Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1009 1004 [Kill all civil servants]

Zheng Zhongfu is thirty-six years old this year, but he has been a soldier for twenty years.

When he succeeded to the throne, the imperial guards needed to be adjusted, and the aristocratic families took the opportunity to stuff people into the guards. Cui then sent Zheng Zhongfu to the imperial guards as a soldier.

Logically speaking, he should belong to the Cui family.

However, because he beat Jin Bushi's son, he became a fugitive and hid in the Ren family. After that, all his official positions were promoted by the Ren family.

From another perspective, Zheng Zhongfu was the product of compromise between the Ren and Cui families.

At that time, there was another Jin family who led troops to "go to Luoyang". After everyone joined forces to kill Jin Bushi, another Jin family controlled the military power of the capital. Ren and Cui supported Zheng Zhongfu to take the throne and joined forces to take back the military power of the capital.

Such a person with such a large number of troops was not taken seriously after helping the aristocratic family to seize power. Instead, he was treated like a beast of burden.

Are all the aristocratic families fools?
They just don't treat Wu Chen as a human being!

From the founding of Goryeo to the present day, the aristocratic families have always had the final say, and military men have to obey no matter how many troops they have.

In history, Zheng Zhongfu suffered many kinds of humiliation from civil officials and was forced to rebel at the age of over 60. If there was no way out, why would an old man take such a big risk?

Dragon Boat Festival.

The Goryeo king and his ministers feasted at Puxianyuan. The king had been placed under house arrest here twice, and arriving at Puxianyuan was like returning home.

The king and civil officials were eating and drinking inside, enjoying singing and dancing, opera, reciting poems and composing couplets, while the military officials were all outside serving as security guards.

Goryeo's military officials were not allowed to go to the palace to discuss state affairs, and they were not even allowed to attend the banquets hosted by the king!
The reason why Zheng Zhongfu had his beard burned off was during a New Year's Eve banquet. The king and the civil officials were feasting and drinking, and he stood stupidly by the side as a security guard. The civil officials got drunk and became even crazier, so Jin Dunzhong actually set his beard on fire in public for fun.

The other civil servants did not try to stop him when they saw this, but instead burst into laughter at the amusement.

At this moment, Wang Gou pointed to the kimchi soup without cabbage and said, "The cabbage brought from the Ming Dynasty is very delicious when made into kimchi, but it's a pity that winter has passed. This year, farmers should plant more cabbage so that all officials can taste this delicious food."

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Ren Yuanhou immediately brought the civil servants to flatter him.

The pickle-making technology was introduced as early as the Tang Dynasty, when bamboo shoots, ferns and radishes were the main ingredients.

During the Goryeo Dynasty, leeks, water celery and other vegetables were added to kimchi, and kimchi soup was created to be used as a base for rice.

Now, there is cabbage kimchi!
This thing was brought to Pyongyang by agricultural officials so that the people there could eat cheap vegetables in winter. Gradually, it spread southward and was also planted in the Gyeonggi region of Goryeo, where it was loved by the king and dignitaries.

Cui Yunyi pointed at the wine jar and said, "This is corn wine shipped from Ming Dynasty. It is very strong and only a brave man can drink it. You guys try it and see if you can get used to it."

Two guards were immediately called in, each holding a jar of white wine, and they filled each civil servant with half a bowl.

Goryeo also has its own wine, called shixi.

After the rice is steamed, malt yeast water is added. The taste is similar to that of fermented glutinous rice, and it can even be said to be a kind of fermented glutinous rice.

The Goryeo king and his ministers, who were used to drinking fermented glutinous rice wine, would drink as much white wine as they could get.

Cui Yunyi said quickly: "Everyone, please wait a little longer, this wine is very strong!"

Everyone took a small sip and immediately felt their mouths and tongues burning. It was not a pleasant experience to drink liquor for the first time.

But since it came from the Ming Dynasty, it must be a good thing. If you can't get used to it, it must be your own problem.

