Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 239: Redressing unjust imprisonment is a century-long project!
Yuan Fu's younger brother was thrown into the death squad.

The three armies of the Ming Dynasty were immediately filled with the will to fight to the death. If it had not been late, they would have pointed their swords at the Khan's tent of the Northern Barbarians.

Even the surrendered Eastern Tartar cavalry were convinced by Wang Chonggu.

And all of this was seen by Altan.

Altan paced in the Khan's tent, not even paying attention to Yeer Zhongjin. He looked at Shen Weijing and asked anxiously, "Xue Chan, how do we fight this battle?"

Shen Weijing looked at Altan in shock and thought, you ask me about the war?

Furthermore, it took Altan so much effort to mobilize only 60,000 cavalry.

This is certainly not the true strength of the Northern Tartars, but the snow on the grassland is so deep that they can't even reach their calves, and there is not even a main road, so emergency support is simply impossible.

However, even if support came, it would be of little use. It is impossible for horses to run on the current grassland. Once a battle occurs, the so-called military cavalry will have to fight in close combat on the ground.

The Northern Tartar cavalry has been destroyed, leaving only the soldiers. In terms of infantry combat, China has never been inferior to anyone since ancient times.

"Xue Chan, if you go to the Ming army camp now, can you persuade them to withdraw?" Altan asked desperately.

The corner of Shen Weijing's mouth twitched, and he pointed at himself with a finger, saying nothing.

Just me?
Among the Ming army and the Eastern Tartar army that surrendered to the Ming court, who wished Altan and the Northern Tartar to die?
It’s the Chinese New Year, what are these people doing here in the snow and wind?

It was all for the purpose of "sending" Altan and the Northern Tartars on their journey.

Because of the friendly relationship between the two sides in the past, Shen Weijing really wanted to tell Altan to stop struggling and wait for death.

Tell the truth.

Shen Weijing and the Shen family did not want to see the Northern Tartars perish. It felt so good to fleece the Northern Tartars in the Central Plains and on the grasslands.

In less than a year, the Shen family earned more than 10 million taels of silver from the two clans and obtained countless treasures.

In order to thank him for his efforts, the family specially opened a special page for him in the family tree in Qingxi hometown.

However, if he and the Shen family do not change the will of this world, the Northern Tartars will eventually perish.

Shen Weijing asked his family members to inform Wang Chonggu in advance that as the Ming Dynasty's ambassador to the Northern Tartars, he was about to complete all his tasks and missions, and that the army should be prepared to welcome him back with great ceremony.

He had thought of all the plots including returning to his country, meeting the emperor, receiving the title, paving the road with yellow earth, sprinkling the streets with clean water, and returning home in glory.

As an ambassador who had made "great contributions to the Ming Dynasty", at this time he was very calm and shook his head.

"Are we really going to fight a war?" Altan asked anxiously.

With 60,000 Northern Tartar cavalrymen, fighting in this icy and snowy land against 100,000 Ming troops and 30,000 Eastern Tartar cavalrymen who had surrendered to the Ming, they were at a "slight disadvantage."

"fight?"

Yeer Zhongjin's big, watery eyes flickered: "Why do we have to fight?"

She didn't understand. The northern barbarians had clearly surrendered to the Ming court, and Zuhan had been named King of Shunyi by the Ming Emperor. Her cousin Bahan Naji had also been named a general by the Ming Emperor, her cousin's wife had become a consort of the Ming court, and her other uncles had all received titles and rewards.

In her opinion, everything on the grassland had long belonged to the Ming court. So why did the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty send troops to fight the northern barbarians together with the cavalry on the left wing of the grassland?

Besides, why should Zuhan resist?
Crystal clear stupidity.

It made Shen Weijing's mouth twitch.

But when I think of this flower-like girl, it is understandable that she did not understand the thousands of years of hatred between the Central Plains and the grasslands, and did not understand that the Northern Barbarians were pretending to surrender and playing a delaying tactic.

