How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 31 The Great Dogfight of the Ming Dynasty (Please add to your favorites, vote for monthly tickets, recommend this book, and keep reading)
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Emperor Chongzhen's words, "The more you kill the Tartars, the fewer there are left," silenced the entire hall. Chongzhen's gaze was deep as he looked at the faces of his ministers below, faces filled with shock, confusion, and fear.

When did our ancestors ever say such a thing?

Emperor Taizu Gao drove out the barbarians and restored China. He was decisive in killing, but the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty" only wrote about "pacifying distant peoples," "being cautious in punishment," and "caring for the people's strength." When did it contain such a naked argument that "the more you kill, the fewer people there are"? Emperor Chengzu launched five expeditions to the northern deserts and inscribed his name on Yanran Mountain, but he also paid attention to "using both kindness and severity" and never promoted slaughter as an ancestral instruction!

Duke Zhu Chunchen's fat face jiggled, his Adam's apple bobbing as he almost blurted out, "Your Majesty, be careful with your words! Such a phrase is not in the ancestral precepts!" He glanced at the ranks of nobles. Duke Xu Xigao of Dingguo was hunched over, Earl Li Shouqi of Xiangcheng was clutching his prayer beads, and Marquis Li Chengming of Wuqing was lying on the ground with his buttocks sticking up high as if he were slowly moving away from him.

On the civil officials' side, Cui Chengxiu's eyes twitched, Chen Eryi, the supervising secretary of the Ministry of War, had his mouth agape, and Shi Sanwei, the censor, had his beard twitching, whether from anger or shock at the nonsensical young emperor, it was hard to tell.

To dare to speak out against the emperor? To defy the young emperor who had just returned from beheading seven thousand people in Jizhou over a few "ancestral precepts"? The fear instilled by those salted heads and the pungent stench hadn't yet dissipated; who would be willing to be the first to stick their neck out? The nobles, with generations of high-ranking officials, understood best the art of "smiling to your face, stabbing you in the back." Besides, neither the leader of the noble families, Duke Zhang Weixian of Yingguo, nor his son Zhang Zhiji, were present today!
Zhang Weixian supported two emperors to the throne. If anyone should dare to speak out against the emperor, it should be him who leads the way!

What does it mean that he's not coming? Has he already voted?
And those eunuch faction henchmen have no right to contradict the emperor to his face! With that kind of guts, why be a member of the eunuch faction? They should be members of the Donglin Party.
Such foolish acts of speaking frankly and directly are something only those self-proclaimed upright and principled members of the Donglin Party would do!

Just as the suffocating silence was about to be broken, a deep, steady voice rang out, breaking the deadlock.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Sun Chengzong, the newly appointed Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall and leader of the Donglin Party, stepped forward and knelt steadily below the steps. His hair and beard were all white, his face was upright, and his back was as straight as a pine tree.

"Sun Zushou and Zu Dashou were ordered to suppress the rebellion, and they swept away the enemy's stronghold, slaughtering the Doyan rebels. This was a thunderous act, demonstrating the might of our Great Ming! As for merits and demerits," Sun Chengzong's voice suddenly rose, his gaze sweeping over Cui Chengxiu, Zhu Chunchen, and others like lightning, "the key is not whether or not the slaughter should have happened! But whether there was any false reporting of merits, whether there was any embezzlement of military funds, or whether there was any indiscriminate killing of innocent people!"

He paused, then spoke each word with resounding force: "The massacre is His Majesty's decree! It is also in accordance with the dying wish of Emperor Taizu to 'drive out the barbarians and sweep away the stench of war'! Emperor Taizu, with his golden spears and iron horses, swept away all the heroes and drove out the Mongol Yuan dynasty. Wasn't it because he killed fewer and fewer barbarians that our glorious Ming dynasty has been able to establish its 260-year foundation?!"

