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

"What kind of decorum is it for soldiers to enter the palace?" A censor from the Censorate asked, looking at the lined-up soldiers.

"I will go and inquire!" said Zhang Jinyan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and then walked towards the soldiers who were deployed.

Zhang Jinyan was the last Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty. In 1644, he opened the city gates and surrendered to Li Zicheng. After Li Zicheng's defeat, he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, becoming a traitor to three masters. Finally, he was exiled to Ningguta by the Qing Dynasty on charges of literary inquisition...

Zhang Jinyan approached the soldiers and demanded sternly, "Where is your general? Why have you entered the palace?"

"Retreat!" the soldier said coldly.

Zhang Jinyan was taken aback upon hearing this, then angrily retorted, "Insolence! I am the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, how dare I be so rude?"

A soldier kicked Zhang Jinyan, sending him sprawling, then drew his sword and held it to Zhang Jinyan's neck: "Those who do not retreat! Die!"

"Wait! Wait!" Wu Changshi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, stepped forward repeatedly, saying, "Lord Zhang is unaware of this matter, General, please don't be offended! Please don't be offended!"

He slowly brushed the soldier's knife away, helped Zhang Jinyan up, and slowly retreated...

As he walked, he muttered to himself, "Why is Lord Zhang bothering with all these military and political ministers, cabinet members, heads of the six ministries, and censors who dare to speak out?"

"A bunch of cowards!" Zhang Jinyan muttered under his breath.

Zhang Jinyan truly hadn't expected that this soldier would dare to draw his sword directly at him, a third-rank official and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Judging from the stance, if he didn't yield, he might really be killed...

Just as Wu Changshi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was about to say something, he heard the sound of a whip cracking from the high platform, followed by the announcement: "Attend court first!"

"I will definitely impeach them when I go to court!"

Before Zhang Jinyan had finished speaking, the assembled officials and nobles began to enter the hall, instinctively lining up to walk towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony, completely disregarding the usual etiquette and regulations...

Some officials entered the hall, while others stood outside...

The civil and military officials who entered the hall looked around and noticed the changes. The Han generals and Jinyiwei who used to maintain security and etiquette had all been replaced by soldiers. Except for the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial who was standing on the dragon platform, everyone else was different from usual.

Some astute ministers sensed a tense atmosphere pervading the air, and no one dared to utter a sound...

The master of ceremonies would loudly proclaim, "Hooray!"

The courtiers shouted, "Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

The three shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" had barely ended when Zhang Jinyan jumped out: "Your Majesty! I impeach the soldiers outside the palace! They beat us! They have no manners whatsoever!"

Before he finished speaking, all the ministers turned their gazes to Zhang Jinyan, who had stepped forward.

"I understand! Is there anything else?" Zhu Jian said softly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jinyan's heart skipped a beat. He then bowed deeply and said, "I have nothing else to say!" He then returned to the ranks.

Zhang Jinyan was merely stepping forward; he wasn't stupid. Now that the emperor had offered him a way out, it seemed the emperor wouldn't care even if he had been beheaded earlier...

"I have something to report!" said Wang Bingchen, an imperial censor of the Censorate, stepping forward.

Zhu Jian's gaze fell on the censor, he sized him up, and nodded slightly: "Granted!"

"Your Majesty, I have heard that since the Song Dynasty, when the emperor and his ministers governed together, the empire was at peace! Now Your Majesty treats your officials as household slaves, the national treasury as your private property, and the army as your personal troops, which is a disgrace to the rites and laws of the ancient sages! I implore Your Majesty to take the systems of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong as your standard! To govern the country by regulating one's family!"

These words shocked everyone present. This person was fearless and had a tough nut to crack.

"Drag him out and beat him to death!"

"As you command!"

Without any hesitation, the newly appointed Director of the Eastern Depot, Wu Daozheng, waved his hand and led two eunuchs from the Eastern Depot forward to drag away Censor Wang Bingchen.

"Wait a minute!"

"Since the time of Emperor Taizu, censors have had the duty to offer advice and remonstrance! Your Majesty, I beg you to show mercy!" Wang Daozhi, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, knelt on the ground.

Four more imperial censors stepped forward from behind, echoing, "We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Daozheng only slowed down his pace but did not stop, because the emperor had not spoken, and the censor Wang Bingchen, who was being dragged along, did not beg for mercy, clearly intending to resist to the end!

"Drag him away and give him twenty strokes of the cane!"

