Swish—
The atmosphere inside Huangji Hall instantly turned chillingly bone-chilling.
Wei Zaode froze in place.
Just a moment ago, he was the lofty Senior Grand Secretary, standing above all others with only the Emperor above him. In the blink of an eye, he was facing execution with his head severed and his entire clan wiped out.
He stared blankly at Emperor Chongzhen, unable to believe his ears.
He never expected that Emperor Chongzhen would actually dare to kill him!
No, not just kill him—he was going to wipe out his entire clan!
Li Ruolian, Commander of the Brocade Guard, lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly.
It was not out of fear, but excitement.
Your Majesty had finally struck at this bunch of civil officials who had ruined the country and misled the sovereign.
It was utterly satisfying.
Seeing the Brocade Guard soldiers who had rushed in standing frozen in place, Li Ruolian immediately rebuked angrily, "Are the four of you deaf? Drag him out for execution at once!"
Without a word of hesitation upon receiving the order, the four Brocade Guard officers seized Wei Zaode and dragged him out of the main hall.
Wei Zaode, the Senior Grand Secretary, finally snapped back to his senses, but his mind had completely collapsed. For all his careful calculations, he had never foreseen that Emperor Chongzhen would wipe out his entire clan.
Pointing at the assembled officials, he shouted, "My fellow colleagues, I have treated you all well on ordinary days. Help me!"
Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of War, kept his mouth shut and said not a word.
At this point, he could barely protect himself; pleading for Wei Zaode was completely out of the question.
Even if he were innocent, he still wouldn't help.
Wei Zaode was finished—completely and utterly finished. Having lost the position of Senior Grand Secretary, he had only one use left: acting as a shield in front to absorb the Emperor's wrath.
As the saying goes, better a dead fellow daoist than a living friend!
Obediently confessing one's guilt still left a path to survival, but kneeling to plead for mercy would undoubtedly invite disaster upon oneself.
The other ministers looked at each other, each hesitating to speak, half-withdrawing and half-advancing.
Under normal circumstances, someone surely would have knelt to beg for mercy.
But today was different.
Emperor Chongzhen had first divided the court officials into two factions through the Crown Prince's proposed migration to Nanjing; the ministers bound for Nanjing were terrified of losing their qualifications and were bound to align themselves with the Emperor.
When raising funds, he had singled out only four names: Senior Grand Secretary Wei Zaode, Minister of War Zhang Jinyan, Duke of Cheng Zhu Chunchen, and Minister of Works Fan Jingwen.
Though holding high positions, these four men were at odds with one another.
Wei Zaode had served as Senior Grand Secretary for merely six months, his wings not yet fully grown. To protect themselves, the ministers who had not been singled out maintained a wait-and-see attitude or even aligned themselves with the Emperor.
Finally.
The tone and expression Emperor Chongzhen used when sentencing Wei Zaode made his stance clear: all of you are guilty, but I choose to selectively ignore it.
Consequently, those targeted individuals found themselves completely isolated.
Did anyone genuinely intend to plead for them?
Yes, and quite a few, in fact.
Pleading for mercy was an art in itself, and everyone wanted to intercede without being the first to step forward.
After all, the tallest tree catches the wind!
If anyone stepped forward to plead for mercy right now, Emperor Chongzhen would surely vent his fury upon that very person.
The consequences might be even graver than Wei Zaode's fate.
The pack of seasoned bureaucratic veterans exchanged glances, but none of them uttered a sound.
As they hesitated, the unhinged Wei Zaode began cursing loudly from outside the hall: "Zhu Youjian! You incompetent ruler!"
"Seventeen years on the throne, muddle-headed and devoid of virtue, ruining the country and the people!"
"The Great Ming Dynasty is about to perish in the hands of a ruler like you—"
Wei Zaode's voice was abruptly cut short—the Brocade Guard had forced him to shut his mouth.
A moment later, a Brocade Guard returned to report, "Your Majesty, Senior Grand Secretary Wei Zaode has been beheaded."
Inside Huangji Hall, you could hear a pin drop.
Seeing that all the officials were kneeling on the ground while he alone remained standing, Duke of Cheng Zhu Chunchen felt extremely conspicuous. He quietly bent his waist, flexed his knees, and lowered himself into a gentle kneel.
He did not make a single sound throughout the entire process.
Emperor Chongzhen sneered, "Duke of Cheng, what were you standing up for just now?"
