The ancestor of Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Chengguo, was a deputy Qianhu under the command of King Zhu Di of Yan. He was named Duke of Chengguo due to his meritorious service and was hereditary. Although it is not as rich as the country, it still has dozens of times more money than the Ming Dynasty's treasury.
However, Zhu Chunchen did not give Chongzhen hope and knelt down and said: "I... my ancestor received the emperor's favor in his previous life and was hereditary as a first-class prince. Although his family has a great business, but thieves are coming, he has distributed the family property to his slaves and asked them to escape. Now the money in the house is less than five hundred, which is not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning. "
As soon as these words came out, Huangji Palace became cold.
It was obvious from Zhu Chunchen's words that he would rather give money to his servants than give any money to Chongzhen.
Chongzhen looked at the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, his face turned pale: "Your Majesty...are you telling the truth?"
Wei Zaode kowtowed very tactfully and said: "The soldiers of the three major battalions of the capital are still short of eight months' pay, and the salary shortage of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty is no less than them."
"Your Majesty, please think of another way to raise wages!"
"Your Majesty, please think of another way!"
hehe!
Chongzhen glanced at Wu Mengming, and after seeing him nodding, he turned to look at the civil and military officials. The previous gloom was no longer replaced by a sneer.
"If the ministers lie, are they committing the crime of deceiving the emperor?"
All the ministers laughed secretly.
So what if you deceive the emperor?
Now is the time to employ people. How dare Chongzhen kill people?
The Ming Dynasty is coming to an end. As long as they can survive and Li Zicheng comes to Beijing, they will still be courtiers.
"Your Majesty!" Wei Zaode kowtowed again, "I have worked hard for the country and the people for half my life. I dare not deceive. I hope that Your Majesty will be considerate and loyal to us."
"Your Majesty, Mr. Chief Assistant, said it well." Chongzhen clapped his hands.
The others immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Just when they thought they had escaped disaster, they saw an evil smile on Emperor Chongzhen's lips.
"Okay! Okay!" Chongzhen slapped the dragon bookcase fiercely, "Since all the gentlemen are telling the truth, if I find someone lying, don't blame me for being rude."
Several people were stunned for a moment, and then continued to remain silent. Just saying harsh things, something a three-year-old would know.
"Wu Mengming!" Chongzhen's face was extremely cold.
"Your Majesty... is here!" As the commander of the Jinyi Guards, Wu Mengming was very courageous, but today, looking at Emperor Chongzhen's expression and listening to the tone of his words, his back felt cold.
"Have you remembered what I just said?"
"Remember...note it!"
"You personally lead a team to search at Wang Zhengzhi's house in the Ministry of Household Affairs. If the cash found exceeds one hundred taels, there is no need to report to me, and the property will be confiscated directly. After the property is counted, it will be sent to the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the family members will be escorted to the Town and Fu Division to await their fate. .”
The minister who was still proud a moment ago changed his face immediately after hearing Chongzhen's words.
Especially Wang Zhengzhi, he immediately panicked. How could he, a dignified left servant of the household department and a third-rank official of the imperial court, have less than one hundred taels of silver in his family?
What he said was just a misfortune.
But there were so many people in the court suffering miserably, so why only his home was searched?
Wang Zhengzhi first looked at Wei Zaode. When he saw that the other party did not respond, he immediately thought of countermeasures.
After a while, he calmed down, kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty, I don't know what crime I have committed, and my house is being confiscated."
"Your Majesty, please make it clear!"
Wang Zhengzhi knew very well that if Chongzhen ransacked his house and took away people without any charges, the ministers in the court could drown him with spit.
If you want to punish someone, you can.
The reason must be sufficient.
This is the basic rule of the political game, and even the emperor cannot violate it.
Otherwise, the court will lose control, and the emperor will become a faint king described by historians and bear eternal infamy.
And what Chongzhen cared about most since he came to the throne was reputation!
