My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 71 This is not Chongzhen, it is clearly Jiajing!

After confirming that there was no problem, Zhu Cilang ordered:

"These people will be formally executed tomorrow at noon, and all their property will be confiscated! As for their families, they will be dealt with according to Ming Dynasty law!"

When Luo Yangxing heard this, he was stunned for a moment.

Because the Ming Dynasty law stipulates that crimes such as treason, high treason, and rebellion are subject to severe punishment, and three generations of the family will be beheaded!

The three generations of so many people together would be at least 700 to 800 people.
I have to say that this prince in front of me really doesn't take human life seriously.

When we killed the nobles before, we killed more than 1,200 people at once.

It wasn't long before another seven or eight hundred people were killed!
Looking back at the Ming Dynasty, I am afraid that only Taizu and Chengzu dared to kill people so unscrupulously.
What's more, these people were all wronged by the prince.
Even as the commander of the Jinyiwei who killed people without blinking an eye, Luo Yangxing felt uneasy.

But soon, he still respectfully agreed:
"The minister obeys the order!"

At this moment, Zhu Cilang added:

"There's no need to execute Zhang Sizhi. He's a cabinet minister after all, and it would be embarrassing for the court. It's better to let him die by poison."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Luo Yangxing hurriedly agreed again.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Cilang waved his hand, and Luo Yangxing turned and left.

After Luo Yangxing left, Zhu Cilang gave another order that the Daming Daily could now be sold.

The matter has been fermenting for a day and a half, and now the public opinion in the entire capital should have reached its peak.

It’s time to release today’s Daming Daily!
In fact, just as Zhu Cilang expected, when the people who were preparing to buy the Daming Daily in the morning learned that someone had set fire to the Daming Newspaper Office, they were all furious.

You know, in recent days they have thoroughly understood the benefits of the Daming Daily, and many people rely on its content to pass the time.

Unexpectedly, just a few days later, someone had evil intentions and wanted to set fire to the Daming Newspaper.

Is it the Daming Newspaper that was burned?
What was being burned was clearly the reputation of the imperial court and His Majesty, as well as the only way for ordinary people like them to know the truth!

It is obvious that someone still wants them to become the fools they were before who were controlled by rumors at will!
This is intolerable to them.

Just when their anger was about to reach its peak, a group of newspaper-selling kids rushed out of the Daming Newspaper Office as usual.

Finally, everyone's hanging hearts were finally at ease.

This time, two thousand copies of the Daming Daily were sold out in just half an hour.

The influence of the Ming Daily once again reached an unprecedented height.

Time passed quickly and it was night in the blink of an eye.

Zhou House.

In Zhou Yanru's study, several people were sitting around a table, looking at Zhou Yanru anxiously.

Without exception, these people are members of the Donglin Party.

They came to Zhou Yanru to seek help for the Donglin Party members who were arrested today.

After all, the Donglin Party shared the same hatred for the enemy, so they couldn't just stand by and watch someone die, right?

Zhou Yanru didn't want to see these people at first, but they just barged in and he had no choice but to see them.

The other two Donglin Party cabinet ministers were in the same situation today, but they stayed indoors early and did not see anyone, so they had some free time.

"Lord Zhou, please think of a solution! If you can't come up with a solution, Lord Zhang and the others will really die!"

At this moment, someone couldn't help but speak up.

When Zhou Yanru heard this, he felt a headache.

"Everyone, you saw it today when I was in court. It's not like I haven't tried before, but I was interrupted every time by that old fellow Xue Guoguan!"

"Besides, the Jinyiwei have irrefutable evidence. What else can we do?"

"Please go back, everyone. I'll pretend you haven't been here tonight!"

Zhou Yanru said this and prepared to see the guest off.

"Lord Zhou, are we just going to watch them die?"

Another person stood up angrily and said.

Zhou Yanru sighed inwardly, then said:

"Everyone, you should all know that this time is different from the past. This is the grave crime of treason!"

"If I insist on begging for mercy, I'm afraid I'll just be considered an accomplice. Wouldn't that mean I'll be wasting my life?"

"Are you satisfied only if I die with you?"

After hearing this, the Donglin Party members immediately stopped making noise.

After all, you can think of ways, but you can't risk your life, right?
Noticing that their attitudes had softened, Zhou Yanru said:

"Alright, alright, everyone, hurry back! Instead of worrying about others, why not think about whether you've done anything bad recently? If someone catches you, you might be the next to suffer!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of several people became even uglier.

After all, if you really want to investigate, no one is clean.

"Lord Zhou, I'm leaving now!"

"I'm leaving now too!"

"Farewell."

After a while, Zhou Yanru's study finally became quiet.

Zhou Yanru sat at the desk and began to ponder.

As a veteran in officialdom, he probably already knew what was going on.

The arson incident was certainly true, and high-ranking officials were indeed involved, but it was impossible for so many people to be involved. Apart from anything else, Zhang Sizhi and Ding Qirui were definitely wronged. After all, they had known each other for more than a decade, and Zhou Yanru knew they would never do such a thing.

But even so, the Jinyiwei still convicted them!
What does this mean?
This means that the one who really wanted to kill them was Chongzhen!