Zhu Chunchen trembled violently.
Kneeling on the ground without daring to draw a full breath, he replied in a low voice, "Your... Your Majesty, this subject only wished to stop Wei Zaode."
"Ha!" Emperor Chongzhen let out a dismissive laugh. In his eyes, Zhu Chunchen was already a dead man.
"Senior Grand Secretary Wei Zaode has already received his punishment, and the seat of Senior Grand Secretary is now vacant. Do any of you have a candidate to recommend?"
The civil and military officials knelt on the ground exchanging glances, remaining silent.
Wei Zaode had been the top scorer in the imperial examinations in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, holding the rank of junior sixth official.
In August of the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, he entered the Grand Secretariat as a grand secretary, and in February of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, he became Senior Grand Secretary.
It had taken him less than four years to rise from a sixth-rank official to a high-ranking second-grade official. He had climbed from grand secretary to Senior Grand Secretary in half a year—arguably the fastest promotion for any official in the history of the Great Ming Dynasty, without exception.
At the same time, he was also the Senior Grand Secretary with the most miserable end, without exception.
At this moment, in the eyes of the civil and military officials, the seat of the Senior Grand Secretary was far more terrifying than the rebel bandits.
Seeing that everyone remained silent, Emperor Chongzhen proposed, "I intend to have Censor Li enter the Grand Secretariat as Senior Grand Secretary. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, the assembled court officials collectively heaved a sigh of relief. Led by three grand secretaries, they knelt and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded. "Starting today, Li Banghua shall enter the Grand Secretariat as Senior Grand Secretary. As for the vacant posts of the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Rites, let me ponder them."
Wei Zaode had originally held the post of Minister of Rites, and when former Minister of Personnel Li Yuzhi requested sick leave to return home in early February, Emperor Chongzhen had instructed Wei Zaode to oversee both departments. Now that Wei Zaode was dead, those positions were vacant.
If nothing unexpected happened, Minister of War Zhang Jinyan would also encounter an 'accident,' leaving another vacancy to be filled.
He swept his gaze across the court, and a moment later, an idea formed in his mind.
"Zhang Jinyan, Minister of War, do you confess your guilt?"
Zhang Jinyan finally waited for these words. He prostrated himself on the ground, his voice exceptionally mournful, "This subject is guilty, and begs Your Majesty to show mercy."
"Very well, since you have confessed, you are relieved of your post as Minister of War, awaiting further disposition."
"Thank you for Your Majesty's immense grace." Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen had no intention of pursuing the matter further, Zhang Jinyan let out a sigh of relief.
"Starting today, Li Banghua shall step down from his post as Censor and be transferred to Minister of War; Grand Secretary Qiu Yu shall be transferred to Minister of Personnel; Grand Secretary Fan Jingwen shall concurrently serve as Minister of Works and Minister of Rites; Grand Secretary Fang Yuegong shall be transferred to Minister of Revenue."
"What do you think?"
"Your Majesty is wise, we humbly obey Your Majesty's decree." Led by the four grand secretaries, the civil and military officials dropped to their knees in unison.
Seeing that no one raised any objections, Emperor Chongzhen let out a long breath of relief.
His arrangement was grounded in sound reasoning.
Li Banghua was an adept hand at leading troops, making him the undisputed choice for Minister of War.
Qiu Yu was a man of loyalty; formerly serving as Junior Vice Minister of Rites without any factional ties, he was ideally suited to manage the personnel department.
Fan Jingwen was known for his integrity, and since the Ministry of Works dealt entirely with expenditures, keeping him in charge was most appropriate. As for the Ministry of Rites, under the current circumstances it was dispensable, so just about anyone could be assigned to it.
For the most crucial Ministry of Revenue, he chose Fang Yuegong. Fang Yuegong was renowned for his incorruptibility, and the Ministry of Revenue was precisely in need of such an administrator. (The post of Minister of Revenue had remained vacant since former minister Ni Yuanlu resigned, with specific duties handled by Junior Vice Minister Wang Zhengzhi.)
"Return to your respective offices and attend to your duties without fail."
"We obey the imperial decree."
"Those who have not been called may leave. Earl of Xiangcheng, the Grand Secretariat, and those who have been named, stay behind."
As if granted a general amnesty, the civil and military officials who had not been singled out stood up and scrambled to kowtow before leaving in haste. None of their hands were entirely clean, and as long as the Emperor chose to investigate, he would undoubtedly reap results.