Zhang Mingzhen and Zheng Chenggong returned to Suzhou and docked on March 22.

Counting the more than 1,000 miles of sailing upriver from Suzhou, along the Yangtze River, through Nanjing, Jiujiang to Wuchang, it would take at least early April to get in touch with Shen Shuren.

In contrast, the city of Beijing was much closer to the battlefield in Liaodong, and on the evening of the 10th day of the first month of March, the first wave of gossip had already been transmitted that the Songshan City defended by the Governor of Hong had been breached by the Tartars.

In contrast, it was the matter of some troops in Tashan, Xingshan and other areas being rescued by the grain convoy by sea, and the influence was not so great, and the Shanhaiguan side was not in a hurry to use 600 li to expedite the return, but sent back to the capital later than the news of the fall of Songshan.

After the Ministry of War received the letter, Chen Xinjia did not dare to let Chongzhen know it as soon as possible, and he was afraid that it would be inaccurate, so he asked people to verify it again - because the news of the fall was sent back by Wu Sangui of Shanhaiguan, and there was no witness as a direct witness.

It's a pity that the military department only kept it a secret for one night, and the next morning, some officials who heard clues from nowhere jumped out of nowhere.

Of course, this first group of opponents were not Chen Xinjia's political enemies, but rather some "upright people" who thought they were a public being—and the opponents who were in the open were often not the most fearsome or the most insidious.

Those colleagues who hide behind and fan the flames and let their grumpy colleagues go first are the most terrible in officialdom.

Therefore, this first batch of speech officials were headed by Liu Zongzhou, the imperial history of the Zuodu, Lin Xuqi of the East Palace, and Huang Daozhou of the Shao Zhan Dynasty.

Liu Zongzhou was the first to speak out: "Your Majesty! The ministers heard that Songshan had fallen, Hong Chengchou's department had fallen, and the battle of Songshan had been postponed for half a year, but the military department could not save it, which showed that the military department was floating, dull and incompetent! ”

Lin Xiangji followed: "The minister seconded the proposal, and the minister also impeached Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, for the crime of dereliction of duty and laziness!" ”

Speaking of conscience, Liu Zongzhou, Lin Xuji, and Huang Daozhou all have character and integrity, and they can all be martyred when the Ming Dynasty dies in history. It's just a little too pedantic and inflexible.

For example, Liu Zongzhou was dismissed for the first time because he opposed Yang Sichang's persuasion of the emperor to levy more "training salaries", believing that the thieves were all over the place because the tax burden was too heavy, and the emperor should not increase money to train troops, but should disband some troops to reduce the financial burden, and then rely on light taxes to influence Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong to lay down their arms.

This remark is also a bit reasonable, very in line with the requirements of Confucianism's "benevolent government", but unfortunately it is not operable - Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong have tasted the sweetness, how can the emperor give up the rebellion by reducing taxes?

And the reason why another Huang Daozhou was dismissed at the beginning was also because he opposed Yang Sichang, Chen Xinjia and Tatars to negotiate peace, and temporarily made peace with the snake.

In history, after Yang Sichang died of illness, Huang Daozhou was invited back by Chongzhen. And in this life, because of the butterfly effect of the Shen Shuren, Yang Sichang is not dead, but he is seriously ill and left the power center of the capital and is dying in Nanyang to stop Li Zicheng. However, this did not prevent Huang Daozhou from still being invited back by Chongzhen.

As a result, these civil officials, who had either opposed the training of salaries or opposed the negotiation of peace, felt that they were selfless and took the lead in making trouble.

Chongzhen didn't know the news of the loss of Songshan, and when he heard a few officials poke it out, he was immediately shocked, and hurriedly questioned Chen Xinjia: "Chen Qing!" If so? Why didn't the Ministry of War report! ”

Chen Xinjia was sweating profusely, and hurriedly went out of the queue and apologized: "The minister only got the news last night, because it was only a defeat report sent back by Wu Sangui of Shanhaiguan, some details have not been verified, and I don't know Hong Chengchou's life and death, so I didn't dare to disturb the holy hearing overnight." ”

Chongzhen has heard the experience of the defeat report over the years, and immediately sighed bitterly: "That is to say, most of them are defeated!" I just don't know the specific loss! ”

Chen Xinjia's tone became more and more humble: "Your Majesty, Songshan has been besieged for half a year. The minister sent reinforcements twice, 6,000 people each time, but they were repulsed by Jiannu or directly annihilated before they could pass Ningyuan.

