Chapter 726 Blood stains the Meridian Gate, Jinyiwei shows off his evil spirit

At dawn, Chongzhen got up early as usual, worshiped the sky in the courtyard of the Ganqing Palace, returned to the warm room and ate a bowl of bird's nest soup, and quickly took a chariot to court. At this time, the sky was not yet bright, and the dawn began to shine on the yellow glazed tiles of the towering palace. The layers of halos enveloped the Forbidden City, which looked magnificent and very gorgeous. This made Chongzhen's spirit a little excited, and he thought today was a good sign.

Today is the Chang Dynasty, which is more grand than the daily ritual system of "Imperial Gate Decisions". As early as the fifth day, six elephants had already been escorted by the official of the brocade clothes, holding the elephant slave in colorful clothes, and led from the elephant room at the western city root of Xuanwu Gate, and walked leisurely on both sides of the imperial road in front of the Meridian Gate. Elephant legs, the size of a bucket, stepped heavily on the ground, making a sound like a drum.

After the two drums on the Meridian Gate sounded, six elephants automatically walked to the front of the Meridian Gate and stood in their own position. Each pair was the same on the left and right, standing still with the Jinyi Banner School. The huge bodies of the six elephants gave people a very shocking and solemn feeling. No matter who passed by here, they could not help but take a look. This is the majesty of the emperor admired by thousands of people.

After the three-way drum sounded, the left and right sides of the Meridian Gate were opened together. The middle gate was the imperial road, which was not open normally. Teams of General Jinyi, the lieutenant and the flag bearer walked into the Meridian Gate, and at the south of the inner Jinshui Bridge, the imperial road was arranged neatly in two rows, standing still. The lieutenant held a guard of ceremonies in his hand, the flag bearer held a flag, and the general Jinyi held a long halberd in his hand.

If you look closely, you may find that there are waist knives hanging around the waist of these Jinyi Captains. According to the specifications, no one is allowed to carry weapons in the Forbidden City. The reason why these Jinyi Captains carry scimitars was entirely because of some emergencies that occurred a few days ago, which made Chongzhen feel uneasy, so he ordered the Jinyi Captains on the periphery to carry weapons to ensure safety.

This emergencies were a group of ordinary people, most of whom were refugees from Northern Zhili. They couldn't live in the capital, so they thought of coming to find the emperor. In their minds, the emperor was the savior, and as long as the emperor wanted, they could save them at any time. They found a few cultural people and wrote a memorial to explain their sufferings, hoping that Chongzhen would save them.

However, Chongzhen never looked at these ordinary people. After hearing about the situation, he ordered all the "troubled people" to be expelled from Beijing without even taking a look at the memorials of these refugees. As a result, the Jinyiwei, who implemented the law, had a conflict with the refugees, and many of the refugees died.

Later, the Jinyiwei was worried that the matter would be a big deal and caused turmoil in the capital, so he had to temporarily press the matter. However, this incident had already aroused hatred from many refugees. Refugees from all over the world gathered near the imperial city, with more than 100,000 people. The Jinyiwei was worried that it would cause greater turmoil, so he asked to strengthen the vigilance in the Forbidden City, and Emperor Chongzhen naturally agreed.

After the deployment of the Jinyiwei, a group of eunuchs who served as ceremonial guards came out of the palace and stood in a squad under the Danban. At the end of the squad were two pairs of horses, golden saddles, golden stirrups, yellow silk bridles, and red gold chew rings, neat and solemn. The majesty of the Tian family was expressed in every detail inch by inch.

Although Chongzhen always rode a chariot and never rode a horse before going to court, four beautiful and obedient imperial horses were always held in time before going to court, becoming part of the ceremonial guard. The other four eunuchs took red sandalwood carved horse stools to prepare for the emperor to step on foot when he was on the horse, standing next to the horse. They stood with Danbi left and right, and two rows of generals in brocade clothes who were escorting to the court, wearing iron armor, bows, arrows, swords, and red tassels and iron helmets. This was the famous "General of the Han Dynasty".

After a while, the bell rang on the Meridian Gate. The civil and military officials hurriedly walked out of the Chaofang room and from the left and right trunk people. Their team was very neat and very quiet, and no one dared to make any unnecessary noise. When the last official entered, the elephants put their noses together one by one, and no one was allowed to enter casually.

