nanming man

Chapter 368 Little Emperor Zhu Cihong
In June 1645, the first year of Jianzhang, Nanjing City.

Out of respect for Emperor Chongzhen, although the Nanjing Dynasty replaced Beijing as the center of the Ming Dynasty last year, it was not officially changed to Yuan until this year.

Now that Nanjing has become the capital of the Ming Dynasty, the Nanjing court can exercise the functions of the central government, but the entire Ming court still seems to be paralyzed, doing nothing.

The officials and gentry in the court were busy with party disputes, the cabinet did not have a clear goal and revival strategy, the local governors began to grow, and the generals no longer listened to the imperial court.

Last year, the taxes that should be paid by various localities began to be delayed. Guizhou and Huguang had to guard against the western thieves and Shun thieves. The imperial court was required to pay, even Guangdong and Guangxi used the excuse of guarding against Shadingzhou, and only sent 10% of the taxes, and Zheng Zhilong from Fujian was even more excessive. silver.

Faced with this situation, Chaozhong Maruan and Donglin are still fighting with each other, and they can't even decide on a tax law.

This series of problems bothered the young emperor, making the emperor very dissatisfied with the current situation.

At this time, Zhu Cihong, who was not as weak as the crown, was wearing a dragon robe and a winged crown on top. He lived behind the imperial case, and looked at the memorials before the jade case with a somewhat complicated expression.

At this time, Wang Yan, who was wearing a blue official robe, came to the imperial study in a hurry, and asked in a low voice, "Has your majesty arrived at the imperial study?"

At this time, the court had already dispersed, and all the officials had returned to work in the yamen. Wang Yan was reminded by the servant, so he stayed to meet the emperor.

It has been more than a year since Zhu Cihong ascended the throne, but with Gao Mingheng being expelled from Nanjing and officials from the north being rejected, the political power in the court was completely controlled by the Jiangbei and Jiangnan forces, and although he was the emperor, he did not have much power. Like a marionette.

Zhu Cihong bears the hatred of the country and the family, and is eager to restore the country of his ancestors, wipe out the thieves, and avenge Chongzhen, so naturally he will not be satisfied with the current status quo.

After Gao Mingheng was forced to leave, Zhu Cihong intentionally cultivated his own team, and even recruited some outliers like Chen Zilong to help him make suggestions, but the person he trusted the most was Gao Mingheng who left him to escort him to the south Wang Yan.

A young eunuch outside the door knew that Wang Yan was the emperor's favored minister, and while reaching out to invite him in, he said with a smile: "Your Majesty has already ordered that once the king's affairs arrive, you don't need to report, you can go in directly."

Wang Yan walked into the imperial study room slowly, and saw the emperor Zhu Cihong sitting behind the imperial book table and meditating, he did not disturb, but stood aside first.

After waiting for a while, the young Zhu Cihong looked up and saw Wang Yan, so he hurriedly said: "The Qing family is finally here!"

"My minister sees Your Majesty!" Wang Yan immediately stepped forward to salute.

"Officer, give Wang Qing a seat!" Zhu Cihong ordered, and then looked at Wang Yan, "Does the Qing family know why I invited you here?"

Wang Yan thanked him first, then made a bow and said, "I think it must be because of what the Ministry of War played in the early court, He Duxian recruited Gao Yihuan, a giant bandit in southern Henan!"

Zhu Cihong nodded, "Exactly this matter! Half of the ministers in the DPRK oppose this matter, and the rest are noncommittal. What do you think of the Qing family?"

Early this morning, He Tengjiao, governor of Huguang, played a performance to appease Gao Yihuan, a giant bandit in Henan.

He also said that Jingzhou, Xiangyang, Yunyang, Nanyang, Runing, Guide and other places all played bright flags, restored thousands of miles of land for the imperial court, and recruited more than [-] elite soldiers. Lin party members strongly opposed, impeached He Tengjiao to make peace with Kou privately, demanded that He Tengjiao be dismissed, and Liu Zongzhou, a party member, supervised Huguang.

Wang Yan didn't answer immediately after hearing this, but looked around the study. Zhu Cihong understood, and immediately waved his hands, "You all step back."

After the servant left, Wang Yan cupped his hands and asked, "Your Majesty, I want to know what kind of attitude your Majesty has towards Gao Yihuan?"

Zhu Cihong's young face was full of doubts, and then he showed a tangled look. He was silent for a while, and said: "The trespasser killed my father and ruined my ancestor's foundation. Naturally, I hate the trespasser to the bone. This Gao Yihuan I don't like it, but he has been begging for comfort since last year, and he also stated that his father and son were kidnapped by thieves and never participated in the burglar's attack on Beijing. It is understandable. I originally thought that I could spare him However, this time he sent troops to the south again, which made me a little undecided."

After hearing this, Wang Yan nodded slightly, understanding Zhu Cihong's attitude.

He pondered for a while, sorted out his thoughts, and then said: "Your Majesty, I think Gao Yihuan's generation is by no means pure and good, but since this person has surrendered, His Majesty should appease him and take this opportunity to break the pattern in the court. Your Majesty, now The top priority now is to bring down the Donglin Party members and pass the new tax law proposed by the Gaoge Ministry. If the tax law is not passed, the imperial court will have no money and food, and His Majesty will be unable to do anything."

These words hit Zhu Cihong's sore point. He was anxious about state affairs for a year after the founding of the country, but nothing was accomplished in Nanjing, which made him very dissatisfied.

"Wang Qing, keep talking!" Zhu Cihong's eyes flashed a stern look, "How can you use this matter to break the court-centered situation?"

Wang Yan made a bow and said: "Your Majesty, Nanjing is located in the south of the Yangtze River, and the power of the officials and gentry in the southeast here is too strong. If your Majesty wants to control the power of the court, he must first remove them. Although the power of the Ma Ge Department is available, it has a bad reputation. Good, but you can't suppress Dong Lin. If His Majesty introduces He Duxian into the cabinet, he can change the political situation in the court. And with the help of He Duxian, pass the new tax law to enrich the treasury. With money and grain, Your Majesty can Build and train an army loyal to His Majesty, and only with an army can the officials and gentry in the southeast be restrained and the feudal towns suppressed. Only when Your Majesty can control Nanjing and have the support of the army can he truly control the government!"

Speaking of this, Wang Yan said with a smile: "At this time, Donglin opposes the surrender, so His Majesty should support the surrender and recognize He Duxian's achievements. Besides, if he refuses to recruit now, Huguang will immediately be in chaos, and the imperial court has no money and food to suppress the rebellion. Why? How about refusing to recruit?"

After hearing this, Zhu Cihong nodded slightly and became thoughtful.

At the moment, Wang Yan was in the study, conspiring with Zhu Cihong for a long time, and only came out of the study at noon.

It was already June, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter. Outside the imperial study was the imperial garden. There was a lotus pond of tens of mu, surrounded by rockery, strange stones, and corridors.

The breeze blew, the lotus leaves in the pond swayed, and the lotus fragrance filled the garden, which made Wang Yan feel very refreshed.

At this time, he was walking on the path shaded by willow trees, and suddenly saw a 15-year-old girl sitting on the side of the pavilion in a long pavilion, looking down and seeing various fish swimming leisurely among the lotus leaves, but her back was full It's a godsend.

"Wang Shizhong, what are you looking at? This way!" The eunuch who led the way couldn't help urging when he saw Wang Yan standing still suddenly.

(End of this chapter)