Ding Yunyi expanded to Luzon, Chongzhen was worried about internal and external troubles, and at this time, the bandit leader Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong finally showed their hideous minions again.

Many of the court officials knew about the unprecedented crisis faced by the Ming Dynasty at that time. Some people were deeply worried about state affairs. The most under pressure from the comprehensive crisis was Emperor Chongzhen. Now he was struggling desperately to overcome this terrible crisis, but sometimes he was still fantasizing about being a "master of revival" and often said this verbally. Although he dared not think about it, let alone say that there was a possibility of a national destruction, this infinite worry hidden in his heart and the often pessimistic mood made him more stubborn and willful, ruthless, and he would never allow any court officials to criticize or hinder his behavior.

In the Forbidden City, after the civil and military officials were stationed, a eunuch walked out of Huangji Gate, holding a yellow silk whip in his hand, and the whip was 1 3 feet long, three feet long, and three inches wide. He stained it with wax, installed a foot-long red lacquer wooden handle, carved a dragon head, and painted it with gold paint. He walked to a corner of Danji, stood there, waved the whip a few times and whipped it hard. The whip sounded crisply and resounded throughout the sky. After three consecutive waves, the eunuch put away the whip and walked down Danji to stand still. So, the Meridian Gate was silent, with a ceremonial guard and a solemn atmosphere.

After a moment, the inner official called out, "Here!"

Chongzhen wore a winged crown, a round-necked dragon-embedded yellow robe, and a worried face. He rode out in a chariot surrounded by a large group of eunuchs with gorgeous clothes. The pilot guide of Hanlin, Zhongshu, Ke and Dao led the driver out of the Huangji Gate and stepped back step by step, guiding the dragon chariot to the imperial throne. The civil and military officials bowed their heads and dared not look up. Chongzhen got off the chariot and promoted the imperial throne, which was commonly known as Jintai at that time. In front of him was a royal case with yellow satin embroidered dragons surrounded by ridges. Three feet away from the imperial throne, there was a small vermilion railing, in case a certain official was kneeling on the ground to report the matter. After Chongxu sat down, there were three eunuchs, one holding a yellow satin umbrella and two holding it.

Two Huangluo fans came up from both sides of the east and west. Standing behind Chongzhen. They raised the yellow umbrella covers on the imperial seat, and the two Huangluo fans crossed behind him, guarding his safety vigilantly. If they saw any minister who wanted to assassinate the prelude to the imperial case, the two eunuchs holding the yellow umbrella covers, and a coil would automatically fall down, revealing a sharp blade from the fan handle. It turned out that there were nine brocade cloaks and four round fans in their hands. They stood behind and on the left and right of the imperial seat. Later, because the emperor was not at cloaks and on the right and left of the royal seat, they asked them to stand on His Majesty Dan. The two eunuchs who stood behind and on the left and right of the "Golden Platform", now there are only the most trusted deacons and eunuchs.

The official of Hongchan Temple, who was well-known and loud, sang: "People salute!" Then all the civil and military officials faced Jintai, followed the praises of the officials of Honglu Temple, and performed the regular ceremony of bowing and three bowings in rhythm, and then stood in squads. A censor of Jingyi knelt down and said:

"Now, Zhang Zhifa, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, stood up and put his scepter on the ground. The matter was absent from the court, so he should ask for an order!"

Chongzhen was exhausted because he had not been asleep all night last night. He only whispered a few words, but the ministers did not hear it clearly. A beautiful face, wearing a round-necked red Luo court robes, a blue parrot, a gold belt, and a eunuch who was in charge of the court propaganda, walked a few steps forward from the imperial throne. Like a woman's voice, he gave the order:

"The emperor's oral instructions: I'll remember that he was unintentional, so there is no need to ask questions; then I will be fined three months for a salary to show me a small punishment. Thank you!"

