Swish--

The Huangji Palace suddenly became so cold that it made people shudder.

Wei Zaode just stood there in a daze.

The moment before, he was the high and mighty Prime Minister of the Cabinet, second only to the emperor; in the blink of an eye, his head and body were to be separated, and his three clans were exterminated.

He stared at Chongzhen blankly, unable to believe his ears.

He didn't expect that Chongzhen would dare to kill him!

No, not only will I kill him, I will also exterminate his entire clan!

Li Ruolian, commander of the Imperial Guard, lowered his head and clenched his fists.

It's not fear, it's excitement.

Your Majesty has finally taken action against these civil officials who have harmed the country and the emperor.

It’s so refreshing.

Li Ruo Lian saw the Jinyiwei who rushed in standing there in a daze, and immediately shouted angrily: "Are you four deaf? Why don't you take him away and execute him!"

After receiving the order, the four Jinyiwei carried Wei Zaode and dragged him out of the hall without further ado.

The chief minister of the cabinet, Wei Zaode, finally came to his senses, but his mentality had already collapsed. He had never expected that Chongzhen would exterminate his three clans.

He pointed at his officials and shouted, "My fellow officials, I have treated you well. Please help me!"

The Minister of War Zhang Jinyan kept his mouth shut and said nothing.

He is unable to protect himself now, so it is simply unrealistic for him to plead for Wei Zaode.

Even if he is innocent, I won't help.

Wei Zaode was finished, completely finished. Having lost his position as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, he had only one role: to stand in the front and absorb the emperor's anger.

As the saying goes, I would rather die than let my friend die!

If you honestly confess your guilt, you still have a chance of survival; but kneeling down and begging for mercy will definitely bring you trouble.

The other ministers looked at each other, each of them hesitant to speak, reluctant to accept but also unwilling to do so.

If it were under normal circumstances, someone would definitely kneel down and beg for mercy.

But today things are different.

Chongzhen first divided the ministers in the court into two factions by moving the crown prince south. The ministers who went to Nanjing were afraid of being disqualified and would definitely stand on the side of the emperor.

When borrowing money, he only mentioned the names of the chief minister Wei Zaode, the minister of war Zhang Jinyan, the Duke of Chengguo Zhu Chunchen, and the minister of works Fan Jingwen.

Although the four of them held high positions, they did not get along with each other.

Wei Zaode had only been the Prime Minister for six months, and his wings were not yet fully grown. In order to protect themselves, the ministers who were not named would wait and see or even side with the emperor.

at last.

What he said when convicting Wei Zaode expressed his attitude: You are all guilty, and I can choose to ignore it.

As a result, the people named were isolated.

Is anyone really going to plead for mercy?

Yes, and quite a few.

Begging for mercy is an act full of knowledge. Many people want to beg for mercy but are unwilling to be the first to stand up.

After all, the first bird to stick its head out gets shot!

If someone comes forward to plead for mercy at this time, Chongzhen will definitely vent his anger on that person.

The consequences may be even more serious than Wei Zaode's.

A bunch of veteran officials looked at each other, and no one said a word.

Just as they were hesitating, Wei Zaode, who had lost his mind outside the palace gate, began to curse: "Zhu Youjian! Incompetent ruler!"

"He has been in office for seventeen years and has brought disaster to the country and the people!"

"The Ming Dynasty will be destroyed by you, the fallen nation..."

Wei Zaode's voice stopped abruptly. It was the Jinyiwei who told him to shut up.

After a while, a Jinyiwei came back and reported: "Your Majesty, the cabinet chief Wei Zaode has been beheaded."

Inside the Huangji Palace, you can hear a pin drop.

Duke Zhu Chunchen of Chengguo saw that all the ministers were kneeling on the ground, and he was the only one standing, which was very abrupt. So he quietly bent down, bent his knees, and knelt gently.

There was no sound throughout the whole process.

Chongzhen sneered: "Duke Chengguo, why did you stand up just now?"

