Chaos of Ming 1628

Even after Wei Zhongxian left the Fengtian Hall, the hatred in Chongzhen's eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

When Wei Zhongxian left, the court was instantly in an uproar.

The eunuch faction had controlled the government for many years, and officials were already full of complaints. Now that Wei Zhongxian had no power, there was no need for fear.

Immediately, someone stepped forward: "Your Majesty, Wei Zhongxian has committed numerous evils and should not be let off so easily!"

"Oh?" Zhu Youjian's tone sharpened, and he sneered, "In your opinion, my dear minister, what should it be?"

"He should be executed immediately, and his head displayed to the public!"

Zhu Youjian sneered, his eyes growing even colder: "Well said!"

"My dear minister, shall I entrust this matter to you?" Chongzhen asked with a half-smile.

The official who had spoken immediately knelt on the ground as if facing a formidable enemy: "I am but a civil official, and Wei Zhongxian has many followers. Even though he has resigned from his post, he still wields considerable power. I fear I am powerless to stop him..."

"Slap!" Zhu Youjian slammed his hand hard on the armrest of the dragon throne, his gaze icy: "Since you knew, why did you speak up?!"

The man trembled like a leaf and dared not utter a word.

But to let it go like this is truly unacceptable.

"Your Majesty!" Another person knelt on the ground: "Wei Zhongxian allowed him to resign, but his grandson-in-law, Sun Qing, must not be let off either."

"Recently, Sun Qing's actions in Hejian Prefecture have been utterly outrageous. Eight or nine out of ten of the petitions submitted every day are accusations against Sun Qing for various crimes."

"Because of him, the border troops' food supplies will even run out!"

If Wei Zhongxian is difficult to impeach, why can't Sun Qing?

One person spoke up, and the others echoed him.

They all knelt on the ground and began to accuse Sun Qing of his evil deeds.

Each and every charge is so outrageous that it is beyond description.

Emperor Chongzhen listened quietly, without saying a word.

Only after the last person finished speaking did Chongzhen sneer: "What all my ministers have said is very good. The evil of Sun Qing is truly infuriating to hear."

"Your Majesty, we beg you to execute Sun Qing immediately!"

"Execute him?" Zhu Youjian sneered, his gaze sweeping over the minister who had spoken. "You say it's all because of him that the border troops are short of supplies?"

"As far as I know, apart from Hejian Prefecture, the grain supplies for the entire Beizhili region cannot be transported out. The rivers are frozen, making canal transport impossible. The mountains are blocked by ice and snow, preventing the grain supplies from being delivered in advance."

"Now you're saying that Sun Qing is so capable, that he can influence the heavens?"

"This..." The person who had spoken was momentarily speechless. Although Sun Qing had indeed withheld the grain, it was originally grain merchants hoarding goods. This grain had no impact on the border army's supplies at all.

Since the serious crime could not be detained, he immediately added, "But he commanded the imperial guards to commit atrocities in Hejian Prefecture. Not only did he indiscriminately kill merchants, but he also used the name of the government to buy up their goods with only a small subsidy."

"It even led people to stop buying goods, causing great distress to merchants, who then closed down one after another."

"If this is the case, how will our Great Ming Dynasty's tax revenue be handled? Isn't this tantamount to bringing disaster to the country?"

Among those who spoke, few truly hated Sun Qing for being part of the eunuch faction. Most were people with close ties to the merchants of Hejian Prefecture.

Zhu Youjian avoided the question, instead asking, "How many refugees are there in Hejian Prefecture now? How are the disaster-stricken people faring?"

Immediately, someone stepped forward and replied: "Your Majesty, the refugees in Hejian Prefecture have all been settled, and the affected people are gradually returning to normal life."

The Minister of Revenue also stepped forward: "During this period, we did not receive any requests for grain or money from Hejian Prefecture."

"Furthermore, Hejian Prefecture has paid the taxes owed last year. And it has even paid this year's taxes on time."

All around were gasps of shock.

A sixteen-year-old boy, in less than a month, not only cleaned up a huge mess, but also replenished the national treasury.

For a long time now, the national treasury has only been spending money and not receiving any.

When the snow disaster struck, money was needed everywhere. Only Jiahe County had never been in arrears, and now, Hejian Prefecture had too.

Not only was the Minister of Revenue's words full of satisfaction, but Zhu Youjian was also naturally overjoyed.

"Very good!" Zhu Youjian nodded.

"Your Majesty!" The man who had just impeached Sun Qing spoke up again, "This boy has ulterior motives and is clearly paving the way for Wei Zhongxian."

"I'm afraid he's..."

Before he could finish speaking, a cold glint flashed in Chongzhen's eyes, and he said in a chilling voice, "In your opinion, after beheading Sun Qing, who is more suitable to clean up the mess in Hejian Prefecture?"