If Chongzhen had not given the order, how could the Jinyiwei dare to wrongly accuse a cabinet minister and the Minister of War?

But why did Chongzhen kill Zhang Sizhi and Ding Qirui?
What did they do that made Chongzhen want to kill them?

Zhou Yanru didn’t know, and he had no way to verify it because he could not see Chongzhen at all now!

Go find the prince?

It seems to be of no use!

With the prince's appearance, it's useless to meet him.

This caused Zhou Yanru to become more and more confused. He always felt that something was wrong with what had happened recently.

The current Chongzhen gave him a very strange feeling. He vaguely resembled the Jiajing Emperor who had been hiding in the harem to practice Taoism.

Although he was not in the court, he controlled every move of the court.

But Chongzhen shouldn’t be like this, right?

Chongzhen should be impatient, suspicious, stubborn and self-righteous, and could be easily bewitched and manipulated by these "loyal ministers"!
Instead of relying on the Jinyiwei and the Dongsichangwei, he controlled everything while staying in the deep palace.

To be disrespectful, this is not the emperor that these "loyal ministers" want!

Is it really because of a serious illness that his brain has become clear?

Zhou Yanru didn’t know, but he always felt that there was some secret in it!
"Looks like it's time to contact the inner circle in the palace!"

Zhou Yanru muttered to himself.

Obviously, Zhou Yanru didn't know that his accomplices in the palace had been cleared out by Zhu Cilang.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was the next morning.

After all the ministers paid their respects, Zhu Cilang winked at Wang Chengen standing beside him.

Wang Chengen understood immediately and then read out the imperial edict that Chongzhen had written earlier.

"By the Will of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: After investigation by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it has been confirmed that Cabinet Minister Zhang Sizhi, Minister of War Ding Qirui, Left Vice Minister of Personnel Fang Kezhuang, and Right Vice Minister of Works Zhang Fengxiang."

"The dozens of individuals mentioned above have betrayed the Emperor's grace, plotted rebellion, formed cliques, and disrupted government. I am deeply enraged and order their execution! Exterminate their entire clans! This will serve as a warning to others!"

"Appreciate this!"

After Wang Chengen finished reading the imperial edict, the entire court fell into an unprecedented silence.

The ministers looked at each other, their hearts filled with shock and fear.

Although they had already expected that this incident involved treason, they never expected the emperor to be so decisive and order the execution of all those involved.

Even their families are not spared!

Among them were even important court officials such as cabinet ministers and the Minister of War.

For a moment, the court was terribly depressed and no one dared to speak.

plead?

That is something I dare not even think about.

Once you open your mouth, if the emperor mistakenly thinks you are an accomplice, you will lose your head!

Of course, there were also several ministers who were as meticulous as Zhou Yanru. They vaguely realized that Chongzhen was manipulating everything behind this incident!
Although they did not understand why Chongzhen was so bloody, at this critical juncture, they chose to remain silent and not say anything more.

The Chongzhen of today is no longer the same as he was in the past.

He controlled the three major secret agencies: the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Factory, and the Western Factory, which meant that they could no longer fool Chongzhen as easily as before.

Even if you want to give Chongzhen suggestions, persuade Chongzhen, or criticize Chongzhen, you have to meet Chongzhen first!
But now, they can't even see Chongzhen!
Not to mention fooling Chongzhen!

In this way, in the court, the ministers each had their own ulterior motives, but they all tacitly chose to remain silent.

Things are not over yet at this point.

When something like this happened, the Wucheng Bingmasi, as the guardian of public security in the capital, naturally cannot escape blame.

Therefore, Wang Chengen read out another decree, which was to punish the Wucheng Bingmasi.

However, no extreme measures were taken this time. Some officials were simply dismissed from their posts and had their salaries fined, and were ordered to eliminate all thieves and bandits in the capital.

The officials of the Wucheng Bingmasi were naturally grateful for this outcome.

After all, compared to those officials who died, they were lucky to be able to survive this turmoil.

After the morning court session ended, Zhu Cilang was about to return to the East Palace when he saw a eunuch trotting up to him.

"Your Highness, Lord Li Banghua is here! He's waiting at the palace gate!"

Li Banghua!
When Zhu Cilang heard this name, his face instantly lit up with joy.

Finally he is here!

"Take Li Banghua to the East Warm Pavilion. I want to see him there!"

Zhu Cilang gave an order and then went to the East Warm Pavilion first.

In addition, considering that Li Banghua was old and had traveled a long distance, he must not have eaten well along the way, so Zhu Cilang specially instructed Ma Bao to prepare some delicious food.

Not long after, a white-haired old man appeared in front of Zhu Cilang.

This person is Li Banghua!
At this time, Li Banghua was already 67 years old, already in his seventies, but he looked very energetic.

Li Banghua bowed respectfully to Zhu Cilang and said:
"Old minister Li Banghua pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Cilang looked at the old minister in front of him who was over sixty years old and looked exhausted, and felt quite emotional for a moment.

If Li Banghua had really succeeded in reorganizing the Beijing Camp back then, would the Ming Dynasty still be what it is today?
(End of this chapter)