national surname chiming

Chapter 35

Along with the other 59 quasi-jinshi, he left at the emperor's request.

Only Chongzhen, Shen Shuren, and some court ladies and eunuchs remained in the Wenhua Palace.

The leading eunuch, Wang Cheng'en, was still standing there without realizing the current situation.

However, Chongzhen quickly ordered: "Wang Daban, you also retreat."

Wang Chengen was quite astonished.

Shen Shuren listened below, only to realize that Wang Chengen was standing next to the emperor.He originally thought that Cao Huachun should be with him on such a formal occasion today.

It's also because Shen Shuren didn't read carefully—Cao Huachun just retired from his old age and returned home last year.

"History of the Ming Dynasty" said that Li Zicheng entered the capital four years later and Cao Huachun offered his family. He, a retired old man, did not have such power.It is estimated that it was presented by another eunuch in charge of guarding the gate, but he is not well-known, so he had to find someone with a name to take the blame and act as the code name of the entire eunuch group.

After all the eunuchs had left, Chongzhen said, "According to Qing, how should we restrain the civil and military forces who besieged Zhang Ni, so as to motivate them to use their lives? You must be sure that you dared to contradict me like this just now, right?

Now that there is no one around, I might as well say something from my heart. I hate Zhang Ni more than Li Chuang.This thief destroyed the ancestral mausoleum in Fengyang five years ago, forcing me to issue an imperial edict to plead guilty to my ancestors. There is no such crime in ancient and modern times. "

Shen Shuren confirmed that speaking now would not embarrass the emperor in public, so he dared to speak up: "Your Majesty, I dare not say that I am sure. However, I have a heartfelt statement. I dare to say that after Zhang Ni rebelled, the rest of the southern families rebelled against thieves. Many of them are forced to helpless,
I am afraid that His Majesty will feel that 'they and Zhang Ni were both recruited by Xiong Wencan together, and Zhang Ni's rebellion will make His Majesty suspect that they will also rebel'. Under mutual suspicion, they became corrupt and completely out of control. The heart of fear is at work. "

Chongzhen's face turned cold: "Qing is blaming me for being strict, can you force them back?"

Shen Shuren: "I don't dare! No one can guess what those thieves' leaders are thinking, and neither can I. But the matter has come to this point, I feel that everything should look forward and do everything possible to restore the relationship between the court and the repentant thieves." If you can save as many as you can, save as many as you can. Only by preventing Zhang Ni from coercing more people, can there be hope of completely eradicating the bandits."

Chongzhen adjusted his breathing, endured the twitching of the nerves at the corner of his mouth, and asked patiently: "How to fix it?"

Shen Shuren responded: "In ancient times, Shang Yang migrated to Muli, and for today's plan, we should first of all reward those who once rebelled with Zhang Ni, and were later appeased by Xiong Wencan with Zhang Ni. The surrendered general who was moved and insisted on allegiance to the court.

In this way, it can set an example that the imperial court will never leave the reformed and loyal generals, and show the prosperity of the monarch and his ministers. "

Shen Shuren's suggestion is very specific and practical.

Speaking of this, Chongzhen's expression finally warmed up a little, and he also realized that the courtier in front of him was really helping him with ideas for the stability of the world.

"Are there any such examples? Even if there are, is their loyalty to the imperial court reliable?"

Shen Shuren came prepared and knew the history, so he immediately said firmly:
"Yes! Liu Guoneng, who was recruited by Xiong Wencan along with Zhang Ni and others the year before last, did not follow Zhang Ni's rebellion and insisted on fighting against him.

So far, Liu Guoneng is still fighting the bandits for the country in Nanyang, working together with Zuo Liangyu.Please imagine, Your Majesty, if a former traitor was suspected by the court and chose to rebel because he was afraid of being implicated by Zhang Ni, then he should have rebelled last autumn at the latest.

