Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 130 Did he do it on purpose? !

"Brother-in-law, what are you doing?" The third in command narrowed his eyes and looked at Chongzhen with a cold look.

In fact, he had already heard the sound of the wind the moment the other party raised his hand, but he did not turn around immediately. Instead, he waited until his fist was about to fall before turning his head.

He didn't understand why the scholar in front of him was so hostile towards him.

Doesn't the other party know that if the boss hadn't taken a liking to him, the second in command would have hacked him to death back at the inn?

The third in command approached him step by step, and just as he was about to continue questioning with his eyes as sharp as a knife, the last ray of sunset fell and the scholar in front of him suddenly fainted.

It was not a fake fainting. For him, who had practiced martial arts for many years, he could tell whether it was fake or not at a glance.

He really fainted, without any warning.

At this time, a few people happened to pass by and saw this scene. They couldn't help but stop and opened their mouths wide, "Three major families, you..."

"Master Zhu!"

"This is……"

"Third brother, what are you doing?" the second in command shouted in a muffled voice.

The Third Master looked at the person on the ground, was stunned for a few seconds, and quickly waved his hand, "It's none of my business, he fainted suddenly."

"I clearly saw you walking towards him."

"Third brother, you are still quibbling now? Master Zhu is a scholar, will he faint if you don't touch him?"

The second in command's words made the third in command's heart skip a beat, "I..."

His face turned red, and he was speechless. "How did I know he would faint?"

The third in command realized silently that he was just questioning the other party, but in the blink of an eye, yellow mud fell into his crotch. It was either shit or shit.

The key point is that if this person is just an ordinary person in the village, it would be fine, but if this matter gets to the ears of the boss, he cannot ignore how the other party will view it.

The boss was about to get married, but he knocked the other person unconscious. Once the news got out, the situation would be completely different.

Who knows, maybe the boss will fight with me at that time.

For a moment, the third in command's scalp went numb and he didn't know how to explain it.

He looked at Chongzhen, his Adam's apple rolled a few times, his eyes flickered, and suddenly a strange idea came to his mind.

The divine fortune teller Mr. Zhu... this was his reputation that spread throughout the village.

He had previously predicted that the Ming court would defeat the Qing Dynasty twice, predicted that Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting would not go north to defend the king but would instead suppress the peasant army on a large scale, and predicted the great defeat of King Chuang.

Although he does not admit that he can tell fortunes, it is enough to show his ability.

Today he suddenly asked himself whether he had attacked his father. He denied it, but the other party seemed to be even angrier, until he raised his arms and was ready to fight him to the death with the spirit of a village man.

I couldn't help but laugh at myself, thinking that this was just the impotent rage of a scholar.

Reckless, angry young man... The third in command suddenly felt a little disappointed, but for nothing, he was stunned.

Did he do it on purpose?
He knew that he was involved in this matter and knew clearly that he could not beat himself, so before anyone came, he let people see him knock him unconscious, in an inciting manner, making people mistakenly believe that he attacked him.

Because there is no way he can beat me, the boss is the only one I am truly afraid of, and the other party wants to create a rift between me and the boss.

In this way, he achieved his goal of revenge.

This was the guess that suddenly arose in the mind of the third in command, but as he looked at Zhu Yonggan lying on the ground, some hairs on his back stood up.

I have been targeted by the "poisonous snake".

In the mind of the Third In Command, this was only the opponent's first attack, and there would definitely be countless attacks to come. The opponent would definitely look for opportunities again and again until he delivered a fatal blow.

Because everything seemed too seamless, he would never believe that the other party had not planned it.

Looking at Zhu Yonggan being carried away by the Second Chief and several others, the Third Chief grabbed his hair and asked, "How... did it become like this?"

……

Zhu Changgan had already woken up while being carried away. As the sun set, he and Chongzhen exchanged bodies.

In the past, at this time, the two of them would either lie on the desk, or lie on the bed, or lean on a stool, trying their best to avoid attracting other people's attention to their exchange.

This was the first time he was approached while standing like this, so as the situation was unclear, he continued to pretend to be unconscious.

He didn't wake up until he was sent to the only doctor in the village.

Not long after, a man in red appeared, his eyes shining brightly under his eyebrows, just like a pile of fire in a thorn bush, looking at Zhu Changgan, as if he would never look sideways.

"How are you feeling?"

"It's okay, there's no big problem." Zhu Changgan tried to stretch his arms and gestured.

The second in command and several people in the mountain stronghold retreated. Seeing this, the doctor hurriedly said, "I've prescribed a few doses of medicine. You should be fine after taking them."

