Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Midnight Singing

Here comes the real opportunity. On October 23, Lu Chengyuan, head of the Ministry of Industry, wrote a letter to impeach Cui Chengxiu and Wei Zhongxian. Chongzhen decided to take action. Because he knew that this person named Lu Chengyuan was not a member of the eunuch party. This person had a small position, but he had a great reputation. It is recognized that he is not stingy, and he doesn't take hard and soft things. If the old man does it, he is really going to die. What followed was a routine procedure. Chongzhen criticized as usual, and Cui Chengxiu offered to resign as usual.

But this time, Chongzhen approved and ordered Cui Chengxiu to go home immediately. Cui Chengxiu cried, and it was finally over. Wei Zhongxian smiled, and finally passed the test. Lost a son, saved his life, this deal is quite a bargain. But soon, he knew he was wrong. Two days later, Qian Yuanxi, the head of the Ministry of War, wrote a letter, berating Cui Chengxiu, saying that Cui Chengxiu was able to stay in the court for so long because of Wei Zhongxian. Then he began to berate Wei Zhongxian again, saying that Wei Zhongxian was able to stay in the court for so long because of the emperor.

I don't know if Mr. Qian was too excited and even took the emperor with him a little bit, but what was even more surprising was that when the memorial was sent up, the emperor didn't respond at all. A few days later, Shi Gongsheng, a member of the Criminal Ministry, impeached Wei Zhongxian again. In this memorial, he blamed Wei Zhongxian and used parallel sentences to express his anger. Wei Zhongxian finally understood that he had been fooled, but it was too late. In the final analysis, there is still too little reading, and Wei is illiterate. There has always been a single choice in court struggles, either you die or I live.

On the day Emperor Tianqi died, there was only one choice left in his life—to seek rebellion. He once had the chance to win, as long as Chongzhen's foothold is not stable, he will act as soon as possible, everything will be under control. However, the kind and kind Chongzhen told him that he would inherit his brother's last wish, reuse him, trust him, and the sun will rise as usual. So he believed it. So he's screwed. Now it is impossible to fight back. From the moment he abandoned Cui Chengxiu, he lost all prestige. A leader who is not interesting will never have interesting employees.

The eunuch party fell apart, and his party members resigned one after another. His godsons and grandsons drew a clear line with him. Those who were smarter all wrote memorials at home, reflected on themselves, scolded Eunuch Wei, bid farewell to the past, and greeted a better tomorrow. Facing the overwhelming storm, Wei Zhongxian decided to make his last move. He used this trick in the past, and it worked very well. The name of this trick is called crying. In front of Chongzhen, Wei Zhongxian wailed loudly, crying bitterly, crying to death. At the beginning, Chongzhen gave a few words of comfort, and when Eunuch Wei cried to the point of desolation, he just kept sighing.

Seeing that the effect of crying into a good situation is obvious, Eunuch Wei put away his tears and withdrew them. Crying, especially out of nothing crying, is a difficult technique with a long history.Back then, Yan Song used this trick to make Xia Yan cry, and finally managed to stand up.He also used this trick to turn the situation around and kill Yang Lian. Eunuch Wei believed that with his expressive performance, Chongzhen would definitely be moved. Chongzhen was really moved. He didn't expect that a person could be disgusted to this extent. He is already in his sixties and has almost no shame. He tears and snot as soon as he says it. Shameless, really shameless.

Up to now, inside and outside the imperial court, even the old man who sweeps the floor knows that Chongzhen is going to do something. But he didn't do it, he was still waiting for something. In fact, court struggles are street fights, but the means and procedures of the struggle are quite special.There is no way to fight hard with bricks. It is not impossible to enter the enemy's line with a watermelon knife in hand. You must abide by your own rules. Fight for what you can, and fight for what you can't fight, and then you can do it. Chongzhen let out the wind, and he was waiting for the response of the officials.

But the ministers did not respond. As of the end of October, there were only two or three people who dared to publicly impeach Wei Zhongxian. This fact shows that after Wei Gonggong's words and deeds over the past few years, most of them have lost their seeds. There is no way, it is not easy to make a living these days, when the situation becomes clearer, we will definitely come out and add insult to injury. However, Chongzhen finally waited for a kind person. On October 26, a student of the Imperial College said this to his classmates: "Tigers and wolves are in front, and no one in the court dares to resist! Although I am a commoner, I am willing to fight to the death, even if I die, I will not be shaken!"

