The capital city is getting colder in November.
Chongzhen changed the previous daily morning court session to once every other day.
It's not that he is lazy, but he wants to take care of old guys like Li Banghua and Fan Jingwen.
They are old, so try not to bother them if possible.
On the third day of November, Chongzhen received a lot of news.
The only good news came from the south.
Qin Liangyu blocked Zhang Xianzhong in the eastern Sichuan area, preventing him from advancing westward.
The rest is all bad news.
The first bad news was that Yuan Jixian failed to recover Jingzhou and retreated to Yuezhou.
The second bad news was that Li Zicheng’s main force went south and headed straight for Huguang.
The third piece of bad news came from the three judicial departments. They had begun trying the case of Li Banghua for lax governance, tax evasion, and occupation of civilian land.
At the same time, he also learned about the changes in the Nanjing court.
To his surprise, Zhang Huangyan, a successful candidate in the imperial examination, actually became an official.
Before Chongzhen had time to be surprised, the impeachment petitions from the Censorate, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Personnel's Censor were delivered to his desk.
They did not dare to impeach the prince, so they directed the conflict towards Shi Kefa.
The charge was very simple. It was unreasonable for Shi Kefa to recommend Zhang Huangyan, so there must be something fishy going on.
If it were someone else, Chongzhen might have asked.
When he saw Zhang Huangyan's name, he threw the impeachment petition into the brazier to warm it up.
The fact that Zhang Huangyan in history could become one of the three pillars of the Southern Ming Dynasty naturally represented his ability.
It would be a great thing to let him enter the officialdom at this time.
Chongzhen picked up the trial papers of the three judicial departments and asked Wang Chengen beside him: "How is the trial of the three judicial departments going?"
"Your Majesty, the direction of the investigation seems to be a bit off..."
"Where can it go?" Chongzhen was a little confused. "Where can it go?
"I can't explain it clearly. The people from the Three Judicial Departments will be here soon. Your Majesty will know once you ask."
Chongzhen put down the memorial and sat on the dragon throne, waiting quietly.
Half an hour later, all the officials from the three judicial departments arrived.
Meng Zhaoxiang, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, the case in which Wang Hongzuo, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, reported that the cabinet chief Li Banghua's lax governance led to corruption, tax evasion, and occupation of civilian land has been tried."
"The allegations of tax evasion and occupation of civilian land are completely fabricated. Cheng De, a doctor in the Military Department's Arsenal Department, did commit corruption. Moreover, during the trial, he said some things that have nothing to do with this case."
Chongzhen narrowed his eyes and said, "Don't tell me the process, tell me the result."
Meng Zhaoxiang was stunned.
What is the result?
After learning from the last lesson, they only talked about the process and not the results.
Leave the decision to the emperor.
After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Your Majesty, this matter should be discussed with the ministers."
Chongzhen thought about it and agreed. Li Banghua's expression at the time clearly told him that he was doing great things in the court.
Thinking of this, he nodded gently: "Then we'll discuss it tomorrow. Thank you for your hard work."
After the three judicial officials left, Wang Chengen walked in quickly and said, "Your Majesty, Li Xingzhong and Li Xianzhong are outside the palace asking to see you."
"Let them in."
After Wang Chengen delivered the message, Li Xingzhong and Li Xianzhong walked in one after another.
They are all three members of the Li family and are cousins.
Li Xingzhong is the oldest brother, and Li Xianzhong is the youngest among the three generations of the Li family.
After the salute, the two stood where they were.
Chongzhen's first sentence almost scared them both to death.
"Do you think that when the first Ningyuan Earl (Li Chengliang) was stationed in Liaodong, did he allow the enemy to invade and take advantage of him?"
Li Xingzhong didn't dare to look up, but glanced at Li Xianzhong out of the corner of his eye.
Li Xianzhong not only didn't dare to look up, he didn't even dare to make eye contact with Li Xingzhong. He could only stand there and pretend to be dead.
Li Xingzhong no longer hesitated, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "My ancestors were loyal to the court, and even more loyal to Your Majesty, and they would never harbor enemies to protect themselves."
Chongzhen continued expressionlessly, "But recently many people have written to me saying that it was because the Earl of Ningyuan nurtured the enemy and failed that the Jian Nu rose to power."
Li Xingzhong felt cold all over and his back began to sweat.
He kowtowed again and said, "My ancestors and father have passed away many years ago. I have no way to defend myself. I hope Your Majesty will understand."
Chongzhen ignored Li Xingzhong and continued, "I got a history book from the Jiannu called the "Records of the Qing Dynasty", which records some of Nurhaci's deeds."
"Guess how they wrote it? And how did they address the first Earl of Ningyuan?"
Having said this, Chongzhen stopped and looked at the two Li brothers.
Chongzhen did not lie, he did read the Qing Veritable Records.
The Veritable Records of Qing Dynasty began with Huang Taiji. After he succeeded to the throne, he imitated the Veritable Records of Ming Dynasty and compiled the Veritable Records for his father Nurhaci, recording the major events in his life.
Li Xingzhong and Li Xianzhong were both confused at first, then they were shocked all over, and then a chill rushed from their heels to the top of their heads.
Although they had never heard of the Qing Shilu before, they had already guessed it based on the name.
Judging from Chongzhen's expression and tone, "Records of Qing Dynasty" is likely to be real.
The most terrible thing is coming.
If the Jiannu really had "Records of Qing Dynasty", they would have kept it in the safest place to prevent it from being leaked.
How does the current emperor know this?
Not only did he know it, he had also seen it!
Is this reasonable?
Obviously unreasonable!
Could it be that your Majesty's Jinyiwei has already extended its hands into the interior of the Jiannu?
Li Xingzhong and Li Xianzhong shuddered at the same time and knelt down and said, "We don't know."
A smile suddenly appeared on Chongzhen's face: "They call the first Earl of Ningyuan the 'Emperor Taizu of Qing'."
Li Xingzhong was almost frightened to the ground. He kept kowtowing and said, "Your Majesty, please understand. I want to redress the grievances of my grandfather. This is definitely a divisive plot by the Jiannu!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, our grandfather guarded Liaodong for decades and never had such an idea."
Chongzhen returned to his previous cold expression and questioned, "You just said that the first and second Ningyuan Earls have passed away for many years. You have no way to defend yourself."
"Why are you making excuses now?"
Li Xingzhong and Li Xianzhong were stunned by the question. They knelt on the ground and wanted to speak but didn't know what to say.
Chongzhen stood up and walked in front of the two of them, and asked in a deep voice: "Can I trust you?"
The two were stunned at first, and then answered at the same time: "Your Majesty, I am loyal to you."
Chongzhen nodded and said, "Okay, Earl Ningyuan has guarded Liaodong for decades, and he has made contributions and also made mistakes."
"I will remember the contributions of Earl Ningyuan, and I will pardon his mistakes according to the law. Let the past be the past. I don't want to pursue it, and I won't pursue it."
"The reason I summoned you to the palace today is because I have an important task for you to do."
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