According to Na Nizi, such tactics can greatly increase the cohesion of the ministers, especially their loyalty to the emperor and the country.
But looking at the actual situation in Chongzhen, why do every civil servant want to satisfy their curiosity, but are reluctant to spend more money?
Although the monthly salary of officials in the Southern Court was not as high as that of the Northern Court, the monthly salary of officials at the level of minister was as much as one hundred taels, and the monthly salary of the first assistant was as much as two hundred taels.
What's more, many people's families enjoy tax-free treatment, and with the contributions of people around them, it seems that earning a thousand taels of silver a year is not a problem. There are only a handful of officials who truly have a smooth life.
In order to check the resume, the first assistant spent 300 taels, the second assistant spent 200 taels, and Yuan Jixian, the Minister of War, finally got better after that and spent 500 taels.
As the left minister of the Ministry of War and the censor of Zuo Qiandu, Shi Kefa worked as an errand in the northern capital. Thanks to the higher monthly salary, he also saved a lot of money and spent as much as 700 taels, second only to Huang Degong's expenses.
But there are also counterexamples. For example, Li Rixuan, the right minister of the Ministry of War, and Fu Guan, the minister of the Ministry of Justice, obviously lacked confidence in themselves. They had already occupied the opposite side and did not dare to spend money to see it.
Hou Xun, the left minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Zhang Cai, the right minister of the Ministry of Justice, Donglin and Fushe, were both dismissed by the emperor. To put it pessimistically, this was equivalent to the total annihilation of the three important officials of the Ministry of Justice.
The Ministry of Industry is not bad. Both the Minister Zhang Shenyan and the two ministers Jiang Yueguang and Zhu Yongyou are unyielding and loyal. The same is true for the Ministry of Households.
However, there was Zhang Pu who was vying for power in the Ministry of Rites, and Qian Shisheng, the censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, first rebelled against the Qing Dynasty. After the defeat, he cut off his hair and became a tutu.
Compared with the former Zhang Pu and the leader of Donglin, Qian Qianyi, the current head of the Hanlin Academy, also named Qian, what Qian Shisheng did was considered good.
Zhang Wei, the right minister of the Ministry of Personnel, died during the Tang Dynasty and did not catch up with the Qing army to invade Jiangnan. Zhang Kentang, the left minister of the Ministry of official affairs, was defeated and died when the Qing army conquered Zhoushan.
In such a comparison, Qian Qianyi has become a typical second minister. Others are at least not as bad as him.
Even though people who have read Qian Qianyi's resume sneered at what he did, no one said it out loud. Just be aware of it, which is considered as giving half a pity to his student Qu Shichu.
After looking around, on average, each person spent at least 300 taels to buy tickets to see their resume. For civil servants and generals, the total amount reached more than 8,000 taels.
Chongzhen was basically satisfied with this amount. At least he could support more than a thousand orphans for a long time.
"My dear friends, I wonder how you feel after reading it?"
Chongzhen felt that after browsing like this, the civil servants and generals below had a new understanding of their colleagues around them.
"Your Majesty, if this book is indeed produced by His Highness the Crown Prince's information from the immortal world, then the two ministers who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty must be severely punished!"
Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of Rites and the censor of Youqiandu, died following Emperor Chongzhen during the Jiashen Incident in the 17th year of Chongzhen. Naturally, she hated the two ministers deeply.
Ni Yuanlu spent a lot of money to read the resumes of four other people, including Qian Qianyi. These thieves first protected profiteers, and later became traitors, and they could not be let go no matter what.
Even though Qian Qianyi was the first teacher to assist Qu Shichu, he could not be spared lightly, otherwise he would be allowed to go unpunished, which would be absolutely unjust and unjust!
"I agree with what Grand Uncle Zong said!"
Chen Tailai, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, was also a person who hated evil as much as his enemies. For scum like Erchen, Chen Tailai believed that the death penalty was more appropriate.
Chen Tailai had only seen the first assistant, second assistant, and Qian Qianyi, but among these three people, there was a traitor, who openly betrayed the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the Donglu. It was really hateful.
"..."
