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

Chapter 893: Dismissal of Zhou Anmin

After Xu Hongji, Duke of Wei, was dealt with, Zhang Xijun's situation in Nanjing was improved and many things became much smoother.

Because of this, Zhang Xijun collected and verified much more information than before, and he also had a better understanding of the urgency and severity of the current situation. However, the more so, the more difficult it was for Zhang Xijun, because he was also very clear about the terrible consequences once the lid was lifted, and he was even more worried about causing a big incident. He was so undecided that he could only write the situation in a secret letter and send it to Beijing, asking Zhu Shenzhu for a decision.

Now this problem was thrown to Zhu Shenzhui, which was equivalent to making Zhu Shenzhui embarrassed. In his heart, Zhu Shenzhui wanted to completely eradicate these people and solve this matter in a hurry, but from a practical point of view, the consequences of doing so might be unbearable. Zhang Xijun was not a person without responsibility. The reason why he did so was that he was afraid of ruining national affairs, which Zhu Shenzhui could understand.

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Zhu Shencui felt that this matter was very dilemmatic. He wanted to do it but was worried about the consequences. But if he didn't do it, it would go against his original intention. In addition, if the problem in the south was not solved, Zhu Shencui would not be able to completely control the south. In the long run, the north and the south would be in opposition. Would the Ming Dynasty still belong to the Zhu family?
For a moment, Zhu Shenzhu even envied the Emperor Tianqi. At least the Emperor Tianqi had a sharp knife in his hand, and this knife was the Eunuch Wei Zhongxian.

Although Wei Zhongxian was just a eunuch who came from a gangster family and could not recognize a few words, and his methods of doing things were often vicious and even despicable, but this knife was very effective in dealing with those hypocrites who claimed to take the people of the world as their responsibility. The Donglin Party was tormented to death by Wei Zhongxian, and the gentry groups in various parts of Jiangnan hated Wei Zhongxian so much but could do nothing about him. Bad guys need more bad guys to deal with them, this is a truth from ancient times to the present.

However, there are also great hidden dangers in doing so. This is what happened with the death of Emperor Tianqi. Otherwise, these people would not have been so desperate as to attack the emperor directly. Once Emperor Tianqi died, Wei Zhongxian lost his backing and fell. Everyone in the world knows what happened afterwards.

Zhu Shenzhu was not the Tianqi Emperor, and he did not have Wei Zhongxian under his command. Moreover, he considered issues more deeply than the Tianqi Emperor did. Wei Zhongxian's approach was simply to replace the original interest groups with a new force. Although it had excellent results at the time, the consequences that followed were extremely serious.

After concentrating and thinking for a while, Zhu Shenzhui stopped walking slowly, turned around and shouted to the outside.

"I'm here..." Lu Jiude appeared and said respectfully.

"Go! Let Jinyiwei Commander Zhou Anmin come to see me."

"Yes..." Lu Jiude responded and quickly retreated. Not long after, Zhou Anmin arrived at the Qianqing Palace and then entered the side hall.

No one knew what Zhu Shenzhui and Zhou Anmin talked about in the side hall. Lu Jiude, who was serving outside, stood there for a while before hearing Zhu Shenzhui's angry shouts and curses coming from the side hall, and Zhou Anmin's faint voice could also be vaguely heard.

After a while, the cursing became louder, and at the same time there was a sound as if something fell to the ground and broke, which scared Lu Jiude. He didn't know what had happened inside, and what had happened to Zhou Anmin to anger the emperor? Unexpectedly, the emperor was so angry today. He had been serving the emperor for more than half a year, and Emperor Zhu Shenzhu had never seen him lose his temper. On weekdays, he was always kind and pleasant when meeting ministers or other people, and even if he scolded, it was with reason and evidence. This was the first time that such a situation had happened today.

Just as Lu Jiude was thinking about this, there were sounds of kicking and beating coming from inside again. Finally, after an angry shout of "Get out", Zhou Anmin, covered in dust and with a clear slap mark on his left cheek, came out.

After coming out, Zhou Anmin didn't say a word, and he didn't even look at Lu Jiude who was guarding the door. He lowered his head and left in a hurry. He seemed so hasty when he left, and his steps and figure were a little embarrassed.

Not long after Zhou Anmin left, Zhu Shenzhui let Lu Jiude in. When he saw Zhu Shenzhui again, he saw his angry face and the broken remains of a vase on the ground.

Without saying a word, Zhu Shenzhui directly issued an order to remove Zhou Anmin from his post as the commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and then ordered Lu Jiude to lead the imperial guards to surround Zhou Anmin's mansion. Zhou Anmin was not allowed to go out and was required to stay in the mansion without leaving. If Zhou Anmin showed any signs of going out, he would be arrested and imprisoned, and if he resisted, he would be killed without mercy.

Lu Jiude was shocked when he heard this. He didn't know why Zhu Shenzhu was so angry and even took such a cruel action. You have to know that Zhou Anmin is not an ordinary Jinyiwei commander. He is the emperor's brother-in-law and the grand princess's son-in-law. Zhu Shenzhu has always relied on Zhou Anmin, but today's facts are really surprising. What did Zhou Anmin do to make the emperor so angry? And he also imposed such a severe punishment. Although Lu Jiude was curious, he didn't dare to ask. He could only bite the bullet and accept this task. Then he took the order and left. He summoned the imperial guards to go to Zhou Anmin's mansion to read the order and sent people to surround his house.

