This major event in Jiangnan caused such a big fuss that it certainly became a hot topic in the capital.
For the people in the capital, they may not have much land at home, but the discussion of current affairs is unmatched by other places, even worse than Jiangnan.
In this way, they view what happened in Jiangnan more objectively.
Especially in the past two years, their impression of Dongchang has greatly changed, and they do not believe that Dongchang's subordinates will do evil and cause civil unrest after they go to the south. If this is the case, how can they explain to the emperor if they can hide it from the wise and powerful emperor?
Moreover, the leader was Zhang Xun and Zhang Pu. His reputation in the capital was quite resounding in the past. It could be said that he was as talented as thunder. Of course, some of this is due to the momentum created by the restoration of society, but that is the result. The people in the capital didn't quite believe how such a talented university student could force a civil uprising!
Of course, the positions of the wealthy families in the capital and the officials in Donglin and Fushe were different. Of course, they did not want Zhang Pu to continue, so they took this opportunity to make a fuss in the capital. Some officials even wrote to Guanglu Shaoqing Lu Zhenfei, saying bluntly that Zhang Pu was responsible. Qian Qianyi is a literary master and an outstanding representative of saints, how could he incite a civil uprising!
Disputes between belief and disbelief can be seen everywhere in court, in yamen, and on the streets.
However, as a series of memorials to impeach them were sent to the capital, and the number increased, Emperor Chongzhen's idea of three people becoming a tiger, although it could not affect him, it affected the people of the capital, making them a little suspicious. Could it be that It was true that the patrols provoked civil unrest. Otherwise, why would so many southern officials impeach them?
But even so, the capital's side seems childish compared to the Jiangnan side.
On the south side of the Yangtze River, everyone from the feudal officials to the powerful landlords were talking about Zhang Pu's cruelty, forcing a civil uprising. The eunuchs also sent troops to suppress it, killing ordinary people. It can be seen from this that Zhang Pu was the lackey of the eunuchs, and the eunuch rebellion during the Tianqi period reappeared.
On the first day of April in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly held a major court meeting, which was rare in ordinary times. Everyone immediately knew that the emperor was definitely going to make a decision on the Changshu Civil Rebellion.
In this way, the day's major court meeting became very concerning. Not only the officials in the court were concerned, but also the people in the capital were paying attention.
Indeed, as they expected, after Emperor Chongzhen arrived, he instructed Cao Huachun, the eunuch in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, to go out and announce: "As of yesterday, the Supervisor of Ceremonies has received a total of 156 memorials to impeach Zhang Pu, the governor of Jiangnan. One hundred and twenty-three copies were made for the impeachment of Nanjing’s eunuch Lu Jiude; twenty-seven copies were made for the impeachment of Wang Cheng’en, the admiral of the East Factory;”
"There are so many memorials for impeaching Zhang Pu, Lu Jiude, and Wang Chengen. The charges are almost the same. In short, Zhang Pu is impeached for his rampant lawlessness and severe punishment..."
Emperor Chongzhen listened to Cao Huachun summarizing the content of the memorial, but his eyes scanned all the courtiers below. Although these courtiers had their heads lowered, he could feel that many people were reacting. It can be seen from their little actions that many people were very excited when they heard the charges.
In response, he just sneered in his heart, but his face was expressionless.
After Cao Huachun finished reading, Emperor Chongzhen said in a cold tone: "I sent Zhang Pu and Wu Changshi to Jiangnan to verify the quota of exemptions and exemptions for officials and gentry and to call for the payment of arrears. Why did we trigger so many impeachment memorials? If I remember correctly, so many impeachment memorials are rare in the Ming Dynasty, right?"
Hearing this, many people suddenly felt happy. The emperor was furious. He knew that it was Zhang Pu who caused public anger and caused such a rare wave of impeachment in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, should he be severely punished to serve as a warning to others?
After all, if something like this happened, it should be something no emperor would want to see, right?
Thinking of this, I saw Guanglu Shaoqing Lu Zhenfei coughing, stepping out and saying: "Your Majesty is wise, and a mere seventh-rank patrol officer has triggered so many impeachments. This is unprecedented in our Ming Dynasty! Moreover, Zhang Pu’s slander of the former minister of the Ministry of Rites, Mr. Yushan, who has a long-standing reputation, is really the biggest scandal in the world..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Emperor Chongzhen staring at him coldly and suddenly shouted: "That's enough!"
