The gods descend into reality

After all, the pens of these civil officials are more ruthless than murderers!

Of course, the military officers present were also deeply distressed about the battles on the front lines.

Which military general hasn't dreamed of saving a collapsing empire and achieving lasting fame?

But what about the result?

Reality and imagination are always somewhat different.

Leaving aside the fact that the enemy's tactics seem to always anticipate their moves and foresee the military defenses they have set up, let's just talk about the ordinary ones.

Due to a shortage of military pay, soldiers sometimes even had to eat bran to keep themselves from going hungry.

Warfare is all about physical strength.

To put it bluntly, if you were to fight between meat-eaters and vegetarians, the meat-eaters would definitely win.

why?

People who eat meat are stronger and more robust!

Eating bran every day will give you no fighting power whatsoever.

When some soldiers went to the homes of villagers to find food, the villagers would first ask them if they were from the Ming or Shun dynasty.

The soldiers dared not say they were from the Ming Dynasty, but only from the Shun Dynasty.

Only in this way will the people give us food.

Although we despise Li Zicheng, at this moment the Great Shun army truly has the support of the people!

He returned this time actually to ask the imperial court for military pay.

If there is no more military pay, then the hundreds of thousands of troops at the front will probably scatter before they even encounter the enemy.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

The next moment, the voice of the eunuch Wang Zhixin came, and the ministers present immediately straightened their clothes and put on a serious expression.

Although many things can be done in a lip service, at least on the surface one must still show respect to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, this old minister wishes to impeach Zu Dashou and other military officers for dereliction of duty. With the war at the front in dire straits, they have dared to openly return to the court. I humbly request Your Majesty to punish them!"

Wei Zaode spoke with great passion, his face displaying an expression of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

Chongzhen turned to look at the group of military generals led by Zu Dashou.

Zu Dashou felt a sudden pang of panic.

I don't know why, but I always felt that Emperor Chongzhen was very majestic today, as if I would die without a burial place if I said the wrong thing.

"Your Majesty, we are in dire need of our attention. The war at the front is critical, but our soldiers are starving and some of their clothing is made of willow catkins. If this continues, we fear we will be defeated before the war even begins. We implore Your Majesty to allocate funds for grain!"

Zu Dashou loudly defended himself.

"Ha, you."

"okay!"

Chongzhen's words silenced Wei Zaode, who was about to continue his mockery, and he looked at Chongzhen with an upright and incorruptible expression.

What is most important for a scholar?

The most important thing is integrity. Even if you do some underhanded things behind the scenes, you should at least put on a show on the surface.

"I have summoned you all here today to discuss matters concerning provisions and pay."

At this point, Chongzhen looked at the ministers below.

The ministers below all looked down, seemingly wishing they could disappear into a crack in the wall.

Although no one knows what Chongzhen is planning to do, rumors have been circulating for some time now.

but

The richest person in the world is probably His Majesty the Emperor, but at this moment the Emperor still wants to ask us for money?

I have no money, but you can take my life!

"Lord Zhang?"

Emperor Chongzhen looked at an old man who was constantly moving backward and asked him a question.

"Ahem, Your Majesty, the old minister sold his family property the other day and obtained thirty taels of silver. Now that the war at the front is critical, I will donate all of my family property to Your Majesty."

The official surnamed Zhang stepped forward and said with a bitter face.

As he moved around, the numerous patches on his official robes were quite conspicuous.

"Oh, Lord Zhang is indeed loyal to the emperor and loves his country. Haven't you changed your clothes in a while?"

Emperor Chongzhen said with a smile.

Before, I might have been fooled by this guy, but after reading that history of the Ming Dynasty, I would be a complete idiot to believe him now.

"Ahem, clothes are fine as long as they keep me warm. If they can save a penny to contribute to the Ming Dynasty, then I'd be happy to go without clothes!"

The official spoke with righteous indignation.

The surrounding officials rolled their eyes.

This old guy is really

That's absolutely shameless!

Damn it, he bought an old house a few days ago, then sold it with a long face, and now he's pretending to be poor again.

Is there anyone in the world more shameless than this old man?

However, it must be said that this old guy's method must be very effective.

Wait a minute, should we follow suit?

Some officials are already considering the feasibility of this.

"Very well, I grant your permission. Lord Zhang, please take off your clothes."

Emperor Chongzhen looked at the official surnamed Zhang and said with a cold smile.

"what?"

Not only the official surnamed Zhang, but all the other officials seemed to have misheard, looking at Chongzhen with blank expressions.

The next moment, the official surnamed Zhang's face turned bright red.

"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated! How can Your Majesty insult this old minister like this? If you do not give me an explanation, I will kill myself right here in the Golden Palace today!"

The old man pointed at the dragon pillars in the Golden Palace and shouted...

"Alright, I grant your permission. Go ahead and crash."

Official surnamed Zhang

Chapter 680 Where is Qian Qianyi? I need to speak with him.

Holy crap, that's pretty awesome!

At this moment, everyone present looked at Chongzhen as if he were a monster!

What's most important these days?

Money, of course... cough cough, reputation is the most important thing!

Therefore, no matter the circumstances, if an official threatens to kill himself by crashing his head into the Golden Palace, it will be considered a serious offense.

Emperors are generally willing to compromise.

After all, even if there is only a one in ten million chance, we cannot allow these ministers to die in the Golden Palace.

If this gets out in the future, what will the common people think?

What immense grievances must one have suffered to express their discontent through such a violent death?

What a tyrant! An absolutely tyrant!

Yes, that trashy and incompetent ruler deserves to be infamous for eternity!

Anyway, how the future develops is up to us, the ones who hold the pen, to write it down.

These repeated compromises might just add a chapter to history.

On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, xxx remonstrated with his life in the Golden Palace, and His Majesty repented, blah blah blah~

It's really great!

But now, they're actually going head-to-head?

Holy crap, this is suddenly kind of interesting!

At this moment, the officials watched the unfolding events with an air of indifference.

"Your Majesty, this old minister is actually not that—"

"Don't worry, if you die, I will definitely record your achievements in the history books, and I will also fulfill your last wishes. All your property will be donated to the national treasury to lay the foundation for the campaign against the traitors!"

Chongzhen said earnestly.

Lord Zhang...

Is it really that ruthless?

Even after I die, they still want to confiscate my property?

"Your Majesty, actually I do have some savings of my own."

At that moment, the old man surnamed Zhang chickened out.

At this point, what's the point of talking nonsense? Saving your life is the most important thing.

Can't you see the people around me? They're all just waiting for me to have my house raided so they can make a quick buck.

I'm totally losing it!

"If Lord Zhang can raise fifty thousand taels, then let's drop this matter."

Emperor Chongzhen spoke slowly.

"Yes."