Qianqing Palace

The Great Pilgrimage

Wei Zaode, who had just replaced Zhou Yanru and was promoted to the first assistant of the cabinet, as well as the second assistant Chen Yan, the scholars of the cabinet, the six Shangshu, and other civil and military officials above the third rank gathered together.

Surprisingly, Chongzhen also arranged for the fifteen-year-old crown prince Zhu Cihong to stand at the head of the ministers and participate in this court meeting.

Today is the first time that Zhu Cihong was approved by Chongzhen to participate in the court meeting, and she was very excited, and the beloved Empress Zhou also stood outside the Qianqing Palace, secretly observing the performance of the crown prince Zhu Cihong for the first time.

Chongzhen first held up Fang Yuan's recital on ordering the Zhu Ming royal family to receive the people of Henan and Huguang and open the sluice gates to release water, and ordered Wang Chengen to read out the recital in public.

The ministers looked at each other, and the previous court discussions, the ministers who were good at passing the blame were just targeting Chongzhen alone, squeezing Chongzhen to take out the internal money to alleviate the financial crisis, but it also often provoked Chongzhen's thunderous anger.

But Fang Yuan's share of the twists and turns dared to point the finger at the entire Zhu Ming royal family, and asked the entire Zhu Ming royal family to pay, which was simply stabbing a hole in the sky. This is a strange twist and turn that has never been seen since Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, and it is even more sensational than when Hai Rui cursed the civil and military women of the Manchu Dynasty.

It is related to the Zhu Ming royal family, where did the ministers dare to say more before they figured out Chongzhen's thoughts, and they were even more reluctant to bear this infamy.

Chongzhen was inspecting the ministers, and after a quarter of an hour, the entire Qianqing Palace was still silent.

Chongzhen, who had been waiting for a long time, became more and more gloomy, and directly began to roll call, "Shoufu Wei Zaode, you talk about it first!" ”

Wei Zaode was named and named, and he was forced to stand up, "Your Majesty, this is a royal internal affair, and it should be discussed by His Royal Highness the Prince." ”

He kicked the ball directly to Zhu Cihong, and Chongzhen's gaze moved to the crown prince Zhu Cihong, "Prince, you can talk about it." ”

Zhu Cihong took a deep breath and stood up to report, "Father, the son-in-law thinks that Fang Yuan's move is simply ridiculous, even more ridiculous than asking the emperor to pay the inner hand, it is clearly avoiding the war, it is supporting troops in the south of the Yangtze River to respect himself, please ask the father and emperor to quickly recall Fang Yuan to Beijing." ”

With Zhu Cihong taking the lead, the ministers came out one after another to express their support, and reprimanded Fang Yuan one-sidedly.

In fact, the content of Fang Yuan's report also said what the ministers wanted to say but did not dare to say, and there was no direct conflict between them and Fang Yuan, just because Fang Yuan's new policy in Jiangnan, the so-called system of letters and visits, and the supervision of public opinion really harmed the overall interests of the entire bureaucracy, and it was necessary to remove this unpopular horse from the ranks of the bureaucracy.

Chongzhen was noncommittal to the one-sided accusations of the ministers, looked at Zhu Cihong and asked, "Fang Yuan's strategy is not feasible, how does the prince think that the rebellion of the Liukou should be quelled?" ”

Zhu Cihong had the support of the ministers, and his courage was also stronger, and he said loudly, "Erchen suggested that Sun Chuanting, Zhou Yuji, Liu Zeqing, and Zuo Liangyu should send troops from four routes, and the combined army of 250,000 encircled and suppressed the thieves. ”

Chongzhen was still unmoved, and asked, "After the thieves are defeated, how should they reassure the people?" ”

Zhu Cihong began to show off the knowledge taught by Zhan Shi in the East Palace on weekdays, "The imperial court should care for the people of Henan, stabilize the overall situation, and promote the Ming Dynasty." ”

Chongzhen continued to ask, "How much money does it take to care for the people?" Where does the money come from? How to ensure that the pension money can fall into the hands of the people, instead of being exploited by officials who take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune? ”

Zhu Cihong was speechless, so he could only bow his head and give his hand, "Erchen hasn't thought of it yet." ”

Chongzhen was quite disappointed with the prince, who learned from those courtiers and could only talk big words, but was helpless when it came to the measures that were implemented, "Since the prince didn't think of the follow-up strategy to calm the people, how could he send troops to suppress bandits at will?" If the military power is wasted, and the rogues resurrect again, how many belongings do I have for the prince to squander like this? The crown prince is the prince of a country, and he should take one step and see three steps before he falls, instead of messing around with military affairs! ”

In fact, Chongzhen in history is not the master who takes one step and sees three steps, but after many exchanges with Fang Yuan, as well as seeing Fang Yuan's twists and turns, he has already opened his mouth, and he no longer encountered Fang Yuan's previous fierce assault and fight, and he went down indiscriminately, until he finally lost all his belongings and hanged himself.

"Yes! The sons obey the teachings of their fathers! ”

Zhu Cihong was scolded by him, his little face turned red, and he retreated stupidly.

Since no one among the ministers expressed his position, Chongzhen also made the decision himself, "The cabinet drafted the decree and sent a message to the Zongren Mansion, all the royal princes, county kings, princesses, and clan relatives should receive a homeless person for every three acres of land, and each clan that led the court to settle a homeless person, and strictly implemented it." Those who refuse to carry out the law will be deprived of their titles and fiefs after the war, and the clan will be cancelled. ”

Wei Zaode, as well as a few cabinet scholars, continued to stop them unrelentingly.

