Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 295 Dismissal, Investigation, and Recruitment While Under Punishment (Part 1)

Zhu Jue actually issued an imperial edict to dismiss Yang He from his post, investigate him, and bring him back to the capital for trial!

This was something the officials outside the court had not expected.

They even thought that attacking Yang He would put the current young emperor in a difficult position.

To everyone's surprise, the young emperor dismissed Yang He without hesitation!

How else can they attack Yang He?

At this point, the King of Qin had not yet met his demise, so Yang He could at most be considered guilty of dereliction of duty.

Yang He was derelict in his duties, and the young emperor dismissed and investigated him, which was already quite fair.

What else could they say?
This is not a big deal.

The young emperor even appointed Hou Xun to replace Yang He as the governor-general of the three border regions of Shaanxi, in charge of suppressing the rebel Zhang Xianzhong!

If it were before Zhang Xianzhong invaded Shaanxi, they would naturally have been more than happy to have Hou Xun in control of the military.

Now they're in a bit of a bind.

The young emperor is clearly trying to make Hou Xun take the blame for Yang He!

Can they really let Hou Xun take the blame?
Or, to put it another way, could they persuade Zhang Xianzhong not to attack the Qin vassal state?

The officials in the outer court were now in a difficult position, but Yang Sichang was relieved.

Now he no longer had to worry about his father taking the blame for the deaths of the princes and royal family. Even if his father was dismissed from his post and investigated, and returned to his hometown to retire, he could go to Southeast Asia with peace of mind.

Zhu Jue used this trick of shifting blame not only to make Hou Xun take the blame for Yang He.

He simply wanted to put the officials in a difficult position.

Didn't you say Hou Xun was very capable? Didn't you want Hou Xun to take control of the military?

Alright, then let Hou Xun be appointed as the governor of the three border regions of Shaanxi.

Let's see if this guy can protect the princes and royal families of Shaanxi, and whether he can wipe out the rebel Zhang Xianzhong's forces!
Hou Xun is unlikely to be able to accomplish either of these things.

Therefore, the officials in the outer court will certainly find themselves in a difficult situation.

So, what will the officials of the outer court do?

In the cabinet office, Han Kuang frowned as he looked at the imperial edict approved by Zhu Jue.

The young emperor has put them in a difficult position!
Could he send Hou Xun to serve as the governor of the three border regions of Shaanxi?
If he were to send Hou Xun to oversee the mountainous region of Shaanxi, then Zhang Xianzhong would have to immediately stop attacking the Qin vassal state.

In this way, Hou Xun could safely control the troops on the three borders of Shaanxi.

The question is, would Zhang Xianzhong listen to them?

This time, Zhang Xianzhong was determined to make a fortune in Shaanxi, and no matter how they tried to stop him, they couldn't.

They all allowed Zhang Xianzhong to go, but they wouldn't let him attack the vassal states in Shaanxi. Would Zhang Xianzhong agree to that?
By now, their food supplies are probably almost exhausted. If we don't attack the vassal state and seize their food, those 200,000 troops will starve to death!

Zhang Xianzhong would never agree to stop.

What should I do?

He frowned and pondered for a while, then said loudly, "Now that the rebels have reached Xi'an, this matter is extremely urgent. Everyone, stop what you are doing and come over to discuss it."

Upon hearing this, Feng Quan, Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren, and others immediately stood up and gathered around.

Han Kuang simply shoved the imperial edict into Feng Quan's hands and told him to pass it around and read it.

After reading it, Feng Quan couldn't help but frown.

After reading it, Zhou Yanru couldn't help but frown.

After reading the imperial edict, Wen Tiren's expression remained calm, as if nothing had changed.

This is all because Hou Xun is a member of the Donglin Party, not one of their Qi, Chu, and Zhe factions. The young emperor is putting the Donglin Party in a difficult position. What does this have to do with him?

After everyone had finished reading the imperial edict, Han Kuang solemnly said, "Tell me your thoughts, what should we do?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Quan and Zhou Yanru frowned deeply and remained silent.

Seeing this, Wen Tiren said in a serious tone, "Your Excellency, everyone says that Hou Xun is proficient in military strategy and is good at fighting. Perhaps sending him to oversee the three border regions of Shaanxi would really be able to suppress the rebel Zhang Xianzhong. Why don't we give it a try?"

You fucking bastard. You're disgusting, aren't you?
Han Kuang was so angry he almost cursed out loud.

This guy knows perfectly well that Xi'an is doomed, and if Hou Xun goes there, he'll just be the scapegoat.

You know Hou Xun is just there to take the blame, yet you say things like that. You just want to stir up trouble, don't you?

He took a deep breath, held it in, and then, as if he hadn't heard, turned to ask, "Zhenlu, what do you think?"

I think this is an opportunity!

