I want to be emperor

Chapter 218

No matter how rich his imagination was, Tang Hui never imagined that he would be promoted just after losing a battle.

Even if it's just an agent, the temporary transitional prime minister for the military affairs of the five provinces.

But this is also the military affairs of the five provinces of the prime minister!
Tang Hui himself was stunned, but his friends were even more stunned...

Many of them thought that Tang Hui would be arrested and imprisoned in a short time, and many of them had already treated Tang Hui in a positive way and didn't take Tang Hui seriously.

But in a blink of an eye, good guy, Tang Hui is not only not dead, but promoted?
Although many people have guessed it, the reason why Tang Hui was able to receive the imperial edict of promotion at this juncture must be because the imperial court has not heard the news of Zhong Xiang's fiasco.

After all, it takes time for the news to be reported. It is very likely that the imperial court will not know the news of Tang Hui's defeat when the imperial edict is issued.

However, this is still a promotion.

Then many people began to think again, when the princes of the court and His Majesty learned of Zhong Xiang's fiasco, and even the whole of Chubei was about to end, they didn't know what to do and dare to think.

Maybe, maybe, maybe it will be a rage...

Everyone else would think so, and Tang Hui himself would naturally be able to think of this as well.

So now he has no joy of being promoted at all, but is more worried about his future...

In fact, this is indeed the case. Not long after the imperial court issued the imperial decree for Tang Hui to act as the agent of the military affairs of the five provinces, that is, at the end of July, the court princes had already learned the news of Yicheng's defeat. Most of the officers and soldiers stationed in Yicheng fled without a fight. As a result, when they were crossing the river, they were attacked halfway by the bandit army, leaving only a few thousand people to flee.

Tang Hui was forced to lead his army to retreat to Zhongxiang.

At this time, the princes of the imperial court felt as if they had just eaten a perfect meal, only to find out that the meal was made of excrement...

As disgusting as it could be.

But that's just disgusting.

After all, although Tang Hui could not avoid the responsibility of ineffective supervision of the battle in Yicheng, the main reason was that the civil and military officials in Yicheng were not strong enough, and they ran away when the bandit army was still tens of miles away from Yicheng.

But when the news of Zhong Xiang's defeat reached the capital around mid-August, the court was shaken and His Majesty was furious...

If the imperial court promoted Tang Hui to act as an acting military affairs officer for the five provinces and just ate a dish made of disgusting shit, now they have discovered that the dish is not only disgusting, but also fucking poisonous...

Yicheng's defeat, if Tang Hui said it was just a lack of supervision and overall planning, then Tang Hui personally commanded the Zhongxiang battle, but it was fought like this, and the [-] troops were wiped out in one day.

It would be fine if Tang Hui died in battle or committed suicide. After he died in battle like Lu Xiangsheng, the imperial court gave Lu Xiangsheng great posthumous honor. Biggest loss in decades.

Even Emperor Chongzhen expressed his position in public, Lu Qing's death was like breaking my arm.

In short, although Lu Xiangsheng also suffered a big defeat, he died in the battle, so no one will hold him accountable for his defeat, but he began to sigh and remember.

If Tang Hui also died in the Battle of Zhongxiang, the court would also give Tang Hui great posthumous honor after hearing the news.

However, Tang Hui did not die in Zhongxiang, instead he left the army and fled back to Wuchang with only a thousand people.

In the eyes of the court princes, Tang Hui like this is heinous.

After being shocked, the princes began to have a headache again, how to deal with Tang Hui.

If Tang Hui is directly pushed to the end, even imprisoned in the sky prison, he must be killed or exiled in the future.

But it is very simple to abolish Tang Hui. The question is who will take over the military affairs of the five provinces?
This went around and around, and it went back to an old question, that is, who should be elected to replace Lu Xiangsheng and assume the responsibility of the prime minister's military affairs in the five provinces.

Regarding this issue, there were many disputes among the princes in the imperial court, and there was no conclusion in the past two or three months, otherwise they would not have retreated and asked Tang Hui to act as an agent for the military affairs of the five provinces.

Tang Hui, he was originally a transitional role, and no one expected him to sit firmly in this position, even Tang Hui himself knew very well that he would stay here soon.

After all, ordinary prime ministers and military officials of several provinces usually have the title of Yushi of the Right Capital or Minister of the Ministry of War, but Tang Hui has nothing...

The imperial court only let him act as an agent for the military affairs of the five provinces, but did not give him the title of Yushi of Youdu or Youshilang of the Ministry of War.

Everyone knows what this means. It is nothing more than a transition. In a few months, the imperial court will elect a real prime minister and military supervisor of several provinces to come to Huguang to sit in charge.

And what about the real prime minister candidates for military affairs in the five provinces?

There is only one person who is most suitable for this position, and that is Lu Xiangsheng.

It can even be said that the position of prime minister for the military affairs of the five provinces was specially set up by the imperial court for Lu Xiangsheng. Without Lu Xiangsheng, this position would not have appeared at all.

It's a pity that Lu Xiangsheng was defeated and died before he officially took up the position. After his death, the princes of the court were embarrassed, because no one was suitable for him.

First of all, this person must know the soldiers. After all, the Prime Minister of the Five Provinces Military Affairs is going to lead troops to fight. In the past, Gao Yingxiang and other thieves were dealt with. Now, the main deal is to protect the bandits.

Therefore, the member must be proficient in military affairs.

