national surname chiming

Chapter 125 Jiaqian Capital Censor

Yang Sichang reported victory and Shen Shuren made meritorious service, but Chongzhen first promoted Shen Tingyang and secretly demoted him from office.

It's not that Chongzhen's mind is not clear, but that there is no need to rush to promote Shen Shuren, and it can be discussed slowly.

However, the promotion of Shen Tingyang involved the court's final conclusion on the Lijin New Deal that had just been tried for two or three months.

As long as Shen Tingyang's official position is nominally promoted, it means the affirmation of the lijin policy and can transform this system from a pilot to a long-term policy.

Those who did not object to Shen Tingyang's promotion today will be ashamed to bring up the old story and oppose Lijin's promotion alone tomorrow, and this matter will be muddied like this.

After the court meeting ended, Shen Tingyang, who was standing among the civil servants, was still a little dizzy.

In the past few months, he has been very diligent in his official duties for Lijin and water transport reforms.He has carefully investigated and calculated the reform progress and results of each province, checked for omissions and made fine adjustments.

After all, he was born as a businessman. Even if his attainments in the Four Books and Five Classics are not good, he still has a strong ability to calculate accounts and suppress costs.It is easy to achieve results when doing professional counterparts.

He felt that he was "no credit, but hard work".

But that's the case, he didn't expect that he would be promoted to the Minister of Nanjing Household Department so soon.

Moreover, he was once again assisted by his son's meritorious service, because "it shows that after the implementation of the Lijin policy, the efficiency of local military salary distribution has improved, the morale of the army has improved, and the combat performance has improved", and the promotion was completed.

Regardless of whether the reason is far-fetched or not, the result is good anyway.

This kind of promotion is really a dream.

Shen Tingyang couldn't help pinching his thigh several times, wanting to confirm whether all this was true.

"I have been an official for 12 years. It took five years to be promoted from cabinet secretary to chief minister, and another five years to be promoted from chief minister to Yuanwailang. It only took one year to be promoted from Yuanwailang to Langzhong, and only one year to be promoted from Langzhong to assistant minister. one year.

God bless our Shen family. In the past two years since Lin'er became enlightened, our family has been really prosperous in official career, and we are promoted once a year.I'm afraid the ancestral tombs are full of smoke. After this trip to the south, I must go to the ancestral tombs in Suzhou to repair them. "

Shen Tingyang couldn't help thinking wildly and obsessively in his heart, so that everyone else retreated, and he was still standing there dumbfounded without reacting.

Fortunately, the most trusted eunuch by Chongzhen's side, Wang Cheng'en, also came over at this moment, and quietly instructed him a few words, which just relieved Shen Tingyang's disgrace and embarrassment.

"Shen Shilang, His Majesty asked you to stay for a while, and there will be a solo performance after the court breaks up."

Only then did Shen Tingyang quickly thank you.

After a while, the other civil servants left, and Shen Tingyang also came to the Wenhua Hall next door to continue to accept questions from the emperor.

Chongzhen has nothing else to do, he just needs to explain a few words before releasing Shen Tingyang as a foreigner, and by the way, test his character at the end.

There is no doubt that Chongzhen was suspicious. Others kept persuading him that "although lijin is good, but it is easy to lead to local financial autonomy", Chongzhen was also a little worried.

After Shen Tingyang was released this time, there was no one in the Shen family in the capital, and Chongzhen still felt a little worried.

He himself didn't realize the real reason buried deep in his subconscious, it was purely flustered.

Therefore, he subconsciously asked: "Shen Qing, this time you were promoted to Nanjing as the servant of the household department. It's an obvious rise and a dark drop. You won't blame me, will you?"

Shen Tingyang was filled with fear and trepidation: "Your Majesty's grace, how dare I make wild guesses. The minister is so noble, how can he be said to have risen in secret? I was born in a businessman and neglected the righteousness of a saint. If I stay in the capital, I am afraid that I am not worthy of being a minister in this life." .”

A trace of suspicion flashed in Chongzhen's eyes: "It seems that you like to go to Nanjing to be an official. By the way, Zhou Shipu's criticism of the Lijin policy, you won't hold grudges against him, right? He said that Lijin will eventually lead to the separatist rule of the town, which is perverse ,What do you think?"

After Chongzhen finished asking, he felt some anticipation in his heart.This question is very tricky. If Shen Tingyang wants to hide his dissatisfaction with his political opponents and deliberately speak generously, it will appear fake.

Fortunately, Shen Tingyang was also seeking truth from facts, he never held grudges against Zhou Shipu.So he took a deep breath and sighed:
"Your Majesty, when discussing the pros and cons of the Lijin policy, both the minister and the dog told His Majesty, how could the minister hate Zhou Shangshu because of what he said today? What he said was the truth.

But I still insist on promoting lijin, just because I feel that there are priorities. I, Ming, have internal and external troubles, and I am in a hurry to follow the power.

