Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 650 Wen Tiren

Zhu Shenzhui raised his army under the banner of clearing the court of corrupt officials and pacifying the national crisis. His manifesto directly pointed out that there were treacherous ministers in the court who deceived the emperor and made him a puppet manipulated by court officials. This was the cause of the Ming Dynasty's current deteriorating situation due to internal and external troubles.

Moreover, when talking with Li Guofu at the beginning, Zhu Shenzui intentionally or unintentionally guided Li Guofu to put the blame on the cabinet, especially the chief minister Wen Tiren. However, after Zhu Shenzui entered the capital, he did not take action against any officials, especially the cabinet members, including the chief minister Wen Tiren.

On the night the city was broken, Wen Tiren quickly learned the news in his mansion. When he heard the news that the Jingnan Army had entered the city and was attacking the palace, Wen Tiren was awakened from his sleep and was completely stunned. His face looked extremely ugly.

When the news came at dawn, the palace had been occupied and the capital had completely fallen into the hands of Zhu Shenzui. Wen Tihen, who was usually very cunning and unmoved, was now extremely panicked.

As the chief minister of the cabinet, he was nominally second only to the emperor, and was also the most powerful minister in the Ming Dynasty after the emperor. Although the chief minister of the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty was not a prime minister, the chief minister had some of the power of the prime minister for more than 200 years in the Ming Dynasty, especially during the reign of Zhang Juzheng. As the chief minister, his power reached its peak, and there was even a saying that he was not a prime minister but a regent.

However, Wen Tihen was not Zhang Juzheng. He did not have Zhang Juzheng's ability, let alone Zhang Juzheng's power. His power as the Prime Minister was not great. In addition, he had joined forces with Zhou Yanru to get rid of Qian Qianyi, thus gaining the trust of Emperor Chongzhen. Then he won the fight with Zhou Yanru and eventually took over the position of Prime Minister. In terms of political tactics, he was not bad.

But even so, Wen Tihen could only be regarded as a chess piece placed on the stage by Emperor Chongzhen. In the past two years, he had relied on cautious and smooth means to sit firmly on the position of Prime Minister. But to be honest, once he lost the trust of Emperor Chongzhen, he, the Prime Minister, might lose his power and be reduced to dust at any time.

The world is undergoing tremendous changes at the moment. The capital and the imperial palace have fallen into the hands of Zhu Shenzhui. Even the life or death of Emperor Chongzhen is unknown. It seems that he is either dead or captured alive by Zhu Shenzhui. No one can predict what will happen next.

Faced with this situation, Wen Tiren had no choice but to prepare himself for death. Even though he was panicked, Wen Tiren forced himself to cheer up, put on court clothes and sat steadily at home, waiting for the end to come.

In his opinion, no matter what, he was still the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty. Even if he was executed, he had to maintain his dignity. It might be recorded in history books in the future. If Wen Tihen, the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, died calmly, he would be remembered in history.

He waited patiently until someone knocked on the door of Wen Tiren's residence the next day. Wen Tiren knew that the final moment had come. Although he was extremely scared and his legs were so weak that he couldn't even stand up, he still put on a calm look and asked the visitor if he wanted to punish him. He said he was here and would let the visitor punish him, but asked the other party to give him a quick death for the sake of his status as the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty.

Hearing what Wen Tiren said, the visitor was very surprised. He was stunned for a moment before replying that he was not going to punish Wen Tiren, but was just following orders to invite Wen Tiren to the palace to meet him.

Hearing the answer, Wen Tihen's heart suddenly moved, and an idea instantly came to his mind. Being as smart as Wen Tihen was, he realized that Zhu Shencui might not want to kill him. Since he sent someone to let him into the palace, he might be planning to let him go. Moreover, as the Prime Minister, he still had some role. If he could change his allegiance, he might be able to escape this disaster.

With peace of mind, Wen Tiren's face looked much better, his back straightened, and his legs and feet were no longer weak. He immediately stood up and saluted the other party, saying that he was willing to enter the palace. Seeing that Wen Tiren understood, the visitor was very polite and asked Wen Tiren to follow him into the palace. Wen Tiren left the mansion and followed the visitor to the palace, and soon met Zhu Shenzhu in Wenhua Hall.

This meeting was the first meeting between Zhu Shencui and Wen Tiren. After seeing Zhu Shencui, Wen Tiren stepped forward and saluted, paying homage with the etiquette of a subject to a member of the royal family. Zhu Shencui looked at Wen Tiren in front of him.

Wen Tiren has a dignified appearance and an elegant look. His behavior is measured and he looks mature and steady.

In terms of ability, Wen Tihen was able to serve as the Prime Minister for the longest time under Emperor Chongzhen, so he was naturally not bad. Moreover, his appearance could easily delude people, but in fact, Wen Tihen was not a simple person. He was good at scheming and party struggles. He seemed cautious and honest, but he was full of tricks. Qian Qianyi was got rid of by Wen Tihen and Zhou Yanru, and Zhou Yanru was later kicked out of the cabinet by Wen Tihen. Just from this method, he was not a simple person.

Speaking of which, Wen Tihen was a villain, and this villain was not greedy for money, but only obsessed with power. It is not an exaggeration to say that he was a treacherous minister. However, the so-called treacherous ministers or capable ministers can be generalized. The key lies in how to use them.

