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

"What did I say? Just look and you will know that His Majesty will not let that kid do whatever he wants." Zhu Chunchen said proudly.

The person who came from the palace just now asked them to pay the back taxes, but his implication was that he wanted to release them from prison.

Zhu Chunchen immediately guessed that this was the result of the efforts of Queen Zhou and his wife.

"That's right. His Majesty is my son-in-law after all. If you break his bones and tendons and let me suffer in prison, it's his people who are lost."

Zhou Kui spat at the broken bowl and said with disdain on his face.

"I know our Majesty best. Although he doesn't have much ability, he cares the most about his reputation.

With the father-in-law here, His Majesty will definitely not let that kid off easily." Zhu Chunchen lowered his voice.

“Duke Chengguo, you are so kind, but this time the two of us must not leave this imperial prison easily.

We were defrauded of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver by that kid.

Fundraising is originally a voluntary activity. Your Majesty actually forces us to do so, which is really unbecoming of an emperor.

This is a good opportunity to teach him how to respect the elderly."

Zhu Chunchen knew to lower his voice, but Zhou Kui didn't care at all. As he said, he was the father-in-law of the emperor.

What if the father-in-law says a few words to his son-in-law?

Besides, what he said was the truth.

The two of them encouraged each other with words, not only wanting to get back the embezzled property, but also refusing to compromise on the tax issue.

As the head of the nobles, Zhu Chunchen even wanted to take this opportunity to force His Majesty to give up the additional taxes levied on the nobles, which was a privilege granted to them by Emperor Taizu.

Once achieved, Zhu Chunchen's prestige in the circle of nobles will definitely surpass that of the two old guys Zhang Zhiji and Xu Yunzhen.

The two of them were so daydreaming that they even forgot about being hungry.

Around mid-afternoon, light suddenly appeared at the entrance of the imperial prison.

Wang Chengen was the first to enter the imperial prison, followed by a eunuch holding a wooden box. Even with a simple guess, he knew that the box contained an imperial edict.

"Here he comes, it's Eunuch Wang from the Imperial Household Department. I guess our son-in-law is going to surrender." Zhou Kui said with a look of joy on his face.

Although he had suffered a lot in his childhood, it didn't mean that Zhou Kui liked staying in this shabby place.

As long as he could get his property back and avoid paying taxes, he planned to go back.

To be honest, he didn't care whether other nobles were exempt from taxes or not. What did other people's affairs have to do with him, Zhou Kui.

"Maybe." Zhu Chunchen suddenly felt a little uneasy.

Wang Chengen was highly regarded by the emperor, and generally only when it was an extremely important matter would the emperor send Wang Chengen to convey the emperor's orders in person.

What happened between them is neither small nor big.

Whether it is releasing them from the imperial prison, exempting them from taxes, or even returning his property, is it necessary to issue such a solemn imperial decree?

Could it be that... His Majesty has really come to his senses and wants to punish Zhang Shikang? To express his apology?

"The Earl of Jiading and the Duke of Chengguo, please accept the imperial edict." Wang Chengen's face showed no emotion as he took out the imperial edict from the wooden box and said it in public.

Duke Chengguo did not dare to hesitate, and quickly knelt down with Earl Jiading to receive the order.

"The Emperor, by the Will of Heaven, decrees:

After investigation, it was found that in April of the third year of Chongzhen, Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen, taking advantage of his position in the Five Military Commandery, embezzled 124,600 taels of military pay.

In September of the sixth year of Chongzhen, he accepted a bribe of 6,000 taels of silver and helped the criminal official Qian Rulong to obtain the position of deputy general of the Beijing camp.

In February of the seventh year of Chongzhen…

……

In the first month of the tenth year of Chongzhen, his son Zhu Zhengliang raped a commoner woman and beat her husband to death. Zhu Chunchen used the power of the Duke's Mansion to suppress the rebellion, causing the commoner woman and her family to hang themselves.

The first Duke of Chengguo, Zhu Neng, had outstanding achievements and made great contributions to the world.

However, his descendants were not enterprising, were proud of the favors of their ancestors, were short-sighted, and wantonly obstructed national policies.

What's worse, he took advantage of his position to commit numerous crimes. When I heard about it, I felt ashamed for Zhu Neng.

Zhou Kui, the Earl of Jiading, was the father-in-law of the emperor. He did not think about helping the country solve its problems, but only knew how to enjoy himself. He was greedy and stingy, and he made rude remarks many times, which damaged the royal dignity.

