How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 35 The More Corrupt Officials, the Better for the Ming Dynasty? (Please add to your favorites and read on!)

Emperor Chongzhen had finished reading the entire memorial and his gaze fell on Zhang Zhiji. He remained calm and composed: "I have read the memorial from the Duke of Yingguo. His loyalty is truly gratifying to me."

Zhang Zhiji's throat bobbed, but he dared not reply.

"However," Chongzhen changed the subject, his voice still steady, "the Duke of Yingguo is in poor health and has resigned from his post as governor of the Beijing Garrison. This important place of the Beijing Garrison needs someone to look after it for me."

Zhang Zhiji's heart was in his throat.

Chongzhen looked at him and suddenly asked, "What position do you hold now?"

“Your Majesty,” Zhang Zhiji bowed hurriedly, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension, “I am currently the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission.”

Chongzhen nodded, as if asking casually, "Hmm, Vice Commander-in-Chief, a first-rank official." He paused, his gaze deep, "After the Duke of Yingguo resigned from his post in the Beijing Garrison, who should take over this position according to custom?"

Zhang Zhiji dared not conceal anything and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, according to the old custom... the Duke of Cheng should take over. The Duke of Cheng is currently the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies and concurrently assists in the administration of the capital's military affairs."

"Oh, Zhu Chunchen." Chongzhen murmured the name. "He is the commander of the Five Armies and assists in military administration... If he were to take over as the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Garrison, wouldn't the position of commander of the Five Armies be vacant?"

Zhang Zhiji felt his palms starting to sweat. The emperor's words... were loaded with meaning! The commander-in-chief of the Five Armies Camp was a real commander of troops, while the governor of the capital's military administration had a large position, but he didn't have many soldiers under his command.

Zhu Chunchen's official rank increased, but the number of soldiers under his command decreased.
Chongzhen's gaze returned to his face: "I see that you have a dignified appearance, are a son of a military family, the heir of the Duke of Ying, and have a family with a long history of learning. You shall be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Five Armies."

Zhang Zhiji was overjoyed! Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies! The head of the three major battalions of the Beijing Garrison, in charge of the heavy troops in the capital region! This position is below the Governor-General of the Beijing Garrison. Zhu Chunchen's governorship of the Beijing Garrison doesn't seem to last long; once he falls, Zhang Zhiji can take over.

He knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling with excitement: "Your subject... Your subject Zhang Zhiji kowtows to thank Your Majesty for your divine grace! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" His forehead slammed heavily against the gold brick.

Seeing his overly excited state, Chongzhen remained expressionless. He only said calmly after the man finished kowtowing, "Get up."

Zhang Zhiji stood up, his chest still heaving violently.

"This job is not easy." Chongzhen's voice turned somber. "The problems in the Beijing Garrison are not something that arose overnight. Empty quotas, unpaid labor, unpaid wages... I know all about them."

The joy on Zhang Zhiji's face instantly froze, and his heart jumped again.

"The vacancies in the Five Armies Camps." Chongzhen looked at him, his gaze sharp. "I know there are many! You've just taken over, and there are countless things to deal with. You can't clear them up in a short time."

Zhang Zhiji was stunned, not understanding the emperor's meaning for a moment.

Emperor Chongzhen picked up the huanghuali wood thermos cup on his desk, took a sip, and said in a flat tone as if he were talking about something insignificant: "You can continue eating for now...".

what? !

Zhang Zhiji's pupils constricted sharply, thinking he had misheard! The emperor... was allowing him to continue receiving a salary without working?!
Chongzhen put down his thermos and looked at him calmly: "However, from now on, the share given to the Ministry of War will be waived."

Zhang Zhiji sensed something was wrong. The division of the army… could they really refuse to give it to them? No, something was wrong.
He felt something was amiss, and wanted to explain, to show his loyalty, to say "I dare not," or "I will definitely investigate..." but then he felt it wasn't right. Why did this emperor love to play riddles so much?
Seeing his expression, which showed no sign of understanding the "imperial will," Chongzhen smiled slightly, his tone softening somewhat: "The corrupt practices of the Beijing Garrison are deeply entrenched and have not been established overnight. If you do not collude with them, you will find it difficult to move forward or accomplish anything."