As soon as these words came out, Qian Qianyi was not in the palace, so he was naturally not afraid, but he frightened Fu Guan and Li Rixuan, who had never seen his resume.
If he were to become a traitor, wouldn't he be seeking his own death?
If I had known earlier, I should have spent some money to make myself understand.
What now?
It would be fine if I was loyal and good, I could move forward and retreat freely.
On the contrary, he really became a second minister on the roster...
If you second the proposal, you agree that you will be executed!
The room temperature was not high, but some people in the hall were already sweating profusely.
If someone is wrongly accused and dies, at least one day he will be redressed.
Being executed as a second minister would be the same result as Qin Hui.
Everyone is willing to be prime minister (chief assistant), but who wants to be Qin Hui, who is about to be executed?
He didn't get much benefit, but he was burdened with infamy. What's more important is that he didn't harm a good general like Yue Fei?
Being executed like this was more unjust than Qin Hui, hundreds of times more!
Fu Guan and Li Rixuan were really unable to advance or retreat. They were riding a tiger but couldn't get off. They wanted to object but couldn't open their mouths.
How could things have changed to this point?
The speed was so fast that the two of them had no time to think. They lowered their heads and looked at each other for a moment, but they couldn't come up with a countermeasure.
Originally Zheng Sanjun, Wan Yuanji, Cheng Guoxiang and others also stood with these two, but later they all moved to the opposite side.
Since I am magnanimous in my heart and am worthy of His Majesty's actions, why should I be afraid to look at my resume?
Fu Guan and Li Rixuan were extremely anxious, and after thinking for a long time, they were too embarrassed to open their mouths to stop them.
Qu Shiqi, the first assistant, was actually more impatient than the two of them. The second minister Ni Yuanlu and Chen Tailai were referring to was probably their teacher Qian Qianyi.
Qu Shishu believed that the emperor must have known the history of the ministers well, and he just came up with the counterattack against Donglin and Fushe.
Although Qu Shichun had only seen the resume of his teacher Qian Qianyi and had not seen the resumes of other colleagues such as Donglin or Fushe, his intuition told him that there might be two ministers.
Among these three, Hou Xun, Zhang Wei, and Qian Shisheng, Qu Shichu really couldn't guess who the second minister was. He compared them repeatedly in his mind, but he couldn't figure it out.
The most troublesome teacher, Qu Shishu, was afraid that if he spoke out against and punished the other ministers, he would arouse the emperor's anger and put the teacher to death.
There is no doubt that the emperor must have done this on purpose, but whether he would deliberately lure himself into the bait is another matter.
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal..."
While Qu Shiqi was thinking about countermeasures, Shi Kefa, Zhang Shenyan, Yuan Jixian, Jiang Yueguang, Zhu Yongyou, Meng Zhaoxiang and others came out to support Ni Yuanlu.
These people have all read their own resumes, and also read Qian Qianyi's resume under the unintentional guidance of their colleagues. I am not the second minister, so of course I can confidently support the severe punishment of the second minister Qian Qianyi.
Although no one has spent money to read anyone else's resume, as long as they have read their own, then Qian Qianyi's, maybe they don't even need to read Qian Qianyi's.
Just make sure that you are not the second minister, and then look at the direction of the colleagues, you can easily judge who is the second minister in the hall.
After seeing it, the generals raised their necks and their nostrils almost looked at the dome, indicating that there were few rebels among the generals.
The suspense lies in who among the civil servants is the second one...
The generals were not surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, but the civil servants lost their integrity. In comparison, how embarrassing is this? ? ?
Among the people who supported Ni Yuanlu were those from the Beiguan Group and the Nanguan Group. They belonged to two camps, and their original positions were not entirely consistent.
But when it comes to punishing the second minister, there is no need to discuss it in advance. As long as you are sure that you are not the second minister, you can support Ni Yuanlu's proposal.
It turns out you are not!
Turns out neither are you!
The two groups looked at each other and soon got the answer from each other's eyes.
As long as he is not an enemy, he is now one of his own and can share the same hatred.
As a veteran anti-Donglin talent, Gao Hongtu did not follow suit and has been gathering momentum.
If Qu Shichun, the first assistant, did not express his position, or the emperor did not ask questions, he decided to keep doing so.
