Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 469 You Take a Trip to Zhejiang

Huang Fei was already a capable general in the Chongzhen period, and by the Hongguang period he had become a key general who joined forces with Huang Degong to resist the left wing.

People like this will not just consider right and wrong like Chang Guanlin, and considerations of interests will become the key factor in their decision.

He figured it out.

At that time, the Tartars were unstoppable and many officials of the Hongguang Dynasty wanted to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

Those who can climb to that position are people with strong execution power, and they will not just keep their thoughts in their hearts like ordinary people.

Thinking in this way, the situation becomes clear.

Once Zhang Shiyi, who claimed to have information about the traitor, returned to Yingtian, people's hearts, which had gradually settled down, would inevitably become unstable again.

It is hard to say what the person will be able to confess by then, but even those who want to use this incident to attack their political opponents will encounter all kinds of trouble.

Faced with such a situation, the best way to deal with it was naturally for Zhang Shiyi to resist and be executed, but that guy shouted it out clearly, and the idiot Chang Guanlin also unintentionally forced him into a corner.

In the end, even if the Earl of Zhennan of the Ming Dynasty wanted to eliminate the cause of disaster for His Majesty, he could only let Chang Guanlin send people to escort Zhang Shiyi across the river under the pressure of the current situation.

There is no impenetrable wall in the world, not to mention that the Ming army has been delayed at the river mouth for so long that everyone has turned their eyes over here.

Therefore, as soon as the team escorting Zhang Shiyi appeared in Zhenjiang City, the news spread to all parts of Yingtian as quickly as a crossbow arrow.

"Minister Tian, ​​several ministers are still inside. Why don't you go in and sit for a while?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Eunuch Zhou. I'll wait outside the palace."

Seeing Tian Yang's response, Zhou Quan would not force him to enter the Qianqing Palace. However, when he was about to enter the palace, the man asked another question.

"I wonder what your majesty and the elder are discussing?"

After hearing the words, Zhou Quan, who had been smiling, suddenly frowned. After facing Tian Yang again, he said in a sinister voice.

"Master Tian, ​​please forgive me. I am not very old, but my hearing is sometimes good and sometimes bad. I didn't hear a single word you said just now. Could you please say it again?"

Damn!
Hearing this, Tian Yang's heart sank immediately, and he apologized. After Zhou Quan left with a smile, he began to blame himself.

The words just now could be either light or heavy. If they are investigated seriously, it will inevitably lead to the charge of spying on the emperor's carriage.

In the past, he would not have committed such a taboo, but Zhang Shiyi had been captured for four or five days and His Majesty had not yet issued any imperial decree.

Under such circumstances, Tian Yang naturally lived in fear, and he lacked energy to take care of everything.

This is not his groundless worry.

When His Majesty sent troops to the island, those who had intended to support the vassal kings were more or less resistant. Later, he asked Zhang Shiyi to send troops to cause trouble for Yingtian's troops, but he didn't expect that the two thousand land camps were beaten to a pulp by hundreds of Yingtian soldiers.

According to what he originally thought, this action was to express his dissatisfaction with Shen Tingyang for directly bypassing them and bringing Yingtian soldiers to the island, and secondly to tell Yingtian that Shen Tingyang did not have the final say on Chongming Island.

If they had successfully controlled the Yingtian soldiers that night, these military leaders would have stepped forward to resolve the crisis.

After the little prince knows his own strength, he will go to Yingtian as another force of Chongming Island, and they will be able to gain a place in the small court of Yingtian.

But who would have thought that the troops who were usually praised by Zhang Shiyi as the fierce soldiers of the Eight Banners would be beaten to a pulp by hundreds of Yingtian soldiers. Not only did their plans for promotion come to nothing, but even their life and death became unpredictable.

Fortunately, Zhang Shiyi, this scoundrel, didn't have much brains, and was frightened into leading his troops to surrender to the Qing after just a few words.

Although everyone knew that he was closely related to what happened that night, they had no time to care as they were faced with a powerful enemy.

Later, Your Majesty fought many battles in the south and the north and rarely stayed in Yingtian, and no one mentioned what happened back then.

After the court was initially settled, although he only got the official position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he at least touched the edge of the center of power.

Originally, Tian Yang thought that he could advance one or two levels by following the procedures, but he never expected that when he just managed to gain a foothold in the Jingwu Dynasty, Zhang Shiyi was captured.

He had been afraid, hesitated, and even thought about sneaking across the Yangtze River, but as an important official in the court, he still had the most basic judgment ability.

