The night is already deep.
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.
The wooden-soled soap boots lightly stepped on the smooth square tiles, making a faint sound.
Cao Huachun, the eunuch who had been accompanying the emperor since he was still King Xin, held the memorial in his hand and slowly walked around the pillars of the palace to approach the figure sitting at the desk.
In the dim light, he put several memorials on the imperial desk, took the round fan from the hand of the young eunuch, stood beside the dragon chair and fanned gently, winked at the young eunuch who was fifteen or sixteen years old, and asked him to go out and shake off the acid. With numb hands, don't disturb the emperor from taking a nap.
In the empty hall, the smooth floor tiles reflected the moonlight outside the hall, and it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Cao Huachun raised his head, and there was a plaque of "Nine Thoughts" hanging high in the hall. The emperor's calligraphy had the shadow of Yan Zhenqing, with rich ink and powerful strokes.
He lowered his head and saw that the imperial cabinet was piled with memoranda submitted by the cabinet and waiting for imperial approval, and they were arranged very neatly.
On the unfolded page, there is a report from Sichuan Governor Zhang Lun, saying that the four cities of Zunhua have been restored, and please stop the summons of Qin Liangyu, the chieftain of Shili Tusi, and his nephew, King Qin Yimingqin.
Cao Huachun sighed silently, he felt sorry for the emperor.
My father is my grandfather's least favorite son. When I was five years old, my mother was ordered to be killed with a stick by my father. The stepmother assigned by my grandfather was the enemy who killed my brother's biological mother.
The two brothers relied on each other in the center of the whirlpool of power in the world, and eventually became emperors one after another.
Thinking of this, Cao Huachun couldn't help but show a smile that seemed to be filled with joy and sorrow.
The world is impermanent. He entered the palace thirty years ago in Wanli. He was only twelve or thirteen years old at that time. He was a child from a poor family. The custom was such that people looked to the emperor to raise relatives to change their fate.
It's just a nice way of saying that "near the king to raise relatives". The eunuchs back then were extremely powerful.
His family wanted him to stand out in the palace, so he was diligent and studious, and was good at poetry, calligraphy and painting. Only then was he appreciated by Wang An, the chief eunuch who was responsible for the ceremony, and was assigned to be the companion of Prince Xin's palace.
King Xin is the same as he was when he was a child, quiet, reserved, humble, studious, kind, even cowardly and fearful, but at the same time he has a lot of energy in his heart.
It's just that Cao Huachun couldn't understand this kind of inferiority for a long time, this kind of power that smelled of poverty from head to toe.
How could it appear in the emperor's son?
Later he realized that they were different.
He has no choice but to fight for the upper reaches. He doesn't want to end his life, so he can only stand out for himself.
His master has been trying his best to prove that the son born by the servant is okay, and that his brother is not wrong about the person.
You can be a good grandson, you can be a good prince, you can be a good king, you can be a good emperor, you can even... fight with yourself to the end.
But the people in the world who could encourage him and praise him are long gone.
Cao Huachun was thinking about this until the chiming bell in the corner of the royal case rang, echoing in the hall.
The bell rang three times, and Zhu Youjian, who was taking a nap at his desk, propped up his forehead with his arms.
After closing his eyes for a moment, the emperor stood up and moved his numb arms. He turned to his companion and smiled tiredly, then walked slowly and stiffly around the imperial desk to regain feeling in his legs.
Cao Huachun advised: "Your Majesty has not returned to the palace to rest for two days. Go back to the palace and have a good sleep."
Zhu Youjian sat back on the dragon chair, yawned and turned a deaf ear to this. He picked up his pen and reviewed the memorial of the governor of Sichuan: He has been transferred for a long time, but he still requested it at this time. He was anxious for the justice of the public, so he ordered the supervisor to respond at his discretion.
After approving, he leaned on the dragon chair and said: "The bureaucracy of the southwest and northwest has not yet been decided, and the silver storage in Taicang is less than a month. I know that it is useless to be impatient, and the country is in turmoil. How can I sleep peacefully?"
Zhu Youjian took another memorial, glanced at it and put it back. He looked at Cao Huachun and said, "You have touched the memorial. This should be the memorial for Liu Kexun, the governor of Shuntian, asking for money and food."
Cao Huachun quickly bowed down and kowtowed: "I don't dare to move. It's just that my grandfather has been too anxious recently. I thought that these new memorials might make my grandfather feel better."
Cao Huachun knew very well that after three years on the throne, the kitten, which was once harmless to humans and animals under the protection of his brother, had been forced to become moody by the situation.
Zhu Youjian's face was angry, and he looked at Cao Huachun with an unkind expression for a long time, then sighed and said, "You get up first, just this once."
When Cao Huachun stood up, Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and said: "Why is it so difficult for the emperor? Since I came to the throne, the country's affairs have gradually declined. It is because of my lack of virtue and talent. I am not enough to let God take back the drought, nor can I reverse Wen Tian's martial arts, let alone Without the wisdom to recognize people, it is difficult to distinguish between loyalty and treachery.”
