Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 14 Divert the court’s attention!

"Luo Yangxing? What does he want from you?" Cao Huachun stared at Wang Yongzuo with eyes as sharp as nails.

During the Chongzhen reign, several eunuchs

Cao Huachun had a good family background and a good pedigree in the eunuch system. He was a disciple of the great eunuch Wang An and had been suppressed by Wei Zhongxian.

In addition, he was good at reading, writing poetry, and calligraphy, especially cursive and official scripts, so he was particularly valued by Chongzhen.

Now he is the eunuch in charge of writing in the Imperial Household Department, and is also the commander-in-chief of the Yongwei Camp, and also serves part-time as the seal-holder of the Imperial Stables.

The greatest power.

Wang Dehua was also the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, holding the position of Left Vice Minister. His power was second only to that of the Eastern Depot and was below that of Wang Zhixin.

Wang Yongzuo ranked after Wang Dehua. He was of a high generation. In the first year of Chongzhen, he was appointed as the governor of the East Factory.

Together with Wang Dehua, he is known as the Second Prince.

"This..." Wang Yongzuo clenched his hands and whispered, "He brought a message to the eunuchs, saying that His Majesty might appoint me as the head of the East Factory."

"Huh?" Wang Dehua's eyes suddenly widened.

Cao Huachun's eyes suddenly narrowed, and then he looked at Wang Dehua again.

Wang Dehua bowed his head and said, "Luo Yangxing also told me the same thing."

"Humph, no wonder His Majesty is angry." Cao Huachun angrily shook his sleeves and said, "When will it be his turn to interfere in the affairs of the East Factory?"

Wang Dehua and Wang Yongzuo's faces suddenly changed. "Lord Cao, what should we do now?"

"Wait for His Majesty to summon you tomorrow!"

……

A night of silence,
The next morning, Zhu Changgan had breakfast as usual and waited for seven o'clock.

Suddenly remembering something, he said to Hong Tao, "Today, if I don't eat well, you will say that if there is something wrong with my body, then Daming will really be hopeless."

Zhu Changgan roughly asked what Chongzhen did after he exchanged bodies with him yesterday.

But when I heard that he didn't even go out and didn't eat on time, I got furious.

It turns out that it's not your body, but you really don't cherish it, right?

"Ah?" Hong Tao covered her mouth, "Your Highness, I dare not say that."

"Don't dare to say it? Then I will tell the princess that you climbed into my bed."

Hong Tao's face turned pale in an instant, and even her face, ears, and neck turned red. She was so anxious that she wanted to cry, "Prince..."

"Don't cry. If you continue crying, I will go and call the princess right away." Zhu Changgan teased her with a smile and looked towards the sky in the east.

The red light rose slowly, driving away the stars and the waning moon, and dyeing the clouds as if they were on fire.

Even the plate in front of me was stained red.

A voice sounded in Zhu Changgan's ears.

"Should I exchange bodies with Chongzhen now?"

"Switch!"

When he came to his senses again, he found that he was already in the court meeting, and the ministers below were arguing.

"Your Majesty, disaster relief in various places requires money. The money donated by you gentlemen should be transferred as soon as possible." The Minister of Revenue Bi Ziyan knelt on the ground and said earnestly.

"Your Majesty, I think we should take advantage of the situation to send more troops to Shaanxi and concentrate all our efforts to encircle and suppress the peasant army." The Minister of War Yang Sichang also stood up and said.

"Your Majesty, we can't delay the restoration of Kyoto's defense any longer. Spring is coming soon. If we wait until August, it will be freezing cold and the work will not be completed!" Minister of Works Liu Zunxian also stepped forward and said.

"His Majesty……"

Zhu Changgan was a little confused.
I just came here and I don’t understand what they are discussing. I can’t help but look at Wang Chengen and ask in a low voice:

"What are they discussing?"

Wang Chengen was stunned for a moment. "We were just discussing how to use the money donated by you gentlemen?"

"How to use it? Does it have anything to do with them?"

