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

"Is the Queen here to plead for mercy as well?"

Emperor Chongzhen put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands, frowned slightly and asked.

He had long known that Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen and Earl Jiading Zhou Kui were wanted by the Embroidered Uniform Guards for refusing to pay taxes.

Emperor Chongzhen was generally very disappointed with the behavior of these two people, and industrial and commercial tax reform was a national policy.

As these two people are the top nobles of the country, it would have been fine if they did not support it, but they actually took the lead in opposing it.

"Short-sighted" and "profit-driven" are not enough to describe how despicable these two people are.

The reason why Chongzhen did not say anything bad to him was all because of the contributions of Duke Chengguo's ancestors. As for his father-in-law, he was even more disappointed.

If it weren't for the Queen's consideration, Emperor Chongzhen would have been really angry during the last fundraising event.

Empress Zhou was about the same age as Emperor Chongzhen. She had a graceful figure and well-maintained skin, and it was hard to tell that she was already the mother of five children.

Hearing Emperor Chongzhen's question, Empress Zhou felt somewhat guilty, but still said gently:

"Your Majesty, I know I shouldn't have come, but I came anyway.

After all, he is my father."

The two have been married for many years and their relationship has always been stable. During the twelve years of Emperor Chongzhen's reign, Queen Zhou has been silently supporting him behind the scenes.

When the national treasury was empty, Queen Zhou took the initiative to propose cutting down on palace expenses, and even asked palace concubines to do needlework to save money.

During the most difficult times, Emperor Chongzhen's imperial robe was torn and it was Empress Zhou who sewed it stitch by stitch.

She was a gentle woman with a strong heart. She committed suicide after the fall of Beijing.

It is hard to imagine that Zhou Kuina's family, which came from a poor background and a greedy and stingy family, could grow up to be such a sensible woman.

Queen Zhou knew that tax reform was the court's national policy and her husband's long-cherished wish to revive the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, she also knew what kind of person her father was.

From the Queen's perspective, she shouldn't have come. Tax reform is a good thing and a major reform that has the potential to completely change the court's predicament.

But the same thing goes, he is her father, and as a daughter, she must beg for mercy, otherwise it would be unfilial.

"sit down."

Emperor Chongzhen nudged the stool beside him and said to Empress Zhou. Then he said to Zhu Chunchen's wife:

"You should stand up too."

The noble lady stood up tremblingly and waited aside, not daring to say anything more.

"Tax reform is a national policy, and even my palace must abide by it.

If Duke Chengguo and Earl Jiading take the lead in the rebellion, and I cannot punish them, what will the other clan members think? What will the nobles think? What will the people of the world think?

Are they worthy of the honor bestowed upon them by their ancestors for such short-sightedness for the sake of a little immediate benefit?"

Emperor Chongzhen said earnestly.

Queen Zhou nodded silently without saying anything.

The noble lady heard from Emperor Chongzhen's tone that he wanted to let her husband go, and she felt relieved as she whispered:

"Your Majesty's teaching is true. I will definitely tell my husband what Your Majesty said and teach him not to embarrass Your Majesty again."

After saying this, the noble lady quietly raised her eyes to look at Emperor Chongzhen, and finding that the emperor was not angry, she then said to Empress Zhou:

"Your Highness, my wife has brought this upon herself, and she deserves it.

It's just that the Marquis of Guanjun was really going too far. He even dared to arrest the father-in-law of the emperor, without any regard for the face of Your Majesty the Queen and Your Majesty.

Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and your Majesty’s face is the power of heaven. I think that the Champion Marquis…”

"Shut up!"

The noble lady was interrupted by the angry shout of Emperor Chongzhen before she could finish her words.

She knew that the three boys of the Zhang family were favored by the emperor, so she spoke very carefully and only spoke up for Queen Zhou from her perspective.

Of course, this was not without the intention of telling Emperor Chongzhen. In her opinion, the actions of the third boy from the Zhang family really brought shame to the royal family.

