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

The twelfth year of Chongzhen was the Yimao year. With the approval of Emperor Chongzhen, Zhang Shikang, the Grand Marshal of the Army and Marquis of Guanjun, planned for several months.

Starting from the capital, with the Eastern Jishichang, Jinyiwei and Beijing Camp as the base, a clearing operation was launched against the Donglin Party.

Including those who were dismissed, there were 2,230 officials in Beijing. In total, more than 1,400 officials were arrested in one day and one night.

Just three days later, on the 18th day of the first lunar month, Zhang Shikang beheaded more than 1,400 convicted officials and their families with lightning speed.

This is also a significant event in the entire history of the Ming Dynasty.

It is known in history as the "Yimao Incident".

The beheading operation continued until dusk that day. The entire Chang'an Avenue was filled with the smell of blood, and the roadside at the execution ground outside Chengtian Gate seemed to have been washed with blood.

The incineration site outside Beijing where corpses were disposed of raised black smoke that lasted for a long time.

Zhang Shikang did not go home that night, but went directly to the military camp defending the capital.

He is stained with too much blood, and only the military camp can suppress him.

Although martial law has been lifted in the capital, areas where officials' residences are concentrated are still off-limits to civilians, and the Jinyiwei personnel are intensively carrying out a series of house-raiding operations.

On the second day after all the Jingdonglin Party members were beheaded, Emperor Chongzhen, who had been ill for several days, suddenly recovered.

He also asked the Imperial Household Department to inform the Ministry of Public Security and the Honglu Temple, and the court would be held as usual the next morning.

On the morning of the 19th day of the first lunar month in the 12th year of Chongzhen, outside the Meridian

Zhang Shikang was rarely late. He arrived outside the Meridian Gate waiting for court just before dawn.

Normally, before the morning court session, hundreds or even thousands of ministers would gather outside the Meridian Gate.

Even though there were regulations in the court that loud noises were not allowed in front of the court, with nearly a thousand people gathered, there was always a constant buzz outside the Meridian Gate, as lively as a vegetable market.

But that did not happen today.

The large area where the civil officials originally gathered was empty, with only dozens of civil officials standing there silently, glaring at Zhang Shikang.

Even after a large-scale purge, there were still seven or eight hundred officials left in Beijing.

According to regulations, officials below the sixth rank are not required to attend court, but officials of the sixth rank and above in Beijing must attend court.

Those dozens of civil officials were the survivors of officials above the sixth rank in the entire capital.

They had already learned of the fate of the Yansheng Duke's lineage, personally experienced the events of three days ago, and witnessed the bloody massacre of the Donglin Party members yesterday.

Many of them support tax reform, believing that if this national policy can really be implemented, it will be a great thing for national treasury revenue and the Ming Dynasty.

They certainly knew that it was wrong for Duke Yansheng to take the lead in obstructing national policy, and they also knew what the Donglin Party members were doing behind the scenes.

But this does not mean that they agree with Zhang Shikang's brutal practices.

They believed that Zhang Shikang's massacre of the Yansheng Duke and officials in Beijing was a serious disrespect for the Ming Dynasty's rites and laws, a humiliation to the world's scholars, and a radical destruction of the foundations of Confucianism.

They also knew that Zhang Shikang must have the support of the current emperor, and they also knew that if they opposed it, the consequences they would face would most likely be the same as those of the Donglin Party.

As survivors of the mopping-up operation, these surviving officials were mostly heads of various departments, and most of them were censors, and their ranks were not high.

But even so, the classics they had learned, the responsibilities they carried on their shoulders, and the literati pride burning in their chests did not allow them to bow their heads.

They vowed to defend the principles in their hearts, and if they had to die for the principles in their hearts, they would just die in front of you.

Confucius said to achieve benevolence, Mencius said to pursue righteousness. Only when righteousness is fulfilled can benevolence be achieved. That’s all.

Compared with the overall dissatisfaction among the surviving civil servants, the group of nobles and relatives seemed quite peaceful.

But this peace of mind did not seem to come from complacency, but rather from relief, guilt and uneasiness.

Most of the nobles had not expected that the young Marquis of Champion could act so cruelly.

The Yansheng Duke's family has been hereditary for a thousand years, and if they say so, the family will be exterminated.

The Donglin Party was powerful and deeply rooted, so it was easy to wipe them out. Even though he knew it would cause great unrest, Marquis Guanjun did not hesitate at all.

Before this, if they had the impression that Zhang Shikang was just a scoundrel, they thought that this guy didn't take them seriously at all and that it was a betrayal of their status as a nobleman.

But now they realized that they were wrong, very wrong.

If Zhang Shikang really regarded this group of people as enemies, he might have killed them all during the cleanup three days ago.

There is no doubt about this.

The reason why they feel guilty and uneasy is because of this reason. If it doesn’t happen this time, what about next time?

They did reach a basic settlement with the Champion Marquis for the sake of future maritime trade, but most of them have not put it into action yet. Will it really work?

Guanjun Hou is so terrible and cruel!

However, the various thoughts of the officials present did not affect Zhang Shikang. In fact, he slept quite soundly last night.

"Good morning, everyone." Zhang Shikang greeted Xining Hou Song Yude, Taining Hou Chen Yanzuo and others with a smile.

The two of them quickly gave an awkward but polite smile and bowed in return. The other nobles even took a step back unconsciously.

Zhang Shikang looked around at the nobles and relatives around him and felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange, so he said:

"What's wrong with you uncles and uncles? Why have you become so distant?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanzuo boldly walked up to Zhang Shikang and said:

"Nephew, if you need money, tell your uncle. We have some in our house. If it's not enough, your uncle can sell his land and property..."

"Stop, stop, stop. What happened to Uncle Shi?" Zhang Shikang interrupted Chen Yanzuo and said helplessly.

Chen Yanzuo was not angry. He looked around at the nobles and relatives around him. The nobles and relatives around him nodded quickly. Chen Yanzuo then said:

"My nephew, please tell us something. We can't be implicated in what happened two days ago, right?"

As soon as this question was asked, the nobles and relatives around him pricked up their ears with full concentration.

Zhang Shikang blinked and immediately understood what these people were thinking.

Kill the chicken to scare the monkey. The chicken was killed, and the monkey was scared.

"What are you talking about? We are in the same group!

Do I look like a cruel person?" Zhang Shikang said dissatisfiedly.

He suddenly felt a little aggrieved.

After hearing this, everyone felt relieved. However, most of them curled their lips in their hearts when they heard Zhang Shikang's defense.

You kill people's whole families at will, and you still say you are not cruel. You are kidding! No one will believe you.

However, after hearing Zhang Shikang's frank words, everyone generally felt a lot more relaxed.

"That's good, that's good, my nephew is right, even if we break our bones we are still connected, we are in the same group!

In the future, we will stick together and do whatever my nephew says.

"Isn't that right, everyone?" Chen Yanzuo said, turning his head to look at his colleagues around him.

"Ah, yes, yes."

With the previous experience of Duke Yansheng and the Donglin Party, the nobles and relatives present had a rare unanimous opinion.

When the civil servants not far away saw this, most of them looked at him coldly.

At this time, the officials of the Honglu Temple walked out of the Wumen Gate and sang loudly to welcome the court.

The civil and military officials straightened their clothes and ran towards the Huangji Palace from the left and right side gates.

……