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

"I was worried and couldn't sleep all night, so I came to check on you," said Emperor Chongzhen.

Emperor Chongzhen knew about this action more than two months ago, and he urged it more than once during these two months.

Later, Zhang Shikang advised him not to be impatient and not to seek quick success. He seemed to listen to him, but he was actually very anxious in his heart, so it was not a good idea to urge him any further.

Last night when he heard Wang Chengen say that the gates of Beijing had been closed, he paced back and forth excitedly in the Qianqing Palace and did not feel sleepy until midnight.

He knew that Zhang Shikang must be very busy tonight, so he didn't want to disturb him.

He endured and endured. He had never looked forward to dawn as much as he did last night.

He lay in bed all night without sleeping, and at dawn he left the palace in plain clothes.

"When did Your Majesty come? You didn't even call me your subject." Zhang Shikang said embarrassedly.

"It didn't take long, just half an hour. I knew you were tired, so I couldn't bear to wake you up. You worked hard last night." Emperor Chongzhen said gently.

He had already learned the general situation from his two cousins. Although he had been looking forward to this operation for a long time, when it really came to this step, he became anxious and worried.

After all, this will catch almost all the civil servants in Beijing in one fell swoop. According to the plan, it will spread to the whole country in the future.

This was the first time in his career. It would be a lie to say that he was not worried. Such a huge scope of impact had only been experienced twice by the founding emperor Taizu.

"Your Majesty knows how hard it is, so after this business is done, please give me more time off.

It would be best if you could relieve me of some of the responsibilities." Zhang Shikang muttered.

On the table in the room, Liu Wenbing's brothers had already prepared a simple meal for him. Zhang Shikang sat at the table and drank porridge.

"That's easy to say, I just feel a little uneasy.

Shikang, isn't the impact a bit too great?

If it affects officials across the country, not only will my court be empty, but a large number of official positions in various provinces and cities will also be vacant.

I am worried that by then, the world will be in chaos."

Emperor Chongzhen did not take Zhang Shikang's complaints seriously. He had long been accustomed to it and had also learned from Zhang Shikang how to fool people.

You can consider taking a vacation, but there is no need to quit the job. Only someone would choose to let it go when it is so convenient.

I agree with all your complaints, but if you want to be lazy, that won't work.

Zhang Shikang frowned when he heard this.

"Your Majesty, I'm not saying anything bad to you, but you kept pushing us before the operation even started.

Now that the action has begun, you start to worry about gains and losses.

Your Majesty, this is not a child's game, this is a life-and-death contest. Haven't you heard that if you don't uproot the grass, it will grow again in the spring breeze?"

At this time, Brother Chongzhen's eagerness for quick success and indecisiveness were almost written on his face.

Fortunately, Zhang Shikang had strong brain nerves and understood the old man's actual psychology, so he said no when he should.

Otherwise, if it were someone else like Lu Xiangsheng or Sun Chuanting, they would have been tormented to death by this old man long ago.

Now that you have gone all in, any hesitation will lead to failure.

"It's not that I'm worried about gains and losses. If you hadn't suddenly killed the lineage of Duke Yansheng, I wouldn't have done this.

You are still young and underestimate the influence of Duke Yansheng among the scholars.

The matter of Duke Yansheng has not spread yet. If this action is added, even if I hold an imperial examination, many students will refuse to be summoned to take the exam.

What should I do then?

Shikang, if you don't think about the future, you will have immediate worries!" Emperor Chongzhen said with a worried look on his face.

When Emperor Chongzhen first learned about the affairs of Duke Yansheng, he was shocked for a long time.

Before Zhang Shikang set off, he only told him that he had to go to Yanzhou Prefecture to intimidate Prince Lu and the Kong family who were obstructing the implementation of national policies.

Emperor Chongzhen did not take it too seriously, but he did not expect that Zhang Shikang's intimidation would lead to the death of more than 2,000 members of the Kong family.

He was not very angry, especially after learning that the Kong family had so much property.

But as the Son of Heaven, he was very sensitive to the huge consequences that would arise from this.

All the scholars in the world regard Confucius and Mencius as their spiritual pillars. Now you have wiped out their spiritual pillar and still want them to do work for you. Who would be happy about this?

In addition, this operation is a purge of officials all over the world. Those who are timid probably won’t dare to come.

"Your Majesty, you worry too much." Zhang Shikang said casually after slurping a mouthful of porridge.

"Do you really think that all the scholars in the world really regard Confucius and Mencius as their so-called spiritual pillars?

If this were true, the officials in the court would all be truly dedicated to their duties and have strong character, and the court would not be what it is now.

They keep saying Confucius said to sacrifice oneself for benevolence and Mencius said to pursue righteousness, and even they believe it themselves.

This is how you can even deceive your Majesty."

Zhang Shikang never denied that he had the true character of a scholar. He said no to temptation, never bowed before power, and when it was necessary to sacrifice his life for the country, he would die in front of you.

There is no doubt that literati with such pride have become national heroes, such as Wen Tianxiang and Lu Xiufu.

But in the five thousand years of China's great history, there have been only a few people like this!

In the eyes of most people, the so-called teachings of Confucius and Mencius are nothing more than tools for them to climb to wealth and status.

Zhang Shikang is not afraid to speculate the worst about the so-called literati of today. This is just the reality.

As long as he is willing to give power, he doesn't believe that no one will respond.

Zhu Yuanzhang killed officials one after another in his time, but those so-called literati still tried their best to become officials.

Emperor Chongzhen frowned when he heard this, pondered for a long time, and then compared it with the current situation in the court. It seemed that he had figured it out.

"Anyway, now that things have come to this, we can only take it one step at a time and deal with it as it happens.

After all, that is a matter for the future. The only thing worth worrying about now, apart from the possible unrest, is the problem of food and grass."

Zhang Shikang finished his porridge and frowned, which was rare.

When Zhang Shikang first entered the court, he told his brother Chongzhen that the Ming Dynasty had no shortage of silver, but he never said that the Ming Dynasty had no shortage of food.

In fact, the northern provinces had suffered from successive disasters. The important grain-producing provinces of Henan and Shandong had long been filled with starving people and had also been repeatedly robbed and massacred by bandits.

Although the court was no longer short of money after Zhang Shikang's efforts to put out fires everywhere, the food problem was still not solved.

The price of grain in the north has soared to four or five times that of previous years, and in the wealthy areas of Jiangnan, the price has reached more than three taels of silver per stone.

The people have long been complaining about the high food prices.

The imperial court had silver, but as food was already in short supply, large-scale purchases by the imperial court would only make food prices even higher.

This is the problem that Zhang Shikang has been really worried about and has no solution in the short term.

I have money, but I dare not buy food.

As a result, the grain and fodder storage in the Beijing camp and various border towns has always been below the red line, which is one month's grain reserves.

Acquisition will only be made when it is absolutely necessary.

This is also one of the main reasons why Zhang Shikang wanted to improve the efficiency of this operation as much as possible, because the army cannot afford to waste time.

If we really drag our feet and drag on for a year or two, until the people can no longer afford to buy food and start rising up in rebellion, then we will be truly doomed.

"Alas, there is no reply from Zheng Zhilong.

Your Majesty, to solve the temporary food crisis, we still have to rely on this old guy!"

……

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