Wanli Ming Emperor

Chapter 204: Taking Essence and Using It to Promote the Development of the Country

Dark clouds covered the city and the sky was gloomy.

In the attic of the west wing of the inner courtyard, the emperor and his ministers looked down from the window, each with a different expression.

Gao Yi looked solemn, Zhang Hong had no expression on his face, and the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Wang Yingxuan was muttering something that was inaudible.

Zhu Yijun put his hands behind his back, looking down quietly as Jiang Keqian led the imperial guards to encircle the enemy. He could vaguely hear Liu Shiyan's loud shouts as he fought back stubbornly.

"No one in the world is a puppet on a string."

"I am going to fight Liu Shiyan today. I even prepared guards and firearms to punish him. I hope he will fight to the death. Then I can be more ruthless to the nobles and the Five Military Commanders' Office."

"But I didn't expect that he would dare to go this far, preemptively stabbing the king and killing his driver... I've seen many methods used in the court, but this is the first time I've seen methods used in the underworld."

"Well, this is a bigger commotion than I expected!"

Zhu Yijun muttered to himself about the current situation.

He had never expected that a man as daring as Liu Shiyan would submit to being killed - not to mention the minor crime of stealing the imperial palace carriage, there were rumors in unofficial history that this guy had instigated Zhang Juzheng to rebel and become emperor, and had made several "wild and rebellious remarks" that "all the court officials were shocked."

In other words, the extra imperial guards, crossbows, and firearms that they brought with them this time were originally prepared in case things got out of hand.

But he really didn't expect that things would become so serious - he didn't expect Liu Shiyan to take action before him, and he didn't expect that this guy would have the guts to lead his troops to kill the emperor in the street. He wanted him to be the second Cao Mao.

Fortunately, Liu Shiyan was not Cao Qin, and the Five Military Commandery was not the Beijing Camp. After all, he could not mobilize thousands of troops to attack the imperial city as he did in the fifth year of Tianshun.

Now, they gathered hundreds of soldiers and attacked in front of the emperor. Although Zhu Yijun was shocked, he was still unable to cause any waves and was not out of control.

Gao Yi was still frowning when he heard the emperor's words: "Your Majesty, you should leave the palace less often in the future."

It's really horrifying!
The last time the emperor was blatantly plotted against by court officials was when Zhaowu Bo Cao Qin led an army to attack the imperial city. He not only killed the Chief Censor, but also burned down the Chang'an Gate.

Even if such a huge event was settled immediately, it would be regarded by people inside and outside the court as a sign of instability.

If the local green forest heroes and red eyebrow heroes hear such stories a few more times, they will probably develop some thoughts that they didn't have before.

Furthermore, although the Minister of War Shi Maohua, Vice Minister Luo Fengxiang, Marquis of Chengyi Liu Shiyan and others were exposed one after another, in fact, they may not be the only ones.

The White Lotus Sect grew stronger and stronger, spreading to Shanxi, Henan and other places. Who was providing the blood transfusion?

The Han traitors in Bansheng are now wandering between Han and Mongolia, acting as matchmakers. Who are these Confucian traitors?

In today's books, it is often said that "Yuan people are first-class and Ming people are second-class, and the massacre is justified and a favor." Is it because the Ministry of Rites is high and mighty and does not care about the mundane world, or is there too many old people from the former Yuan Dynasty who have not been completely liquidated?

Since the mess has not been cleaned up yet, we should naturally remain calm!
Zhu Yijun stared down without blinking.

But he refused without hesitation: "Sir, you don't know, I am going to come to your house today to question you, and I am taking this opportunity to reorganize the military. I will have to leave the palace more frequently in the future."

This teacher is now far away from the central government, and Zhu Yijun did not go into details.

Gao Yi's expression gradually showed some dissatisfaction when he heard this. He looked up at the emperor and asked, "What exactly does your majesty want to do?"

The emperor's safety is not just his business.

The emperor cannot do whatever he wants.

Zhu Yijun saw Gao Yi's unhappy face, so he sighed and explained: "There is a mistake in military affairs, so we can only deal with it. Staying in the palace all day is not a solution to the problem."

"I would like to take this opportunity to personally take charge of the Beijing Camp!"

The voice just fell.

Wang Yingxuan, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, stopped muttering, his eyes turned to the right, and he subconsciously glanced at the emperor.

Zhang Hong winked and asked Zhang Jing to guard outside the door.

Gao Yi's frown relaxed.

