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

Chapter 299 Replacement

Wei Zhongxian, who had hit a snag in front of Emperor Tianqi, returned to his residence and thought for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. He originally thought that he was very confident today and could use the war and financial problems in Fujian to put some pressure on Sun Chengzong. Even if Emperor Tianqi didn't have any ideas about Sun Chengzong, he would definitely complain a few words along the lines of what he said.

But he didn't expect that the Emperor Tianqi would ignore him and instead reminded Wei Zhongxian not to meddle in other people's business and just do his own thing, especially to focus on taxes and get some money for the court. As for Sun Chengzong, he didn't mention him at all. It would be fine if he mentioned him, but not mentioning him made Wei Zhongxian feel uneasy. He thought about it over and over again, but he was not sure about the Emperor Tianqi's true intention. Could it be that the Emperor Tianqi had something against him?

Thinking of this, Wei Zhongxian became even more uneasy, and he even regretted that he should not have given Sun Chengzong a slap in the face today. His power and status came from Emperor Tianqi, and once Emperor Tianqi lost trust in him, everything he, Wei Zhongxian, had would become a bubble in an instant.

After concentrating for a moment, Wei Zhongxian could no longer sit still. He changed his clothes and hurried out of the palace and went to his residence outside the palace.

An hour later, several people hurried to the mansion. After entering the house and paying their respects to Wei Zhongxian, Wei Zhongxian waved his hand and asked them to take a seat.

The first person sitting on the left was Cui Chengxiu, the first on the right was Tian Ergeng, below Cui Chengxiu was Feng Quan, below Tian Ergeng was Xu Xianchun, and below them were the censor Ni Wenhuan and the Eastern Depot criminal officer Sun Yunhe.

These six people were all Wei Zhongxian's followers and were also the backbone of the "Eunuch Party" as the Donglin Party called it.

In addition, they have another common identity, that is, they are all Wei Zhongxian's godsons.

Hearing that their godfather had summoned them, the six of them rushed over without delay. Wei Zhongxian asked them to take a seat, and after asking the servants to serve tea, he waved his hand and asked them to leave. Without beating around the bush, he directly talked about the meeting between Emperor Tianqi and him today.

After Wei Zhongxian finished telling the whole story, everyone frowned slightly, and they understood why their godfather had called them here. The Fujian issue was not important, and the tax issue was not important either. What was important was that Wei Zhongxian took the opportunity to flatter Sun Chengzong but failed, and was even reprimanded by Emperor Tianqi. Wei Zhongxian, who was uneasy in his heart, could not sit still and went to discuss things with them.

"Congratulations, father. Congratulations, father!" Just when others were thinking, Cui Chengxiu was the first to speak. He stood up and bowed to Wei Zhongxian with a smile to congratulate him. Cui Chengxiu, who was not much younger than Wei Zhongxian, had a big beard and looked older than Wei Zhongxian, but it was really ridiculous that he called Wei Zhongxian "father" directly.

However, no one found it funny. After all, they were all Wei Zhongxian's godsons, so if rounded off, they were real brothers. Cui Chengxiu called Wei Zhongxian "father", and they did the same.

"Where does this joy come from?" Wei Zhongxian was stunned and couldn't help wondering.

"It is naturally a happy thing that Your Majesty trusts my father so much, so I would like to congratulate my father." Cui Chengxiu replied calmly.

"Where do you come from?" Wei Zhongxian looked puzzled, while his other godsons seemed to be thinking about something.

Cui Chengxiu explained to Wei Zhongxian with a smile. He told Wei Zhongxian that the Emperor Tianqi did not do this to blame Wei Zhongxian, but had other intentions. Wei Zhongxian used financial reasons and the fact that the war in Liaodong had not made any progress to remind the Emperor Tianqi of the matter of Sun Chengzong, but the Emperor actually did not take it to heart.

If the Emperor Tianqi really wanted to blame Wei Zhongxian, he would not have said it in such a tone, and he would not have handed over the taxation issue to Wei Zhongxian, and reminded him to do what he should do. According to Cui Chengxiu's guess, the Emperor Tianqi was just considering the overall situation and did not want to take action against Sun Chengzong for the time being. In addition, Sun Chengzong was the emperor's teacher, so the Emperor Tianqi had to give his teacher some face.

