weaving

In the memorial "replying in accordance with the imperial order", the Minister of War Chen Xinjia did not contain any content in which he admitted guilt or blamed himself. On the contrary, almost the entire memorial was filled with his defense.

In his memorial, Chen Xinjia first described the court's internal and external difficulties in the two years since he took over as Minister of War. Then he changed the subject and began to say that the appointment of Ma Shaoyou, a Langzhong of the Military Affairs Department, to go out of the country to negotiate peace with the Jiannu was entirely in compliance with the emperor's orders.

Although he also stated in his memorial that the emperor was indeed a wise ruler, and that the peace talks with the Jiannu were entirely for the sake of the country and society of his ancestors, and so on...

He even clearly stated in his memorial that "negotiating peace with the Jiannu is undoubtedly the right thing to do at the moment. It is a rare opportunity. Only in this way can we unite our forces to fight the enemy and maintain peace at home and defend against foreign aggression. However, I was afraid that someone in the court would make a big fuss about it, so I ordered him to do it in secret. I originally planned to announce it to the whole court after the matter was accomplished."

Now that the matter has been made public, it is also a good idea to explain the reason to the court officials: "To save the country today, we cannot negotiate peace with the outside world, nor can we maintain peace at home. There is no other good way!"

…………

There was a sudden crisp "bang" sound from the Qianqing Palace...

A very delicate glass cup suddenly shattered, and the crystal clear tiny fragments scattered all over the ground. The afterglow of the sunset shining in from the window lattice shone on these tiny fragments, reflecting a crystal light spot like star dots, which was extremely dazzling.

"He...he really deserves to be killed!"

Emperor Chongzhen punched Chen Xinjia's memorial with a heavy punch. His face was filled with anger, and even his features had become somewhat ferocious. A murderous aura flashed in his eyes...

Although he knew that everything Chen Xinjia said in his reply was true, he made it public in the memorial and even dared to say the four words "negotiate peace in accordance with the imperial order", which was tantamount to touching the reverse scale of Emperor Chongzhen!

"Unforgivable... absolutely unforgivable!"

The words in Chen Xinjia's reply seemed to be alive, floating in front of Emperor Chongzhen's eyes, as if reminding him - don't forget, it was you who issued the decree to negotiate peace with me, it was you... it was you... it was all you!

The furious Emperor Chongzhen paced back and forth in the Qianqing Palace, but he could not think of a good way to resolve the matter. He became angrier and angrier the more he thought about it.

After a moment, he suddenly stopped, was stunned for a while, then quickly returned to the imperial desk and sat down again. He immediately wrote a letter of commendation, and ordered the immediate arrest and imprisonment of Chen Xinjia, and handed him over to the Ministry of Justice for swift and severe trial and punishment!
Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, was arrested and imprisoned by the Jinyiwei and the imperial guards for no apparent reason. But before he could even get comfortable in prison, he was transferred to the Ministry of Justice for custody.

At the same time, the officials of the Ministry of Justice were also nervously conducting rounds of interrogations and deliberations!

…………

At this moment, Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty and the deputy governor, was receiving the personal edict of Emperor Chongzhen in the Qianqing Palace.

He knelt on the ground and asked with a slightly surprised look on his face, "Have all of Chen Xinjia's property been confiscated?"

"Don't touch his property for now. Only confiscate the documents left in his house. Especially those that left the palace. Don't leave a single piece of paper. Confiscate everything. After you confiscate everything, seal it immediately and send it to the palace overnight. If there is a piece of paper left outside, or someone dares to take a peek, they will be severely punished!"

Luo Yangxing couldn't help but feel nervous after hearing this. He was worried that if he didn't conduct a complete search, or if there was any disturbance in the future, the emperor would become suspicious of him, and then there would be endless troubles.

Therefore, he kowtowed and begged Emperor Chongzhen to order Wang Dehua to go with him on this mission!

…………

That night, it was not yet four o'clock.

Wang Dehua and Luo Yangxing then delivered a large, tightly sealed box to the Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at the large wooden box in front of him and asked, "Are they all here?"

Wang Dehua stepped forward and replied, "This is all that Luo Yangxing and I have found. We kneel down to present it all to Your Majesty, and we dare not leave out a single piece of paper." Emperor Chongzhen nodded with satisfaction and said, "What happened tonight... must not be made public!"

Wang Dehua and Luo Yangxing immediately understood and agreed in a low voice. Seeing that the emperor had no other instructions, they tactfully took their leave.

After they left, Emperor Chongzhen immediately dismissed all the eunuchs and palace maids serving in the palace, leaving no one behind.

He took out a silk package from the wooden box, placed it on the imperial desk and gently opened it. Inside, he saw that it was indeed a series of handwritten letters from himself. After hastily reading through them, Emperor Chongzhen could not help but feel a sense of guilt and resentment...

What made him feel ashamed was that these were indeed his handwriting and were his original intentions.

What he hated was that Chen Xinjia did not listen to him and destroyed the secret decrees after reading them, but secretly hid them all.

"It's a sinister thing... It's a sinister thing!"

Emperor Chongzhen cursed Chen Xinjia fiercely in his heart, and then he called out to the outside: "Wei Qinghui!"

Wei Qinghui was the chief female official of the Qianqing Palace, who was like the housekeeper of the Qianqing Palace. She had been serving Emperor Chongzhen for a long time and was a person he trusted deeply.

She arrived at the command and took a copper incense burner as ordered by Emperor Chongzhen. However, she did not quite understand what the emperor meant and said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, there is still incense in this incense burner. I just added it."

"Go get another one. I can use it!"

Although Wei Qinghui still didn't understand the meaning, she didn't dare to disobey the emperor's order. She quickly ran out and brought in an incense burner.

Emperor Chongzhen ordered him to put the incense burner on the ground in front of the imperial desk, and then picked up the pile of secret decrees on the imperial desk and handed them to her, saying, "Burn these, and don't leave any paper behind."

Wei Qinghui didn't dare to ask any more questions. She took out the candles and put all the secret decrees into the incense burner, then lit the fire. She stood guard beside it carefully, not daring to let a single piece of paper ash fly out of the incense burner.

Green smoke continued to emerge from the incense burner, lingering in the Qianqing Palace for a few circles before flying out of the window.

Wei Qinghui waited until there was no longer any flame or smoke in the incense burner, and only some black ashes remained. Then she asked the emperor to take a look and sent the incense burner out of the Qianqing Palace.

At this time, a voice suddenly came from outside the Qianqing Palace: "The servant Wu Zhong, the head of the Chengqian Palace, has something to report to His Majesty."

Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand, signaling him to come in and talk.

Soon, a slightly fat eunuch with a round and chubby face entered the Qianqing Palace. He was Wu Zhong, the eunuch in charge of Concubine Tian in Chengqian Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen's tone also softened a lot, and he asked with great concern: "Wu Zhong, you are here to see Concubine Tian..."

Wu Zhong knelt down and cried, "Your Majesty, Madam Tian is not feeling well today. I dare not hide the truth, so I am here to tell Your Majesty."

"How is it bad?"

"The patient's condition is very serious today, and it doesn't look good." Wu Zhong said this very tactfully.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, his face turned pale and he said hurriedly: "I know. I will go to Chengqian Palace immediately." (End of this chapter)