Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Doubt

Wei Zhongxian's intentions are obvious. Before the political situation is completely controlled, there must be no next successor. But on that day, he saw the British prince Zhang Weiying who rushed into the palace: "What are you doing in the palace?" "The emperor is dead, don't you know?" "Who told you that?" "Queen." Wei Zhongxian is convinced that women cannot be offended. As soon as the emperor passed away, the queen issued a will, summoning the British Duke Zhang Wei to welcome him into the palace. In the imperial court, the only person who is not afraid of Wei Zhongxian is Zhang Weiying. This man is a hereditary duke. Countless people have come and gone, but he is still there.

The first mission Zhang Wei received was to welcome King Xin to the throne. Things have come to this, Wei Zhongxian understands that there is no way to audition again, the seventeen-year-old Zhu Youjian is him anyway. He immediately followed the wind and sent his trusted eunuchs to meet him. Zhu Youjian finally entered the palace, and entered tremblingly. According to the previous procedure, the will must be read first, and then persuaded to enter three times. The so-called persuasion means that if the successor is unwilling to be emperor, he must be persuaded to be emperor. The reason why he was persuaded to enter three times is because the successor must not want to be emperor, but must be persuaded three times before he can become emperor.

Although this kind of etiquette is quite boring, it has been passed down for thousands of years, just for fun. Like countless predecessors, Zhu Youjian resigned three times before reluctantly agreeing to be emperor. After accepting the worship of the officials, Queen Zhang walked up to him, and said sincere words to him in his ear: "Don't eat things in the palace (don't eat food in the palace)!" This was the first congratulatory speech heard by the new emperor after he took office. He nodded knowingly. In fact, Empress Zhang is a bit unfounded, because the emperor has long been prepared: he came prepared.According to some historical sources, when he ascended the throne, he carried dry food (flatbread) with him and hid it in his sleeve.

On August 24, the seventh year of Tianqi (1627), Zhu Youjian held a grand enthronement ceremony and formally ascended the throne. Before he ascended the throne, he received a document with four proposed year names for him to choose from: Every emperor in the Ming Dynasty had only one year name, just like opening a shop, you have to choose a good name in order to succeed, so you must be modest and cautious when choosing. The first reign name was Xingfu, which Zhu Youjian could not say well; The second one is Xianjia, and Zhu Youjian can't say well; The third one is Qiansheng, Zhu Youjian still can't say well;

The last one is Chongzhen. Zhu Youjian said, that's all. Since the first owner Zhu Yuanzhang opened the store in 1368, the company has been in business for 259 years in the Ming Dynasty, and has changed more than a dozen store names, and Chongzhen will be its last name. Like many emperors in the past, Chongzhen did not fall asleep on the first night after entering the palace.He sat all night with a candle lit, not with excitement but with fear, terrified fear. Because he knew very well that in this palace, everyone was Wei Zhongxian's minions, and he could be killed at any time.

Everyone who passed by him could be a murderer. He didn't know anyone, and he didn't understand anyone. In the empty and gloomy palace, no place was safe. So that night, sitting by the candlelight, he thought of a way to spend this thrilling night. He stopped a passing eunuch and said to him: "Wait a minute." The eunuch stopped, and Chongzhen took the sword from the opponent's waist and said: "Good sword, let me see it." But he didn't look at it, but put it directly on the table, and immediately announced that the eunuch would be rewarded. The eunuch was very happy, but also puzzled, and then he heard an order that made him even more puzzled:

"Call all the guards and eunuchs, come here!" When everyone came to the palace, they saw the sumptuous food and wine, and were told that in order to reward their hard work, they would stay here tonight, and the emperor invited them to dinner. A crowded place is always safe. The first day passed, and then the second and third days, Chongzhen waited quietly, he knew that Wei Zhongxian would never let him go. But in fact, Wei Zhongxian didn't want to kill Chongzhen, he just wanted to control this person. And to control him, you must master his weaknesses.The so-called is not afraid of your integrity, but afraid of your lack of hobbies. Wei Zhongxian believes that Chongzhen is a human being, and as long as he is a human being, he has weaknesses.

