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

Chapter 877 Yang Dehua

Pu Dehao kowtowed and apologized quickly, swearing that he would never say the wrong thing again. Seeing that he understood the situation, Yuan Chongyu's expression eased and he raised his hand to let him stand up.

"Master, I have found out what you want to ask." Pu Dehao said respectfully.

"Oh, what did you find out? Tell me in detail." Yuan Chongyu asked hurriedly.

Pu Dehao immediately reported to Yuan Chongyu. He told Yuan Chongyu that he had been wandering around Ningbo Prefecture in the past few days. He not only went to teahouses, but also pretended to be someone else's servant for two days in places where literati gathered in Ningbo Prefecture. Finally, he got the information Yuan Chongyu wanted.

What he was asking about outside was the affairs between Yuan Chongyu's brother Yuan Chonghuan and himself. Yuan Chonghuan had been executed by the court long ago after the Ji Yi Rebellion, and when Yuan Chonghuan was executed, people in the capital hated him to the core. Countless people in the capital rushed to spend money to buy Yuan Chonghuan's flesh and blood. After buying it, they ate while cursing, watching Yuan Chonghuan being skinned alive while wailing.

In the north of the Ming Dynasty, Yuan Chonghuan's reputation was already very bad, especially in the capital. After all, it was because of Yuan Chonghuan that Huang Taiji was able to lead his troops into the pass and directly attack the capital. If Yuan Chonghuan had not killed Mao Wenlong first and sold a large amount of grain to Huang Taiji, how could the Jiannu have recovered from the blockade of the Ming Dynasty and had a chance to attack the Ming Dynasty in a roundabout way?

After Huang Taiji broke through the Great Wall from Jizhou and attacked the Ming Dynasty, Yuan Chonghuan, as the commander-in-chief of Ji-Liao, not only did not stop Huang Taiji's army, but followed behind and "escorted" Huang Taiji all the way south to burn, kill, and loot until they reached the capital.

In the great battle of the capital, Yuan Chonghuan also "killed" Man Gui of Xuanda, causing the Ming army of Xuanda to be defeated disastrously at the gates of the city. On the other hand, the Liao army not only did not fight hard with Huang Taiji's Eight Banners, but Yuan Chonghuan intended to pull the army into the capital for rest on the grounds that the army was tired after traveling a long distance. All of this was seen by everyone from the court officials of Emperor Chongzhen to the people of the capital.

After Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned, Zu Dashou, a general of the Liao army, even left the battlefield and led his troops back to Shanhaiguan without caring about the safety of the capital, which made everyone believe that Yuan Chonghuan was a "traitor". It was precisely because of these reasons that Yuan Chonghuan's reputation in the north was so bad that except for the Liao army, there were still people who remembered Yuan Chonghuan's goodness, and ordinary people called him a traitor.

Actually, it is a bit unfair to say that Yuan Chonghuan "betrayed the country". Although Yuan Chonghuan was very selfish and did many wrong things, more importantly, he fooled Emperor Chongzhen. The so-called five-year plan to pacify Liao was a joke. In addition, Mao Wenlong's death was to blame, and the root cause of the Ji-Yi Rebellion was also his fault. But it is nonsense to say that Yuan Chonghuan really wanted to surrender to Huang Taiji. Yuan Chonghuan was in a high position in the Ming Dynasty and was doing well as the governor of Ji-Liao. Why did he surrender to Huang Taiji? There was no need for this.

Yuan Chonghuan's tragedy stems from his personal ambition. In addition to his excessive selfishness, the mismatch between his actual ability and his position, coupled with his boastful and flamboyant personality, ultimately led to a tragic ending.

But it was different in the south. Compared with Yuan Chonghuan's bad reputation in the north, Yuan Chonghuan's reputation in the south was much better. Not only did most people not regard Yuan Chonghuan as a traitor, some people even kept praising Yuan Chonghuan as a great hero and a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty.

