（0726）

Today's fourth shift is delivered! At dawn, Chongzhen got up very early as usual, worshiped the sky in the courtyard of the Qianqing Palace, returned to the warm pavilion and ate a bowl of bird's nest soup, and then hurried to the court. At this time, the sky was not yet bright, and the dawn began to shine on the yellow glazed tiles of the majestic palace. Layers of halo shrouded the Forbidden City, and the appearance was golden and brilliant, very gorgeous. This made Chongzhen's spirit a little more uplifted, and he thought that today was a good omen.

Today is the Chang Dynasty, which is more grand than the ceremony of "Imperial Gate Decision" every day. As early as before the fifth watch, the six elephants had been led by the brocade official, escorted by the elephant slave in colorful clothes, from the elephant house in the west city root of the Xuanwu Gate, and walked leisurely on both sides of the royal road in front of the noon gate. The bucket-sized elephant's legs stomped heavily on the ground, making a sound like a drum.

After the two drums sounded at the noon gate, the six elephants automatically walked to the front of the noon gate, stood in their positions, each pair was the same left and right, and stood still with the Jinyi Banner School. The huge body of the six elephants gives people a very shocking and solemn feeling, and no matter who passes by here, it is impossible not to fail to look at it. This is where the majesty of the Son of Heaven, who is admired by all people, lies.

After the three-way drum sounded, the left and right side doors of the noon gate were opened together. The middle gate is a royal road, and it is usually not opened. A group of Jinyi generals, captains and standard-bearers walked into the noon gate, and on the south side of the inner Jinshui Bridge, there was a royal road, which was neatly arranged in two rows, standing solemnly. The lieutenant holds the guard of honor, the flag bearer holds the flag, and the general in brocade holds a halberd.

If you look closely, you may find that there are waist knives hanging from the waists of these brocade captains. According to the specifications, no one is allowed to carry weapons in the Forbidden City. The reason why these Jinyi captains carried scimitars was entirely because some unexpected events that happened a few days ago made Chongzhen feel uneasy, so he ordered the Jinyi captains on the periphery to carry weapons for safety.

This sudden incident was a group of ordinary people, most of whom were refugees from Beizhili, who couldn't live in the capital anymore, so they thought of coming to the emperor. In their minds, the emperor is the savior, and the emperor can save them at any time as long as he wants. They found a few literate people and wrote a recital, describing their sufferings in the hope that Chongzhen would save them. However, Chongzhen has never been disdainful of these ordinary people. After hearing about the situation, he ordered the expulsion of all these "Diao people" from Beijing without even looking at the recitals of these refugees. As a result, Jin Yiwei, who was enforcing the decree, had a conflict with those refugees, and many refugees died.

Later, Jin Yiwei was worried that the matter would become big and cause turmoil in the capital, so he had to press the matter for the time being. However, this incident has aroused the hatred of many refugees, and refugees from all over the country have gathered near the imperial city, numbering more than 100,000 people. Jinyiwei was worried about causing greater turmoil, so he asked to strengthen the vigilance in the Forbidden City, and Emperor Chongzhen naturally agreed.

After the Jinyi guard was deployed, a group of eunuchs who also served as honor guards came out of the palace and stood in a row under the Danqi. At the end of the class are two pairs of horses, golden saddles, golden stirrups, yellow silk bridles, and red gold chew rings, neat and solemn. The majesty of the heavenly family is manifested inch by inch in every detail.

Although Chongzhen always rode in front of the court and never rode a horse, the four beautiful and docile royal horses always led and served on time in front of the 369 court, becoming an integral part of the honor guard. The other four eunuchs took a carved huā stool from rosewood to prepare for the emperor to step on when he mounted the horse, and stood next to the horse. Sandwiched between His Majesty Dan, there are two rows of brocade generals who serve the court, wearing iron armor, bows, arrows, knives, swords, and red tasseled iron helmets, this is the famous "Han General".

After another moment, the bell rang at the noon gate. The civil and military officials hurriedly walked out of the courtroom* and entered the door from the left and right. Their ranks were very neat and quiet, and no one dared to make any extra noise. When the last official entered, the elephants put their trunks on each other, and no one was allowed to enter casually.

