"Your Majesty, if you are brave enough to be a student, I wonder if you would be lucky enough to know who the second minister is between the government and the public?"
Chen Zilong was thinking about a question just now, that is, since the Book of Heaven said that Peng Bin, Chen Mingxia, and Hou Fangyu were the second ministers, were these the only three ministers who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty?
If the Ming Dynasty was destroyed by the Donglu, there would definitely be many people who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. His Majesty just said so, so who are the other ministers?
"As far as you know, among the ministers in the palace who participated in the court meeting, who was absent?"
Chongzhen did not tell the son directly, but instead responded to him by asking. Since his brain is good, he should think about it carefully. The result will be very surprising.
Although the civil servants and generals did not read the contents of the Book of Heaven, not even one person read it, Huang Degong, who spent a thousand taels of silver, read it the most.
But now it is known that Qian Qianyi is the only one who can truly be regarded as surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. As for the others, the officials also know nothing about them.
"Students are stupid..."
Chen Zilong didn't dare to make rash guesses. If he made a mistake and falsely accused Zhongliang of being a traitor, he would be held responsible.
"Don't worry! Let you think about it! Think about the most famous one!"
Chongzhen gave a hint. It was an obvious hint. Presumably this scholar would not deliberately avoid the correct answer.
"..."
Chen Zilong suddenly thought of someone and was immediately shocked by this idea.
"But you have thought of it, right? Daban! Show the scholars Qian Qianyi's page!"
"yes!"
The kneeling scholars were shocked again. They didn't see the content in the heavenly book, so they were choked by this thundering name and were speechless.
Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin who leads thousands of students!
Cleared? ? ?
How can this be so?
Even though Hou Fangyu's fellow was a strong man but a powerful man, he forgot his loyalty and could not serve the Ming Dynasty.
A hero like the leader, whose first priority is to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, wouldn't he serve the Qing Dynasty?
"..."
When they saw the content above, the scholars were naturally frightened again. Shi Qing didn't say anything, but he still lived to be over eighty!
What's going on?
Can disaster lead to longevity?
If what the Book of Heaven says is true, then Qian Qianyi has become the old thief Qian!
As a minister of the Ming Dynasty, he did not say anything about surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, but encouraged others to surrender to the Qing Dynasty as well. It is really hateful!
"Big companion, after the scholars have read it, please turn to the pages of the first assistant and the second assistant!"
"yes!"
After seeing Qian Qianyi's "feat", the scholars all saw the heroic death of Qu Shichu, the first assistant, and Gao Hongtu, the second assistant, committed suicide by drowning.
In comparison, what Qian Qianyi did seemed even more ridiculous and shameless, and he was unworthy of being the leader of Donglin.
He is called a contemporary great scholar, but what he did is a "big insult" to the contemporary world!
In order to calm down, excuse the water is too cold?
He is clearly a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death!
Today I finally know the true face of these old thieves’ hypocrisy!
Qian Qianyi's reputation in the eyes of scholars is very high, and there are not many who can be equal to him, but there are also Wang Duo, Liu Zhengzong, Ding Kuichu, Ding Qirui, Yang Shicong, Zhang Sizhi, Zhang Sunzhen and others who can keep him company.
Today, these scholars are fortunate enough to witness this grand occasion, especially since even a famous calligrapher like Wang Duo has become a second minister. It can be seen that fame is not worth mentioning to these people, and saving their lives is more important.
"Yang Shicong is a disciple of Zhou Tingru, the former leader of Donglin. At that time, his official position was from the seventh rank of the Hanlin Academy, and his monthly salary was no more than seven stone meters! Ni Yuanlu, Ni Aiqing, you have also watched the search of Yang Shicong's residence, you can introduce it to the scholars!"
Chongzhen did not have the opportunity to visit the Yang Mansion to see the embarrassment of this loyal and loyal lover, so he asked Ni Yuanlu to describe it to everyone. Since Ni Yuanlu had a good character, the content described was more reliable and would be recognized by everyone.
