The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 428: Dusk
Fifteen days later, the news of the fall of Jinzhou finally reached the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Inside the Fengtian Hall, all the ministers stood in silence.

Chongzhen sat alone on the throne, his fingertips trembling slightly, the light newspaper seemed to be as heavy as a thousand pounds in his hands.
Chongzhen looked pale, he closed his eyes, and his throat rolled as if he was trying to swallow something.

He couldn't watch any longer.

It was not cold in the palace, as the tall walls blocked the cold wind, rain and snow.

But Chongzhen felt a bone-chilling chill, as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

Just sitting there had already exhausted all of Chongzhen's energy.

The bad news came one after another, like a tide, making it suffocating.

Nanjing fell, Jinzhou fell, and Xi'an also fell.

Just five days before the news of the fall of Jinzhou came, Xi'an fell.

The governor of the three borders, Fu Zonglong, died for his country and the King of Qin was killed.

The three generals He Renlong, Li Guoqi and Luo Shangwen were all killed, and Zuo Xian surrendered to the enemy.

Within a few months, the important cities in the northwest, northeast and south all fell into the hands of the enemy.

The Ming Dynasty was being shattered bit by bit in his hands.

And your Highness's ministers remained as silent as clay puppets.

Such a blow has already made Chongzhen feel despair.

"Discuss, discuss, discuss. You have been discussing, arguing, and fighting in the court for a month, but you still can't even come up with a set of rules."

Chongzhen could no longer bear it. He grabbed the gilded incense burner on the imperial desk and smashed it downwards.

"哐——!"

The incense burner hit the blue bricks, and debris flew everywhere.

Chongzhen stood on the steps, his chest heaving violently and his eyes bloodshot.

The huge noise startled all the officials in the hall.

"After all your quarrels, have you ever come up with a good plan?!"

Seeing the emperor's rage, all the court officials knelt on the ground, not daring to look up.

Chongzhen's voice was hoarse, as if it was squeezed out from between his teeth.

The hall was completely silent, with only the sound of breathing stagnating.

No one dared to provoke Chongzhen's anger at this moment.

Over the past decade or so, countless cabinet chiefs, ministers of the prime minister, and officials of the six ministries have been killed, beaten to death, or imprisoned.

The emperor was angry and laid down millions of corpses.

Even now, the Ming Dynasty is on the verge of crumbling.

But the emperor on the throne can still decide the life and death of most of them with just a single word.

The surrender of all the ministers did not improve Chongzhen's mood, but instead made him even angrier.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Chongzhen laughed in anger as he looked at the ministers kneeling on the ground in the palace.

His laughter was cold and eerie, like the cry of blood from a cuckoo.

He thought about the many things that had happened over the past decade.

Every time, every time, he wanted to change something, he wanted to achieve something.

These ministers, these capable ministers, these loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty, all surrendered in this way.

His policies were difficult to implement, his imperial edicts were not communicated, and his ideas were never carried out.

The country was exhausted, with internal and external troubles. He wanted to negotiate peace, but those upright ministers strongly opposed it.

Even if taxes were levied continuously, these loyal and capable officials told him that the people could afford it.

He killed Wei Zhongxian and eliminated the eunuch party. All the ministers told him that he had done a good job and praised him as a wise and benevolent monarch.

But why is it that even though there are so many ministers in the court, the country's situation is getting worse and worse?

The billions of Liao tributes were exchanged for the rise and fall of the Jian Nu.

The millions of dollars spent on suppressing the enemy resulted in a devastated situation within the Great Wall.

"Kneel, you should kneel here, until night, kneel until death, kneel until the rebels break into the capital, kneel until the Jiannu invade the interior, kneel until the land of China sinks, kneel until the world is destroyed."

Chongzhen walked down the imperial steps step by step, gritting his teeth.

He clenched his fists and glared at the courtiers in the palace, his voice trembling with extreme anger.

The majesty of the emperor, the demeanor of the emperor, everything had been forgotten by Chongzhen at this time.

What's the use of these things when the country is about to collapse?

"Where is Wu Sheng now?!"

Chongzhen walked up to the palace and looked at the cabinet chief Zhou Yanru who was kneeling on the ground.

Zhou Yanru knelt on the ground with his eyes closed. He didn't dare to look up. He knew that Chongzhen had lost his mind at this time.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Wu Sheng has already reached the border of Yanzhou Prefecture in Shandong Province."

During this period of time as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, he made no achievements, but instead made the situation even darker.

Chongzhen had already expressed great dissatisfaction.

"Good, good, good!"

Chongzhen said the word "good" three times in a row. His expression was horrible and his voice was hoarse.

"Four months, four months!"

"Whether he was riding a horse or a donkey, he could have walked to Xuzhou even if he had just walked."

"Luo Yangxing!"

Chongzhen swept his wolf-like eyes over the court officials in the palace and said in a cold voice.

"The minister is here."

Luo Yangxing took a deep breath, raised his head, and stood out from the crowd.

"Send someone to ask our elder how many days it will take him to reach Xuzhou."

"If Wu Sheng cannot reach Xuzhou within ten days, there is no need for him to continue to be the elder, and there is no need for him to go on."

All the court officials in the palace were shocked.

They were all familiar with the emperor's character. He gave orders directly to Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. His purpose was self-evident.

Chongzhen ordered the Jinyiwei to execute Wu Sheng directly, bypassing the three departments and directly executing a civil servant who held a very high position in the government.

This is against etiquette and it seriously threatens their safety.

But no one dared to dissuade him at this moment. Not even Zhou Yanru, and even less so the others.

Anyone who dares to speak out at this moment.

Will definitely die.

"Mr. Yuanfu."

