Chapter One Hundred and Twelve: On the Law of Traitors
Hearing His Majesty suddenly say this, Wang Chengen's originally dead heart for Dongchang was rekindled at this moment. He thought that after leaving the palace, Dongchang would disappear again, and he would just serve His Majesty wholeheartedly.
But today, His Majesty actually talked about Dongchang again. Obviously, Your Majesty has not forgotten him. Therefore, I can't help but feel a kind of sadness in my heart that was regained by others. Your Majesty has never forgotten me.
"Of course I will do my best to serve Your Majesty and the court."
Zhu Ling nodded and stood up slowly. There were so many things going on that he couldn't breathe, especially the current situation where the Ming Dynasty was being pressed harder and harder. If they relaxed even a little bit, they might accelerate the Ming Dynasty's demise. And he was at that moment.
The emperor was not here to delay the demise of the Ming Dynasty. It was his responsibility as the emperor to save the Ming Dynasty.
At the same time, he also felt the helplessness of a monarch when a dynasty was about to perish. It was difficult to mobilize the generals, and the courtiers had their own evil intentions. If he had not worked hard to capture the love of all the Guan Ning soldiers, plus he ignored the infamy of the people in the world,
Wu Sangui was granted the title of king, and then he sacrificed his name and insisted on patrolling the south.
Presumably, Chongzhen had already hanged himself at this time, and the capital had long since fallen. And history would develop as it had in the past, with the Nanming retreating quickly and only setting off weak resistance, and the Manchu and Qing cavalry heading south felt like they were in an uninhabited land.
At this time, Wang Jiayan finally came over and bowed: "Your Majesty, I have captured the thieves with two generals. Your Majesty can enter the city with confidence."
Nodding, Wang Chengen immediately understood and ordered the army to march into the city. Zhu Ling also mounted his horse and followed Wang Jiayan's lead into the city.
He went directly to the Cangzhou government office without stopping. The army set up camp in a large open space in the city. Then Zhu Ling did not stop his action, but immediately summoned all the officials in Cangzhou to go to the government office.
Knowing that His Majesty had suddenly arrived in Cangzhou, the officials couldn't help but panic. They began to ask their servants to bury the gold, silver and jewelry at home. They even changed into a relatively shabby official uniform. After packing everything, they hurried to the government office.
They know that His Majesty hates corrupt officials the most. Now he is leading a large army to this place, and he may want to stay for a while. Besides, the government may have financial difficulties, so they may be attacked. Even if they are just passing by and staying overnight, it is still prudent. How much?
Every high-ranking official in the imperial court was exiled and beheaded. Naturally, the lives of these low-ranking officials were even less valuable.
When officials of all sizes came to the government office, they suddenly found that their governor, Makuima, had been tied up and kneeling here without knowing it. He was wearing pajamas and looked frightened.
The surroundings were filled with soldiers wearing armor, each holding a long sword, with serious expressions, and exuding a murderous chill. Some people glanced at the government office, and there were actually guards in Jin Yi among them!
Sure enough, Your Majesty came to Cangzhou this time not just to stay here. I'm afraid it's going to be a big cleanup. It's a pity that they have worked so hard all their lives to earn such a small amount of money, but their final ending may not be satisfactory.
"When did Your Majesty arrive in Cangzhou? How come you and I don't know anything?"
"Master Zhizhou doesn't know either. I heard someone said that Master Zhizhou thought they were intruders and hurriedly sent people to surrender, but they happened to run into His Majesty's army. Isn't this asking for death?"
"It must be that Master Zhizhou is unlucky. I heard that many governors and governors in Shanxi have surrendered. Not only did they not die, but they also got official positions. It's a pity that Master Zhizhou is anxious. I wouldn't be like this if I were waiting.
Sow the seeds."
The officials who gathered outside the government office were talking incessantly and looking at each other. They did not regard Ma Kui, who was kneeling not far away from them, as an example. Some people even whispered about the benefits of surrender and felt pity for Ma Kui who was eager to surrender.
Feeling sorry.
But what they didn't know was that several of the officials were disguised as Jin Yiwei. No wonder some people thought they were unfamiliar, but His Majesty was about to summon them at this moment, and he didn't ask for confirmation. But after a while, they would know how many of them were leading the way.
