No!

All eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department accepted gifts, some accepted more and some accepted less.

but...

Some people simply accept gifts, while others bring ulterior motives with them.

In other words, forming a clique!

On the surface, he accused Gao Shiming of accepting gifts, but in reality he was accusing him of forming cliques and factions and engaging in party strife.

Gao Shiming is a smart man.

Seeing that Chongzhen didn't say anything, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, spare my life. The purpose of this servant accepting gifts is to make the officials who gave them feel relieved!"

"Only when they put their hearts into their stomachs will they be able to serve as officials conscientiously and work diligently!"

Because he was too nervous, his cracked lips oozed blood as he spoke.

Gao Shiming wanted to tell Chongzhen that the purpose of his forming a clique with those officials was to protect himself, not to engage in party struggles.

Chongzhen nodded first, then shook his head.

Gao Shiming's brain is not enough.

He couldn't understand the meaning of Chongzhen's nodding and shaking of his head.

If nodding means approving that he formed a clique to protect himself, then what does shaking his head mean?

Don't agree that he shouldn't engage in party strife?

That doesn't make sense!

The Ming emperor before us hates factional strife the most. How could we not agree with him not to engage in factional strife?

Gao Shiming didn't dare not to guess, but he also didn't dare to make a random guess.

I could only kneel on the ground, my thoughts racing.

After kneeling for a while, his legs began to feel numb.

But his knees seemed to have taken root, and even though he had thousands of thoughts of escaping, his body was still fixed in place and unable to move.

Chongzhen just looked at Gao Shiming quietly without saying a word.

What he has to do is very important. Only smart people can do it, and only smart people can survive.

If Gao Shiming couldn't guess what he was thinking, he could only change people.

Otherwise things would go wrong and Gao Shiming would die.

After a while, Gao Shiming rolled his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I think the currency reform in the four provinces of Jiangnan is not unsolvable."

"Oh?" Chongzhen felt relieved. He stood up, put his hands behind his back and asked, "Tell me about it."

Gao Shiming took a deep breath.

The cold air penetrated into his lungs, leaving him without any warmth.

"I think the reason why the currency reform in the four provinces of Jiangnan is progressing slowly is that some officials are not doing their job well and they should be replaced!" Gao Shiming said bravely.

"Well," Chongzhen nodded, "It's time to change people! Who do you think should be replaced first?"

"The Minister of Revenue Fang Yuegong!" Gao Shiming said shockingly.