Because the Kangxi Veritable Records had come from the mouth of the Kangxi Emperor, some people had begun explaining the matter. This was not a modern interpretation made by people today; even back then, some had speculated that the silver had actually been buried by Wei Zhongxian.
Why had they guessed that? It was said that Wei Zhongxian had wanted to become emperor, so he had embezzled a great deal of silver in advance and hidden it in the palace. Unexpectedly, after the Chongzhen Emperor ascended the throne, Wei Zhongxian was executed before he had a chance to rebel, while his die-hard followers guarded the secret and did not tell the Chongzhen Emperor about it.
Unexpectedly, Li Zicheng entered the capital and began plundering on a grand scale. Since the eunuchs were relatively likely to know about the palace's wealth, this group naturally became one of Li Zicheng's main targets.
As a result, one eunuch who knew the truth about Wei Zhongxian's treasure finally broke and confessed everything. That was how this passage in the Kangxi Veritable Records came about.
But could reality really have been like that?
One had to understand that this was two million taels of silver! It was no small amount. If it had been hidden in one of the palace's existing storehouses, Chongzhen would certainly have discovered it as soon as he ascended the throne. If they had dug a cellar in the palace to hide it, that would definitely have been a massive project.
Moreover, moving that much silver would have required a great many people and caused quite a commotion. In other words, absolutely more than just Wei Zhongxian would have known about it, so there was no way such information could have been hidden so secretly.
Besides, after Chongzhen ascended the throne,