Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 34 The Ming Dynasty has come to an end
The morning dynasty of the Ming Dynasty started at Mao hour, which is also the beginning of five o'clock in later generations.Therefore, all civil and military officials participating in the morning court must arrive at the Forbidden City before five o'clock in the morning.

On the tenth day of February in the 17th year of Chongzhen, it was still dark. In addition to the soldiers patrolling under curfew, many people were gathering towards the Forbidden City in various parts of the capital.

The Great Court Meeting was originally held on the three days of the New Year, the Winter Solstice and the Emperor's Birthday, as well as on the first and 15th days of each month, for the Great Court Meeting. However, this time it was only the tenth day of February, which was not the case at all. It is the time for the great court meeting, but the great court meeting must be held.

For this reason, at the Fang Mansion, the lady was waiting for her master to put on his court clothes with a worried look. At the same time, she asked worriedly: "Master, are you afraid that something big will happen during this court meeting? I heard something about it yesterday. I’m a little worried!”

Fang Yuegong, surnamed Ge Lao, who joined the cabinet as a minister of household affairs and military affairs and a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion, sighed when he heard his wife's words: "It's a troubled autumn, and a storm is about to come!"

"I heard that the emperor will ask all civil and military officials to donate money. I am the elder of the pavilion, but our family has no money. How about I borrow some so that I can be more respectable?"

In the original history, Fang Yuegong was chased by Li Zicheng to support him with his stolen goods and his residence was searched, but he found nothing. In the end, Songjiang Jiaren lost a thousand gold coins on his behalf.In addition, it is said that when Zhang Xianzhong captured Gucheng, he heard that Fang Yuezong, a resident, was the younger brother of Fang Yuegong, the prefect of Songjiang. He thought that he had benefited from his brother and his family must be well-off, so he occupied Yuezong's house below to house his family, and detained him on an excuse. He contributed money to support his family, but he didn't find out how much money he had.

At this time, Fang Yuegong listened, shook his head and sighed: "You don't need to borrow, it's even harder to pay back the favor! Just watch it, even if there are rich people in the house, they won't give any money."

"Then what will the emperor do if he can't raise the money?"

When Fang Yuegong heard this, he seemed to be stunned for a moment, and then he sighed again and said: "The national affairs are so corrupt, what can we do if we have money? I'm afraid Madam doesn't know how treacherous the subordinate officials are. Everything will change, and the Ming Dynasty has come to an end!"

When he was the magistrate of Songjiang Prefecture, the earthen ponds blocking the sea tides in the Songjiang Taoque area collapsed five times in a row, flooding countless farmlands. He opposed the opinions of the public and forcibly collected donations from wealthy households, and did not allow the government officials and government officials to deduct deductions at all levels. He visited the supervisors at any time to check whether all the silver coins issued were received, and finally built the first stone pond in the entire Jiangnan seawall.And he himself was falsely accused of embezzling 3000 taels of silver and imprisoned.

Fortunately, the people who had been benefited gathered together to redress his grievances. Finally, the court found out that there was no such thing, and he was restored to official position.

It was also because of his good political performance that he was recommended by Zheng Sanjun, the Minister of Civil Affairs at the time, to supervise water transportation. After he performed well, he came to the capital as an official. When Li Zicheng pursued him for bribes, merchants in Songjiang Prefecture were willing to pay 3000 taels for him.

But after he arrived at the cabinet, he discovered that the problems across the country were already very serious.Including the emperor himself, he did not distinguish right from wrong and appointed traitors. Corruption was prevalent in both the inner and outer courts. Even if he wanted to do something, he could not start, so he gave up hope.

Now, although I heard that Wang Zhixin and others were under investigation, the cabinet has not changed. Even if Chen Yan, the first assistant, leaves, Wei Zaode will most likely take over as the first assistant. He is either a flatterer or a boastful person who has different political opinions.In short, there is no hope!
"Master, what should we do?"

After hearing the question, Fang Yuegong turned to look at his wife and said slowly: "We'll see if it doesn't work for a while, then go back to your hometown and live in seclusion!"

At this time, having finished dressing, he strode out of the room, came to the front yard, and sat on a two-person sedan. The steward of the mansion held a lantern and accompanied him out of the mansion to go to court.

After getting closer to the Gate of Chengtian, more and more civil and military officials from the upper court were encountered.

After the steward of the Fang Mansion walked a certain distance, he couldn't help it anymore. He approached the window of the sedan and whispered: "Master, it's really strange today. There are only two people in the sedan and there are not many servants. This night , it seems everything has changed!"

Starting from the middle of the Ming Dynasty, with the development of the economy, the etiquette established by Zhu Yuanzhang was constantly being exceeded. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, wealthy people were showing off in all kinds of ways.His residence, clothes, entourage, etc. are all beyond the standard and more expensive than those of a prince.Even yellow, which is exclusive to the royal family, is worn by some people.

In the capital city, Cheng Guogong's Scenic Garden is more than four or five times the size of the nearby Bingma Si Yamen in the east city; there is more than one British Park.

When a distinguished family goes out, they are greeted by a crowd of people, just like an emperor on a tour, with countless servants.

In short, you can tell at a glance whether you have money or not.

However, on this morning's morning trip, almost all the good guys were just like Mr. Fang Ge when he went out, which surprised the manager of the Fang Mansion.

Fang Yuegong heard this in the sedan chair, opened the curtains and looked at it for a while, and then said lightly: "Today's meeting at court is probably all about crying about poverty!"

It didn't surprise him at all, so he lowered the curtains and closed his eyes in the sedan chair to meditate.

There is the West Chamber on the right gate of Chang'an, and there is the East Chamber on the left gate of Chang'an. When civil and military officials arrive here, it is still early, and they can enter the imperial chamber to rest.

The same is true. There are all kinds of sedan chairs parked near the entrance of the room.

When Fang Yuegong arrived, he saw that many people had already arrived. Some were around Chen Yan, the chief minister of the cabinet, and some were around Wei Zaode, the celebrity in the cabinet. There were also a few people around the Duke. Pile of people.

All the dignitaries attending the court meeting today had arrived, but Fang Yuegong glanced at the place where the sedan chairs and horses were parked, and sneered in his heart.I really didn’t expect that even these people who have been hereditary princes for many generations would pretend to be poor today!
He had just entered the cabinet not long ago, and was not favored by others, so there was no one around him. When he was about to enter the court room, he suddenly heard someone shouting: "Uncle Jiading is here!"

So Fang Yuegong turned around and saw a large group of people, including the ministers and ministers of the cabinet, and even the princes, all approaching a two-person sedan chair.

Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but look up at the still dark night sky. Even the emperor's father-in-law, the queen's biological father, and the prince's biological grandfather all wore this kind of clothes when going out. The sky of the Ming Dynasty was as bright as before. It's black!

I don’t know how long it took, but when the time came, the imperial city opened its doors.

Hundreds of civil and military officials, including royal relatives and nobles, entered the Chengtian Gate, passed through the Duanmen, and arrived in front of the Meridian Gate. They lined up according to their official positions and titles, and waited for the sound of the Bell and Drum Towers to be heard. When the time came, they entered the Forbidden City.

When Mao hour was approaching, the bell rang, and all the civil and military officials closed their gates and entered the Forbidden City, and the court meeting began immediately.

(End of this chapter)