In April of the second year of Chongzhen, the capital and the Forbidden City.

After receiving Li Yi's letter, Emperor Chongzhen had a rough understanding of the internal strife in Liaodong.

He originally thought that Yuan Chonghuan and Mao Wenlong were restraining the Donglu in tandem and the situation was stable, but he did not expect that the conflict between Yuan Chonghuan and Mao Wenlong had become irreconcilable and had reached this situation.

Emperor Chongzhen was worried, so he put down Li Yi's memorial and said to Cao Huachun beside him: "Yuan Chonghuan wants Wen Long to surrender and command the Dongjiang Army. What do you think of this?"

Cao Huachun lowered his head and stood in solemnity. When he heard the emperor asking him, he said: "Mao Wenlong is a strong general. He has been commanding Dongjiang Town for several years. He has made great contributions and can be regarded as a hero."

At this point, Cao Huachun paused slightly and continued: "But Mao Wenlong is also an ambitious military general. He regards the Dongjiang Army as his own private army and Dongjiang Town as his own territory. He is very repulsive to the civil and Taoist officials sent by the imperial court.

Yuan Chonghuan's orders were also obeyed and disobeyed. Such ambitious and sycophantic ministers really have disobedient intentions."

Emperor Chongzhen glanced at Cao Huachun and said nothing.

Cao Huachun's remarks were the unanimous views of the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Government on Mao Wenlong. They all believed that Mao Wenlong was a warrior, but he was unwilling to accept the restraint of civilian officials, which must mean he was disobedient.

In fact, if Dongjiang Town had not been very important and was an important force in containing the Donglu, the court ministers would have directly said that Mao Wenlong intended to rebel.

But Emperor Chongzhen didn't think so. He felt that Mao Wenlong was a rare and useful minister who was alone overseas. He single-handedly founded Dongjiang Town, attacked the hinterland of the Eastern captives many times, and besieged Liaoyang and other places.

Compared with a group of civil servants who only enrich their own pockets and exclude dissidents, and compared with a group of military generals who drink the blood of soldiers and enslave soldiers, Emperor Chongzhen admired Mao Wenlong more who was brave, strategic, and iron-blooded.

He thought for a while and said: "Although Li Yi made many statements in the report, they are all his own imagination and have no real evidence. In my opinion, Mao Wenlong's disobedience is untrue, and Yuan Chonghuan's actions are really inappropriate."

After hearing this, Cao Huachun said immediately: "Your Majesty, Li Yi is not a mediocre person. He is in Dongjiang Town. Since he has made this decision, he must have discovered something, so he is so anxious to report to the Emperor. Mao Wenlong is a warrior, and warriors do not have civil servants.

Moderation and rebellion have been common in the past dynasties, and every time they shake the country's foundation. This matter must be guarded against."

"Prevention? If I am on guard against Mao Wenlong because he is a military general, then who else is willing to sacrifice his life for me?" Emperor Chongzhen showed a hint of anger on his young face. He glanced at Cao Huachun and said, "Yuan Chonghuan promised me to return to Liao in five years.

, now a year has passed, but he is only building forts and is completely on the defensive. It costs the court millions of taels of silver every year and hinders my New Deal plan. Is this how he repays me? "

When Cao Huachun saw that the emperor was angry, he immediately fell to his knees and cried: "Your Majesty, please calm down."

Emperor Chongzhen finally came to his senses and realized that he had lost his mind and said inappropriate words.

Looking at the eunuchs on the left and right, Emperor Chongzhen often sighed and said: "It's not that I am anxious. It's just that the national situation is difficult and the New Deal has to be implemented. There are too many places to use money. Yuan Chonghuan spent so much money but made no progress. On the contrary,

Being suppressed and beaten by Huang Taiji, if things go on like this, Liaodong will become a wound that drains Ming's vitality."

Only then did Cao Huachun understand that the emperor did not want to keep Mao Wenlong, but was gradually dissatisfied with Yuan Chonghuan and took the opportunity to vent his anger.

Emperor Chongzhen stood up and said with worry: "Ever since Huang Taiji threatened Ningyuan last year, I have been very worried about the situation in Liaodong. I thought that when Tabai led thousands of Donglu soldiers, he could threaten Daling River City, which almost took half a year to build.

The city of Daling River was breached. If Li Yi hadn't restrained the city at the critical moment and planned to defeat Tabai, it would have been a huge defeat. I don't understand why Yuan Chonghuan has been in Liaodong for more than a year, why now, the Liaodong Army

Their combat power is still so weak. Not only are they unable to defeat the Donglu in the field, but they also find it difficult to defend the city."

When Emperor Chongzhen asked Yuan Chonghuan to go to Liaodong, on the one hand, he wanted to stabilize the situation in Liaodong, and on the other hand, he wanted to build a victorious Liaodong army to counterattack Liaodong.

But within one and a half years, Yuan Chonghuan's results made him very disappointed, and he even became dissatisfied with Yuan Chonghuan.

Cao Huachun said: "The situation in Liaodong has been decaying for a long time, and it cannot be cured overnight. Yuan Chonghuan has been in office for more than a year. Although he has not made much achievements, he has quelled military rebellions, cultivated fields and built cities, and various affairs have achieved results."

"Results? What I want is to conquer Liaodong and defeat the Eastern invaders, not how many cities have been built?" Emperor Chongzhen said angrily.

Cao Huachun lowered his head again.

The emperor is young, smart and resourceful, but he is too eager for quick success.

Can Liaodong's corruption be resolved in one or two years after it has been rotten for so long?

