The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 97: Chaos at the Border
Zhang Siwei is dead!
The news from Shanxi was that he died of a sudden illness.

The fleet that Wanli used to escort Prince Lu also happened to return.

The whole capital city suddenly became strange and chaotic.

Zhang Juzheng's old party members in the court applauded and almost set off firecrackers to celebrate.

Shen Shixing and his party were also eager to try, just waiting for the young emperor to help them seize power.

Zhang Siwei's party in the court was in a state of panic and anxiety all day long.

They are called Zhang Siwei's party, and the backbone is naturally Zhang Siwei.

Now that Zhang Siwei is dead, what should we do?
It was only at this time that they discovered that the three powerful families of Puzhou, which seemed to cover the sky and the sun, could no longer cover the sky or the sun after Zhang Siwei disappeared.

What else do they have to rely on?

Wang Chonggu?

This guy is already in his seventies or eighties and is about to die.

Besides, it is impossible for the young emperor to let Wang Chonggu return to the court.

As for the second and third generations of the three major Puzhou families, Yang Junmin, Yang Yuanxiang, Zhang Taizheng, Zhang Jiazheng, and Wang Qian, they had not yet had time to take over the power of the court.

The highest-ranking person among these people, Yang Junmin, was only a minister of the Ministry of War, and was also a governor sent out to the capital, not in the court.

It seems that their biggest reliance now is the Minister of Personnel Wu Dui.

However, this guy is not their relative, nor is he their in-law, he can only be regarded as their accomplice.

Can Wu Dui be trusted?
Zhang Siwei is dead, will he still fight for the three major families in Puzhou?
It’s hard to say.

After Zhang Siwei's death, the three major families in Puzhou were at their weakest.

Wanli was already preparing to deal with the three major powerful families in Puzhou.

Wu Dui is his primary target. No matter whether this guy will continue to work hard for the three major families in Puzhou, he must deal with him.

Early in the morning, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the entire capital was shrouded in dark clouds, as if a blizzard was about to come.

Wanli pretended that he had just returned last night, and early this morning he "took great pains" to summon the chief minister of the cabinet, Shen Shixing.

The sky was gloomy and the sky was dim, but Shen Shixing's face looked sunny and he was very happy.

Zhang Siwei is dead, so he has nothing to worry about.

He could easily use the little emperor to seize power.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he excitedly said, "Your Majesty, Zhang Siwei is dead. The court is leaderless and in chaos. Can we take this opportunity to get rid of the Minister of Personnel, Wu Dui?"

Do you think you can take control of the court after Zhang Siwei dies?

In the current court, I have the final say!

You still want to use me, and I still want to use you.

Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Well, it's time to act. Order someone to impeach Wu Dui, and I will remove him from office and investigate him."

You're not going to play tricks on me again, are you?
Shen Shixing said cautiously, "Your Majesty, we don't need any proof this time, right?"

Of course not this time.

Wanli pretended to be serious and said, "Although we don't need any evidence, you must find a way to accuse him of some serious crime. How can I dismiss a minister of the Ministry of Personnel and investigate him if it's not serious enough?"

You mean to ask me to falsely accuse or even frame you, right?

I'm actually quite good at this, but I didn't dare to use it before because I was afraid they would use it on me.

Now that Zhang Siwei is dead, I don’t have to be afraid anymore. No one can threaten my position as Prime Minister. What should I be afraid of?

One word, do it!

Shen Shixing quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

Next, the show began.

Not only did Shen Shixing order his trusted censors to submit a memorial to impeach Wu Dui, he also instigated Zhang Juzheng's old party and those young and inexperienced members of the Qingliu faction to join in the impeachment.

He also unscrupulously spread rumors that this time he would definitely defeat Zhang Siwei and his gang and restore order to the Ming Dynasty court.

Zhang Siwei is dead, and the only one left in the court who holds power is the Minister of Personnel Wu Dui. As long as he continues to work hard, Zhang Siwei and his party will be finished. This sounds true.

This was a serious matter. Both Zhang Juzheng's old party and the young people of the Qingliu were instigated by him, and the memorials impeaching Wu Dui flew into the cabinet like snowflakes.

The next morning at about noon, Shen Shixing ran to the imperial study with a large stack of impeachment memorials in his arms.

When Wanli saw this, he was stunned.

This thing is so thick, there must be at least hundreds of copies, right?

Does Shen Shixing have so many censors under his command? Impossible!

There are only more than a hundred censors in the court. Can they all be this guy's subordinates?

This is impossible. The newly appointed censors are all Yu Youcai's disciples.

It seems that Yu Youcai also took the opportunity to let his disciples take action.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Shen Shixing took up the top memorial and said, "Your Majesty, I have read all these impeachment memorials. This one is enough to have Wu Dui dismissed and investigated."

Is there any evidence to support this?