Long Yan's sudden anger was directed at Lu Zhenfei, making all the courtiers stunned.
Lu Zhenfei was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Tianqi. Now he is fifty years old and he is also among the Qingliu. Therefore, he and Qian Qianyi have a close relationship. At this time, he was suddenly interrupted by the emperor shouting so rudely, and his neck immediately turned red. He immediately raised his head and wanted to argue rationally. Even the emperor could not humiliate his ministers like this.
However, before he could speak, Emperor Chongzhen shouted angrily: "Do you think I don't know about your relationship with Qian Qianyi? Zhang Hanru of Changshu impeached Qian Qianyi for corruption and lawlessness, but now you are avenging him? , the Changshu civil uprising, and you were aggrieved by it and impeached Zhang Pu for being illegal? Then I ask you, how did you know about things in Changshu, Suzhou Prefecture? Is it possible that you also have spies, and you have a method of summons that is faster than mine? Otherwise, why would you be so steadfast in your assurance that Qian Qianyi is innocent and Zhang Pu is guilty?"
This is a very serious statement. If he contacted him in a serious way, it would be linked to treason, which was something Lu Zhenfei couldn't bear.
As soon as he heard this, his neck, which had just been red, immediately turned pale. He immediately knelt down and said, "Wei Chen can be judged based on his character!"
Some other officials in Beijing, who followed the impeachment of Zhang Pu and others, were also panicked, because they could not explain why they knew about Jiangnan so quickly. What the emperor used to question Lu Zhenfei was also acceptable for questioning them.
Therefore, after hearing Lu Zhenfei's explanation, they all agreed in their hearts and prepared to use this reason.
However, at this moment, Emperor Chongzhen said angrily: "Character? Haha, do you dare to vouch for Qian Qianyi's character? How to explain the Zhejiang scientific examination fraud case? How to explain corruption and lawlessness? He has a married wife. , but how to explain that he wanted to marry a famous prostitute in a brothel? He was dismissed from his job and his family registration, but his family owned more than half of the grain fields in Changshu County and had hundreds of servants. Did he ever obey the law and pay taxes? How to explain this..."
Every time Emperor Chongzhen asked for an explanation, Lu Zhenfei became speechless. In the end, he was speechless and could not help but lower his head.
Although Lu Zhenfei was regarded as one of the honest officials in the late Ming Dynasty in the original history, this did not hinder his friendship with Qian Qianyi and his refusal to speak for Qian Qianyi. Party strife in the late Ming Dynasty has never been based on integrity.
Seeing Lu Zhenfei's appearance, Emperor Chongzhen suppressed his anger a little, turned to look at Cao Huachun and shouted: "There are also officials who are impeached in Beijing, come out together!"
Upon hearing this decree, Cao Huachun had already compiled a list, and immediately began to roll the names: "Wang Dekun, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, is out; Liu Yongbo, a member of the Ministry of Works, is out; the Ministry of Personnel..."
The officials whose names were called could not escape, so they had no choice but to go out and kneel down. Because they knew that if the emperor asked them the same question as Lu Zhenfei later, they wouldn't have anything to explain.
A total of twenty-three people knelt, with varying official positions.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at them and shouted coldly: "Didn't you guarantee Qian Qianyi? I have also received three memorials here, which I can read to you."
When Cao Huachun heard the decree, he took out two memorials and read them out one by one.
The first memorial was a joint memorial signed by Zhang Pu, Lu Jiude and Changshu County Magistrate Pan Xiuwen. It described the Qian family's local power and the scandalous affairs with Pan Xiuwen exactly.
If this memorial was written only by Zhang Pu and Lu Jiude, a lot of people might jump out to refute it. However, the addition of Pan Xiuwen and the fact that he made it clear in detail made many people hide their thoughts of rebuttal.
Although they could still refute that Pan Xiuwen must have been threatened by Zhang Pu and Lu Jiude, the emperor had just become furious and questioned continuously, leaving them speechless. If you want to make a strong argument, who knows how angry the emperor will be!
Therefore, when Cao Huachun finished reading the first memorial, no one said anything, but it could be seen that many people disapproved of it.
Then, Cao Huachun began to read the third memorial.
This memorial is no small matter. It was when Jiang Dong, the stall owner of Dongchang, interrogated the servants of the Qian family, he accidentally got an unexpected harvest. It was said that Qian Qianyi had instructed him to contact the Jiang bandits in order to murder Yang Tinglin, the censor of Zuodu, or at least prevent Yang Tinglin from going to Changshu.
