Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 160: National Destiny Turns Negative into Positive
"Master Tian, ​​Master Tian, ​​something big has happened."

"What's the big deal? What did Mr. Huang tell you before he left? No matter how big the problem is, you have to stay calm. How can you achieve anything like this?"

Tian Weijia walked out of the room with a gloomy face. Since the Minister of Rites Huang Shijun was dismissed from his post, the civil service group in the Ming Dynasty court gradually formed two factions headed by the Chief Minister Sun Chengzong and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Tian Weijia.

Among them, those who united around Tian Weijia were some of the old people in the original court, such as Xue Guoguan, Fan Fucui, Zhang Sizhi, Chen Yan and others.

The person who came today was Chen Yan, who was originally just a junior secretary, in charge of the Hanlin Academy and in charge of giving lectures to the emperor.

However, Chongzhen always favored him and was preparing to promote him to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and Assisting Manager of the Zhanshi Palace.

But since that day, the emperor seemed to have forgotten him and never mentioned this matter again, which completely failed Chen Yan's plan.

He had sent out the invitations for the wedding banquet, but in the end his promotion was canceled, which made Chen Yan a big joke in the entire court.

So he completely sided with Wen Tiren, but then Wen Tiren fell, and he had no choice but to switch to the camp of Huang Shijun and others again.

"Master Tian, ​​Hai Gangfeng... Hai Gangfeng is back."

"What?"

"Who is Hai Gangfeng? He's been dead for fifty years. How come he's back?" Tian Weijia looked at him as if he were a fool.

"No... You'll know if you go out on the street."

Chen Yan dragged Tian Weijia out of the door, and then... Tian Weijia was stunned.
A man suddenly fell down, but was picked up while being beaten and scolded.

A scholar shouted, "Are you pretending to be dead? Get up! If you don't, I will not be polite to you!"

"Get up, I."

Someone went up and kicked him on the head repeatedly, and after a few kicks, the head of the Ministry of Revenue was bleeding from the head.

At this moment, Chen Yan's fingers couldn't stop shaking, he tightly grasped the corner of his clothes, his face pale, "Master Tian, ​​you see, this... this Ming Dynasty is going to change."

Throughout history, scholars and emperors have ruled the world together.

Except for the emperor, they considered themselves superior to everyone else because doctors were not subject to punishment.

But now the scholars and officials are being trampled on the ground. If this isn’t a change of circumstances, then what is it?
Tian Weijia's face was extremely gloomy. He clenched his hands tightly, and his palms were full of cold sweat. "The situation is really changing. His Majesty is completely determined to suppress us."

"No, Your Majesty, what else does you want? We have already retreated. Lord Wen and Lord Huang have been dismissed and investigated by Your Majesty. Isn't that enough? What else does Your Majesty want?" Chen Yan asked in a murmur with his knuckles turning white.

"One step back, then another step back. Your Majesty probably wants more than just the taxes from Nanzhili and Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. He also wants the jurisdiction of officials from all over the Ming Dynasty."

"what do you mean……"

Such a scene not only occurred outside Tian Weijia's mansion, but also occurred to almost all the nobles, civil and military officials in the court.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the route chosen by the Independent Commission Against Corruption to march through the residences of almost all the high-ranking officials of the imperial court
……

Officials have one emotion, but the people have another.

Although Hai Gangfeng died only fifty years ago, his deeds have not been forgotten. This official, who was left with only eight taels of silver in salary after his death, offended the entire officialdom before his death.

After his death, he won the hearts of countless people. When his coffin passed by the river, people in white clothes and hats sent him off on the shore of the river, and people cried for miles.

Among them, there were many people from the capital who burned incense to Hai Gangfeng at home.

Now that the emperor brought out Hai Gangfeng, it naturally attracted countless cheers from the people.

"Master Hai, did you see it? Daming has not forgotten..."

"Your Majesty is wise!"

At this moment, a newsboy held up the Ming Times and shouted to the crowd, "Good news, good news! The Ming Dynasty has annihilated the six Mongolian tribes south of the desert!"

"Good news..."

"Give me a copy!" An old man handed over the money and took out a copy of the Ming Times. He sighed and said, "It is said that after Lord Hai left, the Ming Dynasty was left with only a glimmer of light. But given the current situation, this is wrong!"

At this time, a man who was buying vegetables came over and asked, "Uncle, what's written in the newspaper?"

"It says that the Ming Dynasty has won another victory, annihilating 20,000 Mongols in the southern part of the desert. It's another great victory!"

……

Above the imperial city, Zhu Changgan stood on the city wall, looking at the noisy scene below, and took a sip of tea with an indifferent expression.