A few days later, he presented the emperor with a generous gift. The gift was four women, four beautiful women, to be precise. A man's weakness is often a woman, this is Wei Zhongxian's experience. This theory is relatively accurate, but for the emperor, it has to be discounted. After all, the emperor rules the world and can ask for any woman. He may not be willing to give it to him. For this, Wei Zhongxian was quite conspicuous, so when he sent the women, he also sent a by-product—Ecstasy Incense. The so-called ecstasy is a kind of spice. It is said that after a man is exposed to ecstasy, his sexual desire will increase greatly, and the old cows will have double eyelids.In this regard, Eunuch Wei is very considerate to consumers, taking care of delivery and sales.

But he never expected that this nearly perfect marketing strategy had no market effect.According to inside reports, Chongzhen never touched those women at all. Because on the day the four women entered the palace, Chongzhen searched them carefully and found the pill hidden in the belt. In many history books, Emperor Chongzhen should have such an image: very diligent and hardworking, but he is relatively stupid, and he will work hard to death, and death will be in vain. This is a sinister statement to achieve an ulterior purpose. The real Chongzhen is such a person: sensitive, calm, calm, and extremely intelligent.

In fact, Wei Zhongxian had a good impression of Chongzhen.When Tianqi was in power, Chongzhen was very polite to him. He called "Changgong" (Dongchang) when they met, and called him brother and brother. He was very excited. Wei Zhongxian felt that this person was quite interesting. After long-term observation, Wei Zhongxian discovered that Chongzhen was a casual person, disheveled, invisible, not forming cliques, and completely confused about the situation. Such a person seems to have nothing to worry about. However, Wei Zhongxian didn't see it that way. Decades of experience in mixed society told him that the more low-key an enemy is, the more dangerous he is.

