So, outside the Meridian Gate, every time the floor fell, there was a scream.
"Pah...ah...pah...ah..."
Every sound made the civil and military officials hear it very harshly.
In the past, taking bribes and perverting the law was not called corruption and perverting the law. It was just selling for a price.
For example, the imperial censor Yang Zhiqi openly sold his memorials, and whoever gave him money would speak for him; whoever gave more money would help more powerfully. Yang Zhiqi is not doing this kind of thing alone.
Also, after spending a lot of money to give gifts to the officials and high-ranking officials in the court, and get an official position, are you dedicated to serving the people?
How can it be! They all try to get it back after taking office.
There is one word that can explain this situation very well: fat! Wherever there is oil and water, the one who can make money is the fat vacancy. For someone who is dedicated to serving the people, would there be such a thing as "fat and short"?
This kind of thing has happened in all dynasties. However, at this time in the late Ming Dynasty, it was no secret and was a common social phenomenon.
Suddenly, they discovered that if they did such a thing, they would be punished. The four people in front of me are: kill with a stick!
No matter what your identity is, whether you are a eunuch in charge of the imperial edict, known as the internal minister, a eunuch in charge of the imperial horse eunuch who holds military power, or a relative who is closest to the emperor, you are now being held accountable.
Every scream of "Ah" was like a heavy hammer hitting their hearts, scaring their little hearts to beat violently! Many people even looked pale, as if they were being tortured.
They don't want to watch anymore at all, but they can't cover their ears, otherwise, some people will definitely cover their ears.
This execution was a kind of torture for most of the civil and military officials who were watching the execution.
Of course, this suffering was not limited to them, including Empress Zhou in the palace.
Emperor Chongzhen was here. The decree was issued by beheading first and reporting later. Wang Chengen had already gone to implement it, and he came to tell Queen Zhou in person.
The reason why he acted so decisively was because he was afraid that Queen Zhou would plead for mercy.
It is said that there is no family affection in the Tian family. Naturally, it is basically impossible for an emperor to have love.
Of course, there are very few exceptions. For example, there was one in the Ming Dynasty.
Generally speaking, if something like this happens, the queen's position will definitely be unstable. However, the key thing is that there is still a prince. So in this case, it is definitely not an easy task to abolish the queen.
Having said that, Emperor Chongzhen was also satisfied with Queen Zhou's daily performance. Because of this, he never thought about abolishing the post.
If Zhou Kui and his son hadn't gone too far, maybe they wouldn't be so heartless for the sake of the queen. Even if it was in the peaceful era, especially if he didn't know that the Ming Dynasty was actually going to fall in two years, he might not have acted so cruelly.
However, all assumptions are just assumptions. Now, he already knows that the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed in two years, and he also knows that these two people will betray their own grandchildren. Therefore, after repeatedly violating his bottom line, he no longer hesitates.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen comforted Queen Zhou and said: "My punishment of father and son has nothing to do with you, and it has nothing to do with the prince."
After hearing this, Queen Zhou remained silent, just lowered her head and cried silently.
Obviously, although she was very angry and disappointed, after all, that was her biological father and biological brother. If it was just to seize the title and be expelled from Beijing, then she could accept it.
But now, her brother Zhou Bian is going to be killed with a stick. The emperor had already issued an order, which meant that the matter was irreversible. What could she do besides being sad!
Seeing her like this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh in his heart, and comforted her: "This is their own fault and has nothing to do with you. I only dealt with Zhou Bian for your sake! You!" Think about it, if it were anyone else, I wouldn't be so tolerant, and I would have severely punished you according to the law!"
Hearing this, Queen Zhou looked up at him, her eyes blurred with tears, and then lowered her head and said, "Maybe, maybe they misunderstood some things?"
It is a bit hard to accept that the emperor is so eager to kill her brother, no matter who it is.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, his voice became a little colder and he said: "There are witnesses and physical evidence for the evildoings of the Jiading Uncle Mansion. Not to mention these, what should I do if the father and son have repeatedly opposed me? I want to deal with Wu Qing Hou, in the end he stepped up to help raise money and even sold pots and pans. Is this a slap in my face or a slap in your face?"
"Also, just two days ago, I borrowed money from him, but he actually came to you and asked for five thousand taels, and then he only gave me the same amount. I got a lot of money for nothing. So what can I say?"
"After I rewarded you, the two of them had no shame and dared to come to the palace to cause trouble? Sometimes, I really can't believe that you are his daughter? Could it be that..."
When Emperor Chongzhen sprayed here in one breath, he felt that he had already said something, so he did not continue. However, although he didn't say it, his meaning was very obvious, that is, he suspected that Zhou Kui picked up Queen Zhou.
At this time, Empress Zhou lowered her head and shed tears. Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen had stopped talking and that it was about his brother's life, she still wanted to make a few excuses and said: "When I was a child, my family was poor. My father was used to living a hard life, so he developed this habit. Frugality... the problem of being stingy. It’s also possible that the family really doesn’t have much money, so they can’t spend much!”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he immediately became angry and said in a much louder voice: "Although the imperial court is in urgent need of money, have I ever treated him badly? How could I live without them..."
When he was saying this, there was an announcement from outside. It was Wang Chengen who was back.
So, Emperor Chongzhen stopped talking and looked at Wang Chengen who came in and asked: "How much wealth must the Jiading uncle's house have?"
When Wang Chengen came in, he had already seen Queen Zhou crying, and he couldn't help but sigh.
All the work that offended the queen was done by herself. The instigator had nothing to do with it, he was destined to be a hard laborer!
While he was thinking about this, Queen Zhou raised her head in surprise when she heard this and stared at Wang Chengen with a very cold gaze.
She didn't expect that the emperor would go and ransack the house?
Feeling this gaze, Wang Chengen did not dare to neglect. Thinking of finishing the report quickly, he immediately said: "This slave does not dare to make a big move, but after a little search, he found as much as 210,000 taels of silver and 3,500 gold. One hundred and fifty taels. If you include other gold, silver, jewelry, antique calligraphy and paintings, it will be at least five hundred thousand taels..."
Before he finished speaking, Queen Zhou was stunned. Even if I beat her to death, I would never have imagined that there would be so much money!