Thinking of this, Cao Huachun looked up at the emperor and saw that the emperor looked irritable, with a gloom gathering between his brows, and he seemed to be in a gloomy mood.

The main hall fell silent, and all the palace maids and eunuchs did not even dare to breathe and stood quietly aside.

Emperor Chongzhen sat down, thought for a while, and said: "This matter is of great importance. I plan to summon the cabinet and the officials of the six ministries and two deans to discuss it. When the court meeting ends tomorrow, you can send an order to them to go to Nuange."

Stand up high and bow down to receive the order.

Emperor Chongzhen was eager to seek governance, worked hard every day and stayed up late at night, and was diligent and self-disciplined. Correspondingly, he also had very strict requirements for his ministers, which suddenly accelerated the operation of the corrupt government agencies and made the government officials complain endlessly.

The officials of various yamen in the capital were already old and used to living a leisurely and noble life. As soon as Emperor Chongzhen came to power, he implemented strict governance and assigned more affairs and work, which made them dissatisfied and felt hard every day.

On this day, as usual, a court meeting was held before dawn. All the court officials entered the Forbidden City in sedans and carriages. They were all sleepy-eyed and only became more awake when they arrived at the city gate.

But Zhang Fengxiang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, was not so relaxed. He had just been promoted by the emperor from Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs to the minister of the Ministry of Industry. He wanted to do more practical things and let the emperor see his ability. At this time, a corruption case was reported in the Ministry of Industry.

His appearance attracted great attention.

This time the Ministry of Industry called merchants for purchase, and officials at all levels received kickbacks, instructing the Ministry of Industry to issue one thousand taels of silver in name, but only three to four hundred taels in the hands of the merchants. The deduction reached 70 to 80%, which was really frustrating.

People are shocked.

In fact, Zhang Fengxiang knows that this is not an isolated case, but the consistent trend of the Ministry of Industry, which involves layers of deductions and kickbacks. Any affairs of the Ministry of Industry that can make money have this disadvantage.

Since Emperor Chongzhen came to the throne, he has always wanted to seize examples of corruption and bending the law and take the opportunity to improve the administration of officials. Therefore, as soon as he received Zhang Fengxiang's report, he attached great importance to this matter and convened all ministers to discuss the matter today.

Zhang Fengxiang got off the carriage and bumped into Wang Yongguang head-on.

He bowed slightly and said, "How is Heavenly Official?"

Wang Yongguang glanced at Zhang Fengxiang and said with a cold face: "Zhiyu, you did use a good trick to cut off his own arm to please the emperor."

Zhang Fengxiang's face froze, and he smiled awkwardly: "What did Tianguan say?"

Wang Yongguang snorted coldly and said: "The Ministry of Industry has always been the most corrupt among the six ministries. None of your officials are corrupt, so why bother offending them just to please the emperor."

Zhang Fengxiang did intend to flatter the emperor, but he could not say this clearly, otherwise not only would the officials in various ministries not accept him, but a group of officials would also catch him and accuse him of being a cunning jester for flattering his superior.

Now that Wang Yongguang said this, he just smiled and said: "I have just taken office a few months ago, and if I see corruption and perversion of the law, if I don't tell it, I will help them hide it. How can I be worthy of the emperor's respect?"

Wang Yongguang's face was gloomy. He directly targeted Zhang Fengxiang today. Firstly, he was disgusted with such a sneaky person. Secondly, he was hurt by the stabbing.

You must know that when it comes to corruption, his official department is no cleaner than the Ministry of Works.

This time Zhang Fengxiang flattered his superiors. If the emperor stepped up his efforts to combat corruption, not only would a group of officials in the Ministry of Industry suffer, but his own staff would also be in trouble.

Thinking of this, his eyes became even colder and he said: "Zhang Fengxiang, just go fool around with Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren. They are two holy people, so what do you have? If you continue to make trouble like this, sooner or later you will fall into the trap of Han Yiliang

’s footsteps.”

Hearing Han Yiliang's name, Zhang Fengxiang's expression changed slightly and he seemed a little uneasy.

On the second day of the seventh lunar month in the first year of Chongzhen, Hu Ke sent Zhonghan Yiliang, in accordance with the emperor's decree to rectify the administration of officials, to expose the widespread corruption in the officialdom.

This man was a county official and was promoted to work. He was one of the few upright and outspoken people in the court. When other courtiers were talking nonsense, he spoke upright and wanted to help Emperor Chongzhen eliminate corruption in the officialdom.

Rotten atmosphere.

At that time, Emperor Chongzhen once said when he was on the platform, "Civil officials don't love money?"

He extended from this sentence and made a eloquent discussion, saying: "In today's world, where is the need for money? In today's world, which official does not love money? The emperor also knows that civil servants love money, but civil servants love money

Some people love money because they are corrupt, and some people just have to love money. Why do you say that? Because these officials paid bribes to get promoted. After they were promoted, why didn't they try their best to make money to compensate themselves?

"

Han Yiliang's words were very straightforward, revealing important reasons for the persistence of corruption in the officialdom and telling various secrets that people outside the officialdom did not know.

Han Yiliang further analyzed: The position of a governor or governor cannot be obtained without five or six thousand taels of silver; the position of a magistrate cannot be obtained without two to three thousand taels of silver; as for the head of a state or county government office

The vacancies of officials and deputies also have corresponding prices. Even candidates, supervisors, and minor officials in the yamen can be bought and sold.

Then he said something that would cut him off. He told Emperor Chongzhen that not only the officials in charge of affairs, but also the self-proclaimed officials in the matter were corrupt, and the buying and selling of official positions was not uncommon at all.

.
Chapter completed!