Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Revitalize the Ming Dynasty

Volume 13 Reviving the Ming Dynasty Chapter 630 Three Years Later

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    Time flies like water, and years fly by. In a blink of an eye, it is the tenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, and another four years have passed.  It was early autumn, but there was already some coolness in the city of Beijing, and the dead leaves on the trees began to fall, even in the palace.

    Chongzhen, who walked out of the imperial study, looked at the falling dead leaves and couldn't help but think of himself.  Although he is only in his thirties, his body has obviously become too much due to years of hard work.  However, things in the court did not get much relief because of his diligent work. Secret reports continued to come out, saying that wealthy businessmen in some places colluded with officials to annex land, causing the people to be displaced.  If God hadn't been kind enough to bless us in the past few years, and there had been revenue from Suzhou and other places that had opened sea bans, the national treasury would have been as stretched as it was a few years ago.

    Although he knew that it would not be a blessing for the Ming Dynasty to continue like this, Chongzhen did not have the courage to change everything.  When he first came to Dabao, he could take risks to deal with the eunuchs, but now as he grows older, this vigor has long been worn away, and if he wants to make changes now, he will touch too many areas.  There are too many people and local officials who are inextricably linked to the local government. Even if he is the emperor, it is impossible for him to challenge the entire system.

    The only thing that can comfort him now is that the world is still peaceful. After the chaos three years ago subsided, the people have finally settled down, and the Jin Kingdom and Mongolia in the northeast and north have also calmed down, except for some special occasions.  Apart from playing in the grass valley, at other times they only conduct the most common exchanges with the Ming Dynasty, which can be regarded as peace in the world.

    Thinking of the current peaceful scene, Chongzhen couldn't help but think of Tang Feng, who had been treated coldly by him.  In the past three years, I have not seen him again. Although he was made a Duke for his great achievements, the gap between the two monarchs and ministers has been unable to be eliminated.  Judging from the things he did three years ago, he did have other ideas at that time.  But in the end, he compromised. Not only did he hand over his military power, but he also stayed at home and did not participate in court affairs. This was why Chongzhen finally stopped embarrassing him.

    Thinking of this person who had been his right-hand man and helped him deal with too many problems, Chongzhen sighed again.  In fact, it didn't have to be like this at all between the two of them, but the two sides had conflicts in some ideas, the fear of him by the officials in the DPRK, and the natural distance between the monarch and the minister, so that the two could become friends.  The people ended up becoming strangers.

    Thinking about it now, maybe Tang Feng¡¯s idea was correct at the time.  If we had taken advantage of the critical situation at that time to open several seaports or purge officials in the DPRK and China, the current government would not be in a difficult situation.  But the price required to do so at that time was too high and too dangerous, so in the end he could not agree with Tang Feng's intention.  It is precisely because of this level that the two monarchs and ministers grew further and further apart, and finally reached the point where they are today.

    But Chongzhen did not regret it. Tang Feng was a minister. He only had the responsibility to be loyal to himself and had no right to make himself, the emperor, regret it.  But now, Chongzhen intends to open the sea to the coastal areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, so that the court's income can be increased.  But there is also a difficulty with this, that is, if this happens, local officials will try to get their hands on them. When the time comes, the court may not get much benefit from enriching them.  Moreover, there are still a large number of conservative ministers in the court. They are still very opposed to this kind of destruction of ancestral customs. Even if it is the emperor's intention, they will not buy it.

    "Alas, the national affairs are difficult!" Chongzhen sighed heavily. He felt that the Ming Dynasty he controlled was like the autumn now. It had lost much vitality. If there were any more riots, he didn't know if there would be any more.  People can bring peace to the country.  He doesn't plan to use Tang Feng anymore. He has been unfaithful once and will not use it a hundred times. It is better to keep this person by his side.

    After moving his body to make the feeling of sitting for a long time disappear, Chongzhen turned around again. He still had a large number of memorials to approve, which was also the most important thing for him every day.  Just when Chongzhen sat back down in front of the Dragon Case and began to examine the next memorial, a chamberlain hurried in: "Your Majesty, there is an urgent call from Gansu Province eight hundred miles away!"

