national surname chiming

Chapter 76 The first second of hell, the next second of heaven

A grain of sand of the times, falling on everyone's head is like a mountain.

The emperor can take care of everything, forget the anger in a blink of an eye, and only recall it when he meets again next time.

But for those who are angry with the emperor, they have to be in constant fear, and they may be woken up in a dream in the middle of the night.

No, the day after Chongzhen saw Zuo Liangyu's impeachment, Yang Sichang's memorial was delivered two days before.On the capital side, several officials have already begun to suffer from insomnia every night.

The first to bear the brunt is undoubtedly the doctor and Shen Tingyang of the Department of Shipping.

It was his own son who was impeached.

He was notified of this news by his immediate superior and servant, Jiang Dejing, that evening when the household department was disbanding.

At that time, Jiang Dejing called Shen Tingyang to stop and asked him to have a drink after he left the office.

Shen Tingyang was of course flattered, and immediately made the most decent arrangements, including good wine, good food, and the most beautiful accompanying oiran.

Anyway, since the Shen family is so rich, these things are nothing to worry about.

As a result, when he arrived at the place, Jiang Dejing immediately changed his gloomy expression as if facing a formidable enemy. He was not even interested in the oiran, and asked directly: "Ji Ming, what happened to your son? What happened to him in Huangzhou?"

Shen Tingyang was completely confused, and was very anxious: "Why did you say that, brother? Since my son was released from the outside world, he has been careful about being an official. How could he cause trouble?"

Jiang Dejing was worried: "He never wrote family letters to his family, talking about the difficulties he encountered in Huangzhou?"

Shen Tingyang thought for a while: "That's true, by the way, a month and a half ago, I received a letter from my family, in which I talked about some official affairs, which can be regarded as related to the money management of our household department.

He said that when he was in Huangzhou, he found that the camp thieves in Yinghuo and Tongbai Mountains mostly relied on water transportation to communicate with the outside world due to inconvenient roads.Due to the isolation of commercial routes and government inspections, the price of some materials in the bandit area is high.It's a pity that there are some profiteers who are mercenary. For this price difference, they take risks and do business with the enemy and thieves.

After he took office, on the Yangtze River in the Huangzhou section, he temporarily organized naval ships to escort legal merchant ships, secretly monitored their movements, and arrested bandits and profiteers.Therefore, the government will also have some expenses, so they asked the merchant ships to take a commission for the escort. The price is not much, only [-] per cent for each state capital.

He suggested that I wait until the end of the year to see the results of the pilot project of reforming water transportation to the sea, and when His Majesty is happy, I would take the opportunity to propose collecting lijin along the river in the south as a supplement to the commercial tax, so that farmers and merchants could share the three salaries of the court and prevent farmers from being exploited too much—is it true? , Is this suggestion leaked and offended people? "

It was the first time for Jiang Dejing to hear about this, and for a moment he felt that he was talking like a chicken with a duck.He waved his hand impatiently and said anxiously:

"I don't know why, it's like this, I heard from people around His Majesty that Zuo Liangyu came to Wuchang yesterday for a memorial, but I don't know the content, anyway, it's about your son's business!
It is said that Zuo Liangyu leapfrogged the ranks, and it also involved Huguang governor Fang Kongzhang helping to cover up, which aroused His Majesty's suspicion.

I only got the news this afternoon, and it seems that His Majesty specifically brought Hou Xun out of the imperial prison, and asked some things about Zuo Liangyu——If His Majesty really thinks that Zuo Liangyu is a "loyal man", dare to follow him Other Huguang civil and military draw a clear line and become a lone minister, and the water will be muddied! "

Shen Tingyang was worried when he heard it: "Then... is there anything that can be done? My son is thousands of miles away. I have no place to ask what happened in a hurry."

Jiang Dejing first asked a question he was most concerned about: "My dear brother, tell the truth, do you have a deep friendship with the governor of Huguang, Fang Kongyan? Are there any officials protecting each other between your two families?"

Shen Tingyang was stunned: "How is it possible? The subordinates have such a humble position, how can they befriend Governor Fang? I don't know him at all!"

Jiang Dejing was still a little unconvinced: "Really? His son Fang Yizhi and your son were good friends in the same year, and they had a good personal relationship before high school. How could you two have no friendship? I thought Fang Kongzhang wanted his daughter Married your son and got married."

Shen Tingyang had no choice but to smile bitterly: "Really not, if Governor Fang is really covering up for the dog this time, I am really ashamed."

