After leaving Gao Qingyun's place, Zhu Youjian returned to his study. After pondering for a moment, he ordered Wei Zhongxian to be summoned.
Not long after, Wei Zhongxian greeted the emperor with a look of delight.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Zhu Youjian waved his hand, signaling him to rise.
Then he asked him, "Have you made any progress in your investigation of the Donglin Party these past few days?"
Wei Zhongxian had a big smile on his face.
"Thanks to Your Majesty's great fortune, this old servant has made much progress."
"Look, this is the account book that I sent someone to Yangzhou to find out from the salt merchants."
"This document records the names of many high-ranking officials who held shares in salt merchants."
In fact, Wei Zhongxian himself was not clean either, but he was not one to invite trouble.
He deleted everything related to the eunuch faction from the salt merchants' ledgers.
Zhu Youjian was overjoyed. He nodded and said, "Good! Good! Wei Zhongxian, you did a good job!"
He gritted his teeth as he flipped through the ledgers.
"I just heard Bi Ziyan from the Ministry of Revenue complain that this year's salt tax revenue was only 200,000 taels."
"However, these bastards, each of their shares, receive more than 200,000 taels of silver in dividends every year."
"No wonder the imperial court can't collect any silver!"
After reviewing the account books, Zhu Youjian's face darkened.
"Alright, that's enough for now."
He knew that the Donglin officials must have other hidden assets.
But those things would take too long and be too much work to investigate, and he couldn't wait any longer.
The Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty is currently so poor that it's outrageous.
Bi Ziyan repeatedly tried to persuade Zhu Youjian to take silver from his private treasury to solve the problems of the Ming Dynasty.
Since that's the case, let's take action against the Donglin Party.
"Let's start making preparations now, and then we'll take full action once Li Ruolian returns to the capital with his troops."
Zhu Youjian thought to himself.
After being educated by Gao Qingyun, he had come to a complete understanding that the gun was the most important thing.
After Li Ruolian drove out the Jurchens in Liaodong, his prestige gradually grew.
Once Li Ruolian returned to the capital, Zhu Youjian immediately bestowed upon him the title of Martial Arts Champion.
No one could say anything about it.
With these two things as a foundation, dealing with the Donglin Party will be much easier.
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Youjian said to Wei Zhongxian:
"I have already decided that once Li Ruolian returns to the capital, I will start with Zhou Yanru."
"Then, based on their relationship with the party, they dragged the Donglin Party members down with them one by one!"
"You must be careful to strike the right balance in this!"
"If we move too fast and it provokes a backlash from the Donglin Party, then we will be harming the country!"
Wei Zhongxian smiled broadly.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, this old servant knows what to do."
"Besides, even if this old servant makes a mistake, I believe His Majesty is blessed with boundless good fortune and will protect this old servant."
Zhu Youjian nodded in satisfaction.
"Hehe, I have no idea how much good fortune I have."
"But as for helpers, I can actually send you one."
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian appeared very pleased, but inwardly he became wary.
"What does the young emperor mean by this? Does he not trust me?"
"Hmph, this guy is an accomplice on the surface, but isn't he still spying on me behind my back?"
He asked with a smile, "I wonder who the helper His Majesty has sent me is?"
"Is it Eunuch Wang, or Commander Luo?"
"Or perhaps it's that Eunuch Cao?"
"This old servant has heard that Eunuch Wang has sent a message to Jinling, requesting that Eunuch Cao return to the capital."
Wei Zhongxian began to test the waters.
In his view, the people the emperor might have sent to monitor him were Wang Chengen and Luo Yangxing.
At most, we can add Wang Chengen's former godfather, that is, Eunuch Cao.
However, the name Zhu Youjian proposed was one that he simply couldn't believe.
"What? You mean Qian Qianyi will come to help me?"
Seeing Wei Zhongxian's surprise, Zhu Youjian was secretly pleased.