Chongzhen smiled coldly, and before he could speak, Li Banghua, the censor of Zuodu, came out and said: "Your Majesty, I impeach Wang Zhengzhi, the left minister of Hubu, for two crimes."
"First, the crime of corruption; Wang Zhengzhi's ancestor was from a poor family. He had been an official for seventeen years, but his family property exceeded one hundred thousand. The money must have come from corruption."
"Second, the crime of forming a party; forming a party with the cabinet for personal gain, excluding dissidents, and making lies to disrupt the government."
"Your Majesty, please punish him!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I also second the proposal!"
Under the leadership of Li Banghua, the people in the Metropolitan Procuratorate fell to their knees and demanded that Wang Zhengzhi be punished.
Wang Zhengzhi's face was extremely ugly. He did not expect that Li Banghua would take the initiative to attack. Everyone knew that he was a confidant of Wei Zaode, the chief minister of the cabinet, and the intention to impeach him was obvious at this time.
Before he could refute, Chongzhen smiled slightly and said, "Li Yushi's words are serious."
? ? ?
Wang Zhengzhi and Li Banghua were stunned at the same time.
Wang Zhengzhi was punished by Chongzhen. One moment he wanted to punish himself, but the next moment he changed his mind?
Li Banghua was even more confused. His Majesty said personally that Wang Zhengzhi's property had been confiscated. Why did he change his words again?
Could it be that the charges assigned to Wang Zhengzhi were unreasonable?
Chongzhen said with a smile: "Shilang Wang said that the cash in his house does not exceed one hundred taels. If it is true, it means that he is an upright official and a loyal minister."
Wang Zhengzhi's ominous premonition became stronger and stronger.
Chongzhen continued: "If the cash found exceeds one hundred taels, there are only two possibilities."
"First, the money does not belong to Shilang Wang. It may have been stolen or robbed. No matter how it came from, it must be ill-gotten gains."
"Two, Wang Shilang deliberately deceived me and committed the crime of deceiving the emperor."
"Wang Zhengzhi, tell yourself, is it one or two?"
There was silence in the main hall, and everyone looked at Wang Zhengzhi.
"One...two...what I mean is, no, no, no, minister..."
Wang Zhengzhi was completely stunned. He never expected that Chongzhen had such a big brain.
If he answers one, he will definitely die according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
Answer two: Lingchi's execution would be considered a mercy.
what to do? Dead end!
Seeing that the situation was irreversible, Wang Zhengzhi decided to use conspiracy. Didn't you, Chongzhen, want to use the ministers' property as military pay?
Then make it clear!
He knelt on the ground and begged: "I am wronged. If your Majesty is short of money, I am willing to donate all my family property for military pay! Please forgive me for the sake of my loyalty and the fact that I have worked for the Ming Dynasty for half my life." Chen’s family!”
While speaking, Wang Zhengzhi shed tears and runny nose at the same time, giving people a very miserable feeling.
Man Chao Wen and Wu glanced at Wang Zhengzhi with disgust, and then looked at Chongzhen at the same time, their eyes full of questioning.
Chongzhen can make money, but not in this way.
This is a matter of principle.
No one can guarantee that he will not be the next Wang Zhengzhi.
Chongzhen snorted coldly. He put his hands behind his back and said relentlessly: "You want to support the imperial court? You are worthy!"
"The imperial court is short of money, but there are still two million taels of silver in the internal funds. How could I be reduced to relying on confiscating homes to replenish the treasury!"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the court was shocked!
Everyone, including Wang Chengen, was stunned.
What is the concept of two million taels of silver?
Chongzhen had never fought such a rich war in fifteen years.
Wei Zaode was afraid that this matter was fraudulent, so he hurriedly asked: "Your Majesty, if you have money in your internal funds, why don't you use it early, so that the court will not be so embarrassed."
Chongzhen smiled slightly: "I know you are worried. I didn't know about these two million taels of silver before. My grandfather, the emperor, told me about it in my dream last night."
