The seven-grade official in front of the prime minister, the housekeeping clerk of this Shangshu and the like, how can it be a seven-grade official. self

The Ming Dynasty was different from the previous dynasties, and the authority of the six Shangshu was extremely heavy, especially the two Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of War, and they were known as the Great Situ Dasima, and they were important ministers who could compete with Yuan Fu.

According to the ancestral family law, in fact, there are no auxiliary ministers, the university scholars are just access consultants, their participation in the secret is actually outside the order, and within the law, the hundred officials are respected by the Shangshu, the Shangshu inherits the order of the Son of Heaven, and the subordinate is the responsibility of the hundred bureaucrats.

After Xuande, the authority of the cabinet became increasingly heavy, and it increasingly had the tendency to coerce the six ministries, but the authority of the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of War did not decrease by half a point, and all officials had to pay a big salute when they saw Yuanfu, and the big Situ and Sima saw Yuanfu, and the two sides saw each other in a peaceful manner, and they did not care about the meaning of the cabinet on weekdays, and they were very powerful.

The military department is also known as the soldier, holding the world's military power, the order is forbidden, it is very weighty, than the previous dynasty, the Song Dynasty has a privy council, the general charge of military affairs, but there is no right to hold the army, but also with the palace in front of the command envoy to contain each other, to this dynasty, the five armies of the governor's office declined, only became a military general plus the title, the world's soldiers and horses are all in the hands of the soldiers, the weight of authority, there is no ancient time. The authority is so heavy, but there are no subordinates, only the departments of the Ministry of War do things according to the class, this summary of thousands of threads, all belong to Shangshu and Shilang, in the official system, they are the commander of the light pole, only the trust relies on their own families, and the authority of these family members is more prominent.

Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, was born in Sichuan and lived a long life, and his family was a large local family, and he was a rising official step by step as a governor, governor, and squire, and the family property was also more and more inflated, and there were really a lot of slaves and servants, but the real credit was the few people who were appointed from the beginning.

Chen Lu is one of these close subordinates. He was not born in Sichuan Changshou, but when Chen Xinjia entered the Shidi in the Beijing Imperial Examination, he was a descendant, I heard that he was a broken and talented child, who knew words but had no way to continue his life, so he had to succumb to slavery.

He is now nearly forty years old, because he is attached to such a prominent master as Chen Xinjia. Life at home is also much better.

It is said that he also bought a house outside the Chen Mansion. Parents and families are arranged there, and it is also a medium-sized family, which can be regarded as enviable.

But in the Shangshu Mansion, it was not easy to be a subordinate of the family, and in the case of Chen Lu and several servants in shifts, they were actually doing the work of secretaries. Chen Xinjia's court and local documents were sorted out and classified every day, and some of the documents had to be transcribed and handed over to the relevant departments.

Chen Lu's actual age is less than forty years old, but looking at his appearance, he is fifty years old, and some people believe that this is the result of hard work in the house on weekdays, and he is diligent today. There is no day and no court, so Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, has to go to the court in the dark every morning before dawn, and the so-called prime minister is waiting for the five colds, which is the hard work of the Beijing officials.

Facing forward. All kinds of documents should be prepared neatly and neatly. Although this dynasty is actually meaningless. I can't handle any government affairs. Just tossing people. But this is often the case with political disputes. So be prepared. lest they be plotted. So these people are on rotation. It's also going to be busy before dawn. Otherwise, it will be time for Lord Tianshangshu to go out on the fifth watch. It's more likely that you're busy.

At the end of July, the Kyoto Division. During the day, though, it's still unbearably hot. The sun is hot and poisonous. There is no shade in the city...... It's hard. But after dark. But the temperature dropped dramatically. Quite cool. People can sleep soundly.

In the wee hours of the morning. In the side courtyard, Chen Lu could hear the noise of people and horses in the house. After a while, someone shouted that they were looking for an ice basin. For a while, someone was rummaging around looking for an excerpt. Everyone in the house knows that this is the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Chen Xinjia is going to the court. The sedan chair driver and his relatives are all busy with getting up early.