To confirm his conjecture, he decided to use a method. On the first day of September in the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627), Wei Zhongxian suddenly wrote a letter, stating that he was old and weak, and hoped to resign from the position of admiral of the East Factory and return home for the elderly. The emperor is dead, the backer is gone, and he voluntarily resigns. The real enemy will not let go of such an opportunity. That same day, he got a reply. Chongzhen summoned him personally and told him a secret. He told Wei Zhongxian that Emperor Tianqi had confessed his last words to himself before his death: If you want to have a stable country and long-term peace and stability, you must trust two people, one is Queen Zhang, and the other is Wei Zhongxian. Chongzhen said, he never forgot this sentence, so I will never accept Eunuch Wei's resignation. Wei Zhongxian was very moved, he never expected that Chongzhen would be so honest, kind and reliable. On that day, Wei Zhongxian gave up the idea of ​​plotting wrongdoing, since this is a person who listens to greetings, there is no need to tear his face. Chongzhen did not lie, Tianqi did say that sentence to him, and he did not forget it, but whenever he thought of this sentence, he couldn't help but sneer. Tianqi believes that Chongzhen is his younger brother, an obedient younger brother; while Chongzhen believes that Tianqi is his older brother, an idiot brother. Although he is only six years younger than Tianqi, Chongzhen is quite a bit taller in terms of personality and IQ. He is very clear about what Wei Zhongxian is. And his feelings for Eunuch Wei are also very clear - kill this dead shemale, cut him into pieces, and exhume his corpse! Whenever he sees this shameless eunuch flaunting his power, he will feel extremely disgusted. He has no ability to govern the country, no hard work, but occupies a position of power and supreme glory. Everything should be back to normal. He was just a dog of the emperor, and no one could touch him with the emperor guarding him. Now that the emperor has changed, no one cares about the dog anymore, but he still can't move him. Because the dog has turned into a wolf. Chongzhen is very shrewd, he knows how powerful this enemy is. Except for himself, he has dealt with everyone in the court, from the ministers to the guards, they are all his minions. He has no allies, no cronies, and no one to trust. He will face the wolves alone. If you act rashly, the only one who will be torn to pieces is yourself. So to deal with this person, you must be a little patient, don't worry, the game has just begun. Wei Zhongxian began to believe that Chongzhen was his new friend. So, on the third day of September in the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627), another person submitted his resignation. This person is Wei Zhongxian's old partner Hakka. She had to resign because her job was to be a nanny. This job is quite hard, starting from the Wanli period, going through three dynasties, from Tianqi's birth to marriage and childbirth, she has been a nanny. Now that the breastfeeding partner is dead, there is no way to become a nanny. Of course, she didn't want to leave, but it was always necessary to put on a show, not to mention that Wei Mitou had already explored the way, and Chongzhen would not agree to resign. A day later, she got a reply - yes. This trick completely disturbed Wei Zhongxian's nerves. Since he didn't agree with my resignation, why did he agree with Keshi? Chongzhen's reason is very innocent, she is the late emperor's nanny, now that the late emperor is dead, I don't need it, I should go back.In fact, I'm also embarrassed. I went to drive people away as soon as my ex died, but she brought it up, and I can't help it. So Aunt Ke, who had been in the palace for more than 20 years, finally came to the end. She left the palace in mourning clothes, and burned some things when she left: including the fetal hair, fingernails, etc. of Emperor Tianqi when he was a child, to show Take a souvenir. Wei Zhongxian's most capable assistant left, which caused him great panic. He began to suspect that Chongzhen was a wolf in sheep's clothing, and was gradually pushing himself into the abyss. It's not too late, there is still a chance to fight back. But the emperor is the emperor after all, if you can't turn your face, don't turn your face, so this judgment must be confirmed before doing anything. The next day (the fourth day of September), Wang Tiqian, the eunuch in charge of the chief inspector of ceremonies, offered to resign. This is a well-designed topic. It may be a misunderstanding that Ke Shi was driven away. After all, she had no reason to stay, and she brought it up by herself.And Wang Tiqian is Wei Zhongxian's best friend. Wei Zhongxian knows this, and so does Chongzhen.In other words, if Chongzhen agrees, Wei Zhongxian will thoroughly understand the other party's true intentions. At that time, he will not hesitate to act. A day later, he got a reply - no. Chongzhen immediately declined Wang Tiqian's application for resignation, saying that important officials of the court could not