Chongzhen: Why is the emperor's head square?

Chapter 1 MC Driver, Ancestral Tomb Desecrated

The eighth year of the Chongzhen reign.

Late at night, inside the palace.

A muffled clap of thunder sounded outside, and Zhu Youjian sat up straight, breathing rapidly, his face filled with fear.

The scene of hanging himself on Coal Hill in his dream kept replaying in his mind.

Zhu Youjian quickly rolled up his sleeves and looked at the MC Driver emitting a bright light on his right wrist, which calmed his fear considerably.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

I have been here for several days now.

The good news is that it's the emperor.

The bad news is that it's about Emperor Chongzhen.

The Ming Dynasty at this time was rotten to the core, from top to bottom.

With my abilities, I'd be lucky if I didn't get sold out by those cunning old civil servants without even realizing it.

Now that he has become the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

If they cannot save the Ming Dynasty, what awaits them is the Qing army's butcher's knife, or becoming a bargaining chip for traitors to betray them.

Even if they survived by sheer luck, once the Qing army entered the pass.

They too must live like rats in the gutter, hiding and fleeing, or perhaps shave their heads and change their clothes to become prisoners.

He couldn't accept this outcome.

Although the situation is not good, it is not without hope.

MC Drive allows you to freely traverse my world.

My World.

A blocky world, a world with abundant resources.

If I can make good use of every blade of grass and every tree in my world.

This could save the collapsing edifice, and the Ming Dynasty might well be able to revive.

A slightly shrill voice rang out from outside, interrupting Zhu Youjian's thoughts.

"Your Majesty, it's time for the morning court session."

Zhu Youjian calmed himself down, stood up, and murmured something softly.

"Change your clothes."

Then palace maids helped her change her clothes.

After getting dressed.

Zhu Youjian picked up a bronze mirror, trying his best to make his expression appear calm.

Surrounded by eunuchs and palace maids, Zhu Youjian slowly arrived at Fengtian Hall and sat down on the dragon throne.

As soon as he sat down, all the officials knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

Zhu Youjian remained expressionless. Although being a good emperor was difficult and tiring, it was indeed a pleasant experience.

"Rise."

Political affairs are always tedious and boring.

Since the reign of Emperor Taizu, the first priority in the morning court sessions was to report on military matters.

Minister of War Zhang Fengyi stepped forward slowly: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has an urgent report: the rebel Zhang Xianzhong's troops have captured Fengyang Prefecture."

"Zhu Guozheng, the garrison commander of Fengyang Prefecture, and his 20,000 troops were all killed in battle, and Fengyang fell."

"Ancestral Mausoleum..."

At this point, Zhang Fengyi swallowed hard and glanced at Zhu Youjian's expression.

Zhang Fengyi knelt down with a thud, and continued speaking shakily:

"The ancestral tomb was desecrated, the coffin of the Holy Ancestor Emperor was burned, and his body was abandoned in the wilderness."

Before Zhu Youjian could even make a statement after his ancestral graves were dug up, an official from the Ministry of Rites burst into tears.

After shedding some tears, he began to passionately submit his memorial.

"The traitor Zhang Xianzhong, originally a salt smuggler from Shaanxi, committed crimes deserving death in the past. He was pardoned by the court but was stripped of his official title. However, he showed no remorse and has now gone mad, destroying the imperial tombs in Fengyang! He burned down the temple where Emperor Taizu rose to power and dug up the cenotaph of Emperor Shengzu!"

"Your Majesty, I implore you to swiftly dispatch heavenly troops to annihilate this traitor and exterminate his entire clan!"

The other ministers also knelt down, weeping and pleading for their assistance.

Before Zhu Youjian could speak...

Immediately afterwards, an official stepped forward and impeached the Minister of War.

"The ancestral tombs were desecrated, and the Ministry of War bears an unshirkable responsibility! Your Majesty, I implore you to severely punish Minister of War Zhang Fengyi!"

Zhang Fengyi quickly explained, "Your Majesty, the bandits were powerful and lacked sufficient supplies, which is why we suffered a defeat."

The shortage of provisions and pay is a problem with the Ministry of Revenue; why isn't it allocating funds?

Hou Xun, the Minister of Revenue, explained: "Your Majesty, the officials are still in arrears with their rations and salaries, and the Ministry of Revenue simply cannot raise enough grain."

What was originally a mournful situation instantly turned into a blame-shifting situation, with everyone passing the buck.

Zhu Youjian remained calm, watching these people put on an act.

They all verbally requested permission to execute Zhang Xianzhong, but not a single official in the court volunteered to lead troops into battle.

