On the fifth day of the seventh month, Zhang Yuan and his entourage entered Shanhaiguan, Zou Zhiyi, the director of the military department guarding Shanhaiguan, was a protégé of Wu Daonan, the second assistant of the cabinet, and Zhang Yuan was naturally close, Zou Zhiyi invited Zhang Yuan, Ruan Dacheng and North Korea to invite a few people to a banquet in the official mansion that night, and after the banquet dispersed, he and Zhang Yuan and Ruan Dacheng went to the Shanhaiguan City Tower to drink tea and have a long talk, and listened to Zhang Yuan talk about the attack on Phoenix Mountain, Zou Zhiyi said with a solemn expression: "Walking on thin ice, fortunately, Zhang Xiu was cautious, and transferred a hundred musketeers, and the Jinyi guard also dared to fight, There are also guards with strong martial arts who kill the thief in one fell swoop, otherwise it will be dangerous! He also sighed: "As far as I can see, today's Liaodong generals, who do not practice war on weekdays, are arrogant, thinking that the slave chiefs are not enough to worry, for many years, do not repair military equipment, rotten halberds are dull, aid is not enough, the golden drum is almost loud, the soldiers under his command are only used by slaves, very little training, and even can not open the bow, or the bow is less than thirty steps, once something happens, what will this kind of soldier use!" ”

This is rotten to the roots, Zhang Yuan sighed: "Governor Li is reluctant to steal peace, and General Zhang is brave and unplanned, and in less than a year, Liao will be bad." ”

Ruan Dacheng does not care much about the affairs of Liaodong, he and the vast majority of officials and people in the Ming Dynasty, do not think that the Houjin can pose much threat to the Ming regime, even after this trip to North Korea, Ruan Dacheng's concept has not changed much, at most he thinks that Nurhachi will have a certain threat to Liaodong, he is most concerned about the results of Ding Si's Jingcha, March 22 When they left Beijing, the inspection of the Beijing officials below the fourth grade has ended, Ding Yuanjian, the director of the Ministry of Rites, Lu Dashou, the director of the Zhejiang Division of the Ministry of Households, and Ma Defeng of the Criminal Department. Fu Mei, the director of the Criminal Department, Li Cheng of the Criminal Department, and Li Pu of the Hubu Langzhong, six Donglin or pro-Donglin officials, were dismissed and dismissed, and several Donglin officials were demoted or transferred out of Beijing, and the Donglin forces suffered a heavy blow——

But the highlight of Ding Sijingcha is also the inspection of high-ranking officials of the fourth rank and above. The self-Chen of these officials was sent to the emperor in early March. and was transcribed and passed on by the Governor. Now the officials of science and technology are basically controlled by the three parties of Zhejiang, Chu and Qi, and the officials of the three parties want to use this gleaning to expel all the senior officials of Donglin from the two capitals, and they have begun to collect evidence against the Donglin party since last year.

Therefore, Ruan Dacheng took advantage of the break between Zhang Yuan and Zou Zhiyi to discuss the situation in Liaodong and hurriedly asked: "Chief Zou, I don't know if the overall situation in Beijing will be decided this year?" ”

Zou Zhiyi was stunned and said: "Yes, you two are far away in North Korea, and you don't know the changes in the DPRK and China. Alas, now it is a group of small people who are in power, and the party is about to prosper! Immediately told Zhang Yuan and Ruan Dacheng in detail about the beginning and end of Ding Sijingcha, Yao Zongwen of the Zhejiang Party, Zhou Yongchun of the Qi Party instructed Xu Shaoji to give the left of the Department of Officials, Han Jun, the imperial history of Henan Province, impeached the left attendant of the Ministry of Officials and the bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, Weng Zhengchun, the right attendant of the original Rite Deployment Department, Sun Shenxing, the right attendant of the former Rite Deployment Department, Yin Qiao Yunsheng of the Shuntian Mansion, the right attendant of the former Ministry of Officials and the bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, Wang Tu, the former Guozi Supervisor Zhu Guozhen and other Donglin Party officials, as well as Sun Wei, the left capital of the Imperial Palace, Zhan Shifu, Zhan Shi, Qian Longxi, two pro-Donglin officials, were impeached by the gleaning -