The civil and military officials arrived outside the Huangji Gate, according to the Wendong Wuxi, and then according to the difference between the yamen and the grade, they lined up in two shifts, standing on the Danqi, waiting for the arrival of His Majesty the Emperor. The four imperial historians were divided into shifts facing north and were responsible for correcting the ceremony. Their eyes, like poisonous snakes, stared at everyone around them. As long as someone has any cheating actions, they will be mercilessly recorded by them, and then reported to Emperor Chongzhen for processing.

"Your Majesty!"

"Feast!"

"We want to see the emperor!"

When the civil and military officials entered the court in the fifth watch, more than 1,000 people from Beizhili were led by more than 20 old people and came to the outside of the right gate of Chang'an. Most of them were lords whose homes had been destroyed by the war, and ordinary people did not have the courage to ask to see the emperor. However, the interests they represented went far beyond the class to which they belonged and also reflected the interests of peasants, small and medium-sized merchants, and artisanal owners. If it is said that Zhang Zhun used means to win over a group of people in Beizhili at the beginning, then the group of people in front of him refused to accept Zhang Zhun's co-optation. They are still loyal to the imperial court, they still believe in the imperial court, and they still support Emperor Chongzhen. They chose to take refuge in Beijing instead of Shandong, which has fully stated their position.

Yesterday morning, they saw the emperor's royal approval, which greatly disappointed them. Their group of old people immediately wrote another notebook expressing their bitter feelings and sent it to the General Affairs Department. Because the emperor had decreed that they should "not stay" in the capital, and saw that some of the words in the transcript were too intense, they refused to accept it. No matter how much they pleaded, it was useless. They had no choice but to take advantage of the fact that today was the day of the Chang Dynasty, and they played a book on their heads, trying to "write on the book".

In ancient times, the so-called que was the palace. Take the Ming Dynasty as the noon gate. The familiar launch of the noon gate beheading, this is the noon gate. But now the common people "write to the emperor" Don't say that they can't see the noon gate, and they can't even get close to the Chengtian gate. They could only kneel outside the right gate of Chang'an, looking at the direction of the palace from a distance, hoping that the emperor could have clairvoyance and ears to hear their shouts.

The civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty mostly lived in Xicheng from the right gate of Chang'an. The people all hoped that there would be a cabinet minister, a royal history of the left and right sides of the Imperial Procuratorate, or a scholar or a scholar, and a squire who took pity on the small people and brought them into the palace and presented them to the emperor, but the brocade-clothed officers and soldiers guarding the door did not allow them to approach the right gate of Chang'an and disperse them with water, fire sticks, knives, and swords. As soon as he saw the great officials coming, he drove them farther away.

There is a Dengwen Drum Courtyard outside the right gate of Chang'an, three small halls to the east, there is a small building hanging drum next to it, there are section and road officials who take turns to be on duty here. According to the law of the Ming Dynasty: the people are wronged, the yamen in charge does not speak for Shenli, and the general administration department does not beat the drum to convey to the people, and the officials on duty must report to the emperor truthfully. But today, there are a lot of Jinyi Banner schools standing near the Dengwen Drum Temple, one by one, like wolves and tigers, so that the people can't get close.

These poor people saw that the right gate of Chang'an was not working, so they turned from Qipan Street to the Daming Gate and came to the left gate of Chang'an. Here, they are in the same situation. Some of the old people have completely despaired, but some of them are still not giving up. They led everyone to avoid the middle road, knelt a little farther away from the East Chang'an Gate, and saw that the officials from the east city had passed through, so they had to beg the brocade officials guarding the gate to accept their recitals and send them to the palace.

Of course, the brocade officials would not do such a thing, so they naturally scolded them all at once, and then took over the music and tore them all to pieces. There was no way, those poor people, they had to kneel on the ground. They thought that sooner or later someone would take pity on them and show the emperor that they were "lying on the ......". As long as the emperor knows, they will definitely be dealt with properly.

