On the third day after Li Hongyu arrived in the capital, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict to promote Li Hongyu, who had made meritorious contributions to the recovery of Guanxi and captured Turpan to open up territory for the Ming Dynasty, as the Taifu, which made Li Hongyu's career reach a new peak.

The officials of the officialdom are talking about this, Li Hongyu is still young now, and according to this promotion speed, then he will become a Taishi just around the corner.

Shortly after Li Hongyu was promoted to Taifu, Yuan Chonghuan's case was sentenced, and after several months of interrogation, he was unanimously convicted after a trial by the Criminal Department, Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen then issued an edict of punishment: "The edict is that Yuan Chonghuan's entrustment is ineffective, he is deceitful and hidden, he steals money with city rice, and beheads the commander with money, and the enemy is driven for a long time, and the troops are not fighting, and the reinforcements are set four times, and they are dismissed, and the soldiers are thin under the city, and they sneak into the city with lamas, and insist on entering the city, all kinds of evils."

The official of the Ministry of Punishment and Punishment announced that according to the law, the family members of the family should be beheaded for more than 16 years, and the family members under the age of 15 would be enslaved. Now his wife and concubines, children and brothers of the same birth are 2,000 miles away, and the rest are relieved. ”

Li Hongyu couldn't help but sigh secretly after learning about Emperor Chongzhen's edict, the so-called "Confession" refers to Ling Chi's execution, which is commonly known as "a thousand cuts".

From this point of view, Emperor Chongzhen hated Yuan Chonghuan very much, not only killing and killing his family, but also cutting him with a thousand knives.

In fact, from the edict of Yuan Chonghuan's execution, it can be found that there is a big gap between Emperor Chongzhen and Emperor Tianqi, this edict obviously has a sense of anger in it, and Emperor Tianqi will definitely not do this, he will be more stable than Emperor Chongzhen, and his means are more relaxed.

That night, a restaurant in the capital.

"Brother Sun, we haven't seen each other for several years." In a private room, Li Hongyu poured a glass of wine for Sun Chengzong, who was sitting opposite, and said with a smile.

Originally, Sun Chengzong was disheartened after being dismissed as the Jiliao Governor by the Emperor of the Apocalypse, and the struggle between the "Eunuch Party" and the Donglin Party became increasingly fierce at that time, so he returned to his hometown and returned to his hometown Gaoyang to retire.

When Huang Taiji led his troops to attack last year, the panicked Emperor Chongzhen thought of Sun Chengzong of Gaoyang and decided to use this veteran of the court to defend against the Houjin.

Although Emperor Chongzhen's decision was opposed by the then King Shangshu of the Ministry of War in Jin, the two took over the grudge when they served in Liaodong.

However, Emperor Chongzhen finally decided to use Sun Chengzong, appointed Sun Chengzong as a scholar of the Zhongji Temple, hung the title of secretary of the military department, and stationed in Tongzhou to supervise the military affairs of Gyeonggi.

Sun Chengzong did not disappoint Emperor Chongzhen, and the defensive strategy proposed after entering Beijing won the heart of Emperor Chongzhen, so Emperor Chongzhen left Sun Chengzong in the capital and let him supervise the military affairs inside and outside the capital.

In the battle against the Houjin, Sun Chengzong made great achievements, so he was able to appear again and was left in the capital by Emperor Chongzhen.

When Li Hongyu returned to Beijing, Sun Chengzong inspected military affairs in other places and did not come back until yesterday, so Li Hongyu set up a banquet for Sun Chengzong today to wash away the wind and dust, and at the same time to reminisce about the past.

"We haven't seen each other since I returned to my hometown, and it's been several years, as if it happened yesterday." Sun Chengzong smiled when he heard this, picked up the wine glass and touched it with Li Hongyu, and then the two drank it all.

Although Li Hongyu is now a prince, he is still very respectful to Sun Chengzong, after all, Sun Chengzong is almost old, not to mention that he has taken care of him quite a lot before.

"Yuan Chonghuan is really a pity, it's really disappointing!"

In the staggering, Sun Chengzong couldn't help but think of Yuan Chonghuan, couldn't help sighing, and put down the wine glass in his hand, "He was so careless, he actually fell for Huang Taiji's tricks, which is really embarrassing." ”

Yuan Chonghuan not only worked with Sun Chengzong in Liaodong, but also had a master-apprentice friendship between the two, and he was still very optimistic about Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chengzong, and handed him the heavy responsibility of guarding the Guanjin defense line against Houjin.

It's a pity that Yuan Chonghuan disappointed Sun Chengzong, first killed Mao Wenlong and self-destructed the Great Wall guarding Liaodong, and later failed to prevent Houjin from going south, so that he ended up with a thousand cuts.

"The element is confused for a while, and he also wants to pacify Jiannu as soon as possible, so he will be fooled."

Now that Yuan Chonghuan's crime has been decided, he will be beheaded after the autumn, so Li Hongyu can't say anything too much, and said with regret after smiling bitterly.

