Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 120 You stand while I kneel?
In Chenghua Palace, Zhu Changgan stayed at Concubine Chen's place for a little longer this time and drank some wine.

Concubine Chen's feet were slender, slightly small, and snow-white. Her toes kept wiggling like tender lotus buds. "Your Majesty, please try the lotus seed porridge that I just made. It will help you get rid of heat and relieve the summer heat."

She could see that the emperor seemed to be unhappy about something, but he didn't mention state affairs at all.

On the one hand, her position was too low, and on the other hand, her father Chen Erfa had said, "Your Majesty is meticulous and loves to slaughter his father-in-law."

"I, Du Wei of the South City Military Division, have already been satisfied. If you consider your father, please do not get involved in government affairs."

Zhu Changgan glanced at Concubine Chen and asked, "Are you used to living here recently?"

"Your Majesty, I'm used to it. Sister Chen from next door has come here many times, so it's not too boring. Do you want to..."

"No need!" Zhu Changgan knew what she wanted to say and refused directly. He asked about other things. As for Chen Yuanyuan, he kept asking people to send things to her but never went over. He wanted to put down her inner pride and expectations first.

After a while, Wang Chengen came over and said something in his ear.

Zhu Changgan got up and left.

Next door, Chen Yuanyuan was wearing a pink dress that tightly wrapped her upper body and a high-slit skirt on her lower body. Her thighs were faintly visible, and her small jade feet looked light and attractive.

Although she was born a dancer, she was several levels more shrewd than Concubine Chen, so much so that after only two visits, Concubine Chen had opened her heart to her.

This situation is not uncommon in the harem. Before concubines gain power, they often unite to look after each other.

When she heard that the emperor had come to Chenghua Palace again, Chen Yuanyuan knew that her chance had come.

Especially when she heard the footsteps of the maid, the blush on her face became even brighter and spread to the back of her neck, as red as a peach blossom.

Chen Yuanyuan's lake-like eyes flickered, "But His Majesty called me?"

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty is gone." The maid replied with her head down.

"Gone?" When Chen Yuanyuan heard this, she suddenly stopped and stood still. Her face turned redder with shame and anger, from her ears, to her neck, back, and heels.

Then his red face turned pale due to extreme embarrassment, "Didn't Concubine Chen say anything?"

"The queen said so, but His Majesty seemed to have something to do and left in a hurry."

……

Zhu Changgan came to the Qianqing Palace refreshed and listened to the report of the Jinyiwei. He said that the war situation was the most important thing at the moment. Only when the war on the northern front went smoothly could the next step of rectifying the administration of officials be implemented.

The elimination of large-scale construction projects in various military towns was also based on this foundation.

He is different from Chongzhen. Chongzhen's historical view is an elite historical view, while he comes from later generations and has more of a popular historical view.

The so-called elitist historical view is that it believes that only kings, princes, generals and ministers are human beings, and that in order for kings, princes, generals and ministers to live a better life, one can even sacrifice, deceive and massacre the people.

Under this historical view, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were tyrants because they killed many civil servants and nobles.

Civil officials and nobles cannot be killed even if they are corrupt and oppress the people. Why?
Because in their eyes, the emperor and the literati rule the world together.

The rule governing the operation of the world is that punishment does not apply to officials, and courtesy does not extend to common people.

In the eyes of civil officials and nobles, the literati and officials can "not be arrested and tortured by officials" and "not be dragged and executed"; but common people should not enjoy courtesy.

Even if the elites don't care about the lives of the people, or even massacre the people, they are definitely right.

In the elite's historical perspective, what they can allow is: I stand and you kneel, and the etiquette does not require you to comply with the regulations completely, because you are an inferior person, just kneel. As for how to kneel and whether it looks good, I don't require you to do so.

You peasants are useless. Your only value is to be squandered by the civil servants and nobles in the court.

This is why, whenever someone says that there is no money in the court, these civil officials and nobles will only say one thing: "Let the people suffer more!"

Why should the people suffer further?
Zhu Changgan himself may not have realized that the time he and Chongzhen exchanged bodies was getting longer and longer, and his anger towards the elitist historical view that permeated the Ming court was growing like a raging wildfire.

It has reached an intolerable point.

"Wang Chengen, do you think the lives of kings, princes, generals and ministers are really more valuable than the lives of ordinary people?"

"This..." The emperor's words made Wang Chengen's face turn green. How could he answer such a question?

Zhu Changgan did not wait for Wang Chengen to speak, but said on his own: "The measure of a king's goodness does not lie in whether he is good to civil officials and nobles, but in whether he is good to the people and whether he has the ability to expand the territory."

