After the hundred officials dispersed, they did not go home directly, but got together in twos and threes, looked for the restaurants they often went to, and thought about their own affairs.

In the dimly lit private room of a tavern, three people were sitting around each other, the tables were full of rich dishes, and the small stove was also warmed with wine, and each of them filled a glass and drank to each other.

One of them said indignantly: "This villain, used to being powerful and blessed in the capital, and now he has come to Nanjing to cause trouble, although he won a few battles some time ago, but the capital was lost, he is duty-bound, and now he does not want to recover the capital as soon as possible, but he is devoted to continuing internal friction, I think he is tired of being crooked."

"That's right, I originally expected him to be able to reorganize the rivers and mountains after he came, if he continues to toss like this, I think Daming is not far from extinction."

"Who said no, when Wang Chengen's dog thing was tossing here, I had a hunch that this Chongzhen old man would not stop coming to Nanjing, you didn't believe it at the time, but now it's come true, it doesn't matter if we go home to farm, it's enough to spend the rest of our lives over the years, but this thing is not done like this, it's a pity that Enxiang, a lifetime of honesty and honesty, conscientiousness, but in the end there is no end."

"That's right, such an unpopular policy, he will definitely not be able to implement it, I will go to Enxiang's mansion at night to find out, as long as Enxiang speaks, I will be the first to stand up against Chongzhen's policy."

"That's fine, you go to the Enxiang Mansion a lot on weekdays, and remember to report to us in time after you find out anything at night."

"Don't worry about this, we are both glory and humiliation."

"At this time, we also have to be more careful, so as not to be yin, there is a large group of people behind everyone. In addition, Eun Xiang still has to go there, and the ministry also needs Eun to take pictures. Sitting at the top, a slightly gloomy voice came out, because the light was too dim to see the face clearly, it seemed to be a think tank among the three, and the other two were convinced by his words.

The same scene is also being played out in another large-scale restaurant.

"Duke Zhu, the emperor abolished the cabinet, why don't you come out instead, you are a left-behind scholar in the Nanjing cabinet." Zhu Gong is Zhu Guobi, the Duke of Baoguo, and the official history was later lowered.

"Today's court has also seen the situation, the emperor didn't give us a chance to speak, I think it has been thought about a long time ago, it is unwise to argue with the emperor in person, especially if the emperor and the original judgment are two, how can I speak rashly without knowing the situation."

"Then how should we deal with it, please Zhu Gong, we will listen to you."

"All of you here are representatives of our Donglin Party, as long as we hold tightly into a group, we are not afraid of what tricks he plays, if the persecution is urgent, then we will collectively write a letter to resign, I don't believe that he can remove us all, so as to force him to comply."

"Duke Zhu, now that the whole army is in the hands of the emperor, will we invite disaster if we are persecuted like this?"

"It's short-sighted, isn't it, the right to speak in the court can be in our hands, and people can be afraid of understanding it."

"It's still Zhu Gong Gaoming!" A group of people pat themselves on the back.

As he was talking, a person who looked like a housekeeper walked in, whispered in Zhu Guobi's ear and retreated, and Zhu Guobi's face suddenly became serious.

During the banquet, someone observed the words and looks, and when they saw this, they asked, "Zhu Gong, but what happened?" ”

Zhu Guobi glanced around and said: "The news has just come out from the inner palace that Chongzhen is wantonly reducing the number of people in the palace, reducing the number of people from two or three thousand to less than one hundred. ”

"I heard that the emperor was thrifty, but I didn't expect that he was even more frugal now, this is a good thing, but Zhu Gong is worried?"

"Originally, I thought that the emperor asked the ministries to reduce the number of personnel, and it was decided by patting his head, and if he couldn't implement it for a while, it would be over, but now that I look at it, I'm afraid that he is serious, and he can be so ruthless to himself, everyone, I'm afraid that we will have a hard time in the future, let's stop here today, farewell." After Zhu Guobi finished speaking, he went home surrounded by servants, worthy of the style of the first assistant, eight sedan chairs, front and back, and the momentum was very great.

In charge of streamlining the palace was Han Zanzhou, the great eunuch left behind.

A few days later, Gao Yiming saw that the number of people in the palace was still not decreasing, and called Han Zanzhou to inquire about the situation.

Han Zanzhou came to Chongzhen and saluted: "Meet the emperor!" ”

"You get up, how is the matter of the palace personnel being released?"

"Back to the emperor, more than 1,000 people have been released, and there are nearly 2,000 people."

Hearing him say this, Gao Yiming was immediately unhappy: "Wang Chengen is a considerate person, he recommended you to me, I believe in his vision, and I believe in your ability, don't let me down, now all ministries are streamlining personnel, many people are waiting and watching, are staring at the palace, this matter is very important, you should understand, right?" ”

Hearing that the emperor was a little unhappy, Han Zanzhou's forehead was sweating: "The slave understands." ”

"It's good to understand, tell me what difficulties you have."

"In fact, the first batch of people who went out were all over twenty-five years old, young and good-looking, and the slaves thought that the emperor couldn't do without people, so they stayed."

Gao Yiming was speechless when he heard it, and the root of his feelings was still in his own place: "What I say in the future, what do you do, don't interpret it without authorization, can you do it?" "If you can't do it, I'll change people.

Han Zanzhou immediately knelt down, kowtowed again and again, and said, "In the future, the slave will never dare again." ”

"That's good, you get up, I know your loyalty, but there are some things that you still have to think about, after all, every move in the palace is watched from the outside, don't say you don't know the Tao here."

Since ancient times, there have been no secrets in the imperial palace, and the emperor's room has someone who specially records it at the bedside, not to mention others, it is the center of competition among various forces.

Han Zanzhou immediately said: "The slave and maid understand, and the slave and maid will vigorously rectify it." ”

"That's very good, how many fathers-in-law are there in the palace now? How many girls are officials, palace laes? ”

"Back to the emperor, there are more than 200 fathers-in-law, more than 300 female officials, and more than 1,300 palace e."

"Okay, leave ten fathers-in-law, twenty female officials, seventy palace laves, and the rest are released from the palace, and those who are over sixteen years old and under twenty years old will not be delayed, and a rule will be formed in the future, and the age of entering the palace cannot be less than sixteen years old, and cannot exceed twenty years old."

"Yes, slave remembers."

"Those who leave the palace must be added to the pension, and those who stay should be mainly lonely and widowed, and there is no one outside, give priority to letting them stay, and the lonely and widowed people can not be limited by age this time."

"Minions understand."

"Go on an errand, I'll give you ten days."

"Yes!"

As soon as Gao Yiming entered Nanjing, he handed over the defense of the palace to Yan Yingyuan and appointed him as the general of Wujie, the official position of Zhengwupin. Yan Yingyuan also has a set of errands, and he clearly arranges the guards inside and outside the palace, which is deeply popular with Gao Yiming, and he can also grasp the turmoil inside and outside the palace at the first time.

In the next few days, Han Zanzhou's ability to do things was recognized by Gao Yiming, the speed of the palace personnel visible to the naked eye was decreasing, and the palace lady who was serving was getting more and more beautiful, different people every day, Gao Yiming knew that this was Han Zanzhou to let himself look at it again, and there would be eunuchs to observe his expression, and then report it to Han Zanzhou.

The subordinates work hard and have to be encouraged, so Gao Yiming did not express his displeasure, he said that not only did he have other thoughts about Han Zanzhou, because the whole process was completed under the supervision of Yan Yingyuan, and Han Zanzhou's loyalty was still credible, and Han Zanzhou committed suicide and martyrdom before the fall of Nanjing in the official history, and he was more virtuous than many officials in the court.