Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 12: The Second Step: Reorganizing the Royal Guards
"Hello, Chongzhen?"

Chongzhen quickly replied: "Uncle, I...Yes, what do you want me to do?"

Wang Chengen looked at Chongzhen and stood there in a daze.

Your Majesty, what's going on?
Why did you get stuck in talking to yourself again?

And his mood changed so quickly? He was so furious just now, how come he calmed down in an instant?

"It's like this. I suddenly remembered something and I must emphasize it to you again."

Chongzhen quickly asked: "Uncle, I was just about to ask you, what is your second step?"

"That's exactly what I want to tell you. After we exchange bodies, you should stop interfering in state affairs. Don't push me forward during the day and then you pull me back at night."

The muscles at the corners of Chongzhen's mouth twitched. "Stop interfering in state affairs? Uncle, what you mean is..."

"The meaning is very simple. If you want to save the Ming Dynasty, you should not interfere. Don't do anything. Just watch."

"Then I have to do something..."

"Besides state affairs, you can do whatever you want."

“……”Chongzhen.

Zhu Changgan suddenly remembered something, "If you really have to do something, please help me select some beauties."

"Selecting girls? What do selecting girls do?"

Zhu Changgan: "Do you even need to ask? During the day, we exchanged bodies. Empress Zhou, the concubines in the harem would inevitably come to flirt with us. You are embarrassed, but I am not!"

"It would be bad if something went wrong, but it would be a shame if I didn't have a few pretty ladies around to serve me after all the hard work I put into saving the Ming Dynasty, don't you think?"

As if she was worried, she gave another instruction: "Remember to choose a plump one, with a curvy figure. Don't choose skinny ones. Also, choose one that's over 16 years old."

"Uh..." Chongzhen was stunned for a while. When he came out of his hysteria, he found that there was no sound from the other end.

In the Qianqing Palace, only Wang Chengen was left looking at him strangely, "Your Majesty, are you... okay?"

Chongzhen was stunned for more than ten seconds, and murmured, "Will it spark a fire?"

Then he understood, and his face instantly turned blue and purple.
Empress? Concubine Tian? Concubine Yuan? That's really not good.

He turned around and asked Wang Chengen, "How long has it been since I selected a concubine?"

"Your Majesty hasn't selected a concubine for ten years."

Chongzhen took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I haven't selected a concubine for ten years."

Since he ascended the throne, the women in the harem have hardly changed, and they were all brought from Prince Xin's Palace.

He worked on state affairs for more than eight hours every day, and his visits to the harem were limited the number of times he could go there each year.

"Starting tomorrow, the draft will begin."

"Ah?" Wang Chengen's eyes widened, "Your Majesty, you are not..."

After Chongzhen came to power, he vowed that there would be no more selection of concubines until the Ming Dynasty was revived.

What is this now?
"Oh, yes, she has to be over sixteen years old and of plump figure."

The muscles on Wang Chengen's face twitched involuntarily. Starting from Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, the selection of women in the imperial palaces were all for girls between thirteen and sixteen years old.

Your Majesty, how come your taste suddenly...

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Wang Chengen didn't dare to ask, so he just did whatever His Majesty told him to do.

Chongzhen sat on the throne in a daze. Just as he picked up the memorials, he suddenly remembered what his uncle had said: "If you want to save the Ming Dynasty, you should do nothing."

His face turned red like a ripe persimmon and his whole body was trembling, but he finally put the memorial down.

"Wang Chengen, accompany me for a walk."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

In the Imperial City,
The chilly spring wind blew on Chongzhen. It should have been March, but the cold winter of the Little Ice Age was still raging in the north.

In the capital city, the twinkling lights of thousands of homes flickered in Chongzhen's eyes.

He could not help but sighed, "Ming, this is my Ming. I want the people of the Ming Dynasty to live a good life and I want the Ming Dynasty to last forever, but why does it seem so ironic now?
After coming down from the imperial city, Chongzhen walked towards the Qianqing Palace as usual.

But when he entered the palace, he suddenly woke up and murmured, "I can't interfere in state affairs. How could I forget it again?"

"Wang Chengen, go to Kunning Palace."

Kunning Palace, the queen's bedroom.

In the Ming Dynasty, the emperor was likened to Qian and the empress was likened to Kun.

Heaven (Qian) gets one and is clear, so the palace where the emperors of the Ming Dynasty lived was called Qianqing Palace.

The earth (Kun) becomes peaceful and tranquil, and the empress's residence becomes the Kunning Palace. Since its completion, it has been the permanent bedroom of the empresses of the Ming Dynasty.

As soon as I reached the gate of Kunning Palace, I heard a young eunuch come in and announce, "Your Majesty, the uncle Jiading and his son want to see you."

In the past, Chongzhen would definitely not meet them, but today, he had no state affairs to attend to, so he waved his hand and said, "Let them in."

When Empress Zhou heard that the emperor had arrived, she also came out to greet him joyfully, "Your Majesty, how come you have time to come to my place today?"

