"I will see you, Your Majesty!"
As soon as Chongzhen arrived at Dongnuan Pavilion, Qin Liangyu and others paid a grand ceremony.
"My dear friends, no courtesy!"
Chongzhen raised his right hand and said: "You guys are here so early and you probably haven't had breakfast yet. You should have dinner with me first. Only when you are full can you have the strength to discuss important matters."
While talking like this, Wang Chengen and several palace maids put breakfast on the table.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, is this what you have for breakfast?"
Qin Liangyu looked at the breakfast on the table, his voice full of doubts.
On the table were several plates of steamed buns, steamed buns, a bowl of porridge and three or four plates of pickles.
Not to mention the emperor, the average gentry's breakfast does not include big fish and meat. It is not too much to fry two hot dishes.
Without waiting for Chongzhen to respond, Wang Chengen was serving porridge to everyone and whispered: "Since the emperor ascended the throne, his daily breakfast is steamed buns, porridge and pickles, and his lunch and dinner are only four dishes and one soup."
Everyone was shocked again, and their eyes changed when they looked at Chongzhen.
If Chongzhen's words yesterday were sensational and used to boost morale.
So when they saw this scene again today, they instantly felt that His Majesty's words seemed achievable.
It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. There are so many princes and princes in the royal family. Which one is not well-dressed and well-fed and extravagant?
As the king of a country, being able to be so self-disciplined and frugal is at least the basis for becoming a wise king.
"Come on, eat them all!"
Chongzhen sat down first and said to everyone: "Eat this for breakfast before you are hungry, so hurry up and eat!"
After saying that, he grabbed a big meat bun and started eating it. There was nothing perfunctory or artificial about his movements.
After everyone looked at each other, Li Banghua sat down without ceremony, grabbed the buns and started eating. Seeing this, the rest of the people also started to eat.
Less than half an hour later, everyone had finished eating. Wang Chengen served everyone hot tea and then retreated behind the dragon case and stood with his hands tied.
"I invite you all here today because I want to ask you how to deal with the remaining prisoners of the eunuch party!"
"Kill? Detain? Or release?"
Everyone was shocked. It turned out to be this. Someone from the palace sent a message last night, and they had some guesses.
After a few breaths passed, Li Banghua stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that the remaining criminals of the Eunuch Party must be eradicated and all evil tasks must be eradicated. The Eunuch Party has framed Zhongliang. How many people have died in their hands? How many ministers have been ruined and their families have been destroyed? Not killing is not enough to make the people angry. .”
"Your Majesty, I think what Mr. Li said is inappropriate!"
Guo Yunhou, the Minister of Household Affairs, stood up and said, "Master Li, the eunuchs are indeed hateful and deserve to be killed, but we cannot beat them to death with a stick.
Some people appear to be eunuchs on the surface, but judging from their nature, they are not bad people, such as the cabinet minister Zhang Ruitu Zhang. "
"Your Majesty, I am not excusing Mr. Zhang, but I have a basis. Although I am attached to Wei Zhongxian, I did not participate in the frame-up of Zhongliang. There is still a big difference between him and the extremely vicious eunuchs.
For example, in the fifth year of the Apocalypse, Queen Yi'an was seriously ill. Wei Zhongxian ordered the prime minister Liu Zhixuan to persecute the state's abbot Zhang Guoji and other relatives. It was Lord Zhang who stopped him.
Another example is that in the sixth year of the Apocalypse, when the Beijing Confucian Temple rebuilt the Wei Zhongxian Shrine, it was still Mr. Zhang who stopped it, and..."
Guo Yunhou talked about a dozen things, and finally said: "The veteran believes that Mr. Zhang is also very conflicted in his heart, and his attachment to Wei Zhongxian is not out of inner piety and admiration.
Rather, it is a matter of political utility, seeking career advancement, and containing the nature of political speculation.
This person is firm and decisive internally, expresses peace and ease externally, uses negative energy to increase and decrease, and silently provides relief. "
"There are many people like this. We can't kill them all!"
