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

When Yang Sichang saw Zhang Shikang, he knew that he might be concerned about the Ministry of Revenue's grain and fodder issue, and he had an idea in his mind.

This was just something he did casually. He just couldn't stand this kid and wondered why he was suddenly valued by the emperor. He wanted to use the issue of food and fodder to see how Zhang Shikang would react.

If Zhang Shikang swallowed his anger, it would mean that this guy was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and he would naturally ignore him in the future. No one was worthy of his attention, Yang Sichang.

At the moment, it seems that this kid is nothing special. He looks extremely angry and has no cunning at all. Yang Sichang sneered in his heart.

But no matter what, we have to wait until he pays his respects to the emperor, right?

Also, I am the same age as my father, so who do you call "dazi"?

He is so vulgar and uneducated, he is indeed a playboy.

Yang Sichang was not angry when he heard this, and he still bowed to pay his respects to Emperor Chongzhen. How could he be so petty as to argue with a dandy boy?

Besides, the emperor would never watch this person whimpering and barking here, which is really a disgrace to society.

But after waiting for a while, Yang Sichang saw that the emperor was just sitting on the dragon throne without any expression, and he couldn't help but frowned.

"Yang Sichang, this admiral is asking you a question!"

Zhang Shikang frowned. Why are you pretending to be confused, old man?

Yang Sichang raised his beard, and seeing that Emperor Chongzhen remained silent, he could not help but frown. He glanced at Zhang Shikang and said:

"I have never asked the Ministry of Revenue to deliberately delay the payment of grain and fodder to the Beijing camp. This is completely false. Admiral Zhang has slandered me in this way. I can only ask Your Majesty to make a decision."

Yang Sichang said this and bowed to Emperor Chongzhen. He felt that His Majesty was different these days. If it were usual, His Majesty would definitely protect him.

"Humph, I knew you were going to quibble. I've already been to the Ministry of Revenue, and they said it was you who wanted to requisition grain and fodder. Didn't His Majesty promise you that grain and fodder could be collected in Huguang?"

"I will be going out to fight the day after tomorrow, and the five thousand soldiers I am leading will also need food and fodder."

"That's your business. Why? Only your soldiers need to eat food, but my soldiers have to starve?

Fat old man, others may be afraid of you, but I am not! You must explain yourself to me today!"

When Yang Sichang heard Zhang Shikang call him a fat old man, his beard stood on end with anger. Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen was indifferent, he said angrily:

"Which is more important, the Beijing army or the suppression of bandits? Is there any need to say? How dare you, a scoundrel, insult me?"

Yang Sichang was obese and called himself Fat Old Man or Fat Monk. This name was mostly used to mock himself or people he was familiar with. Zhang Shikang's term "fat old man" was purely sarcastic, equivalent to pointing at a monk and calling him a bald monk.

Zhang Shikang snorted coldly when he heard this.

"How dare you say that? Who gave His Majesty a military order last year? Saying that the bandits would be wiped out within a year?

Now a year has passed, but the bandits are still running around. What, is it that the military order is no longer valid?

Or are you, a fat old man, simply trying to trick His Majesty? Shame on you!

You yourself have broken your promise to the world, but instead you force Your Majesty to collect three taxes, making Your Majesty break the promise of the world?

I have never seen such a shameless person!

How dare you live in this world? If I were you, I would have found a piece of tofu and pretended to be dead!"

When it comes to quarreling, Zhang Shikang has a family tradition. His father Zhang Zhiji has never lost a quarrel. When he hits someone, he hits him in the face; when he scolds someone, he exposes his weaknesses. The ancients were right.

Yang Sichang did promise in front of all the officials to wipe out the bandits within a year. Although he failed to do so in the end, Emperor Chongzhen did not blame him too much for it, and other officials rarely mentioned it in front of him.

After all, Yang Sichang currently holds a high position and has control over the military power, so no one dares to offend him.

He thought the matter was over, but he didn't expect that Zhang Shikang would dare to expose his scars in front of the emperor.

They also scolded him for being dishonest and shameless, saying that he had never suffered such a great humiliation since he entered the cabinet.

Yang Sichang's fat face turned from white to red, and then from red to black. He raised his finger and pointed at Zhang Shikang, but was so angry that he couldn't speak.

"you you……"

"What do you mean by 'you'? Why, you are relying on your power to not allow others to speak?

If you do something wrong, you must admit it. If you get beaten, you must stand at attention!

You can stop the world from talking, but you can't stop this admiral's mouth.

If you don't explain yourself clearly today, I will have people expose your shortcomings every day, so that everyone in the capital will know what a piece of shit you, Yang Sichang, are, hahahaha!"

Zhang Shikang was so happy to see that Yang Sichang was so angry with just a few words. Damn it, it's all your own fault!

Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen still did not say a word, Yang Sichang's mentality was completely broken by Zhang Shikang. He just felt that the emperor was favoring the other party. How could he care about being polite? He cursed back:

"I just don't want you to get the food! What's wrong?

You are a young boy who only knows how to talk. If you have the ability, go and wipe out the bandits. What if I give this task to you?

Your Majesty, how can you bear this humiliation? I resign!"

After saying this, Yang Sichang immediately knelt on the ground, his whole body shaking with anger.

The reason why Zhang Shikang slandered Yang Sichang so much was that he wanted to know what this man was thinking and why he wanted to trip him up.

But none of the court officials at that time had a simple mind, and it was extremely difficult to get to know their thoughts. The only way was to break their defenses and make them lose their minds.

Now it seems he has found the answer.

There was indeed no conflict of interest between him and Yang Sichang. The reason why Yang Sichang tried to trip him up was simply because he didn't want Zhang Shikang to be valued by the emperor.

He was jealous.

Perhaps he thought that only he was worthy of being reused and only he could shoulder the heavy responsibility of suppressing the bandits.

In front of him, he was just a dandy young man, but he could gain the trust of the emperor. He felt very unbalanced and wanted to trip him up.

and so……

This fat old man is narrow-minded! !

After some analysis and reasoning, Zhang Shikang finally understood Yang Sichang's true thoughts. He really wanted to laugh, an angry laugh.

"You deserve to die! How can you take on such an important task with such a narrow mind?

I don't know how many brave generals who sacrificed their lives for the Ming Dynasty will be framed by you in the future. You really deserve to die!"

Zhang Shikang was very angry. If he really had a grudge against this man, he would not be so angry even if he was tripped by him.

What made him angry was that Yang Sichang, who was shouldering such an important responsibility, could not even let go of his personal grudges. How could he lead an army of hundreds of thousands without the magnanimity to tolerate others?

That is treating the lives of the people of the world as a joke!

Emperor Chongzhen was in a state of great headache. He did trust Zhang Shikang very much at the moment, but in the current situation, what would happen to the bandits without Yang Sichang?

Although the Three Taxes issue made Emperor Chongzhen feel resentful towards Yang Sichang, it was a helpless move after all. Now that the expedition was about to begin, changing generals before the battle was a big taboo in military strategy.

Originally, Emperor Chongzhen just wanted to get things clear. After all, these two people were the ones he currently relied on, and it was not a big deal.

I didn't expect Zhang Shikang to be so angry and make Yang Sichang so angry.

Alas, this kid is the same. He doesn’t hit people in the face, and doesn’t expose people’s weaknesses when scolding them. How can this kid do the opposite?

Now one wants to resign and the other wants him to die. Emperor Chongzhen is very embarrassed to be caught in the middle.

Alas, I should have persuaded him to stop from the beginning.

But who knows what this kid would dare to say?

……