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

Chapter 730 Why not steal and die?

"Your Majesty, Gao Yingxiang is guilty of heinous crimes. It may not be appropriate to deal with him directly. He needs to be sentenced by the three judicial departments." At this time, Zhu Shenzhui spoke up. This sentence not only eased the awkward atmosphere, but also gave Emperor Chongzhen a way out.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen's expression eased slightly and he snorted coldly, trying to cover up what had just happened.

"Gao Yingxiang!" Zhu Shenzhui said to him, "I brought you here today because your majesty and I want to see you in person. You, Gao Yingxiang, are quite a character. In the second year of Chongzhen, you started an army in Shaanxi, first joined forces with Wang Ziyi and others, and then formed an army on your own. Over the years, you have been causing trouble in the local areas, wandering around in eight provinces, causing unrest in the world. The court has always wanted to get rid of you, but it was not until today that you were captured. Your name, Gao Yingxiang, is well-known. It would be a pity for your majesty and I not to meet such a character."

"Oh, I, Gao Yingxiang, actually have such a status in the heart of the regent? This is such an honor!" Gao Yingxiang laughed happily. At this time, he still only mentioned Zhu Shenzhui, but did not mention Emperor Chongzhen, because in his opinion, his defeat had nothing to do with Emperor Chongzhen. If Zhu Shenzhui had not been the regent, mobilized various troops to encircle and suppress him, and reused Sun Chuanting and others, how could he have been defeated and captured?
As for Emperor Chongzhen, he simply looked down upon him. This tyrant emperor had no right to speak to him. If it had not been for Emperor Chongzhen's good luck, the one who took over the capital was Zhu Shenzhui, and now he could still be a nominal emperor, sitting on the dragon throne and showing off his power. If it had been Gao Yingxiang who entered the capital, Emperor Chongzhen's head would have been hanging at the gate of the capital, and how could he be here today?
Zhu Shenzhui knew the mentality of people like Gao Yingxiang very well. He was a grassroots hero. Although he was not a real hero, he was barely a hero. When Gao Yingxiang was at his strongest, he almost had the possibility of attacking the capital, but in the end he still roamed around in various provinces. This was also his innate disadvantage.

Speaking of which, although Zhu Shencui cannot say that he admires such a person, he does have some appreciation for him. After all, it was rare for Gao Yingxiang, a commoner, to rebel to such an extent. However, there was an essential difference between him and Zhu Shencui. After he started the rebellion, he did not have a long-term plan. He did whatever he wanted, whether it was marching, fighting, or plundering. This was also the main reason why he was called a "bandit."

If Gao Yingxiang had some strategic and political foresight, if he could occupy a piece of land and develop it well, and make long-term layout and planning, he would have accomplished something great. Unfortunately, he was not Zhu Shenzhui, and it was impossible for him to copy Zhu Shenzhui's success, which was the main reason for Gao Yingxiang's ultimate defeat.

Gao Yingxiang thought he was a hero, but he was just a bandit until he was captured. It was not only Gao Yingxiang, but also Li Zicheng in history. Although these people were created by current events, they were all peasants in the end, and they did not have such a long-term vision and no plans.

Bandits, as the name suggests, are roaming bandits. If the Ming Dynasty had no external threat, no matter how powerful they were, they would not be able to accomplish anything big to compete for the throne.

Gao Yingxiang was very happy with Zhu Shenzhu's words, especially in his heart, Zhu Shenzhu was the same kind of person as him, but just luckier than him. Gao Yingxiang was naturally honored to be recognized by such a person, and he didn't care much about Emperor Chongzhen.

Emperor Chongzhen, who was sitting in the throne, was so angry that his nose was crooked when he heard this. It was obvious that he was the ruler of the Ming Dynasty, but Gao Yingxiang looked down on him and even directly called him a tyrant. How could Emperor Chongzhen, who always thought highly of himself, bear this?

"Gao Yingxiang!" Emperor Chongzhen shouted angrily.

Gao Yingxiang raised his eyes to look at Emperor Chongzhen, and asked without fear, "What does your majesty want me to do?"

"What's the matter? Let me ask you, why are you rebelling? Why do you want to bring chaos to the world?" Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help asking, with indignation on his face.

"Haha, I'll ask your Majesty about this." Gao Yingxiang sat there with a dignified look on his face, "Your Majesty is the emperor, but I, Gao Yingxiang, have started a rebellion. Don't you know why?"

"I'm asking you!"

"In that case, I will tell Your Majesty, because it was Your Majesty who forced me to rebel!" Gao Yingxiang replied frankly.

As soon as these words came out, Emperor Chongzhen was stunned. I forced Gao Yingxiang to rebel? How could this be said? Emperor Chongzhen believed that he had been diligent in government and loved the people since he ascended the throne, and worked hard for state affairs every day. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, except for Emperor Taizu, no emperor had worked as hard as himself. Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen did not have any bad habits. He was not like his ancestor Emperor Jiajing who was keen on practicing Taoism, nor was he like his grandfather Emperor Wanli who hid in the palace for decades without seeing his ministers, nor was he like his brother Emperor Tianqi who loved to be a carpenter and favored eunuchs.

Since he ascended the throne, Emperor Chongzhen has focused all his energy on how to govern the country and how to revive the Ming Dynasty. He worked hard every day and his personal character was impeccable. As an emperor, he was frugal and asked the empress to mend his dragon robe personally when it was torn. The palace expenses were reduced again and again, and his daily meals were just ordinary. At the young age of less than 30, his temples were already gray from overwork. Is there any other emperor like him?

What did Emperor Chongzhen work so hard for? Wasn't it for the Ming Dynasty? But now Gao Yingxiang clearly told him that he was forced to rebel. How could he justify this?