He paused for a moment: "Therefore, I grant you permission to continue as before. As for the two ministers of the Ministry of War, Cui Chengxiu and Tian Ji, they are suspected of embezzling military funds and will be arrested soon! The 'tribute' that your five military battalions gave them, of course, need not be sent anymore."

Zhang Zhiji's heart skipped a beat again! The two Ministers of War... they've both been taken down? They were Wei Zhongxian's men!

"Your most important task right now is to keep a close watch on the Five Armies and stabilize morale for me." Chongzhen's gaze was deep. "As for the future..."

He tapped the imperial desk lightly with his fingers: "When I am free to reorganize the Beijing Garrison, your cooperation will be the credit."

Zhang Zhiji felt his mind was in complete chaos. The emperor's meaning was crystal clear—he was allowed to temporarily collude with the corrupt officials to stabilize the capital garrison, but on the condition that he would cooperate with the emperor to exploit the officers of the capital garrison in the future!
This...this is practically using him as a personal sickle to "harvest the leeks"!
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Zhang Zhiji's voice was hoarse as he spoke with difficulty, "Your Majesty, I obey your decree! I will... I will certainly fulfill my duties and live up to Your Majesty's grace!"

Emperor Chongzhen stood up, walked to Zhang Zhiji, patted him on the shoulder casually, but his words made Zhang Zhiji uneasy: "The more corrupt officials there are, the fuller the national treasury will be when I collect the fines for crimes. So, these corrupt officials are like leeks; as long as I have the knife to cut them, I won't complain about having too many corrupt officials! Do you understand?"

"Understood, Your Majesty understands!" Zhang Zhiji replied while guessing the riddle—the Emperor meant that the Zhang family had to choose between "leeks" and "the knife for cutting leeks."

"Go. Do your job as the commander-in-chief of the Five Armies."

"Your subject... takes his leave!" Zhang Zhiji bowed deeply and backed out of the warm pavilion.

After Zhang Zhiji took his leave, Chongzhen looked at Gao Yushun and asked, "Have Cui Chengxiu, Tian Ji, and Zhou Yingqiu arrived yet?"

Gao Yushun said in a low voice, "We've arrived."

Emperor Chongzhen's gaze turned cold: "Order Cao Huachun to bring ten imperial guards into the palace, and then summon the other three." When Cui Chengxiu, Tian Ji, and Zhou Yingqiu entered the palace, they immediately saw Cao Huachun and the ten imperial guards behind him dressed in plain clothes and carrying swords.

The three men trembled and immediately prostrated themselves, saying, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects!"

Emperor Chongzhen looked at them coldly, picked up a confession from the table, and threw it on the ground: "Take a look for yourselves."

The three men trembled as they picked up the confession, glanced at it a few times, and their faces turned ashen.

This is Wei Zhongxian's confession!

It clearly states above that Wei Zhongxian protected and condoned Cui Chengxiu and Tian Jike for withholding military pay and falsely reporting military achievements! He also colluded with Zhou Yingqiu to sell official positions and collect money!
Emperor Chongzhen picked up his huanghuali wood thermos, took a sip of hot tea, and said indifferently, "It's greed again... How come there are so many corrupt officials in my Great Ming Dynasty?"

His simple statement both defined the nature of the case and set boundaries for the three individuals.

They are the韭菜 (leeks, a metaphor for easily exploited people), oh, they are corrupt officials, not traitors. Corrupt officials can pay money to atone for their crimes.
But the three of them were still trembling all over, their foreheads pressed to the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

Emperor Chongzhen sighed: "None of you should go back today."

