Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 62 Undercurrent
The night in the capital is full of undercurrents.

Rumors and bad words in the capital were becoming more and more rampant, saying that the emperor had a violent temper, trusted the eunuch party and the Jinyiwei, and slaughtered ministers at will.

A large group of imperial censors were also writing memorials at home, preparing to launch a collective attack when they went to court the next day.

He requested the emperor to be lenient, return the government affairs to the officials, and severely punish the eunuchs and the commander of the Jinyiwei, Li Ruolian.

These civil servants and scholars used their power and convenience to have the people below them write a large number of notes, play lyrics, and miscellaneous talks, and then find people to sing them everywhere.

At the same time, another group of people gathered at the Jinyiwei Yamen.

These were the thugs who had tested the muskets with the Jinyiwei before. When they heard that the Jinyiwei had a mission to be completed and those who failed to complete it were punished, their faces turned green when they tested the muskets, but they dared not not come.

Because they were registered last time in order to receive their salary, so the monk can run away but the temple cannot.

The captain of the Jinyiwei held a piece of paper in his hand and said, "Tomorrow at 3:00 pm, everyone will line up at the gate of the Dibao Office to receive the Ming Times. Before 3:00 pm, post the Ming Times all over the streets and alleys you are responsible for. After 3:00 pm, distribute the Ming Times to pedestrians."

"Yinshi? So early?"

A thug's face suddenly turned bitter. It was three o'clock in the morning, and for this group of lazy thugs, they really didn't want to get up.

"It's okay if you don't want to go. Come over after sunrise tomorrow to shoot muskets."

"No, I'll come, I'll come early, I'll be here an hour earlier, okay!"

The captain of the Imperial Guards continued, "Everyone has a designated area. You can check it out later. We will send people to check tomorrow morning. If anyone tries to be cunning or treacherous, they will be shot with a musket for ten days."

The reason why it has to be done at Yinshi is because it takes time to typeset and print the official bulletin.

There was not enough time to produce tens of thousands of newspapers even with movable type printing, so the Jinyiwei, Dongchang, and anyone who could write all came to copy them.

……

The next morning, when peddlers, vendors, and early risers went out into the streets, they suddenly discovered that the streets were covered with paper.

Liu Laoer, a vegetable seller, couldn't help but curiously stepped forward to take a look, "Fellow villager, what's written on it?"

Not many people knew how to read these days, but there were always one or two people who knew how to read. Someone read: "Without conscience, the heads of the six ministries actually encouraged their subordinates to deceive the emperor..."

"No wonder the emperor wanted to behead them, well done!" Someone couldn't help but cheer.

"That's right. They dared to deceive His Majesty, so wouldn't they deceive us, the people, even more?"

"Good kill!"

Liu Laoer, the vegetable vendor, listened for a while and finally understood. When someone asked him about it, he told them what he had heard in vivid detail.

"Hey, there's also a Ming Times over there, but it doesn't talk about this."

"It's not this? What is it?" Liu Laoer, the vegetable seller, pushed his cart to another place and asked people what was said above.
"This is appalling! The Minister of Rites, Wan Kelong, Hong Daxian... and others have been executed for deceiving the emperor, committing corruption and breaking the law."

The Ming Times was hand-copied, so there are three versions.

Liu Laoer was a man who liked to join in the fun. In a short while, he had found out all three versions. Whenever he met someone who didn't know the story, he would proudly tell them all the three versions.

By the way, let the listener buy his vegetables.

At this time, those ruffians were also looking at the Ming Times on the wall to prevent it from being pulled down. If anyone dared to pull it down, they would rush up and beat that person up immediately.

Are you kidding? If the Jinyiwei found out that it was empty and thought they didn't stick it on, how unfair would it be for them if they were forced to shoot muskets?

Not only that, they also distributed the Ming Times to the most crowded places, shouting, "Come and see, come and see, the officials of the Ming Dynasty deceived the emperor, took bribes and perverted the law, and they are being executed on the spot..."