"I obey! On that day, His Highness the Crown Prince said that today Yang would inspect and treat you to a meal. We still didn't know why. We didn't understand until we arrived in front of Yang Shicong's residence. No less than five thousand taels of silver were found from Yang Shicong's residence, and other valuables were not included. .Yang Shicong first said that the dirty silver was a gift from Chen Biqian, but when it failed, he framed the matter on his wife. Then, his wife and his concubine reported accordingly, and a book containing the contents of the gifts was found in the room. Yang Shicong just started begging for mercy!"
Ni Yuanlu was also shocked at the time about Yang Shicong's family background.
A small self-examination can actually save such substantial wealth.
It can be seen that the absence of moths is pervasive, and it is precisely because of the existence of such moths that the Ming Dynasty was so decadent.
"Well said! I believe all the scholars and your loved ones have read the rest in the "Jingshi Daily". There are good people and bad people in Donglin. It is obvious that those who enrich themselves cannot be counted as good people. . People who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty to serve as ministers are not even good. Today I don’t want to use this heavenly book to measure the good or bad of people, but it depends on some people openly resisting the imperial court and imposing commercial taxes. Our Ming court lacks military pay, and border affairs It is bound to be tight, and the Donglu will definitely take the opportunity to invade and even seize the northern territory. From this point of view, deliberately evading taxes is openly supporting the enemy, and those who resist taxation are undoubtedly the accomplices of the Donglu. No matter who, who dares to resist, I will punish anyone! If you lose the Ming Dynasty because of lack of pay, it will be your fault for resisting commercial taxes. I dare not imitate Liu Chan, the empress of the Shu Han Dynasty, and bow to the Wei State. Such a shameless thing, I cannot learn from it. , let alone go to see our ancestors! You are willing to kneel down and recognize Donglu as your ancestor and shout long live the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty! However, I cannot kneel down, nor can I shout out!"
After reading so much content for you, you should also understand a truth.
Anyone who dares to boycott commercial taxes will become a traitor!
What will happen if you become a second minister?
If you can’t figure it out here, go to prison and think about it!
"Your Majesty, please don't do this. Students are not talented. I am willing to follow Your Majesty, cut off Donglu's body, peel off Donglu's skin, gnaw on Donglu's bones, and drink Donglu's blood, in order to avenge the hatred of the country's enemies and family!"
Immediately, Chen Zilong burst into tears, kowtowing like an emperor and expressing his sincerity.
It is really helpless for the king of a country to be forced to make such a statement.
If these scholars remain stubborn, they will indeed become traitors.
"Students are also willing to smash their bodies to pieces to save our country and the people of the Ming Dynasty!"
Xu Fuyuan thought of the page about himself in the Book of Heaven, and made up his mind at this moment. From now on, he would be incompatible with those sanctimonious people. Loyalty to the emperor and service to the country are one and the same, and it is absolutely impossible to separate them.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to donate one hundred thousand taels to meet the needs of the court!"
Cisuke Gao Hongtu suddenly interjected, adding icing on the cake is not as good as providing timely assistance. Taking out this money at this time will have a much better effect than taking it later.
"Second Assistant, I don't want you to go bankrupt, and I don't want to use you as an example to force the ministers to act like this!"
Chongzhen was still very happy about Gao Hongtu's actions, but there must be a standard for everything. Originally, these people in the palace were all loyal and good, so it would be too much to force others to donate money.
"Your Majesty, this move is my personal action and has nothing to do with others. I have figured it out. I am already old and I feel that my time is running out. If my Ming Dynasty is destroyed by the Donglu, I will also do what the Book of Heaven said. In the end, what's the use of just leaving the family property? If you don't bring it alive, you won't take it with you in death! Instead of leaving it to the Donglu, why not help my Ming army to kill more enemy soldiers! Although the Donglu cavalry is strong, His Highness the Crown Prince can also fight And win. One hundred thousand taels is not much, but I can use my meager strength! The book of heaven says that I am a loyal and good man, so I have nothing to ask for in this life!"
Gao Hongtu thought very clearly that if he didn't want to be a second minister, he would have to die again if the Ming Dynasty died.
