Li Xiao briefly finished talking about some general events during the Chongzhen period.
Of course, there were some things he didn't elaborate on.
Li Xiao didn't say much about Yuan Chonghuan and Mao Wenlong.
These two people were quite controversial even in later generations.
Some people think they are national heroes, while others think they are traitors and traitors.
In short, whether it is Yuan Chonghuan or Mao Wenlong, everyone has their own opinions.
After listening to Li Xiao's words, Zhu Yuanzhang said blankly: "Is this the end of our Ming Dynasty?"
"Can't the Ming Dynasty find a few people who can fight?"
After speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Youjian: "How did you become the emperor?"
"You can't resist foreign invasion, and you can't suppress internal uprisings."
"Tell me why you are not the king of subjugation?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was very angry at this moment.
Before hearing this, he still had a good impression of Zhu Youjian.
But he didn't expect that Zhu Youjian would lose his country like this in the end, which made Zhu Yuanzhang, a man with explosive military strength, very disdainful.
Lao Zhu conquered the country with one hand and one kick.
Unexpectedly, Jiangshan was beaten back by someone else in the end.
Zhu Youjian next to him felt very aggrieved when he heard Zhu Yuanzhang's words.
He was also very helpless.
The Ming Dynasty he took over from Zhu Youxiao was already shaky.
This was coupled with successive natural disasters, which resulted in the people not having enough to eat and jumping out to rebel.
Zhu Youjian didn't want to see this situation either.
But when internal and external troubles came together, Zhu Youjian was helpless.
Zhu Youjian never thought that he was the king of subjugation.
He once said that he was not the king of subjugation, but that everything had the appearance of subjugation, and he had no choice.
He even told the officials of the Ming Dynasty that he was not the king of subjugation, but the ministers in the court were all ministers of subjugation.
Yes, even if Zhu Youjian was beaten to death, he would not want others to label him as the king of the country's subjugation.
He is an ambitious and ideal person, how could he accept such an evaluation.
Immediately, Zhu Youjian raised his head and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang: "Taizu, I am also forced to have no choice."
"When the court is in such a situation, I can't help it."
"The Ming Dynasty I took over was rotten to the core."
"When I took over the Ming Dynasty from my eldest brother, the situation was almost like this."
"I also want to be a good emperor, and I also want to stabilize the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty is going to fall, and I have no way to do it."
In Zhu Youjian's view, everything that happened during the Chongzhen period was a sign that the Ming Dynasty was about to be destroyed.
He has tried so hard, but still nothing can be changed.
He encountered all kinds of natural and man-made disasters.
After hearing Zhu Youjian's words, Zhu Yuanzhang became silent.
Indeed, what Zhu Youjian encountered was indeed very difficult.
No one can guarantee that they can save Ming in the same situation.
However, the Ming Empire did perish in the hands of Zhu Youjian. This is undeniable.
Moreover, Li Xiao also said before that later generations do not think highly of Zhu Youjian. Zhu Youjian can be said to be the king of the Ming Dynasty.
Immediately, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Xiao: "Li Xiao, do you have anything else to say?"
Li Xiao nodded after hearing this.
Then, Li Xiao turned to look at Zhu Youjian: "You don't need to explain, brother is right."
"You are the overlord of the Ming Empire."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian immediately retorted: "I'm not!"
"Why do you say that I am the king of subjugation?"
"When I came to the throne, there were eunuchs like Wei Zhongxian in the court."
"Above the court there is a smog and corruption. Outside the court, the people are complaining."
"There are still Hou Jin's troops on the border, watching eagerly."
"What do you want me to do with all this?"
"Did I cause this situation?"
"Isn't this what the Ming Dynasty I inherited is like this? Why should I be the king of subjugation?"
Zhu Youjian is very sensitive to the four words "king of a subjugated country".
No matter who it is, even if it is Zhu Yuanzhang, he will not accept the title of the king of subjugation.
This little bit of face is Zhu Youjian's last stubbornness.
Looking at Zhu Youjian who kept defending himself, Li Xiao said lightly: "Zhu Youjian, you don't need to say so much."
"The Ming Empire is going to perish, and you cannot escape the blame."
"Today, I will tell you what mistakes you made in the eyes of future generations."
Zhu Youjian was stunned when he heard Li Xiao's words.
But he resisted the urge to defend himself.
Unexpectedly, under the judgment of future generations, he would still make mistakes.
In Zhu Youjian's perception, as the emperor of the Ming Empire, he was conscientious and diligent, and had done the best he thought he could do.
