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

At the second watch, at the Jinyiwei Yamen.

The two brothers Liu Wenbing and Liu Wenyao stood in the tall courtyard.

Liu Wenbing was wearing a Feiyu uniform and an embroidered spring sword on his waist. His eyes swept across the faces of many small flag officers, his expression solemn and with a hint of coldness.

Liu Wenyao was wearing Ming-style mountain-patterned armor and had an embroidered spring sword on his waist. His expression was ferocious yet excited, veins bulged on his forehead, and his left hand was pressing on the scabbard unconsciously.

The two brothers have been preparing for this day for more than two months.

Although the two brothers were blood relatives of Emperor Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen had always been close to civil officials and alienated them from such noble relatives.

Only after the two brothers were promoted by Zhang Shikang to be the second-in-command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were they summoned by their eldest cousin, Emperor Chongzhen.

At that time, under the influence of Zhang Shikang, Emperor Chongzhen already knew who he could truly trust. When talking about the turmoil in the Ming Dynasty in the last decade, the three cousins burst into tears.

From then on, the Liu Wenbing brothers secretly made up their minds to use their lives and all their honor to help their eldest cousin, the Grand Marshal, in his ambition to clean up the court.

During the past two months, the two brothers had not returned home once. Every day, apart from disciplining the new recruits of the Jinyiwei, they would bury themselves in the case library, sorting out various files of officials in the court over the years.

In the words of Liu Wenbing, if the traitors to the country are not eliminated, how can we return home?

In Liu Wenyao's words, he is irreconcilable with evil.

Now, the most critical moment has finally arrived.

"I have told you what should be said countless times in the past two months." Liu Wenbing said with a serious expression to the hundreds of middle and low-level generals of the Jinyiwei present.

“Now, I will say it one last time.

After this incident, Your Majesty and the Commander-in-Chief will certainly not treat you unfairly.

But before that, during the entire operation.

Those who disobey orders will be sentenced to death!

Anyone who accepts bribes from a criminal official shall be sentenced to death, regardless of the amount!

Anyone who hides stolen goods, regardless of the amount, shall be sentenced to death!

Those who abuse their power for personal gain shall be sentenced to death!

Anyone who uses favoritism to allow an official to escape punishment will have his entire family executed!"

Liu Wenyao's voice became louder and louder with each word he spoke. Zhang Shikang had reminded him a long time ago that as a supervisory force, the most important thing they should pay attention to is the integrity of their subordinates.

In order to avoid this problem, Zhang Shikang stipulated from the beginning of the conscription that the new recruits must have a clean family background and no history of bullying the villagers.

In addition to this, he also raised the salaries of all members of the Jinyiwei. Even the lowest-ranking Tiqi received two taels of silver per month, which was comparable to the treatment of the cavalry soldiers in the Beijing camp.

Moreover, since the expansion of the Jinyiwei, there has been no delay in salary payment, and it has been paid on time and in full every month. For this, Zhang Shikang was even impeached by court officials.

The Dongjishichang Yamen received the same treatment as the Jinyiwei.

Of course, the severity of the punishment is proportional to the perfect treatment.

Zhang Shikang firmly believed that only adequate treatment and strict laws could avoid corruption as much as possible.

That’s why Liu Wenbing repeatedly reiterated his orders.

After Liu Wenbing finished speaking, Liu Wenyao also stepped forward. He was a rough man, but he never used his power to oppress others. He had the support of a certain part of the Jinyiwei Yamen.

"Let's say a few words too.

The Shanxi merchants seized nearly 20 million taels of silver, as well as a thousand carts of jewelry and valuables, which were enough to cover the tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty for several years.

But the commander-in-chief said that Shanxi merchants cannot be compared with those Donglin Party members at all, they are all very rich!

Now, I will lead you to eradicate the treacherous villains. If everything goes well, the treasury of our Ming Dynasty will never be short of money again.

You have all met the commander-in-chief. Has he ever treated us unfairly?

As long as the Ming Dynasty is not short of money, how can you not have money to spend? Right?

Let’s stop here. If I find out who dares to take bribes, I will be the first to chop him to pieces.”

The hundreds of small flags, general flags, centurions and thousand-householders below grinned when they heard this. More than two months ago, they were ordinary people who could not even get enough food, and many of them did not even have any land.

But since I entered the Jinyiwei Yamen, everything has changed.

The salary is high and the treatment is good compared to their previous life. As long as they do not violate the regulations, the harsh punishment is nothing.

In the past two months, they have actually been holding back their energy because Liu Wenbing and his brothers, at the instruction of Zhang Shikang, kept telling them.

The reason why ordinary people like them cannot get enough food is because the corrupt officials in the court have absolute power.

Under repeated brainwashing, the Jinyiwei were extremely united and had long harbored hatred towards the officials in the court.

Like Liu Wenbing and his brothers, they had been waiting for this day for a long time.

"Sir, give the order! If you fail to complete the task, I will come to you with my head beheaded!" A thousand-household officer knelt on one knee and took the lead in signing the military order.

In an instant, hundreds of middle and low-ranking Jinyiwei generals knelt down one after another and signed military orders.

"Tonight we are sworn enemies of evil. If you fail to complete the mission, you will be beheaded!"

The excitement and urgency were released at this moment. Liu Wenyao flushed and drew out his sword with a clang.

"Let's go according to the established plan!"

At the command, each small flag, general flag, and centurion, led by their respective thousand-household officers, received the list of officials to be arrested from Xing Fangjun, the pacification envoy of the Southern Pacification Office.

Then, with small flag officers as units, under the supervision and command of the general flag, centurions and thousand-household officers, hundreds of teams filed out from various dark corners and merged into the dragon dance under the lights of thousands of homes in the capital.

……

The northern city wall of Beijing.

Huaining Marquis Sun Weifan held his sword in his hand and stared at the lights of thousands of homes in the capital.

He was a typical warrior who always liked to conquer others by force when faced with uncertainties. But tonight, his heart was particularly complicated.

As Zhang Shikang's absolute direct descendant, he was fully aware of how much turmoil this action would cause.

But he no longer considered it. He only knew that under Zhang Shikang's misbehavior, the court was moving in a good direction.

He only knew that His Majesty now thought highly of him, and he was no longer the poorest marquis in the capital who was neglected and unwelcome before.

He was the Marquis of Huaining, and his only son Sun Dasheng was the Earl of Jinglu. The two titles in one family were enough to comfort their ancestors.

Now, thanks to his eldest nephew's efforts, both the family and the country are moving in a positive direction. He will never allow his long-cherished wish to be destroyed by that group of despicable people.

For this reason, he will defend it with his life even at the cost of everything.

Although he is a warrior, he knows that hope is worth protecting with one's life.

"Tell Wen Bangguo and Niu Gang to inform the entire army that after the operation begins, anyone with suspicious whereabouts will be arrested immediately.

Anyone who dares to disobey orders will be killed without mercy.

I would rather kill the wrong person than let him go!"

The messenger took the order and left. Sun Weifan hesitated for a while in the cold night on the north city wall. His personal guard whispered to him that it was already three quarters past midnight.

Sun Weifan was no longer silent after hearing this and immediately gave the order:

"Order! Close all city gates!"

……

PS: In the Jinyiwei organization, the small flag officer is in charge of 10 people, the general flag officer is in charge of five small flags with 55 people, and the centurion officer is in charge of two general flags with 112 people...