Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Court Argues
On the second day, Liu Xing sealed the written chapter with fire paint and sent it to Beijing with a six-hundred-mile urgent document, he didn't know how much patience Burhan still had, but sent Pi Wu to appease, Burhan also knew the Ming court's consistent style of doing things, and only gave a half-month deadline. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info not that he is not in a hurry, but that he can't wait.
The six-hundred-mile rush is already the fastest document that Liu Xing can issue, and it takes five days to send it from Ningxia Town to Beijing, which is ten days, and Burhan is really a little tight when he only gives half a month. Before leaving, Liu Xing could only tell his subordinates that the right to be sent for 800 miles should be 600 miles.
The messenger was planted with a flag and the horse was racing wildly, shouting "Six hundred miles urgently!" as he went. Six hundred miles expedited! Seeing the messenger leave the city, Liu Xing felt a little more comforted in his heart.
Five days later! "Six hundred miles in an emergency! Six hundred miles expedited! A roll of yellow dust rolled, and the horse galloped to the ground, but when he saw the figure of a man, he jumped and dismounted. The messenger was already too tired to gallop through the sky, and he saw that his knees were weak after dismounting, and he was half-kneeling on the ground. Naturally, there are specialized agencies in the capital to deal with such urgent documents. I saw that several horsemen hurriedly took down the urgent documents behind the messenger, verified the fire paint, put them into a special brocade box, and then sealed them with red wax, and sent someone to send them to the palace. But all such documents, every time they go to a post station, they will draw a detainment bottom, but they are not afraid that someone will dare to intercept them privately.
Of course, the expedited documents in the border town had to be sent to the military department as soon as possible, and after a servant signed the seal, he saw that it was the six-hundred-mile expedited of Ningxia Town. I muttered in my heart, it couldn't be that something happened in Ningxia Town, right? There are many mountain passes in the border towns of Ningxia, and although they are blocked by the Great Wall, they still cannot prevent the invasion of the Tatars. Thinking of this, I didn't dare to hesitate, and hurriedly reported this letter to Lord Shangshu with a few colleagues as soon as possible.
Since Wang Xianggan resigned due to illness, Zheng Jizhi has been the secretary of the ministry and the affairs of the military department. "Lord Ministry! Your Excellency! The waiter's calves ran tightly and looked flustered.
"What kind of system is it to be so flustered?" Zheng Jizhi is getting older, and he pays more attention to self-cultivation, and he can't help but mention a few words when he sees the situation of the people below.
The waiter also felt that he had lost his temper in front of the boss, so he hurriedly acted but did not forget the important thing. "Lord Ministry! Ningxia Town's six-hundred-mile urgent document for Liu Xing, the town guard, just arrived this morning! ”
"Oh?" Before Zheng Jizhi could hand over the brocade box, he took it from his hand. After reading the signature on it and confirming that it was Liu Xing, the town guard of Ningxia Town, look at the date displayed five days ago. At this time, he didn't care about the system, and said to the waiter, "Maybe the side matter will start again, meet with me quickly!" ”
Fang Congzhe was a lone person who entered the cabinet in the forty-second year of Wanli, and he was sorting out the chapters at this time. One word - mess! The Ming Dynasty has the living treasure of Emperor Wanli, and he has not been in court for more than 20 years, whether it is a serious shortage of local or central officials, even if he is the first assistant, no one will help him do these trivial things, so he can only bear it himself.
was processing the chapter, but heard a rush of footsteps outside the door, and couldn't help but look up to see that it was Zheng Jizhi who was the acting military department of the Ministry of Officials.
"How is Lord Zheng?" Officialdom is polite regardless of position.
Zheng Jizhi was in a hurry, how could he be in the mood to joke with Fang Congzhe? It's just a casual fist hug. "Old Fang Ge! Ningxia Town's six-hundred-mile urgent document for the eunuch Liu Xing. "Serve it to yourself. At first, Fang Congzhe was secretly upset by Zheng Jizhi's impoliteness, but he was relieved to hear that it was the border town that was urgent.
After taking the paperwork, he gently cut the wax seal with an etching knife and took out the song, and verified that the fire paint on it was intact in front of Zheng Jizhi and several ministers before dismantling the song.