If the Ming Dynasty does not fall and the emperor can continue to reuse him, then he will still be the superior subordinate.
Spending 100,000 taels to buy a good reputation that will last forever, and maybe even a long-lasting secondary assistant, this money is well spent!
Scholar-officials all enjoyed preferential and exempt treatment, which was nothing more than a difference in the size of the donations received and donated according to the local conditions.
If you collect more, you will earn more. If you collect less, you will earn less. It is difficult not to make money.
When other colleagues heard this, they secretly cursed this old fox for being too cunning.
You are strong and can easily take out one hundred thousand taels, what should we do?
They all say that Zhou Kui, the national warrior, is hateful. This old man is much more hateful than Zhou Kui. He dug a hole for everyone to jump in!
A moth's money is money, but Zhongliang's money is not money?
Zhongliang also has to support his family, eat and drink porridge!
It’s definitely not possible if you don’t pay, and it’s embarrassing if you pay less!
"Your Majesty, my family is inferior to that of my second assistant, and I can only afford five thousand taels!"
The first assistant, Qu Shichun, was not considered poor, but he was not particularly wealthy either. He was not on the same level as Gao Hongtu's family.
In comparison, this is what he calls "improving power"!
The old man who raised his hand and took out one hundred thousand taels of silver was just being humble and showing off!
Qu Shishu knew that Gao Hongtu was not just talking casually, but that he would really come up with the money, so he did what he could.
"The chief minister is determined. This matter must be done according to one's ability. It varies from person to person!"
Chongzhen nodded with satisfaction. After all, there were not many top gentry like Gao Hongtu in the imperial court. If Zhang Pu had been there, he might still be able to see something, but it was a pity that it was too early.
The second assistant gets 100,000!
The first assistant gets five thousand!
What about yourself?
The ministers secretly sighed, they would be embarrassed to leave this place if they don't lose money again today.
Each person took out one thousand taels, which was more than 20,000 taels of silver.
What's more, since they are all loyal, we can only see who is more loyal in terms of money.
It seemed impolite to donate more than the chief assistant, so everyone set the upper limit at four thousand five hundred taels.
Those who have money will pay this price, and those who have no money will naturally pay a thousand taels of meaning to show their intentions.
It doesn’t matter if you can’t get it out for a while. You can write an IOU and the donated money will be directly deducted from your monthly salary.
If fifty taels are deducted every month, donating a thousand taels of silver can be deducted in twenty months without affecting normal living expenses.
It's just that no one is so poor, because Nanguan is considered a person from a well-off family.
When Chongzhen moved to Beiguan in the southern capital, the prince had previously given him a higher monthly salary. Before departure, Chongzhen also gave each person a settling-in allowance.
This is equivalent to spending money to buy a reputation as a loyal and good person, but in the eyes of everyone, it is a matter of decision-making.
With only a few thousand, or even a thousand taels of silver, he can become a loyal minister, which is a huge advantage falling into his mouth!
"Your Majesty, students are willing to donate five thousand taels of silver!"
Chen Zilong is also willing to pay, which can be regarded as an act of atonement.
"Your Majesty, students are willing to donate two thousand taels of silver!"
Naturally, Xu Fuyuan would not lag behind. According to the Book of Heaven, Chen Zilong was considered a righteous person in the fight against the Qing Dynasty, and so was he. Donating money would do the same.
"Your Majesty, students are willing to donate..."
Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia have already accepted their fate, and now they must do their best to clear their names.
The harder you wash, the better, and you have to let the emperor see with his own eyes that you work very hard!
If I had known it now, why bother then!
Alas!
It's too late!
Donate!
It's all Qian Qianyi's fault for being a second minister and causing trouble for them.
If Qian Qianyi is caught, who will they go to settle the score with?
By the way, there is also Zhou Yanru!
That damn old man!
After leaving the field, he did not stop, running around everywhere, inciting everyone to build momentum for him.
This time, it’s all folded in...
Catch the old man, beat him up, then tie him up and send him to the Yamen!