The next day, Qian Jiazheng, a student of the Imperial College, wrote a letter to impeach Wei Zhongxian for ten crimes. Although Qian Jiazheng was only a student, his writing style was quite good, his content was extremely ruthless, and his attitude was extremely tough. He scolded Wei Zhongxian bloody and aroused great repercussions. Wei Zhongxian was very panicked when he got the news, and immediately went to the palace to meet Chongzhen. It's a pity that he didn't come up with new ideas, he was still the same old way, he cried when he entered, crying so much that he couldn't bear to live, he felt that it was almost done, so he closed his magic skills and prepared to go home.

At this moment, Chongzhen stopped him: "Wait a minute." He found a eunuch, handed him a document, and said: "read." In this way, Wei Zhongxian heard this terrible document with his own ears, and every word was clear. He raised his head in pain, but only saw a pair of cold eyes and mocking eyes. At that moment, his prestige, self-confidence, and determination to resist finally completely collapsed. Wei Zhongxian, who was almost insane, left the palace, but instead of going home, he went to another place, where there was another person who could save everything. The person Wei Zhongxian was looking for was Xu Yingyuan.

Xu Yingyuan's identity is a eunuch, but the difference is that he was the eunuch of Chongzhen more than ten years ago.So far, I can only ask him. Xu Yingyuan was very interesting, he received Wei Zhongxian politely, and pointed out a clear way for him: resign immediately, retire and go home, so as to save the lives of the whole family. After thinking about it, Wei Zhongxian agreed. He went home immediately and asked someone to write a resignation letter. Of course, before leaving, he did not forget to thank Xu Yingyuan for his help. The reason why Xu Yingyuan helped Wei Zhongxian was to make him die faster. Like Wei Zhongxian, the habit of most eunuchs is to follow the wind and make trouble. For a long time, Chongzhen hoped that Wei Zhongxian would leave on his own initiative (sincerely), after all, the eunuch party's roots are too deep, so it would be the most trouble-free. With Xu Yingyuan's help, Wei Zhongxian offered to resign the next day, and this time he was very sincere. On the same day, Chongzhen approved Wei Zhongxian's resignation, and a generation of great supervisors fell from the horse. On the day of falling from the horse, Wei Zhongxian was very happy.Because he believes that he has given up fighting for power, and no matter what, Chongzhen will not and there is no need to kill them all. A year ago, the Donglin Party members thought so too. It should be said that Wei Zhongxian's life is very good. After so many years, he has money, a house and a car, and he lacks everything.In particular, his house is located in Dongchang Hutong, the second ring road in Beijing, in a prime location with convenient transportation. I often go to the nearby Institute of Modern History of the Academy of Social Sciences for meetings. A thousand square meters, quite grand, but it is said that this is only the corner of his house back then, at most one-sixth. From a small hooligan in Suning, Hebei, to this level, it's almost the same, at least there is an indicator to stay in Beijing. But the validity period of this indicator is only three days. On November 1st, the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627), Chongzhen ordered that Wei Zhongxian's hard work and meritorious deeds should be reused-set off today to visit the grave in Fengyang. Wei Zhongxian was very depressed when he got the news, but he didn't know that Chongzhen was also very depressed. Chongzhen wanted to kill Wei Zhongxian, but no matter what, Eunuch Wei was the old prisoner of the three dynasties, and it was really embarrassing to kill his predecessor just two months after his death. But what happened next changed his decision. When he announced to expel Wei Zhongxian, someone stood up and opposed his decision, and this person was beyond his wildest dreams. Maybe it was money, maybe it was love, anyway, Xu Yingyuan stood up and defended Wei Zhongxian openly, hoping that the emperor would give him face. Facing this loyal old eunuch who had served him for more than ten years, Chongzhen made a choice without hesitation: "Slave! If you dare to communicate with treacherous ministers, you will be beaten with a hundred sticks and sent to Nanjing!" Eunuchs are not human beings. By the way, in the Ming Dynasty, slave was the contemptuous title used by most eunuchs in the imperial court, while in the Qing Dynasty, slave was the honorific title of most people in the imperial court (you can’t call it if you have a bad relationship, you can only call it a minister, the so-called slave is not available) . This incident made Chongzhen realize that Wei Zhongxian would not stop. And the next thing made him understand that Wei Zhongxian must be killed. Determined that it is irreversible, Eunuch Wei is ready to go on the road, and he has prepared for three days. During these three days, he only did one thing—packing. Since prosperity is like floating clouds to me, I only want to be rich. But it was quite a hard job. Hundreds of servants worked for six days, cleared out forty large carts, and then went on the road with honor, shouting and hugging, accompanied by a thousand cavalry guards