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

Of course, Yang Sichang did not want to give up the power in his hands. After all, it was the result of his hard work for ten years of studying hard and twenty years of ups and downs in the officialdom.

But Zhang Shikang had pushed him to the edge of the cliff. If he did not resign, it would not be enough to prove his innocence, but he was sure that the emperor would not agree.

Because at the moment, no one understands the situation of suppressing bandits better than him.

Yang Sichang and Emperor Chongzhen may have their own thoughts, but Zhang Shikang didn't care about that. Master Lu once said, "I will face the criticism of thousands of people with a cold brow and be willing to be a cow for others."

He could feel sad for the plight of the soldiers in the Beijing camp and stand up for them. Of course, he could also feel angry at so-called high-ranking officials like Yang Sichang. He didn't know whether he could be considered a knight-errant, but he was angry anyway.

"You should quit right now. Do you really think you are the only one who can fight against bandits? The earth will still turn without you."

Seeing that Zhang Shikang was still talking nonsense, Emperor Chongzhen knew that he could no longer sit idly by and quickly waved his hand to tell Zhang Shikang to stop.

"You two are my two lords, how can you resign so easily? Mr. Yang, please stand up. Zhang Shikang, please be quiet!"

Emperor Chongzhen tried to comfort Yang Sichang, who was so angry that he lost his composure, while pretending to scold Zhang Shikang.

After all, Yang Sichang didn't really want to resign, so he took the opportunity given by Emperor Chongzhen to stand up.

Zhang Shikang could see at this time that Yang Sichang was just pretending. He wanted to continue to output, but what made him so angry was that the fat old man really resigned.

But Emperor Chongzhen seemed to have anticipated Zhang Shikang's thoughts. He frowned and glared at Zhang Shikang, meaning to ask him to restrain himself.

Zhang Shikang was not a person who was afraid of threats, but he also did not want to make things difficult for his brother Chongzhen. After all, if the fat old man really resigned, this job would most likely fall on him.

So he said:

"Your Majesty, you have seen the situation of the soldiers in the Beijing camp. They are hungry and poorly clothed. Originally, I thought that the state affairs were difficult and I did not want to add any more burden to the court.

But the Minister of Works Fang Fengnian told me that Yang Sichang took away 6,000 muskets from the Ministry of Works last year to replace the weapons of the anti-bandit troops, as well as many military uniforms, swords, etc.

This year, however, they are asking the Ministry of Works to take 8,000 muskets and a large number of other military equipment and supplies. Your Majesty, is it true that the crying child gets the milk?

Surrender! "

The affairs of the Ministry of Revenue can be put aside for the time being, but the affairs of the Ministry of Works cannot be mentioned. He doesn't care what Yang Sichang thinks. He is a narrow-minded person. The more you back down, the more he will think you are easy to bully.

Yang Sichang's blood pressure, which had been stabilized with great difficulty, immediately rose by half again after hearing Zhang Shikang's words.

"Don't you know what a war soldier is? They are fighting, and in a war there will inevitably be damage!"

"Aren't border troops always fighting? Why don't they always ask for this and that?" Zhang Shikang kept on asking, and when he saw Yang Sichang's face start to turn red, he said:

"Who knows if what you said is true? Even if you sold those muskets, can't you still say they were battle damage?

What if it was really a damaged musket in battle?

How can you have such high casualties when you have won a battle? I see you have been losing battles all the time.

Alas, how incompetent! How can you be so incompetent and yet still want so much military supplies? Where does your face come from?

Poor my Beijing camp..."

Under Zhang Shikang's pressure, the blood pressure of the other half of Yang Sichang finally rose, and his originally pale fat face became completely red and warm again.

"Zhang Shikang! Do you know who Fang Fengnian belongs to? He is obviously trying to sow discord between you and me!

He is a member of the Donglin Party!"

Yang Sichang was really angry to death. He guessed that Zhang Shikang was young and ignorant and was fooled by Fang Fengnian.

Since Zhang Shikang was definitely not a member of the Donglin Party, Yang Sichang spoke without any scruples.

But Zhang Shikang became even angrier after hearing this.

"So you also know that it was the Donglin Party who instigated this? Then why the hell are you still trying to trip me up?"

"Okay, okay! My two dear ministers, please stop and stop arguing over such trivial matters." Emperor Chongzhen said with a cold face.

"The soldiers of the Beijing Camp are all wearing tattered clothes, and their swords can't even split firewood. I don't care, but the weapons of the Ministry of Works must be given to the Beijing Camp. Otherwise, I will not be the commander of the Beijing Camp anymore, and I will just be his father."

Yang Sichang was very angry at first, but after he learned that Zhang Shikang was being used by the Donglin Party, he calmed down.

After all, Zhang Shikang was young and didn't know the cruelty of party struggles. Yang Sichang also felt that he shouldn't argue with a child.

He saw that Zhang Shikang was dressed in rags, and although he seemed to be trying to gain sympathy, he knew the situation of the Beijing camp, which was indeed very bad.

