The Ming Dynasty began in the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign.

Liu Zongmin glared at Niu Jinxing with annoyance:

"Very well, in the Prime Minister's opinion, let's deal with them after the Rebel King attends court!"

Liu Zongmin didn't care; to him, it didn't matter whether the rebel leader was there or not.

After the uprising, he fought alongside Li Zicheng through thick and thin. When the rebel army suffered a crushing defeat, in order not to drag Li Zicheng down, Liu Zongmin resolutely killed his wife and fled into the mountains with eighteen horsemen, which led to the establishment of the Great Shun regime.

Li Zicheng treated him like a brother. He never questioned or interfered with anything Liu Zongmin did, whether it was right or wrong.

Although Liu Zongmin was loyal to Li Zicheng, he was brave but lacked strategy. After the rebel army entered the capital, he bore some responsibility for both the torture of officials and the defeat of the Shun army.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

Just as everyone was feeling indignant, a little eunuch screamed, and Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Upon seeing Li Zicheng's arrival, the generals of the Great Shun Dynasty, led by Liu Zongmin, immediately stepped forward and bowed in respect.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The army entered the capital, and the Ming emperor Chongzhen committed suicide. Although he had not formally ascended the throne, Li Zicheng already considered himself emperor.

Hearing his subordinates still address him as "Great King," Li Zicheng was somewhat displeased, but on the surface he appeared very happy and burst into laughter:

"My esteemed subjects, please rise, no need for formalities, hahaha..."

Niu Jinxing, adept at reading people, immediately guessed Li Zicheng's thoughts and hurriedly shouted:

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

Liu Zongmin and the others were taken aback, but quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly shouted:

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

Seeing his brothers so sensible, Li Zicheng was even happier, his one eye practically shining...

At this moment, the general guarding the Meridian Gate came in to report:

"Your Majesty, many officials from the previous dynasty are requesting an audience!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng's face immediately darkened. He disliked these former officials and they had clearly come to demand their official positions.

The Shun army had just entered the capital, and the generals who had followed them through thick and thin had not yet been granted official titles and ranks, but these corrupt officials were eager to take their places.

What was their purpose in rebelling?

The goal is to kill all corrupt officials and let our brothers live a good life.

Li Zicheng waved his hand and said:

"Get them out of here, you bunch of shameless scoundrels!"

"As you command!"

"Wait a minute!"

The guard received the decree and was about to go out to deliver it when Niu Jinxing hurriedly stepped forward and bowed:

"Your Majesty, the Great Shun Dynasty already controls the entire country. Why not let them serve our new dynasty?"

Li Zicheng was taken aback. In his memory, only Li Yan would say such a thing; Niu Jinxing had always been an opponent.

"You old fox, what are you doing? If you don't explain yourself today, watch out for my big fist..."

Before Li Zicheng could express his opinion, Liu Zongmin jumped out first, grabbed Niu Jinxing by the collar, and raised his iron fist high.

Knowing Liu Zongmin's temperament, Niu Jinxing was not alarmed by his reaction. He quickly patted Liu Zongmin's large hand and laughed:

"My lord, do not be hasty, let me finish speaking first..."

Seeing this, Li Zicheng also waved his hand at Liu Zongmin:

"Jiexuan, calm down and listen carefully to what the Prime Minister has to say!"

"Here you go!"

Upon hearing Li Zicheng speak, Liu Zongmin angrily released Niu Jinxing.

Niu Jinxing straightened his robes, bowed to Li Zicheng again, and said:

"Throughout history, military generals have conquered the world, while civil officials have governed the country. Currently, the Great Shun Dynasty possesses the entire world, but it has very few civil officials, and it still needs them for the time being..."

Li Zicheng could easily understand what Niu Jinxing was saying; Li Yan had said these things long ago.

The Great Shun dynasty was almost entirely composed of military men, many of whom were illiterate; they certainly wouldn't be fit to govern the country.