Chongzhen's lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly. What a fine Sun Chengzong! No wonder he's a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) who passed both the provincial and imperial examinations, and even served as an imperial tutor. His use of the "ancestral will of the founding emperor" is perfectly apt, far superior to his own fabricated "ancestral precepts"!
He nodded slightly, his voice carrying a hint of approval: "Mr. Sun is absolutely right. Slaughtering the Doyans is my decree, and it also carries on the great ambition of Emperor Taizu Gaozu to 'expel the barbarians and restore China'!" His gaze slowly swept over the nobles below, with a condescending scrutiny. "Your ancestors, Duke of Yingguo Zhang Yu, Duke of Chengguo Zhu Neng, Duke of Dingguo Xu Zengshou... which one of them didn't follow Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu, fighting their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood? It was they who, with their swords and spears, terrified the Mongol Tartars, causing their population to dwindle and their territory to shrink, that made our Great Ming Dynasty what it is today! What? In your generation, after living in luxury for so long, have you forgotten the abilities and courage of your ancestors? You're so scared that your legs go weak just from hearing about killing a few Tartars?"

These words were like a dagger to the heart! Every word struck a chord in the hearts of the nobles. Zhu Chunchen's plump face flushed crimson, Xu Xigao's skin turned purple, and Li Shouqi's fingers, which were clenched tightly around his prayer beads, turned white. The blood, sweat, and blood, and the merits of their ancestors were the very foundation of their livelihood, and now the young emperor was using them as a whip to lash them out, and they were powerless to refute it!

Emperor Chongzhen sneered inwardly at their frustrated expressions. He intended to use the "ancestors" to crush them! The Taizu Emperor could kill, the Chengzu Emperor could kill, so why couldn't he? He would kill even more ruthlessly than they did! What could they do to him?
Our Ming Dynasty rose to power by killing the Tartars!
Killing Tartars and begging for food are both ancestral skills!
Just as the eunuch faction and nobles were bewildered by this "ancestral skill" and didn't know how to deal with it, another person stepped forward from the ranks of officials.

"Your humble servant, Lu Shanji, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of War, humbly reports this!" Lu Shanji, a protégé of Sun Chengzong, knelt on the ground, his voice clear and impassioned, "Generals Sun Zushou and Zu Dashou have penetrated deep into the southern desert, utterly destroying the enemy's strongholds and capturing over 7,300 Tartar heads! This is the greatest victory our Great Ming has ever achieved against the northern barbarians since the Yongle Emperor's northern expedition! Their merits benefit the nation and future generations! Your Majesty's insight is boundless, your wisdom is profound, and your sagacity shines forth! I earnestly request Your Majesty to generously reward these meritorious generals and soldiers, to demonstrate Your Majesty's might!"

As for the remnants of the Doyan tribe, they colluded with the Jurchens and repeatedly violated the border; they deserved to die! Ligdan Khan himself was barely able to protect himself, a defeated dog; what right did he have to speak up for the rebels? His sending envoys to inquire about their crimes was a treacherous act, an attempt to disrupt our court! Your Majesty should sternly rebuke them and expel their envoys as a warning to others!

Lu Shanji's words were forceful and resounding, directly characterizing the "massacre" as a "sweeping away of the enemy's lair" and a "great victory in suppressing the rebellion," degrading Ligdan Khan as a "homeless dog," and describing the "punishment" as "harboring evil intentions." His stance was so clear and his attitude so resolute that it surpassed even the most loyal henchmen!
Cui Chengxiu, Zhu Chunchen, and the others were completely dumbfounded. They looked at Lu Shanji, who was speaking eloquently, then at Sun Chengzong, who remained as steady as a mountain, and then at the emperor, who was beaming with delight…

Who the hell is the eunuch faction? Who's the gentleman?

The eunuch faction was "speaking frankly" (though they didn't dare to actually remonstrate), denouncing the emperor's confidants Sun Zushou and Zu Dashou for their brutality and indiscriminate killings; the Donglin faction, on the other hand, was flattering the emperor, shouting that the killings were well done and brilliant.

A chill ran from the soles of Cui Chengxiu's feet to the top of his head. He abruptly turned his head to look at the hunched figure in the shadows beside the throne—the Nine Thousand Years Old Wei Zhongxian. Wei Zhongxian's face was ashen, his lips trembling, and his cloudy old eyes were fixed on the ground, as if trying to see through the gold bricks. His hands were tucked into his sleeves, but they trembled violently uncontrollably, and he almost collapsed to the ground. Where was even a trace of the once all-powerful and decisive Nine Thousand Years Old Wei Zhongxian?

