Chapter 666: No Worst! Only worse!

For the good things that his father-in-law has done, he now has a lot of things to deal with. His mood is also in an unstable state, sometimes good and sometimes bad. He has not fully recovered from the sadness of Sun Chengzong's killing and the erosion of Beizhili. But by chance, he will be in extreme self-confidence, thinking that he can still turn the tide and restore the glory of the former Ming Kingdom.

The news of the loss of Gaoyang City and the killing of Sun Chengzong was rushed to Beijing by 100,000 people. Sun Chengzong was killed, and Lu Xiangsheng also knew that this matter was very small, so of course he didn't dare to slack off, and sent someone to Beijing to report as soon as possible. Chongzhen got the flying performance when it was about to break out at lunchtime. His face changed drastically, his mind was clouded, he could hardly support it, he stomped his feet again and again, and only said, "Hey! Hi! Hi! Then he burst into tears.

Emperor Chongzhen had never cried like this in the Qianqing Palace, which made the eunuchs and palace maids of the Qianqing Palace very panicked. The surroundings of the Qianqing Palace were all in chaos. In the midst of crying, Chongzhen suddenly remembered something, and then yelled: "That Lu Xiangsheng!" Grab it! Pending trial! ”

An old eunuch standing under the eaves, who once served Wanli and Tianqi, has never cared much about things outside the palace, and always thinks that although there are wars and natural disasters, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty is as solid as iron and copper. He looked forward to seeing the national fortune with his own eyes day and night, and at this moment he suddenly knew the news of Gaoyang City, and saw the emperor crying so bitterly, he couldn't help choking up and crying, he couldn't bear to listen anymore, he staggered to a secluded place, sighed softly, and said unconsciously: "Alas, the sky, but it's going to fall!" ”

As for Emperor Chongzhen's roar, naturally there were other eunuchs who quickly passed the decree. On the cabinet side, they didn't dare to delay, hurriedly drafted the order, and then sent the Jinyi Guard team to Gaoyang City. As a result, a holy decree went down, and Lu Xiangsheng was arrested and imprisoned. In fact, among the cabinet ministers, including the first assistant Wen Tiren, they all sympathized with Lu Xiangsheng. It's a pity that now that Emperor Chongzhen is on fire, where do they dare to touch Chongzhen's moldy head and intercede with Lu Xiangsheng?

In these years, there are really not many people who can fight without complaints, and Lu Xiangsheng is one of them. The cabinet originally wanted to give Lu Xiangsheng more power and use him to calm the world. Unexpectedly, such a thing happened. They had to sigh, God really bless the Ming Dynasty, Lu Xiangsheng is a talent, but because of Sun Chengzong's death, he went to Zhao Prison for no reason.

This matter is not big or small. Sun Chengzong is Chongzhen's teacher and a very popular minister, and his death is indeed a great blow to the imperial court. However, even if Sun Chengzong is a supreme minister, he is still a courtier, even if he is Chongzhen's teacher, there is no need to behave so exaggeratedly. Emperor Chongzhen's anger was actually selfish.

For a long time, Chongzhen has to flaunt his filial piety in everything in order to earn a false name, but as a result, this time he made a big incident, and even his teacher did not protect him, and he was killed by the Tartars, and he was still filial! The image that was finally established was dealt a fatal blow, revealing the ugliness and vulgarity below, which was the main reason for Chongzhen's anger.

If Chongzhen really cared about Sun Chengzong's life or death, he should have ordered the Beijing camp to quickly send troops, send cavalry to Gaoyang City, and forcibly withdraw Sun Chengzong. There is an edict of the emperor, no matter how stubborn Sun Chengzong is, he must abide by it. In other words, as long as Chongzhen made a move, Sun Chengzong was saved. However, Chongzhen did not make a move, but sat back and watched Sun Chengzong be killed by the Tartars.

As a result, when the bad news came, he cried like a dead father and mother, pretending to be pure and filial, which had to make people feel disgusted from the heart. To paraphrase an old saying, I knew this was the case, so why bother in the first place! He didn't care about others when he was alive, and he cried out loud after he died, which was extremely hypocritical. Wen Tiren, Fan Fucui, Chen Yin and others in the cabinet are all treacherous and cunning figures, how can they not know this?

