On March 12, the 20th year of Chongzhen's reign, Chongzhen received a secret letter from Li Ruolian.

After Wang Chengen finished reading the contents of the secret letter, Chongzhen stood up with a frown.

Li Zicheng died, and Zhang Xianzhong also died.

Logically speaking, he should be happy now that the two internal troubles have been eliminated.

But instead of being as happy as he had imagined, he felt a trace of pity in his heart.

No matter what Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong did in history, they did not compromise or surrender when facing the Qing Dynasty, but fought to the death.

This is their integrity!

Especially Zhang Xianzhong, who before his death held high the national banner and instructed his four adopted sons to surrender to the Southern Ming and resist the Qing Dynasty.

Gu Shanzhen, a Ming Dynasty survivor, recorded Zhang Xianzhong's words in his historical book "Ke Dian Shu": The Ming Dynasty has been orthodox for 300 years, and it is God's will that it will not perish. After I die, you should return to the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible, and do not do anything unjust.

"Your Majesty..." Wang Chengen looked at the letter in his hand, and after observing Chongzhen's mood for a while, he whispered, "Commander Li asked in the letter how to deal with the bodies of Xian Ze and Ai Nengqi. In addition, Zhang Xianzhong's youngest son and Liu Wenxiu are on their way to the capital."

Chongzhen heaved a sigh of relief and said, "The bodies of Xianze and Ai Nengqi will be displayed to the public and buried on the spot. Xianze's young son is guilty of conspiracy, and Liu Wenxiu is guilty of murder. After arriving in Beijing, the two will be taken to the Zhenfu Division Prison and executed in the autumn."

First, charge them with a crime, and decide whether to kill them or not after autumn.

Wang Chengen nodded and quickly wrote it down in the letter.

After Chongzhen said this, he suddenly remembered something else and reached out to look through the documents on the table.

"What is your Majesty looking for? I'll find it for you..." Wang Chengen came forward and asked.

"I remember that the Three Judicial Departments sent the results of the Qufu Xiancheng case yesterday. How come I can't find it?"

Wang Chengen took out a manuscript from the pile of dragon books and placed it in front of Chongzhen: "Is this the one your Majesty wants?"

Chongzhen looked through the question book carefully.

In the 17th year of Chongzhen, the Jiannu invaded the pass and plundered. Although Dorgon was defeated, Duoduo relied on his military advantage to break through the pass from Qiangziling.

An army of 80,000 marched south from northern Zhili to Shandong.

The defenders of Qufu surrendered without a fight, and the Yanshenggong Mansion was also looted at this time.

After the Jiannu retreated, He Shun, the garrison commander of Qufu, and Kong Hongyi, the magistrate of Qufu, were escorted to Beijing to be questioned.

After a lengthy interrogation, the three judges finally convicted him:

He Shun, the garrison commander of Qufu, was convicted of surrendering to the enemy and losing the city and was sentenced to death.

Kong Hongyi, the magistrate of Qufu, was He Shun's accomplice and was also sentenced to death with a reprieve.

"Beheading in prison" means sentencing a criminal to death but not executing him immediately. Instead, he is imprisoned to await execution in the autumn or the emperor's review.

Looking at the two names, Chongzhen felt a little conflicted.

He wished that Qufu County Magistrate Kong Hongyi would die sooner, but he didn't want He Shun to die either.

After all, he had a share of the credit for the looting of Duke Yansheng's Mansion.

"Approve it and execute him in the autumn!" Chongzhen threw the petition to Wang Chengen.

In times of chaos, the rule of law is particularly important.

As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he could not break this principle.

Otherwise, the entire Ming Dynasty’s legal system will be in chaos!

He stood up and left the hall. After thinking for a while, he instructed Wang Chengen: "Remind me before the Autumn Queen that the birth of the Crown Prince is a happy event for me and the Ming Dynasty. I will grant amnesty to the world at that time."

"I obey your command." Wang Chengen took out a small notebook and wrote something in bold black ink with a red pen.

On the last day of March, Wang Chengen trotted to Chongzhen and whispered, "Your Majesty, Song Yingxing has been ordered to come to Beijing and has now arrived outside the gate of the Imperial City."

Chongzhen was overjoyed: "Announce it quickly!"

Song Yingxing was a treasure to Chongzhen and the Ming Dynasty.

Not to mention other achievements, the masterpiece "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" alone is enough to crush the entire era.

"The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" is the first comprehensive book on agricultural and handicraft production in human history.

Later foreign scholars called this book "China's 17th Century Craft Encyclopedia", which shows its high historical status.

Song Yingxing himself had a very bumpy official career, and he failed six times in the examination for officialdom.

Later, he was finally selected by the Ministry of Personnel as the magistrate of Tongxiang County, Zhejiang Province. However, his mother became seriously ill, and Song Yingxing had to return home to take care of her.

(Quanxuan is a system of selecting officials, in which the Ministry of Personnel selects officials according to vacancies. Those who are eligible to participate in Quanxuan include but are not limited to those who have passed the examination, donated money or restored their official status.)

He then worked as a teacher in the county school for four years. Because of his good grades, he was selected as a magistrate (eighth rank). After resigning, he became the magistrate of Bozhou.

In the first month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Song Yingxing resigned from his official position and returned home as he had no intention of pursuing a career in politics.

After Li Zicheng's defeat in Beijing, Chongzhen repeatedly summoned him to resume his official duties, but Song Yingxing declined on the grounds of his advanced age.

In desperation, Chongzhen started from the common points of scientists.

What do scientists have in common?

Seek knowledge and truth!

So he wrote a letter to Song Yingxing saying that there were many errors in "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" and that it had deceived many people.

"The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" was completed in the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636) and first published in the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637), which is ten years ago.

When Song Yingxing learned that the book he had worked so hard to write was questioned, he could no longer sit still and rushed all the way from Jiangxi to Beijing, intending to confront Chongzhen face to face.

Outside the Qianqing Palace.

Song Yingxing, who was in his sixties, stepped over the threshold and came into the hall.

He looked up and finally saw the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

He had been an official for more than ten years, but he had never even been to the imperial city, let alone meet the emperor.

While he was observing Chongzhen, Chongzhen was also observing him.

Song Yingxing is very thin, but not the kind of thin that is sickly thin.

He wore a scholar's scarf, a cloth robe, and his hair and beard were all white, giving people a feeling of being energetic and capable.

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