No matter what, she had to vent her man's anger. Even if it didn't have much effect, at least it could plant the seeds of dissatisfaction with the third boy of the Zhang family in the emperor's heart.

But she never expected that just a few harmless words of concern would make the emperor so angry.

"Get out of here! If you dare to come to the palace and talk nonsense again, I will never let you off easily!" Emperor Chongzhen was particularly angry and scolded the noble lady again.

The noble lady quickly knelt down and begged for mercy. Wang Chengen, who was serving beside her, immediately ordered someone to drag the noble lady out.

He thought that this woman was so bold that she dared to sow discord when the Emperor needed the support of Marquis Guanjun so much. She deserved to be reprimanded.

Emperor Chongzhen sat at the table and calmed down for a while, then said to Empress Zhou:

"I will send someone to the Jinyiwei to ask Shikang to release him. You should also talk to him more. If he dares to disregard the overall situation again, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"I obey your command." Queen Zhou bowed to Emperor Chongzhen and expressed her gratitude.

Queen Zhou had long given up hope for her father, and this was all she could do.

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health and never stay up late again." Before leaving, Queen Zhou whispered.

Emperor Chongzhen was busy with government affairs these days, especially tax reform. He often discussed with cabinet ministers until late at night and had to stay up all night to deal with the day's memorials.

Empress Zhou repeatedly advised Emperor Chongzhen, but he would not listen.

"I understand, but I am not doing useless work like I did a few years ago.

I told you that Zhang Shikang was a great talent sent to me by our ancestors, but you didn't believe it before.

So what does it look like now?" Emperor Chongzhen was unusually pleased, even forgetting his previous unhappiness.

After all, they have been married for many years, and they can be said to have shared the joys and sorrows and have a deep love for each other.

"I was wrong. Your Majesty has the help of Marquis Guanjun, which is a blessing for the Ming Dynasty." Seeing her husband happy, Queen Zhou also praised him.

He reorganized the Beijing camp, defeated the Jiannu, punished the rebellious Shanxi merchants, and solved the financial crisis for the court twice.

No matter which one it is, it is enough to call him a talented person.

But deep down, Queen Zhou still felt that it was risky to give such great power to a young man who was not yet an adult.

If this boy had other intentions, the Ming Dynasty might have followed in the footsteps of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

But Queen Zhou understood that no matter what, now was not the time to talk about this matter. She should first deal with the matter of national policy and then slowly persuade him later.

"Of course. To be honest with you, Queen, although I am very tired these days, my body and mind have endless energy. Everything has a direction and purpose.

I believe that as long as we follow Shi Kang's plan step by step, the Ming Dynasty will surely be revived in my hands.

Every time I think about it, it seems that no matter how hard or tiring it is, it doesn’t matter.”

Except in front of Zhang Shikang, Emperor Chongzhen rarely spoke out his true feelings.

"No matter what, I will stand by Your Majesty's side." Emperor Chongzhen was full of confidence, and Queen Zhou was also very happy.

The two chatted for a while, and then Emperor Chongzhen began to review memorials, and Empress Zhou left the Qianqing Palace.

About half an hour had passed, and Emperor Chongzhen had not yet reviewed half of the memorial when Wang Chengen suddenly appeared at the door of the hall with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Your Majesty, I will go to the Imperial Prison as you ordered and make sure Duke Cheng and the Father-in-law pay the taxes before I release them. But..."

Wang Chengen hesitated to speak, and Emperor Chongzhen threw the memorial in his hand aside and said:

"But what? Tell the truth!"

"But they used poverty as an excuse, saying that all the money in their homes had been… taken away by you, Your Majesty, so how could they have more money to pay the taxes?

They... they refused to leave the imperial prison." Wang Chengen reported everything in detail.

Emperor Chongzhen was furious when he heard this and slapped the imperial desk.

"You ungrateful animal!"

……