"Nonsense! It's simply nonsense! My diligence is known to the world, and my hard work is obvious to all. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the people of this world, I am simply worried to death. You rebels actually said that I forced you to rebel? Tell me, how did I force you to rebel?"

Emperor Chongzhen was so furious. Gao Yingxiang was already a prisoner, yet he was still talking nonsense. Did he really think that he, the emperor, was just a decoration?

Looking up at Emperor Chongzhen, Gao Yingxiang couldn't help but laugh when he saw how angry he was. He didn't expect that until now Emperor Chongzhen still didn't think that it was he who forced the whole world to rebel. This was really too ridiculous.

I originally thought that Emperor Chongzhen, as a king, at least had the necessary judgment. But who would have thought that he always lived in his own imagination, was proud and arrogant, and had no idea about the world. How could such a person be an emperor? Since Emperor Chongzhen said that he was talking nonsense, Gao Yingxiang wanted to debate with him. He immediately asked Emperor Chongzhen if he knew what he had done since he ascended the throne.

Emperor Chongzhen said that he knew what he had done. After he succeeded to the throne, he first eliminated the eunuchs and treacherous officials in the court, promoted good officials, and made many arrangements for the Liaodong war. In order to make the people live a good life, he withdrew the mining and tax supervisors who were originally stationed in the local area by Emperor Tianqi and Wei Zhongxian, so that the burden on the people was reduced. In addition, in order to reduce expenses and raise military funds, Emperor Chongzhen also reduced the expenses of his own palace again and again. Isn't it for the sake of the world? Why did Gao Yingxiang and others still want to rebel against him after he did so much?

"Haha! Hahaha!" Hearing Emperor Chongzhen's self-defense, Gao Yingxiang laughed so hard that tears even came out of the corners of his eyes.

"Gao Yingxiang!" Emperor Chongzhen slammed the table and shouted angrily. This traitor was so bold. What was the meaning of his wild laughter?

"Your Majesty, since you have done so much, why would people in this world, including me, Gao Yingxiang, rebel?" Gao Yingxiang stopped laughing and asked.

Yes! I have done so much, why is it the result like this? Emperor Chongzhen was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

"I, Gao Yingxiang, am just a commoner. My family used to make a living by farming, but later on, because farming was not enough to support my family, I turned to horse trading. I don't understand the way of governing a country that Your Majesty is talking about, but I know that people in this world have a particularly hard time under Your Majesty's rule, and some have even had difficulty surviving."

"Your Majesty said that since you ascended the throne, you have eradicated the eunuch party, promoted good officials, recalled eunuchs, and made great efforts to govern the country. I have not seen any of these. What I have seen is that the world has been plagued by famines, officials have been corrupt, and the people have been forced to pay taxes. Compared with the reign of the previous emperor, the lives of the people are getting worse day by day. The court has not only not provided relief to the disaster-stricken northwest, but has also increased taxes several times more than in previous years."

"Ordinary people work hard all year and not only do they get little, but they also have to bear such heavy taxes. Your Majesty has repeatedly levied Liao tribute to raise military funds. Where does this Liao tribute come from? Isn't it all imposed on the people?"

"With such heavy taxes, how can the people survive in the face of natural disasters? Rather than sitting and starving to death, why not steal and die?"

"I... I... I just want to eliminate the external threat first, and then let the world recuperate after defeating the Jian Nu. Why don't you understand me?" Emperor Chongzhen said forcefully.

"Consideration?" Gao Yingxiang looked at Emperor Chongzhen with disdain: "Your Majesty has lived a life of luxury, and you have never felt hungry, have you?"

"I..." Emperor Chongzhen was unable to answer. Although he considered himself to be thrifty, he had never experienced hunger. After all, no matter when he was a prince, Prince Xin, or emperor, even if he was more frugal, his food and clothing were much better than those of ordinary people. How could the emperor let him starve?

"It's not a pleasant feeling to be hungry. If you don't eat for one day, your stomach will feel uncomfortable. If you don't eat for two days, it will feel like it's burning. If you don't eat for three days, your whole body will feel weak and dizzy. If you don't eat for four days, your eyes will almost turn red with hunger. If you don't eat for five days, you will eat anything you can get, such as tree bark and Guanyin soil, even if you know that eating it will kill you. If you go on like this, even living people will eat it. Your Majesty has never seen the people exchanging their children for cannibalism, right? Since your Majesty has never suffered this, how can you sympathize with them?"

Emperor Chongzhen was speechless and didn't know how to answer.

Gao Yingxiang continued, "The people are starving to death, how can they care about other things? How can the people rebel if they have a way to survive? Your Majesty's so-called hard work is only at the expense of the people of the world. Your Majesty is a ruler, but you force the people to do this. Is this what a wise ruler does?"

"I... I just... I... Why don't you think about me? I am also thinking about the people of the world. I am doing this for their own good. As long as they can endure a little hardship... and bear it for a while, as long as we defeat the Jian Nu..."

Emperor Chongzhen looked a little flustered and tried to explain a few words, but the more he explained, the more he couldn't continue. His explanations were not convincing at all. What was even worse was that his Liaodong strategy was simply a joke. He had been trying to pacify Liaodong for almost ten years but to no avail. The military pay spent every year was countless. Where did all the money come from?

Not only was the Jiannu problem not solved, but it also led to the Ji Si Rebellion. Huang Taiji even fought directly from Liaodong to the capital city. It was really a joke to pacify Liaodong in this way.

On the contrary, his policies made people all over the world live in misery and had no way to survive, so they had no choice but to rise up in rebellion. Gao Yingxiang cruelly shattered the only fantasy in Emperor Chongzhen's heart with facts.

(End of this chapter)