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

After the ministers finished their greetings, Emperor Chongzhen said with a pleasant face:

"I still remember that when the news of the rebellion came from Jiangnan last year, the entire court was shocked.

Oh, at that time there weren’t as many noble families in the court as there are today.

However, in less than a year, these rebels were defeated by my Marquis Guanjun.

After this battle, not only did the people of our Ming Dynasty gain land, but the Ming Dynasty court was no longer as chaotic as before.

I should actually thank those great scholars of Donglin, because they made me realize that my Ming Dynasty is so prosperous.

You should probably thank them. If they hadn't died, you wouldn't have been able to stand in this court."

Although Emperor Chongzhen had a smile on his face, his words made the ministers in the court shudder.

When Emperor Chongzhen first ascended the throne he was only in his teens and he almost let the civil servants in the court do whatever they wanted, but now things are completely different.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen already had a condescending attitude towards the court officials. If you do your job well, you will be a high-ranking official in the court.

If you have evil intentions and dare to deceive the emperor, no matter who you are, you will be sent to see your grandmother as quickly as possible.

This is the confidence given to him by the 100,000 soldiers of the Beijing Camp Army, and also the confidence given to him by the Marquis of Guanjun.

"Wang Daban'er, please read out the rewards."

Emperor Chongzhen looked around at his court officials and found that no one was blind enough to stand up and speak for the Donglin Party, so he gave orders to Wang Chengen.

Wang Chengen then took out the draft edict from the imperial desk behind him and read it aloud:

"Sun Weifan, deputy assistant general of the Beijing Army and Marquis of Huaining, has made contributions in suppressing the rebellion and was promoted to Grand Tutor and promoted to Pillar of the State. He was awarded a python robe and two hundred taels of gold.

Niu Gang, deputy general of the Beijing army and Earl of Anping, was promoted to Shao Bao and then to Hu Jun, and was awarded a Feiyu suit and one hundred taels of gold.

Huang Degong, the general of the Yongwei Camp and the Prince's Grand Tutor, was promoted to Junior Tutor, then to Guard General, and conferred the title of Earl of Wugong. He was awarded a Feiyu robe and 150 taels of gold.

The Lieutenant General of the Capital Army and the victorious Jinglu Bo Sun was appointed as the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, and was promoted to the rank of Commander of the Light Chariots. He was awarded a Feiyu uniform and one hundred taels of gold.

Xu Wenyuan, the lieutenant general of the Beijing army and the Earl of Bazhou, was appointed as the Prince's Grand Tutor, promoted to the rank of Light Chariot Commander, awarded a Feiyu suit and one hundred taels of gold.

Zheng Chong, the commander of the artillery battalion of the capital army and the Marquis of Wuyi, was appointed as the Prince's Grand Tutor and promoted to the rank of Light Chariot Commander. He was awarded a Feiyu uniform and one hundred taels of gold.

Wang Jingduo, the commander of the Beijing Army's firearms battalion and the Marquis of Nanpi, was given the title of Prince Taibao and promoted to the rank of Light Cavalry Commander. He was awarded a Feiyu uniform and one hundred taels of gold.

Chen Tao, the lieutenant general of the Beijing Army's Firearms Battalion and the Earl of Mancheng, was appointed as the Prince's Grand Tutor and promoted to the rank of Light Cavalry Commander. He was awarded a Feiyu uniform and one hundred taels of gold.

Song Liangzu, the commander of the Beijing Army's firearms battalion and the Earl of Dong'an, was appointed as the Prince's Grand Tutor and promoted to the rank of Light Cavalry Commander. He was awarded a Feiyu uniform and one hundred taels of gold.

Wei Shuangyong, the lieutenant general of the cavalry camp of the Beijing army and the Earl of Anzhou, was promoted to the rank of Junior Teacher and then to the rank of Guard General. He was awarded a Feiyu uniform and 150 taels of gold.

……

Zhang Shikang, the Grand Marshal of the Army and Marquis of Guanjun, was the first to quell the rebellion. He was promoted to Grand Tutor and Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, and promoted to Right Pillar of the State. He was awarded a python robe and five hundred taels of gold.

The decree of reward was very long, and it took Wang Chengen half a quarter of an hour to finish reading it.

The entire decree of reward can be said to be unremarkable, mainly because the Southern Army was too weak. Only the battle of Ningguo Mansion and Huang Degong's two battles outside the city of Nanjing could be considered major battles.

