Zhu Shuren destroyed Zhang Xianzhong, how should he be rewarded for such a great achievement?

This question does not seem to be a problem in the first place, and the answer is already ready-made:

Three years ago, Chongzhen swore an oath to the tablets of the ancestors and ancestors in the Taimiao, and killed Zhang Xianzhong to be a duke.

If someone inside the thief kills Zhang Xianzhong, even if he is not a duke, he must give other titles and official positions, and forgive his previous sins.

Further, if that person is in the realm of the end of the road, and kills Zhang Xianzhong against the water, he can not give the official title, but at least he must pardon the previous crime.

Now the first situation in which Zhu Shuren perfectly meets the oath is that Daming's own civil and military ministers are diligent in royal affairs, and it is not appropriate to give a duke such a great achievement?

However, the situation of Daming is not what it used to be three years ago. When the matter came, Chongzhen fell into deep distress, he was afraid that after giving the reward at one time, he would no longer be able to control Zhu Shuren well, so what should he do?

If Sun Chuanting hadn't died now, Chongzhen's hesitation might not have been so great. He can continue to let Sun Chuanting control the northern war situation, let Zhu Shuren control the southern war situation, and divide the north and south.

If anyone dares to be proud of his achievements, then everyone in the world will also be able to see it, and he will naturally support another governor who has a heavy army and real power, and the one who has a different heart. In addition, Chongzhen's own imperial authority is there, and he can balance it at any time.

But at the same time that Zhu Shuren got rid of Zhang Xianzhong in the south, Sun Chuanting lost to Li Zicheng!

The Ming Dynasty absolutely does not allow outsiders to be crowned kings, only the clan can be crowned kings, and whether the king is crowned or not, it has nothing to do with merit, only depends on bloodline.

Now that the duke is enough, next time he takes any bait to let Zhu Shuren go north, he has to go north obediently?

Two months ago, when Huang Taiji entered the customs for the last time, Chongzhen urgently transferred Wu Sangui, Tang Tong, and Bai Guangenqin Wang, none of these three came, but they fought a defensive battle with the Tartars in their own defense area.

These three fierce generals, at most, only replied to the emperor on the surface and complained about it, saying that they would definitely come, but they were temporarily dragged by the Tartar division, and as long as they repelled the enemy in front of them, they would definitely come. But after complaining for two months, they still didn't come, and Chongzhen had nothing to do with them.

After thinking about it, Chongzhen finally decided to find an excuse to contain Zhu Shuren again, so as to better enslave the other party for his own use.

He announced to Zhang Guowei: "According to the Taimiao oath, those who killed Zhang Xianzhong in the Ming Dynasty should indeed be crowned dukes." But Zhu Shuren this time, after all, did not finish the whole work, but only killed the first evil, not all of them.

Zhang Xianzhong's remnants of the party are still entrenched in western Sichuan, and it is unknown whether they have the ability to resurrect. Therefore, it is better to promote his Krupp title first and become the Marquis of Krug. If he can exterminate Sun Kewang and completely eliminate the remnants of Zhang Wei, he will naturally be promoted to the Duke of Hubei at that time.

I remember that Yue Wumu of the former Song Dynasty was posthumously crowned the king of Hubei, and before his death, Yue Wumu also entered Xiangyang from Ezhou, and then went north to the Central Plains. Now Zhu Shuren is the governor of Huguang, and he also started from Huang and Hubei, and he should follow Yue Wumu and be loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, I won't fail him.

In addition, if Sun Kewang is bent on surviving and fleeing far away from the mountains, even if he can't catch up with Sun Kewang, I will still give him the opportunity to be crowned the Duke of Hubei - as long as he goes north to King Qin, and continues to help the court pacify the thieves, even if it is just to punish his first evil, without destroying the party, I will also seal him the Duke of Hubei. ”

Chongzhen originally didn't need to explain so much to his subordinates, mainly because this time it involved the oath of the Taimiao three years ago, so he had to find a step down.

As soon as he said this, it was reasonable for the Guogong who was temporarily holding the last step not to give it, because Zhu Shuren had indeed not completely destroyed Zhang Xianzhong. Chongzhen also temporarily pointed out another way for Zhu Shuren, leaving an opening, hoping to use this opening as a bait to better continue to use it.

Zhang Guowei felt that it was a bit strong, and he always felt that the Taimiao oath should not be weighed and adjusted. But after a little admonition, Chongzhen showed an unhappy look,

Wang Chengen next to him also knew Chongzhen, he knew that eunuchs should not interfere in politics, but when he saw that the emperor was squeezed by his subordinates, he kindly reminded him: "Your Majesty wants to discuss the promotion of civil officials, do you need the old slave to help Your Majesty summon the elders of the Zhou Pavilion to discuss?" ”

If it was usual, Wang Chengen would definitely be unhappy when he said this, but at this juncture today, Wang Chengen is so eye-catching, and he immediately makes Chongzhen happy, so he doesn't care.

