Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 10 What did I do today?
Wang Chengen and his men continued walking through the streets of Kyoto, and the team became increasingly powerful.

Because of this scene in front of the Duke of England's mansion, the common people in the capital were in an uproar, and many people followed behind to watch the excitement.

In addition, there were some children running around and making a lot of noise.

Chengguo Mansion,

"Cry, why are you crying?" Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen looked at his concubine and angrily scolded, "I told you long ago that being a housekeeper is not that easy. With his arrogant attitude, he will suffer sooner or later. How are you doing now?"

The current steward is the brother of the newly-appointed concubine, and his face is swollen from the slap.

It looks like a pig's head.

After scolding the concubine, he scolded Wang Zhixin again, "You worthless thing, you actually dared to bully me, you're just a few steps faster to die."

Although he beat the housekeeper, he also embarrassed Duke Cheng.

Zhu Chunchen was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged. He had just been to Wang Zhixin's mansion.

Unfortunately, as soon as he got there, he saw Xu Wenjue stabbing Wang Zhixin to death with a knife.

Seeing that things had gotten out of hand, he quickly ran back, but he was still feeling irritated and had no place to vent his anger.

I was just thinking about what to do. Of course I couldn't go to see the emperor. Now that Wang Zhixin is dead, wouldn't it be uncomfortable for me to go to the palace myself?
Find a civil servant you are familiar with to discuss it?
He shook his head again. It was not a good idea. If someone saw him, they would report him and a small matter would become a big deal.

I was feeling overwhelmed when I heard a commotion outside.

The doorman came to report, "My Lord, Wang Chengen has arrived with all the officials."

Ok?
Zhu Chunchen stood up suddenly, "What are they doing here? Wang Zhixin's death has nothing to do with me!"

"Besides, when I arrived, everyone was already dead."

The doorman lowered his head and said, "It doesn't seem to be this matter. He said he was giving instructions to the Duke..."

"Isn't this the matter? Give me an explanation?" Zhu Chunchen frowned, not being able to figure out what it meant, but he still walked out.

As soon as he went out,

Then he heard Wang Chengen shouting at him, "Duke, His Majesty has asked the eunuch to give you instructions. Bring him up."

"This is Wang Zhixin's confidant, Zhu Yingrong, the chief of the Eastern Depot. Today, he was the one who beat up the Duke's housekeeper."

"Uh..." Zhu Chunchen was about to speak when he saw the person behind Wang Chengen was so talkative that he pushed him to the ground.

"Pfft~"

The head was chopped off and fell to the ground.

"I..." Zhu Chunchen stared blankly at everything in front of him, unable to believe it.

The corpse of the centurion was still bleeding, and the scarlet blood gathered into a pit.

The ground was in a mess and the air was filled with the smell of blood.

Zhu Chunchen opened his mouth and swallowed hard, like a goose, feeling like his forehead was pinched by the door. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"I just slapped the butler, and now I'm going to chop him off?"

When he reacted, he found that Wang Chengen had already left with all the officials.

……

next stop,
At the Duke of Wei's mansion, Xu Hongji, who had just returned and sat down not long ago, heard the noise outside and heard someone bring in a message saying that Wang Chengen had arrived with all the officials.

He hurried out, thinking that Chongzhen had changed his mind again.

But the scene that happened next also made him shocked and frightened, and his scalp tingled.

Didn’t we already agree on this?

Why buy one get one free?

His son killed Wang Zhixin, and he used 600,000 taels of silver to exchange for his legitimate son to stay in Kyoto. Now, Your Majesty has killed one of Wang Zhixin's centurions in front of him?

He looked at the corpse in front of the door with cold limbs, his right eyelid twitching, and bowed to Wang Chengen and said, "Please tell the eunuch and His Majesty that I am here to thank you."

All the civil servants in the court couldn't help vomiting when they saw this bloody scene.

Xue Guoguan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, turned pale and waved his hands repeatedly, "Eunuch Wang, I really... I really can't bear to watch this any longer."

Wang Chengen turned his head and looked at him and Kong Zhenyun and Zhang Sizhi, who were vomiting the most severely.

When these people were in Fengtian Hall to discuss the king's affairs, they kept calling the king a eunuch party.

Don’t you know that I, Wang Chengen, am also a eunuch?
Want to leave now?

"No, Minister Kong, Minister Zhang, His Majesty has said that you must accompany him throughout the journey."

"Didn't you say that Your Majesty favored the eunuch party?"

"Aren't you trying to cultivate your own party and become the second Wei Zhongxian?"

"If you don't watch, how do you know whether His Majesty really wants to support the eunuch party?"

Zhang Sizhi's face turned pale, "Your Majesty, I already know what you are thinking... Wow..."

Vomited again.

"Let's go to the next one." Wang Chengen glanced at Kong Zhenyun and Zhang Sizhi.

If you don't follow me, I will punish you later.

……

The residence of Xu Xideng, Marquis of Wuding,
The Eastern Depot's criminal justice officer was pinned to the ground and beheaded.

……

In front of the residence of Taining Marquis Chen Yanzuo,

One of Liu Gang's centurions was chopped to the ground.