He raised his finger and scanned the imperial case: "A letter of memorial is placed in front of me, and I don't know which one is true and which one is false; I send each suggestion in front of me, and I don't know which one can be used and which one cannot."
"I haven't finished reading yesterday's, and I've sent today's again. You mean well, but this time, I am the king of the country. Can I hide it by covering the memorial?"
After saying that, Chongzhen took the memorial from the imperial case and put it back. He sighed, and then Cao Huachun discovered that the emperor's eyes were shining brightly against the light, as if there were tears.
"I haven't dreamed about the late emperor's eldest brother for a long time. Zhixunzi, go get the late emperor's rockery."
Cao Huachun bowed his head in agreement and walked quickly to the palace. When Chongzhen was finally the only one left in the Palace of Qianqing, the huge pressure and grievances of successive defeats flooded into his heart, and tears finally flowed from Chongzhen's eyes.
He just remembered that when his eldest brother ascended the throne when he was ten years old, he was still ignorant at that time and saw that everyone was respectful to his brother, so he took Tianqi's hand and asked: Brother, what kind of official is the emperor? Can I be the emperor?
My brother was already sixteen years old at that time and understood what the emperor meant. The palace officials were so frightened that they kowtowed one after another, but my brother just smiled and said: I will do it for you after a few years.
Later, he became the King of Faith. He was well-read and understood the difference between superiority and inferiority. His childhood jokes were completely forgotten. He just wanted to be a good king and not embarrass his mother or brother.
Just thinking that the emperor's brother had fallen into the water and was terminally ill, he summoned him to the palace. He stepped on the dragon bed with a very sad face and said: Why is my brother so thin? I need to take more care of him in the future.
The elder brother had no words, so he only said: Come, my brother will be Yao and Shun.
Chongzhen burst into tears. He wished he was the one lying on the bed dying soon.
Emperor Tianqi's last words were only four words, he said with a smile: My brother loves me.
In the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, it was only once that brothers and sisters were willing to die.
In the empty Qianqing Palace, Emperor Chongzhen looked ferocious and roared silently. The dim light cast a shadow on the plaque, like a huge, angry, wounded and trapped beast.
When Cao Huachun brought the agarwood rockery made by the late emperor from the palace, the emperor in the Qianqing Palace looked as usual and was writing an edict for the Ministry of Rites to summon Qin Liangyu, the chieftain of Shizhu, to reward him with coins, livestock, and drinks.
At the same time, he also wrote a poem to praise Qin Liangyu's achievements.
"The Shu brocade robe is made by itself, and the peach blossoms are about to grow tassels. There are many strange men in the world, but who is willing to travel thousands of miles on the battlefield!"
I hold the rockery made of agarwood in my hand. It was made for Chongzhen when Emperor Tianqi was still the prince.
At that time, they were raised by Xili and often suffered abuse. Zhu Youxiao often told him that Xili's chosen servant was not your biological mother. Your biological mother was buried in Xishan. You should remember to pay homage when you grow up.
But Zhu Youjian had been in the palace for many years. He only knew the west and never saw the mountains.
Zhu Youxiao made this wooden rockery to let his younger brother know that the mountain looks like this.
For a long time, this small rockery has been a way for Zhu Youjian to miss his mother, but now it has become a way to miss his brother.
After taking the agarwood, his eyes were about to get wet again. Chongzhen quickly put the rockery on the imperial desk and asked Cao Huachun in a calm tone: "Zhixunzi, where is Yuan Chonghuan?"
Cao Huachun was stunned for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, Yuan Chonghuan's head arrived at Xuan Mansion last night."
Chongzhen leaned back in his chair, looked up at the chandelier of Qianqing Palace, and said with hatred: "Two years, 150,000 troops, 10.8 million taels of silver, I plundered the people's wealth and gave him all the treasury."
"Donglu attacked the Forbidden City... They are all liars!"
After that, Chongzhen picked up the memorial from Governor Shuntian again, which said that he would collect 100,000 shi of rice and 70,000 silver to prepare for Zunji's emergency. After Chongzhen approved it, he put it in a pile of memorials that were submitted to the Ministry of Revenue and then to the Ministry of Works. middle.
The two departments must cooperate fully, one providing money and food, and the other making ordnance.
Cao Huachun kept looking at the several memorials he brought, and finally couldn't bear it any longer and said: "Your Majesty, one of the memorials brought by this servant was written by Taipu Temple and Shaoqing Shizhong."
Chongzhen frowned. He didn't like others reminding him what to do, because no one could be trusted.
But when he heard the name, he thought for a moment that this should be the person he sent, and asked, "Is he a pay supervisor?"
"Yes, His Majesty sent him to supervise Min's salary."
Those who take money, the court is very short of money. Chongzhen quickly picked up the memorial and read it. After reading it, he was in a good mood and couldn't help but said happily: "Well done! The excellent decree is reported to all officials!"
The amount of salary and silver that the teachers and supervisors transported was more than 247,300 taels, but now they have transported 297,818 taels. It is amazing. Compared with others, it is simply many times better. .