It was precisely because he was worried that his indifference and meanness would be seen through by his subordinates that Chongzhen cried desperately and desperately expressed his sadness for Sun Chengzong. At this time, others must not participate in this matter, otherwise, Chongzhen, who is embarrassed and angry, will definitely even take himself down. It's obvious that he did something wrong, but he always looks for courtiers to take the blame, which is already Chongzhen's habitual action.

Chongzhen cried for a while, and slowly stopped. One is because the eunuch Wang Chengen, who is in charge of the seal of the celebrant and the eunuch, also heard the letter and ran to him, kneeling in front of him to persuade him. The second is that he thinks that he must tell the ancestral gods about Gaoyang City, and he has to deal with the aftermath of Gaoyang City. Chongzhen stopped crying, waved away everyone, and sat alone on the imperial couch in the Xinuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace to ponder.

At lunchtime, the usual music was removed, and dozens of dishes were reduced to more than a dozen, which was called "withdrawal of music and reduced meals", indicating that the country was in misfortune and the emperor was sad and sorrowful. Chongzhen was eating, and suddenly remembered the incident of Gaoyang City, and sorrow came from it, and he burst into tears. I originally wanted to rest for a while after lunch, and then went to tell the ancestral gods, but now it is really difficult to wait, and he does not take the ride, walks to the Fengxian Temple, and kneels in front of the gods of Wanli and cries.

It was Sun Chengzong who was killed, not a member of the royal family, why did Chongzhen go to Emperor Wanli to cry? The reason is very simple, Sun Chengzong was introduced by Emperor Wanli, first worked in Zhan Shifu, and then was designated by Wanli as Zhu Changluo's teacher. Zhu Changluo is the short-lived Emperor Taichang, Chongzhen's Laozi, who died after a month on the throne. As a result, Sun Chengzong became the teacher of Emperor Zhu Youxiao of the Apocalypse. After Zhu Youxiao died, Sun Chengzong became Chongzhen's teacher again.

Therefore, it can be said that Sun Chengzong was once the teacher of the three emperors. This is also the reason why Chongzhen is so sad. The three emperors did not die well in the end, which was really too big a blow to his reputation. To say that at this time, Chongzhen's heart has no regrets, that is not right. If he knew that Sun Chengzong would really be killed, he would consider sending Jingshi to dispatch. It's a pity that he still had illusions at that time, thinking that Gaoyang City could support Lu Xiangsheng's arrival.

"It's all Lu Xiangsheng's fault!"

Chongzhen thought of Lu Xiangsheng's name and immediately put all the sins on him. The emperor will never make mistakes, and those who make mistakes will always be courtiers. If it weren't for Lu Xiangsheng's slow action and untimely rescue of Gaoyang City, how could Sun Chengzong have died? Sun Chengzong is not dead, how can he lose face in front of the minister?

Since ascending the throne, Chongzhen's heart has always been very proud, always thinking about reviving the dynasty, rectifying the national strength, and restoring the prestige of the former heavenly empire. The era name Chongzhen means revitalization. However, to his surprise, since he ascended the throne, there have been almost no good things, but continuous blows have followed.

First, the Tartars continued to enter the Kou, ravaging the northern country to the point of not being like words, and then the Shaanxi rebels were raging, and they could not be cleared up. Then there was another Zhang Zhun in Shandong, which turned the world upside down. Now, even the three emperors have died in the hands of the Tartars, and his wrong decisions have also been seen through by his subordinates. This made his ambition and his endurance of humiliation and burden a great blow.

When Empress Zhou heard the news, she hurriedly sent Zhitian and Yuan's second concubines, and the crown prince and the two kings of Yong and Ding hurried to Kunning Palace and led them to Fengxian Palace. Because they were not allowed to enter without the edict, they knelt outside the palace gate together and persuaded the emperor to go back to the palace for dinner, not to be too sad and damage the "holy body". Where did Chongzhen listen, but cried even more painfully. In order to hide the ugliness in his heart, Chongzhen wants to do enough of this crying scene.