Wanli took the memorial and looked at it carefully, and couldn't help but snort coldly.

Wei Yunzhen, the censor of the Inspectorate, reported that the Minister of War Wu Dui first attached himself to Gao Gong and then to Zhang Juzheng, and bribed Feng Bao with 1,000 taels of gold in exchange for Feng Bao's approval to appoint Xuan Da as the Governor of Shanxi. The 1,000 taels of gold confiscated from Feng Bao with his signature and seal were still there, and it was the fifth year of the Wanli reign.

After Governor Wu Dui of Shanxi Xuanda, he withheld food and wages, embezzled military farms, controlled the trade, and amassed wealth. He also sent weapons and firearms to bribe Altan Khan many times, and used jewelry, silks and satins to seduce Sanniangzi to collude with him for profit.

This is absolutely true!
You bastard, not only did you collaborate with the enemy and betray your country, but you even dared to send muskets and cannons to Altan Khan!
This is a powerful weapon for the Ming Dynasty to deal with the northern barbarian cavalry.

You want the Northern Tartars to learn how to make muskets and cannons!

After reading the memorial, Wanli became furious and could not contain his anger.

He roared in anger, "Issue an order to remove the Minister of Personnel from his post and investigate him. I will hand him over to the three judicial departments for trial. I will thoroughly examine all the impeachment memorials, especially Wei Yunzhen's memorial. If he dares not confess the truth, I will torture him to death. He deserves death!"

Uh, this is what we agreed on, you don't have to be so angry, right?
Shen Shixing was startled by the sudden roar. He was stunned for a moment before he asked carefully, "Your Majesty, who will fill the position of Minister of Personnel?"

Do you think I left it for you?

Wanli, still furious, said, "Move Yang Zhao, the Minister of Works in Nanjing, to serve as the Minister of Personnel."

what?
Yang Zhao!

This guy is a member of the border garrison army. He is both civil and military, and very tough. No one will listen to him at all!

Why did the young emperor suddenly think of transferring Yang Zhaolai, the Minister of Works in Nanjing, to be the Minister of Personnel?

He really didn't expect this move.

When Shen Shixing heard this, he was stunned.

Wanli stared at him coldly and asked, "Why, do you want to disobey the order?"

This little guy seems to be sick, and this time he seems to be very sick. Don't provoke him.

Shen Shixing bowed repeatedly and said, "I dare not. I will do it right away."

After saying this, he retreated respectfully.

Minister of Personnel Wu Dui was dismissed from his post and investigated, and it seemed that the three major powerful families in Puzhou were powerless to turn the tide.

Yang Zhao was Xiao Ruxun's father-in-law. Wanli had long planned to use Yang Zhao to replace Wu Dui as the Minister of Personnel.

Therefore, he selected Xiao Ruxun as the top martial arts scholar and appointed him as the deputy general of the Beijing camp in order to win him over.

The Xiao family was originally an old acquaintance of the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, and now they had become his staunch confidants. Naturally, Yang Zhao also stood on his side and became a member of the imperial party.

Apart from the cabinet, the most important department in the court is the Ministry of Personnel. As long as he controls the Ministry of Personnel, he can begin to purge the officials of the three major families in Puzhou in the court.

The three great families in Puzhou are as wealthy as a country, and they have a great number of officials in the court.

This time, perhaps we can fabricate a case of treason, and then take the opportunity to frantically ransack homes and kill people, completely wiping out these traitors who collaborate with the enemy and betray their country!

Will the three major families of Puzhou admit defeat?

Of course not!
Wanli was still thinking about how to fabricate a case of treason, and Yang Zhao was still on his way back to Beijing, when smoke of war broke out on the border and urgent reports came in one after another.

Xuanfu Town was the first to be invaded.

General Dong Yikui urgently reported that the Tatar Kharachin tribe and the three Doyan guards had a combined force of more than 100,000 troops and invaded Heiyukou, the left guard of Yanqing.

Soon after, Datong Town was also invaded.

General Ma Gui urgently reported that the combined forces of more than 100,000 people from the Bayut, Balin and Dalat tribes of the Tatar Tumed tribe invaded the Qingshui River estuary of Datong Youwei.

Soon after, Liaodong Town was also invaded.

General Li Chengliang urgently reported that a Tuman army of more than 100,000 soldiers had invaded the Liaohe River.

At this moment, the Ming Dynasty border was in chaos. Except for Jizhou Town, the other three border towns that were not controlled by the three major families of Puzhou were all invaded by more than 100,000 northern barbarians!

It is obvious that the three major families in Puzhou will not admit defeat. They want to use the northern barbarians to threaten Wanli.

This is no joke. In history, this was the result when Chongzhen wanted to regain imperial power and purge them all.

After the second year of Chongzhen, the Later Jin invaded almost every year. The capital was plagued by slaughter and the whole country was in chaos.

(End of this chapter)