Chapter 25: It is unjust if the Ming Dynasty does not fall
What's funny is that even a master like Wang An could be so panic-stricken and helpless, just like a pretty young wife surrounded by thugs.

What made him feel guilty was that he was able to win the battle from a thousand miles away thanks to the other party's foresight, but he made the other party think that he had miscalculated, and he looked very devastated and lacked confidence.

Could it be that his spiritual faith was damaged and he would never be able to recover from this?

That won’t do. I can’t let “Mr. Wolong” disappear like this!

Chongzhen hurriedly comforted him with gentle words, "Although the endings may be different, the causes are always correct. Brother has such divine powers, you are already an expert in the world!"

"Maybe it's because your Taoism is not deep enough. Brother, if you study diligently, you will have a plan. Don't let your Taoism collapse and ruin your future as an immortal!"

Wang Chengen found it funny. He had followed Chongzhen for more than ten years and had never seen Chongzhen deceive ignorant girls. Even to Queen Zhou, he had never spoken so sweetly.

If someone who doesn't know the situation sees them from a distance, they might mistake them for a pair of close friends.

Wang An, however, could not hear a word and just muttered in a daze: "I can't stay in the Ming Dynasty anymore, I have to leave quickly!"

Wang An kept muttering this, making it seem as if the Ming Dynasty would be destroyed at any second.

Chongzhen was furious when he heard this and said impatiently, "Brother, you always say that we can't stay in the Ming Dynasty any longer. How can we not stay here any longer?"

Wang An finally accepted that the situation was out of control. Hearing this, he held on to a glimmer of hope and persuaded: "Although the two matters of Xuan Da and Wei Zhongxian are somewhat different from what I calculated, the overall situation will not change."

"Think about it. There are banditry in the northwest, Tartar rebellion in the northeast, She'an rebellion in the southwest, and Japanese pirates in the southeast. In addition, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and other places have also experienced small-scale civil uprisings due to drought. The most fatal thing is that the two kings of Shaanxi are already in danger of water and fire."

"Although Wang Er won't be able to jump around for long, Wang Jiayin, who joined forces with him, is a ruthless man. Even Cao Wenzhao can't do anything to him. Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng know this, right? In the future, these two guys will personally send the Ming Dynasty to its doom. Even such ruthless people were just Wang Jiayin's subordinates in the beginning!"

While listening, Chongzhen silently wrote down the names mentioned by Wang An.

But when he heard the words "Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng personally sent the Ming Dynasty on its way", his eyelids twitched involuntarily.

Wang An took a sip of water and said in summary: "Tell me, given the current situation, it will be hard for the Ming Dynasty to survive!"

"Listen to me, write a letter to your father and tell him to sell everything he can. We'll go to Jiangnan to recruit soldiers and then find a way to go to Taiwan. Forget it! Let's go directly to the Japanese island. I'll find a way to wipe out the uncivilized native barbarians on the Japanese island, which will pave the way for future generations!"

Chongzhen resisted the urge to strangle Wang An to death, and asked with controlled facial expression, "Then according to what you said, does that mean that the Ming Dynasty is... hopeless?"

Wang An sighed and said, "It's not entirely true that there is no hope. It's just that you and I are just ordinary people after all. Why are you saying this? Could it be that Chongzhen can hear it?"

As Wang An spoke, he chuckled twice, as if he thought he was very humorous.

The corners of Chongzhen's mouth twitched a few times, and he suddenly felt that he didn't like Wang An as much anymore.

However, for the future of Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen forced a smile and said, "Haha... a small chat won't hurt anything."

"That's right..." After talking nonsense for a while, Wang An's mood stabilized a lot.

While thinking, he said, "The biggest problem of the Ming Dynasty is that it has no money. Fighting on the front line, providing relief to disaster victims, suppressing bandits, and winning over Ligdan Khan all require money. It's like a bottomless pit. Even if you throw in a few million taels, there will be no sound."

Chongzhen nodded in agreement, thinking that one does not know how expensive firewood and rice are until he manages the household.

Three months after ascending the throne, Chongzhen felt as if he had aged three years, all because of petitions from various places asking for money. "What should we do? Now that Wei Zhongxian has gone to Jiangnan to collect taxes, can it solve the current dilemma?" Chongzhen asked like a good student.

Wang An scratched his chin, "I don't know what's wrong with the emperor that he didn't kill Wei Zhongxian, but if this dead eunuch is used well, he can indeed extend the life of the Ming Dynasty by a few years."

Chongzhen's eyelids began to twitch again, and Wang Chengen's face wrinkled slightly when he heard the words "dead eunuch".

Wang An was completely unaware that he had offended two people with his words, and continued to talk to himself: "It's only a few years. If the administration is not rectified, all the money will be embezzled and will never reach the places where it is really needed."

"Let's take Chongzhen's good father-in-law Zhou Kui for example. He not only lent money at high interest rates to the poor, but also seized land, withheld military pay and monopolized military treasury. He was extremely greedy!"

"This country belongs to his son-in-law, and the good father-in-law doesn't feel bad when he abuses it. You can see what kind of character the officials who have no relationship with the emperor will have!"

Chongzhen stood up in disbelief upon hearing this, "Impossible! This..."

Seeing Wang An's surprised expression, he immediately sat back awkwardly and said leisurely, "I heard that the current Queen Zhou is virtuous and kind. I think the family that can raise such a girl will not be morally corrupt."

Wang Chengen also quickly added, "Besides, the current father-in-law has no real power, so lending money is understandable, but embezzling military pay is exaggerated, right? Maybe it's just a rumor among the people, and the young master has misunderstood."

Chongzhen's expression looked better after hearing this.

If it's just a loan...for the Queen's sake, let him do it.

However, Wang An sneered and said, "No real power? Sometimes, these corrupt officials can be extremely greedy just for a title!"

In the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, Zhou Kui's daughter was chosen as the Princess of Prince Xin, and Zhou Kui was then appointed as the deputy commander of the Southern City Army.

As soon as Zhou Kui became a small deputy commander, he dared to enclose hundreds of hectares of land under the pretext of building a parade ground.

The following year, Chongzhen ascended the throne, and Zhou Kui was promoted to the position of Left Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army Commander-in-Chief's Office, and his position became even more remarkable.

Although the Five Military Commandery had long since become a retirement home for nobles in the late Ming Dynasty and had lost its military functions, the so-called Left Commander-in-Chief was only an honorary title.

But it was through this name that Zhou Kui was given the ticket to participate in the division of the Ming Dynasty's cake.

Officials from all walks of life gave him money and benefits to curry his favor. Zhou Kui accepted all the offers and used the officials' connections to do business.

They opened coal mines and made military equipment. The biggest impact was the supply of cotton armor to the Shaanxi border troops. They were so stupid as to use paper instead of cotton, which led to the freezing to death of the Shaanxi border troops.

Because of this, Sun Chuanting almost killed Zhou Kui.

When Wang An pointed out the evil deeds Zhou Kui was doing and would do, especially making friends with foreign officials, accepting benefits from Zhou Yanru, and betraying Chongzhen's words and deeds, which were acts of treason.

Chongzhen's face turned red and his eyes became as big as copper bells.

Fortunately, Wang An did not say that Zhou Kui would later hand over his own grandsons, Prince Yong and Prince Ding, to Li Zicheng in order to save his life, and even surrender to the Qing court and become a dog. Otherwise, I don’t know how angry Chongzhen would be.

(End of this chapter)