"Alas!" After Fang Congzhe watched the recital, he thought a little about it and gave it to Zheng Jizhi, who is now the acting military department, so he naturally has to be very concerned about side affairs. After reading it carefully, he also breathed a long sigh of relief, and looked at Li En, the eunuch with palm prints who stood on tiptoe next to him and peeked from the side, so he might as well show him. Zheng Jizhi's generosity today flattered Li En, and he slowly read it with his play.
After reading it, Li En closed the recital and said, "Hmph! This Liu Xing is becoming more and more unable to do things, so things are also urgent with six hundred miles? We thought it was the Tatars who were harassing the border towns! ”
"What do you know?" After speaking, the lecture was taken from Li En's hand and circulated to the other ministers. Zheng Jizhi is a donkey temper, and Li En is only afraid of the weakest palm print eunuch. "You! Being humiliated like this by Zheng Jizhi, he could only be so angry that his face was red, and he pinched his orchid finger and glared angrily.
After the six ministers had been circulated, Fang Congzhe asked, "You have all watched Liu Xing's recital of Ningxia Town Guard, do you have any ideas?" ”
If you have any ideas, please ask the emperor to decide this kind of thing, otherwise it will be seized by people from other parties. One of the attendants said, "In my opinion, this matter has a lot to stake, so please ask the Holy God to decide!" Fang Congzhe nodded, and immediately saw Emperor Wanli.
Wanli really gave face today, and actually went to court. "There is a book to play...", a eunuch shouted the same trumpet in a long tone.
Everyone knows about Liu Xing's sparseness, but you look at me, and I see that you don't want to be a bird. After a moment of silence, Wanli fell asleep a little, and summoned the attendants and eunuchs to prepare to retreat, Fang Congzhe stood up and held the wat board and said, "Your Majesty! The minister has this to play! ”
The ministers despised him one after another, and at first they didn't say it, the emperor is going to get off work, you say, aren't you sick?
Wanli didn't mean to blame, he only picked his eyelids lightly, and said weakly, "Fang Aiqing, please speak." ”
"Thank you!" Fang Congzhe was dressed and said, "Your Majesty! Liu Xing, the eunuch guarding Ningxia Town, sent an urgent document for six hundred miles! After speaking, he put his hands on it, and the little eunuch came down to present it. Wanli was in high spirits at this time, and after experiencing the Bibai Rebellion, the Mongolian border affairs were the pain in Wanli's heart. In fact, Wanli is afraid of side affairs and wants the treasury to pay out money to settle it, you must know that Wanli is famous for loving money and cherishing money!
Fang Congzhe said: "Holy Lord! Liu Xingzuoshu said: In order to avenge his father's father, the leader of the Hechi Ti tribe, Burhan, wanted to attack the Mongolian fire of the set of tribes, but the army did not have enough food. He was willing to buy 200,000 stone of grain from the imperial court at the price of horses, and a number of soybean cake oil residues. Liu Xing didn't dare to make an assertion, and he was willing to ask His Majesty to write a book! ”
After Fang Congzhe finished speaking, Wanli also browsed it in general, and he was a little more comfortable, he closed the chapter and said, "Buy 200,000 stones of grain, with horses as the price?" What is the intention of the Hechi Ti Division? Just a simple attack on the set to avenge the father? Isn't it taking the opportunity to buy food to guide me Daming? Remember Nagong in Bilailan County, what happened after the imperial court agreed? Entrenched in Lan County, the hinterland of the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty is in front of me, and every time it is called Nagong, it is actually a plunder, making the border people miserable. Is this Hechiti part and Bilai belong to the same hill? ”
Wanli's concerns are reasonable, although the Ming Dynasty has experienced the border trouble of the tribute is not so serious, but who knows what happened to the Hechi Ti Department? It is not subordinate to Meda, but the contradiction with Meda is not ordinarily deep.
