Hiss...

Who is Chongzhen's grandfather?

Mingshenzong Zhu Yijun, year name Wanli.

The longest-reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and also the most wealthy emperor, did not have one.

If it were other emperors, these ministers would definitely not believe it. Put this matter on Wanli, there are not many people who don't believe it.

After all, the people have long spread the story of Emperor Wanli hiding money in the palace.

Wei Zaode was the first to react, although they were in awe of the strange power and chaos of the gods, but they couldn't take it seriously if they didn't do anything real.

"Your Majesty, I don't know where the silver is hidden?"

Chongzhen glanced at him, turned to Wang Chengen and said, "Wang Chengen, there is a kiln behind the Heart Cultivation Palace, and the silver is buried in it. You immediately arrange for someone to dig it, and you have to find it if you dig three feet into the ground. ”

"Compliance... Obey! Wang Chengen was very excited, at this time he had long forgotten the palace etiquette, and rushed out at a trot.

As Wang Chengen left, the Imperial Palace fell into a brief silence.

Everyone is waiting.

Chongzhen sat on the dragon chair, calm in his heart.

Wanli hid these two million taels of silver, which is recorded in the history books, but Chongzhen didn't know it.

Why didn't he know?

This is a historical mystery that cannot be solved.

The Yangxin Hall was less than five hundred meters away from the Huangji Palace, and Wang Chengen beckoned all the eunuchs nearby, and even the Jinyi Guards to go over and plow the ground.

After a while, Wang Chengen ran back with a silver ingot in his hand and smiled: "Emperor, according to your instructions, I really dug up the silver in the cellar behind the Heart Cultivation Palace, although I don't know the specific amount, but it is roughly estimated to be at least one million taels or more!" ”

Wow...

The court was filled with exclamations.

It's not just about silver, it's about ghosts and gods.

The ancients were superstitious, and they would rather believe in this kind of thing than believe it.

Wang Chengen immediately knelt on the ground, first stretched out his hands to the sky reverently, and then kowtowed heavily and said: "God bless the Great Ming, my emperor Shengming!" ”

Driven by him, a group of courtiers knelt down one after another.

"God bless the Great Ming, my Emperor Shengming!"

Without waiting for the courtiers to get up, Chongzhen pointed to Wang Zhengzhi's nose and said, "Wang Zhengzhi, what else do you have to quibble?" ”

Wang Zhengzhi was already stunned, and the silver pierced his heart like a sharp knife, making him lose the strength to resist.

He knelt on the ground and begged for mercy: "The minister is guilty,... The minister voluntarily donated all the family property and begged His Majesty to spare the minister's family. ”

"What crime?"

"The minister is guilty of greedy ink!"

Chongzhen sneered, "I gave you a chance!" ”

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!."

"Your Majesty! Wang Shilang was confused for a while, and asked His Majesty to spare him. ”

"Your Majesty is angry, Wang Shilang should not be greedy for money, let alone deceive Your Majesty. Please spare him for the sake of serving the court for many years. ”

Seeing that Chongzhen was going to attack Wang Zhengzhi, Wei Zaode, Zhang Jinyan, and Zhu Chunchen knelt down and pleaded for mercy. They knew very well that if Wang Zhengzhi was punished, they would be the ones who would be unlucky.

Under their leadership, half of the ministers of the court knelt down.

As more and more people pleaded, the anger in Chongzhen's heart became more and more difficult to quell.

These scholars keep saying that they are for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, but they do things for themselves.

Han Feizi said in "Five Beetles" that among the five moths that destroy the country, scholars rank first.

Among the scholars, Confucianism is the most.

What is the core idea of Confucianism?

Is it benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, faith, forgiveness, loyalty, filial piety, and compassion?

No!

It's a double standard!

They shout these slogans and do the exact opposite.

Because the final interpretation is in their hands.

Taking Sun Chuanting as an example, in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Jiannu entered the customs and plundered, and he and Hong Chengchou led 50,000 Qin troops into King Qin.