I can't afford to lose the Ming Dynasty, otherwise, how can I still have the strength to defend Gyeonggi? Please also ask Your Majesty to give the ministers a few days to slowly understand the details of the losses on the front line! ”

Chongzhen was so angry that his nasolabial folds twitched indiscriminately, and he became angry again and again. And at this moment, Huang Daozhou also jumped out, following Liu and Lin, and made up the third knife:

"Your Majesty! Even though the military department has no troops to adjust, it cannot be rescued. However, before the decisive battle between Hong Chengchou and Huang Taiji last year, the staff of the Ministry of War had fought several times, forcing Hong Chengchou not to hold his weight.

"The one who can and the king does not win", will be outside, and the rear ministers do not know the enemy's situation and command indiscriminately, which has been a taboo for soldiers since ancient times! Now that more than 100,000 elite soldiers outside the border have finally been lost, the minister thinks that the relevant people in the military department should be investigated for the crime of mistaking the army! ”

Chongzhen actually knew that Chen Xinjia was not at fault, but there must be a group of trolls in the military department who should be responsible. Reminded by the zodiac Monday, he immediately recalled it and found an outlet to vent his anger.

So Chongzhen immediately remembered that one stubble was counted as another, and he slapped the eucalyptus and roared: "I remembered!" There was indeed such a thing, Chen Xinjia! How many people in your subordinate departments of the Ministry of War repeatedly wrote last year to persuade me to urge Hong Chengchou to fight quickly! ”

Chen Xinjia secretly complained in his heart, but he could only confess truthfully: "There was indeed such a thing...... Before the decisive battle in September last year, Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi, the staff officer, both wrote letters requesting that Hong Chengchou be urged to fight quickly.

Of course, the ministers were also guilty of ignorance, and at that time they felt that what they said was reasonable. Because of the Battle of Songjin, it was delayed for more than a year, and more than 100,000 troops of the imperial court were stationed abroad for a long time, and the military rations could no longer be consumed......

Chen Xinjia knew very well in his heart that in fact, Chongzhen was also unable to delay logistics at that time, and wanted Hong Chengchou to fight quickly.

And Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi are nothing more than villains who want to figure out what they want to cater to, and they want to pick what the emperor wants to say but no one dares to say, and let them say it, in exchange for being promoted and making a fortune.

The situation at that time was a bit like the Battle of Changping, but in fact, King Zhao himself was dragged by Lian Po and couldn't stand the logistics, which made Zhao Kuo fight quickly. Zhao Kuo just carried out King Zhao's meaning.

Hong Chengchou's situation at that time was a bit like Lian Po, he knew that there was little hope of taking the initiative to seek a decisive battle, but he still had to move forward.

When Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi first played last year, Chongzhen also felt that these two people were responsible, and praised them a few words. Now that Hong Chengchou has finally been wiped out, Chongzhen needs to find someone who is angry, as soon as Chen Xinjia said these names, Chongzhen was like grasping a life-saving straw, and ordered angrily:

"Then don't take down Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi! Hong Chengchou is to be destroyed, and they must at least bear most of the responsibility! It is an unforgivable sin to deceive the Holy Hearing and mislead the congregation! ”

Liu Zongzhou and Huang Daozhou saw that they had bitten off at least two of Chen Xinjia's minions, and today they will not be too much for the time being, and they will accept it when they see it.

After the retreat from the dynasty, there was also a big mess within the military department, and while having to arrest the two Lang Zhong and the staff outside Lang and transfer them to Yousi, they frantically collected more military information about the front.

Try to get some good news of victory in defeat, or hope that Hong Chengchou himself would better not die, break through, or die in battle. As long as there is good news, the responsibility of the military department can be reduced.

Chongzhen was very busy, and he didn't have time to question Chen Xinjia once a day, and the more he thought about it after returning to the palace, the more angry he became, and he fell ill with anger and had to recuperate for a day or two. After getting better, I will settle the general account with Chen Xinjia.

……

Of course, Chen Xinjia knew how precious the two days when the emperor was ill.

Therefore, he first personally participated in the pre-trial of Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi, and also tortured relevant confessions with the people sent by the Criminal Department to assist in the investigation.

Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi, the two big trolls who forced Hong Chengchou to fight a decisive battle last year, are certainly not the ones who are willing to sit idly by, so they have bitten the caliber to death in the past two days.

He also tried his best to collect detailed intelligence evidence of the various stages of the operations at the front, hoping to prove that "it was not that there was a problem with the decision to urge Hong Chengchou to fight a decisive battle, but that Hong Chengchou was incompetent in tactical command, miscalculated in scheduling, and incompetent in commanding troops."

After finding some evidence, they discussed with Chen Xinjia and chose those that were beneficial to the Ministry of War to stay, and those that were unfavorable to the Ministry of War to find ways to hide and not report.

To put it bluntly, it is to push as many black pots as possible on Hong Chengchou.