Zhu Changgan immediately understood that these people were asking him for money.

How can I possibly give out the money I want back?

"Is the money in the national treasury or in the private treasury?"

"Your Majesty, the money from the confiscation of the property of Marquis Jiading, Tian Hongyu, Yuan You, and Wang Zhixin, as well as Duke Wei's 600,000 taels, have been transported and are still in the treasury for the time being."

Zhu Changgan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had given Chongzhen a heads-up last night, telling him not to interfere.

Otherwise, if this money goes into the national treasury, it would be like throwing meat buns to a dog.

It is foreseeable that this money will be put into the national treasury and will be gone before much useful work can be done.

The princes were arrogant and extravagant, yet they came to the capital every day to ask for money and their salaries. Some of these princes even sent people to keep an eye on the national treasury.

And then there is this group of bureaucrats, who do nothing and have no sense of political achievements, but when it comes to enriching themselves, they are faster than anyone else.

There are also generals in the Ministry of War who have to wait for their salaries. Once they hear that there is money in the national treasury, they will demand money like a swarm of hornets.

It is not for the officers and soldiers at the border, but for the private benefit.

In addition, the court had no restraint in its spending and its income was not enough to cover its expenses.

I don’t think it will last a month.

"Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty is now in trouble both internally and externally, and the people are living in misery. I beg you to act with wisdom and make decisions to establish a major border policy."

"Your Majesty, the military equipment is neglected, the border commanders are not prepared for danger, and the national defense is in name only. This has led to frequent invasions by foreign tribes on the border, and the court has suffered heavy losses. All of this is caused by insufficient food and wages."

"Your Majesty needs to consider the stability of the country..."

A group of ministers kept submitting memorials to Zhu Changgan and nagging him, just like flies, buzzing around, making Zhu Changgan very annoyed.

These are the civil officials in the late Ming Dynasty.

The means they adopted were to refuse to cooperate, stand on the moral high ground, and use reputation and public opinion to force the emperor to submit.

If the emperor does not submit,
The consequences would be serious.

After the Chenghua period, that is, after the eighth Ming emperor Zhu Jianshen, the imperial power's control over the people was much weaker than before. After the Wanli period, literary bans were almost non-existent.

At this time, the publishing industry had become highly developed, and civil servants and literati controlled the commanding heights of public opinion.

If you, the emperor, dare not submit, I will write all kinds of small notes, novels and miscellaneous talks.

Blacken you and frame you.

A huge wave of public pressure has formed across the country.

As an emperor, do you have shamelessness, dignity, and bottom line?
If you meet someone like Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, who holds military power, any civil servant or scholar who dares not cooperate will be beaten to death.

If you meet an old scoundrel like Jiajing who plays tricks, power politics and balancing acts, and you don't cooperate, I will order you to be beaten. No matter if you are a civil servant or a eunuch, I will beat you if I find any problems with you. If you can't stand the beating, I will beat you to death.

When faced with a shameless person like Emperor Wanli, I would just keep it in my heart and not release it. What does the government of the Ming Dynasty have to do with me? Civil officials have no temper.

But none of these worked during the Chongzhen period.

He can't rely on anyone.
Firstly, he did not have any military power. The Military Honor Group was almost wiped out after the Battle of Beijing. Yu Qian set a precedent by taking up the important position of Minister of War.

From then on, civil officials began to have great control over the military power of the Ming Dynasty.

During the Chongzhen period, the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of War and military power were completely controlled by the civil service group.

Second, he did not have a powerful eunuch group to act as his thugs. After Wei Zhongxian's death, Chongzhen was eager to expand his victory, and the internal officials system was completely destroyed.

No one can beat him, let alone high-ranking civil servants.

Third, he had to save the Ming Dynasty, so he couldn't be like Wanli, who ignored everything and rushed forward blindly.

"okay!"

Zhu Changgan slammed the throne suddenly and looked at someone.

Warm and kind.

If you want to end a topic, you must switch to another more attractive topic.

