Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 26 Aristocratic Families
After leaving the court.

Wei, Cao, and Wang were in the Qianqing Palace. Wei Zhongxian sincerely flattered Zhu Youjian: "Your Majesty, your move is truly brilliant. In this way, most of the officials' firepower will be diverted."

Zhu Youjian remained noncommittal; he had no interest in such pointless chatter.

His only concern was how to advance the empire.

After a pause, he instructed, "After I leave the palace in a while, the three of you will rely on these lower-ranking officials to check and balance the court."

"The servant understands."

After the three men bowed in agreement, Cao Huachun was the first to step forward and ask:

"Your Majesty, how many people will you be taking with you when you leave the palace in a while? I'd like to prepare the carriages, horses, and provisions in advance."

"Prepare supplies for 5,000 people, and also prepare more grain that is easy to store. If you don't have enough money, just take it from the inner treasury."

Zhu Youjian was not yet clear about the specific disaster situation in Shaanxi, and could only glean some information from the memorials submitted in the past two years.

But he possesses the most basic common sense.

Given the agricultural productivity of that era, a disaster would inevitably result in a large number of people at the bottom of society going hungry.

Therefore, he must bring enough food to successfully carry out his first step of the plan after arriving in Shaanxi.

Moreover, for Zhu Youjian, the starvation of any member of the lower classes would be a huge loss for the empire.

In his view.

If you lose silver, you can steal it again; if you lose land, you can steal it again; if you lose anything, you can steal it.

But where can the empire plunder if it loses its own people?

"Your Majesty, rest assured, give me a maximum of one month, and I will certainly be able to arrange everything properly." Cao Huachun bowed and accepted the task.

An army must be well-prepared before it can move, let alone something as momentous as His Majesty's inspection tour outside the palace.

Logistical work must be fully prepared.

to be frank.

If this were during the Tianqi era when he was serving in the palace, all the power in the palace would be allocated to him.

Cao Huachun couldn't guarantee that he could make such preparations within a month.

One problem was the lack of money, and the other was the immense obstacles to conducting such an event within the palace.

But that's different now.

The silver reserves in the imperial treasury have exceeded three million taels, and even the lowest-ranking eunuchs and palace maids in the palace have experienced a significant change in their sentiments.

Cao Huachun believed that before tonight, the news of His Majesty's actions in court today would spread throughout the palace.

With such an emperor, who among them, who was already dependent on imperial power, would be unwilling to truly serve him wholeheartedly?

After giving instructions to Cao Huachun, Zhu Youjian then said to Wang Chengen:
"Among those officials who were fined today, take some men and give each of them one hundred taels of silver and ten taels of gold. Also, go and check on the injuries of that man named Chen Xinjia."

"The servant understands."

Then, he turned to Wei Zhongxian and began to speak in great detail:

"After I leave, the safety of the palace, especially the safety of you few, must be properly arranged."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant has been keeping a close eye on the training of the guards in the Eastern Depot day and night."

Upon hearing that Zhu Youjian had humbled himself to personally inquire about their safety, the three immediately knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude.

Zhu Youjian waved his hand, signaling the three of them to hurry up and get on with their tasks.

After the three people left one by one.

Zhu Youjian sat alone in a side room of the Qianqing Palace, contemplating the current situation.

Although the eunuch faction around him has begun to gain power, they are still far inferior to the civil officials in the court in terms of their skills.

Of the three, Wang Chengen and Cao Huachun lacked experience, and even with the addition of the low-ranking officials who had emerged in the court today, they wouldn't amount to much. These low-ranking officials held no real power, so facing the deeply entrenched civil service, they were highly likely to be easily overwhelmed by a single counterattack.

Political struggle is a life-or-death struggle, and all sorts of methods and tricks, both conceivable and unconcerned, will emerge endlessly.

However, if the forces of the Beijing Garrison and the noble military officers are added, it should be about right, at least enough to maintain a delicate balance after he leaves and prevent it from collapsing easily.

Meanwhile, in the Cabinet Office.

The four elders sat together in silence, the atmosphere heavy with tension.

Huang Lijie, as the chief minister, holds the most prestigious position, but he is also the one who is most depressed among the four.

He regretted that when he had said in a fit of pique a few days ago that he wanted to retire and return to his hometown, he hadn't actually left.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have any of these troubles now.

He's old now; his mind and energy can no longer keep up with his younger days.

I thought I'd chosen a carefree prince who would be easy to control.

Unexpectedly, after he actually ascended to the throne, he transformed into an autocratic and unfathomable emperor.

Huang Lijie felt that the situation was out of his control.

But now, even if I want to leave, I can't.

Before things escalate, his subordinates will be happy that he left, as his departure from the court means a position will be vacant.

But if he were to actually retire and return to his hometown, his status as the Grand Secretary and the official representative of the civil service would be completely different.

To desert one's post in the face of battle is a crime deserving of death!

It doesn't matter that he died. At this age, although it's inevitable to be afraid of death, I still made some preparations.

What Huang Lijie feared was that the civil service group, in their rage, would directly transfer their anger to the "Five Willows Huang Family," from which he came.

As a member of this huge group, he naturally knew how terrifying this group was.

So we have no choice but to go down this path to the bitter end.

Huang Liji picked up his teacup, took a sip of the fragrant tea from Jiangnan to moisten his dry lips, and said:
"I never imagined that the factional strife in the court would have become so serious. If this continues, it may be detrimental to the Ming Dynasty."

Shi Fenglai continued, "They call it factional strife, but I think those poor officials are probably just after money."

"Why not send someone with some silver to offer their condolences and rewards? After all, we must prioritize the overall situation."

Li Guopu sneered, "Then let Lord Shi pay for this!"

Seeing the tension in the conversation, Zhang Ruitu quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "We are court officials, and we receive salaries from the court."

"Moreover, His Majesty has been paying back salaries to all the low-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty these days. It's not our place to worry about such things."

After he finished speaking, the duty room fell silent again.

There were some things that couldn't be said too explicitly in the duty room, but all four of them understood the meaning behind each other's words.

It's no longer possible to bribe those lower-ranking officials.

Less money will inevitably increase hatred, but if there is too much money, who will cut the flesh?
Moreover, the major and minor events that have occurred in recent days have greatly increased the influence of the newly enthroned emperor in the hearts of the people.

The salary they paid for a year couldn't compare to the monthly allowance the emperor gave them.

　Historical records about Huang Liji's background are quite complex, with some saying he was a member of the eunuch faction and others saying he was a member of the imperial faction, but we won't discuss that further.

　　However, it should be noted that the "Wu Liu Huang family" from which Huang Lijie came was extremely prominent in the local area.

　　The ancestral hall built after his death was extremely magnificent, and it was not until after the founding of the People's Republic of China that it was truly destroyed.

　　Therefore, the author felt it didn't matter which party he belonged to, since he came from a powerful and influential family.

　　P.S.: This is solely the author's personal opinion.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)