It has been nine months since Zhang Ni rebelled, and he still insisted not to join in the rebellion. Naturally, he wanted to leave a good name in the history books and was sincerely loyal to the court. Shouldn't such a role model be set up or rescued?If the civil and military forces of the imperial court are allowed to despise them and not give them food, pay and support, it will chill people's hearts, and it will be difficult to divide and disintegrate the thieves in the future. "

This Liu Guoneng used to be known as "Crossing the Sky", and he was also very stubborn when he was a thief. He even feigned surrender once in the hands of Shaanxi Chen Qiyu.

But Shen Shuren dared to cite this example because he knew that Liu Guoneng finally fought Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong in the "History of Ming Dynasty", and his whole family died for the country after being defeated.

If he wants to clarify his point of view, he can't give a better example, so he can only use Liu Guoneng as a benchmark—he can't persuade the emperor to treat Zheng Zhilong preferentially, can he?After all, Zheng Zhilong was a traitor in history.

Liu Guoneng is still relatively easy to control in the future, and it is easier to be grateful for giving charcoal in the snow than icing on the cake.

Chongzhen was silent for a long time after listening.

He didn't know the situation very well, so he had to go to the gate of the hall in person, call Wang Chengen back, and ask him to bring the resume of general Liu Guoneng, and he had to check it himself.

Wang Chengen didn't know what was being discussed in the Wenhua Palace, and seeing this posture, he was also secretly startled:

Didn't His Majesty say that he would blame Shen Lin?Why do you still need to get the general's resume while cursing?Is this a curse or a trick?

Fortunately, as a senior eunuch, if he knows what he should not ask, he should not guess and just do his duty.

After Chongzhen got his resume, he read it repeatedly and discussed it for a long time. In the end, he had to admit that the idea Shen Shuren gave him was absolutely correct, beneficial and harmless, without any sequelae.

"Qing is a practical talent. Although he doesn't know the general idea, he can't stay in the pavilion and talk about it. But he is a good hand at the local level to help people manage money and divide thieves." Chongzhen held back for a long time before he could hold back such a word of praise.

Shen Shuren's seeking truth from facts in doing specific work left a deep impression on him again.It also reminded him of the previous case of the Ministry of Household Water Transport Reform.

If there were many people talking about these things, Chongzhen would not have said them so bluntly, but now that there are no one, it is rare for the emperor to say whatever he wants, and it is tiring to pretend all the time.

After the atmosphere became harmonious, Chongzhen didn't hesitate to take the opportunity to ask more questions. While chatting, he focused on how to solve Zhang Xianzhong thoroughly.

Shen Shuren saw that the fire was coming, and gave the emperor a second suggestion: "Your Majesty, I have always believed that Zhang Ni's rampantness is mainly because he is good at coercing good and good followers. To solve Zhang Ni, we must cut him off from pulling, biting, and coercing others." Ability.

Since Your Majesty is willing to reward and reuse Liu Guoneng, why not go one step further, offer a heavy reward, announce it to the world, and encourage all available people to surround Zhang Ni? "

Chongzhen thought for a while, but his face was still a little ugly: "You mean, even if you are currently a traitor, as long as you kill Zhang Ni and offer his head, the court will pardon his previous crimes? I also want to make an oath to the world, Guaranteed to be fulfilled?"

Shen Shuren shook his head: "This is fine, but the effect may not be enough. Rewards and punishments come from His Majesty, and I dare not speak rashly."

Chongzhen said grimly: "Isn't that enough? Is it necessary to guarantee that the person who killed Zhang Ni will be given some kind of official title? If it is Zhang Ni's thieves, generals, or even adopted sons, seeing that his situation is gone, and want to get a vote of credit? This This kind of person also needs to forgive, can it be fulfilled?

What if Li Chuang and the thief killed Zhang Ni?Want to be a Marquis?How can the imperial court have any face? People in the world will talk lightly and cause chaos in the future. Anyway, in the end, all the sins can be washed away by killing the leader of the thief! "

Shen Shuren knew that the most important thing for Chongzhen was face, so he quickly struck while the iron was hot: "Your Majesty! People in the world will not laugh at me, and my Ming Dynasty also attaches great importance to filial piety. Zhang Ni's crime is different from that of the thieves. Ling, he is the chief culprit, and the rest are just coerced. Now that he has surrendered and turned back, he is the chief culprit again.

