Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 44 The people of Yangzhou are not afraid of the Beijing troops!
[Immediately after the Gengchen Coup, you led the three thousand elite Jinyi troops that Zhu Zhongcheng had dispatched in advance into the capital, and quickly sealed off the nine city gates connecting the capital to the outside world to prevent anyone from escaping.]

【From now on, martial law is imposed in the capital! 】

Then, you led a group of powerful, armored soldiers into the six ministries with unparalleled brutality. Amidst the horrified expressions of the six officials, you sternly announced that the "Six Ministries Anti-New Deal Group" had been crushed in one fell swoop, and sent personnel from the Prime Minister's Office to take over the work of the six ministries!

After the complete transfer of administrative power, you then announced the first order of your new political reforms: "From this day forward, all officials in the capital must report their property to the Prime Minister's Office. Anyone who deliberately conceals the amount will be immediately imprisoned and severely tortured!"

[As soon as this order was issued, all the officials felt dizzy and as if the sky had fallen...]

[Damn it! How many officials these days haven't been involved in corruption? If they report this truthfully, wouldn't that be a confession?!]

[But if they conceal the truth... As the saying goes, a new official starts with three fires, and the new prime minister will definitely start this fire by burning everyone...]

[Thinking of the bleak future under the new policy, the officials couldn't help but burst into tears.]

Come back, Chen Shoufu! My proudest belief!

[The silver is so vivid in my mind, tears are flowing for no apparent reason! ]

[I still remember the disaster relief funds and the powerful tax increases. I was able to eat all kinds of delicacies from land and sea, and I didn’t feel tired even if I embezzled money all night...]

[But despite our sadness, we all have to face reality... Under the threat of your fire, after careful consideration, most people feel that it is best to surrender and kneel down. Since we can't resist anyway, we might as well abandon the dark and join the light as soon as possible!]

"We surrender with courtesy, even though we have surrendered and still retain our position as mad monkeys!"

"The Prime Minister swore by the six ministries that anyone without a serious offense would be hired. I believe the Prime Minister will not break his promise to me!"

"Prime Minister! Actually, I've been a member of the Prime Minister's Mansion for a long time! When Changchun Garden was being renovated, I was working on the construction team, doing the plastering!"

“Prime Minister! Prime Minister! Prime Minister!…”

Some people also think that you are still a mortal after all, and you must have seven emotions and six desires. As long as you are offered beautiful women and precious things, you may not necessarily become like the iron-faced and impartial Bao Gong...

[There are still a very small number of people who are still taking chances, thinking that it is impossible to check everyone's assets thoroughly, so they still choose to conceal the information...]

[You understood their little thoughts clearly, so you handled them calmly.]

"Those who follow me will prosper, those who oppose me will perish!"

[You have shown leniency to all who slid down and surrendered: those who deserved lingchi were beheaded! Those who deserved skinning and straw were cut in half! Those who deserved beheading were hanged!]

If the crime doesn't meet the standard for the death penalty, the sentence will be divided into three levels: twenty years, ten years, and continued service with criticism and education... In any case, the sentence will be as light as possible. After all, over 90% of Ming Dynasty officials are not very clean. If they are arrested rashly, it will inevitably affect the operation of the government and will only cause more trouble.

[So, in order for Ming to have a relatively smooth transition to the New Deal, you can only hold your nose and give them a break...]

[And you don't treat those officials who try to corrupt you with money and sex with them kindly. Not only will you not reduce their sentences, but you'll actually aggravate their crimes!]

[As for the few lucky individuals who managed to conceal the truth, you investigated them thoroughly, not caring about the cost of the investigation at all. If anyone is found to have concealed the truth, they will all be sentenced to death!]

[Thus, under your iron-blooded hand, the imperial court underwent a major reshuffle. Long lines of executions stretched out in front of the vegetable market, and countless corrupt officials, terrified and cursing, were splattered with blood on the spot...]

This scene frightened the people of the capital so much that they no longer dared to buy vegetables there, fearing that the murderous executioner would chop them down as well...

[However, despite their fear, the people still knew what was going on: the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty was restoring the Ming Dynasty's foundation. The new political reform would use the blood of these monsters as a sacrifice to bring light and justice back to the world!]

Therefore, the people were actually quite happy. Since it was Chinese New Year, many families took the opportunity to set off firecrackers, using the sound of New Year's firecrackers to dispel the darkness and evil that had enveloped the Ming Dynasty for nearly sixty years.

The air, thick with the smell of gunpowder, seemed to indicate the vibrant vitality of reform and innovation!

【…】

[And you haven't been idle even when punishing and killing people. During this New Year period, you still led the Prime Minister's staff and the newly joined old bureaucrats from the six ministries to work tirelessly on the reforms!]

Reforming the political system isn't just about executing a corrupt official in the capital. After that, you need to guide public opinion, let the people of the capital know what you're doing, and encourage them to actively cooperate in investigating the corrupt officials' assets.

After more than half a month, you finally found out the amount of property embezzled by the officials in the capital...

"Prime Minister! A rough estimate of the value of all kinds of gold, silver, and jewelry puts it at at least 700 million taels of silver!"

[Seven hundred million taels!]

[This seemingly astronomical amount caused everyone in the Prime Minister's Residence to gasp...]

[When Li Chuang entered the capital, he only managed to extract 70 million taels of silver from the officials. Now, the amount has increased tenfold!]

I really don't know whether I should say that the Ming Dynasty's economy is more developed than before, or that these idiots' money-making methods have become increasingly ruthless...