Now Gao Hongtu somewhat understood the reason why he was admitted to the cabinet. This was most likely the prince's suggestion.
Gao Hongtu couldn't figure out the reason before, but now things have taken shape and the purpose has become very clear.
Judging from his resume, Qu Shichu is undoubtedly a rare talent, a capable minister, and a loyal minister.
But because he came from Donglin, Emperor Chongzhen would not trust this person.
But on the surface, in order to appease Donglin, the largest local gang in Jiangnan, Qu Shiqi was appointed as the chief assistant.
Therefore, because of his anti-Donglin background, he joined the cabinet and became the second assistant.
Gao Hongtu felt that after such integration, it made sense logically.
Qu Shichun is considered a loyal man, but Donglin...
Referring to the previous group of people's advice to the emperor, Gao Hongtu felt that there was no difference from more than 20 years ago.
It can be said that the emperor's reverse scale and Donglin's reverse scale are in the same part, but the directions are completely opposite!
Commercial tax is the lifeblood of both parties. It depends on who can strangle the other party's lifeline first!
If the imperial court can collect business taxes, it means that the financial backer behind Donglin is gone!
Otherwise, the imperial court may not be able to support Beiting with these two pieces of silver.
Gao Hongtu is secretly observing whether the emperor intends to go to war with Donglin.
If Dong Lin didn't dare to challenge and took the initiative to give up Qian Qianyi, he might still be able to survive for a while.
On the contrary, Donglin chose to use a large number of merchants and thousands of scholars as a barrier to protect Qian Qianyi to death, then...
Before the emperor made up his mind, he could not take the lead in attacking without obtaining the holy will. There would be no support from the court and he would not be able to act at all.
Gao Hongtu and Qian Qianyi had no personal enmity, but they had been feuding with Dong Lin for more than twenty years!
Wei Zhongxian is deceased, but Donglin is still there!
Seven years ago, Emperor Chongzhen ordered Gao Hongtu to cancel his status and return to his hometown because of a disagreement with Zhang Yixian, his chamberlain.
Now that I have suddenly come back to my senses, I feel that there must be something very interesting in it. According to the emperor, it was the prince's suggestion.
But the prince never summoned him, nor did he send anyone to tell him how he should act.
Since the prince is letting himself deal with Dong Lin, he must give him some tips, right?
This is the question in Gao Hongtu's mind. Does he agree with the prince's wishes by attacking Donglin rashly?
It is well known that the prince vigorously collected business taxes and cracked down on profiteers.
Dong Lin, who was extremely powerful in the south of the Yangtze River, seemed not to be favored. There were almost only a handful of Dong Lin who were officials in the Beiting.
It can be inferred from this that the prince may want to use himself to contain Dong Lin, but it is still unknown whether he will launch an attack.
Gao Hongtu still had some regrets at this time. It would have been better if he had spent more money and learned more about his colleagues' resumes like Huang Chuangzi.
My family is well-off and I don't need this little money at all. I was cautious just now, but now that I think about it, I made a very important mistake.
In the current situation, it is impossible to look through it again. We can only meet with the emperor in private afterwards, hoping to have the opportunity to review it.
"I wonder what the chief minister's intention is?"
Chongzhen's goal has been achieved, which is to use the mouth of his relatives to deal with Qian Qianyi. It is not enough to reflect on himself behind closed doors.
Qian Qianyi is the leader of Donglin. Those scholars who are not familiar with the world dare not act arbitrarily in front of the imperial city without getting his orders!
If the scholars did not make trouble, Chongzhen still felt that there was room for improvement, so Qian Qianyi could just shut up and reflect on himself.
However, Qian Qianyi allowed scholars supported by merchants to come to petition, put forward a bunch of unreasonable demands, and even threatened the country, so he must not be leniently spared.
"...I thought...to appease the scholars first, and then find out the whole story!"
When you compete with the emperor, you must not be tough.
If the emperor is asked to provide evidence that Qian Qianyi is a second minister, the emperor will definitely not be able to provide it.
However, Chongzhen ordered the Qian Mansion to be confiscated. Once the teacher was found to have accepted money from merchants, he would be killed for any crime.
say good things?
