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

After Wang Dehua left, Zhu Jian was about to sit down when a sharp, thin voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, the Empress requests Your Majesty's presence at Kunning Palace."

"I understand!"

After saying this, Zhu Jian turned around, put on his cloak, and walked towards Kunning Palace.

As soon as Zhu Jian arrived outside Kunning Palace, he heard the sound of weeping coming from inside the palace.

"Daughter, your father is doomed now. After I die, please take good care of my two elder brothers and my little nephew..." Zhou Kui cried and choked with sobs, a sight that would bring tears to the eyes of anyone who heard it.

Empress Zhou also choked up.

Empress Zhang Yan, standing to the side, comforted Empress Zhou, saying, "Sister, whether she lives or dies is up to the Emperor to decide!"

Just then, Zhu Jian walked in: "Your Majesty is absolutely right, my decision on life and death rests entirely with me!"

"emperor!"

When Empress Zhou and Zhou Kui saw Zhu Jian arrive, they rushed to him and knelt down.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Empress Zhang Yan, standing to the side, gave a slight bow.

Zhu Jian's gaze swept over the crowd, landing on the Grand Tutor Zhou Kui: "Rise, all of you! Just because someone kneels at Chengtian Gate doesn't mean I have to obey your orders!"

Although this was initiated by Prosecutor Zhu, it does not mean that he adheres to the principle of "pure conduct".

Prosecutor Zhu then stepped forward and sat down beside the desk: "These upright officials are now forcing the emperor to resign; can't you see that?"

Upon hearing this, Empress Zhou and Zhou Kui looked at Zhu Jian with sobs.

Empress Zhou: "Your Majesty, please spare my father's life for Lang'er's sake!"

Empress Zhou only wants her father to live now; she doesn't care about court politics, and she can't control those things anymore.

Empress Zhang Yan stepped forward to help Empress Zhou up, saying, "Sister, please get up. The Emperor is right; this matter is forcing him to issue an edict to punish the Emperor's father-in-law!"

Zhu Jian glanced at Zhang Yan, the imperial sister-in-law who was hailed as one of the most beautiful empresses in history, out of the corner of his eye, and nodded slightly.

He thought to himself: This woman is not only beautiful, but also very shrewd. Someone who can confront Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke is no pushover!

"Is the Empress Dowager here to plead for the Emperor's father-in-law?" Zhu Jian asked casually.

"I'm here to comfort my sister, after all, this is a family matter!" Empress Zhang Yan of Yi'an said, glancing at Empress Zhou as she stated her purpose.

"My sister-in-law came to comfort me after hearing about this!" Empress Zhou chimed in from the side.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, my sister-in-law!" Although Zhu Jian said this, he didn't really mean it. No matter who it was, if they dared to participate in the political struggle between the nobles and the Qingliu faction, he could only suppress them.

The problem is that these upright people have no money, so even if you kill them, you won't get much silver.

But Xun Gui is different. Zhu Jian is currently constrained by the need to maintain the stability of imperial power and cannot personally deal with Xun Gui. He can only rely on the power of the Qingliu faction to strike at Xun Gui and first take out silver to stabilize the army.

"Before this, I received these impeachment memorials and had the Eastern Depot investigate them to see if anyone was falsely accusing the Emperor's father-in-law..." Zhu Jian deliberately drew out his voice at this point.

After a while, he sighed softly, "The Eastern Depot says that all these reports are true."

"Your Majesty, although I am greedy, I have no disloyal intentions!" Zhou Kui knelt on the ground and crawled to Zhu Jian's side.

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Yan and Empress Zhou had barely uttered two words when Zhu Jian interrupted them, "Tell me, how much silver have you amassed over the years!"

Zhou Kui glanced back at Empress Zhou, then turned back, gritting his teeth, and said haltingly, "Forty...forty thousand taels..."

"It should be 400,000 taels, right?" Zhu Jian said casually.

Upon hearing this, Empress Zhou's expression changed drastically, and her tone became somewhat sharp: "Didn't you tell me you only had a little over 30,000 taels of silver and some land?"

Zhou Kui remained silent upon hearing this, but knelt to the side and kept kowtowing.

