0p0 Chapter 521 Yang Sichang, Minister of War
Chapter 521 Yang Sichang, Minister of War
Chapter 521 Yang Sichang, Minister of War
Tai'an, Shandong.
Yang Sichang was appointed as the new Minister of War and went to Beijing to take up his post.
A dozen guards and attendants were closely protecting a carriage. Inside the carriage, Yang Sichang closed his eyes to rest.
Yang Sichang, courtesy name Wenruo, is fifty-one years old this year. He became a Jinshi in the thirty-eighth year of the Wanli reign. His father, Yang He, once served as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. In the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign, his father passed away, and Yang Sichang returned home to observe the mourning period. A year later, his stepmother, Ding, also passed away, and he could only continue to observe the mourning period at home.
The Manchus once again engaged in widespread looting near the capital. Zhang Fengyi, the former Minister of War, had to take the blame. Although Emperor Chongzhen had not yet punished him, he was dismissed from his post. Emperor Chongzhen then issued an edict revoking his mourning period and appointing Yang Sichang as the new Minister of War.
During the Chongzhen reign, the Minister of War was a hot potato. Before Zhang Fengyi, Chongzhen had appointed seven Ministers of War, none of whom met a good end: three committed suicide, three were dismissed and investigated, and one was exiled. With all his predecessors suffering such tragic fates, Yang Sichang did not want to take the position, but Chongzhen repeatedly issued imperial edicts appointing him, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the post.
"Wang Qingtian is innocent!"
"Those treacherous villains who bewitch the emperor should all be killed!"
Suddenly, Yang Sichang heard shouts of slogans. He frowned, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked out. He saw rows of people marching along the roadside, in neat formations, chanting slogans.
"Yang Fei!" Yang Sichang waved to his nephew Yang Fei.
"What are your instructions, Uncle?" Yang Fei quickly spurred his horse toward the carriage.
Yang Sichang pointed to the marching procession and asked, "Who are these people?"
Yang Fei replied, "They are all people from Changqing County. They are going to the capital to petition Wang Wenzhou and Lord Wang."
"What?!" Yang Sichang was stunned. Although he had been in mourning at home for the past two years since Wang Wenzhou entered the court, he was no stranger to important matters of the court. This mad dog Wang Wenzhou actually had people petitioning for him?
"Stop the car, let me get out and stretch my legs." Yang Sichang wanted to talk to the people and find out why they were petitioning on behalf of Wang Wenzhou.
Yang Sichang got out of the car and, accompanied by Yang Fei, walked towards the marching procession.
As they approached the group, a man rode up on horseback and asked, "Where are you from? Do you also want to sign up and petition for Wang Qingtian?"
"Yes!" Yang Sichang nodded and asked, "May I ask how I should address you, young man? Are you in charge of this team?"
The man shook his head and said, "My name is Zhang Yicai, and I am the security captain of Hanshan Supermarket in Changqing County. Our boss has already left, so I will be in charge here for the time being. If you would like to sign up, please fill out the form."
After Zhang Yicai finished speaking, he took out a small notebook and asked, "Where are you two from? What are your names?"
Yang Sichang began by saying, "I am Yang Sichang, and this is my nephew, Yang Fei. We are from Jinan Prefecture."
Zhang Yicai quickly made a note of it and then said, "From now until we return to Changqing County, you will receive a bonus of one or two taels of silver every day. In addition, you don't need to worry about food and lodging on the way to the capital and after we arrive. But there is one thing I have to make clear: the bonus will be paid out in five taels of silver first when we arrive in the capital, and the rest will be settled according to the number of days after we finish."
"Huh?" Yang Sichang was completely confused. What was going on? Why was there a bonus?
Zhang Yicai thought Yang Sichang was afraid of being cheated, so he quickly said, "Old man, do you not go out often? Don't you know about Hanshan Supermarket? In the Ming Dynasty, which county doesn't have Hanshan Supermarket? Our boss is the owner of Hanshan Supermarket in Changqing County. He wouldn't cheat you out of such a small amount of money."
“Yes, I understand.” Yang Sichang nodded.
Zhang Yicai thought for a moment and then said, "Your team uniforms will be custom-made for you tonight when you rest at the Hanshan Express Station. They should be delivered to you the night after tomorrow. Okay, follow the team for now. I have some things to do, so I'll find someone to guide you. Don't get mixed up. If you go to another county's team, don't ask me for money."
Zhang Yicai waved his hand and instructed, "Old Wu, come here. You take these two men with you."
An elderly man hurried over, smiling, and said, "Captain Zhang, don't worry, leave them to me. I guarantee there won't be any more mistakes."
Zhang Yicai nodded and spurred his horse away.
Old Wu smiled and said, "Come with me. Can you read?"
Yang Sichang quickly replied, "I can read."
"That's good! Remember, we are the petitioning group from Changqing County. If you get lost, just look for our flags to find our group. Don't get confused. Yesterday, a few illiterate idiots went to other counties' groups and then asked us for money. That's why our boss has decided that we won't settle the money in a hurry. Don't worry, you won't be shortchanged," Old Wu explained.
"What is your surname, brother?" Yang Sichang nodded and asked.
"You can just call me Lao Wu. What are your names?" Lao Wu asked.
Yang Sichang quickly introduced himself and started chatting with Lao Wu as they walked.
Yang Sichang asked, "Does everyone in the team receive silver?"
"Haha!" Old Wu laughed and said, "Of course!"
Yang Sichang frowned and asked, "Why is your boss spending so much money?"
Old Wu said in a serious tone, "Our boss said that without Lord Wang, there would be no him today. Now that Lord Wang is unjustly imprisoned, this is what he should do."
Yang Sichang thought for a moment and then said, "I heard that Lord Wang was imprisoned for colluding with the Tartars, and the evidence is conclusive!"
"Nonsense!" Old Wu cursed. "Don't listen to the slander of those treacherous villains. Lord Wang is a just and upright official who is dedicated to the people. He even went to Liaodong to carry out a secret mission with a life-or-death situation. How could he possibly collude with the Tartars?"
Yang Sichang curled his lip. "You ignorant commoners, how could you possibly know the inside story? I dare not speak of anything else, but just from the court's official gazette, I know that this mad dog, Wang Wenzhou, has an unusual relationship with the Tartars. Of course, I dare not draw a conclusion now about whether Wang Wenzhou is guilty or not."
For politicians, there are no absolute enemies or absolute friends, only absolute interests. Those who are at loggerheads one day may become good friends the next. The same applies to relations between nations.
"By the way!" Yang Sichang asked, "Wasn't Hanshan Express supposed to be closed? Why are we still able to stay at Hanshan Express's inn tonight?"
Old Wu said with a smile, "The courier service is only suspended for external customers; for us, it hasn't stopped operating."
"Oh!" Yang Changsi nodded.
At that moment, a large group of people came galloping in.
Looking into the distance, Yang Sichang saw that the riders on horseback were all women dressed in shorts and boots. Yang Sichang frowned; these women were clearly well-equipped and appeared to be elite soldiers. As far as he knew, only Wang Wenzhou had such a female guard in the entire Ming Dynasty. Could these be Wang Wenzhou's men?
"Ah!" Old Wu's eyes widened in surprise.
Yang Sichang asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Old Wu muttered in surprise, "Who exactly are these people in this group? Almost all the owners of businesses in the mountain-related industries throughout Jinan Prefecture are in this group."