"Why, you don't want me to come?"

Queen Zhou was blushing with shame and clutched Chongzhen's clothes tightly. She waited and waited, and finally the emperor came.

How could she let him go?

"The prince is here too. That's great. Let me take a look." Chongzhen lifted the little prince up with all his strength. "He's too heavy. I can't hold him anymore."

"Your Majesty, this is Ci Jiong. How can you, as a father, even admit the mistake to your son?"

"Ahem..." Chongzhen looked embarrassed, "It's too dark."

Chongzhen even ignored the empress several times a year, let alone his son. He only gave the crown prince some advice sometimes.

The 5-year-old Zhu Cijiong was the third son of Chongzhen. He had rarely seen Chongzhen since he was born. At this moment, he was so scared that he ran behind Queen Zhou and looked at the emperor timidly.

"You kid, this is your father." Queen Zhou said angrily and pulled Zhu Cijiong out from behind her.

"Father...father..."

"Hey, come here, let me take a good look at you, you've grown so tall." Chongzhen's eyes were a little red.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to have never cared about this child, as if he had just been born.

Now, in the blink of an eye, five years have passed.

Take advantage of this opportunity.

The Earl of Jiading and his son came in. Zhou Kui breathlessly saluted Chongzhen and said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty."

"Get up!" Chongzhen looked at the two men, each fatter than the other, and felt angry for no reason.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Sister, is there any food? I haven't eaten yet." The first words of the silly brother of Earl Jiading made Chongzhen frown and he wanted to drive him out.

But after thinking about the fact that he had just donated 200,000 taels, he suppressed his anger.

"Wang Chengen, go inform the imperial kitchen. I want to eat some more too."

Since he couldn't take care of state affairs and Chongzhen couldn't find anything else to do, he might as well sit down and eat something.

It didn't take long before the imperial meal was served.

"Lord Jiading, will you sit down too?"

Before Chongzhen could finish his words, Earl Jiading had already sat down, picked up the imperial meal on the table and started eating.

Originally, the Earl of Jiading threatened to hang himself at home, but when he heard that the Duke of Wei had donated 60 yuan, and that all the dukes, marquises, and earls had also donated money, he stopped crying immediately.

After all, I don't have the most, and Your Majesty also has evidence that his son runs a gambling house and a pawnshop. Compared with the 200,000 taels of the Duke of Wei, it is really not much.

But this matter couldn't just let go like this, so the two of them skipped lunch and dinner and simply went to eat inside the palace.

Jiading Bo ate a bowl in a few bites, and then served himself another bowl, muttering, "I paid for it."

"Yes, our family paid for it, so we have to eat more." Lord Jiading's son picked up a braised pork elbow from the table and stuffed it into his mouth.

He didn't notice at all that Chongzhen's face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

……

at the same time,

When the civil servants who had followed Wang Chengen to chop off heads for an entire afternoon returned to their own mansions, their faces were pale and their bodies were cold.

The Minister of Rites Huang Shijun looked at the food on the table and couldn't eat a single bite.

"Wow~"

The concubine quickly ordered the servants, "Bring it down, bring it down quickly."

"Master, what's wrong with you?" The concubine stroked his back, her face pale. She had never seen the master in such a terrible state. In her eyes, Huang Shijun was a senior member of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet.

He is knowledgeable and calm in dealing with things.

What on earth has happened to make me look like this today?
Huang Shijun vomited for a long time before he finally recovered and sighed, "Your Majesty, this move is amazing!"

He narrowed his eyes and thought back to what happened today.

"The King's Heart? I'm afraid the King's Heart has already entered His Majesty's eyes... It's a pity that we are still unaware of it and even handed the memorial over in person."

"Your Majesty is borrowing our sword to do his own thing."

"That's not a good sign."

Huang Shijun stood up, put on his clothes and walked out. The concubine chased after him, "Master, you haven't washed your feet yet. It's so cold..."

But when she chased out, she found that Huang Shijun had already got into the carriage and drove away.

What is Huang Shijun going to do?
He was going to find Wen Tiren, Lord Wen.

In Huang Shijun's eyes, although this was just a small incident, its significance was completely different from the past.

This is the rise of imperial power.

They, the civil servants, must nip the emperor's behavior in the bud and bring the court back to the right track where the civil service group controls everything.

When Huang Shijun arrived, hundreds of civil servants were crowded around.

After asking, I found out that Wen Tiren was not at home at all.

This time I'm really not at home.

Liu Yuliang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stamped his feet in anger, "Hey, such a big event happened in the court, and Elder Wen actually hid himself?"

He was promoted together with Wen Tihen. When he was a Hanlin, he was not in charge of the compilation, lectures, and classics in the academy.

By obeying Wen Tihen's orders and seeking fame, he actually caught the eye of Chongzhen, who gradually began to use him.

"Yanbin, where did the elder go?"

Xue Guoguan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, shook his head and said, "I don't know either!"

