The ministers listened carefully. When they heard that Yuan Chonghuan led only his own soldiers and captured Mao Wenlong with the Dongjiang army and ordered him to confess his crime, they all looked shocked. Then they heard that Li Yi led troops to suppress Dongjiang in time.

The army stopped the rebellion, and then he breathed a long sigh of relief.

Emperor Chongzhen had already understood clearly what had happened, so he listened with a normal expression.

After Li Yi finished speaking, Wang Yongguang straightened his official robes and came out and said: "Your Majesty, Yuan Chonghuan took risks and caused trouble in the Dongjiang River. He should be punished for his crime."

Hearing that Wang Yongguang impeached Yuan Chonghuan and wanted to put Yuan Chonghuan to death, the ministers in the DPRK suddenly felt like a pot was exploding, and there was a lot of discussion.

Emperor Chongzhen was also shocked and said: "Why do you say this?"

Wang Yongguang did not flinch at all and said bluntly: "Your Majesty, Yuan Chonghuan is appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Censor of Youdu, in charge of the military affairs of Ji Liao and Denglai. Although Mao Wenlong is under his control, but Mao Wenlong has the Shang Fang Sword given by the late emperor, if

For the crime of treason and treason, Yuan Chonghuan had no responsibility or authority to arrest him. This time Yuan Chonghuan overstepped the mark and almost caused chaos in the Dongjiang River. This time he was not severely punished. If future officials followed suit, then who in the Ming Dynasty would still obey the imperial decree.

"

Wang Yongguang gave his explanation in a righteous manner, which seemed to be impartial and selfless. However, the Wenhua Hall was full of high-ranking officials, and there was not a single fool.

Yuan Chonghuan's capture of Mao Wenlong was an act of transgression. However, Mao Wenlong occupied the Dongjiang River, disobeyed the court's orders, violated the imperial court's orders, and violently demanded pay. Everyone knew his disobedience. Yuan Chonghuan did nothing wrong in doing so.

Emperor Chongzhen still relied on Yuan Chonghuan to preside over Liao affairs. When he heard Wang Yongguang directly attacking Yuan Chonghuan, he suddenly said coldly: "Yuan Chonghuan captured Mao Wenlong because he found conclusive evidence, so he took the risk. He was not good at capturing generals. There is no serious crime."

Emperor Chongzhen's words showed his attitude and showed to the court ministers that he still trusted Yuan Chonghuan.

Zhou Yanru next to him glanced at Wang Yongguang and was very confused about his speech today.

You must know that Wang Yongguang is a speculator and is usually cautious. Why did he jump out and target Yuan Chonghuan today?

He was confused and finally felt that this matter was not that simple.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen said: "Zhou Yanru, what do you think of this matter?"

Zhou Yanru felt a chill in his heart, and hurriedly left his post, bowing and saying: "I believe that Mao Wenlong has been disobedient for a long time. Governor Yuan made a decisive decision to capture Mao Wenlong and hand him over to the court for interrogation, because he was dedicated to serving the country."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded, very satisfied with Zhou Yanru's statement.

I summoned Zhou Yanru in February this year, had a long talk, and had a heart-to-heart talk, which finally yielded results. Zhou Yanru has actively supported me in government affairs.

At this time, Qian Longxi also came out and said: "I would like to inform the emperor that although what Yuan Chonghuan did is excusable, the crime of transgression must not go unpunished. I hope the emperor will punish him."

Qian Longxi was Yuan Chonghuan's candidate. Logically speaking, the two of them should share weal and woe, but in this matter Qian Longxi took the initiative to ask the emperor to punish Yuan Chonghuan.

He did this not intentionally to frame Yuan Chonghuan, but for Yuan Chonghuan's good.

If this matter is punished now, then others will not be able to bring it up again and use it to attack Yuan Chonghuan. Qian Longxi did this to protect Yuan Chonghuan.

Emperor Chongzhen was still very young and did not understand Qian Longxi's intention, so he said: "Let's not talk about punishment for now. How to deal with Mao Wenlong, all the ministers have their opinions."

At this time, Li Biao came out and said: "Mao Wenlong has nothing to say. He has a perverse temperament and refuses to obey orders. He should have been rectified long ago. If the emperor agrees, let the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dali Temple jointly conduct a trial, and then let the Ministry of War send people to observe.

Let’s see if there is any connection between Mao Wenlong and Huang Taiji.”

Li Biao was upright and directly expressed his opinions on the matter.

Mao Wenlong's reputation among civil servants was not good. They all thought that although he was the right governor and held a high position, he had too strong a military style, was rough and cruel, and was a reckless man.

