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

Blood letters: Since ancient times, anyone who writes a blood letter must have suffered a great injustice. What kind of great injustice could have led him to write it?

Emperor Chongzhen's first reaction was to identify the Donglin Party.

Because of my recent suppression of the Donglin Party, although it was just not following their wishes, it has obviously aroused the dissatisfaction of the Donglin Party, and they should take some action.

Emperor Chongzhen picked up the memorial, pinched his nose, and glanced at it.

They really are members of the Donglin Party!

Immediately, alarm bells rang in Chongzhen's mind.

Because Zhu Ziming had told him that the eunuch faction, though seemingly evil, was not entirely without merit, while the Donglin Party, though seemingly noble and virtuous, had done its share of despicable things.

During the Wanli era, the struggle over the succession, which lasted for fifteen years and disturbed the peace of the entire empire, was orchestrated by the Donglin Party. In the three major cases that followed—the Clubbing Case, the Red Pill Case, and the Palace Transfer Case—the Donglin Party not only participated but also emerged victorious.

even……

The Donglin Party may be the murderers who killed his father and brothers!

Therefore, after returning from the bookstore, Chongzhen had no goodwill towards the Donglin Party, and even hated them.

What exactly did the Donglin Party say in their letter written in blood?

Driven by curiosity, Chongzhen began to read the blood-written letter.

The letter written in blood was about the Six Gentlemen of Donglin. Wei Xuelian, son of Wei Dazhong, Yang Zhiyi, son of Yang Lian, Zhou Maolan, son of Zhou Shunchang, and Huang Zongxi, the eldest son of Huang Zunsu, jointly wrote a letter to seek justice for their father.

It must be said that scholars are truly masters of writing; their writing is deeply moving, with every word seemingly written with heartfelt emotion, making the reader deeply touched.

After reading the entire text, Chongzhen calmed down a bit.

Although the blood-written letter angered Emperor Chongzhen, the Six Gentlemen of Donglin truly demonstrated a fearless spirit of sacrifice, as exemplified by the phrase "a group of teachers and friends, their blood flowing freely in the cold wind, cleansing the world."

"Even if my body is torn to pieces and my corpse is devoured by maggots and ants, I would be content with it. I only wish for a strong and prosperous nation, for a wise and virtuous ruler, and for the long-lasting peace and prosperity of the land. This foolish thought will remain unchanged until my death."

The six gentlemen, led by Yang Lian, truly deserve the title of gentlemen.

He suddenly remembered a quote from Zhu Ziming: "No one or nothing is simply black and white; we must look at things with a dialectical perspective."

The eunuch faction was like this, and so was the Donglin Party.

With this in mind, Chongzhen's thoughts suddenly became clear, and he gained a deeper understanding of Zhu Ziming's words.

"Sir, your philosophy is truly profound!"

Emperor Chongzhen stood up and looked out the window, a rare look of relaxation appearing on his face...

……

The next day, the morning court session began.

Like memorials to the emperor, the morning court session was an important channel for the emperor to handle affairs.

"The morning court is called 'chao' (朝) and the autumn court is called 'jin' (觐)." The morning court was a court assembly ceremony in ancient China where the emperor and his ministers discussed politics. Its system can be traced back to the court etiquette established by Shusun Tong in the Han Dynasty. By the Ming Dynasty, the implementation of the morning court was the most strict.

Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was a staunch advocate of holding morning court sessions and never missed one.

Emperor Chongzhen wanted to emulate Emperor Taizu, and unless there were special circumstances, he insisted on holding court every morning and reviewing memorials until the early hours of the morning.

But it wasn't until Chongzhen returned from a trip to the bookstore that he realized that his daily morning court sessions were actually extremely inefficient. Countless problems were brought up for discussion, but very few were actually resolved. Instead, it was mostly a matter of everyone accusing each other, resulting in pointless fuss.

