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

Judging from the contents of the letters, both letters should be replies to Zheng Sanjun.

Most of the content in the letter was what Zhang Shikang had expected, discussions about obstructing tax reform.

It was nothing more than the Donglin Party members in the north and south united as one, calling on merchants and gentry all over the world not to compromise with the court and to win the struggle.

There is only one thing that is rather vague in the letter.

He vaguely felt that this must be a very important matter, or something difficult to talk about, but after thinking about it for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out.

"He is a man of damnable conscience!" Emperor Chongzhen said angrily.

Seeing Brother Chongzhen like this, Zhang Shikang was not so worried. He said to Emperor Chongzhen in a joking tone:

"Your Majesty, are you ready?

Perhaps before long, you will become the number one tyrant in the Ming Dynasty.

And I will become the most treacherous villain and troublemaker in the Ming Dynasty."

He was not exaggerating at all. He exterminated the three clans of Duke Yansheng and slaughtered all the officials in the court. Either one of them was enough to completely blacken the reputation of the two men among the bureaucratic gentry.

I thought Brother Chongzhen would be depressed by this, but unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen said:

"A tyrant is fine, but he is better than a king who destroys his country!

Besides, you said before that no matter what, you are still a stick.

When you and I clean up the court, when you and I restore peace to the world, there will be great scholars who will debate with you!

Even if not, I have no regrets! "

Zhang Shikang laughed when he heard this. Although this old man's temper had not changed, his way of thinking seemed to have changed.

These were originally his lines, but now my brother is the one who can answer them.

"Then let's set it for three days later. This matter cannot be delayed.

Three days later, I will kill all the Donglin in the capital!" Zhang Shikang said in a deep voice.

Just like the extermination of Shanxi merchants and Duke Yansheng, the elimination of the Donglin Party members must also be carried out with thundering force.

Before people in the world can react, cut off the core and create a fait accompli.

“Regarding the affairs in Jiangnan, I plan to write a letter to Qin Liangyu and ask her to assign troops to Cao Bianjiao, and appoint Cao Bianjiao as the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to intimidate the gentry in Jiangnan.

If necessary, I will go to Jiangnan in person." Zhang Shikang thought for a moment and then said.

The Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions are the real stronghold of the Donglin Party.

According to the current deployment of troops, the northern provinces have to be on guard against the Jiannu. Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting cannot be easily deployed, and Qin Liangyu has the important task of defending against bandits.

Although Jiangbei has Huang Degong and Zhou Yuji who are trustworthy, the two still need to intimidate the troops from the other three towns in Jiangbei.

Dispatching Cao Bianjiao will certainly weaken Sichuan's defense again, but it is also a last resort.

Zhang Shikang only regretted that he had insufficient troops and a shortage of food and fodder. More than two months of preparation time was still too hasty.

Emperor Chongzhen chatted with Zhang Shikang for a while and then hurried back to the palace. After all, he was still "sick".

The capital city remained under martial law throughout the 16th day of the first lunar month. By the afternoon, most of the Donglin Party members in Beijing had been arrested.

Even though the imperial prison had been secretly expanded by Liu Wenyao, it was already full in the morning, and the Donglin Party officials had no choice but to move from single rooms to double and triple rooms.

By the afternoon, there could be more than a dozen people in one cell.

They were like sardines, squatting or sitting in the small space. These people were used to a life of luxury and had never suffered such humiliation.

Everyone in the prison was cursing Liu Wenbing and Liu Wenyao, and the noise was a hundred times louder than that of a vegetable market.

In the afternoon, Zhang Shikang went to the imperial prison, but as soon as he entered, he was scolded out.

As soon as they saw Zhang Shikang, hundreds of people turned their guns on him and cursed him with their eloquent tongues.

But Zhang Shikang didn't care.

After all the criminal officials in Beijing were arrested, the Jinyiwei personnel were divided into two factions, one responsible for the emergency trial of a group of important prisoners, and the other responsible for confiscating their homes.

At the same time, Zhang Shikang also ordered Liu Wenbing and his brothers to quickly send people to inform the Dongchang personnel distributed throughout the Ming Dynasty, and entrust the work of searching the hometowns of criminal officials in Beijing to the Dongchang staff.

Zhang Shikang knew very well that most of the Donglin Party’s assets were not in the capital, but in their hometown.

On the 17th day of the first lunar month, martial law was lifted in the capital. Early in the morning, the personnel from the Eastern Jishi Factory who stayed in Beijing began to post notices in the capital and even in Shuntian Prefecture.

The list of officials in Beijing and the crimes they committed will be announced one by one.

In order to ensure that common people would understand the notices, several literate guards were stationed at each notice posting place to read the notices repeatedly.

The notice also stated that the reason the court was in trouble and the people were hungry and poorly clothed was because corrupt officials were rampant.

If corruption is not punished, the court will never have peace and the people will never live a good life.

The entire notice was largely dictated by Zhang Shikang, and the words were not only easy to understand, but even somewhat colloquial.

This is certainly not for educated people to read. For ordinary people, plain language is easier to understand.

The notice also informed the people of the capital that at noon on the 18th day of the first lunar month, all convicted officials and their families would be beheaded on Chang'an Street outside Chengtian Gate, and the Grand Marshal would personally supervise the execution.

After a whole day of repeated propaganda, at least in the capital, the people, after learning the truth, began to change from their previous fear and trepidation to indignation.

For the lower-class people at that time, it was easy for them to be misled under the policy of keeping the people ignorant.

No matter how difficult their lives were, they rarely put the blame on the emperor. They only thought that the emperor was deceived by corrupt officials and that all their misfortunes were caused by corrupt officials.

So, on the 18th day of the first lunar month, the streets of Beijing were once again deserted.

Chang'an Avenue, the widest main road in the capital, was still crowded with people who came to watch the execution. The Five Cities Army and Marshals dispatched all their soldiers to maintain order.

As prison vans drove into Chang'an Street from the direction of the Imperial Prison, the people in the city suddenly became excited.

They cursed corrupt officials for harming the country, even though they had no idea how the Donglin Party had brought disaster to the world.

The prisoners in the prison car felt that they were being wronged and defended themselves loudly, but what greeted them was only the saliva and thousand-year-old phlegm of the people in the capital.

The situation of throwing vegetable leaves and rotten eggs did not occur. Vegetable leaves are expensive and ordinary people cannot afford to throw them away. Eggs will never become rotten because ordinary people are very poor.

The place for executions was never the Meridian Gate, and certainly not Chang'an Avenue, but the West Market inside Fuchengmen, which is the Xisi Pailou in later generations.

However, due to the large scale of the beheadings and the special nature of the incident, Zhang Shikang temporarily changed the execution location to the widest Chang'an Avenue.

A quarter before noon, Zhang Shikang, wearing a dragon robe, with his left hand on the hilt of the Shangfang sword and his right hand holding the imperial edict, appeared on the temporary execution platform outside Chengtian Gate.

This was the first time that Zhang Shikang appeared so formally in the eyes of the people of the capital. Although he was used to being lazy, he was a little uncomfortable facing so many people.

Around the execution platform, the people were whispering.

"Isn't this the dandy third son of the British Duke's family? I remember him.

He took the pancakes I made without paying for them."

……