retire at will. Wei Zhongxian was finally relieved again, it was obvious that the emperor did not intend to do anything. This day is the seventh day of September in the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627). Two months later, it was the seventh day of November. The location was Fucheng County, Hejian Prefecture, North Zhili. Late that night, in that gloomy hut, Wei Zhongxian lay alone on the bed, recalling the past in the cold wind, yes, the fatal mistake was this judgment. Wang Tiqian did not retire. In fact, this was not a good thing for Eunuch Wang. However, Eunuch Wei, who had just calmed down, was surprised to find that the development of the matter became more and more confusing. On September 15, the emperor suddenly issued a decree to reward the eunuchs, and most of these eunuchs were members of the Eunuch Party. Before he had time to be happy, on the second day, another shocking news came, Yang Suoxiu, the deputy capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, was impeached. It was not Wei Zhongxian that Yang Suoxiu impeached, but four people, Cui Chengxiu, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, Chen Yin, Shaoqing of Taipusi, Zhu Tongmeng, governor, and Li Yangde, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry. The only thing these four people have in common is that they are all eunuchs, backbones, and shameless. Although the four people were involved in corruption and bribery, they committed all sorts of crimes, and there were complaints all over the street, but Yang Suoxiu didn't mention it at all. In fact, the reason for his impeachment was quite special—unfilial piety. According to Yang Suoxiu's research, the parents of these four people passed away, but none of them went home to observe their filial piety. This is a very reasonable reason. Back then, Zhang Juzheng was half-dead by this incident, and it was very interesting to use it to punish the No. 4 fish and shrimp. Wei Zhongxian felt unprecedented fear, because these four people were his confidantes, especially Cui Chengxiu, his number one buddy, and it was obvious that the spearhead was directed at him. What is hard to understand is that since the death of Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou, no one in the court dared to scold the eunuchs. Yang Suoxiu had nothing against him, and now he suddenly jumped out, someone must be behind it. And dare to be the messenger, there is only one candidate. However, what happened next made Wei Zhongxian fall into deeper doubts.A day later, the emperor made a reply, berating Yang Suoxiu, saying that he was "reckless slander", which means casually swearing at people. After careful observation, Wei Zhongxian found that Yang Suoxiu's appointment was probably not ordered by the emperor, and judging from the emperor's performance, it seemed that he didn't know it beforehand. In short, this was just an accidental incident. But the person involved was quite clever. On the day of the impeachment, Cui Chengxiu and others resigned, saying that they had indeed violated the regulations. After Chongzhen comforted him, he agreed to let a few people go home, but unexpectedly, he resolutely left one person—— Cui Chengxiu. It worked out, and a few days later, another person made it even weirder. On September 24th, Zhu Sanjun, the vice-principal of the Guozijian, suddenly launched an attack and impeached his student, Lu Wanling, a student of the Guozijian. This Lu Wanling, who was introduced before, is a well-known figure in the Guozijian. The nonsense that Wei Zhongxian should be placed alongside Confucius in the building of the Shengsheng Temple in the Guozijian was all said by him, and even the principal was pissed off by him. It is not a strange thing to be impeached. The strange thing is that the impeachment was approved as soon as it was sent up, and the emperor ordered him to be arrested and interrogated immediately. Wei Zhongxian was terrified when he got the news. After all, Lu Wanling was his fan, but he was an old Jianghu after all. He immediately entered the palace and told the emperor that Lu Wanling was a scum and should be dealt with according to law. The emperor was very satisfied with Wei Zhongxian's attitude, and praised him a few words, saying that this matter is over. After dealing with the matter, Wei Zhongxian returned home exhausted, but he didn't know that this was just the beginning. The next day (September 25) he got another piece of news—good news. His hardcore, Jiangxi governor Yang Bangxian wrote a letter to the emperor, praising Wei Zhongxian, and earnestly hoped that he could build another ancestral hall for Wei Gonggong. Wei Zhongxian was about to collapse, when is this, Lao Tzu is almost finished, and these grandsons are still flattering, he immediately wrote to the emperor, saying that the Xiusheng Temple is wrong, he is against it, and hopes to stop it all. The emperor's attitude was unexpected.Chongzhen said that if it has not been repaired, it will not be repaired, but if it has been approved, it is not good if it is not repaired, so let’s continue to repair it, it’s okay. Wei Zhongxian was not naive, he