Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 71 Removing Cui Chengxiu
On October 7, Zhu Youjian gave Emperor Tianqi the posthumous title of Datian Chandao, Dunxiao, Duyou, Zhang Wenxiang, Wujing, Muzhuang, Qinzhi Emperor, and the temple name of Xizong.

Initially, the Ministry of Rites drafted Emperor Xizong Zhe. Zhu Youji realized that neither King Xi of Zhou nor Emperor Xizong of Tang Dynasty had a good reputation, so he was unwilling to give such a bad temple title to his brother, so he changed Xi to Xi and Zhe to Zhe, which had a slightly better meaning. .

After the posthumous title and temple name were determined, Emperor Tianqi became a thing of the past, and the court entered the era of Zhu Youjian.

Huang Liji, a scholar in the cabinet, and others invited people to hold a sutra banquet and give lectures on the day. Zhu Youjian did not want to hold a complicated sutra banquet ceremony in the winter, nor did he want to choose a Zhijing banquet or a Tongzhi sutra banquet at this time. In accordance with the custom of temporarily suspending the cold and heat, the prayer feast will be held in the spring of next year.

At the same time, in order not to leave the impression that he did not like reading, Zhu Youzhao held the first daily lecture on the 16th day of the 16th day of the dynasty. From then on, he would hold lectures every day except for the dynasty.

According to the usual practice, Zhu Youjian named his biological mother's younger brother Liu Xiaozu as the new Lebo and Liu Jizu as the commander of Jinyiwei. Their sons Liu Wenbing, Liu Wenyao and others were also named as the commander of Jinyiwei and received their salaries.

The queen's father, Zhou Kui, was also named the governor and magistrate as usual, waiting for his future knighthood.

At the same time, Zhu Youjian also respected Li, the chosen attendant of Emperor Wanli, the so-called Dongli Empress, who raised Zhu Youjian after his biological mother passed away. In February of the first year of Tianqi, this Li Xuanshi was granted the title of Concubine Zhuang. He was so angry that he died of anger from the eunuchs in the palace. Zhu Youjian was grateful for her upbringing and gave her brother land and the title of Duke.

After bestowing rewards on relatives, you should also reward those around you. Zhu Youjian made Xu Yingyuan's brother and nephew the commander and commander of the Jinyi Guards, and the eunuchs Wang Wenzheng, Wang Guotai, and Wang Yongzuo's nephews were the commanders and commanders of the Jinyi Guards.

Other eunuchs Wang Zuo, Chen Bingzheng, Qi Benzheng and others also received awards. However, Zhu Youjian was not so generous to them. Most of them only gave their younger brothers and nephews the title of Duke, which only gave them social status, but no salary.

Even Zhu Youjian did not want to grant worldly positions to Xu Yingyuan and others, but Wei Zhongxian had granted too many Yinxi, and Zhu Youjian was too stingy to win over others, so he had to give them worldly positions first.

Then, after Wei Zhongxian handed over the grain worth one million taels collected by the donors, Zhu Youjian formally approved the Dongjiang contribution reported by Wei Zhongxian and others. Know.

This made Wei Zhongxian feel reassured, knowing that the emperor still needed him. Whether it was paying tribute to Lin Dan Khan or collecting money and food to build a mausoleum for Emperor Tianqi, he did it well, and the emperor had already accepted him and ranked him ahead of Xu Yingyuan.

He thought that the emperor still needed to search for money and food across the country and would not easily deal with him. In addition, Yang Suoxiu commanded Chen Eryi to stir up the troubled waters on October 5th, trying to stir up the remnants of Donglin. Wei Zhongxian felt that there was an undercurrent in the court, and he wanted to solve Cui Chengxiu's matter as soon as possible, put the blame on him, and eliminate hidden dangers.

So on October 14th, Yunnan Taoist Censor Yang Weiyuan went to court to impeach Cui Chengxiu, the Minister of War, for his low aspirations, dirty life, and rift with his old assistant Feng Quan for power. He tried his best to slander Cui Chengxiu, praised Wei Zhongxian's loyalty, and even explained the rumors that Wei Zhongxian and Cui Chengxiu had a conspiracy when Emperor Tianqi died, and poured dirty water on Cui Chengxiu.

Zhu Youjian was very amused by the words "mistaken letter to Chengxiu" written in it. He felt that the purpose of this memorial was not to impeach Cui Chengxiu, but to defend Wei Zhongxian.

Recalling that Yang Weiyuan, as a general of the eunuch party, had first proposed re-evaluating the three major cases and leading to the compilation of the "Three Dynasties Essential Code", Zhu Youjian also guessed a little bit about his purpose. It is nothing more than cutting off Cui Chengxiu, putting the blame on him, and protecting the rest of the eunuch party.

