Chapter 43 The civil servant can't sit still anymore
Chapter 43 Civil officials can’t sit still anymore
Wu Sangui surrendered to the Manchus, allowing the Eight Banners army to continuously enter Yongping Mansion through Shanhaiguan. Due to the tight blockade by the Tatars, no news was received from the capital for two days.
At this time, a storm was quietly brewing in the capital.
When the invaders besiege the city, the enemy is in front of them.
For the sake of their own status, wealth and power, the nobles could put down everything, work together with the emperor to defend the city to the death, and they could even endure being subordinated to the general military officer Zhou Yuji.
No matter how dissatisfied or humiliated the civil servants were, they still stayed in their houses like cats and did not dare to make any move.
Because everyone knows that at that time, the emperor would not have the slightest scruple to defend the city and retreat from the enemy, and he would do anything.
But as the thieves were defeated and the crisis was resolved, everyone's mentality immediately changed, including Zhu Cixang himself.
This may be what the saying goes, we can share adversity but not wealth!
That night.
In a luxurious mansion in the city, a group of people were gathering in the study, discussing something.
If someone from the officialdom were here, they would be able to recognize at a glance that all these people are high-ranking officials of third rank or above.
Among them, there are some big shots such as the Minister of the First and Second Auxiliary Military Department.
"Brother Zhang, how did they reply?"
"The Duke of Ding was quite moved, but the British Duke was unmoved. His words revealed that he did not want to get involved."
Seeing that everyone was looking at him nervously, Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of the Ministry of War, or rather the former Minister of the Ministry of War, did not give in and lowered his voice.
"I don't care about the emperor's face at all. If they don't join in, it may not be possible!" Chen Yan, the former chief assistant, sighed.
"Yuan Fu's words are wrong. Those nobles may not be willing to really intervene, but they are very worried. Once we take action first, even if they don't participate directly, they will definitely add fuel to the flames."
The last time I assisted Wei Zaode, he shook his head.
"That's right. Otherwise, what's the point of spending so much time?"
After the left minister of the Ministry of War finished speaking, everyone else nodded.
At least we must let His Majesty reinstate them to their posts first, otherwise they would be reluctant to leave the capital and return home, and it would be embarrassing and uncomfortable to stay in the capital.
"Okay! Let's do this first!"
Chen Yan slapped the table and stood up and said.
After everyone discussed it in detail, they left in a hurry.
…
Early the next morning, rumors began to appear in the city's streets.
Rumor has it that in order to seize the throne, His Majesty directly killed the Supreme Emperor and then forged an edict, but kept the news tightly sealed.
As soon as this rumor came out, it was like it had wings. In a short time, everyone in the capital knew about it, and everyone was in an uproar.
After all, killing the king and killing his father to seize the throne was too shocking in the Ming Dynasty.
Snapped!
Inside the Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Cihong overturned all the dragon cases.
All the palace ladies and eunuchs were so frightened that they crawled to the ground and trembled.
Li Ruolian, the commander of the Jinyiwei who was kneeling in the hall, was sweating profusely. In fact, the anger in his heart was no less than that of Zhu Cixiang.
Seeing that His Majesty had finally finished venting, he dared to say: "Your Majesty, I have arrested thousands of people who spread rumors and are interrogating them. I believe that the mastermind behind the scenes will be found out soon..."
"What's the point of finding out the mastermind right now? Can you kill everyone in the city? In less than a month, the whole world will think that I killed the king and killed my father to gain the throne!"
Zhu Cixi gritted his teeth and roared.
He didn't expect that they had just defeated the Chuang Army, and those people couldn't wait a day before starting to cause trouble, using this most insidious and shameless method.
Once this kind of rumor spreads, there is no way it can be stopped. Even if he tied his father Chongzhen to the carriage and went around to confirm it, if others wanted to spread the rumor, it would still be said to be false.
In the end, I am afraid that the truth or falsehood has to be decided entirely by the gentry and literati of the world.
The only way for him to prove his innocence is to abdicate and let his father Chongzhen be reinstated to prove that he is still alive and that he has not done anything treacherous.
It's really a good plan, and its intentions are to be punished!
As for who spread the rumor, you can figure it out with your buttocks.
If he is not a civil official, he is a distinguished official.
Zhu Cixiang may not care about reputation, but he does not dare to recite the reputation of regicide and father-killing. After all, this was in ancient times, in the Ming Dynasty.
You don't need to think about it to know that once this rumor spreads to the southern provinces, countless fan kings and careerists will be ready to take action, and in the end, a new emperor may be established in Nanjing.
"Your Majesty, it's all my fault. I was incompetent and didn't suppress the rumors as soon as possible!"
Li Ruolian said with a guilty look.
"The other party has been planning for a long time and it's none of your business!"
Zhu Cixi waved his hand.
He knew that such rumors could not be stopped by manpower.
However, it is simply wishful thinking to use this kind of public opinion to make him abdicate.
After he has money, food and soldiers, he wants to see who in the world still dares to talk nonsense, and who dares not to praise him as a benevolent, wise and filial son.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... something bad has happened!"
At this time Liu Xi stumbled in and shouted in panic.
"Shut up, the sky won't fall. Tell me what's going on."
He originally planned to let this guy supervise the East Factory after a while, but how could he look like a factory supervisor in this ghostly manner?
It really disappointed him.
"Your Majesty, there are many scholars and common people outside Chengtian Gate, at least thousands of them, clamoring to see the Emperor and to make decisions for them."
Liu Xi was so frightened that she quickly knelt down and said.
"I want to see what tricks they can come up with."
Zhu Cixi sneered and stood up.
After arriving at the tower of Chengtianmen, thousands of people, including men, women, old and young, gathered in the square below.
Seeing that His Majesty really showed up, people in the square knelt down one after another, and then began to beg.
"Your Majesty, please make the decision for me. My son was just eating in a restaurant and without saying anything, he was taken away by the Jin Yiwei for no reason. He still does not know whether he is alive or dead..."
"Your Majesty, my husband was unjustly accused. He just heard two beggars talking nonsense, went over to ask, and was arrested by the Jin Yiwei."
After listening for a while, Zhu Cixi probably understood what was going on.
These people are all the family members, relatives and friends of those who were captured by the Jin Yiwei, and most likely they were instigated by interested organizations.
After everyone calmed down, Zhu Cixiang said loudly:
"I already know about your matter. Such gathering of people has violated the law. You should go back first. I will let the Jinyi guards handle it impartially and will never wrongly accuse anyone. After questioning clearly, those who were mistakenly arrested will be arrested." Let him go."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the emperor had said this, everyone did not bother anymore, knelt down to thank him, and then left with their families.
Obviously these people still believe Zhu Cixiang's words.
No matter how much the scholars slandered him, at least in the eyes of ordinary people in the capital, Zhu Cihong was a holy king.
The reason is that the more than two dozen grain stores opened have brought tangible benefits to the people of the capital.
In less than a moment, thousands of people left and only a few hundred scholars remained.
After saying a few words to His Majesty, he sent the people away. These scholars were not surprised and did not care.