The civil and military officials arrived outside the Huangji Gate, and according to the differences between the civil and military officials, the east and west, and then according to the differences between the yamen and the grade, they lined up in two shifts, standing respectfully on the Danban, waiting for the arrival of His Majesty the Emperor. The four censors stood in squads facing north and were responsible for the correction of the instrument. Their eyes were like poisonous snakes, staring at everyone around them. As long as someone cheated, they would record it mercilessly and then report it to Emperor Chongzhen for handling.

"emperor!"

"emperor!"

"We want to see the Emperor!"

When civil and military officials entered the court at the fifth anniversary, more than a thousand local people in Zhili, led by more than 20 elderly people to the outside of Chang'an Youmen. Most of them were small and medium-sized landlords whose homes were destroyed by war. Ordinary ordinary people did not have the courage to see the emperor. However, the interests they represented were far beyond the class they belonged to, and also reflected the interests of farmers, small and medium-sized merchants and handicraft owners.

If Zhang Zhun used means to win over a group of people in Northern Zhili, then the group of people in front of him refused to accept Zhang Zhun's win over. They were still loyal to the court, they still believed in the court, and they still supported Emperor Chongzhen. They chose to go to the capital to take refuge instead of going to Shandong to take refuge, which fully demonstrated their position.

Yesterday morning, they saw the emperor's imperial criticism, which disappointed them. The group of old men immediately wrote another memorial to send it to the Tongzhengsi. The Tongzhengsi ordered them to "not stay" in the capital because the emperor had already issued an order, and saw that some of the words in the memorial were too intense and refused to accept them. No matter how they begged, it was useless. They had no choice but to take advantage of the day when today was a common court, and tried to "subdue the quotation and write a letter".

The so-called Que in ancient times was the palace gate. To the Ming Dynasty, it was the Meridian Gate. The familiar beheading of the Meridian Gate was the Meridian Gate. But now the common people "come to the Que" to the emperor. Not to mention not seeing the Meridian Gate, even Chengtian Gate could not get close. They could only kneel outside the right gate of Chang'an, looking at the direction of the palace city from afar, hoping that the emperor could have a thousand miles of eyes, and hear their shouts.

Most civil and military officials in the Ming Dynasty lived in Xicheng and went from Chang'an Youmen to attend the court. The people all hoped that there would be a cabinet assistant, the left and right censors of the Censorate, or the Minister of the Shangshu, and the Minister of the Secretariat, and the ministers of the ministers, pleased the people, and accepted their memorials and brought them into the palace and presented them to the emperor. Unexpectedly, the officers and soldiers guarding the gate would not allow them to approach Chang'an Youmen and drove them away with water, fire sticks, swords and swords. When they saw the high-ranking officials coming, they drove them farther away.

There is a Dengwen Drum Courtyard outside the right gate of Chang'an. Three small halls face east, and there is a small building hanging drums next to it. There are subjects. The road officials take turns to be on duty here. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty: the people have wronged, and the yamen that should be in charge will not be responsible for the jail, and the Tongzhengsi will not convey it. If the people hit the Dengwen Drum, the officials on duty will have to report to the emperor in truth. However, today, there are many Jinyi Banner Schools standing near the Dengwen Drum Courtyard, and they are like wolves and tigers, which make the people unable to approach.

Seeing that the right gate of Chang'an was not good, these poor people turned over the Daming Gate from Qipan Street and came to the left gate of Chang'an. Here, the situation they encountered was the same. Some old people were completely desperate, but some were still unwilling to give up. They led everyone to avoid the middle road and knelt a little further away from the East Chang'an Gate. Seeing that all the officials from the East City passed by, they had to beg the Jinyi officials who were guarding the gate to accept their memorials and send them to the palace.

Of course, the officials in Jinyi would not do such a thing. They naturally scolded them and then took the memorials and tore them all apart. There was no way, and the poor people had to kneel down on the ground. They thought that if they just knelt down like this, sooner or later, someone would pity them and report to the emperor that they "subdued the palace and wrote a letter to the emperor. As long as the emperor knew, they would definitely be properly handled.

They knelt very chaotic and anxiously. Some were too hungry and hadn't eaten enough for several days. They couldn't kneel steadily, fell down and lay softly on the ground. Some were very weak and made vague sounds, as if they would faint at any time. Some were kneeling on the ground, muttering words in their mouths, and no one could hear what he was nagging.

