The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 7 Rebellion

The summer of the tenth year of the Wanli reign was destined to be an unusually turbulent season.

After the death of the imperial tutor Zhang Juzheng, the Ming Dynasty court was in chaos.

With the support of Empress Dowager Li, Zhang Siwei became the Prime Minister, while Zhang Juzheng's ally, Minister of Personnel Wang Guoguang, was inexplicably dismissed and investigated.

Immediately afterwards, Liang Menglong, who succeeded as the Minister of Personnel, was inexplicably dismissed and investigated, and Zhang Juzheng's fellow villager Zeng Xingwu was also impeached and removed from office.

The six ministers of the Ministry of Personnel and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Supervisory Council have been replaced more than ten times, and it is unknown how many governors, provincial governors and other local officials have been replaced.

This is the case where the Prime Minister Zhang Siwei and the second Prime Minister Shen Shixing, who was a double-faced person, purged the disciples of Zhang Juzheng in the court.

Anyone who refused to submit to them would be dismissed from office and investigated, which was the lightest punishment. Countless people were removed from office, stripped of their official titles, or even had their property confiscated and exiled.

The power struggle in the Ming Dynasty court was so cruel that you could lose your life if you were not careful.

However, at this time, Zhang Siwei had just begun to purge the court, and the only person who was dismissed and investigated was the Minister of Personnel Wang Guoguang.

The new Minister of Personnel Liang Menglong saw that Wanli was decisive and ruthless, but he did not resign himself to his fate as people in history did. Instead, he went straight to the Qianqing Palace to find Wanli.

Wanli was annoyed by Empress Dowager Li's interference in politics, so he specifically asked Liang Menglong to submit a letter of allegiance and tell Empress Dowager Li the disadvantages of women interfering in politics.

This time, Liang Menglong completely angered Empress Dowager Li.

He had no choice but to follow Wanli wholeheartedly, otherwise, he would definitely die a miserable death.

Liang Menglong surrendered, and he must have been followed by many of Zhang Juzheng's disciples, so they could also be won over.

At this moment, Wanli was thinking about how to quickly gain control of enough military force to protect himself first.

It seemed that the dukes, marquises and nobles could no longer be relied upon. After the Battle of Tumu, the backbones of the dukes, marquises and nobles seemed to be broken, and they did not dare to fight against the civil officials at all.

It seemed that he had no choice but to win over those battle-hardened generals to control the military force.

So, which generals should we win over first?
There are many famous generals in the world, but the two most famous ones are Yu Long and Qi Hu!
Yu Dayou had been demoted to the fifth rank of assistant secretary and died in depression. Now only Qi Jiguang was left.

He thought about it carefully, then asked, "Qianji, do you know Qi Jiguang?"

Upon hearing this, Liang Menglong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I am a close friend of Yuan Jing. When I was the governor of Ji and Liao, Yuan Jing was the general of Jizhou Town. I worked with Yuan Jing for several years, and together we resisted the disaster of the Northern Tartars. It was a friendship that was worth risking our lives."

well.

Wanli asked again, "Is General Qi still guarding Jizhou Town now?"

Liang Menglong nodded slightly, then sighed, "Yes, Yuan Jingdu has been guarding Jizhou Town for sixteen years. The little prince of the Yuan Dynasty, Dong Huli, and his uncles Chang Tu and Chang Ang often led their troops to invade, but he always repelled them. In the end, he captured Chang Tu alive and forced the little prince to surrender, and Jizhou Town finally settled down.

Later, he led his army to Liaodong and assisted Li Chengliang, the Liaodong general, in defeating Tumen Khan's army of tens of thousands, which was an outstanding military achievement.

However, Zhang Dingsi, the Imperial Censor of the Ministry of Personnel, impeached him for his ineffective defense of the frontier and wanted to transfer him to the south to remain idle. Alas.

Upon hearing this, Wanli sneered, "I've already let Zhang Siwei remove that lackey, Zhang Dingsi, from the Ministry of Personnel. Don't worry, General Qi won't be sent south to idle. I'm transferring him back to Beijing to entrust him with important tasks."

The civil servants in the Ming Dynasty court became more and more excessive. Since Yan Song and his son came to power in the Jiajing period, the civil servants in the court have been trying their best to suppress generals with outstanding military achievements.

In history, famous generals such as Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang were suppressed by them and died in depression.

Zhang Siwei had a secret behind his decision to transfer Qi Jiguang to the south and keep him idle.

It is rumored that the three major wealthy families in Puzhou made their fortunes by collaborating with the enemy and selling out their country. They did business with the Northern Tartars. The Northern Tartars were responsible for looting, and they were responsible for selling the stolen goods. They also provided the Northern Tartars with contraband such as food and pig iron.

When Qi Jiguang was stationed in Jizhou Town, the town was as impregnable as an iron barrel. Moreover, Qi Jiguang could lead his troops to support Xuanda and Liaodong, so that the northern barbarians could not invade the wealthy areas of the capital.

If the northern barbarians cannot rush into the wealthy areas of the capital and plunder crazily, they will not be able to make a lot of money. This is the fundamental reason why they want to transfer Qi Jiguang to the south and leave him idle!
You are collaborating with the enemy and selling out your country, right?