Jiang Dejing shook his head helplessly: "Forget it, it's fine if there is no collusion. Brother Ji Mingxian, your family education should be stricter in the future! If there is any change in the local area, you should let him report it as soon as possible! No enemy knows the inside story, you The father is still kept in the dark, making us all passive!

I don't care about Zuo Liangyu, but Hou Xun must not regain His Majesty's trust because of Zuo Liangyu!How about this, tomorrow you think of a way, first write down the idea of ​​"Lijin" that the son told you two months ago.

In the future, we will report to His Majesty on the pretext of the Ministry of Households' reform of the future commercial tax levy, and ask for advice.If your son really caused a serious incident, His Majesty will definitely blame you, so you should hurry up and apologize to His Majesty to calm down! "

Shen Tingyang thought about it, and it really was the truth. If you should confess your cowardice, you have to admit it first. It is better to let the emperor vent his anger a few times than to spit it out all at once.

Chongzhen, if his anger exploded at one time after being held back for a long time, he would definitely kill the minister!

"Subordinates understand!" Shen Tingyang quickly took orders.

"Remember! The memorial to the Lijin reform must be written in a decent manner. Although it is just a cover, it must also be acted realistically, as if we are really seeking a meeting for a serious matter and don't know anything else!
Otherwise, with His Majesty's paranoia, he will definitely suspect that you and I have made friends with internal officials, which is why we are so well-informed about his happiness and anger! "

At the end, Jiang Dejing added a heart-to-heart detail, which was summed up by a companion like a tiger for many years.

Chongzhen was too suspicious, and he hated the eunuchs around him for making friends with foreign ministers and passing news.

……

Two days later, Jiang Dejing and Shen Tingyang finally wrote the memorial and found an excuse to ask the emperor to discuss Lijin reform.

Chongzhen was furious, and immediately received Shen Tingyang in the Wenhua Palace.

Shen Tingyang gritted his teeth, and had to pretend that he didn't know that someone was impeaching his son, and carefully analyzed the pros and cons of Lijin's reform.

In fact, Chongzhen didn't listen to a single word.

It was only when Shen Tingyang relayed that all this was related to Shen Shuren's practical experience in escorting private businessmen in Huangzhou and cracking down on bandits and profiteers, so he summed up this method, and Chongzhen began to accumulate anger points.

After hearing half of it, Chongzhen finally couldn't help but slapped the table and exploded: "Shen Tingyang! It's a shame that you still have the face to introduce your rebellious son's governance experience in Huangzhou. Take a look at what he has done!"

As he said that, Chongzhen threw Zuo Liangyu's copy directly at Shen Tingyang's face, and Shen Tingyang could only kneel down to admit his mistake, and quickly took it over to read carefully.

Halfway through, Shen Tingyang turned pale and desperately explained to his son, saying that there must be a misunderstanding.

Jiang Dejing was at the side, and after learning about the inside story, he also breathed a sigh of relief.It seems that the specific crime Zuo Liangyu accused was not very serious. The emperor was angry, mainly because he thought that there were local officials protecting each other.

So Jiang Dejing also plucked up his courage and pleaded for Shen Tingyang, saying that he could testify that Shen Tingyang had no friendship with Fang Kongxun, and it was probably a misunderstanding.

Chongzhen had a good impression of Jiang Dejing, knowing that this courtier was always diligent.As an outsider, he pleaded for mercy, and Chongzhen put away his anger for a while.

Not long after the situation was deadlocked, the eunuch Wang Chengen next to Chongzhen suddenly came to the hall, holding an urgent memorial in his hand.

Chongzhen didn't look good when he saw this: "Didn't you see that the state affairs are being discussed here?"

Wang Chengen lowered his eyebrows and was pleasing to the eye, and he didn't cry out. He just said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, it is the memorial sent by Mr. Yang Ge from Huguang, which involves the case of Zuo Liangyu and Shen Shuren. Your Majesty said the day before yesterday that anyone who has Mr. Yang Ge The memorial must be presented as soon as possible."

Only then did Chongzhen change his expression, cleared his throat, received Yang Sichang's urgent report, and before he started, he said to himself: "Shen Tingyang, just wait, Yang Sichang's memorial must be with your son. Zuo Liangyu's dispute is related!"

Shen Tingyang was ghostly there, sweating profusely, like a prisoner waiting for trial and execution, with extreme torment in his heart, and his days felt like years.

Jiang Dejing was also nervous, fearing that because of this incident, Zuo Liangyu would gain further trust from the emperor.

