Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 13 Dog bites dog

Upon recalling Cui Chengxiu's name, Wei Zhongxian narrowed his eyes.

He had long harbored resentment towards the leader of his five subordinates.

Cui Chengxiu was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). Back when the Donglin Party was at its peak, he fawned over them so much that he almost sold his ditch.

Then, for various reasons, Choi Seong-soo was ultimately not accepted by the Donglin Party.

He was shameless enough to turn his ship around and join him the very next day after being rejected.

At that time, he didn't have many people under his command, and this person was unscrupulous in his flattery, so he was gradually pushed to the position of Minister of Works.

On this lucrative post, coupled with the large-scale palace renovations of the previous two years, Wei Zhongxian knew that Cui Chengxiu had embezzled no less than a million taels of silver.

If we were to seize his property, even after deducting all the hidden assets, we could still get at least a million taels of silver for His Majesty.

In addition, there were various houses and fertile fields.
Wei Zhongxian had already mentally recorded a merit for himself.

These achievements are all crucial to whether he can die a peaceful death.

of course.

Wei Zhongxian chose to target Cui Chengxiu first, not solely because Cui had amassed a fortune.

He knew that among his adopted sons, there were some who were even more capable of making money than Cui Chengxiu.

For example, the current Minister of Personnel, Zhou Yingqiu, is the head of the "Ten Dogs".

Zhou Yingqiu had a nickname: "Zhou Wanliang".

The phrase "ten thousand taels" means that he received as much as ten thousand taels of silver every day from selling official positions.

Although these things did happen at Wei Zhongxian's behest, and he himself took quite a bit, he has now righteously severed ties with these people, hasn't he?

Wei Zhongxian, who was quite flexible in his thinking and bottom line, had already undergone a tremendous change since His Majesty ascended the throne.

Now, serving His Majesty well is his ultimate goal in life.

The reason for targeting Cui Chengxiu first instead of Zhou Yingqiu is...

The main reason was that Wei Zhongxian considered Cui Chengxiu to be a complete waste of space for the current emperor.

A few days ago, His Majesty inquired about matters in Liaodong, and Wei Zhongxian had already keenly sensed that His Majesty would pay more attention to military affairs in the future.

Choi Seong-soo is a complete and utter waste.

He's never even been to a training ground, let alone fought in a war.

How could His Majesty possibly allow such a useless person to remain in the position of Minister of War?
Making an example of him will surely please the higher-ups.

Another reason is personal grudges.

Two years after the late emperor fell into the water.

Wei Zhongxian then realized that Cui Chengxiu seemed to be colluding with the Donglin Party members.

There was nothing he could do; by then, his power had already begun to crumble following the fall of the previous emperor.

What led him to this conclusion was Choi Seong-soo's transfer.

The late emperor passed away about half a month ago.

Cui Chengxiu, who had served as Minister of Works for several years, was suddenly transferred to the position of Minister of War.

Without a doubt, this must have involved some kind of deal with the Donglin Party.

Think of this.

Wei Zhongxian couldn't help but sneer inwardly: If we really lose power, do you think this will protect you?

Perfect timing! Now we can settle both our national and personal scores together!
A sinister smile appeared on Wei Zhongxian's face. The eunuch serving beside him felt the temperature in the room drop suddenly when he saw this smile, and he couldn't help but shiver.

After a while.

Wei Zhongxian knelt before Zhu Youjian in a state of trepidation.

He wasn't faking it; he was genuinely scared.

"Your Majesty, may you live long and prosper!" "Your Majesty, the preparations for confiscating the property have been largely completed. However, after reviewing the details these past few days, I discovered that the amount of stolen silver confiscated was not the initial estimate of 500,000 taels, but at least 1 million taels!"

The original plan was to confiscate 500,000, but it wouldn't be difficult for Wei Zhongxian to expand the scope of the confiscation slightly and then add some of his own money to make it a round number.

Zhu Youjian nodded and offered Wei Zhongxian a few words of encouragement.

Wei Zhongxian felt a warmth in his heart, and then quickly continued, "This servant kowtows to thank Your Majesty for your grace, and will serve Your Majesty even unto death!"

"However, besides this matter, there is another matter I would like to ask Your Majesty to decide."

“I once had a godson named Cui Chengxiu, who is currently the Minister of War. However, he is completely ignorant of military affairs and was extremely corrupt when he was the Minister of Works. I have obtained key evidence of his crimes.”

"If we convict him, this servant and my men can seize at least a million taels of silver from his home. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Zhu Youjian said, "Don't touch him yet, just continue collecting evidence."

Zhu Youjian heard about Cui Chengxiu's name being impeached on his first day of court.

After he returned, he looked through the man's resume and realized that Cui Chengxiu's fate had actually been sealed at that time.

But now is not the time to kill him.

Upon hearing the Emperor's words, Wei Zhongxian realized that Cui Chengxiu was a dead man, and secretly rejoiced that he had guessed the Emperor's intentions correctly this time.

"This servant obeys the order. I will do my best to collect evidence after I return."

Zhu Youjian nodded: "Also, when I hold court tomorrow, arrange for someone to impeach Tian Ergeng, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian was both delighted and alarmed.

What pleased him was His Majesty's straightforward manner of speaking, which made him feel as if he had become a trusted eunuch, and he found this very pleasing.

What's surprising is that His Majesty is going to take action against the Embroidered Uniform Guard so soon?

However, Wei Zhongxian knew that this was not the time to think too much. After kneeling and saying "This servant obeys the decree," he hurriedly left to carry out his mission.

After returning to the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Wei Zhongxian then began to ponder His Majesty's instructions.

If His Majesty were to send someone to impeach Tian Ergeng, it would surely be a swift and decisive move to put him to death.

That's easy to handle.

One of the major functions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was to confiscate property, and Tian Ergeng had made quite a bit of money from this in recent years.

If this is used as a pretext for impeachment, Tian Ergeng will surely face the death penalty.

At the same time, Wei Zhongxian also understood one thing.

Qian Tianergeng only took a small share; the real cut went to the civil service group behind him.

After Tian Ergeng is impeached tomorrow, the entire interest group will inevitably try every means to save his life.

However, Wei Zhongxian was not worried about this. How could these people stop His Majesty from doing what he wanted to do?
The important thing is to think more about how to demonstrate your value to His Majesty during tomorrow's court assembly and struggle.

This is the most important thing.

After Wei Zhongxian left.

Wang Chengen approached Zhu Youjian and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, Cao Huachun has arrived in the capital from Southern Zhili."

Zhu Youjian nodded: "Bring him here."

About half an hour later.

Tall and strong Cao Huachun entered the Qianqing Palace under the guidance of Wang Chengen.

along the way.

Wang Chengen kept telling him how much his behavior had changed since His Majesty ascended the throne, and how the atmosphere in the court had been completely transformed in just a few days.

　Historical records indicate that when Cui Chengxiu's home was searched, more than 70,000 taels of silver, several hundred taels of gold, and several thousand acres of fertile land were confiscated, clearly stating that this was less than one-tenth of his true family fortune.

　　As for where the rest went? They're hidden away and can't be found, so don't even think about it, Emperor.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)