They knelt in a mess and in a hurry. Some people were so hungry that they had not eaten enough for several days, and they fell to their knees, and lay limply on the ground. Someone was very weak and made a muffled sound, as if he was going to faint at any moment. Others were on their knees, muttering words in their mouths, and no one could hear what he was nagging.

In the Forbidden City, after the civil and military officials stood in shifts, there was a eunuch who walked out of the Huangji Gate, holding a yellow silk whip in his hand, the whip body was three feet long, the tip was three feet long, and the width was three inches, stained with wax, and a one-foot-long vermilion lacquer wooden handle was installed, and the dragon head was engraved and painted with gold lacquer. He walked to the corner of the Danqi and stood still, swung his whip and circled in the air a few times, pumping hard. The whip sounded crisp and resounded through the sky. With three waves in a row, the eunuch put away the whip and walked down the Danqi to stand. As a result, there was silence in the noon gate, the honor guard was forested, and the weather was solemn.

After a while, the internal official called "Arrived!" Chongzhen wore a winged crown, a round-necked embroidered dragon yellow robe, and a sad face, surrounded by a large group of eunuchs in gorgeous costumes. The guide officials composed of Hanlin, Zhongshu, Ke, and Dao each led out from the Huangji Gate, retreated step by step, and led the dragon chariot to the throne. The civil and military officials bowed their heads, not daring to look up.

Chongzhen stepped down and ascended to the throne. This throne was commonly known as the Golden Terrace at the time. In front of him was a royal case with a yellow satin embroidered dragon enclosure. There was a small vermilion lacquer railing three feet away from the imperial case, in case an official was kneeling on the ground to perform a task, and suddenly pounced on the throne to assassinate.

When Chongsu sat down, there were three eunuchs, one holding a yellow satin umbrella cover, and two holding two yellow Luo fans, coming up from the east and west sides of His Majesty, standing behind Chongzhen. They placed the yellow umbrella on the throne, and the two yellow Luo fans crossed behind him, vigilantly guarding his safety. If one of the ministers was seen trying to assassinate him in the prelude to the imperial case, the two eunuchs holding the yellow Luo fan only had to move their hands, and an iron coil would automatically fall, revealing a sharp blade from the handle of the fan.

Originally, there were also nine brocade wrestlers holding five umbrella covers and four fans, standing behind the throne and on the left and right. Later, because the emperor was not at ease with the brocade wrestlers, he asked them to stand next to His Majesty Dan. Behind the "Golden Terrace" and on the left and right, there are now only the deacons and eunuchs who are the most cronies. Emperor Chongzhen, who started with the defeat of Wei Eunuch, now trusts the eunuchs above his former brother Emperor Tianqi, which is really a great irony.

When Chongzhen finished his clothes, the dignified appearance and loud voice of the temple official sang: "The class salutes!" Immediately, the civil and military officials faced Jintai, and according to the chanting of the officials of the Honglu Temple, they rhythmically performed the regular salute of one bow and three kowtows, and then stood in shifts.

A corrector imperial history knelt down and played: "Today, there is Zhang Zhifa, the head of the household department, who will fall to the ground when he stands up, and the matter is out of order, so he should be asked." Please! ”

Chongzhen was tired because he had almost stayed awake all night last night, so he only whispered one or two words, and the ministers didn't hear it clearly. A handsome eunuch with a beautiful face, wearing a round-necked red Luo court dress, a blue parrot complement, and a gold belt inlaid with gold around his waist, who was in charge of the preaching of the court, walked forward a few steps from the throne like a woman's voice, and delivered a decree: "The emperor said: I don't have to ask if I think of him; Dai was immediately fined for three months to show a light punishment. Shane ......"

I don't know why, Chongzhen's hands and feet floated, he seemed to be very anxious, and absentmindedly saw an old minister who was about sixty years old staggered out of the class, knelt down, and said in a trembling voice: "Weichen is out of honor in the class, and the crime deserves death." His Majesty's grace was not severely punished, so that the life and death of Weichen could not be rewarded, and I respectfully thanked the emperor for his grace *......" Then he burst into tears and shouted in a trembling voice: "Long live! Banzai! Hooray*......"