Zhu Changgan knocked lightly on the throne and said, "Lord Wen, the memorial you mentioned last time... is the one that impeached Qian Qianyi for corruption and fraud. Do you have any evidence?" Sure enough, as soon as he said this.

The court fell silent in an instant.

Compared with competing with the emperor for profit, they have always cared more about fighting for power.

Qian Qianyi,
Donglin giant, leader of the Donglin Party.

In the early years of Chongzhen, he ordered court officials to publicly nominate the candidate for the chief minister of the cabinet.

Qian Qianyi was the leader of the Donglin Party. His disciples and followers were very protective of him. A group of officials, mainly Donglin gentlemen, recommended Qian Qianyi one after another, and Qian Qianyi almost became the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty.

Because Qian Qianyi's corruption and bribery were exposed, he was brought down by Zhou Yanru and Wen Tihen.

But even though everyone knew that Qian Qianyi was corrupt and accepted bribes, no one dared to question it.

In the eyes of Donglin Party officials, Qian Qianyi was almost more important than the emperor.

Now, after many years, Wen Tihen impeached Qian Qianyi again, which instantly aroused the vigilance of all Donglin Party officials.

"Your Majesty, Qian Qianyi has been dismissed from office for seven years and has no power. How could he control the government, occupy the lake, and extort local wealthy families?"

"Your Majesty, this is a pure false accusation, an attempt to kill Mr. Qian."

"Your Majesty, this method is really too crude..."

Faced with the attack, Wen Tiren did not move.

Xue Guoguan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, has already stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the evidence is irrefutable. Qian Qianyi forcibly occupied the camp to build houses in the market, and also took the wives and daughters of good people. This is the complaint submitted by Changshu County."

"Your Majesty, I have also impeached Qian Qianyi for selling student quotas and engaging in smuggling with foreigners." Guanglu Qing Zhou Zhifa immediately stepped forward and raised the memorial in his hand.

The remaining few close associates of Wen Tihen all stood up and impeached Qian Qianyi.

A fierce dispute suddenly broke out in the court.

In an instant, the place became a mess, with some people even punching and kicking each other, and swearing in national language.

……

Zhu Changgan lay down on the throne behind him.
Taking the tea from Wang Chengen, he took a sip and said, "Hiss~ a little hot."

"..." Wang Chengen was stunned where he stood. Although he always made a pot of tea for Chongzhen, he had never seen Chongzhen drink it.

Every time Chongzhen went to court, he was busy dealing with state affairs, and by the time he got out of court, the tea had already gone cold.

He turned his head and glanced out of the corner of his eye, only to see that the emperor was looking down calmly, his brows were not angry, but rather a little happy.

Zhu Changgan was indeed watching the show.

These six words are probably the only words Qian Qianyi left behind in history.

"Itchy scalp, water too cold"

When the Ming Dynasty fell, he said he wanted to commit suicide by jumping into the water to show his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty. However, his concubine jumped, but he did not, saying that the water was too cold. When the Qing Dynasty attacked the city, he took the initiative to shave his head and change his clothes, leaving a rat-tail hairstyle, kneeling down to greet them, and even gave them a "good name": itchy scalp.

The Prime Minister Wen Tiren was supposed to be sent back to his hometown to retire in the tenth year of Chongzhen, which was this year.

However, Zhu Changgan did not want to let Wen Tihen go for the time being.

Seeing that it was almost time, Zhu Changgan said to Wang Chengen: "I am tired!"

At this time in the court, everyone was arguing with red faces, and their minds were all focused on attacking each other.

Who cares about the emperor leaving early?

……

On the way back to the Qianqing Palace,
Chongzhen said to Wang Chengen, "Go and give Wen Tiren an order to thoroughly investigate the Qian Qianyi case."

Wang Chengen couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, if you let him investigate like this, I'm afraid there will be another bloody storm in the court!"

Zhu Changgan smiled. He was not afraid that Wen Tiren would expand the case.

It can even be predicted that Wen Tihen will expand the Qian Qianyi case.

