national surname chiming

Chapter 182 All the credit goes to the living, all the guilt goes to the dead

Zhang Mingzhen and Zheng Chenggong returned to Suzhou, and it was already March 22.

Including the 1000-mile journey upstream from Suzhou, along the Yangtze River, through Nanjing, Jiujiang, and Wuchang, it will take at least the first ten days of April to get in touch with Shen Shuren.

In contrast, Beijing City is much closer to the Liaodong battlefield. On the evening of the tenth day of March, the first wave of gossip came back, saying that Songshan City, which was guarded by Governor Hong, had been captured by the Tartars.

In contrast, the fact that some troops in Tashan, Xingshan and other areas were rescued by the grain transport fleet by sea did not have that much influence, and Shanhaiguan did not rush to return with [-] miles. The news of the fall was sent back to the capital later.

After the Ministry of War got the letter, Chen Xinjia didn't dare to let Chongzhen know it at the first time. He was afraid that it would be inaccurate and asked people to verify it again-because the news of the fall was sent back by Wu Sangui from Shanhaiguan, and there was no witness as a direct witness.

It's a pity that the Ministry of War only kept it a secret for one night. In the early morning of the next day, some officials who heard the clues from nowhere jumped out directly.

Of course, the first batch of opponents were not Chen Xinjia's political opponents, but some "righteous people" who thought they had a common heart. The opponents in the open are often not the most terrifying, nor the most insidious.

Those who hide behind and fan the flames, letting the hot-tempered colleagues go first, are the most terrifying in the officialdom.

Therefore, the first batch of speech officials were headed by Liu Zongzhou, Yushi of Zuodu, Lin Yuji of Zhan Shi of Donggong, and Huang Daozhou of Shao Zhan Shi.

Liu Zongzhou took the lead in criticizing: "Your Majesty! I heard that Songshan fell, Hong Chengchou's troops were annihilated, and the battle of Songshan was postponed for half a year, but the Ministry of War could not save them. This shows that the Ministry of War is overstaffed, dull and incompetent!"

Lin Yuji followed closely behind: "The minister seconded the proposal, and the minister also impeached Chen Xinjia, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, for the crime of dereliction of duty and laziness!"

To be honest, Liu Zongzhou, Lin Yuji, and Huang Daozhou all have character and integrity. In history, when the Ming Dynasty fell, they were able to die for the country.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 to the emperor to levy additional "training pay". Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong can be persuaded to put down their weapons by relying on light corvee and thin gifts.

There is some truth in these remarks, which are in line with the Confucian requirements of "benevolent government", but unfortunately they are not practical-Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong have tasted the sweetness, how can the emperor give up rebellion by cutting taxes?
The reason why the other Huang Daozhou was dismissed at the beginning was also because he opposed Yang Sichang, Chen Xinjia's peace negotiation with the Tartars, and temporarily made false claims.

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

As a result, these civil servants who had either opposed the salary adjustment or the peace negotiation, felt that they were impartial and selfless, and took the lead in launching the attack.

Chongzhen didn't know the news of Songshan's fall, and he was shocked when he heard the news from several officials. He quickly asked Chen Xinjia: "Chen Qing! If there is such a thing? Why didn't the Ministry of War report it!"

Chen Xinjia was sweating profusely, and hastily stepped out to apologize, "I only got the news last night, because it was just a report of failure sent back by Wu Sangui from Shanhaiguan, some details have not been verified, and I don't know Hong Chengchou's life or death, so I didn't dare to disturb Shengting overnight."

After hearing the defeat reports over the years, Chongzhen also heard the experience, and immediately sighed in pain: "That is to say, it is probably a big defeat! It's just that I 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. I sent reinforcements twice, each time 6000 people, but they were repelled by Jiannu or directly annihilated before they crossed Ningyuan.

My Ming Dynasty can't afford to lose, otherwise, how can I still have the energy to defend Gyeonggi?In this matter, Your Majesty, please give me a few days to slowly understand the details of the losses on the front line! "

Chongzhen was so angry that the decree lines twitched and lost his temper again and again.And at this moment, Huang Daozhou also jumped out, and after Liu and Lin, he made up the third knife:

"Your Majesty! Even though the Ministry of War has no soldiers to dispatch and cannot rescue, before last year's decisive battle between Hong Chengchou and Huang Taiji, the staff of the Ministry of War fought several times, forcing Hong Chengchou to be cautious.

