Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 143 Hedu Courtyard, Ear Cutting and Humiliation

In the middle of September in the year of Yiyou, the Longwu court was established in Fujing. It has been more than a month. Although the emperor is determined to make progress, the Zheng family who holds real power has no intention of helping. The court is trapped in Fujian and fails to make progress. Instead, it loses Huizhou The land made the Qing army go straight to Xianxia Pass, and the imperial court lost the best time to restore Jinling.

The successive defeats of the righteous troops in the south of the Yangtze River made the emperor extremely frustrated. He thought carefully about the various affairs of the Longwu court since he took the throne.

Zheng Zhilong's refusal to advance in Fujian, and King Lu's opposition to the imperial court in eastern Zhejiang made the emperor very angry, but there was nothing he could do?

The deterioration of the situation in the southeast, especially the killing of Jin Sheng, the censor of the right capital, the right servant of the Ministry of war, and the second-rank official of the imperial court who supervised the military affairs of Nanzhili, completely defeated Emperor Longwu's idea of ​​opening up the situation in the south of the Yangtze River by relying on the rebel army.

In Fujing City, in front of the ancestral hall of the Ming Dynasty, Taizu, Chengzu and other dynasties, Emperor Longwu wore a dragon robe made of cotton cloth and a winged crown on his head, prostrating in front of the ancestor's spiritual throne.

"The ancestors of the ancestors of the emperors are above all, entrusted with the gift of heaven, Taizu Weide, since the establishment of the dynasty, the descendants have tried to revitalize the Daming country and set up the Northern Expedition, but things have gone against their wishes. So far nothing has been achieved. They can only sit in poverty in Fujian and watch the loyal ministers and righteous men fall. .”

"The reason why the Ming Dynasty was broken and bullied by Hulu was because there were always treacherous ministers in power. Now in the descendants of the dynasty, everyone knows that Zheng Zhilong and others have two hearts for the court. His soldiers are strong and strong, but they don't move. Instead of fighting for supremacy with the northern captives, they forced away the loyal ministers of their descendants."

"Nowadays, in the court, the descendants are constrained by him, and they will become puppets." Emperor Longwu looked sad, and tears flashed in his eyes. I'm afraid there is no hope!"

The emperor knelt in front of the spiritual throne and didn't get up for a long time.

At this time, a confidant servant suddenly walked into the ancestral hall, bowed to the ground and said: "The minister disturbed your majesty's ancestor worship, and please forgive me."

When Emperor Longwu heard the words, he regained his senses slightly, and then quietly wiped away the tears with the lapel of his clothes, then turned his head and looked at the servant.

"Why are you looking for me?" Emperor Longwu didn't get up from the coffin, but asked directly.

Hearing the words, seeing the emperor's expression, the servant felt a pain in his heart, took out a memorial from his sleeve, and raised his hands above his head tremblingly.

Seeing this, Emperor Longwu couldn't help frowning, picked up the memorial with doubts, and knelt in front of the ancestor's spirit, flipping through it.

"Chen Jinyiwei Qianhu Prince Long Zou reported that He Kai, the former household department, resigned from office because he was not angry with Zheng Zhilong's domineering. His Majesty agreed against He Shangshu to return to his hometown temporarily to recuperate, but Zheng Zhilong sent his subordinate Yang Geng Yu to beat He Shangshu halfway. , and cut off one ear, it is really unlawful, and intends to demonstrate to His Majesty! I think that this matter is important, and I am afraid that Zheng Zhilong will have follow-up actions, so I report to Your Majesty, and ask the court to make corresponding measures as soon as possible."

"Minister of the country, how can you be so humiliated? Zheng Zhilong, you have deceived me too much!" After reading the memorial, Emperor Longwu felt extremely hated. Zheng Zhilong's move was not intended to slap the court in the face.

Since the Quanzhou Incident, Zheng Zhilong lost 350 million taels of silver, more than 40 sets of armor and equipment, 100 shi of military rations, and more than [-] ships. His hatred for Wang Yan in his heart has reached the extreme.

