Several people gathered in a mansion outside the imperial city of the capital.
If any official in the court saw them, they would definitely recognize them.
The former Minister of Works Zhang Fengxiang, the Left Vice Minister of Personnel Shen Weibing, the Right Vice Minister of Rites Yang Rucheng, and the Left Vice Minister of Revenue Dang Chongya.
Among these people, Zhang Fengxiang was from the Qi Party, Dang Chongya was from the Shi Jin Party, Shen Weibing was from the Donglin Party, and Yang Rucheng was from the Xuan Party.
Zhang Fengxiang was the first to speak: "Haike (Shen Weibing's name is Haike), the cabinet chief Wei Zaode was beheaded by Chongzhen, and the new chief Li Banghua is not on the same boat with us. What should we do with him in the future? War or peace?"
Shen Weibing's face changed slightly: "Brother Zhiyu (Zhang Fengxiang's name is Zhiyu), although there are no outsiders here, it is better to call him the emperor."
Shen Weibing's worries were not without reason. Chongzhen's actions today were obviously well prepared. No one could guarantee that the people present did not have his spies?
Although the Jinyiwei and Dongchang were not as powerful as they used to be, they were not idle. Once they caught someone, it would cost at least several thousand taels of silver.
Zhang Fengxiang smiled calmly and said, "Chongzhen is just a young boy, there is no need to be afraid of him. If he just imprisoned Wei Zaode, I would definitely have some concerns, after all, he has something that is not good for us. But Wei Zaode is dead, and he has no correspondence with us on weekdays, so it will be difficult for Chongzhen to find any handle on us."
"As for Li Banghua..." Zhang Fengxiang narrowed his eyes, "You all tell me what you think. I am not in the court now, and I am free from my duties as an official!"
In the 15th year of Chongzhen, Zhang Fengxiang served as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. Later, he served as the Minister of Works for a few months. He was then demoted back to the Ministry of War by Chongzhen, and was stripped of his official position and imprisoned a few months later.
After everyone pleaded for mercy, he was only dismissed from his post.
Shen Weibing looked around and said, "First of all, let's confirm that Li Banghua and the emperor are of the same mind, otherwise he would not have suddenly risen to the position of the chief minister of the cabinet."
"The emperor first chopped off Wei Zaode's head today, and then imprisoned Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of War, and Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, in the name of borrowing money. If Fan Jingwen hadn't told the truth because of his poor family background, he would have been implicated as well."
"I think what the emperor did today is a signal."
"What signal?" Everyone looked at Shen Weibing who was speaking in confusion.
“He wants to seize power!”
Seize power? Zhang Fengxiang was deep in thought with a serious face.
Yang Rucheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, showed a puzzled expression. He asked in confusion: "Your Majesty, what power are you seizing? Whose power are you seizing?"
"Now the six ministers, the chief ministers and the ministers of the cabinet are all his people. Let alone the distant future, the imperial edict will at least not be rejected. As long as the imperial edict arrives, dare you and I not obey it? Although we are ministers, the power in our hands has long been taken back."
"That's wrong!" Dang Chongya, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, took over the topic and explained, "Brother Rucheng only works in the Ministry of Rites. It's normal that he doesn't know much about other ministries."
"The minister does his job, and the assistant minister does his job. Take our Ministry of Revenue as an example. Your Majesty wants us to supervise the military expenditure, and the minister also wants us to supervise the military expenditure. Who should we ask for help?"
"Royal relatives? Imperial nobles? Gentry and merchants? Ordinary people?"
"The royal family is powerful and wealthy, we cannot afford to offend them. The relationship between the nobles in the court is complicated, we cannot afford to offend them either. The gentry and merchants are our backers, we cannot levy taxes on them."
"Only the common people can be taxed. They have no power or influence. As soon as the officials from the government office arrive, they will obediently hand over the money."
"When the money arrives at the Ministry of Revenue, the Minister doesn't care where the money came from, and your Majesty doesn't even know where the money came from. Even if he knew, what can he do?"
"It's just to give us promotions!"
"So, the current official is one thing, and the current manager is another. If someone else comes, he won't be able to collect taxes, and in the end, His Majesty will still have to use us."
After hearing this, Yang Rucheng suddenly realized and nodded deeply to Dang Chongya.
Zhang Fengxiang frowned and said, "Haike means that Chongzhen wants to replace all the people from top to bottom?"
"Brother Zhiyu guessed correctly. I think the emperor's plan is to replace the minister first, then the assistant minister. In time, he will replace all the officials in the capital."
"No, it won't!" Zhang Fengxiang shook his head and denied, "First of all, the court doesn't have that many people to replace. Even if there are, he doesn't know their backgrounds. Now is the time to recruit people. Once they are replaced, the court will be in chaos. By then, there will be no need for Li Zicheng to come. As soon as Liu Fangliang arrives, the city gate will be opened. Am I right, Brother Yu Jiang (Dang Chongya's courtesy name is Yu Jiang)!"
Dang Chongya was a member of the Shanxi Party, and behind him were merchants from Shaanxi and Shanxi. These merchants not only did business with the Ming Dynasty, but also with Li Zicheng and the Jian Nu.
Others felt that Dang Chongya would definitely be the first to surrender.
Dang Chongya was stunned by Zhang Fengxiang's question. He squinted his eyes and looked at the other three people, smiled slightly, and said nothing.
Zhang Fengxiang was a little displeased: "We are all in the same boat. I hope you can all speak frankly."
Dang Chongya frowned and thought for a while, then said, "I think you are worrying too much. The emperor did this for only two purposes: to win people's hearts and to raise funds."
"He wanted to tell everyone in the capital that he had killed corrupt officials and nobles. The common people didn't know the reason, but as long as the officials were killed, they would be happy and support the emperor."
"As for raising funds, everyone has seen it. The court is short of money, and the two million taels of silver that the emperor dug out can only solve the problem temporarily. After the money is spent, he will have to find a way to raise money."
"So..." Zhang Fengxiang interrupted Dang Chongya, "Will Chongzhen raid the homes of all officials in the capital?"
"It's possible!" Dang Chongya nodded seriously.
hiss...
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