When the news of the Shandong War reached Beijing, it was inevitably another shock. Jiajing, Wanli years of the rebellion of the Japanese in the sea is vivid, a few decades have passed, this Japanese robber actually made a comeback, Shandong general Liu Zeqing actually died in battle, naturally it is doubly worried. The people of the capital don't know the reason, so they naturally spread the rumors, and all kinds of news are flying all over the sky. However, what is a little reassuring is that the pirates were finally repulsed, and the hero is now Zhu Ping'an, the deputy commander of Dengzhou.

Among them, there are also rumors about Liu Zeqing's conspiracy to link up with the bandits and intend to occupy Dengzhou and the trade area, but in the news that the official army repelled the bandits and captured countless people, it is not so important, but it makes people feel a strong sense of conspiracy, which makes people unbelievable.

The victory of the official army, the people are naturally rejoicing, especially the young hero Zhu Ping'an, who has shined in the battle of the giant deer, which is even more popular with the people, and the rumors that he asked the emperor for marriage at the beginning made his story a popular talk in Beijing.

It is said that there are many kinds of news in the market, but the courtiers and emperors in the center may not believe it, and they have the channels of various sources in their hands, and the information they get seems to be more accurate. But now the news that has been summarized and the snowflakes from Shandong have made the entire central cabinet ministers and His Majesty the Emperor Xià worried.

The first letter to enter Beijing was Liu Zeqing's recital, playing the Ming Haikou invaded the territory, Liu Zeqing in order to repay the grace of the saints, regardless of the body that was recuperating from his injuries, did his best to rescue Dengzhou from various provinces in Shandong. Then there is Zhu Ping'an's report document. Yan Ming has successfully repelled a large number of pirates, but Liu Zeqing unfortunately died on the battlefield.

Then there is the suspicious and inexplicable recital. Deng Fanxi, the prefect of Yanzhou, and Liang Hezhong, the commander of the command, impeached Liu Zeqing for mobilizing troops and horses without authorization with bad intentions; Peng Weizuo, the prefect of Laizhou, and Tang Qianrong, the commander of the command, impeached Liu Zeqing for colluding with Haikou. The army plundered the place and seized the imperial officials. Liu Zeqing's eldest son, Liu Zhicun, and others impeached Zhu Ping'an for a conspiracy to frame him, and assassinated Liu Zeqing in the middle of the battle.

This time, there was chaos in the court. The former officials of Yang Sichang's party pointed the finger at Zhu Ping'an, and the focus of the attack was Liu Zhicun's recital, and Liu Zeqing's death was completely blamed on Zhu Ping'an. asked the imperial court to treat Zhu Ping'an for a major crime of killing the court officials.

Today's military department has been replaced by Chen Xinjia. Fu Zonglong has only been in this position for a year, and Yang Sichang has supervised Huguang. Fu Zonglong insisted on the righteousness of the "expulsion of wages" in the Great Campaign, and impeached him for "wasting the country in vain and could not repay the service." was jealous of Yang Sichang, and then instructed the party members in the DPRK and China to attack him. Chongzhen was also furious because Fu Zonglong did not know the current affairs and belittled him. Only then did Chen Xinjia take over the post of the Ministry of War.

There is a consensus between the DPRK and China that Yang Sichang is still the main force in military affairs, which is also a check and balance policy formulated by Chongzhen, so Chen Xinjia's succession is an obvious signal. In the affairs of the Ministry of War, Zhou Yanru couldn't get involved for a while.

However, Shandong's use of troops this time gave Zhou Yanru an excellent opportunity and excuse to meddle in military affairs.

Order. The officials under Zhou Yanru's command fired thousands of arrows. Liu Zeqing used Shandong soldiers and horses, even if it was to suppress thieves, but why didn't he report it to the imperial court. Even if it is reported to the Ministry of War, but more than 2,000 soldiers and horses are dispatched, the Ministry of War needs to report to the cabinet, and the cabinet drafts a vote, and the celebrant is clothed in red, and the emperor's imperial tour can only be implemented.

