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

"Total annihilation? Li Zicheng is dead?" Zhang Shikang asked in shock.

Although there is a butterfly effect, Zhang Shikang had never even left the capital during his half-year stay in the Ming Dynasty.

The only time they helped the imperial court was probably by donating some silver, but that silver was still a drop in the bucket compared to the current hole in the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, even if the silver was not raised, Yang Sichang could still raise the money to suppress the bandits by levying additional suppression and training salaries.

The soldiers from the Beijing camp that he had trained had never left the Xishan camp. No matter how strong they were, they had no effect on the bandits.

Li Zicheng is gone just like that?

"I haven't heard whether Li Chuang is dead or not. Commander Yang's memorial only said that Li Chuang was completely annihilated. But Commander Zhang, doesn't annihilation mean killing them all?

It is possible that he was captured alive by General Yang, but no matter what, this is a great thing for the imperial court!

As soon as the emperor heard the news, he walked around the hall with joy. It was the first time I saw the emperor so happy!

Such great news, the first person the Emperor issued an edict to inform was Admiral Zhang. This favor is really enviable."

The eunuch kept smiling as he spoke, and he rubbed his right hand in front of Zhang Shikang, as if he wanted to ask for good luck.

"Got it. Tell this admiral that your majesty must confirm whether Li Zicheng is dead or not. If he's alive, you must see him. If he's dead, you must see his body.

As for Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and others, Your Majesty must be on guard against them. It would be best to deprive them of their military power to prevent them from rebelling again in the future."

Zhang Shikang was not a fool, of course he could see that this guy was asking him for a reward.

Generally speaking, if the eunuch sent by the palace to convey the imperial edict was a good thing, the official who received the message would be rewarded with some silver. This was already an unspoken rule in the Ming Dynasty officialdom.

But Zhang Shikang did not give it. It was not that he cared about that little bit of reward money. In fact, whenever he met someone who performed well or made contributions in the Beijing camp, he would pay him a reward out of his own pocket.

But what contribution do you, a person who is responsible for delivering messages, have?

The smile on the eunuch's face disappeared, but he still bowed and said:

"I know. I will definitely convey your message. If there is nothing else, I will return to the palace to report." With these words, the eunuch left the Beijing camp.

Until the people in the palace left, Zhang Shikang still felt it was a little unbelievable.

If Li Zicheng really died, and if Zhang Xianzhong and other bandits really accepted the amnesty, the situation would become even more confusing.

Although Zhang Shikang felt a little puzzled, it was a good thing that the bandits were gone. Zhang Shikang even thought that perhaps he could find an opportunity to resign and go home to continue being a playboy.

Imperial City, Qianqing Palace.

The news had been coming in for more than an hour, but Emperor Chongzhen had not yet calmed down from the great news brought by Yang Sichang.

He walked back and forth in the Qianqing Palace, sometimes rubbing his hands together, sometimes muttering to himself.

Along with Yang Sichang's memorial, there was also a book of merit for the suppression of bandits. Emperor Chongzhen had summoned several cabinet ministers and had preliminarily drawn up a list of rewards for those who had made contributions to the suppression of bandits.

Among them, Yang Sichang naturally made the greatest contribution, followed by Xiong Wencan, and finally the military generals who made contributions in various battles.

After discussions among the cabinet ministers, Emperor Chongzhen finally decided to promote Yang Sichang to the titles of Grand Tutor and Zuo Zhuguo, and gave him 300 taels of gold, and to promote Xiong Wencan to the titles of Prince Taibao and Zhuguo, and gave him 100 taels of gold, and he announced it to the world.

During the process of suppressing bandits, among the generals who made outstanding military achievements, Cao Bianjiao was granted the title of Annan Earl, Zuo Liangyu was granted the title of Pingnan Earl, and Zu Kuan was granted the title of Zhennan Earl.