The one sent to Shaanxi to transport silver only had 130,000 taels, and was robbed by the defeated servants.
Looking at the divisions, more than 50,000 taels were brought in. Suddenly the military pay for Ji Town, Zunhua and other places was secured.
In a moment of joy, he took the remaining two memorials and couldn't move his eyes away from them: "Han Fan?"
Many of the vassal states were actually relatives that Chongzhen had never met. Family ties were especially precious to him, but these relatives of the vassal states were not counted.
Chongzhen treated the vassal state very rationally, without any personal feelings, because he had never felt the love of a father, let alone those relatives who had branched off two hundred years ago.
But the vassal state cannot fall, it is related to his brother's expectations for him, and even more related to the country that his brother personally handed over to him.
Looking through it, these memorials can be said to describe the process of Han Fan being besieged and conquered from multiple angles. From the perspective of King Han, from Yang He's perspective, and from Zhou Zhouqiang's perspective, they completely explain the process of Pingliang Mansion being captured. .
At the same time, the King of Han also asked for money to rebuild the palace and to exempt the king's land tax this year. Yang He also asked for pay for the Guyuan army and relief for the hungry people of Shaanxi.
It was a huge scandal. The Zhu family led the hungry people to conquer the Zhu family's vassal state, but the court had no soldiers and no pay. The last person to save the siege was a rebel army.
Zhu Youjian rubbed his temples.
He could kill everyone in the country, but he couldn't save a country that was already in tatters when he took over.
He read these things every day, and he had no way of telling whether what he said in each memorial was true or false. Everyone came from their own perspective and had their own problems to solve.
The only similarity is that they come to him to ask for money and food, just like after the battle with Donglu in the year of Tianqi and the construction of a lot of border forts, the more than 10 million taels of money left by grandpa are still there.
This gave him a headache, and he felt nauseous and even felt like vomiting when he saw people asking for money or food.
Chongzhen wanted to say "go to hell" to King Han who asked for money, but his status as emperor prevented him from saying that, so he had to approve that he would find a way to build the palace, and that no further expansion was allowed. Remember to pay Wang Tian's tax.
In fact, Han Fan was not the Zhou Fan in Henan or the Jin Fan and King Qingcheng in Shanxi, otherwise he would even want to fine him half a year of lumi.
But think about it, Han Fan only paid 110,000 dan in total a year, so even if he was fined half, it would not be worth the loss.
As for Yang He's request for military pay from the Guyuan Army, Chongzhen considered it carefully, but in the end he only praised Yang He verbally. Let's go and make up our minds.
Chongzhen also wanted to provide disaster relief, but he really didn't have any more money.
The last memorial, however, made him feel extremely novel. He had heard the name of a bandit for three years, but he had never seen a bandit write to him.
The person who wrote this letter, named Liu Chengzong, brought it along with the memorial from King Han and sent it to the Forbidden City.
The font is a very neat and tidy style, which makes people look very comfortable. They should not be careless people, but have received a serious education.
Liu Chengzong's handwriting is much crazier than this. This letter was written by Yang Dingrui, but he only used Liu Chengzong's name.
The first few sentences wish the emperor good health, and then describe his life. He was the son of Dian Shi, a scholar, served as a frontier soldier, returned home hungry, saved his father and became a rebel leader.
Chongzhen looked at the letter and had an idea in his mind. This was a person of the same age as him, a few months younger than him.
Then he talked about what he saw and heard, and led his army to eat and live. It was not what he wanted to attack the city and plunder the land. It was just that there were many poor people and they were hungry. I hope the emperor would not blame him.
Secondly, he mentioned the policy of appeasement, saying that it was not that he was unwilling to be appeased, but that the border troops had no pay and there was a severe drought in the area. The bandits started because of hunger. If the hunger is not eliminated, the bandits will not be eliminated either.
Now the imperial court has no way to provide them with military rations. Even if Tian'en is granted the post of Commander-in-Chief, his sergeants will not be able to place them, and they will all rebel because they have no pay. If he still has no pay after being recruited, he will not be able to escape when he rebels again. Its to blame.
What's more, local officials are often hostile, and neither side dares to trust them, fearing that they will be killed in the future.
Therefore, he boldly sent a letter to the emperor, just to express his feelings. He did not want to plunder the four directions and do evil again. He hoped to get the post of Qinghai Xuan comfort envoy, go west to fight with the pirates, eliminate the traffic trouble of the pirates from the north, and guard the fence.
I also ask for the position of commander of the Xining Guard for my brother, to prevent the border generals from closing the door and leaving them isolated and helpless. I sincerely hope that your majesty will think deeply about your kindness and do not want to give a way for thieves to survive.
How to describe Chongzhen's mood when he saw this letter?
Not happy.
It's a grievance.
Three years, three years, finally a little brother told me, you are the emperor.
I don’t want you to give me money, and I don’t want the cooperation of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ceremonies and the Six Ministries and local officials.
As long as the emperor opens his mouth, I will take care of the matter for you.
