Qian Qianyi is the second minister!
Hou Xun is not the second minister, but Hou Fangyu is the second minister!
Ruan Dacheng, Chen Mingxia, Peng Bin, Wei Xuelian, Gong Dingzi and others are all second ministers!
Chongzhen wanted to attack the people in the imperial edict, and these eight of them were the first to be beheaded or even punished.
First there were the six gentlemen of Donglin, and then there were the eight heroes of Jiangnan?
Is this possible?
The key to the problem is that perhaps none of these eight people intended to die, but all wanted to survive.
How to survive?
The family members were asked to pay money, and he had to write a confession.
For key criminals like them, this is not enough to get themselves amnesty.
How did you confront the emperor and the court before, now you have to be as submissive as a lackey.
Is this still the behavior of Donglin scholars who followed the emperor's lead and willingly worked as a lackey for the imperial court?
If it spreads out, it will definitely be despised by all the scholars, and it is reasonable to scold and criticize it.
Ruan Dacheng didn't know what the two people next door were thinking, but the people in the same room.
After some small talk, Ruan Dacheng can confirm that no one wants to die...
Regardless of the fact that Qian Qianyi is the leader of Donglin, he has a very high reputation and can respond to everything he calls.
However, this person is also a man who has both sides, and is quite famous. Although he is not as good as Wen Tiren back then, it is enough to say that.
Ruan Dacheng is a person who has suffered a lot, and his understanding of Donglin's backbone is much deeper than that of a hot-blooded young man.
Others were extremely surprised that Qian Qianyi was classified as a second minister by the Book of Heaven, but Ruan Dacheng just laughed it off.
Based on Qian Qianyi's personality and conduct, he felt that this matter was really possible...
It is known to everyone that Donglin seeks profits for merchants.
During the Wanli period, he did not hesitate to fight the emperor to the end in order to ensure that he paid less business taxes.
But Donglu is different from Wanli. Donglu has always only talked about fists and not reason!
If the knife is put to the neck, and if you say no, you will die, how many scholars in Jiangnan will die generously?
The Jiangnan area has never been plundered by the Donglu, but Ruan Dacheng also knows something about the Donglu through many battle reports.
The Ming Emperor cherished his reputation and was controlled by the scholar-bureaucrats, so he would definitely not take extraordinary measures to clean up the scholar-officials.
What about the Qing Emperor?
Will you continue to tolerate the nobles?
Can even tax evasion be tolerated?
If commercial taxes cannot be collected, agricultural taxes will inevitably be levied in order to ensure sufficient supply in Taicang.
When agricultural taxes are raised, won’t the already extremely poor farmers have even less hope for survival?
After going around in a circle, you still have to rebel in the end. What difference does this Ming court make?
Could the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty be more stupid than Chongzhen?
It’s impossible even if you think about it!
In order to avoid civil unrest everywhere, they will inevitably appease those farmers who are not afraid of death and choose to attack the merchants.
At that time, Dong Lin and other gangs would come out to oppose and prevent the court from imposing additional business taxes.
Do you think the Qing emperor would behave like the Ming court?
If Huang Taiji's order is completely opposite to Chongzhen's, is there any need to elaborate on the fate of Donglin and other gangs?
Kill all those who are not afraid of death. Aren't the rest just obedient?
There are thousands of scholars in Donglin, which seems to be very large and has a large number of people.
But in reality, if you put it all together, it’s not enough to cover the population of a city, right?
The Qing Dynasty knocked on the pass several times and slaughtered many cities?
Thousands of talkative people who are in need of slaughter?
In the face of the wolf-like and tiger-like cavalry of the Qing army, the result of overestimating one's capabilities is to die early, that's all!
The Qing Dynasty only needed obedient scholars like Ning Wanwo and Fan Wencheng to govern the world.
For those disobedient scholars who have resentment in their hearts, they can go to the Lord of Hell and say...
Killing a scholar is easier than killing a chicken. At least the chicken can run away. The scholar wants to reason with the Qing soldiers.
