Cao Jixiang served as the eunuch of the palm seal of the imperial horse supervisor?

Hearing the news, Shen Yichen gasped, this guy is a more dangerous character than Wang Zhen.

At most, Wang Zhen was attached to the imperial power, but Cao Jixiang kept his family's private army in captivity, and his ambitions eventually swelled to the extent that he planned to depose the emperor.

Originally, he served as the supervisor of the palm seal, mainly managing the halogen book, honor guard, rain gear and other utensils, the affairs were numerous and messy, and the most important thing was that he had no real power. Now he has been transferred to the Imperial Horse Prison, and he really controls tens of thousands of Praetorian Guards in Beijing.

In addition, the former eunuch Guo Deng, the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, conspired against rebellion, and there was always a fatal flaw, that is, Teng Xiang Siwei was the pro-army of the Son of Heaven, and he wanted to call on them to rely on the abduction and deception of the Emperor Zhu Qizhen's identity.

Cao Jixiang is completely different, his means and ability to command soldiers are far more than Guo Deng I don't know how many times. It is completely possible to use the Cao family and the Mongolian family to give Teng Xiang Siwei a stealing beam and changing the pillars, until the emperor's influence in the army is eliminated and controlled in his own hands.

But the problem is that Cao Jixiang was originally subordinate to Wang Zhenmen, and later took refuge in the Empress Dowager Sun, which is equivalent to standing on the opposite side of Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu. How big the emperor's heart and stomach are, even this kind of "enemy" can be reused, Shen Yichen really feels a little incomprehensible.

"Princess, when this official has been out of town for a long time, he may not know much about the situation in the palace, so he takes the liberty to ask more."

"Isn't Gonggong Cao the Queen Mother's person, how can he serve as the palm seal of the Imperial Horse Supervisor?"

Hearing Shen Yichen's question, a playful smile appeared on Wang Cheng's face, and then he replied meaningfully: "Shen Ge Lao, is Gonggong Cao really the Queen Mother?" ”

A simple answer made Shen Yichen suddenly realize, no wonder he had been wondering before the palace change, why Zhu Qiyu was able to make Lu Zhong bet on both ends under the command of Jinyiwei, and only relying on the information of the East Factory temporarily controlled by Cheng Jing, he could lay a net and wait for Zhu Qizhen to take the bait repeatedly.

Cao Jixiang turned out to have taken refuge in Emperor Jingtai a long time ago!

Thinking of these Shen Yichen, a self-deprecating smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, the direction of history can be changed, but none of the characters who can leave their names in the history books are good, and they can still find their own stage after all.

This is true of Shi Heng, and the same is true of Cao Jixiang.

"Shen Ge Lao, Wuying Hall has arrived, you can go in first."

Wang Cheng's words brought Shen Yichen back to his senses, and he arched his hand and said, "Thank you for leading the way." ”

"You're welcome, Shen Ge, please."

At this time, in the Wuying Palace, Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu sat on the top dragon chair, and there were Xi Eucalyptus on the left and right sides, and a group of central ministers were seated in columns. For example, Chen Xun, the first assistant of the cabinet, Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, Wu Jin, the marquis of Zhongshun, Wang Zhi, the secretary of the ministry, and others.

As for Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Yu Qian, the secretary of the Ministry of War, they did not participate in such a celebration banquet in the Wuying Palace, and they will treat the soldiers of the three armies instead of the emperor.

However, after Shen Yichen entered the palace, among this group of familiar faces, he saw an unfamiliar face sitting next to Wang Zhi, the secretary of the ministry. Being able to participate in this celebration banquet and sit next to the heavenly officials of the Ministry of Officials means that there must be at least six chief officials, is there still a major personnel change in the DPRK and China?

Of course, now is not the time for Shen Yichen to solve his doubts, after he came to the center of the main hall, he bowed five times and bowed three times to Zhu Qiyu, the Jingtai Emperor on the dragon chair, and shouted: "Minister Shen Yichen greets Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!" ”

From the moment Shen Yichen stepped into the Wuying Palace, Zhu Qiyu kept his eyes locked on him. I haven't seen him for almost two years, and the bitter cold and frost outside the plug have left many traces on Shen Yichen's face, especially the beard on his chin, which has made the immaturity of the once beautiful boy disappear.

"Shen Qing, it's hard to fight outside the fortress."

Zhu Qiyu said this sentence with mixed feelings, he admired Shen Yichen's ability in his heart, as well as the other party's great exploits in expanding the territory. But as a double-edged sword, the better Shen Yichen performs, the more urgent the sense of crisis it brings him, and he doesn't know how to perfectly control and use this "sharp blade"!

"Serving Your Majesty loyally is within the duty of the ministers."

Shen Yichen did not show the slightest arrogance of returning to the dynasty victoriously, on the contrary, he was more cautious in front of Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu.

