"The cabinet and the Marquis of Xiangcheng will follow me to the side hall. The rest of you will wait here for me! Wait until Wu Mengming and Wang Zhixin come back. Only then can they leave if there are no problems."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I know I was wrong."
"Your Majesty, please spare me for the sake of my ancestors' contributions!"
Amidst the cries for mercy, Chongzhen left the Huangji Hall.
Before the palace door closed, he deliberately said to Li Ruolian: "Li Ruolian."
"I am here!"
"Send someone to guard this place. Provide food and drink. Anyone who leaves without permission will be executed!"
"Yes, sir."
After leaving the Huangji Palace, Chongzhen took a deep breath.
In history, Chongzhen always said that his ministers had misled him. He didn’t believe it before, but now he firmly believes it.
If it was a peaceful and prosperous time, he would have turned a blind eye to the corruption of these ministers. But now there is war, chaos, natural disasters and man-made disasters, and the Ming Dynasty has no more blood to suck. If it continues to suck, the country will be destroyed.
Damn it!
I will do what you, Chongzhen, dare not do!
I will kill anyone that you, Chongzhen, don’t want to kill!
I will take on the infamy that you, Chongzhen, are unwilling to bear!
I will save the Ming Dynasty, even though you, Chongzhen, cannot!
After the excitement, he quickly regained his composure.
Since ancient times, the ruler governs the officials, and the officials govern the people. The people support the ruler, and the ruler supports the officials.
Now both the king and the people are extremely poor. Is there any need to tell me where the money has gone?
In the days to come, the court will become a battlefield.
Throughout the dynasties, emperors would allow officials to engage in a certain degree of corruption. In imperial tactics, this is called the art of controlling people.
Man is born evil.
Some are greedy for money, some are lustful, and some are power-hungry.
There are no living people without desires, only dead people without desires.
Do those who are greedy for money really love money? No, what they pursue is the process of corruption.
What about lust? Don’t talk about this, skip it.
Authoritarians do not like power, but they enjoy the feeling of being respected.
Every emperor has a different bottom line and creates different ministers.
Therefore, whenever a new emperor ascended the throne, the officials who were favored by the previous dynasty would end up in a miserable situation.
There is no other reason, it’s just that the new emperor has a higher bottom line.
A wise monarch can satisfy the evil side of his subjects while letting them know his bottom line.
Only in this way can you manage people for a long time.
The current situation is different, and the court is different. In order to make money, corrupt officials must be punished.
After arriving at the side hall, Chongzhen first summoned Li Banghua alone.
Without waiting for the palace door to close, Chongzhen went straight to the point, "The bandits are about to arrive and the Beijing camp is empty. The Ministry of War will start recruiting soldiers immediately!"
"As you wish, Your Majesty, the silver..."
"It's true."
Li Banghua breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked up at Chongzhen. Although his expression showed nothing, he was extremely worried in his heart.
Money money money!
The Ming Dynasty lacked nothing except money.
Now that we have finally gotten some money, the bandits are about to arrive at the city gates.
"Your Majesty, now that you have money, shouldn't you delay the confiscation of property? Confiscating property can only quench thirst temporarily, and it is like drinking poison to quench thirst! Confiscating property at this time will not be conducive to defending the city!"
"I know my limits. Tell me about your plan to recruit soldiers."
Li Banghua thought for a moment and said, "I plan to pay the salaries owed to the three camps first, and then pay five taels of silver for defending the city. Although these people are not elite, they are familiar with firearms and crossbows, and are much better than ordinary people."
"Afterwards, more than a hundred recruitment points were set up in various places in the capital. Young and strong men were given four taels of silver for defending the city, and older men were given three taels of silver."
"What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Chongzhen nodded first and then shook his head. "The first part is fine, but the conditions for recruiting soldiers in the latter part are too harsh. This time, the conditions for recruiting soldiers have been relaxed. Anyone who can pick up a brick can be recruited."
Li Banghua's gray beard trembled, and he asked in confusion: "Your Majesty, recruiting soldiers has always only recruited young and strong men. I'm afraid your conditions are too lenient."
Chongzhen smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I know that, but the plague is rampant in the capital. Not to mention the young and strong, how many old, young, women and children can fight?"
Li Banghua raised his head, and a complicated look appeared in his sunken eye sockets.
Yes, the enemies of the Ming Dynasty include not only bandits, but also plague, slaves, corrupt officials...
"Yes...Yes, Your Majesty." Li Banghua knelt down to receive the order and left the side hall.
The second person to be summoned was Qiu Yu.
"Your Majesty!" Qiu Yu, who had just been promoted to the Minister of Personnel, was very excited and full of energy.
"Get ready. I intend to restart the imperial examination."
Beijing inspection?
Hearing these two words, Qiu Yu's enthusiasm instantly disappeared.
The bandits are about to arrive at the city gates, and all civil and military officials should work together to defend the city. Restarting the imperial inspection at this time is tantamount to cutting off one's own arm.
Moreover, the effect of the imperial examination is completely different from what it was before.
There is nothing wrong with the Jingcha system itself. Its purpose is to reward the good and punish the bad, so that officials at all levels can perform their duties conscientiously and contribute to the country's governance.
What was wrong was that the officials used the name of the imperial examination to crack down on dissidents.
Many people who did not participate in party struggles had no choice but to go along with the party in order to protect themselves.
"Your Majesty...Isn't it inappropriate to start the imperial inspection at this time?" Qiu Yu asked cautiously.
"Are you teaching me how to do things?"
Qiu Yu immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I am only discussing the matter at hand."
Chongzhen smiled slightly, "Of course I know it is not appropriate to start the imperial examination at this time, so I asked you to prepare in advance."
Prepare?
Qiu Yu was confused.
What preparations are needed for the imperial examination? It is nothing more than judging officials' promotion or demotion based on their past performance and the Four Observations and Six Laws.
The performance of officials is recorded in the Ministry of Personnel and no preparation is required.
"Your Majesty, please explain!"
"Check those with outstanding political achievements and the officials they recommended for posting outside the government!"
"Hand over the list after you have sorted it out. I will need it. Remember, this matter must be investigated in secret and no word can leak out."
"Step back. The Ministry of Personnel is related to the imperial court. You must be careful and cautious."
"I obey the order."
After Qiu Yu left, the next person summoned was Fang Yuegong.
Working in the Ministry of Revenue is not an easy job.
If it were easy to do, there would not be five vice-ministers assigned to the Ministry of Revenue, second only to the four vice-ministers of the Ministry of War.
"Fang Yuegong, do you know why I asked you to work in the Ministry of Revenue?"
Fang Yuegong was a smart man. He adjusted his black hat and said seriously, "Your Majesty has a keen eye for talent. You are truly a wise ruler."
Chongzhen was stunned.
This flattery not only made the emperor happy, but also made himself look good.
Scholars really have their own way.
"Aren't you afraid that I will punish you for your flattery?"
Fang Yuegong bowed deeply and said, "A ruler should be magnanimous and will not argue with his subjects."
Chongzhen pointed at Fang Yuegong's head and was amused.
After putting away his smile, Chongzhen turned around and asked, "Are you from Huguang?"
"Yes, I am from Huguanggucheng."
"Huguang..." Chongzhen muttered to himself, "Most of the officials in Huguang are members of the Chu Party, right?"
Fang Yuegong was stunned at first, then his back went cold and his feet went weak. He swallowed quietly and said, "Your Majesty, I'm not sure."
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