Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 76 Everyone passes the test
Wei Zhongxian's resignation was a major event that shocked both the government and the public.

Although Zhu Youjian later appointed Wang Tiqian to temporarily serve as the admiral of the East Factory, the resignation request of Tian Ergeng, the commander of the Jinyiwei, was not approved. People with a discerning eye can see that without the core of Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch party, which was already experiencing internal strife, is falling apart.

"The factory owner is confused!"

"His Majesty still has concerns in the capital. A small official can capture him outside the capital."

"Even if they bring a thousand warriors, will they still fight to the death at this time?"

Knowing that Wei Zhongxian was arranged by the emperor to go to Fengyang, the central capital, some eunuchs sighed.

If Wei Zhongxian was still in the capital, the eunuchs could barely maintain their ties through his banner, and the emperor would have to be wary of the eunuchs' power if he wanted to deal with him.

But after leaving the capital, how Wei Zhongxian was dealt with was a matter of a word from the emperor. It can be said that life and death depend entirely on the emperor's thoughts.

Therefore, some people deplored Wei Zhongxian's departure from Beijing!
But no matter how much they deplored this matter, they couldn't possibly remind Wei Zhongxian. Just like those warriors who could not die, they relied on Wei Zhongxian for power.

Now that Wei Zhongxian is gone, will they still show up at this time to attract the attention of those who impeached Wei Zhongxian?

More people are looking for a way out and want to keep their official positions.

It can be said that at the moment Wei Zhongxian was deposed, the eunuch party had begun to collapse.

Aware of this trend, Zhu Youjian did not hold the Shuowang Dynasty on the first day of November, but instead asked Lin Dan Khan to send envoys to pay tribute. Lest those low-level officials attack the eunuch party in groups and interfere with their taking over the power position vacated after the eunuch party's collapse.

Lin Dan Khan's envoys have already arrived in the capital and have been learning tribute etiquette. After a grand ceremony, the Ming Dynasty officially accepted Lin Dan Khan's tribute and conferred titles such as King Shunli.

Then Zhu Youjian went to the Ancestral Temple in person and presented the jade seal of the former Yuan Dynasty to express his condolences to the previous emperors.

Such an incident distracted the attention of both the government and the public. Being able to make such a feat at the beginning of his ascension to the throne, many people think that the current emperor is a wise king.

Coupled with the deposed Wei Zhongxian, some people who had been wronged saw hope, and there were endless voices praising the emperor.

Wei Zhongxian also set out to leave the capital on this day. Leading thousands of warriors and escorting forty carts filled with gold, silver and jewelry, they left majestically. It seems to show that he still has power and confidence.

When Zhu Youjian heard about this, he sneered in his heart and breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing that no matter how he deals with him in the future, he doesn't have to worry about unrest in the capital. The destructive power of the eunuch's destruction will be minimized.

After Wei Zhongxian left Beijing, he now has no scruples. It was decided to take control of the power of the court on the grounds of rectifying the eunuch party:
"First of all, it's the official department. Zhou Yingqiu should get out of here this Sunday, and he should spit out the money he received." 』

"If you dare to openly sell your official position and share bribes with Li Kuilong, you will be indispensable for the confiscation of the house!" 』

The Ministry of Personnel is responsible for the appointment of officials. It has always been the first of the six ministries and the department that Zhu Youjian valued most.

Although he had already arranged for Yang Jingchen to be in charge of the Literature and Selection Department and had the power to promote him through promotion. But the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel still cannot be given up.

The Ministry of War needs capable people to handle affairs, so it's okay to leave them to Yuan Keli. The Ministry of Civil Affairs only needs to follow his instructions and does not need people who are too independent.

Yang Jingchen is now the Right Minister, so it is against common sense to directly promote him to the position of Minister. Moreover, he cannot be promoted to the second-rank political minister even if he is given the title of official third-rank envoy.

Cao Sicheng, the left minister, is qualified enough, but he has not shown any intention to surrender these days, so he certainly cannot be used.

The most suitable candidate is Fang Guiwei recommended by Yang Jingchen.

Zuodu Yushifang is magnificent. He is the oldest person in the court today. He is seventy-three years old this year.

According to Zhu Youjian's original intention, he wanted to find an opportunity for this veteran to become an official. However, Yang Jingchen was not qualified enough to be the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, so he recommended this veteran minister to himself.

In addition, Fang Zhuanghui had done a good job in presiding over the court discussions a few days ago. Zhu Youjian was very satisfied with him and decided to keep the veteran minister for a few years before letting Yang Jingchen succeed him. So the next day, Zhu Youjian approved the impeachment of Zhou Yingqiu by Yang Weiyuan and others at the standing meeting that dealt with the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel, and directly dismissed this person and let him go home to face his crime.

Then Yang Jingchen was asked to announce the candidates for the positions of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Minister of Special Supervision Qian Fa, and they would be recommended to the court at the regular meeting on November 3.

The results of the court's recommendation were as expected. Fang Guanghui successfully became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Yuan Keli became the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Bi Ziyan became the Minister of Special Supervision of Qian Fa. At the moment when the eunuchs were panicking, these positions were changed according to Zhu Youjian's will.

But the most important thing in today's court meeting is not this matter. After Zhu Youjian dismissed Zhou Yingqiu, the ministers seemed to have received the signal and attacked the other eunuch ministers one by one.

First of all, Wei Zhongxian's relatives, Shangbao Secretary Wei Fumin and others were impeached, and Zhu Youjian directly dismissed them.

