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

Emperor Chongzhen had never been so forceful. He not only punished those who were late for court, but also ordered all the servants in their households to be sent to defend the city. Upon hearing this, the court officials were immediately in uproar...

Seeing the signal from Grand Secretary Wei Zaode, Guang Shiheng jumped out again:

"Your Majesty, you mustn't. The servants are privately trained; the court hasn't paid them a single penny. If Your Majesty forcibly conscripts them, it might leave you with a bad reputation..."

Emperor Chongzhen glanced at Guang Shiheng and rebuked him sternly:

"Nonsense! When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken. I suspect you're not just short-sighted, but also colluding with the bandits. Guards, take him out and execute him, along with his entire clan!"

"As you command!"

The ministers were shocked to hear this, and Guang Shiheng looked at Emperor Chongzhen with disdain. He did not believe that Chongzhen would dare to kill ministers at this time. Was he not afraid that the ministers would rebel?

Guang Shiheng had no idea that when Chongzhen became ruthless, he would even kill himself, let alone a mere censor in the Ministry of War. Most importantly, the Hongwu Emperor said that Guang Shiheng deserved to die!

Gao Wencai waved to the Imperial Guards, and two Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward, each grabbing one of his arms, and cleanly dragged Guang Shiheng out of the Meridian Gate.

The officials and the nobles were stunned. By the time they reacted, the Imperial Guards had already raised their blades and brought down Guang Shiheng's head!

Chen Yan and Wei Zaode had already agreed that, for their own safety, they would never step forward, much less speak up for Guang Shiheng.

If Guang Shiheng knew he had been betrayed, he would die with his eyes wide open in disbelief. No, he already is...

"Your Majesty, at a time when we need capable people, how can we arbitrarily kill ministers? I oppose the conscription of household servants..."

Realizing what was happening, Minister of War Zhang Jinyan hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him, believing that because of his high position and power, the emperor wouldn't do anything to him...

Before he could finish speaking, Chongzhen waved his hand:

"As the Minister of War, yet he doesn't know how to be loyal to the country, he should be executed! Anyone who dares to disobey, kill them all!"

And so, Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of War, was beheaded by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Wu Mengming, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, shrank back in fear, thinking to himself:

"Damn, when did the Embroidered Uniform Guard become so ferocious?"

……

He killed more than ten people in one go, including civil and military officials, as well as nobles...

The Emperor's decisiveness in executing people today left Zhu Cilang somewhat bewildered...

In fact, all of this was thanks to him. If he hadn't said that Guang Shiheng should be killed and Zhang Jinyan hadn't surrendered, Chongzhen wouldn't have decisively killed the two of them.

Some upright officials couldn't help but start criticizing again. They were used to criticizing, and when they saw Chongzhen make a mistake, they couldn't control their mouths at all.

This time they finally ran right into the line of fire. With a wave of his hand, Chongzhen sent eight more heads rolling...

And you know what? Emperor Chongzhen was actually feeling pretty good about it!

Normally, when criticized by censors, Chongzhen dared not punish them. For the sake of his reputation, he could only silently endure it. This time, he finally got to enjoy himself!

In fact, Chongzhen's targets were Zhu Chunchen and Wei Zaode, who were the ones he valued most, but who also disappointed him the most at crucial moments.

But the two remained silent until Chongzhen finally spoke first:

"Duke Cheng, why does the capital garrison only have a little over 30,000 men?"

Emperor Chongzhen suddenly turned against Zhu Chunchen. Zhu Chunchen immediately felt a chill on his neck, knelt down with a thud, and kowtowed, tears streaming down his face.

"Your Majesty, I have done my utmost to command the Beijing garrison, but unfortunately, the capital is ravaged by plague, leaving nine out of ten houses empty. Many soldiers have died from the plague, and I am powerless to help..."

Emperor Chongzhen originally intended to kill Zhu Chunchen, but seeing that he was old and crying like a child, Chongzhen couldn't bear it. After all, unlike civil officials, Zhu Chunchen's ancestors had made contributions to the Ming Dynasty.

"Where's the money?"

"Of the more than 30,000 soldiers, how much of their pay did you embezzle?"

Upon hearing the emperor ask about silver, Zhu Chunchen suddenly felt he could still be saved and hurriedly said:

"Your Majesty, the silver has not yet been distributed, and I immediately hand it over. One hundred thousand taels, not a single coin has been touched!"

When Emperor Chongzhen called for donations, Zhu Chunchen only donated a few hundred taels of silver, and Chongzhen thought that Zhu Chunchen donated at most tens of thousands of taels.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Chunchen, in order to save his own life, asked for 100,000 taels of silver...

