Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 84 Changes in People's Hearts
Ningwuguan side, we must rush there as soon as possible.However, the Xuanfu had to calculate the unpaid wages, transfer the border troops to the capital camp, and transfer the children of the border troops to the capital. Even if his subordinates were already doing the work very quickly, it would probably take half a month to complete, and he couldn't afford to wait half a month. months.

The inspection will probably be completed tomorrow. I can't wait any longer in Xuan Mansion. After gathering the morale of the people and the army, I can only leave other matters to the Xuan Mansion to push forward the remaining matters. Anyway, I have a template for doing things, and I will pay the arrears according to what I settled today. This is the way to proceed.

If he stays any longer, the news about his stay in Xuanfu will definitely be leaked, which will not be conducive to the rectification of Datong. It is also not a good thing to be detected by the bandits.It’s better to cut through the mess quickly and rush to Ningwuguan as soon as possible!
Emperor Chongzhen was thinking this when he heard movement outside. It seemed that someone was being held down, but they were still yelling, but soon there was no movement again.

Without him asking, a member of the Jinyi Guards came in soon and reported to him: "Your Majesty, Governor Xuan has sent someone to summon the Governor of Xuan!"

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he knew that it was not beyond his expectation that the news from Xuanfu had spread to Yanghe.

So, he turned to look at Fang Zhenghua and said, "Things related to money always spread quickly!"

"Long live the Holy Ming!" Fang Zhenghua heard this and immediately replied with a smile, "People nowadays care most about money!"

After joking, Emperor Chongzhen asked him to ask about the situation at Yanghe and Ningwuguan. He learned that Ningwuguan had asked Yanghe for help twice in a row, but Yanghe had not yet seen any troop movements. , speaking of which, there is no money.

In response, Emperor Chongzhen frowned and said, "I will stay in Xuan Mansion for another day tomorrow to publicly interrogate those Shanxi merchants. I must rush to Yanghe the day after tomorrow."

Fang Zhenghua was a little confused after hearing this and asked: "Long live Lord, what is a public trial?"

Emperor Chongzhen immediately gave an explanation, and then emphasized: "From now on, the front line of Datong and Xuanfu will be our rear. People's hearts must be stable to prevent them from realizing the dangers of Shanxi merchants smuggling and collaborating with the enemy and treason, in case they are infiltrated by thieves." , I am afraid that there will be chaos in the rear. Therefore, this public trial is necessary, so that I can rush to Yanghe and Datong with peace of mind!"

In ancient times, there were actually public trials, but they were only heard in the yamen, and ordinary people, usually squires, were allowed to attend, and the number of people was very limited.But now the public trial proposed by Emperor Chongzhen is the kind of later generations. If it is widely advertised, the effect is completely different.

After hearing this, Fang Zhenghua couldn't help but said in admiration: "Long live the Holy Ming!"

Ever since Emperor Taizu had a dream, he felt that the current emperor had become a brand new emperor.I have to admit that Emperor Taizu’s magic power is so powerful!

Naturally, the people sent by Governor Xuanda would not be sent back, because no matter what, it would be advantageous for the news to be delayed a little.

At night, in the Forbidden City of the capital, Prince Zhu Cixiang was still handling government affairs.

He pointed to a pile of memorials and said to Wang Chengen who was waiting next to him: "These memorials all say that the imperial court prevented people from the capital from leaving with their property. It is too overbearing, hurts the peace of heaven, and destroys people's hearts. What the cabinet means is to allow food and grass Any other property may be taken away from the capital."

Having said this, he added: "In addition, Gude Jinyiwei reported that there have been many troubles caused by unruly people in the southern gates of the capital, involving the families of the princes, nobles and civil and military officials of the capital."

After saying this, he looked at Wang Chengen and asked, "How do you deal with being alone?"

After hearing this, Wang Chengen replied cautiously: "Your Highness, I heard from Lord Long Live that the Li thieves also divided their troops to attack the capital from the south. If people from the capital are allowed to leave with their belongings, it seems that most of them want to go south. Wouldn't it be a coincidence? When I get to the thief, I'm afraid the belongings I brought will be cheap to the thief!"