He immediately realized that it was no wonder that the emperor wanted to go to Liu Shiyan in person to force him to surrender, and no wonder he was not angry but happy when he saw Liu Shiyan gathering troops to rebel - if someone was gathering troops to rebel, who could stop the emperor from interfering in military affairs!

Zhu Yijun looked up at the sky and saw a flash of light, and the sky and the earth suddenly became bright.

He retracted his gaze and continued to explain to Gao Yi: "If I had not gone on a tour and witnessed the corruption in the grassland with my own eyes, how would I have known that the horse administration had been corrupted to this extent by Shi Maohua?"

"How could I know that the Ministry of War, the Five Military Commands, the White Lotus Sect, and the barbarians were all mixed up in this mess?"

"There are some things that I can no longer leave to the Ministry."

"I handed the Ministry of War over to Shi Maohua, how did he respond to me? If I really follow his recommendation last year and let Luo Fengxiang take over as the Minister of War, within ten years, these people will probably go to the border to find the second Zhu Chongzhuo!"

Gao Yi was silent when he heard this.

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat secretly observed the emperor's expression and thought that the emperor had quickly entered into the role and had directly started to make use of the topic to make a point.

The so-called finding the second Zhu Chongzhuo not only means that someone wants to welcome a member of the royal family to become emperor, but also refers to collusion with foreign enemies.

During the Jiajing period, Emperor Shizong punished the illegal members of the royal family.

In the Dai vassal state there was a man called Zhu Chongzhuo, who liked to gather thugs and commit crimes and murders. When the prefect of Datong, Liu, wanted to punish him, he was kidnapped, robbed, and humiliated by him instead.

Upon hearing the news, Emperor Shizong immediately "issued an imperial decree to deprive him of his salary." Naturally, Zhu Chongzhuo became "resentful."

It so happened that among the fugitives he had taken in, there was a White Lotus sect member named Ci Zhongtai, who took advantage of the opportunity to persuade Zhu Chongzhuo to rebel.

The two sides hit it off immediately and planned a scheme of "opening Datong, borrowing troops from Tatar, and raising an army to proclaim themselves emperor."

Zhu Chongzhuo not only sent the White Lotus Sect to negotiate with the Tatars to "allow the little prince to enter the Great Wall."

They even made a table to promote the idea that "Our dynasty's Taizu received the Mandate of Heaven and borrowed the throne from Yuanzu for more than 150 years. This mandate was secretly sealed in the golden box between our ancestor and Yuanzu. The Southern Dynasty has enjoyed the Mandate of Heaven for more than 170 years. We should restore Youdu to be the master of our subjects and rule the world with the sun and the moon."

The banner of "Anti-Ming and Restoration of Yuan" was raised!
The opposition within the imperial court, the rampant cults among the people, the secret collusion with foreign enemies... Aren't these elements exactly the same as the current case of Shi Maohua?
In addition, Liu Shiyan, the right commander of the Five Military Commanderies, rebelled in the street and challenged the emperor.

With precedents and a personal threat, the emperor has to take charge of military affairs himself for the sake of future safety. Who has the right to say no?
Wang Yingxuan looked at Liu Shiyan who was still resisting stubbornly below, and couldn't help feeling a hint of ridicule in his heart. This kind of useless nobleman was only fit to be a pawn. No matter whether it was the rebel or the emperor, they could be easily manipulated by him.

As he was talking, the door was pushed open from the outside, and Li Jin brought a man in, tied up. "Your Majesty, the traitor Bai Lian was captured in the front yard, the third house of the Marquis Chengyi's mansion, and the brave lieutenant general Liu Zhi of the Fifth Army Camp."

Zhu Yijun looked back.

Liu Zhi of the Fifth Army Camp was the nephew of Liu Shiyan, the Earl of Chengyi. In the first year of the Wanli reign, he was the commander of a camp and later became the right deputy commander. However, he was caught in a fight in the camp and demoted to be in charge of morning exercises. (Chapter 88)
It seems that he has been harboring resentment for a long time, otherwise he would not have been involved with the White Lotus Sect.

Zhu Yijun quickly retracted his gaze and said casually, "That's great. Let's send them to Earl Chengyi for a reunion."

He pointed to the wooden box on the table with his chin - it had been prepared long ago.

Finally, he sighed again: "What a pity, we are still short of a grandson."

Li Jin was about to take the wooden box, but upon hearing this, he had to bow and apologize: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent. Liu Laichen was taken in by Tuman Khan. It will probably take some time to arrest him."

No matter if the person hid his identity among the people or fled to vassal states such as Korea and Tibet, the East Factory could find him.