    "Huh? Submit it!" Chongzhen immediately put down the memorial in his hand and reached out to take the urgent report.  He suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart, as if what he was worried about was about to happen again.  Sure enough, after reading this emergency report, Chongzhen's complexion turned livid. It took him a long time to control his emotions and ordered: "Go and call the elders into the palace." Gansu  There was a rebellion again, and this time the rebellion was not ordinary people, but officers and soldiers.  This is obviously more serious than the previous chaos in Shaanxi and other places. The officers and soldiers are not comparable to those farmers with hoes.

    The servant did not dare to neglect, and after saying the order, he hurried out.  After learning from Wei Zhongxian's mistakes, Chongzhen was still very strict with the eunuchs in the palace, although there were some things they needed to do, evenDongchang has been reopened, but once someone says something wrong or does something wrong, the punishment will be severe, ranging from disability to death.  So now the eunuchs in the palace can be said to have their tails tightly shut at all times, not daring to offend anyone.

    After a while, several cabinet members arrived one after another.  It was office hours, so these important officials were still on duty and rushed over as soon as they were called.  "Your Majesty, do you know what happened?" Wen Tiren, as the chief minister of the cabinet, asked first and foremost without hesitation.

    "See for yourselves." The emperor handed over the urgent report in his hand, and everyone's expressions tightened when they saw it.

    "Your Majesty, this matter cannot be taken lightly. We must send a large army to quell the chaos as soon as possible, otherwise"

    "Of course I know that this matter cannot be delayed any longer, but the question is who should be sent to quell the chaos? The people responsible for this incident are the local officers and soldiers. If they are not good at fighting, it will be difficult to suppress them. Once this happens, it will be difficult to suppress them.  The failure to quell the rebellion brought a small loss to the imperial court's reputation, which fueled their arrogance and caused more people to join in the fight. These are all important ministers in the imperial court, so they must be able to give me a suitable candidate, right?" Chongzhen was worried.  typical

    "Your Majesty, I recommend Hong Chengchou, the governor of Shaanxi. Although he is a civil servant, he once outnumbered the crowd during the chaos in Shaanxi and established the authority of our court. He is obviously a man who knows soldiers. Moreover, he has always been loyal to the emperor.  He is just the person who can be used." Zhou Yanru was the first to say, he obviously wanted to steal Wen Tiren's limelight.

    "Your Majesty, I think this person is inappropriate. The original rioters in Shaanxi were just ordinary farmers. How can they be compared with these rebels now? Although he has read some military books, he is not a general after all, so I  I think he is not suitable. I suggest that the elite soldiers from Liaodong be sent to quell the chaos again. Not only are the soldiers there, but the generals are also extraordinary." Wen Tiren said immediately.

    Zhou Yanru wanted to refute what he said, but his words were interrupted by the emperor: "I also think it is better to send the Liaodong Army to quell the rebellion. When the peasants revolted, the guards of Shaanxi, Shanxi and even Henan  None of the officers and soldiers can withstand the enemy, let alone those in Gansu. If the troops and horses he brought are useless, even if Hong Chengchou goes again, there will be nothing he can do."

    "Your Majesty, your Majesty!" Seeing that he was one step ahead again, Wen Tiren smiled proudly, which was particularly dazzling in Zhou Yanru's eyes.  So he added: "But I don't know who Mr. Wen plans to put in command?"

    "ThisI thought that Wu Sangui, who had calmed down the chaos in Shaanxi, was a general and a capable person, and could be the commander." For a while, he couldn't think of any suitable candidates, and finally picked out the most impressive person.  Now Tang Feng's name has become a taboo in the court. No one dared to mention it in front of the emperor, so he only mentioned Wu Sangui.

    "That's right." Chongzhen nodded. He also remembered this person. It was obviously not easy for him to be praised by Tang Feng.

    "This chaos must not be taken lightly, so I hope that my dear friends will pay more attention to the logistics." Chongzhen ordered again.