Regarding Shen Yichen's restraint and caution, Zhu Qiyu could vaguely perceive the other party's intentions, so he could only sigh secretly, and then said with a smile on his face: "Shen Qing conquered Wuliang Ha Sanwei this time, opened up territory for my Ming Dynasty, and protected the peace of the nine sides, which can be described as a high achievement. ”

"Take a seat!"

Naturally, the upper seat did not go to the imperial platform to drink with the emperor, but I saw that the palace people had placed the seat in the chief position on the left, and let Shen Yichen sit in front of the official Shangshu Wang and Chen Xun, the first assistant of the cabinet, which can be said to be above 10,000 people under one person!

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

This kind of grace Shen Yichen did not shirk politeness, when it was time to let the emperor eliminate his vigilance, he must show a cautious side. But if he is too humble and cautious, then it will fuel the arrogance of political enemies and villains, Shen Yichen has not forgotten the notoriety of killing the monarch that caused a stir in the court at the beginning, and he will inevitably be mentioned when he returns to Beijing.

Got up and raised his head, and before taking his seat, Shen Yichen took the risk of losing his honor in front of the king, and glanced directly at Zhu Qiyu who was sitting on the dragon chair. Compared with the vigor of two years ago, he has lost a lot of weight at this time, and his face has a sickly paleness.

Shen Yichen didn't know if this was caused by the pill, or if Zhu Qiyu and the folk prostitutes were overindulged, in short, this was not a good sign.

After returning to the seat, the next thing is the politeness of all kinds of officialdom, after all, the people who can sit here are the court spirits, what to say and what not to say, no one can understand better than them, they all picked up the good ones, and praised Shen Yichen as if there was no one before or since.

In the face of these compliments, Shen Yichen only smiled and humbly toasted, and did not take it seriously.

After three rounds of drinking, everyone present was slightly drunk, and Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu also seemed to have regained the feeling of getting along with Shen Yichen at the beginning, and relaxed a lot and asked with a smile: "Shen Aiqing has made such a great achievement, I don't know how to reward it." ”

"If you don't Shen Aiqing, tell me what you want, as long as I can do it, I will be able to satisfy it as much as possible!"

Shen Yichen didn't know if the emperor was drunk or joking, anyway, this kind of words should be treated as drunken words. A smile also appeared on his face, and he replied to Zhu Qiyu: "The fact that Monan Mongolia can be incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty depends on the result of the bloody battle between the conquest army and the officers and soldiers of the Liaodong Army, and the ministers dare not be greedy for merit." ”

"If Your Majesty wants to reward Yu Chen, it is better to reward the soldiers who are fighting, they are the real heroes."

After listening to Shen Yichen's story, Zhu Qiyu nodded subconsciously, it is indeed extremely difficult to conquer the bitter cold land outside the fortress, and it cannot make the meritorious soldiers chill.

So with a wave of his hand, he promised in an atmospheric manner: "What Shen Aiqing said makes sense, I can't treat the soldiers who fought for the country badly with the imperial court, you Aiqing, how to treat the three armies?" ”

It was originally a joyful reward question, but the next scene that appeared was completely unexpected by Shen Yichen. None of the central ministers present received the words of Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu, as if they were silent as if they hadn't heard it.

What do you mean?

Shen Yichen didn't drink much, and he was a little confused at this time, theoretically, this kind of reward for the army's victory and return to the dynasty was not determined to go through the motions a long time ago. Above the court, everyone was happy and thanked the emperor for his grace, and the soldiers at the bottom took some silver in their hands and could go home to improve their lives for their parents, wives and children.

As a result, the emperor had already spoken, but the officials below did not prepare for the reward and could not give an answer?

This kind of low-level mistake shouldn't have happened in the Forbidden City.

After being silent for a long time, Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, who was sitting opposite Shen Yichen, said with a sad face: "The soldiers have worked hard to expand the territory, and the minister suggested that no matter how high or low the official position is, they should be given an additional month's salary to reward the hardships of the three armies. ”

A month's salary?

Shen Yichen was a little skeptical if he had heard it wrong.

In the Ming Dynasty, the salary of soldiers was generally about one tael a month, and there were subsidies such as settling-in allowance during wartime, about one tael and five cents a month. According to the practice of returning from the army in the past, not to mention the reward of ten taels or eight taels, five taels of silver cannot be less, but now the reward is only one or two or five cents?

And this is still the nominal one or two five coins of the imperial court, which can really reach the hands of the soldiers, Shen Yichen estimates that the reward silver will have to be discounted in half, plus the waste paper such as treasure money and the old materials in the warehouse will be used to offset the money, in fact, it will be worth five yuan in hand.

Even if Shi Heng is the Duke of the Ming Dynasty, how can he say it, he climbed up step by step from the border pass, and the civil official doesn't know that it's boring, can he, a general, not know that this reward is not enough, and how do you say it?

may have felt the dissatisfaction and anger in Shen Yichen's eyes, the expression on Shi Heng's face was extremely embarrassing, and he actually couldn't say it.

