People in Zongwu: Starting with the Yin Gui Sect

Chapter 316

Two days later, when Wu Yu was reviewing memorials in the Qianqing Palace, Wang Chengen hurried to report that Wei Zhongxian had brought dozens of carts of treasures into the palace on behalf of others, saying that they were presented to him as a gift.

Wu Yu paused when he heard this, "Did you ask Wei Zhongxian how much money he had?"

Wang Chengen said, "Sir, I asked, and he said it was eight million taels."

"How much?"

Hearing the word eight million, Wu Yu suspected that he had heard it wrong.

"Your Majesty, you heard it right, it is eight million taels, but it is not Wei Zhongxian's alone, but all of them added together."

In fact, it was not just Wu Yu, but Wang Chengen himself who was shocked when he first heard this number.

In fact, Wang Chengen had no idea that Wu Yu did not think it was too much, but too little. After all, he was still clear about the ability of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty to make money.

Let's not talk about anything else. Just Liu Jin, who was the closest to them during the Wuzong period, had 2.5 million taels of gold seized when Zhu Houzhao ordered his property to be confiscated, and an astonishing 50 million taels of silver.

As a dignified 9,000-year-old, Wei Zhongxian only had this little, which was obviously unreasonable. Moreover, since it was a life-buying money, it was impossible for him to leave too much, which meant that this was probably more than 90% of their assets.

But Wu Yu thought about it again and understood that perhaps Liu Jin's money was a lot, but it should not be to the extent of 2.5 million taels of gold and 50 million taels of silver.

After all, after Li Zicheng entered Beijing, even if he seized more than 70 million taels from all officials and wealthy businessmen, Liu Jin alone could not have more than the officials and wealthy families in the entire capital combined.

So there is only one truth, that is, this number is exaggerated, and it is still a large one. As for why it is so, it is because this was written by Zhao Yi of the Qing Dynasty when he compiled "Twenty-two Notes".

The history of Ming Dynasty compiled by the Qing Dynasty naturally smeared as much as possible. In addition, no history book has ever clearly recorded how much money Liu Jin embezzled, so many people took the "Twenty-two Notes" written in the Qing Dynasty and another "Ming History Chronicle" as the standard.

It is not difficult to understand why Wei Zhongxian and his men could only pay 8 million taels to buy their lives. Others don't know, but most of Wei Zhongxian's money was used to pay the frontier troops.

If you want to say who in the entire Ming Dynasty least wants to change the court, it must be Wei Zhongxian, except for the emperor.

Because he knew that as long as the Ming Dynasty survived, his wealth and power would not be lost. If the Ming Dynasty was gone, it would mean that he himself would be gone, so as long as Wei Zhongxian was not stupid, he would know what to choose.

And history has just proved this point. After Wei Zhongxian was gone, the finances of the Ming Dynasty collapsed directly, and after a few years, even the military salaries could not be paid.

Therefore, the historical Chongzhen was not wrong in killing Wei Zhongxian, but in not supporting another Wei Zhongxian after killing him.

In addition, because no one took the blame for him, everyone blamed him, so it was not surprising that he was eventually deserted by his friends and relatives.

Back to the point, after Wu Yu came to his senses, he said to Wang Chengen: "Tell Wei Zhongxian to make a list and hand it over to me!

Also, Xu Xianchun will be the commander of the Jinyiwei from now on, and as for Tian Ergeng, let him get out!"

Since Wei Zhongxian was so sensible, Wu Yu couldn't kill them all. At most, he would transfer those people to some positions without real power, or even approve their resignation directly.

Of course, the number of people was also limited. He couldn't really let so many people go, so he asked Wei Zhongxian to make a list and hand it over to him. It was up to him to decide who should be kept and who should be abandoned.

"I obey your order!"

After Wang Chengen left, Wu Yu continued to review his memorials. Soon, one of them caught his attention because it came from a person - the imperial teacher Sun Chengzong.

Sun Chengzong, his teacher who pretended to be dead, was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Wanli. He was later excluded by the eunuch party such as Wei Zhongxian because of the failure of the Liuhe Campaign. He was not re-instated until Wu Yu came to power not long ago.

In history, the Shanhaiguan defense and Guanningjin defense line built by him lasted for more than 20 years. From Nurhaci to Huang Taiji, no one could break this military barrier.

It was also his move that made Shanhaiguan closed and quiet for a long period of time, and basically stabilized the military situation of the East Gate of the Capital and the Liaoxi Corridor.

Until the 11th year of Chongzhen, he led his family to defend Gaoyang City and was breached by the Jiannu. Not only did all his family members die in the battle, but he himself was captured and eventually hanged himself.

And now the content of his letter was exactly this, requesting the court to allocate funds for him to build thisMilitary barriers.

Wu Yu naturally tends to this view in his heart. After all, history has proved that this is correct, but it is a bit too expensive. The initial project alone costs five million taels, not including labor and subsequent maintenance costs, otherwise this data will have to double.

It is precisely because of this that Wu Yu did not approve it immediately, but planned to discuss it with the ministers during the next court meeting.

Putting the memorial aside, Wu Yu continued to review other memorials, and the next one made him frown again, because this memorial came from Yuan Chonghuan, a disciple of Sun Chengzong.

Yuan Chonghuan, a Jinshi in the 47th year of Wanli, volunteered to go out of the pass to resist the Later Jin in the second year of Tianqi.

In the sixth year of Tianqi last year, he blocked the offensive of Nurhaci, the Khan of the Later Jin, in Ningyuan and won a great victory in Ningyuan. He was promoted to the governor of Liaodong for his merits.

And if history does not change, then he will soon win the "Ningjin Great Victory".

His memorial this time was also very simple. It was not a five-year plan to pacify Liao, but he found that Jian Nu had made unusual moves, and it was very likely that they would take action within one or two months, so he came to ask for money and people.

Asking for money was fine. One million was really nothing to Wu Yu now, and he didn't need to pay for it. This was the Ministry of Revenue's problem, which gave Bi Ziyan, the miser, a headache.

But this person was different. What he wanted was not only people, but also red cannons, and a full 100 of them.

A hundred cannons, he really dared to think about it. Not to mention that he didn't have them, even if he had them, he couldn't give them all to him. But since he had come to ask, it would be unreasonable if he didn't give some.

Tianqi in history gave him eleven cannons, so he should be more generous and give him eleven more. It would be best if he could kill more Jian Nu with eleven more cannons than in history.

Thinking of this, Wu Yu directly approved it, and then asked Wang Chengen to return the memorial to the cabinet and asked them to send someone to deliver the things to Yuan Chonghuan.