Although in front of the emperor, ministers should lower their heads and dare to raise their heads to peek at the emperor's face, it is considered a lack of manners before the emperor.But at this moment, Jiang Dejing couldn't help it anymore, and repeatedly glanced up his eyes, crazily peeping at Chongzhen's expression.

Chongzhen's expression changed from anger, to surprise, and then to ecstasy.

"Yang Sichang really lived up to my expectations! Hahaha, you don't have to be suspicious when you employ someone, and you don't need to be suspicious if you are suspicious. It's wonderful! It's wonderful!"

Jiang Dejing breathed a sigh of relief, and took the lead in congratulating: "I congratulate Your Majesty, but what is the big victory?"

"Great victory in Huangzhou! Liu Xiyao's troops in the [-]th Battalion of Gezuo were wiped out! Liu Xiyao himself was beheaded, and the head has been sent to Beijing with the letter! The battle of Huangzhou, the previous delays and weakness were just the result of tired and proud enemies. It's just the art of war!

God bless me, Daming, I have been a teacher for more than a year, and it is finally the first time that the head of the Thirteenth Route Anti-King level thief who dug Fengyang's ancestral mausoleum was beheaded! "

It is impossible for Chongzhen not to be ecstatic about this kind of victory.

In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong took the lead and organized the Thirteenth Anti-Wang Litou to join forces, and together they participated in the excavation of the ancestral mausoleum in Fengyang, Ming Dynasty.From then on, the Thirteen Route Thief Kings were valued more in the imperial court than ordinary thieves.

These thirteen roads included Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai, the fifth battalion of Gezuo, and the fourth battalion of Junzhou, so Liu Xiyao also participated in this activity at the beginning.

Eight years after Chongzhen, the newly-emerged gangster leaders, as long as they did not participate in the digging of the old Zhu's ancestral grave, their status would be lower.Over the years, the officers and soldiers have repeatedly encircled and suppressed the thieves, and they have won some victories, but they have not achieved the result of beheading the veteran thief king a few times.

And Chongzhen was so ecstatic, Jiang Dejing and Shen Tingyang who were kneeling next to him were even more sluggish.

This kind of roller coaster of ups and downs in the first second of hell and the second second of heaven is unbearable for anyone with a weak heart.

Shen Tingyang stammered and murmured: "Your Majesty...the great victory in Huangzhou, but the dog participated..."

Chongzhen jumped down from the steps directly, ran to Shen Tingyang's side in three steps and two steps, and pulled him up with his own hands regardless of the emperor's demeanor:
"Shen Qing, you gave birth to a good son! Of course, didn't Yang Sichang's memorial make it clear? Shen Shuren, with the strength of a regiment training guard, designed several times to weaken the tired enemy Liu Xiyao, and did his best in the last battle!"

Shen Tingyang was breathing heavily, worse than Fan Jinzhongju, and asked tremblingly, "So what Zuo Liangyu said...is just a misunderstanding of the strategy of using troops, right?"

Chongzhen didn't even think about it, he slapped Shen Tingyang on the back several times, he was more affectionate than Hu butcher fan Fan Jin, and said without a word:

"Of course! Zuo Liangyu is purely ignorant of the soldiers! Or Sun Wuzi said it well, the generals are not subject to the orders of the emperor, and no one who has been there, how can he understand the rapid changes on the front line and whether the decision is right or wrong? As long as you understand the situation, you shouldn't point fingers!"

Shen Tingyang was already in ecstasy, and had a tendency to phlegm obsessively like Fan Jin.After being slapped so hard by the emperor on the back, he couldn't help coughing up a mouthful of phlegm, spraying it on the floor tiles of Wenhua Hall,
He was so frightened that he quickly knelt down and pleaded guilty for his emperor's disgrace, but Chongzhen didn't take it seriously, and gave Wang Chengen next to him a wink: "Don't you use the cloud broom to wipe Shen Qing?"

Shen Tingyang was flattered, he didn't blame the emperor for spitting in front of the emperor, and let the eunuch wipe it off with the cloud broom, what kind of courtesy is this!
Shen Tingyang couldn't help crying.

Chongzhen was still immersed in the contrast, and just like Murong Fu, he casually sealed the official and made a wish: "This time, according to Yang Sichang's request, let's quickly add Shen Shuren as the prefect of Huangzhou. Wait until the spring of the next year, and then give him the title of military preparation." , pursue He Jin and Lin Chengcheng together!"

Shen Tingyang wept bitterly to thank the emperor: "I thank the emperor for your kindness!"

(End of this chapter)