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

On the 24th, morning court at Huangji Gate.

Zhang Shikang was wearing a dragon robe and was already at the front of the train.

The emperor had not arrived yet, and Taining Marquis Chen Yanzuo and others glanced at Zhang Shikang from time to time, as if they were curious about why this kid suddenly came to the court.

Not only Zhang Shikang, but also Xu Wenyuan, Sun Dasheng, Zheng Chong and other young and vigorous officials came with him.

After experiencing two world wars, these descendants of nobles have obtained titles and military positions, and they are also qualified to stand here.

But Sun Dasheng and Zheng Chong are too young after all, and they seem particularly out of place standing among a group of fathers.

Most of the nobles and relatives were still unaware of what had happened in Shanxi, and they only felt that the atmosphere in the court today was a little strange.

Not only did the young and vigorous group represented by Zhang Shikang come, but the group of civil servants also seemed a little abnormal.

Everyone stood straight, looking at their noses and their noses at their hearts, with no expression of sadness or joy on their faces. Although there were rules in the court, there were always people whispering to each other on weekdays.

But now the court was unusually quiet, and none of the civil officials spoke. However, Chen Yanzuo still noticed something wrong from the actions of some of the officials.

For example, there were several court officials holding memorials, and their fingers were shaking as they held the memorials. This was certainly not because of fear.

What happened to make these old bastards so angry? I'm really curious.

Zhang Shikang also turned his head to look at Zheng Sanjun and others. He knew very well that this was the calm before the storm.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Emperor Chongzhen came to the dragon throne to the sound of Wang Chengen's singing.

After the civil and military officials had saluted, as soon as Wang Chengen asked the officials to report, Zheng Sanjun came out and said:

"Your Majesty, I was shocked to hear about the rebellion of Shanxi merchants last night. The Governor of Xuanda, Lu Xiangsheng, and the Governor of Hanzhong, Sun Chuanting, joined forces to kill the Shanxi merchants for no reason.

I wonder if Your Majesty knows about this?"

Generally speaking, even if the ministers wanted to deal with someone, the first person to speak would be either the Six Departments' Censors or the Censor of the Censorate.

Finally, it was the turn of the initiators of this matter - the ministers or cabinet ministers of various departments - to summarize their opinions.

Zheng Sanjun, as the Minister of Personnel, was the first to speak, which shows how much shock this incident had on the court officials.

Zheng Sanjun learned the news when it was almost five o'clock in the morning. He was so shocked that he lost all sleepiness. He immediately ordered his servants to quickly inform other colleagues of the news.

Zheng Sanjun didn't sleep until the morning court session, and until now, he was still thinking about the contents of the letter.

If Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting dared to do this, then Zhang Shikang must be involved.

However, Zhang Shikang has already replaced Yang Sichang and become the biggest enemy of the Donglin Party.

"Alas, I just learned the news as well." Emperor Chongzhen sighed.

Hearing the emperor sigh, everyone thought that he was feeling sorry for the Shanxi merchants. Several officials were about to denounce Lu Xiangsheng's crimes, but unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen continued:

"I have heard that merchants have no country, but I never thought that those Shanxi merchants would actually dare to collude with foreign countries. Thanks to the sharp eyes of Lu Qing and Sun Qing, they saw through the plot of these traitors."

When Emperor Chongzhen said this, he was stating his own position and at the same time was defining the nature of this group of Shanxi merchants.

But the civil servants were unwilling to admit it, so Zheng Sanjun continued:

"Your Majesty, how can you easily believe their one-sided words? This is not what a wise ruler would do."

"Oh, if His Majesty didn't listen to you, he is not a wise ruler. How can this be justified?

Could it be that your words are the golden rule?" Bazhou Earl Xu Wenyuan retorted.

As a backbone of the Second Sons Group and a loyal supporter of Zhang Shikang, Xu Wenyuan certainly knew that he couldn't let his eldest brother do everything personally, as that would be too embarrassing.

After all, Xu Wenyuan was also born into a wealthy family, so these words naturally did not sound so nice to him. Under Zhang Shikang's words and deeds, the brothers of the Second Sons Group did not have a good impression of this group of civil servants.

"I am talking to His Majesty, how dare you, a young man, talk nonsense?"

