My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 212: In order to live longer in the future, the time for attending court must be changed!
But think about it, before Zhu Cilang traveled through time, weren't the Jinyiwei in the capital also corrupt?
What’s more, the Nanjing Jinyiwei are far away from the center of power?
Fortunately, the commander of the Nanjing Jinyiwei at that time was a rare loyal minister.

His name was Chang Yanling. He was the 13th generation grandson of Chang Yuchun, a founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, and inherited the title of Marquis of Huaiyuan.

During the years of Chongzhen's reign, Chang Yanling did many things that were beneficial to the country.

For example, he wrote a memorial to Chongzhen in his early years, clearly explaining the various current shortcomings of the court, and was commended by Chongzhen.

For example, when he learned that some loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty were wrongly imprisoned, he would try to rescue them.

Moreover, in the original history, after Chongzhen died for his country, Chang Yanling also volunteered to go to the battlefield and personally led the officers and soldiers of Nanjing City to Jiujiang to strengthen the border fortifications.

At the same time, thousands of members of the Chang family were incorporated into the army to fight against the Qing Dynasty together.

It was not until the complete collapse of the Southern Ming Dynasty that Chang Yanling became disheartened and became a monk, spending the rest of his life in seclusion.

Just before going to Liaodong, Zhu Cilang received a secret letter from Chang Yanling, in which he said that the nobles and officials in Nanjing were extremely corrupt and unable to handle important tasks.

Even the Jinyiwei under his command are in the same situation. They have long lost their original role. I hope the court can pay attention to this matter and make a decision as soon as possible.

However, at that time, Zhu Cilang's mind was full of how to win the Battle of Songjin, so he didn't pay much attention to this matter.

But now, it's time to resolve this matter!

And at this time, Luo Yangxing came in handy.

After all, although this guy has many problems, it is undeniable that as the commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he still has certain abilities.

So Zhu Cilang planned to send him to Nanjing to help Chang Yanling reorganize the Nanjing Jinyiwei.

This can be considered a kind of "waste utilization".

It can not only solve the problem of the Nanjing Jinyiwei, but also tell those who followed him in the "rebellion" before something!
That is, no matter how big a mistake you have made before or how many people want to kill you, as long as you are loyal to me, I will save your life!
This way, these people will be more loyal to him!

Moreover, it is impossible to send anyone else to do this matter. Luo Yangxing must go.

Because Luo Yangxing was the commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had enough prestige to suppress the Embroidered Uniform Guards in Nanjing.

If it was Li Ruo Lian, it wouldn’t work!

Moreover, Zhu Cilang would not remove Luo Yangxing from his position as commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei for the time being. He would wait until he assisted Chang Yanling in rectifying the Nanjing Jinyiwei before removing him from his post.

The purpose of doing this is actually to prepare in advance for dealing with the officials and nobles in Nanjing in the future.

After all, by this time, the Ming Dynasty's control over Nanjing had become very weak, and the officials and nobles there might never have seen the emperor in their entire lives.

And don’t think that party struggles only happened in the capital. In fact, the party struggles in Nanjing were also very fierce, and most Nanjing officials were involved.

The Donglin Party and other forces also had conflicts in Nanjing.

At the same time, passive governance and corruption are also extremely serious.

However, Zhu Cilang did not have time to deal with this group of guys for the time being, because the primary task at the moment was to collect the taxes owed by the gentry and implement the policy of "equalizing the land tax and making all gentry pay taxes together".

Then we will deal with Li Zicheng and the Jiannu, and finally it will be the turn of this group of guys.

But before that, it is imperative to control the Nanjing Jinyiwei first!

When we returned to the East Palace, it was already late at night.

Zhu Cilang got off the sedan chair, but did not rush back to the bedroom. Instead, he suddenly thought of something and stood still in the yard.

At this time, the lanterns inside the palace wall emitted a dim light, making Zhu Cilang's figure look slender.