After hearing this, Zhu Cixiang immediately had an idea and said: "Yes, that's the truth. According to your reasons, fight back all these memorials."

After he finished speaking, when Wang Chengen agreed, he went to deal with the memorials. After thinking about it, he suddenly asked Wang Chengen: "If the father is here, what will he do with these memorials?"

When Wang Chengen heard this, he stopped what he was doing, thought for a moment, and then added: "I thought that if they were allowed to leave, it would cause turmoil in the hearts of the capital, which would be detrimental to the defense of the capital. I guess Long live the Lord will not be polite to them, right?"

After Emperor Taizu's dream, the current emperor suddenly became iron-blooded. He did not hesitate to kill people when it was time to kill them. The ground in front of the Meridian Gate Tower is still red to this day as proof!
After Zhu Cixiang heard this, he unconsciously straightened his waist a little, and immediately ordered: "Then you can add another sentence, if anyone dares to cause trouble, he will be killed!"

After he finished speaking, he immediately thought of what his father had told him, that the only way to be able to do anything is to master the army, so he immediately checked the military affairs bureau and the ordnance bureau's production of ordnance and protective gear, and gave instructions in the relevant memorials. Strictly enforce the quality of ordnance and protective gear, and will not tolerate any problems found.

The newly formed infantry in the Beijing camp was not enough to defend the capital, so Zhu Cixiang was ready to discuss this issue with the cabinet.In this way, he was busy until late at night. When his father wanted to rest, he went to rest.

There was another person who also went to bed very late. This person was Wang Jimo, the governor of Xuanda.

He also received news that the troops under the jurisdiction of Xuanfu had begun to pay military pay. There was even news that the Shanxi merchants in Xuanfu were in bad luck and had their homes confiscated and executed. In short, there was a lot of news. It's a bit messy.

Wang Jimo estimated that after tomorrow, the news from Xuanfu would slowly spread in Yanghe, which would inevitably cause panic.When the time comes, those powerful country squires will definitely come to the governor's office to inquire about the situation. If you don't give them an explanation and disturb their hearts, who knows what trouble will happen!

Hey, the army of Li thieves has already pressed down on the border, but so many things happened in the Xuan Mansion. I really don’t know what’s going on?

He has already sent people. Zhu Zhifeng should come to the Governor's Mansion tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and let him explain everything then.If the explanation is useless and there are problems with things, then impeachment should be done. In short, you cannot implicate yourself!
But he is the governor after all, so if...

Wang Jimo just thought about it and fell asleep very late.

The next day, Xuanfu City became lively.

Martial law has been lifted in the city, but people are still allowed in but not allowed out.Common people, squires, etc. all went to the streets with some trepidation to inquire about the situation, but at the same time they also had to work to make money and support their families.

As a result, they discovered that most of the shops in the city were sealed, and the famous mansions of the city were also sealed.

At this time, they couldn't figure it out and started talking among themselves in private.

"What is the court doing? I have never seen so many shops closed at once in my life?"

"Mr. Huang is a good man. He is very kind and honest in business. Why was he arrested? Look, his mansion and shops have been sealed!"

"It's not just Mr. Huang, but also Mr. Wang, Mr. Fan, the richest people in our Xuanfu city. Their houses and shops have been sealed!"

"I really don't understand why the court suddenly dealt with them. They are good people!"

"I'm afraid you don't know. The army distributed the money. Do you know where the money comes from?"

"No way, what kind of immoral thing did the court do? Since I had no money, I ransacked the homes of rich people to hold them accountable?"

"Shh, keep your voice down. The army hasn't left yet. I'm afraid your house will be ransacked and you'll be held accountable!"

"..." Most of the private discussions in Xuanfu City were sympathetic to the Shanxi merchants who had their homes confiscated, and secretly scolded the imperial court for its shamelessness.

However, at noon, as a cavalry army escorted prisoners from Zhangjiakou to Xuanfu City, the government officials beat gongs and shouted: "The Emperor came to our Xuanfu City to publicly try the collaborators and traitors in the military camp and school grounds. Every household Send someone to listen!”