"Hehe, Wei Zhongxian certainly didn't expect the person I proposed this time."
“This time, I’m leading them by the nose.”
Even now, Zhu Youjian still remembers how he almost got tricked by Wei Zhongxian.
Now that he has won back a point, he is naturally very happy.
Zhu Youjian nodded and said, "That's right, it's Qian Qianyi. He has abandoned the darkness and turned to the light, and wants to sever ties with the Donglin Party."
"In a few days, I will invite him to the palace so that the two of you can talk face to face."
"Qian Qianyi was a hero, and the Donglin Party was also said to be heroes."
"This is about letting heroes investigate heroes, and letting good men investigate good men!"
Zhu Youjian imitated Gao Qingyun and said the same words.
Wei Zhongxian forced a smile and bowed to Zhu Youjian.
"Haha, Your Majesty is indeed incredibly powerful, even managing to persuade Qian Qianyi to pledge allegiance to you."
"With his help, this old servant is now 120% confident in dealing with the Donglin Party!"
After he finished speaking, he knelt down and kowtowed.
But as he kowtowed, the expression on his face gradually became ferocious.
"Qian Qianyi and I didn't get along back then, and it took me a lot of effort to get rid of him."
"Now the young emperor wants me to team up with him to deal with the Donglin Party. What does that mean?"
Wei Zhongxian was not too surprised that Qian Qianyi had defected to the emperor and betrayed the Donglin Party.
He had long seen through Qian Qianyi's lack of backbone and his tendency to be a fence-sitter who would change his mind at will.
But the emperor's decision to have the two of them work together made him feel uneasy.
"What if after we've dealt with the Donglin Party, the Emperor then conveniently orders Qian Qianyi to kill me, claiming that the Donglin Party was dealt with because of my instigation?"
"Then I'll use my brain to whitewash Qian Qianyi."
"What should we do?"
After leaving the palace, Wei Zhongxian's eyes already showed a hint of ruthlessness.
After he returned home, he asked his nephew Wei Liangqing, "How's the matter I asked you to inquire about?"
What he was saying was, of course, a test of Zhu Youjian's willingness to release Ke Shi.
Wei Liangqing shook his head: "His Majesty refuses!"
This statement is actually somewhat unfair to Zhu Youjian.
Although Wei Liangqing was Wei Zhongxian's nephew, he was very timid and honest, unlike his uncle who was arrogant and domineering.
He didn't dare to go to Zhu Youjian about this at all, but instead asked Luo Yangxing to pass on the message.
Luo Yangxing didn't mention this matter to Zhu Youjian at all.
Even if he brought it up, Zhu Youjian would not release Madam Ke.
Wei Zhongxian was not very surprised to hear this result.
He sneered, "Oh, is that so?"
"In that case, I don't hesitate much anymore."
Wei Zhongxian was silent for a moment, then suddenly said to Wei Liangqing:
“Good nephew, actually, I have been keeping a lot of silver in a house in the capital for many years.”
"Even when our house was raided last time, this silver is still safe and sound."
"Go to that house now, take out all the silver, and bring it back to me. I have a very important use for it!"
Wei Liangqing looked surprised: "Ah, Uncle, is there such a thing?"
"What use is money to you now?"
Wei Zhongxian revealed a mysterious smile.
"Then of course it's about making friends."
"Especially some old friends, those old friends who scattered like monkeys when the tree fell!"
Wei Liangqing didn't quite understand, but he still nodded.
"Uncle, don't worry, I'll take care of it right away."
As Wei Liangqing's figure receded into the distance, Wei Zhongxian's expression darkened.
He sighed, "Although this child is my closest relative, his abilities really make me worry."
"Sigh, we still need to contact Prince Fu."
"Otherwise, this situation will be difficult to manage after the emperor dies."
It turns out that he also harbored murderous intentions towards Zhu Youjian.
Although the eunuch faction and the Donglin faction were at odds, their behavioral patterns were similar; both liked to target the emperor.
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