Although the power struggles in the court in the past were brutal, at least there were eunuch factions and Donglin factions to counterbalance them, and they were led by famous figures such as Yang Lian and Wei Zhongxian. Now, things are in complete chaos, and everyone wants to impeach someone and submit a memorial to the throne.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen now has little interest in attending the morning court sessions.

"I have read the document that pleads for the Six Gentlemen of Donglin."

Emperor Chongzhen began by mentioning the blood-written letter, and the ministers below the hall hurriedly listened attentively: "The treacherous eunuch Wei Zhongxian usurped power and disrupted the government, framing upright officials. Ministers Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Wei Dazhong, Yuan Huazhong, Zhou Chaorui, and Gu Dazhang, who upheld loyalty and integrity, were the first to impeach the powerful and treacherous official, but were tortured and died in prison. Every time I read the documents, I am deeply saddened."

"Now that the traitors have been eliminated and Heaven's justice has been proven, I agree to grant them posthumous honors to demonstrate their loyalty and righteousness."

Han Kuang and the others were somewhat taken aback. They had thought that the emperor's current mindset was biased towards the eunuch faction and that he would not easily exonerate the six gentlemen. They had prepared for a heated debate and even thought of lines to criticize the eunuch faction. They did not expect the emperor to agree to exonerate the six gentlemen so readily.

It made them feel like they were punching cotton.

"Your Majesty, we are deeply grateful for the redress of our late father's injustice!"

After realizing what had happened, the descendants of the six gentlemen who jointly submitted the petition quickly kowtowed to express their gratitude.

After expressing his gratitude, Yang Lian's son, Yang Zhiyi, kowtowed again, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Your Majesty, I humbly request that you thoroughly investigate the eunuch faction to comfort the spirit of my deceased father in heaven!"

Emperor Chongzhen, however, remained unusually calm, retorting, "I have already designated the eunuch faction, its leader has been executed, and its accomplices imprisoned. What eunuch faction is there now? Why is a thorough investigation necessary?"

Faced with Chongzhen's insistent question, Yang Zhiyi was speechless for a moment.

Emperor Chongzhen did not make things difficult for him, and gave him a way out: "Now that the eunuch faction has been eliminated, you can comfort your father's spirit in heaven."

At this moment, Huang Zunsu's eldest son, Huang Zongxi, stepped forward: "Your subject requests to jointly investigate the eunuch faction!"

"Granted!"

Emperor Chongzhen knew that Huang Zongxi's "joint trial" was suspected of being a personal vendetta, but he readily agreed, after all, the methods used by the eunuch faction against his father were indeed too cruel.

"However, I also have one requirement: from now on, all official documents submitted to the emperor must be written with pen and ink, and must be written in a standardized manner. Writing in blood is strictly prohibited."

"Your Majesty, we obey!"

The ministers responded in unison.

Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand dismissively: "Alright, if you have something to say, speak now; otherwise, court is adjourned!"

For a moment, the courtiers were taken aback.

Something seems off about this morning's court session. What's wrong with it?

That's right, too fast!

In the past, the morning court session would last all morning, and in special circumstances it would even last from morning to night. Now it ends in less than 15 minutes.

The Emperor simply stated the conclusion regarding the exoneration of the Six Gentlemen; there were no questions, no arguments, no climax, and it ended just like that, uneventfully.

It's like that thing between a man and a woman—it ends before you've had your fill, or rather, before you've even gotten into the mood.

All the officials and civil and military officials felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Fortunately, someone stepped forward at this moment.

That man was none other than Yuan Chonghuan, who had recently taken over as Minister of War and concurrently served as the Military Governor of Jiliao.

For reasons unknown, the Emperor urgently reinstated Yuan Chonghuan and personally summoned him, but did not rush him to the front lines, instead keeping him in the capital.

Yuan Chonghuan stepped forward, holding his official tablet, and said, "I have something to report!"

Emperor Chongzhen frowned slightly and looked at Yuan Chonghuan: "Speak!"

Yuan Chonghuan said, "Your Majesty, I request that you verify the troop numbers in Dongjiang and transfer General Mao Wenlong from Pi Island to Gaizhou!"