nucmednet Chapter 599 The Grand Secretary
Chapter 599 The Grand Secretary
A sedan chair was carried in, and the surrounding officers and soldiers of the Beijing Garrison and the Eastern City Military Command quickly made way for it. Those serving in the capital were all perceptive; they weren't making way for the sedan chair itself, but rather for the identity of the person inside. The sedan chair looked rather plain, but the lantern carried by the attendants bore the character "温" (Wen).
When ordinary gentry traveled, whether by sedan chair or boat, their lanterns would typically display their place of origin, academic achievements, and other information to reveal their status. In Beijing, there were tens of thousands of people with the surname Wen. If someone only wrote the character "Wen," it indicated absolute confidence in their position and a deliberate attempt to maintain a low profile, making their identity self-evident.
Yang Sichang narrowed his eyes, staring at the sedan chair. How did he end up here?
An elderly man alighted from his sedan chair and slowly walked to the center of the two opposing sides, standing there. It was indeed Wen Tiren, the Grand Secretary of the current dynasty. He looked around, clearly realizing that the commander of the Shenshu Camp and the commander of the Dongcheng Military Command were not qualified to speak with him. After looking around, his gaze locked onto Yang Sichang.
While trying to figure out Wen Tiren's purpose, Yang Sichang stepped forward to greet him.
"How could such a trivial matter have alarmed the Grand Secretary? It is all my fault."
Wen Tiren was fairly familiar with this rising political star. His father, Yang He, had served as the Governor-General of the Three Border Regions, tasked with pacifying the bandit leader Shen Yikui. However, Yang He was tricked into feigning surrender, leading to widespread criticism of his appeasement strategy. Emperor Chongzhen imprisoned him and prepared to execute him. Upon hearing this, Yang Sichang, then serving as the Military Commissioner of Shanhaiguan, submitted three memorials requesting to resign in place of his father. Because Emperor Chongzhen admired Yang Sichang's talent, he spared Yang He's life, exiling him to Yuanzhou in Jiangxi, but did not force Yang Sichang to resign. Instead, Emperor Chongzhen repeatedly comforted and encouraged Yang Sichang to fulfill his duties. This incident reveals Yang Sichang's standing in Emperor Chongzhen's eyes.
Now, Yang Sichang is being relieved of his mourning period by an imperial edict from Emperor Chongzhen, and numerous clues suggest he is to replace Zhang Fengyi as Minister of War. He is a rising star in the political arena. There is a saying among the people, "Better to deceive an old man with white hair than a poor young man." Yang Sichang is in his prime and enjoys the Emperor's favor. Given time, he may even enter the cabinet and become a direct rival of Wen Tiren. Naturally, Wen Tiren would not dare to underestimate him.
Wen Tiren smiled broadly: "Hehe, I was just passing through this place when I noticed that the Ministry of War was full of soldiers inside and out. I was worried that something might go wrong here since Boqi (Zhang Fengyi's courtesy name) was out of the capital to supervise the troops, so I came in to take a look. Since it is Wen Ruo who is in charge of the overall situation here, I am relieved. What exactly is going on? I hope nothing will go wrong?"
In truth, he hadn't just happened to pass by; he had clearly come deliberately to the Ministry of War. Huang Gan had sent someone to ask for help, and Lin San had rushed off. Huang was worried that this brute might cause more trouble, so he quickly followed. Lin San had even dared to beat Cao Huachun in the palace; what wouldn't he dare to do? Sure enough, upon arriving, he witnessed a tense scene of thousands of soldiers facing each other, swords drawn, seemingly ready to fight at any moment.
Yang Sichang felt a headache coming on. The matter was already somewhat tricky, and the appearance of the Grand Secretary made it even more delicate. He knew that Zhang Fengyi was Wen Tiren's man, and since he was waiting for the position of Minister of War as his successor, Wen Tiren definitely didn't like him. Now, he had just stumbled upon this situation. If he didn't handle it properly, the old man would definitely kick him while he was down; otherwise, he wouldn't be a qualified politician.