Although Mao Wenlong paid filial piety to many ministers on weekdays, everyone pushed against him. Now no one in the court speaks for him.

Emperor Chongzhen hesitated slightly when he heard Li Biao's handling opinions.

Unlike the ministers who disliked Mao Wenlong, Emperor Chongzhen felt that although Mao Wenlong was rough and arrogant, he was good at conquering and fighting. He not only founded Dongjiang Town, but was also very effective in containing the Donglu in recent years.

Thinking of this, he didn't think punishing Mao Wenlong was a good thing.

Wen Tiren saw Emperor Chongzhen's hesitation. Regarding this young emperor, Wen Tiren was always speculating on his heart.

After such a long time, Wen Tiren has come to understand that although the current emperor is smart, he is too proud of himself and has a perverse temperament. He requires perfection in affairs and is also very demanding on people.

On the other hand, the current emperor is not very old, but he is very hesitant and hesitant when doing things, and does not have the royal atmosphere.

He pondered for a moment, and suddenly understood that the emperor did not want to punish Mao Wenlong severely, but felt sorry for Mao Wenlong's talent and wanted to continue to use him.

Thinking of this, Wen Tiren stepped forward and said: "To inform the emperor, I have a different view on Mao Wenlong."

Emperor Chongzhen heard this and said quickly: "Just say it."

Wen Tiren said: "I have seen the twelve criminal evidences listed by Governor Yuan for Mao Wenlong, and found that except for running a horse market privately, most of them are common problems among our Ming generals, and are not unique to Mao Wenlong. If it is based on

With this conviction, there are countless officials who should be punished. How can we only impose such harsh demands on Mao Wenlong?"

There is some truth in Wen Tiren's words, and the ministers discussed it a lot.

After hearing Wen Tiren's words, Emperor Chongzhen was very happy and said: "Wen Shangshu's words are reasonable. Most of Yuan Superintendent Yuan's convictions of Mao Wenlong are true, but these crimes are common problems among the Ming Dynasty generals. If I punish them today

Mao Wenlong, do the other generals need to be punished?"

After speaking, he looked at Li Yi and said: "Li Yi, what do you think is better to deal with Mao Wenlong?"

Li Yi actually admires Mao Wenlong very much and considers him a generational hero.

But admiration does not mean approval. Mao Wenlong's reputation in Dongjiang was so high that the Dongjiang Army was like his private army and Dongjiang Town was like his territory, and the court had no jurisdiction at all. And according to Liu Xingzuo's investigation, Mao Wenlong did have correspondence with Huang Taiji, which was very

It is possible to betray the Ming Dynasty and seek self-reliance. If he returns to the mountain without reorganizing the Dongjiang Army and taking complete control of Dongjiang Town, then the efforts of himself and Governor Yuan will most likely be in vain.

Thinking of this, Li Yi said: "To report to the emperor, I think Mao Wenlong is suspected of being a traitor to the barbarians. If this crime is not severely punished, how can he convince the public?"

Among the twelve crimes Yuan Chonghuan set for Mao Wenlong, one was having liaison with foreign barbarians.

This article was to establish Mao Wenlong's disobedience, so Li Yi specifically raised it because he did not agree with Mao Wenlong's lenient treatment.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard that Li Yi was going to severely punish Mao Wenlong, he felt slightly annoyed and said, "Where is the evidence of Mao Wenlong's liaison with foreign barbarians?"

Li Yi was slightly stunned. He had already said it yesterday, so why did the emperor ask again?

You must know that Liu Xingzuo is involved, and Liu Xingzuo also wants to run the army in Dongjiang. If this matter is publicized, the Dongjiang Army will definitely transfer their resentment to Liu Xingzuo, which will be very detrimental to him.

Li Yi thought about it and suddenly understood. It turned out that the emperor still wanted to reuse Mao Wenlong, so he deliberately excused him.

Thinking of this, Li Yi frowned slightly and said: "Your Majesty, Mao Wenlong has a disobedient heart. As long as he is interrogated strictly, the truth will definitely come to light."

Seeing that Li Yi still didn't understand his intentions, Emperor Chongzhen said anxiously: "Li Yi, although Mao Wenlong has committed a serious crime, he has outstanding military achievements and made a lot of contributions to the Ming Dynasty. Do you think he will really betray the Ming Dynasty?"

This statement was very straightforward, showing that the emperor did not want to punish Mao Wenlong.

