Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 205 Yuan Chonghuan, Director of the Ministry of War

The matter between Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen came to an end, but Emperor Tianqi did not let the Minister of War Zhang Heming go.

Emperor Tianqi believed that Zhang Heming was a good-for-nothing who only knew how to talk on paper and was an incompetent person who followed the Donglin Party and cheered for them. If it weren't for Zhang Heming's clear support for Wang Huazhen, there would be no dispute over the economic and trade relations in Liaodong, let alone the current dire situation.

During the previous court discussion, Zhang Heming still spoke for Wang Huazhen, saying that Wang Huazhen was a great man and could be entrusted with the military affairs of Liaodong. He suggested that Xiong Tingbi be dismissed and the military authority of Liaodong be handed over to Wang Huazhen. When Wang Huazhen proposed the Liaodong strategy, Zhang Heming issued an order to Liaodong as the Minister of War, requiring the 140,000 troops in Liaodong to obey Wang Huazhen's command, and directly sidelined the nominal commander Xiong Tingbi.

From this point of view, the fundamental problem of Liaodong lies with Zhang Heming. If it were not for him, Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen would not have become like this, and there would not have been such a disastrous defeat.

Emperor Tianqi didn't like him in the first place, and Zhang Heming was too close to the Donglin Party. This time, when Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen were punished, Zhang Heming, as the Minister of War, could not escape joint responsibility. So while dealing with Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen, Emperor Tianqi directly removed Zhang Heming's position as Minister of War and gave the position directly to his teacher Sun Chengzong.

Zhang Heming was extremely anxious after losing his position as Shangshu. He had worked so hard for so many years, from being a mere scholar who studied hard to finally make it to the top, and from a minor official of the sixth or seventh rank, he had worked hard to climb up to such a high position step by step. But he was reduced to his original state overnight. How could he accept this?
Normally, a sensible person would have found an excuse of sickness to go home and retire after leaving his post, but the official-obsessed old Mr. Zhang Heming refused to leave and stayed in the capital to make arrangements and look for ways, hoping to have a chance to be reinstated.

In the past few days, Zhang Heming visited everywhere and spent a lot of money privately. Although he had no ability, he had quite a few connections in the court, and there were a few people who spoke for him.

Zhang Heming originally wanted to ask the Donglin Party for help, but at this moment the Donglin Party was also overwhelmed by the Liaodong issue, so how could they be willing to help Zhang Heming? Even if they considered their past relationship, at most they could comfort him and ask him to wait patiently, perhaps there would be a chance for him to be reinstated in the future.

But how could this old man have such patience? You know, Zhang Heming is now 70 years old. It is said that 70 is a rare age. Who knows how many years he can live in the future? If he goes back like this, what if he dies in his hometown? Wouldn't his life be lived in vain?

Let’s not talk about how Zhang Heming tried to find a way out, let’s talk about Xiong Tingbi again.

When the verdict of the three courts came down, Xiong Tingbi felt sad. Although he had expected this result before, when he really faced it, Xiong Tingbi found that he was not as calm as he had imagined.

This is also human nature. Xiong Tingbi is not a saint, he is just an ordinary person. Ordinary people are naturally afraid of life and death choices. There is a great terror between life and death, which is a problem that no one can face. Moreover, Xiong Tingbi has been up and down in the officialdom over the years. He served as the governor of Liaodong twice. It cannot be said that he has made contributions and hard work. Moreover, he believes that he has done nothing wrong in Liaodong. Now he is charged with such a serious crime, and he is also unable to get over it.

After being depressed for a few days, Xiong Tingbi, who was a little nervous at first, saw some hope when he saw that the court did not announce the execution but just kept him locked up like this.

In prison, he pondered over this matter carefully, and suddenly understood that the emperor might have done this to warn and punish him, and he had no intention of actually killing him. Maybe he still had a chance to escape this disaster, and thinking of this, Xiong Tingbi's eyes lit up.

The change in his mentality made Xiong Tingbi's life in prison smoother. In addition, he and Wang Huazhen were both high-ranking officials of the court. Even though they were now criminals, they were not treated unfairly in the prison of the Ministry of Justice. Living in prison, there was certainly no delicacies from land and sea, but food and clothing were not bad. After living there for about a month, Xiong Tingbi did not lose weight but became fatter than before, and his originally haggard face became much rosier.

On this day, Xiong Tingbi was reading in prison. He was a special prisoner, not locked up with other prisoners, but was kept alone. Wang Huazhen and Yang Hao were treated the same as him, but they were separated and not together, and they could not see each other on weekdays.

The conditions in the single cell were acceptable. Unlike other cells which were cold and damp, the cell was cleaned tidyly and had a wooden bed with bedding on it. On the other side was a rough wooden desk and a chair. In addition to these, there were also pens, ink, paper and inkstone. Of course, they were all ordinary things and certainly not as good as those they had when they were officials, but for those in prison, it was a great privilege.

Xiong Tingbi was reading a book. He had actually read this book when he entered school, and the content was very familiar to him. But now was different. As a prisoner waiting to die, Xiong Tingbi picked it up again and read it patiently. He realized something he had never thought of before.

"Xiong Tingbi!"

