Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian was also thinking about this question and had been investigating:

“Who started the rebellion?”

“Who are the people behind the scenes?”

Zheng Shiyi, the commander of the Jinyiwei and the commander of the Northern Intelligence Center, said:
"I have been investigating since receiving the news."

“But so far, the person behind the scenes has not been found.”

"The ones who openly started the rebellion were the folk religions that were hit, and the bandits that were hit last year."

Zhu Youjian hummed and said:

"You also said it was on the surface, there must be someone behind this."

"Otherwise they wouldn't have been able to gather together and cause such a big commotion."

He also said to Wang Yongzuo, the eunuch who was in charge of the Eastern Depot:
"Tell Master Zheng what the East Factory has found out."

"Let him know what mistakes the Royal Guards made during this rebellion."

The East Factory, which Wang Yongzuo was in charge of, had the responsibility of supervising the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

It can even be said that the former East Factory was actually the superior of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Wang Yongzuo finally got the evidence against Jinyiwei this time, and he suppressed his joy and said:
"The East Factory has confirmed that the information obtained by the Royal Guards was deliberately leaked."

"Someone used the Royal Guards to warn the Emperor to prevent them from rebelling."

Zheng Shiyi was shocked when he heard this because the Jinyiwei had not found out about this matter.

After receiving the news, they rushed to the palace. When they wanted to check where the news came from, they could not find any trace.

Unexpectedly, the East Factory had been keeping an eye on them and actually found out the source of the news. And it has been confirmed that someone deliberately leaked it.

This forced him to plead guilty, kneeling down and saying:

"My lord is guilty!"

"We should investigate the source of the news earlier to guard against the enemy's evil plots."

Zhu Youjian's expression eased slightly and he said:
"The Imperial Guards were able to deliver the news in a timely manner. This time they have made a great contribution."

"We can remedy any omissions later."

"In critical situations like this, the importance and accuracy of intelligence are of utmost importance."

"We can't be afraid to report the news just because of a small problem."

"Those who reported the news should still be commended and not be blamed."

After establishing this principle, Zhu Youjian continued to ask Wang Yongzuo:

"Has the East Factory found out who leaked the news?"

“Who is connected to this so-called rebellion?”

Wang Yongzuo considered it for a moment and said:

"The person who leaked the news seems to be related to the nobles, and was once connected to the nobles' mansions such as Yangwu Marquis."

"But whether the rebellion is related to the nobles is uncertain."

"The information I have gathered so far is that it is related to some religions and wealthy families."

Zhu Youjian fell into deep thought after hearing this, he did not expect that this matter was related to the nobles.

Before, after he knew that the rebellion was related to folk religion, he speculated that it might have been instigated by some religion.

Both Buddhism and Taoism may participate in it, using the power of these religions to demonstrate.

Large households that are dissatisfied with property taxes may also be provided with conveniences.

But he never expected that the rebellion was actually related to the nobles:

"Are these people dissatisfied with my preferential treatment?"

"Or is coincidence involved?"

Zhu Youjian was extremely angry about this. He thought he had treated the nobles well enough and even allowed them to own the farms that exceeded the limit in the name of imperial farms.

I didn’t expect that there were still people who were not satisfied and actually had connections with the bandits.

He was so angry that he wanted to take ruthless action against these nobles.

But after thinking about the current situation in the capital, he had to hold back -

In the current capital, the Beijing Army has already been dispatched, and the nobles have great influence among them.

If we take action against the nobles, there is a possibility of even greater chaos.

This was a severe blow to his prestige.

After all, the status of the capital is so important that a small disturbance may be justifiable, but continuous disturbances will make people doubt their control over the capital.

Having just put down the rebellion outside the city, the capital should seek stability.

Moreover, he introduced property taxes and preferential treatment for nobles in order to borrow their power to levy taxes on wealthy families composed mainly of scholars.

This strategy cannot be easily changed to avoid bigger problems.

He even suspected that the so-called "relationship with the nobles" might be a situation deliberately created by some civil servants in order to break himself from the nobles and force himself to rely on them.

Thinking about the complexity of this, Zhu Youjian deeply felt what was unpredictable and treacherous.

In the current situation, it is best to remain calm and not give any chance to those who are plotting secretly.

So he ordered:
"This matter needs to be investigated, but the Royal Guards must close the case as soon as possible."

"The East Factory will follow up secretly, so don't make a big fuss about it."