Take 10,000 steps back. Even if the military was urgent, Liu Zeqing had no choice but to use the troops first. Then why did when entering Yanzhou and Laizhou, he actually replaced the imperial court's edict with Huguang Xingyuan's warrant, plundered the place, and detained the officials, is there still a bit of royal law? In the end, this is a matter of procedure, but this procedure is a matter of military involvement, so it is all the more important.

The two factions of people and horses saw red bayonets in the court, and they were happy to kill, and Chongzhen At this time, the old habit of indecision was undoubtedly revealed again. Yang Sichang currently controls the most elite 100,000 soldiers and horses in the Guan, and he is the main one in military affairs; Zhou Yanru is in the center and is the first assistant of the cabinet, and the two of them are having a lot of trouble because of the affairs in Shandong, which is really unsightly.

After grinding like this for nearly half a month, Chongzhen made up his mind to settle this dispute. The disaster that Liu Zeqing brought out, regardless of whether the Haikou was really true or not, Dengzhou was indeed attacked, the reply of Wang Pin of the City Ship Division was unmistakable, and hundreds of Haikou warships besieged Weihaiwei Military Port and Dengzhou Port, fought a bloody battle with the Denglai Naval Division, and the ships that were sunk and damaged were not counted, all of which are well documented. In this way, Emperor Chongzhen got off the donkey and posthumously named Liu Zeqing as Laiyang Bo, and the prince Shaobao did something hastily. The person is already dead, and it is useless to pursue it further, and it can only cause disputes in vain.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at the edict prepared by the celebrant and smiled bitterly and ordered the seal. Although the form of the ministers' infighting was bitter and hateful in his heart, he directed it by himself, and Emperor Chongzhen had to swallow this bitter fruit.

The cabinet ministers are now above the court, Zhou Yanru, Wei Dezao, Jiang Dejing, plus a newly entered the cabinet Zheng Sanjun, as well as Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, Li Jiantai, the right attendant of the household department, and others.

Zheng Sanjun is a representative of the Qingliu in the DPRK, a jinshi in the twenty-sixth year of Wanli, who has worked in Nanjing for a long time in the Southern Criminal Department, the Household Department and the Ministry of Officials. Because before, he was imprisoned by Wen Tiren and his party, but fortunately, Huang Daozhou, Lu Xiangsheng and others begged for a re-examination, and he was cleared of grievances. Later, he was appreciated by Emperor Chongzhen and promoted to a university scholar, a cabinet minister, and was in charge of the affairs of the ministry. At the beginning of his tenure, he recommended Li Banghua, Liu Zongzhou, Shi Kefa, Feng Yuanyang, Chen Shiqi and other five people to Chongzhen, which also caused an uproar in the court for a while.

Zheng Sanjun can indeed be called a torch, and he has seen through the entanglement of interests at a glance. After agreeing with Emperor Chongzhen's handling opinions, he said directly: "The emperor is wise. In the past, the imperial court sent the post of governor in order to be able to control the military generals of the zhì side, so as not to make them blindly bigger and beyond the scope of the imperial court's control. When Yan Jizu took office in Shandong, although Liu Zeqing was domineering, he couldn't cause much trouble to ......! ”

While saying this, Zheng Sanjun looked at Chen Xinjia, Zhou Yanru and others meaningfully, and continued: "Liu Zeqing has passed away, and the post of Shandong General Army is vacant. The minister thought that the two plans just proposed were not suitable! ”

As soon as these words came out, Zhou Yanru's henchmen and Chen Xinjia and others suddenly turned stunned, and they were about to fight back, but Emperor Chongzhen unexpectedly said: "Does Aiqing have a plan?" ”

"Liu Zeqing went out of Shandong for several years, and the officers of the capital division and the guard office were all under his disciples, and his eldest son Liu Zhicun took over as the general soldier of Shandong, but it was Xiao Gui Cao Sui, and he did not benefit the imperial court in the slightest. Besides, Zhu Ping'an, if the minister remembers well, this son is only nineteen years old now, and it may not be a good thing for him to be suddenly promoted again. This person can be regarded as having some talents, especially this time to defeat the invaders to the sea, showing my great prestige, and indeed deserve a reward. In Yichen's opinion, it is better for him to take charge of the Shandong military affairs first and see the results. ”

