Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 74 Go check it out for your father

Wang Chengen looked at the emperor sitting on the throne in a daze, and his heart suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He wanted to go to Kunning Palace to tell the queen, but after thinking about it, he stopped.

It can be seen that His Majesty has something hidden in his heart. Wang Chengen has been following Chongzhen for so many years, so he naturally knows him very well.

Even though the emperor's temperament had changed greatly in recent days, he had still gained some experience.

Wang Chengen was surprised to find that the emperor at night was familiar to him, but the emperor during the day was extremely unfamiliar to him.

During the day, you just need to do your job well, but at night you need more care and attention.

A eunuch came over and was about to speak.

But Wang Chengen put his finger to his mouth and said, "Shh~"

"Don't say anything, let the emperor rest for a while!"

"Yes!" The eunuch immediately fell silent and retreated quietly.

Wang Chengen looked at the Qianqing Palace and said softly to a young eunuch, "Go and ask the palaces to take down their lanterns. The emperor will not be coming over tonight."

……

Insects chirped softly at night. Chongzhen sat on the throne, looking at the lights in the Qianqing Palace. Suddenly, he felt an indescribable emotion.

His inner uneasiness and desire were tinged with the twilight of his indecision and blended into this uncertain color.

Chongzhen slowly walked to the door, opened it, and looked at the shining stars in the sky. "Ancestors, where should I go?"

Before this, he actually still had some doubts about Zhu Changgan. What about four hundred years later, what about the Ming Dynasty will perish... Zhu Changgan was just exaggerating.

He let Zhu Changgan take charge of the government, not because of trust, but more because he wanted to see what this man who claimed to have come from four hundred years ago was capable of.
How dare you say you can save the Ming Dynasty?

How could the Ming Dynasty be destroyed just because you said so?
But today... he suddenly felt speechless and lonely.

For a long time,

Chongzhen came to his senses and asked, "What time is it?"

"Your Majesty, it's midnight and it's cold outside." Wang Chengen came over at some point, holding a blanket in his hand and draped it over Chongzhen.

"Is it midnight already?" Chongzhen took a deep breath and turned back to the Qianqing Palace, "Bring me the four treasures of the study."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Chongzhen will have to take two more exams next.

The third test will test one article from the Four Books or scriptures, one regulated fu, and one five-character eight-rhyme test poem. The fourth test will mainly test scriptures, poems, fu, scriptures, and love poems.

For some reason, he suddenly had the urge to finish the exam quickly and then go see King Xiang.

……

In the next two days, Zhu Changgan pushed forward various tasks in an orderly manner. The personnel of Shuntian Prefecture were drafted because they were important officials of the court, so he had to discuss it with Sun Chengzong, the Minister of Personnel.

In addition, after the incident with Dingxi Marquis Jiang Bingzhong and the collective protests of the military marquises, the military horses of the Beijing camp began to be returned one after another under the leadership of the civil service group.

In the Beijing camp,

Li Banghua asked the soldiers of the cavalry battalion to check it very carefully. "This military horse is not qualified. Judging from its teeth, it is more than 15 years old and has passed its prime. We can't keep it."

"What the hell... I'm glad I can return it to you." Guo Chunkui, Pei Bijin, Lu Wenyi and other officials from the Ministry of Rites turned pale when they heard this, and said angrily: "Don't be shameless!"

A captain of the Jinyiwei came forward with narrowed eyes and drew his knife: "Who is causing trouble here?"

When several officials from the Ministry of Rites saw the knife in the other party's hand, their mouths twitched violently, and they cursed in their hearts: "Huang Chuangzi, this bastard, has led these guys astray."

The fact that Huang Degong almost cut off the neck of Dingxi Marquis Jiang Zhongbing with one knife caused a great response among the Yongwei Battalion and the Jinyiwei.

Many people regard Huang Degong as an example, saying that General Huang's swordsmanship is superb. He can cut flesh and blood with one sword without taking a person's life. This is called perfection and the pinnacle of skill.

What's more, he practiced sword-wielding day and night.

I just hope that I can be as amazing as Huang Degong.

But for civil servants and nobles, it was a death warrant.

Guo Chunkui, an official from the Ministry of Rites, could only ask his servants to bring back the horses, "Change them. I'll go back and change them for you!"

This phenomenon continued to happen over the next two days, which made Li Banghua smile. The military horses of the Beijing Camp were not up to standard. They were 4 to 5 years old when they reached adulthood, but most of them were more than ten years old. Now was a good opportunity to replace them.

"Five thousand cavalrymen... aren't they a little too few?" Li Banghua knocked on the table and said, "No, I have to ask His Majesty to double the number."

……

Chongzhen finally finished the exam and walked out carrying his things.

Next, the county magistrate will rank those who have passed the exam. The first one will be called "the county's top scorer" and, as long as he has no other problems, he does not need to take part in the subsequent prefectural and academy examinations and will directly obtain the title of scholar. The rest of the passers-by will be qualified to take part in the subsequent prefectural examination.

"My son, this way... this way..." Chongzhen had just come out of the Examination Hall when he saw someone waving at him.