"You don't even know?"

Everyone knows that Xue Guoguan is Wen Tiren's staunch confidant and was promoted by Wen Tiren. How could you not know that?

"Your Majesty's abnormal behavior today is unprecedented!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, we really didn't expect this."

"The nobles have already claimed the donation, how can we remain immune?"

"Aren't there still eunuchs?"

"Eunuch? His Majesty has already executed a large number of eunuchs, and it was us who submitted the petition. How can we have the nerve to ask His Majesty to ask the eunuchs for money again?"

Huang Shijun cursed anxiously: "Is it a matter of money?"

"The point is not this, but that your Majesty no longer follows his words and deeds."

To put it bluntly, this time Chongzhen did not follow the Confucian classics, nor did he follow the words and deeds of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Chengzu Zhu Di.

This is what worries him most.

……

On a small building across two intersections, there was a person looking at this side from afar.

It was Wen Tiren.

"Master, there are so many people in front of the mansion, aren't you going back?" A woman with a charming smile asked while rubbing Wen Tiren's shoulder.

Wen Tiren shook his head, his eyes flickering, "The more it is at this time, the more I can't see anyone."

"Your Majesty, since you ascended the throne, the position of the Cabinet Prime Minister has rarely lasted more than a year. Do you know why?"

The woman shook her head.

Wen Tiren chuckled and said, "Because His Majesty is afraid that the Prime Minister will form a clique, all the capable ministers who are more powerful than me have stepped down one by one."

"But I have been in this position of Prime Minister for eight years. On the one hand, it is because I am honest and self-disciplined, but the most important thing is that I am gentle and kind, which stands out from the crowd."

"Besides, I still have things to finish."

"So, I won't see anyone tonight."

All his cabinet colleagues were recruited by him, and he specially selected mediocre people to fill the positions.

He promoted any talented and capable minister to the center of power.

This is to highlight one's own ability.

It is for this reason that
He had to get rid of the talented and prestigious Donglin Party leaders Qian Qianyi, Wen Zhenmeng and others, even though they had been dismissed from office and returned to their hometowns, because their reputations were too great.

It may be reinstated at any time.

Now all the evidence of his conspiracy against Qian Qianyi has reached the most critical moment and cannot be lost.

Another point,
This time, he instinctively felt that His Majesty was determined to get the silver donation this time.

For some reason, he had a feeling when the emperor asked him to draft an edict.

Over the years, Wen Tihen has been in office the longest, which is why he has not revealed any flaws.

The key is to figure out the emperor's mind, to flatter him, and never "criticize his inferiority". His catchphrase to Chongzhen is: "I have always served the emperor with my literary talent."

Wen Tiren was stunned for a moment, and vaguely felt that "Your Majesty, it seems different from before."

He couldn't tell exactly what the difference was.

Seeing that the woman was puzzled, he pinched her cheek and said, "Ah, you don't know anything. It's good not to know."

"Eighteen-eighth bride and eighty-year-old man, with pale hair and red makeup. Mandarin ducks sleep in pairs at night, and a pear tree presses the begonia."

"No matter what time it is, young girls are always prettier!"

"As long as you give me another son, I will fulfill all your wishes."

Wen Tiren already had two sons, but he still wanted a third son.

He actually didn't think Chongzhen's donation was that important; what he cared about was his position as prime minister.

As long as he can defeat Qian Qianyi and the others this time, he can rest assured about his position as Prime Minister.

……

Xiangyang Prefecture,
Zhu Changgan concentrated his attention, and a series of information prompts appeared that only he could see.

"Name: Zhu Changgan"

"Main quest: Save the Ming Dynasty Completion: 6/10000"

"The National Fortune of the Ming Dynasty: -10029. (The National Fortune is directly proportional to whether the people can live and work in peace and contentment. If the National Fortune is negative, natural disasters and man-made calamities will continue.)"

"The Ming Dynasty has lasted for 1 days"

「Life bonus: 1 day」

「Funding reward: 27397.26 yuan」

The main line progress bar changed again, and finally stopped at 6 and no longer moved.

The national fortune value of the Ming Dynasty also increased by nearly 60 points.

Is it because the six million taels of silver have already arrived?
However, the other property boxes did not change.

But thinking about it, I can't help but understand.

There is a saying: The money you spend is your money.

Although he had raised six million taels, he had not spent it, and it had not had much impact on the destiny of the Ming Dynasty.

Naturally, it is impossible to prolong the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Changgan spread out a piece of paper and briefly reviewed today's events on it, while also thinking about what he should do tomorrow.

Zhu Changgan wrote a name on the paper:
A slave of three surnames.

Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Luo Yangxing.

The initial capital has been in place, and the next step is naturally to take control.

The first to be affected were the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Although the East Factory was not completely cleansed in one go, with the memorials submitted by the nobles and civil servants themselves, the subsequent purges were a natural process.

The second step is to reorganize the Jinyiwei.

(End of this chapter)