Chongzhen's hands and feet were floating, as if very anxious. He absent-mindedly saw an old minister in his sixties staggering out of the class. He crawled and knelt down and said in a trembling voice: "I am guilty of losing etiquette in the court. I deserve to die. Your Majesty's grace is so great that I will not punish you. I will not be punished so that I will be unable to repay my life and death. I respectfully thank the emperor for my kindness!" Then he shed tears and shouted in a trembling voice: "Long live! Long live! Long live!" Chongzhen was still absent-minded, and there was no other expression on his face except for the original melancholy expression.

When Zhang Zhifa stood up, Chongzhen's eyes were sweeping towards the civil servants on the left. He did not see the chief minister Xue Guoguan, and understood that he was "remembered" at home because he was impeached. Another official from the Honglu Temple knelt in front of him and reported to him that the names and numbers of civil and military officials who were thanking him and bowing outside the Meridian Gate today. At the same time, a eunuch with him spread a list of red papers and placed it on the imperial case. He only glanced at the list and looked outside the Meridian Gate. Because it was far away from the Meridian Gate, he only saw people kneeling outside the door holes on both sides.

The official of the Honglu Temple immediately stood up, took a few steps back, and shouted to the Meridian Gate: "I thank you outside the Meridian Gate and bow to the officials!"

When the civil and military officials outside the Meridian Gate were performing five or three bows to him in the distance according to the praises of another Honglu Temple official, he looked outside the Meridian Gate again, then raised his head, and looked at the city and tall buildings at the Meridian Gate. The dark clouds were low and the thunder was not stopped. He suddenly repeated the slim hope that often arose in his heart and dreams: How great would it be if Yang Sichang could succeed and take Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng to Jiejing, and he led the prince and the princes to the morning gate to "be captured"!

As usual, the five governments, six ministries and other officials knelt down to report routine work, and Chongzhen didn't care much. He was about to announce the punishment of Xue Guoguan to his ministers, but suddenly he heard noisy voices coming from a distance. This was an extremely rare phenomenon near Chengtian Gate. He guessed that it must be the "ignorant and foolish people" from Jifu and Shandong who came from Shandong wanted to see him refuse to leave. He couldn't help but frown, and he was angry and thought, "They dared to resist the order and stay in the capital!"

But he did not forget to ask his subjects to see him as "Yao and Shun", so he endured his anger and called the Minister of Revenue and the Chuanlang in front of him, and said slowly with a compassionate look:

"I have always loved the people as if I were innocent. In some states and counties, the disaster situation is too severe. Please consider whether the money and food should be reduced and the report is detailed." With a gust of south wind, the faint voice of the East Chang'an Gate continued to come. He couldn't help asking: "Is the voices outside the people who wrote a letter?"

Li Weiwen, the Minister of Revenue, who was kneeling on the ground, looked up and said, "It is the people of Shandong and Jifu. Due to the heavy disaster, the sects have not stopped. They come to the capital to plead with the grace of heaven, exempt the sects from the sects, and provide immediate relief."

Chongzhen frowned again, was silent for a moment, and said to a eunuch standing beside him: "You go and pass the imperial edict on your own: I already know what the people have reported. I know the suffering of the people. I will never allow local officials to serve the ranks again. As for the relief matters, there are already orders that each department will take quick food and no delay. Ask the people to return to their hometowns as soon as possible, and do not stay in the capital, causing trouble, and fail to do laws and regulations, and let my grace betrayal of heaven and earth."

He then called the Five Palaces, Nine Ministers, Ke, and Taoist officials to come to him. In an instant, the called court officials knelt outside the small railing in front of the imperial case, without even a soft cough. His face was particularly cold and full of anger. He was full of murderous aura. The civil and military officers knew that he was moody and lowered their heads and waited for the unexpected storm. Some timid court officials couldn't help but fight gently. The sky was already bright, and the dark clouds were thicker and lower than the one before dawn, pressing against the ridge of the Wufeng Tower. There was a dull thunder sound in the sky. He looked at the sky, glanced at the ministers and said:

"I asked you to meet you how Xue Guoguan should be punished. Yesterday, I saw what you reported after the discussion, and I was quite lenient and tolerant. Xue Guoguan was the chief assistant and could not assist me in revitalizing the government. He governed the Yin and Yang and assisted me in reviving the country. Instead, he was greedy for bribery. What was the point of saying that he should have asked and handed over to the Three Jurisdictions to discuss the crimes. I think that his other evil deeds are not yet obvious. Then he was about to be cut off from his post and not allow him to stay in the capital. You should never learn from him in your future work!"

