The Ming Dynasty: A bookstore sells the history of the Ming Dynasty, leaving Emperor Chongzhen bewil

All of this was caused by Chongzhen himself.

Zhu Ziming's words directly pointed to the factional strife in the late Ming court, which was directed at Emperor Chongzhen. However, Emperor Chongzhen was not angry; instead, he listened very attentively.

After Yuan Chonghuan's comments, Chongzhen understood a principle: if he wanted to change the fate of the Ming Dynasty, he had to rely on one person, Zhu Ziming, the owner of the bookstore.

Even though he now possesses a copy of the History of Ming that has revealed almost everything about the future, he still doesn't know how to save the Ming Dynasty.

Even the simplest question of whether or not to reinstate Yuan Chonghuan caused him great distress and struggle. It wasn't until he heard Zhu Ziming's comments on Yuan Chonghuan that he understood the whole story and suddenly had a clear understanding.

"Why do you say that?" Chongzhen asked sincerely.

Zhu Ziming replied: "Because the eunuch faction had a very bad reputation both in and out of the court. Emperor Chongzhen also deeply hated the eunuch faction. After getting rid of Wei Zhongxian, Chongzhen believed that evil must be eradicated completely. Moreover, influenced by the Donglin Party officials who spoke out against him, he began to purge the eunuch faction on a large scale, making everyone in the court feel insecure, except for the Donglin Party who were hostile to Wei Zhongxian and those who had been persecuted by Wei Zhongxian."

"When Wei Zhongxian was in power, he could be said to have held immense power in the court. Apart from the Donglin Party members who were not afraid of death, who dared not to curry favor with him? Even Yuan Chonghuan built a shrine for Wei Zhongxian."

"But now, anyone who has any connection with Wei Zhongxian, anyone who flatters him, anyone who has taken sides, Chongzhen wants to exterminate them all. But in reality, not everyone is as upright and fearless as Yang Lian, and not everyone can go down in history and become a hero. Most people are afraid of death. They are just trying to get by, trying to make a living, trying to survive in the chaos. In the face of the situation, how many people can not bow their heads? They either attach themselves to the Donglin Party or to the eunuch party."

"While Wei Zhongxian and his eunuch faction were certainly hateful, the question is, after Chongzhen dealt with key figures like Wei Zhongxian, Li Chaoqin, Ke Shi, and Cui Chengxiu, should he have continued to exterminate them all, purging everyone connected to Wei Zhongxian? Furthermore, were Wei Zhongxian and his eunuch faction truly entirely without merit?"

This question stumped Emperor Chongzhen, causing him to fall into deep thought.

If anyone else had said these words, Chongzhen would have labeled them as part of the eunuch faction and thrown them into prison. But when these words came from Zhu Ziming, Chongzhen not only felt differently, but he was also able to listen to them.

As Zhu Ziming said, he truly hated the eunuch faction the most.

He would never forget that on his first day in the palace, he hid a large pancake in his sleeve to protect himself from Wei Zhongxian. However, Wei Zhongxian did nothing to him. On the contrary, Wei Zhongxian respected him and dared not overstep his bounds. Not long after, he even took the initiative to resign and retire to his hometown.

However, although Wei Zhongxian wanted to leave, Emperor Chongzhen did not want to let him go.

Knowing he had no way out, Wei Zhongxian chose to hang himself on his way to Fengyang to guard the imperial tombs. Emperor Chongzhen was still furious and issued an edict to have Wei Zhongxian's body executed by slow slicing, and his head displayed in Hejian Prefecture.

Now, Zhu Ziming's words made him re-examine everything, but he didn't find anything wrong with it.

Shouldn't Wei Zhongxian and his eunuch faction have died?

Emperor Chongzhen looked puzzled as he listened to Zhu Ziming continue.

Zhu Ziming said, "Before we talk about these issues, let's first talk about the Donglin Party, which stands in opposition to the eunuch faction."

"The Donglin Party was initially led by Gu Xiancheng during the Wanli era. Gu Xiancheng was outspoken and dared to speak out. He angered the Wanli Emperor because of the struggle over the succession to the throne and was eventually dismissed from his post and sent home. After returning to his hometown, Gu Xiancheng did not remain idle. He restored an academy called Donglin in his hometown. He and several other scholars initiated the Donglin Conference and formulated the Donglin Conference Charter, which stipulated that a conference would be held once or twice a year and a smaller conference would be held once a month."