I want to use these generals, control the military force, and deal with you!
His Majesty is going to make use of Qi Jiguang, so this great general will not be forgotten.

Upon hearing this, Liang Menglong could not help but say with surprise, "I, your humble servant, would like to thank Your Majesty on behalf of Yuan Jing."

Wanli nodded slightly, then took out a blank imperial edict and wrote quickly. After he finished writing, he personally stamped it with the seal.

Now that his imperial power has been hollowed out, the imperial edict is just an imperial decree and is basically useless.

However, it was still useful as a secret decree sent to Qi Jiguang.

Qi Jiguang, a famous general whose reputation will be passed down through the ages, was definitely not a traitor. The Qi Family Army was a family of loyal heroes. In history, they fought a bloody battle against the Eight Banners Army of the Later Jin Dynasty at Hunhe River. None of them was afraid of death, and all of them sacrificed their lives for the country!
There was also the Sichuan Army, which also fought for the Ming Dynasty with all its might and suffered heavy casualties.

He would feel at ease only if he could use such loyal and brave men. Now he couldn't reach the Sichuan Army, so he could only recruit Qi Jiguang first.

He gently blew the ink dry, rolled up the imperial edict, and handed it to Liang Menglong. Then he said solemnly, "Qianji, send a trusted person to deliver the secret edict to Jizhou Town as fast as possible and hand it over to General Qi."

Upon hearing this, Liang Menglong took the imperial edict with both hands, hid it in his arms, and said solemnly: "I obey your order."

It’s different when you have a confidant.

He can rest assured in leaving this matter to Liang Menglong.

Feng Bao was different. He had schemed against this guy and had no choice but to help him.

Qi Jiguang has not arrived yet, and the military forces he can mobilize are all in Feng Bao's hands. This guy will definitely not do everything he wants.

In this situation, if Zhang Siwei makes trouble in the next few days, he may not be able to win.

No, I have to strike first and do something.

Wanli subconsciously placed his right hand on the table, and his four fingers began to move rhythmically like horse hooves. What should he do?
He thought about it carefully, then said decisively: "Great Companion, draft an edict to commemorate the merits of our teacher, confer the title of Marquis of Jiangling, bestow a scroll of merit upon him, and have his eldest son Jingxiu inherit the title."

Are you kidding me?
The cabinet would never approve such an imperial edict. It would be useless if the cabinet did not approve it. The Ministry of Rites would not give the seal, ribbon, or robes. It would be useless even if it was granted.

Feng Bao was stunned for a moment, then knelt down in front of the small table next to him and began to write quickly.

After finishing writing, he stood up and respectfully handed it to Wanli with both hands.

Wanli glanced at it and affixed his seal with his own hand. Then, he raised his hand and said, "Hurry and send it to the cabinet."

Feng Bao quickly took the imperial edict with both hands and walked out quickly.

Liang Menglong was a little puzzled when he saw this.

The cabinet would never approve such an imperial decree. Could Zhang Siwei have his mentor conferred a title of nobility?

Wanli said solemnly, "Among the six ministries and seven officials, who are my mentor's people and who are Zhang Siwei's people? Do you know clearly?"

Of course I understand this.

Liang Menglong said carefully: "I, the humble minister, and the Minister of Revenue Zhang Xueyan, and the Minister of Rites Xu Xuemo are all disciples of the Yuanfu, and the Minister of Works Zeng Shengwu is a fellow townsman of the Yuanfu.

The Minister of Punishments Yan Qing and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Inspectorate Chen Yu are both upright people, and a bit self-righteous. Among them, Yan Qing has some conflicts with the Prime Minister.

Minister of War Wu Dui was a disciple of Gao Gong and considered Zhang Siwei's man."

Upon hearing this, Wanli couldn't help but frowned slightly.

Both Yang Bo and Wang Chonggu had served as Minister of War. The previous Minister of War, Fang Fengshi, was Wang Chonggu's confidant, and the current Minister of War, Wu Dui, was Zhang Siwei's man. These guys always controlled the Ministry of War, and no one knew how many old friends they had among the border troops.

If Empress Dowager Li really got angry and joined forces with Zhang Siwei to mobilize border troops to purge the court, no one knew how many border troops they could mobilize.

How to do it?

He was just frowning in thought when Feng Bao suddenly came back quickly with the imperial edict.

What does it mean?
Wanli couldn't help but said coldly: "What's wrong? The cabinet directly fought back?"

Feng Bao shook his head repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, there is a draft from the Minister Shen Shixing inside."

Draft ticket?

Isn’t that attached to the memorial?

Wanli took the imperial edict, unfolded it, and saw that there was indeed a draft attached to it.

Shen Shixing wrote on the draft: I, your humble servant, kowtow and weep as I write. According to the imperial ancestral teachings, no one can be granted a title without military merit. This is an act of treason and must not be done.

your mother!

Shen Shixing, you are a two-faced dog.

Zhang Siwei is asking you to submit your letter of allegiance, right?

How dare you call me a treasonous person!
Okay, you wait.

(End of this chapter)