There are even rumors that Yuan Chonghuan was the pillar of the Ming Dynasty. It was because of Yuan Chonghuan that Liaodong of the Ming Dynasty was as stable as Mount Tai. This can be seen from the fact that Huang Taiji did not dare to leave Shanhaiguan and only dared to take a detour through Mongolia.

Some people also say that the reason why Yuan Chonghuan was executed by Emperor Chongzhen was because Emperor Chongzhen fell into Huang Taiji's trap of sowing discord and used Huang Taiji to eliminate a powerful enemy.

These rumors were so detailed that many people were convinced that Yuan Chonghuan was a loyal minister, not a traitor, and a hero of the Ming Dynasty. Some even said that if Emperor Chongzhen had not been plotted to sow discord and kill Yuan Chonghuan, Zhu Shenzhu would not have entered the capital to replace him, and the Siege of Jinzhou would not have happened. You know, Huang Taiji was terrified when he heard the name of Yuan Chonghuan. With Yuan Chonghuan in Liaodong, how could the Eight Banners dare to attack?

"Are these true?" After hearing what Pu Dehao said, Yuan Chongyu's eyes widened and he couldn't help but ask.

How could he, as a younger brother, not know what kind of person his brother Yuan Chonghuan was? How could he not know that his brother Yuan Chonghuan was so great? There was such an evaluation in the south. Could it be that the Yuan Chonghuan he knew and the Yuan Chonghuan in the mouths of others were two different people?
"Of course it's true. I've been hanging around in Ningbo these days and have heard a lot of similar things. There are also many scholars in the whole of Jiangnan who are speaking up for Commander Yuan."

"Hehehe...hahaha...hahaha..." Yuan Chongyu couldn't help laughing. This was really funny. His brother Yuan Chonghuan had such a bad reputation in the north, but became a loyal minister and a hero in the south. What could be more bizarre than this?
But no matter what, this matter couldn't be better for Yuan Chongyu. He originally thought that it would be difficult for him to return to the Ming Dynasty as Yuan Chonghuan's younger brother. Even if he was in the Ming Dynasty now, he had to hide and cover up for fear that others would know his identity. But now Yuan Chonghuan has become a great loyal minister and hero, isn't it the same for him as his younger brother? With such a halo protecting him, let alone the north, in the south, as long as Yuan Chongyu is careful, it will probably be okay even if his identity is known to others, after all, his last name is Yuan! Yuan Chonghuan's Yuan, and with this convenience, many things can be done more smoothly.

As for why there were such polarized evaluations, Yuan Chongyu thought that it was most likely due to the South's dissatisfaction with the North, especially the conflict between the civil service group and the gentry class in the south of the Ming Dynasty over the north that controlled the Ming Dynasty. They highlighted Yuan Chonghuan's contributions and belittled Emperor Chongzhen's abilities, thereby telling everyone the court's incompetence.

There are two more points. One is that Yuan Chonghuan is a member of the civil service group and is from the south, so he is considered one of our own. It is necessary to whitewash Yuan Chonghuan, otherwise how can the civil service group that suggested Emperor Chongzhen to use him explain to the world?
As for the second reason, it is Zhu Shenzhui. Zhu Shenzhui replaced Chongzhen and ascended the throne. Although the provinces of the Ming Dynasty have recognized this, there are many people who are dissatisfied with Zhu Shenzhui, and these people always want to use various methods to belittle the central government and find reasons to prove that Zhu Shenzhui's ascension to the throne is not worthy of it. Then, taking Yuan Chonghuan as an example can just explain why Zhu Shenzhui was able to control the capital so easily and eventually ascend the throne. This statement is also very popular in the south, and it has become what it is now.

After understanding all this, Yuan Chongyu was extremely happy. Since Yuan Chonghuan had such a good reputation in the south, what else did he have to worry about? He could do what Fan Wencheng asked him to do. However, Yuan Chongyu was always careful in doing things. He felt that this was not enough. He planned to find out more about the situation. It would be best to find a few capable people who were definitely dissatisfied with the court and start with them. This would be more effective.