"Donglin Academy not only held lectures but also discussed politics, attracting many ambitious people, including some officials who had been demoted for criticizing the government. They came from far away and in large numbers, so many that the academy's buildings could not accommodate them all."

"They satirized the government and commented on officials. These criticisms of the current affairs received widespread sympathy and support from society at the time, but were also fiercely opposed by eunuchs and their affiliated forces."

"Those who opposed them collectively referred to the lectures at Donglin Academy and the government and opposition figures associated with or supporting the lectures as the 'Donglin Party,' and that's how the Donglin Party came about."

"In fact, the Donglin Party did not have a fixed charter or a strict organization. Their political attitudes and propositions were often expressed through individual activities. However, they lived through the reigns of four emperors: Wanli, Taichang, Tianqi, and Chongzhen, and had a profound influence."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded. He probably knew more about the origins and history of the Donglin Party than Zhu Ziming did.

Zhu Ziming continued, "From the succession dispute during the Wanli reign to the three famous court cases at the end of the Ming Dynasty: the Clubbing Case, the Red Pill Case, and the Palace Relocation Case, the Donglin Party was involved in all these far-reaching events."

"The occurrence of the three cases—the Clubbing Case, the Red Pill Case, and the Palace Relocation Case—made the entire court feel like it was in court. The Donglin Party gradually gained control of the situation, and those who opposed the Donglin Party were regarded as evil parties."

"After the palace relocation incident, Crown Prince Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne with the support of the Donglin Party members, becoming the Tianqi Emperor."

"At the beginning of his reign, Emperor Tianqi relied heavily on and made good use of the Donglin Party members, allowing them to take charge of the cabinet, the Censorate, and the Six Ministries. It can be said that the Donglin Party's power was absolute, and the court was full of upright officials. Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Zhao Nanxing, Gao Panlong, Sun Chengzong, Yuan Keli, and others all held important positions in the court."

"However, in the third year of the Tianqi Emperor's reign, the Tianqi Emperor put Wei Zhongxian in charge of the Eastern Depot and the Directorate of Ceremonial, gradually sidelining the Donglin Party. Because the Donglin Party members had previously focused on purging the old parties such as the Qi, Chu, and Zhe parties, their radical reformist style triggered a backlash from other bureaucratic groups. Some officials who had been ostracized by the Donglin Party turned to Wei Zhongxian, thus forming the 'eunuch party'."

"In the fifth year of the Tianqi Emperor's reign, the emperor issued an edict to burn down all academies in the country. In the sixth year, the Donglin Academy was demolished. The Donglin Party members suffered a severe blow, and many famous Donglin Party members, such as Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou, were killed by Wei Zhongxian and his cronies."

Emperor Chongzhen knew all of what Zhu Ziming was saying, but he didn't understand what Zhu Ziming was trying to express.

Zhu Ziming continued, "Everyone in the world felt that Emperor Tianqi was incompetent, favoring a eunuch and forming a eunuch faction. This faction created unjust cases such as the 'Yichou Prison' and the 'Bingyin Prison,' cruelly persecuting members of the Donglin Party and incurring the wrath of both heaven and man."

"Emperor Chongzhen was probably thinking to himself at that time, 'My foolish brother, how could you allow a eunuch to commit such evil deeds and poison the world?'"

Emperor Chongzhen remained silent.

Although he wasn't called a foolish older brother, he did consider this issue at the time; otherwise, he wouldn't have immediately targeted Wei Zhongxian and the eunuch faction upon taking office, vowing to fight them to the death.

"But have you ever thought that at that time, the Tianqi Emperor's court was already like the court in the late Chongzhen period, with no one doing any real work but attacking each other all day long? The Donglin Party members would attack and impeach anyone they could find, saying, 'Those who are not of our party must have different hearts,' suppressing dissidents, controlling the court, and even trying to control the emperor."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen's eyes widened suddenly.

Zhu Ziming continued, "Therefore, if it weren't for the eunuch faction, Emperor Tianqi would probably have been a puppet of the Donglin Party long ago."

"It was precisely because there was an interest group that could counter the Donglin Party that the Tianqi Emperor was able to maintain a balance in the factional struggle and prevent power from falling into the wrong hands."

Emperor Chongzhen was dumbfounded...