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

Zhang Shikang's voice was so loud that countless officials looked at him.

There was indignation and confusion in these eyes.

Zhang Shikang had previously surrounded the Ministry of Revenue and had a feud with Yang Sichang. Later, they also had many quarrels in the court. Logically, he and Yang Sichang were not of the same kind.

Many people know this, but even if they are confused, they do not agree with what Zhang Shikang said.

But most people present knew what kind of person Zhang Shikang was, and they also knew that the emperor favored this man, so few dared to be the first to speak out.

"What do you mean, Master Zhang? We are discussing Yang Sichang's crimes, and we all have the same idea. Could it be that everyone is waiting for an opportunity to take revenge?

Do you have any evidence?"

However, the chief minister of the cabinet, Liu Yuliang, was not afraid of Zhang Shikang. The boy's attitude just now was almost like he was scolding him in the face. How could he tolerate this?

"Does this require evidence? Haven't you Donglin Party members been trying to trip up Yang Sichang for a long time?

You, you, and you, you all know, but you all pretend to be righteous.

Are you still afraid of what Benbo will say?"

Zhang Shikang pointed his fingers back and forth, pointing out the Donglin Party members he knew one by one.

Whoever he pointed at would deliberately dodge sideways.

It's quite funny to say that all the civil and military officials in the court knew which people were in the same faction with which people, but whether they were arguing or fighting in the court, they all agreed not to mention the factional struggle.

Perhaps they cared about their reputation, or perhaps they didn't want the emperor to know that they were forming a clique.

But how could the emperor not know anything about the situation?

To put it bluntly, everyone is just acting on this basis.

But Zhang Shikang had no scruples. He only knew that this group of Donglin Party members were obviously in the same group, but he just refused to admit it.

Well, the more you deny it, the more I'll say it.

Donglin Party, Donglin Party, you are Donglin Party.

Liu Yuliang was very angry when he heard this. He didn't know how to refute this guy who didn't play by the rules.

Because what Zhang Shikang said was all true, but even when the court officials quarreled on weekdays, they tacitly agreed not to bring up the issue of party disputes.

As one of the pillars of the Donglin Party, Liu Yuliang, as the chief minister of the cabinet, was the first to bear the brunt of overthrowing Yang Sichang. Moreover, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

When the Minister of Personnel Zheng Sanjun saw that Liu Yuliang was speechless, he was about to step forward to help, but Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand to stop the quarrel.

"Well, Yang Sichang is definitely guilty, and I am extremely angry.

But what Guan Junbo said is not without reason. After all, he did make contributions.

I wish that Yang Sichang be sentenced to death, his property confiscated, and his family members spared."

In fact, Emperor Chongzhen probably didn't feel very relieved by this handling of the matter.

His disappointment with Yang Sichang had turned into hatred, which was even stronger than that of Donglin Party members such as Liu Yuliang.

After all, what Yang Sichang let down was not the Donglin Party, but the Ming Dynasty and himself.

But he still suppressed his hatred and agreed to Zhang Shikang's proposal. Emperor Chongzhen had two main considerations.

Firstly, Zhang Shikang's words were so offensive. If he didn't stop them in time, he might break up with Liu Yuliang and the others early.

Now he is already troubled by internal and external troubles. If there is another rampant fighting in the court, it will be a move that will lead to the destruction of the country. He has to take precautions before it happens.

The Donglin Party must be dealt with, but not now.

Secondly, it was mainly because of what Zhang Shikang said last night. Yang Sichang was a key military figure after all. If Yang Sichang punished him too harshly, what would the governors and governors-general of the provinces think? What would the generals of other military towns think?

They may all be restrained by this and dare not take any risks again. After all, if they don't make mistakes, everything may be fine, but if they make a mistake, Yang Sichang will be a lesson for them.

Now is the time to use troops. If the generals lose their fighting spirit, the gains will outweigh the losses.

Even though Emperor Chongzhen's words set the tone for Yang Sichang's guilt, Zhang Shikang did not say much and returned to the military official group.

But Zheng Sanjun and others still stood up. They did not dare to refute the emperor's doubts, but strongly suggested adding one more item to the punishment.

Parade in public.

It was a foregone conclusion that Yang Sichang would die. Whether it was slow slicing or the extermination of his entire clan, it didn't matter to the Donglin Party.

But parading through the streets is important. Don’t you, Yang Sichang, care about face and reputation?

Then let you experience the feeling of falling from heaven to earth, let them know how you deceived them, and let all the people in the capital city spit on you.

Hiss—Zhang Shikang took a breath of cold air.

Not only does it kill people, it also destroys their hearts. How terrible!

But Zhang Shikang did not refute it again. He saved Yang Sichang's three clans only out of justice.

People are always responsible for their own actions.

Emperor Chongzhen certainly did not object at all, and felt that this was how it should be and that Yang Sichang deserved it.

After Emperor Chongzhen agreed to the proposal of parading through the streets, Liu Yuliang, Zheng Sanjun and others returned to the train with satisfaction.

Taking advantage of this gap, Zheng Sanjun and Liu Yuliang even whispered to each other.

Not only the two of them, officials from various departments were also whispering.

Everyone understood that although Yang Sichang had fallen, the Jiannu were still attacking everywhere in the capital.

In addition, with the incident of bandits, they must have guessed that the emperor would probably seek their advice and nominate a candidate to succeed Yang Sichang.

According to the ideas of Liu Yuliang, Zheng Sanjun and others, they would definitely nominate Hong Chengchou as the governor of the three borders of Shaanxi.

Almost all the civil and military officials in the court knew that Hong Chengchou had a close relationship with Zheng Sanjun and other Donglin Party members, but precisely because of this, they could not make direct suggestions.

After all, they still have to pretend, so it would be best to find a general who is not very popular, such as the Governor-General of Xuanda, Lu Xiangsheng, or several other governors.

According to their thinking, they would first recommend those people who had flaws or were not popular in the court, and then instruct their colleagues in various departments to refute them.

After repeated considerations and discussions, Hong Chengchou was finally promoted, which was what everyone wanted and everyone was happy.

Of course Zhang Shikang had no idea what they were whispering about. He just felt that this group of people were like flies and were very annoying.

After a moment, Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand to stop the court officials' discussions.

"Yang Sichang was executed, but the Jianlu did not retreat, and bandits rose up again in the southwest.

The Ming Dynasty still needs a pillar who dares to stand up to the enemy and support the Ming Dynasty."

As he spoke, Emperor Chongzhen glanced at Zhang Shikang intentionally or unintentionally.

Zhang Shikang knew it was coming.

He specifically told this brother last night that he was fine with working, but titles like governor or governor-general were too vulgar, and he had to think of a more domineering official position for him.

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, a minister from the Ministry of Personnel wanted to stand up and make a recommendation, but Emperor Chongzhen did not give him the chance at all. Instead, he signaled Wang Chengen to take out a draft edict.

Wang Chengen opened the draft edict, cleared his throat and read aloud:

"Appoint Zhang Shikang, the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Camp, as..."

Wang Chengen paused for a rare moment. This draft edict was written by Emperor Chongzhen before the early morning court session, and he himself didn't know what the emperor had written.

He showed a surprised expression on his face, and after confirming it, he continued to read:

"The might of the dragon is more powerful than the general of the army of the world."

……