Before he could even finish a sentence, his head was cut off, fell to the ground, and rolled around three times!
This is also the reason why before Hou Fangyu came in, the excrement bucket was placed in the middle of the cell as a dividing line.
When Wei Xuelian, Gong Dingzi, and Ruan Dacheng were captured by the Jinyi Guards, they did not know that they had been designated as second ministers.
It was Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia who told the three of them, but then, after the two sides talked for a while, a dispute broke out.
The origin of the dispute lies in the fact that the two people who came in first had different views from Wei Xuelian and Gong Dingzi.
Although all five people may be designated as traitors by the superiors, they may even be convicted and executed.
But Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia were not so afraid because they wrote evidence to accuse Hou Fangyu at the court meeting, but they did not reveal anything to the three newcomers.
In this way, the two of them have a certificate of surrender, and they will no longer continue to talk to the merchants.
Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia had already discussed the reason. It was very simple, that is, they didn't want to be the second minister.
Does being a second minister have anything to do with protecting the interests of merchants?
There must be, and if not, the two of them will try their best to connect them together.
These two people are naturally very smart and quickly came up with countermeasures.
After chatting with the next three people, he expressed his thoughts.
Now there is no evidence that anyone is not a second minister, and the court also has no evidence that anyone is a second minister.
However, the imperial court was able to use everyone's behavior of protecting merchants to deal with everyone. This was a part that the five people in the cell agreed with.
The point of difference is that Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia think that the way to become a disloyal minister is very simple.
That is to let the prince defeat the Emperor Taiji. If the Donglu cannot destroy the Ming Dynasty, they will naturally not be able to serve as the second minister.
The prerequisite for failure is that the Southern Court must give the Northern Court a large amount of silver and food, so it must give up the merchants as an ally and side with the emperor and the prince.
It is said that Beiting alone is worth as much as 30 million taels in support of the year.
In order to ensure that Beiting can not be destroyed by Huang Taiji's army, the support must reach this level every year.
I'm afraid that starting next year, Nanting will vigorously increase business taxes. Anyone with a brain will infer this.
Therefore, Wei Xuelian and Gong Dingzi believed that Peng and Chen's words were an act of begging for surrender, the actions of gentlemen, and even more contrary to the aspirations of Donglin and other gangs.
Helping the emperor and the prince to expropriate and seize the benefits of Min is comparable to aiding Zhou in his abuse, and must not be done.
If anyone among the scholars does such a shameless and unjust act, he must be criticized and reviled.
Wei and Gong also scolded Peng and Chen...
This scene is really funny. Two ministers who claim to be righteous men accuse the two companions on the other side of being two ministers!
Then the two sides recognized each other as the traitor, and even the bottom line was revealed, which was equivalent to a slap in the face.
This wasn't the end yet. It seemed that the scolding was not enough, so the four of them got into groups of two and started fighting together.
Ruan Dacheng finally managed to dissuade the four of them and received two punches in the process, which was considered a big loss.
In order to avoid this kind of thing happening again, I had to put the dung bucket in the middle!
Will the guards in the imperial prison take care of this kind of thing?
It depends on who the target is and to what extent.
How cruel can you be to beat a scholar who has no power to bind a chicken to death with his bare hands?
Besides, when I came over, I saw that there was a scuffle in Erchen's cell. Everyone was watching the joke before it was too late. How could they go up to start a fight?
It’s better not to kill people, but to cripple them!
The Emperor of the Qing Dynasty was not blind, so how could he use a cripple as his second minister?
Hahahahaha...
The summary of the views of Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia is "If you cannot win externally, you will perish internally"!
We can only focus on defeating the Donglu first and ensuring that the Ming Dynasty will not be destroyed by the Donglu, and then talk about other things.
The view of Wei Xuelian and Gong Dingzi is that "if you are uneasy internally, you will lose externally"!
This means that the imperial court has made the people everywhere miserable, so how can Master Wang possibly defeat the Donglu?
No one on the two sides could say anything about the other, so they faced each other and stared at each other until Hou Fangyu arrived.