A dog bites a dog.

Only when they fight will they take their eyes off the emperor.

If you don't focus on yourself for the time being, you will have the opportunity to take the next step.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, a eunuch came forward and asked, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Cao, Wang Dehua, and Wang Yongzuo want to see you."

"Let them in!"

Wang Dehua and Wang Yongzuo came in and immediately knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, I am guilty, please show mercy."

"What crime have you committed?"

Wang Yongzuo quickly reiterated what he had said to Cao Huachun yesterday.

After hearing this, Zhu Changgan's eyes narrowed slightly, "Luo Yangxing?"

Are you in such a hurry? Are you so eager to jump out?

Chongzhen looked at the two eunuchs in front of him, Wang Dehua and Wang Yongzuo, with a cold gleam in his eyes.

Before Li Zicheng attacked the imperial city, Wang Dehua was appointed as the military supervisor by Chongzhen to lead the battle in the Beijing camp.

However, he opened the Deshengmen Gate to welcome Li Zicheng, and in order to please Li Zicheng, he also wanted to capture Chongzhen Xian. Later, he fled to Nanjing and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in Nanjing.

There are not many records about Wang Yongzuo, but it is certain that he also surrendered to the Dashun Dynasty. There is no record of him during the Qing Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, you only allow nobles and civil officials to donate money. I, the eunuch, also want to donate some to contribute to the country." Wang Dehua knocked his head to the ground and said with tears in his eyes.

Wang Yongzuo immediately followed up by saying, “The eunuchs also want to donate.”

Zhu Changgan suddenly laughed, "What are you doing? Get up, get up."

These two people must be killed, but not now. Since Luo Yangxing has connections with them, once they are touched, Luo Yangxing will definitely be alert.

"At this time, if you still want to serve the court, you are my loyal subjects."

"I didn't say that you can't donate money. Look, my decree has been written, but I couldn't find Elder Wen yesterday, so I didn't issue it yet."

"I am very pleased that you can come to me on your own initiative!"

"Lord Cao, please sit down and drink tea with me."

"A cup of wine for the world, a pot of tea for the great cause!" Zhu Changgan asked Wang Chengen to pour a cup of tea for everyone, and he drank it first, "Don't be afraid, it's not poisonous."

"I wish you would die!" Wang Dehua and Wang Yongzuo burst into tears and quickly drank the tea.

"I have already drunk this tea. You don't need to get involved in what I am going to do next. I have already chosen someone to be the Supervisor of the East Factory."

Cao Huachun was stunned for a moment, "I wonder who the emperor's candidate is?"

"Gao Yushun!"

"Him?" Cao Huachun thought of this person in his mind.

He doesn't talk much, does things in a conventional way and doesn't know how to adapt. The key point is that this person has hardly ever been around Emperor Chongzhen. How did he catch the emperor's eye?

Little did people know that Zhu Changgan only selected one thing.

忠！
Even if it's blind loyalty.

I have no tolerance for error.

I can't let Wang Zhixin go, another traitor comes up.

The reason why Gao Yushun was chosen was that before Li Zicheng entered Beijing, he had prepared a coffin for himself and placed a lot of firewood next to it.

When the news of Chongzhen's death by hanging came, he lay in the coffin and asked the young eunuch to burn himself, following Chongzhen's footsteps. At least there was no problem with his loyalty.

"Gao Yushun will temporarily take over the post of the supervisor of the East Factory. The decree will be issued in a few days."

"Wang Dehua, Wang Yongzuo, how about you stay by my side and serve me for the next few days?" Zhu Changgan stared at the two men with burning eyes.

They say he is staying by your side, but in fact he is imprisoning you and not allowing any news to leak out.

Zhu Changgan asked Wang Dehua and Wang Yongzuo to go down first, "Lord Cao, go and call Gao Yushun over to me. Also, do you have anyone to recommend for the commander of the Jinyiwei?"

Cao Huachun was shocked and looked at the emperor, "Your Majesty, you want to..."

(End of this chapter)