belonging to him . Even a mildly mentally handicapped idiot knows what the situation is now, and it's really tiring to be so arrogant in the face of a catastrophe. Wei Zhongxian is not tired of living, he will not live to be nine thousand and nine hundred years old, and he still has to pursue a hundred years old. In fact, this fanfare was his last trick. The reason for this ruse is history. History tells us that during the Warring States period, when the general of the Qin army Wang Jian sent troops, he gave a report to the king of Qin while marching. He wanted officials and money, and he was greedy. Someone asked him, and he said, we have the military power in hand. Only in this way can the king of Qin feel at ease. Since then, this tactic has been used by many people with lofty ideals (those with knowledge), including Xiao He. Wei Zhongxian used this tactic to show that although he is illiterate, he still understands history. It's a pity that I understand a little. Eunuch Wei's intention is that he has no power or power, and he just wants to go home and live a comfortable life for a few days. With such a big show, he just wants to tell Master Chongzhen that I don't want to fight anymore, and I plan to live a good life. However, he made a mistake - he did not learn historical materialism. The main point of the so-called historical materialism is that all historical events must be considered according to the historical environment at that time. Wang Jian's tricks are effective because he has the power in his hands. In other words, his actions are actually signing a contract with the King of Qin. I only want money and officials, and I will help you fight the country, and I will never touch your power. At this time, Wei Zhongxian has no rights and no officials, so why should he sign the contract? So Chongzhen was very angry, and he wanted to take away all the rest of Wei Zhongxian, his money, and his life. Wei Zhongxian did not have this awareness, he still set off triumphantly. But there are still smart people, such as his confidant eunuch Li Yongzhen, who once told him to keep a low profile, it's better to keep a low profile. Wei Zhongxian replied: If you want to kill me, why do you need today? Before today, there is no need to kill you. On the third day after Wei Zhongxian's departure, Chongzhen sent an order to the Ministry of War to issue an arrest warrant. This day was November 6th, and Wei Zhongxian was located in Fucheng County, Hejian Prefecture, Zhili. Eunuch Wei, who was surrounded by guards, finally understood his situation. For several days, his insiders in the capital kept delivering good news to him: his cronies, including Wuhu and Wubiao, fell off the horse one after another, and his old friend Wang Tiqian retired. Xu Yingyuan, who tried his best to drag him into the water, was also sent to guard the tomb, and there was no hope of turning over. Just when he was in the lowest mood, the fast horse in the capital told him the latest news: the emperor had sent someone to catch up. The majestic 9,900-year-old lord fainted on the spot. Catch up, and then what?Arrest, imprisonment, conviction, beheading?Or be beaten? It's getting late, no matter what, let's find a place to live first, and let's talk about it after surviving today. Wei Zhongxian entered the small county in front of him: the last stop in his life. Fucheng County is a very small county, and thousands of people flocked in, filling all the inns. Of course, the inn where Wei Zhongxian stayed was the best among them. In order to ensure that the nine-thousand-year-old people have a place to live, many guests staying in the hotel were kicked out. Although the weather was very cold, it didn't matter, after all, they were all irrelevant people.Among these people was a scholar named Bai who was from the capital. The so-called best inn was nothing more than a few dilapidated houses without bright lights. The weather in November was very cold, and the ruthless north wind pierced through the houses, making a bleak whistling sound. In the darkness and cold, the great, incomparable and mighty 9900-year-old curled up on that simple bed, recalling everything in the past. An unemployed vagrant born in the Longqing period, illiterate, a small handyman who entered the palace in the Wanli period, the admiral of the East Factory in the Tianqi period, the ruler of the imperial court, the grandfather of countless grandchildren, the owner of the shrine, and a saint comparable to Confucius. Up to now, there are only dilapidated houses and cold beds left, and I am alone. Ridiculous, is it oneself, or the world? Forty years, but a dream. You might as well die. At this moment, outside his window, stood the scholar named Bai. On this cold night, without moonlight, in the darkness and the sound of the wind, the scholar began to sing. In the middle of the night, the song starts. In the historical data, the name of this song is "Gui Zhier", but it also has a more appropriate name-Wu Geng Broken Soul Song. The song is divided into five sections, sung from the first watch to the fifth watch: The fifth watch has arrived, the song is over, and the soul is broken. Many years later, the historian Ji Liuqi recorded everything that happened that night in his book, but this paragraph was controversial in later historical research. As far as historical research is concerned, such a strange scene is