This matter quickly spread throughout the capital like wings. People were surprised and reacted differently to the severe punishment of Zhou Anmin by the emperor.

Some people cheered loudly, saying that the Jinyiwei were not good people to begin with, and Zhou Anmin, as the head of the Jinyiwei, was definitely not a good person. It was a wise move for the emperor to deal with Zhou Anmin in this way, and it was in line with the will of the people. Instead of just punishing him, it was too light a punishment. People like Zhou Anmin should be arrested directly and tortured in the imperial prison, or even dragged out and beheaded.

Some people were celebrating as everyone knew the relationship between Zhou Anmin and the emperor. As a loyal dog of the emperor, Zhou Anmin had done a lot for the emperor over the years. Zhou Anmin's control of the Jinyiwei was a threat to some people. As long as Zhou Anmin was there, they would have no peace. Now Zhou Anmin had angered the emperor and was being held accountable, and he had also been removed from his position as the commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei. This was the best thing for them, and they were even thinking about whether they could add fuel to the fire and let the emperor kill this man directly.

There are some people who sympathize with Zhou Anmin. After all, although Zhou Anmin is in control of the Jinyiwei, he has never done anything that would anger God or people. Although the power of the Jinyiwei in recent years has been much greater than that in the Chongzhen period and has gradually recovered to the power of the Tianqi period, everything the Jinyiwei did under Zhou Anmin's control was within the law. Zhou Anmin, the commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei, was never arrogant and domineering. He did his work seriously, was not corrupt or disturbed the people, and his reputation as an official was pretty good.

In addition, some people thought of the relationship between Zhou Anmin and the emperor, and felt that even if the emperor punished Zhou Anmin now, he would not really do anything to him. After all, the Grand Princess was still there. Zhu Shenzhui did not give Zhou Anmin face, but he had to do it for his sister's sake, right? Even if he punished him, it would probably be temporary. After the matter was over, Zhou Anmin might be able to return to his post and continue to lead the Jinyiwei.

The reactions from all sides were different. For a time, the capital became lively because of the punishment of Zhou Anmin. As the news spread, memorials and impeachments kept coming in like snowflakes. Some spoke well of Zhou Anmin, some took the opportunity to impeach Zhou Anmin, and some bet on both sides and said some harmless words. Anyway, there were all kinds of attitudes, and the court was very lively.

On the day the decree was issued, the Grand Princess heard the news and went to the palace to plead with the Emperor. Although we don't know what they said, judging from the tearful face of the Grand Princess when she left, the result of the plea was probably not very good. Even the Queen and Xu Xiancheng pleaded for Zhou Anmin, but they were severely reprimanded by the Emperor, who warned them not to get involved in the matter, saying that Zhou Anmin was a man who betrayed the Emperor's grace and was so bold that he could not be spared. Not killing him now was already a leniency, and it was useless for anyone else to persuade him.

This matter dragged on for several days, and finally it was the cabinet elder Wen Tiren and several important ministers who came forward to persuade the emperor, saying that although Zhou Anmin was guilty, the emperor was asked not to punish him severely for the sake of the Grand Princess, and just remove him from the post of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and forget about the rest.

After hearing this, Zhu Shencui said he would think about it again. A day later, an official decree came down. Zhu Shencui not only removed Zhou Anmin from his post as the commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei, but also revoked all his concurrent posts. This meant that Zhou Anmin now had no real job except for a title, and became a nominal lord.

That was not all. The emperor also downgraded his title by one level, from the second-class earl to the third-class earl. He was also deprived of his salary for three years and was ordered not to go out but to study hard at home and repent.

All of a sudden, a high-ranking official who controlled the Jinyiwei fell from power. It is said that when the imperial edict was sent to Zhou Anmin, Zhou Anmin's face looked very ugly after receiving it. The eldest princess even cried and shouted, and insisted on going to the palace to ask the emperor for an explanation. Finally, she was persuaded by Zhou Anmin and his two sons and gave up.

After Zhou Anmin lost his position as the commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei, Zhu Shencui directly appointed a new commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei. It was originally thought that Zhu Shencui would select someone from the current commander-in-chief or commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei, but no one expected that Zhu Shencui would actually choose someone from the lower-level pacification envoys to take over the position of commander-in-chief.

The new Jinyiwei Commander-in-Chief was Wu Mengming, who was also a veteran of the Jinyiwei. In the early years of the Tianqi reign, he offended Xu Xianchun and was falsely accused of harboring a fugitive. He was later tortured and expelled from the imperial court. In the early years of the Chongzhen reign, he was reinstated and worked his way up to the rank of Zhenfushi. However, his ability was not outstanding among the Jinyiwei. There were many people who were better than him, but he was the one who succeeded the post of Jinyiwei Commander-in-Chief.

While dismissing Zhou Anmin from his post as the commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhu Shenzui took the opportunity to separate the Police Department, which was originally under the jurisdiction of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and established an independent police department. The highest officer of the Police Department was the Police Commander-in-Chief, a third-rank official, who was appointed by Liu Bo, who had just returned to Beijing.

This series of adjustments happened extremely quickly, and by the time everyone reacted, the dust had already settled. Everyone was confused, and many people felt sorry for Zhou Anmin's fall.

(End of this chapter)