Chongzhen had a cold look in his eyes. He stood in front of Zhou Yanru, looking down at Zhou Yanru who was kneeling on the ground.

"The rebels captured Xijing and attacked Tongguan."

"I want to lead the army myself."

None of Chongzhen's previous words were as hurtful as these four words.

As soon as the words "I intend to lead the army in person" were uttered, all the courtiers in the palace bowed their heads. Everyone had fear in their eyes and their minds were lost.

Personal expedition, during the reigns of Taizu and Chengzu, represented military achievement and the expansion of new territory.

But after the Battle of Tumu, this word became a taboo in the Ming Dynasty, a word that could not be mentioned.

Cold sweat wet Zhou Yanru's back, he knew what Chongzhen meant.

Chongzhen was forcing him to command the army.

"Your Majesty, your body is worth millions of gold, how can you sit in the hall?"

Zhou Yanru closed his eyes tightly, his heart was full of fear. He didn't dare to respond, but he had to respond.

"I am willing to lead the troops to the three borders on behalf of the emperor and wipe out the bandits."

After Zhou Yanru said this, he seemed to have lost all his strength and almost fell to the ground.

But Chongzhen did not respond and remained silent.

The palace fell into a long silence again.

After a long time, Chen Xinjia finally spoke to break the silence.

"Since I took charge of the Ministry of War, I have failed to suppress the bandits and made mistakes in assisting the border. I am still able to hold the position of Shangshu despite my crime. Your Majesty has not abandoned me. How can I let Your Majesty go to the danger in person during this critical moment?"

"I am willing to be the commander-in-chief, to supervise the three borders and to wipe out the bandits!"

Chen Xinjia knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

Chongzhen's eyes were filled with anger, but they finally dissipated a little after Chen Xinjia kowtowed.

However, Chongzhen did not agree to Chen Xinjia.

Chen Yan and Jiang Dejing looked at each other, knowing that they couldn't remain silent at this time.

The two men stepped forward one after another and requested to take over as the commander-in-chief.

But in the end, what I got was silence.

Zhou Yanru, kneeling on the ground, looked at Chongzhen, who had been standing in front of him without moving.

He knew that Chongzhen still wanted him to lead the army.

All that happened before was just Chongzhen's attempt to cover up his shame so as not to be branded as someone who was too harsh.

Zhou Yanru smiled bitterly in his heart.

He actually knew that the current emperor and Chen Xinjia were planning to negotiate peace with the Qing Dynasty.

In the first month of the year, Chongzhen summoned him and asked for his opinion on the matter. He asked him twice in a row, but he remained silent throughout the whole process.

What he wanted was to enjoy the fruits of his labor, share the credit when he succeeded, and avoid the consequences when he failed.

Negotiating peace with foreign invaders will surely cause an uproar throughout the world.

He didn't want to be involved in this matter.

And now, he was suffering the impact of this incident.

Chongzhen no longer respected him as much as before.

Zhou Yanru felt a chill in his heart.

Chongzhen wanted to be a sage emperor, he wanted to be a perfect sage emperor.

The defeat in Liaodong was due to the incompetence of the border officials, the failure of the peace talks was due to the abuse of power by the cabinet ministers, and even the additional levies on Liao had to be reported to the Ministry of Revenue.

The one sitting on this dragon throne is always a clean and wise emperor.

All faults are the faults of the ministers, and all the infamy must be borne by the ministers.

Everything was caused by his ministers misleading him!

Zhou Yanru gathered his last bit of energy. He knew that everything was a foregone conclusion, and kowtowed again.

"The situation is dark and the country is in turmoil. As the chief minister of the cabinet, I cannot escape blame. My crime is unforgivable. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to take over as the commander-in-chief and suppress the rebellion."

This time, Chongzhen finally did not remain silent.

"Since you really want to go, sir, I have a strange door in the palace. Right now, once you leave the imperial gate, head west and be careful not to turn east."

Chongzhen's words were cold, and he made no effort to conceal his urging.

Zhou Yanru knew that this was Chongzhen's dissatisfaction with Wu Sheng's deliberate delay in leading his troops south.

"I...accept the decree."

When Zhou Yanru's crown touched the ground, the square bricks paved in the palace reflected his slightly twitching cheeks, and his heart was full of helplessness.

But all the thoughts in his mind were unimportant.

At least, it is not important to Chongzhen now.

Under the dome, the breathing sounds of the ministers condensed into a depressing tide.

Chongzhen Chongzhen ignored the ministers kneeling in the hall and turned around.

The dragon robe with twelve-chapter patterns swept across the steps, raising wisps of dust.

Wang Dehua, the eunuch in charge of the seal, was about to catch up when he saw Chongzhen raising his hand.

Chongzhen's hand was like a broken goose feather, hanging in the air and trembling slightly.

Chongzhen did not let him follow.

Sunlight leaked through the cracks in the Panlong caisson and shone on Chongzhen.

But no matter how bright the sunlight was, it was unable to dispel the decadence that was lingering on Chongzhen at that moment.

The aging red tiger of Daming is almost at the end of his life...

March 7, the fifteenth year of Chongzhen.

Zhou Yanru received the order in the morning and set out in the evening, leading 15,000 soldiers from the Beijing camp, and issued an order to the Eastern Alliance General Bai Guangen, the Miyun General Tang Tong, and the other 15,000 soldiers from the two towns, for a total of 30,000 troops.

Leaving the capital, he headed towards Tongguan.

On March 13, the Jinyiwei cavalry rushed to Jining, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong.

Wu Sheng received the imperial edict in the north of the city, just sighed, then knelt down and kowtowed to the north, then led his troops south.