"It's a great relief that His Majesty the Emperor has killed corrupt officials..."

In addition to posting the posters, this group of thugs also really contributed.

Regardless of the era, door-to-door marketing is an effective advertising method, let alone such a large-scale and intensive door-to-door marketing. Before the morning was over, the entire capital city knew the ins and outs of yesterday's events, and everyone was cursing this group of corrupt officials.

Nowadays, people’s lives are not going well and they are unhappy, so naturally they need something to vent.

So when they saw those high-ranking officials actually taking bribes, breaking the law, and deceiving the emperor, they naturally became filled with anger along with the discussions of the crowd.

"Well done! You bastard official, you shall not die a good death!"

"Those six ministers should also be killed. What kind of people are they? They only know how to deceive the emperor and harm the people all day long!"

……

The morning court in the palace was still going on, and senior civil servants and censors submitted impeachment memorials one after another in indignation.

In return, the emperor said calmly: "I know!"

He asked Wang Chengen to collect all the memorials.

"My dear ministers, if there is nothing else, I am tired!" Zhu Changgan turned around and walked into the palace, not caring whether they were okay or not. Anyway, he had already stood up, and it was impossible for me to sit back down.

Seeing this, Wang Chengen hurriedly shouted, "Dismiss the court!"

This action made all the officials confused. This is it? So many of us impeached the emperor, but the emperor didn't get angry or make any other statement?
"How could this be?" Wen Zhenmeng, a core member of the Donglin Party, spread his hands, puzzled.

"Something's wrong!" Huang Shijun frowned, "Something must be wrong?"

"Did our strategy work?" Tian Weijia, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, said with a burning gaze, "But it shouldn't be like this. It's only been one day from yesterday to today. Public opinion shouldn't cause your majesty to panic so quickly."

The Minister of Justice Zheng Sanjun shook his head, "One day, but your Majesty's attitude today is indeed a little abnormal."

Many senior officials had left the court and were preparing to return to the yamen to report for duty and then discuss what to do next.

"No, something must be wrong." Huang Shijun was sitting in the sedan chair, frowning, racking his brains, but he couldn't figure out the crux of the matter. When he passed by the street, he heard the hustle and bustle outside and couldn't help but lift the curtain, "Why is there so much noise? Go to the front and ask what happened."

Soon, the butler came back with a copy of the Ming Times in his hand. "Master, now the rumors are going viral outside. It is said that the heads of the six ministries instigated their subordinates to deceive the emperor..."

Huang Shijun's eyes narrowed suddenly, and he reached out to snatch the paper from his hand. He glanced at it quickly and his face changed color with horror.

My heart was pounding and my throat felt like it was on fire.

"Quick, go back to the Ministry of Rites!"

When he arrived at the Ministry of Rites, he found several of the chief officials of the ministry. Some of them were holding one, and some were holding two, copies of the Ming Times. When they saw him, they all gathered around him.

"Minister Huang, you are back. Look at this."

Huang Shijun raised the Ming Times in his hand with an unpleasant expression, "I have seen it..."

Just as he was about to say something, he saw several people running in from outside the yamen, including Tian Weijia, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zheng Sanjun, the Minister of Justice, Xue Guoguan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhang Sizhi, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Everyone walked inside with extremely ugly faces, but Huang Shijun stood up and walked out.

Tian Weijia, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stopped him and said, "Minister Huang, why did you leave?"

"This is the Ministry of Rites!"

After Huang Shijun said this, everyone suddenly realized that no matter how uneasy or panicked they were, they should not discuss things that would go against the emperor in the Ministry of Rites.

After leaving the Ministry of Rites, not long after they left, Tian Weijia, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, lost his temper and got off the sedan chair to stop everyone. "Minister Huang, Minister Zheng, there is a house of mine in front of us. Let's discuss it there!"

Huang Shijun opened the curtain with a serious look, "This place is too close to Chengtian Gate, let's go a little further."

Sure enough, they saw quite a few people gathering outside the Ministry of Rites, pointing and talking inside.