But the others didn't wake up to the truth, and thought that Chongzhen was really sad, and they were really anxious. The queen and others persuaded and persuaded and cried together. Because the emperor, the empress, the concubine, the crown prince and the two little kings all wept, and many of the eunuchs and palace maids who accompanied them all wept. From inside the temple to outside the temple, there was a cry, as if the country was about to die.

There are four ancient cypress trees in the courtyard, one of which is the thickest and tallest, according to legend, it was struck by lightning in the Jiajing period, burning one branch to death, but in the early years of Wanli, most of the dead branches sprouted again, and they were more vigorous than other branches and leaves. The old eunuchs in the palace said that this ancient cypress is protected by the ancestral gods, and its prosperity and decline can take advantage of the national fortune.

Unfortunately, in recent years, for some reason, the heart of the tree has begun to die, and most of the branches have died. And on the highest part of the dead branch there was a crow's nest. Now the crow was awakened by the cry in the nest, jumped on the dry branch, looked down for a moment, and then suddenly made two or three long calls, and flew away. Whenever you hear a crow's cry, it's a bad omen. For a while, the atmosphere in the palace was even more gloomy.

Chongzhen cried for a while, and was supported by the eunuch Wang Chengen to stand up in a choked voice, and asked the queen Hetian and Yuan Erfei to go in, and also knelt in front of the god of Wanli to salute. After they saluted, he choked up on them and said, "Our ancestors have never changed in three hundred years. Since I have been in the extreme, I have respected the heavens and ancestors, been diligent in government and loved the people, and have not lost morality. Unexpectedly, Jianyu was so rampant and difficult to control, and the disaster became more and more intense, so that Gaoyang City was lost and the emperor was killed. For the first time in three hundred years, the emperor died at the hands of Jianyu. How can I be worthy of my ancestors and ancestors! ”

After saying that, he burst into tears.

In order to "save sorrow" from heaven, he not only "withdrew pleasure and reduced food", but also stopped eating meat. Acting is really ten. Although he was not full of meat on weekdays and was not used to a complete vegetarian diet, he resolutely made up his mind and told the imperial dining room not to prepare meat dishes for him within 100 days. The queen was afraid of damaging his body, so she led Tian and Yuan Erfei to Qianqing Palace to persuade him to stop vegetarianism. He shook his head and refused to be persuaded, sighed with tears in his eyes, and said:

"I have been killing thieves every year, and I have been killing thieves every day, and I have got such a result! I am not a weak king, I am always working hard for the country and making great efforts, but unfortunately God does not bless me, and I bow down to punishment. I don't eat meat, I don't drink alcohol, I just want to feel the heavens and save the heavens. You don't know anything, you don't understand my suffering! ”

Sun Chengzong is the emperor, and the affection of this emperor is like that of father and son. Chongzhen wants to flaunt his filial piety in everything, so he naturally has to deal with the aftermath for Sun Chengzong. What worries him, Sun Chengzong's entire family, including six sons, two nephews, twelve grandsons, nephews and the like, are all killed. Now, even Sun Chengzong's collateral relatives have not been found for the time being. This news has dealt a great blow to Chongzhen's image of filial piety.

As an emperor, if you really care about your teacher, you will inevitably ask for warmth from time to time, care and considerate, help the teacher's family and relatives or something, and seek a career that is not excessive, for an emperor, there is no problem at all. Even if Sun Chengzong is clean and self-conscious, he is embarrassed to meddle in officialdom and install his children, and with the emperor's edict, Sun Chengzong will not be embarrassed. Others are even more afraid to say anything. The emperor helps his teacher to do something, who dares to make irresponsible remarks? Respect teachers and education, do you kid understand? I don't understand! Go home and do some introspection!

However, Chongzhen did not do this. After Sun Chengzong's success, Chongzhen basically forgot about his teacher. The current result is that Sun Chengzong's sons and nephews do not hold any official positions, and all of them are idle at home in Gaoyang City. As soon as the Tartars came, they all perished. This also made Chongzhen feel that the eyes of others were not right. Because, as long as Sun Chengzong has one or two sons who hold official positions in other places, the whole family will not be killed, and even relatives who will deal with the aftermath will not be found.