It was Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming. He walked up to him with a smile on his face, took the basket from him and gave it to the maid Hong Tao.

"How are you? Are you tired? Father heard that you can't eat well or sleep well in the examination hall, so before you come out, he asked the chef to prepare your favorite dishes."

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming pulled Chongzhen aside and asked, "My son looks unhappy. Did he not do well in the exam?"

“It’s not a matter of the exam, it’s just…” Chongzhen looked at Prince Xiang with red eyes.

Before he found out, he wanted to tell King Xiang everything.

But after coming out, I couldn't say anything.

Wang Chengen said that most people only report good news to their relatives and not bad news. Is it probably the same for him?
Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming looked at him, asked his servants to send him away, and then sighed and said, "I already knew what happened in the examination room before you came out."

Chongzhen raised his head, his eyes red, "I just don't understand, how did the Ming Dynasty become like this?"

"Why did it suddenly become so corrupt?"

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming shook his head and said calmly: "How can something suddenly become corrupt... It is easy to conquer a country, but difficult to keep it." "Looking at the world from ancient times to the present!"

"It took several generations of Qin monarchs to work hard to govern the country, and only then did the First Emperor unify the country. The Second Emperor, Hu Hai, was incompetent, and the eunuch Zhao Gao was in chaos, so the Qin Empire fell in the second generation. Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang killed the white snake and started an uprising, punished the tyrannical Qin and destroyed Xiang Yu, and won the world in seven years. In the late Western Han Dynasty, foreign relatives were in power, and powerful officials seized power and usurped the Han Dynasty. Emperor Guangwu revived the country, destroyed Wang Mang and founded the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there were still people like Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao who held the emperor hostage to control the princes, and the Eastern Han Dynasty finally fell in their hands."

"The Jin Dynasty annexed the Three Kingdoms, but internal strife continued, plunging the country into chaos... Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, unified China, ended the confrontation between the North and the South, worked hard to govern the country, and ushered in a prosperous era. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty did not sympathize with the people's strength, was ambitious, and caused the country to split and the mountains and rivers to be broken, and the second emperor died."

"Afterwards, Li Yuan and his son emerged, pacified the world, and Taizong Li Shimin conquered the Turks and eliminated the threat. The Tang Dynasty entered a prosperous era. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was greedy for pleasure, appointed treacherous officials, and brought disaster to the country. The Anshi Rebellion broke out, and the Tang Dynasty was no longer prosperous. In the late Tang Dynasty, it declined and was destroyed by the powerful minister Zhu Wen."

"Ten kingdoms divided the world and were constantly at war. Zhao Kuangyin replaced the Later Zhou Dynasty and founded the Song Dynasty, gradually annexing the ten kingdoms. The Song Dynasty also gradually became prosperous and powerful. However, the emperor of the Song Dynasty was weak, valued culture over military affairs, and the army was slack and lacked combat effectiveness. In the end, it was destroyed by the Jin Dynasty."

"The Mongols were brutal. After they came to power in China, they did not think about strengthening the country and enriching the people. Instead, they imposed heavy taxes and imposed perverse measures, causing chaos throughout the country. Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang wiped out the heroes, expelled the Tartars, restored China, ended the tyranny of the Mongols, and established the Ming Dynasty..."

"Thousands of years of history are nothing but countless cycles of cause and effect. The wheel of history rolls forward, and yesterday's rise and fall, honor and disgrace are gone in the blink of an eye. Dynasties rise and fall, and which dynasty can last for thousands of years?"

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming patted Chongzhen on the shoulder and said, "My son, sometimes people have to learn to let things go."

"Father, you..." Chongzhen stared blankly at Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming. Looking at the elder in front of him, he could never have imagined that this man who laughed, scolded and pretended to be elegant every day could actually say such a truth.

Although this theory sounds a bit unorthodox, it still refreshed his understanding of King Xiang.

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming sighed, "You just said that the Ming Dynasty suddenly became corrupt. What father wants to tell you is that, in fact... the Ming Dynasty has already been corrupt for decades."

"Decades ago?"

King Xiang nodded, "At least I was like this when I was a child. Do you know why I support you in the imperial examination?"

Chongzhen shook his head. He couldn't understand this point.

"As far as I can remember, I have discovered that I am different from the other lazy brothers. In the clan school, others cannot learn things even after memorizing them for a long time, but I can learn them after reading them twice." Xiang Wang Zhu Yiming smiled and said to him:

"So, I went to talk to your grandfather, but instead of praising me, he looked at me with an even uglier expression than before."

"A few days ago, the teacher in the clan school was dismissed by my grandfather for some reason."

"I didn't understand it at the time, but as I got older and older, and as I was about to reach adulthood, I became interested in riding horses and archery, and in military books, so I pestered an old general in Xiangyang Prefecture to teach me military books."

"But... what I received was a beating from your grandfather, who strictly ordered me not to contact that general again. He said that there were no soldiers in the fiefdom, and that learning that thing would not only be useless, but would only bring disaster."

Prince Xiang sat on the ground and continued, "From then on, I realized that the officials, guards, and even the cooks in the back kitchen were always watching every move in the palace, recording it in a small notebook and handing it to Your Majesty regularly. If the emperor knew that Prince Xiang's palace was suspected of having mercenaries, then the day would come when our palace would lose its head."