Your Majesty's benevolence and filial piety, in order to be worthy of the ancestors, even issued an edict of guilt, offering extra rewards to those who killed Zhang Tie, and fulfilling the oath to the heavenly alliance, are also manifestations of filial piety. People in the world will only think that your majesty is a benevolent king!

If you really feel that you can't face it... I know that His Majesty is not willing to forgive Xiong Wencan who is still in prison, so why not clarify the scope of his crimes when handing down Xiong Wencan's sentence:

It was not at fault for Xiong Wencan to appease the other thieves, the fault was only for trusting Zhang Ni.No matter how His Majesty punishes Xiong Wencan, killing the crime on this point will also reassure the other generals, and let other rebels see the hope of going back again.

In this way, in the end, no matter whether it was Li Chuang's thieves who plotted against each other, or Zhang Ni's confidantes who wanted to get rid of the crime and were cornered by the officers and soldiers and then killed the master and surrendered, at least they could get rid of this serious trouble. "

Shen Shuren's train of thought is very clear: The biggest boost to Zhang Xianzhong's rise is that Chongzhen will kill those who can't get rid of Zhang Xianzhong and destroy the Great Wall.

Therefore, to deal with Zhang Xianzhong, we have to do the opposite, so that the emperor, who has been mean and ungrateful all his life, will use all means on this issue.

"No matter how much other people have committed in the past, if you kill Zhang Xianzhong, you will be exonerated! Return him as a Marquis!"

Moreover, if Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo chose to kill their father to protect themselves at a certain moment in the future when Zhang Xianzhong was desperate, Shen Shuren would also be happy to see the result.After all, Sun Kewang hoped that Li Dingguo could still save him, so there was no need to bury Zhang Xianzhong with him.

Historically, the generals under the Daxi Army still had a certain national integrity against the Qing Dynasty, and it is best to only punish the culprits.

Hearing this step, Chongzhen was finally shaken.

Indeed, Shen Shuren helped him solve the problem of face, and gave him a step down: Zhang Xianzhong had a reason for being more criminal than other gangster leaders, and he hated Zhang Xianzhong so much that it would not make the emperor feel ashamed.

The royal mausoleum has been destroyed and the imperial edict has been issued, and the shame that should be lost has already been lost.

The final conclusion of the Xiong Wencan case can still be operated, and it can save face no matter how you look at it.

The most important thing is that Shen Shuren's strategy was offered in private, and the emperor would not lose face.

"A city of ten households must have loyalty. I have been taught, you should step down first, and I will think about it carefully." Chongzhen didn't want to make a decision in person, he didn't want to be ashamed in front of his courtiers.

Shen Shuren knew that he could no longer persuade him at this time, so he took advantage of the situation and withdrew.

……

Two days later, the official announcement of the palace examination.

Sure enough, Wei Zaode became the champion, and Gao Eryan, a guy who later surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and became a traitor in history, was also promoted from Tanhua to the second place because of the butterfly effect.

The original No. [-] Ge Shizhen, because of his more pragmatic words, was deposed to the top two and became Chuanlu.

Fang Yizhi, who was originally seven, was implicated by Shen Shuren, because his political attitude was more pragmatic than before, and he was not liked by the emperor, so he fell to 59.

Shen Shuren was honorably at the bottom, No. 60 in the overall list, and the last in the second class.

But the ruling and opposition parties all knew the reason why he was dethroned: he was admonishing the emperor directly and seeking truth from facts, which led to his lower ranking.

After a lot of hard work, Shen Shuren finally got a Jinshi background smoothly.

And he also knew that the emperor would give him a promotion in the future, but the reason for the promotion had to be concealed, so as to cover up the embarrassment of the emperor.His actual future is definitely much better than those top picks who have only vain names.After all, he was secretly helping the emperor with dirty work, and he was not known to outsiders.