'The one who can be able but the king does not resist will win', the general is outside, and the civil servants in the rear do not know the enemy's situation and command randomly. This has been a taboo for military strategists since ancient times!Now that more than [-] elite soldiers outside the pass are finally lost, I think that the relevant people in the Ministry of War should be investigated for the crime of misleading the army! "

In fact, Chongzhen also knew that Chen Xinjia was not at fault, but there must be a group of trolls in the Ministry of War who should be held accountable.Being reminded by Zodiac on Monday, he immediately recalled it and found an outlet to vent his anger.

So Chongzhen immediately remembered what happened, and shouted angrily: "I remember it! It really happened, Chen Xinjia! How many people in your Ministry of War have repeatedly written letters last year, urging me to urge Hong Chengchou to fight quickly! "

Chen Xinjia secretly complained, but he could only confess truthfully: "It is true that this happened... before the decisive battle in September last year, Ma Shaoyu, the staff secretary, and Zhang Ruoqi, the Yuanwai Lang, both wrote to urge Hong Chengchou to fight quickly.

Of course, the minister also committed the crime of ignorance, and felt that what they said was reasonable at the time.Because of the Battle of Songjin, which was postponed for more than a year, the imperial court’s 10,000+ army has been stationed outside for a long time, and the military rations can no longer be consumed..."

Chen Xinjia knew very well that Chongzhen wanted Hong Chengchou to fight quickly because the logistics could not afford it.

As for Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi, they were nothing more than villains who wanted to cater to Shang's wishes. They wanted to pick what the emperor wanted to say but no one dared to say, and let them say it in exchange for promotion and fortune.

The situation at that time was a bit like the Battle of Changping. In fact, it was Zhao Wang himself who was dragged down by Lian Po and couldn't stand the logistics, which made Zhao Kuo a quick battle.Zhao Kuo just carried out what King Zhao wanted.

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

When Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi first performed last year, Chongzhen felt that these two were responsible and praised them a few times.Now that Hong Chengchou was finally wiped out, Chongzhen needed to find those who vented his anger. As soon as Chen Xinjia mentioned these names, Chongzhen was furious and ordered:
"Then don't take down the two thieves Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi! Hong Chengchou's downfall, they should at least bear most of the responsibility! It is an unforgivable crime to deceive the saints and mislead the ministry!"

Liu Zongzhou and Huang Daozhou saw that at least two of Chen Xinjia's minions had been bitten off, so they didn't care about it for the time being, and they accepted it when they saw it.

After retiring from the court, the Ministry of War was also in chaos. While having to arrest two Langzhong and Yuanwailang and transfer them to Yousi, they frantically collected more information about the military situation ahead.

Try every means to get some good news about winning in defeat, or hope that Hong Chengchou himself would better not die, break out of the encirclement, or die in a fierce battle.As long as there is good news, the responsibility of the Ministry of War can be alleviated.

Chongzhen was very busy, so he didn't have time to scold Chen Xinjia once a day. After he returned to the palace, he became more and more angry, and fell ill due to anger, and had to recuperate for a day or two.After recovering from the illness, I will settle the accounts with Chen Xinjia.

……

Of course Chen Xinjia knew how precious the two days when the emperor fell ill were precious.

Therefore, he first personally participated in the preliminary trial of Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi, and together with the people sent by the Ministry of Criminal Justice to assist in the investigation, he tortured the relevant confessions.

Ma Shaoyu and Zhang Ruoqi, the two big fans who forced Hong Chengchou to a decisive battle last year, are of course not the ones who are willing to sit and wait for death, so they have killed the caliber in the past two days.

He also desperately tried to collect detailed intelligence evidence of the various stages of the battle ahead, trying to prove that "it was not that there was a problem with the decision to urge Hong Chengchou to make a decisive battle, but that Hong Chengchou was incompetent in tactical command, miscalculated, and incompetent in commanding troops."

After finding some evidence, they discussed with Chen Xinjia, chose to keep the ones that were beneficial to the Ministry of War, and tried to hide the ones that were not good for the Ministry of War.

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

Of course Chen Xinjia knew that he would be responsible for doing so.But he also knew that the nasty operation of Ma and Zhang was indeed beneficial to the entire Ministry of War.