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 while, the inner officials called out, "Here!" Chongzhen wore a winged crown, a round-necked dragon-embroidered yellow robe, and a worried face. He rode out in a chariot surrounded by a large group of eunuchs with gorgeous clothes. The guide officer, composed of four people from Hanlin, Zhongshu, Ke and Dao, led the driver out of Huangji Gate, stepped back step by step, and guided the dragon chariot to the imperial seat. The civil and military officials bowed their heads and dared not look up.

Chongzhen got off the chariot and ascended into the imperial throne. This imperial throne was commonly known as the Jintai at that time. In front of him was an imperial throne surrounded by yellow satin embroidered dragons. There was a small vermilion railing three feet away from the imperial throne to prevent an official from suddenly rushing to assassinate when he was kneeling on the ground to report the matter.

After Chongxu sat down, three eunuchs, one holding a yellow satin umbrella, two holding two yellow Luo fans, came up from the east and west sides, and stood behind Chongzhen. They held the yellow umbrella cover on the imperial seat, and the two yellow Luo fans crossed behind him, guarding his safety vigilantly. If you see a minister who wants to assassinate when the prelude to the imperial case, the two eunuchs holding the yellow Luo fans only need to move their hands, and an iron coil will automatically fall, revealing a sharp blade from the handle of the fan.

It turned out that there were nine Jinyilisi holding five umbrella covers and four round fans in their hands, standing behind and on the left and right of the imperial throne. Later, because the emperor was not at ease with Jinyilisi, they asked them to stand next to His Majesty Dan. Now there are only the most trusted deacons and eunuchs who stand behind and on the left and right of the "Jintai". Emperor Chongzhen, who started his business by defeating Wei Yi, now has his trust in eunuchs, and his former brother Emperor Tianqi, which is really a great irony.

After Chongzhen finished tidying up his clothes, the Hongchan Temple official, who was in a magnificent manner and loud voice, sang loudly: "People salute!" Then all the civil and military officials faced Jintai, followed the praises of the Honglu Temple officials, and performed the regular ceremony of bowing and three bowings in rhythm, and then stood in different classes.

A censor of Jingyi knelt down and said, "Now, Zhang Zhifa, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, has put his scepter on the ground when he stands up. It is a matter of being absent from the manners, so he should ask for an order!"

Chongzhen was not sleeping all night last night and was exhausted. He only whispered a word or two, but the ministers did not hear it clearly. A eunuch who was beautiful, wearing a round-necked red Luo court robes, a blue parrot, a gold belt, and was in charge of the court propaganda. He walked a few steps forward from the imperial throne, like a woman's voice, and sent a decree: "The emperor's oral order: I'm thinking about his unintentional matter, so there is no need to ask; then I will be fined three months for a small punishment. Thank you!"

For some reason, Chongzhen's hands and feet were floating, as if he was very anxious. He absent-mindedly saw an old minister in his sixties staggering out of the class, crawling and kneeling down, and tremblingly said: "I am guilty of losing etiquette in the court, and I deserve to die. Your Majesty's grace is so great that I will not punish you. I will be unable to repay my life and death. I respectfully thank you for your emperor's kindness!" Then he cried in tears and shouted in a trembling voice: "Long live! Long live! Long live!"

This person is naturally the unlucky head of the Ministry of Revenue. In fact, with his age, it is indeed a bit difficult for him to pay such a serious manner. It is completely forgiven for his hand to fall to the ground when he is not physically strong. However, he ended up suffering a three-month fine. If it were any other time, the fine was not a big deal, and the head of the Ministry of Revenue would have many ways to make money, but now... it is difficult!

The canal transportation was cut off, and the money and grain from Jiangnan could not be transported. The food in the capital was already very tight. The shortage of materials naturally led to soaring prices. Yesterday's price, one tael of silver, could only buy thirty or forty kilograms of grain. This was almost equivalent to a stone of grain that costs four taels or even five taels of silver. In the past, a stone of grain was just five cents of silver. The current price of grain is ten times that of the past! This is chilling.

Shi Kefa, the doctor of the Ministry of War, was also among the crowd. Seeing this poor old man, he was fined three months' salary for this small mistake, and couldn't help but sigh slightly. In the past, when the country's fortune was not so dim, Emperor Chongzhen was disdainful of such a small matter and waved his hand to pass. However, today he was fined three months' salary.

