national surname chiming

Chapter 124
In the early morning of the next day, it happened to be a routine grand court meeting once every five days.

Because Chongzhen got good news the night before, he slept very peacefully in Queen Zhou's palace, and he was full of energy in the morning.

He knew that the ministers hadn't heard of the good news delivered by Yang Ge last night, so they deliberately suppressed it first, and wanted to take this opportunity to forcefully carry out several other internal affairs appointments by the way.

Therefore, he deliberately did not mention the military merits and commendations of suppressing thieves, but let people discuss the "rewards and punishments for Lijin reform advocates" that the cabinet had suppressed for many days.

As emperors, if they are the kind of independent husbands and thieves who keep their promises, they don't like to "pretend to be pigs and eat tigers". They prefer to act arbitrarily and arbitrarily.

However, many emperors in the Ming Dynasty have been constrained by the cabinet and ministers for a long time, and there are always many resistances when they want to implement something. In this case, it is inevitable that they will develop some bad habits. The happier the emperor is, the more he can vent his anger.

At this moment, Chongzhen probably has a bit of this mentality.

The court will officially begin soon.After a few routine daily issues, we entered the first highlight of the day.

Chongzhen spoke in person, setting the tone for the matter to be discussed:

"My lords, there is an important matter that needs to be discussed at the court meeting today. The lijin method has been implemented for more than two months. The three southern provinces have also reported the amount for April and May, which has really reduced the military expenditure of 10 taels.

According to the statistics of the Ministry of Household Affairs, in the remaining six months of this year, at least 150 million taels of direct expenditure can be reduced by the Ministry of Household Affairs. Should such good governance be promoted in the southern provinces, and Sichuan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang should gradually introduce taxation at a certain time. "

As soon as Chongzhen said these words, several officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs showed dissatisfaction, and wanted to jump out directly to persuade them.

But it seems that it is a bit outrageous for a group of household officials to take the initiative to oppose the policies promoted by the household department in this hall, so it is temporarily tolerated.

However, they also winked at each other, always wanting to push someone with a less suspicious position to take the lead.After the last eye contact, it was Zhou Shipu's turn to come forward.

This Zhou Shipu is from Guide Mansion (Shangqiu) in Henan Province. He is a fellow townsman and old colleague of Hou Xun who had been the Minister of the Ministry of Households for many years (Hou Xun is also from Shangqiu).

Seven years before Chongzhen, when Hou Xun was the Minister of the Household Department, Zhou Shipu successively served as the left and right servants of the Household Department.Later Hou Xun fell from power and was imprisoned, and Zhou Shipu was transferred to the Ministry of Industry and promoted to Shangshu.

However, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs have always had close work contacts, and the Ministry of Industry is a big spender.However, according to the degree of darkness in the officialdom at the end of the Ming Dynasty, it is obviously impossible for the government project funds allocated by the Ministry of Households to be spent by the Ministry of Industry in the end. At least a considerable part of them will be directly returned to the appropriators by kickbacks, sharing the benefits with each other.

Therefore, Zhou Shipu is obviously very resistant to "two or three million taels of silver per year, which will be collected by the local government and spent directly on the local government in the future, without having to go through the Ministry of Household Affairs to get oily". Old officials have very strong common interests.

So, against the emperor's suspicion, Zhou Shipu took the initiative to jump out: "Your Majesty, I think that the lijin method has serious drawbacks. In the long run, it will lead to the disaster of the separatism of the Tang Dynasty.

It took 600 years for the former Song Dynasty and my Ming Dynasty to allow the local army and wealth to distribute power, so that there was such a long period of peace and prosperity. Your Majesty must not do things against the law because of a lack of money for a while! "

Chongzhen was quite annoyed when he heard the words, but now that he has confidence, he doesn't need to express his anger too superficially, so he said with a smile on his face:

"Zhou Qing! In your opinion, is the method of lijin just a matter of money? I think you are all deluded by lard! The most urgent task right now is to get rid of the evil! Put down the thieves!