Thinking that Yuan Keli was still on the way to Beijing and that this memorial was not convincing enough to drive Cui Chengxiu away, Zhu Youjian criticized Yang Weiyuan for "willfully slandering", blaming him for impeachment without evidence and not using this memorial to question Cui Chengxiu.

But Cui Chengxiu was frightened by this memorial and knew that Wei Zhongxian and the eunuchs were blaming themselves. Not being able to return to his hometown for a month originally made him feel uneasy, but this memorial made him feel uneasy to the extreme. He knew that if he didn't find a way, he might not be able to go back at all. So he immediately went to court to defend himself and asked to return to his hometown to observe the system. Of course Zhu Youjian would not approve and vetoed his request. He knew that as long as Cui Chengxiu continued to be impeached, various crimes would be exposed sooner or later. The end of the Eunuch Party will soon come.

Therefore, in Zhu Youjian's view, no matter whether Yang Weiyuan is an eunuch or not, or who is behind him, those things are not important. The important thing is that his memorial means that more and more Kedao officials are attacking eunuch ministers, and a trend will soon form. At that time, even if Wei Zhongxian and other eunuch officials wanted to cut it off, it would be impossible to cut it off.

However, Zhu Youjian was a little disappointed that on October 15th, no officials outside the eunuch party came forward to impeach Cui Chengxiu. This made him feel that the firepower was still not enough and he had to wait.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian patiently held a daily lecture ceremony on October 16 and began his studies as an emperor. Listen to the lecturer's reading of books such as "Great Learning", "Shangshu Yaodian", and "Illustrated Commentary on Emperor Jian" compiled by Zhang Juzheng.

On October 19th, it was Yang Weiyuan's visit again. This time he still impeached Cui Chengxiu, but he did not dare to reveal the evidence of Cui Chengxiu's crime according to the emperor's approval. He only said that he colluded with the internal servant.

Shu Nei briefly tasted the impeachment of Cui Chengxiu, but praised Wei Zhongxian greatly, saying: "The factory minister is public but shows off his private interests; the factory minister does not love money but shows off his greed; the factory minister still knows how to serve the country and the people, but Cheng Xiu only knows how to do it" "Relying on power and accepting bribes" made Zhu Youjian feel disgusted. I wonder if Yang Weiyuan wrote this memorial specifically to praise Wei Zhongxian.

But precisely because of this, Zhu Youjian found it difficult to reply to this memorial. According to his original intention, he wanted to review the memorial and let the matter continue to ferment. But in this way, it seemed that he did not agree with Yang Weiyuan's praise of Wei Zhongxian and did not want them to complete the cutting.

Considering that Wei Zhongxian and Eunuch Dang's intention to cut off from Cui Chengxiu was clearly revealed, and in order to further send out a signal, Zhu Youjian finally made clear his attitude by instructing "order Jingjing to listen to the punishment" in the memorial.

As soon as this attitude came out, Cui Chengxiu felt a little relieved, knowing that neither Wei Zhongxian nor the eunuchs had any intention of killing them all, and the emperor also planned to let him go. He hurriedly wrote another memorial and asked to return to his hometown to observe the system.

Zhu Youjian naturally approved this request for compliance. On October 21, when Yuan Ke was about to arrive in Beijing, Zhu Youjian officially dismissed Cui Chengxiu from his post as Minister of War and other posts, and asked him to return to his hometown to guard the system.

　"Chongzhen Changbian":
　　In October of the seventh year of Apocalypse:

　　On the 14th day of Dingwei (the 14th day of the lunar month), Yunnan Taoist censor Yang Weiyuan Shujiu Cui Chengxiu, Minister of the Ministry of War and Zuodu censor, had a low ambition and a filthy life. He had a gap in his struggle for power with his old assistant Feng Quan. He lured Wu Chunfu to attack, but Yilang Guan failed. After a few months, I have been promoted to the second rank of Qing Dynasty. All those who are impatient will crawl to the door of the show.

　　On the 19th day of Renzi (the 19th day of Renzi's reign), Yang Weiyuan, the imperial censor, went to Cui Chengxiu Tong again. Anyone who was eager to become an official would not follow him. Therefore, when Yang and Zuo were in power, it was considered a crime not to participate in the affairs of the factory officials; when it came to showing off, it was also a crime not to honor the factory officials. Therefore, those who don’t know say that presenting a show to the officials is the chief contributor, and the ministers are the chief culprits. I say that presenting a show is of no benefit to the officials, and it will be a burden to the officials.

　　It is hateful to say that the officials in the factory show off their private interests because they are public, the officials in the factory do not love money but show off their greed, the officials in the factory still know how to serve the country and the people, but the officials in the factory only know how to rely on their power to accept bribes. Is the present show based on the minister's blatant act as a way to express anger and resentment?

　　Order to listen quietly for punishment.

　　Jiayin (21st), Cui Chengxiu, the Minister of the Ministry of War and the censor of Zuodu, was exempted and returned to the garrison system.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)