How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 73 Zhu Chunchen Fell From the Sky (Available for purchase next Wednesday, with 30 chapters upon release!)
The seventeenth day of the first lunar month, Tsinghua University.

The five halls in the garden, which were originally elegant and refined, now exude an indescribable sense of oppression. There are no paintings or calligraphy, no screens or partitions; the bare walls are adorned only with newly pasted white Xuan paper bearing eight glaring characters written in bold ink: "Resist and be severely punished; confess and be leniently treated!"
Each hall was crowded with a dozen or twenty officers and clerks from the Beijing Garrison. Simple tables and chairs were set out in front of them, complete with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. The five officers, Duke Dingguo Xu Xigao, Earl Xiangcheng Li Shouqi, Marquis Funing Zhu Guobi, Marquis Wu'an Zheng Weixiao, and Marquis Yongkang Xu Xideng, each guarded a separate area.

The five men all looked rather grim, but their tone was increasingly stern.

Xu Xigao paced back and forth in the hall he was in charge of, his voice cold and hard: "...Listen carefully! His Majesty has shown divine grace! As long as you voluntarily and thoroughly confess your past deeds! How much salary did you embezzle? How much vacancies did you take? How much military equipment did you resell? How many soldiers did you occupy? Write it all down clearly, one by one! And all the shady dealings that traitor Zhu Chunchen made you do, expose them all! As long as you confess cleanly, His Majesty's golden word allows you to atone for your sins, and you will still have the opportunity to serve the country in the future!"

He abruptly stopped, his gaze sweeping over the fearful faces: "But anyone who harbors any illusions, who thinks of concealing, resisting, or even trying to protect Zhu Chunchen... that is to cut themselves off from the court and from His Majesty! That is to be Zhu Chunchen's accomplice in his rebellion! When the time comes, their families will be wiped out, and they will be exterminated. Don't blame me for not warning you!"

Similar scenes were playing out simultaneously in four other halls.

Li Shouqi slammed his fist on the table, spitting as he spoke: "Write! Write it all down! It's not too late to write now! Once the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot find out, it will be too late!"

Zhu Guobi added ominously, "Gentlemen, don't forget, your families are all staying in the capital..."

These words were like a final death knell, shattering the last vestiges of hope for many.

Chaos erupted in the hall.

Someone suddenly knelt down, kowtowing to the nobleman in the main seat, pleading with a sob, "My lord! My earl! I... I'm innocent! I was forced to do this by Zhu Chunchen..."

Some people, their eyes reddening, glared at Xu Xigao, Li Shouqi, and the others, cursing in low voices: "Bah! You dukes and marquises, you're always raking in the cash! Now you're pretending to be loyal ministers and generals! You've ruined me!"

One of the officers even stood up abruptly and tried to rush towards the door, shouting, "I'm not writing anymore! I want to go home!"

The imperial guards standing outside the door immediately stepped forward, two by two, and without any politeness twisted his arm behind his back, pinning him to the ground.

The officer continued to struggle and roar, "Let me go! What right do you have to arrest me! I want to see the Emperor! I want to..."

Xu Xideng, the Marquis of Yongkang, who was in charge of the area, immediately pointed at the subdued officer and shouted sternly to the others in the hall, "Did you all see that? Resisting confession and attempting to escape! This is Zhu Chunchen's crony! Write it down and report it!"

The effect of making an example of someone was immediate.

Soon, a quick-witted camp officer rushed to the desk, grabbed a pen, and began writing, shouting as he wrote: "This humble servant exposes! This humble servant exposes Zhu Chunchen for embezzling three months' pay from the left flank of the Fifth Army Camp and forcing us to falsely report our troop numbers! Seventy percent of the money obtained went into his private treasury!"

Upon seeing this, Xu Xideng immediately praised loudly, "Good! Very good! You are pragmatic and understand the greater good! What's your name? Write it down and report it to His Majesty later. This is an example of someone who has repented and redeemed himself through meritorious service!"

Once someone started it, the rest couldn't hold back any longer.

The pleas for mercy and angry curses gradually faded away. Everyone was engrossed in writing, racking their brains to confess their crimes, and desperately recalling and exposing the various crimes of Zhu Chunchen and the Duke of Cheng's mansion. The amount of embezzlement, the number of vacancies, the armor and firearms that were resold, the names of soldiers who were occupied by powerful figures or even themselves... one shocking secret after another flowed from the pens of these officers and were recorded in the files.