Ren Yuanhou tasted the drink carefully for two times, and then he said, "It's strong at first, but sweet after a while. Isn't this how people are born in this world? Only after going through hardships and setbacks can they taste sweetness."

"Mr. Ding'an is absolutely right!" All the ministers praised.

After all, it was a banquet given by the king. No matter how simple it was, it couldn't be all vegetarian. There had to be meat, fish, and shrimp.

Wang Gou took a bite of the pork belly, took a sip of the white wine and said, "This wine goes really well with meat. I think the emperor of the Ming Dynasty also eats it this way."

The ministers immediately agreed.

The ministers who had been on diplomatic missions to Kaifeng or Luoyang were all silent at this moment.

They dared not reveal their meals in Daming, for fear of arousing jealousy and gossip from others.

Goryeo's economy was distorted, and the influx of cheap cloth solved the problem of clothing for the Goryeo people. However, the Ming Dynasty banned the export of grain, and Goryeo was still short of food.

The trade between the two parties is as follows:

Ming Dynasty exports: cloth, ironware, books, coins, daily necessities, and luxury goods.

Goryeo exports: furs, medicinal materials, dyes, seafood, minerals, and Goryeo paper.

Since furs, ginseng and pearls were valuable, the noble families of Goryeo specially arranged people to hunt, collect ginseng and collect pearls.

Especially mink, leopard, otter, and rat skins, which can be sold at high prices, and more and more mountain people make a living by hunting. By the way, see if you can find ginseng.

Goryeo paper is a special paper for calligraphy and painting, made of mulberry bark and cotton cocoons (low-quality silk cocoons), probably invented in the Northern Song Dynasty. The output is not high, the price is expensive, and it is very popular among Ming Dynasty scholars.

Due to the large quantity and high overall added value of Ming Dynasty's goods, Goryeo simply could not provide enough goods for exchange.

So various kinds of seafood are also used to make up the number, especially dried sea cucumbers and dried abalone.

The Goryeo fishermen risked their lives, working hard and exhaustingly day and night to fish, yet they themselves could not get enough to eat or wear warm clothes, and all the profits were earned by the Goryeo nobles and Ming merchants.

After drinking half a bowl of white wine, Wang Gou was a little drunk and asked, "The Cui family is in Haizhou and trades a lot with the Ming Kingdom. Is there any strange news about the Ming Kingdom recently?"

Cui Hongzai immediately took out a few newspapers and presented them to the emperor, saying, "The emperor of the Ming Dynasty changed the imperial gazette into the Ming Monthly Bulletin, which even ordinary people can buy and read. These copies of the Ming Monthly Bulletin were brought by Ming sea merchants. From now on, we don't need to waste money to send envoys. We can find out the truth about the Ming Dynasty by reading the Ming Monthly Bulletin."

Wang Gou began to read the newspaper with drunken eyes. After reading a few lines, he found that Min Zishun, the Minister of Public Administration of the Ming Dynasty, was hanged for corruption. There was also a list of officials involved in the case, more than ten of them were executed, more than fifty were exiled, and more than one hundred were imprisoned.

He hurriedly looked at the second newspaper, and the result was that Qin Hui, the Minister of Finance of the Ming Dynasty, was executed, along with Qin Hui and his wife's entire family.

I read several copies in a row, and the first edition was all about killing corrupt officials!

Wang Gou was horrified: "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty killed so many corrupt officials. Isn't he afraid that the powerful families in the country will cause chaos?"

In fact, the important officials of Goryeo had already read the newspapers, because Kaizhou Port, located off the coast of the capital, was the first port of Goryeo for trade with the Ming Dynasty.

Not only officials read it, but also some scholars from poor families.

Those poor scholars were greatly shocked and had a greater yearning for the Ming Dynasty. It turned out that those parasites that were eating away at the country and those powerful officials could really be executed according to the law!
No wonder the Ming Dynasty was so powerful and could easily destroy the Jin Dynasty, because the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty did not dare to engage in corruption.