Compared to Wen Tihen, there are countless people in the court who have higher moral character than him, but Zhu Shenzui will not use these people, at least not now.

When Zhu Shenzhu first took charge of the capital, he did not need a minister with good moral character, but someone who was capable and could be used by him. Although Wen Tiren was a villain, he was not only capable, but also had good eyesight and was extremely smart. Apart from other things, his attitude could be seen from the fact that he came to the palace to meet with the emperor. If he was a stubborn person who was loyal to Emperor Chongzhen, or a nerd who had become stupid because of reading, then he would never come to see Zhu Shenzhu, let alone pay respect to him. Since he had come and made such a gesture, Wen Tiren might be useful.

When Zhu Shenzhui was secretly looking at Wen Tiren, Wen Tiren was also looking at Zhu Shenzhui. Although he had heard of Zhu Shenzhui's name a long time ago, this was the first time they met.

Zhu Shenzui is now in his thirties or less than forty, which is the prime period of a man's life. Wearing a Taoist robe and without a hat, the tall Zhu Shenzui sits there with an extraordinary demeanor and a different appearance from Emperor Chongzhen. Compared with Emperor Chongzhen, who has been working hard for many years and has not eaten or slept well, Zhu Shenzui's square face is more majestic and solemn. Moreover, with his broken beard, his eyes are sparkling, and his every move carries the oppressive feeling of being in a high position for a long time, which surprises Wen Tiren very much.

He didn't understand how an ordinary member of the royal family could have such a magnanimous demeanor, and how he felt that way. If he put Zhu Shenzhui together with the familiar Emperor Chongzhen, he would be more convinced that Zhu Shenzhui was the true emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, Zhu Shenzhu's appearance was more similar to Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang than Emperor Chongzhen. As the chief minister, Wen Tiren had seen the portraits of emperors of all dynasties in the palace. Just one glance made Wen Tiren secretly frightened and he could not help but lower his head.

He waved his hand to tell Wen Tiren not to be polite, had someone bring a stool for Wen Tiren to sit on, and served him tea.

When he sat down, Wen Tiren specially thanked the guard who helped him move the stool. Only then did he realize that the guard beside Zhu Shenzhui was not an ordinary guard. His behavior was a little different, and his accent was very stiff. He was tall, and his legs and feet were a little bowed when he walked. For a moment, Wen Tiren seemed to have thought of something and was deep in thought.

"These guards are all Mongolians and are also my personal guards." Seeing the expression on Wen Tiren's face, Zhu Shenzhui explained with a smile.

"Mongol?" Wen Tiren was shocked. He never thought that Zhu Shenzhui's guards were actually Mongolians. How could a Ming Dynasty royal family's personal guards be Mongolians?

"I have just arrived in the capital. The political situation is turbulent now, so it is natural that there is instability in the palace. Although these foreigners are a little clumsy, they are reliable, so I feel more at ease using them."

"So that's it..." Wen Tiren immediately understood why Zhu Shenzhui would use the Mongols. The Ming Dynasty had been fighting with Mongolia for more than 200 years, so they were naturally familiar with the Mongols. Although the Mongols were careless and most of them were illiterate and could not even speak clearly, ordinary Mongols were the best servants. Once they recognized their masters, they were loyal to them, which was beyond the reach of ordinary guards. To put it bluntly, even if they were asked to die, these stubborn Mongols would die without frowning.

But where did Zhu Shenzhui get these Mongols? At this moment, Wen Tiren suddenly remembered that he had seen many such Mongol guards along the way from entering the palace to meeting Zhu Shenzhui. It was unimaginable that a member of the royal family could raise an army to quell the rebellion and capture the capital and the palace. Now, he actually found that there were so many Mongols around Zhu Shenzhui? What on earth was going on?

However, Wen Tiren did not dare to ask this question, fearing that the other party would be angry. After all, he vaguely guessed that Zhu Shenzhui might have the support of the Mongols behind him, otherwise he would not have so many cavalry. But this kind of thing must not be publicized. After all, the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia have always been mortal enemies. Once the news that Zhu Shenzhui borrowed Mongolian troops to quell the rebellion spread, the world would be in an uproar, which would not be a good thing.

Wen Tiren immediately stopped talking and stopped asking about the Mongols. This attitude satisfied Zhu Shenzhui very much. Wen Tiren's refusal to ask was a smart move on his part, and it also showed that he had already thought about joining him. Although Zhu Shenzhui knew that Wen Tiren might have had some wrong ideas about the Mongols, he did not intend to explain at this time, but just smiled faintly and talked about other things.

"Mr. Changqing..."

"I am here..."

"I came here today to ask you for advice. I wonder if you can give me some advice."

"I am an incompetent minister, but I have been honored by Your Majesty's grace to be promoted to the position of Prime Minister. If it is related to the state affairs of the Ming Dynasty, I will do my best. This is my duty and also my obligation as a minister of the Ming Dynasty." Wen Tiren replied with his head down.

Zhu Shenzhui immediately laughed when he heard this. Wen Tihen was really cunning and clever. He actually answered him like this. This answer sounds simple, but it has a deep meaning. On the one hand, it tells Zhu Shenzhui that he is the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty. On the other hand, it points out that as long as he is the Prime Minister, the questions asked by the other party are his responsibilities and obligations. At the same time, it also points out Emperor Chongzhen, and secretly reminds him. There are several layers of deep meaning in this short sentence, which makes people admire it!
(End of this chapter)