For ordinary people in Xuanfu.They had been forced to stay at home due to martial law. They didn't know that the emperor had actually arrived at the Xuan Mansion. When they heard the words shouted by the Yamen servants, they couldn't help but be shocked. How could the emperor come to the Xuan Mansion?
However, they looked back and thought about it, there was really too much movement in Xuanfu these days.If it was the emperor who was visiting, it would be understandable to make such a big noise.

Then they were more curious, who were the collaborators and traitors mentioned by the government?It couldn't possibly be those Shanxi merchants who were arrested. They were all doing business in a safe and sound manner, and they were very honest.

Some people are even thinking that because the imperial court is interested in their money, they are charged with treason and treason.

With these doubts, every household sent people to gather at the school grounds.There were many soldiers along the way and the guards were tight. This atmosphere made them feel a little scared. When they arrived at the school grounds with trepidation, they found that half of the school grounds were already filled with soldiers.

This atmosphere made them dare not speak and could only wait quietly.

About half an hour later, the school grounds were filled with people, and Emperor Chongzhen also led the civil and military officials to the general stage.

While shouting long live the mountain, the people of Xuanfu were very shocked: the emperor really came to Xuanfu, and he was wearing armor and looked very heroic!

But if you go to the Xuan Mansion, arrest all the local rich people, and then charge them with a crime, even the emperor can't do this, right?

At this time, most of the people actually had objections to the emperor, not only because those Shanxi merchants had been arrested, but also because their lives had been difficult these years.There were even some people who had been expecting Li Zicheng's army to attack soon. After all, there were rumors that King Chuang would not pay for his food when he came.

After the ceremony, Emperor Chongzhen glanced at the people and soldiers in front of the stage, and then nodded slightly to Fang Zhenghua.

So Fang Zhenghua walked to the stage and shouted loudly: "I am guilty of leading the enemy and treason."

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of imperial guards came out from behind the stage, and they saw two of them dragging a criminal to the front of the stage.

"Kneel down, kneel down..." Under the command of the Jin Yiwei captain, every individual prisoner knelt down facing the soldiers and civilians.

The people in the audience turned their heads when they heard the noise. Most of them knew that these criminals were Shanxi merchants, including Mr. Wang Dayu, Mr. Liang Jiabin, Mr. Tian Sheng Lantian, and Mr. Zhai Tang Zhai.Each of them must have been tortured and their bodies were covered in bruises.

Seeing this scene, for a moment, the school grounds couldn't help but feel a little commotion.Needless to say, they all sympathized a little with these old men.Under the imperial power, being too rich is a sin!
Emperor Chongzhen actually knew that these Shanxi merchants sometimes did some charitable things locally, but this cannot be denied, they were not collaborators and traitors.

He could see that most of the people and soldiers in front of the stage should be sympathetic to these Shanxi merchants. If the harm caused by these Shanxi merchants who collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country for their own selfish gains was not exposed, then the rear might not be able to It will be stable.

When Fang Zhenghua turned to look at him for instructions, he nodded slightly to continue.

So the people in front of the stage saw some people coming out from the backstage. Some of them they knew, they were the boss's clerks and stewards.However, they also found that these guys did not seem to have been tortured, and they were not wearing shackles.

They were a little surprised. They didn't know what these guys were going to do.So, everyone looked at them with a slightly curious expression.

I saw these guys coming forward one by one, speaking loudly, and exposing to them the collusion and treason committed by these Shanxi merchants.

"In the sixth year of the Apocalypse, I accompanied Master Huang to escort grain, iron materials and other materials to Liaodong to do business with Jianlu..."

"In the third year of Chongzhen, I went to Liaodong with Mr. Fan, Mr. Huang, and Mr. Wang to sell grain, iron, sulfur, and saltpeter to do business with Jianlu..."

"..."

The common people and soldiers in front of the stage felt a little confused when they heard their words: The emperor was sitting on the stage, and the masters were kneeling below. Most of what they said was about business. What did this mean?
You must know that Zhangjiakou, under the jurisdiction of the Xuanfu, is itself the tea and horse trading point designated by the imperial court to do business with people outside the customs. So what happened to these lords doing business with people outside the customs?
If we say that we cannot do business with the Jianlu, then why don’t the Mongols outside the customs still often fight against the Ming Dynasty and do business with them?
At this time, most of them had a little disapproval on their faces, but there was also a small group of people who probably knew what was going on when they listened to the guys talking about the specific goods being bought and sold.