What is this? Is it considered to show the supreme existence of imperial power through such small things? As the country's destiny faded, Emperor Chongzhen became more and more petty in some small matters. For the emperor of a big country, this is not a good thing! The country is powerless to do with all its major issues, so he specializes in these trivial matters. Is this what an emperor should do?

Of course, Chongzhen would not know Shi Kefa's inner feelings. He was still a little absent-minded, with 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, as if he was about to find something particularly interesting in the crowd.

"Report to His Majesty the Emperor..."

An official from the Honglu Temple knelt in front of Chongzhen and reported to him 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 who accompanied him spread a list of red papers and placed them on the imperial case.

Chongzhen 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. As for whom, Chongzhen didn't know, nor did he want to know. Then, he waved his hand gently.

The official of the Honglu Temple immediately stood up, took a few steps before he dared to turn around 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 the five-day bow and three-day bow to Chongzhen in a distance according to the praises of another Honglu Temple official, Chongzhen looked outside the Meridian Gate again, then raised his head, and looked at the city and tall buildings at the Meridian Gate. He suddenly realized that the originally bright weather suddenly became dark and dark clouds were low, and the thunder was still sounding, and it felt like it was going to rain.

Chongzhen suddenly repeated the slim hope that often arose in his heart and dreams: if Yang Sichang could successfully capture Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng, Huang Taiji, Zhang Zhun and others, and he would lead the prince and the princes to the morning gate to "be captured"! Unfortunately, these are all hallucinations, even he himself did not believe in them.

As usual, the officials of the five governments, six ministries and other yamen kneeled down to report routine work, and Chongzhen didn't care much. They were all routine rules and had no meaning. Suddenly, Chongzhen heard noisy voices coming from a distance, which was an extremely rare phenomenon near Chengtian Gate. He guessed that it must be the "ignorant and foolish people" from Northern Zhili who refused to leave, and couldn't help but frowned, angry and thought to himself, "They dared to resist the order and stayed in the capital!"

Chongzhen did not forget to ask his subjects to see that he was "the king of Yao and Shun" and the lord of Zhongxing. Therefore, he endured his anger and called the Minister of Revenue and the Chuanlang in front of him. With a look of compassion, he slowly said: "I have always loved the people like a child. In some states and counties, the disaster situation is too severe. Please consider whether the money and food should be reduced and paid in detail."

At this time, with a gust of south wind, the faint voices of the East Chang'an Gate continued to come. It turned out that the people who had been kneeling for a long time were a little excited, and some people's voices became much louder. Chongzhen frowned and couldn't help but ask clearly: "Is the voices outside the people who wrote to the letter?"

Hou Xun, the Minister of Revenue, who was kneeling on the ground, looked up and said, "The Emperor is clear! They are the people of the Northern Zhili. Due to the heavy disaster, the Tartars were rampant, and the conquering factions continued to come to the capital to plead with the grace, exempt the conquering factions, and provide relief quickly. It would be even better if Jianlu could be expelled as soon as possible and let them go back to their hometown."

The other ministers present suddenly felt aroused in their hearts, and they all looked at Chongzhen's face in secret. At the same time, they were secretly worried about Hou Xun. Hou Xun is really a thorny temper, and he doesn't open any pot. What the emperor is most taboo is that someone mentions when the Tartars will leave. You actually said it blatantly. Isn't this intentional way to make the emperor look good? It would be strange if the emperor can spare you!

Sure enough, when he heard Hou Xun's words, Chongzhen frowned again, remained 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 and will never allow local officials to serve the entrusted 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, they are not allowed to stay in the capital, causing trouble, and commit laws and regulations, and let my grace betrayal of the world."

He then called the Five Palaces, Nine Ministers, Directors, and Taoist officials to come to the front and gave them a careful order. In an instant, the called court officials knelt outside the small railing in front of the imperial case, without even a soft cough. Chongzhen's face was particularly cold, full of anger, and murderous intent was filled with eyebrows. The civil and military officers knew that he was moody, so they lowered their heads and waited for unexpected events. Some timid court officials couldn't help but fight gently with their calves.

At this time, the sky was already bright, and the dark clouds were thicker and lower than the one before dawn, pressing against the ridge of Wufeng Tower. Everyone in the hall, except Chongzhen, was as depressing as the weather outside. Hou Xun mentioned the most embarrassing and embarrassing question, that is, when will the Tartars retreat? However, no one in the audience dared to answer, even Emperor Chongzhen could not.