Give them pain.
A group of Cangzhou officials were waiting outside. Inside, Zhu Ling was already sitting at the top. Next to him stood Wang Chengen, on the right were Meng Zhangming and Fan Xianchao, and on the left were Wang Jiayan and Wang Guoxing. There was no rush to call those people in, but just let them come in.
Wait outside and let them make their own guesses about what will happen.
These are the only people who are really working on the front line. Of course, it is also because those ministers do not know how to fight, and the most important thing is that they often contradict him and hinder him from doing things, so they are sent away directly. With them around, they will definitely know what they do.
If you encounter many obstacles and say you can't do something, it will delay important things.
Therefore, it was natural to recruit some truly capable ministers, such as Yan Yingyuan, Xia Wanchun, who had been stationed in Jiangyin, and Mu Tianbo, a descendant of the Mu family who had been stationed in Yunnan for generations.
"How do you think the Cangzhou magistrate should be dealt with?"
As Zhu Ling opened his mouth, several people standing on both sides also began to think in their hearts. According to normal circumstances, it would be natural to behead them directly, but it was obvious that His Majesty did not intend to do this when he asked, so naturally he could not answer casually.
After a while, Wang Jiayan naturally gave the first answer to how to deal with Ma Kui. He said: "Your Majesty, this person is no longer loyal to the court and your Majesty. It is natural to kill him, but maybe
We can achieve other goals by killing him."
After listening to what Wang Jiayan said, Fan Xianchao couldn't help but want to express his thoughts. He immediately said: "The general agrees with Master Wang's words, but what the general thinks is, why not kill Ma Kui for a complete victory?"
The great purge will not only change the officials in Cangzhou, but also serve as a deterrent to the surrounding prefectures!"
Meng Zhangming was not in a hurry to speak this time. What he was thinking in his heart was completely different from theirs, but maybe he didn't think carefully so he kept listening to others.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
After scanning around, Meng Zhangming remained silent and just pondered. In this situation, Zhu Ling naturally did not question him, but instead looked at Wang Guoxing aside.
Although he is only a commander of the Jinyi Guards and is not technically a minister of the DPRK. But Zhu Ling is very lacking in talents now, so anyone who has an idea can speak out.
"Returning to your majesty, I don't have any good opinions. My thoughts are roughly the same as those of Mr. Wang and General Meng. The only one is that I hope your majesty will have any adverse effects after killing this person. If so, I still recommend a long-term plan.
"
Wang Guoxing had very good eyesight. He could notice Zhu Ling's glance with just a glance, and he could immediately understand His Majesty's meaning and answer immediately.
"That's natural."
Seeing that Wang Guoxing did not put forward any substantive suggestions, Zhu Ling just nodded lightly and said nothing. Seeing that the others were speechless, he had no choice but to speak himself:
"As far as I am concerned, I will definitely kill him. For a magistrate to be so cowardly, even to such an extent, is really a misfortune for our Ming Dynasty, and it is also a disgrace to our Ming Dynasty. Everyone in the world says that our Ming Dynasty is about to run out of energy and is not close to destruction.
Far away. I can tell you that I believed it. I believed it the moment the intruders besieged the capital."
These words shocked all the ministers present. They never expected that His Majesty's state of mind would be so low at that time. Not to mention them, once His Majesty lost confidence, they would have no choice but to die for their country along with him.
"All the officials and soldiers have surrendered. This Ming Dynasty is really hopeless." Zhu Ling also said reluctantly, his mood suddenly dropped to an extreme at this time, but then rose again: "But there are still you, you are struggling to hold on.
"Everyone is my minister of the Ming Dynasty, but it is not a pity that Ma Kui, the governor of the state, died outside!"
"I want to kill, not only to vent my hatred. What I want is to kill him so that more officials can defend the Ming Dynasty and let more officials resist the intruders. So what if I just kill this kind of person? I can stop other officials from surrendering.
Are you serious? I have a plan. I will issue a document to the entire Ming Dynasty and surrender to the thieves and slave builders. If anyone kills them, they will be rewarded according to their rank and merit with their heads!"
"A first-class official will be rewarded with a hundred thousand silver coins! He will be given a land of ten thousand acres! He will be granted a title! It will be hereditary for generations!"