Chapter 160: The Chronicle of a Tyrant

Actually, the Chongzhen Emperor could understand what was going on in Fang Zhenghua's mind.

After all, this fellow had originally been nothing more than a brush-holding eunuch in the Directorate of Ceremonial. Though he had some status and seniority within the palace, being suddenly promoted by the Chongzhen Emperor to seal-holder of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses and concurrently superintendent of the inner depot—well, given enough time, it was only natural that he'd get a bit carried away and lose his head.

Whether in his past life or this one, the Chongzhen Emperor was an emperor for the first time. In truth, he himself was also a bit giddy, so he could hardly blame others for being giddy too.

This time, the main thing was that Chongzhen knew history well—he knew this dog of a servant was utterly loyal to the royal house, could take the blame, and had ability. Dismissal or beheading were out of the question, for that would only make the Donglin Faction cheer.

Chongzhen gave him a slight hint, intending to make this fellow rein himself in a bit. Judging by the results now, the effect had been excellent, so he no longer needed to fret over the matter.

Fang Zhenghua, recalling how the Emperor had dealt with the Donglin Faction—killing when he said kill, exterminating clans when he said exterminate clans—had initially thought he himself would most likely be done for.

Upon hearing these words at this moment, he naturally felt as if he had received a great pardon, and was so moved he could have wept in the Chongzhen Emperor's arms.

Fang Zhenghua nodded hurriedly, thumping his chest and giving his solemn guarantee. Judging by the look of it, he seemed to be saying he'd even skip the New Year celebrations just to keep an eye on the Emperor's wife and son for him.

On this fine festival of the new spring, the Chongzhen Emperor stood before Huangji Hall in high spirits, feeling that standing around idly like this was terribly dull. Suddenly a whim struck him—why not hold a grand military review?

Acting on whatever thought came to mind, the Chongzhen Emperor, amid the shocked expressions of a crowd of eunuchs and palace maids, patted his backside and ordered his carriage brought around, heading straight for the residence of the Duke of Ying.

Zhang Shize had been celebrating the New Year in harmony with his entire family when suddenly a eunuch came running in, gasping for breath, saying the Emperor was about to arrive and that it seemed to be a major matter. Instantly, the faces of everyone in the household turned pale.

The laughter and joy of the Duke of Ying's residence vanished. This was the reigning Emperor—word had it that just yesterday, on Little New Year, he'd had a Censor chopped. Who dared to be remiss?

Everyone in the household, high and low, was tense with anxiety. After a flurry of activity, they managed to arrange everything just before the Chongzhen Emperor arrived.

After waiting about the time it takes half a cup of tea to cool, the Chongzhen Emperor finally turned out from the street corner with a great throng of depot and guard agents, eunuchs, and palace maids, advancing in full pomp.

Many in the household were seeing Chongzhen for the first time, but no matter how they looked at him, this fellow simply didn't resemble an Emperor. With that smug little expression on his face, he looked more like some arrogant young rake throwing his weight around.

No matter what they thought in their hearts, no one dared show the slightest disrespect on their faces. Following Zhang Shize, they hurriedly welcomed Chongzhen into the residence. After a round of pleasantries, the Chongzhen Emperor got straight to the point—and everyone was dumbfounded.

"A military review? How did you come to think of doing this sort of thing?"

"Indeed! It wastes money and wears out the people!"

Actually, this term was both unfamiliar and not unfamiliar to many people. How to put it—the Great Ming truly did place considerable importance on military reviews.

During the Yongle reign, a grand military review of enormous scale had been held once. Whenever he thought of this matter, the Chongzhen Emperor was filled with envy.

It was said that after the review concluded, Zhu Di received envoys from various nations at his field camp in Tumu Fortress. The envoy of the Timurid Empire led the way in kneeling and kowtowing, "knocking his head upon the ground," completely disregarding the claim that "our nation has no such custom."

The Timurid envoy even flattered further, saying that the fine horses the Timurids were presenting this time were precisely the "imperial mounts" that the late Timurid king's father had specially used in his campaigns north and south over his lifetime. Presenting them to the Great Ming Emperor was also meant to express their "most supreme reverence."

Actually, Chongzhen had always suspected that this fellow's earlier fearless demeanor had been put on, precisely to enhance the effect of the flattery that followed. The result afterward was quite obvious—that bout of bootlicking had been very successful.

The envoys from various nations who "observed the review" that time came from twenty-seven countries. The might of the Great Ming's military made a tremendous impression on all the nations. The Timurid Empire alone sent envoys to China more than sixty times over the course of the Ming dynasty.

Beyond that, the friendly relations between the nations of Central Asia and West Asia and the Great Ming had continued unbroken right up to the present—that's right, the present.

Zhu Di, thanks to his old man and Zhu Yunwen, had shown off to the entire world. That was truly the highest realm of showing off—something one could only envy, never replicate.

Zhu Chongba had also once decreed that at the end of each year, the garrison troops of every guard station throughout the realm were to undergo an annual inspection, and once every three years, a grand review.

The idea was fine, but execution was another matter. During the Hongwu and Yongle reigns, garrison troops in various places could still manage to put on a sloppy, crooked "review" to get by.

By now, in the eighteenth year of Chongzhen, they couldn't even be bothered to go through the motions. As for the capital troops, no one knew how long it had been since they'd last held a review, and no one cared. Out in the provinces, who paid any attention to such a pointless, self-defeating policy?

As a time-traveler, the Chongzhen Emperor had known in his later life how formidable those keyboard warriors could be. And now, at a time like this, the big shots of the Donglin Faction were several levels above those of his previous life.

The Spring Festival passed quite easily. The Chongzhen Emperor didn't plan to stir up any trouble, and the Donglin Faction was happy for the peace—one could say the two sides had a few days of truce.

On the first day of the third month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the news that came spread discussion throughout the court and stirred up enormous waves: Chongzhen was going to hold a military review—and a grand one at that!

For a time, nonsense like "competing with the people for profit" and "wasting money and wearing out the people" once again stirred up a storm throughout the city.

That wasn't even the main point. The big shots at court were well versed in the art of advance and retreat. For such a major matter, they themselves wouldn't utter a word—they'd have their easily fooled disciples down below do the shouting.

The capital region had long been under the control of the depot and guard. Throw a few in prison and things quieted down. The surrounding areas were much the same, with no great changes. But the news coming from Jiangnan genuinely made the Chongzhen Emperor feel both angry and amused.

Of course, the one still at odds with the court was that Fushe—the Restoration Society.

A while back, Ma Shiying, the new Minister of Personnel in Nanjing, had made his presence felt with his "three fires upon taking office," promptly seizing Song Zhengyu—a key member of the Restoration Society, known as the great talent of Yunjian—and having him done to death in prison.

Add to that Hou Fangyu, that coward, betraying the Restoration Society. The scholars of Jiangnan, holding their breath as they dealt with their own affairs, were also waiting for an opportunity to speak out.

Fortunately, that tyrant Chongzhen had delivered the opportunity right to their doorstep. He wanted to hold a military review? Well, he'd have to ask whether the scholars of the realm would agree!

The court had always followed the path of suppressing the military and honoring the civil, but the entire seventeenth year of Chongzhen had completely turned that around.

The Chongzhen Emperor's attitude toward the scholars and high ministers of the court was diametrically opposed to before. It was like slaughtering pigs—word had it that the depot and guard had even destroyed several Donglin academies in the capital. Those were the cradles of the realm's literati and scholars, and it truly infuriated the talents of the Restoration Society.

And that wasn't all. That tyrant had also established a shrine of loyalty to elevate the status of military men, and had begun recalling and reinstating those members of the eunuch faction who had been dismissed in the early Chongzhen years.

The scholars were accustomed to a life of ease and comfort, and had grown skilled in the trick of looking down on others like dogs. Seeing those crude military men casually kill a few people on the battlefield and then easily climb above them—how could they swallow such a bitter loss?

When news of this military review spread, the Restoration Society could no longer sit still.

According to the intelligence the Chongzhen Emperor had received, the Restoration Society had learned to be smarter this time. They no longer casually pulled stunts like death remonstrances or protests. A man named Zhang Cai, at the instigation of Qian Qianyi, had written a so-called 【book】.

On the title page of this 【book】, Zhang Cai specifically indicated that for the first sixteen years, the Chongzhen Emperor had actually been feigning sageliness—but at that time, Chongzhen still had a glimmer of light in his heart.

But starting from the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, seeing that the Great Ming was about to fall, the Chongzhen Emperor had lost his mind and completely revealed his true nature as a tyrant.

The content that followed was even more piercing, word by word. In the 【book】, Zhang Cai detailed, item by item, the various fatuous deeds of the Chongzhen Emperor since the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, along with the corresponding omens of national ruin sent by heaven.