At the suggestion of the Donglin Party, Zhu Cilang first sent secret envoys to Sichuan and Fujian.
Afterwards, he contacted the close relatives including Prince of Fu Zhu Yousong, Prince of Lu Zhu Changxun, Prince of Tang Zhu Youjian, Prince of Lu Zhu Yihai and Prince of Yongming Zhu Youlang.
He explained the current situation of the court to them and invited them to come to Beijing to support the king.
While waiting for the messenger's reply, various forces in Nanjing began to intensify military training, preparing to go to war at any time.
The news from Nanjing reached Chongzhen's ears through various channels.
He was very satisfied with the responses from all parties in Nanjing.
If they had not followed the prince in rebellion, Chongzhen would have had no way to settle accounts with them.
Especially using the method of abolishing currency and reforming the system to win over the hearts of the people was simply great news for Chongzhen.
One of the important purposes of Chongzhen in forcing the Jiangnan gentry to rebel was to make money!
But there is a prerequisite here: you have to make money in a reasonable and legal way!
How can we do this in a reasonable and legal way?
The method is very simple!
Whenever the army went to a place to support the king, they would spread the news of the abolition of the policy.
Who supports the abolition of currency reform?
Those gentry and landlords who were against Chongzhen.
Now that the prince has announced the abolition of currency reform, it will certainly be welcomed by the gentry and landlords.
In order to express their gratitude, they must show their gratitude to the army that came to support the king.
It's not enough to just say thank you verbally, you have to give real money or food.
As soon as they donated money and food, Chongzhen's troops came to attack them.
All these gentry were arrested on charges of supporting the rebels.
The punishment could be light, such as house confiscation, or severe, such as beheading.
When people die, the land naturally becomes ownerless.
Chongzhen could take this opportunity to distribute land as he did at the beginning of the founding of the country and complete the redistribution of means of production.
Will it be okay if we don’t support the army that is coming to support the king?
No!
Not supporting means opposing, and the loyal army will find ways to deal with them!
This was a disaster for the gentry and landlords.
However, the army coming to support the king will definitely observe strict military discipline and will not easily disturb the people.
Chongzhen then had to find a way to create that situation.
He asked Wang Chengen: "How much money does the Nanjing branch of Daming Money House have?"
Wang Chengen took the account book and checked it: "Your Majesty, there are 6 million taels of silver in the Nanjing branch's account, but they are all fake accounts. The actual amount should be around 2 million taels."
"That's a lot," Chongzhen nodded. "If the prince rebels, he will immediately confiscate the money."
It was the first time that Wang Chengen heard Chongzhen say the words "the prince is rebelling" in person.
He had no idea how to respond to Chongzhen and could only kneel on the ground in silence.
Chongzhen continued the previous topic and asked, "Whose ambassador to the Nanjing Treasury is he?"
The official who managed the treasury in the Ming Dynasty was called an ambassador, a ninth-rank official.
Wang Chengen replied: "It is my servant's."
"That's good," Chongzhen nodded again, "You make arrangements in advance. Once the Nanjing army rises, you immediately find a way to divide up all the silver in the Nanjing treasury."
Wang Chengen's eyes widened: "Break up...break up?"
"Yes, divide it up! Whether you divide it up among yourself or give it to the local people, you must empty the Nanjing treasury."
"This is a crime punishable by the death of nine generations of the clan. I am afraid they dare not..."
"Why not? Just send them an imperial decree and let them act according to it."
"But..." Wang Chengen was still a little worried.
Not only had he never done such a thing, he had never even heard of it.
"But what?" Chongzhen asked.
"But there are more than one official in charge of the treasury. I am afraid that he is alone and unable to complete the task."
"How many people are available in Nanjing Jinyiwei? Let Jinyiwei cooperate with him to complete this task! After the treasury is emptied, all the people involved in the case will return to the capital. There is no need to worry about retaliation from Nanjing."
"I'll arrange it right away." Wang Chengen stood up and said goodbye.
......
On the 28th day of the first lunar month in the 27th year of Chongzhen, a messenger from Nanjing arrived in Chengdu Prefecture, Sichuan.
Inside the Palace of the King of Shu.
King Zhu Zhishu of Shu hid in the study and placed a small wooden box in his arms on the table.
He opened the box and revealed a pile of papers.
In addition to the letters between him and Chongzhen, there was also an account book.
He opened the account book and began to do the math.
After counting all the numbers, the King of Shu closed the account book, his face full of helplessness.
Chongzhen still hasn't repaid the money he owed him.
Every time the King of Shu checked the account book, he would be sad for a long time.
Just when he was about to continue to grieve, the left chief official of the palace came in and said, "Your Highness, someone is here."
The King of Shu stood up excitedly and asked, "Did His Majesty send someone to pay back the money?"
"No, it's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's people."
"Prince?" The King of Shu's face darkened for a moment, then he smiled and said, "Prince, did you send someone here to pay back the money for Your Majesty?"
"I don't know. He didn't say."
The King of Shu immediately ordered, "Let him in."
The Left Chief Clerk went out for a while and came in with the prince's secret envoy.
After the ceremony, the King of Shu asked, "What can I do for you, Your Highness?"
The secret envoy did not speak, but looked at Zuo Changshi.
The King of Shu waved his hand and asked the Left Chief Clerk to leave.
After making sure that the other party had gone far away, the prince's secret envoy took out the letter from his arms and said, "Your Highness, the King of Shu, please take a look."
It would have been better if the King of Shu had not read it. After reading it, he was stunned on the spot.
The envoy saw this and said, "Don't be surprised, Your Highness, the situation in the capital is indeed critical. If you don't come to the rescue, Your Majesty will be in danger, and the Ming Dynasty will be in danger!"
The King of Shu shook his head and wanted to say something but didn't.
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