Zheng Sanjun's voice gradually became louder, "But the post of governor can no longer be vacant, and the imperial court must appoint officials to take up the post so that the imperial court can control the local military towns and avoid the recurrence of the case of local military generals crossing the imperial court and privately transferring troops and horses!" ”

Chongzhen smiled, "Aiqing has a suitable candidate?" ”

Zheng Sanjun replied without hesitation: "The minister recommends Fang Yuegong, who is currently the deputy envoy of Shandong Caoyun and the right senator. This person is a jinshi in the second year of the Apocalypse, and has successively served as the head of the household department, the prefect of Songjiang, and the deputy envoy of Shandong Caoyun. For the official to be honest, known as the name of the operator! ”

Chongzhen patted his forehead with a thoughtful look, "Why is this person's name so familiar?" ”

Wang Chengen quietly turned half of his body and said in a small voice: "Emperor, in the last evaluation of officials in the world, this person was tied for the top five. When Chongzhen was in the fifth year, Xu Ge, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites at that time, recommended this person to the emperor for a hundred years, but at that time, because this Fang Yuegong built a sea pond in Songjiang, he was falsely accused of embezzling 3,000 taels of silver. ”

Emperor Chongzhen suddenly realized, and suddenly clearly remembered that Fang Yuegong was coming. Xu Guangqi, the second assistant of the cabinet in the fifth year of Chongzhen, once recommended this person to him before his death, but later because he was involved in a corruption case, his perception of this person was greatly reduced. But later, I heard that he had been falsely accused. Now that I think about it, if the most respected Xu Guangqi can recommend this person to himself so solemnly, then this Fang Yuegong must have something extraordinary.

Chen Xinjia on the side said coldly at this time: "No wonder Zheng Ge Lao said this, it turned out that he wanted to recommend his cronies to enter the court!" “

Zheng Sanjun's face did not change, and he said loudly to Chongzhen: "It has only been a month since the minister entered the cabinet, and in January, five officials have been recommended to the imperial court, plus Fang Yuegong mentioned today, a total of six people. These six people, the minister is also familiar with them, understand their talents, so the minister spares no effort to recommend to His Majesty. Chen Butang's remarks mean that the old man's recommendation is cronyism and forming a party for personal gain. The minister asked His Majesty to issue an order to send a secretary to investigate thoroughly, and if the old man had a private relationship with any of the six people, the old man would take off the black yarn and ask for his resignation from Beijing. What does Chen Butang think? ”

Chen Xinjia didn't expect this Zheng Sanjun to be so strong, leaving no room for speaking and doing things, so he immediately closed his mouth.

Chongzhen's heart was relieved for no reason. The two parties of Zhou and Yang fought repeatedly in the court, but they were powerless to deceive themselves. In military affairs, it is necessary to rely on Yang Sichang to fight the thieves with all his might, and Zhou Yanru is needed in the court to compete with him and take charge of political affairs, these two people are currently indispensable, but this kind of balance is becoming more and more intense, and the two factions will fight for everything for their own interests, and the center of the disturbance is not peaceful.

But arranging for Zheng Sanjun to enter the cabinet is really a clever move. This person has no party or faction, but he has an incomparable position in the clear stream between the government and the opposition. Since then, let them and Zhou Yang fight each other, and it is only fitting that the action of this final blow is handed over to this Zheng Sanjun.

Chongzhen coughed lightly twice and nodded approvingly, "Since it is recommended by Aiqing, then this person will not be wrong." In that case, let's summon this Fang Yuegong to Beijing, and I want to see him. Shandong is adjacent to Beijing, there must be no chaos, and the exile of King De last year has made me shameless to my ancestors and the common people in the world. Now that Liu Zeqing has been martyred, Shandong must not be left alone, so he ordered Zhu Ping'an to be in charge of Shandong's military affairs as the general soldier of Dengzhou! (To be continued) R655