Chapter 309: The Fall of the Pang Clan of Jinling

"Your Majesty, the Tax Bureau and Salt Bureau offices built not long ago have been completely destroyed. Of the officials appointed by the Grand Secretariat to the two bureaus, only twelve remain alive—the rest have not even left bones behind!"

"Furthermore, according to the Ministry of Revenue's preliminary investigation, the Tax Bureau and Salt Bureau premises have suffered severe damage. Dozens of households have had their homes toppled, with countless injured—the cries of the afflicted fill the fields."

"Your Majesty, Wu Youke of the Imperial Academy of Medicine had his residence destroyed. Fortunately, he and his family had gone outside the city to purchase medicinal herbs, so they escaped without harm. However, Pang Zhongqian, who had just arrived in the capital, was caught in the blast at his Beijing residence—he and all his servants were killed!"

"Your Majesty, several shops have been destroyed, and the streets near Chongwen Gate are blocked and impassable. I request permission to temporarily close Chongwen Gate and dispatch soldiers to guard and clear the way!"

The Chongzhen Emperor initially thought he had simply been unlucky enough to experience a major earthquake—only later did he learn that this was, damn it all, man-made!

At this moment, ministers from various departments and members of the Grand Secretariat who had rushed urgently to Huangji Hall were continuously reporting the situation from every quarter. The Chongzhen Emperor's face had grown darker with each report since the very first sentence, until now it showed no expression whatsoever.

As emperor, facing the threat of external enemies, he needed more money to wage war—only then could he ensure he remained seated on the dragon throne, only then could he ensure he stayed alive.

At this time, the most prosperous region in all the realm, the one least touched by the ravages of war, was none other than Jiangnan. The Chongzhen Emperor, a man from later ages, understood that the handicraft and commercial industries of Jiangnan were already quite developed.

Levying taxes on industry and commerce was precisely the Old Ancestor's method for guaranteeing military expenditures. Perfecting the methods of the Zhu family's Old Ancestor was likewise the unrivaled choice for raising funds at this moment.

The Chongzhen Emperor understood that the explosions at the two bureau offices today were the masterpiece of those financial magnate groups whose reach extended to heaven itself.

His best means of raising funds was not the optimal choice for the official-gentry financial magnate groups. The interest representatives of Jiangnan's industry and commerce in the capital were none other than the civil officials who held the reins of state affairs.

Although the Chongzhen Emperor had wiped out the Donglin Faction, he still needed officials to govern the realm.

For the merchants, as long as a single civil official remained in court, the financial magnate groups could find their opening. Even without civil officials, brainless military men were even easier to buy off. So no matter how many heads the Chongzhen Emperor sent rolling in court, it never actually affected the magnates' own interests.

Beginning with the disposal of the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants, the financial magnates sensed the attitude the Chongzhen Emperor had inadvertently revealed and began preparing their escape routes. Some of the shrewder ones had even begun planning this explosion from that very moment.

This explosion was more like the financial magnate groups' response and warning to the Chongzhen Emperor's reforms of commercial taxation.

Squeezing court officials alone might not draw others to stick their oars in, but now he wanted to cut flesh from the merchants to wage war and reform the military—anyone would be reluctant to accept that.

In other words, this Great Ming belongs to your Zhu family. Even the princes of your Zhu family aren't enthusiastic—why should we be the ones to sacrifice our own interests?

The Chongzhen Emperor understood that throughout every dynasty, this had been the insoluble knot between emperors and financial magnates. In times of peace, the emperor held absolute power alone—like Jiajing and Wanli—and could use various means to maneuver, compromise, and play the long game.

But after he had crossed over, the era of peace was already a distant past. The situation could hardly be described even by the phrase "external troubles and internal strife"—it was the final moment when the dynasty had only months left before its fall.

At that time, the Chongzhen Emperor could not afford to strategize from afar, nor did he have any opportunity to consider long-term consequences. Whenever there was a chance, he had to strike—only by killing others could he survive.

This victory over the roving bandits at Gu Pass was even more so. Heaven knows whether he could win again against the Qing slaves and roving bandits while squeezed in the cracks. If he didn't seize this opportunity, wouldn't he end up just like the Chongzhen of history?

The Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao had heavily favored Wei Zhongxian, allowing him to climb to the height of "Nine Thousand Years." For this, the Donglin Faction wrote him off as a fatuous emperor who only shut himself away doing carpentry. But was that really the truth?

The Chongzhen Emperor had already come to understand the shrewdness of his cheap elder brother. He had single-handedly created that thing called the eunuch faction precisely because he foresaw the situation that would arise today—it was all to protect imperial power and suppress the bureaucrats and local gentry.

Zhu Youxiao did carpentry to throw people off the scent, used the eunuch faction as a scapegoat, suppressed the Donglin Faction that talked empty nonsense and harmed the state, and employed practical-minded officials. He was absolutely not a fool who only knew carpentry—on the contrary, his involvement and intervention in matters of state and military affairs were everywhere.

Reflecting on the pain, the Chongzhen Emperor suddenly discovered that what he faced today was remarkably similar to what Zhu Youxiao had faced in history!

In the sixth year of Tianqi, the year of what later generations called the Wanggongchang Explosion, was precisely the first year Zhu Youxiao sent the eunuch faction to the provinces to levy taxes on the wealthy. Zhu Youxiao forcibly imposed additional mining taxes, maritime taxes, and commercial taxes, directly harming the interests of the bureaucratic and aristocratic groups—not the common folk at the bottom.

