunder blared day after day. The gentry and the common people celebrated for many days. The name of Wang Dou and the prestige of the Jingbian army rang out again.

The news spread to the East Road, hearing that Uncle Zhongyong led another great victory, the soldiers and civilians on the East Road were full of excitement.

The Battle of Jinzhou, Emperor Chongzhen was always on his mind, and he was often worried. After the news of the great victory on the front line came, his face was immediately rejoiced, and his sacred heart comforted him, as if he had taken a reassurance and calmed down.

In the past few days, he had been smiling and in a good mood. After the morning court on the seventh day, he specially summoned the cabinet ministers Zhang Sizhi, Li Rixuan, Chen Xinjia, and Li Daiwen to the Wenhua Hall to order the frontline officials to award rewards.

At this time, Fan Fucui, the chief assistant of the cabinet, was finally approved by Emperor Chongzhen, and he was able to retire and return home. Zhang Sizhi, the Minister of Rites, was appointed as the first assistant minister.

Zhang Sizhi used to be the emperor's teacher, so he was always respected and trusted by Emperor Chongzhen, and because of his ugly appearance (he had ulcers on his face), he was attacked by officials.

However, after Emperor Chongzhen came to the throne, he became more and more disgusted with the officials, and the more he impeached the officials, the more he used them, so Zhang Sizhi's official fortune has always been good.From Guozijian Jijiu, right minister of the Ministry of Rites, to Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, and later worshiped as a bachelor of Wuyingdian, added Prince Taibao, and now reached the pinnacle, worshiped as the first assistant of the cabinet.

Just how prominent is the position of chief assistant?It would be fine for Zhang Sizhi to be his Minister of Rites with peace of mind, but Chen Xinjia had been spying on the position of Chief Assistant, so how could Zhang Sizhi be allowed to sit there?

In addition, Zhang Sizhi is mediocre and has no outstanding political achievements. Even the cabinet ministers Li Rixuan and Li Daiwen are dissatisfied with him. .

Moreover, an incident happened not long ago. Zhang Sizhi's hometown Fei County was robbed by bandits. Zhang Sizhi had just taken the position of chief assistant in the cabinet. , Wang Pu, Dianshi, Sun Zhenzuo, the trainer, and Hu Jing, the general manager of Yizhou Hundred Households, and others, put them in prison.

This is a stab at a hornet's nest. In this era of Ming Dynasty, it is important to help relatives and not to help relatives. It is reasonable for relatives to commit crimes and family members to conceal them.Regardless of whether the people in your hometown are right or wrong, it is right for you to help others, and it is a big mistake for you not to help relatives.

A native of Fei County who grew up drinking Fei County water, treated his parents, officials and fellow elders like this, it is really killing a thousand swords.So there was a lot of discussion in the local area, and even a student surnamed Sun from Fei County scolded Zhang Sizhi with extremely ugly words, which in Fei County dialect was "the girl's daughter".

However, Zhang Sizhi's approach did not arouse any favor in the official circles of the Ming Dynasty, or even collective rejection.In this era, fellow countrymen and the same year are extremely important, just look at Fan Jinzhongju.

When you become an old man, if you don't have any support from the people in your hometown, you don't talk about it, and even play tricks behind your back, so what's the use of you being an official?The ostracized Fei County clansmen even exterminated their relatives righteously. Zhang Sizhi’s younger brother Zhang Siwei sued Zhang Sizhi for not being fraternal, saying that he got himself drunk one day and defrauded his brother’s property. , but also deceive the king and the country.

After the news came out, the officials clamored, and some people even dug up the old accounts of Wanli, and impeached Zhang Sizhi for being useless in teaching his son.Because Zhang Sizhi has been an official in Beijing for a long time, neglected his family education, and his son was not doing his job properly, and was arrested and killed by a county magistrate surnamed Yao during the Wanli period. Can such a person with historical stains be ranked as the chief assistant?

After this person was impeached, the papers of Zhang Sizhi's impeachment by the officials were folded as high as one person, and Zhang Sizhi's life story was also carefully observed under a magnifying glass. Zhang Sizhi was so devastated that he had no energy to deal with political affairs, which aroused Emperor Chongzhen's dissatisfaction.

However, Zhang Sizhi was quite obsessed with officialdom. Historically, after the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, he was only given a small position in the Jining Taoist army, and he hurriedly took up the post.How prominent is the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty, and how many people have followed suit, just for this position, how could Zhang Sizhi give up?
Like a rock in the wind and rain, no matter how impeached by the officials, he just resigned without taking the blame and stood firm.

At this time, he even led a group of cabinet ministers to kowtow to Emperor Chongzhen.

Just like the memorials received by Yang Sichang and others that day, Emperor Chongzhen never tired of watching the memorials sent by the Songshan front, especially Wang Chengen's memorials-among the memorials of Hong Chengchou, Zhang Ruoqi, and Wang Chengen, the memorials of Wang Chengen made Emperor Chongzhen even more trust.

Living up to Emperor Chongzhen's trust, his memorials are basically attached to the facts, and the cause and effect are all explained one by one in a compromise.Of course, there is also a little spring and autumn style of writing, just a few words for Zhang Ruoqi.After receiving a lot of benefits, Wang Chengen will not understand the principle of people carrying people in flowery sedan chairs.

When Zhang Sizhi and others entered the cabinet, Emperor Chongzhen was commenting on Zhang Ruoqi's memorial. , Captured the barbarians, killed many thieves, beheaded the slave chieftain Azig, and won a complete victory." Emperor Chongzhen has read the memorial five times, which is only twice less than Wang Chengen's memorial.

While watching, he also commented and circled the key words a few times.