Civil officials shirked their responsibilities, while military officers were afraid of battle.

Zhu Youjian stood up, leaning on the dragon table, and said coldly, "That's strange. The people are so poor that they are forced to rebel. Logically speaking, if the people are poor, the country should be rich."

"It's one thing for the common people to be poor, but the imperial court is also broke. Where did the money go? It can't just vanish into thin air, can it?"

The ministers all bowed their heads in silence.

The imperial court was completely silent.

"Hou Xun," Zhu Youjian read aloud.

"Your humble servant is here." Hou Xun stepped forward with his head bowed.

"As the Minister of Revenue, you should be able to calculate this clearly. Tell me, where has all the wealth of the empire gone?"

Hou Xun pondered for ten breaths before replying, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue keeps records of the annual income and expenditure of the national treasury..."

Hearing the nonsensical words, Zhu Youjian interrupted directly and shouted.

"Zhang Fengyi! You speak."

Zhang Fengyi stammered, unable to utter a few complete sentences.

Zhu Youjian questioned more than a dozen officials in succession, but they either gave evasive answers, hesitated, or tried to shift the blame.

The imperial court suddenly turned into a marketplace again, chattering away, all of it useless nonsense.

Zhu Youjian immediately shouted angrily, "Enough!"

The court fell silent instantly, and all the officials bowed their heads.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Youjian continued, "I don't care where the money went."

"But the ancestral tombs have been destroyed; this is a grudge I cannot let go! Within half a month, I hope the Cabinet and the Ministry of War can come up with a solution that satisfies me!"

"Furthermore, the destruction of the ancestral tombs is a serious fault of your Ministry of War!"

Zhang Fengyi trembled, sweat began to bead on his forehead, and his whole body shook.

He could only pray that the emperor would show leniency and spare his life.

It is now the eighth year of the Chongzhen reign, yet I am the eighth Minister of War in the Chongzhen era.

Of the seven former Ministers of War, two were dismissed and five died.

Just as Zhang Fengyi was waiting for Zhu Youjian to try him.

Zhu Youjian's voice fell.

"You deserve to die for the destruction of the ancestral tombs, but since the Ministry of War is short-staffed, you may continue your duties while still guilty."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fengyi immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude.

"This humble subject thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness!"

The Ministry of War has already changed seven times, and there's really no one left. Let's keep Zhang Fengyi for now.

"Yang Yipeng, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner and Governor of Fengyang, failed to supervise the destruction of the ancestral tombs in Fengyang. He was immediately dismissed from his post and imprisoned."

Besides, there was another person who should have died.

Yang Ze, the eunuch guarding the ancestral tomb in Fengyang, abandoned his post and fled when the tomb was destroyed.

However, since Yang Ze had already hanged himself, it was not appropriate to hold him accountable.

Suicide by hanging was often a way for officials who had committed crimes to escape punishment.

The key issue is that Yang Ze is a eunuch with no family, and it's impossible to find anyone responsible for his death.

After Zhu Youjian finished speaking.

Guang Shiheng stepped forward, bowed, and said.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Zhu Youjian looked at Guang Shiheng and nodded.

"explain."

"Your Majesty, I wish to impeach General Yang Yufan of Fengyang. When Fengyang was attacked, General Yang Yufan failed to provide timely assistance, resulting in the massacre of 20,000 Fengyang defenders. Yang Yufan deserves to die."

While rushing to the rescue was a crime, it was not a capital offense. Zhang Xianzhong was waging guerrilla warfare; he suddenly arrived at the gates of Fengyang and breached the city the very next day.

No matter who comes, they can't save us.

Zhu Youjian gazed at Guang Shiheng's righteous and eloquent demeanor, lost in thought.

If I remember correctly, this Guang Shiheng was a representative figure of the Qingliu officials.

In the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, when Li Zicheng's army was at the gates of the city, Guang Shiheng tried his best to prevent the Chongzhen Emperor from advancing south.

And he did the same thing as Yu Qian, advocating that those who move south should be executed!

But Yu Qian said these words because he was confident he could save Beijing.

But Guang Shiheng could not; after Li Zicheng captured Beijing, he surrendered at lightning speed.

A fickle and petty person.

Although Zhu Youjian disliked it, he did not show it, and simply said: "General Yang Yufan's rescue was slow, he shall be dismissed and investigated."

By the time the court affairs were finished, it was already evening.

Zhu Youjian sat on the dragon throne, rubbing his head.

Dragging my tired body, I started the MC launcher.

A door emitting a purple light stood in the study.