Cutting off someone's path to wealth has always been one of the most hated things one can do—even for an emperor. Zhu Youxiao had the resolve to offend people, but he had no preparation whatsoever, nor did he know what price he would have to pay.

The Chongzhen Emperor had previously suffered poisoning, even open assassination attempts, and scholars shouting about benevolence and righteousness while gathering crowds to storm the palace—all manner of transgressions. He had witnessed nearly every trick the Donglin Faction habitually employed within the first year of his crossing over.

Countering each move as it came, he had stumbled his way to survival until now. The Chongzhen Emperor of this moment was no longer the naive young fool who had just crossed over and only wanted to stay alive.

An important standard for evaluating any historical event is "he who profits most is most suspect"—whoever reaps the greatest benefit from an event is likely the one pulling the strings, for nothing in this world falls from the sky like a free pie.

The greatest beneficiaries of this batch of policies he had issued were the imperial loyalists led by himself. This was equivalent to pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth, directly butting heads with the official-gentry financial magnate groups.

For the bureaucratic group, the current direct obstacle was the reigning Son of Heaven. And this explosion had destroyed both the Tax Bureau and Salt Bureau, wiping out nearly all the officials of the two bureaus and the core staff Pang Zhongqian had brought. Who was the greatest beneficiary?

The Chongzhen Emperor could say with certainty: it was precisely these Jiangnan financial magnates who feared nothing more than a world at peace.

The Chongzhen Emperor could hypothesize from these people's perspective: since the policies could not be changed for now, what if the current Chongzhen, like the Tianqi Emperor of history, were to suddenly meet with an accident?

At that time, who would come to inherit the throne?

The currently designated Crown Prince Zhu Cilang was still a child. If the Chongzhen Emperor were to suddenly die, the crown prince would inherit the throne one hundred percent. An emperor wielding absolute power replaced by a little brat—this was precisely what the financial magnates would love to see.

Moreover, Zhu Cilang had been raised from childhood by Donglin figures. Even if something unexpected happened after he took the throne, they could simply repeat their old tricks. What great ability could a small child possibly have?

In history, the year after the Wanggongchang Incident was also the critical moment when his cheap elder brother, the Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao, further intensified the implementation of his governing intentions—and then the accident happened.

The Chongzhen Emperor still had memories of that time in his mind. Zhu Youxiao had gone boating with Wei Zhongxian and Wang Tiqian in the Western Park when the boat, which had been perfectly steady, suddenly capsized. Although the emperor was quickly rescued, he contracted an illness from the "fright."

What was lamentable was that Zhu Youxiao, only twenty-two years old—an emperor who just days before had been cheerfully riding horses, shooting arrows, and doing carpentry—was soon beyond saving.

For the officials and gentry, the most exquisite part of this affair was that the Tianqi Emperor had capsized together with Wei Zhongxian.

If it were said to be not an accident but someone secretly harming the emperor, then Wei Zhongxian would be the first suspect. No one would ever suspect them—truly unseen and unheard.

Of course, the officials and gentry of history had indeed done exactly this, using their predecessor's fool of an emperor to completely eliminate the eunuch faction.

But anyone with clear eyes understood that the relationship between the emperor and the eunuch faction was like master and loyal hound—just like the current Chongzhen and his imperial loyalists. If anything happened to the emperor, the greatest loser would be Wei Zhongxian.

As a eunuch who could never possibly become emperor, all of Wei Zhongxian's power came from Zhu Youxiao. Once the emperor changed, it would bring him a hundred harms and not a single benefit. This situation was known not only to Wei Zhongxian—anyone with eyes knew it.

Yet Zhu Youxiao had died in the end. On his deathbed, he told the Chongzhen of history: after you become emperor, you must heavily employ Wei Zhongxian.

The current Chongzhen Emperor could feel in his mind what Zhu Youjian had been thinking at that time. A hot-blooded youth combining youthful arrogance, stubborn self-will, and fiery vigor—how could he have carefully pondered the deep meaning in Zhu Youxiao's dying words?

The first thing Zhu Youjian of history did upon taking the throne was to force Wei Zhongxian out, then swiftly and decisively eliminate the eunuch faction, heavily employ the Donglin Faction, and quickly win praise from court and country alike—thus ushering in the new era of "the court filled with worthy men."

As Chief Grand Secretary Jiang Dejing spoke, his face was filled entirely with indignation.

As Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, having previously served as a pacification official in many regions, Jiang Dejing naturally knew just how deep the officialdom of the Great Ming truly was—so deep it seemed bottomless.

The court had only just issued policies reforming commercial taxes and reorganizing the salt administration, and in less than half a month, the two bureaus had suffered such a major disaster at the same moment on the same day. Was this coincidence, or was there something more behind it?

Recalling the Wanggongchang affair during the Tianqi reign, Jiang Dejing could not help but feel a chill run down his spine.

Now the most difficult thing for the Chongzhen Emperor had happened: Pang Zhongqian had been crushed to death in his sleep as collateral damage. His two sons who accompanied him, his wife née Zhou, and a whole batch of people had all died—not a single survivor remained.

The Pang family was currently the only clan the Chongzhen Emperor was certain would remain loyal to him and possessed both the capability and means to manage the Tax Bureau.

It could be predicted that with Pang Zhongqian dead and his two sons—enough to inherit the family enterprise—gone with him, the Pang family would surely splinter apart. No doubt within the city of Jinling at this very moment, various financial magnates and officials were already busy carving up the Pang family's assets.

Even the mighty Pang family had been taken out of the game directly—so who would still dare to accept this olive branch?