In order to cover up his hypocrisy, Chongzhen had the intention to give Sun Chengzong a grand funeral, but the treasury was very empty, and Hou Sui had a dead face and couldn't take out the extra silver. Chongzhen had to raise money in the palace. He took out 10,000 taels of silver for himself, 4,000 taels for the queen, 3,000 for Concubine Tian, 2,000 for Concubine Yuan, 10,000 for the crown prince, 1,000 for Empress Yi'an of Ciqing Palace, plus 500 for Concubine Xuanyi Huikang Zhao and Concubine Wen Dingyi of Cining Palace, a total of 31,000 taels of silver, and ordered Wang Yumin, the eunuch of the ceremonial eunuch, to go to Gaoyang City to find Sun Chengzong's relatives and take proper care.

"Herald the ministers!"

"Tomorrow we will discuss the affairs of the court!"

After the sadness, Chongzhen had to reluctantly raise his spirit and convene his ministers to discuss countermeasures.

The Tartars are still raging in Beizhili, and if they don't find a way to solve it as soon as possible, I'm afraid that it will cause even more trouble. Sun Chengzong's death made many ministers secretly feel cold about Chongzhen's meanness and unkindness. Chongzhen himself knows that he must find a way to remedy it.

The next day, the twenty-sixth day of the first lunar month, just after the morning hour, several cabinet ministers, six ministers and left and right attendants, all of whom were summoned to the palace in the course of their affairs. They first met outside the Jinshui Bridge inside the Huangji Gate, passed through the Hongzheng Gate, the Middle Left Gate, and arrived at the right back door. Inside the door is the place where the emperor often summons his ministers, commonly known as the platform.

Last night it was said that the right person was summoned here today, but it was deserted, and only one eunuch was waiting here. He told the officials that because the royal body was unwell, he was summoned in the Qianqing Palace instead. So this group of courtiers continued to walk forward, bypassing the back of the Jianji Hall and entering the Qianqing Gate. Outside the door, there are two tall gilded lions, one on the left and one on the left, shining golden in the sun.

On weekdays, if the courtiers have the opportunity to be summoned to the Qianqing Palace, if they are not too nervous, they can't help but glance at the two lions a few times and admire their beautiful demeanor. But today none of them had the leisure to admire the lion and continued to move forward under the leadership of the eunuch.

Because the country suffered a tragic incident, the emperor's mood was extremely bad, so the ministers' hearts were very uneasy, afraid of being severely punished, and the irresponsible section and Taoist officials also half-truthfully brought out a worried look, and at the same time prepared in their hearts that whenever they had the opportunity, they would attack Zhang Fengyi, Liang Tingdong and others, whom they did not like, and win a good reputation of "daring to speak".

Entering the Qianqing Gate is the royal road, which is protected on both sides by white jade railings and railings with delicate carvings, thick and soft lines. The retainers walked north from both sides of the royal road until they reached the Chongjie, which is the Dan Majesty in the south. In the middle is a huge stone slab, carved with a double dragon to protect the sun, full of auspicious clouds, and there is a tide below. The structure is tight, complete, and the image is vivid.

The ministers lowered their heads and went up from the stone steps on both sides to the platform in front of the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, the so-called Danqi. There are gilded copper dragons, copper turtles, and copper cranes on the Danqi, all of which are more than five feet high, paired in pairs, sandwiched by the royal road, and the east and west face each other; In addition, there are Baoding incense burners, and other furnishings. As soon as the ministers entered the Qianqing Gate, they were surrounded by a very solemn and solemn atmosphere, and the more they walked forward, the more reverence and fear they had, and the more they arrived at the front of the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, they did not even dare to come out of the atmosphere.

The eunuch did not lead them into the main hall, but led them from the eaves of the main hall to the east to the east corner gate. A few people were bold, and when they looked up, they saw a faded yellow paper post posted on the wall, which read: "Madame Chastity has sent a holy message: No noise is allowed in the East Corner Gate." ”

Because of the secret of the deep palace, it is almost isolated from the extension, and people who read this post don't know who this is called Mrs. Chaste. But everyone knew in their hearts that the emperor must be in a disturbed mood on weekdays, and he had to save on reading documents, so eunuchs and palace maids were not allowed to speak loudly in this corner gate. There is a small building next to the corner gate, with a yellow brocade curtain hanging and a small plaque hanging on the forehead of the door, on which is written Zhaoren Hall.

