It was rare that they returned to Beijing on the same day. Jiang Quan and Chunxiang had not seen each other for many days. They had a lively chat in the lobby, while Chang Yu talked with Wang Guoxing and Li Ruogui about the details of the Shanxi case.
After a while, another fan came to report official business secretly. Wang Guoxing and Li Ruogui left. Chang Yu asked them to take a rest first and have lunch at the Yamen. Jiang Quan also knew that Chunxiang wanted to have a private talk with Chang Yu and left.
Sure enough, as soon as Jiang Quan and others left, Chunxiang told him about Emperor Chongzhen sending him to Puzhou. Chang Yu listened carefully and after a long silence: "You didn't go to the palace immediately to report to the emperor after you returned to Beijing?"
"I'm going back to the palace first, but the emperor is in court. I heard you were at the Yamen, so I came here," Chunxiang said.
Chang Yu smiled bitterly: "If you had met the emperor first, he would have told you not to tell anyone about this matter, not even me!"
Chunxiang shrugged and smiled: "Even then I will still talk to you."
Chang Yu patted him on the shoulder: "Now that you have a blame on your back, you have to be even more cautious in your actions. Although you can tell me about this matter, you must not spread it to outsiders, otherwise you will be killed!"
Seeing his serious expression, Chunxiang also stopped smiling: "I know this," and then sighed: "But I really can't sleep well after doing this kind of thing!"
"Perhaps if you do too much in the future, you will become numb." Chang Yu smiled slightly.
Chunxiang's expression was a bit complicated: "Is the elder brother numb now?"
Chang Yu shook his head: "I'm addicted."
Chunxiang was stunned.
The Yamen of Waidongchang was very lively. Chang Yu and Chun Xiang were having a secret discussion in the hall. All the relatives and attendants in the courtyard were sitting around chatting about various gossips and rumors. In the past few months, I had gained a lot of experience following Chang Yu on his expeditions in the north and south outside Beijing. When I finally have some free time, I can't do without all kinds of bragging.
At the same time, in the imperial city just around the corner, Emperor Chongzhen and the officials were still arguing. This morning dynasty started at about four o'clock in the morning and has not ended.
In the Huangji Hall, hundreds of officials gathered here. It was a rare imperial gathering today.
Such a big scene also made the ministers mentally prepared, there must be something important.
Sure enough, at the beginning of the court meeting, many ministers were full of fire. They first criticized Chang Yu, the admiral of the East Factory, for wielding power and taking bribes, and then criticized Emperor Chongzhen for being dictatorial, arbitrary and favoring traitors...
Faced with so many keyboard warriors complaining at the same time, if the former Emperor Chongzhen had to spit on his face, he might even have to issue another sinner's edict!
However, today's Emperor Chongzhen has experienced "The Prince's Strange Dream" and has seen too much and wants to understand too much. The most important thing is that with Chang Yu as his trump card, he is more confident and more courageous.
After a sneer, he directly retorted: "When the national crisis hit, Chang Yu, the military governor outside, did not hesitate to take the lead in staining the battlefield with blood, and defeated the thieves and drove away the Tartars. But where were you at that time? Without him and the soldiers fighting in bloody battles, where would you be now? ".
"The teacher has just returned to the court, and you can't sit still! He is said to be a master of power, and he is said to be corrupt and corrupt. Show us the evidence!"
There was a sudden silence in the court hall, and Emperor Chongzhen's toughness surprised them too much.
But then someone launched another attack on the grounds that Zhou Kui, the state leader, had reported that Chang Yu had asked for a hundred thousand taels of bribes, but Emperor Chongzhen said, "I have enough evidence. At that time, Jin Yiwei Wu Mengming launched a fund-raising campaign in the capital, and the wealthy gentry in the city responded. They donated money and food one after another, and the one hundred thousand taels donated by the state leader Zhou Kui was a donation that can be checked and has been put into the national treasury!"
It seems that Emperor Chongzhen came prepared!