"It depends on whether he has created welfare for the people under his rule, whether he can ensure that the people have a decent life in old age and have something to rely on and what they need. This is the only criterion for measuring a good king."

"So, I want to kill them, all these civil servants and dignitaries, and kill them one by one, so that they dare not have the heart to interfere anymore."

"Your Majesty, you are drunk." Wang Chengen said as he covered the emperor with a cloak, left the Qianqing Palace, and asked everyone around him to leave.

And warned everyone who was nearby that no matter whether they heard it or not, they would all die if anything came out from outside.

...At this time, in the Northern Zhili region,

As the interim director of the Anti-Corruption Department, Xu Cifu's face was full of wrinkles like blooming golden chrysanthemums, and he was full of energy. "Everyone in the Anti-Corruption Department, listen to my order, seal all the documents."

"Take away all the people involved in the case!"

With the assistance of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, all the confiscated case files and stolen money were loaded onto trucks and transported to the Integrity Commission.

All this was suppressed strongly by the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and no one dared to resist.

In addition, Xu Ci Fu also brought a large number of students from Northern Zhili, all of whom were candidates and scholars without official positions. When they heard that Your Majesty's new policy made use of candidates and scholars, they all beat their chests and stamped their feet in indescribable excitement.

"Your Majesty, you finally remembered us."

"Your Majesty, long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty!"

"Your Majesty the Holy Ming..."

By the time of Chongzhen, the city had become completely rotten from the inside. Rather than struggling to survive among the rotten leaves, it was better to tear it down and rebuild.

The candidates and scholars in the northern Zhili area brought their own dry food and marched towards the capital.

This was naturally the secret order from Zhu Changgan to Xu Cifu. He wanted to summon these candidates and scholars in Kyoto, not only those from the Northern Zhili area, but also those from all over the Ming Dynasty.

By the time of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, the internal situation had become completely rotten. There was no way to control the internal affairs. The civil servants were extremely incompetent except for being corrupt, so it was better to give it a try.

Just rip it open, remove the rotten meat inside, and rebuild the dynasty.

For example, when it came to building border cities during the Ming Dynasty, each battle report looked very good, but if you looked at the battle front, it was shrinking. The Later Jin had already pushed the battle front to the gate of the capital, and you were spending money on the front line, forcing Huang Taiji into a corner.

Can you believe this?
As society continues to develop, bureaucrats, literati and superiors of all generations will combine into a powerful group, and this group will grow and expand rapidly like a snowball.

Through improper means, the wealth of the entire country was plundered, resulting in a situation where the poor became poorer and the rich became richer.

In this historical situation, Zhu Changgan thought of several solutions, such as finding someone like Wang Anshi or Zhang Juzheng to compile and publish it, but later results proved that it did not work.

Perhaps the only way to make them stop is for someone like Huang Chao to solve the problem.

Zhu Changgan insisted that one must first stabilize the country before resisting foreign aggression, but he did not immediately eliminate the peasant army.

Because he believed that pacifying the country meant not only pacifying the peasant army, but also pacifying the civil servants and nobles.

……

June 8th, in Miyun.

The Ming army finally caught up with Hauge's troops. Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army engaged in a battle with Hauge's cavalry, but the Tatars did not engage in too much fighting. After leaving behind hundreds of people, they left the battlefield and marched quickly towards Qingshan Pass.

However, Hauge and his troops had just marched less than 30 miles to the northeast when they were once again chased by teams of Ming cavalry.

With flags flying and murderous looks on their faces, they were the cavalry from the three major camps.

"kill!"

"kill!"

"..."

The shouts of tens of thousands of Ming troops shook the sky, and the sound surged into the Qing army's camp like an earthquake.

"Ready the muskets!"

"Bang bang bang..."

A hundred steps away, muskets fired in unison, and a large number of Qing soldiers fell off their horses in an instant.

Such a powerful musket shot a hundred steps away made all the Tatars of the Zhenglan Banner and the Two Yellow Banners change color.

When Hauge saw the dark formation of the Ming army, his face also turned pale.

"It's the Ming army that defeated Dorgon and Yuetuo and is chasing us." The muscles on Hauge's face twitched and he clenched his fingers. His previous worries finally came true.

"Master, let me lead a group of Lazhangjing to destroy their prestige." One of Haoge's commoners gritted his teeth and asked for a fight.

Haoge shook his head, "Retreat! It's less than 200 miles to Qingshan Pass."

But how could the Ming army let them do as they wished?
Tens of thousands of cavalrymen attacked again. If you don't fight me, I will keep chasing you. Huang Degong was riding on a horse, grinning and laughing, "The commander was right. They really ran in this direction."

(End of this chapter)