"Do you still have a choice now? Why don't you stand in line and wait until later, and your Majesty will come to settle matters with us?"
"This new emperor is not simple. He will never tolerate the existence of a force that he cannot control."
"But, but... His Majesty has such a method, that is, he wants to revive the Ming Dynasty and rectify the military affairs. It is definitely for this reason that Li Banghua is brought back.
Now that the capital is corrupt, empty-handed, etc., won’t Your Majesty settle the matter? "
Zhang Weixian nodded first, then shook his head, and Zhang Zhiji grinned anxiously.
"You don't have to worry about these things, just do what I arrange."
"This kind of carefree life will not last long!"
Zhang Weixian sighed and returned to the mansion after touring the capital camp.
During the court meeting the next day, all the ministers were speechless when they looked at Li Banghua, who was standing in the Huangji Hall on crutches.
Why are you going to court if you don't take a good rest after being chopped twice?
After you do this, why should we find any reason to take leave when we are sick?
Sure enough, after everyone complained, Chongzhen praised him: "My dear friends, Li Aiqing still insisted on going to court even though he was stabbed twice. What kind of spirit is this? He should be a role model for you all."
For a moment, countless resentful eyes looked at Li Banghua, and Li Banghua snorted coldly.
After the officials began to play the memorial, Chongzhen also responded intermittently.
Half an hour later, the British Duke Zhang Weixian, who had rarely made a sound in the court, went out to work.
"Your Majesty, I have a script to start with!"
The ministers were suddenly shocked. This big boss was the number one person among the nobles. If he spoke out, it would definitely be a big deal.
"British Sir, please speak!"
The British Duke bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I impeach Cui Chengxiu, Minister of War, for six crimes:
First, aspire to be humble and live in filth;
Second, there is no need to negotiate the price and declare the scale to buy the official;
3. Constructing loyal ministers and good generals;
4. Flatter the factory ministers internally and be good at government affairs externally;
5. Only relying on power and accepting bribes and corruption;
6. Using the excuse of casting money, destroy the bells, tripods and Yi utensils of the past dynasties;”
Every time Zhang Weixian said something, all the ministers thought, "Fuck me."
One of them can cut down Cui Chengxiu, but if you add all six of them together, it won't be enough to cut him down even ten times.
"Your Majesty, Yang Hong, the head of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, impeached Wei Zhongxian. When the late emperor was dying, he falsely passed on the imperial edict and transformed himself into the Minister of War and the Censor of Zuodu. This is the crime of deceiving the emperor!"
"Your Majesty, the head of the household affairs department..."
…
"Your Majesty, Cui Chengxiu, Secretary of the Ministry of War, has recruited power and accepted bribes. He is prepared for all kinds of evil. If he is not killed, the people will not be angry."
After Zhang Weixian, several officials went out to impeach Cui Chengxiu.
Chongzhen was also puzzled at this moment. The British princes and nobles had always remained neutral. How could they engage in eunuchs at this juncture?
If he hadn't known about Zhang Weixian, he would have suspected that the Xungui Group had begun to interfere with the Civil Service Group.
"My dear friends, impeachment of the six ministers, if there is no evidence, is a serious crime."
"Your Majesty, this is evidence of guilt. Please take a look at it!"
Zhang Weixian took out a stack of paper and raised it high above his head. Wang Chengen quickly got off the platform, took it and presented it to Chongzhen.
Cui Chengxiu quickly left work and knelt down, saying sadly: "Your Majesty, I have been wronged!"
"Shut up, what is my identity? The eighth generation of British princes from the time when I became an ancestor to the present, will I wrongly accuse you?"
Zhang Weixian shouted angrily and pointed at the other impeached ministers: "Even if I have wronged you, there are ministers from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Punishment, etc., all of whom have joined forces to wrongly accuse you?"
"The evidence of the crime is here. It cannot be true or false. If you are fine, what do you have to be afraid of?"
After a while, Chongzhen looked livid after reading the incriminating evidence provided by Zhang Weixian.
Not to mention other things, there are actually dozens of people selling official positions. The highest one is the fourth-rank deputy envoy of the Ministry of Justice, and the lower ones include the prefect, magistrate, Yanyun Tongjian, Zhongshu Sheren, etc.