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

This side has just done the work that has been pushed by the meritorious service. On the other hand, the front army has really brought back two good news of defeat and victory within these two days.

On the evening of March [-], when Chen Xinjia was in a state of desperation, a Tang newspaper from Shanhaiguan was delivered to his desk.

"My lord! It's a surprise! It's a win in defeat! Only Cao Bianjiao and Li Fuming reported from the direction of Shanhaiguan today, saying that it was the river guard fleet that delivered military food to Wu Sangui's department in Shanhaiguan. It arrived at Shanhaiguan at the end of last month. Later, I learned that the defenders in Tashan, Xingshan and other places have been besieged by Tartars.

Therefore, Zhang Mingzhen, the deputy general of the Cao Cao, and Zheng Chenggong, who were promoted by Cao Yun, decided to take a detour when returning to the voyage, and try to rescue some fleeing soldiers along the coast of Tashan and Xingshan.

Unexpectedly, they happened to catch up with the two cities of Tashan and Xingshan, and the defenders were exhausted and had to break out.Therefore, Zhang Mingzhen raided the Bijia Shanshui Village between Tashan and Xingshan, wiped out a Jiala of the Qing army, and successfully rescued more than [-] soldiers from the sea!In the ensuing blockade, they wiped out the Qing army's counterattack on Bijiashan, about one Jiala! "

"What? Rescued more than 1 people?! Annihilated three thousand enemies? Quickly show me!" Chen Xinjia felt dizzy for a while, and his mood and blood pressure fluctuated drastically.

He has already been forced by the emperor's anger to cut off at least two of his subordinates. If there is no good news, he may even have to be demoted. He really needs this good news so much.

Although, it's just a victory in defeat.

It's like after the British lost France, they told you that at least part of the expeditionary force's withdrawal in Dunkirk was successful, but in the end it was still a defeat.

After Chen Xinjia opened it, he glanced at it for a while, and then decided to concentrate all resources, publicize this victory, and persuade the emperor to give rewards and promotions to all those who have contributed to the breakout of Tashan and Xingshan, so as to stabilize the morale of the people. .

"Deputy General of Water Transport... Shen Tingyang of the Nanjing Household Department requested this matter, right? I remember that Mr. Zhou Ge greeted me and wanted to approve the Nanjing Household Department to imitate the duties of the former Governor of Water Transport and set up water guards.

Did Mr. Zhou Ge know about this in advance?Or did they just ask for an organization, and there was no battle plan at the time, and all of this was just an improvisation on the way back to escort? "

Chen Xinjia decided to go to Zhou Yanru as soon as possible to unify his caliber overnight.

Then, as if he remembered something, he immediately turned around and asked the subordinate who had just delivered the good news: "By the way, it's been two days! Has the situation with Governor Hong been confirmed? Is the Songshan garrison completely annihilated? Is Hong Chengchou dead?"

The subordinate looked embarrassed, and explained: "The secretary of the staff has used all the intelligence to investigate, so far, he can only inquire that the Songshan defenders should be wiped out, and Hong Chengchou failed to break out.

But whether Hong Chengchou was martyred or captured is really impossible to find out. After all, the people who were around Hong Chengchou when the city was broken were also killed or captured. Where should we go to find out? "

Chen Xinjia nodded. It seems that the only thing that can be confirmed is that Hong Chengchou will not come back.

He thought for a while, and gritted his teeth: "Then report to His Majesty, and say that Hong Chengchou has been confirmed to be martyred! Thinking about it, Governor Hong is in a high position, and his holy grace is as deep as the sea. How could such an extremely human minister surrender to the Tartars. Even if he was captured alive at that time, he would have died for the country like Wen Tianxiang in the end.

After declaring 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, which has nothing to do with the Ministry of War's urging the war!

Also, when the time comes to send some pensions to Hong Chengchou's family, His Majesty will still treat the general who died in the country with grace, even if he is responsible for the defeat, he will not offend his family.That being the case, let Hong Chengchou use the waste and let the dead bear all the guilt. "

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PS: To clarify, these despicable and shameless officialdoms are indeed beneficial to the protagonist, but it is really not Shen Shuren's scheme.It's just that Chen Xinjia coincided with Shen Shuren's interests for his own benefit.

Shen Shuren never thought of framing Hong Chengchou.

(End of this chapter)