As soon as Wanli said this, the ministers who followed the trend said yes, and if it goes on like this, Liu Xing's performance will definitely not be allowed. As the first assistant of the cabinet, Fang Congzhe knew that this was a good opportunity. Since the death of the three ladies of Da Da and Da Da one after another, the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Tumut Mongols has become increasingly secluded, and the border trade of Datong has almost become non-existent, while the demand for horses in the imperial court is expanding day by day, fortunately, there is the support of the Chahar Mongol Lin Dan Khan in Liaodong. In recent years, the two sides of the Hechi Ti Department have become friendly to the Ming and the horse market has become the biggest way for the Ming to obtain war horses. That will have a great impact on Daming.
"Enlighten the Holy One! Nahe Chiti Department since the first Khan Alat period has always been friendly with my Ming Dynasty, remember Wanli forty-one years, a trade made my Ming Dynasty obtain more than 4,000 horses, since then Ningxia town horse government has become the most prosperous place on the nine sides, and therefore Ningxia town guard Liu Xing also received a holy award, asked him to take charge of Ningxia military and political power. When Burhan succeeded to the throne, the scale of the mutual market became larger and larger. Holy See! ”
After Fang Congzhe finished speaking, Cui Jingrong, the right attendant of the military department, also stood on duty and said, "Your Majesty! What Elder Fang Ge said was true. In the 41st year of Wanli, Ningxia Ma Zheng handed over 4,651 horses, more than ninety percent of which were obtained from the Hechi Ti Department. 6,580 horses in the forty-second year of Wanli, and another 5,027 horses this summer. The horses handed over by the Ma Zheng of Ningxia accounted for 50 percent of the country's warhorses, while the war horses of the Mongolian mutual market of the Hechiti Department accounted for more than 70 percent of the border trade market. Liu Xing mentioned in the book that the Tatar slave chieftain Burhan wanted to buy grain at the price of war horses in order to avenge his father. The minister thought that this matter might as well be tried, first, my Ming Dynasty lacked war horses, and trade with the Hechi Ti Department could make up for the shortfall. Second, there were more than 38,000 soldiers in Ningxia Town, 4,000 in Yi, and more than 12,000 war horses. Even if the Hechi Ti Department wants to attack my important town in Ningxia, 200,000 stone of grain is not enough, and my Ming is not easy to mess with, I believe that the border army should work hard to ensure the safety of a place. The imperial court can also increase the number of troops in Ningxia Town, just in case. ”
Cui Jingrong is a squire of the Ministry of War, and the trade of the Hechi Ti Department in exchange for war horses is naturally to benefit the Ministry of War, and he is in charge of Rong Zheng, so he naturally wants to fight for this opportunity.
Wanli understood what the two important ministers said, and everything was to blame on the horses. "I also know what the two Aiqing said, and I remember that Taizu said, 'In the past, people asked about the wealth of the country, that is, who counted the horses? It's a big deal. Its beginning Xuanyuan. Its horses carry armor soldiers, on behalf of labor, prepare for the side and resist humiliation, the foot is broken, the strength is great, the beauty of the merit, but not love to educate! Therefore, the ancients first gave money and grain, so they counted the horses. The power of the horse is not only to prepare for the ear, if the king has the way, then the power of the horse to lead the plough to drive the dung cart, open up the fertile field, its benefits are very great, so the ancient heavy ones are also for this. 'Now that the imperial court horse policy is abandoned, and the war horses rely on the border towns to exchange markets, you are worried that this time you will not allow the Nahe Chiti Department to resent the imperial court and reduce the mutual market war horses. But have the two Aiqing ever thought that what if the Hechi Ti Department really harbors evil intentions and endangers my Daming? ”
Wanli's questioning made the two of them panic, and they hurriedly knelt down and shouted, "Wait for the ministers!" If the ministers are not careful, please ask the Holy God to punish them. ”
Fortunately, Wanli has no intention of blaming. Just waving his hand, it looks like he can't pass. There are indeed many people watching jokes among several political parties in the government and the opposition, especially Shousuke, who has become the target of public criticism. At this moment, things took a turn for the better, and Jin Yiwei commanded Luo Sigong to stand on duty and said, "Initiate the Holy Lord!" The minister has a secret letter, which is Ningxia Jinyi Wei Qianhu He Shuang's submission just arrived this morning. ”
When Wanli saw that it was wrapped in red cloth, he immediately knew that it was the eight hundred miles of Jinyi Guard. "Quick! Fast! Present it quickly. ”
The little eunuch presented the recital, and Wanli opened it in a hurry. Laughing while watching, "Haha!" Ha ha! "The ministers all wondered what happened to the emperor today?