Wei Liangqing's close friends, Bai Taishi, who was given the title of Taipusi Minister, and others were also dismissed.

Li Kuilong, the former doctor of the literary selection department and now the right deputy to the imperial censor, was naturally impeached and removed after Zhu Youjian dismissed Zhou Yingqiu because he and Zhou Yingqiu sold their official positions and shared bribes.

Tian Ji, the left minister of the Ministry of War, who had the title of Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and Pan Ruzhen, the left minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, who first built a shrine for Wei Zhongxian, were also impeached and dismissed.

Yan Mingtai, who was in charge of the imperial palace and had the title of Minister of the Ministry of War, was afraid, so he asked Shangshu to resign.

There are also some eunuchs who want to save themselves. Li Ying, the censor of Henan Province, recommended the impeachment of Liu Zhao, the governor of Jiliao, and avenged Geng Ruxi, who was convicted and executed for not worshiping the statue of Wei Zhongxian, and Hu Shirong, who was sentenced to death for disobeying Cui Chengxiu's instructions.

Zhu Youjian approved the impeachment to remove Liu Zhao, and learned that Geng Ruqi and Hu Shirong had not yet been executed, so he immediately ordered Dali Temple to retry the case.

Someone else exposed Li Yingri's request to make Wei Zhongxian king, saying that Wei Zhongxian had treasonous intentions, and suggested that this person be arrested and Wei Zhongxian be convicted.

Some people even impeached the chief minister Huang Liji and his wife Wei Zhongxian, and voted according to Wei Zhongxian's wishes. He also suggested that the emperor reinstate the officials dismissed by Wei Zhongxian and let them return to the court to serve as officials.

Zhu Youjian did not want those officials to come back so soon to share power, and wanted to control the rhythm in his own hands. Seeing that impeachment memorials were pouring out one after another, and there was no time to deal with other matters, he felt that such chaos in the court was not the solution, so he decided to cut the mess quickly and issued an order:

"Don't impeach randomly, everyone in the court must pass the test!"

As soon as these words came out, all the courtiers in the Zhongji Palace were shocked. Unexpectedly, the emperor was so hostile to the eunuchs and wanted to examine them one by one.

But the emperor's next words let them know that the emperor was not that hostile. He just wanted to use the name of "everyone to pass" to remove some people from the eunuch party:

"The four bachelors have served me very well in assisting me, and they will definitely not participate in the counter-case. Wei Zhongxian's matter has nothing to do with them."

"Jiu Qing also has merit and remains in his original position. Starting from the officials of the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Three Laws, each department will review them one by one."

"Zhou Jiachun, a doctor in the Literary and Selection Department, was transferred to the right Shaoqing of Dali Temple, and together with Yang Jingchen, the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, reviewed the officials of Dali Temple."

“Then we will examine the officials from the Ministry of Personnel, then the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Sixth Section, and finally we will examine the Ministry of Punishment to clean up old cases.”

"Until the case is retried, all impeachments will be stayed and no new cases will be dealt with."

　"Chongzhen Changbian":
　　In the eleventh month of the seventh year of the Apocalypse, Jiazi, Shuo.

　　The eunuch Wei Zhongxian was placed in Fengyang. The edict said:
　　I heard that once all evil deeds are done, you will have the power to control the world; if you have no generals among your ministers, you will have the authority to take the throne. In order to rebel against Wei Zhongxian, the late emperor used his left and right to do little work and show a little favor. The loyal and virtuous people do not think of serving the country with all their loyalty in order to repay the good fortune. They specialize in cultivating the party for personal gain, stealing prestige and blessings, depriving them of the title of concubine Cheng and the Li family. The injustice is still unresolved. They threaten the concubine Yu and the Zhang family and commit suicide. He used the decree to seize Luo Zhi, a loyal minister who dared to rebuke him, and colluded with his confidants to torture him severely, falsely accuse him of embezzlement, and kill him many times. If he dies under the stick, his gentleness dies in the yoke, his subjects are heavy on their feet, and their eyes are on the road. However, he has received the title of three nobles and held the fifth rank, which is an honor that no official has ever experienced. He is in league with the Hakka clan and is a traitor on the outside. When the late emperor was dying, he still praised his kindness and promoted his rank, and his death was extremely disciplined. Lai's ancestor's spirit is in heaven, heaven hates his evil, God takes away his soul, and his sins are exposed. It was time to die, but the funeral was in Zi Palace, and I stayed in Fengyang. The second offender's family property and registration were deprived of official status, and he abused his clan and relatives and lived in the smoke and garrison for eternity.

　　In the early days, the emperor and his gods took care of themselves, the loyal and virtuous party flourished, and the traitors were not exposed. Yang Weiyuan took the lead in correcting Cui Chengxiu, but he started to support the two of them, but he still did not assassinate the loyal and virtuous people. Lu Chengyuan and Qian Yuanqi directly committed crimes against Zhongxian, and even Qian Jiazheng's Ten Major Crimes are detailed.

　　The loyal and virtuous man was so angry that he cried to the emperor and did not move. Xu Yingyuan, the eunuch of Zhixin Residence, was appointed by the emperor. He was loyal and virtuous, and he dedicated himself to serving him. He gave him rare treasures, became brothers, and said goodbye to Dongchang Seal. When Ying Yuan was born, he was banished and took up residence in his family. Not long after, Ying Yuan was placed in Xianling.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)