Of course, Chen Xinjia knows that there is a stake in doing so. But he also knew that the dirty operation of Ma and Zhang was indeed beneficial to the entire military department.

So he also ignored his conscience, turned a blind eye, and poured more dirty water on Hong Chengchou for the benefit of the small group.

On the other hand, the army at the front has really brought back the good news of winning two defeats in the past two days.

On the evening of 12 March, when Chen Xinjia was in a hurry, a Tang newspaper from the direction of Shanhaiguan was sent to him again.

"Lord Ministry! What a surprise! It's a victory in defeat! Today, Cao Bianjiao and Li Fuming reported from the direction of Shanhaiguan, saying that it was the escort fleet that had previously transported military rations to Wu Sangui's department in Shanhaiguan, and since the arrival of grain at Shanhaiguan at the end of last month, they learned that the defenders in Tashan, Xingshan and other places have been besieged by the Tartars.

Therefore, Zhang Mingzhen and Cao Yun, the deputy generals of Cao, promoted Zheng Chenggong and decided to take a detour when they returned to see if they could rescue some of the fleeing soldiers along the coasts of Tashan and Xingshan.

Who knows, they just caught up with the defenders of Tashan and Xingshan, and they had to break through. Therefore, Zhang Mingzhen raided the Bijia Mountain Village between Tashan and Xingshan, annihilated a Jiala of the Qing army, and successfully rescued more than 10,000 soldiers and horses from the sea! In the subsequent blockade, he annihilated the Qing army's counterattack on Beacon Mountain, and the men and horses about a Jiala! ”

"What? More than 10,000 people were rescued?! Destroy 3,000 enemies? Bring it to me! Chen Xinjia only felt dizzy for a while, and his mood and blood pressure were up and down.

He has been forced by the emperor's anger to cut off at least two of his subordinates, if there is no good news, I am afraid that he himself will have to be demoted, he really needs this good news.

Although, it's just a defeat to win.

It's like Britain always lost France, telling you that the expeditionary force successfully withdrew part of it at Dunkirk, but in the end it was still lost.

After Chen Xinjia unfolded it, after a few glances, he decided to concentrate all resources, publicize this victory, and persuade the emperor to reward and promote all the meritorious personnel in the Tashan and Xingshan breakthrough battles as much as possible, so as to stabilize the morale of the people.

"Vice-Admiral Protector...... This matter was requested by Shen Tingyang of Nanjing's household department, right? I remember that it seemed that Zhou Ge had greeted me and wanted to approve the Nanjing Household Department to imitate the duties of the former Caoyun Governor and set up Cao Cao soldiers.

Could it be that Elder Zhou Ge knew about this in advance? Or did they just ask for a formation, there was no battle plan at that time, and it was all improvisation on the way back to the escort? ”

Chen Xinjia decided to hurry up and find Zhou Yanru and unify the caliber overnight.

Then, as if he remembered something, he immediately turned back and asked the subordinate who had just come to deliver the good news: "By the way, it's been two days!" Has the situation on Inspector Hong's side been confirmed? Was the Songshan garrison completely annihilated? Is Hong Chengchou dead? ”

The subordinate looked embarrassed and explained: "The staff division has used all the information to investigate, and so far it can only be found that the Songshan defenders should be annihilated, and Hong Chengchou has not been able to break through."

But whether Hong Chengchou was martyred or captured, I really can't find out, after all, the people around Hong Chengchou when the city was broken were also killed or captured, where can we find out? ”

Chen Xinjia nodded, it seems that all that can be confirmed is that Hong Chengchou can't come back.

He thought for a while, and gritted his teeth: "Then report to Your Majesty, and say that it has been confirmed that Hong Chengchou has been martyred!" Thinking that Inspector Hong is in a high position, and his holy grace is as deep as the sea, how can such a supreme minister surrender to the Tartars. Even if he was captured alive at that time, he should have been martyred like Wen Tianxiang in the end.

After claiming that he is dead, according to the confessions of Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi, and other information, all the blame for the defeat can be attributed to Hong Chengchou's poor command, and it has nothing to do with the military department's urging to fight!

Also, when the time comes, send some bereavement benefits to Hong Chengchou's family, Your Majesty will still be kind to the generals who died in the country, even if he is responsible for the defeat, he will not offend his family. In this case, let Hong Chengchou use the waste, and let the dead resist all the responsibility. ”

——

PS: To clarify, these despicable and shameless officialdom have taken credit, which is indeed beneficial to the protagonist, but it is really not a ploy of Shen Shuren. It's just that Chen Xinjia's interests coincide with the interests of Shen Shuren for his own interests.

Shen Shuren never thought about framing Hong Chengchou.

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Chapter 92 All the credit goes to the living, and all the guilt goes to the deadRead it for free.