Chongzhen's seventeenth year, March 16th.
It was already past noon, and Emperor Zhu Youjian of the Ming Dynasty was still listening to politics in the house-like Huangjimen Gate Tower. The early dynasty of the Ming Dynasty was not held in the main hall, but at the Huangji Gate, which was called the Royal Gate Listening to Government. His Majesty the Emperor's throne is placed in the magnificent Huangji Gate Gate Tower. The gate tower has three steps at the front and back. The steps are surrounded by white marble railings on both sides, giving it a majestic look.
Standing on both sides and behind the emperor's throne were the officials of the Bureau of Ceremonies, while the courtiers were directly in front of the emperor's throne. Those closest to the emperor were several cabinet bachelors, and there was also a Han general with a helmet on his head. Under the pillars in front of the emperor's right. Further away, there are hundreds of civil and military officials, divided into two classes, and there are very many people.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, was a workaholic and liked to monopolize power, he was also afraid of being deceived by his ministers. So I want to see as many courtiers as possible and listen to as many reports as possible. Therefore, the scale of the early and regular dynasties of the Ming Dynasty was also unprecedented - because there were so many people, there was no room for them to stay in the main hall, so the imperial gate was established at Huangji Gate (called Fengtianmen in the early days), and the emperor and a few important officials could stay under the gate tower. . Most officials are "outdoor workers", let alone wind and rain, just basking in the sun is enough. If you meet a lazy emperor who doesn't fall in love with the morning court, it will be easier for everyone. If you meet an emperor like Chongzhen who wants to go to the morning court twice a day, then everyone in the civil and military officials of the court will be black... even if they are not black, they will be tanned. Got it!
Besides being in the sun, I was also tired. The morning morning service is very early and must start as soon as Mao hour arrives, which means it starts at five o'clock in the morning. It usually lasts until noon! That’s six or seven hours!
Moreover, the officials of the previous dynasty did not live in the palace. They had to rush to the palace from all over the inner city of Beijing. It was time to get up at Yinshi...that is, get up at three in the morning, go to work at five, and still work outdoors, under the bright sun. Leave in the sun until noon.
This is not like being a national leader! They are clearly sanitation workers sweeping the streets!
Therefore, Beijing officials who look like white-faced scholars are rare in Beijing, and those who do have must be newcomers. Most of them have dark faces like old peasants.
In addition to being black, I am also thin! He starts at three in the morning every day and goes to court at five o'clock. He has to stand all morning. After standing, he still has to do some work. Moreover, the emperor is also a moody master. He might be arrested by the Jin Yiwei at any time. He is always on tenterhooks... It’s not easy to gain weight in such a job!
However, large numbers of people does not mean high efficiency. Although hundreds of officials from the capital came today and have been standing outside Huangji Gate since dawn, the sun has already reached the center of our heads, and there is no way to retreat from the enemy. Policy.
In fact, I just have no money! Everything is good if you have money, but nothing is good if you don't have money.
Now Ming Dynasty has no money, the national treasury is empty, and the inner treasury is also empty.
When Wu Xiang asked Emperor Chongzhen for one million taels in February, Chongzhen replied: "The treasury only has 70,000 taels of gold. We will search all gold and silver items and make up for 20,000 to 300,000 taels."
Now almost a month has passed, and a lot of money has been spent to arrange the war defense. If it were not for the officials and people to donate military salaries, it would have been unsustainable long ago.
But Baiguan was also poor and could not donate much.
Just by looking at their appearance, you can tell that they are all dark and thin, and their clothes are all faded. Who would believe that they are rich?
But having said that, most of the officials in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty were not wealthy. Later, Li Zicheng went to Beijing to torture and plunder, and obtained tens of millions of taels, of which only one-tenth, or several million, was taken from officials. It looks like a lot, but how many officials are there in Beijing? With so many talents scraping out millions, how much can we get on average? Moreover, corruption and bribery cannot be equalized. Only those who are rich and in need can be corrupted, but Qingshui Yamen will always be in the majority.
For example, where did those gentlemen like Zhu Cixi go to be greedy? Charge money for making up lessons for Zhu Cixi? Is there such a thing?
Moreover, the bad rule of three respects did not become a common practice in the Ming Dynasty. Even if local officials paid tribute, they would only pay money to the officials in the capital who had close relations with them, and would not be shared equally.
Of course, there are still rich people in Beijing. Xungui and some of the eunuchs are rich!