Wei Zhongxian thought about it and felt that this made some sense, but he still asked Cui Chengxiu in confusion how he guessed that Emperor Tianqi did not want to take action against Sun Chengzong for the time being.

Cui Chengxiu laughed and said that the reason why Emperor Tianqi called Wei Zhongxian today was to send a message to Nan Juyi in Fujian. They all knew about Nan Juyi's affairs in Fujian. This guy used tricks to trick the Dutch, but he did not do it well. He also concealed the victory report to Emperor Tianqi and boasted about it.

Logically speaking, it would not be too much for Emperor Tianqi to dismiss Yi Nan Juyi for this matter, and how could he deceive the emperor? But today, Emperor Tianqi did not do so. Instead, he issued an imperial decree to reprimand him and urged him to send troops to fight as soon as possible and expel the Dutch.

In this case, if we infer from the case of Nan Juyi that Emperor Tianqi could tolerate it, let alone his teacher Sun Chengzong. Although they had factional disputes with the Donglin Party and never urinated in the same pot, they had to admit that Sun Chengzong was indeed a capable person.

Since Sun Chengzong went to Liaodong, the situation in Liaodong has become increasingly stable, which is obvious to all. Moreover, by building a strategic deployment of advancing step by step and taking defense as offense, Sun Chengzong also recovered some lost territory east of Shanhaiguan. Relying on the strong backing of the Ming Dynasty, he continued to oppress the Jiannu in Liaodong, making them complain bitterly.

Although there has not been a great victory in Liaodong yet, everything in Liaodong is developing in a good direction. These eunuchs are not the boastful guys of the Donglin Party. Cui Chengxiu and others are all capable and have vision, so they can naturally see this.

They could all see it, would the Emperor Tianqi turn a blind eye? As long as the situation in Liaodong was improving and Sun Chengzong had not made a big mistake, the Emperor Tianqi would not easily touch Sun Chengzong. So in this case, Wei Zhongxian's eye drops to Sun Chengzong were of no use at all, and if not handled properly, it would even cause the Emperor Tianqi to be unhappy.

But now the Emperor Tianqi only slightly warned him, and did not say anything else, and still handed the important matter to Wei Zhongxian to handle. Doesn't this mean that he still trusts Wei Zhongxian? The Emperor Tianqi trusts Wei Zhongxian so much, and loves him so much. Isn't this a good thing or something? How can Cui Chengxiu not congratulate Wei Zhongxian? "Mr. Cui is right." Feng Quan also stood up, and said with a beaming face: "The emperor said these words to my father. In my opinion, it is trust in my father. In addition, I think the emperor does not want to move Sun Chengzong, but it is not the right time yet. The situation in Liaodong will affect the whole body. Once Sun Chengzong leaves, who will take over? The emperor is far-sighted, and it is just a stopgap measure at the moment. Father does not need to worry too much."

"Yes, yes, I feel the same way." Tian Ergeng's mind was not as active as civil servants like Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan, but when the words reached this point, even if he was slow, he would react and quickly agreed.

Then, the others also expressed their opinions, which were basically the same as Cui Chengxiu's. Listening to his godsons, Wei Zhongxian carefully recalled the expression and tone of the Emperor Tianqi when he spoke to him. After a while, his expression eased and a smile appeared on his face.

"Hahaha, what you said is right, kids. It seems that today's test really satisfies your father." Wei Zhongxian was thick-skinned enough. He turned the topic into a test. Cui Chengxiu naturally would not object. He smiled and praised Wei Zhongxian one by one, and flattered him a few times, which made Wei Zhongxian very happy.

After laughing for a while, Wei Zhongxian lamented that it was not easy for Emperor Tianqi. The emperor was busy with state affairs every day, but they, the servants and ministers, could not share the emperor's worries. It was really the ministers' fault. Then he talked about the things in the court. These days, Wei Zhongxian and his group fought fiercely with the Donglin Party, but they were still suppressed by the Donglin Party and were at a disadvantage, which made Wei Zhongxian very distressed.