In the court hall, although Emperor Longwu and the courtiers suppressed the matter, there were many acts of favoring Wang Yan, which made Zheng Zhilong unhappy.

Although the court situation has calmed down on the surface, it is actually undercurrents.

After Wang Yan left Fujing, Zheng Zhilong became more and more domineering. In order to improve the prestige of the court, the emperor paid special attention to recruiting talents, and hired officials with high reputation and prestige from all over the country to serve in the court, so that the court could gain local support. He supported him, and the strength of the Zheng family controlled the whole of Fujian, but they didn't pay attention to these civil servants at all.

Zuo Maodi and others supported Zheng Sen to the throne and fought against Zheng Zhilong, but one was a father and the other was a son, but they were always weaker than Zheng Zhilong.

He Kai, Minister of the Household Department, had a rift with Zheng Zhilong before, which made Zheng Zhilong want to get rid of him quickly, but at that time Wang Yan was still in Fujing, Zheng Zhilong was somewhat scrupulous.

A few days ago, when the officials met the emperor, Zheng Zhilong was sitting in front of the emperor, waving a fan to escape the heat. He Kai couldn't stand it, and came out to impeach Zheng Zhilong.

Emperor Longwu rewarded He Kai for being outspoken, but Zheng Zhilong secretly hated him, and then made things difficult for him. He Kai will be ambushed and killed halfway to demonstrate to the court.

On the way back to his hometown, He Kai saw ambush soldiers coming out with sabers, he knew in his heart that Zheng Zhilong must have ordered them, and he also knew that he would not be able to escape this catastrophe, so he said to the thieves who killed him: "If you know the king and want to win, my head and ears, don't let me go." and others." Sui stretched his neck to die.

Seeing this, Yang Geng, Zheng Zhilong's general, couldn't help being stunned for a while, and he came back to his senses after a while, and praised: "What a capital, a certain general has an order in his body, and he was going to kill you. Now take an ear, that's fine."

Yang Geng left after cutting off his ear, and lied to Zheng Zhilong that He Kai had been killed.

(In history, Longwu thought that He Kai was killed and cried for a few days. People at that time made a pair and said: "The capital can only live without ears; the emperor has a mouth and only cries." This shows Zheng's domineering, and Emperor Longwu helpless.)
After reading the memorial, Emperor Longwu knew the seriousness of this matter. It was not just Zheng Zhilong's revenge against He Kai, but also hidden a lot of information behind it.

The first of which is that Zheng Zhilong has completely disregarded the imperial court, regarded the imperial court as nothing, and has no loyalty at all.But such a person holds the power of the imperial court, which is too dangerous for the imperial court and Longwu.

The second one, the plan of Zuo Maodi and others to support Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Zhilong, father and son confrontation, did not achieve the desired effect.

"Chengde, please quickly order people to pass on Mr. Zuo Ge, Mr. Huang Ge and other cabinet ministers to meet in the palace." Emperor Long Wu thought about the information revealed after this incident, stood up in a panic, and then said to the insider.

After Emperor Longwu finished speaking, he walked out of the ancestral hall, and the servants outside immediately sang congratulations: "Your Majesty, drive back to the palace!"

Since the ancient officials did not repair the yamen, the Fujing Palace was originally the yamen of the Fujian Chief Envoy. Since Longwu moved in, it has not been repaired, and it looks very dilapidated.

The emperor's palace is still inferior to the rich family's residence, which is amazing.

Zuo Maodi and others, knowing the emperor's invitation, dared to come here in a hurry. Emperor Longwu received him in the side hall, ordered his servants to serve good tea, and asked his confidants to guard the door. Then they took out the memorial and handed it to Zuo Maodi, saying: "You wait and see first, and then I'll talk about what's in my heart."

Zuo Maodi and the others watched one by one, and the faces of many cabinet ministers were all gloomy and cold.

(End of this chapter)