He immediately said: "Yes, Wang Daban, you immediately send someone to announce Zhou Yanru's audience!" ”

Wang Chengen was very measured, he didn't say a word from beginning to end how to reward him, and he didn't intervene in the specific government affairs. He only said that he would help the emperor find relevant people, which would not be overstepping.

Zhang Guowei was also stunned, and then reacted: Zhu Shuren's merits should indeed be discussed by him, the secretary of the Ministry of War, but Zhu Shuren is a civil official, not a military general, and he will be rewarded.

The promotion and reward of civil officials is the business of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Department of Literature and Selection, and the promotion and reward of military generals is the business of the Ministry of War.

Under the framework of the Ming system, qualitative and execution are separated.

He had to keep his mouth shut, otherwise it would be ultra vires to say anything more.

Chongzhen waited for about a quarter of an hour in a good mood, and Zhou Yanru was quickly taken from the sixth duty room to the Wenhua Palace, and hurriedly entered the interior to pay respects.

Zhou Yanru also looks a little older than more than a year ago, Huang Taiji's re-entry into the Kou, Li Zicheng's complete occupation of Shaanxi and the killing of Sun Chuanting, these two things made the cabinet chief assistant more worried about the future of the Ming Dynasty.

As the person in charge of all state affairs, any loss will be more or less related to him, and the emperor will also ask him a few words of trouble when he is accountable, which makes Zhou Yanru a little nervous, and his hair is almost completely white, with only a few black hairs scattered in between.

What made Zhou Yanru even more worried was that Wu Changshi, one of his protégés and right-hand men, was also put into prison by Chongzhen for interrogation a few days ago because of some eucalyptus.

Historically, Wu Changshi was beheaded in the winter of Chongzhen's sixteenth year, and he was imprisoned one or two months earlier. Now this is clearly ahead of schedule.

And the reason for the advance is coincidental, it is because Zhou Yanru offended the imperial historians who insisted on impeachment in the process of trying to save his ally Chen Xinjia and trying to get people.

Then Wu Changshi was not a good person in the first place, so he was impeached in advance by the way by several of the imperial historians.

He said that he made all kinds of friends with eunuchs and was greedy for a huge amount of money, and he also accepted a huge amount of benefits from the new recruits selected in the spring of this year when he sent officials to rank up, and whoever gave more money was arranged to be an official in a war-torn area, and whoever did not give money was sent to a thief and a Tartar war zone to be an official.

To tell the truth, all these things that Wu Changshi did were true. Even behind this, Zhou Yanru himself fished a considerable part of it.

It's just that if this kind of thing goes back a few years, it won't lead to death, and it won't be so big. It can only be said that the Chongzhen Dynasty came to the last moment, and everything began to come out.

Zhou Yanru has been worried recently, and he didn't dare to dissuade the emperor's decision-making at all, for fear of causing another commotion. At this moment, Chongzhen told him his decision, and Zhou Yanru couldn't fight for the title of Zhu Shuren, so he only said:

"Your Majesty's disposal is very reasonable, after all, Zhu Shuren has not completed the whole work, and he is so young, it is also for his good not to give it to the duke for the time being, so as not to reward him for his high merits in the future."

Chongzhen listened to it and was very satisfied, so he motioned to the officials to draw up a specific statement after they went back, and then give a charter.

The follow-up process went for another three or five days, needless to mention, by the end of June, Chongzhen's reward decree and further instructions to Huguang and Sichuan Wenwu were also officially issued in the form of will.

Since Li Zicheng was still dormant and recuperating recently, he did not expose the greater danger, and this time there was no need to rush too much, so he sent it to the southwest at a normal daily speed of about 200 miles.

In addition, in addition to the decree to Huguang and Sichuan officials, Chongzhen also did two things.

First of all, the day after the reward, he asked the eunuch to find a box that conformed to the sacrificial rites, loaded Zhang Xianzhong's head and 500 pieces of meat, and then personally went to the Taimiao Temple to worship the tablets of the ancestors and ancestors, which was regarded as a vow, showing that his unscrupulous descendants had finally completed the promise to shame the ancestors and help the ancestors rest in peace.

After he himself finished worshipping in the Taimiao Temple in the capital, he thought about it and consulted the officials of the Ministry of Rites to check and fill in the gaps to see if there was anything that should be done.

