Chapter 14: The First Move (Collect and Recommend!!!)

  Zhu Ciwen was climbing Wansui Mountain at this time.

  He is now light and agile, full of energy, while the two literary officials are panting and struggling to climb.

  Jingshan is actually the large amount of earth excavated when the moat was dug, plus some trees and strange rocks, and the palace buildings are also a part of the royal court gardens. The imperial garden in the Ming Dynasty was also called Gongyuan, which was very small. If there were any happy events in the imperial family or during the Chongyang Festival, climbing Jingshan would make the entire Forbidden City and half of Beijing city visible at one's feet... What could be more enjoyable than this?

  So although the mountain is not high, its reputation in the Ming Dynasty was not small. The construction is strange, dangerous and secluded, with trees and rocks everywhere, and winding paths that twist and turn. Although the mountain is not high, climbing it still requires some physical strength.

  These two literati in front of me obviously haven't experienced any physical exercise since childhood, and when they climb up, they really suffer a lot.

  Fortunately, it was only a short time before Zhu Ciwen stopped taking them to the highest peak, but instead followed his own memory, winding and turning, until they reached a place halfway up the mountain.

  "It's here." Standing on a mountain rock, Zhu Ciwen smiled with a complex expression.

  "What's strange about this place?"

  Wang Duo remained silent, while Wu Weiye's expression was full of curiosity as he asked Zhu Ciyan: "It would be better if the prince could enlighten me."

  "Last night, I had a dream..." Although he was in front of so many people, Zhu Ciwen's face already showed an unnatural expression.

  He didn't put on any airs at all, and just chatted with friends as usual, talking freely.

  Upon hearing this, even Wang Zhong was taken aback. The eunuchs attending to him from all sides were also at a loss, unsure what kind of trick this young master had up his sleeve.

  Not far away, Li Jiye and Qiu Zhizhong panted and hurried over, slowly crawling towards where the crowd had stopped.

  The newly appointed inner guard officer, with a hundred or more households under his command, also had five or six people rushing to attend to him. However, the literary and martial officials were naturally incompatible, so when the other military officers saw that there was a civil official present, they too kept their distance and did not approach to curry favor.

  "The place in my dreams is right here."

  Zhu Ciwen spun around on the spot, and less than a foot in front of him was a precipice. Everyone watched with bated breath, and several palace attendants were about to step forward when Li Jiye arrived just in time, waving his hand for everyone to retreat.

  The two officials knew that Zhu Ciyan's move must have a deep meaning, and they quietly stood by, waiting for the Crown Prince's next move.

  Zhu Ciwen's expression was already miserable, and at the corner of his eyes, a shadow of tears seemed to flash.

  He is the movie emperor, even in a hurry, there may not be such convenient tears, but what's in front of him now, he doesn't know if it's real or just a dream, and it has appeared at least a hundred times!

  This is where the Chongzhen Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty died for his country!

  In front of that crooked-necked tree is where Chongzhen hanged himself. At that time, it was empty and desolate without a single object, but hundreds of years later, there is a stone tablet with clear and distinct writing. I don't know how many people have stood under this tree, in front of the stele, either sighing in despair, or being numb and indifferent, or perhaps even laughing and passing by - there are many such people.

  As a lover of literature and history, Zhu Ciyan must have visited this tree and this stone countless times in his afterlife, so familiar that they need not be deliberately recalled, but can clearly emerge in his mind.

  At that time, he had nothing but hatred and regret!

  Chongzhen was a man who, to say that his death is not worth lamenting, would be too unkind. However, to say that he brought about his own downfall and misled the country, would not be unjust to him. He was impulsive and hasty, without undergoing systematic training in imperial governance, so when implementing policies, he made mistakes everywhere and stumbled at every turn. But to put all the blame on one person is also unkind.

  As Zhu Ciyan sees it now, Chongzhen's diligence and frugality are clear to his eyes, while the officials' shirking of responsibility, being at a loss when encountering problems, and having nothing constructive to say, are also clearly visible to him.

  It can be said that the fall of the Ming Dynasty was only felt when one was in a desperate situation, and it was then that one could feel the helplessness and pain of being trapped. Everything was rotten, thoroughly rotten!

  Civil officials are corrupt, form cliques, and everything is done for personal gain; nothing is done for the benefit of the country or the people! Military officials are weak, afraid to die, and only care about their own interests. They embezzle military funds, and even dare to openly declare it in front of the emperor! If one were to say that the civil and military officials of the Ming dynasty are a pack of wolves tearing at the flesh of the common people, then the imperial princes are a pack of pigs!

  The Fu Wang's treasury had hundreds of millions of gold and silver, but the soldiers were short of food and clothing. The Fu Wang was so stingy that he refused to give out any silver, and as a result, when Luoyang fell, he himself was boiled in a large pot to make meat soup, and the grain and treasure in his mansion were also taken by others at a cheap price.

  Eunuchs are incompetent and arrogant, imperial relatives are selfish, and meritorious officials have been idle for a long time...

  Looking around the world, there is actually no one who can be used, and also no one who can be relied on!