Although he was furious, Chongzhen still said calmly:

"Not enough, at least 150,000 taels. Go back and prepare!"

Zhu Chunchen was stunned, and immediately regretted it. If he had known, he would have said 30,000 taels, and Chongzhen might have asked for 50,000 taels at most...

Upon hearing this, Crown Prince Zhu Cilang was speechless. Zhu Chunchen's household possessed at least a million taels of silver, yet Chongzhen only wanted 150,000 taels. Poverty had limited his father's imagination...

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life. I take my leave!"

Zhu Chunchen hurriedly took his leave and went back to prepare the silver...

Emperor Chongzhen issued another imperial edict:

"Wu Mengming, confiscate the property of all the officials who are absent today, and use the money to reward the soldiers defending the city."

"As you command!"

Wu Mengming was secretly delighted and hurriedly accepted the imperial decree to immediately prepare to confiscate the property. He thought, "It would be a fool not to make money when there is silver to be made!"

Zhu Cilang glanced at Wu Mengming indifferently and said to Chongzhen:

"Father, shall Gao Wencai assist Lord Wu?"

Emperor Chongzhen now listens to the Crown Prince in everything, and upon hearing this, he nodded without hesitation:

"Granted! Anyone who dares to embezzle even a single tael of silver will be executed without mercy!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Mengming trembled and hurriedly left the Huangji Hall, with Gao Wencai immediately following him.

"Anyone late for today's court assembly will be fined 50,000 taels of silver. If you don't have the silver, you can pay with your life!"

Knowing that the capital might fall, Chongzhen went all out and put a knife to the neck of Xun Gui, an official who was late.

Fifty thousand taels of silver was no small sum, but the officials who dared to be late were mostly corrupt officials; they could still afford it. No one was willing to risk their life for silver…

"I obey your decree!"

Chongzhen ignored them and said to Wang Chengen:

"Wang Daban, send the Eastern Depot to receive the silver."

"As you command!"

"Your Majesty is wise. I support all officials and servants from the Xun Gui household to go to the city for defense..."

"I second that proposal!"

Wei Zaode was like a Ninja Turtle, remaining silent the entire time, so Chongzhen couldn't find a pretext to kill him.

When Chongzhen looked at him again, Wei Zaode was so frightened that he almost wet himself. He finally spoke up, and Chongzhen could only sigh inwardly.

The court officials were terrified. They had never seen Chongzhen commit such a massacre in the court. When Wei Zaode spoke, they all stepped forward to agree.

"Your Majesty is wise; we support our servants in defending the city!"

……

While the court was still deliberating, the vanguard of the bandits had already reached the city walls. Seeing the moat, which was several tens of meters wide, they did not attack the city easily.

After the court session ended, the servants from the officials' residences began to assemble, numbering an astonishing 80,000, and under the leadership of the eunuchs, they went up to the city to defend it.

The confiscation of property and the imposition of fines were very effective, with more than 1.3 million taels of silver collected. Emperor Chongzhen decided to distribute all of it to the city guards and ordered Zhu Cilang to personally go to the city wall to distribute it.

The soldiers and servants, having received the silver, were greatly encouraged and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" Wang Xiantong couldn't help but burst into laughter upon seeing this.

Hearing Wang Xiantong's laughter, Zhu Cilang went to the descendant of the sage, quietly slipped him a note, and whispered:

"Earl Xinjian, in this time of crisis, open this note. From now on, you must act according to my orders and must not disobey!"

Wang Xiantong hurriedly bowed and said:

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will never disobey orders!"

Zhu Cilang spoke with him for a while, then returned to the Qianqing Palace to report back to his father.

Upon seeing Zhu Cilang enter, Chongzhen produced an imperial edict and handed the imperial seal to Zhu Cilang as well:

"My son, this is my abdication edict and imperial seal. Go to your maternal grandfather's residence to hide, and find an opportunity to leave and go south to succeed to the throne."

"Your father was too suspicious, which is why you were harmed. If your father had believed me sooner, you and Mother would have already gone south..."

As Emperor Chongzhen spoke, tears welled in his eyes and his hands trembled. He truly regretted it, but there was no going back!

Upon seeing this, Zhu Cilang felt a sharp pain in his heart, knowing that his father had decided to live and die with the capital.

Zhu Cilang, still wanting to do his best to save his father, hurriedly said:

"Father, the capital is definitely not going to hold. It's too late to head south now. You and your son should hide in a commoner's home and find another opportunity to go south..."

Emperor Chongzhen shook his head and said firmly:

"No, if the capital truly cannot be saved, only the emperor's death for the country can salvage some dignity. My mind is made up, my son, there's no need to persuade me. Go!"