Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 1: Transmigrating into Zhu Youjian, I'm ready to go!
In August of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (1627), in the Qianqing Palace of the Forbidden City, a coffin made of Phoebe zhennan wood was placed upright in the main hall.

The outer coffin chamber is 3.9 meters long, and 1.8 meters wide and high; the inner coffin is 3.3 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and 1.4 meters high. If this were the coffin of an ordinary nobleman, it would be considered quite decent, but as the coffin of an emperor, it appears exceptionally shabby.

The architecture of the Han and Tang dynasties was magnificent and grand, but by the Ming and Qing dynasties, even the coffins revealed a lack of refinement. The coffin of a dignified emperor was inferior to that of Lady Xin Zhui, whose outer coffin chamber was 6.72 meters long. It should be noted that Xin Zhui was merely the wife of Li Cang, the prime minister of Changsha Kingdom during the Han Dynasty.

"Everyone says history progresses in a spiral, but why is everyone else on the rise while I'm stuck in a spiral?" Zhu Youjian couldn't help but sigh.

Lying inside the coffin was his brother, the carpenter emperor Zhu Youxiao. If this coffin had been handcrafted by the Tianqi Emperor himself, it would have been quite romantic; unfortunately, it wasn't. The Ministry of Works quoted 300,000 taels of silver for it.

"Damn it, Xue Fengxiang, you old bastard, you're taking advantage of my youth to cheat me! If this thing costs more than 30,000 taels of silver, I'll change my surname to yours!"

Sigh, Zhu Youjian immediately deflated. Even if he knew he'd been deceived, what could he do? Could he send someone to investigate? What if they found something? He didn't want to fall into the water; he was only seventeen, and he didn't want to die!

Zhu Youjian wasn't staying here to keep vigil for his brother, the Tianqi Emperor. After all, he was a transmigrator, and although he quite liked the carpenter emperor, his feelings for him were just so-so. He'd only been here a few days, and if you asked, he wasn't familiar with him at all. He was here to freeload on the air conditioning—oops, I mean, to freeload on the ice here; he was practically dying from the heat.

In August, Beijing is such a horrible place; even fanning yourself makes it hot. If a corpse isn't kept with ice, it'll stink in half a day and be infested with maggots in three. And they're keeping the body in the morgue for half a month? Half a month is a huge reduction; normally, an emperor's body would be kept in the morgue for three months. One reason is that the weather is unbearably hot, and even with ice, there's no guarantee the body won't decompose; another reason is to save money.

The Ming Dynasty was poor! During the period of mourning, the ice alone cost ten thousand taels of silver a day. That much money could have raised an elite army of several hundred men outside the palace. Inside the palace, well, Zhu Youjian had already gotten used to this bizarre exchange rate. That's how government procurement is; it makes you wonder if you woke up to find the world had gone into inflation again.

The Ming Dynasty is beyond saving. Even when the emperor dies, countless bloodsucking worms swarm from all directions to cling to his corpse and feed on it.

The ice behind him melted quickly, bringing Zhu Youjian a slight chill, but not as much as the chill in his heart. Looking up at the doorway, the distant palace walls were severely faded; the remaining traces of cinnabar, under the scorching sun, evaporated lead and mercury, making the air smell sweet. Great America has Commissioner Smith, and our Great Ming Dynasty also has loyal and incorruptible officials; both have bright futures.

"What happened to the claim that the centralized power of the Ming and Qing dynasties reached its peak? The person who compiled this textbook must be an idiot; they can't even figure out whether power is top-down or bottom-up."

Zhu Youjian was worried. Only three days after Tianqi died, he was put on the throne without even bothering to make the show of declining the throne three times.

Even before the late emperor has been buried, those "gentlemen" of the Donglin Party are already impatiently trying to force him to get rid of Wei Zhongxian. Sending Wei Zhongxian to continue serving the late emperor—why not a good reason? After all, for a eunuch to be buried next to the emperor's tomb is a tremendous honor.

"Then why don't you bunch of upright people go and be buried with them? Is it because my brother doesn't like you bastards?" Zhu Youjian thought to himself.

Actually, he wasn't protecting Wei Zhongxian; Wei Zhongxian wasn't a good person either. He just felt, "The eunuch faction and the upright officials are just fighting like dogs. Why should I have to risk my life? How much money do I even receive from the imperial treasury each year?"

People are all like Lord Ye who professed to love dragons but was terrified of them. Time travel is terrifying. Scrolling through short videos on Douyin (TikTok), you might think that if you traveled back to ancient times, you could easily dominate the world, wielding military and financial power, and ruling the world at your fingertips. How easy would that be? Training troops, crafting guns and cannons, inventing gadgets, establishing a bank, and wealth would flow in—how effortless!

The problem is, who do you use to carry it out? Can you even tell the difference between a human and a monster? The more you know about history, the less you understand it. It's common for a historical figure to have eighteen different evaluations, and for an event to have seven or eight different accounts. Especially considering how badly Ming and Qing dynasty historical materials have been destroyed—the *History of Ming*?! It's a pile of crap.

A person should know their own limitations. The reason why Emperor Chongzhen was hung on a tree was because he did not know his own limitations. Zhu Youjian knew that he was just an ordinary person. Letting him play such a high-level game was a death sentence!
So he decided to give up. What reform? Screw it! The Ming Dynasty is a dark forest; if you show your face, you're dead!

Wasn't Emperor Xianzong's sweeping campaign incredibly impressive? Yet, forty people perished in the end.

