Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 200 The Pattern of the Court
The neutral faction won a resounding victory, confirming Zhu Youjian’s judgment:
At this moment, he is in control.

He wants to appoint neutrals. This time, most of the candidates chosen by Nanjing officials are neutrals.

When he wanted to restore his old ministers, a member of the Donglin Party was elected.

The same was true for the governor who was recommended by Ting before. If he hadn't made it clear that for the sake of local stability, he prioritized the restoration of old ministers, those Donglin Party members might not have been elected.

This court, which is dominated by the remnants of the Eunuch Party, does not like the Donglin Party. And under the threat of "everyone passes the test", he was greatly affected by his attitude.

But this situation will not last long, everyone can imagine.

First, the counter-case must be settled sooner or later, and Zhu Youjian cannot always use this to intimidate the ministers.

Second, when the resurrected members of the Donglin Party enter Beijing, they will have an impact on the existing structure.

The eunuch party was in disarray because Wei Zhongxian was dead. It was hard to say whether they could stay in the court under the attack of the Donglin Party, let alone maintain the situation.

It can be said that the current eunuch party is like a tree, and those who want to be officials are looking for ways to do so.

Some relied on Wang Tiqian, some relied on Huang Liji, and some directly switched to neutral faction because they were not deeply involved.

There are people like Xue Fengxiang who want to rely on the emperor and are looking for ways to do so. Zhu Youjian got to know such a person after the court meeting.

"Huo Weihua wanted to retaliate, so he asked people to seek help from you."

"Then tell me carefully, is Huo Weihua available?"

Looking at Gao Shiming's palm print, Zhu Youjian said calmly.

Gao Shiming considered the emperor's words and thought about the emperor's attitude towards Huo Weihua.

The current emperor seems to be tolerant, keeping many eunuch officials in their posts, and even promoting ministers who go against his will. Zhou Jiachun before and Wu Shangmo today were like this. Even if they contradicted the emperor, they still got promotion.

However, these tolerances were only superficial. Since the emperor came to power, he had Wei Zhongxian, Hakka, and Xu Yingyuan killed, Cui Chengxiu, Li Yongzhen and others were designated as treason and accomplices, and Yang Haoming was punished with canonical punishment without mercy at all. The order of the officials in the court to "everyone passes the test" was unprecedented.

Gao Shiming and Liu Ruoyu were proficient in regulations. After discussing it, they felt that the emperor's behavior seemed a bit strange. The root cause was that he valued etiquette and attached great importance to laws:
Officials who went against his will did not violate the law, so even if the emperor thought they were an eyesore, he still chose to be promoted and transferred out.

Most of those who were retained in the eunuch party were those who were not deeply involved with Wei Ni and had not committed serious crimes.

The emperor did not spare any of those who acted rampantly and even caused death when Wei Ni was in power. The best result was to be dismissed from their posts and reduced their status to the people.

Which category does Huo Weihua belong to? He is Wei Zhongxian's mastermind and the host of the three major cases. If Cui Chengxiu had not been quick to seize the opportunity and resigned as Minister of War when the late emperor was dying, Cui Chengxiu might have been charged with being a treason and accomplice.

Would the emperor accept such a core member of the eunuch party?

After trying to figure out the emperor's attitude, Gao Shiming cautiously replied:

"The matter regarding Huo Weihua was entrusted to him through his wife's brother Lu Jinchen."

"This person is under the name of the minister, please handle it with your majesty."

This revealed the middleman. Zhu Youjian said "hmm" and said:

"Huo Weihua's close servants should have been ranked third class."

"But since he did not participate in Wei Zhongxian's rebellion, he was demoted to the fourth class."

"Send them to Dongning Guard together with Tian Ergen, Xu Xianchun and others."

"Since your Lu Jinchen is related to him, let him also go to Dongning. He will be made a servant of the Imperial Guard and sent to Dongning Guard for supervision."

"If an official from outside the court arranges for a relative to serve as a chamberlain, the internal officials' supervisor and the governor's supervisor must investigate and release the relevant chamberlain."

There were even officials who sent his wife's brother into the palace. When Zhu Youji thought about this, he became a little wary.

At this moment, he somewhat understood why Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang added the law of making friends with close attendants in the "Da Ming Code". This kind of thing should really be banned and needs to be convicted. In the first year of Tianqi, Huo Weihua was just a member of the military department. After his wife's brother Lu Jinchen entered the palace, he quickly hooked up with Wei Zhongxian and was promoted quickly because he could get the news in the inner palace.

If it weren't for Ding You's resignation three years ago, this man would have become minister long ago.

It can be said that Huo Weihua's vision and ability are first-class. He saw that Wei Zhongxian was going to gain power, and he even saw that the eunuch's general backstage was Emperor Tianqi.

So when Emperor Tianqi was seriously ill, he found the "Ling Dew Drink" and offered it to him. It's a pity that Linglu Drink is just rice soup no matter how steamed it is, not some rice essence or panacea, and it failed to save Emperor Tianqi.