Yuan Chongyu was in high spirits and got to work immediately. He asked Pu Dehao to find Pu Dejiu and Pu Dehuan. After the three of them arrived, Yuan Chongyu explained everything to them in detail and then sent them away.

A few days later, Yuan Chongyu, dressed like an official, came to the Temple of the Sea God at Dongdukou, Ningbo Prefecture, and personally visited the head of the Dongmen Yang family, a branch of the Ningbo Yang family.

The Yang family is no simple family. They are a prominent family in Ningbo Prefecture. The Yang family began to prosper during the Jingtai period of the Ming Dynasty. In the Chenghua period, within a short period of 27 years, they produced a total of six Jinshi. A family having six Jinshi in 27 years is an extremely rare ratio in the entire Ming Dynasty.

That’s not all. Since the Jiajing period, the Yang family has produced four more Jinshi scholars, and the entire Yang family has produced ten Jinshi scholars. If a family has two Jinshi scholars, it can be called a Jinshi family, and if it has five Jinshi scholars, it can be called a Jinshi clan. Then the Yang family has produced ten Jinshi scholars, which can be called a Jinshi clan.

Moreover, three of the descendants of the Yang family had served as Shangshu. It can be said that there were three Shangshu in one family and ten Jinshi in one family. Their status in Ningbo Prefecture was very important.

Because the Yang family became too large, the three brothers Yang Shouchen were divided into three families. Together with the Yang family's ancestral home, there were a total of four families, namely Fuxuebian, Rihubian, Yuehubian and Dongmenkou. Dongmen Yang family was one of them.

Compared with the other families, the Dongmen Yang family has been a little worse in recent years. The head of the Dongmen Yang family, Yang Dehua, was not very successful in the imperial examinations and failed many times. In the end, he was only a scholar. Knowing that he did not have the ability to take the imperial examinations, Yang Dehua gave up the imperial examinations and became a legal advisor. In the past 20 years, Yang Dehua has served as an aide to three people, namely Gao Hongtu, Zheng Sanjun and Xu Shiqi.

Gao Hongtu served as the governor of Shaanxi in the first year of the Tianqi reign, and later went to Beijing to serve as the Shaoqing of the Imperial Household Department. At that time, Wei Zhongxian was fighting with the Donglin Party. In order to win over Gao Hongtu, Wei Zhongxian asked him to join the Eunuch Party. However, although Gao Hongtu had a deep conflict with Zhao Nanxing of the Donglin Party, he slandered Zhao Nanxing during Wei Zhongxian's crackdown on the Donglin Party, which helped Wei Zhongxian a lot.

However, Gao Hongtu also could not stand Wei Zhongxian's actions. He thought that Wei Zhongxian was too powerful as a eunuch, so he criticized and opposed him many times. He also wrote a letter to Emperor Tianqi to suggest that he restrain Wei Zhongxian. This offended Wei Zhongxian. Not long after, under the attack of Wei Zhongxian, Gao Hongtu resigned from his post. He was re-employed three years later. In the fifth year of Chongzhen, Gao Hongtu, who was the Minister of Works, offended people again and was eventually stripped of his title and returned home.

When Yang Dehua worked as an aide to Gao Hongtu, Gao Hongtu was the Shaoqing of the Imperial Household Department. Later, Gao Hongtu was dismissed from office by Wei Zhongxian. Yang Dehua, introduced by Gao Hongtu, went to work as an aide to his good friend Zheng Sanjun.

Zheng Sanjun was the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple at that time, but soon after that he offended Wei Zhongxian, lost his job and returned to his hometown. After the Chongzhen period, he was reinstated as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing. However, at this time Yang Dehua had gone to Xu Shiqi's side. Compared with the previous two, Xu Shiqi was luckier. He first served as an official in the capital, and later was transferred to the positions of Shangbaoqing of Nanjing and Fucheng of Yingtian Prefecture. Now he is the Zuo Tongzheng of Nanjing, as well as the Guangluqing and Tongzhengshi.

(End of this chapter)