"He was confused, but he wiped out the Dongjiang Army, making Jiannu no longer have any scruples, it's really damned!" Sun Chengzong couldn't help but sneer when he heard this, and couldn't help but slam his fist on the table, he was the Jiliao Governor and naturally knew the importance of the Dongjiang Army.

After Mao Wenlong's death, the 28,000 people of the Dongjiang Army were divided into four associations by Yuan Chonghuan, with Mao Wenlong's son Mao Chengzuo, deputy general Chen Jisheng, general Xu Fuzuo, and guerrilla Liu Xingzuo as commanders.

Mao Chengzuo was only seventeen years old, where could he lead the army to fight, and Liu Xingzuo was the Han army who defected back from Houjin, and he was somehow trusted by Yuan Chonghuan and became Yuan Chonghuan's cronies who forcibly inserted him into the Dongjiang Army.

In this way, the actual ruler of the Dongjiang Army is Mao Wenlong's son-in-law Chen Jisheng, but he can't control Liu Xingzuo, nor can he mobilize those people under Mao Chengzuo, and the Dongjiang Army has actually fallen into a split situation.

What is particularly important is that Liu Xingzuo later killed many officials and generals of the Dongjiang Army such as Chen Jisheng and Qincha and defected to Houjin, which made the Dongjiang Army completely lose the ability to contain Houjin, and then Huang Taiji later entered the customs to besiege the capital.

In other words, Huang Taiji only dared to go deep into the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty after losing the threat of the Dongjiang Army, and Yuan Chonghuan's killing of Mao Wenlong was naturally entangled by Sun Chengzong.

"Brother Sun, let's only drink today, not discuss matters." Li Hongyu knew that Sun Chengzong was worried that Houjin would take advantage of the situation, so he poured him a glass of wine with a smile and said.

"Alas!" Sun Chengzong sighed, picked up his wine glass and talked and laughed with Li Hongyu, avoiding the heavier topic of Yuan Chonghuan.

"Mrs. Li, Scholar Sun."

Just when Li Hongyu and Sun Chengzong were talking and laughing, the door of the private room was pushed open, and a middle-aged man with a wine glass walked in with a smile, "Xia Guan heard that the two adults are here, so he came to check, it seems that the rumors are true." ”

"Xiaguan salutes the two adults with a glass." As he spoke, the middle-aged man smiled and raised the wine glass in his hand to Li Hongyu and Sun Chengzong.

"Brother Changqing, you are a rare guest, when did you come to the capital?" Li Hongyu couldn't help but laugh when he looked at the middle-aged man, and got up to greet Sun Chengzong.

This middle-aged man is Wen Tiren, Zhan Shifu Zhan Shi, and the title of the right attendant of the Ministry of Rites.

When Li Hongyu came to Beijing, Wen Tiren went to Nanjing on a business trip, and only arrived in the capital today, and after meeting Emperor Chongzhen, he feasted in the restaurant, but he didn't expect to meet Li Hongyu and Sun Chengzong, so he came to toast and say hello

Because Wen Tiren had served in the An Zhan Mansion for many years, he was an out-and-out colleague with Li Hongyu and Sun Chengzong, and the relationship with the two was also quite good.

"Two adults, it is possible that the lower officials will be appointed by the emperor to enter the cabinet this time, and I hope that the two adults will take care of them in the future." After sitting down at the wine table and chatting for a while, Wen Tiren, who was talking and laughing, suddenly changed his words, and said to Li Hongyu and Sun Chengzong with a smile.

"Congratulations to Lord Wen."

Li Hongyu was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then smiled and said to Wen Tiren, Wen Tiren had previously held official positions with no power, and this time being able to enter the cabinet was a huge progress in his career.

At the same time, Li Hongyu's heart was keenly aware that the sky of the imperial court seemed to be changing, and it seemed that a major change was about to take place in the officialdom of the capital.

When Li Hongyu returned to the mansion, it was already dark at night, but Qin Yue had not rested, waiting for him in the hall in the backyard, carefully waiting for him to wash his feet and clothes.

"Yue'er, the people of Donglin will be unlucky in the future, and the emperor seems to be quite disappointed in them." After going to bed, Li Hongyu couldn't fall asleep after tossing and turning, and hugged Qin Yue and said.

"Xianggong, hasn't the emperor always trusted them?"

Qin Yue immediately showed a surprised look on her face when she heard this, in her impression, Emperor Chongzhen had always trusted the officials of the Donglin Party very much after ascending the throne, making the officials of the Donglin Party have an absolute advantage in the cabinet and the six ministries.

"Jiannu continues to sit large, the imperial court taxes are reduced, and there are continuous rebellions in various places, since the people of Donglin are in power, then these responsibilities will naturally be borne by them."

Li Hongyu smiled bitterly when he heard this, "I met Wen Tiren tonight, and the emperor seems to want to appoint him into the cabinet." ”

"Lord Wen has never been on good terms with the officials of the Donglin family!"

Qin Yue immediately reacted when she heard this, and said in surprise, it is obvious that Emperor Chongzhen entrusted Wen Tiren with a heavy task at this time in order to deal with the Donglin Party.

"After so many things, the emperor's trust in Donglin has been consumed, and it seems that the emperor wants to learn from the first emperor to balance the power relationship in the court."

