June 29, the 28th year of Chongzhen, Qianqing Palace.
The Ming Emperor Chongzhen was holding a small notebook and looking at it carefully.
It was filled with people's names.
Some names were crossed out, indicating that the person was dead.
Some of the names were circled, indicating that they had been arrested and were awaiting sentencing.
Whether to live or die was entirely up to Chongzhen himself.
There are also a few names that are neither crossed out nor circled.
It seems very abrupt.
"Your Majesty, good news! Good news!!!" Wang Chengen's voice came from far away.
Amid the sound of footsteps, Wang Chengen fell to his knees with a thud: "A great victory in Fujian! His Royal Highness Prince Ding planned and planned, and Zheng Chenggong led the three armies to attack Dongfan in the storm. This battle not only drove away the Helan people, but also killed Wu Sangui and Li Chengdong. General Zeng Ying, as a reserve force, captured and killed Shang Kexi while waiting on Penghu Island!"
"I congratulate the Emperor on recovering Dongfan and quelling the rebellion!"
"Good! Good! Good!" Chongzhen said three good words in a row, walked to the table, picked up a pen, and drew a big cross on those names.
At this point, he could finally put his notebook away.
"Wang Chengen."
"The servant is here."
"Send a decree to all the Jinyiwei in the country, and have them continue to search for the whereabouts of the crown prince. Also, have Prince Ding return to the capital immediately. I want to celebrate his success."
"yes."
"And..." Chongzhen paused, "Tell the cabinet that the rebellion has been quelled and the world has been settled. Let them summon the generals to the capital. I am ready to reward them according to their merits!"
"As you wish."
The reward according to merit mentioned by Chongzhen meant conferring titles.
As for how to confer the title, Chongzhen already had a plan in mind.
However, there are still two things to do before conferring the title.
One is to deal with the prisoners in the imperial prison.
The second is to meet with the princes who came to Beijing.
The guilty will be convicted.
Encourage those who are innocent and give them some money to let them go home.
After making up his mind, Chongzhen stood up and walked out.
When I reached the door, Wang Chengen just came back.
Chongzhen asked, "How is Concubine Shen these days?"
Wang Chengen lowered his head and curled his lips, thinking to himself: Looking at the entire imperial city, the person who knows Concubine Shen's situation best is probably you, Your Majesty.
Since Chongzhen pretended to be ill, he could not see anyone, so he could only stay in the Qianqing Palace.
But Chongzhen was unwilling to be lonely.
So he went to the cold palace to play with Concubine Shen almost every day.
Now the war is over and the goal has been achieved.
There is no need for Chongzhen to pretend anymore.
Wang Chengen replied: "Concubine Shen is still in the cold palace."
Chongzhen nodded: "She has suffered these days. Bring her to the Qing Palace immediately. I will compensate her well!"
Wang Chengen put on a stern face and left quickly.
The next day dawned.
After breakfast, Chongzhen went to the imperial prison.
Now those imprisoned here are all people with serious sins.
The three judges are no longer qualified to convict them.
Only Chongzhen could decide their charges and life or death.
Chongzhen walked to the first cell and stopped.
Li Ruolian, the commander of the Imperial Guard, introduced: "Your Majesty, the person imprisoned here is Fan Wencheng, Dorgon's adviser."
Chongzhen walked forward and said without looking back: "Lingchi!"
Li Ruo Lian blinked: "Yes."
After being detained for a long time, Fan Wencheng's vision and hearing were severely damaged and his mental state was on the verge of collapse.
He vaguely heard some noise outside.
Since he hadn't spoken to anyone for a long time, he endured the pain from his wound and walked to the cell door.
In the dim candlelight, he found two figures standing outside.
Fan Wencheng said to one of the figures: "Who... who are you? Can you say something to me..."
Li Ruo Lian kept her mouth shut and didn't dare to respond.
Looking at Fan Wencheng, whose eyes were sunken and whose face was haggard, Chongzhen said calmly, "What do you want to say?"
Fan Wencheng was overjoyed.
He has been held in solitary confinement since being imprisoned in the imperial prison.
No one spoke to him, and the jailer who brought him food ignored him.
Fan Wencheng wanted to communicate with others but was never able to do so.
Someone suddenly talked to him today and it was hard for him not to get excited.
After moistening his throat with saliva, Fan Wencheng asked, "Is there sunshine outside today?"
Chongzhen snorted coldly, turned around and continued walking forward.
Fan Wencheng was stunned. He begged quickly, "Don't go, don't go, please say something to me."
Chongzhen whispered to Li Ruolian: "From now until he dies, no one can talk to him, not even a single word."
"I obey the order."
After a while, Chongzhen came to the outside of the second cell.
Li Ruo Lian quickly followed and pointed at the prison door and said, "Your Majesty, the person imprisoned inside is Hong Chengchou."
Chongzhen narrowed his eyes and said, "Hong Chengchou is a man who values his reputation and is afraid of death. Killing him would be a good thing for him."
Li Ruo Lian asked: "What does your majesty mean?"
"Let him go, but he is not allowed to leave the capital. No one is allowed to give him money or sell him food. If he wants to live, he must beg!"
Li Ruo Lian felt a chill on his back, and after swallowing his saliva, he replied, "Yes, I've made a note of it."
For Hong Chengchou.
If you want to survive, you have to put aside your dignity and beg for food.
It's a shame to be alive.
If you can't bear to beg for food with dignity, you will starve to death.
This is a humble death.
It’s heart-breaking. It’s completely heart-breaking.
Li Ruolian remembered what Wang Chengen once said: A saint only destroys the heart, not the person!
Seeing that Li Ruolian was a little dazed, Chongzhen shouted, "Let's go."
"Yes," Li Ruolian walked quickly forward and arrived at the next cell before Chongzhen.
He pointed to the prisoners held inside and said, "Your Majesty, this is the Jiannu captive, Duoni, the son of Duoduo."
"Autumn Execution."
"This is a captured Jiannu..."
"Autumn Decision! Autumn Decision! Autumn Decision again!"
Chongzhen acted very quickly. As soon as he heard that the person was a Jiannu prisoner, he ordered his execution without asking his name.
After walking for a while, Li Ruolian stopped outside a cell.
He said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the person imprisoned here is Qian Qianyi, the leader of the Donglin clan."
"Oh," Chongzhen nodded and asked, "He was not tortured, was he?"
Li Ruo Lian shook his head vigorously: "No, I have always acted according to your orders. Not only did I not torture him, I also gave him an extra dish every day."
"Yes," Chongzhen nodded. "Starting from tomorrow, send him to the Imperial College after breakfast every day, and take him back to the Imperial Prison in the evening. The scholars in the Imperial College will help me deal with him in their own way."
Li Ruo Lian was a little confused and said to himself, "The way of scholars?"
Chongzhen smiled and replied: "To put it simply, it is cursing! When scholars curse, the uneducated cannot understand, and the more educated the people are, the more uncomfortable they feel after hearing it."
Li Ruo Lian suddenly realized: "So that's how it is! Your Majesty lets scholars deal with scholars. I really admire you."
Continuing to walk forward, the two came to the cell of Pang Tianshou, the seal holder of Nanjing Imperial Household Department.
Chongzhen said slowly: "This is one of the main culprits. Don't behead him. Let him be tortured to death together with Fan Wencheng!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