But when it comes to Tuman Khan, there is really nothing we can do.

Zhu Yijun shook his head, didn't ask further questions, and waved his hand: "Don't provoke Tuman Khan, let's leave it at that for now."

The Tuman Khan today is different from the one he was seven years ago. He has become even more powerful in the past seven years.

Three years ago, Tuman Khan organized a kurultai assembly on the grassland with 60,000 participants.

Not only did he appoint six great rulers - Chahar Wanhu Amudai Hongtaiji, Nei Golkabarin tribe leader Wei Zheng Subahai, Ordos Wanhu Kutuktai Chechen Hongtaiji, Yongshebu Wanhu Nomudalanoyan, and Tumed Wanhu Chelike Hongtaiji.

They even promulgated the "Tuman Khan Code", which covered official system, marriage, law, property and so on.

This is no longer just an ordinary separatist regime! This is an establishment!

What's more, the Tatars are even planning to convert to Tibetan Buddhism and use their faith to bridge the rift between the left and the right.

Last year, Altan Khan and Tumen Khan reached a tacit understanding. The former led more than 80,000 right-wing nobles and tribesmen to Yanghua Temple in Qinghai and negotiated with Sonam Gyatso, the leader of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism, for seven days and seven nights.

The result is unknown, but we only know that Altan Khan converted on the spot, then conferred the title of "Dalai Lama" on Sonam Gyatso and brought back the statue of Buddha.

Since the beginning of this year, Li Chengliang of Liaodong has begun to report emergencies frequently, claiming that Tuman Khan's "60,000 cavalry" are patrolling in Liaodong, eyeing the enemy covetously!
Under such circumstances, the imperial court naturally could no longer dictate to the Tuman Khan.

Li Jin quickly accepted the order, stepped forward and put the wooden box under his armpit, and ordered his men to take the bound Liu Zhi, and together they bowed and left the room.

The room fell silent again.

Boom!

A loud thunder.

The white light shone on the emperor's face, and Zhu Yijun slowly opened his arms: "Zhang Daban, put on armor and prepare horses for me."

Wang Yingxuan, the secretary of the Central Secretariat, didn't understand what was going on, and immediately fell to the ground, saying hastily, "Your Majesty, your body is worth millions of gold, how can you risk it!"

How can the emperor go to the battlefield himself if his subjects are humiliated by him?

Zhu Yijun smiled, helped the man up, and explained, "Wang Sheren, you are worrying too much. This scene is just right for changing clothes and cleaning up the mess."

After saying that, he nodded towards Zhang Hong.

Upon seeing this, the latter bowed respectfully to the emperor, then picked up the armor on the table and walked to the emperor's side in small steps, obviously having been prepared.

Gao Yi seemed to want to say something but stopped himself. Finally, he just sighed, turned around and walked out of the room in his wheelchair.

……

At the same time, the imperial guards gradually closed in outside the hall.

The doors and windows inside were blocked with tables and chairs, and one could only see swaying figures as if they were adjusting their formation.

"The Tui Bei Tu, which was handed down from my ancestor Liu Bowen, can predict future events thousands of years in the future! It predicts that Your Majesty will be possessed by an evil spirit in the sixth year of Longqing!"

"Haven't you heard that two dragons never meet? Haven't you seen that the emperor was like two different people before and after he ascended the throne?"

"I heard that the Crown Prince used to be a normal person. He loved practicing calligraphy, eating sweets, and never rinsed his mouth in the morning or evening! Think about it carefully. Now he is acting out of character. Is he really an evil person?"

"It was the Holy Mother Empress Dowager who discovered the clues and feared that the evil spirit would harm her, so she secretly sent us to restore order and welcome Prince Lu to the throne. If you don't believe me, I have a Holy Mother's token to show you!"

"I advise you all not to make mistakes!"

Liu Shiyan knew that he was going to die, but he kept telling lies. Even if it only attracted a little attention from the enemy, it was still a waste of money.

In just a few breaths, he came up with five or six excuses, one about the dragon veins giving a warning, the next about the strange changes in the stars, and now he was talking about the evil spirit taking over the body.

Even if Liu Shiyan died here today, he could still provide some ideas about destiny to future rebels - his ancestor Liu Bowen created the Tuibei Tu and other stories, which were most popular among the people.

At the very least, it would be good to put some eye drops on the emperor's mother-son and brother relationships.

After a few words, the formation was finally adjusted.

