Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

As the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp and holding the title of earl, Zhang Shikang has been promoted from the last to the middle among the military officials.

He was surrounded by a group of plump and well-fed nobles and relatives. Naturally, all of them had been cheated by Zhang Shikang. Except for a few nobles and relatives whose children were under Zhang Shikang's command, all of them were more or less hostile.

But Zhang Shikang didn't care. It was fine if no one paid attention to him. He was happy to have some free time.

A moment later, Emperor Chongzhen walked into the hall and sat on the dragon throne with a solemn expression. Wang Chengen stood beside the dragon throne holding a whisk in his hand.

After the ceremony, according to the rules, the first thing to discuss should be the issue of the war. Officials from various departments looked at Zhang Shikang.

Although the Beijing Camp was not the main force resisting the Jianlu, Zhang Shikang had just returned from the front line and had a better understanding of the war. He gave a general account of the current stalemate with the Jiannu, neither exaggerating nor belittling himself.

Regardless of the court officials' stance, they all hoped to drive the Jianlu out of the interior as soon as possible, so they did not make things difficult.

Emperor Chongzhen said nothing during the entire process. After the war report, according to the rules, it was time for the ministers to report on their affairs. The official from the Ministry of Revenue was about to step forward, but was stopped by Emperor Chongzhen by waving his hand.

He signaled to Wang Chengen, who quickly picked up a memorial from the table beside him and read it out in public:

"Your servant, Zuo Liangyu, the Earl of Ningnan, pays respect to you.

On the night of October 20, the 11th year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong, the lieutenant general of Xunyang, rebelled again. He used a treacherous trick to open the city gate and led 40,000 troops to raid the military camp.

The governor of three provinces, Xiong Wencan, was killed in the battle, and the Xunyang military camp was completely unprepared. Due to the death of Governor Xiong, the military camp lost its command and suffered heavy losses.

Officials from the Provincial Government, the Ministry of Justice, the Military Commission and other departments were all slaughtered, and many civilians in the city were also massacred.

When I led my troops to Xunyang City, Xianzhong had already led his troops to the southeast. I guessed that his intention was to enter Sichuan.

Upon hearing the news, Naluo Rucai and Ma Shouying rebelled one after another and joined forces with Xianzhong.

It is said that Li Zicheng and his generals did not die, but were hiding in Kuizhou Prefecture, Sichuan, and had gathered a crowd of over 10,000.

Xianzhong's elite troops were all cavalry. Although I was charging in the front, my infantry also fought bravely. After a day and night of fighting, we were defeated and temporarily stationed in Shizhou Wei.

The people in Huguang, Sichuan and other places were filled with resentment due to the previous grain collection, and they all wanted to join the bandits.

I am alone and helpless, and I beg Your Majesty with tears and blood to send troops to support me as soon as possible.

Your servant Zuo Liangyu bows a hundred times. "

As soon as this memorial was read out, all the ministers in the hall were shocked. Many officials were even frightened by the news. The hall soon began to hear the officials discussing with each other.

"The bandits are rising again, what should we do?"

"The court was extremely kind and righteous to Zhang Xianzhong, but Zhang Xianzhong did not appreciate the court's kindness and dared to take advantage of the invasion of the Jianlu to rebel. This was truly ungentlemanly."

"Now the Jian barbarians are wreaking havoc in the capital, and the bandits are causing chaos in Huguang and Sichuan. They have many followers and the national treasury is empty. What can we do?"

"Yes, the Jianlu alone has made the imperial court exhausted, and now the bandits have returned with an overwhelming force. Is it possible that the Ming Dynasty... is it really going to..."

……

Most of the court officials were very panicked. As officials in the capital, no one knew the current situation of the national treasury better than them. Just supplying money and grain to Yang Ge's ministry had already resulted in a huge deficit.

It is no wonder that some court officials are so discouraged. Now that the bandits have risen again, the court will simply not be able to continue.

But most of those who panicked were middle and low-level officials in various departments, such as the ministers of the six ministries or cabinet ministers, and they seemed to be relatively calm.

At least that's what it looks like.

"quiet!"

Wang Chengen flicked his whisk and stopped the ministers whose voices were getting louder and louder.