Even he and Altan did not understand why the Eastern Tartars would ask the Ming court for help under the tax increase order, nor did they understand why the Ming court would lend a helping hand to the Eastern Tartars. They did not expect that after the Northern Tartars and the Jianzhou Jurchens looted and burned the Eastern Tartars' food and cotton, the Eastern Tartars would immediately surrender to the Ming court, resulting in the Northern Tartars being oppressed by the Ming army and the Eastern Tartar cavalry today.

If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have been so cruel to the Eastern Tartar.

Shen Weijing sighed, but his eyes were fixed on Ye'er Zhongjin's suddenly exposed beauty.

A bold idea suddenly came to Shen Weijing's mind.

Since the Northern Tartars and Altan are about to be destroyed, it would be such a pity to see the beautiful girl in front of me die.

As Altan Khan's good Xuechan, Shen Weijing suddenly felt a sense of responsibility and believed that he had an obligation to take good care of Altan Khan's granddaughter, Ye'er Zhongjin, on his behalf.

That’s right, the three most desirable things in the world are power, money and sex.

He has power and money, but he also needs sex.

Just when Shen Weijing's eyes were gradually becoming blurry, Altan, who heard Yeer Zhongjin's sweet words, suddenly brightened up his eyes, put his arm around Yeer Zhongjin's slender waist, raised his face and laughed, "Yes, why do we have to fight? Since we can't stay on the grassland, we don't have to stay on the grassland. Yeer Zhongjin, let's go!"

As early as when Han Naji defected from the Ming court, he was leading his cavalry to plunder Turpan in the west. There had been famine on the grassland for years, and there was only one way to go if he stayed there, which was to starve to death.

The biggest characteristic of nomadic people is their lack of a sense of belonging to their place of residence. Although Altan was reluctant to give up the position of Khan, things had come to this point and life was the most important thing.

In Altan's view, the vast West was more like a no-man's land. The elite cavalry under his command could easily set foot there and rebuild Tatar in the Western Regions.

As soon as the thought of escaping to the west came to my mind, I suddenly felt the world was vast.

Altan carried Yeer Zhongjin out of the Khan's tent, mounted his horse, and led three thousand elite soldiers towards the west.

There are still many Northern Barbarian cavalry in the west. They are fleeing and gathering at the same time. By the time they reach the Western Regions, there will be at least tens of thousands of cavalry, which is enough for them to find a new place to settle down.

Altan Khan did not plan to bring the remaining tens of thousands of troops with him, otherwise they would definitely be pursued by the Ming army. The fewer people there are, the smaller the target will be and the easier it will be to escape.

The cavalry that remained behind could also resist the Ming army for a period of time, buying more time for his escape.

"Khan Ye——"

Shen Weijing's eyes regained clarity, he walked out of the tent and called out.

The sound is mournful and extremely sad.

Lord Khan is gone, but he left Yeer Zhongjin to me.

As soon as he stepped out of the tent, Shen Weijing, who was wearing thin clothes, was blown back by the wind and snow. When he put on his clothes and came out again, Altan and Yer Zhongjin were nowhere to be seen.

The dark snowy night blocked people's vision. Shen Weijing wanted to follow the direction, but found a problem, "Hey! Hey! Where's the horse? Horse! Where's my horse?"

……

human world.

It's like a huge makeshift troupe.

The chaos on the grassland did not seem to affect the spring night in the capital, and the lights were bright in the prime minister's residence.

Zhang Juzheng, unaware that his brother was about to be killed and sent into a battlefield of blood and fire, ordered his men to open the door of the prime minister's residence and welcome Qian Dehong, a legal advisor, into the residence with a loud laugh.

He personally came out of the mansion to greet Qian Dehong and helped him up the stairs. His demeanor looked like that of a master and a grandson. There was nothing wrong with him.

