Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 72 Even the Country Can Be Sold
Faced with this question, Qiao Yingjia remained silent.

He did indeed send a secret letter to the capital last night.

Based on the expedited transmission efficiency.

His accomplices in the capital would receive this secret letter in just a few days.

However, given his own desire to retire and return to his hometown, Qiao Yingjia did not want to get too involved in matters in Shaanxi anymore.

Therefore, I didn't intend to reveal the matter of this secret letter.

Just as he was pondering, an impatient servant suddenly burst in, panting heavily, and said:

"Your Excellencies... Something terrible has happened! I received a message from Xi'an Prefecture just now on the way here... Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

"What's wrong with the Emperor?! Tell me quickly!!"

The appearance of the servant made the officials sweat profusely. Some of them stepped forward, grabbed his collar, and urged him to explain himself.

But the more anxious he became, the more panting the servant became, and he couldn't utter a word.

finally.

It was Hong Chengchou who stepped forward and poured the servant a cup of tea to calm him down, allowing him to continue speaking.

"His Majesty sent men to kill all the people in several counties within Xi'an Prefecture that had already provided disaster relief according to the imperial edict!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.

Even those ordered to provide disaster relief are killed?!
What a tyrannical and despicable ruler he was!

So how exactly can one survive?!
Now it's the lower-level officials and gentry who are dying, so will it be their turn soon?
Haven't they given enough? Why does the emperor insist on pushing them to the brink of despair?
After a moment of silence.

Hong Chengchou was the first to react, asking the servant, "Were all the officials and gentry in the county killed?"

"No, no! I heard that an official in a county was even publicly praised by the imperial envoy sent by the emperor for his meritorious service in disaster relief."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt an even greater chill in their hearts.

If the emperor were to kill anyone he saw without giving a reason...

So they might as well fight to the death, gather all their resources, and see if they can carve out a way to survive.

But it was precisely this situation of having one element missing that prevented them from taking any action.

Fear spread throughout the room, slowly reaching everyone's hearts.

An official, seemingly having lost all spirit, slumped to the ground, muttering to himself:
"I really can't understand why the Emperor is doing this. Shaanxi is a dead end. Even if he kills us all, it will only be a case of drinking poison to quench thirst."

"Was it just for a simple act of venting anger?"

Hearing his colleague's words, everyone in the room felt their hearts sink to the bottom.

But suddenly.

Someone noticed something in that sentence and suddenly looked up at the others.

Following this person's actions, the others seemed to understand something as if by unspoken agreement.

Yes.

Shaanxi is in a dead end.

But as long as Shaanxi is a dead end, then they have a way out.

Everyone's attention immediately turned to Qiao Yingjia, a well-known member of the Donglin Party.

Qiao Yingjia now understood that he had no choice but to get too involved in the affairs of Shaanxi, even if he didn't want to.

After a pause, he began to speak:
"Tonight I will have someone send a secret letter to the capital explaining the current situation. We will try to get through this period first, and then make a specific decision after receiving a reply."

Qiao Yingjia did not make his point clear.

But everyone roughly understood what this meant.

As for Shaanxi, the emperor is now merely suppressing it by force on his own.

But the more severe the suppression is now.

After all the grain in Shaanxi has been consumed.

The greater the backlash, the stronger the reaction.

If a large-scale turmoil breaks out at that time...

Even if the emperor possessed extraordinary power, he would find it difficult to address the plight of the millions of people in Shaanxi who were starving.

All they had to do was wait patiently.

When that time comes, the initiative will be in their hands.

Initially, they only felt fear towards the emperor who had come to Shaanxi, terrified that his executioner's blade might accidentally fall upon them. But now that there was a glimmer of hope, this fear slowly and imperceptibly transformed into hatred.

Compared to the civil officials in the capital, the officials in the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission are the ones who most want the emperor dead.

After all, they are the ones who suffer the most oppression right now.

Did the emperor like to open granaries and distribute grain?!

Then let's go all out!

Then we will unite with powerful families and clans in the inland regions to launch a counterattack.

All it takes is for someone to take the lead in blocking the emperor's escape route, and then slowly incite a large number of starving people in Shaanxi.

This will surely ensure the emperor's demise!
Not only that, but everyone at that time also had to unite to nail him to the annals of history.

"The emperor ignored all advice and went to Shaanxi to provide disaster relief. He was eager for quick success and instant benefits and was fond of grand achievements. In the end, he forced the people of Shaanxi to riot and die among the rebels."

How pleasant it sounds!

But now.

I still need to figure out how to save my life before things completely descend into chaos in Shaanxi.
But with hope, everyone's thoughts began to stir.

Just hold out for a month, and Yan'an Prefecture will surely descend into chaos after that.

Although it may sound like it will take a long time, this goal is actually not difficult to achieve.

Shaanxi Province administers eight prefectures and twenty-one counties, covering a vast area.

The Xi'an Prefecture alone was enough to hold the emperor back for a long time, because in addition to officials and gentry, a behemoth—the King of Qin—was also entrenched there.

In everyone's eyes, the emperor's knife was so ruthless.

Even if the King of Qin is a vassal king, he will probably still have to bleed some money.

However, this alone does not seem to be enough.

After all, if the emperor were to march directly from Tongguan to Yan'an, they would be in great danger.

Therefore, it was necessary to take some action to stop the emperor's procession in order to truly ensure one's safety.

The group began to brainstorm ideas.

Before long, he came up with several common methods to deal with the emperor.

now.

Everyone present felt a surge of energy and spirit as they witnessed the situation taking a turn for the better.

But this does not include Hong Chengchou.

As someone with an extremely keen political sense.

From what had just happened, Hong Chengchou keenly sensed that Qiao Yingjia had never intended to wholeheartedly fight against the imperial power from the very beginning, and that there might be some other trouble to come.

So after returning to his temporary residence, Hong Chengchou pondered for a long time before finally choosing to summon a trusted confidant.

He handed an account book and a letter to this confidant, secretly instructing him:
"Go to Xi'an Prefecture overnight to find His Majesty's whereabouts and be sure to present these two items to him."

"If the guards ask you why you submitted this report, just say that Hong Chengchou, the Shaanxi Grain Supervisor, has a major secret to report."

"I understand, little one!"

After his confidant left, Hong Chengchou narrowed his eyes.

That ledger recorded the amount and details of corruption by high-ranking officials in Shaanxi in recent years.

That letter was his declaration of sincerity to His Majesty.

Hong Chengchou was smarter than those officials.

He knew that his opponent was a prodigy who could leave the palace just two months after ascending the throne and was capable of killing countless people.

Although Hong Chengchou didn't know what other tricks the young emperor had up his sleeve to save Shaanxi.

But he instinctively did not want to be his enemy.

That being the case.

If you don't sell when you should, you'll only cause trouble.

Although this move is extremely risky, the potential rewards are also incredibly high.

Therefore, let alone colleagues.

He would even sell out his country if the interests or threats were significant enough.

　Ahem. Because this book deals with nationalism, anyone who has sold out their country or is controversial will be executed; there's no need to worry about whitewashing or anything like that.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)