Seeing that Zhang Shikang was determined to achieve his goal, Yang Sichang thought that he might as well take the initiative to give up some of the military equipment given to him by the Ministry of Works. After all, in the face of party struggles, one more enemy is worse than one more friend.

But before he could open his mouth, Emperor Chongzhen saw that Zhang Shikang was about to give up and immediately said:

"The soldiers in the Beijing camp are indeed in a difficult situation. Mr. Yang, can you spare some of the military equipment and supplies that the Ministry of Industry gave you?

The Beijing Camp only needs 5,000 muskets, and the remaining 3,000 can be given to Mr. Yang.

The Ministry of Military Uniforms originally has more than 30,000 sets, so the Beijing Battalion should allocate 24,000 sets. After all, the Beijing Battalion is the face of the court, and such a situation is really unacceptable to the people. "

As Emperor Chongzhen spoke, Yang Sichang's heart sank.

Yang Sichang took the initiative to give up military equipment and supplies, which showed that he was broad-minded and magnanimous. But when these words came from the emperor, it had a completely different meaning.

The emperor is favoring Zhang Shikang. Your Majesty, don't you even trust me?

"There are also swords and bows and crossbows, Your Majesty." Zhang Shikang was afraid that the old man had forgotten, so he quickly offered assistance.

The words of Emperor Chongzhen were the imperial edict. Even if Yang Sichang was extremely unwilling, he did not dare to disobey the order and had to hold his nose and give up the military equipment needed by the Beijing camp.

The matter of food and military equipment was accomplished, and Zhang Shikang was of course very happy. The look in his eyes when he looked at Yang Sichang was not as hateful anymore.

"Minister Yang, I lost my composure just now and said so many unpleasant things. I hope Minister Yang will consider that I am a playboy and not be so harsh on me.

You know, those people are watching us, how can we satisfy them, right?"

Anyway, his goal has been achieved. After all, Yang Sichang is not a member of the Donglin Party, and they might be able to cooperate in the future. Zhang Shikang doesn't want to make a big fuss.

However, Yang Sichang did not respond. He thought to himself, you just called him a fat old man, and now you call him Yang Gebu. What kind of apology is this?

But Zhang Shikang didn't care about that. He had already apologized. It was none of his business whether you, old man, accepted it or not. But if you provoke me again in the future, I won't just call you a fat old man.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shikang said goodbye to Emperor Chongzhen and left the hall.

The sun was shining brightly outside the hall, and Zhang Shikang was in a very good mood.

Outside the Ministry of Works, Qi Dazhu stood among the soldiers of the Beijing Camp, looking a little anxious. Although he was only a sergeant in the Shenji Camp, he often spoke up for justice in the camp, and many soldiers admired him.

In Zhang Shikang's absence, Qi Dazhu became the backbone of the group. Seeing that Zhang Shikang had been in the palace for so long and had not returned yet, Qi Dazhu could not hide his anxiety on his face.

In fact, Zhang Shikang was summoned to the palace, and everyone present was very worried. After all, it was against the rules for the governor to bring them to the capital and surround the Ministry of Revenue.

Now that they were suddenly summoned by the emperor, they were afraid they would be punished. Everyone was worried that the emperor would dismiss their admiral in anger.

Many people brought up the matter of Qian Rulong and other Beijing camp generals, thinking that although the admiral had helped them vent their anger, those people all had connections behind them.

What if those people collectively attacked their admiral? This was very possible, and the more they thought about it, the more anxious they became.

They finally had a little hope and found an admiral who truly cared about them, but it has only been a few days. Could it be that the Emperor really cannot tolerate the admiral?

If it does not concern you, you will cause chaos.

"Okay, stop having wild thoughts. If the imperial court can't even tolerate our admiral, then I won't stay in this Beijing camp anymore. I'll go home and farm." Qi Dazhu waved his hand to stop everyone's wild speculation.

"That's right. Without the Admiral, we are being bullied by those officials when we do business in Beijing. Now that the Admiral is gone, we won't stay in that crappy place anymore."

Everyone was talking at once, all filled with indignation, when Zhang Shikang came over from the other side of the street.

When everyone saw it, they were overjoyed and rushed over to greet it, shouting and cheering.

Some soldiers even touched Zhang Shikang up and down, as if they wanted to see if the admiral was missing any flesh, but they accidentally tore Zhang Shikang's beggar clothes into pieces.

"You bunch of bastards, you have torn my clothes!" Zhang Shikang cursed with a smile.

"Admiral, His Majesty did not blame you, did he?"

"The Beijing Camp cannot be without the Admiral!"

A group of people were making a lot of noise, but it was not until they were about to lose something that they realized how important the admiral was.

"How could that be possible? I am a good commander. Didn't you see how I scolded that fat old man Yang Sichang?"

"Come on, come on, what are you still standing there for? Go to the Ministry of Works and change into new clothes!"

……