After Ruan Dacheng thought about it for a while, he felt that what Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia said really made some sense.
At least the notorious name of Erchen can be easily washed away using this method.
Otherwise, even if he doesn't die, will he have to bear the name of second minister for the rest of his life?
Even if you can't survive in Nandu, you will still be criticized after returning home.
Who can bear to be treated like this every day for a long time?
How many people today can be like Qin Hui, the prime minister of Zhao and Song Dynasties, who don't care about reputation?
Besides, Qin Hui was deeply trusted by Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, and had power over both the government and the public.
The Ming Dynasty has not yet died. As a second minister, how can you gain the trust of Emperor Chongzhen?
Before the situation became clear, it was difficult for Ruan Dacheng to express his position and he could only be a peacemaker in the cell.
Wei Xuelian and Gong Dingzi looked down upon Ruan Dacheng, an old guy who still insisted on having sex.
They just didn't know Ruan Dacheng's virtue before, but now it's clear.
No wonder he had to be treated well by scholars and not be reused by the imperial court, that's why.
Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia had previously formed an alliance and decided to advance and retreat together.
Even if you come to prison, there are three things you can do.
First, we need to make our position clear and deal with dissidents, including the second minister, when possible.
Second, we need to explore the truth and understand the general views and attitudes of these people.
Third, if possible, win over some people who are willing to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side.
After some discussion, it was obvious that Wei Xuelian and Gong Dingzi did not intend to abandon the dark side and join the bright side.
As long as the Ming Dynasty survives, such people will not seek refuge in the imperial court, but will still cheer for merchants.
As for Ruan Dacheng, Chen Mingxia felt that this man was cunning and cunning, and he did not express his position clearly. For the time being, he could not figure out his thoughts.
I don't know how many days I'll be detained here, and I'm not going to be convicted and executed immediately, so there's no need to be too impatient.
If a flaw is revealed and the opponent catches it, the gain will outweigh the loss.
Although Peng Bin and Chen Mingxia accepted the certificate of surrender, they already thought that they had abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side.
But now he can still reveal his changed identity, and he can also use his previous mask to deceive these corrupt people.
"Brother Chen!"
"Chaozong!"
"Don't pay attention to Chaozong, he has betrayed us and is no longer of our generation!"
Wei Xuelian didn't wait for Hou Fangyu to exchange greetings with Chen Mingxia, then suddenly interrupted and scolded Chen Mingxia in disguise.
"Ah? This..."
Hou Fangyu didn't know what to say for a moment, so he started talking harshly to each other, which was a bit too shocking.
"If Master Wang fails to win, we will all become the second minister. It seems that you are willing to be the second minister. You hope that Master Wang will be defeated and the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed, and you will die for the Donglu!"
This was in Jinyiwei's prison, and he was not facing a jailer. Chen Mingxia didn't have so many scruples and directly retorted.
"You are obviously talking nonsense! You are slandering me! You are the one who betrays your companions and flatters me!"
Wei Xuelian would not admit that he supported the Donglu. He believed that there was no contradiction between his opposition to the Ming court and his opposition to the Donglu.
"It's extremely ridiculous! Scholars must put loyalty to the emperor and serve the country first. Not only do you not want to do this, but you have repeatedly slandered the Ming Dynasty, abused the court, and have no regard for the emperor. What are you doing that is different from the Donglu secretly causing trouble? "
"Chen Mingxia! I never thought that you would be such a despicable person, stirring up trouble and confusing right and wrong. I am blind and misjudged you!"
"It's a joke! I don't want to be a second minister, but I am despised by you. Are you addicted to being a second minister? Is it really like the rumors in the market that you are loyal to the Ming Dynasty in words, but welcome the Qing Dynasty in your heart?"
"you……"
"The first assistant is from Donglin, and he also agrees to increase commercial taxes to reduce the burden on farmers. Do you think the first assistant is also rebelling? Everyone in the world is wrong, but you are right!"
"...Chen Mingxia! You are quite capable of sophistry, but you will not shake my heart in petitioning for Min. Moreover, I am not alone this time. There are thousands of scholars and people behind me!"