Even though he was like this, why do future generations still think he did something wrong?
Zhu Youjian didn't understand.
He didn't understand what he had done wrong.
"I did wrong?"
"Then you should tell me what I did wrong." Zhu Youjian replied in a deep voice.
"Then just listen." Li Xiao said lightly.
Later, Li Xiao began to recall in his mind the evaluation of later generations on Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian.
"First of all, you have little political experience."
"You shouldn't kill Wei Zhongxian."
Li Xiao looked at Zhu Youjian and said lightly.
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Youjian was completely confused.
Not only Zhu Youjian, but also Zhu Yuanzhang, Li Xiongzhi and others beside him were confused.
What's happening here?
Can't we kill such a great eunuch and eunuch like Wei Zhongxian?
Let alone killing such a treacherous villain, even Ling Chi ten times would not be too much.
But why did Li Xiao say he couldn't be killed?
Each of them was lost in thought, their faces full of doubts.
Zhu Youjian looked at Li Xiao with a look of disbelief on his face: "You actually said that Wei Zhongxian, a eunuch, cannot be killed. What a joke."
"Wei Zhongxian is good at dictatorship, is domineering, oppresses the people, and has no dignity."
"Such a person shouldn't be killed, so who should be killed?"
"If you can't even kill people like Wei Zhongxian, then I really don't know who can be killed."
In Zhu Youjian's view, Li Xiao was talking nonsense.
Everyone in the court had reasons not to be killed, but Wei Zhongxian had to be killed.
"Tell me, why can't Wei Zhongxian be killed?" Zhu Youjian looked at Li Xiao and asked in confusion.
Seeing this, Li Xiao replied calmly: "You have broken the balance by killing Wei Zhongxian."
"Controlling the political structure of the court and maintaining the current system of the court are the basic skills of an emperor."
"Only when the court is stabilized can you give orders better and let the officials do things for you."
"And you directly killed Wei Zhongxian and made the Donglin Party family bigger."
"With the Donglin Party in control of the government, it will be difficult to implement your decree."
Hearing Li Xiao's words, Zhu Youjian nodded slightly.
Li Xiao was right. As soon as Wei Zhongxian died, the Donglin Party did rise quickly.
Without Wei Zhongxian's restraint, these Donglin Party members would indeed be a little difficult to deal with.
But Zhu Youjian still felt that he was not wrong to kill Wei Zhongxian.
"Li Xiao, that's what I said."
"But Wei Zhongxian is a very treacherous minister, and the civil servants of the Donglin Party at least have the heart to add to the family and the country."
"Even if the Donglin Party dominates the court, their harm to the court and the world will be much less than that of Wei Zhongxian."
"Wei Zhongxian definitely did not make a mistake in killing him. It is not a pity to die for this treacherous villain."
"At most, it's just that I didn't suppress the Donglin Party later."
Zhu Youjian looked at Li Xiao and said loudly.
In its view, even if the killing of Wei Zhongxian leads to the dominance of the Donglin Party, the impact and harm will be within the controllable range.
At least it's much better than when Wei Zhongxian was there.
Wei Zhongxian is an absolute treacherous villain. He not only brings trouble to the imperial court, but also harms the common people.
When he was still King Xin, he saw with his own eyes that Wei Zhongxian and his party members were corrupt, perverted the law, and were arrogant and domineering.
Even I almost suffered a loss.
Therefore, even if Wei Zhongxian is a sharp knife for dealing with courtiers, Zhu Youjian will not have a good impression of Wei Zhongxian finding someone.
But on the Donglin Party side, Zhu Youjian's view was different.
The Donglin Party are all scholars, no matter what, they are still much better than Wei Zhongxian.
When Zhu Youjian was not the emperor, he had seen people from the Donglin Party being persecuted by Wei Zhongxian's members.
Therefore, Zhu Youjian still has a hint of sympathy for the Donglin Party.
Moreover, there are many members of the Donglin Party, all of whom are scholars.
At that time, they almost controlled the trend of public opinion in the capital, which was very important to Zhu Youjian.
Zhu Youjian is a person who cherishes feathers and pays attention to reputation.
Otherwise, he would not be so obsessed with the title of King of Subjugation.
Just because the Donglin Party controls public opinion, it is impossible for Zhu Youjian to offend the Donglin Party to death.
Otherwise, I really don’t know what the Donglin Party will arrange for him.