This person is naturally the unlucky head of the household. In fact, at his age, such a serious salute is indeed a bit difficult for him. In the case of physical exhaustion, the hand board fell to the ground, which is completely forgivable. However, he ended up being fined for three months. If at other times, fines are not a big deal, and there are many ways to make money from the head of the household, but now...... It's hard!

The transportation was cut off, the money and grain in the south of the Yangtze River could not be transported, and the grain in the capital was already very tight. The shortage of materials naturally leads to soaring prices.

Yesterday's price was "one tael of silver, and I could only buy thirty or forty catties of grain." This is almost equivalent to four taels or even five taels of silver for one stone of grain. In the old good years, a stone of grain "was only five dollars of silver." The price of grain now is ten times that of the past! This cannot but be chilling.

Shi Kefa was also in the crowd, "Seeing this poor old man, who was punished for three months because of this small mistake, he couldn't help but sigh slightly." In the past, when the fortunes of the country were not so bleak, Emperor Chongzhen did not care about such a trivial matter at all, and waved his hand and passed. Today, however, he was fined three months.

What is this? Is it a triflation like this to show the supremacy of imperial power? With the dimming of the national fortunes, Emperor Chongzhen is becoming more and more careful in some subsections. For the emperor of a big country, this is not a good thing! The state is powerless in major affairs, and it is necessary to work these trivial things, is this what an emperor should do?

Of course, Chongzhen didn't know Shi Kefa's inner feelings, he was still a little absent-minded, and there was no other expression on his face except for the original melancholy look. When Zhang Zhifa Xie stood up, Chongzhen's eyes were sweeping towards the Wenchen class on the left, as if he was about to find something particularly interesting in the crowd.

"His Majesty the Emperor's ......"

An official of Honglu Temple knelt in front of Chongzhen and told him the names and numbers of civil and military officials who thanked and bowed outside the noon gate today, while a eunuch unfolded a red paper list and placed it on the imperial case.

Chongzhen only glanced at the list, and then looked out of the noon gate. Because it was far away from the noon gate, he only saw people kneeling outside the doors on the left and right. As for who those people were, Chongzhen didn't know and didn't want to know. Then, he waved his hand gently.

The official of Honglu Temple immediately got up and took a few steps back before he dared to turn around and shout to the noon gate: "Outside the noon gate, thank you for bowing to the official!" ”

When the civil and military officials outside the noon gate were chanting and bowing to Chongzhen five times and three times according to the praise of another Honglu temple official, Chongzhen glanced outside the noon gate again, then raised his head, and looked at the city head and tall buildings at the noon gate. He suddenly noticed that the weather that was originally quite bright suddenly dark clouds were low, and the thunder could not stop, and it felt as if it was going to rain.

Chongzhen suddenly repeated the faint hope that often appeared in his heart and dreams: if Yang Sichang could successfully take Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng, Huang Taiji, Zhang Zhun and others to Jiejing, how good it would be for him to lead the crown prince and the princes to the morning gate to "receive * ......"! It's a pity that these are all hallucinations, hallucinations that even he doesn't believe.

As usual, the officials of the five prefectures and the six ministries knelt down to perform routine business, and Chongzhen didn't care much. It's all routine and doesn't make any sense. Suddenly, Chongzhen heard a noisy human voice faintly coming from a distance, which was an extremely rare phenomenon near Chengtianmen. He guessed that it must be the "ignorant and foolish people" from Beizhili who refused to leave, and he couldn't help frowning, hating in his heart, and secretly thought: "They dare to resist the blame and still stay in Beijing!" ”

Chongzhen did not forget to ask his subjects to see him as "the king of Yao and Shun" and the lord of Zhongxing, so he endured the anger in his heart, called the Hubu Shangshu and Chuanlang to the front, and said slowly with a compassionate look: "I have always loved the people like a child. In some states and counties, the disaster situation is too serious, and you should consider the situation and whether the money and food should be reduced or reduced, and discuss in detail. ”

At this time, "just with a gust of south wind, the faint sound of the East Chang'an Gate continued to come to the well." It turned out that those people who had been kneeling for a long time were "a little emotional, and some people were much louder." Chongzhen frowned, and couldn't help but ask knowingly: "Are the people outside here very good?" ”

The Marquis of Hubu Shangshu, who was kneeling on the ground, raised his head and played: "Emperor Mingjian! They are the fathers and elders of the people of Beizhili, because of the tragic disaster, the Tartars are raging, and the levy is not stopped, they come to the capital to appeal to the grace of heaven, exempt from the levy, and provide relief quickly. It would be better if we could expel the Jianyu as soon as possible and let them go back to their hometowns*......"