knew very well that this was just the emperor's expedient measure, just a posturing. But the emperor's next series of actions made him doubt his own opinion. A few days later, Chongzhen issued an order to give Wei Zhongxian's nephew Wei Liangqing an iron coupon to avoid death. I have introduced the iron coupon to avoid death before. It is very simple to use. No matter how serious the crime is, you will be exempted from death. But there is one thing I forgot to mention. There is a crime that cannot be avoided with this iron coupon— —Conspiracy. Before Wei Zhongxian came to thank him, Chongzhen issued another order. From the end of September to the beginning of October, in more than half a month, countless people were rewarded, either they were promoted, or they were given Yin positions (for their sons). All the recipients were eunuchs. The party, from Wei Zhongxian to Cui Chengxiu, even Wei Guangwei, an old eunuch who has died, ratified people after they died, and stopped when they were promoted to the position of grand master. Wei Zhongxian finally gave up his last vigilance, he was convinced that Chongzhen was a good man. After more than a month of investigation, Wei Zhongxian judged that Chongzhen didn't like him and couldn't control him, but as a mature politician, as long as he was honest and kept out of the way, there was no need for Chongzhen to fight his life with him. This reasoning is more reasonable, but incorrect.As Wei Zhongxian expected before, Chongzhen has weaknesses. He does have one thing that he craves very much, not women, but power. To gain supreme power and become the emperor of the world, Wei Zhongxian must be eliminated. Frogs jump out of hot water very quickly, so the best way to cook them is to use lukewarm water. The impeachment of Yang Suoxiu and the impeachment of the vice-principal of Guozijian was not arranged by him. In his script, there are only rewards, comfort, and pressure from time to time.His purpose is to create a fog and completely confuse the enemy's nerves. After more than a month of back and forth, the tension has finally eased, or so it seems. In this silence, Chongzhen prepared to attack. A few days later, the silence was broken, and it was not Chongzhen who broke it. During the official affairs, Chen Eryi suddenly went to the evacuation, scolded Yang Suoxiu, openly defended Cui Chengxiu, and even went online, saying that it was the work of the remnants of the Donglin Party, and hoped that the emperor would strictly investigate. Just like Yang Suoxiu's Shangshu, those who go to Shangshu at this time must be instigated by black hands behind the scenes. Just like last time, there is only one person to be the ambassador - Wei Zhongxian. Just like last time, the real main messenger is not Wei Zhongxian. When Yang Suoxiu went up to attack, Chongzhen was surprised, and when Chen Eryi went up to fight back, Wei Zhongxian was also surprised, because he didn't know in advance. As a political novice, Chongzhen showed a strong political talent, and the decades-old father-in-law Wei was played around by him.But he didn't know that in this game, the people being tricked also included himself. It seems that this is the case: under the instigation of Chongzhen, Yang Suoxiu impeached Wei Zhongxian by attacking Cui Chengxiu, and Chen Eryi was appointed by Wei Zhongxian to defend Cui Chengxiu and launch a counterattack. However, the truth of the matter is far more complicated than imagined: It is true that Yang Suoxiu and Chen Eryi started the war, and there was indeed someone behind the scenes, but it was neither Wei Zhongxian nor Chongzhen. Yang Suoxiu's messenger was called Chen Eryi, and Chen Eryi's messenger was called Yang Suoxiu. If you don't understand, we can explain this complicated trap from the beginning: The trick started like this. One day, Yang Suoxiu, the right deputy capital censor, made a definite judgment after analyzing the current situation: Chongzhen would definitely get rid of the eunuchs. After seeing through Chongzhen's disguise, he decided to make plans early.By the way, he is not the Donglin Party, but the Eunuch Party, but not the backbone. In order to free himself as soon as possible, he found his colleague from the past, Chen Eryi in the official department. As a result of the discussion between the two, Yang Suoxiu came forward to impeach Cui Chengxiu. This is an extremely cunning strategy, which is the embodiment of the ultimate human IQ: The impeachment of Cui Chengxiu can leave a deep impression on Chongzhen, and he believes that he is not an eunuch. Even if he settles accounts in the future, it will never be his turn. But since it was determined that Chongzhen wanted to get rid of the eunuch party and make meritorious service in advance, why not just impeach Wei Zhongxian? The reason is very simple, if Chongzhen may not be able to do better than Wei Zhongxian, he will not be able to run away when he turns around to liquidate, and Wei Zhongxian is the leader of the eunuch party after all, if the leader is dumped, they will all be liquidated, and a thorough investigation of the eunuch party will definitely get him on the head. Cui