But although Li Yi understood, he did not want the emperor to insist on continuing to appoint Mao Wenlong. He immediately said: "Your Majesty, although Mao Wenlong has made great contributions, his crime of rebellion is unforgivable. If the emperor thinks about Mao Wenlong's past contributions, it is better to spare his life.

, which is also considered magnanimous.”

The reason why Emperor Chongzhen defended Mao Wenlong was because he wanted him to help him lead troops in the war. How could he let him die in Beijing?

Seeing that Li Yi was unwilling to support him at all and only wanted to punish Mao Wenlong, Emperor Chongzhen thought that Li Yi did it deliberately for merit, and he couldn't help but feel angry.

He no longer paid attention to Li Yi, looked at Zhou Yanru next to him and said: "Fellow ministers, what do you think?"

Zhou Yanru noticed the emperor's gaze and immediately understood that he needed his support.

In fact, for Zhou Yanru, he also felt that Mao Wenlong had a disobedient heart. If he let the tiger go back to the mountain, there would be endless troubles.

However, for the sake of the emperor's respect and the opportunity to join the cabinet, Zhou Yanru hesitated slightly and said: "To report to the emperor, in my opinion, whether the twelve crimes of Inspector Yuan are true or false need to be tried one by one. Now we will discuss

It’s too early to determine the severity of Mao Wenlong’s punishment. It’s better to let the Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Dali Temple hear him first, and investigate them one by one before committing the crime.”

Punishment based on the results of the interrogation was acceptable to Emperor Chongzhen.

At that moment, he glanced at Li Yi and said: "That's fine, let the Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Dali Temple try it together."

Mao Wenlong's actions would require him to be dismissed immediately, and as a result, Dongjiang Town would not be able to reform.

As long as there are no new officials in Dongjiang Town, the influence of Mao Wenlong and others will not weaken. If this continues, many problems will occur.

Li Yi sighed in his heart and couldn't help but feel worried for Yuan Chonghuan.

You must know that he has always wanted to reorganize Dongjiang Town and make Dongjiang Town his fortress and spear to contain the Donglu. Now it seems that he does not know when to achieve this goal.

The courtiers then discussed several issues one after another. Li Yi was not familiar with them, so he did not speak.

At the end of the day, Sun Yaowen, the Minister of War, came out and said: "Inform your Majesty, Yang He, the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi Province, commanded the army to defeat the rebel king Zuogui and captured several of them."

Since the first year of Chongzhen, military rebellions have frequently broken out in Shaanxi and other places. These rebels are all fierce soldiers guarding the border. Due to insufficient food and pay, they can no longer survive, so they have turned into bandits. In recent years, there have been great disasters in Shaanxi, and refugees have spread all over the place.

After eating all the bark of weeds and trees, they have begun to cannibalize themselves. The rebel soldiers have taken these hungry people, attacked the county, and led their troops to rebel, which has caused chaos in the northwest.

In the first year of Chongzhen's reign, Emperor Chongzhen appointed Yang He as the governor of the three sides to wipe out the rebels. When he heard the results of the battle, he couldn't help but ask: "Who is this Wang Zuogui?"

Sun Yaowen said: "Wang Zuogui was originally a frontier soldier of the Ming Dynasty. Later, because he was worried about the punishment of the court because of his salary, he led his soldiers to become bandits. In July of the first year of Chongzhen, he led his bandits to rebel in Yichuan. He and his subordinate Miao Mei went everywhere

Burning down the huts and recruiting strong young people to join the army, the force has been built up in such a huge way that it has become a serious danger."

Hearing the behavior of such a traitor, Emperor Chongzhen said angrily: "Such a rebellious minister and traitor has no father, so he deserves to die."

Sun Yaowen said: "Wang Zuogui's army was defeated this time, but he escaped and only captured a few leaders."

Emperor Chongzhen heard this and said: "Such rebellion will naturally lead to public display."

He Yaowen said: "Reporting to the Emperor, there seems to be something strange in it. This group of leaders had close contacts with Wang Zuogui and provided help. However, after being arrested, they claimed that they were righteous men and that they went to Shaanxi to relieve the victims, not to fight with Wang Zuogui.

The left cabinet rebels."

Emperor Chongzhen was a little curious after hearing this: "You are obviously a traitor, but you claim to be helping the victims? Such lies are really the most ridiculous thing in the world."

He Yaowen glanced at Li Yi coldly and said, "I feel the same way. This group of traitors calls themselves Momen. They take righteousness as their creed and do some things to relieve the victims on the surface. In fact, they are doing things for traitors like Wang Zuogui."
Chapter completed!