After racking his brains and thinking about it, he also checked with the professional officials of the Ministry of Rites, and then reported again, saying that Chongzhen should also send someone to the Fengyang ancestral mausoleum site (or the restored Fengyang ancestral mausoleum) to also worship.

Considering that the emperor himself should not go out of Beijing, and this kind of thing is best done by the descendants of Emperor Taizu, so it is best to invite a vassal king who is close to the emperor's bloodline to go to the "tomb" on behalf of the emperor.

Chongzhen thought about it and made sense, after all, Zhang Xianzhong dug up the ancestral tomb of Fengyang six years ago, and now that the enemy has given the head, he should indeed go to the local area to tell the ancestors about the dead.

So let the priest of the Ministry of Rites check the list of vassal kings, and find a vassal king whose fief is closer to Fengyang Mansion, and the best bloodline is also suitable.

Fengyang Mansion is the central capital, and no vassal king is allowed to be sealed there, so the nearest vassal king has to be the state capital adjacent to Fengyang Mansion.

After the priest of the Ministry of Rites investigated, he truthfully reported that the nearest ones were Zhu Yousong, the king of Fu, who had taken refuge in Hefei due to the war, and Zhu Changshu, the king of Lu.

Although they are not serious about being a vassal of each other, at least they are close for now, and the emperor just needs a vassal king to work on his behalf, and there is no need to entangle his official fiefdom. And the bloodlines of King Fu and King Lu are the closest to Chongzhen.

After Chongzhen got these two options, he also knew in his heart that his cousin Zhu Yousong's bloodline was a generation closer than his cousin Zhu Changshu.

But he also knew that the third uncle Lao Fu Wang was competing for the crown prince with his father and Guangzong Zhu Changluo, and the grievances that lasted for more than 20 years.

Of course, Chongzhen didn't like the people of the Fuwang family in his heart, so he gritted his teeth and handed over the work of the Son of Heaven to Zhu Changshu.

There must be a valid reason for giving up relatives, Chongzhen thought about it, and then ordered:

"According to the bloodline, it is indeed Brother Fu Wang who is closer to me. But I remembered that Zhu Shuren, who had made meritorious contributions to the thief this time, didn't he happen to be Uncle Luwang's son-in-law!

Since it is Uncle Lu's family who has set up this honor, it will not bother the two masters, let Uncle Lu show his face in front of the ancestral spirit, presumably the ancestral heroic spirit will be more comforted. ”

Langzhong, the priest of the Ministry of Rites, immediately wrote down Chongzhen's meaning, and soon followed the process to draft the purpose: Uncle Lu Wang will visit the tomb on behalf of Tianzhen.

……

Beijing is obviously much closer to Hefei than Beijing is to Sichuan.

So just seven or eight days later, on the third day of the seventh month, Zhu Changshu, the king of Lu in Hefei, received Chongzhen's holy decree first.

Zhu Changshu has been staying in the temporary palace every day recently, either playing the qin or studying Buddhist scriptures, appreciating bronze utensils and spices, or engaging in some entertainment activities with concubines and concubines.

Since more than three months ago, her only daughter Zhu Yuchan was sent to Sichuan to marry Zhu Shuren, Zhu Changshu was a little unaccustomed at first, and he always felt that he had lost something every day, and even regretted it a little-

It's not that I regret choosing the wrong son-in-law, but I regret that my daughter has to marry far away and endure hardship. If the son-in-law can stay in Wuchang and become an official nearby, and the daughter can also stay in Wuchang, it will be much more convenient, and the whole family of the palace will also move to Wuchang. But Sichuan is too dangerous, and I can only hope that my son-in-law will finish the war as soon as possible and come back as soon as possible.

Half a month ago, he learned from the eunuch sent by his daughter to deliver the letter that his son-in-law had won a big victory and killed Zhang Xianzhong, and Zhu Changshu was quite excited at that time.

It's not that he's happy that his son-in-law is going to be promoted to a knight again - his family is a prince, and whether his son-in-law is an earl or a marquis or even a duke, in fact, it's not too bad. He just felt that his daughter finally didn't have to stay in the dilapidated Sichuan, and could go back to live in the official office of the governor of Huguang.

At that time, Zhu Changshu heard that Zhu Shuren personally went to Changde in order to pay tribute to Yang Sichang, took Zhang Xianzhong's 100 pieces of cured meat, and paid tribute to the slaughtered people in Changde's whole mansion. Zhu Changshu thought that his son-in-law would return to Wuchang after the memorial.

So he also instructed his concubines to pack up and consider moving to Wuchang to live in the future. Anyway, his domain has fallen, Hefei and Wuchang are no different, Wuchang is not a sensitive place, and the emperor's nephew has a good relationship with him, so it should not prevent him from living with his daughter and son-in-law.