Then, Zhu Cilang turned around, patted Li Ruolian's shoulder gently and said:
"Early tomorrow morning, you will go to the Northern Pacification Office with this imperial edict. Although I cannot appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard right now, in reality, the entire Imperial Guard will be under your control."

"After the Nanjing Jinyiwei matter is properly handled, I will make you the true commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei."

Although Li Ruolian had had this guess in his mind before, after knowing Luo Yangxing, the position of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard would probably be his.

However, before that, the outcome was still uncertain, so he didn't dare to really have such an idea.

It was not until he heard Zhu Cilang say these words with his own ears that he finally felt at ease.

After all, as a Jinyiwei, who wouldn’t aspire to reach that high position, second only to the emperor and above everyone else?
The next second, Li Ruolian knelt on the ground with excitement on his face and shouted loudly:
"I thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for your promotion. I will definitely live up to His Royal Highness's trust!"

Zhu Cilang reached out his hand to help Li Ruolian up, still with a faint smile on his face, he said:
"When we arrive at the Northern Pacification Office tomorrow, our first priority will be to dismiss all those fake people that Luo Yangxing recruited."

"What I want is not a bunch of useless people, but an elite force. Do you understand?"

Li Ruo Lian leaned forward slightly and responded firmly:

"Your Highness, rest assured. I know what to do. I will definitely renovate the Northern Pacification Office and will never let Your Highness down."

At this moment, his expression was serious, as if he was swearing an oath to Zhu Cilang.

Then Zhu Cilang nodded slightly, said no more, and waved his hand to signal Li Ruolian to leave.

Li Ruolian thanked Zhu Cilang again before turning around and leaving.

Afterwards, Zhu Cilang turned around and returned to his bedroom.

The next morning, just as the sky was turning pale and the entire Forbidden City was still shrouded in a layer of light morning mist, a melodious bell rang out.

It's time for morning court again.

Zhu Cilang did not skip work today, but attended the morning court as the regent prince.

After all, Chongzhen had just been assassinated, so he naturally could not attend court, so he, the crown prince, had to continue to regent.

After all the civil and military officials had paid their respects to Zhu Cilang, Wang Chengen, who was standing by, held the imperial edict in his hand, and his shrill voice instantly spread throughout the court.

"It's up to heaven, the emperor decreed"

Today's first imperial edict is very simple, mainly targeting the punishment of some officials.

After all, such a serious matter as the assassination of the emperor cannot be glossed over, and there must be an explanation to the whole court.

Otherwise this would be too fake!
But it must be said that the severity of this punishment far exceeded the imagination of the civil and military officials.

All were given lenient sentences.

The most serious punishment is dismissal from office, and the lightest punishment is even just a salary deduction!

Faced with such a result, all the civil and military officials breathed a sigh of relief and showed expressions of relief on their faces.

After all, this was a much lighter punishment than they had expected.

Then all the civil and military officials knelt down to express their gratitude, shouting:

"Thank you Lord for your grace!"

At this point, the story about Chongzhen's assassination comes to an end.

But of course, this is only in the court. If you really want to end it completely, you have to collect the taxes owed by the gentry first.

Immediately afterwards, without waiting for the civil and military officials to react, Wang Chengen took out the second imperial edict.

"By the Will of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: I have been feeling very tired these days, and since all matters are handled by the Cabinet and court officials, I have decided to restore the practice of 'one court session every five days' as was practiced during the Han Dynasty."

"From today onwards, except for certain days, a morning court session will be held every five days. If there are major events during this period, an additional court session may be temporarily held to discuss state affairs!

"Appreciate this!"

After hearing the content of the second imperial edict, the civil and military officials were stunned at first, and then began to whisper to each other, as if they had not expected that Chongzhen would actually issue such an imperial edict.

In fact, this imperial edict certainly could not have been issued by Chongzhen, but by Zhu Cilang!
Chongzhen didn’t even know about this!