Gao Gong had already obtained the "Bury of the Traveler" written by Mr. Yangming himself, and placed it in the carriage frame. He asked the coachman to drive the carriage back to the mansion and then asked someone to carry the sedan chair back.

Next.

The Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister of the Cabinet will have to practice Tai Chi with the great Confucian master.

……

The next day.

The cabinet is on duty.

"Yuan Fu Chun An!"

"Second Prime Minister Chun An!"

Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang, and Chen Yiqin bowed to Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong one after another.

"Chun An!"

Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong wished each other a happy spring.

At the beginning of the year, there are not many government affairs. Most of them are unfinished matters from the previous year, the New Year plans of the six ministries, and some miscellaneous matters.

The biggest unfinished business is how many people froze to death in the cold winter of last year.

The Ming Dynasty had a vast territory and abundant resources. This is not just an adjective but a true portrayal of the country.

The two capitals and thirteen provinces had different feelings about winter. For example, in Liaodong Town, every winter, even wearing mink coats was useless. If people went out for a walk, they would feel stiff and had to rely on firewood for heating.

In Lingnan, the seasons are slightly hot, moderately hot, and very hot throughout the year. Wearing short sweat clothes is the norm, and even long gowns are rare.

Other places are located between Liaodong and Lingnan. The further north you go, the colder it gets, and the further south you go, the hotter it gets. In the north of our dynasty, it is not an exaggeration to say that people were frozen to death.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, over the past 200 years, an average of more than 10,000 people have frozen to death every year in areas north of the Yellow River.

Such casualties always make people feel heavy-hearted.

However, the government offices in the two capitals and thirteen provinces reported the news of a "warm winter throughout the world" last year. Coupled with the bumper harvest last year, the warm weather and the availability of grain, it can be predicted that not many people died of cold and hunger last year.

Liaodong Town: 490 people.

Jizhou Town: 210 people.

Hebei Province: 156 people.

……

Guangdong and Guangxi: eight people.

Lingnan: One person.

When they saw that a total of 1,688 people had frozen to death since the beginning of last winter across the country, Zhang, Gao, Hu, Li, and Chen felt relieved.

The number of people who froze to death decreased by more than 80%.

Then came great joy.

In China.

Du Fu's "The rich have wine and meat, while the streets are filled with frozen corpses" had a profound influence on the Tang Dynasty and subsequent dynasties. Frozen corpses became a very important factor in judging the prosperity of an era.

Among the hundreds of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty, only a thousand froze to death.

Even if we make the harshest judgment, we will not mention the luxury of wine and meat in the rich families, but there are very few people who freeze to death.

Moreover, the government offices in various places reported the real cause of death of the "frozen corpses". More than half of the people were frozen to death after falling down on the roadside after being drunk.

To put it in plain words, the Ming Dynasty allowed these people to eat too much and they could even afford to drink, so they deserved to die.

Zhang Juzheng made the final decision and said loudly: "This is a good news. Come on, present it to Yuxi Palace."

Fu Yingzhen, the new secretary of the Cabinet and a disciple of the Prime Minister, pushed the door and walked into the Government Affairs Hall, respectfully took the auspicious report, and went to Yuxi Palace.

Liu Tai, the former Cabinet Secretary and disciple of the Prime Minister, resigned from his post on the first day of the first lunar month in the 41st year of Jiajing, which was yesterday, and went to the next county in Liaodong Town to serve as the county magistrate.

Liu Tai's dismissal and appointment were both issued on the same day, and Fu Yingzhen made the transition seamlessly.

Don’t give any “interested person” the opportunity to fill in the gaps and seize power.

Gao Gong looked at the back of Fu Yingzhen's head. Somehow, he seemed to see some rebellion in him. The quality of Yuanfu's disciples was really poor.

For all the unfinished matters, the Five Elders would approve them if they could, and if they could not, they would have them sent to the Yuxi Palace for His Majesty's approval.

There are five people, plus the Yuan Fu who can do the work of two people, which is equivalent to six people managing the affairs at the same time, and the speed is extremely fast.