General Zhu Shou could have easily challenged the Marquis of Champion. One emperor could ride a horse and fight the Mongols head-on, while the other emperor kept tigers and leopards like kittens to pet. In the end, he slipped, fell into the water, drank the imperial physician's medicine, and died at the young age of thirty.

"Being the emperor in the Ming Dynasty is a high-risk profession! I'd better hide in the palace and have a baby. You can't come and harm me while I'm having a baby, can you? I'm not going to fight corruption and interfere with your money-making."

"Wang Banban," Zhu Youjian called softly.

"Your subject is here!" Wang Chengen hurriedly bowed his head to listen respectfully.

"Hey you, where is Sun Chuanting working now?"

"This..." Wang Chengen's forehead was sweating. He had only recently entered the palace with Zhu Youjian, and although he had tried his best to understand the court officials, he really couldn't remember Sun Chuanting. He felt like he'd heard the name somewhere before, but it probably wasn't a high-ranking official. "If you don't remember, look it up, ask around, and tell me when you've figured it out," Zhu Youjian said calmly.

He did not reprimand Wang Chengen, after all, this was his "friend in mourning," whose loyalty was beyond question, and who was also a veteran of his former residence and a valuable member of his inner circle.

Even towards Wei Zhongxian, Zhu Youjian was always amiable. What good does it do to give someone the cold shoulder? You offend people for no reason. Even if you want to kill someone, you have to do it with a smile while stabbing them in the back.

Before long, Wang Chengen returned, a hint of confidence on his face.

"Your Majesty, Sun Chuanting is not currently serving in the court. He was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the 47th year of the Wanli reign. He first served as the magistrate of Yongcheng County, and was later transferred to Shangqiu. In the early years of the Tianqi reign, he entered Beijing to serve as the Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Personnel, and was later promoted to the position of Director of the Bureau of Merit Evaluation. However, for some unknown reason, he suddenly resigned and returned to his hometown, where he now lives a life of farming and studying in his hometown of Daizhou."

"I wonder why?! Perhaps you dare not say?" Zhu Youjian glanced at Wang Chengen sideways.

This is again Wei Zhongxian's fault. Wei Zhongxian's existence was beneficial to the imperial power, so Zhu Youjian wouldn't get rid of him; he wouldn't be so foolish as to cut off his own arm. However, Wei Zhongxian's arrogance and domineering nature did indeed harm some loyal officials and drive away some talented people. For example, Sun Chuanting resigned because he couldn't stand Wei Zhongxian, or perhaps to avoid trouble.

When people fight, they naturally divide themselves into factions, not right or wrong. Otherwise, how can they win? It's good to keep Wei Zhongxian around to put pressure on others. That way, he can play the good cop to win over talent. Otherwise, if everyone is living comfortably, no one will have the motivation to fawn over the emperor.

Wang Chengen thought Sun Chuanting had somehow gotten lucky and reached the Emperor's ears, so the Emperor was going to give him an important position. But Zhu Youjian's words left him completely dumbfounded.

"I heard Sun Chuanting has two daughters?!"

Wang Chengen nearly choked to death, but still replied: “Sun Chuanting has one wife, two sons, two daughters, and three concubines. His wife, Zhang, is the daughter of Zhang Zhijie, the Commissioner of the Nanjing Court of State Affairs. One of his two daughters was born to Zhang, and the other was born to a concubine.”

"Which one is older? How old are they respectively? Are they good-looking?!" Zhu Youjian asked with great interest.

Wang Chengen was speechless. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Sun Chuanting is handsome, and it is said that Zhang is also a famous beauty, so their daughters should be exceptionally beautiful. However, their two daughters are kept hidden in their chambers, and their appearances and ages have not been known. I am incompetent and have not been able to find out."

"Alright, you don't need to be so careful when you talk to me. You've been with me for so long. As long as you don't rebel, I'll guarantee your safety for life," Zhu Youjian said nonchalantly.

Wang Chengen was stunned; he hadn't expected such words to come from Zhu Youjian's mouth. This man was not easy to serve. He appeared polite and courteous in front of the ministers, but only those who knew him well knew that he actually had a bad temper. While he wouldn't arbitrarily beat or kill his servants, he was very strict.

But those words sounded so comforting, and Wang Chengen's eyes reddened slightly.

"It doesn't matter if they're a little older or younger, as long as they're not married. Send someone to the Daizhou Zhenwuwei to summon Sun Chuanting's two daughters to the palace."

"Your Majesty! Now is..." Wang Chengen said anxiously.

“Sigh, I know we can’t take concubines now. Just tell Sun Chuanting to send her two daughters into the palace first, and I will confer titles on them after the national mourning period.”

"What this old servant is trying to say is that if this gets out, it will attract criticism from the court officials," Wang Chengen said helplessly.

However, he ultimately did not speak out. He was merely a servant of the emperor, not a censor. Advising the emperor was not his job. He only needed to do what His Majesty instructed. Every eunuch had his own way of surviving.

Wang Chengen was favored by Zhu Youjian because he was very tactful and capable, making him much more comfortable to use than Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian is a tough nut to crack and shameful; he's better suited for dirty work than for everyday tasks.

I'm truly speechless. I can't even find out who the six ministers were on the day Chongzhen ascended the throne. The historical records of the Ming Dynasty are such a mess, with truth and falsehood mixed together, and the accounts don't even match up!

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(End of this chapter)