Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 432: Give Me a Reading Note
It is said that good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles. However, from the moment the soldier uttered the first word, the news of the great victory in Hanzhong had spread throughout Yingtian in less than a quarter of an hour. Any undercurrents and evil intentions were eliminated in the first place.

Of course, things can't be that perfect.

Although this battle completely laid the foundation for stability in the southwest, some discordant voices still appeared at the enlarged cabinet meeting held that night.

"Killing prisoners is a bad omen! Killing prisoners is a bad omen! What are the people in Sichuan doing?! Why did His Majesty commit such a brutal act?!"

After looking at Liu Zongzhou who had just arrived and started to scold, Qian Qianyi simply pointed at the seat below and then walked around the Wenhua Hall calmly.

It's so refreshing.

The more frustrated he had been these days, the more delighted he was when the good news came.

Wang Zhengzhi's unconcealable astonishment and fear still constantly appear in Qian Qianyi's mind, making this old minister who puts magnanimity first unable to hide the smile on his face.

A person with no vision.

After taking his gaze away from Liu Zongzhou, Qian Qianyi couldn't help but complain in his heart.

He also knew that killing prisoners was not an ominous omen and that its impact was not as mysterious as it seemed.

No matter what, the news of the great victory in Hanzhong has just arrived, but the leader of Liu Zongzhou's faction not only did not congratulate Your Majesty on another great victory, but instead acted as if he was going to bring an army to question His Majesty. Is he trying to deny Your Majesty's wisdom in public?

With this in mind, Qian Qianyi just ignored his words. When he saw that all the royal relatives, nobles, civil and military officials had arrived, he cleared his throat first.

"cough."

The sound was not loud, and if the wind was stronger it might have been blown away. But after the sound was heard, the huge Wenhua Hall gradually became quiet, and even the air seemed to be stagnant.

"I asked you all to come here today because I need to inform you of something."

As he spoke, Qian Qianyi glanced around the room. Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, he understood even more the source of his power.

Ever since the establishment of the cabinet in the Ming Dynasty, the prime ministers of all dynasties had to have both the support of civil officials and the favor of the emperor to achieve this position, second only to the emperor. Even though these two factors vary depending on the circumstances at the time, they can generally be said to be indispensable.

Compared with those predecessors, Qian Qianyi is extremely special.

Because of the setbacks in his early years, he only had those few students who could be considered as helpers in the officialdom, and his influence outside of Southern Zhili was negligible.

But fate is unpredictable. Qian Qianyi had originally planned to try his luck with the Tartars based on his status in the literary world, but who would have thought that he would be given the credit of following the dragon in making decisions in the midst of the storm.

This literary leader who had wasted half his life became the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty without the support of civil officials.

It is said that every sip and every bite is predestined.

As he became the spokesperson of the imperial power, he was invincible when the imperial power was strong. No matter which force it was, they had to submit to him, Lord Qian. But when the news came that His Majesty was surrounded, his title as Lord Qian was no longer so useful.

Needless to say, Wang Zhengzhi almost turned against the Tiangang. The most important thing was that some people in the court took advantage of this opportunity to do something unnecessary. If the Ming Emperor, to whom he was loyal, had not remained invincible as before, he would have lost control of the central government.

"The war in the west has ended. Since your majesty entered Sichuan, a total of 143 cities and towns have been restored, and the remnants of the bandits have been taken in, totaling more than 260,000 people. There are also various kinds of wealth that have not yet been fully counted, but it should be around 4 million."

"God bless the Ming Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"Congratulations to His Majesty! Congratulations to the Ming Dynasty!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there were bursts of congratulations in the pavilion, as if they were not the ones who wanted to establish another emperor and secretly collude with Wang Zhengzhi.

Looking at this scene, Qian Qianyi, who should have appeared as a winner, suddenly felt impatient. But before he could move on to the next topic, Liu Zongzhou started to pester him again.

"Lord Qian," as this voice came out, everyone's attention was focused on him, but he seemed to be unaware. He bowed slightly to Qian Qianyi and said directly: "My Great Ming has always ruled the country with benevolence and righteousness. Those soldiers have surrendered, Your Majesty should not use force again. This time, tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers have been cast into Jingguan. Who will dare to surrender to my Great Ming in the future?!"

Is there really someone who doesn't have eyes?!
As soon as the words came out, this thought occurred to everyone present at the same time, and the atmosphere that was jubilant because of the good news just a moment ago suddenly cooled.