Those who were shouting in the court were just being used as swordsmen. The people behind the scenes were already shocked to realize that Emperor Chongzhen was well prepared!
As for the impeachment of the emperor's arbitrary power, Emperor Chongzhen laughed angrily: "You are devouring the emperor's salary, but you are eating the corpse without worrying about the emperor. When things happen, you push around and wait for death. If I hadn't decisively served as an internal official and governor to turn the tide, our Ming Dynasty would have been destroyed." The Chao Dynasty is already overthrown, and now it blames me for being dictatorial, patronizing and treacherous. Do you still want to save face?"
These words made all the officials in the court feel ashamed.
Emperor Chongzhen swept the hall and was relieved to see all the officials cowardly.
As the court meeting continued, Emperor Chongzhen listened to various memorials from the ministers and responded to them one by one. If he was unable to make a decision, he left it to the cabinet for discussion before making a decision.
Finally, the main event finally came to the fore. When the court meeting was coming to an end, Emperor Chongzhen appointed and dismissed more than ten people at once, and the court hall immediately became noisy.
Even the cabinet ministers headed by Li Banghua couldn't sit still. They didn't even say hello about the military parade. They didn't even mention such an important matter as the appointment and dismissal of personnel, and there were more than ten people at once! They simply don’t take the cabinet seriously!
We must know that the interpersonal relationships in officialdom were very complicated in ancient times. Who was whose teacher, who was whose student, who was whose fellow countryman... Any decision on appointment or dismissal was related to the interests of a small group and was by no means a trivial matter!
Therefore, the ministers in the court were immediately in an uproar, and there was constant discussion and quarreling at each other.
The elders concentrated their firepower on the person on the dragon throne.
Emperor Chongzhen, who was sitting on the dragon throne, was calm and arrogant. He looked down at the world and showed his dignity. Every word he spoke was heart-breaking. He vented all the resentment in his heart for many years: The world belongs to Lao Tzu. I am a king and you are a minister. I can do whatever I am told. If I can do it, do it. If I can't, get out!
So tough!
The ministers were astonished and looked at the man on the dragon throne carefully. He looked so familiar and yet so strange!
However, after all, the court of the Ming Dynasty was not a one-spoken court of the Qing Dynasty. There was a high degree of freedom of speech. Those who were dissatisfied could shout or even scold. In addition to not being able to take action, there were some who pointed at the emperor's nose and scolded him!
But Emperor Chongzhen did not fight alone. At first, the ministers thought that he was just relying on the confidence of the young eunuch of Dongchang to act so uncharacteristically. However, they gradually discovered that this was not the case. The Minister of War, the Minister of Rites, the Minister of Industry, the Governor of Beijing Camp, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies The government, several censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Prince Donggong, and even Duke Ding were all overtly and covertly cheering for him! Together with Dongchang and Jinyiwei who have not gone to court, this is a powerful force!
Sure enough, he came prepared. He was as sophisticated as Li Banghua. Wu Di suddenly realized that the little eunuch had unknowingly won over so many people. Coupled with his prestige in the army, Dongchang was already indestructible! Who would have thought that he would grow into a towering tree in such a short period of time!
I wish I had started earlier!
The wind in the majestic imperial city is changing, some are covered with blue clouds and some fall into dust, some are happy and some are sad.
But outside the imperial city, the people in Beijing's Forty-Nine City were more concerned about whether it would rain, to alleviate the drought and plague. They were not very interested in the affairs in the court, and were more curious about the excitement in the streets and alleys.
For example, they would go to the city gate to watch the officers and soldiers return in triumph, and ask for some gossip so that they could brag after dinner. The brave children would even run out of the officers and soldiers camp more than ten miles outside the city to watch the excitement.
When the Qing army entered the Pass and headed south, the imperial court mobilized nearly 100,000 troops to pursue them. After nearly two months of siege and interception, the Ming army finally defeated the Qing army and returned to the city in triumph.