"Your Majesty, the four richest prefectures in the world and the most grain-producing prefectures have all been given to Fang Yuan, where is the spare energy to settle the displaced people in other regions?"

"Your Majesty, I suggest that Nanzhili, who has not yet been canonized by a vassal king, be ordered to settle 300,000 displaced people first, set an example for the vassal kings of the world, and then promote this policy of opening the floodgates and releasing water."

Chongzhen was dizzy by the gossip of these cabinet scholars, and it was indeed difficult to implement this policy of opening the floodgates and releasing water, and the resistance of the ministers and the vassal kings was inevitable, and it was also necessary to set an example first.

He pondered for a while, then changed his will, "The policy of opening the floodgates and releasing water has been gradually promoted, and Shi Kefa and Fang Yuan have moved 300,000 people to Nanzhili for resettlement. ”

"Order Zhou Yuji to lead the Jin army to respond to the Weishui defense line from the flank, waiting for an opportunity to annihilate the thieves north of Weishui, and support the Qin army's war of resistance."

Chongzhen held up two more recitals, one for Fang Yuan, one for Wu Zhao, the prefect of Changzhou, and Ma Minglu, the prefect of Yangzhou, to read it out in public.

Fang Yuan's report reported that Zheng Zhilong privately occupied the two military guards of Guanhaiwei and Haimen in Zhejiang, as well as the opening of a new newspaper in Changzhou Mansion.

Wu Zhao and Ma Minglu's twists and turns are to impeach Fang Yuan for wanton and indiscriminate killing in the four mansions, persecuting the Donglin Party, privately opening public opinion, and raising concubines as the captain of the horse, entangled with Qian Qianyi's wife, and tarnishing the majesty of the royal family.

After Wang Chengen finished reading, Chongzhen looked around at the ministers again and asked, "Zhuqing will discuss it again, Fang Yuan, Wu Zhao, and Ma Minglu's three people's recitals, which is right and which is wrong!" ”

Shoufu Wei Zaode coughed and stopped talking.

The second assistant Chen Yan began to play Tai Chi, "According to the minister, the two sides have different statements, and this matter should be verified first, and then discuss which is right and which is wrong." ”

The other ministers also observed the words and feelings, knowing that Chongzhen blindly reused Fang Yuan's thoughts, and those who were knowledgeable and interested no longer talked too much, and they were not happy.

Chongzhen looked at the crown prince Zhu Cihong, who had not spoken, again, "Prince, what do you think?" ”

This is the first time Zhu Cihong has come to the court in person, and he hurriedly stood up, "Erchen's suggestion is still ...... Since Fang Yuan has caused a lot of complaints in the four prefectures of Jiangnan, it is time to revoke Fang Yuan's appointment as governor and recall him to the capital. ”

Chongzhen was slightly stunned, and looked straight at Zhu Cihong, "Do you think Fang Yuan is right or wrong to let go of the people's public opinion supervision?" ”

Zhu Cihong actually didn't know what was going on, but he and his mother Queen Zhou had a very prejudiced against Fang Yuan, as long as Fang Yuan supported it, he should oppose it, "I shouldn't be, it's Fang Yuan's wanton behavior, which is extremely absurd!" ”

Chongzhen's face became more and more gloomy, and he asked again, "Fang Yuan is so ridiculous, how do you think he should be dealt with if he is summoned back to the capital?" ”

Zhu Cihong said, "Fang Yuan is already a concubine appointed by his father, and he even has a concubine and hooks up with a married woman, so he should be immediately deprived of his appointment as a lieutenant of the concubine, put him in prison, and handed over to the Zongren Mansion for punishment." ”

Chongzhen closed his eyes slightly, and said lightly, "Prince, the last Manchu invasion, it was all thanks to Fang Yuan that he achieved a great victory in Shandong. If Fang Yuan is deprived of his military power and imprisoned, if the Manchu invades again, who should lead the troops to meet the battle? ”

Zhu Cihong said loudly, "If the Manchus invade again, the sons are willing to share the worries of their father, and summon Sun Chuanting, Zhou Yuji, Liu Zeqing and other Qin Wang's divisions to meet the Manchus." ”

"Smack!"

A few folds in Chongzhen's hand were thrown far away in front of Zhu Cihong, which frightened Zhu Cihong, and he hurriedly knelt on the ground and picked them up.

He opened it and saw that these were all the recitals played by Zhu Cihuan, the king of Wuyue, one of which recorded the full record of the debate between Fang Yuan and Gu Yanwu, and also attached Zhu Cihuan's comments on supporting Fang Yuan's benevolence in Jiangnan.

There are even three twists and turns, namely "On the Importance of Southeast Coastal Defense", "The Views of the Naval Division's Surprise Attack on Liaodong", and "The Land Annexation of the Second Prefecture of Susong", which reports what Zhu Cihuan saw and thought after he arrived in Jiangnan and inspected the military and political affairs and people's livelihood.

Chongzhen said in a deep voice, "The prince immediately retreats!" Go back to the East Palace and read your imperial brother King Wu Yue's recital, and then close the door to me for three days. ”

Zhu Cihong was kicked out of the Qianqing Palace by Chongzhen in public, and he was stunned there, but his face was already flushed. But after all, the emperor's order was difficult to disobey, so he could only pinch Zhu Cihuan's recital, drag his heavy steps, and leave the Qianqing Palace, and Chongzhen's cold voice came from behind him, "Before the crown prince is crowned, there is no need to come to the Qianqing Palace to listen to the government." ”

Zhu Cihong trembled, his first trip to listen to politics ended hastily, and he was deprived of Chongzhen's right to continue to listen to politics in the future, which shows that it really angered Chongzhen.