The eunuch lifted two brocade curtains in a row, and everyone bowed in. To the east, two more curtains were lifted, and the ministers entered the innermost room, and only then did they arrive at the place where the emperor summoned them. Chongzhen's face was haggard, and he sat on the royal couch covered with yellow satin mattresses. On the couch, there is a small table of rosewood, on which are placed a few papers, and a tea bowl with a lid is placed on a lotus leaf-shaped silver tea tray. A small plaque hangs on the left, which is the four words of "self-denial and revenge" written by Chongzhen's imperial pen.

After the ministers finished kowtowing, Chongzhen called them up, then sighed and said with a sad expression: "In the ninth year of my reign, the country has been troubled, and there have been years of famine, and people have eaten each other, which is deeply compassionate. Recently, alas, the disaster has intensified, Jianyu captured Gaoyang City, and the emperor was killed. ”

His eyes turned red, he shook his head sadly, and then said, "Mencius said, kiss and be benevolent to the people, and benevolent to the people and love things. Even the emperor can't be saved, it's all caused by immorality, and he really deserves to die! ”

Shoufu Wen Tiren hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please mourn and change." ”

All the other ministers all bowed in unison to St. Ann and asked Chongzhen to mourn and change.

Regarding Sun Chengzong's death, some of the ministers present knew the reason very well and blamed Chongzhen himself. However, some ministers did not know much about the exact reason, so they blamed the military department and Lu Xiangsheng for the reason. Even, some people believe that Hong Chengchou was inappropriately commanded. Each minister has his own thoughts, but he can't see them in his demeanor.

Chongzhen slowly stopped crying, and said with some bitterness: "The situation is difficult, what can you do?" How is it good that the Tartars are so wreaking havoc? ”

Fan Fucui is a new cabinet minister, and when he heard this, he came out and said: "Your Majesty, the Tartars are raging, and they cannot be eliminated unless they are armies." Chen Dou dared to suggest that he send university scholars to supervise the division, gather the military forces of Liaodong, Xuanda, Shaanxi, Shandong, and Henan, besiege the Tartars around Baoding Mansion, and destroy them in one fell swoop. ”

His tone was very impassioned, but it didn't elicit much response.

The other ministers present did not have the ambition of Fan Fucui. Fan Fucui had been in Dali Temple before, and his reputation was not obvious, and no one knew why Chongzhen suddenly promoted him and then entered the cabinet. Fan Fucui had never been involved in military affairs before, and he didn't know much about the combat effectiveness of the imperial court's officials and soldiers, so he had such a statement.

And the other ministers have heard of the combat effectiveness of the imperial court officials and soldiers. I know a lot about the abilities of Wang Kun and Gao Qiqian and others. In their opinion, even if the Ming army pounced on all of them, they might not be able to kill the Tartars. The Tartars are all cavalry, coming and going like the wind, the Ming army can't surround them at all, and once they attack, there is still the danger of being broken by the Tartars.

Another minister, Chen Yin, frowned and said, "This matter is not appropriate. The Xuanda Army and the Liaodong Army are the left and right arms of our army and cannot be easily transferred. Besides, our army is not good at field warfare, and once it leaves the fortified city, it is easy for the enemy to take advantage of it. ”

Fan Fucui frowned and said: "Since the two major armies cannot be transferred, can the emperor issue an order for Zhang Zhun to lead the army westward to reinforce Baoding Mansion and other places?" ”

Hearing Zhang Zhun's name, all the ministers were slightly shocked, and then their expressions were complicated and they didn't say a word. Fan Fucui's proposal, of course, is good. The results of Dongjiabao's battle, the ministers present, basically knew it. There should not be much problem for Zhang Zhun to lead the Tiger Ben army westward and relieve the siege of Baoding Mansion. The only problem is Zhang Zhun's collateral actions. It is almost certain that wherever Zhang Zhun's troops go, it will be his territory.

Now, all the important ministers in the court, if anyone still doesn't understand Zhang Zhun's ambition, it must be an outsider. Zhang Zhun's ambition can basically be described as Sima Zhao's heart, which is known to passers-by, and Zhang Zhun himself has not hidden it. Zhang Zhun has no problem defeating the Tartars. However, after defeating the Tartars, the territory of Beizhili was all Zhang Zhun by him. Zhang Zhun has already controlled Shandong, and if he controls Beizhili again, the imperial court may really have to move the capital.

