I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

"Haha, hahaha..."

Zhu Youjian was not angry when he heard these words; instead, he burst into laughter.

Who was Emperor Chongzhen in history?

He was a young man of great talent and ambition, and worked diligently for seventeen years to govern the country, but he became the ruler who brought about the downfall of his kingdom.

Because he only saw the enemy outside, but ignored what was in front of him.

These people in the imperial court are the true enemies of the Ming Dynasty!

Starting with the founding emperor, the Ming Dynasty granted scholars numerous preferential policies.

For more than 270 years since the founding of the nation, scholars have continuously accumulated wealth, generation after generation, until they finally took control of all the land in the country.

They talk about benevolence and righteousness all the time, yet they watch helplessly as people who have lost their land starve to death.

Li Zicheng's million-strong army consisted entirely of ordinary people from the lowest rungs of society.

Their reason for rebellion was simple: they couldn't survive.

While the rich wine and meat smell, the road with frozen bone.

From the moment Zhu Youjian traveled through time, he had already made up his mind.

It's better to be a tyrant than to die a pathetic death!

Whether or not Beijing can be defended, none of these parasites will escape!

"So what if I want to be a tyrannical ruler, a foolish one?"

Zhang Jinyan seemed not to realize that Emperor Chongzhen was acting very strangely today!

Zhu Chunchen had only just made contact with Li Zicheng and hadn't taken any substantial action, yet he was already being watched. Something's not right!

What's even more incredible is that, although Emperor Chongzhen was somewhat suspicious, he was a man who cared a lot about his reputation.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have stubbornly stayed in Beijing; he would have gone to Nanjing long ago.

It's really inappropriate for him to openly call himself a tyrant and a foolish ruler today!

After thinking for a long time, Zhang Jinyan finally calmed down.

No matter what, I'm finished!

The only thing I can do now is to avoid implicating my family and to suffer less.

"Besides conspiring with the Duke of Cheng, I also made contact with Li Zicheng alone..."

"You...despicable, shameless!"

Zhu Chunchen immediately panicked, not expecting that this guy would play the trick of having multiple escape routes.

Zhang Jinyan said with a wry smile, "Duke Cheng, please don't blame me. This concerns the life and death of my whole family. Of course, we can't put all our eggs in one basket. You should understand this principle."

Zhu Chunchen, his face deathly pale with rage, said helplessly, "I admit defeat. We all must die!"

"No, no, it's different..."

Zhang Jinyan quickly retorted, "I have never given Li Zicheng any money, nor do I have any troops. At most, I was just providing information, while you are the one plotting rebellion..."

Zhu Chunchen wanted nothing more than to slap him twice, and jumped up and down cursing, "Fuck your mother!"

Zhang Jinyan ignored him and turned to Zhu Youjian, saying, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I will tell you everything I know. I still have Li Zicheng's letter... Oh, right!"

He grasped at a straw and suddenly shouted, "I know that Li Zicheng's messenger is still in the capital. If we capture him, we can definitely get useful information out of him!"

Seeing this, Zhu Youjian then said, "Luo Yangxing!"

"Your subject is here!"

Luo Yangxing stepped forward and bowed.

"Take Minister Zhang back; don't let him die."

Luo Yangxing looked at Zhang Jinyan's injuries. He had been stabbed twice in the thigh, and although he was bleeding profusely, they were only superficial wounds and should not be difficult to treat. The problem was that his chest was riddled with bullets from a musket, and he didn't know if he could be saved.

Now that things have come to this, let's agree first and talk about it later!

"I obey your decree!"

Zhang Jinyan seemed to see a glimmer of hope. He struggled to his feet and said, "Commander Luo, quickly take me to see a doctor! I know a lot of information; I'll tell you everything!"

Luo Yangxing waved his hand, ordering his men to take Zhang Jinyan away.

Zhu Youjian looked at Zhu Chunchen and asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

Zhu Chunchen looked up to the sky and sighed, then said with a bitter smile, "Your Majesty has the will to revive the Ming Dynasty, which I have seen clearly, but the Ming Dynasty is beyond saving."

"If that's the case, tell me, how come the Ming Dynasty is beyond saving?"

"Does Your Majesty still remember the Battle of Sarhu?"

"Of course I remember."

Zhu Chunchen then asked, "Does Your Majesty know why you suffered such a crushing defeat at Sarhu?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian frowned and said, "I don't have time to chat with you. Just say what you want to say."

"Very well, this old minister has been longing to speak his mind!"

Zhu Chunchen nodded first, and then said, "Emperor Wanli has not attended court for many years, which has led to chaos in the court, infighting among officials and serious waste of public funds. For example, the Imperial Concubine received as much as 200,000 taels of silver in rewards for her birthday, while the garrisons and guard posts have been short of pay for many years."

"Your Majesty! The soldiers at the front aren't even getting enough to eat. How can they fight?"

Zhu Youjian looked at Zhu Chunchen with a complex emotion in his eyes.

He remained silent for a moment, then gripped his longsword tightly and said, "Even if the Ming Dynasty has a thousand faults and ten thousand wrongs, it is not a reason for you to collude with the enemy!"

"Your ancestors rendered meritorious service in the Jingnan Campaign, and you are a veteran minister who has served three emperors. Now that the country is in peril, instead of repaying their kindness, you have colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. If I do not execute you, how can I explain this to the people of the land?"

Zhu Chunchen shook his head and sighed, his tone revealing an extreme sense of helplessness and exhaustion: "Your Majesty, this old minister has been in charge of the capital garrison for thirteen years."

"There was a time when this old minister also thought of reorganizing the garrisons, training elite troops, leading soldiers into battle to fight the enemy, and serving the country on foot, but... alas!"

Zhu Chunchen sighed and continued, "Over the years, all I have seen is rampant corruption among officials in various regions, and the people suffering unspeakably."

"The imperial court's tax revenue was insufficient to cover its expenses, so it levied additional taxes on Liaodong, military service, and training..."

"And then what? Grain taxes kept increasing, but military funding disappeared without a trace. Where did all that money go?"

"This old minister is truly willing but unable; in order to survive, he can only seek to protect himself."

"Last night, the Earl of Jiading came to test me. I was initially suspicious, but I was ultimately fooled. It's because the Earl of Jiading has been amassing wealth for many years that I actually believed him!"

"Looking back now, it's truly laughable. The Earl of Jiading was the Emperor's father-in-law. So what if he amassed wealth? In any case, His Majesty wouldn't lay a hand on his own father-in-law, would he?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian slowly spoke: "You're wrong!"

Zhu Chunchen asked in confusion, "What did Your Majesty say?"

"I say, you are wrong! The Earl of Jiading is not testing you!"

"Wha...what do you mean?"

Zhu Youjian said, "Just an hour ago, the Embroidered Uniform Guard captured the Earl of Jiading!"

Zhu Chunchen was greatly alarmed and asked, "Could it be that the Earl of Jiading wasn't sent by His Majesty to test this old minister?"

"no!"

Zhu Youjian slowly shook his head, then said, "If I want to kill you, I can do so openly and honestly. Do I need to test you?"

"hehe……"

Zhu Chunchen chuckled and shook his head self-deprecatingly.

"Your Majesty is right. When the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. What further testing is needed?"

"It seems this old minister has truly become confused!"