Zhang Ke's army surrounded the capital. Instead of rushing to take action, they sent an envoy into the city and delivered a letter written by Zhang Ke. In the letter, Zhang Ke first told how he fought with the intruders and captured the Dongchang secret envoy, and then attached a confession. Then Zhang Ke complained with almost tears of blood. If the king wants his minister to die, he will have to die. Zhang Ke was a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty. He did not hesitate to spread the plague and help the tyranny of the Ming Dynasty. He did not hesitate to let hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians be buried with him, and he did not hesitate to let the Ming Dynasty be ruined. Heaven is merciful and the Holy King is above, how could he behave like such an animal? "There must be a traitor in the court who deceives the saints, framed the loyal and good, and ruined the lives of the people. Zhang Ke raised an army just to eliminate traitors. After eradicating the traitors in the court, he petitioned to be dismissed and returned to his land, and he would no longer interfere with the government. If the emperor was still worried, he could exile Zhang Ke overseas and never set foot on the land of the Ming Dynasty again in his life Anyone with a discerning eye knows the oath behind Zhang Ke. Making vows is all nonsense, and even children won¡¯t believe it. But what's ahead is really too scary. He actually got involved with the intruders and spread the plague wantonly. You have to know which plague has not destroyed all the houses and killed countless people. Even if you hate Zhang Ke, you will not use such cruel methods. It is simply unbelievable! Many courtiers actually felt a sense of pity for Zhang Ke. Who could bear such an encounter? The emperor is looking for death! For a time, many ministers wrote to the court, demanding a thorough investigation into what Zhang Ke said. For these memorials, Chongzhen gave them a scolding, and even gave instructions: Zhang Ke is a traitor, playing tricks on me, and traps me in injustice. As important officials of the imperial court, you should be able to distinguish right from wrong. How can you be manipulated by mere words? I am extremely disappointed! Although he said this to the minister, Chongzhen felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, so he hurriedly ordered and called several heads of the inner court over. "What's going on? What's going on?" Chongzhen slammed the table hard. The shock made my fingers crack. "The traitor Zhang Ke actually said that Dongchang sent people to collude with bandits and spread the plague. He did not hesitate to kill hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Kaifeng. Tell me clearly whether this is true or not!" In front of Chongzhen's Long Book Case. Kneeling were several court officials in red robes, including Wang Chengen, Cao Huachun and Lu Jiude. All three of them were trembling with fear. I wish I could bury my head in gold bricks, but obviously this is impossible. Chongzhen suddenly stood up from the dragon chair, jumped in front of them, pointed at Wang Chengen and others and yelled curses. "You are originally from Xingyu, but look at the clothes you are wearing. You are better dressed than anyone else. You are all popular and drink hot food. There are a lot of people outside who respect you and call you ancestors! But what about you? ? How did you treat me? My country has been messed up by you!" Chongzhen became more and more angry and kicked Wang Chengen in the chest. The old eunuch was so far away that he almost couldn't get up. , the little eunuch on the side didn't dare to help him, so he could only kneel on the ground, trembling all over. Chongzhen was still angry, so he punched and kicked Cao Huachun again, until Cao Huachun's face was covered with blood. Lu Jiude stood aside and couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He cried and said: "Your Majesty, killing the slaves is nothing, but you must not hurt the dragon body!" Chongzhen laughed angrily when he heard this, and sneered: "You know you care about my dragon body. Then Where is my country? You can do such a thing?" Lu Jiude knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, Dongchang did send someone to contact Li Zicheng in order to Recruit Li Chuang. Although the intruder is treacherous, he still has hundreds of thousands of troops to check Zhang Ke. " "Finally, someone told the truth," Chongzhen said with a sneer, "I only asked you to surrender Li Zicheng. I didn't let you spread the plague, so misinterpreting my intentions is unbearable!" At this time, Wang Chengen seemed to take a breath, knelt on the ground, and cried bitterly: "Your Majesty, I think what Zhang Ke said may not be credible! , what he said about spreading the plague, the old slave thought he must have made it up. " "Yes, the prince is right, he made it up to frame the slaves and others, and to frame your majesty," Cao Huachun wiped his nose. As he spoke, he didn¡¯t know when the blood would drain out. After listening to the words of the three people, Chongzhen barely suppressed his anger and said, "Go and call the chief minister." The little eunuch ran out in a hurry, and after a short time, a tall, upright, and elegant official walked in, who was exactly The first assistant is Zhou Tingru. There is a joke among the people that wherever Zhang Ke goes, he promises to the people that everyone will be fed, while Chongzhen promises that everyone will be a first aid! Since Chongzhen came to power, the cabinet has been like a revolving door.In less than a year or two, a new group of pavilion elders will be replaced, and some will retire in a few months. One of the reasons why the cabinet changes so frequently is the fierce party struggle. After the resurgence of Donglin, internal strife continued. In addition, the government was deteriorating and Chongzhen needed a scapegoat, so the cabinet ministers continued to step down. The one who stayed the longest was Wen Tiren. After he became the Pavilion Elder, he maintained the overall situation of suppressing thieves in the Central Plains while being cautious and did not fall out with Zhang Ke. He catered to Chongzhen at the top and suppressed Donglin at the bottom. He was able to secure his position as chief minister. . Just when Wen Tiren broke the record and was about to continue, Zhang Ke suddenly announced that he would send troops to clear the emperor's side. As the person who recommended Zhang Ke to go to the Central Plains to suppress bandits, Wen Tiren immediately became the target of public criticism. Chongzhen even called him into the palace, scolded him for two hours, dismissed him from all official positions, and locked him up at home to reflect on his mistakes. After returning home, I couldn't even touch my lips with warm water. Within ten days, I died. Zhou Tingru, who had been kicked out of the cabinet by Wen Tiren, came back again and became the chief minister. It's just that this position beneath one person no longer has the glory. He is just a firefighter, maybe even a gold-encrusted toilet. "Old minister, I pay my respects to Your Majesty." "Hurry up, Mr. Zhou Ge. What are the actions of the rebels outside the city?" "Your Majesty, Zhang Ni is only besieging the city. There is no restriction on the exchange of military and civilian supplies. General business travelers can still go to the capital. Delivering supplies. Just an hour ago, Zhang Ke sent someone into the city. "Who?" Chongzhen asked with eyes wide open. "Yes, Hong Chengchou!" "He still has the nerve to come back? Why don't you die outside when you have betrayed your kindness?" Chongzhen yelled, Zhou Tingru is such a sweat, an ant is greedy for life, who wants to die! "Your Majesty, Hong Chengchou has brought confessions from the people of Kaifeng. There are thousands of them. They all say that the plague did occur in Kaifeng. If Zhang Ni and Zhang Ni had not controlled it well, it would have spread long ago and nine out of ten houses would be empty. They I sincerely ask the court to punish the traitor." Suck! Chongzhen¡¯s face turned pale, as if he was a hanged man. He glanced at the three eunuchs of the inner court, and their heads lowered. "Mr. Zhou Ge, do you think Zhang Ke will be able to withdraw his troops if I punish the culprit?" "This the veteran dare not say, but Zhang Ni is using the banner of public opinion this time. If he can give an explanation, he will not The legal principles are clear." (To be continued.)