Furthermore, Zhu Youjian also wanted to use the reputation of the Donglin Party to better command the officials.
Therefore, in Zhu Youjian's view, it was just that he failed to balance the court, not that he killed Wei Zhongxian by mistake.
A eunuch who wields power like Wei Zhongxian, no matter who he is, no matter which dynasty he is placed in, must be killed, and everyone will kill him.
How could there be any talk of wrongful killing?
Hearing Zhu Youjian's words, Zhu Yuanzhang also nodded slightly.
Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to agree with Zhu Youjian's words.
After all, Wei Zhongxian, a eunuch with overwhelming power and domineering power, would definitely not be allowed to stay.
As Zhu Youjian said, the most is that he failed to suppress the Donglin Party later.
Anyway, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that Wei Zhongxian was not wrong to kill.
After hearing Zhu Youjian's words, Li Xiao replied calmly: "Wei Zhongxian is indeed the person who deserves to be killed."
"But instead of killing him at the best time, you chose the wrong time to kill him."
"That's why future generations say that you killed Wei Zhongxian by mistake."
Hearing this, Zhu Youjian muttered dissatisfiedly: "Since everyone deserves to die anyway."
"Then it doesn't matter when to kill."
After saying that, he seemed to have thought of something again and continued to add:
"Besides, I had just ascended the throne at that time and needed to kill some people to establish my prestige."
"And Wei Zhongxian is the best candidate."
"Wei Zhongxian, whether it is the officials in the court or the common people, hate him so much that they want to eat his flesh raw and drink his blood."
"If I kill Wei Zhongxian, I will have complied with the people's will and established a prestige for myself, winning the praise of the ministers in the court and the people."
"Why don't I do that?"
After Zhu Youjian said these words, everyone fell into deep thought.
Even Li Xiao didn't speak.
Because what Zhu Youjian said seemed to make sense, and from his standpoint, there was no problem at all.
It seemed like what he did was the best way for him at the time.
But in the eyes of future generations like Li Xiao, this is not the case.
After all, the authorities are obsessed with it.
Who can guarantee that sitting in Zhu Youjian's position will not do this.
Killing Wei Zhongxian won the hearts and prestige of the people who had just ascended the throne. It could also serve as an example to others and frighten court officials at all levels.
There is nothing wrong with Zhu Youjian doing this.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded silently on the side, and he seemed to agree with Zhu Youjian's statement.
As the saying goes, if you are not in your position, you will not seek the government.
If you don't sit in that position and things don't happen to you, you will never realize the difficulty of the situation.
There is no such thing as empathy in this world.
To be fair, Zhu Yuanzhang believed that even if he were sitting in Zhu Youjian's position at the time, he might still kill Wei Zhongxian.
At most, Zhu Yuanzhang had more forceful means to win over the Donglin Party in the future.
But everyone's abilities are different, and we can't expect everyone to be as capable and as tough as Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Youjian was appointed at the critical moment and took over the throne when the Ming Dynasty was in turmoil.
He can think of so many things to take charge of the overall situation amidst internal and external troubles, and he can do this.
In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, he has done a good job.
Zhu Youjian's words just now can be regarded as winning some understanding from Zhu Yuanzhang.
Not only Zhu Yuanzhang, but also Li Xiongzhi, Tian Zhiwei and others who had always said that Zhu Youjian was crazy were silent.
They, like Zhu Yuanzhang, somewhat understand Zhu Youjian's difficult situation and powerlessness.
Li Xiao seemed to be the only one present who was not moved by Zhu Youjian's words.
In Li Xiao's view, it was still Zhu Youjian's personal ability that led to the subsequent situation in the Ming Dynasty.
As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youjian did not think carefully, did not consider the subsequent operation of the dynasty, and did not wait for the right opportunity.
He just cared about the situation in front of him and killed Wei Zhongxian directly, and pushed the Donglin Party up with one hand.
Zhu Youjian is the main person in charge of all this.
Li Xiao, who was silent for a while, replied calmly: "Zhu Youjian, of course you have your reasons."
"Under that situation, from your standpoint, it makes sense to kill Wei Zhongxian."
"But you still miscalculated a little."
"That's how intimidating you are to other officials in the court."
"After you get rid of Wei Zhongxian, can you suppress the Donglin Party?"
"The reason why future generations say you killed Wei Zhongxian by mistake is because of the existence of the Donglin Party."
"There is even a saying like this among the later generations."
"Unless Wei Zhongxian dies, the Ming Dynasty will never be destroyed!"
(End of chapter)