Then he slowly backed out and closed the door.

As everyone left, only two people were left in the room. Hong Niang was silent for a while, "I also heard about what happened today. The third brother acted a little impulsively. I hope Yonggan will not hold a grudge against him..."

"No, actually, it's because I'm weak. I fainted several times when I was back home."

Hong Niangzi heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, but still said, "The situation is unstable now. There are many people in the village, and they are both good and bad. I may not be able to take care of them. For your safety, I will give you two guards."

"No need for that..." Zhu Changgan was about to refuse, but seeing the determination in the other party's eyes, he nodded.

This was the second time the two of them were alone together. A woman like Hongniangzi didn't do things in a consultative tone. Often when she spoke, her words already showed her most resolute will.

There was another silence, and Hong Niangzi suddenly said, "As you said, the Ming court drove the Tartars out of the border."

“……” Zhu Changgan was stunned for a moment, then quickly understood and said nothing.

"After the defeat, the King of Chuang did not enter Henan, but entered Sichuan. As you said, the situation is developing in a direction that is unfavorable to us. I also wanted to join the King of Chuang before, but it is obviously not easy to enter Sichuan now..."

The orange light in the room set off her swan-like eyes. Occasionally, her sharp eyes, deeply embedded in her eye sockets, sparkled brightly.

The woman's expression was serene, and most of the time she spoke was about herself rather than having a heart-to-heart talk. The sound of insects chirping in the distance echoed in her voice.

"When you are in the underworld, you are always forced to do things your own way. All along, I just wanted to give them a good life, but what exactly is a good life?"

"I wish I had thousands of mansions to shelter the poor people in the world and make them happy...If the people have food, clothes to wear, and fields to plant, then maybe that's a good life!"

Lady Hong was silent for a long time before she spoke: "I wish I had thousands of mansions to shelter all the poor people in the world. You scholars just talk differently."

"But these are just poems and essays after all. They are impossible to realize. As long as we can keep the people in the village alive, we have already exhausted all our resources."

"I originally thought that after the uprising, everyone's life would be better, but for some reason, it is getting harder and harder now... Sometimes I wonder, if the rebel leader succeeds, will the people's lives get better?"

Zhu Changgan looked at her and said casually, "Nothing has changed in thousands of years. Even if King Chuang succeeds, it will be nothing more than this." Huh?
Red Lady looked at him suddenly, "What do you mean?"

"Let me ask you one question. If King Chuang succeeds, will you, the so-called followers of the King, want fields, land, and official positions?"

"Of course, who would follow the emperor without seeking an official position or land?"

"After a few years or decades, will your sons and nephews want official positions? Do they want land? By then, the world will be worse than it is now?" Zhu Changgan laughed. "Who are the big landowners in the Ming Dynasty? They are the royal family's vassals, the nobles who followed Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the world, and the civil servants and literati of the dynasty."

“We won’t be as cruel as them.”

"How can you guarantee this? When Zhu Yuanzhang first founded the country, he also thought so. But decades or even hundreds of years later, hasn't it become like this?"

"It's just the pot calling the kettle black. When the time comes, those landless people will rise up again and fight against you."

"But..." Lady Hong was suddenly speechless. "So, according to what you said, there is no solution?"

"I also think the underlying logic is there, but I deeply believe that if this problem is not solved, we will eventually return to the old path." Zhu Changgan did not continue.

The rest is up to her to figure out.

The relationship between the two is not like that between superiors and subordinates, because they sit on an equal footing and are casual.

It didn't seem like they were about to get married because they were too far away. It was more like they were neighbors or old friends, just chatting about random things.

Lady Hong frowned and looked at the sky, "I have to go."

"By the way, we have collected a lot of books from outside the village. Not many people can read, so I had them all moved to the school. I think you might need them."

"Okay, then I'll sort these books into categories and build a library so that everyone in the village who can read can come and read when they have time."

"Hmm..." Hongniang got up and left, and before she knew it, it was already very late.

She opened the door suddenly, and the people outside stood up straight, "Boss."

"The boss!"

"The boss..."

Their faces turned red with embarrassment, and they thought that the boss would not leave today.

After Hongniang left, the Second in Command and the others looked inside and saw Master Zhu waving at them, which made them feel even more embarrassed.

Zhu Changgan did not continue to lie with the doctor, but got up and walked towards where he lived. From the conversation just now, he discovered a detail.

Hongniangzi probably doesn't have many close friends, so even if she really wants to make people feel good, her actions are so cold.

It’s hard to imagine what her interactions with others were like before.
"No rush, take your time, there's still time!" Zhu Changgan said in a voice that only he could hear.