"Okay! Now that the monarch and his ministers are united and united, I am very relieved that the students are coming back! The country is facing a crisis, and I don't have much gift to give you. I will rest for a quarter of an hour and come back to let the great companion read the heavenly book again!"
Chongzhen was too embarrassed to say, "You are entertaining yourself, I will go and count the money first!"
After so many years, this donation of money has finally been successful.
It’s not easy!
God's eyes are open!
Finally saw the money back!
Even though it won’t end up in your pocket, it’s not a waste of time!
"By the way, I just thought about the prince's behavior during the break. The prince often borrows money to raise troops in the Beiting, and rarely donates money. I can't let all my dear friends and students go bankrupt and suffer a loss. I have thought about it carefully. , you can use the Ma'anshan Iron Mine as a pledge. This time it is considered as raising funds to buy shares. According to the prince, this mine contains an equivalent weight of 200 billion kilograms of iron ore. The profit of each kilogram of wrought iron is priced at one cent of silver, and the total price can be It reaches a huge amount of two billion taels. I will not be so greedy. The price of this mine is only two hundred million taels. The prince had previously agreed with me that he would hold 20% of the shares, and the Nanting Household Department and the Ministry of Industry would each hold 10%. I will take another 10% is used for raising funds, and 10% of the shares are worth 20 million taels of silver. The secondary investment of 100,000 taels can be counted as one-two thousandth of the total amount of the mine. If it is left to future generations, they can also enjoy A hundred years from now."
After returning from the break, Chongzhen felt that it was a bit ugly just to ask for money, so he had to continue to imitate the traitor's tricks, even if he wanted to look better, he had to do so.
"I sincerely thank you for your grace!"
Unexpectedly, Gao Hongtu didn't expect that he could become a shareholder of Ma'anshan Iron Mine by donating money. This was an unexpected surprise.
It doesn’t matter if you pay dividends or not, since your family doesn’t lack that little money anyway, but it’s important to be able to show it off!
We are loyal ministers!
We donated 100,000 taels for His Majesty!
We have also become shareholders of Maanshan Iron Mine!
Aren't these talks enough to show off after dinner? ? ?
Gao Hongtu couldn't guarantee that the Gao family would still be so prosperous after a hundred years.
But as long as this shareholder does not take the initiative to sell, he should be able to retain his status for a long time.
Go back and look at the Prince's project and donate a hundred thousand taels, so that the ship will not capsize.
The emperor is the present and the prince is the future. Spend money on both and walk on two legs without fear of losing your footing!
The ministers couldn't help but feel a little dazed after hearing this. Did the monarch and his ministers discuss this in advance?
Can you still do this with donations?
The sky is thundering!
If we had known this to be the case, would we still have just "acted within our capabilities"?
Forget it, since everyone is loyal and good, there is no need to worry about personal gains and losses.
If Ming Dynasty can hold on, everyone is loyal!
Ming Dynasty can't stand it, everyone is loyal!
This time, there is a reminder from the Book of Heaven. Before everyone becomes loyal and loyal, we must first kill those who want to be our enemies!
The reason why we are actively donating money now is so that Daming can work hard to stop it and not be really beaten by Donglu!
Whether it works or not depends on the prince's end. Nanting's side is just trying to raise money.
No matter how much you collect in the main hall, it will still be a drop in the bucket compared to the total of five million taels.
The key lies in how much tax money can be collected in the end. This is the key!
But according to the situation outside, we will have to rely on the Yongwei camp to collect taxes in the future!
If the merchants refused to pay taxes, the Yongwei camp could seize the carriages and requisition the merchant ships.
If you dare to run away, take the boat and the people to the bottom of the river to feed the fish!
Now Huang Degong's reputation is well-known far and wide - it is better to provoke the Lord of Hell than Huang Degong!
It is said that when children hear Huang Degong's name, they immediately dare not cry...
This is a joke and cannot be taken seriously.
But in the eyes of merchants, especially salt merchants, the crimes committed by Song Ji were appalling.
Arrest salt merchants, rob merchant ships, and steal salt openly. Apart from murder and arson, there is nothing they dare not do!