At this time, the situation of the Qing court was several times worse than that of the Jin people, but the situation of the Ming Dynasty was much better than that of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Going back to the roots, there was still a Liao Dynasty at that time, and the Jin people could turn the northerners into their own power without much effort. And in the Ming Dynasty, not only were there no troubles from vassal states and powerful ministers, but even the local forces had been weakened by Your Majesty's overt or covert means to the point where they had no ability to restrain.

Faced with such a situation, anyone who has read history books for a few years can see where the general trend is, and Tian Yang would not consider such methods of drinking poison to quench thirst.

There is no doubt that Tian Yang was not a good official who was dedicated to his duties and honest, and he had nothing to do with loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

But who among those who can make it to this point in the officialdom is not a smart person?
After observing from the sidelines for such a year, he has a certain understanding of the current emperor.

Tian Yang could see clearly that His Majesty was a wise ruler, but not a wise ruler who was close to noble men and kept away from villains.

He would use the notorious Ruan Dacheng, and would also be wary of Liu Zongzhou, who was well-known among the literati. He would promote loyal ministers like Yuan Jixian, but he would not completely kill off treacherous ministers like Ma Shiying.

Such a king would probably raise his butcher knife without hesitation in certain situations, but if he maintains a correct attitude and demonstrates his own value, then the magnanimous saint king in the eyes of the world will also be able to show a little mercy at the right time.

So, he came and appeared outside the Qianqing Palace after thinking for a long time.

just
"His Majesty!"

Tian Yang did not waste the time waiting outside the hall. Just when he was deducing the various possible reactions of His Majesty, a loud shout suddenly came from the hall.

If it were an ordinary time, he would naturally be curious about what happened in the hall, but now Tian Yang was already in a state of panic because of Zhang Shiyi. When he realized that something was wrong inside, his first reaction was to leave this place as soon as possible.

"Please tell Eunuch Zhou that I am going back to the government office to handle official business."

Without waiting for the eunuch in front of him to react, Tian Yang fled towards the palace gate. However, before he even left the main hall, he was called to an audience with the emperor.

Then he sighed secretly in his heart, and then walked quickly into the hall.

Once you enter the warm room, you will greet each other, but there is no need to go into details.

As he stood up, he quickly glanced around, and when he saw who was inside, he waited anxiously for His Majesty to speak.

"My dear Tian, ​​you have heard about what happened in Zhejiang, right?" Zhejiang?

whats the matter?
We have been so busy these days that how can we care about Zhejiang?
As his thoughts turned, Tian Yang bent his body downwards, and after making the most humble gesture, he asked a question.

"Your Majesty, I have been feeling unwell these past few days and have seldom been out and about. I only know that Minister Liu is investigating the hidden land in Zhejiang, but I have not heard of anything else."

After saying this, Tian Yang raised his head slightly, and at this moment His Majesty happened to wave his hand, and Qian Qianyi, who was standing in front of him on the left, turned around and began to explain.

It has been nearly four months since Liu Zongzhou went to Zhejiang. During this period, he not only took ruthless action against his own family, but also did not let go of anyone who was implicated.

By this time, more than a dozen large families had suffered punishments of varying severity, and Liu Zongzhou was also given the beautiful name of Liu Qingtian by the people.

Faced with this situation, disagreements soon arose among the wealthy families in Zhejiang.

In the mountainous southern Zhejiang region, the big families did not cause too many troubles because they were involved in the maritime trade business. However, in the fertile plains, they tried their best to drive the former leaders of the literati back to Yingtian.

Originally, these people on the plain just wanted to ask for help from important officials in the court to get some change, but looking at the court, no one knew what kind of result His Majesty wanted to get in the end. Even if some people had to contribute for various reasons, they could only jump around at the level of fourth or fifth rank and would not play any substantial role.

It is said that cutting off someone's financial path is like killing one's parents.

It was not known whether Liu Zongzhou was bewitched by the name of Liu Qingtian or was waiting for a reaction from above, but the matters he was in charge of became more and more trivial, and the resistance of the big families became more and more fierce.

To date, assassinations have occurred more than once. More than ten days ago, in Shaoxing, the people attacked the police.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the common people are causing trouble because of the local powerful families who are causing trouble.

But for the imperial court, such a situation could not be ignored, which led to today's incident.

Although he listened to Qian Qianyi's explanation word for word, Tian Yang's eyes kept wandering over everyone's faces.

His Majesty was reading the memorials with his head down, while Lord Qian was describing the situation in Zhejiang with an expressionless face. Lords Ma and Yuan had their backs to Tian Yang. He looked around several times but couldn't figure out anything.

It is obvious that since His Majesty asked Lord Qian to tell him the matter, he must want him, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, to express his attitude.