Although the process was tortuous, it finally completed the task of King Qin.

Although this merit will not lead to promotion, it can't be punished, right?

The result?

His strategy of not fighting lightly, defending tightly, and waiting for an opportunity to counterattack was questioned, and he asked for his resignation due to deafness caused by the cold.

The combination of these two things made Chongzhen lose trust in Sun Chuanting.

In the end, Sun Chuanting was arrested and imprisoned.

That's three years!

What about the benevolence in the mouths of the Confucian scholars in the court? What about righteousness?

Why don't you see them pleading for Sun Chuanting?

The courtiers knew this, but they just didn't say it, for fear that they would be implicated.

After this incident, the relationship between the emperor and the ministers, especially the emperor and the generals, became more and more unstable.

The state relied on the peasants for tax revenue, and the soldiers for conquest and battle.

However.

There was no one in the court for the benefit of the peasants and soldiers.

Instead, they tried their best to squeeze them.

So the peasants did not want to farm, and the soldiers did not want to join the army.

National power began to decline.

Half of the blame for the demise of the Ming Dynasty is the objective law of the feudal dynasty. The other half of the responsibility is opened by Chongzhen and these Confucian students!

And.

Chongzhen knew very well that these people were not sincerely admitting their mistakes, just to make a living.

Thinking about these clearly, Chongzhen said angrily: "The heart of the king! ”

"Minister... The minister is here. ”

Wang Zhixin was standing by watching the excitement, and was startled by the sudden shout. He cautiously looked at Chongzhen out of the corner of his eye, and was relieved to see that the other party's anger was not on him.

"Go, go with Commander Wu. Check all the officials whose names I have just read, and if they do not match what they said, they don't need to ask for instructions, they can just take people from their homes. You supervise each other, make sure to verify clearly, and hand over the confiscated property to the household department. If there is any mistake or omission in protection, correct the Fa on the spot! ”

"It's... Be! Wang Zhixin trembled and kowtowed, and quickly fled from the Imperial Palace behind Wu Mengming.

He had a hunch.

The Chongzhen who swept away Wei Zhongxian back then is back.

No, it's even more ruthless than before. That time it was only against Wei Zhongxian's eunuchs, but this time the emperor targeted everyone!

He was glad that he had donated money, but at the same time he was a little scared, because he still had a lot of property.

As the backs of Wu Mengming and Wang Zhixin disappeared, Chongzhen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At the critical moment, we have to rely on Jinyiwei and Dongchang.

The imperial power of the Ming Dynasty was not monolithic, and it was subject to control in many ways.

Take, for example, the military.

In addition to the Yongwei battalion in the Beijing Division, the only military forces that Chongzhen could mobilize alone were Jinyiwei and Dongchang.

Other troop movements require several key formalities.

First of all, the emperor needs to consult with the cabinet, and the cabinet will draw up the holy decree, and the cabinet and the celebrant will seal and sign respectively.

Then the eunuch of the inner palace took the holy decree token and went to the military department to transfer troops.

After confirming that everything was correct, the Ministry of War allocated personnel and materials in accordance with the order, and then handed them over to the Governor's Office of the Five Armies.

A certain governor confirmed that it was correct, and led his troops into battle.

If there is any link missing in the middle, other departments will ignore it. This is also an important reason why eunuchs cannot rebel even if they are powerful.

No matter how great their power is, it is not as great as the imperial power.

What the emperor can't do, the eunuchs can't do.

Looking at the distant figures of Wu Mengming and Wang Zhixin, Wang Zhengzhi was desperate.

He couldn't understand why Chongzhen suddenly changed his personality. Before, it was indecisive, but now it's a quick knife to cut through the mess.

He looked blankly at the cabinet chief and put his hope on him.

Chongzhen said very clearly, and the officials who were named would check it.

The identities of these people are more noble than the other.

There is the first assistant of the cabinet, Wei Zaode; Chengguo Gong Zhu Chunchen; Zhang Jinyan, the secretary of the military department; Fan Jingwen, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry.