Haihan demanded that those involved in the Hangzhou assassination be held accountable. Regardless of whether Chongzhen approved it or not, this condition could never be brought to the court to discuss the feasibility.
With the rise of Haihan, the prestige of the Ming Dynasty imperial power has gradually declined in recent years. Choosing such an unconventional and extreme method to assassinate the political leaders of Haihan is to treat a dead horse as a living horse. In order to restore this decline, it has to be adopted. measures.
It would be nothing if the attack was successful. At least it would have an inspiring effect within the Ming Dynasty within a short period of time, and it might even cause civil strife in Haihan.
However, immediately after the mistake, the relevant people were held accountable, and this liquidation was carried out under the pressure of Haihan, and the people were handed over to Haihan. This would undoubtedly destroy Chongzhen's little remaining prestige.
More importantly, Chongzhen was also very worried that if the matter was discussed openly in the court, it might arouse strong opposition against him.
He knew that hardliners inside and outside the government had long been dissatisfied with his appeasement attitude. Once these people were forced to a desperate end, it was not impossible for them to launch a coup in the capital.
You must know that the relevant people include senior cabinet officials with real power, senior generals with military power, and senior leaders of intelligence organizations such as factory guards. If these people join forces to rebel, it may be more difficult for Chongzhen than the Haihan Army. It is even more dangerous when troops approach the city.
"Wang Cheng'en, what do you think I should do? If we agree to Haihan's conditions and hand over the relevant people, these people may rise up in rebellion. If we don't agree, Haihan's army will attack the capital, and the country may be in danger of subjugation. ! ”
Wang Chengen had served Chongzhen for many years and knew his temperament very well. When he said these words, he had already made a decision in his heart. It's just that as an emperor, there are some things that he can't say in person.
If the emperor did not intend to surrender, there would be no need to dwell on this issue.
Wang Chengen lowered his head and responded: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the most important thing at the moment is to stop the war between the Haihan people. If we ignore these people and protect them, it will only give the Haihan army an excuse to continue the war. And to protect these people will only give the Haihan army an excuse to continue the war. Guo Zuo, Ming Dynasty will still have a chance to turn around in the future!”
Chongzhen said: "That's the case, but will the relevant people wait obediently for disposal? If someone rebels because of this, I'm afraid the capital will collapse!"
Wang Chengen said: "The emperor can order the imperial guards to go out of the imperial city at night and go to each house to arrest the relevant people, without giving them a chance to resist!"
Chongzhen pondered: "This can be used to deal with court officials, but there are several generals who are in the army at this time. How can the Imperial Forest Army get them?"
Wang Chengen said: "This is not difficult. The emperor only needs to issue an order to send them into the palace and capture them in the palace. Later, he will send someone else to bring the imperial edict into the camp and take over his subordinates."
Chongzhen nodded slightly and said: "You are quite thoughtful...but I am really worried about leaving it to others, so I will send you to complete this extremely important task. How about it?"
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Wang Chengen secretly complained in his heart, why are all these fatal errands assigned to him one after another. If there is even a slight mistake in the middle, his life will be gone.
For a moment, Wang Chengen even wondered if the emperor was going to push him out as a scapegoat and let some military general take this opportunity to chop him.
But he didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction on his face, and quickly knelt down and said, "I accept my order!" How could Chongzhen not know that this matter was extremely dangerous, so he comforted Wang Cheng'en and said, "Wang Cheng'en, as long as you complete this errand, you will be here." I will never treat you badly! From now on, you will be in charge of all the twelve supervisors of the Imperial City! You will also serve as the Governor of the East Factory!"
This was a huge benefit, and Wang Chengen had to kowtow a few more times and express his gratitude to Chongzhen honestly.
There were twelve yamen in the Ming Dynasty that managed the internal affairs of the royal family, and the ceremonial supervisor under Wang Chengen's former jurisdiction was just one of them. However, the responsibilities of the Si Li Jian were to comment on memorials, propagate edicts, and take charge of eunuch affairs. He could be said to be the most powerful yamen among them.
Wang Chengen's previous eunuch, Bingbi, could review official documents and memorials on behalf of the emperor, and his trust was far greater than that of senior officials in the court.
In addition to the Si Li Jian, there are also the Internal Official Jian, the Imperial Jian, the Si She Jian, the Royal Horse Jian, the Divine Palace Jian, the Shang Shan Jian, the Shang Bao Jian, the Yin Shou Jian, the Zhidian Jian, the Shang Yi Jian, and the Duzhi Jian. , these yamen perform their own duties, and they are all controlled by eunuchs.
Chongzhen placed all these yamen under Wang Chengen's management in one fell swoop, which was a disguised promotion to him as the Chief of Internal Affairs.
As for the important positions that have always been held by eunuchs who were originally ceremonial supervisors, they were only the admiral of Dongchang and the garrison of Nanjing. The current admiral of Dongchang will definitely be removed because he was involved in the Hangzhou assassination incident. It is not an overstep of the rules for Wang Chengen to also take charge of Dongchang.
However, the situation in Nanjing City was critical, and it was hard to say whether it could be defended. Moreover, Chongzhen did not want Wang Chengen, a close confidant, to be sent as an official so far away, so he did not regard the Nanjing garrison position as a reward.
Of course, such a big thing cannot be done by Wang Chengen alone. At best, he can only lead the team and direct, and someone else has to be arranged to do this job.
Wang Chengen first secretly announced that the commanders of the Jinwu Guards, Yulin Guards, Huben Guards, Fujun Guards, Jinyi Guards, Banner Guards and other imperial troops under the Pro-Army Commander's Division would enter the palace to meet the emperor. Chongzhen personally issued the secret to these military attachés. Order to arrest certain North Korean and Chinese officials.
As for the yamen such as the Fifth Army Governor's Office, the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Department, and the Jingwei Command and Envoy Department, due to confidentiality considerations, they were not allowed to receive the news at the first time.
Among them, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, who was involved in the Hangzhou assassination and was designated as an important person by Haihan, was taken down directly in the palace, and Chongzhen appointed a successor recommended by Wang Chengen.
Wang Chengen was afraid that something might change later, so he started arresting relevant people in the capital that night. At the same time, there were also a group of officials in the imperial city who were secretly summoned. The moment they stepped into the imperial study, they were knocked down by the imperial guards who were ambushing them, and then taken directly to the prison for imprisonment.
Regardless of whether these officials had any intention of confrontation or even rebellion, Chongzhen did not intend to take any risks.
As long as the imperial power and the Ming Dynasty can be preserved, it doesn't matter if a few officials are sacrificed. Besides, their identities, their glory and wealth were all given by the Ming Dynasty. The purpose was not to require them to stand up and be loyal to the Ming Dynasty at this time.
Chongzhen only hoped that after handing these people over to Haihan, the other party would not break his promise and continue to implement the armistice agreement.
Of course, this is only the first condition among the many requirements put forward by Haihan. Compared with other requirements that have not yet been implemented, it seems that it is not too difficult to arrest the persons related to the assassination and hand them over to Haihan.