The other ministers in the court first looked at Song Quan, then at Wang Hongzuo, with complicated expressions.
They were thinking: What are you two going to do?
Since Li Zicheng's defeat in Beijing, ministers rarely openly opposed Chongzhen, which put the emperor in a difficult position.
Specifically, there are two reasons.
on the one hand.
Chongzhen killed many treacherous officials. Although he did not purge the court, he forced those treacherous officials to hide.
on the other hand.
The performance-based silver from the civil service reform improved officials’ living conditions.
Especially for those officials who do not want to engage in corruption, the extra income from performance silver directly allows them to escape from their previous poverty.
The emperor fed them with enough food, and in return, they had to give the emperor enough face in the court.
In addition, there were internal troubles such as bandits causing chaos and external threats such as the Jiannu invasion of the pass.
As long as it does not involve the fundamental interests of the officials, he will not argue with Chongzhen in the court about other matters.
Now Song Quan and Wang Hongzuo suddenly stand up to oppose, what are they going to do?
Chongzhen looked at Song Quan and Wang Hongzuo calmly and asked calmly, "How do you think we should deal with Huang Degong?"
"He will be dismissed from office and handed over to the Pacification Office for punishment." Wang Hongzuo replied.
After getting the same answer from Song Quan, Chongzhen was completely disappointed with both of them.
Different voices are allowed in the court, but there is a prerequisite, which is to judge the situation.
Now the bandits and the Jiannu are rebelling at the same time. Even if Huang Degong has committed a heinous crime, he will have to wait until the Jiannu come out of the pass before he can settle the score.
"Let's discuss this matter later." Chongzhen said casually.
Although Wang Hongzuo and Song Quan were hateful, their words were well-founded. In addition, Chongzhen had no leverage over them, so he could only put the matter aside for the time being.
"Your Majesty!" said the shrewd Li Banghua calmly.
"When facing a powerful enemy, it is time to use people. Although Huang Degong lost Daming Prefecture, he only left an empty city to Li Chuang. The people were saved but the land was lost. In this case, both the people and the land were saved. I think Huang Degong is not only innocent, but should be rewarded for his merits."
"Humph!" Wang Hongzuo sneered, "According to what Li Gelao said, as long as the military commanders move the people out of the city in advance and leave the empty city to Li Chuang, they can achieve the so-called saving people but losing land, but both people and land are saved?"
Li Banghua said coldly: "Warfare is a major issue for a country. The fate of a country depends on its generals."
"No general is unwilling to win, but the situation on the battlefield is unpredictable. They can only make the most reasonable decision based on the actual situation."
"How to fight a war should be decided by the generals themselves, rather than letting people who have never read military books give orders from behind."
"You said I was blind?" Wang Hongzuo raised his voice.
"Don't you know whether you are blind or not?" Li Banghua asked back.
As soon as these words were spoken, the court became lively.
The civil and military officials in the court were divided into three groups.
Most of them were there to watch the fun, after all, such a thing had not happened in the court for a long time.
A part of me was secretly worried about Li Banghua. He was old and might get angry if a quarrel broke out.
There are also some people who hope that Li Banghua will fight with others so that they can benefit from it.
"Li Banghua, don't take advantage of your age to do whatever you want! You have been in the cabinet for four months, what have you accomplished?"
"Do you have a plan to recapture Liaodong and expel the Jian Nu? Do you have a solution for the Li Zicheng thief who occupied the two provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi? What ideas did you give to the court when Zhang Xianzhong occupied Jingxiang?"
"The princes have huge expenses, the nobles have occupied the people's land, the officials are corrupt, and the people are living in poverty. What have you done?"
"Don't forget, you are the chief minister of the cabinet! His Majesty did not give you the cabinet to manage for fun, you have to produce something."
As soon as Wang Hongzuo finished speaking, the entire court was in an uproar.
All the civil and military officials in the court knew that Wang Hongzuo was going to confront Li Banghua, but they didn't expect him to be so tough.
The first thing you say is a big hat!
If it were someone else, these big hats would not be put on them.
Li Banghua is different.
He is the chief minister of the cabinet and the head of the civil officials.
The emperor gave him the power second only to the emperor, so he should relieve the emperor's worries.
"How dare you! Lord Li is the chief minister of the cabinet, how can I allow you to speak nonsense?"
"Wang Hongzuo, don't you feel guilty for saying this? Lord Li has only been the Prime Minister for four months, and he has done enough. The recent major battles near the capital alone have been enough to keep the Ministry of War busy. During this period, they also had to handle official business, train troops, and rectify the administration."
"Yes, Minister Wang, you are too serious."
Wang Hongzuo laughed out loud: "Being busy is not an excuse! Do your job well. If you can do it, do it. If you can't do it, retire and return home as soon as possible!"
Wang Hongzuo's aggressive words made the court quiet again, and everyone's eyes fell on Li Banghua.
Chongzhen also stared at Li Banghua, wanting to see whether the prime minister he had chosen was qualified.
If he can't even deal with a little Karami like Wang Hongzuo, how can he be relied upon to rectify the South in the later period?
The huge network of relationships and interests there is so intricate that the wind cannot blow in and the rain cannot penetrate.
Li Banghua laughed grimly.
"Haha, what qualifications do you have to teach me a lesson?"
"It's not your turn to control what the cabinet does or what it does!"
"Your Majesty, everyone present here, the Jiannu in Liaodong, the bandits in Shanxi and Shaanxi, and the bandits in Jingxiang all need troops!"
"There are only so many veterans. If one dies, there will be one less! We are always recruiting new soldiers, but even if we recruit a million new soldiers, if we don't give them enough time to train, they will just be a million deserters and defeated soldiers on the battlefield!"
"Wang Hongzuo doesn't understand, so it's not his fault."
"But Wang Hongzuo, the affairs of the vassal kings are your majesty's private affairs. Who gave you the courage to ask about this matter?"
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