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

Chapter 652 Li Kangfei

The conversation with Wen Tiren lasted for a full half day. In the end, Zhu Shenzhu expressed his attitude towards Wen Tiren. He not only allowed him to continue to serve as the prime minister, but also promised to give him real power.

This made Wen Tihen overjoyed and further strengthened his determination to join Zhu Shenzhui.

Although he was the Prime Minister under Emperor Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen was a very difficult person to serve. Not to mention the real power that came with working under this emperor, one had to be on guard against the emperor constantly trying to shirk responsibility. If one was not careful, he would not only lose his job, but he might even lose his head.

But Zhu Shenzhui was different. Although they met for a short time, Wen Tihen discovered the difference between Zhu Shenzhui and Emperor Chongzhen. Zhu Shenzhui was a man of great courage and who knew how to balance power. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhui's demeanor was far beyond the petty-mindedness of Emperor Chongzhen. During the conversation, he recognized his position as prime minister and hinted at his intention to give him real power and entrust him with the government, which made Wen Tihen ecstatic.

But no matter how happy he was, Wen Tihen did not dare to underestimate Zhu Shencui at all. After all, Zhu Shencui was not a simple person. How could he be an ordinary person when he could suddenly attack and seize the capital and imprison the emperor and the harem on the pretext of clearing the evil officials and pacifying the country?

In Wen Tihen's view, Zhu Shenzhui was no different from Zhu Di of the past, and was even more sophisticated in some of his methods. He did this just to push Wen Tihen to the front and have Wen Tihen take the lead and fight for him.

From this point of view, Zhu Shenzhu treated Wen Tiren as a chess piece, or a knife in his hand. But Wen Tiren didn't care about it at all. In his opinion, only those who have ability and talent, and can be favored by Zhu Shenzhu, are qualified to be chess pieces. If you don't even have this ability, then you have no value, so what's the use?

Being a chess piece also has its advantages. At least Wen Tihen was not pursuing a huge fortune in his life. He was one of the few court officials who did not accept bribes or engage in corruption, because what he pursued was power and status, which was exactly what Zhu Shencui could give him. How could Wen Tihen refuse?
After meeting Wen Tiren, Zhu Shenzhui met several other people. These people were specially selected. They did not belong to the Donglin Party in the court, and they had few connections with other parties. More importantly, most of these people were not gentlemen, but they were capable officials, and they were also what Zhu Shenzhui could use now.

Zhu Shenzhu had long known about the officials of the imperial court. Because of Zhang Xijun, the resumes and detailed information of all officials had been compiled and handed over to Zhu Shenzhu. These materials were more complete than the materials of the Ministry of Personnel. After reading them carefully, Zhu Shenzhu selected some people according to his needs to talk one after another, and the results were very obvious.

Zhang Xijun had now been summoned by Zhu Shenzhui to serve as an official, and was directly promoted to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently the Left Censor-in-Chief.

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is the third in command of the Ministry of Personnel, which is responsible for the promotion of officials. Zhang Xijun has been in the capital for many years and has interacted with many people at all levels. He is familiar with the situation of officials in the court. It is believed that he will not only be able to do a good job in the position of Right Vice Minister, but also assist Zhu Shenzhui in controlling the Ministry of Personnel.

As for the Left Censor-in-Chief, he belonged to the Censorate and ranked fifth in terms of official position.

The censor system of the Ming Dynasty was established by Zhu Yuanzhang, and its power was not small. There were a large number of professional trolls in and out of the Censorate, and it was their job to report rumors. Apart from this, the censors would often oppose the emperor and were a group of troublemakers.

Although Zhu Shenzhu disliked censors, he had to admit that the censor system was still beneficial to the country. However, the censors had deviated from their original purpose and became a tool for party struggles and personal fame. Making Zhang Xijun the Left Censor-in-Chief while he was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was also a means of using Zhang Xijun to control the censors.

With Zhang Xijun's ability, even if he couldn't completely control the censors for his own use, he would have no problem winning over some of them. Judging from the current situation, Zhu Shenzhui didn't expect to achieve success overnight. He had just entered the capital, and even if he had three heads and six arms, he couldn't change things immediately. For now, he should focus on stability, make a smooth transition first, and then take it slowly.

Zhu Shenzhui did not make any rash moves. His goal was clear, which was to stabilize the court and the local government first, and let the people of Ming Dynasty recognize that he actually determined the power and status of Ming Dynasty. As long as this was done, the first step of his uprising would be achieved. As for the adjustments in the court and the local government, there was no rush. So if you are impatient, you can't eat hot tofu. Once you make too big a move, it will lead to the outbreak of various problems, which will not be conducive to his subsequent arrangements.

After controlling the capital, except for killing some blind people, Zhu Shenzhu basically did not move any officials in the court, but only made some adjustments to the cabinet and the six ministries. In addition, with Wen Tiren as the chief minister, and the cooperation of Zhang Xijun and some other officials, the civil and military officials in the court gradually put their minds at ease after a brief panic, especially when some people took the initiative to write to Zhu Shenzhu, expressing their attitude of surrender and reinstating their officials, some people who were waiting and watching could not sit still in an instant, and memorials like snowflakes poured in to Zhu Shenzhu. Wen Tiren's proposal to restore Zhu Shenzhu to the title of King of Jiaocheng and to make him the regent was more recognized, and the capital, including the surrounding areas of the capital, gradually stabilized. As more people expressed their opinions and resumed their duties one after another, the various departments of the court began to operate normally.