These guys who turned into tainted witnesses detailed the transactions between the eight major Shanxi merchants and Liaodong Jianlu from the Tianqi year to the current 17th year of Chongzhen.After they all finished speaking, the school grounds became quiet again.

The common people and soldiers in front of the stage looked at the prisoners, then secretly looked at the emperor on the stage, and then looked around and communicated with familiar people with their eyes. It seemed that many people were still aggrieved by those Shanxi merchants.

Suddenly, Emperor Chongzhen stood up and walked to the stage.

When the common people and soldiers in front of the stage saw the emperor walking to the stage, as if he wanted to speak, they all stopped looking around and turned to look at the emperor, wanting to hear what he had to say?
Emperor Chongzhen glanced at the faces in the audience and said loudly: "I know that many of you think they are just doing some business. Why should we arrest them and charge them with treason and treason? Is that right? Did you take a fancy to their money, so you took advantage of them?"

His opening remarks immediately attracted everyone's attention, making these people listen to him attentively.

"I will never interfere with ordinary transactions, but what kind of transactions are they doing? You should have heard just now that they are all materials that are strictly prohibited by the imperial court from being sold out of the customs. They violated the ban and sold grain to Jianlu, and there was a shortage of grain in the customs. There are people who are hungry, and Jianlu can fill their stomachs; they sell iron materials and other military supplies to Jianlu, making Jianlu stronger..."

As Emperor Chongzhen spoke, he couldn't help but raise his voice and shouted angrily: "Why can't Jianlu be wiped out repeatedly? Why are Jianlu getting stronger and stronger? This is directly related to these collaborators and traitors! Every soldier of the Ming Dynasty was killed by Jianlu , behind the common people, behind every property robbed, there is a share of credit for these collaborators and traitors! Without them selling military supplies to the captives, Liaodong would be even more barren than within the Pass. How could they not have starved to death? If you have the strength to fight against the imperial court and kill our soldiers and people..."

Although most of the people and soldiers in front of the stage were short-sighted, he had explained so clearly that even a fool could come to his senses. The Shanxi merchants were definitely not unjust for collaborating with the enemy and treason!Especially those soldiers, most of whom came from military families, and many of them died directly or indirectly at the hands of Jianlu.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen was still talking about other consequences caused by Shanxi merchants collaborating with the enemy and treason, such as the bandits.As they listened, they became more and more angry!

Don't say that the ancients had little knowledge, had no education, and were uneducated. Even if compulsory education was universalized in later generations and everyone became literate, there are still such problems in terms of knowledge.

Many people will think that I am just running a small business, right?What impact does this have?Or in other words, if I don’t just do something, how can it have any impact?Things prohibited by the imperial court are naturally justified.But many people only care about their immediate interests and don't think about the impact they will have on others.

During the Chongzhen period, the people and soldiers of Xuanfu were in troubled times, and it was inevitable that they would suffer the bad effects of this troubled times.The two biggest influences were the Jianlu in Liaodong and the bandits throughout the country.Some died of starvation, some died of military disasters, and so on.

At this time, they heard Emperor Chongzhen's explanation and looked at the tied Shanxi merchants one by one. Angry expressions slowly appeared on their faces. The eyes they looked at the Shanxi merchants were no longer sympathetic, but began to be filled with anger.

After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, he arranged for several soldiers and people who had been instructed in advance to come forward to accuse these Shanxi merchants of the consequences of collaborating with the enemy and treason, which resulted in their relatives being harmed or even killed.When people of their status speak out, they have a greater sense of belonging and can be more recognized by the people in front of the stage, so it instantly ignited the anger on the campus.

I don’t know who shouted the words “Kill the Nine Tribes”, and then everyone else followed suit. Suddenly, the call to kill the Nine Tribes resounded over the school grounds.

(End of this chapter)