Chaos of Ming 1628

Wei Zhongxian hanged himself!

The first to receive the news was the scholar sitting in the courtyard.

The couriers rushed out in a panic. With such a big shot as Wei Zhongxian dead here, who could guarantee that they would survive?

The inn was thrown into chaos, with many people packing their belongings and quietly running away.

The scholar followed closely behind and rushed inside.

Looking at Wei Zhongxian, whose face was ashen and lifeless, hanging on the grain distribution table, he let out a cold laugh.

He immediately knelt on the ground, breaking down in tears: "He's dead! He's finally dead!"

"Our revenge is complete! Our revenge is complete!"

He had followed them all this way, wanting to witness Wei Zhongxian's death with his own eyes. Now that he had seen it, the heavy weight that had been pressing on his heart had finally been lifted.

The scholar left.

The group rushed into the room, and soon after, Wei Zhongxian's body disappeared from the post station.

Fengtian Temple.

All the officials in the court saw the emperor's expression.

Today's Chongzhen Emperor is too calm and composed, making him seem somewhat unfamiliar.

Emperor Chongzhen sat on his throne, his gaze sweeping over the kneeling officials. His first words were not loud: "The traitorous eunuch Wei Zhongxian has been executed by Heaven."

"Who wasn't one of my men? The Crown Prince has received his just deserts!"

An uproar erupted below.

Officials from the Donglin faction were the first to kneel down and kowtow repeatedly, with some bursting into tears on the spot.

"A wise and enlightened ruler. A blessing for the nation."

"The wicked have been eliminated, and the court has been restored."

The cheers grew louder and louder.

In the corner, several old ministers lay prostrate on the ground, and no one saw them exchange a very brief glance.

There was no joy in his eyes, but rather a hint of worry that was hard to explain.

Before his death, the Tianqi Emperor held Chongzhen's hand and said, "Zhongxian is loyal, cautious, and steadfast; he is capable of handling important matters."

Of course, no one dares to mention this now. To bring up this time now would be to oppose Emperor Chongzhen and the entire Donglin Party.

With Wei Zhongxian's death and the downfall of the eunuch faction, the Donglin Party would sooner or later become the most powerful force in the court, though they dared not say so.

As Emperor Chongzhen listened to the praises filling the hall, the calm on his face resembled a mask.

The seventeen-year-old boy was someone no one could fathom, and no one could fathom what he was thinking.

He only raised his hand when the noise subsided.

The entire hall immediately fell silent.

Immediately, a minister stepped forward, knelt down, and shouted: "Your Majesty, although Wei Zhongxian is dead, his crimes are still countless."

"What he did was absolutely outrageous."

"Simply committing suicide is too easy a death."

"Send the Embroidered Uniform Guards," he said, his voice low but cold, "to dismember the body of the traitorous eunuch Wei Zhongxian in the capital. Display his head to the public."

Dismemberment and hanging of the head were extreme punishments used only against traitors and villains.

Even though Wei Zhongxian was already dead, the emperor still wanted to dismember his body and hang his head, which shows how deep the hatred in the emperor's heart was.

Someone glanced furtively at the young figure on the throne and suddenly shivered.

Their fear of the young emperor intensified.

News of Wei Zhongxian's death reached the capital even before the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict arrived.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

Before the eunuch even reached the main gate of Fengtian Hall, a sharp voice rang out.

As a disciple personally trained by Wang Chengen and a trusted confidant of the emperor, this eunuch was already highly respected. Ever since the eunuch faction shifted its allegiance, he was revered wherever he went.

Unfortunately, when they arrived in Hejian Prefecture, they almost lost even their childhood nickname.

He wouldn't swallow these grievances for nothing.

Before the court proceedings had even ended, the eunuch scrambled to his feet and prostrated himself on the ground, his voice choked with sobs: "This servant is guilty!"

"This servant has failed His Majesty's trust. This servant went to Hejian Prefecture to arrest the treacherous Wei Zhongxian, but unexpectedly encountered a rebellion in Hejian Prefecture."

"Wei Zhongxian defied the imperial edict, and Sun Qing, the prefect of Hejian Prefecture, was even more outrageous. He directly led the people of Hejian Prefecture in an uprising. If I hadn't run away quickly, I wouldn't be seeing His Majesty right now."

As he spoke, the father-in-law even feigned tears.

Emperor Chongzhen watched this scene calmly.