What I talked about today is just a seed. When the second, third, fourth time... we become familiar with each other, I will slowly guide her on the so-called program issues.

……

In the Qianqing Palace, Chongzhen suddenly woke up and pushed all the documents on the table away in anger. "Re-levy? When did I say re-levy?"

But when his anger subsided, he couldn't help but worry about Zhu Changgan, "Will the Third Master not beat him?"

"What can we do now?"

Then he couldn't help pacing back and forth.

Wang Chengen looked at the emperor talking to himself and knew that he was sick again. He slowly backed away. He now had experience with this.

There was no need to call a doctor to treat the emperor's illness, because he found that the louder the emperor roared at night, the more vigorous and fierce he became during the day.

Therefore, not only was he not too anxious, he also drove away all the eunuchs and palace maids nearby to prevent them from hearing anything and spreading it.

The Emperor is furious again today, which means that Your Majesty is going to take big action again.

Today, Wang Chengen is full of hope for the Ming Dynasty.

In the Qianqing Palace, Chongzhen suddenly caught sight of an imperial edict, and his eyes narrowed suddenly. "By the will of Heaven... for losing the vassal state, the death penalty... is changed to a demotion of three ranks?"

"Demote three levels..." Chongzhen's whole body was trembling, and he said angrily: "Wang Chengen, Wang Chengen...where have you been?"

Wang Chengen, who was standing outside the door, clenched his fists tightly, feeling the emperor's rage. Hearing this, he quickly pushed the door open and said, "Your Majesty, the eunuch is here."

Chongzhen took the imperial edict and said, "Tell me, what's going on? Are you dissatisfied with the fact that not enough of my descendants died?"

"Your Majesty, this is the case..." Wang Chengen explained the whole story of the imperial edict.

Faced with the situation in the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen himself had thought about "borrowing" from the royal relatives, but he was too embarrassed to ask for money, and he did not want to be known as a cold-hearted and indifferent person.

But later the situation became critical, so Chongzhen drafted an edict to "borrow" 400,000 taels of silver from Wuqing Hou Li Guorui.

The reason why Li Guorui was chosen was that although his surname was not Zhu, he was a royal relative and the great-nephew of the biological mother of Ming Shenzong Zhu Yijun, Empress Dowager Xiaoding Li.

When the government went to ask for money, Li Guorui was unwilling to pay, but he did not dare to disobey the order, so he pretended to be poor, demolished his own house, and put broken jars and rotten rafters in his home on the street to sell, causing a sensation that was known to both the government and the public.

Chongzhen was very angry. Isn’t this just trying to humiliate me?
So he issued an order to strip Li Guorui of his title of marquis.

As expected, Old Bidden Li Guorui died suddenly for unknown reasons, and the government officials responsible for collecting the money were also confused.

When he died, all the royal family members felt insecure.

So they spread rumors through eunuchs and palace maids: Empress Dowager Xiaoding had ascended to heaven and became the Nine Lotus Bodhisattva, and she accused the emperor of being mean to his in-laws in the air, and that the princes were about to die.

At this critical juncture, Chongzhen's most beloved fifth son suddenly fell ill and died.

The death of the fifth prince terrified Chongzhen. He seemed to believe that Empress Dowager Xiaoding ascended to heaven and became the Nine Lotus Bodhisattva and that the prince's death was the retribution for the emperor's harshness to his in-laws.

In the end, he posthumously conferred the title of Wuqing Marquis on Li Guorui's seven-year-old son, returned all the gold and silver that the Li family had surrendered, and dared not to target the royal family and relatives again.

Wang Chengen looked at the emperor and swallowed his saliva. "Your Majesty, during the day, please give me a few documents and tell me that if you ask about this matter at night, I will give them to you."

"What is that? Bring it here."

He knew that the thing must have been given to him by Zhu Changgan, so he quickly removed the wax seal and opened it.

A few minutes later, Wang Chengen watched the emperor's chest heaving and his body trembling.

"Houttuynia? Damn it, they all deserve to die..."

The above is clearly evidence that Zhu Chunchen and others colluded with several eunuchs and palace maids in the palace to spread rumors, and Chongzhen's fifth son was also part of their plan.

The reason was that an imperial physician discovered that the fifth prince was allergic to Houttuynia cordata, but concealed it and did not report it. This person happened to be Zhu Chunchen's man.

No wonder the fifth prince was just weak and had excessive internal heat, how could he die? It turned out that it was the houttuynia cordata that was causing the trouble...

(End of this chapter)