Shangshu Mansion. In fact, it is similar to the mansions of most high-ranking officials in Beijing. These local families have long been accustomed to this kind of noise and the rules of life. Many people don't react at all when they hear this uproar. As usual, I slept soundly. But Chen Lu couldn't sleep. I put on my clothes and sat up.

This is a great time to sleep. It was pitch black outside, too. Chen Lu couldn't sleep at all. Just sit there. Wait quietly.

From the open window on the ground, I could see that the sky was not yet light. Chen Lu put on a small hat in Tsing Yi. Slowly walked out of the bedroom. At this time, the Dishang Mansion was already quite noisy. People everywhere are getting up and busy. Prepare for the day's work.

Chen Lu walked in the courtyard, and people kept smiling and greeting him, which showed that his popularity was very good.

"Brother Lu, isn't Chen Fu on duty today, why are you here?"

"Hehe, I have some things to do after a while, so I deliberately changed shifts with a few of them."

"Brother Chen Lu, I heard that your old man is moving out of Jingshi?"

"Yes, in the past few years, the year has been good over there in Zhendingfu, and the old man wants to go back to his hometown to see, but he can't stop it, saying that the ancestral house is still there, so just let my mother-in-law and the child go back together, so that there is a response, and I will pick them up in a few days."

Along the way, he nodded and agreed, smiling at each other, and soon walked to the study, and when the sun rose and breakfast began, there would be two masters who invited the land master to come over and deal with the classification of these documents together.

Chen Lu entered the study, closed the door, and lit the candles again, and the bookcase and the shelves on the side were all official documents and letterheads brought back from the military headquarters yesterday, sent from the localities, between private individuals, and between the yamen. Every day, a large number of such things pour into the Shangshu Mansion, and the duty of Lord Shangshu is to fight for power and profit, to compete for favor and party affairs, and to deal with such idle things as government affairs, where can he work for his old man to deal with them, so these things need to be sorted out and distributed, and even to be assisted.

After all, a person like Yishangshu can't handle so many political and private affairs at all, and someone must help handle it.

The kind smile outside had disappeared when he walked into the room, and Chen Lu walked to the table where there were letterheads from all over the place, and carefully searched for it.

If it was the usual rule, it was just to sit in front of the bookcase and distribute it from the top, but Chen Lu was carefully examining each letter, as if he was looking for some specific document, he was a small servant, and naturally no one would give him any letters. What is he looking for?

It has been nearly half a month since I searched for it, but I found nothing, Chen Lu is still as usual on the surface, but in fact he is already anxious, his parents have been "moving" and leaving for almost ten days, and they have not seen each other, and they can't settle down in their hearts no matter what.

A few letters were reviewed. Chen Lu's breathing became heavy, and he saw a letter coming back from Yongping Mansion. Yongping Mansion, that's very close to Shanhaiguan.

These personal servants are equivalent to Chen Xinjia's confidentiality, and they have the right to open and read these letterheads, and they are classified according to their contents.

The envelope was signed by Ma Shaoyu, Chen Lu calmed down and tore open the envelope. opened the letterhead inside, the content was not complicated, it was nothing more than the hospitality and reception of the Manchu Qing officials and nobles after arriving in Shenyang City.

Ma Shaoyu also said in the letter. The Manchu Tongwen Pavilion saw many Han literati, many of whom were scholars who had achieved fame in the Ming Dynasty, but they were already shaved and braided, and they despised the envoys from the Ming Dynasty, and although the attitude of the Manchu relatives and nobles to receive the envoys was very good and quite enthusiastic.

But after careful consideration, the other party doesn't seem to have any intention of peace talks, and I'm afraid there will be no results if it goes on like this, so it's better to notify this side in advance.

What the letter says. It was nothing to Chen Lu, but this letter was what Chen Lu had been looking for for so long, and his hands trembled when he held the letter.