"If the Ministry of Revenue approves 300,000 taels of silver, I'm sure I can do a better job than Sun Qing," someone volunteered.

Before he could even open his mouth, the Minister of Revenue's brows furrowed deeply: "The national treasury is empty. Thirty thousand taels is manageable, but three hundred thousand taels is unavailable!"

Thirty thousand?!

Those who had been eager to try all lost their enthusiasm. The court was only offering a pittance, yet they expected to save the entire Hejian Prefecture—wasn't that just wishful thinking?

Now that the snow disaster has arrived, it's clear that the economy is only losing money and not gaining anything. The people can't squeeze any more profit out of them than they are being exploited.

You could hear a pin drop in Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Youjian snorted coldly. He was not without dissatisfaction with Sun Qing, but what was the use?

Looking at the bunch of useless people below, Chongzhen snorted coldly: "The matter of Sun Qing should not be mentioned again. As long as the people are at peace, I do not want to see any more memorials impeaching Sun Qing."

"Court adjourned!"

Hejian Mansion.

Although Sun Qing did not have Meng Zhaoxiang and Su Jiuda by his side, he had Song Xian.

Song Xian was already familiar with Sun Qing's plan, making its execution even smoother. In addition, there were now a thousand obedient imperial guards in Jiaohe County, as well as two thousand secret guards.

With both overt and covert operations combined, Hejian Prefecture had become a one-man show, and no dissenting voices could be heard.

The key point is that after using these secret guards, Sun Qing was pleasantly surprised to find that although these people were not Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), they were the best of the best selected from among the Jinyiwei.

Wei Zhongxian was not only selfish, but also incredibly audacious. When training the Imperial Guards for the Tianqi Emperor, he kept all the best men by his side.

These two thousand men were all exceptionally skilled, capable of holding off thousands single-handedly. Furthermore, their reconnaissance, espionage, and stealth abilities were all top-notch.

Sun Qing immediately set about re-planning the direction for these two thousand people.

It was a great pity that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty only used this group of the best intelligence agents to monitor the officials.

Although it can restrain officials, it's like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

If we could redirect these people away from the internal power struggles within the imperial court and instead focus them on external intelligence, using them for routine oversight of officials, economic investigations, border reconnaissance, and gathering public opinion and sentiment… these would be much more suitable directions for them.

Thinking about what would happen in the future, Sun Qing did not hesitate any longer and immediately sent a thousand men to infiltrate the Later Jin, Mongolia, and coastal areas plagued by Japanese pirates to gather information on troop strength, food supplies, and diplomatic developments.

Looking back at the late Ming Dynasty, the biggest shortcoming was the lack of intelligence about the areas beyond the Great Wall. As a result, the enemy was already at their doorstep, and the imperial court was still completely unaware of the enemy's situation.

If I didn't have the ability, I would accept it, but it's a waste of my talents, which is laughable.

Sun Qinggang had just made the arrangements.

Yang Qingqing was already standing outside the study door.

Her face was a little pale, and she gently knocked on the door: "Husband."

"Enter."

Yang Qingqing looked anxious: "My grandfather sent a letter saying that His Majesty has ordered him to go to Fengyang to guard the imperial tombs."

"Oh!" Sun Qing responded calmly, as if everything was already expected.

"You...you knew all along?" Yang Qingqing's voice trembled. "Did you?"

"Yes." Sun Qing did not deny it; going to Fengyang to guard the tomb was merely a knife that Chongzhen had wielded.

Yang Qingqing became agitated: "Since you knew all this, why did you make him resign voluntarily? If he can't return to Hejian Prefecture, how can you guarantee the safety of Zu'an?"

"You knew perfectly well..."

"Yes, I know that." Sun Qing interrupted her, his tone serious. "Then think carefully about how I want you to tell him."

Yang Qingqing's expression stiffened, and she slowly said, "Resign and go to Hejian Prefecture immediately."

As she spoke, her voice suddenly changed: "You...you want our ancestor to disobey the imperial decree?!"

Sun Qing stood up, walked to her, and grasped her trembling shoulders with both hands, saying each word clearly, "Qingqing, then tell me, if you don't disobey the imperial decree, how can you live?"

"The Emperor is determined to kill us; only by defying his decree can we have a sliver of hope."

"Otherwise, I fear we might perish halfway to Fengyang!"

Yang Qingqing no longer questioned Sun Qing's words, but she was still worried: "If the emperor arrests people now..."

"I won't give him that chance," Sun Qing replied decisively.

Looking out at the heavy snow, he thought, "Rather than being at the mercy of others and being controlled by them, it's better to be self-reliant and strong, so that no one dares to offend us."

This was the first time Sun Qing had opened up to someone.

This was the first time Yang Qingqing had witnessed how formidable this person was.

When she first met Sun Qing, she thought he was just a handsome young man with lofty ambitions. Only now did she realize that he was nothing more than a sleeping dragon.