Except for Fan Jingwen, everyone else was panicked.
Because only Fan Jingwen told the truth.
Wei Zaode and Minister of War Zhang Jinyan came out of the ranks and knelt down at the same time.
Without waiting for their pleas, Chongzhen raised his hand to stop them: "Don't worry, my friends. Let's start with Minister Wang. The Royal Guards and the East Factory are very fast. I estimate that they will be back in an hour, and then we can give Minister Wang justice."
justice?
Wang Zhengzhi was disheartened...
Wei Zaode narrowed his eyes and understood Chongzhen's thoughts.
Regardless of whether the court was short of money or not, Chongzhen would use this as an excuse to confiscate their homes and punish them.
In that case, let’s take a step back!
He gave up his property and resigned from his post to return home.
He first winked at his followers, then kowtowed to Chongzhen: "Since Your Majesty wants to confiscate my property, I am willing to give up all my property and resign and return home."
Zhang Jinyan then knelt down and said the same words.
"No!" Chongzhen rejected it without hesitation, "I must find out the truth and give you justice. It won't be too late to resign and return home then!"
Seeing this, Li Banghua decided to add fuel to the fire. He stepped out of the class and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Li Banghua impeaches the cabinet's chief minister, Wei Zaode, for being unworthy of his position, forming a clique for personal gain, embezzling military funds, and deceiving the emperor! Please investigate clearly, Your Majesty."
"I second the motion!"
"I second this motion!"
Under the leadership of Li Banghua, more than 20 repeaters came out of class at the same time, requesting an investigation into Wei Zaode.
Wei Zaode's face turned ugly.
He thought he could protect himself by resigning, but he didn't expect that Chongzhen wanted to kill him.
what to do?
Wei Zaode's eyes wandered around the court, looking for any force that could unite.
He will not give up easily, and the more times like this, the more he has to think of ways to protect himself.
When he saw Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen kneeling on the ground, he was overjoyed.
There were countless marquises and earls in the Ming Dynasty, but very few dukes. Except for the six dukes of the founding of the country, the rest were basically conferred by Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, when he was purging the emperor's court.
Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen was a hereditary duke with a rich family background and complicated relationships in the court.
With him standing in front, Chongzhen would never make a big deal out of it.
Thinking of this, he gave Zhu Chunchen a look.
Zhu Chunchen was also named, and was worrying about how to respond. When he saw the Prime Minister winking at him, he was overjoyed.
After reaching a united front, the two stood up at the same time.
Wei Zaode clasped his hands and said to the officials who were named and those who were not named: "Everyone, the bandits have invaded the border and the capital is in urgent need of people. I didn't expect that the emperor would confiscate our homes to raise military funds."
"If you want to accuse someone of something, you can always find a pretext for it."
"Today he raided my house because of the lack of pay, tomorrow he will raid your house. When all the civil and military officials in the court are raided, will he dig up the ancestral tomb?"
"When the ruler is in chaos above and the ministers are in control below, if you do not save them from disaster, they will be defeated and destroyed!"
"How pathetic, pitiful, and ridiculous!"
"My death is not a pity. I hope that the princes and ministers will record this matter so that future generations can judge for themselves!"
Wei Zaode had no real ability, but because of his eloquence, he actually became the prime minister of the cabinet during the Chongzhen period.
Ridiculous or not?
"How dare you! Come, capture Wei Zaode for me!" Wang Chengen was the first to stand up. As an eunuch of Chongzhen, he had to uphold the dignity of the emperor.
The Jinyiwei outside the door pushed it open and saw that the person Wang Chengen asked them to arrest was the prime minister of the cabinet. They stopped and looked at Chongzhen.
The matter is of great importance at this time, and we must not act rashly without the emperor's instructions.
They can ignore Wang Chengen, Wu Mengming and Li Ruolian, but they must obey that man.
The eyes of all the court officials were also wandering between Chongzhen and Wei Zaode.
They are waiting.
These people didn't care whether Wei Zaode's property was confiscated or not. What they cared about was whether Chongzhen would confiscate the property of everyone in order to raise military funds.
If that's the case, we might as well unite and fight against it as soon as possible.
Chongzhen also knew that these people were waiting.
In the feudal era, the emperor had supreme power. He could deprive his subjects and people of everything, including their lives, at any time and in any place.
But there is a prerequisite.
Charge!
As long as the charges are reasonable, it can silence officials, scholars, and ordinary people all over the world.
After thinking about this, Chongzhen smiled coldly.
He is very familiar with accusing others.
He shook off his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, and swept his eyes across everyone's faces like a torch.
"Everyone, you are all courtiers of my Ming Dynasty."
"Some of you are known for your courage, some for your good words, some for your flattery, some for your treacherous nature. Some love money, some for lust, some for power, and some for fame."
"I only have one person, who should I trust?"
"In order to gain my trust, some people banded together to deceive me; another group of people also banded together to protect themselves, and thus there was a factional struggle!"
"Whether it's the Eunuch Party, the Donglin Party, the Qi Party, the Chu Party, the Zhejiang Party, or the Xuan Party, I know all of them. As long as you can do practical things for me and sincerely serve the Ming Dynasty, I can pretend not to see your private hobbies."
All the civil and military officials in the court were smart people, and they understood the meaning of Chongzhen's words.
In the eyes of the emperor, there is no clean person.
He can punish anyone if he wants.
Thinking of this, all the civil and military officials in the court lowered their heads at the same time.
"But!" Chongzhen changed the subject.
"Wei Zaode, you have not made any proposals since you entered the cabinet in the 16th year of Chongzhen. You have only proposed that all officials donate. Such an incompetent and immoral person can neither take the world as his own responsibility nor come up with a strategy for governing the country. You are in a position but do not seek evidence. You have misled the emperor and the country. Don't you deserve to die?"
"After being promoted to the chief minister of the cabinet, you formed a clique for personal gain, embezzled military funds, deceived the emperor, spoke wildly, and committed treason. You should be executed by slow slicing! I gave you a chance because you have served as an official for many years and have worked hard even if you have not made any contributions." Chongzhen continued to list the evidence of the crimes of the chief minister of the cabinet, Wei Zaode.
"I asked you to donate money, but it's fine if you don't. I also asked you to borrow money, but it's fine if you don't."
"I asked you how much cash you have at home, what did you say?"
“No money!”
"I didn't intend to rob or seize it, what are you afraid of?"
"The annual salary of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet is only a hundred taels of silver. You have only been in the court for four years. Where did your tens of thousands of assets come from?" Chongzhen waved his sleeves suddenly and his eyes fell on Wei Zaode.
Wei Zaode's face changed drastically.
For him, property is the biggest and only problem.
There is no need for the Imperial Guards, just two eunuchs can find out that his property and salary do not match.
But all the officials in the Ming Dynasty were corrupt. If he was not corrupt, he would not be able to fit in and would be excluded by others, let alone sit in the position of Prime Minister.
Chongzhen continued, "You are my king and my father! As a subject, I should relieve your king and father's worries. If you ignore your king and father, what use do I have for you?"
"Under normal circumstances, I would dismiss you from your post."
"But now...haha," Chongzhen laughed coldly, "he should be executed for his multiple crimes!"
"Someone come!" Chongzhen put his hands behind his back, his eyes full of murderous intent, "Take Wei Zao De out, hang him to death and then behead him in public! Exterminate all three clans, and confiscate all their property!"
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