This is true, and the underlying logic is not anything to be righteous or unjust.

All those present were top figures in the Ming Dynasty. When they heard the question "Who dares to surrender to the Ming Dynasty?" they knew that Liu Zongzhou's words were based on considerations of gains and losses and were not really pedantic.

But then again, even if you have every reason, why spoil the fun at this time? Are you thinking of something else?
As their thoughts turned, the eyes of the ministers present began to show some amusement. They just wanted to see how Lord Qian would resolve the situation after he made a fool of himself at the Honglu Temple banquet.

"I thought that no one would find fault with the great victory ahead, but I didn't expect that someone would actually stand up for the enemy."

Qian Qianyi was not at all panicked at this moment. As he spoke, he took out a letter from his sleeve.

"Your Majesty's own letter!"

"Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long, long live the emperor!"

As the words came out, all the ministers in the field bowed to the ground, and then Lord Qian stood up slowly.

"The Khoshut tribe originated from the Oirat, and was originally a vassal of the Ming Dynasty. This time, they brazenly assisted the tyrant. If they are not punished, the Junggar, Khalkha and other tribes will surely follow suit. By then, there will be no peace around the Ming Dynasty."

Having read to this point, Qian Qianyi paused, and after three or two breaths, he began to read again according to the thin yellow silk.

"If anyone felt that killing the surrendered soldiers was too brutal, Mr. Qian would tell them so and ask them to write a review of the History of the Song Dynasty."

"Pfft."

The sudden laughter from somewhere made the scene weird, but a figure like Liu Zongzhou was not affected at all. After Qian Qianyi put away the letter, he knelt on the ground.

"Thank you for your teachings, Your Majesty. I will study the history of the Song Dynasty in depth."

After saying thank you, Liu Zongzhou stood up with a normal expression, but his heart was in turmoil.

Your Majesty is different.

He was no longer the young emperor who tried his best to avoid conflicts with court officials.

Although he was not in Yingtian earlier, he also knew that His Majesty chose to strike from the side when dealing with Liang Yungou. After that, even though His Majesty won victory after victory and his prestige grew, he mainly used gentleness to deal with the court officials and did not use any drastic measures. Of course, today's letter seemed to be just a slight warning on the surface.

But when writing the letter, His Majesty did not know who would stand up to criticize, nor did he know how many people there would be.

Under such circumstances, he still wrote such a thing, obviously he no longer felt that there were any or several parties in the court that were worth weighing or considering.

The wings are fully grown.

As his thoughts turned, this word couldn't help but come to Liu Zongzhou's mind.

Afterwards, he glanced somewhere inadvertently, and when he saw that the other party was looking intently at the Prime Minister of the dynasty, he immediately felt powerless in his heart.

Although your Majesty was protected by righteousness and military achievements, it was the support of Jiangsu and Zhejiang that enabled him to sit firmly on the throne.

This is all tacitly understood at a certain level. After all, the five imperial guards are all from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the officials in the court are also the strongest from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

On the other hand, at this time, there were the remnants of the rebels, the remnants of the surrendered rebels, as well as Hu Maozhen, Li Chengdong and others who surrendered one after another, and the local forces in the southwest. Even if the five guards had some problems due to their close ties with Jiangnan, he could still use these troops to eliminate the disobedience and send those with ulterior motives to meet his ancestors.

Of course, if it was just this level, he would probably be just another intruder or traitor, but the young emperor also recovered the lost territories and gathered several civil servants who were capable of entering the cabinet and becoming prime ministers. The position at the core of the court immediately became tight, and he did not have to worry about getting rid of certain people, which would lead to a vacancy in the center and malfunction.

Honestly speaking, he was extremely happy about the great victory, but His Majesty's behavior was ultimately inconsistent with that of a holy monarch. No matter what his considerations were, he had to stand up and say a few words at this time.

But then again, the situation is changing every day, and Your Majesty no longer has to look ahead and behind as much as before. But without the constraints, will there be another Tang Xuanzong?
Alas~~~~It has finally grown into a mature form.

"According to your majesty's wishes, the herdsmen and cattle and sheep will stay in Hanzhong first. If this year's harvest is affected, it will not cause the people to have trouble making a living."

"Your Majesty is so kind!"

Just when Liu Zongzhou felt a little mixed, he didn't know which word in Qian Qianyi's words touched his nerves, and then a burst of cheers rang out, and he also followed suit to praise the emperor's love for the people.