What I want is the strength of the local garrison!What is needed is that all the troops protect their hometown with their lives!If the lijin method can enhance the military strength of the provinces, shouldn't it be pushed hard!You all want to collude with bandits! "

The tone of Chongzhen's words was relatively calm at the beginning, and the more he spoke, the more stern his voice became, step by step, he directly put Zhou Shipu and others into a big treason that "if you don't support Lijin, you don't support the improvement of the combat effectiveness of the local army, and you are colluding with thieves" position.

Zhou Shipu's tone froze, and he didn't dare to speak for the time being.

Chongzhen took advantage of the victory to pursue, and added a few words of humiliation: "Zhou Qing, you don't need to tell me how clean your Ministry of Industry is, do you? I heard that I sent Zhang Yixian to the cashier of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry, but you still push back. Say yes clearly." Ashamed to be with eunuchs, you know what you actually think!"

It turned out that just a few months ago, Chongzhen felt that Zhou Shangshu was too greedy, so he resisted all opinions and sent an eunuch to serve as a cashier to the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry to find out the amount allocated to the Ministry of Industry. How each sum of money was spent.

Historically, Zhou Shipu had a big conflict with Zhang Yixian on the grounds that he was "ashamed of being audited by the eunuch" and was dismissed by the emperor.

After he was dismissed, he returned to his hometown in Shangqiu to live. In the second year (the 15th year of Chongzhen), he met Li Zicheng who attacked Shangqiu.Zhou Shipu was a bit late at the last moment, and his family hanged himself after Li Zicheng broke through the city.

(Note: However, some historians believe that he was afraid of being caught and humiliated by Li Zicheng, not necessarily because he was loyal to Daming and vowed not to surrender. Because Li Zicheng never relents to the vassal kings and corrupt officials who have amassed huge wealth. Accept the surrender, kill them and the money is also Li Zicheng's, and he can get a good name for killing corruption)

Now, because of the butterfly effect of Shen Shuren and the struggle of the Lijin system, the conflict between Chongzhen and Zhou Shipu was ignited in advance.

Who made Zhou Shipu wince, and today he wanted to be the early bird and let those Hou Xun faction of the household department owe him a big favor, but he kicked the iron plate.

After being insulted by the emperor, Zhou Shipu was still a little angry, and said bluntly: "I am really ashamed to be with eunuchs! But today's incident has nothing to do with this! Your Majesty said that Lijin can improve the combat power and morale of the local provinces. Wishful thinking.

In my opinion, this is nothing more than a new way of collecting money invented by the local government. In the end, so much money was collected, but the soldiers were not trained well, and I don't know whose pockets it all fell into! "

Chongzhen was ecstatic in his heart. In fact, he had wanted to mess with Zhou Shipu since the day he sent the eunuch to check the accounts.I didn't expect to hug grass and beat rabbits today. I just wanted to get a few disobedient thorns from the Ministry of Households, but even some unsightly people from the Ministry of Industry jumped out.

I didn't mention Yang Sichang's good news, but mentioned reform first, and it really got a miraculous effect!
Only then did Chongzhen take out the victory report and signaled Wang Chengen to pass it on to the ministers: "Who said that after the implementation of the Lijin method, the distribution of military salaries, soldiers' morale, and military training and preparations in the local government have not changed?

How long has the Fifth Gezuo Battalion been suppressed?Surrender and surrender again and again, every time you send troops, you will say that you have won the battle, but when you ask about the results of the battle, the thief kings are not wiped out!Who took the head of the thief chief to offer it?
This time, the implementation of Huguang Lijin has only been two months, the morale of the new army has been greatly boosted, the military salary is full, and the people are safe. The heads of He Jin and He Yilong are presented to the palace!Does this mean that the combat power has not been improved? "

As soon as the emperor's words came out, the whole court was in an uproar. I really didn't expect that on the battlefield of suppressing thieves, he would make such a big contribution all at once.Anyway, this is the execution of the two battalions of bandit chiefs themselves!

Of course, this kind of credit has been done by others before, even greater.

For example, Cao Wenzhao killed the first generation of thief king Wang Jiayin in the fourth year of Chongzhen.

In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Gao Yingxiang killed Cao Wenzhao to avenge Wang Jiayin, and his prestige rose to the top of all the thieves, becoming the new "Chuangwang".

But the next year, Sun Chuanting killed Gao Yingxiang again, which was also an extraordinary feat, and only then did Li Zicheng, a new generation of "Chuangwang" come into being.