The other ministers present suddenly twitched in their hearts, and they all secretly looked at Chongzhen's face, and at the same time, "I was secretly worried about Hou Sui." This Hou Sui is really a thatched temper, which pot is not opened. The most taboo thing for the emperor is that someone mentions when the Tartars will leave, and you actually blatantly bring it up, isn't this deliberately trying to make the emperor look good? It's no wonder that the emperor can spare you!

Sure enough" Hearing Hou Sui's words, Chongzhen frowned again, was silent for a moment, and said to a eunuch standing beside him: "You go and pass on the holy decree: I already know what the people played." I am well aware of the suffering of the people, and I will never allow the magistrates to be requisitioned. As for the matter of relief, "there is already a decree, and each department and the yamen should take care of it as soon as possible, and there should be no delay." Tell the people to return to their hometowns as soon as possible, and not allow them to stay in Beijing" to breed trouble, causing the law and discipline to "live up to the grace of the heavens and the earth" * ......

He immediately called the Wufu, Jiuqing, Ke, and Dao officials to come to the front and give careful instructions. Suddenly, the called courtiers knelt outside the small railing in front of the imperial case, and they didn't even cough softly. Chongzhen's face was extremely cold, full of anger, and his eyebrows were murderous. All the civil and military attachés knew that he was moody, and they all lowered their heads and waited for the unforeseen situation. Some timid courtiers couldn't help but tremble lightly in their calves.

At this time, the sky was already bright, and the dark clouds were thicker and lower than the one before dawn, pressing the ridge of the Wufeng Tower. Everyone in the hall, except Chongzhenzhi. Everyone's mood is as depressed as the weather outside. Hou Sui mentioned the most difficult and embarrassing question, that is, when the Tartar will retreat. However, no one in the audience dared to answer, not even Emperor Chongzhen.

After a moment of coldness, Chongzhen was about to retreat, when suddenly the voices in the distance became even noisier, mixed with crying. He was very angry, his eyes widened, and he shouted: "Where is the Jinyi Guard?" What do you eat? ”

The commander of Jinyiwei made the temperament of the commander, and the deputy commander made Wu Mengming immediately walk out of the Wuchen class and kneel in front of him. The two of them felt Chongzhen's anger, and they were also angry in their hearts, those Diao people who didn't know what to do would want them to look good for a while.

Chongzhen first said to the ministers with emotion: "Since I ascended to the pole, I have respected the heavens and ancestors, been diligent in government and loved the people, and always took the hearts of Yao and Shun as my heart, so that benevolence and virtue were made in the four seas. Just because of the state affairs and the lack of food and clothing, I always want to make the world peaceful as soon as possible, and the people will be on the table early. Today's tax department is heavier, but it is really a last resort. I don't want the people to only look at the suffering in front of them, and they can't think about my eternal country."

After a slight pause, Chongzhen turned to cultivate his temperament, and said quietly: "You go and take a look, so that you can tell the people not to make noise." If you still dare to disobey, take it all! ”

The other ministers hurriedly knelt their heads lower, so as not to let the emperor notice that their expression was wrong. In fact, the ministers present are very clear that the ones in front of Chongzhen are all nonsense, and only the last four words are the point, that is, take them all. Those ordinary people fall into the hands of Jinyiwei, what else can they do? It's a blessing to have survived.

"Yes!" A deep answer.