By the time Shangshu Mansion hired two masters into the study, Chen Lu was already sitting in front of the bookcase to copy the proclamation, these people were all familiar with each other, nodded and smiled and said hello, chatted a few words, and Chen Lu stood up. Holding a stack of transcribed papers in his hand. Said with a smile:

"Two gentlemen, the people from the Di Bao and the Beijing Bao are coming over. I sent them these things. ”

Di Bao is a collection of the general administration of the imperial court and local political affairs of the proclamation, equivalent to the official newspaper, this Beijing newspaper is in the late Ming Dynasty, the government allowed the private to open a newspaper workshop, under the supervision of the government to publish some official policy news and the like, the Beijing division of the various high-ranking official mansions, to provide to the general administration is the responsibility, to provide to the private newspaper is a favor, but also a means of publicizing themselves.

The domestic servant who is on duty in the study every day has this task, to hand over the proclamation to the General Administration Department and the related Beijing News personnel, Chen Lu's behavior is also a commonplace move for everyone, the two masters nodded, continue to be busy, and it should not be a big deal.

After handing it over to the General Administration Department and the person who received the news from the Beijing Daily, Chen Lu suddenly remembered that there was an urgent matter at home, so he took a leave of absence from the housekeeper of the inner courtyard and left the Shangshu Mansion in a hurry.

At noon that day, the officials and people in the Beijing division began to privately spread the news that Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, was sending people to discuss the matter of peace with the Tartars.

In the past three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has never negotiated peace with the barbarian Tatars, even if it was the change of Tumubao, Emperor Yingzong was captured by Wara, and then several times was beaten by the Mongols to the city of Beijing, the Ming Dynasty has always been to mobilize troops and horses to fight, never accept softness, how to now bow his head to negotiate peace.

Where is the dignity of the Ming Dynasty, and where is the dignity of the ancestors and kings!?

That night, Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, already knew about the leakage of the news of the peace talks, and the entire Beijing division spread it in an uproar, and it was difficult to know it.

Things have come to this point, the only thing that can be counted on is that Emperor Chongzhen can shelter one thing, that is, please severely punish Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, to negotiate peace, and lose the face of the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, was in the forefront of the courtiers, his face was not good-looking, and his colleagues who were quite affectionate to him in the past kept a certain distance from him at this time, even according to the court, the ranking scholar who had to stand next to him was all sideways, looking at him with very strange eyes, and looking at him obliquely, as if he was already a dead man.

After learning about the leak last night, Chen Xinjia immediately inquired about the whole house, but the two hired masters didn't know about it. But Chen Lu, the servant on duty that day, did not know where to go, saying that after leaving the family in an emergency, he never returned to Chen's mansion, and when the second gate sent someone out to look for it, Chen Lu and the whole family were nowhere to be found.

Now, even a fool knows that he has been calculated. But the military department is still in the book, and the soldier is here. Da Sima, Chen Xinjia, the top important minister above the court, didn't understand who he had offended, and he was framed like this.

Moreover, the matter of going to the place of peace talks outside the border should be completely confidential, and the people who set up this bureau know about it. And I also know that the use of the Di Bao and Beijing Bao system in the Beijing Division is really ruthless.

The first to do the work in the court is often the imperial history, they are the officials, the rank is very low, but the power is very great. You can hear about it, and talk nonsense at will without taking any responsibility. The first time they spoke, it was often a substitute for the forces behind them to test the style, but this time it was different, the evidence was conclusive, so it was a general attack from the beginning, and the first imperial history to impeach Chen Xinjia was the imperial history of Hebei Province, after his impassioned statement. In Shangdi, Emperor Chongzhen's face sank like water, but he didn't say a word.

This statement, all the ministers are aware of it, and then the second and third courtiers who asked for severe punishment of Chen Xinjia are all out of the ranks, and they state loudly, and the military department has given this kind of low-grade heavy minister in the matter, which used to be the hammer for the final blow, but this time it jumped out to attack very early.

This incident is not a partisan dispute, this is a real crime. So there's no need to be tempted. The location of the military department is considered to be the hottest position in the court. The power is extremely heavy, and many people are staring at it. Moreover, all kinds of salaries and silver that have been collected in the localities over the years have been fixed for each unit through this military department, and then counted and tested for each unit in various localities.

Everyone has been red for a long time, and now there is such an opportunity to oust Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and no one in the DPRK and China will let it go.