    "I obey the decree!" Everyone agreed quickly, and then went out of the palace to prepare everything.  Watching them retreat, Chongzhen felt a little at ease. He unconsciously thought of Tang Feng again. In the past, when such a big thing happened, the first thing he thought of was Tang Feng. But in the past three years, he has stopped looking for him.  Discussing important matters.  "Hmph, I want to see if there are so many talented people in our Ming Dynasty. If we don't need you anymore, there really won't be anyone in the world who can help me govern."

    ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? out of all the residences of the court officials in Beijing, which is the most deserted, it must be that of Duke Anguo.  In the past three years, Anguo Gong Tang Feng has gone from being a popular minister of the emperor to a marginalized member of the imperial court. It can be said that he has seen everything in the world.  None of the adults in the court came to see him again, and even the Jin Yiwei people were missing. This was sending a signal that Tang Feng's future was completely over.  Although he has the status of a prince, as long as he does something illegal, the government will definitely take action on him.

    ¡°Obviously, everyone in the Duke Anguo Mansion also understands this truth. Everyone is very peaceful and seldom goes out, let alone causes any trouble.  As a result, Tang Feng, who was talked about by the people back then, will be even harder to remember, but it seems that this is what Tang Feng wants to see.  He already knows the emperor's feelings towards him. As long as he doesn't cause trouble again, the imperial court will support him and his family in view of his countless achievements. But if something happens, it will not only be him, but also his wife and children.  Nor can it be guaranteed.

    But all this is just an appearance. Under the calm and deserted appearance, Tang Feng still has a power that cannot be ignored, and that is Jin Yiwei, who has seemed to have no contact with him for a long time.

    In order to monitor Tang Feng, Chongzhen had people re-open the Dongchang. This made Jinyi Health, who had been competing with the Dongchang for power, be wary.  They canI have not forgotten what happened a few years ago. At that time, Dongchang completely overwhelmed Jinyiwei and reduced them to the lackeys of Dongchang. No one in Jinyiwei wanted to repeat this scene.

    But they also knew that when it came to their relationship with the emperor, foreign ministers such as themselves could not compare to the close servants in the palace, so they must have a strong leader.  They quickly identified this person as Tang Feng. It was because of him that Jin Yiwei was able to escape from the oppression of Dongchang. Although he has become a marginalized figure in the court now, everyone still believes in him and is willing to  With him as the leader.  However, at Tang Feng's request, this fact was not noticed by outsiders. Even the people with a lower status in Jinyiwei and below 100 households were completely unaware of it.

    Precisely because of the help of Jinyiwei, although Tang Feng has been staying at home, he still has a clear understanding of the situation outside and can grasp major events inside and outside the court.  Just like now, even though it's already two o'clock in the morning, the lights are still on in Tang Feng's study. Opposite him, a person is carefully describing the events in Gansu.  This person is none other than Bai Liangfeng, the current commander of Jin Yiwei.

    After listening to the narration of the incident, Tang Feng had a worried look on his face: "I didn't expect that in just three years, the world would be in trouble again. But if the imperial court is willing to use Wu Sangui and the Liaodong Army to take action, it should be able to calm down the chaos. By the way,  This time our Jinyiwei brothers in Gansu and other places can take the opportunity to do something. As long as they make contributions, the imperial court will value Jinyiwei. By then, the battle between us and Dongchang will be more advantageous. In addition, we can also cooperate with  The Liaodong Army is related, and with their help, our strength can also be enhanced."

    "I have thought of this even though I am humble, but the Liaodong Army has always been self-organized, so it is difficult for our people to have contact with them. This" Bai Liangfeng glanced at Tang Feng as he spoke.  Tang Feng immediately understood the meaning of his words, and it was obvious that he wanted to set up a bridge for him.  Indeed, in the entire city of Beijing, who else has a closer relationship with the Liaodong Army than himself?