Taifu is among the Three Dukes, and Zuo Zhuguo is the greatest literary meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty. One should know that in the nearly three hundred years of Ming Dynasty history, the number of people who could be named Zuo Zhuguo can be counted on one hand, so the reward is very generous.

If the cabinet officials had not stopped him, Emperor Chongzhen would have wanted to directly confer the title of nobility on Yang Sichang. Yes, a civil servant could be conferred the title of nobility.

In the 270-year history of the Ming Dynasty, titles were bestowed on civil officials only during the founding of the country and the Jingnan Rebellion, and those titles were conferred on very few officials, all of whom were civil officials with great merits.

Those cabinet ministers felt that the reward given by Emperor Chongzhen to three earls at one time was too much, but Emperor Chongzhen did not insist.

There is still a long way to go. As long as my two accomplices no longer have conflicts, there will be plenty of opportunities to be rewarded in the future.

Thinking of Yang Sichang, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly felt a little guilty. Before this, he had some doubts about Yang Sichang's ability because of the issue of levying three additional taxes.

Now it seems that it was indeed his fault. Although the problem was eventually solved by Zhang Shikang, I think Mr. Yang must have some resentment towards me in his heart.

Well, when Mr. Yang comes back, I will definitely reward him well.

As for this kid Zhang Shikang, I heard that he has been in the military camp for half a year and has hardly even returned home.

This actually surprised Emperor Chongzhen. Although he knew that Zhang Shikang was very talented, he was generally very lazy.

He had even prepared himself mentally for the possibility that this kid would not do his job well in the military camp. Every ten days or half a month, he would order his eunuchs to make a sudden visit to the Xishan camp. Once he found that this kid was not doing his job well, he would issue an order to reprimand him.

But what can be done is that the boy is always training, and I heard from the eunuchs that the soldiers in the Beijing camp have changed a lot now, and they seem to be in high morale.

Later, Emperor Chongzhen stopped sending people to investigate and his opinion of Zhang Shikang changed greatly.

He found that Zhang Shikang was indeed not diligent, but he would do everything he was asked to do carefully. He was really a talented person!

Now with Mr. Yang outside and Zhang Shikang inside, there is finally hope for the revival of the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Chongzhen was thinking about it when Wu Erxi, who was sent to deliver the message, came in from outside. Emperor Chongzhen said gently:

"Xiao Xizi, how did that boy react to the good news? Is he as happy as I am?"

Emperor Chongzhen showed a rare hint of excitement, a slightly childish excitement. He felt that he had been led astray by that kid Zhang Shikang.

Under normal circumstances, Wu Erxi would definitely smile when he saw Emperor Chongzhen happy, but today Wu Erxi did not seem happy.

"Your Majesty, Admiral Zhang was only slightly shocked when he heard the news, but he didn't laugh."

"Oh? I must have underestimated Zhang Shikang. He was able to remain calm despite such great news. I couldn't even control myself." Emperor Chongzhen said with some surprise.

"Your Majesty, Admiral Zhang seems to be very suspicious about the fact that Li Chuang was wiped out by Commander Yang.

He also suggested that the emperor investigate carefully and find out if the person is alive or dead.

Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai accepted the imperial court's offer of amnesty, and Admiral Zhang was also skeptical..."

As he was speaking, Wu Erxi began to hesitate again, as if he was about to speak. Emperor Chongzhen frowned and said,

"Why are you hesitating? Just say what you want to say."

Upon hearing this, Wang Erxi immediately knelt down on the ground and continued:

“I feel that Admiral Zhang and Commander Yang had a grudge against each other before. Now Commander Yang has made such a great contribution to the emperor, but Admiral Zhang not only did not congratulate him, but...he even suspected that there was something fishy going on.

Your Majesty, I dare not speak nonsense. I can only roughly guess based on Admiral Zhang’s reaction at that time. I dare not hide it. I feel that Admiral Zhang seems... seems to be intolerant. "

……