However, the Luwang Mansion has not been cleaned up yet, and a few days later, I learned that Zhu Shuren went to Changde to pay tribute, only stayed in Huguang for a few days, dealt with some important government affairs that required high-level decision-making, and then returned to Chongqing with a smoke.

This really made Zhu Changshu very depressed, this is not a false shot! Later, I heard that the war in Sichuan was unfinished, and Sun Kewang also took a considerable part of Zhang Xianzhong's remnants to fight and harass, which should not be taken lightly, anyway, the news was released by Zhu Shuren, and they all tried to continue to blow Sun Kewang's threat to Dali.

On this day, Zhu Changshu was stroking the qin, and the personal eunuch suddenly rushed in to report: "Your Highness, Your Majesty has a decree, and the messenger has arrived in Hefei, the old slave will help you pack up and prepare to receive the decree." ”

Zhu Changshu was taken aback: "Will? To the lonely? What purpose can a lonely idler have for a lonely person? ”

He suddenly had some bad premonitions, as an idler and a wasted vassal king, the last thing he wanted was to receive the emperor's will, and he wished that the emperor would not come to him for the rest of his life. After all, they have no room to rise, and more is better than less.

Zhu Changshu packed up nervously, and the angel had already arrived at the temporary palace, and Zhu Changshu went out respectfully to greet him.

The eunuch who came was full of smiles, read out the will through the process, and then handed the scroll to Zhu Changshu, and congratulated him with a smile: "Congratulations to Your Highness for winning this honor and being selected by Your Majesty to pay homage to the tomb on behalf of the heavens." If it weren't for His Majesty's personal sacrifice, or if Zongzheng ordered the sacrifice on behalf of the clan, how could an ordinary vassal king enter Fengyang to worship his ancestors.

This is all His Royal Highness's benevolence and filial piety to the clan, and he deserves this honor. Although I have long had the position of setting up the Zongzheng Order and controlling the Zongzheng, since Wanli, the clan has been thin. In recent years, there have been kings of Qin, Chu and Zhou who have been killed or extinct, and there have been many vacancies in Zongzheng's positions. Your Majesty is also making an exception this time, and your Highness must behave well. ”

After listening to the cause and effect, Zhu Changshu breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time felt quite honored, and hurriedly said that he would do a good job.

Isn't it on behalf of Chongzhen to go to the ancestral tomb of Fengyang to sweep the tomb and cry about the ancestors, this job is definitely done well, and when the time comes, the most precious spices and sacrificial vessels in the Luwang Mansion will be taken and invited to the ancestors.

A digression must be said here: the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty both had institutions such as Zongzheng Mansion / Zongren Mansion, but in the Qing Dynasty, each emperor would choose another clan to serve, and many positions in the Zongzheng system in the Ming Dynasty were determined to die when Zhu Yuanzhang was killed.

For example, when Zhu Yuanzhang was alive, he named his second son, Zhu Zhang, the king of Qin, as the official order of the sect, and the lineage of the king of Qin retained this honorary title forever. Although the algebra of the blood relationship between him and the emperor was far away, the new Qin king actually did not care, and other low-level officials handled the specific work of the clan affairs on their behalf.

In the same way, as early as Zhu Yuanzhang's time, the king of Jin, the king of Yan, the king of Zhou, and the king of Chu also had the title of Zongzheng. Among them, King Yan became emperors with Zhu Di's usurpation, so naturally he didn't need a title. For more than 200 years, no one has touched these positions, but they are only symbolic, and the specific work is a low-level official.

But when it came to Chongzhen, the situation became complicated, because a great change that had not been seen for more than two hundred years had appeared, and finally some thieves began to completely exterminate those old vassal kings with the title of Zongzheng who had not been touched for hundreds of years.

King Zhou, who escaped from Kaifeng last year, has died of illness, and he still has a grandson, and the whole palace of King Qin has been killed by Li Zicheng, and several other Kai kings are also like this, so they have vacated a lot of positions.

This time, Chongzhen needed Uncle Lu to help him cook 500 pieces of Zhang Xianzhong's cured meat for his ancestors, and he also wanted to be decent, so he gave a little bit of the vacated position by the way, which invisibly improved the dignity of King Lu among the kings.

The current Zhu Changshu is the "person in charge of clan affairs" of the Ming Dynasty, and he can still handle the ancestral sacrifice affairs on behalf of the emperor.

Zhu Yousong, the Xiaofu King who was also in Hefei, was also red-eyed when he heard that Uncle Lu Wang led the team north to Fengyang and swept the ancestral grave on behalf of the emperor.

Obviously, his bloodline is closer than Uncle Luwang, why don't you let him go to worship his ancestors on behalf of the emperor!

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