Chongzhen's open life

Chapter 368 Riot?protest?
Outside the imperial study room, the wind and snow were blowing, the cold wind mixed with crushed ice, scraped on the body and face like fine blades, and the scraping was painful.

But the external pain was not as chilling as the coldness in Zhang Ruitu's heart.

The swollen cheeks were swollen, and the broken ice hit his face red, cutting many tiny cracks. Zhang Ruitu's entire face was overflowing with traces of blood, but he himself didn't notice it at all. He walked slowly towards the outside of the palace, his face pale and without the slightest expression.

Huang Liji and other cabinet ministers walked with him. Everyone turned their heads to look at this old man, sighing in their hearts, but they didn't know how to comfort him.

Everyone braved the wind and snow until they walked outside the palace gate in silence, and when they were about to part, Huang Liji said: "My lord, the Holy Majesty was just too angry. Now that he has scolded him all the time, there should be nothing wrong. You don't have to take it too seriously, just pay more attention to what you do in the future, why should you be so depressed?"

Hearing this, Zhang Ruitu turned his head and looked at him with a sad smile. Perhaps his mouth was too open, and the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily when he was involved in the wound, forming a strange expression that was both sad and funny. He looked at Huang Liji and said: " At noon, you and I have been officials in the same court for many years, don’t you know me? When did my Zhang Changgong’s heart become so fragile, and I can’t stand a little scolding by His Majesty, I just wonder if I really should retire and return home.”

"Tell me to return to my hometown?! Why did the elder make such a statement?" Shi Fenglai interjected in shock when he heard the words.

"Ugh……"

Zhang Ruitu sighed deeply, looked back at the majestic imperial city covered in wind, snow and silver, and said with a downcast expression: "Since I was a Jinshi in the 35th year of Wanli, I was first awarded the editor of the Imperial Academy, and the calendar official Zhan Shi The young man Zhan Shi, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the minister of the Ministry of Rites entered the cabinet. He was a great scholar of Jin Jianji Temple. It has been 24 years since he joined the young master. up the coffin.

However, since I entered the officialdom, I also have great ambitions and inspirations to plead for Ming and the people of the world, and to be a famous and upright official through the ages.

However, decades of official career is like a big black dye vat, dyeing me with the same color when I entered it. I have forgotten my original intention, and I have become the profit-seeking generation that I looked down upon in the past. Today Already black physically and mentally, and can no longer be washed away.

Originally, the old man also thought that it would be like this, anyway, everyone is the same, so what if there are many old men, just spend this life in a daze, anyway, everyone is the same.

But His Majesty has ascended the throne, His Majesty is different from Wanli Emperor, Taichang Emperor, and late Emperor!
Your Majesty, he is more ambitious and energetic than the three former emperors, and he wants to revive the Ming Dynasty even more. His subordinates cannot tolerate people who are waiting to die, and they cannot tolerate people who hinder his footsteps.

In front of His Majesty, people like this old man who eat and wait to die have been reduced to unsightly garbage. If it wasn't for the stability of the court, His Majesty would have been kicked out of the cabinet by His Majesty long ago.

Although the matter of Fort Pingxi was not the old man's wish, in the final analysis it has nothing to do with the old man. His Majesty's patience with the old man has reached the peak. It can be said that this time is His Majesty's last face for the old man.

So the old man was thinking, I can't really have to wait for His Majesty to completely lose all patience with the old man before being kicked out by His Majesty like a dog. Instead of this, it is better to give myself a step, step down and give up the position to the young man.

As the saying goes, the emperor and the courtiers, like the old man, who eats and waits to die, is destined not to be the best candidate to assist a prosperous king like His Majesty. It is better to give up the position to a suitable newcomer, and he can return to his hometown with dignity. No matter how bad it is to return to your hometown, you can still be a rich man with a reputation. It is better than being driven away. Do you guys think what the old man said is right? "

Huang Liji and the others were silent, and they hesitated in their hearts. The problems Zhang Ruitu faced were the same as they were. In the current cabinet, except for Xu Guangqi and Zhang Chengzong, everyone else was the cabinet ministers of the former emperor. The bad words are all the ministers of the former court, who should have been replaced after His Majesty ascended the throne, but now they are just stuck in their positions for various reasons and do not want to leave.