"Your Majesty, isn't this a bit too much?" Wang Chengen was still a little scared.

"I just want them to go too far." Zhu Changgan handed the teapot to Wang Chengen. "As for people, following a saint is like ascending a mountain, while following the crowd is like collapsing."

"It's difficult to do what the saints ask, but asking them to follow the crowd is like a broken dam. I just want them to be a little more ruthless and a little wild, so that when they return to Nanzhili and Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they will have the courage to overturn those old and corrupt systems."

"Wouldn't it be nice to let them go back and chop down the whole thing?"

“……” Wang Chengen stared blankly at the emperor in front of him.

strangeness!

He felt extremely strange. Was this the emperor whom he had served since he was a child?

This feeling was like an invisible giant hand, tightly pinching his neck. Not only did the force not weaken over time, but it became more and more strangled, making it impossible for Wang Chengen to breathe.

"Wang Chengen, let's go... follow me to meet them."

"Ah~ Here it comes, Your Majesty!"

……

The last stop of the Independent Commission Against Corruption was the Imperial City. When they arrived, the Emperor was already waiting for them.

"Long live your Majesty, long live your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

"His Majesty……"

"Be flat!"

After tens of thousands of people finished the ceremony, they all looked up at the emperor on the stage with fiery eyes.

"When I see you, I see the hope of my Ming Dynasty. At this time of parting, I hope that you can be like today when you get to your destination."

"You must have the courage to take action against those corrupt officials. You have the responsibility and the right to stop those who take bribes and pervert the law... As long as you are justified, not only will you be innocent, I will also reward you."

"You must stand up bravely and dare to fight against the dark forces."

Today is the last day for these scholars in Beijing. It doesn't mean that they have to leave today, but starting tomorrow all food and accommodation will return to normal levels.

This was also the emperor's order to expel them.

Half a month later, they will see their results and the emperor's letter of appointment to those who have been hired in the Ming Times in their hometown.

By then, the Anti-Corruption Departments in various places will be established simultaneously and they can take up their posts directly.

……

After returning to the palace, Zhu Changgan ordered Ma Shiwei and Xu Cifu to speed up the preparations for the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Offices in various places.

According to Zhu Changgan's idea, the chief officers of the anti-corruption departments of various provinces were transferred from Beijing. In addition, people from the Jinyiwei and Dongchang were stationed in the anti-corruption departments. The anti-corruption departments had the power of investigation, while the Jinyiwei and Dongchang were responsible for arresting people and interrogating them.

Just because someone can enter the Independent Commission Against Corruption does not mean they have entered officialdom.

They have a probation period for the first three months.

Just like the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Kyoto, those who are qualified will stay and those who are unqualified will be eliminated from the team.

The qualification is determined by a points system.

Reporting corruption and abuse of power will earn you one point.

Those who kill their own relatives for the sake of justice will gain two points.

If the score is 10 points, the internship period will be over and you will be appointed to the Commission for Integrity. If you fail, you will not be allowed to take the exam for the Commission for Integrity again for three years.

"Your Majesty, these people alone may not be enough!" Xu Ci Fu asked cautiously.

"This is just the first batch. There will be more every year, but the duration will be longer. The next term will be three months, and the term after that will be six months... These seeds will grow quickly if they are scattered on the ground. I don't believe that the evil wind can blow down all these trees."

As they were talking, a eunuch came in. Zhu Changgan asked the two to leave first, "What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, the memorial from the Three Border Governor Sun Chuanting has arrived."

"Oh?" Zhu Changgan quickly had it brought over and unfolded it for a closer look.

Yang Sichang's strategy of "four fronts, six corners, and ten sides of the net" is to use Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Fengyang, the four areas where the refugee army is active, as the main battlefields for suppression, namely the "four fronts". At the same time, defenses are deployed in the six provinces of Yansui, Shanxi, Shandong, Yingtian, Jiangxi, and Sichuan to compress the encirclement while preventing the refugee army from escaping, namely the "six corners".

The strategy of Zhu Changgan and Sun Chuanting was to accumulate heavy troops in a linear manner in Sichuan, Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi, and to cooperate with militia training.

They began to kill them from the north and southwest to the east, driving these people into Southern Zhili and Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions.

Among them, Zhu Changgan paid particular attention to Sichuan, and Sun Chuanting sent a lot of troops. In addition, Sun Yingyuan was also sent by Zhu Changgan to Sichuan.

In order to prevent the rebels from infiltrating into Shu, in addition to the 10,000 troops led by Sun Yingyuan, he also received a handwritten letter from Qin Liangyu, asking him to recruit another 10,000 soldiers in Sichuan.

