Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, was a deputy commander under the command of Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan. He was granted the title of Duke of Chengguo for his meritorious service and his title was inherited by his descendants. Although he was not as rich as a country, he had dozens of times more money than the Ming Dynasty's treasury.
However, Zhu Chunchen did not give Chongzhen hope. He knelt down and said, "Your Majesty... my ancestors were blessed by the emperor and were hereditary first-class dukes. Although our family is large and powerful, the bandits are coming, so we have distributed our property to our slaves and let them escape. Now there is less than 500 silver coins in the mansion, which is not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in Huangji Palace turned cold.
Zhu Chunchen's words were very clear. He would rather give the money to his servants than give Chongzhen a penny.
Chongzhen looked at the civil and military officials in the court, his face ashen, and asked: "My Lords...are you telling the truth?"
Wei Zaode kowtowed very experiencedly and said: "The soldiers of the three major camps in the capital are still short of eight months' wages. The civil and military officials in the whole court are short of salaries as much as they are."
"As for raising funds, please think of another way!"
"Please think of another way!"
hehe!
Chongzhen glanced at Wu Mengming, and when he saw him nod, he turned to look at the civil and military officials. The previous gloom disappeared, replaced by a sneer.
"If you lie, are you guilty of deceiving the emperor?"
The ministers couldn't stop laughing.
So what if I deceive the king?
Now is the time to use people, how dare Chongzhen kill people?
The Ming Dynasty was about to end. As long as they survived, they would still be court officials when Li Zicheng came to Beijing.
"Your Majesty!" Wei Zaode kowtowed again, "We have worked hard for our country and the people for half our lives, and we dare not deceive them. I hope Your Majesty will sympathize with our loyalty."
"Your Excellency the Prime Minister said it well." Chongzhen applauded.
The others immediately breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they had escaped danger, but then they saw an evil smile on Emperor Chongzhen's face.
"Okay! Okay!" Chongzhen slammed the dragon desk, "Since you are all telling the truth, if I find out that someone is lying, don't blame me for being rude."
Several people were stunned at first, and then remained silent. It was just a harsh remark, something a three-year-old child would do.
"Wu Mengming!" Chongzhen's face was extremely cold.
"I... am here!" As the commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Wu Mengming was very brave. But today, looking at the expression of Emperor Chongzhen and listening to the tone of his voice, he felt a chill on his back.
"Did you write down everything I just said?"
"I've made a note...I've made a note of it!"
"You will personally lead a team to search Wang Zhengzhi's residence at the Ministry of Revenue. If the cash found exceeds one hundred taels, you do not need to report to me. I will confiscate all the property directly. After the property is counted, it will be sent to the Ministry of Revenue, and the family members will be taken to the Pacification Office to await their fate."
The minister, who was still proud a moment ago, immediately changed his expression after hearing Chongzhen's words.
Wang Zhengzhi, in particular, was immediately panicked. As the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and a third-rank official in the imperial court, how could he not have more than one hundred taels of silver at home?
He said that just to gain sympathy.
But there were so many people in the court complaining about their misery, why did they only search his house?
Wang Zhengzhi first looked at Wei Zaode, and seeing that the other party did not respond, he immediately thought of a countermeasure.
After a moment, he calmed down, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know what crime I have committed to have my property confiscated."
"Please make it clear!"
Wang Zhengzhi knew very well that if Chongzhen confiscated people's homes and arrested people without any charges, the ministers in the court would drown him with spit.
If you want to convict, you can.
The reasons must be sufficient.
This is the basic rule of the political game, and even the emperor cannot violate it.
Otherwise, the court would get out of control, and the emperor would become a tyrant described by historians and bear eternal infamy.
What Chongzhen cared about most since he ascended the throne was reputation!
Chongzhen smiled coldly. Before he could speak, the Left Censor-in-Chief Li Banghua stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I impeach the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Wang Zhengzhi, for two crimes."
"First, the crime of corruption. Wang Zhengzhi's ancestors were poor, but he served as an official for seventeen years and his family assets exceeded one hundred thousand. That money must have come from corruption."
"Second, the crime of forming a clique; forming a clique with the cabinet for personal gain, excluding dissidents, and spreading rumors to disrupt government."
"Your Majesty, please punish him!"
"I second the motion!"
"I second this motion!"
Led by Li Banghua, people from the Censorate knelt down and demanded that Wang Zhengzhi be punished.
Wang Zhengzhi looked extremely unhappy. He did not expect Li Banghua to take the initiative to attack. Everyone knew that he was the confidant of the cabinet chief Wei Zaode, and the intention to impeach him was self-evident.
Before he could refute, Chongzhen smiled and said, "You are too kind, Censor Li."
???
Wang Zhengzhi and Li Banghua were both stunned.
Wang Zhengzhi was so frustrated by Chongzhen that he wanted to punish himself one moment and then change his mind the next?
Li Banghua was even more confused. His Majesty had said in person that Wang Zhengzhi's property would be confiscated, so why did he change his words and make it more serious?
Is it possible that the charges against Wang Zhengzhi are unreasonable?
Chongzhen smiled and said, "Minister Wang said that he has no more than 100 taels of silver in his house. If that's true, it means he is a very honest official and a loyal minister."
Wang Zhengzhi's ominous premonition became stronger and stronger.
Chongzhen continued, "If the amount of silver found exceeds one hundred taels, there are only two possibilities."
"First, the money did not belong to Minister Wang. It could have been stolen, or it could have been robbed. No matter how it came from, it must have been ill-gotten gains."
"Second, Minister Wang deliberately deceived me and committed the crime of deceiving the emperor."
"Wang Zhengzhi, tell me yourself, is it one or two?"
There was complete silence in the hall, and everyone looked at Wang Zhengzhi.
"One...two...I mean, no no no, I..."
Wang Zhengzhi was completely dumbfounded. He never expected that Chongzhen would have such a wild idea.
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