The capital, Huangji Palace.
"Your Majesty, your servant Wang Yongji is late in coming to your rescue. Please punish me!" Under the gaze of all officials, the Governor of Ji and Liao, Wang Yongji, dressed in military uniform, slowly knelt down.
Although he was wearing military uniform, he did not feel safe at all.
On March 6, the emperor ordered Wang Yongji and Wu Sangui to abandon Ningyuan and go to Beijing to defend the emperor.
He arrived at Shanhaiguan on March 16th.
On March 26th, he arrived at the gates of the capital.
Shanhaiguan is more than 600 miles away from the capital, and Wang Yongji took ten days! Even if the court officials and the emperor were stupid, they could guess their true thoughts: in troubled times, preserve strength!
This matter cannot be cleared up, and there is no way to wash it away.
Wang Yongji knew he was in the wrong, and while pleading guilty he looked for his colleagues in the court out of the corner of his eye.
It would have been better if he hadn't looked at it. But when he saw the officials in the court clearly, he felt disappointed.
In such a huge court, he was only familiar with a dozen officials.
Where is the cabinet chief minister Wei Zaode? Did he ask for leave?
Wei Zaode was deeply favored by the emperor. As long as he was willing to say a few words for him, this matter could be resolved.
It doesn’t matter if Wei Zaode doesn’t help, because the Minister of War Zhang Jinyan is an old acquaintance of him.
As one of the six ministries, the Ministry of War has considerable say in the court. As long as he pleads for him, this matter can be resolved.
After searching for a while, Wang Yongji withdrew his gaze dejectedly.
Today, he will definitely be convicted.
As expected, before Wang Yongji could finish his words, Zeng Yinglin, the military secretary, and Chen Mingxia, the military secretary, knelt down at the same time and said, "Your Highness, we impeach the Governor of Ji and Liao, Wang Yongji!"
Seeing Chongzhen remained silent, Zeng Yinglin spoke first: "Your Majesty, I have three charges against Wang Yongji, the governor of Ji and Liao."
"First, the emperor ordered Wang Yongji to abandon Ningyuan and lead the Guanning Army to Beijing to defend the emperor. He arrived at Shanhaiguan on March 16 and arrived in the capital on March 26. Shanhaiguan is only 600 miles away from the capital. If he really wanted to defend the emperor, he would only need five or six days to reach the capital from Shanhaiguan. It took him so long to come. This is a crime of disrespecting the emperor!"
"Secondly, Wang Yongji took ten days to complete a six-day journey, which was a crime of delaying military operations."
"Third, according to the law, the army should be stationed outside the city and cannot enter the city. Wang Yongji led his army into the city, which is an act of treason. This is his third crime!"
As soon as Zeng Yinglin, the military secretary, finished speaking, Chen Mingxia, also a military secretary, said, "I second the motion."
"I second the motion!" Wu Ganlai, the Imperial Censor of the Ministry of Revenue, came out and knelt on the ground.
"I second the motion!" Wu Linhui, the Imperial Censor of the Ministry of Personnel, also knelt on the ground.
Immediately afterwards, Right Censor-in-Chief Fang Kezhuang, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice Zhang Xin and others knelt on the ground and asked Chongzhen to punish Wang Yongji.
Wang Yongji broke out in a sweat instantly.
All the civil and military officials in the court... No, one third of the civil officials in the court knelt down and demanded that he be punished.
This crime must be confirmed.
Chongzhen looked at everyone expressionlessly, recalling their performance in official history in his mind.
Zeng Yinglin neither surrendered to Li Zicheng nor to the Jian Nu, but his behavior was even more hateful than those who surrendered.
Zeng Yinglin was a close confidant of former Minister of War Yang Sichang, and he flattered Yang Sichang all the time. After Yang Sichang died, Zeng Yinglin immediately listed many serious crimes against him and called for his coffin to be opened and his body dissected. He changed his attitude faster than turning the pages of a book.
Chen Mingxia first surrendered to Li Zicheng and then surrendered to the Jian Nu, a slave of three surnames!
Fang Kezhuang, after the Eight Banners Army entered the Pass, he led the Qingzhou gentry to kill the Yidu County magistrate of the Dashun regime and surrendered to the Qing court. He was also a slave of three surnames!
Zhang Xin, a character in the Biography of Traitors, first surrendered to Li Zicheng and then surrendered to the Jian Nu, another slave of three surnames!
Good, you did a great job impeaching!
He was worried that he couldn't find the bad guys, but he didn't expect these people to come to his door.
What made him happy was that the cabinet members did not express any opinions, neither impeached Wang Yongji nor pleaded for him.
These four people all have a good sense of the overall situation.
"Lord Li, what do you think?" Chongzhen looked at Li Banghua.
Lord Li?
After hearing these three words, Wang Yongji frowned slightly. He never expected that Li Banghua, who was nearly 70 years old, would sit in the position of the cabinet's chief minister.
It would have been fine if he was just the Prime Minister, but he actually sat on a stool during court sessions.
How great a favor is this?
Li Banghua looked around and said slowly, "I think the most urgent task is to resist the bandits. Whether the Governor of Ji and Liao, Wang Yongji, is guilty or not, what crime he has committed should be discussed after the bandits retreat."
"Everyone else in the cabinet, please share your opinions." Chongzhen deliberately raised his voice.
There were earth-shaking changes in the court, and cabinet members were coming in and out. Wang Yongji had lived in Liaodong for a long time and did not understand the situation in the court. His move was to make Wang Yongji recognize the current situation.
Is Wang Yongji guilty?
Of course guilty!
But compared with Wu Sangui, Wang Yongji is simply a loyal minister!
Fang Yuegong, Fan Jingwen, and Qiu Yu came out at the same time, cupped their hands and said, "Your Highness and I agree with you."
Wang Yongji's eyes moved quickly, memorizing the names of these people in his mind.
After the court meeting, he must go and visit.
"Since the cabinet wants to wait until the bandits withdraw before discussing this, then we should do as the cabinet says!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Wang Yongji looked at Li Banghua gratefully, then looked at Chongzhen with moist eyes.
What does withdraw troops and discuss again mean?
As long as the bandits continued to attack the city, Wang Yongji would have the opportunity to make merit. He didn't ask for more, as long as he killed a few thousand bandits, he could make up for it with his military merit.
In other words, the emperor and the cabinet gave him a chance to atone for his sins.
"Wang Yongji!" Chongzhen called him by his name, as a warning, "How many troops did you bring with you this time?"
"Your Majesty, I brought a total of 6,000 cavalry this time, but lost more than 400 people when I broke through the bandit camp. Now there are 5,600 people, all of whom are Guanning's elite troops."
"Well, take a day off. Tomorrow will be a tough battle."
"I obey the order."
"Let's dismiss the court. The rest of you will return to your duties at the government office. The cabinet and Wang Yongji will stay. I have something to tell you."
After the irrelevant people left, Chongzhen turned his eyes to Wang Yongji.
In the decisive battle with Li Zicheng, we must make use of Wang Yongji!
There are two reasons for doing this. First, Wu Sangui may not follow the plan. Every day of delay is torment for the capital and the people.
Second, he did not want to give away the military achievements to Wu Sangui in vain.
The more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I feel about spending the court's money to support his own private army.
If he had to choose between Wang Yongji and Wu Sangui, he would choose the former without hesitation.
"What instructions does Your Majesty have?" Li Banghua asked.
Chongzhen said solemnly: "I intend to fight a decisive battle with the bandits!"
decisive battle?
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