People are not sages, who can do nothing, and this also implicates the clan, and there are traitors in the clan who are also counted on the head of the official, so once it is picked up, it is difficult to defend itself, and the Wanli Emperor will be picked up on the sixth day of the fourth month. Qiao Yun was promoted and dismissed, Wang Tuguan took idle, Weng Zhengchun, Sun Shenxing, and Zhu Guozhen returned to their hometowns to recuperate. The so-called homecoming adjustment is a euphemism, which is tantamount to dismissal in disguise; Wang Zhiyu, a Donglin cadre who had been demoted to the magistrate of Quanjiao County in the attack case last year, was punished again, this time directly dismissed from office; Also, the Jiangxi Provincial Imperial History Sun Juxiang was transferred to Jiangxi to participate in politics, Yao Yongji was transferred to Huguang as the deputy senator of the Ministry of Affairs, Li Banghua of Shandong Province was transferred to Shanxi as a senator, and Xiong Ming was transferred to Fujian in the military department, only Sun Wei, the left capital of the Imperial Palace, and Qian Longxi, the young Zhan of the Zhan Mansion, were retained.

Zhang Yuan frowned slightly, although this result was expected by him, but he was still unhappy, although there are scum in Donglin, but there are many righteous people and gentlemen, although there are many upright people in the three parties, but more are people who tend to be inflammatory, otherwise they will not be attached to Wei Zhongxian later to become a eunuch, Gu Xiancheng, Gao Panlong led by Donglin people are also far deeper than the three parties in their understanding of the country's maladministration, some people in later generations fabricated and distorted historical facts to put the responsibility for the fall of the Ming Dynasty on Donglin's head It is ulterior motives, advocating the public world, Opposition to the dictatorship of the monarchy is also taboo after 400 years, Zhang Yuan has a clear understanding of this, but that is all later, and the problem in front of him is: Now that Donglin officials have fully withdrawn from the government center, and Liaodong is about to rise, how should he deal with it?

Ruan Dacheng was not as calm as Zhang Yuan, and exclaimed: "Weng Shilang and Zhu Xianjiu have all returned home!" ”

Zou Zhiyi said: "Yes, the dismissed officials have left Beijing one after another since June, by the way, there is another thing Zhang Xiushu may not know yet, and Mr. Xuan and other brothers have also been released, but I don't know if they have left Beijing." "Shang Zhou Zuo's words are clear and the number is so good.

Zhang Yuan was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, Zou Zhiyi said: "Let my brother-in-law patrol Fujian as the imperial history of Zuo Du, this is not demeaning." ”

Ruan Dacheng looked at Zhang Yuan, didn't say anything, he knew very well in his heart that this was a means for Fang Congzhe, Yao Zongwen and others to attack Zhang Yuan, Shang Zhouzuo originally belonged to the Zhejiang Party, and his official reputation was quite good, if the three parties were willing to push hard, then it was not impossible for Shang Zhouzuo to be promoted to the right deputy capital of the third rank in this Ding Si Jingcha, and now although it is not derogatory to be the governor of Fujian with the left imperial history, but there is a big difference between the release and the Beijing position, many officials would rather be a petty official of the seventh or eighth grade in Beijing, rather than let the governor of the fifth or sixth rank be allowed to be the governor and general judgment of the fifth or sixth grade, Just like him Ruan Dacheng, who stayed in the Beijing Pedestrian Division as an eight-grade pedestrian, he also thought that he was better than Huang Zunsu, who was released as the seven-grade county commander, and there were many opportunities for promotion in Beijing, and the magistrates rarely could enter the center of power, and who started from the county magistrate of the six departments and the cabinet scholars? Shang Zhouzuo's governor of Fujian was equivalent to weakening Zhang Yuan's power-

It seems that after Fang Congzhe and the three party bureaucrats expelled Donglin, they also began to suppress Zhang Yuan's Han Society, and Ruan Dacheng, as a member of the Han Society, couldn't help but feel in danger and couldn't see the future.

Zhang Yuan heard that his brother-in-law was going to governor Fujian, but he was a little more settled, because he knew that the court struggle was the most fierce in the next few years, and after the crown prince Zhu Changluo ascended the throne, all the Donglin people who had been degraded earlier were reinstated and promoted, but the red pill case and the palace transfer case followed, Donglin and the three parties became fire and water, and the party disaster was unprecedented, so it should be a good thing for the brother-in-law Shang Zhou Zuo to leave the whirlpool of strife, that is, the sister-in-law Fu and Jinglan and Jinghui The two sisters had to travel six thousand miles to go to Fujian.