Feng Quan seemed somewhat bewildered and said, "In my opinion, Hou Xun has never truly led troops into battle and has no achievements to speak of. It may be inappropriate for him to assume such a great responsibility."

We should recommend more generals with outstanding military achievements to His Majesty, such as Lu Xiangshan, Sun Chuanting, Sun Chengzong, and Yuan Chonghuan.

Are you suggesting we find someone else to take the blame?
The question is, will the young emperor agree?

That kid isn't that stupid.

Han Kuang pondered, "His Majesty probably won't choose Lu Xiangshan and Sun Chuanting, and it's unlikely that His Majesty will choose Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan either. His Majesty will probably still choose Hou Xun."

Didn't you understand?
Or are you just too worried to think things through?
Feng Quan suggested, "We can recommend them one by one and let His Majesty consider them carefully."

Oh, I see, stall for time!

The young emperor refuses to choose this or that, but insists on choosing Hou Xun, and that's fine too.

They could use excuses to delay, allowing the young emperor to choose one by one, while Zhang Xianzhong launched a frenzied attack to quickly take over all the vassal states in Shaanxi!

When Hou Xun goes to Shaanxi to oversee the vassal kings and members of the royal family, the disasters will no longer be his concern. Hou Xun will only need to focus on suppressing the rebel Zhang Xianzhong.

Whether or not the rebels can be eradicated is no longer the point.

They can take their time.

Han Kuang nodded slowly and said, "Yes, that makes sense. We should indeed recommend more people so that His Majesty can consider them carefully."

The next morning, around 7 a.m., Zhu Jue had just arrived at the main hall of Yuxi Palace and opened the first memorial when he couldn't help but frown.

The cabinet actually rejected his imperial edict.

These guys actually recommended Sun Chuanting to be the governor of the three border regions of Shaanxi!

Their idea was that although Hou Xun was well-versed in military strategy, he lacked experience in leading troops, so it would be better to send Sun Chuanting, who had distinguished himself in military affairs.

These guys have really hit two birds with one stone. If Sun Chuanting were to become the governor of the three border regions of Shaanxi, not only would Sun Chuanting be blamed for the death of the vassal king, but there would also be a vacancy in Liaodong. At that time, these guys would definitely do their best to recommend their own people to take charge of Liaodong.

If he had used someone recommended by the outer court to take charge of Liaodong, the Jurchens would have inexplicably turned defeat into victory and marched all the way from Shenyang to Guanning and Jin!

If he doesn't use someone recommended by the outer court to take charge of Liaodong, then he can only send Lu Xiangshan there. At that time, there will be a vacancy in the capital region. Once someone from the outer court takes control of the military power in the capital region, the Jurchens will most likely inexplicably invade the capital region again!
These guys are probably dreaming.

He tossed the imperial edict directly to Liu Ruoyu and said coldly, "No, send Hou Xun to oversee the mountainous region of Shaanxi."

The next day, the cabinet actually returned his imperial edict, along with a draft proposal stating that appointing Hou Xun as governor-general of the three border regions of Shaanxi was inappropriate and needed further discussion!

Now he finally understood.

The guys in the outer court wanted to stall for time until Zhang Xianzhong had dealt with all the princes and royal families in Shaanxi, and then let Hou Xun take control of the military power in the three border regions of Shaanxi!

By then, these guys will have a lot more tricks up their sleeves.

They could have easily had Zhang Xianzhong cooperate with Hou Xun to besiege Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong, or even deliberately transferred all the troops from the mountains of Shaanxi to besiege Zhang Xianzhong, and then let Huang Taiji take advantage of the situation to invade and capture Guanzhong.

There were countless absurd and bizarre things like this during the Chongzhen era in history. These guys had absolutely no bottom line when it came to playing tricks!
The problem is, these guys just won't agree to let Hou Xun go to Shaanxi as governor-general. What can we do?

Did he force Hou Xun to go?

This doesn't seem like a bad idea. Huang Daozhou and Liu Zongzhou were forced by him to go on tours of Henan and Shanxi. He insisted on them going, so they had to go.

The problem is, they can play another trick, which is to feign illness as an excuse!
Huang Daozhou and Liu Zongzhou didn't fake illness because those two guys were a bit hotheaded and stubborn.

Han Kuang and Hou Xun were not fools. If he forced Hou Xun to become the governor of the three border regions of Shaanxi, Hou Xun would definitely fall ill immediately!
What will he do then?
Should we order someone to carry Hou Xun over?

You guys are disgusting, aren't you?
Zhu Jue stared at the draft bill of the cabinet, frowned and pondered for a while, and soon came up with a solution.

Fine, you guys are disgusting, aren't you? We'll talk about it when Yang He gets back.

We'll see who disgusts whom then!

(End of this chapter)