It turned out that what He Shuang's eight-hundred-mile rush played was basically the same as Liu Xing's, but it was more specific. Burhan's father, Alet, did die at the hands of the two tribes of the Mongol Huoluochi and the Rabbit, and Burhan did have the intention of attacking the two tribes. In recent months, the Hechi Ti Department has been intensively preparing for war, and this has been confirmed by the Jinyi Guard's report that has penetrated into it. Burhan has always been close to the Han people, because his mother is Han, and it has been ascertained that his mother Yang Caini is a relative of Yang Yiqing, the general of the trilateral system.
"Haha!" After watching, Wanli laughed and said, "Luo Aiqing, this letter is timely rain!" Someone came to send it to the elder of the pavilion for circulation. ”
But as the commander of the special performance of Jinyiwei, Luo Sigong has no right to watch it, how can he know that the content here is about Ningxia Town? It can only be described as a coincidence.
Fang Congzhe took over the recital, Zheng Jizhi and others read it together, and after watching it, he felt that it was really timely rain.
Wanli said: "It's not impossible to have 200,000 stone grain with the Hechi Ti Department, but is it too expensive for this war horse to cost 20 taels?" (Burhan promised fifteen taels, but this Ming court's convention, he Liu Xing could not help but consider it.) Twenty taels is already considered a conscience! )
The emperor didn't care about these things when he didn't leave the palace, and of course he didn't know how expensive the horses were. I'm afraid the reason is still in the silver, this matter may be messed up, Cui Jingrong immediately replied, "Initiate the saint!" During the period of my answer, the price of the horse was seventy-nine taels, and the price of the horse was ninety-two taels, and the price of the horse was one hundred and forty-four taels of silver, and the price of such a horse was twenty taels that was greatly cheap, and it can also be seen that the Hechi Ti Department had the intention of being close to the imperial court, and his mother Yang Caini was a relative of Yang Yiqing of the trilateral general system. (Tributes are often rewarding and not worth the market value at the time.) )
Wanli nodded, but this caused the dissatisfaction of Li Ruhua, the head of the household. Okay! With grain and horses, you have all the benefits of the military department, and you will pay for the food of my household department, what else do you want to give Yang Caini to ask for a decree, and your majesty will not be rewarded?
"Holy! The minister thought that this was not possible. No matter how Yang Caini is transferred to the Hechi Ti Department, she is not worthy of the title of His Majesty's decree just because she is committed to serving the chief. If Lord Cui wants to curry favor with the slave chief, why don't you marry Miss Guifu? Li also asked for her to be sealed! ”
The Ming Dynasty attached great importance to women's chastity, and a woman like Yang Caini, in order not to discredit her ancestors, the best destination was to kill herself to prove her innocence.
"Li Ruhua! You... You...."Cui Jingrong was so angry that his beard stood up, but there was nothing he could do with Li Ruhua. Li Ruhua didn't care how angry he was, he closed his eyes and looked like he was ignoring.
Because of this matter, the two factions began to attack each other, and there was a noisy scene above the court, and it was about to be controlled, and Emperor Wanli patted the dragon chair and said, "Okay!" Look at you people, do you still look like important ministers of the court? Someone is coming! "Wanli's authority is still there, and the ministers don't dare to speak out again, if you provoke this master again, and you won't go to court for a few years, what are you still a bastard?