Zhang Yuan asked: "Then who are the people who took advantage of this Jingcha promotion?" ”

Ruan Dacheng also asked: "Yes, what is Yao Zongwen's official position?" ”

Zou Zhiyi said: "Yao Zongwen has a bad reputation, and he is still in the middle of the matter, Zhou Yongchun of the Qi Party was promoted to the right of the imperial history this time, and Li Wei of the Zhejiang Party is also in charge of the Criminal Department and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the rest of the official positions remain the same, this is because the emperor refuses to fill the vacancies, otherwise the officials of the six ministries and the seven secretaries of the five mansions will all be members of the three parties." ”

Zhang Yuan said: "In fact, it is almost the same, the important positions of the Taoist officials and the six ministries are basically controlled by the three parties, and the emperor does not fill the vacancies, they have more power than one person." ”

Ruan Dacheng felt that he was hot, shook the folding fan violently, stood up and looked at the southwest capital from the lofty Shanhaiguan City Tower, the night sky was vast, and the stars were sparse, and he said in his heart: "After returning from the envoy for several months, it is already such a situation!" Looking back at Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yuan was silent, not worried, I really don't know what Zhang Yuan thinks-

……

On July 18, Shao Fuzhong of the Ming Rite Department was ordered to come to Tongzhou Luhe Station to meet Zhang Yuan and the Korean envoy Yu Yan and his party, in the evening, more than 100 people from the Ming Dynasty and the North Korean delegation arrived at Luheyi, before the banquet, Zhang Yuan and Ruan Dacheng reported to Shao Fuzhong the situation of the envoy and the attack, Shao Fuzhong said: "The affairs of the Korean state have their own emperor's decision, Zhang Xiushu and Ruan Xingren return safely. He added: "Nearly half of the sixty-one Jinyi guards who accompanied the envoy were killed or wounded, which is really something that has never happened in the more than two hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty." Shao Fuzhong's tone seemed to be teasing.

Zhang Yuan said: "The rampant Donglu and the unstable border are indeed a rare crisis in the past two hundred years. ”

Shao Fuzhong smiled, said no more, and invited Zhang Yuan, Yu Yan and others to the banquet.

In the afternoon of the next day, Shao Fuzhong, Zhang Yuan, and Yu Yan entered the inner city of Beijing through Chaoyangmen, when they suddenly heard someone shouting: "Young master, young master-", and another person shouted: "Uncle, uncle," and the two people rushed to the front of the mission car while shouting.

Zhang Yuan heard the voice and knew that it was Wuling and the little maid Baima, but at this time, the sun was slanting westward, the light was dazzling, and there were many people on both sides of the street. ”

The captain of the Jinyi guard let Wuling and the white horse come over, and Wuling said happily: "Brother Fu and the sledgehammer are still guarding Chongwenmen, they thought that the young master would definitely come back from Chongwenmen, but I guessed that the young master would go to Chaoyangmen, sure enough!" He also instructed Bai Ma: "Bai Ma, you go back first to report to the young grandmother, and then say that you have received the young master." ”

The white horse is an anxious child, just run away, Zhang originally wanted to say a few words, he had already run far away, from here to Li Ge old alley there are more than ten miles of road, this little guy should not be tired and half dead, and it is this hot day, Zhang Yuan hurriedly asked Wuling to catch up and call the white horse back, no need to rush back to report the news, he has to return to the Ministry of Rites first.

Wu Ling and Bai Ma followed Zhang Yuan's mount, and Zhang Yuan asked, "Is my brother Shang still in Beijing?" ”

Bai Ma hurriedly replied: "The eldest master left Beijing at the end of last month." ”

Wu Ling added: "Miss Jinghui stayed in Beijing, and Miss Jinghui was unwell last month, so she didn't go to Fujian with Master Shang. ”

Zhang Yuan hurriedly asked: "What kind of disease, are you getting better now?" ”

Wu Ling said: "It's better, but it's not cured yet, but it's not clear what kind of illness it is." ”

—————————————————————— (To be continued.) )