Zheng Sanjun was so angry that his nose was crooked when he saw this. After saying this, he glanced at Duke Dingguo Xu Yunzhen, meaning that if you don't take good care of your son, don't blame me for getting into trouble.

In one day, almost all Shanxi merchants were wiped out. The interests involved were so huge that those present certainly knew how serious it was.

However, Duke Dingguo Xu Yunzhen just glanced at Zheng Sanjun and did not interfere with his son's actions at all.

What a joke. In the court, everyone is equal, only the matter is discussed. Aren't you just taking advantage of your seniority?

As Duke Dingguo, Xu Yunzhen, like Zhang Zhiji, had no fear at all towards senior officials in the cabinet or even the six ministries.

Ever since Zhang Shikang was named Grand Marshal by Emperor Chongzhen, Xu Yunzhen understood that the fate of Duke Dingguo was already tied to this man.

If Zhang Shikang is fine, then his son and even he, the Duke Dingguo, will be safe.

But if Zhang Shikang fell, based on Xu Yunzhen's understanding of civil servants, that group of people would definitely add insult to injury.

For now, whether it is Xu Yunzhen or Taining Hou Chen Yanzuo and others, all those who have their children in the Beijing camp are quite satisfied with the current situation.

It is a great honor for a father and son to serve in the same court, no matter for a civil official or a military official, not to mention that their own children have obtained the title through real military merit.

Seeing the children energetically arguing with the civil servants, they felt extremely satisfied.

"What do you mean by junior? Brother Wenyuan is the Earl of Bazhou, and his rank is much higher than yours.

Besides, this is the imperial court, and matters should be discussed based on facts. Do we have to rank them according to seniority?

You, Lord Zheng, are older, so you are right? Is that what you mean?" Jinglu Bo Sun Dasheng also stood up and shouted.

Sun Dasheng is tall and strong, with a loud voice and a bad temper.

Zheng Sanjun was about to retort, but Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand to stop the argument. He didn't want to start a quarrel right after entering the court, so he said:

"Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting can be considered as old ministers in the court. They are calm and steady. I think if they dare to do this, there must be a reason.

"Marquis Guanjun, these two are your subordinates. You should know this, right?"

The whole thing was caused by this guy. Emperor Chongzhen was worried that he would make mistakes if he spoke too much, so he calmly put the big ball in front of Zhang Shikang.

Zhang Shikang caught the ball steadily and said:

"Your Majesty, I know about this matter.

During the Battle of Jingshui, when the Jiannu were fleeing, I captured many merchants who were accompanying them, most of whom were merchants from Shanxi.

At that time, I was curious about why these Shanxi merchants followed the Jiannu, so I tortured them, only to find out that the Shanxi merchants were secretly aiding the enemy for the sake of profit.

There is witnesses and physical evidence of this incident. Many of the supplies looted by the Jiannu were intercepted in the caravan where that group of people was.

So I gave orders to Lords Lu and Sun to investigate the matter thoroughly. "

Upon hearing this, the Cabinet Chief Liu Yuliang frowned and seemed very angry.

"Since we only let the two of them investigate the case, how dare they resort to violence?

There are more than a thousand people! They kill people without any reason, and dare to do this without any conviction. Isn't this treating the laws of the Ming Dynasty as a joke?

Also, Champion Marquis, didn't you say at the time that no supplies were intercepted?"

The cabinet ministers were present at the scene at the time and hoped in front of the emperor that the seized materials could be returned to their original owners. However, all the generals, including Zhang Shikang, denied that this had happened.

Now it is brought out as evidence again. Liu Yuliang thinks Zhang Shikang is really shameless.

But he still had too little experience. Zhang Shikang said calmly:

“It seems that a lot of people died, but Elder Liu, this doesn’t seem to prove that the Shanxi merchants are innocent, right?

Is it not possible that the Shanxi merchants became desperate after learning that the truth had been revealed, and Lord Lu had no choice but to resort to force?

As for the matter of intercepted supplies, I only discovered it during an investigation later, but I forgot to tell you.

There weren't many supplies, just one truck, which seemed to belong to a retired senior official from Gaoyang.

If you need it, I'll send it to you in a few days." Zhang Shikang said immediately.

……