"Intended! Jinyiwei Ningxia Town, Qianhu He Shuangshu fulfilled his duties and lived up to the emperor's grace, and should be an example of Jinyiwei, and the officials and Jinyiwei were commended. ”
"And! Liu Xing, the eunuch of Ningxia Town, was generally knowledgeable and rewarded with a thousand taels of silver for his ability to do things. The border trade is very involved, and Cui Jingrong, the right attendant of the military department, is the Qin Mission, and Liu Xing is the deputy and is in charge of this matter. First, all provinces, governments, prefectures, and counties should fully cooperate as requested. ”
After the Wanli Emperor promulgated the holy decree, Zheng Jizhi, the secretary of the Ministry of War, said: "The emperor is sage! The Hechiti Department attacked the Mongolia, and the Tumut Mongolia must come to the rescue, will the unstable situation strengthen the defense of the important towns along the Xuanda line? ”
Zheng Jizhi's words made the palm print eunuch Li Enhuo think about it and said, "Your Majesty! Since the Tumut Mongols rescued the troops, wouldn't it be an emptiness in internal affairs, why not send troops to recover the border town forts? He knew that Emperor Wanli wanted to make a difference, and he had to chase after the achievements of Chengzu.
As soon as Li En's words came out, he was attacked by the imperial historians. Zhang Wenda, who is also the Imperial History of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, said the most intensely: "Enlighten the saint!" The minister impeached the eunuch Li En, who was the master of ceremonies. As a close minister of His Majesty, he did not know how to share his worries for His Majesty, but instead instigated the Holy Lord to start border affairs without permission, ignoring the lives of the people in our border towns. The sinister nature of his heart and the viciousness of his words cannot be overstated. The eunuch Li En, who has two palm prints, is arrogant and domineering. Three bullets, Li En's slanderous words are flattering and saintly disadvantageous. All in all, please kill him with a stick! ”
Li En really didn't expect that his words would make Yu Shi target, so he had to find the master to be gracious! He hurriedly knelt down in the hall, and couldn't stop kowtowing and said, "The slave deserves death, please be merciful!" Pray for grace from the Holy One! "Kowtowing to the scalp is worn out, but you can't see blood, this kowtow is also an art." At this time, Zhang Wenda despised Li En, he was a eunuch and was not treated well, but he had to behave from time to time, and now kowtow! Wasn't it very proud just now?
Wanli protects his shortcomings, especially between courtiers and eunuchs, so he has to weigh one or two. Today, he wanted to protect Li En, so he pretended to be angry and said, "Bold Li En!" This full court of courtiers didn't speak, why are you in a hurry? ”
As soon as Li En heard that this was bad, even the emperor didn't protect himself, and said, "The slave deserves death!" Sin deserves death! ”
"You don't have to die, go down and get twenty boards by yourself!" Li En smiled when he heard this, wiped his snot and tears, "Thank you, Holy Grace!" Thank you! After speaking, he left the hall very interestingly and went down to get the board.
Zhang Wenda thought to himself, this is the end? How can you embody the ability of the imperial history if you don't kill you, and you were about to speak but were interjected by the first assistant Fang Congzhe.
"Initiation! The minister thought that what Lord Zheng said was extremely true, the Tatars have always been insidious and cunning, and it cannot be ruled out that the Tumut Mongols made a chaotic attack on the border towns, and the minister thought that heavy troops should be deployed along the Xuanda line, and they should be prepared! ”
Zhang Wenda looked at Fang Congzhe, as if he was a little blamed for interjecting but didn't dare to show too much, while Fang Congzhe looked solemn. I thought: Isn't it just a eunuch's words! You can make up those rules in an instant in your imperial history, isn't it, and it's still domineering? If you get rid of Li En, you will never be able to find such a cowardly palm print. If you bite like this again, you will offend the one above, and then you will only be injured!
Wanli nodded and tasted Fang Congzhe, this old guy is not useless, at least this great diversion is skillful. "Hmmm! What Fang Aiqing said is exactly what I wanted. In this way, it will be left to Fang Aiqing and Zheng Aiqing to deal with! I'm tired, so that's all for now! Retreat! ”
As an emperor, you must know how to delegate power, and a hundred emperors are tired of bowing to everything. The little eunuch dragged on in a long tone and said, "Retreat... To..."
It's not going well this morning, but it's much better than before. Fang Congzhe wanted to rush back to the ministry, draft the holy decree, issue an official letter, and solve the trivial matters of the Hechiti Ministry as soon as possible, and the court would be able to clean up for a few days.
PC: I came back late yesterday, so I sent it a little late, and I hope to continue to support it early today. It's not about taking this as a career, it's just to bring everyone a little comfort to kill time!