"It's all over!" Cui Chengxiu's heart sank. Eunuch Wei's demeanor... didn't seem like someone who would dare oppose the Emperor! Could it be that the audacious Wei Liangqing was using his orders to act on his own?
And that good-for-nothing Tian Ergeng, did he even carry out the mission to arrest Qian Qianyi and Li Banghua last night?!

Just as Cui Chengxiu was in a state of utter confusion, and the eunuch faction and nobles were all feeling insecure, the atmosphere in the palace was extremely strange.
"Your subject Huang Lijie (Shi Fenglai, Zhang Ruitu, and Li Guopu) second this proposal!"

Four voices rang out almost simultaneously! The four Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, Huang Lijie, Shi Fenglai, Zhang Ruitu, and Li Guopu, all knelt down in unison!
Huang Li's extremely fat face was filled with a pious expression of "sudden realization," and his voice boomed: "Your Majesty's edict is like a sudden awakening! The words of Scholar Sun and Censor Lu are pearls of wisdom! The Tartars fear power but do not cherish virtue. Only thunderous measures can deter the villains! The founding emperor and the emperor Chengzu established their dynasty and established their rule precisely by relying on such thunderous measures!"
Doyan has rebelled, colluding with the Jurchens—a crime deserving of death! Generals Sun and Zu, acting on imperial orders, have rendered outstanding service! Ligdan Khan, nominally the ruler of the Mongols, has in reality lost his army and territory, living in utter panic like a stray dog. What face does he have to send envoys to demand justice? His actions reveal a sinister intent to disrupt our Great Ming! We, your humble servants, humbly request Your Majesty to generously reward the meritorious officials, severely reprimand the Northern Yuan envoys, and expel them from the country!

The statement from the four Grand Secretaries, representing the highest administrative center of the Ming Dynasty, was like a final, heavy blow, shattering the last vestiges of hope in the hearts of the eunuch faction and nobles!

The dogfight has already been decided!
The court, which had just been vehemently demanding the impeachment of Sun Zushou and Zu Dashou, was now filled only with praise for the emperor's "wisdom" and condemnation of the Tartar envoys. Zhu Chunchen, Xu Xigao, and others were drenched in cold sweat, while Cui Chengxiu felt his official robes on the back were soaked through with cold sweat, sticky and icy.

The Tartar envoy, Choerji Lama, who was about to be severely reprimanded and expelled, was also stunned by the dramatic reversal before his eyes.

Emperor Chongzhen sat motionless, his eyes calm and unwavering, as if this dramatic turn of events had been entirely expected. He slightly raised his hand, about to speak.
"Report!"

Outside the palace gates, a sharp, anxious shout suddenly shattered the tranquility inside!
A junior official from the Court of State Ceremonial rushed into the main hall and knelt down beneath the steps:

"Your Majesty! Former Vice Minister of War Li Banghua and former Vice Minister of Rites Qian Qianyi, together with over a hundred students from the Imperial Academy and candidates from various regions who came to the capital for the imperial examinations, have gathered outside the Meridian Gate, struck the Dengwen Drum, and knelt before the palace gate to submit their petition!"

"Buzz!"

The commotion that had just subsided inside the hall erupted again in an instant! All eyes immediately focused on the Honglu Temple attendant.

Cui Chengxiu's vision blurred, and he nearly collapsed. Tian Ergeng! Tian Ergeng has ruined me! He really didn't make a move!

Emperor Chongzhen raised an eyebrow slightly, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger: "Oh? What is it about?"

The attendant trembled violently, his head bowed even lower, almost as if he wanted to disappear into the cracks between the gold bricks:
"Impose...Impose the Grand Eunuch Wei Zhongxian of the Directorate of Ceremonial...for colluding with...for the Mongols, with the intent to...for plot a rebellion!"

"boom!"

The words "treason" resounded like thunder from the heavens within the Hall of Supreme Harmony!

(End of this chapter)