Whoever dares to commit corruption will be executed by the emperor!
Civil officials are not greedy, so the people are prosperous. Military generals are not greedy, so the soldiers are brave.

The poor scholars from Goryeo, who had no future, copied the Ming Monthly Report word for word, read it from time to time, and discussed it during gatherings. While cursing the Goryeo officials, they sang praises to the Ming emperor, regarding Ming as their spiritual home.

Zhu Ming never imagined that "Da Ming Monthly" would be spread to Goryeo and become a foreign propaganda publication.

At this moment, many Goryeo ministers glared at Cui Hongzai.

Why are you showing this to the king?
Do you still want to kill corrupt officials in Goryeo? Cui Hongzai smiled, because he knew what would happen today.

Outside the hall, Zheng Zhongfu was ready to take action.

However, the composition of the troops of the Konghe Army was complex. The soldiers came from all over the country and were sent by aristocratic families, representing the interests of different families.

Not to mention that he, the number one military official, couldn't control it, even the powerful official Ren Yuanhou found it difficult to fully command it.

Zheng Zhongfu nodded secretly to Li Yifang, and Li Yifang walked towards a young general.

The young general was Ren Yuanhou's confidant and the commander of the Goryeo palace guards. He immediately shouted, "Don't take another step forward. Don't disturb the nobles in the palace!"

Li Yifang smiled and said, "The nobles are eating and drinking in the palace, but we are hungry. General Hong, do you want to eat something? I will send someone to get it for you right away."

The young general put down his guard and swallowed his saliva: "Have a bowl of pine nut porridge."

"it is good."

Li Yifang was still walking forward and continued to ask, "General, do you want any cakes or preserved fruits?

"I want a piece of cake." The young general turned his head to look inside the hall, thinking of finding an excuse to slip away and go to the side room outside to have a bowl of pine nut porridge.

Clang!
Li Yifang suddenly drew his sword and chopped the neck with incredible precision.

The young general was caught off guard. He covered his neck and tried to struggle, but Li Yifang pinned him to the ground and slapped him hard.

At the same time, Zheng Zhongfu and several of his accomplices also drew their swords and started killing, unexpectedly eliminating the trusted military generals of the Cui, Li, Jin, Liu and other clans who were planted in the Konghe Army.

Seven or eight of the leaders were killed, and the rest were so frightened that they fled in panic.

Li Gao led his troops in from outside, blocked the escape route, and shouted: "If you don't want to die, then obey me!"

Faced with the rebels who were blocking the passage and armed to the teeth, the imperial guards who had already lost their leader were so scared that they dropped their weapons and chose to surrender.

An eunuch came out from the hall and shouted before he could even see what was going on: "What are you arguing about? The nobles inside have heard it!"

Zheng Zhongfu raised his arms and shouted: "Those noble families are living in luxury, while we warriors are living in poverty. What kind of world is this? I want to eradicate the evil today. If you have the courage, follow me. If any civil servant in the palace bullies you, you can go and take revenge on him with a sword. Follow me and kill him!"

"kill!"

Under the threat of Li Gao's soldiers, the imperial guards picked up their weapons and rushed into the palace.

Before the ministers could react, the Goryeo king ran away. The king had been under house arrest twice and was very familiar with mutinies and coups, so he ran out through the side door of the palace as soon as possible.

"We won't kill those from poor families, we'll only kill those from prominent families!" Zheng Zhongfu shouted.

The ministers fled in terror, and the warriors slaughtered crazily.

Even the instigators, Cui Hongzai and Cui Yunyi, finally felt something was wrong. Their original plan was to use the military to control the officials and arrest Ren Yuanhou and his gang, but they did not let the military to kill at will.

"Don't kill the poor, only the prominent families!"

As the warriors shouted, a few low-ranking civil officials hid aside and stated their identities: "I am from a humble family, I am from a humble family!"