Then Huo Weihua ran away, leaving his position as Minister of War and letting Cui Chengxiu, another conspirator of Wei Zhongxian, take over.

What happened next also proved how good this man's vision was. Cui Chengxiu mobilized troops under the instruction of Wei Zhongxian, and was deeply implicated in the rebellion, and was designated as the leading accomplice——

If Huo Weihua takes a step too late, that will be what happens to Cui Chengxiu.

Now he is seeking to resurrect because Huo Weihua sees that the emperor needs his confidants. So take the plunge and see if you can get reinstated.

It's a pity that he doesn't know that Zhu Youjian needs a good confidant, but not everyone can be accepted.

Of course, Zhu Youjian would accept people like Yang Jingchen and Xue Fengxiang who held important positions and were not deeply involved with the Eunuch Party and had no big grudges with the Donglin Party and directly order them to do things.

But if someone like Huo Weihua has a big hatred against the Donglin Party and staying in the DPRK will cause party strife, Zhu Youjian will definitely not accept him. Lest such people stay, they will make the Donglin Party hateful and the DPRK and China will continue to fight.

Especially since Huo Weihua has no position now, Zhu Youjian's strength will be consumed if he thinks of reinstating his position. This made Zhu Youjian even more reluctant to use him and directly included him in the counter-case.

However, because Huo Weihua took the initiative to join him, Zhu Youjian did not do everything right and sent him to Dongning Guard, where he still had a chance to make meritorious deeds.

It would be really aggrieved if Huo Weihua was convicted by court officials, sent to a certain place, and died in obscurity.

This was the case with Huo Weihua in history. Many people knew that he was talented and recommended him to Emperor Chongzhen. However, because the case had been decided, it was impossible to overturn the case for a certain person and cause a party dispute. Emperor Chongzhen vetoed the matter without hesitation and punished the officials who proposed it. After hearing the news, Huo Weihua died of sorrow and anger. He died in his fifties.

Now that Huo Weihua has been noticed by Zhu Youjian because he took the initiative to seek refuge, it should be said that he is lucky.

After adding a civil servant to Dongning Guard, Zhu Youjian asked Wang Wenzheng and learned that Tian Ergen, Xu Xianchun and others were still in Jinyi Guard, and told him:

"Jin Yiwei's case must be handed over to Dali Temple for judgment as soon as possible. Don't delay it any longer."

"Otherwise, no one knows what the Donglin Party will do when they return to the DPRK."

"Let Xu Xianchun and others take the boat and go south to Fujian as soon as possible."

Quite dissatisfied with Jin Yiwei's efficiency, Zhu Youjian really didn't expect that the case for which he had clearly given instructions has not been decided for almost a month.

If we continue at this rate, when the families of the victims such as Huang Zongxi come to Beijing, Zhu Youjian will not be able to protect them due to the righteousness of blood revenge.

Then Wang Wenzheng reported another matter, which was the investigation of Su Maofian's abnormal behavior. This person has been online for the past few days, and was noticed by Zhu Youjian, who ordered Jin Yiwei to investigate. Wang Wenzheng said:
"Xiang Su Mao wants to be a minister, and is eyeing the position of minister of the Ministry of Justice that has been vacant."

"After all the officials in Nanjing have been replaced, the next step is for officials to propose replenishing the positions in the imperial court."

"There are people who want to serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice and the Yushi of the left and right."

　"Manuscript of Qing History: Biography of Huang Zongxi"

　　Huang Zongxi, courtesy name Taichong, was born in Yuyao, and was the eldest son of Huang Zunsu, the imperial censor of the Ming Dynasty. Zun Su was Comrade Yang and Zuo, and he was impeached and castrated to death in Wei Dynasty. This incident is recorded in Ming history.

　　When Si Zong ascended the throne, Zong Xi entered the capital to sue for grievances. At that time, the rebels had eunuched, and they immediately ordered Cao Qincheng and Li Shi to be executed.

　　The court executed Xu Xianchun and Cui Yingyuan, and Zong Xi faced each other. When they came out of the palace, their sleeves were clean and their bodies were bleeding. They also beat Yingyuan, pulled out his beard, and brought him back to worship the Lord Zunsu. They also chased and killed the prison guards Ye Zi, Yan Wenzhong, and Gai Zunsu. His life is at the hands of two soldiers.

　　At that time, Qin Cheng was involved in a counter-case, and the original interpretation of the truth was not his own. Yin sent three thousand gold coins to ask Zong Xi for his pledge, and Zong Xi immediately reported it, saying: "It is true that today you can bribe Gong Xing, how can his identification be enough?" Letter?" When he checked the book, he gave it a cone again.

　　In the prison, he and his disciples from various families set up a memorial ceremony for the prison gate, and the cries reached into the prison. When Si Zong heard about it, he sighed and said, "I feel so sorry for the orphaned son of a loyal minister."

　　
　
(End of this chapter)