He looked at Cao Huachun: "Qionghua Island has been prepared. Take them up there and let them think carefully about how to confess their sins and atone for them. Remember, they are still officials and have not been imprisoned. They are being held on Qionghua Island."

Cui Chengxiu, Tian Ji, and Zhou Yingqiu all breathed a slight sigh of relief—they were still officials, and if they weren't imprisoned, it meant they valued money over their lives.
Cao Huachun bowed and said, "This servant obeys your command."

Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand: "Take them away!"

Ten imperial guards stepped forward and escorted the three men, who were secretly calculating how much silver and land they would have to pay as atonement, out of the Wenhua Hall.

Emperor Chongzhen watched their retreating figures with burning eyes: "Summon Mr. Sun and Xu Changchen to the Wenhua Hall."

Half an hour later, inside the Wenhua Hall.

Sun Chengzong and Xu Yingyuan stood solemnly in the hall. Emperor Chongzhen pushed the confessions of Cui Chengxiu, Tian Ji, and Zhou Yingqiu to the table and said indifferently, "I have already ordered these three people to be detained on Qionghua Island."

Sun Chengzong was startled and looked up at the emperor.

Emperor Chongzhen's gaze remained calm: "Cui Chengxiu and Tian Jike withheld military pay, and Zhou Yingqiu sold official positions... I will have them think carefully about how to plead guilty and atone for their crimes."

It can even be used to atone for sins. How could this emperor be so greedy for money?

Sun Chengzong remained silent for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Chongzhen looked at Xu Yingyuan: "Have the cabinet draft a proposal and issue a special decree to replace Cui Chengxiu as the Left Censor-in-Chief with Mr. Sun. Isn't Zhou Yingqiu's Minister of Personnel, Huang Liji, also the Minister of Personnel? Although it's against the rules, I won't change it for now. Let him take charge of the Ministry of Personnel. As for the positions of Minister of War for Cui Chengxiu and Tian Ji, they will remain vacant for now!"

Xu Yingyuan bowed: "This servant understands."

Emperor Chongzhen paused for a moment, then said, "In addition, the Duke of Yingguo is old and ill and has requested to resign as Governor-General of the Beijing Garrison. I have approved the appointment of the Duke of Chengguo as Governor-General of the Beijing Garrison, and the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies of the Duke of Chengguo will be taken over by the Duke of Yingguo's heir, Zhang Zhiji."

"Two more imperial edicts were issued, reinstating Li Banghua and Qian Qianyi. Li Banghua was appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and Qian Qianyi was appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

A hint of joy finally flashed in Sun Chengzong's eyes—the emperor intended to use the Donglin Party's influence to stabilize the court. Only when the court was stable could he swindle money from the eunuch faction.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at Sun Chengzong and said, "Mr. Sun, the reason for appointing you, Vice Minister Li, and Vice Minister Qian by imperial decree is that the current situation is critical and the affairs of the Beijing Garrison and the Ministry of War are being handled by you and Vice Minister Li."

Sun Chengzong solemnly cupped his hands and said, "Your subject will certainly do his utmost."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said to Xu Yingyuan, "After the cabinet has drafted the proposal, you shall personally deliver it to me. After I approve it, I will announce it at court tomorrow."

Xu Yingyuan respectfully accepted.

Emperor Chongzhen picked up his thermos, took a sip of hot tea, and gazed into the distance.

The more corrupt officials there are, the more money they are fined for their crimes.

The more money the criminals pay, the better for the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the more corrupt officials there are, the better the Ming Dynasty will be!
This wasn't just wild speculation; it was because a large portion of the wealth amassed by the most corrupt officials in the Ming Dynasty came from industry, commerce, and even international trade. Since the Ming Dynasty's traditional tax system was ineffective at collecting taxes from industry and commerce, and tax reform was not easy, exploiting corrupt officials—or rather, having corrupt officials exploit industry and commerce, and then having Emperor Chongzhen exploit corrupt officials in turn—was a way to extract money from industry and commerce.
Thinking of this, he smiled slightly, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)