Everyone understands in their hearts that without Emperor Chongzhen's consent, Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, has great courage, and he does not dare to take the initiative to find the Manchu Qing Dynasty to negotiate peace, this Chen Xinjia has been an official for so many years, how can he not know these taboos, it must be the instruction and instruction of Emperor Chongzhen.

But looking at the appearance of Emperor Chongzhen's face sinking like water, no one wants to take the initiative to touch this moldy head, so let's focus on Chen Xinjia!

The rhetoric of the DPRK and China is becoming more and more intense, and some people have begun to accuse Chen Xinjia of colluding with the Tartars, called the minister, which is really an internal response, if he does not refute it, I am afraid that this matter will become out of control, but Chen Xinjia peeked at the face of Emperor Chongzhen, and now the other party did not pay attention to himself at all, and his face was gloomy and terrible.

Chen Xinjia lamented in his heart, knowing that this matter could indeed not be cleaned up, as soon as people arrived in such a situation, they had no scruples about speaking and doing things, Chen Xinjia dressed up in his robe, stepped out of the ranks, and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, there is no fault in this matter, but there is a great merit, after Songshan, the imperial court can have soldiers and horses that can fight with the Tartars, and now there is the defeat of Zhuxian Town, internal and external troubles, can the imperial court have the ability to fight with the Tartars and thieves!? The situation of the Ming Dynasty is so erosive, what is wrong with concentrating on one side! ”

There is a joke among Westerners that telling the truth in the cabinet will always intimidate your opponents, because everyone is lying, and occasionally truthfulness will catch people off guard.

This is basically related to human nature, the West is like this, and the East is the same, Chen Xinjia said it so nakedly, and the court was suddenly silent, Chen Xinjia knew that his fate was decided, and the situation was out of control, so he simply said it happily:

"Yan Jizu once said in the matter, the outside must first be inside, Mr. Yang Wenweak of the cabinet also said, and today, when the main thing is to appease, the minister knows that he will be infamous through the ages if he talks with the Tartars, but this kind of thing is for the Ming Dynasty, and the honor and disgrace of one person is nothing!!"

Speaking of this, Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, is really righteous and awe-inspiring, but the silence above the court only lasted for a short time, and then the ministers made an uproar, and many young and vigorous imperial historians and officials couldn't help but scold, such a shameful deed, actually said so righteous, did you really bully the blindness of the world!

In the face of everyone's scolding and shouting, Chen Xinjia was not afraid, no matter how everyone argued, they never mentioned Emperor Chongzhen sitting on the dragon chair.

Wang Chengen, the chief eunuch of the ceremonial supervisor, stood beside Emperor Chongzhen, peeking at Emperor Chongzhen beside him, the young emperor looked at the commotion in the court, his cheeks were already flushed, and his body trembled slightly. knew that Chongzhen was afraid that he was on the verge of exploding.

Wang Chengen glanced at a few little eunuchs beside him, and immediately the eunuchs and Han generals in the main hall opened their mouths and shouted loudly:

"Quiet, quiet, don't you want to lose your honor in front of the palace!!"

The hall suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes were staring at Emperor Chongzhen behind the dragon case.

Chongzhen is said to be the supreme emperor. He was only a young man in his early thirties, and he had very clear wrinkles on his forehead. The complexion was as fair as that peculiar to the royal family, and the cheeks became more and more rosy, not because of health, but because of constant nervous tension, and now by anger.

The hall is very quiet, eunuch. The internal guards and courtiers were silent, and Emperor Chongzhen stared at Chen Xinjia who came out of the ranks, gritted his teeth and shouted:

"Chen Xinjia, I treat you well......

Hearing this, Chen Xinjia sighed. Leaned over and knelt on the ground, he usually pays great attention to the maintenance of his manners, and now even if he kneels there, he looks personable, but his expression has changed from the excitement of Fang Cai to the decadence.

The silence in the hall was broken by the Emperor's somewhat shrill voice:

"Chen Xinjia, as a member of the military department, you sent people to negotiate peace with the Tartars without permission, what a great crime. Do you know!? ”

Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, a senior civil servant of the Ming Dynasty, faced with the emperor's questioning, Chen Xinjia's lips lowered, but he didn't say anything, Chongzhen didn't plan to let him speak, just continued to reprimand coldly:

"There are disasters everywhere in the world, and there is no end to civil unrest. It's all you who ignore the laws of the country. I don't know how to be loyal to the king and self-love......"