……

Inside Yihai Hall, Emperor Chongzhen held a rosewood cup filled with goji berries, listening to Xu Yingyuan report in a low voice on the progress of the various "study classes".

When he heard that some people resisted and were captured, some people took the initiative to expose others and became role models, and in the end everyone was desperately confessing, Chongzhen revealed an uncontrollable smug smile.

"Good, very good!" He took a sip of hot tea. "It seems that using Zhu Chunchen as an excuse to 'expand' the operation was the right move! We can finally find out how many bastards are hiding in the muddy waters of the Beijing Garrison!"

He put down his teacup, turned his gaze westward, and said in a slightly lighter tone, "Now it all depends on Datong... whether they can drag Zhu Chunchen out of the Prince of Dai's residence and solidify this ironclad case for me!"

Datong City, Dai Wangfu.

This princely mansion occupies an area of ​​several miles, with magnificent palaces and halls, resembling a city within a city in Datong. The current prince, Zhu Naijun, is an old man in his sixties, but he is still in good spirits. He is squinting as he listens to the chief eunuch Pang Yugui report on the princely mansion's "grand plans" for this year.

"...Your Highness, after the spring, if we put in a little more effort, we can at least 'request' those several thousand acres of military farmland in the east of the city..." Pang Yugui said cautiously with a forced smile.

Zhu Naijun stroked his beard and said slowly, "Hmm... Although our family now occupies 30% of the fertile land in Datong, compared with the Prince of Jin's Mansion, the Prince of Lu's Mansion, and the Prince of Fu's Mansion in the south... we are still a bit lacking! Old Pang, you have to work harder!"

"Your Highness, rest assured, this servant will definitely..." Pang Yugui began, but before she could finish speaking.

Suddenly, a young eunuch scrambled into the hall, his face ashen and his voice trembling: "Your Highness! Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!"

Pang Yugui's face darkened, and he stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face: "You damned servant! What nonsense are you spouting during the New Year! The Prince is perfectly fine!"

The young eunuch staggered from the blow, covering his face and crying, "Grandmother, it's really bad! Outside the Prince's mansion... it's completely surrounded by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and soldiers from Datong Town! They're all armored and armed, and they've surrounded our mansion! It's three layers deep, and there's no way to get through!"

"What?!" Prince Zhu Naijun of Dai suddenly opened his eyes, stunned. "The Embroidered Uniform Guard? They've surrounded my palace? What... what's going on?"

Upon hearing this, Pang Yugui's face turned deathly pale, and his voice trembled: "He...they said...what are they coming for?"

The young eunuch said with a sob in his voice, "The high-ranking officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard said... that he was acting on His Majesty's imperial decree to come to our palace... to arrest the wanted criminal, Duke Zhu Chunchen!"

"Bullshit!" Prince Zhu Naijun of Dai slammed his fist on the table in anger and stood up abruptly. "Nonsense! Zhu Chunchen is a Duke in the capital. What is he doing in Datong after committing a crime? How could he possibly be in my residence? This is simply outrageous..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard a muffled thud beside him.

Turning his head, he saw that Pang Yugui had collapsed to the ground, his whole body trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Prince Zhu Naijun of Dai didn't react for a moment, and frowned, saying, "Old Pang? What's wrong with you? Get up and speak!"

Pang Yugui was no longer able to get up. He let out a shrill wail, crawled two steps on his hands and feet, grabbed the leg of Prince Zhu Naijun, and wept uncontrollably.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! This servant...this servant is so sorry! This servant deserves to die! This servant deserves to die a thousand deaths!"

The Prince of Dai was so frightened by his appearance that his heart pounded wildly, and his voice trembled: "Old Pang...you, what...what happened?!"

Pang Yugui cried so hard she could barely breathe: "Your Highness... that murderous Zhu Chunchen... a few days ago he secretly sneaked into Datong, found my private residence outside, and used... used the business deals he and the Prince's Mansion had done together over the years as leverage to force me... to find him a hiding place!"

"So you..." The Prince of Dai felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, his lips trembled, and he could not finish his sentence.

"I was confused for a moment, thinking... thinking that the Prince's mansion was the safest place, so... so I hid him here..." Pang Yugui's voice grew softer and softer, until it almost turned into a sob.

Prince Zhu Naijun of Dai felt a sudden darkness engulf his vision, swayed twice, and nearly fell to the ground.

He leaned against the table, only one thought in his mind:
This is truly a case of being caught in the crossfire! How did Zhu Chunchen, this monstrous calamity, end up being cast upon the Prince of Dai's residence?!
(End of this chapter)