This time, Sun Chuanting submitted a memorial to the emperor to tell him that he had completed the deployment and asked whether he should mobilize the troops immediately.

After reading it, Zhu Changgan wrote only one word on it, "Approved!"

……

After finishing all this, Zhu Changgan rubbed his temples and called up the blue attribute box again.

"Main quest: Save the Ming Dynasty Completion: 2736/10000"

"The Ming Dynasty's national fortune value: 11, (the national fortune is positive, the trend of natural disasters and the cooling of the small ice age has stopped, and the temperature will gradually return to normal, but the people are living in dire straits and need to change urgently."

"The Ming Dynasty has lasted for 700 days"

「Modern lifespan bonus: 700 days」

「Funding reward: 19178082 yuan」

"Whoo~"

The country's fortunes finally turned from losses to profits, and the bonuses exceeded eight figures. He waved his hand fiercely, "Alright, I won't read all the memorials today. Let's go to Chenghua Palace."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Work is work, life is life. You cannot give up the joy of life because of work.

Before this,

Because Concubine Chen was pregnant, she no longer lived here and went to Xianfu Palace to take care of her baby. So Chen Yuanyuan was left alone. When Zhu Changgan came in, he was stunned.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"

"Greetings to His Majesty!"

A plump, beautiful woman with a face like Guanyin, eyes like autumn waves, a mouth like a red cherry, and like a ripe peach that is full of juice when pinched, said in a delicate voice.

"Empress Zhang, why are you here?"

Zhu Changgan came suddenly. As the emperor's sister-in-law, Zhang Yan was extremely depressed because she had no children after the death of Emperor Tianqi. On weekdays, she hardly contacted other people in the harem. But she lived next to her in Chenghua Palace, and Chen Yuanyuan would cause trouble again.

So after a few interactions, the two became familiar with each other and started to move around.

Whenever the emperor didn't come, she would come and talk to Chen Yuanyuan.

But there is a saying that goes, if you walk by the river often, you will get your feet wet. In the end, he was still touched by the emperor.

The Han people are not Tartars. The Tartars have the tradition of succession from brother to brother, but this is a taboo in the Ming court, so Zhang Yan always tried her best to avoid meeting the emperor.

Queen Zhang Yan seemed to be feeling a little hot at this moment, with layers of blush on her face and a layer of crystal clear sweat on the tip of her nose and forehead.

She raised her head and almost whispered, "Your Majesty, I will leave now."

After Zhang Yan finished speaking, she covered her face and fled without waiting for the emperor to speak. At this time, her face had turned a bright red, as if there was a fire burning inside her body.

"Not really. You guys continue chatting. I'll come back later..."

Zhu Changgan looked at Zhang Yan's back with some disappointment. After a long time, he turned around and saw Chen Yuanyuan looking at him strangely.

Zhu Changgan closed the door with a loud bang, blocking out the view outside.

Then the cloak fell to the ground, followed by a pair of silk trousers.

After a while,

"There is muddy water in Jing, in the city of Jing..."

Another half hour later,

The wind and rain had just stopped, and the sky outside was gradually darkening. Chen Yuanyuan placed her hand on the emperor's chest and said, "Your Majesty, I have an aunt whom I would like to bring to the capital."

"Take it... Oh, that's not right. Weren't you sold to the opera house by your uncle and aunt?" Zhu Changgan turned to look at her face. "Don't you hate them?"

Chen Yuanyuan shook her head and put her face against his. "My aunt's family was very poor at the time, and the price of grain increased dramatically. If they didn't sell me off, none of us would be able to survive. There was nothing we could do."

"However, after I bring them to the capital this time, I will no longer owe them anything, and I will change my surname back to my original one."

Chen Yuanyuan's original surname was Xing. She was born in a peddler's family in the south of the Yangtze River. Her parents died when she was young, and she was adopted by her aunt. Her uncle's surname was Chen, so she changed her surname to Chen.

"As long as you are happy, it's up to you."

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing I have not told you. Before, the Royal Guards did not find my indenture contract from the Jiading Earl's house. I thought about it and thought of someone."

"Who?"

Zhu Changgan remembered that the Jinyiwei did mention this matter when they searched Zhou Kui's house, but he did not pay attention to it at that time.

Chen Yuanyuan bit her bright red lips and said softly, "The Earl of Jiading once wanted to give me to a general in the Liaodong Army. His name seemed to be... Wu Sangui."

As soon as these three words came out, Zhu Changgan's pupils shrank suddenly.

……

(End of this chapter)