Some ministers couldn't help but be slightly shocked when they heard this answer. The cultivation was reprimanded by Chongzhen, and the people who made trouble were afraid that they would be stained with blood outside the noon gate. Well, they are still some distance away from the noon gate, no matter how Jinyiwei kills, they will not let Chongzhen know, this is already Jinyiwei's habit.

Pity the more than 1,000 representatives of the people who made the emperor angry, and from the unknown sky, they "bowed to the letter and knelt down to plead with heaven" kneeling through the right gate of Chang'an and then kneeling at the left gate of Chang'an, and could not get the mercy of a minister, so they accepted their transcripts and sent them to the emperor.

They could only see the Waijinshui Bridge and the Huabiao in front of the bridge, and they couldn't even see Chengtianmen completely.

As they went to court, they heard the faint sound of the whip three times, and then everything fell silent. It's as if the Forbidden City is an extremely deep sea, and they are far away from overseas. Chang'an Gate, Chengtian Gate, Duanmen Gate and Wumen Gate, each gate is a big mountain that cuts off the coast, making people daunting and unable to cross. And beside them, there was a Jinyi captain who was eyeing them, monitoring their every move.

Some people are numb on their knees and their knees are sore. Some had to sit down, but most were still on their knees. Some people think about the tragic situation in their hometown, cry out to the sky, and cry silently in despair. Passers-by gathered more and more, and hundreds of people gathered behind them, some of them were full of excitement, some of them were deeply sympathetic, and they kept whispering. Several times there were quarrels because the Jinyi Banner School guarding the left gate of Chang'an wanted to disperse the crowd.

Suddenly, a eunuch stepped out and shouted in a shrill voice: "There is a purpose! All those who were sitting quickly knelt down, and even those who were watching the excitement hurriedly knelt down because they couldn't avoid it. After the eunuch passed the "holy decree", he turned around and left. Some of the people knelt behind them, panicked in their hearts, and did not hear the content of the "holy decree" clearly, but only heard the "Qin this" and it was over. But most people heard it clearly, and when the eunuch left, they couldn't help but cry bitterly.

The Jinyi Banner School was afraid that the people would rush to the left gate of Chang'an, and raised their sticks and swords to drive everyone backwards. The citizens of the capital who stood from a distance and watched, on weekdays, were accustomed to seeing the Jinyi Banner School casually beating and arresting people, while shouting "Beat people!" Hit someone! "One side scattered and fled, causing chaos on East Chang'an Street, and shops closed one after another. It just so happened that the Imperial History of the City Patrol arrived with a team of soldiers from the Soldiers and Horses Division, and drove the panicked, grief-stricken and desperate Shangshu people to the outside of Zhengyang Gate.

When Wu Mengming, deputy commander of Jinyiwei, walked out of the East Chang'an Gate, the people of the "Fuque Shangshu" had been dispersed, leaving a few broken shoes and torn notebooks on the ground. He ordered a Jinyi guard commander to lead the Jinyi Banner School, together with the soldiers and horses of the five cities, to expel the people of Beizhili, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Shandong from the inner and outer cities. In short, as long as they are not from the capital, they will all be taken away.

Some tried to resist, but as a result, they were immediately poisoned by the Captain of Jinyi. Scimitars, iron rods, and whips beckoned to the unarmed people. Jinyiwei kills people, where will his subordinates be merciful? After a while, more than half of the people were killed, and the rest were also scarred. There was a pool of blood on the ground, as if it had been slaughtered by the Tartars.

Only a few people saw that the opportunity was bad and fled in a hurry. They gathered outside the city, and you look at me, and I look at you, and they don't know what to do. Obviously, Emperor Chongzhen had abandoned them, and they could no longer hope for the imperial court. The world is big, where is the place for them?

"Let's go find Zhang Zhun!"

"Let's go find Zhang Zhun!"

"Let's go find Zhang Zhun!"

Suddenly, in the sparse crowd, there were sounds one after another.

This voice became louder and louder, more and more vibrating, as if it could cover the thunder in the sky.

"Sneez!"

Zhang Zhun, who was far away in Tianjin, couldn't help but sneeze fiercely.

"Who's scolding me behind my back?"

Zhang Zhun's face was full of suspicion.