……

At the gate of Yangwu Hou Xue Lian's residence,
One of Wang Zhixin's close confidants was executed.

……

These scenes drew cheers from the people. They didn't care who was killed. In their eyes, all corrupt officials and East Depot thugs should be killed.

Some older people still remember Wei Zhongxian’s arrogance and massacre of court officials and civilians.

Just tell me who is from the Eastern Depot.

Everyone changed color when they heard the sound.

"The dogs of the East Factory deserve to be killed!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

"The Emperor's Holy Ming..."

this day,
The people outside the court were particularly lively.

But all the civil officials and nobles in the court remained silent.

Especially for those who were implicated in this incident, even if they did not react at first, the bloody corpse just fell in front of their door.

The hot blood finally splashed across them and brought them to their senses.

The matter has become a big deal. So many people have died in the factory. They are also panicking!
Just like the day the Emperor issued an order for nobles to donate money, they gathered again in the Duke of England's mansion.

"Duke of England, please tell me, what should we do now?"

"Yes, Duke of England, you are the most favored by the Emperor. You are more effective than any of us in speaking to His Majesty."

Zhang Zhiji gritted his teeth and said, "What should I do? What else can I do?"

At this point, I can only donate.

No matter how this farce happened, the emperor now asked Wang Chengen to bring all the civil and military officials in the court to give an explanation to the nobles.

Within one day, almost all the people in the East Factory, from the governor Wang Zhixin to the hundred households under him, were killed.

Even though they were nobles, they could not help but be shocked.

Just as Zhang Zhiji said in his heart: Everything that can and cannot be done by the emperor has been done.

And it is done for you nobles to see.

If the nobles do not do something, it would be shameless.

"Hey, why didn't Duke Wei come?" It was not until this time that someone noticed that Duke Wei Xu Hongji did not come.

Zhang Zhiji sighed, "It's impossible for him to come. He has already submitted a petition to donate 600,000 taels in exchange for his legitimate son Xu Wenjue to stay in Kyoto."

"Hiss~ Six hundred thousand taels?"

"So many?" Everyone's eyes widened instantly, unable to believe it.

"We can't donate that much, right? After all, we don't have the intention to kill the king." Yangwu Hou Xue Lian's face turned red and he was extremely excited.

He usually wanted to break a copper coin into two pieces to spend.

Asking him to donate so much money would be like stabbing himself with a thousand knives.

Xu Xideng, Marquis of Wuding, shook his head. "First, there is the 200,000 taels from the Earl of Jiading, and then there is the 600,000 taels from the Duke of Wei. Our donation is too little, and His Majesty will be embarrassed. But if we donate more..."

Zhang Zhiji looked at everyone and patted the table, "I am prepared to donate 200,000 taels, and I won't say anything more."

What I mean is, this is what I say, and you guys can do whatever you want.

When the nobles heard this, their faces immediately turned green. "No, Duke of England, if you donate 200,000 taels, aren't you just putting us on the fire?"

"It's getting late, butler, please show the guests out." Zhang Zhiji just shouted, and suddenly he was stunned for a moment, then he realized that the old butler was gone.

……

Qianqing Palace,
The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the sky near the west golden, while the fiery red morning glow in the east was also dissipating.

"What time is it?"

"Your Majesty, it is four quarters past the hour of You."

Zhu Changgan sighed, it was about six o'clock.

The time limit for exchanging bodies with Chongzhen is six hours, or twelve hours.

I came here at seven in the morning, so I only have an hour left before I have to go back.

"Notify the imperial kitchen that I want to eat."

After watching a whole afternoon of drama, I was hungry. I had to do things, but I also had to eat.

At this time, a eunuch came in and knelt down, "Your Majesty, the people who went to search for Wang Zhixin are back."

The moment Wang Zhixin died, Zhu Changgan asked Wang Chengen to secretly send someone to confiscate Wang Zhixin's property.

"Your Majesty, this is the catalogue."

Zhu Changgan took it and unfolded it.

【money,
Sixteen red gold ingots weighing one hundred taels (estimated to be worth more than 20,000 taels of silver), one hundred and thirty-three silver ingots weighing one hundred taels (estimated to be worth more than 13,000 taels of silver), two thousand taels of raw gold sand (estimated to be worth 16,000 taels of silver), one thousand six hundred taels of red gold bricks (estimated to be worth 24,000 taels of silver), one hundred and thirty-thousand taels of silver, and four thousand five hundred strings of coins.

【Cultural relics and jewelry,
Twelve ancient bronze swords, three Song Dynasty inkstones, more than one hundred Duan inkstones, four coral trees, two pairs of white jade plates, 18 jade ruyi, nine sets of white jade wine pots and wine glasses, two gold-carved washbasins, and twenty-six pairs of gold-inlaid elephant chopsticks...】

【Rare items,
Eighty-seven ginseng plants, seventy-six mink furs, more than one hundred and twenty pieces of silk…】

【Real Estate,
There is a main house with 36 rooms; a west market with 33 rooms; two silk shops (estimated at 20,000 taels of silver); a porcelain shop (estimated at 30,000 taels of silver); a pawn shop (estimated at 40,000 taels of silver); and more than 100 hectares of land (estimated at more than 10,000 taels of silver)...】

Zhu Changgan's eyes narrowed slightly, "I really don't know until I check, how could Wang Zhixin be so rich?"