Zhang Ruitu had exhausted His Majesty's patience, and he was clearly aware of this, so he planned to save himself some face and take the initiative to retreat.

What about them?

When will they completely run out of His Majesty's patience? At that point, will they be able to understand the situation as clearly as Zhang Ruitu, and take the initiative to retreat to save some face for themselves?
They don't have an answer in their hearts, or they are still unwilling to give up the position of elders who have worked so hard for most of their lives to get it easily.

But no matter what, they will encounter this kind of situation in the end, without exception, at that time they still have to make a decision, a decision that they have to make cruelly even if they don't want to give up.

Looking at these colleagues with changing faces, Zhang Ruitu showed a calm smile.

At least, I have already made the most difficult choice, so I don't have to worry about it anymore, is this a good thing?
Zhang Ruitu smiled suddenly, squatted down, grabbed a handful of snow from the ground, put it on his swollen face and rubbed it vigorously, feeling the pain on his face subsided a little, then strode towards his carriage, far away A voice came into the ears of Huang Liji and others who stayed in place.

"The old man will use this broken body to do the last few things for His Majesty. When the military reform is completed and the Eastern captives are wiped out, the old man will take the initiative to write a letter to resign, and return to his hometown to take care of his grandchildren. Enjoy the old man at this age." The family happiness that should be enjoyed, hahahaha..."

Zhang Ruitu left calmly, let go of the entanglement in his heart, his heart was clear, he had no more worries, and let go of everything.

But his words made Huang Liji and the others fall into a difficult choice, and they tossed and turned hard to sleep for a period of time to come.

The capital, which had been silent for a long time in the cold winter, suddenly boiled again, and what caused this scene was indeed a new imperial edict issued by the imperial court!
The military system reform of the whole army!

Do not discuss grades with civil servants!

Military and political separation!

The emperor is in charge forever!

One after another, one incident after another turned the entire capital into a pot of hot oil, blowing up all classes.

For the common people, it is just a few more things to talk about after dinner.

However, for those wealthy gentry and officials, it is indeed very different.

They don't care about the reform of the military system, but the military does not have the same rank as the civilian officials, and the separation of the military and the government is indeed unacceptable to them!
Once these two things are carried out, it means that they will no longer be able to reach out to the military from now on, and the military will no longer have to look at the faces of scholars like them.

Why!
They couldn't bear the fact that these big soldiers who used to be their dogs could one day be equal to them!
They can't control the Yongwei Battalion like this, it's a pro-army built by His Majesty, they can only bear with it, but it's simply unacceptable for all the top soldiers in the world to want to get out of control!
be opposed to!

Resist!

These two edicts must not be allowed to go ahead!
These vested interests who used to rely on their status as scholars and dignitaries to wantonly squeeze benefits from the soldiers broke out. They called these two edicts rebellious orders and firmly refused to recognize them!

Hundreds of officials sat in sit-in outside Chengtian Gate, and students from Guozijian came to the palace in droves to protest.

All over the country, wherever they got the news, scholars took to the streets. They were either voluntary or encouraged by others. In short, the wave of protests caused an uproar in the entire Ming Dynasty in a very short period of time.

For this massive protest, there was no reaction in the palace until the first protest team began to attack the government, and when the strange situation was about to get out of control, the palace finally took action.

A decree came out.

The imperial decree has been issued, and the facts are established, no one can disobey the order, and those who disobey the order will be beheaded!
On the same day when the imperial decree was issued, the Jinyiwei yamen all over the Ming Dynasty were moved, and the local guards were also moved under the emperor's order!

With hope and anger in their eyes, a large number of soldiers clenched their weapons, followed the Jinyiwei who came to mobilize the guards with the imperial decree, and entered the city, facing those "scholars" who were so bold as to protest that they dared to attack the government. We are approaching step by step...

The situation is tense to the extreme, it can be said to be on the verge of breaking out!
(End of this chapter)