In addition to being proficient in military affairs, one needs to have sufficient prestige and political qualifications.

Even if the above-mentioned restrictions on military knowledge and seniority are put aside, in fact, the range of candidates for this position is very narrow.

According to the regulations for the selection of high-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty, the titles of such prime ministers who are responsible for the military affairs of several provinces are generally titled Youdu Yushi or Youshilang of the Ministry of War.

Such high-level officials are either transferred from several existing governors, such as Governor Xuanda, Governor Jiliao, Governors of the Five Provinces, etc., or they are promoted from the governors.

Among these officials, except for those who cannot withdraw, who are not good at leading troops or who have suffered major defeats, there are not many people left to choose from.

For example, people like Tang Hui must not do it.

After the princes of the imperial court learned of Zhong Xiang's defeat, the furious Chongzhen had already ordered Tang Hui to be arrested and brought back to the capital for trial before they even started discussing it.

Referring to the fate of the governors and governors who had suffered defeats before, there are only two endings waiting for Tang Hui: either he will be sent into exile, or he will be killed directly.

Tang Hui was definitely doomed, and the imperial decree to arrest this person was already being drafted, so the selection of prime ministers for the military affairs of the five provinces could not be delayed any longer.

But there are not many suitable candidates. After all, there are only a few governors, and even fewer have been in contact with wars. Basically, they are governors from several places where wars broke out.

For example, Chen Biqian, the new governor of Henan Province, the censor of Youqian capital;
Governor of Fengyang, Zhu Dadian, the right servant of the Ministry of War.

Governor of Xuanfu, Chen Xinjia, the censor of Youqian capital.

The governor of Shaanxi, Gan Xuekuo, the censor of Youqian capital, and several others.

No matter what these people say, it cannot be said that they have no skills. In fact, some people have skills, and they are not bad.

For example, Chen Biqian, the reason why he became famous was that in his early years he neglected to talk about the stiletto attack and the Hongwan case, and was later dismissed because of this.

He is a very good science and ethics official, not afraid of the rich and powerful, just for the sake of his name!

This person has a similar experience to Xuan Mo and other governors, and he is good at trolling people. As for fighting, this is a matter of opinion and wisdom.

There is also Chen Xinjia, who has more contact with military affairs. He has been working in the border towns around Jiliao all year round. He is good at logistics and camp affairs. He was dismissed from office when Dalinghe New City was destroyed, but his relationship is strong enough. , I was stunned that I was not pushed down, and I recovered soon after.

Zhu Dadian?This man is very interesting. When he was the governor of Shandong, he was promoted to the right servant of the Ministry of War because of his meritorious service in quelling the Dengzhou Rebellion. In February this year, he was transferred to the governor of Water Transport and the governor of Lu, Feng, Huai, and Yang. He was in charge of the war in Fengyang.

This man is quite good at commanding the army. In the early years, he took care of Wu Sangui and other generals.

However, when I was in Fengyang, I didn't play very well. Now I have been impeached many times because of "lost the state and county, and overdue the thieves".

Gan Xuekuo?This person had previously served as a supervisory censor in Zhejiang, an admiral in the south of the Yangtze River, a political minister in Dali Temple, and other official positions. He was good at relief, education, and administration of officials.

It's just that, let alone lead troops before, he has never even seen guns...

The ghost knows what the princes of the court think, so they send such a person to Shaanxi as a governor to suppress thieves...

To be honest, let Gan give full play to his strengths, let him govern the local area or play with officials or even educate him.

So classmate Lao Gan had a very unsatisfactory life in Shaanxi recently. He couldn't suppress the thieves and tried to appease him, but the appeasement was unsuccessful, and then the court princes were dissatisfied...

Looking around, the governors in charge of military affairs in the provinces of the Ming court are basically the above-mentioned types of people. After becoming governors and playing military affairs, they are either unable to do what they want, or they are messing around.

Facing the chaos in Huguang now, the princes of the court and even Chongzhen are also cautious. They did not directly mention the above-mentioned people and reuse them, but considered other people, and finally discussed and discussed. The governor, Yang Sichang, the right servant of the Ministry of war.

But, if you want to revive Yang Sichang, you have to face a severe ethical and even more serious political influence problem, that is, you can only use decrees to seize love.

Ding You, for the traditional Chinese dynasty, this is not just a simple custom, but has evolved into a political practice.

The Ming Dynasty repeatedly emphasized that "all officials who hide their funerals will be sent to the people's origins", and "officials, big or small, inside and outside, who are worrying about Ding, are not allowed to protect and recover."

What for?The purpose is to prevent high-ranking officials from staying in the post, and to allow officials to circulate and ensure a rising channel.

Therefore, the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties generally did not use it if they could not use it, and once they used it, no matter whether the ending was good or bad, the impact was extremely bad.

Today you recover from love, tomorrow he can recover from love, and in the end the big guys don't need Ding You anymore...

Zhang Juzheng had experienced the recovery of love, which caused political turmoil in the Ming court at that time. I don't know how many people protested and was dismissed from office.

Therefore, even Emperor Chongzhen needs to take certain political risks if he wants to revive Yang Sichang.

But...

Emperor Chongzhen was not an ordinary emperor, and he didn't care about any political influence at all, so after an imperial decree was issued, he had to win back Yang Sichang.

Regarding this, there was a lot of discussion in the court, but no one could change Chongzhen's mind!

(End of this chapter)