After a moment of cold, Chongzhen was about to retreat, when suddenly the voices in the distance became louder and there were crying. He was very angry, glaring at his eyes and shouting sternly: "Where are the Jinyiwei soldiers? What are you doing for?"

Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Jinyiwei, and the deputy commander Wu Mengming, immediately walked out of the Wuchen troupe and knelt in front of him. The two felt Chongzhen's anger, and the heart was filled with anger. Those unlucky people would want their good looks in a while.

Chongzhen said to his ministers with emotion: "Since I ascend to the top, I have respected heaven and law, worked diligently and loved the people, and always regarded the hearts of Yao and Shun as my heart, so that benevolence and virtue will be immersed in the world. Just because of the national affairs, I have a good night's clothing and food, and I always want to make the world see peace and the people take the seats as soon as possible. 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 eternal world."

After a slight pause, Chongzhen turned to Luo Yangxing and said calmly: "Go and take a look, let me tell the people that they should not make noise. If you still dare to violate the situation, take them all!"

The other ministers hurriedly knelt down their heads so that the emperor would not notice that his expression was wrong. In fact, the ministers present knew that the previous ones of Chongzhen were nonsense, and only the last four words were the key points, that is, they all took them all. What else could the common people have in the hands of the Jinyiwei? It would be a blessing to survive.

"Abide by the order!"

Luo Yangxing's deep answer.

Some ministers couldn't help but be slightly shocked when they heard this answer. Luo Yangxing was scolded by Chongzhen, and those people who were causing trouble were probably going to be stained with blood outside the Meridian Gate. Well, they were still a distance away from the Meridian Gate. No matter how the Jinyiwei killed him, he would not let Chongzhen know. This was the routine of Jinyiwei's affairs.

Poor that more than a thousand representatives of the people who made the emperor angry, "submerged the palace and wrote a letter to the heavens, kneeled 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 outer Jinshui 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 intimidated and could not pass. But beside them, there were the captains of Jinyi who were eyeing their every move.

Some people kneeled numbly and their knees were painful. Some people had to sit down, but most people were still kneeling. Some people thought about the miserable situation in their hometown, shouted at the sky, 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 quarrels occurred because 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!" Everyone who sat was sitting quickly knelt down, and even those who were watching the fun couldn't hide, hurriedly followed him. After the eunuch passed the "ichis name" on his face, he turned around and left. Some of the people knelt behind him, panicked, and did not hear the content of the "ichis name" clearly, and only heard the "remember this" clearly and ended. But most people heard it clearly, and when the eunuch left, they couldn't help crying.

The Jinyi Banner School was afraid that the people would rush to the left gate of Chang'an, so they raised their sticks and swords to drive everyone backwards. The people in Beijing who stood in the distance were used to watching Jinyi Banner Schools to commit murder and catching people casually. While shouting, "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 brought a team of soldiers from the Military and Ma Si to arrive, and drove the people who were panicked, sad, angry and desperate to the outside of Zhengyang Gate.

When Wu Mengming, deputy commander of the Jinyiwei, walked out of the East Chang'an Gate, the people who "shuokou" had been dispersed, leaving a few broken shoes and torn memorials on the ground. He ordered a Jinyiwei commander, to lead the Jinyiwei Banner School, and to work with the five cities to expel the people of Beizhili, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, etc. who came to Beijing to write a letter from the inside and outside cities. In short, as long as they were not from the people in the capital, they would be driven away.

Some people tried to resist, but they were immediately poisoned by the captain Jinyi. They greeted the unarmed people with scimitars, iron rods, and whips. How could the Jinyiwei show mercy? In a while, more than half of the people were beaten to death, and the others were covered with scars. The pool of blood on the ground seemed to have been slaughtered by the Tartars.

Only a few people saw that the opportunity was not good and hurriedly escaped. They gathered outside the city, looking at me, and I looked at you, but they didn't know what to do. Obviously, Emperor Chongzhen abandoned them, and they could no longer place hopes on the court. The world is so big, where is their place?

"Let's go find Zhang Zhun!"

"Let's go find Zhang Zhun!"

"Let's go find Zhang Zhun!"

Suddenly, sounds burst out from the sparse crowd.

This sound is getting brighter and louder, more and more shocking, as if it can cover the thunder in the sky.

"sneeze!"

Zhang Zhun, who was far away in Tianjin Wei, couldn't help but sneeze hard.

"Who is scolding me behind my back?"
Chapter completed!