"It's Zhang Zhun ...... again"

Chongzhen felt that his mouth was very bitter.

Zhang Zhun? Why is it Zhang Zhun again? In the past, when the ministers were deliberating, they would never move Zhang Zhun's name out at once. But now, after only a few words, Zhang Zhun's name appeared. This made Chongzhen feel very annoyed and very unconvinced. Could it be that in the world, except for Zhang Zhun, there is no one else who can deal with the Tartars?

Unbelief!

I don't believe it!

In the world, there are definitely more powerful talents than Zhang Zhun!

Chongzhen said awe-inspiringly: "Except for Zhang Zhun to lead the army westward, is there no other way?" ”

Ministers, look at me, and I look at you, and then remain silent. Obviously, they acquiesced to Chongzhen's question. Wang Kun and Gao Qiqian have such a little ability, of course they know. If you want them to go out and fight with the Tartars, it is better to arrest them and put them in prison. Hong Chengchou has some ability, but he is so far away from Zhending Mansion, and he has no skills to return to the sky!

Chongzhen didn't expect that it would be such a result, and no one paid attention to what he meant. Even Wen Tiren, who has always been flexible and clear, closed his eyes and pretended not to know anything. Chongzhen was angry, and said fiercely: "I don't believe it, without this Zhang Zhun, I can't act!" I believe that Yang Sichang is a natural genius, and he will succeed Lu Xiangsheng as the prime minister of the five provinces! ”

Fan Fucui hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Yang Sichang's experience is still shallow......

Chongzhen said angrily: "Yang Sichang has been at the border for five years, and Zhang Zhun has only been a few years?" ”

Fan Fucui was speechless for a moment.

The emperor is playing tricks, what else does he have to say?

So, at the end of the court meeting, Yang Sichang was ordered to be the prime minister of the five provinces, replacing Lu Xiangsheng.

Back in the upper study of the cabinet, Fan Fucui threw the handboard angrily and said dissatisfiedly: "Princess, do you really believe that Yang Sichang can be in charge?" This villain, who has been at the border for five years, knows what else does he know besides drinking soldiers' blood and embezzling military salaries? ”

Chen Yin looked around and said in a deep voice: "Do you think Yang Sichang is willing to take over the hot potato of the prime minister of the five provinces?" That's what the emperor meant! Don't you see? You even mentioned Zhang Zhun! The emperor's taboo is Zhang Zhun! ”

Fan Fucui still said angrily: "Don't use a good Zhang Zhun, use Yang Sichang!" I look at the situation in Beizhili, there is no worst, only worse! ”

His hometown is in Huang County, the capital of Dengzhou. During the battle in Huangxian, Zhang Zhun lived in Fan Fucui's house. Therefore, Fan Fucui knows very well about the battle in Huangxian. Fan Fucui believes that there must be no problem in dispatching Zhang Zhun to deal with the Tartars. Zhang Zhun and his Tiger Ben army are like a sharp blade that can pierce the hearts of all Tartars.

Wen Tiren said meaningfully: "Muzhi, you are sleepy, go back and rest!" ”

Fan Fucui turned around and left in a huff, not even wanting his own hand.

Chen Yin sighed helplessly, confessed to Wen Tiren, and turned to leave.

At today's court meeting, he went with great hopes, thinking that his proposal should be supported by Chongzhen. As a result, I didn't expect that Chongzhen's mind didn't seem to be on the war at all. More, as if in ...... Looks? Well, Chen Yin's intuition felt that Chongzhen was making a appearance, as if he was trying to hide something, not to solve the problem exactly at all. This world is Chongzhen's, he doesn't care about it himself, why should others be so anxious? Go home and have fun!

Wen Tiren stood silently in front of the desk, not knowing what he was thinking. Today, for the first time, he did not play for Chongzhen. It took a lot of courage for him. Fortunately, he had already figured out a way out. After a long time, he sat down, straightened out his pen and ink, took out a blank cantata, and wrote in a dignified manner: "The minister is afraid to accuse...... The minister is very old...... Beggar Skeleton ...... Zhishi ......"