Zhu Chunchen trembled all over.

Kneeling on the ground, not daring to breathe, he replied in a low voice: "Long live...Long live, I just wanted to stop Wei Zaode."

"Ha!" Chongzhen sneered. In his eyes, Zhu Chunchen was already a dead man.

"The cabinet's chief minister, Wei Zaode, has been executed. The position of chief minister is now vacant. Do you have any candidates to recommend?"

The civil and military officials knelt on the ground, exchanged glances, and then remained silent.

Wei Zaode was the top scholar in the imperial examination in the 13th year of Chongzhen, and was promoted to the sixth rank as an editor in the Hanlin Academy.

In August of the 16th year of Chongzhen, he entered the cabinet as a minister, and in February of the 17th year of Chongzhen, he became the chief minister.

It took him less than four years to be promoted from a sixth-rank official to a second-rank official. It took him half a year to be promoted from a cabinet minister to the chief minister of the cabinet. He can be said to be the fastest promoted official in the Ming Dynasty.

He was also the prime minister who had the worst fate, no doubt about it.

At this time, the position of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet was more terrifying than bandits in the eyes of civil and military officials.

Seeing that no one was talking, Chongzhen suggested, "I plan to let Li Yushi join the cabinet as the chief minister, what do you think?"

All the court officials heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this. Led by the three cabinet ministers, they knelt down and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Chongzhen nodded and said, "From now on, Li Banghua will join the cabinet as the chief minister. As for the vacancies of the ministers of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites, let me think about it."

Wei Zaode was originally the Minister of Rites. In early February, the former Minister of Personnel, Li Yuzhi, returned home due to illness, so Chongzhen asked Wei Zaode to serve as the Minister of two departments. Now Wei Zaode has died and the position is vacant.

If nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected will happen to the Minister of War Zhang Jinyan, and someone will need to be found to fill his vacancy.

He glanced around the court and after a moment came up with an idea.

"Minister of War Zhang Jinyan, do you plead guilty?"

Zhang Jinyan finally heard these words. He fell to the ground and said in an extremely sad voice: "I am guilty. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy."

"Okay, since you have admitted your guilt, I will remove you from your position as Minister of War. I will make your decision later."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Zhang Jinyan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Chongzhen had no intention of pursuing the matter.

"From now on, Li Banghua will resign from his post as censor and be transferred to the position of Minister of War; Cabinet Minister Qiu Yu will be transferred to the position of Minister of Personnel; Cabinet Minister Fan Jingwen will concurrently serve as Minister of Works and Minister of Rites; Cabinet Minister Fang Yuegong will be transferred to the position of Minister of Revenue."

"how?"

"Your Majesty is wise. We will follow your command." Led by the four cabinet members, all civil and military officials knelt down in unison.

Seeing that no one objected, Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief.

There is a reason why he arranged it this way.

Li Banghua is a good commander of troops, and the post of Minister of War is best suited for him.

Qiu Yu was a loyal person. He used to be the Left Vice Minister in the Ministry of Rites. He had no party affiliation and was suitable to be in charge of the personnel department.

Fan Jingwen is an honest person, and the Ministry of Works is all about spending money, so it is most appropriate for him to continue in office. As for the Ministry of Rites, it is dispensable in the current situation, so just find someone to take over.

He chose Fang Yuegong to head the most critical Ministry of Revenue, who was famous for his integrity and the Ministry of Revenue was in need of such a cadre. (The position of Minister of Revenue had been vacant since the resignation of the former Minister Ni Yuanlu, and specific affairs were handled by the Left Vice Minister Wang Zhengzhi).

"You all return to the yamen and perform your duties accordingly. Don't make any mistakes."

"Your Highness obeys your order."

"Those who have not been named can leave. The Lord of Xiangcheng, the cabinet and those who have been named can stay."

The civil and military officials who were not named stood up as if they had been pardoned, kowtowed and left in a hurry. They were all guilty of something, and as long as the emperor was willing to investigate, he would definitely gain something.