The civil and military officials kowtowed and retreated to the court. Some court officials had many important things to report in person, but when they saw the emperor so angry, they stopped ringing. The scene was cold for a moment. Chongzhen was about to retreat, but suddenly the voices in the distance became louder, and there were crying. He was very angry, glaring at his eyes and said:

"Where is the Jinyiwei envoy?"

Wu Mengming, the Jinyiwei envoy, immediately walked out of the military officials and knelt in front of him. He said to the ministers with emotion:

"Since I ascended the top, I respected the heavens and ruled the ancestors, worked diligently and loved the people, and always took the hearts of Yao and Shun as my heart, so that benevolence and virtue would be carried out all over the world. Just because of the national affairs, I ate and ate overnight, and always wanted to make the world see peace and the people take the seats sooner. Today, the tax sect is heavy, and it is necessary. I don't want the people to only look at the temporary suffering in front of me and cannot think about my country forever." He turned to Wu Mengming and said, "Go and see, let the people not make noise. If you still dare to violate the law, take them all!"

The more than a thousand representatives of the people who made the emperor angry said, "subduing the palace to write a letter, kneeling to beg for the kindness of heaven" from the unknown sky. They knelt over the right gate of Chang'an and the left gate of Chang'an. They did not get the mercy of a minister, so they accepted their memorials and sent them to the emperor. They could only see the Golden Water Bridge and the Huabiao in front of the bridge, and even Chengtian Gate could not fully see them. When they went to court, they heard three vague sounds of quiet whips, and then everything became silent. It seemed that the Forbidden City was a very deep sea, and they were far away from the sea. Chang'an Gate, Chengtian Gate, Duan Gate and Meridian Gate, each gate was a mountain that separated the coast, which made people afraid and could not cross. People's legs were numb and their knees were painful. Some had to sit down, but most people were still kneeling.

Some people thought about the miserable situation in their hometown, and cried silently in despair. The more passers-by gathered, hundreds of people surrounded them, some were watching the fun, some were deeply sympathetic, and kept whispering. Several times, the Jinyi Banner School guarding the left gate of Chang'an wanted to disperse everyone. Suddenly, a eunuch walked out and shouted loudly: "There is an order!"

All the people who were sitting down quickly knelt down, and even those who were watching the fun couldn't hide, hurriedly followed him. After the eunuch passed the "Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial Imperial I

But most people heard it clearly, and when the eunuch left, they couldn't help crying.

An elderly man immediately made up his mind, suddenly jumped up, grabbed the book and chased him to the left gate of Chang'an, shouting loudly:

"Father-in-law! Father-in-law! Please pity the little people..."

The eunuch did not turn around and left. Suddenly, he grabbed his chest with one hand, pushed him hard, pushed him out five feet away, and fell to the ground, fainting. Several people rushed forward to save him, and some went to pick up the memorials on the ground. The Jinyi Banner School was afraid that the people would rush to the left gate of Chang'an, so they raised sticks and swords to drive everyone backwards. The people in Beijing who stood in the distance were used to watching Jinyi Banner Schools who were randomly murderous and catching people. On the other hand, they shouted, "I've hit people! I've hit people!" While running around, it caused chaos on East Chang'an Street and shops closed. It happened that the city censors came with a team of soldiers from the Military and Ma Si, and drove the people in panic, grief, indignation and despair to the people outside Zhengyang Gate.

