Sky Curtain: The Overlord Charges into Battle, Shocking Emperors of All Dynasties

During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han

"Zhu Youjian would be better off being extravagant and lecherous. As long as he's good at recognizing people and has the courage to make decisions, that's enough!"

Liu Bang spoke with considerable regret, for he still held this last emperor of the Ming Dynasty in some respect.

After all, they died for their country, so how much more can we ask for?

Liu Bang had a lot to say on this matter.

His ability to defeat Xiang Yu stemmed from his clear system of rewards and punishments and his skill in employing people.

He used people Xiang Yu couldn't use, and he gave rewards Xiang Yu couldn't give.

Others follow you only for wealth and status, hoping to gain a position of power and prestige for their wives and children.

If rewards and punishments are unclear, even the most loyal person will become disheartened.

One cannot live off loyalty and enthusiasm forever.

To talk about dedication without considering titles and money—isn't that just being a scoundrel?

"In the end, no one taught him how to be an emperor. Diligence and frugality are the two least important things for being a good emperor."

"The most important thing for a good emperor is to employ the right people, then to be fair in rewards and punishments, and then to master the art of power!"

As Liu Bang spoke these words, his eyes turned to his fourth son, Liu Heng, as he subtly imparted his experience to his son.

Seeing Liu Bang's underhanded actions, Lü Zhi rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached her forehead.

Old man, are you putting on an act for me?

If it weren't for the fact that Ying'er is such a hopeless case,

If only he were a little more ruthless and ambitious, and Liu Heng were to become emperor, I'd change my surname to his!

If you push me too far, I'll take Liu Heng away and raise him myself, treating him like my own son!

Jiajing,

Zhu Houcong sat cross-legged on the altar, holding a small copper hammer in his hand. He spoke with interest, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips.

"Zhang Juzheng, what do you think?"

Zhu Houcong never expected that his son would die so young. Could it be that I was too harsh on him?

No, if it weren't for me keeping an eye on things, I might have to bury my child!

I now have neither a living son nor a grandson.

When the time comes, with a young ruler and a volatile state, the Ming Dynasty will probably be supported by this aloof and handsome Zhang Juzheng, who has a long, black beard.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Emperor Chongzhen was not as blessed by Heaven as Your Majesty, nor was he endowed with divine intelligence. It is truly remarkable that he was able to maintain power for seventeen years!"

Zhang Juzheng bowed respectfully in response, which made Zhu Houcong's smile widen even further.

Zhang Juzheng was the Grand Secretary he intended to leave to his son and grandson; he couldn't afford to let anything happen to him.

It's this Li Chengliang!!!

What about the Qing Emperor Gaozu?

Let your nine generations of relatives go down to join you.

As for Li Chengliang's ability and fighting skills...

The Ming Dynasty doesn't care!

As for the group of money-grubbing ministers from the late Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houcong's smile vanished, replaced by a disdainful sneer.

He had calculated it perfectly well; the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot had investigated the assets of the current ministers in their homes thoroughly.

Nearly a century later, how could there only be two hundred thousand taels?

It's alright, the swords of the Shun and Jurchens are waiting for us.

May they all be buried with my Great Ming Dynasty!

According to unofficial historical records, before Zhu Youjian hanged himself, he left a message for Li Zicheng on his desk: "All civil and military officials can be killed, but the common people cannot."

[Of course, this statement might be false, but Li Zicheng took it to heart.]

The city gates opened, revealing a vast sea of ​​people, all Ming Dynasty officials eagerly welcoming the imperial army.

According to records, there were about 3,000 former Ming Dynasty officials waiting at the Meridian Gate for Li Zicheng to enter the city and preparing to surrender. The "Guo Que" records that of the 3,000 officials of all ranks in the capital, 21 died, and the rest all sought employment.

When Li Zicheng opened the Ming Dynasty's treasury and saw only tens of thousands of taels of silver remaining, he was speechless.

This is Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, the very heart of the nation's treasury! Li Zicheng was counting on capturing Beijing to use the national treasury's silver to reward his army. This little bit of money isn't even enough to fill Li Zicheng's teeth.

Therefore, Li Zicheng turned his attention to the Ming Dynasty officials who had surrendered to him.

Li Zicheng rose through the ranks from the bottom. These officials were greedy and never spoke the truth. He had seen far too many of these officials in the provinces. Unlike Emperor Chongzhen, Li Zicheng was truly capable of wielding a sword!

The massive extortion campaign began in Beijing. What was extortion? It was Li Zicheng's use of violence to demand money from officials of the third rank and above, imperial relatives, nobles, eunuchs, and wealthy merchants in Beijing. Those who refused to pay were tortured, and only those who paid were released or executed.

[After more than ten days of extortion, the amount of silver obtained from the powerful eunuchs in Beijing was enormous, recorded as seventy million taels.]

How much?!!!!

Seventy million taels?!

This number sent a jolt through everyone watching from the sky, as if they were seeing towering, shimmering silver mountains before their eyes.

Seventy million taels of silver! How heavy is that? If I got even a fraction of that, I'd be set for life!

The people then realized that all this money was extracted from the people of the Ming Dynasty.

How did ordinary people in the late Ming Dynasty manage to extract so much silver?

The national treasury is empty, the people are empty, all the money has been embezzled by you parasites!

"Inhuman! Absolutely inhuman!!!"

Emperors before the Ming Dynasty had never seen so much silver. Let alone seventy million, they had never even seen seven million!

These civil servants are really daring!!!

What kind of hell was Chongzhen facing? The court officials were all well-fed and fat, while he himself was so frugal that he eventually hanged himself, and these officials just dusted themselves off and went to flatter the new emperor.

Of the more than three thousand men, only twenty-one died for their country. It's no wonder later generations criticized these civil officials for their low moral character and lack of backbone.

If it were me, I would have cursed too!!!

[The most ridiculous thing was that Chongzhen's father-in-law, the Earl of Jiading Zhou Kui, was sent by Chongzhen's eunuch to ask him to take the lead in donating silver. Zhou Kui cried poor and was only willing to donate 10,000 taels of silver. Chongzhen ordered that he donate at least 20,000 taels of silver.]

[Zhou Kui secretly went to his daughter, Empress Zhou, to complain. Empress Zhou took out five thousand taels of her own private savings and advised him to consider the affairs of the state. As a result, he embezzled two thousand taels and only handed over three thousand taels.]

Seeing that even the emperor's father-in-law was only paying so much, it was clear he didn't care about state affairs. So what were they supposed to pay? They all sold their possessions and pretended to be poor and pitiful.

However, in the end, Li Zicheng found 530,000 taels of silver in this miser's house.

[Furthermore, it is said that Zhu Cilang, the crown prince of Chongzhen and grandson of Zhou Kui, sought refuge with him before the city fell, but was refused entry by Zhou Kui and eventually captured by Li Zicheng. After Li Zicheng's defeat, he handed Zhu Cilang over to the Qing court, where Zhu Cilang was eventually killed.]

Is it a person?

Is this even human?

This was the first reaction of the ancients after seeing Zhou Kui's series of deeds.