Zheng Shiyi and Wang Yongzuo were both a little confused when they heard this.

Wang Yongzuo, in particular, had finally found something to hold against the Jinyiwei and wanted to use this opportunity to suppress them.

Unexpectedly, the emperor wanted to close the case as soon as possible and only asked the East Factory to investigate it slowly.

This made him a little indignant:

"Your Majesty, these people are disloyal to the Emperor, why don't you dig them out and punish them severely?"

"The East Factory already has clues and will be able to dig them out soon."

Zheng Shiyi also loudly promised to dig out all the people in secret.

Zhu Youjian believed in their abilities, but he was more worried that the case would involve too many people and would be difficult for him to handle.

His goal now is to implement a property tax, and anything that is not conducive to this should be put aside.

So he ordered:
"The religions and wealthy families involved can be thoroughly investigated."

"But the nobles involved, the royal minister will go and warn them."

"Let them write a petition to request the establishment of a vassal state overseas."

This decision made both Wang Yongzuo and Zheng Shiyi feel a little regretful.

Because rebellion could lead to a major case, the East Factory and the Imperial Guards could seize a lot of power in the process.

However, the emperor obviously had no intention of making a major case, and the nobles involved were simply sent overseas.

The only ones they can target are religions and wealthy individuals.
-
After deciding on the policy for handling this matter, Zhu Youjian asked:

"How is the martial law in the capital being enforced?"

"Has there been any trouble?"

Zheng Shiyi replied: "I was a little flustered at first, but now I have calmed down."

"All major newspapers have also accepted control and publicized the court's decision."

This was a strategy Zhu Youjian implemented after deciding to impose martial law:
Newspapers are subject to news control and can only publish news that has passed review.

Because of this, there are fewer rumors in the market, and most of them are speculation based on news in newspapers.

He was quite pleased with the matter and decided to implement martial law for a few more days to see if there were any loopholes in its implementation and to prepare for improving the martial law system.

At the same time, he also wanted to hold an exercise to let the people of the capital adapt to this, so as to avoid chaos in the capital when foreign enemies attacked.

As the year of Ji Si approached, although Zhu Youjian did not think that the historical Ji Si Incident would happen, he still had to make preparations to prevent possible chaos.

This rebellion is a good excuse to conduct exercises.

Therefore, he has no intention of lifting martial law for the time being.

Any problems that arise during the martial law process must be identified during this opportunity.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot were arranged to report on the implementation of martial law on a daily basis. As expected, Zhu Youjian heard the ministers' request during the court meeting.

Most of the officials in the court believed that the rebellion was over and the emperor should lift the martial law. Some even thought that such a small disturbance should not be subject to martial law at all. The martial law order issued hastily by the emperor was not in accordance with the martial law system.

Faced with this situation, Zhu Youjian frowned and said:

"I have the right to declare martial law when encountering war. Do you want to deny this?"

This question left all the ministers silent for a moment, because Yuan Keli used the martial law system in exchange for the emperor's promise not to use imperial edicts.

The current emperor has indeed kept his promise and has rarely used imperial edicts since he ascended the throne. Even the Lifanyuan, an institution that can use imperial edicts, was obtained through the martial law system.

If martial law is overturned, it means that the emperor's power in the Lifanyuan will be greatly adjusted. The emperor may also overturn the agreement and no longer abide by the promise not to use the imperial edict.

Things in the court in the future may be extremely chaotic. It is not like now, no matter how it is changed, there is a system in place.

This is something that the civil officials cannot accept. Han Yu, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, said:
"I am not against the martial law system, but I hope that Your Majesty will be more cautious when issuing the martial law order."

"Moreover, according to the system, your majesty's edicts must be drafted by the cabinet. The issuance of this edict does not conform to the system."

Zhu Youjian sneered and said:
"According to what you said, when I encounter a turmoil, I can only find a Grand Secretary to draft an imperial edict, and then let the six ministries and six departments discuss it before I can issue it?"

"How can I impose martial law in time like this? Do I have to wait for someone to attack us?"

These questions silenced the ministers, who realized that it was not feasible to issue martial law according to the procedure of imperial edicts.

However, they also couldn't stand the emperor's arbitrarily declaring martial law when encountering such a small disturbance.

Because according to the martial law system, the emperor can now issue imperial decrees and bypass the court officials.

How could they, who were used to co-ruling with the emperor, tolerate this?