really Not like history. But I believe that on that night, everything we know is true. Because history, apart from being upright and meticulous, sometimes likes to joke and calculate the general ledger. As for the scholar surnamed Bai, it is said that he is a scholar from the Hejian Mansion. He said a few bad things about Wei Zhongxian in order to show his mouth, and was accused of having no future, so he composed a song and waited here. It is sent to the end. But that night, what Wei Zhongxian heard was not this piece of music, but his whole life. Wei Zhongxian does not believe in the way of heaven.When he was a rascal, he forced his mother to remarry and sold his daughter; when he was a eunuch, he robbed his friend's lover and betrayed his benefactor. At the age of 9,900, he annihilated all humanity, drove an iron nail into Yang Lian's forehead, and exterminated the Donglin Party. He has no faith, no fear, no scruples. However, the way of heaven exists. Forty years later, he sent Wei Zhongxian to this dilapidated house in Fucheng County. It is only a few dozen miles away from Eunuch Wei's hometown Suning.Forty years ago, he passed by here and embarked on the road to the capital. Now, he's back, and he's about to lose everything. In my opinion, this is a unique toss, because it is far more painful to lose than to have nothing. Eunuch Wei tried his best and ran wildly on the road to success, but in the end he found out that it was his mother who ran back and forth. It's so desolate, it's really worse than death! It's really better than death! Then die. Wei Zhongxian found the cloth belt, put it on the beam of the house, stuck it into his neck, and left this world. The way of heaven is permanent, or it may be delayed due to human power, but it will not be wrong in the end. The next morning, Li Chaoqin, Wei Zhongxian's confidant, woke up and found that Wei Zhongxian was dead. In despair, he hanged himself. Among Wei Zhongxian's more than 1,000 entourages and thousands of court buddies, he was the only one who accompanied him to death. After learning of Wei Zhongxian's death, more than a thousand guards acted immediately, divided up Eunuch Wei's property, and fled in all directions. Eunuch Wei is dead, but the drama has just begun. The first person on the list is naturally Keshi. Although she had already left the palace, Chongzhen ordered her to be brought in again. After entering, the first interrogation, but Keshi is extremely vicious, and is known for being playful, and will curse back when asked. So I changed people, changed to a eunuch to interrogate, and had a grudge against Wei Zhongxian (probably he was specially recruited for it), since he was not considered a man, he couldn't say that he would not beat women, and he was uneducated, so he couldn't quarrel, so he didn't say anything Say it and beat it to death. The Ke family is really a real softie, he will obey as soon as he beats him, killing the concubine, causing the empress to have a miscarriage, finding a pregnant woman to enter the palace to pretend to be the prince, making suggestions to harm others, etc., all confessed, just please don't beat him. But the eunuch seemed to have some psychological problems, and confessed frankly that he continued to beat him until he was dying. When the confession was reported, Chongzhen was very shocked and ordered to send Hakka to the Huanyi Bureau to do hard work. Of course, this is just a theory. Ke Shi was beaten to death with sticks just before he entered the Clothes Bureau, before he was assigned a job. Compared with the concubine who was imprisoned by her in the cold palace and died of thirst, this method of death may be accurate It's better to have a good time. After Ke's death, her son was beheaded and the whole family was distributed. In terms of status, the next one should be Cui Chengxiu. But this brother is too self-conscious, so self-conscious that he died earlier than Eunuch Wei. After learning the news of Wei Zhongxian's departure, Cui Chengxiu ordered to prepare a table of wine and food for dinner. The way of eating is very special, just like Wei Xiaobao, he pulled out his wives, big and small, and held a dinner party, and put on the antiques and treasures that he had searched around for many years. Then while eating, he picked up his bottles and cans (antiques) and smashed them. Take a bite, smash one, and start crying after eating and smashing. If you cry well, hang yourself. Calculated according to the date, on this day, Wei Zhongxian was on his way to Fucheng County. Brother go first. When the news reached the capital, Chongzhen was very angry. You dared to die if I didn't let you die? Immediately criticize: "Even though I'm dead, there's still room for guilt! On crime!" After deliberation by the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Cui Chengxiu should be beheaded. Although the person is dead, it doesn't matter, there is a way. So Cui Chengxiu, who had just died, was dug out again and beheaded for public display. How to kill is a matter of ability, and whether to kill is a matter of attitude. Next came house raids. Cui Chengxiu, who did all kinds of crimes, finally did something meaningful for the people. Because of his diligent corruption and bribery for many years, he saved a lot of money. In addition to movable property, he also had real property. There are thousands of houses alone. It is equivalent