Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

Under Zhu Jian's scheme, the Ming Dynasty's already flattened electrocardiogram began to show faint beats.

However, the reform plan to reduce or exempt the anti-suppression tax, regular taxes, and Liaodong tax has been delayed in being finalized.

This was due to fierce opposition from officials at all levels and those in the imperial court.

Especially the opposition led by the Ministry of War.

According to Yang Sichang, the Minister of War, there is still a shortage of military funds, and the military strategy of "four main points and six corners, and ambushes from all sides" has not yet been approved by the emperor.

Although Zhang Xianzhong in Huguang and Li Zicheng in Shaanxi have not made any major moves for the time being, Yang Sichang still sees them as dangerous, so he strongly opposes exempting them from military expenses and reforming taxes.

He feared that wars would break out on a large scale in various places, and that the imperial court would be short of silver and unable to wage war, making him, as the Minister of War, the biggest victim.

The ongoing struggle continued until June. In other words, these matters had not been resolved after three months.

During these three months, Prosecutor Zhu did not intervene to mediate, but instead let them fight it out on their own.

Today, however, Zhu Jian summoned cabinet members and ministers of the six ministries to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to discuss this matter.

As soon as these people arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, they started arguing and fighting amongst themselves, with no one willing to submit to anyone else.

Sun Chengzong and Huang Daozhou of the Donglin Party, Zhang Zhifa, the Grand Secretary of the Qi Party, Xue Guoguan, a cabinet member of the Wen Party, Yang Sichang, the Minister of War (a loyalist), and Cheng Guoxiang, the Minister of Revenue (a member of the Qingliu faction), impeached each other.

Zhu Jian sat upright on the dragon throne, his hand on his forehead, listening to the court proceedings that sounded like a marketplace.

Suddenly, Zhu Jian grabbed a teacup from the side and threw it into the main hall.

With a loud "snap," it exploded amidst the noisy courtiers.

Everyone was startled by the sound and fell silent instantly.

Then, Prosecutor Zhu abruptly stood up and shouted angrily, "Enough!"

"They've been arguing about this for three months and it's still not over?"

"Since you can't make a decision, let me decide!"

"Effective immediately, the plan formulated by Cabinet member Sun Chengzong will be fully implemented! The Cabinet will draft the proposal and send it to the Directorate of Ceremonial for approval!"

Sun Chengzong formulated the final version of the plan by clarifying his thoughts based on Zhu Jian's suggestion, and took the greatest care in all aspects.

But there are always some people who want to maximize their own interests, which is why Prosecutor Zhu was furious today.

"Your Majesty, military affairs in various regions are of utmost importance. Do not heed the words of these treacherous officials!" Yang Sichang spoke first, relying on his status as Zhu Jian's favorite minister to object.

Before Yang Sichang could finish speaking, Cheng Guoxiang, the Minister of Revenue, remonstrated: "Your Majesty, Yang Sichang's words are disastrous for the country and its people. The suppression of rebellions will not be stopped, taxes will not be changed, and local uprisings will only intensify. This is a fundamental solution. Yang Sichang and Xue Guoguan have opposed this several times. What are their true intentions?"

Cheng Guoxiang, who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, was well aware that these two policies were exactly what the people hoped for, so he argued for them relentlessly. As for military pay, he felt that a slight reduction was not a big deal. Cheng Guoxiang believed that no matter how much military pay was distributed, it would not be enough, and it would be better to use it to alleviate the suffering of the rioting people!

"Your Majesty, I believe it would be better to start with a pilot program in one province before expanding it further!" Grand Secretary Zhang Zhifa tried to smooth things over, neither taking sides nor offending anyone. As the Grand Secretary, he had to sign the draft bills prepared by the cabinet, and if he sided with one side and something went wrong, he didn't want to take responsibility.

The remaining people did not offer any further opinions, because the statements of these three people represented the general direction of the matter, and there was no need to continue to agree. The rest was up to the Emperor to decide.