Guo Yunhou's words silenced Li Banghua, who was extremely murderous, and the rest of the people also had thoughtful looks in their eyes.
Chongzhen also nodded secretly, and then said: "How does Guo Aiqing think we should deal with it?"
In response, Guo Yunhou took out a brochure from his sleeve: "Your Majesty, this is the brochure I drafted last night. Please take a look at it."
After Chongzhen took it, he flipped through it and said, "Continue talking and let everyone listen."
"Your Majesty, I believe that the remaining criminals of the eunuch party should be distinguished. First, those who are obvious and dependent, such as those who participate in the conspiracy of loyalty, corruption and perverting of the law, and those who steal the country's power, confiscate their homes and exterminate their clans, such as the five tigers, five gangsters, etc. Ten children and forty grandchildren, these people must confiscate their homes and exterminate their clans;
2. Those who are flattering and have lost their moral bottom line must be killed without mercy, such as those who built a shrine for Wei Zhongxian;
3. To those who are clumsy and dependent, such as bribing people with gold, silver and jewels to please them, confiscating their homes and sending them to the army as border guards.
…”
After Guo Yunhou finished speaking, Chongzhen also finished reading.
"What do you think of Guo Aiqing's proposal?"
"I'm waiting for His Majesty's Holy Judgment!"
Everyone responded in unison.
Could it be bad? Guo Yunhou divided the remaining prisoners of the eunuch party into nine levels. The worst one was dismissed from office and confiscated 90% of the family property, and the third generation in his direct line was not allowed to enter the official position. What more cruelty do you want?
"But there are several problems that need to be solved. First, according to Mr. Guo's opinion, more than half of the people in the court will be taken down. How to deal with the vacant positions?"
"Secondly, among the military attachés, some commanders, such as Tengxiang Four Guards, Twenty-one Guards, and local guards, although they did not commit serious crimes, had committed a lot of corruption. According to the Ming Dynasty Law, they were all executed.
But military generals are different from civilian officials. Leading troops to fight requires actual combat and experience. If they are all killed, it will be difficult for military generals to fill the vacancies. "
After everyone was silent for a while, Li Guopu, the cabinet minister, stood up.
"Your Majesty, I think that it would be easier to deal with the vacant positions. During the Wanli and Tianqi years, many ministers resigned due to party disputes. We can call these people into official positions first.
Although he is a bit older, he is rich in experience, which is just in line with the current stable policy of the court;
Secondly, the Ministry of Civil Affairs sent people from the Qing Dynasty to patrol the country. Jin Yiwei and various censors cooperated to promote some younger generations who were famous, capable, and able to serve the people, and gave them a chance.
In this way, when the older group retires in a few years, this group of people will be able to step in. "
Having said this, Li Guopu pondered for a moment: "As for the military attachés and generals, first, let them hand over the corrupt money;
Second, transfer them to other guard posts across the country and disperse their rights in the current guard, but their family members must stay in Kyoto;
Third, give them tasks. If they cannot train a guard army that can and dares to fight within a year, they will be cut off directly. The standards can be drawn up by the Ministry of War.
Fourth, kill some of them. This is a prerequisite for the above three items, lest they think they dare not attack them.
Finally, an edict was issued. This is a special case among special cases. If similar phenomena are discovered again in the future, they will be killed without mercy to prevent corruption from being used as an excuse in the future. "
"Okay, okay, okay..."
"good idea!"
"What Mr. Li Ge said is true!"
After Li Guopu finished speaking, everyone clapped their hands and praised him.
Chongzhen was also very satisfied. Although the terms were quite satisfactory, they were more in line with the current situation.
"Okay, now that the main theme has been decided, let's work hard a few more times to perfect it and announce it at the meeting later."
Another hour passed, and everyone completed the details and handed the folder to Chongzhen.
Chongzhen read it carefully and then closed the folder and stood up from behind the dragon case.
"Let's go to Huangji Palace. Those people must be waiting impatiently!"