But it doesn’t matter, because this was something Zhu Cilang had planned long ago.

Anyway, he really couldn't get up before four o'clock every morning to attend court!
If he continued like this for a few years, he would probably end up like Chongzhen, with a head full of white hair in his thirties. This was not the result he wanted!

In fact, in ancient China, emperors did not have to attend court every day.

During the Qin Dynasty, due to the complexity of affairs after Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he attended court more frequently, but there is no clear historical record indicating that he attended court every day.

The Han Dynasty stipulated that the court should be held every five days.

Although there are no clear historical records of these events in the Sui Dynasty, according to Emperor Wen of Sui's diligence, he probably attended court every day.

Of course, Yang Guang, needless to say, would be lucky if he could do it five or six times a month.

In the Tang Dynasty, court sessions were generally held on odd days, and there were holidays every month, so court sessions only lasted about ten days a month.

Because the Yuan Dynasty was a foreign nation, there was no fixed concept of court attendance. The court attendance time was basically arranged according to various national affairs.

As for the Ming Dynasty
Ok!

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang did indeed stipulate that the emperor had to attend court every day.

This was probably because he came from a poor family and understood that power was hard-won, so he was extremely diligent in his work.

In addition, because he was afraid that the prime minister would suppress the imperial power, he abolished the prime minister system, monopolized the power of the country, and had to go to court every day to handle a large number of government affairs.

It seems that in his view, only by attending court every day and communicating with ministers can he understand the various situations in the country in a timely manner to ensure the stability of the Ming Dynasty's rule and the long-term stability of the country.

But of course, this rule didn't last long before it was abolished.

The reason is that Zhu Di invented the cabinet system.

Since the birth of the cabinet system, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty no longer insisted on attending court every day.

Among them were Jiajing and Wanli, two living ancestors who did not attend court for decades.

However, because of the cabinet system, the country has basically not encountered any problems.

Until later, Chongzhen became emperor.

Then, the Ming Dynasty returned to the daily routine of the Taizu period!
In the past fourteen years, except when he was sick and on certain special holidays, Chongzhen attended court almost every day.

However, this was of no use, as the Ming Dynasty was doomed to perish! Chongzhen's diligence not only failed to save the Ming Dynasty, but instead made him look like a little old man in his forties or fifties.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang finally decided to hold court once every five days.

There is also no need to worry about no one handling the affairs of state or handling them improperly. After all, the Ming Dynasty's cabinet has been operating for more than two hundred years and has already established a complete system.

Moreover, the cabinet usually works in the imperial palace, and the emperor also lives in the palace. If there is anything, the emperor only needs to be informed and he will immediately know and make a decision.

Or when the emperor has nothing to do, he can go to the cabinet to discuss state affairs with his ministers at any time.

In addition, the Jinyiwei, Dongchang and Xichang have spies all over the world, so there is no need to worry about being deceived by anyone.

All in all, in order to live better and longer, Zhu Cilang feels that it is very necessary to do so!
He will definitely become the longest-lived emperor of the Ming Dynasty in the future!

At the same time, the civil and military officials finally came to their senses.

Although I was a little confused at first, after thinking about it carefully, this is a completely good thing for them!

After all, who would be willing to get up at three or four in the middle of the night to attend court?

Who doesn’t want to sleep until dawn with his lovely wife and concubines in his arms, and then go directly to the yamen to work without having to see the emperor?

This kind of thing makes me happy just thinking about it!
Then, someone shouted, "I don't know who shouted first:
"Your Majesty is wise, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is wise!"

The other civil and military officials also hurriedly shouted:
"Your Majesty is wise, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is wise!"

And just like that, the matter of changing the court session time was decided.

After the morning court session, the ministers dispersed. Zhu Cilang returned to the East Palace, changed into casual clothes, and then took a group of people to visit the Beijing camp.