By this time, all the problems from the previous few days had been completely eliminated with the great victory, and the situation in Yingtian City became as stable as a rock again. When all the ministers thought that this round of beating was about to end, Xu Yinjue, who had just returned from Jiangkou, suddenly stood up.

"My dear Lord, my daughter did not know the rules of the imperial court and trespassed into the northern camp. Please punish her according to the law."

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere in the pavilion changed again. Some people were listless just a moment ago, but at this moment, everyone became curious.

Everyone knows that the only daughter of Duke Wei is the best candidate for empress, but she took advantage of the time when Duke Wei was organizing the river defenses to break into the camp in the north of the city and bluntly asked to borrow troops to rescue His Majesty.

Such behavior can be understood as a little girl acting inappropriately because she is worried about her husband, but if we really think about it, it can also be understood as the Duke of Wei's Mansion having ulterior motives at this critical juncture.

But then again, how to calculate it was not something that anyone present could decide. It was just that Xu Yinjue spoke out about this matter without hiding anything, and it seemed that it was not that simple.

Thoughts kept arising in the minds of everyone present, and then all eyes were cast on Qian Qianyi.

"How can the law be involved in the absurd behavior of a little kid? You are overthinking it, Duke."

"Lord, trespassing into the camp is no joke. My Xu family has been blessed by the emperor and we must set an example!"

Faced with Xu Yinjue's insistence, Qian Qianyi did not want to get involved. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and replied.

"The Duke should be a role model for the court officials with this idea. So, tonight I will report all the events in Yingtian to Hanzhong, and report this matter as well."

"Thank you, Lord."

With a word of thanks, Xu Yinjue returned to his seat, but there was still some reluctance in his eyes, as if he was a little dissatisfied with this treatment.

However, his position was before the other ministers, so no one noticed anything unusual. Qian Qianyi then shifted his gaze to the other ministers and asked another question.

"If you have nothing else to do, I will report to your majesty what we discussed tonight."

As soon as the voice fell, this rather sudden meeting came to an end. If there were no other matters, the officials of Yingtian who had been criticized could return home.

To be honest, Zhu Cilang has been away from Yingtian for several months, and there must be thousands of things waiting for Zhu Cilang to make the decision.

Needless to say, the Ministry of Revenue headed by Zhang Guowei wanted to ask what the new groups established by Zhu Cilang were like, and the Ministry of Works headed by Li Yongmao wanted to ask what to do next.

For example, the princes who were stranded in Yingtian were always wondering when to return to their fiefdoms. The Ministry of War also wanted to know how to treat the newly acquired troops, the Ministry of Personnel wanted to know how to identify the officials who surrendered and surrendered, and the Ministry of Justice wanted to know how to deal with the officials who rebelled and returned.

In short, thousands of reasons and situations were still lingering in the minds of everyone in the Wenhua Hall. If everyone did not know that the main task tonight was to warn certain people, it would be unknown how long Lord Qian's memorial would have been.

just
Seeing that all the officials present seemed to have nothing to say, Qian Qianyi planned to dismiss everyone and go home to write his memorial. But who would have thought that before he opened his mouth, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, who had never had much of a presence, stood up timidly.

"Sir, I have some matters to present to His Majesty."

What could be going on here?
Looking at this Minister of the Ministry of Rites who was only in charge of utensils and houses two years ago, everyone couldn't help but feel some doubts in their hearts.

Over the past decade or so, the Ming Dynasty has been on the decline, and only a few of the many vassal states still come to pay tribute.

There is no way that those small countries would have anything urgent to report to Your Majesty. The only one worth mentioning is Wang Zhengzhi, who was sent by the Tartars to negotiate peace.

But what happened in the reception hall had already spread, and everyone knew that with Lord Qian's temperament, he should have dealt with that villain who had succeeded in his career.

Moreover, the peace talks were a matter of great importance and had always been directly handled by the Cabinet. A small fourth-rank official could only run errands.

Under such circumstances, what good reward could he get?

"What do you need to report to Hanzhong at this time?"

As Qian Qianyi's question came out, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites immediately became nervous. Then he gave himself courage and answered loudly after calming down.

"In reply to your words, the Spanish envoy wants to discuss with our dynasty the ownership of Luzon and other places."

Another meeting, huh!

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(End of this chapter)