This memorial also contains an appendix of Yang Tinglin's description of the original danger on the river. Although the thief who collided with the ship is still being traced, most people have an idea when the two are combined.
Even Lu Zhenfei's eyes widened when he heard this news, and he looked up with disbelief at Cao Huachun who was reading the memorial. Obviously, he didn't expect such a thing.
Or I know that some people will find it incredible and have objections, so there is also a specific analysis in this memorial.
Starting from the Yangzhou Prefecture, the conflict between Qian Qianyi and Zhang Pu, including the Qiuyue Pavilion incident, was linked to the Qian family's property. Jiang Dong made an inference, saying that in order to protect his family wealth, Qian Qianyi had another relationship with Zhang Pu had a grudge, and Yang Tinglin was obviously helping Zhang Pu, which ultimately led Qian Qianyi to do this. This is theoretically true.
After listening to this memorial, the atmosphere at the court meeting became very serious and a little heavy.
No one could have imagined that so many things happened behind the Changshu civil uprising!
The emperor's attitude is also very obvious, and he has a lot of real evidence in his hands, at least more than what they say in vain! As a result, many people regretted it. If they had known better, they should not have come to this muddy water for their own little advantage.
While they were thinking, Cao Huachun began to read the third memorial. This memorial was urgently sent by the prefect of Yangzhou Prefecture. The content was relatively simple. It only reported that Wu Xun's condition worsened during the Wuchang period and he had died.
Upon hearing the news, these courtiers couldn't help but be very surprised. It’s easy to think about something like this happening at this time!
Sure enough, after Cao Huachun finished reading, Emperor Chongzhen shouted in a cold voice: "To verify the quota of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry, and to call for the payment of arrears, I appointed two inspectors to handle this matter. The result was good. One of them was assassinated in Beijing. If not, The Dongchang squadron arrived just in time, but the consequences were unpredictable; one fell into the water when he first arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, and the other was seriously ill and could not go on errands! Then what? One encountered a civil uprising in Changshu, and the other was seriously ill and died; Haha, my faction The two patrol guards who went there were really in trouble!"
The emperor's sneer made many people tremble secretly and feel a bit creepy, because they knew that the emperor was on the verge of explosion!
"By the way, I forgot to tell you something!" Emperor Chongzhen did not immediately become furious, but instead said coldly, "When Zhang Xun was in Yangzhou Mansion, a strange thing happened. The government offices of the three prefectures and seven counties under my jurisdiction actually had a fire in the warehouse on the same night, burning the local grain field account books. Although the culprit has surrendered under Yang Qing's investigation, do you think I am the kind of person who is easy to fool? Deceived?"
If it's just one thing, maybe it's nothing, and there are reasons to find out and explain.
However, now that everything has been exposed and spoken out together, even the most stupid person will feel that there is something wrong!
The scene became very quiet, no one dared to speak.
Although there are some things, the truth may never be known. However, at least Emperor Chongzhen knew better than them. For example, Zhang Pu was assassinated in the capital. It was a trick he wrote and directed himself because he didn't want to go on an errand. When Wu Changshi slipped and fell into the water, it was very likely that he took advantage of the situation and did not want to go on errands; however, now, Emperor Chongzhen would not tell these things.
At this time, the only voice left in the court meeting was Emperor Chongzhen's angry shout: "Our Ming Dynasty treats officials and gentry preferentially. Although the salary given to you is a bit lower, the exemptions and exemptions given to you have been increased many times. It's a shame. We are all scholars, but how many of you are like scholars who have read the books of saints and sages? You form cliques for personal gain, frame others, and have a weak heart. How many of you have exceeded the allowance limit? By how much, your family is rich. Don’t think I don’t know how much tax you owe! I’m telling you, I know everything!”
He almost growled the words at the end.
"The imperial treasury has no money, what's going on?" Emperor Chongzhen suppressed his anger a little and continued to say sternly, "I just can't collect taxes. I don't pay what I should, and those who have money don't pay. Then what? Transfer all the taxes to Ordinary people who couldn't afford to pay, forced their families to die! The court had no money, and couldn't provide disaster relief! They also forced their families to die! Haha, on one side, there are scholars living in the land of romance, but on the other side, there are many hungry people on the roadside! You are blind Is that so? How many of you are worried about this and have come up with a solution for me to relieve your worries for the king, the country, and the people?"