The order to mobilize troops issued yesterday had already been passed on to the Beijing Camp, and the Beijing Camp had reorganized it overnight. Today is the day the Beijing Camp will set out.

So Zhu Cilang planned to go and see for himself, as there were some things he had to explain.

However, this time Zhu Cilang did not plan to let the 50,000 soldiers from the Beijing camp who had previously followed him to fight in Liaodong do this.

According to common sense, it would be most appropriate to leave this matter to them.

After all, they accompanied Zhu Cilang and Chongzhen through the bloody Battle of Liaodong, and their loyalty had reached its peak.

Especially when they heard that the southern gentry had attempted to assassinate the emperor over tax issues, they were all filled with righteous indignation and wanted to kill all those gentry!
In this situation, it seems more appropriate to let them collect taxes.

But this doesn’t actually work!

Because most of the soldiers in the Beijing camp were infantrymen, they had just returned to the capital from Liaodong not long ago. After a long journey, their bodies were already exhausted.

It takes a long period of rest before we can set out again.

After all, these soldiers are also human beings!

If they were asked to go to the south to collect taxes immediately, their bodies would probably not be able to withstand the long journey.

Therefore, for the sake of the health of the soldiers from the Beijing Camp, Zhu Cilang finally decided to send soldiers from the Beijing Camp who had not participated in the Battle of Liaodong to carry out this mission.

Of course, these soldiers are also the elite of the Ming Dynasty!
Moreover, according to the news from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, when they heard about the rewards received by the soldiers who had participated in the Battle of Liaodong, they were all filled with envy.

After all, apart from anything else, anyone who participated in the Battle of Liaodong this time received a reward of at least fifty taels of silver. Many of them were directly promoted, and some were even granted titles!

Faced with such a reward, how could they not be envious?
At this time, I'm afraid they are also holding their breath and wanting to achieve great things!
Therefore, sending them to collect taxes at this time just fulfills their wish!
And according to convention, each of them can receive a reward of ten taels of silver before setting off, and if nothing unexpected happens, there will be more rewards after they return.

Twenty taels of silver is the cost for a round trip. For ordinary soldiers, this is almost equivalent to their annual income. How could they not be happy?
When it comes to human nature, Zhu Cilang has a firm grasp of it!

Not long after, when Zhu Cilang arrived at the Beijing camp, Li Guozhen, the Earl of Xiangcheng, who had already received the news, hurried to meet him.

Then he saluted with an expression of respect and excitement and said:
"Your Highness, Li Guozhen, pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

At this moment, Li Guozhen was indeed a little excited.

One reason was that he hadn't seen Zhu Cilang for almost two months, and Zhu Cilang had changed a lot. He looked much more mature and taller than before.

Furthermore, Liaodong achieved an unprecedented victory!
He also knew without a doubt that the reason Liaodong won such a great victory was entirely because of the prince in front of him!

He heard it from the soldiers who returned from the Liaodong battlefield.

The reason why the Battle of Liaodong was such a great victory was that the prince in front of him led an army of 200,000 to break through the formation of the Jiannu, which led to the defeat of the Jiannu!
There is no doubt that at this time the prince's prestige in the army had already surpassed everyone else, and might even be higher than Chongzhen.

Do you think he could not be excited?

Facing this minister whom he had not seen for two months, Zhu Cilang smiled and nodded, then said:
"Alright, we're all family, no need to be so polite, get up!"

Only then did Li Guozhen stand up.

But soon, he seemed to have thought of something, and his expression instantly turned ugly.

Then he asked cautiously:
"Your Highness, how is His Majesty doing now?"

It was obvious that he was asking about the assassination attempt on Chongzhen.

Although Li Guozhen was one of the nobles who initially followed Zhu Cilang in the "rebellion", Zhu Cilang would definitely not tell him the truth about the matter.