Emperor Chongzhen frowned and said:

"I was also quite shocked when I heard this memorial. I originally thought that the bandits had been pacified and the world was at peace.

But Yang Sichang dared to conceal the truth, causing our Ming Dynasty to suffer such a disaster.

I have recalled Yang Sichang, and he is now imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice.

My dear ministers, please discuss what crime Yang Sichang should be punished for."

The words of Emperor Chongzhen set the tone for today's agenda, and Emperor Chongzhen had previously called Yang Sichang "Mr. Yang".

Even when Yang Sichang was at a disadvantage in the war, Emperor Chongzhen still defended him. But now not only has the name changed, but even the tone and expression have changed.

All the officials present were shrewd people. Even if they had not colluded with each other in private, they immediately began to impeach and accuse Yang Sichang.

"Minister Yang's actions are irresponsible to our Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty should dismiss him and investigate him, and redress the injustice for the dead officials!"

"Lord Wang, it's more than that! This Yang Gebu loves reputation. He dared to deceive the world. I think he did it just to leave a name in history.

But he has disregarded the people of the world and the safety of the court. Such a traitor should be executed!"

"Lord Sun's words make sense. I second your opinion."

"Your Majesty, I want to impeach Yang Gebu. He is extravagant and licentious. He even brought his own chef to the military camp. Even though the country is in such a difficult situation, he still prepares three meals a day of delicacies from land and sea. Such behavior is truly despicable."

"I have heard what Lord Wu said. I also heard that Lord Yang is narrow-minded and has taken away many of the military merits and attributed them to himself."

"Not only that, I also heard that Lord Yang has tried to murder the commander of the military garrison!"

"Then why don't you let him be Yang Gebu? Although he is famous, he is a traitor to the country. If such a traitor is not removed, how can the court be safe?"

……

The court officials were talking more and more about Yang Sichang, and the way they addressed him changed from "Yang Gebu" at the beginning, to "Mr. Yang", to calling him by his name, and finally... to "traitor to the country".

Even among the military officials, there were many nobles who were very dissatisfied with Yang Sichang. The reasons varied, but generally it was because they failed to gain any benefits from Yang Sichang.

Even if Yang Sichang was present at this time, he would have been unable to defend himself. As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it; when a drum is broken, everyone beats it. All the officials were denouncing Yang Sichang's crimes.

There were even more people who brought up old issues, and the censors of the Censorate who were making groundless accusations were even more outrageous, even impeaching Yang Sichang for buying a mansion in his hometown and forcibly abducting women.

Yang Sichang was the Minister of War, Commander-in-Chief, Grand Tutor, and Pillar of the State, but now he is said to be worthless by them.

Those who once attached themselves to Yang Sichang also hurriedly distanced themselves from him. Some even worse, took advantage of his misfortune and wanted to step on him and spit in his face.

The more glorious you were in the past, the more hated and miserable you are now.

In the end, seeing the public's excitement, the Cabinet Chief Liu Yuliang finally stood up and made a summary speech.

"Your Majesty, Yang Sichang's actions are outrageous to both humans and gods, and are tantamount to treason. His personal moral failures are secondary.

The Ming Dynasty is in its current predicament because of this man, and he should be punished by death.

I, your Majesty, dare to ask you to order the execution of Yang Sichang and his entire clan, so that the people of the world can be comforted!"

During the entire discussion of the court officials, Zhang Shikang did not say a word. He just watched and listened quietly.

But the more Zhang Shikang listened, the more he felt that this group of court officials were really hateful. They were all settling scores after the event. Even if Yang Sichang had so many problems, what were you doing in the first place?

He despised those who took advantage of others' misfortunes the most, and the soldiers who were fighting for their lives far away outside feared the same thing the most.

These guys who always quote classics but have never even seen a battlefield can wipe out a person's contribution with just a few words. It's really despicable.

Seeing that Brother Chongzhen remained silent, as if he was about to approve the request, he could not help but frowned and said:

"Sir Liu, what does Yang Sichang's crime have to do with his clansmen?

It was hard for Benber not to suspect that you were taking advantage of the situation to get revenge.

Although Yang Sichang is guilty, is it not his credit that you have been able to stay safely in the capital for the past two years?

Have all your consciences been eaten by dogs?"

……