However, Li Zicheng is currently short of money, and he still wants to extract some benefits from these corrupt officials. If he plunders all their money, will these people still be willing to serve him?

Just as Li Zicheng was pondering, Liu Zongmin jumped out again:

"Bullshit! We absolutely cannot use these shameless old foxes. Look at what happened to Emperor Chongzhen! Didn't you see it, you old rascal?"

Niu Jinxing looked helplessly at Liu Zongmin. He really had no way to deal with this guy and could only wait and see what Li Zicheng would do.

After a moment, Li Zicheng said:

"Let them in, let's assess the situation first!"

"As you command!"

The guards received the order and withdrew from the Hall of Supreme Harmony, then called out to Wei Zaode and the others:

"The rebel leader has summoned you; you may enter!"

After waiting for a long time outside the Meridian Gate, they finally heard the summons from the rebel king. A group of shameless traitors hurriedly straightened their robes and entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Seeing the one-eyed giant on the throne, they knew this man was Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, and hurriedly knelt down, shouting:

"This humble subject pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Shun Dynasty!"

Li Zicheng coldly looked at the group of Ming Dynasty officials kneeling at his feet, and he couldn't help but think of Emperor Chongzhen who hanged himself on Coal Hill.

If the Great Shun dynasty were to fall one day, these people would surely welcome the new emperor just like they do today. They are utterly shameless!

Seeing that Li Zicheng remained silent and only stared coldly at them, Wei Zaode and Chen Yan exchanged a glance, then bowed to Li Zicheng again and said loudly:

"Emperor Chongzhen was tyrannical, while Emperor Da Shun enjoys the deep affection of the people. We respectfully request Emperor Da Shun to heed the will of the people and ascend the throne!"

Seeing Wei Zaode and Chen Yan do this, the other officials were not to be outdone and hurriedly kowtowed one after another:

"We respectfully invite the Emperor of Great Shun to ascend the throne!"

……

Sure enough, they came to urge Li Zicheng to ascend the throne, so that they too could be credited with supporting the emperor and become founding fathers...

Their flattery was deafening, but Li Zicheng didn't like them at all. Seeing their behavior only made him more displeased, and he shouted angrily:

"This is outrageous! What does my ascension to the throne have to do with you? Do you need my permission?"

Was Emperor Chongzhen tyrannical?

"Our Shun generals can say such things, but what right do you Ming Dynasty officials have to say them? Your status, your official positions, your ability to live a life of debauchery—all of this was given to you by Emperor Chongzhen. You are truly shameless and treasonous..."

Wei Zaode and his group were completely dumbfounded...

This isn't right. They came to see Li Zicheng early in the morning and urged him to ascend the throne. Shouldn't Li Zicheng be very happy?

Why did Li Zicheng shout at them so angrily? The Shun generals also glared at them, as if they were not enemies of Emperor Chongzhen.

Seeing these people kneeling there trembling, Li Zicheng couldn't help but continue cursing:

"Wei Zaode, you are the fastest-rising Grand Secretary in the Ming Dynasty, climbing to a position second only to the Emperor in just a few years. Does Emperor Chongzhen not owe you anything?"

"Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Cheng of the Ming Dynasty, a nobleman who shared the fate of the nation, has the Ming Dynasty ever wronged you? What has Emperor Chongzhen owed you?"

……

Li Zicheng cursed almost every Ming Dynasty official present, making these shameless scoundrels want to crawl into a hole.

They didn't understand; they had clearly come to persuade him to take the throne.

Why did Li Zicheng treat them this way? Why did he defend Emperor Chongzhen?

They still don't understand who would like two ministers, or what Li Zicheng's purpose was in rebellion.

The generals of Da Shun, led by Liu Zongmin, had long wanted to deal with these shameless scoundrels.

They didn't act at first because they were worried about displeasing the rebel leader. But when they saw him berate these two treacherous officials, they were overjoyed...