  Such a monarch, it's enough to be tired. Thinking of Chongzhen's mood, it's really looking around, there is no one to trust, it's really the end of the dynasty, like a big tree rotting from the roots, letting it fall down, it might be easier.

  Later generations often criticized Chongzhen for being stubborn and incompetent, but from the perspective of those who were in the midst of it all, one can only say that the situation was dire at the time, and anyone would have been terrified. Yet Chongzhen persisted, refusing to admit defeat even unto death, holding onto hope until the very end in Beijing, and even letting slip multiple opportunities to escape.

  An emperor of this caliber is indeed worthy of being called "resolute"!

  But seeing this crooked-necked tree in front of me, thinking about Chongzhen's struggles for over ten years, exhausting his heart and blood, until he finally hanged himself here, the injustice in his heart must have been able to pierce through the sky.

  It's even more heartbreaking for an outsider to see this situation, let alone for someone who is personally involved!

  Zhu Ciyan's expression was so sorrowful that even Wu Weiye was moved by his emotions. Seeing Zhu Ciyan remain silent for a long time, he simply asked: "I wonder what dream the prince had?"

  At the same time Wu Weiye stepped forward to ask, Li Jiye's face sank, and apart from the two lecturers and the newly appointed military officers, as well as himself and Qiu Zhizhong and other trusted followers of the Crown Prince, everyone else was driven away by him for dozens of steps.

  The crown prince has already spoken too much, and now this talk of dreams is not a good thing. Otherwise, why would he look so gloomy? With many people talking, it will spread quickly, who knows what the emperor will think?

  When people around the prince sometimes have to think of things that he can't think of, if everything has to wait for his orders, what is the point of having a chief eunuch like him?

  He didn't notice, but at the same time he was driving people away, a hint of appreciation flashed across Zhu Ciyan's face, which had been gloomy all along... This eunuch isn't bad!

  "Haha, I dreamed that the bandits entered the city... tens of thousands of elite troops, surrounding the capital so tightly that not a drop of water could leak out. I dreamed that the soldiers and civilians inside the city didn't dare to resist, just like in Xiangyang, Luoyang, and Jiangling, where the rebels took the cities without even blowing off the dust. I dreamed that my father, the emperor, was frantically looking around, abandoned by his people, setting fire to the Qianqing Palace... and I, escaping all the way here, just to find this tree... and hang myself from it!"

  At this point, everyone's face has already changed color!

  Wang Duo's face was gloomy, and he only clenched his teeth without speaking. Li Jiye and other eunuchs were pale as if they were dead. On the contrary, several military officers, although they had been moved by Zhu Ciyan's words and had not followed him for long, listened to the crown prince's words with red faces, but as warriors were clumsy in speech, although the atmosphere was turbulent, they did not know what to say.

  "It has come to this... Wu Weiye murmured: "For nearly three hundred years, our dynasty has ruled the world, and the people have received great blessings. The emperor is diligent and hardworking, but even so, it's come to losing the country and the heavens, I dare not think about it, nor do I want to."

  "It is not the common people who have received great favors, but rather the scholars and nobles, as well as the imperial relatives and high-ranking officials," Zhu Ciyan sneered repeatedly, staring at the crowd, saying: "What about the officials, generals, and imperial relatives? Do I need to say more?"

  The officials and generals, the imperial relatives and nobles, all knew what was going on. Wu Weiye, even if he wanted to defend himself, had nothing to say, and could only hang his head in silence.

  Seeing him like this, Zhu Ciwen looked around and said in a stern voice: "At the present stage, if I still want to be greedy for stability, fear people's words, and dare not have any ambitions... Then, will the dream become a reality? Do I really want to see my father burn down the Qianqing Palace and hang myself to death?"

  Everyone was startled and said: "No, no, it won't happen, absolutely won't."

  "It will or won't, it can only be seen whether the selected Beijing camp soldiers still have blood and courage... The generals listened, tomorrow at dawn, I will go to Shou Huang Hall to inspect the troops!" Zhu Ciyan's expression was calm, and he didn't want to say more.

  Today is mainly to boost the morale of the military officers. At this time, deepen the impression again. The initial work has been done enough, and there is no need to repeat more words.

  As for the two officials, they were going to be the ones who would leave a deep impression on these two men in the future. Wang Dang, although not yet high-ranking, might soon be promoted to a high position, while Wu Weiye was from the renowned Three Wu family of scholars, whose literary fame spread throughout Jiangnan.

  He had no good impression of scholar-officials and knew that they only knew how to deceive people with grand words, but were useless when it came to actual work.

  Moreover, they contend with the people for profit, and even contend with the emperor for profit. The great scholars and officials of Jiangnan are all extremely wealthy, but the oil that flows from their own wealth is not willing to be used to pay commercial taxes to save the country, so on one hand there is the emperor who is poor to the point of being in rags, while on the other hand there is a scene of luxurious and extravagant prosperity.

  Such a group of interest groups, Chongzhen can't fight against them. For him, the influence and utilization of the two instructors now are just the first step in dealing with that large interest group in the future.

  That's all!