His grandson Zhou Dasheng is spoiled and arrogant, good for nothing, and has repeatedly committed crimes and injured people, causing complaints from the people of the capital and bringing shame to the royal family. I hate him very much.

The imperial edict stripped Chengguogong of his title, recalled his iron certificate, confiscated his property, sentenced him to one year in prison, and demoted him to a commoner.

The imperial edict strips Zhou Kui of his title of Earl of Jiading. Except for his mansion in Beijing, all his shops and lands shall be confiscated by the court. He is not allowed to commit any illegal acts in the name of the emperor's father-in-law. If he commits the same offense again, I will punish him.

I use all these as reasons to tell my people so that everyone can hear them and serve as a warning to future generations.

Admire this. "

After Wang Chengen read the imperial edict, he wanted to leave and didn't even want to say a word to the two of them.

As a slave of the emperor, his status does not allow him to interfere in royal affairs.

But this does not mean that Wang Chengen has no thoughts. He has seen how much effort the emperor and the marquis have made for state affairs.

He had long disliked the Duke of Chengguo and the Earl of Jiading, and whenever the emperor wanted to do something, they would come out to obstruct him.

Because of the achievements of his ancestors, he thinks his own merits and prestige are so great. He is short-sighted and has no idea of the general situation in the world. It is all his own fault and he cannot blame others.

After hearing the imperial edict, Zhu Chunchen and Earl of Jiading were stunned, as if they were hallucinating.

There was silence for three full breaths before he reacted.

Zhu Chunchen even thought that Wang Chengen was forging the imperial edict, so he snatched the edict from the eunuch's hand to read it.

Suddenly, he broke out in a sweat and began to tremble all over.

Deprived of his title, confiscated his property, demoted to a commoner, and sentenced to one year in prison...

The sky is falling.

"Eunuch Wang! Eunuch Wang, please don't leave! I want to see His Majesty, I want to see His Majesty!

Eunuch, please help me! Your Majesty..."

Zhu Chunchen was heartbroken and banged on the cell door like a madman, but Wang Chengen didn't even turn his head.

The former Earl of Jiading Zhou Kui was not much better. He grabbed the imperial edict that Zhu Chunchen had thrown away and stared at the faint light with his presbyopic eyes.

Then his eyes suddenly widened even wider and veins on his forehead bulged as if he had a cramp.

Soon, Zhou Kui lost his balance and fell into the straw pile, his limbs convulsing, foaming at the mouth, only his eyes were wide open.

After a moment, the eyes gradually became blank and lifeless.

"Lord Jiading! Lord Jiading!

Someone come! I can’t be the father-in-law of the emperor anymore! Someone come quickly!”

……

Not long after Emperor Chongzhen issued the imperial edict, the nobles and relatives in the capital learned of the fate of Zhu Chunchen and Zhou Kui.

One was the hereditary duke of the current dynasty, and the other was the father-in-law of the current emperor, but they were both demoted to the lowest position because of the tax system reform.

It is said that the father-in-law Zhou Kui died on the spot because he could not bear such a great blow.

Now, after diagnosis and treatment, the man has woken up, but he has become a fool who cannot stand up, which is really sad.

With the lessons learned from the Duke of Chengguo and the Earl of Jiading, the other nobles knew that they were not as noble as these two families, so they took the initiative to pay the full amount of the unpaid commercial taxes.

Even so, the nobles were still worried, fearing that the emperor would punish them.

After all, they had committed many illegal acts in the Beijing Camp. Although the emperor said that they would let bygones be bygones at that time, it now seems that there is a premise for this.

Obviously, Zhu Chunchen did not prepare for this prerequisite, which led to his current situation.

If the emperor could use this to remove Zhu Chunchen's title, he could also use this to remove their titles. They had neither military power nor anyone to rely on. For a time, all the nobles were worried and very honest.

On the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Zhiji celebrated his birthday. Since it was not an important birthday that fell on the fifth or tenth day of the lunar calendar, and the state affairs were difficult, Zhang Zhiji originally planned to hold a small celebration, and sent invitations only to a few familiar nobles and relatives such as the Marquis of Huaining and the Duke of Dingguo.

However, on the birthday, all the nobles and relatives in the capital came uninvited, bearing gifts.

……

PS: Stroke is also called infarction.