"Oppressing the people and plundering by trickery and force, what a fine father-in-law of mine!"

After saying this, Zhu Jian sighed deeply and said with great embarrassment, "Even so, I will not kill you! After all, you are the Empress's father and the Crown Prince's maternal grandfather!"

Then, changing the subject, he said, "But I have no choice but to confiscate your property and imprison you in the imperial prison to quell public resentment!"

"I... thank you, Your Majesty!"

"The Northern Garrison is now under the control of Li Ruolian, and they are all his people. You don't need to worry about your safety. Once you go in, don't say anything. After a while, when things have calmed down, I will find a pretext to release your family!" Zhu Jian said helplessly.

Zhu Jian gave Zhou Kui a glimmer of hope, telling him to stay peacefully in the Beizhenfu Division to avoid causing unnecessary trouble and panic within the Xun Gui Group.

"Your Majesty, I thank you!" Empress Zhou quickly bowed and knelt down to express her gratitude.

In Empress Zhou's eyes, it was good enough that her family survived. As for the wealth she had amassed, it was understandable that her family's property was confiscated, since the officials were kneeling in front of Chengtian Gate and needed to be appeased.

Zhu Jian slowly rose and looked at Empress Zhang Yan, saying, "After my brother passed away, he instructed me to take good care of my sister-in-law. I never expected that there would be so many things that would trouble her!"

"I have failed my elder brother!"

Having said that, he shouted sternly at the group of palace maids and eunuchs outside the door, "If any of you cause your sister-in-law any more trouble, go to the Imperial Mausoleum and apologize to your brother!"

Then, without looking back, he quickly walked out of Kunning Palace and headed towards Wuying Hall.

Zhang Yan stared blankly at Zhu Jian's departing figure for a moment. She realized that Zhu Jian was annoyed that she was meddling in other people's business... She then stepped forward, bent down, and helped Empress Zhou up again.

Empress Zhou, who had been helped to her feet, gazed at Zhang Yan and choked out, "The Emperor has changed..."

Empress Zhou also sensed the change in Zhu Jian; he no longer had the same warmth he once had. If it were before, she certainly wouldn't have compromised with the officials kneeling before Chengtian Gate...

Zhu Jiangang arrived at Wuying Hall and saw Yang Sichang waiting there.

Upon seeing Zhu Jian return, Yang Sichang hurriedly stepped forward: "Your Majesty, those upright officials in front of Chengtian Gate have gone too far in their behavior. I must impeach them!"

Seeing the Qingliu faction forcing him to abdicate, Yang Sichang felt that his opportunity had come. This group of Donglin Party members had been impeaching him all along, and now they dared to force him to abdicate. So he prepared to take this opportunity to completely crush the Donglin Party.

"Sichang, the Ministry of War has four treasuries, but there is no unified central treasury. Don't you have anything to say to me?" Zhu Jian had no intention of acting as a judge for these factional disputes. Instead, he questioned Yang Sichang about why there were four treasuries.

At this time, the Ministry of War in the capital had income from various sources, including horse transport silver, post station silver, servant silver, and post station silver. Moreover, these sources were not subordinate to each other within the Ministry of War, which was one of the main reasons for the chaotic management and fragmented finances.

In addition, the Ministry of Revenue had its own treasury, and the Ministry of Works also had its own treasury. The misappropriation and shirking of responsibility between the various ministries were also one of the reasons for the chaos in military pay.

Yang Sichang was taken aback upon hearing this, and quickly explained, "It has been like this since the Wanli era; I am merely following the old system!"

Yang Sichang was right. The chaos in the Ministry of War was not caused by him. It started as early as the Chenghua era. However, after Zhang Juzheng's reforms, it improved significantly in the early Wanli era. But in the later Wanli era, it became chaotic again. Later, the Ministry of War was in the hands of Wei Zhongxian, and it became even more chaotic.

"It's the eleventh year of Chongzhen's reign, not the Wanli era!" Zhu Jian said, somewhat annoyed.

Seeing that Zhu Jian was angry, Yang Sichang hurriedly said, "I will immediately return to the Ministry of War to reorganize the treasury and establish unified management!"