If there were several people in his place, he could first ask about the attitudes of his colleagues and then decide on his own opinion based on the circumstances. However, here there is an emperor, three cabinet ministers, and he is the only one who is not even the chief official. Under such circumstances, how could he have the room to ask about other people's attitudes?
"In your opinion, how should the Zhejiang issue be handled?"

As soon as Lord Qian finished speaking, the voice of His Majesty came over. Faced with such a life-threatening question, Tian Yang wanted to die. After hesitating for three or two breaths, he finally spoke through gritted teeth.

"Your Majesty, the rioters must have been bewitched. It would be safer to punish only the ringleader. The key is that Minister Liu will probably have to bear some responsibility."

Tian Yang's words seemed to express his attitude, but he was vague about the most crucial point.

Responsibilities come in different sizes. A big one could lead to the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire family, while a small one can be easily excused.

Although he was not clear about the Majesty's attitude, the key to the disagreement must lie on this point, so he clearly expressed his thoughts on how to deal with the rioters, but he played Tai Chi with Liu Zongzhou, and finally bought some time to investigate the situation.

But Your Majesty is not so easy to fool.
Before the officials could make a judgment on this view, His Majesty's follow-up question came through.

"Oh? What responsibility do you think Liu Butang should bear?"

To be honest, although Tian Yang did not enter the core of power in the Jingwu Dynasty, he had a clear understanding of the situation in the court.

When the late emperor was alive, Qian Qianyi and Liu Zongzhou, the two leading scholars in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, cooperated more than competed. But in the Jingwu dynasty, Qian Ge Lao had basically secured the position of Prime Minister, and the former collaborator became a pure competitor.

It is self-evident what Lord Qian's attitude is towards this matter.

Take Ma Ge Lao and Yuan Ge Lao for example, one of them is still dormant, and the other is still expanding his influence. Although they are also happy to see Liu Zongzhou's defeat, they may not argue with others about it.

To ordinary people, since the attitudes of the three ministers are clear, it is not difficult to infer His Majesty's thoughts. However, His Majesty's actions in this year have repeatedly exceeded Tian Yang's expectations, so he dare not be so sure.

But then again, since his superiors had already asked the question clearly, how could a small minister like him, who was guilty of something, dare to take advantage of it again?

Then he no longer hesitated and immediately spoke according to his guess.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, as far as I know, Minister Liu has been in the south for four months and has found more than 200,000 acres of hidden farmland. His illegal acts of bullying men and women and running rampant in the village have reached a level that is difficult to describe."

Having said this, Tian Yang paused, and when he saw that there was no reaction from His Majesty, he became very nervous, but since things had come to this point and there was no turning back, he could only bite the bullet and continue speaking.

"In my humble opinion, Liu Butang's investigation of hidden land is a good move that benefits the country and the people. Even if the means are a bit harsh, it is also because he is angry at the huge invasion of those termites. If we demand perfection and blame them for this, I am afraid it is a bit inappropriate."

Well, Lord Qian has been offended so much.

After he finished speaking, Tian Yang couldn't help but glance behind the table. Seeing that His Majesty seemed to be lost in thought, he immediately realized that his judgment was correct, and then he sighed deeply in his heart.

Honestly speaking, when one has reached this level of officialdom, his promotion, demotion, dismissal or retention has all been decided by His Majesty. But then again, who would be willing to offend the elders of the current dynasty unless there is a huge benefit?
However, Qian Qianyi had always been His Majesty's yes-man, and he didn't quite understand why he was insisting on his own opinion at this time.

Is it
As soon as the thought came to his mind, Tian Yang glanced at the face that he could only see half of. When he saw that Lao Qian looked calm and not angry at all, he immediately confirmed his guess.

"What Mr. Tian said is true, but Mr. Qian's concerns are also mature. So, Mr. Liu will not say anything here. In the future, if there is a similar situation, you must be careful about the method and approach."

"Your Majesty is wise and wise, and it is a blessing to all the people in the world!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Qian Qianyi knelt on the ground, as if the shouts earlier did not come from his mouth.

Seeing this, Tian Yang couldn't help but secretly call him an old fox, but in just a moment a trace of worry appeared on his face again.

"I'm waiting to retire."

After a few goodbyes, the three elders turned around one after another. However, Tian Yang still had no intention of leaving at this time. The three of them just glanced at him and crossed the threshold of the warm room.

"Aiqing Tian, ​​do you have anything else to do?"

Tian Yang's behavior naturally caused His Majesty to ask questions, but when he was about to kneel down and apologize, he inadvertently discovered that the smile on His Majesty's face seemed different from usual.

At this point, he didn't have time to think too much. After kneeling on the ground and pouring out everything that happened on Chongming Island, he got an answer he had never expected.

"You should go to Zhejiang and bring Liu Aiqing back."

(End of this chapter)