A few days later, Chongzhen quietly made a decree, pretending that it had nothing to do with any of the previous courtiers' advice, and that it was entirely the emperor's own thought.

The cause and effect of the will are nothing more than this:

The emperor said that he was entrusted by his ancestors in a dream, and that the ancestral mausoleum in Fengyang had been destroyed for five years, and the souls of the ancestors were not safe.He was ashamed to be a descendant of the people, and he felt that the edict about the ancestral tomb issued five years ago was not thorough enough, so he added some oaths.

Chongzhen made an oath to his ancestors and clans in the Taimiao:

Anyone who killed Zhang Xianzhong, if he was a Ming minister from the beginning, can be named a duke.

If you have been a thief, you can also be a marquis anyway.

This oath is valid for everyone in the world except Zhang Xianzhong's parents and children. (Zhang Xianzhong currently has no biological son)
That is to say, even if Li Zicheng killed Zhang Xianzhong and sacrificed his head, he could still be a Marquis.

Chongzhen had completely figured it out at this point: what is there to be afraid of pardoning Li Zicheng?If he really killed Zhang Xianzhong, he would have weakened the power of the thieves by half, so if he pardoned him, he would pardon him.

The big deal is that if Li Zicheng really has wolfish ambitions again, he should be punished next time when he makes trouble.In any case, to get this reward, Zhang Xianzhong had died first, and the bandits had split up and fought among themselves, and the court was not losing money, so why bother to begrudge the reward.

Being an emperor can't be too mean and ungrateful.

Of course, Chongzhen was still a little coy, and added a sentence at the end of the Taimiao oath:
If in the future Zhang Ni had already been defeated and fell into a desperate situation and was besieged, the thieves under his command would improvise and kill the master to vote because of their poor situation.Then you can't be named a marquis, you can only be exempted from previous crimes and promise that you will never be held accountable.

This is also Chongzhen's last fig leaf, to prevent the thieves from "resisting if they can resist, and finally killing the master and surrendering if they can't resist" to cheat the Marquis by taking credit.

Written in such detail, it also greatly increased the credibility of the Taimiao oath.I believe that after the world's thieves see it, anyone who wants to ask the court for forgiveness will weigh it more or less.

After the announcement of the Taimiao oath, Chongzhen added a backhand to plug the leak:
He asked the minister of punishment to speed up the trial of Xiong Wencan's case.Put Xiong Wencan's charges on the grounds of "colluding with Zhang Xianzhong", and delete all the charges of Xiong Wencan's rebellion after recruiting other thieves.

In other words, the rebellion of other thieves was also designated by the emperor as "coerced by Zhang Xianzhong", rather than "premeditated for a long time to rebel".Therefore, Xiong Wencan's behavior of Zhaoan and the others is not considered a crime.

Historically, Xiong Wencan was not finally executed until the autumn of Chongzhen 13th year.Now, in order to hide his embarrassment, the emperor killed him in spring a few months in advance.

Make a decision without waiting.

On the day of the beheading, the Caishi entrance in the capital was crowded with people, and it was impossible to get through.

The emperor's decree was clearly stated: Xiong Wencan was innocent of many other acts, but colluding with Zhang Xianzhong was an unforgivable crime.

After the beheading, the details of Xiong Wencan's crimes were revealed to the world.

On the day of the execution, Shen Shuren was also watching at Caishikou in the capital.With the conscience of heaven and earth, he really didn't instigate to kill Xiong Wencan, he even wanted to save him a little bit.

When he mentioned Xiong Wencan to Chongzhen, he only mentioned the crime and not the sentencing from the beginning to the end, hoping that Xiong Wencan's crimes would be reduced and the emperor could commute his sentence.

But for the sake of face, Chongzhen insisted on going his own way, even if he only kept this one charge, he insisted on executing him alone to emphasize the seriousness of this charge, and Shen Shuren had no choice.

Chongzhen has been lenient in some respects, but he has to be mean and ungrateful in other respects to regain his psychological balance.

(End of this chapter)