Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 56 You’re not as cruel as him!

“Beat them!” The eunuchs from the Eastern Depot rushed out like wolves.

“Pa bang bang~~~”

The sound of the whip cut through the air, whistling, and hit the court officials. At this time, the spring chill had passed, and the officials were not wearing thick clothes. The whip in the hands of the eunuchs of the East Factory hit the officials' bodies, instantly tearing their skin and flesh.

"Oh my god~"

Guang Shiheng was also drawn, but he still gritted his teeth and continued to shout: "If it is for the benefit of the country, it means nothing more than being torn to pieces... Please grant me your majesty's favor!"

As a military official, he knew very well that the emperor was a person who was extremely vain and concerned about reputation.

The emperor also had a quirk. He admired people who went directly against him. As long as the words touched his heart, he would accept any unpleasant words and would even praise them.

Guang Shiheng seized on this characteristic of Chongzhen and presented himself as an upright gentleman, an adviser, and a warrior, making Emperor Chongzhen believe that this was a loyal minister and the backbone of the Ming Dynasty.

Being beaten for daring to speak out and disobey the emperor is a sign of integrity and can make one famous through the ages. It is worth a spanking.

Guang Shiheng is definitely a master of showmanship. Whenever he speaks, he is often condescending. The teachings of ancestors, the laws of sages, the way of being a minister, and the rules of the king all shine like lotus flowers in his mouth.

"If it is beneficial to the country, I will not avoid it because of misfortune or seek it because of fortune. Your Majesty wants to fight, I am willing to accept the punishment!" Guang Shiheng's awe-inspiring attitude and his willingness to face death with equanimity made people admire him.

"I eat the emperor's food and I can repay him with my life at the critical moment..." But just as he stiffened his neck and wanted to say a few more words, he found that several eunuchs surrounded him with whips, and he suddenly froze.

"Military Affairs Department Secretary Guang Shiheng?"

"Yes!"

Gao Yushun's smiling expression suddenly froze, and he pointed at him, "Okay, come on, beat him hard. If he can stand up in a while, I will hold you accountable!"

"what?"

Guang Shiheng's face turned green. He screamed and kicked his legs backwards, trying to run away, but there was no way the people from the East Factory would let him get away.

They formed a circle, threw back their arms, rolled up their sleeves, and started beating with all their might.

"Crack~"

“Pah~Pah~…”

"Ouch, my waist, my legs..." Kwang Si-hyung howled in pain.

The clothes were torn by the whip, the flesh was blurred, and blood splattered everywhere... But Gao Yushun didn't call for a stop, and the eunuchs from the East Factory under his command naturally didn't stop.

The other officials were also confused. They had prepared themselves to be beaten, but the people from the East Factory simply dispersed them and then surrounded and beat Guang Shiheng and a few others.

The whip cracked loudly.

The screams from below also pierced the sky.

Blood and strips of cloth were flying everywhere, which made the ministers such as Huang Shijun and Xue Guoguan who were present to ask for orders feel a little frightened.

"This... such a heavy blow? You're going to kill someone. Stop it, stop it!"

"stop fighting!"

……

In the Qianqing Palace,

Wang Chengen couldn't help but feel his throat rolling and he kept swallowing his saliva. He looked at the emperor, opened his mouth and closed it again.

"I know what you want to say, hold it back." Zhu Changgan looked at him like that and couldn't help but rolled his eyes and said, "Do you know why I didn't let you be the head of the East Factory?"

"Your Majesty..." Wang Chengen's eyelids twitched. He had thought about this before, but he couldn't figure it out.

Zhu Changgan did not wait for Wang Chengen to speak, and continued to speak to himself: "If it were you, you would never do such a thing. You are kind and righteous, and you want to preserve my wisdom. But Gao Yushun is different. He knows what I want, and he is more ruthless than you."

One was an old acquaintance of Prince Xin's mansion, who, in order to protect Chongzhen's dignity, escorted Chongzhen all the way to his death; the other one had hardly served Chongzhen for a few days, but after Chongzhen's death, he lay in the coffin and had himself burned to death.

The former is loyal and righteous, and the latter is also loyal and righteous.

But the latter is cruel to himself, so he will naturally be even crueler to others.

This is why Zhu Changgan chose Gao Yushun. After giving the order, he would not compromise in order to maintain the emperor's face and reputation.

……

“Your Majesty, help me, Your Majesty… Why are there so many people beating up just a few of us?” Guang Shiheng was no longer trying to be tough. He cried and crawled forward, “Oh my god… I’m going to die!”

"Don't stop, keep fighting!" Gao Yushun understood what the emperor meant: for a person, it is better to cut off one of his fingers than to injure ten of them; for the enemy, it is better to annihilate one of its divisions than to defeat ten of its divisions.

Your Majesty’s meaning is very clear. Beating is not the goal, but making it hurt.

No matter how hard it hurts, it is impossible to hurt them.

And that would only make them more united, so His Majesty's oral instruction to himself was to find a few examples.

Gao Yushun also selected these typical examples very cleverly.

There was not a single senior minister, all were below the third rank, and there was not a single old one, because if they were too old, their bodies might not be able to bear it.

This is also the reason why no one beat Huang Shijun.

"I told you to scream, why don't you scream? Keep screaming... Pa~ Pa~..." Beads of sweat the size of a pound were dripping down the forehead of the eunuch who was beating others. It was obvious that he was really using all his strength.

Every time the whip was hit, senior ministers such as Huang Shijun could not help but feel their hearts twitching.

Originally, these arrogant ministers who wanted to lead the whip were all scared at this moment. They stood there in a daze, their bodies couldn't help but tremble slightly.

For these scholars, they did all this for fame, not to seek death.

They were not afraid of being caned in court, spanked, or whipped.

But the premise is not to kill him.

It is nonsense to say that civil servants are not afraid of death. On the contrary, they are the most afraid of death.

For example, Guang Shiheng. When Li Zicheng was at the gates of the city and Chongzhen was helpless, he hanged himself with a hemp rope. What was surprising was that among a large group of civil and military officials who welcomed Li Chuang, the one who knelt the fastest was Guang Shiheng, who was so passionate and willing to die for his country.

Not only did he kneel quickly, but he also licked well. He used his mouth to lick Li Zicheng to show his loyalty, and was able to continue to serve as the "Military Secretary" of Li Zicheng's provisional government.

Guang Shiheng was quite good at finding excuses for himself. In a letter to his son, he said: "It has been a tradition since ancient times for a father and a son to serve two dynasties."

So shameless!

"Ugh..." Guang Shiheng could still make some noise at first, but soon, the ones who were making the most noise were beaten and lay on the ground groaning, and they would not move even if they were beaten again.

awful,
That's horrible!
There was not a single piece of healthy flesh on his body, and even his face was beaten to pieces and covered in blood. Even his colleagues such as Xue Guoguan could not tell who was who.

Seeing that the beating was almost over, the people who should be arrested had been arrested, and the effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys had been achieved.

Gao Yushun then walked out of the palace leisurely, "Forget it, take these people to the imperial prison."

"My Lords, please do as you please!"

He watched as the people from the East Factory dragged Guang Shiheng and others away like dead dogs.

Among the ministers present, whether it was Huang Shijun and others or the censors of the Donglin Party, each of them had an expression of fear on his face.

(End of this chapter)