Wang Chengen stood aside, trying to signal with his eyes, but his father-in-law was too engrossed in his performance to notice his teacher's gaze.

His Highness and his ministers remained silent.

After crying for a long time, the father-in-law finally realized something was wrong. No matter what, it was impossible for him to remain completely silent.

Slowly raising his head, he saw a pair of indifferent yet puzzled eyes.

The moment the eunuch met Chongzhen's gaze, he hurriedly lowered his head, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, Hejian Prefecture has become a country within a country."

"Oh?" Emperor Chongzhen finally spoke.

His voice was chillingly cold: "You mean to say that Sun Qing has rebelled in order to protect Wei Zhongxian and save his life?"

"Now the people of Hejian Prefecture no longer belong to me, but to that Sun Qing?"

Chongzhen's tone was calm, but overly cold.

The father-in-law didn't dare to look up, and just kept nodding, "Yes, that Sun Qing did it to save Wei Zhongxian's life!"

"So, your failure to bring Wei Zhongxian back wasn't due to dereliction of duty or accepting bribes from Wei Zhongxian. Rather, it was because Sun Qing had already led a rebellion, making it impossible for you to capture Wei Zhongxian?" Chongzhen finished speaking in one breath.

The father-in-law sensed something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

After racking his brains to try and find a way out of the predicament, he slowly replied, "Of course, Sun Qing and his men surrounded us and wouldn't let us take anyone."

"Hmph!" Emperor Chongzhen snorted coldly.

He turned to Wang Chengen and said, "Wang Chengen, this person is your apprentice. You explain."

Wang Chengen's legs went weak with fear. He quickly stepped forward, stared at the man on the ground, and hissed, "You'd better tell the truth!"

"Master, but... but in fact, that's exactly how it is!"

"You scoundrels!" Wang Chengen exclaimed in exasperation, "You're pushing everything onto Sun Qing! If Sun Qing was planning a rebellion, how did you all manage to return unscathed?"

"He let us go?"

The moment his father-in-law spoke, Wang Chengen was furious. He stepped forward and kicked the man to the ground.

His face flushed and paled in turns, and he hissed angrily in a low voice, "How dare you deceive the Emperor!"

"Just now, His Majesty and the ministers discussed this matter. Sun Qing's memorial arrived in the capital last night."

"The details of your trip to Hejian Prefecture have already been written down. You dared to accept bribes from Wei Zhongxian, shift all the blame onto Sun Qing, and even take Wei Zhongxian away with you."

"Fortunately, Sun Qing's power intervened, and Wei Zhongxian was barely brought to justice. As for you, Sun Qing also said that you are His Majesty's men, and he dared not make decisions on his own. He could only report the matter to His Majesty."

At this point, Wang Chengen was trembling with anger.

He roared, "They have the entire population of Hejian Prefecture as witnesses, what else do you have to say?"

The father-in-law was completely dumbfounded, standing there in a daze, unable to react at all.

Emperor Chongzhen snorted coldly, his voice full of indifference: "What a fine eunuch who delivers imperial edicts! I never thought he would dare to deceive me."

"This servant dares not!" The eunuch knelt down and kowtowed.

A member of the Imperial Guard had already stepped forward with his sword, knelt on the ground, and presented a stack of silver notes with both hands: "Your Majesty, these were taken from his carriage."

"Exactly 100,000 taels of silver!"

Emperor Chongzhen's face instantly turned extremely ugly, and his eyes became even colder and more terrifying.

The voice, like that of a suppressed wild beast, let out a low growl: "Very good, very good!"

"I can't even raise enough 100,000 taels of silver to pay the border generals. And you, you get this much money just by delivering an imperial edict."

"It seems I have quite a few gluttons around me!"

It would be truly foolish if this person couldn't even process what was happening at this moment.

"Your Majesty, I'm innocent! I'm innocent! This servant is innocent..."

However, Chongzhen did not want to hear a single word he said.

What he wanted was a result. The men he personally sent failed to capture Wei Zhongxian, but Sun Qing solved this big problem for him.

Whether Wei Zhongxian's body returned to Beijing or not was no longer important; what mattered was that Wei Zhongxian was dead, and the eunuch faction had completely collapsed.

The person kneeling on the ground kowtowed and begged.

Emperor Chongzhen merely stared at him coldly, then issued the order: "Drag him away and hang his body on the city wall, so that everyone knows the consequences of daring to betray me!"