Wei Zhongxian said that the Donglin Party was so arrogant not only because there were many Donglin Party members in the court, but more importantly because Sun Chengzong was the governor of Ji and Liao and the emperor's tutor. As long as Sun Chengzong was there, the Donglin Party would have strong support. He actually took this into consideration when he made suggestions to Emperor Tianqi today. If Sun Chengzong was not dealt with, the Donglin Party in the court would be difficult to deal with. As long as Sun Chengzong was brought down, the Donglin Party would inevitably suffer a great loss of strength, and it would be much easier to deal with in the future.

"Father, although that is true, it is also true that His Majesty trusts Sun Chengzong. And as I mentioned just now, Sun Chengzong is indispensable in Liaodong right now. Even if Your Majesty intends to let Sun Chengzong resign, who will replace him after he leaves?" Cui Chengxiu raised a key question.

Wei Zhongxian nodded silently. This was what he had just thought of. This matter was indeed difficult to handle. No one present had the ability of Sun Chengzong, and he himself did not have anyone who could replace Sun Chengzong. It was for this reason that Emperor Tianqi did not touch Sun Chengzong.

"I do have someone here." Suddenly a person spoke up, and as soon as the words came out, everyone couldn't help but look at him. The person who spoke was Sun Yunhe, the Eastern Depot's criminal judge.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Sun Yunhe stretched out his hand and pointed upwards: "Don't forget that there is another person living in this prison. Others may not be as good as Sun Chengzong, but this person is different."

Everyone was stunned for a moment and then they understood who Sun Yunhe was talking about. For a moment, including Cui Chengxiu, they all frowned and thought. It turned out that this person was indeed a good candidate and it would be appropriate for him to replace Sun Chengzong.

"No!" At this moment, Xu Xianchun was the first to object: "You are talking about Xiong Tingbi, right?"

"Exactly this person."

"Haha, don't forget that Xiong Tingbi is a death row inmate. The court has long issued an order to sentence Xiong Tingbi to death, but the emperor has not yet approved it. Moreover, in order to use Xiong Manzi, his case must be overturned. This case was originally decided by the emperor, and the case has long been settled. Who dares to overturn it? If Xiong Manzi is not guilty, could it be that the emperor was wrong in the first place? Moreover, everyone in the court knows Xiong Manzi's character. Even if he is re-employed, do you think he can be used by the emperor with his bad temper?"

There was something else Xu Xianchun didn't say, which was that Xiong Tingbi had such a bad temper that he wouldn't even obey the emperor's order, let alone them. Not to mention that it would be extremely difficult to get Xiong Tingbi out, even if they succeeded in getting him, he would not be one of their own. There was no need to do such a thankless task. Besides, not to mention whether doing so would arouse opposition from the Donglin Party, it might even offend the Emperor Tianqi who had issued the order to punish him.

Xu Xianchun's words immediately reminded Wei Zhongxian, and Wei Zhongxian shook his head repeatedly to indicate that Xiong Tingbi was not under consideration. Although he had never met this Xiong Manzi, he had heard so much about his reputation that his ears were callused. Even if he could use such a person, he did not want to use him.

Sun Yunhe laughed, but he was not angry. Instead, he said, "If Xiong Tingbi can be used, then he can be used. If he can't be used, then it doesn't matter. But I think if we don't use Xiong Tingbi, maybe we can use someone else. This person may be able to replace Sun Chengzong, and he may be more suitable than Xiong Tingbi."

"Who are you talking about?" Everyone was immediately curious, even Wei Zhongxian asked. You know, Xiong Tingbi was very famous in the Ming Dynasty. If the two Liaodong governors had not had a disagreement with Wang Huazhen, there would not have been a great defeat. His military ability was obvious to all.

Now Sun Chengzong is the commander-in-chief of Ji-Liao, and his ability has been proven. But Sun Yunhe said that there is another person who is no worse than Xiong Tingbi, who can succeed Sun Chengzong, and may even be more suitable than Xiong Tingbi. For a moment, no one could remember who it could be.

Seeing everyone looking at him inquiringly, Sun Yunhe then said the name of the person he recommended.

"Yuan Chonghuan!"

"Yuan Chonghuan? Who is this person?" This unfamiliar name made most people look at each other in confusion, as they could not remember who this Yuan Chonghuan was.

(End of this chapter)