As soon as Zhu Jian finished speaking, more than ten eunuchs from the Eastern Depot emerged from both sides of the Dragon Platform, carrying five censors out of the hall.

Standing in the front row, military and political ministers Sun Chengzong, Sun Chuanting, and Li Banghua, along with Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan and cabinet member Cheng Guoxiang, slowly closed their eyes after hearing this…

To point fingers and curse at the emperor right at the start of the grand court assembly—isn't that courting death? In their view, a few years ago, the emperor might have swallowed his anger out of consideration for his reputation!

The Ming Dynasty inherited the traditions of the Song Dynasty, generally refraining from executing scholar-officials for their words. This provided a degree of personal safety for officials who dared to speak frankly, but this rule is now rapidly disappearing...

After the five men were taken away, there was no further sound in the court.

After a moment, Zhu Jian slowly spoke: "From this day forward, any censor or official who reports rumors without concrete evidence will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane!"

"Your Majesty, I have something to report! The practice of officials reporting on hearsay is the foundation of the Ming Dynasty and cannot be altered by ancestral rules!" said Feng Ying, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, one of the three judicial offices of the Ming Dynasty, held a third-rank official position, which was considered important. However, most of the legal functions had now been taken over by Zhu Jianyong from the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot...

Feng Ying is a fairly upright man, suitable for the position of Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. However, court politics is not about whether someone is suitable for their job, but rather whether the person in power needs them! Now that Inspector Zhu wants to have absolute authority, he cannot allow any other voices in the court, not even the slightest discordant note!

"I second that proposal!"

"I second that proposal!"

The few remaining censors were fighting for the last vestiges of their power; if this power were abolished, they would lose all their advantage in the court's factional struggles...

Zhu Jian's gaze swept across the court and found that apart from the Censorate, none of the Six Ministries' Supervising Secretaries, who were officials responsible for remonstrance, had come out. It seemed that they were all Wang Dehua's men!

Zhu Jian and Wang Dehua exchanged a glance, and Wang Dehua nodded slightly.

Upon seeing Wang Dehua nod, Li Dongying, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, stepped forward and said, "I, Li Dongying, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, impeach Feng Ying, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, for forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices! He submitted the report based on hearsay and fabricated false accusations!"

"Your humble servant, Chen Zhong, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, seconded this proposal!"

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan, seconded this proposal!"

"Your Majesty, Cabinet Secretary Zhang Zhifa, seconded this!"

Seeing that the cabinet had seconded the motion, others also stood up and said, "We second it!"

"Dismiss Feng Ying, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, from his post as a commoner! Order him to return home! The rest of you shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane!"

Before Zhu Jian finished speaking, several eunuchs from the Eastern Depot quickly stepped forward and dragged the censors out of the main hall.

Upon seeing this, Junior Master Huang Daozhou was about to step forward when he was firmly pulled back by Ni Yuanlu, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. Huang Daozhou looked at the upright Ni Yuanlu with surprise, only to see Ni Yuanlu shake his head firmly. In Ni Yuanlu's eyes, this matter was not simple; it was the prelude to something big, and they couldn't afford to get involved in this mess!

Huang Daozhou moved closer to Ni Yuanlu and whispered, "This?"

"Wait!" Ni Yuanlu said softly.

Just then, Wang Dehua, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who was standing next to Zhu Jian, strode up from the dragon platform to the court officials, knelt down, and slowly unfolded the paper in his hand: "This servant, Wang Dehua, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, impeaches the Duke of Cheng's Mansion! The Duke of Ding's Mansion!"

"And his cronies, the Marquis of Wuding, the Marquis of Yongkang, the Marquis of Zhenyuan, the Marquis of Yangwu! The Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Henan Province! The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner! The Prefect of Henan Prefecture! The Prefect of Nanyang! The Prefect of Runing! The Prefect of Kaifeng! The Prefect of Guide! The Prefect of Zhengding in Beizhili! The Prefect of Daming! The Prefect of Hejian! The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Shandong Province! The Commander-in-Chief! The Prefect of Jinan! The Prefect of Dongchang! The Prefect of Qingzhou! And officials of 173 counties under their jurisdiction, colluded with each other! They disregarded human life! They forcibly seized women! They privately sold disaster relief grain! Thirteen crimes in total!"

"Even worse, his henchmen burned to death Li Wen, the former head eunuch of the Eastern Depot, and seven other eunuchs accompanying him in a warehouse in Tongzhou! They were plotting a rebellion!"

These words shocked the entire court! Everyone stared wide-eyed!