Therefore, Li Guozhen did not know that the previous assassination was actually planned by Zhu Cilang and Chongzhen, and he thought that Chongzhen was really assassinated.

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he patted Li Guozhang on the shoulder and said:

"Don't worry! Father is fine, he just needs to rest for a while!"

Li Guozhen finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

Immediately afterwards, the group arrived at Li Guozhen's tent.

Zhu Cilang was too lazy to say any more nonsense and asked directly:
"I believe you have received the imperial edict regarding the troop deployment yesterday. How is the army preparing?"

Li Guozhen replied respectfully:

"Reporting to His Royal Highness, the fifty thousand soldiers of the Imperial Army are ready and can set out at any time. Furthermore, the rewards have been distributed in full, as per your orders!"

Zhu Cilang nodded and continued:

"Go and call all the generals above the fourth rank who participated in this incident. I have something to tell them!"

"I'll go right away!"

After Li Guozhen finished speaking, he took the order and left.

Soon, about dozens of people came to Zhu Cilang.

These people were middle-level and high-level generals in the Beijing Camp. The lowest was a fourth-rank guerrilla general, and the highest was naturally Li Guozhen, the governor of the Beijing Camp's military affairs.

After everyone came before Zhu Cilang, they all knelt down and saluted:
"I will pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Cixi smiled and said:
"Generals, please don't be so polite. Stand up and speak!"

Then, everyone stood up.

Zhu Cilang glanced at the crowd and found that although he couldn't call out their names, they still looked familiar.

After all, I had personally paid their military salaries before.

Of course, he might not be very familiar with these Beijing camp generals in front of him, but these Beijing camp generals are very familiar with him, the prince.

Zhu Cilang then spoke:

"Everyone, regarding your mission this time, I believe you all already understand it even without me explaining it."

"So I won't say any more. You just need to remember one thing: you are collecting taxes on behalf of me and His Majesty!"

"If anyone dares to disobey orders and refuses to pay taxes, they will be killed without mercy!"

"Whether they are gentry, officials, or even royal relatives, anyone who dares to continue to default on taxes will be killed on the spot and their property confiscated. No mercy will be shown."

"If there are those who are so blind as to incite the people to resist taxes and smear the imperial court and Your Majesty, their entire clan will be exterminated and their property confiscated!"

"have you understood?"

At this moment, Zhu Cilang's voice was firm and powerful, with unquestionable majesty.

Although these generals had long known the court's determination to collect the overdue taxes, they were still a little surprised when they heard Zhu Cilang say such cruel and decisive words!

But they soon came to their senses and shouted in unison:

"Don't worry, Your Highness, we understand!"

At this moment, their faces were firm, and their eyes revealed only two words:
loyalty!

Zhu Cilang nodded in satisfaction, then cleared his throat and continued:

"Besides that, when you return triumphantly, I will give you a reward based on your merits. This amount will be no less than one million taels of silver!"

"As for how much you can get in the end, it all depends on your own ability."

"In addition, the amount of tax collected this time will directly determine the extent of your military merit."

"Whoever among you collects the most taxes will have the greatest military merit."

At this point, Zhu Cilang's expression suddenly became cold and his tone became deeper.

"But I must be frank with you. We must not harm innocent people on this trip. If the gentry voluntarily pay the back taxes, we must not deliberately embarrass them."

"Otherwise, I will not let you off easily!"

Zhu Cilang's voice was resounding. When he spoke the last sentence, his tone suddenly became heavier. The majesty revealed in his eyes seemed to be real. Anyone who looked at him was horrified!

The oppressive feeling brought by this prince was so strong that even these battle-hardened generals couldn't help but feel a little afraid!
But after coming to their senses, everyone's eyes flashed with excitement.

You know, they originally thought that they would get some reward money at most by collecting taxes this time, but they never thought that they could even get military merit!

For a soldier, military merit means supreme glory, and it is also a stepping stone to a higher position and more power!
(End of this chapter)