Seeing that Yang Sichang didn't understand, Prosecutor Zhu reminded him, "It's not about setting up unified management, it's about abolishing four and having you set up a new one! You'll take the lead in managing it yourself!"

Zhu Jian didn't expect Yang Sichang to be able to reorganize the four treasuries under the Ministry of War, which were not under each other's jurisdiction. He just wanted to give him some trouble to keep him from running around.

Yang Sichang was a blind follower of Zhu Jian. Whatever Zhu Jian said, Yang Sichang would do it. He was a very good man, regardless of his ability, and he was very loyal to him.

Therefore, Prosecutor Zhu will still use such people, but he will not let them take the lead as before.

"Don't get involved in the affairs of the Imperial Father-in-law and the Qingliu faction. Pretend you know nothing about them. Go back and reorganize the Ministry of War!" After Zhu Jian sat down, he waved his hand, telling Yang Sichang to go back and reorganize.

"I obey your decree!"

........

Moon stars are rare.

Under the cover of the black night sky, the firelight in front of Chengtian Gate shone exceptionally brightly.

Huang Daozhou, Feng Yuanbiao, and other upright officials, who had been kneeling in front of the gate for a day, remained unmoved.

Just then, Chengtian Gate suddenly opened wide.

A large number of Imperial Guards and secret police from the Eastern Depot rushed toward the Imperial Father-in-law's residence in the capital from both sides of the kneeling crowd.

Wang Dehua slowly approached the group of upright officials, holding up the imperial edict: "The Emperor's father-in-law, Zhou Kui, has been found guilty of embezzlement, bribery, and extortion. The facts are clear. He is hereby ordered to be investigated and prosecuted by the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

When everyone heard that the emperor had issued an edict to investigate the family of the emperor's father-in-law, they quickly echoed the wise and enlightened emperor, saying that he was willing to put righteousness above family ties for the sake of the people.

They then helped each other to their feet.

In their minds, they had clearly won this round completely...

On the other side of the imperial city, Wang Chengen and several trusted eunuchs, carrying lanterns, escorted Zhu Jian toward Wei Zhongxian's former residence.

Before long, Wang Chengen pushed open the courtyard gate, and Zhu Jian slowly entered the courtyard, followed closely by a group of eunuchs who filed in and stood on either side of him in the courtyard.

Upon seeing Zhu Jian arrive, Hong Chengchou hurriedly stepped forward: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Jian stepped forward to help Hong Chengchou up and showed him great respect.

"Chengchou, please rise and enter the hall!"

The two then entered the room one after the other and sat down.

Zhu Jian asked, "Does Chengchou have a plan?"

"I believe we should transfer the main forces from Shaanxi, Xuanda, and Liaodong to Beizhili to defend against the Later Jin invasion!" Hong Chengchou said, then looked troubled: "If the Qing army enters from other places, we may lose the initiative!"

Zhu Jian: "The chances of them entering the pass from Shanxi are slim. We can mobilize the Xuanda border troops as a last resort! Let's bring back the main force from Shaanxi first!"

Hong Chengchou nodded slightly: "I believe that we should raise military funds now, and issue an edict to allow the main forces in Shaanxi, Xuanda, and Liaodong to rest and recuperate, and then begin mobilization in June!" Hong Chengchou said, expressing his opinion.

After a moment, seeing that Zhu Jian showed no intention of responding, he continued, "The Qing army's entry into the Central Plains was for plunder. September is the harvest season in the Central Plains, and also the time when the steppe armies are at their strongest. I believe that mobilizing the troops in June would be most appropriate!"

"However, raising military funds is the most important thing right now. Although the funds collected last year for suppressing the rebellion have already been distributed, we still need to pay the troops when we mobilize them in June to boost morale and improve combat effectiveness!"

Hong Chengchou was very worried that insufficient military pay would lead to low morale.

If the amount of money is less than that when facing peasant armies, it will be fine, but when dealing with Qing troops, the full amount must be distributed in order to have any fighting power.

"How much food and supplies do you estimate we need?" Inspector Zhu asked.

"Equivalent to one million taels of silver!"