When they thought about the fact that according to the martial law system, the emperor could impose martial law for three months to a year, they felt even more that the previously established martial law system was unreasonable.

For a time, the ministers were in chaos. Some demanded a change in the martial law system, while others demanded the cancellation of the martial law order.

In a nutshell, they don't want to see the emperor monopolize power.

But the more these people begged, the more Zhu Youjian wanted to do the opposite. Anyway, the martial law order had been issued, and they were the ones who should be anxious.

So he ordered:
“It’s not that the martial law system cannot be changed, but how it is changed depends on the effect of this implementation.”

"Mr. Liu, you are responsible for re-making the rituals and music, and the formulation of martial law will be in charge of you, Mr.

"As for this time, let's follow our previous agreement. If there is no unrest in three months, I will lift martial law."

After agreeing on a time with the ministers, Zhu Youjian did not allow them to continue discussing the matter and asked Yuan Keli:

"Yuan Qing, what is the current situation in Jingxi?"

"Have the rebels been dealt with?"

Yuan Keli did not argue about the martial law system, because this was originally agreed upon between him and the emperor. No matter how much others opposed it, he could not overturn it.

Moreover, at this time, he was sure that this turmoil was not controlled by the emperor. He also had the same concerns as the emperor about this farce-

I am worried that someone is manipulating behind the scenes and wants to take advantage of the chaos.

Therefore, he felt that it was a good thing to maintain martial law in the capital for a period of time, so that the people behind the scenes could see the determination of the court and deter them from moving.

Because of this, after hearing the emperor's question, he responded:

"The main force of the rebellion has been neutralized."

“But some of them absconded and are still being hunted down.”

"I think we should give the patrol battalion some time to catch the fleeing bandits."

These words provided the emperor with an excuse to continue martial law, and are also the reality today.

It sounded satisfying that Hu Dawei led a hundred men to defeat the bandits, but because of the small number of people, some bandits took advantage of the chaos to escape.

The Warrior Battalion that arrived later was responsible for guarding the royal palaces and the university town, and had no energy to care about the bandits who fled to other places.

So when the patrol camp arrived, many bandits had already fled among the people.

This caused great trouble to the patrol camp's search and arrest work.

But Zhu Youjian was not afraid of trouble. He hoped that the patrol camp's search would be slower so that he would have more reasons to extend the martial law.

So he listened, nodded, and gave the order:
"This rebellion involves a great many people, and anyone involved will be severely punished."

"Those whose crimes can be proven will be tried according to the law. Those whose crimes cannot be proven but who are involved with the rioters will be exiled overseas."

"Marquis Yangwu, do you have any opinion on this disposal?"

"Should those who have ties to the rebels be exiled overseas?"

When Yangwu Hou Xue Lian heard this, he was immediately shocked.

Because he had already thought of the hint Wang Yongzuo gave him.

The cause of this turmoil was actually not complicated. It was initially led by some nobles who wanted to show their power to the emperor.

Now that the Privy Council has been established, the Five Military Commanderies have become a completely nominal position, and the garrisons have also been restructured, many nobles have realized that their power is being weakened.

Therefore, some people made preparations to stir up chaos in the capital so that the emperor would have to use them.

This preparation was implemented by some nobles after the property tax was passed.

At that time, what they wanted was to go to the palace to make a request while letting these people launch a rebellion, and then they would lead the Beijing troops to suppress the rebellion and let the emperor know their loyalty.

What these nobles didn't expect was that the emperor treated them very well. He also bribed the Duke of Ying, Zhang Weixian, and the matter was easily settled.

This caused many nobles to urgently give up and withdraw from the matter.

But some people did not withdraw completely, and Yang Wuhou was one of them.

What frightened Yang Wuhou even more was that although the nobles had withdrawn, there was another group of people who contacted the believers and thieves.

So much so that he had to take the risk and tip the news off to the Royal Guards, lest the matter become too big and he be unable to escape.

As a result, the Jinyiwei received the news urgently and the emperor sent troops to quell the rebellion.

Yang Wuhou, who had something to hide, was already feeling uneasy after being warned by Wang Yongzuo, who was sent by the emperor.

After hearing the emperor's question, he hurriedly replied in the court:

"Should!"

“These people should be exiled overseas.”

"Your Majesty, I request to go overseas to establish a fiefdom and take these people out."

"These rioters should go overseas to atone for their sins." (End of this chapter)