After the cabinet ministers entered the palace, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and asked the eunuch on duty to move a bench for them, and said in the memorial, "...there are more than 20 thieves and slaves, and the cavalry are attacking from all directions. Vibration, officers and soldiers bombarded with tens of thousands of cannons, the slave chief Azig was turned into powder on the spot... For almost [-] years, there has been no such captive outside the pass. And if you can't do your best, you can't do anything..." Several circles were drawn on the memorial.

Then let the eunuch on duty pass the memorial to Chen Xinjia, and said to him with a smile: "Although Zhang Ruoqi is a scholar, he dared to fight with Uncle Zhongyong during the war, and he personally beat the drums to cheer for the army. Young head. It seems that Chen Qing's military department still has talents, and although this Ruoqi has no strength, he is quite courageous."

Zhang Sizhi and the others looked at Chen Xinjia with different eyes. Chen Xinjia was so happy that he quickly got up and kowtowed: "This is all thanks to the power of the Holy God and the great blessing of our ancestors. The frontline soldiers can achieve great victories. As the emperor said, although Zhang Ruoqi is a scholar, he also knows loyalty. For the country, lead by example!"

Emperor Chongzhen nodded with satisfaction: "I have never ceased to worry about the battle in Jinzhou. The officers and soldiers were able to win the first battle, and even beheaded a member of the chieftain. It seems that there is a lot to be done about Songjin."

Zhang Sizhi said with a smile on his face: "Your Majesty is holy. In the third, seventh and ninth years of Chongzhen, the bandit chieftain Azig broke into the border, killing and injuring many soldiers and civilians, and all the soldiers and civilians hated them. Now the bandit chieftain Death should comfort the souls of those who died in the past!"

Emperor Chongzhen nodded even more, and Chen Xinjia looked at Zhang Sizhi calmly. He should have said this by himself, but Zhang Sizhi snatched it away. It is really hateful.But this person is also a grasshopper after autumn, and he has jumped his head in a few days, so let him be proud first.

Emperor Chongzhen stood up and paced back and forth, sighing: "It's a pity that the corpse of the bandit chieftain could not be recovered."

Chen Xinjia immediately took the lead and said: "Governor of Jiliao Hong Chengchou, military supervisor Wang Cheng'en and Zhang Ruoqi all clearly affirmed this matter, and tens of thousands of frontline soldiers witnessed it, so there must be no mistake!"

Li Rixuan, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, looked serious: "That being said, if there is no corpse of the bandit chieftain, one cannot judge meritorious service. In the battle of Ningyuan, it was also reported that the slave chieftain Nurhachi was killed by gunfire. As a result, the slave chieftain died in recent years. If Azige's incident It's the same, wouldn't it be ridiculous and detrimental to my prestige tomorrow?"

Chen Xinjia said angrily: "One size counts for one size, how can this matter be compared with the matter of Ning Yuan?"

Li Rixuan said indifferently: "The state owns the state law, and the family has family rules. If you don't get the corpse of the bandit chief, you can't judge meritorious service!"

Li Dai, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, asked: "The minister is attached to the old man Li Ge."

Zhang Sizhi's eyes flickered, and he said: "This matter really needs to be cautious. You must know that the battle of Jinzhou, all the vassals and ministers are paying attention. It is better to delay it than rush it, so as not to make people laugh at home and abroad!"

Chen Xinjia was even more annoyed, and shouted: "If you don't reward those who have meritorious service, won't it chill the hearts of the loyal soldiers in front?"

At the same time, he was vigilant, looking at the situation in the hall, Li Rixuan and the others showed signs of uniting with Zhang Sizhi.

Although Zhang Sizhi, the chief assistant of the new cabinet, is a tacit understanding between himself and Li Rixuan and others, but now he is in the limelight, especially in the case of successive victories ahead, it is not ruled out that Li Rixuan and others squeeze him first, and then deal with Zhang Sizhi Condition.

Li Rixuan, who has always been known for direct invitations, is strict and clear on the surface, but in fact he is forming a party for private interests. He keeps saying that he is strict with the laws of the country, but in private, isn't he attacking the authority of the Ministry of War?

Zhang Sizhi is even a veteran in the officialdom. Now that the chief assistant of the cabinet is not stable, don't you know how to use his strength to fight?

But Li Daiwen is conservative and passive, and anyone or anything that costs money is the object of his opposition.Moreover, his stance was vacillating, either opposing or sympathizing with him. A few days ago, he was close to him, but in the past few days, he did not know what benefit Li Rixuan and others had gained, so he turned to them again.

"We will discuss this matter later."

Emperor Chongzhen was a little annoyed, these ministers only knew about disputes, they didn't know how to share my worries at all.At the same time, he was somewhat dissatisfied with Zhang Sizhi. He had done nothing and had no authority as the chief assistant since he took office.

"It's better to be Yang Qing."

Emperor Chongzhen sighed inwardly.

He said: "Let's discuss the matter of Bai Guang'en first. If a general dies in battle, he must take care of it first, so that he can provide compensation. Don't waste words on responsibility, so as not to disappoint the soldiers."

Zhang Si knew: "Your Majesty is wise, Bai Guangen died on the spot, and bravely followed the country. The meaning of the cabinet is to imitate the example of Jin Guofeng and He Huchen, posthumously granting him the title of Special Advancement Ronglu Doctor, Zuo Dudu, offering sacrifices and burials, and making people build shrines. Add the crown prince and Shaobao, and Shiyin will be the commander!"

Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said, "I will bestow the first grade on him for the three previous generations. When his clothes and coffins are transported back, the officials along the road can pay homage to them. I want all the people in the world to know that I will not forget those who died for the country."

All the ministers in the hall sang: "The emperor is holy."

(End of this chapter)