Zhu Jian firmly replied, "I will make all the necessary preparations!"

Zhu Jian did not suspect anything, nor did he bargain or ask for specific details; he simply agreed.

Hong Chengchou was taken aback upon hearing this. He hadn't expected the emperor to agree so readily today. He continued, "Tomorrow, I plan to inspect the strategic locations along the Grand Canal through Miyun, Huairou, Shunyi, Tongzhou, and Xianghe!"

Hong Chengchou had been working with Sun Chuanting in Shaanxi to suppress Li Zicheng, and he was not very clear about the specific cities and deployment conditions in Zhili and other places. Therefore, he planned to take advantage of the limited time he had to investigate various places.

He estimated that this war was likely to be the one with the strongest imperial support in recent years, so he had to proceed with extreme caution.

Zhu Jian nodded secretly: "Investigate discreetly, and report back to me immediately if anything is found!"

"As you command!"

........

Meanwhile, the imperial palace in Shenyang, Liaodong, was brightly lit.

In a side hall, Dorgon, Yuetuo, Abatai, Haoge and other generals gathered around Huang Taiji.

He stared intently at the letter in Huang Taiji's hand.

This letter was drafted by Yang Sichang and personally delivered to Shenyang by Chen Xinjia as a letter of peace talks.

The side hall was completely silent, and the flickering candlelight cast long shadows of everyone present.

Huang Taiji frowned as he looked at the peace negotiation letter.

This was the third time he had examined it closely.

"Father, I believe that the Ming emperor's peace talks with us are a pretense, and that his real intention is to buy time to eliminate the peasant army in Shaanxi!" Hauge expressed his opinion.

Huang Taiji remained silent after hearing this, shifting his gaze from Hauge to Dorgon.

In his later years, Nurhaci divided the two Yellow Banners among his brothers Dorgon and Dodo, intending to pass the throne to them. However, after Huang Taiji ascended the throne, he forcibly swapped the two Yellow Banners with his own two White Banners (he himself took control of the Plain Yellow and Bordered Yellow Banners), and Dorgon and Dodo took control of the two White Banners.

Furthermore, the fact that Huang Taiji, together with the three great beile (Daišan, Amin, and Mangultai), forced Abahai (Dorgon's mother) to commit suicide was the core starting point of the conflict between Dorgon and Huang Taiji.

Therefore, Huang Taiji both suppressed and won over Dorgon.

Dorgon noticed Huang Taiji's gaze on him and said, "Your Majesty and I share the same thoughts!"

He then stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I beseech you to disregard the Ming emperor's words of peace talks!"

Dorgon was eager to launch the expedition; in fact, it could be said that this expedition was his long-planned "comeback battle." For Dorgon at this time, leading his army into the pass was not a burden, but a core opportunity to get rid of Huang Taiji's suppression and accumulate political capital. Therefore, he was naturally unwilling to give up this long-planned military action.

After hearing this, Huang Taiji turned his gaze to Yuetuo and Abatai, also wanting to seek their opinions.

"Your Majesty's decree is obeyed!" Yue Tuo and Abatai said in unison.

The two of them played both sides, presenting themselves as if Huang Taiji were the core, thus avoiding offending Dorgon and Haoge while also revealing their true feelings to Huang Taiji.

"You may all leave now. I will consider it further!" Huang Taiji waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave.

Huang Taiji is currently at a critical juncture in institutional reform, perfecting the bureaucratic system such as the Six Ministries and the Court of Colonial Affairs, winning over Han officials, and implementing policies such as "registering households as commoners" and "selecting officials through the imperial examination" in order to break the monopoly of power held by the Eight Banners nobles. Therefore, he can only entrust the matter of looting to a group of generals instead of personally taking charge.

Before this letter arrived, he also advocated entering the Central Plains, and after arriving, he held the same view.

But he hasn't decided yet who should take the lead in this matter.

Furthermore, he astutely noticed that the Ming emperor was somewhat different from his previous impressions, as he was actually able to take the initiative to send people to negotiate peace.

You should know that this peace negotiation was strongly opposed by a group of ministers in the Ming Dynasty. The young emperor actually sent people here. What is he trying to do?