The conquest of the Wuliang Ha Sanwei and the establishment of prefectures and counties in Monan Mongolia are indeed great martial arts. But the problem is that once you get it, the follow-up will keep and build, and the money will be spent like running water.

Not to mention anything else, the five acropolis standing out of thin air on the grassland alone, plus the supporting Great Wall and Fengsui Fortress, the imperial court finances allocated astronomical sums after the construction was completed in more than a year!

If the northern front alone can barely be maintained, Jingyuan Bo Wang Ji in the south penetrated deep into the hinterland of Burma, and according to the territory of later generations, he has already hit the Indian state of Assam, and also recovered the Demasa Propaganda Division established during the Yongle period, and the military expenditure is about to drag down the imperial court.

You must know that after more than ten years of tossing and turning in the orthodox dynasty of Ming Yingzong, the current Ming Dynasty is not full of treasury after the rule of Renxuan, and it is on the verge of financial bankruptcy every year.

But the problem is that Shi Heng can't say these things face to face, Zhu Qiyu has been addicted to pills and women recently, and he doesn't ask much about the affairs of the court, and he directly confesses that the court has no money to reward, isn't that equivalent to publicly slapping the emperor in the face?

Zhu Qiyu is not the kind of emperor who is completely "mediocre", but he has been troubled by Yi Chu's affairs recently, which made him a little negligent in the government. Feeling that the atmosphere in the Wuying Hall was not right, and the expression on Shi Heng's face changed, he roughly guessed what the reason was.

So he picked it up high, put it down lightly and said, "Then according to the advice of the loyal Guogong, reward the soldiers with a month's salary." ”

"Your Majesty's grace is mighty, and the soldiers will definitely serve the king to the death!"

Chen Xun, the head of the cabinet, flattered him at the right time, and cooperated to bring this matter over.

Everyone present knew it, but Shen Yichen felt a little indignant in his heart. But the emperor has already opened the golden mouth, and there is no way to bargain for this thing at the celebration banquet, Shen Yichen can only force the dissatisfaction in his heart to force himself to change from the battlefield habits and adapt to the rhythm of officialdom.

However, the reward can be less, but the reward in exchange for war merits can not be less, the Ming Dynasty has formulated the "first merit system" since the era of Zhu Yuanzhang, that is, relying on the head of the enemy in exchange for merit and reward.

And for the northern captives and the southern barbarians, they also feel that the value is different, and the price is clearly marked, and a head of the Mongolian cavalry can receive a reward of fifteen taels of silver, and the small flag is promoted to one level. If it is to behead the head of the Nanban and behead the thief of the people, then it takes three Nanban or five thieves to be promoted to the next level, and the reward is also greatly reduced.

The advantage of the establishment of the reward and punishment system of the "first meritorious service system" is that it can stimulate the fighting spirit and morale of the soldiers to the greatest extent, and encourage them to fight bravely and kill the enemy on the battlefield to achieve meritorious service and reward. The disadvantage is that it will induce some extreme evil deeds, such as "killing the good and risking the merits" and so on.

Especially in the last stage of the dynasty, after the supervision from the central government declined, beggars, homeless people, and even towns in remote areas may encounter a massacre of officers and soldiers, and use their heads to exchange credit for the imperial court.

That is why, there is a famous saying that "bandits are like combs, and soldiers are like grates", and officers and soldiers will sometimes be more terrible than bandits!

Of course, in the prosperous stage of the dynasty, all forces were in a state of balance, and civil officials and eunuchs could play a good role in supervising the army. In particular, Shen Yichen governed the army strictly, and the definition of the head of the military exploits was extremely strict, and every head that asked for a reward from the imperial court was a real Mongolian soldier.

These bounties are the hard-earned money of the soldiers of the conscription army and the Liaodong Army, in exchange for their lives, and they must not be delinquent or deducted!

So after everyone's words fell, Shen Yichen spoke: "Your Majesty, now that the soldiers have returned to the dynasty victoriously, soon the soldiers and horses of Fujian Wei and Shandong Wei will leave Beijing and return to their original station. ”

"The minister dared to ask, there are still 416,850 taels of silver for the first-level military merits reported, when will the household department and the military department be allocated to the soldiers?"

After two years of wars, the expeditionary army led by Shen Yichen almost harvested nearly 50,000 Tartar heads, which should theoretically be exchanged for 600,000 taels of silver. As a result, the court intermittently picked and searched, and only gave a hundred thousand taels to send it, and there was no more sound.

Shen Yichen knew that it was inappropriate to talk about these things at the celebration banquet, but he was not a border general, and he had been mixed in the central officialdom for many years after joining the office. I also know that if I don't want money now, when the soldiers of the conscription army return to their original station, they will not be able to get military merit silver in this life.

Personally, he should be low-key and forbearing, Shen Yichen doesn't want to cause any trouble, but some things are tolerable and unbearable, the reward of January military salary has alerted his bottom line, even if it will anger the emperor and offend his colleagues, the more than 400,000 silver must be returned in a lot!