Li Hongyu looked at Qin Yue in his arms helplessly, now Daming can be described as internal and external troubles, but the flames of factional strife in the court are about to be ignited by Emperor Chongzhen, which really worries him, and now everyone should work together to solve the current trouble.

"The emperor should have done this a long time ago, and now the Donglin family in the court is dominant, stirring up the government into a miasma."

Qin Yue couldn't help but snort coldly when she heard this, and said quite dissatisfiedly, "Xianggong, don't you know, the tea tax court in Zhejiang only collected a few dozen taels last year, which is simply ridiculous. ”

"Dozens of taels?" Li Hongyu couldn't help but show a surprised look on his face when he heard this, Zhejiang's tea business is booming, and in previous years, there were tens of thousands of taels, but now there are only a few dozen taels, which is really surprising.

"It must have been coveted by those people with ulterior motives, and it will be unimaginable in the long run." Qin Yue couldn't help but say worriedly when she heard this.

"I hope the emperor has the ability to turn the tide." Li Hongyu couldn't help but say faintly when he heard this, it was obvious that the Donglin Party had dug a pit for itself and buried it, and then lost the trust of Emperor Chongzhen.

However, he really can't get used to some of the actions of the Donglin Party, and the reason why Daming's situation has fallen to the point where it is today is inseparable from the Donglin Party, after all, it has been the officials of the Donglin Party who have been in charge of the court in recent years.

If it weren't for the reduction and corruption of the taxes in Jiangnan, then why would the imperial court want to raise the taxes of the whole country to fill this hole, even counting the originally difficult northwest, so that the people rebelled one after another, and the local situation was unstable.

Sure enough, within a few days, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict to remove Han Yi, Li Biao and Qian Longxi, three Donglin Party scholars in the cabinet, from their posts on the grounds that Huang Taiji led the army to invade Beijing, and made them responsible for this matter.

At the same time, Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru, Qian Xiangkun and Cheng Jiming all entered the cabinet as Dongge University scholars and scholars of the Ministry of Rites, replacing Han Yi and the three.

At this time, only Qian Qianyi, the head of the cabinet of the Donglin Party, remained in the cabinet, and among the new cabinet members, Wen Tiren and Qian Xiangkun were not from the Donglin Party, and Zhou Yanru had a bad relationship with Qian Qianyi although he was from the Donglin Party.

Speaking of which, the contradiction between Zhou Yanru and Qian Qianyi stemmed from the selection of cabinet members after Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne.

With such a deterioration, Qian Qianyi is undoubtedly in a disadvantaged position in the cabinet, and Wen Tiren, who is supported by Emperor Chongzhen, is eyeing the position of the first assistant to the cabinet.

Not only the cabinet, but also Emperor Chongzhen subsequently made a personnel transfer to the major ministries, and many of the "eunuch" officials who were demoted since the first year of Chongzhen were reused, so that the factional forces in the court were gradually in a state of balance.

In Li Hongyu's opinion, this is a good thing, but at the same time, he is also worried that after losing the barrier of the inner court, Emperor Chongzhen will be pushed to the forefront when balancing factional battles, resulting in a direct confrontation between the monarchy and the vassals, and the relationship between the two sides will definitely deteriorate gradually.

Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen seemed too impetuous, and suddenly gave the Donglin Party a heavy blow, which not only caught the Donglin Party off guard, but also made the situation in the court chaotic for a while because of this hasty personnel change.

If it is replaced by the Emperor of the Apocalypse, even if he wants to deal with the Donglin Party, it must be done gradually, you must know that Wei Zhongxian did not really suppress the Donglin Party until after the "Seven Gentlemen of Donglin" incident, and there was a buffer period during the period, so that the Emperor of the Apocalypse could calmly deal with the impact of personnel changes.

After experiencing so many things in the capital, Li Hongyu has no intention of being in the complicated party battles in the court, and Emperor Chongzhen is different from the Emperor of the Apocalypse, he has a natural wariness of outsiders and likes to bow to everything, which also makes Li Hongyu have no need to stay in the capital.

Therefore, at the end of August of the fourth year of Chongzhen, when the Mo regime, which lived in the northeast of Annan, sent an envoy to Beijing to implore Emperor Chongzhen to help him restore the country, Li Hongyu asked Emperor Chongzhen for an order to recover the Annan Kingdom lost during the orthodox years.

Because Annan is located in the southwest of the mountains and forests, Li Hongyu decided to take the waterway to quell the rebellion, with the naval division as the main force of the conquest, and the military expenses were raised by the Customs Department.

Emperor Chongzhen was moved by Li Hongyu's words, if he could recover the Annan Kingdom, then it would be a great achievement, enough to comfort the spirit of Emperor Yongle in the sky.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen quickly agreed to this matter and ordered Li Hongyu to pacify the southwest and control the civil and military officials of the southwestern provinces.

After getting the imperial permission of Emperor Chongzhen, Li Hongyu left the capital in early September, and before leaving, he looked around at the tall and majestic, majestic and magnificent Beijing city with a complicated expression.

(End of chapter)