When Emperor Suzong of Tang ascended the throne in Lingwu and faced the Anshi Rebellion, was it because after he delegated power to Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, it would easily lead to the separatism of the town in the long run, so why not put down the Anshi rebels in front of him?As for the subsequent changes in the Tang Dynasty, it was not Suzong Zhongxing's fault. "

Chongzhen was shocked after hearing this.

He really didn't expect that Shen Tingyang was so sincere, and he said that what Zhou Shangshu said was true, and it was a long-term view, but the distant water could not quench the near thirst.

And the key is that the example Shen Tingyang gave later made Chongzhen very useful.

He is not the main culprit that caused Daming to collapse to this point!When Daming was taken over by him, he had already rotted like this!

He has worked diligently for 14 years, and he is trying his best to save Daming every day!

Shen Tingyang's remarks are undoubtedly comparing Tang Suzong, who quelled the Anshi Rebellion and rejuvenated the Tang Dynasty, with him.

The Anshi Rebellion was provoked by Tang Xuanzong!Tang Suzong was not wrong, on the contrary, he saved so much, even if the feudal town was separated in the end, can Tang Suzong be blamed?
Today's "Tang Xuanzong" of Ming Dynasty should obviously be counted on the head of his grandfather, Emperor Wanli!
Although he was the emperor for 48 years, he claimed that the Ming reign was the longest and nothing major happened during his tenure, but in the end, the people ran out of money, there were signs of civil uprisings, and there was a big defeat in Sarhu.

All of this can be compared with "Yuyang frowns and encourages to come"!
In Chongzhen's heart, he suddenly felt that he had never been so relieved.

This kind of feeling is like an African uncle, there is a beautiful woman in front of him but there is no Taotao, he was still hesitating whether to go, but now someone finally cheers him up:
"You live in a country where the average life expectancy is 30 years old, and you still worry about infectious diseases? Can you live to the age of onset? Only countries with good medical conditions are worthy of worrying!"

If Shen Tingyang can confess and analyze with him so truthfully, there is absolutely no problem with his loyalty.

Let him go to Nanjing.

……

After completely reassuring Shen Tingyang, Chongzhen began to think about how to arrange his son's credit and promotion.

This matter happened suddenly, and Chongzhen himself had no idea, so he had to consult several cabinet elders in the bureaucracy system first.

When Shen Shuren was added as an official last year, Xue Guoguan, Cai Guoyong and others were the elders who were in charge of handling personnel affairs.

These guys were all Wen Tiren's henchmen at the beginning. After Wen Tiren passed away in Chongzhen's 11th year, they still hang out with the center for two years.

But in the second half of last year, Xue Guoguan and other two were also killed by Chongzhen for various crimes, so now the relevant positions of Ge Lao and the main officials of the official department have become Wei Zhaocheng and Zhang Sizhi.

The official qualifications of these two people are even shallower, they were originally recommended by Xue Guoguan to join the cabinet.It is equivalent to that after his benefactor was killed by the emperor, he replaced him in turn.

Moreover, according to the original historical development, these two people have not worked together for a long time, and they will be dismissed by Chongzhen after more than a year. Fortunately, they were not killed directly like Xue Guoguan, and they finally saved their lives——

It can be seen that in the last three to five years of the Chongzhen Dynasty, being a court elder was also a high-risk occupation, and it was normal to be killed and replaced by a group of people on average every one or two years.

In addition, in the original history, after April of the 14th year of Chongzhen, Chongzhen had already begun to summon Zhou Yanru to return to Beijing, and Zhou Yanru would also arrive in September of this year to serve as the chief assistant.

But now because of the butterfly effect of Shen Shuren, the two major defeats in Luoyang and Xiangyang have not yet happened, Yang Sichang has not died of illness, and the strategy of suppressing thieves led by Yang Sichang has not yet gone bankrupt.This caused the emperor to delay asking Zhou Yanru to come back and clean up the mess.

(Note: In history, Yang Sichang died of fear of illness at the end of March in the 14th year of Chongzhen. Zhou Yanru was called in April, which happened to be the month after Yang Sichang's death. Yang Sichang in this time and space has already lived three months longer than in the same period in history. up.)
Considering the fact that Zhou Yanru came back later, Wei Zhaocheng and Zhang Sizhi in this life may be able to serve a few months longer than in the same period in history.

There is no time to express emotion about the changes in the fate of these elders.

Anyway, Chongzhen found Wei Zhaocheng and Zhang Sizhi, and asked them to stand on the position of the Ministry of Officials and negotiate a reward for Shen Shuren.
It is required that people must be able to give full play to their talents and be rewarded for their merits, and that capable ministers who have fought bloody battles for the country should not be wronged.It would be best to arrange a position with real power to coordinate the cross-border suppression of thieves.

The reason why Chongzhen had such specific requirements is also related to a description in Yang Sichang's victory report——

Yang Sichang emphasized in the memorial table that after Shen Shuren led his troops to chase and reach the Huguang and Henan provincial border checkpoints in Tongbai Mountain, he stopped the pursuit. Fortunately, Liu Guoneng, who was stationed in Henan, pursued and flanked them bravely, and finally surrounded and wiped out the main force of Erhe.