But since the other party had asked, he had to answer. Yang Sichang carefully considered his words before replying, "Your Excellency, the matter is as follows: A dozen or so carriages escorted by soldiers from Qionghai Town arrived at the Ministry of War, claiming they had captured Tartar heads to hand over to the Ministry for inspection and reward. However, these soldiers, with their petty suspicions, claimed they were afraid the Bureau of Military Affairs would tamper with the documents and insisted on being present to supervise. This broke the rules and put the Bureau of Military Affairs in a difficult position. Moreover, they insulted the head of the Bureau of Military Affairs, disobeyed orders, and refused to leave the office. I had no choice but to summon the Shenshu Battalion and the Eastern City Military Command to ask them to leave..."
Huang Gan, who was listening nearby, was furious. Wasn't this a complete distortion of the truth? He couldn't help but shout, "That's not how it is. I only asked the officials of the Ministry of War to count the number of heads. I never said I wanted to monitor the people of the Ministry of War to verify the authenticity of the heads."
Wen Tiren found it strange. The capture of several thousand Tartar heads was a great achievement that shocked the court and the public. If the truth was reported to the emperor, the emperor would be delighted, and everyone would be happy. Wouldn't that be better? Yang Sichang, however, seemed to be trying to suppress it. Logically speaking, he had no grudge against Qionghai Town, so why would he do something that would harm others and not benefit himself?
He was naturally unaware that the other party was trying to negotiate peace with the Tartars, and that their words had swayed Chongzhen. Not wanting this great victory to shake Chongzhen's determination to negotiate peace, he wanted to take some drastic measures.
"So that's how it is. Wenruo, this is supposed to be a matter for the Ministry of War. With Boqi absent, you're in charge, so I shouldn't interfere. But since we've achieved such a brilliant victory, shouldn't we inform His Majesty first? His Majesty works tirelessly day and night for the country. Reporting this to him will surely please him. As for how to count and verify the heads, just leave it to your subordinates to do according to the rules. You don't need to do everything yourself. The people of Qionghai Town may not understand the rules, but they are still meritorious. Don't take it personally. If they want to count the heads on the spot, let them have it!"
Yang Sichang, unaware of the collusion between Wen Tiren and the Qionghai Army, assumed that Wen Tiren was merely using Zhang Fengyi as an excuse to sow discord between him and Yang. Somewhat helplessly, he said, "Your Excellency is right, I will certainly comply. While the palace gates are still open, I will enter the palace now and report the great victory to His Majesty." Then, turning to the steward, he said, "Did you hear what Your Excellency said? Immediately gather your men, count the numbers on the spot, and give the people of Qionghai Town an explanation."
The official bowed his head and replied, "Your subordinate obeys."
Wen Tiren nodded in satisfaction, pointing to the people from the Shenshu Camp and the Dongcheng Military Command: "It's not appropriate to gather soldiers in such an important place as the capital. Shouldn't we let them disperse?"
Yang Sichang suppressed his frustration and waved his hand, "This is none of your business. Go back to your camps!"
Shen Chong and Yang Zihua breathed a sigh of relief and quickly led their men out of the yamen, leaving without a trace.
Seeing that the Grand Secretary was taking sides, Lin San saw this as a rare opportunity and quickly stepped forward, saying, "Grand Secretary, besides escorting the heads, we also need to call for reinforcements when we enter the capital. Our general has already led a large army to Tianjin to await the arrival of the Tartars, and we need the cooperation of the surrounding troops, which requires a dispatch order from the Ministry of War. Right now, the Ministry of War is acting unfairly, and we probably won't get the dispatch order. Please, Grand Secretary, make the decision!" He wasn't stupid; he knew he couldn't let anyone see his relationship with the Grand Secretary in public, so he pretended to be unfamiliar with him.