As expected, they saved their lives. The military men specifically targeted high-ranking officials and killed them.

You can tell who the high-ranking officials are from their hats and clothes. The military men have been fed up with resentment all the time, and today they can finally vent it out.

The civil servants all ran towards the two side doors, only to find that they were blocked outside.

Wang Gou, the King of Goryeo, was also blocked there and begged for mercy: "Let's talk it over, let's talk it over..."

Cui Yunyi angrily scolded Zheng Zhongfu: "You are committing treason and your entire family will be exterminated! If you put down your weapons early and turn back from your wrong path, I can still spare your life."

Zheng Zhongfu laughed loudly: "Why are you pretending to be a good person? You are the one who instigated me to rebel. You use me as a gun, but I can also use you as a knife. Except for Your Majesty, kill all those who escaped here!"

Ren Yuanhou said in horror: "Put down your weapons, and I can grant you a civilian position, and you will no longer be a warrior."

"kill!"

Led by Zheng Zhongfu, a group of warriors rushed forward and hacked at the unarmed civil officials.

Wang Gou was so frightened that he squatted in the corner of the courtyard, with several eunuchs protecting him closely.

Cui Yunyi fled in panic, but was caught up by a soldier of the Control Crane Army, who stabbed him in the back with a gun and knocked him down. Another soldier of the Leading Dragon Team swung his knife and slashed Cui Yunyi in the back of the neck.

The powerful official Ren Yuanhou was killed by Li Yifang with a knife, who chopped him more than ten times.

Zheng Zhongfu found his old enemy. He grabbed Jin Dunzhong's collar and said, "You burned my beard for fun, and then you wanted to kill me. What did I do wrong?"

Jin Dunzhong cried and wailed, "General, please spare my life. I am young and ignorant. If I can survive today, I am willing to marry my niece to you. You only need to divorce your first wife and marry my niece. From now on, you will be Jin's son-in-law."

"Hahahaha!"

Zheng Zhongfu laughed wildly and angrily: "At this point, you still want me to be a dog for the Jin family? As your Jin family's son-in-law, do I have to obey your Jin family in everything from now on?"

Zheng Zhongfu slashed Jin Dunzhong's legs with a knife and watched him crawl on the ground in fear.

As he crawled, he chopped again.

Jin Dunzhong cried and screamed in pain, and under the control of fear, he continued to crawl out involuntarily.

After crawling to the door, Zheng Zhongfu dragged the man back with a smile and chopped him with a knife again.

After being chopped seven times, Jin Dunzhong was still alive, but he had given up trying to escape and lay there crying, waiting to die.

Many civil servants were tortured to death because they bullied the military officers too harshly.

Finally, Zheng Zhongfu approached Wang Gou and killed all the eunuchs who were protecting the king.

Wang Gou looked at the corpses on the ground and fell into unprecedented despair. Although he was placed under house arrest twice, those coups were relatively civilized. Not to mention the random killing of civil officials, even the powerful officials were only exiled.

How could it be as bloody as it is now?
Zheng Zhongfu sighed and said, "Your Majesty has been very kind to me. When Jin wanted to capture and kill me, it was Your Majesty who sent someone to tip me off."

Wang Gou saw a hope of survival and asked hurriedly: "What does the general want? I will definitely satisfy you."

Zheng Zhongfu said: "Every time your majesty was imprisoned, someone rescued you. Look at these eunuchs, they would rather die than not protect your majesty. If your majesty does not abdicate, I will be worried."

Wang Gou said: "General, rest assured, I will abdicate immediately and pass the throne to the crown prince!"

Zheng Zhongfu added: "My daughter is about the same age as the prince."

Wang Gou said: "Please marry your daughter to the Crown Princess... No, please marry your daughter to the Queen!"

Zheng Zhongfu said with satisfaction: "Very good, Your Majesty, please write the edict of succession now."

(End of this chapter)