Of course, some people opposed Zhu Shencui's regentship and even scolded him as a traitor. Zhu Shencui was not polite to these ignorant guys. He immediately sent people to arrest them on various charges and put them in the imperial prison for strict interrogation.

Which Ming Dynasty official was clean? Moreover, Zhang Xijun had already known their backgrounds, and the charges against them were real. Whether it was corruption, bribery, or forming a clique for personal gain, it was not a problem to investigate and prosecute them. The evidence was even more conclusive. In addition, the cabinet and the Imperial Household Department were all controlled by Zhu Shenzhui. After going through several procedures, it was no problem to execute them. After a few heads were chopped off in front of everyone, the remaining officials immediately became much more obedient.

Holding the knife handle in his hand, controlling the life and death of everyone in the capital, Zhu Shenzhui showed his generosity and gentleness appropriately. These officials were not fools. Except for those with poor brains, how could they put their heads under the knife to be chopped off? Isn't it better to live a good life? Moreover, his official position was still there, and his power was not reduced. The person sitting on the dragon throne was still Emperor Chongzhen, and the Ming Dynasty was still the same, but there was an extra regent on his head. What did this have to do with them?

Everyone is smart. It can be said that 99% of the smart people in the world are in the court. Naturally, they will not make trouble for themselves. Soon, as the cabinet and the court departments resumed operation, not only did the situation in the capital and the surrounding areas stabilize, but even officials from various provinces and prefectures also wrote letters to express their willingness to obey the court's orders and recognize Zhu Shenzhu as regent.

As for some who were stubborn and refused to agree, there were also some troops that came from the south to rescue the emperor. They were led by several civil servants and intended to break through the capital and rescue Emperor Chongzhen. But before they arrived at the city, the military generals who led the troops suddenly rebelled. They took the imperial order and directly detained or beheaded the civil servants. They sent their heads to the capital, indicating that they were willing to obey the imperial order and lead the troops back.

There was an army of civil and military officials who were of one mind and regarded Zhu Shencui as a traitor, and vowed to save the emperor from the water and fire. But the facts taught them a lesson, and Zhu Shencui, who had been prepared for a long time, sent out his army to defeat the enemy in one battle, beheaded the leader, captured the rest, and sent their heads to the nine borders and local areas as a warning, which also deterred the people who were ready to make a move.

On the fourth day after entering Beijing, the Cabinet, the Imperial Household Department and the six ministries were gradually restored, and the government was implemented. At the instruction of Zhu Shenzhu, one decree after another was continuously sent to various parts of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, Wen Tiren, in the name of the chief minister of the Cabinet, approved the will of Emperor Chongzhen to restore Zhu Shenzhu as the Prince of Jiaocheng. In addition, the Imperial Household Department approved this decree and announced to the world that Zhu Shenzhu, an ordinary member of the royal family, had become the Prince of Jiaocheng of the Ming Dynasty, and was given the title of a county prince, the salary of a prince, the dragon robe, and the position of regent.

Wen Tihen originally planned to give Zhu Shenzhu the Nine Gifts, but Zhu Shenzhu refused. You should know that the first person to be awarded the Nine Gifts in history was Wang Mang, and Cao Cao also received the Nine Gifts afterwards. From this point of view, all those who were awarded the Nine Gifts eventually succeeded in usurping the throne. Although Zhu Shenzhu, the regent, was actually no different from the emperor, Emperor Chongzhen was far more valuable alive than dead. With Emperor Chongzhen in hand, even if someone in the Ming Dynasty disobeyed him, the court's decrees, including the imperial edict, were still legal. Once Emperor Chongzhen died, Zhu Shenzhu ascended to the throne directly, and it was hard to say what would happen.

At least for now, Zhu Shenzhui thought that it was more appropriate to be the regent, and it was more appropriate to keep Emperor Chongzhen and his sons. Therefore, it was not necessary to add the Nine Gifts. On the contrary, not adding the Nine Gifts could avoid some troubles of those who intended to usurp the throne. Even if this was just a cover-up, Zhu Shenzhui still had to show off and avoid being criticized.

At the same time as being promoted to Prince of Jiaocheng, Concubine Li Kang, who was unpopular in the harem, finally had her dream come true and was about to become the empress dowager of the Ming Dynasty.

After more than a decade of cold treatment after the Palace Move Case, from a favorite concubine who was only one step away from becoming the queen to being banished to the cold palace overnight, and even almost dying at the hands of the Donglin Party, Concubine Li Kang had long been accustomed to the ups and downs and the warmth and coldness of the world.

The current Concubine Li Kang is no longer the arrogant and domineering Xi Li in the past. She, who tried every means to become the queen and the empress dowager, has matured a lot. After experiencing two generations of emperors and more than ten years of harem career, Concubine Li Kang no longer has the extravagant dream of her previous life.

But she never expected that just when she had given up everything, a sudden turn for the better happened. When Zhu Shenzhui personally went to the harem to pay a visit to Concubine Li Kang and proposed to confer her the title of empress dowager in accordance with the will of Emperor Taichang and Emperor Tianqi, Concubine Li Kang could not believe her ears.

(End of this chapter)