Chengxiu is an important figure in the eunuch party, attacking him can win Chongzhen's trust, and won't offend Wei Zhongxian, and can make him carry all the scapegoats of the eunuch party in the past, wonderful, really wonderful. For everyone, Mr. Cui, you should recite it. This almost perfect plan almost got an almost perfect ending. Almost got it, just didn't get it. Because in the process of planning, there was a mistake: they ignored a person - Cui Chengxiu. Yang Suoxiu and Chen Eryi have calculated thousands of times, but they missed Cui Chengxiu himself. To become the number one figure in the eunuch party, Mr. Cui is definitely not a kind person. This trick can fool Wei Zhongxian, but not Cui Chengxiu. He saw through the ruse the day the impeachment happened, and he realized that catastrophe was coming. But it only took him a few days to solve this problem very calmly. He sent someone to find Yang Suoxiu, scolded him, and finally said, if you don't settle this matter as soon as possible, they will send someone to investigate you. Everyone is in the same boat, whoever's butt is not clean, whoever dares to play dirty, everyone will die together! This sentence was quite effective, and Yang Suoxiu immediately expressed his willingness to go to Shushu again to defend Cui Chengxiu. The problem was, he had already scolded him, and he felt like a bitch when he defended himself. Therefore, Chen Eryi was given the task of being a bitch. The problem is that Cui Chengxiu was originally pushed out to let him take the blame. Now that he is pulled out, he must be filled in personally. Yang Suoxiu can't do it, Wei Zhongxian can't do it, and Chongzhen can't do it. But Chen Eryi is worthy of being a veteran in the matter, where the living can't be found, but the dead are found. He put all the responsibilities on the so-called "East Lin remnants". In this way, Yang Suoxiu is ignorant, Cui Chengxiu is innocent, and the world is peaceful again. Tossing and turning, Cui Chengxiu was right, Yang Suoxiu was right, Chen Eryi was right, all the mistakes were made by the Donglin Party, and just like that, the ball hit Chongzhen. But Chongzhen was the one with the most level. Facing Chen Eryi’s memorial, he only said a few words before kicking the ball into the sky: "The late Emperor (referring to Tianqi) has already figured out the issues between the ministers. I just came to power (Zhenchu ​​Yuji), these things are not clear, and I don't plan to get into it. You don't have many things!" The result was very satisfactory. Comrade Cui Chengxiu was cleared of suspicion. Although Yang Suoxiu and Chen Eryi had no gains, they also had no losses, and the curtain ended perfectly. But the development of things, but there has been an unexpected change. On October 15th, the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627), Yang Weiyuan, the supervisory censor of Yunnan, went to the Shu and impeached Cui Chengxiu for embezzlement and selfishness. Heinous! In this document, Yang Weiyuan showed a strong sense of justice. He angrily questioned the eunuchs and condemned Cui Chengxiu's evil deeds. Yang Weiyuan is an eunuch. Speaking of everyone's IQ is not low, Yang Suoxiu's idea not only belongs to him, but also belongs to countless shameless eunuch colleagues, anyway, there is no loss if you do it, if you don't do it for nothing, who will not do it for nothing? The situation is very obvious. Cui Chengxiu has become the target of public criticism. For Chongzhen, who is determined to get rid of the eunuch party, this is the best opportunity. But Chongzhen did not act.Not only did he not do anything, he even scolded Yang Weiyuan, saying that he spoke rashly. In fact, he really didn't intend to do anything, although he knew that it would be easy to deal with Cui Chengxiu now, and it could effectively fight against the eunuchs, but he just didn't do it. Because his intuition told him that behind Yang Weiyuan's memorial, there was an ulterior secret hidden. Soon, his hunch was confirmed. A few days later, Yang Weiyuan went to court again to impeach Cui Chengxiu. This was a weird move. Even after the emperor had spoken, he still went all out and worked hard. His actions were extremely abnormal. And the reason for the abnormality lies in his memorials. In this memorial, he not only attacked Cui Chengxiu, but also praised a person——Wei Zhongxian. According to him, for a long time, Cui Chengxiu did not help Wei Zhongxian, adding to the chaos, and he was the real culprit. Chongzhen's judgment was correct, behind Yang Weiyuan was the figure of Wei Zhongxian. From what happened to Yang Suoxiu, Wei Zhongxian got enlightenment: it is absolutely impossible to retreat completely, and if he wants to pass the test safely, he must give Chongzhen an explanation. So he ordered Yang Weiyuan to write a letter and put the responsibility on Cui Chengxiu. Although Cui Chengxiu has helped a lot all the time, he is still his godson. There is no way, at the critical moment, I can't keep myself, son, forget it. But Chongzhen will not be fooled. In this cruel struggle, there is only one goal, no prisoners are needed, and surrender is not accepted.