From this point of view, even if someone kills Li Zicheng now, the credit is only at the same level as Cao Wenzhao and Sun Chuanting.Unless Li Zicheng commits a bigger crime in the future and his head becomes more valuable, the credit for killing Li Zicheng will increase to another level.

And the bandit chieftains that Shen Shuren has exterminated now are at least one level lower than Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai, Ma Shouying and others.Even if he kills two at a time, his credit is slightly inferior to that of the above-mentioned giants.

Therefore, Shen Shuren's military achievements this time can only be said to be inferior to those of Cao Wenzhao, Lu Xiangsheng, and Sun Chuanting during the Chongzhen period, barely ranking fourth in the contemporary era.If Yang Sichang and Hong Chengchou's achievements in overall planning are counted, Shen Shuren ranks sixth at most, which is not an "immemorable achievement".

But in any case, as a "demonstration case of promoting the efficacy of reform", it is adequate and sufficient.

When the emperor dropped such a blockbuster, the civil and military courts of the Manchu Dynasty dared not raise a single objection except to sing praises.Whoever makes the emperor uncomfortable at this moment is making fun of his own future.

Chongzhen saw the convincing of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and felt very relieved in his heart. In the end, he did not forget to make up for Zhou Shipu, and said coldly:
"Zhou Qing, I have asked people to check the accounts of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry, and I haven't finished the calculation! When the major issues here are over, I will slowly settle it with you!"

As soon as this remark came out, other civil officials who were unclean in money and food became more and more silent, knowing that at this time they must not hand the emperor a knife to check themselves.

Chongzhen was satisfied, and after announcing a few measures, seeing everyone's cooperation, he made a decision that he wanted to finalize early today:
"Since that's the case, there is another matter. Let's discuss it by the way. The Minister of the Household Department, Jiang Dejin, has made great achievements in promoting lijin, and the Minister of the Household Department, Cheng Guoxiang, has been ill for a long time. I am determined to promote Jiang Dejin to the Minister of the Household Department. You can discuss it. "

Such a major personnel decision cannot be made by the emperor with a single sentence, and the process that should be followed still needs to be followed.

At the court meeting, all the cabinet scholars discussed and discussed together, and finally passed the emperor's appointment in principle, and the relevant documents were completed after the court meeting was over.

Standing in the queue of civil servants, Jiang Dejin was also in a strong mood.For this step from deputy to principal, he has worked hard for more than a year. He has also recruited so many subordinates and presided over so many reforms. Now this step is finally officially taken!
He couldn't help turning his head to look at the subordinate behind him, Shen Tingyang, who is now only the carrier secretary. His younger brother is well received, and he can help him with big things, and it is not in vain that he has always supported the reforms he proposed in the Ministry of Household Affairs. , is a win-win situation.

After discussing Jiang Dejin's promotion, Chongzhen followed suit and proposed to promote Shen Tingyang, the secretary of the household department, to be the servant of the Nanjing household department.

After going to Nanjing to preside over the promotion of the lijin reform in the southern provinces and striving for a pilot this year, the lijin method will also be promoted in Sichuan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang next year, and the reform of water transport to sea will be further deepened.

At this point, the Hou Xun faction in the household system was finally completely powerless to resist.The emperor was able to kick Shen Tingyang to the "Six Pension Departments" in the south, they are already grateful, and they dare not make more troubles.

They don't even care if they give Shen Tingyang the Minister of the Nanjing Household Department directly.

Anyway, the six ministries in Nanjing are actually in charge of the affairs of the southern Zhili area. If you want to manage other provinces in the south, it depends on whether you have the skills and whether the household department in Beijing cooperates.

At the same time, Jiang Dejin was also thinking in his heart: "The support of the Shen family must be well united. Anyway, the officials of the Nanjing household department are worthless. Brother Ji Mingxian is too junior. He was only a doctor before, so he can only be a servant when he is promoted to Nanjing. .

And as long as he behaves well after he goes there, we will find a way to help him get promoted to another level within a year or two, and it's okay to be the secretary of the Nanjing household department.I believe his son Shen Shuren will also accept our favor, and cooperate more in other aspects in the future, so he will reciprocate. "

(End of this chapter)