Chongzhen raised his hand and trembled a little with anger, obviously overexcited. After a pause, he took a breath and shouted angrily:

"Dismissal, General Han will throw His Royal Highness, send the edict to prison, and ask really for a good life!"

Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, knew that if he continued to argue, or even said that he was instructed by Emperor Chongzhen to acquiesce before going to the peace talks, then I am afraid that the disaster of exterminating the clan will come in an instant, and the matter has come to this point, so let's not fight, the Han generals who are standing on the left and right stepped forward to set up Chen Xinjia, and he was about to take him out of the court, Chen Xinjia did not shout grievances, nor did he struggle, so he was set up, and when he turned around, his lips moved, and he didn't know what he was saying.

A Han general who was holding him heard it, and it was many years later that he repeated the last sentence that Chen Xinjia said in the court:

"Rigidity is useless, and the great ...... is evil"

Seeing that Chen Xinjia was beaten down from prison in the court, all the ministers in the court knew it, but they also had an eye-opening initiative to ask to copy Chen Xinjia's mansion.

This is the so-called tacit understanding, if Chen Xinjia said something in the court, this time the matter is the emperor's intention, I am afraid that this matter of raiding the family and exterminating the clan will definitely be inevitable, since he took the initiative to help the emperor carry the thunder, although the emperor is stupid and rigid, but it is not good to implicate his family, he gritted his teeth and admitted it, but kept the wealth and peace of his family.

All kinds of inside information, Fu Zhou Yanru and his people understand it in their hearts, and even the things that were discussed at the beginning of the peace were more or less known from the emperor, but everyone is silent now, since the responsibility has been carried by someone, then don't do their own things, what they want to do is to go down and suppress it, so as not to let those imperial histories or crows scream, if the emperor is involved, it will implicate themselves. The current question is who should do the position of the secretary of the military department, which is the next focus.

Fang Cai is still a member of the DPRK and the central government, from the perspective of the national dynasty system, he is still the second important minister of the imperial court, and he became a prisoner of the lower echelons in an instant, although everyone shouted and beaten, but the dust settled, everyone felt a little sad about the death of a rabbit and a fox, and the court was quiet for a while.

Cabinet Scholar, Fu Zhou Yanru waited a little, coughed, came out of the ranks, and said:

"Your Majesty, the Nanjing Military Department is still 800 miles away from the fast horse, saying that the thieves have returned to Yingshang, and the soldiers and horses of the Southern Province have mobilized with all their might, and they are fighting to the death with the thieves, but the thieves are blazing, I am afraid that the officers and soldiers are not effective, and the imperial tomb will be lost again, so I specially ask the imperial court to send reinforcements to help."

More than 100,000 soldiers and horses of the Fifth Battalion of the Left went to Henan. Zhang Xianzhong went to Huguang, Nan Zhili thought that the matter was over, and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, who would have thought that it would suddenly turn back again, and immediately the south of the Yangtze River was shaken, and the eunuchs in Nanjing had not yet come up with an idea, and the officials in Nanjing City were already asking for help.

Zhou Yanru originally had a large number of industries in Nanzhili. Of course, he is not alone, but all the important ministers in the court. Hearing that their own foundation was going to be encroached upon by the displaced people and that they had suffered losses, and that most of their relatives and friends were in Southern Province, they naturally had to take care of it, and immediately raised the spirit of 120 percent and tried their best to admonish the court.

The ministers were impassioned one by one. The Grand Duke selflessly admonished the troops, and if he did not send troops, he would hit the stairs and corpses, and Emperor Chongzhen was greatly moved when he looked at it, there was such a pure minister. Zhichen, I have the wisdom of Tang Zong's advice, and the Ming Dynasty is just around the corner.

However, Emperor Chongzhen passed through the matter of Chen Xinjia, obviously a little weak, and he was sad, who would have thought that his subordinates would talk about these things in Southern Province, and now the affairs of the world are like a mess, but the imperial court does not have any money or food. I really don't know how to be good.