First take a look at how many people below want the teacher to die!
In view of Donglin's various excuses for merchants, he desperately opposed the increase in commercial taxes.
Who would believe it now that Qian Qianyi is not a traitor who is greedy for life and afraid of death?
Fortunately, there were scholars who petitioned, otherwise Qu Shichun would not have known what excuses he could find to find excuses.
"What do you think Cifu?"
Now that this situation is extremely beneficial to him, Chongzhen is naturally not in a hurry to express his position.
"I think what your majesty said before is reasonable. The scholars have no laws and must be disciplined. The two ministers are causing serious trouble, so we must not neglect them."
Gao Hongtu decided to answer this based on the way the talented emperor dealt with scholars and the teacher-student relationship between Qu Shichu and Qian Qianyi.
When the emperor asked this question, he probably wanted to take action on Qian Qianyi and warn everyone in Donglin not to act rashly.
It doesn't matter whether Qian Qianyi himself will die. What matters is to combat Donglin's arrogance.
The person with the greatest power in Nandu is Emperor Chongzhen, not Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin!
Donglin disobeyed orders and deliberately protected merchants, which was an act of treason and injustice.
Even having a dinner together, but also working together to hide the truth, it shows that Donglin and Fushe are clearly working together in an attempt to deceive Shengcong.
The dinner party is just the tip of the iceberg. Who knows how many ulterior secrets Donglin and Fushe hide?
Judging from today's situation, maybe the death of Emperor Tianqi in the past was really related to Donglin!
First, resist the tax!
Then he plotted to kill the late emperor!
In the end, the leader became the second minister!
If all three things are verified correctly, I'm afraid Donglin has done all the bad things!
In comparison, what Wang Zhen, Liu Jin and others did are nothing!
Once Emperor Chongzhen regarded Donglin as a black sheep, he was accused of subverting the Ming Dynasty.
Not to mention Qian Qianyi, I'm afraid thousands of Donglin scholars will have to be buried with him!
The evidence of the murder of the late emperor is difficult to find, and the evidence that Qian Qianyi was the second minister is even more impossible to obtain in advance.
However, the evidence of Donglin’s tax resistance is conclusive. It is not just three or five people, but three to five thousand people!
If the emperor succumbed to this, not only would the Southern Court be unable to bear it, but the Northern Court would also find it difficult to survive.
Otherwise, Donglin will inevitably encounter disaster!
Fushe and Jishe, which are very close to Donglin, are not immune!
"Li Ruolian!"
"I'm here!"
"Sent people to arrest Qian Qianyi and confiscate his home. His family members will be detained in the same place first and will be dealt with after he is convicted!"
"I obey!"
"Also, to arrest Hou Xun, his son Hou Fangyu must be captured. His family members will be dealt with in the same way as the Qian family!"
"I obey!"
Chongzhen felt that the overall situation had been decided and he could give Donglin a taste of his power.
"My dear friends, you may have doubts. Why did I order the arrest of Hou Fangyu? My companion, please read this person's resume!"
"yes!"
Wang Chengen found the page about Hou Fangyu in the booklet and read it out in public.
"Hou Fangyu! Hou Xun's son, together with Maoxiang, Chen Zhenhui, and Fang Yizhi, are collectively known as the 'Four Young Masters of the Late Ming Dynasty'. On the surface, he claims to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, and strives to share the emperor's worries. In fact, he loves romance, and often lingers. He also agrees to boycott commercial taxes. , repeatedly criticized the imperial court. However, the Qing army marched southward, and Hou Fangyu did not want to resist the enemy. Instead, he fled everywhere. After the Qing army conquered the southern capital, Hou Fangyu showed up. Unwilling to be lonely, he surrendered to the Qing court, following suit and willing to be a lackey. To the governor Zhang Cunren proposed a plan, and later Zhang Cunren sent troops to dig up the embankment of the Yellow River, suppress the 100,000 Fuming rebels, and use the river water to kill millions..."
"..."
By the time Wang Chengen finished reading, the officials were already extremely shocked.
From this point of view, isn't Hou Xun's son a disaster?
What's the use of keeping him?
How about waiting for him to join Donglu?
