Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"That's right! If we don't deal with them, the Ming Dynasty will never get better." Zhang Shikang concluded.

"Then let's...deal with them!" Emperor Chongzhen was like an animal that was suddenly filled with fighting spirit. He imitated Zhang Shikang's words, and his face flushed slightly.

As a diligent emperor, he never gave up hope, even when he was disappointed, in pain, or even desperate.

He lamented in the lonely summer nights and cried in the cold winter winds.

But he had no choice but to get out of bed the next day and pretend to be strong again.

The reason for despair is not giving up hope, but having no direction.

Now, the only person he could trust gave him this direction.

So what is there to hesitate about?

"But, Your Majesty, they are not easy to deal with. If things go wrong, we might both end up in trouble and even be infamous for eternity!

Your Majesty had better think it over carefully." Zhang Shikang still looked careless.

He was not exaggerating at all. If those people were easy to deal with, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty would not have fallen into the water and died early.

Among the sixteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty, few died of natural causes of old age. Even with the poor medical conditions and the underfed common people, the average life expectancy was still thirty-five years old. But it is hard to describe the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

Although this was an era when imperial power was supreme, it was, after all, a struggle against an entire class.

The cruelty of class struggle is beyond doubt.

Either you die or I die.

He must see clearly the determination of Brother Chongzhen. If he hesitates, he might as well lie down.

With luck, the Ming Dynasty can survive for a few more years. Maybe you won't have to be the king of a fallen country, and I can continue to be my happy young master.

Without taking such a big risk, there is naturally no need to worry about being smeared by those guys with their pens if it fails.

To see how terrible the pens of scholars are, just read the History of Ming Dynasty. The pens of these people are like swords.

Not only does it kill people, it also destroys their hearts. How terrible.

Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand why Zhang Shikang wanted to pour cold water on him. He frowned and twisted his neck, and said to Zhang Shikang with rare anger:

"I would rather die than be a king who destroys my country!"

Every word he spoke was sonorous and resoluteness was written on his face. Over the past decade, he had suffered so much humiliation, been blamed by civil officials, deceived by military generals, had his territory lost, and his ancestral graves dug up.

Is there anything more humiliating than being the king of a fallen country? Compared with this, why fear death?

"Don't hesitate any longer. Even if it really comes to that, I will never regret it." Emperor Chongzhen said again.

He roughly figured out that it was not that Zhang Shikang was helpless, but that he did not trust him very much and was considering him.

This made him very angry and uncomfortable. All along, his ministers were worried that he would not trust them.

Now it's better, it's the other way around!

He trusted Zhang Shikang so much, but why did this guy doubt him?

He had never encountered anything so outrageous!

The key is that he doesn't dare to be angry, and can't be angry, because he knows that this is his own problem.

If I really had the ability to govern the country like Emperor Taizu Gao, why would this kid be like this?

"Your Majesty, this is a class struggle that affects the interests of the vested interests. Sometimes, Your Majesty even has to resort to violence against himself.

But you and I, even if we try our best and get hurt, we may not be able to defeat them." Zhang Shikang thought for a while and said.

Although he had a much more forward-looking vision than those court officials, he had no confidence when it came to specific strategies or his ability to stir up trouble behind the scenes.

It is said that the college entrance examination is like a huge army crossing a single-plank bridge, but compared with the imperial examination at that time, the college entrance examination is really a dwarf compared to the giant.

At least there are so many universities to choose from in the college entrance examination, but there is only one imperial examination, and that is to pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi.

Even so, there is only one opportunity every three years, and only about two hundred people are admitted each time.

But even if one passed the imperial examination, it was only the beginning. In all likelihood, every Jinshi's first formal job was to be demoted to become a county magistrate.

In this typical relationship-based society, talent alone is not enough.

If one wants to move from being a county magistrate to the imperial court, one needs to sharpen one's brains, rack one's brains, and put in all one's efforts, including but not limited to hard work, corruption and bribery, making friends with cliques, etc., to have a chance of becoming a high-ranking official.

This shows how smart the people who can sit in the court are.

What he and his brother Chongzhen were about to face was just such a group of enemies, a group of enemies that had formed a clique and formed a community of interests.

For this reason, he had to be cautious again and again. Brother Chongzhen might really not care about life or death, but Zhang Shikang did care!

He has been here for more than half a year, and has only been working for this old man. He has never enjoyed himself at all.

Zhang Shikang didn't avoid the question of whether he was afraid of death at all, hehe.

Only when you see yourself clearly can you see others clearly.

"Wang Dabanban, ask someone to bring some wine and food. Fang Zhenghua, you stay outside the palace and don't let anyone get close." Emperor Chongzhen ordered Fang Zhenghua.

He was now suspicious of everyone except Zhang Shikang. If Zhang Shikang had not said that Wang Chengen, Fang Zhenghua and other eunuchs were loyal, he would have driven them out long ago.

After that, he turned to Zhang Shikang and said:

"Shikang, I know you have an idea in your mind, just tell me, if I betray you, I will be struck by lightning."

In order to make Zhang Shikang believe in his determination, Emperor Chongzhen even swore an oath that there would be no one else in the hall, otherwise everyone would be shocked.

However, the era of supreme imperial power did not change some of Zhang Shikang's ideas from later generations. In his eyes, the emperor in front of him was just a down-and-out old man.

Emperor Chongzhen was only seven or eight years older than him.

Zhang Shikang finally made up his mind after seeing this. He hesitated for a moment and said:

“To fight a class, it’s definitely not enough for just you and me.

A great man once said that we should make more friends and fewer enemies.

We must unite with other classes, and even with all those who can cooperate.

Only in this way can I be about 60 to 70 percent sure."

He had told Brother Chongzhen before that those people were rich, and everything would be fine as long as they could be dealt with.

But at that time he was just talking nonsense, trying to gain his brother's trust. If he really wanted to deal with that group of people, he would have to think carefully.

After all, with a 60 to 70 percent chance of success, the risk is still too great, almost tantamount to risking your life.

"Shi Kang's words make sense, but I think it's worth the risk to be able to have 60 to 70 percent certainty."

When Emperor Chongzhen heard that he was so confident, he was very happy, which even stunned Zhang Shikang.

"I just don't know who Shi Kang is planning to ally with? The nobles?

I feel that they are not very reliable. Their fighting spirit has long been worn out by their business."

……