"And more, Prime Minister! We've found antiques, paintings, and calligraphy from past dynasties, rare treasures from overseas, spices, servants, foreign singing and dancing girls, real estate, shops, fertile farms... There's so much to see, it's impossible to put a price on it..."

You take a deep breath and say solemnly, "All of it will be deposited into the national treasury!"

"The New Deal reforms will incur enormous expenses. These properties can be used to finance the reforms. With them, our cause will be even more successful!"

Your wholehearted dedication to the public good and your incorruptible integrity immediately earned everyone's admiration: You are truly a Prime Minister determined to innovate. Your determination alone is unmatched by ordinary people... Thinking back to the insane behavior of your former superiors, everyone's blood boils!

Commander Zhu is right. How can we manage politics well if we hang out with those kinds of insects? What we need is a true sage like the Prime Minister!

【"loyalty!"】

【As their hearts surged, everyone shouted in unison! 】

[At this moment, a surrendered official suddenly gritted his teeth, took a step forward amidst the astonished gaze of the crowd, and then pulled out from his pocket... an imperial edict?!]

Before everyone could react in shock, the young defecting official knelt and presented you with this "imperial edict": "Your Excellency, this is a forged edict privately given to me by the former Minister of War!"

“When he went to attend the birthday banquet for Your Majesty, he personally instructed me that if they did not return, I should take this forged imperial edict and sneak into the imperial camp to mobilize the troops to enter the city and cause chaos…”

[Oh shit! There's a mine!]

[Hearing these earth-shattering words, the pupils of everyone in the Prime Minister's Mansion suddenly shrank, and then they hurriedly protected him in front of them!]

Especially those officials who surrendered, they not only quickly moved away from this person, but also knelt down and shouted: "Your Excellency, please be clear! We don't know this guy, and we have nothing to do with this! Please, Your Excellency, have mercy! Please, Your Excellency, have mercy!..."

[Wow, everyone has a Black Cleaver, right?]

You complained in your heart, but still accepted the forged edict under this person's nervous gaze.

After carefully reading the contents, you suddenly smiled: Just as I thought, these idiots will definitely become desperate and forge an imperial edict to mobilize the troops from the capital to cause chaos!

Fortunately, I had already made preparations. I had Zhu Zhongcheng dispatch three thousand elite Jinyi soldiers from the Fengtai camp to seal off the nine gates of the capital and declare martial law. This was how I was able to prevent the forged imperial edict that nearly triggered a melee!

[As for this person, it's likely that he couldn't get out of the house, so he kept the forged edict hidden away. He didn't make any movement for half a month, just pretending that nothing had happened...]

[However, you were somewhat surprised that he had the courage to present the forged edict and took the initiative to admit it.]

So you ask curiously: "Why don't you continue to hide?"

He replied respectfully, "Because the Prime Minister's upright and honest character is completely different from the ministers of the past, I am deeply impressed. Therefore, I am sincerely convinced and willing to take the risk to offer this gift!"

【Really?I do not believe. 】

You smiled inwardly: This guy probably saw that his mission had failed, and with the Minister of War and the others still being interrogated in the prison, he was afraid of being betrayed, so he simply gritted his teeth and confessed to the crime, hoping for leniency!

[As for the phrase "I was impressed by the Prime Minister's integrity," just listen to it. A seasoned official wouldn't have such rich thoughts and feelings...]

[However, you didn't intend to expose him. Instead, you smiled and helped him up. As he looked terrified, you smiled.]

“Admitting one’s mistakes and correcting them is the greatest virtue!”

"Besides, you haven't done anything harmful to the Ming Dynasty, and your family property is safe and sound. How can I punish you?"

[As you speak, your tone gradually becomes serious.]

"Not only have you done nothing wrong this time, you've actually achieved merit. Once this forged imperial edict is delivered to His Majesty, the stubborn ministers of the six ministries will be brought to justice... You've accomplished a great deed, and I must reward you!"

【"May I have your name?"】

[The man suddenly cheered up: "Your humble servant Gao Yiming..."]

“Good! Gao Yiming!”

You said in a deep voice, "I will promote you to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War! Go to the Beijing Camp now to select six thousand elite soldiers, and then lead them to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion!"

[Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War?! Suppressing the Yangzhou Rebellion?!]

Gao Yiming was stunned, unsure of what to do... But after a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth and bowed, "Your Majesty, I obey your command!"

【…】

In the first month of the seventy-fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, just as the capital was experiencing a bloody coup, Nanjing Yingtian Prefecture and the thirteen provinces also learned the shocking news of the coup!

Local officials and vested interests were unwilling to suffer losses from the New Deal, so they colluded with each other, and large-scale anti-New Deal riots broke out in various parts of the country!

【At that moment, the whole world was in turmoil! 】

Among the riots in various provincial governments, Yangzhou, once a vanguard of tax resistance, was the most violent this time. Various interest groups joined forces and even organized ignorant citizens to attack the government offices of various prefectures and counties, injuring and killing many officials and runners!

At the beginning of the first lunar month, Ming Prime Minister Zhou Liang declared the events in Yangzhou a rebellion and immediately dispatched the newly appointed Left Vice Minister of War, Gao Yiming, to lead 6,000 troops from the Beijing camp to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion!

"The people of Yangzhou don't even fear the government anymore. These are no longer ordinary troublemakers! We must strike hard!"

"Beijing Camp, move out!"

……

(End of this chapter)