A quick glance showed that the amount was over 300,000 taels.

Before Chongzhen hanged himself, he ordered all the civil and military officials in the court to donate money, and promised: "Any official who donates will be promoted to a higher position."

The nobles and relatives of the emperor avoided the payment one after another and refused to pay, and the civil servants were even more shrewd and took the opportunity to escape.

Instead, it was the eunuchs who were looked down upon by civil and military officials who contributed the largest share of the money in this donation campaign.

Eunuchs Wang Yongzuo, Wang Dehua, Cao Huachun and several honest men donated almost all of their savings, 50,000 taels each.

Wang Zhixin, the governor of the East Factory, was the richest but the stingiest among his family, and he "barely" scraped together ten thousand.

After Li Zicheng entered Beijing, he demanded donations and asked Wang Zhixin to donate 300,000 yuan. However, Wang Zhixin was reluctant to sell the land and was crushed to death by Liu Zongmin.

The second reason why Zhu Changgan chose Wang Zhixin as his first target, besides the fact that he was a eunuch, was the reason.

"Your Majesty, the imperial meal is ready. You have been busy all day. Please eat something." Queen Zhou walked in from outside with the imperial meal, her eyes red.

Zhu Changgan hesitated for a moment, then said, "The Queen, please sit down and eat with us."

Empress Zhou hardly ate anything. Instead, she kept watching Chongzhen wolfing down the food, forcing a smile on her face.

She stepped forward to undress Chongzhen, "Your Majesty, you have worn this dress for a long time. I will wash it for you."

While taking off clothes, Queen Zhou suddenly pinched "Chongzhen".

Zhu Changgan almost cried out in pain, but he held it back.

"Hiss~" I didn't expect that there would be such interaction between Chongzhen and Queen Zhou.

It is also possible that it was because Zhu Changgan asked the Earl of Jiading to donate 200,000 yuan today.

Fortunately, Queen Zhou did not act unreasonably.

Then, the next second, the sound of hot breathing sounded in his ears, "Your Majesty, please come to my bedroom after dinner. You haven't been there for a long time."

Zhu Changgan's back suddenly stiffened, and he swallowed hard, "I... I still have state affairs to deal with."

"State affairs, state affairs, Your Majesty knows all about state affairs. Since becoming the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, has Your Majesty ever had a day when he was not involved in state affairs?"

"Even...even the *things were done in a hurry..." Queen Zhou's face turned red with shame. She clutched the corner of her clothes tightly and bit her lips, which were bleeding.

Tears rained down.

Zhu Changgan couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed when watching this scene.

In this situation, he really couldn't help, otherwise...

At this moment, a mechanical sound rang in my ears.

"Six hours have passed. In one minute, I will exchange bodies with Chongzhen. Please be ready."

Zhu Changgan was stunned for a moment. Is it time now?
I feel like today went by too fast.

……

now,

In Xiangyang Prefecture,

Chongzhen watched the last ray of afterglow in the sky slowly dissipate.

The look in his eyes became brighter.

Finally, the dark red of the afterglow faded.

A mechanical voice sounded in my ears, "In one minute, I will return to my body."

Although he didn't know what one minute meant, he stood up suddenly and clenched his fingers, "The time has come, the hour of Xu is coming... I want to go back."

"What do you mean I am the ruler of a fallen nation... what do you mean I can save the Ming Dynasty... it's all just empty talk. Saving the Ming Dynasty will ultimately fall on my shoulders!"

disappointment,

Worry,

There is also a hint of rising self-confidence.

On this day, he was always worried and anxious about state affairs.

Has there been any fighting at the border? Has there been any disaster in the Central Plains? Has the capital become a mess?

Countless emotions erupted like a volcano and could no longer be suppressed.

"Om~"

My vision suddenly went dark and a flash of light passed by.

When Chongzhen opened his eyes again, he found himself in the Qianqing Palace again.

He pinched Queen Zhou and said, "Yes, I... I am really back. Wang Chengen, where is Wang Chengen?"

"Your Majesty, the eunuch Wang has not returned yet."

Chongzhen frowned, grabbed the eunuch who had just spoken, and asked impatiently: "Tell me quickly, what did I do today?"

"Ah?" The eunuch was stunned by the emperor's question.

Seeing Xiao Huangmen in a daze, he turned his head and looked at Queen Zhou, "Queen, please tell me, what did I do today?"

"Ah?" Empress Zhou's heart skipped a beat. "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? Quick, call the imperial physician!"

At this time, Wang Chengen came back.

Chongzhen saw him and grabbed him, "Wang Chengen, tell me quickly, what happened in the court today, and what did I do?"

His tone was so urgent and his breathing was so heavy that it sounded like he couldn't breathe.

……

(End of this chapter)