"How dare you be so presumptuous as a person who talks nonsense? You still pretend to petition for Min! They are nothing more than profiteers who evade taxes! You turned a deaf ear to the salt merchants selling illegal salt, and the grain merchants deliberately made false accounts, and you turned a blind eye. Could it be that you really Are you colluding with profiteers and trying to destroy our country, the Ming Dynasty? Are you going to join the Eastern captives and become a traitor?"
"It is you, Chen Mingxia, who has been slandering merchants and us, making us suspicious of each other, so that you can profit from it. However, scholars are not illiterate and are easily deceived. Your despicable tricks are of no use to us. Those who are pure will be cleansed themselves. Those who are filthy are themselves filthy, and you cannot slander them with just a few words!"
"The pure will self-purify? Well said! Do you dare to say that you have never accepted the benefits from merchants? Don't you dare? There is a saying that eaters have short mouths and take advantage of others. If you take the benefits from merchants, you will take them. Speak for merchants. How dare a man who is obsessed with profit say that he is loyal to the Ming Dynasty! It seems that the content stated in the Book of Heaven is absolutely correct. You, the second minister, dare to be so confident. How can you go to see your ancestors?"
"Chen Mingxia! Do you dare to say that you have not received the benefits from the merchants? How shameless are you to accept the benefits and then want to take advantage of them? Only a despicable and despicable person like you can be lucky enough to be that second minister. I will certainly disdain you. Gu, go ahead and do whatever you want, and don’t drag us and other loyal people along with you!”
"I have lived for forty years, and I have never seen a recipient of a gift claiming to be loyal! Who are you loyal to? Where does your loyalty lie? Do you dare to speak out? It's okay if you don't dare. Let me explain it to you. You are loyal to merchants and righteous. There are benefits. If there are merchants and there are benefits, you will call yourself loyal. Otherwise, you are worse than a wild dog!"
"Fart! Chen Mingxia! Previously, I respected your age and didn't bother to argue with you. Instead, you came up to harass me. Are you looking for a beating?"
"Come on, come on! If I beat you, this second minister, you will be able to eliminate evil for my Ming Dynasty!"
"I hit you, Chen Mingxia, to get rid of harm for Min! Come over quickly and take a punch from me!"
The two of them went from sitting and scolding to standing, and then got closer and closer, and finally rolled up their arms and sleeves, planning to compete in martial arts again!
"..."
Hou Fangyu was stunned on the sidelines. It seemed that what these two people said seemed to make sense.
Which side he wants to support still needs to be considered.
"Don't be so reckless! It's insulting to politeness!"
The Jin Yiwei hadn't mentioned anyone yet, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate hadn't sent anyone over either. The fight was about to start again in the cell, which made Ruan Dacheng really dumbfounded.
"Master Ruan, don't try to pull me away. I will beat these two ministers violently today!"
Wei Xuelian was young and energetic. He was so angry when the other party spoke to him just now that he was worried that he had no place to vent his anger. I can’t beat Jin Yiwei, but I can’t beat a scum like you?
"It's a joke! You don't know what you're capable of and you dare to speak arrogantly. I'll teach you a lesson for your father!"
Naturally, Chen Mingxia would not tolerate this stubborn young man. By accepting the surrender certificate, he had a backer. As long as he could not kill someone, it would not count as murder.
"ah……"
Before Chen Mingxia could take action, Peng Bin quietly went up and punched Wei Xuelian, causing him to scream in agony.
"Peng Bin! You bastard! I must make you look good!"
Wei Xuelian, who had suffered a secret loss, had to make up for it immediately, otherwise he would not be able to swallow this breath of life or death.
"How dare you, Er Chen'an, fight back! Take another punch from me!"
"I don't want to be so arrogant! I'm here too!"
Before Peng Bin could make his second lap, Gong Dingzi stepped forward to help Wei Xuelian.
"Chaozong! You quickly pull the two sides apart!"
Ruan Dacheng was already very busy, but the new young master was enjoying himself as leisurely as if he were watching a play.