Henan side of the letter of a letter for help folds came over, the words were earnest, and the words were bloody, but Hou Sui said that the troops could not be moved in a hurry, and the side had not yet been dealt with, and there was a disturbance in the south, not to mention those emergency documents in Huguang, Sichuan, and Shaanxi, and all kinds of critical situations were entangled in the brain, and I didn't know what to do. Emperor Chongzhen covered his forehead with his hand. It's a real headache.

Everyone in the court naturally knew what Emperor Chongzhen's reaction was. Fu Zhou Yanru was also unambiguous, and added earnestly again:

"The previous supervisor Hou Sui said that it was a crisis in Henan, and that Lu soldiers and horses should be used, and the soldiers and horses stationed in the two Huai stations were also soldiers and horses from Shandong, so it was better to transfer the Lu army to support, and they could also disperse their forces, so as not to make the generals bigger in the local area!"

As for Chen Liu, the general of the Huaiyang Army, who surrounded Yingshang City, these ministers of the DPRK and China did not know, and such details were the details of the small officials, and they had nothing to do with them.

Hearing the following request for Shandong soldiers and horses to support, Emperor Chongzhen felt a sense of relief in his heart, but then he was worried, saying that it was the transfer of Shandong soldiers and horses, and the transfer there, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly felt a burst of anger, I am the Son of Heaven, but I can't even transfer the soldiers and horses in the place, what is the matter with this world.

Chongzhen wanted to open his mouth to speak, but at this time, he really didn't know what to say......

Surrounded Yingshang City with 15,000 soldiers and horses of Chen Liu, surrounded the soldiers and horses of the third battalion of the fifth battalion of Gezuo, and then forced the soldiers and horses of the old Hui Hui and the reincarnated king who had already arrived in Yingzhou to come to the rescue, and gathered the soldiers and horses of the fifth battalion of Gezuo in this small Yingshang place.

The 15,000 soldiers of the Huaiyang army of the Jiaozhou battalion fought against the army of nearly 100,000 thieves, and the soldiers and horses of Nanzhili did not know the combat strength of the Huaiyang army, so they must feel uncertain, and the 60,000 officers and soldiers led by Lu Jiude, the eunuch of Nanjing, were approaching the left and would inevitably come forward to support the interception.

The game of chess in the world was not played because of the rout of Zhu Xianzhen, but the chess game in Fengyang Mansion in Southern Province still had to be played, and the more chaotic the world was, Li Meng had to do something by himself.

Since the officers and soldiers and the thieves did not move according to their own wishes, the Shandong soldiers and horses moved on their own and forced the situation to move according to their own needs.

This method is also simple, the so-called siege of the city is also, in modern times, Li Meng, who was born in the People's Liberation Army, received education, there will definitely be this siege of reinforcements.

From the beginning of the revolutionary war to the war of liberation, when our army was really proficient in the tactics of besieging the city and sending reinforcements, the revolutionary history and the historical materials of the revolutionary war were mentioned a lot, and Li Meng still remembered that he was familiar with it, and he could also use it in this situation.

With this fortification and the firearms of the Huaiyang army, it is not a problem to surround Yingshang, and make it impossible for the other party to come in, as for the reinforcements, it is naturally the task of Lu Jiude, the eunuch of Nanjing.

If the soldiers and horses led by Lu Jiude move, the Qingzhou army of the two Huai will inevitably follow, and as for who to fight, it is an unspeakable thing.

At the end of July, most of the vanguard of the old Huihui and the reincarnated king of the 5th battalion of the revolution had engaged the small troops of the Huaiyang army, and the local soldiers of the Huaiyang army and the mobilized local people were like Ding Zhuang reinforcing the fortifications, digging ditches and building walls.

A letter written by Li Meng, the chief soldier of Shandong, was also sent to Lu Jiude, the eunuch of Nanjing, with a few words on the letter:

"Leftist thief, if you don't fight, I'll fight!"

In the future, Lao Bai will do what he can, hehe, thank you, ask for a monthly pass