As he was absorbed in watching, the voice of the jailer came from outside. Xiong Tingbi looked up and saw the jailer coming to the prison door, reaching out to take a bunch of keys from his waist, picking up one of them and opening the prison door. "Is this... a trial?" Xiong Tingbi frowned slightly. It shouldn't be like this. His guilt has been determined, why would he be tried? As for other things, such as executing him, Xiong Tingbi didn't think about it. After all, even if he was to be beheaded, he should at least have a bowl of food for his last sentence, right? This is the rule. It is the principle that one should never go on an empty stomach.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard the jailer say, "Someone is here to see you. Remember to behave yourself. Do you understand?"

Xiong Tingbi was startled, and nodded immediately, but at the same time he was curious about who would come to visit him. When he was still the governor of Liaodong, it was normal for his colleagues in the court or his classmates in school to visit him, but now he is a death row prisoner. Since he returned to Beijing, no one has come to see him except for the interrogation. Xiong Tingbi has long been accustomed to it.

The cell door opened, the jailer made way for the door, stretched out his hand to signal to an invisible person outside, and then a short, thin middle-aged man came in carrying a food box.

"Thank you for your hard work. Here are some for you brothers to drink." The middle-aged man walked in and did not immediately approach Xiong Tingbi. Instead, he turned around and whispered to the jailer at the door, then reached out and shook hands with the jailer. Under the dim candlelight, Xiong Tingbi could see clearly that while the two were shaking hands, the middle-aged man stuffed a piece of silver into the jailer's pocket.

"Sir, I'll be waiting outside. Just give me a shout if you need anything." The jailer put the silver away with a smile, bent slightly and nodded. When the middle-aged man turned around and continued to walk into the prison, the jailer closed the cell door again and locked it.

The middle-aged man entered the prison, first glanced around the prison, and then fell on Xiong Tingbi. At this moment, Xiong Tingbi was also looking at this middle-aged man. He was sure that he had never seen this person before. This middle-aged man was wearing a sixth-rank official uniform, and he didn't know where he came from, let alone which government office he worked for.

"Master Xiong!" His eyes fell on Xiong Tingbi. The middle-aged man first smiled slightly, then put down the food box in his hand and saluted Xiong Tingbi seriously.

"There is only the condemned prisoner Xiong Tingbi here, but no Lord Xiong." Xiong Tingbi said calmly, holding a book in one hand, looking up at the middle-aged man and asking, "Who are you? Why did you come to see me?"

"Your humble servant Yuan Chonghuan, Director of the Military Affairs Department, greets Lord Xiong."

"Yuan Chonghuan? Director of the Ministry of War? Why haven't I seen you before?" Xiong Tingbi frowned. He used to be the governor of Liaodong and had also served as the vice minister of the Ministry of War. He was very familiar with the people in the Ministry of War, but he had no impression of Yuan Chonghuan who claimed to be the director of the Ministry of War. Moreover, Yuan Chonghuan's accent was quite special, with an awkward Cantonese accent in his official language. In addition, Xiong Tingbi had always had a good memory, so he would definitely remember him if he had seen him before.

Yuan Chonghuan smiled and said, "It is normal that Lord Xiong does not recognize me. I was a Jinshi in the 47th year of Wanli. Later, I served as an observer in the Ministry of Works. In the 48th year of Wanli, I was appointed as the magistrate of Shaowu County in Fujian. On December 25th of the first year of Tianqi, I went to the imperial court with my colleagues in Fujian to present the plan. On January 15th of the second year, I passed the exam because of the plan."

"I have loved reading military books since I was young and have a keen interest in military affairs. After the Great Plan, due to the tense situation in Liaodong, I was recommended by Mr. Taizhen to the Ministry of War for a trial. After the assessment, I was retained by the Ministry of War to serve as the Director of the Fangsi..."

After hearing what Yuan Chonghuan said, Xiong Tingbi finally understood that Yuan Chonghuan was a newcomer to the Ministry of War. He was just a small county magistrate in Fujian before and had just joined the Ministry of War as the chief official. Moreover, when he joined the Ministry of War, Liaodong was in trouble, so Xiong Tingbi naturally had no idea who Yuan Chonghuan was.

Nodding slightly, Xiong Tingbi asked Yuan Chonghuan, since he was the head of the Ministry of War and they didn't know each other before, why did Yuan Chonghuan come to visit him in prison? And he came, and he even brought a food box, which clearly meant that he wanted to ask him for something.

It would have been fine in the past, when Xiong Tingbi was the governor of Liaodong and had the title of assistant minister of the Ministry of War, and Yuan Chonghuan, as the head of the Ministry of War, could be considered his subordinate. But now Xiong Tingbi is a criminal, and his previous status is long gone, and the two of them no longer have the same friendship as before, and they are just strangers. Why is this?

Hearing Xiong Tingbi's question, Yuan Chonghuan smiled and said that this was a long story, why not have a drink and chat? He brought his own wine and food, and was afraid that if he left them out, they would get cold and ruin the good food.

Xiong Tingbi laughed when he heard this. He certainly would not refuse the wine and food. He was not afraid of Yuan Chonghuan playing any tricks anyway. What else could a prisoner on death row worry about? He waved his hand immediately. Yuan Chonghuan quickly took the food box and put it on the table and opened it. Sure enough, it was full of good wine and food. Just by smelling it, he knew it was made by the famous restaurant in Beijing.

(End of this chapter)