Zhu Jian's gaze swept over the assembled officials, finally settling on Cheng Guoxiang: "Cheng Guoxiang, how much silver does the Ministry of Revenue have left? Is it enough to pay the military salaries?"

"150,000 taels! According to the reform plan, the military pay shortage this year is estimated at 10 million taels!" Cheng Guoxiang answered truthfully. In his opinion, of these 10 million taels, only 2 million taels could actually be used for military pay, and the rest went into the pockets of officers at all levels.

Zhu Jian pointed at Cheng Guoxiang and yelled, "What kind of Minister of Revenue are you? There are only 150,000 taels of silver in the national treasury? Get out of here and go to Nanjing right now and raise 10 million taels of silver!"

Zhu Jian knew perfectly well that this matter had nothing to do with Cheng Guoxiang, the Minister of Revenue; it was purely a systemic problem. However, since Cheng Guoxiang was in the capital, all financial matters had to go through the Ministry of Revenue. Therefore, Zhu Jian wanted to remove him and sideline all the other personnel in the Ministry of Revenue.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider. Lord Cheng has been diligent and conscientious, and not a single penny of the money he handled has been lost. Please grant him leniency!" Sun Chengzong, Huang Daozhou, and others began to plead for Cheng Guoxiang. They felt that the Emperor's words were excessive and that they could plead for leniency. Besides, Cheng Guoxiang had done a good job.

"Your Majesty, Sun Chengzong, Huang Daozhou, and Cheng Guoxiang are in cahoots. Please punish them severely!" Yang Sichang saw that the three had joined forces and immediately began to impeach them for forming a faction. He felt that this was the most sensitive charge for the emperor, so he believed that the three should be dismissed from their posts even if they did not die today.

Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian, would certainly have approved Yang Sichang's impeachment when faced with factionalism, since he feared factional strife the most.

But Prosecutor Zhu is different; he doesn't recognize these things...

After listening, Zhu Jian shifted his gaze, finally settling on Yang Sichang: "You only mentioned Cheng Guoxiang earlier, not you, right?"

"After Xiong Wencan persuaded Zhang Xianzhong to surrender in Huguang, why is there still this Luo Rucai running around everywhere? How did you become the Minister of War?"

"Get to Xiangyang immediately and work with Xiong Wencan to calm the situation!"

Yang Sichang, the Minister of War, was blocking Zhu Jian's path to directly mobilize troops, so Zhu Jian had to kick Yang Sichang out of the capital and then sideline the Ministry of War.

With the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue gone, the cabinet system was only half-finished, so this marked the beginning of Zhu Jian's consolidation of power.

"Your Majesty, I..." Grand Secretary Zhang Zhifa was about to speak when he saw Zhu Jian's sharp and profound gaze fixed on him, causing him to shiver involuntarily. He quickly changed his words, saying, "I will immediately draft a proposal according to Grand Secretary Sun's plan and submit it to the Directorate of Ceremonial!"

Zhang Zhifa felt that the emperor had effectively removed the Ministers of Revenue and War from the center of power. If he continued to oppose them, he would be next. So he compromised, since the matter didn't actually concern him much...

After Zhang Zhi finished speaking, Prosecutor Zhu glanced at everyone and said coldly, "This matter is settled!"

The matter, which had been raging for three months without any resolution, finally ended with the departure of Yang Sichang, Minister of War, and Cheng Guoxiang, Minister of Revenue, from the center of power in the capital.

The reason why Xue Guoguan and others are no longer of any significance is that this matter cannot be changed. Whoever tries to stop them can leave; otherwise, they have no effect.

Sun Chengzong, Huang Daozhou, and others have already achieved their goals, so putting this matter into practice is the most important thing right now.

If this drags on any longer, there might be some unforeseen changes. In two months, the autumn tax will begin, so they need to issue this edict and policy to various places before the autumn tax is paid in order to alleviate the pressure on the people.