Because in Shen Shuren's previous official position, the prefect of Huangzhou could only do things in Huangzhou, and he couldn't even go to the capital of Suizhou.The official position of Hubei military preparations can lead troops to suppress bandits across the government.

But going from Suizhou to Xinyang is no longer as simple as Yuefu, but more provincial, so Shen Shuren can't go.From a jurisprudential point of view, the organizer of the previous battle was Yang Sichang himself, and Shen Shuren requested Liu Guoneng's reinforcements from Yang Sichang.

Chongzhen is of course very upset about this kind of capable minister who "clearly can do more things for Ming Dynasty", but cannot contribute more because of the restriction of authority.

Although he is emotionally unstable, as long as he thinks that one person can be used, he still hopes to use his talents as soon as possible and make full use of them, just like how he trusted Yuan Chonghuan who boasted to Haikou at the beginning. What power do you want? What power, but in the end, if things are not done, they will kill people.

After debating with Zhang Sizhi, Wei Zhaocheng was also quite embarrassed by the specific request of the emperor.

After all, if Shen Shuren wanted to fight thieves across provinces, it would basically be possible to get the rank of Governor. Only then can a Governor supervise several provinces under normal conditions, but how could Shen Shuren deserve to be promoted to Governor?
Even the governor, with Shen Shuren's current qualifications, is far behind, and under normal circumstances, the governor can only govern one province, and it is very difficult to fight across Huguang and Henan——

Let's put it this way, if an official in his 30s with enough seniority in the officialdom has made the credit for Lian Zhu Erhe today, then it is still possible to be promoted from the Taoist rank to the governor.

But Shen Shu was only 21 and a half years old, and after the 22nd year, the governor would be too soon, and he would not be rewarded for his meritorious service in the future.If he wants to be promoted to governor, at least he will make twice as much credit as other officials in their 40s and [-]s.

Otherwise, the imperial court would rather only give real power and no rank treatment, or even give some titles rather than directly give the governor.

After repeated checks with Zhang Sizhi, Wei Zhaocheng finally found a precedent from the pile of old papers and advised Chongzhen:

"Your Majesty, if you really believe in Shen Shuren and want him to contribute more to the country, it is better to refer to the story of Shi Kefa in the ninth year of Chongzhen, and first go to Shen Shuren to be the prefect of Huangzhou, keep Hubei's military preparations, and then add the title of Qiandu Yushi , and indicate the scope of duties performed by the Yushi of Qiandu.

If the follow-up performance is really outstanding, and all the five battalions of Gezuo are wiped out, and all the thieves are wiped out in the remote places at the junction of Hubei, Henan and Anhui, then the capital censor and governor will be added. "

In fact, Chongzhen didn't pay much attention to treatment, but to real power.In other words, as long as the people below can do more things, wages and benefits are not important, and it is not impossible to do important jobs with low salaries.

So after thinking for a while, he just asked, "The censor of the capital is generally not allowed to inspect across provinces, right?"

Wei Zhaocheng hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? When Shi Kefashou was given the title of Yudu Yushi five years ago, it was temporarily set up so that he could inspect the Anluchi Taisi Mansion in Southern Zhili Anhui, And Henan Guangzhou, Gushi, Luotian, Huguang Qizhou, Guangji, Huangmei, Jiangxi Dehua, Hukou.

At that time, Shi Kefa was given this flexible assignment temporarily because Lu Xiangsheng chased the [-]th Gezuo Battalion to this point, and the [-]th Gezuo Battalion fled into the deep mountains at the junction of the three provinces, so there must be a special person in charge of coordinating.

Later, Shi Kefa performed outstandingly, and he was appointed governor of Anlu the following year.Now His Majesty originally hoped that Shi Kefa would formally take over Zhu Dadian's position as Governor of Water Transport, and this was the beginning of planning for the handover last year.

Therefore, the governor of Anlu will soon be vacant. His Majesty can suggest that Shen Shuren will continue to work hard, and he will be treated according to the legal treatment five years ago.After Lin Chengcheng and Ma Shouying were all wiped out, to ensure that the mountainous area at the junction of the three provinces was completely free of thieves, Shen Shuren was appointed governor by the imperial censor of the capital. Presumably Shen Shuren would work harder and be grateful. "

Chongzhen stroked his beard, and felt that this was feasible, and it also solved the problem of Shen Shuren being too young.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, Shi Kefa was 35 years old when he became the censor of Qiandu, 14 years older than Shen Shuren today.Shen Shuren's contribution so far is slightly higher than that of Shi Kefa five years ago. In the final analysis, he suffered from the disadvantages of his age and seniority.

"Okay, let's do this first, and you guys go to draft an order. Then see if Shen Shuren has any other outstanding performances recently. If so, find a way to reward him from aspects other than official positions. It chills the hearts of heroes." Chongzhen finally accepted this condition.

(End of this chapter)