Watching the fun.

After the Jiajing Dynasty, except for the Washing Bureau near Xinjiekou, 23 of the yamen in the inner court with offices were all located in the imperial city, with the highest concentration in the northeast of the imperial city.

Of the civil and military offices of the Ming Dynasty, except for the Three Courts in the west of the city, the Guanglu Temple inside Dong'an Gate, the Taipu Temple near Xidan, and the Imperial College inside Anding Gate, most of the others were located on the east and west sides outside Chengtian Gate.

"Oh, it's already this late, are you still worried about being seen or something?"

Huang Shijun glanced at him and said, "You should stay calm at all times. The more important the matter is, the calmer you should be. The more you want to fight, the calmer you should be."

Tian Weijia, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was stunned for a moment, then nodded in understanding, "What Minister Huang said is absolutely right."

They walked along four streets before stopping in front of a house. Their respective housekeepers stood at each street corner, and they got off the sedan chair and entered.

After entering the courtyard and closing the gate, Huang Juncai looked at everyone and said solemnly, "I told you long ago that you should be on high alert and never underestimate us. Now you see your majesty's determination and ruthlessness, right?"

"But... we have already tried all the methods!" Tian Weijia, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, had a trembling arm. "But who knew that His Majesty would directly cut off the firewood from under the cauldron."

Fierce!

They also claimed to control the public opinion in the Ming Dynasty. Now, when we compare them, who is the egg and who is the stone?
Zheng Sanjun, the Minister of Justice, clenched his fingers and said, "We must find a way. I think His Majesty will take action against us next."

Everyone looked at him, "How do you prove it?"

Zheng Sanjun gritted his teeth, his cheek muscles bulging, "Today, all the people who sent letters from the Ministry of Justice to other places were sent back. They were stopped by the Jinyiwei and Yongweiying."

The eyes of several people twitched wildly, and for a moment, it seemed as if a huge shadow was pressing down on them.

Xue Guoguan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, consoled himself, "Not really. Even if His Majesty wanted to, he doesn't have the strength. The power of the Ming Dynasty is still in the hands of our civil officials. The relationship in the court is complicated, and one move can affect the whole body."

"The Ming Dynasty is facing internal and external troubles. It may not be a big deal if he kills a few middle and low-level officials, but he will not kill high-level officials."

"Your Majesty, don't dare!" Hou Xun, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up: "Let's not talk about anything else. Just take the Ministry of Revenue as an example. If we take action against so many senior officials at the same time, the collection and payment of grain and salaries in various parts of the Ming Dynasty will all come to a standstill."

"Don't forget, the money for the suppression has just been collected and has not yet entered the national treasury."

Tian Weijia, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. "According to what you said, can we use food and money to put pressure on His Majesty?"

Zheng Sanjun shook his head. "This is the last move. Once it is used, there will be no way back."

Xue Guoguan, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, blinked a few times, "Why don't we come forward and let someone else do it?"

Everyone looked at Xue Guoguan, "Who should do it?"

……

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Changgan went to eat something first, and then asked Wang Chengen to sort out the memorials received from the morning court.

"Pick out the memorials of the six ministers who were previously accused and see if Li Ruolian has any evidence of their corruption and abuse of power. Approve those that are, and put aside those that are not, and wait for Li Ruolian to provide more information."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Wang Chengen and a few eunuchs were busy.

At this time, a eunuch rushed in and said, "Your Majesty, General Qin's letter has arrived."

"Who? A letter from Qin Liangyu... Hurry, bring it to me." Zhu Changgan didn't even bother to eat. He trotted over to take the letter from the eunuch and opened it.

He quickly read through it and couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Great!"

Twenty thousand white-pole soldiers!
You have to know that Qin Liangyu only had 30,000 white-flag soldiers under her command, and she asked for 20,000, but she didn't expect that Qin Liangyu actually agreed.

Not only did he agree, but he also wanted to lead the army in person.

　Thank you for your first order
　　
　
(End of this chapter)