    Tang Feng agreed to this request without much hesitation: "Let's do this. I will write you a letter and ask the brothers to take it to meet the soldiers in Liaodong. I must have this little face.  There are still some.¡±

    "Thank you, Lord!" Bai Liangfeng said gratefully: "Dongchang's power has become more and more powerful recently. I'm really afraid that the old thing will happen again."

    "You don't have to worry too much about this. I understand the emperor's thoughts very well. He doesn't dare to be too indulgent towards these eunuchs. After all, with Wei Zhongxian, a deceitful person in front of him, the emperor must always keep a hand.  ." Tang Feng finished comforting the other party, and then brought the topic to the things he was concerned about: "How is the income and expenditure of the court recently? How is the relationship between you adults?"

    "Although we don't know much about the situation of the treasury, we can still find out one thing. The amount of silver the imperial court can use has become less and less. If Suzhou hadn't opened a port, it would have been even harder for the imperial court to afford it. As for the central government  The relationship between adults is still the same. The two cabinet ministers Zhou and Wen always have to fight for victory. The people who serve as officials in the government are either Wen's party or Zhou's party, which leads to the failure of many government orders to be completed smoothly." Bai Liangfeng said.  He said with worry: "If this continues, our Ming court will really be in trouble."

    Tang Feng nodded slightly. He knew that the current situation was inevitable. After Chongzhen refused to listen to his own wishes to open up the sea for trade and refused to reduce the clan's expenditure, the country's increasing poverty was inevitable.  Fortunately, because of his previous intervention, the Jin Kingdom did not become Manchu and Qing Dynasty, and there were also big internal problems, which made them unable to go south, otherwise the situation would be even more unbearable.  But Tang Feng did not want this situation to continue, because he knew that it would only delay the demise of the Ming Dynasty for a few years, but it would not cure the root cause of the entire Han nation.  The only way now is to really change all of this, to change it from the root.

    But all this cannot be changed as long as Chongzhen is still there.  During the three years he stayed at home, Tang Feng had already figured this out. This was not due to Chongzhen's lack of ability or lack of diligence, but because of his true heart.  As the Lord of the Ming Dynasty, although he understands that it is not good to continue like this, he does not dare to really break the current situation, otherwise it is likely to cause a huge disaster.  Now he just wants to live in peace, and the development of the country is completely out of his consideration.  If this continues, there will only be greater disasters. Even without the rise of the Golden Man, China will certainly not be able to make rapid progress.

    Unexpectedly, I originally counted on Chongzhen to revitalize the Ming Dynasty, but now it seems that he has become the biggest stumbling block to the revitalization of the Ming Dynasty.  In order to get rid of the eunuchs, he indirectly killed Apocalypse, and now he is going the same way.  However, for the sake of the future and for the sake of not being harmed, Tang Feng would not have any hesitation about this.

    Of course, he will not talk about this to other people for the time being, no matter how close the relationship between this person and himself is, after all, this is tooThe world is so strange, except for those who may be willing to help me, other people, even my wife Liu Hui, may not understand my feelings.

    After finishing writing a letter to Wu Sangui and others, Tang Feng sent Bai Liangfeng away, and it was just the third watch.  Every time people from Jin Yiwei came to his place, it was in the dead of night, so that no one would notice that Tang Feng still had a certain amount of power, and it was also an effective way to protect himself.

    When Tang Feng walked out of the study, he saw Xieyu flipping down from the roof lightly. Just in case, whenever he met with outsiders, Xieyu would always be outside to take care of him.  Now that he is married, he has long lost the appearance of the impulsive boy he once was, but his loyalty to Tang Feng has never changed.

    After patting him on the shoulder as a compliment, Tang Feng said again: "To clear up the confusion, I have something for you to do for me. This may be dangerous."

    "Young master, just tell me what you want me to do." Xie said immediately.

    "During this period, you should go to Ouchi a few more times to get an understanding of the current situation of the eunuchs in the palace. We will take action soon."

    "I'll go right away." Xie Yu didn't ask any more questions, nodded and left.  In his heart, no one is more important than the young master, no matter whether that person is the emperor or not,
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report