The transition to the New Year's plans of the six ministries requires the cabinet elders to make a collective decision first, and then report to the emperor.

The Ministry of Personnel’s plan remains the same, which is to make changes to the Ming Dynasty’s redundant officials, redundant staff, redundant expenses, and the resulting poverty and weakness problems.

But anyone who has been in the officialdom knows that the slogan of "three redundancies and two accumulations" will always remain just a slogan.

Anyone who really tries to solve the problem will be strongly criticized and obstructed by the Ministry of Personnel.

The proposal of Yang Bo, the Minister of Personnel.

Zhang Juzheng, who was in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel, naturally had no reason to object. Gao Gong and Yang Bo had always been close to each other, so he would not start a fight with his old friend.

The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister occupied two seats in the voting, which were the two largest seats. Together with Li Chunfang's seat, they occupied the majority in the cabinet.

Hu Zongxian and Chen Yiqin rejected the changes proposed by the Ministry of Personnel to solve the problems of "three redundancies and two backlogs" and abstained from voting.

The Ministry of Revenue, like the Ministry of Personnel, is always shouting "increase revenue and reduce expenditure", but never takes any action. It's all clichés that leave people speechless.

However, as an office that directly holds the position of Shangshu and is the deputy prime minister of the cabinet, it has an innate advantage in the drafting of bills.

Zhang Juzheng also took a fancy to the Ministry of Revenue's proposal to start trade with the West this year and approved it.

Li Chunfang passed.

Hu Zongxian and Chen Yiqin abstained from voting again.

The reason was simple. The two men believed that last year, the royal families and Chaozhou merchants' private ships had dumped a large amount of goods to the West. They could not make much money from tea, silk and porcelain. Instead of building a huge fleet, it would be better to send a few small boats to the West to explore the way.

Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong still hold the same view that a large fleet is a means of demonstrating national strength. They do not have to make money, but the reputation of the Ming Dynasty must be restored.

In short, with three votes in favor and two votes in favor, the Ministry of Revenue's New Year's plan was also approved within the cabinet.

There is no need to say much about the Ministry of Rites’ New Year’s plan. Plans have already been made for this year and the next ten years.

Build schools, enlighten people, and protect children.

This was a matter decided by His Majesty. Although the Minister of Rites Hai Rui did not come to Beijing, it did not affect anything.

Passed unanimously.

Ministry of War.

Hu Zongxian concurrently held the position of Shangshu, and the New Year's plan was simple: the separation of military and politics officially began.

The initial draft has been completed and approved by His Majesty. The cabinet has no reason to object and it passed unanimously.

The Ministry of Justice, together with the Censorate, the Dali Temple and the three judicial departments will organize a big event in the new year to reiterate the unjust imprisonments in the country over the past ten years.

It is to review the legal and criminal files of the Ming Dynasty over the past ten years, identify the unjust, false and wrong cases, and redress them.

Old cases and pending cases must be resolved. If the county court cannot solve them, then go to the prefectural court. If the prefectural court cannot solve them, then go to the provincial judicial office. If the provincial government cannot solve them, then the three judicial offices will send special personnel to solve them.

This New Year's plan was named after the Minister of Justice Pan En, but several cabinet ministers could see that it was the work of Yan Jing, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the New Metropolitan Censorate.

To accurately identify unjust, false and wrongly convicted cases from the vast amount of case files and cold texts is, in the eyes of the cabinet, an unpleasant task.

But I have to say that this is a great thing for the people. After all, they are not the ones who suffer, and it was passed unanimously.

And the Ministry of Industry’s New Year’s plan.

The ministers almost fell off their chairs. "The Ministry of Industry requested millions of silver to build straight roads across the country!"

Book recommendation: "The Starry Continent of the Han Dynasty". Readers who like the comic-like feeling of the Three Kingdoms can go and take a look. The author is an experienced author, l5, and his strength is guaranteed.

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(End of this chapter)