When Wu Mengming, the Jinyiwei envoy, walked out of the East Chang'an Gate, the people who "shuokou wrote a letter" had been dispersed, and several torn shoes and torn memorials were left on the ground. He ordered a Jinyiwei commander Tongzhi to lead the Jinyiwei Banner School to join the military officials of the five cities to come to the capital to write a letter to Shandong, and the people from the capital were expelled from both inside and outside the city.

When Wu Mengming walked down the Danji Gate of Huangjimen, Chongzhen was about to retreat to the court when he suddenly came out of the civil servants' class and knelt down outside the red railing in front of the imperial case. When Chongzhen saw that it was Huang Daozhou who had submitted a memorial to oppose the additional levy and the attack on Yang Sichang the day before yesterday, he immediately started a fire. Before the old minister could speak, he asked sternly:

"I have read your memorial. What else should I do?"

Huang Daozhou said: "I asked the emperor to stop collecting and training wages, severely punish Yang Sichang to thank the world. I will spread a polite and benevolent policy and clean up the hearts of the people who have been defeated."

Chongzhen was angry and his hands and feet became more floating, saying, "Because of the enemy, the enemy was rampant, the soldiers were short of all, so last year he had to use the advice of his assistant Yang Sichang to increase his training. Why don't I love the people as my son? Why don't I know the suffering of the people? However, if I don't collect salary, I can't train new soldiers, and if I don't train new soldiers, I can't suppress the bandits internally, and I can't control the enemy from the east. I have to adopt Yang Sichang's proposal to temporarily suffer for a while. If you are ministers, you are ineffective in this day of national difficulties, and you will only work hard to attack the khan, which is deeply unwilling to my wishes. Now Sichang is in the area of ​​Fang County.

The nine thieves of the thieves have already surrendered one after another. After the defeat of Agate Mountain, the thieves have also become fish swimming under the cauldron. They are trapped in the eastern part of Hubei and Sichuan with Luo Rucai and cannot escape. Li Zicheng is still besieged in Shangluo Mountain and will soon be wiped out. If the court is not in harmony with each other and is often restrained, it will definitely lead to the major task of suppressing the thieves. The day before yesterday, you said in your memorial that Yang Sichang suggested that the additional levy was poisoning the world. How could he be so arrogant to attack the Khan so much? "He turned to the ministers and officials, and they would work together, and they would not set up their own businesses and attack Khan in vain."

Chongzhen Man thought that his words could prevent Huang Daozhou from fighting with other courts and prevent other court officials from speaking with him. However, Huang Daozhou was neither convinced nor subdued by him. Huang Daozhou was very stubborn, and he was familiar with Confucian classics and history books since he was a child. He only wanted to be a loyal minister, learn from ancient people who dared to speak out in a straightforward manner, and regarded the words "when literature died, war, and war" as a golden rule for being a minister. He liked Su Wu's poem "If you are a official and die in your post, you will die in your post." More importantly, he was born in a poor family and was often demoted, approaching the lower class of the landlord class.

The court implemented the "one-whip" aggregation method, which combined all the money for vacancies and all the harsh donations and levies to people's land taxes. Most of the landlords were wealthy families, and they enjoyed the right to exemption from service, and could also transfer part of the burden of land taxes to small and medium-sized landlords who were powerless and powerless. This class and the farmers with a small amount of land were not only the targets of the government's crackdown and accumulation, but also the targets of the large households to carry out land and wells. In addition, wars and natural disasters, the situation could be deteriorated at any time, and even bankruptcy and death.

This class, with a small amount of land, was second only to tenant farmers and hired farmers in terms of number, so their movements would affect the survival of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Chongzhen regarded the wealthy and wealthy families as the pillar of the country, while Huang Daozhou regarded small and medium-sized landlords and farmers with a small amount of land as the pillar of the country.

The "small people" he refers to people from these two classes, who are directly responsible for the pain of levying land taxes. (You are welcome to come and your support is my greatest motivation.)
Chapter completed!