The amount of antiques, calligraphy, paintings, and cash obtained from selling official positions and accepting bribes amounted to as much as one million taels.
Wei Zhongxian stood up with a gloomy face and whispered: "Your Majesty, Cui Chengxiu is the Minister of War, this kind of..."
"Wei Zhongxian, my father-in-law has given you face, right?"
The British Duke Zhang Weixian took two steps forward and stared closely at Wei Zhongxian who spoke out: "If I didn't say before that I was too lazy to pay attention to you, do you really think I am afraid of you?"
After speaking, he cupped his hands towards Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to use the heads of hundreds of people from the British government as a guarantee. If this certificate is false, I will die to apologize!"
"I am also willing to use my wealth and life as a guarantee!"
Several other impeachment ministers also stood up.
Seeing this scene, Cui Chengxiu, who was originally calm, was completely panicked. He knelt on the ground and his body was trembling. Wei Zhongxian's face turned completely gloomy.
"Someone, push Cui Chengxiu out of the food market entrance of Xishi and chop him!"
The British Duke dared to guarantee the property and life of the Duke of Guo, which means that this is proven evidence. He was worried about how to trouble Cui Chengxiu, but he didn't expect the British Duke to take action. If he didn't kill it now, what were he waiting for?
Two Jinyi guards came in from outside Huangji Palace and dragged Cui Chengxiu out without giving Cui Chengxiu a chance to defend himself.
"As for the people who bought offices and took bribes, they should all be dismissed from their posts and investigated. They should be carefully examined to see if they had engaged in corruption or laziness when they were officials. Once discovered, their homes will be confiscated.
In addition, members of his family will never be allowed to take part in the scientific examination. "
Just after Chongzhen was dealt with, the British Duke went to work again.
"Your Majesty, this is the time to deal with the civil uprising in Shaanxi and mobilize troops. Cui Chengxiu, the Minister of the Ministry of War, has been killed. The Ministry of War cannot be left without an owner for a day. I recommend Li Banghua as the Minister of the Ministry of War."
"I second the proposal!"
Several ministers who impeached also agreed.
This time it was Li Banghua's turn to be confused. Happiness came too suddenly. Yesterday he picked up a fourth-rank admiral, the Fifth-City Inspection Department, and today he suddenly got a second-rank minister of the Ministry of War.
Reaching the sixteenth rank in two days was like a dream.
Chongzhen looked at the ministers: "My dear friends, although it was proposed by the British public, the Minister of War is the second-rank official, so we still have to recommend it according to the rules. You can start again after the dynasty is over!"
"But the British Lord is right. The Ministry of War is special now and cannot be left without an owner for a day. Li Banghua will be promoted to the left minister of the Ministry of War and will temporarily lead the Ministry of War. We will determine the candidate for the Minister of War after your court nomination is over."
"I thank Your Majesty for your grace."
Each position in the six books of ministers will arouse the covetousness of countless officials, and Chongzhen uses a drag-character tactic.
After the court push was over, he waited for a few more days and waited for the white-armed soldiers to enter the city in a few days. At that time, he could appoint anyone he wanted to the Minister of War.
However, I still can't give it to Li Banghua, mainly because he has such a straightforward personality and will definitely offend many people, which is not conducive to the work of the Ministry of War.
Secondly, although Li Banghua had rectified the military affairs, it was only limited, and the overall coordination was weak. After rectifying the military affairs, he could give it a try.
Currently, there are three best candidates for Minister of War, Sun Chengzong, Yuan Keli, and Sun Chuanting.
The first two had great strategic vision and were the ones who arranged the tripartite strategy. They had sufficient qualifications and prestige. The latter was the most capable general in Chongzhen's reign.
In fact, there is another Hong Chengchou who can also serve as Minister of War. At least before he was defeated and captured (15 years before Chongzhen), he still performed his duties with great military exploits. He defeated Li Zicheng and only 18 of his cavalry escaped.
If used well, this person will definitely be a famous general.
"Your Majesty, I still have this memorial!"
I thought I was going to retreat, but the British Duke stood up again.
The ministers were all shocked. What was this big boss going to do? We just killed the Minister of War, who is going to be impeached now?
The ministers involuntarily looked at Wei Zhongxian in the front row.