Most nobles are not nobles of one generation, but nobles from generation to generation. It is normal to accumulate a family fortune over time. In addition, the official position held by a noble is usually a military attache, who can manage the capital camp of the capital guard. In the early years, he can embezzle land, and in the later period, he can deduct military pay to eat up the quota. If he works on the southeast coast, he can also protect smuggling, which makes it easy to make money.
The great eunuchs have the royal family and the vassal king to "eat", and the emperor's store and the emperor's shop are also managed by the eunuchs. In the early years, there were mine supervisors and weaving bureaus to make money from, but now there are opportunities for military supervisors to make money from military pay, so The great eunuchs all have some wealth.
As for internal money... it was quite abundant during the Wanli period, but during the Tianqi and Chongzhen years, money began to be continuously sent out for military expenses. It's all empty now. Talking about thirty million taels is simply illogical nonsense. How responsible and knowledgeable were the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty, so that they could save thirty million taels for Emperor Chongzhen? Do you think they are all Zheng Zhilong, the richest man in the Ming Dynasty?
However, even though Emperor Chongzhen knew that his civil servants did not embezzle much money, he still felt extremely resentful in his heart.
Because these civil servants had no way to make money or fight off the enemy, and they still prevented him, the emperor, from moving the capital... This was really fatal!
Li Zicheng has broken through Juyongguan and is about to reach the outside of Beijing. If he does not move the capital to Nanxing, it will be too late.
By the way, moving the capital to Nanxing is different from fleeing.
Moving the capital to Nanxing is a major national policy. It must be decreed by the emperor, drafted by the cabinet, approved by the emperor, and then implemented by the six ministries, the governor of Shuntian, the governor of Tianjin, the governor of Denglai, and the governor of water transportation.
This is the collective migration of the Ming Center. During the migration process, the functions of the center will not be interrupted, and the authority will not decline too much.
Escape is as simple as leaving tonight, taking his wife and children with him, and going straight to Tianjin under the elite escort of the Beijing camp - this is a matter of just one sentence. Wang Chengen must have arranged everything and can escort him to escape at any time... …
Thinking of the loyal and reliable Wang Chengen, Emperor Chongzhen felt a lot more at ease. He would not stand there waiting to die. Otherwise, Wang Chengen would not be allowed to command the internal and external military camps and be the admiral of the Nine Gates. He does not know how to fight. What else can he do besides arranging an escape?
However, escaping was too prestige-inducing, and would also leave Ming Dynasty without a leader for a period of time.
Because it is impossible to take a large central team with you when you flee, nor can you take too many troops with you. In this way, the imperial court will fall into a dilemma without officials and soldiers, and may be hijacked by powerful warlords with ulterior motives.
So now is the last time to move the capital to Nanxing...
Thinking of this, Chongzhen sighed: "I received a report yesterday that Juyongguan has been captured, and the rogue bandits are about to arrive outside the capital. If you have any good ideas, please feel free to tell me."
Where is the best strategy?
Either run away or surrender. Can these two strategies be spoken freely? If you want to say it, you can say it yourself. We promise not to object this time.
The officials outside Fengtian Gate were all stunned and did not say a word...
The disappointment in Chongzhen’s heart! Why is there no official who can stand up and say "move the capital"?
Come forward quickly, I promise not to settle the score later!
It's a pity that Emperor Chongzhen's voice was not felt by everyone, and no one stood up to speak.
In fact, since March 13th, no one has spoken in the morning. Because Li Zicheng's army arrived at Huailaiwei the day before, every entrance of the Great Wall northwest of the capital was under the attack of the rebels. The insurgent army will break in at any time!
Therefore, the courtiers have been waiting for Emperor Chongzhen's order to move the capital to Nanxing since the 13th.
But the problem is that Emperor Chongzhen just doesn’t speak Chrysostom!
And no one among the officials would dare to take such a blame. Therefore, the monarch and his ministers are just staring at each other with big eyes and small eyes!
To this day, Emperor Chongzhen can actually still keep his composure!
To be honest, the ministers couldn't help but admire Chongzhen's Qi-nurturing skills in their hearts. This is the emperor. His face remains unchanged despite the collapse of Mount Tai.
Just when everyone was thinking of this, Li Jizhou, the manager of Donggongdian Pharmacy, suddenly stumbled over, shouting: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something bad has happened..."