to saving money for the country, saving the government a lot of trouble. As the No. 3 person on the list, Cui Chengxiu received a high standard of reception. Based on this, Wei Zhongxian No. 1 and Hakka No. 2 should be dealt with according to the standard of reception. Therefore, Wei Zhongxian and Keshi were found out, and Keshi's body was beheaded. The so-called death does not have a whole body. Wei Zhongxian was miserable. According to Chongzhen's handling opinion, he was dug out and cut into pieces. The actual significance of this matter is limited, at most it means that Eunuch Wei entered the underworld, and the little ghost could not recognize him, but the educational significance is huge. In front of the mutilated corpse, the largest and most evil political organization in the history of the Ming Dynasty, the Eunuch Party , and finally collapsed completely. The following scene can be used as comedy material. When Wei Zhongxian gained power, countless people came to join him, ranging from the six ministers and university scholars to the local magistrates and counties. Now, right now, there is no other way. If you can withdraw, you can withdraw. If you can’t, you can push. For example, Yan Mingtai, the governor of Jiliao, has a unique skill—the Xiusheng Temple. According to my statistics, he has built more than ten Shengsheng Temples, all over the capital. , and some even went beyond the pass, presumably intending to allow Huang Taiji to experience the great glory of Eunuch Wei. Relying on this unique skill, it was very beautiful in the past, but now it is troublesome. When the eunuchs are tracked down, the first one is to check the living temple. In order to prove his innocence, Governor Yan went to Shu and explained patiently. Although there are many ancestral halls, they can still be explained. Xiu, these people are all my subordinates. As a superior leader, there are responsibilities, but there is insufficient supervision. But the funniest thing is that classmate Lu Wanling of the Imperial College. He was originally a poor boy, and he praised Eunuch Wei so much that he hoped that he could make a living. It was a prosperous time back then, and even several principals of the Imperial College rushed to support him. Mr. Lu himself Also quite proud. However, the school leaders are of a high level. As soon as Eunuch Wei left, he turned his back on him and immediately dismissed him, saying that the Imperial Academy and Wei Zhongxian were at odds with each other. It would be a disgrace to the education community to have a scum like Lu Wanling, and he was immediately expelled from school. According to statistics, from November to February of the following year in the seventh year of Tianqi (1627), the number of official documents of the imperial court increased several times in a few months, and memorials from various places came in a flood, which can be called a grand occasion that has not been seen in decades. These memorials are neatly written, beautifully packaged, and nonsense in content: when they came up, they scolded Wei Zhongxian, scolded the eunuch party, and reported the shameless behavior of some colleagues by the way, and finally concluded: Their behavior made me very angry and had nothing to do with me. Thousands of words in my heart turned into one sentence: I am not a eunuch, my lord, just treat us as a fart. The effect was obvious. During the month of Wei Zhongxian's downfall, there was no movement in Chongzhen. Except for Cui Chengxiu, a guest family, everyone was doing well. In fact, the imperial court at that time, the great scholars, the six ministers, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and even local institutions at all levels across the country were all controlled by the Eunuch Party.We are all arrested, who can you ask to help you? Therefore, in the eyes of the comrades of the eunuch party, they should do as they should, and live as they should. This view works for most people. And Chongzhen belongs to the minority. For a long time, Chongzhen's concept of dealing with problems has been relatively simple, just four words - cut the weeds and eradicate the roots.The so-called law does not blame the public is not a problem for him, because his ancestors have experience in dealing with this kind of problem. For example, in the case of Zhu Yuanzhang and Hu Weiyong, 10,000 people from the same party were reported, 20,000 people were killed, 30,000 people were killed.It's nothing more than saying a few more killing words, it doesn't take much effort. Times have progressed, society has become more civilized, and the truth remains the same. If the six ministers are eunuchs, then they will be withdrawn; if the minister is an eunuch, then he will be withdrawn; if half of the people are eunuchs, then half will be withdrawn;These days, watchdogs are hard to find, and there are plenty of people who want to be officials, whoever is afraid of whom! It is worth mentioning that although the contents of the memorials mentioned above are similar, Chongzhen took a very serious attitude. He not only read them, but also preserved them. It's very simple, people who are really okay don't write these things. Originally, they couldn't find eunuchs, so they arrested people according to the memorials, and the thieves were sure. At the end of November, the preparations were ready and the work was officially started.