Huang Degong was finally awarded the title of earl because of his previous efforts in suppressing bandits and his military achievements this time.

Zhang Shikang, who was only 21 years old, was promoted directly to the highest level of military honor because of his contribution in suppressing the rebellion.

In addition to the previous rewards from Emperor Chongzhen, Zhang Shikang had already gathered the titles of Grand Tutor, Grand Protector and Grand Master.

Among the titles, the Three Dukes were almost the highest aspiration of all civil and military officials in the court, but basically 99% of the court officials could not obtain them, and most of the remaining 1% were posthumously awarded.

There are only a handful of Three Dukes still alive, but Zhang Shikang has already collected all the rewards of the Three Dukes.

Although Zhang Shikang felt that these rewards were unremarkable, there was still a sour atmosphere in the court.

The military generals of the Beijing army who were specifically named for the reward all knelt on the ground to express their gratitude, and Emperor Chongzhen smiled and asked them to stand up.

"Speaking of which, perhaps after today, the Beijing Army can no longer be called the Beijing Army." Emperor Chongzhen said again.

After this statement was made, all the civil and military officials in the court were somewhat confused. What else should they call it if not the Beijing Army?

Although a large number of reform policies had been determined during the previous court meeting, since they were just ideas at the beginning and needed to be improved, the cabinet officials did not spread them without authorization.

After more than ten days of repeated discussions by the cabinet ministers, a conclusion was finally reached. This was also the reason why Emperor Chongzhen changed the venue of court meetings to the Huangji Hall.

Reforms in the country have always been major events, and this year's reform can almost be regarded as a comprehensive reform, which should of course be announced to the world.

"Wang Daban'er, please announce the decree." Emperor Chongzhen did not keep his ministers waiting for too long.

Wang Chengen then took out the imperial edict.

"Fengtian Chengyun Emperor, the imperial edict said:

I have inherited the throne for thirteen years. Since taking the throne, I have been worried day and night and have not dared to forget the trust of my ancestors.

However, the court was full of treacherous officials and greedy people, which led to the rise of bandits and the suffering of the people.

Then, Zhang Shikang, Marquis of Guanjun, assisted me in suppressing the rebellion, clearing the land and distributing it to the people, which led to the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty today.

However, our Great Ming has been plagued by long-standing problems. The people are shackled and burdened, and the same is true for the imperial court.

For the long-term benefit of the country, I intend to reform the system. There are five points and ten discussions, all for the purpose of reducing the burden on my people.

The details of the reform are that all loyal citizens of the Ming Dynasty can read the Ming Monthly Report in all prefectures and counties.

Announce it to the world and let everyone know.

Admire this. "

After reading this formal decree, Wang Chengen directly picked up the reform details and continued to read:

“From today on, the Beijing Army, the Garrison Army, and the Border Army will be restructured.

The imperial edict abolished the garrison troops and abolished military farming.

The newly formed Yongning Army has a strength of 600,000 soldiers and is under the control of the Ministry of War.

The border army was changed to the Huben Army, the Five Military Commandery was changed to the Commandery, and a first-rank commander was appointed with a total of 400,000 soldiers.

The official establishment of the original Five Military Governor's Office was completely abolished, and the officials of the new Governor's Office must have served in the border army, and only those who had military achievements and rich united front experience would be accepted.

The first governor of the new military governor's office was recommended by Marshal Zhang Shikang, and was in charge of the military garrisons in the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty.

From now on, the Beijing Army will be renamed the Guards, the Beijing Camp Commander will be renamed the Marshal, a first-rank official title, and the Beijing Camp Deputy Assistant Manager will be renamed the Deputy Marshal, with two first-rank deputy marshals.

The Yongning Army, Huben Army, and Imperial Guards Army were all under the command of Zhang Shikang, the Grand Marshal of the Army.

The specific military regulations and pay details of the three armies will not be repeated here as they are all published in detail in the Daming Monthly and made public.

Imperial edict: In view of the current weak state of the Ming navy, for the sake of long-term planning, the Ming navy should be rebuilt, with the area north of Dagu in Tianjin as a naval port, and one admiral and one deputy admiral appointed.

Zhang Shikang was the first admiral of the Ming Dynasty's rebuilt navy, which was under the command of the Marshal of the Army.

……