"That night, your grandfather talked to me for a long time. He told me that you don't need to be very smart, and you don't need to know too many things."

"So, I had to abandon your father again and started to do nothing from then on. Your grandfather also said that the princes should have children for the royal bloodline, so I followed the arrangements of my family, married a princess, and reported to the capital. Your grandfather and everyone in the palace were very happy."

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming's face was filled with helplessness and bitterness. He continued almost screaming, "But what about me? I can't be happy at all. I want to do what the sages wrote in their books. I want to see the great Ming dynasty. A good man has ambitions everywhere... But before I could run away, your grandfather was gone."

"I inherited the throne and was given the title of a vassal king, but I was tied up with reins and could not leave the fiefdom without reason... I, your father, was completely tied to the palace."

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming turned his head and looked at Chongzhen with red eyes, "Now, your father has seen what he was like in the past in you. I want you to go out and see the river of the Ming Dynasty on your behalf. Even if the Ming Dynasty is about to sink, go and see it."

"By the way, help father to look at our Zhu family's country and the people of Ming Dynasty, before our Ming Dynasty collapses."

"Father doesn't want you to regret your life like I did."

Chongzhen looked at Prince Xiang steadily, his eyes red... After a long time, he finally nodded heavily.

"Father is not angry about what you did in the examination hall. I am happy for you." Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming smiled and pulled him up again. "If the people of our Zhu family cannot sympathize with the hardships of the people and indulge in pleasure and extravagance, then the fall of the Ming Dynasty is only a matter of time."

"Let's go, the cook must have prepared the meal, my Qilin must be starving!"

"Okay!" Chongzhen gently raised his sleeve and wiped the corner of his eyes while Prince Xiang was not paying attention.

He looked at King Xiang's back, and suddenly felt that the other party's slightly fat back was taller than ever before.

……

The Chongzheng Hall in Shenyang is where the Emperor Taiji of the Qing Dynasty worked.

At this moment, a man with a face full of flesh and a pair of sinister triangular eyes was sitting on the throne in the palace, staring at the people in the palace with a sharp gaze, "What do you want to do? Do you want to rebel?"

This person is Huang Taiji.
Huang Taiji lost his mother at the age of 12, led troops to fight at the age of 20, and ascended the throne at the age of 35. Within ten years of his reign, he unified the entire Northeast, went south to Korea, and west to Mongolia, repeatedly defeating Ming officials and soldiers. In April of the ninth year of Chongzhen, he changed his title to emperor, established the Qing Empire that unified Guandong, and changed the name of his clan to "Manchuria".

This year was called the first year of Chongde by the Jiannu people.

Daishan, Dorgon, Jirgalang, Hauge and others were conferred the titles of princes and dukes, and the Manchus were now in an atmosphere of barbaric growth.

But today, the princes, dukes, beile and bondservants of various Qing departments are particularly unhappy because they heard the news that Huang Taiji was going to confer the title of Gongshun King on Kong Youde, the Huaishun King on Geng Zhongming, and the Zhongshun King on Shang Kexi, the surrendered Ming generals.

"Your Majesty, they are just a bunch of slaves, how can they be crowned kings?" Prince Su Haoge was the first to stand up, stiffening his neck and saying in dissatisfaction.

He was the eldest son of Huang Taiji and was among the "Four Great Princes". He also commanded the Zhenglan Banner and was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.

His power and status in the court were also extremely prominent.

Heshuo Zheng Prince Jirgalang was also one of the four great princes. He also echoed: "Yes, Your Majesty, it is understandable that you have given them high positions and generous salaries. With their merits, they are not worthy of being crowned as kings!"

Huang Taiji glanced at them and said, "We Manchus have limited territory, a population of only 34, and only Eight Banner soldiers, but the Ming Dynasty has a population of million. If I want to destroy the Ming Dynasty, it is far from enough to rely on us Manchus alone."

"The most convenient way is to make the people of the Ming Dynasty work for me, but have you ever thought about how to make them work for us?"

"We once promised Yuan Chonghuan's subordinate Zu Dashou that if he surrendered to the Qing, he would be crowned a king. But how can we convince people with just words?"

"But if Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi were made kings, and the generals of the Ming Dynasty saw that even people who were not as good as Zu Dashou could be made kings, what would they think?"

"If we use them as preachers, will there be any Ming Dynasty generals like Zu Dashou who will be shaken?"

"Besides, I only conferred titles on them as kings, but did not give them any fiefdoms. Why are you making a fuss? What is your intention?" Huang Taiji looked at the princes and beile with his sinister triangular eyes like lightning.

"This……"

Several princes and beiles blushed immediately. Just as they were about to kneel down and ask Huang Taiji for forgiveness, they heard a eunuch running in quickly, "Report, Your Majesty, the intelligence in the capital has brought back news."

Huang Taiji took it and unfolded it, only to see the following words written on it: "Eight major Shanxi merchants headed by Fan Yongdou were confiscated and exterminated by the Ming Emperor..."

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(End of this chapter)