Liu Shiyan glanced at the soldiers beside him and took a deep breath. "I have robbed the lowly people over the years and collected hundreds of thousands of silver. I only kept 170,000 silver for my relatives and divided the rest. For those of you who are willing to die with me, I will multiply it five times and give it to your families. It is enough for them to live in anonymity and become rich men."

"Tell me, is it my loyalty or the loyalty of the Emperor Zhu?"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers on both sides were all choked with tears.

"The loyalty of the Lord of Sincerity is as great as the sky!"

"Mr. Liu is righteous!"

"No matter what others say, the Earl of Chengyi treats us well!"

Liu Shiyan grinned with satisfaction, nodded slowly, and was about to say something.

Click.

Four parabolas suddenly appeared in the air—they were actually four wooden boxes, which fell into the house from mid-air!

Eyes converged subconsciously.

Before I could take a closer look, one of the wooden boxes suddenly broke open.

A human head burst out from it, jumped up an inch high, rolled a few times, and landed at Liu Shiyan's feet.

The head slowly stopped on the instep of Liu Shiyan's feet.

The hall was silent.

Liu Shiyan stared at the head under his feet in a daze, with disbelief written all over his face.

How can it be! ?
Didn’t they say that all the relatives have been settled?!

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Liu Shiyan, whose eyes gradually became bloodshot, held up the head with trembling hands.

It was the first time he saw his son like this.

It was a familiar face, but the complexion did not look good. It looked slightly gray and bloodless, and the eyes were wide open. The look of fear ruined the originally delicate facial features.

Liu Shiyan bit his lips tightly, and a fishy smell rose in his throat.

The people around him silently and respectfully placed the other three wooden boxes in front of Liu Shiyan.

The latter gently took one of them, opened the wooden box a crack, squinted his eyes to take a quick look, and then suddenly closed it immediately.

He remembered that his first wife was a beauty-loving person, and since there were outsiders here, it was inconvenient for her to show her ugly appearance.

Liu Shiyan remained silent, then reached out and picked out an important point, "well, his nephew Liu Zhi." He was not too sad about this, after all, when he took his family away, he did not take his nephew with him at all.

He stared at the fourth wooden box in a daze for a moment. He didn't want to look at it anymore.

Liu Shiyan took a deep breath and suddenly knelt down towards the soldiers around him.

Everyone around was shocked.

Liu Shiyan bowed in a circle, and with a trembling voice, he almost begged: "Now that things have come to this, I have nothing else to ask for. I hope you brothers will also be loyal to me and let me vent the anger in my heart!"

Everyone was silent for a moment, then responded loudly!
……

"Destroy the evil spirits! Support Prince Lu! Rectify the great order! Save the world from collapse!"

The slogans that were pieced together suddenly rang out in the inner courtyard of Gao's mansion.

Liu Shiyan's private soldiers, fearless and unafraid of death, charged out in silence and solemnity!

"shoot!"

Jiang Keqian reacted faster, almost as if he had predicted it, and shouted out orders!

The crossbow arrows shot out from the gaps in the array in an instant, piercing through several people in an instant!
"Block! Charge forward!"

Liu Shiyan gritted his teeth.

Without a shield, he used the wooden board, chair cushion and long sword in his hands to block several vital parts above his head and in front of him.

In this weather and distance, firearms are useless. The crossbow arrows may not be able to penetrate the armor. As long as you block the vital points and get through, you can engage in close combat!
"kill!"

There was a whistling sound like a sharp whistle, and there was also a clanging sound. Most of the rain of arrows were blocked by the armor and the formation, and fell to the ground in vain.

A few subtle angles, stuck between the armor and the muscles, were simply ignored by the fearless private soldiers.

As the formation changed, the soldiers moved in unison and got closer and closer to the factory guards.

Seeing this, Jiang Keqian drew out his long sword with an expressionless face.

He realized that he had already killed more than 20 bandit soldiers at a distance, and that his side had an absolute advantage. He raised his sword and gave the order calmly: "Charge!"

Instantly, the Imperial Guards responded immediately.

The crossbows were put down, swords and shields were raised, spearmen rushed out from the gaps, the formation was instantly set up, and they moved forward to meet the enemy with one step and one pause!

"The enemy is few, we are many! The enemy is exhausted, we are full! The enemy is weak, we are strong! Kill!"

"The world is blessed by the Emperor! Now is the right time! Raise your shield and draw your spear!"

"Your Majesty is right behind us! Whether our clan will be annihilated or we will be rewarded, it all depends on our decision! Push on!"

With shouts of killing, the two sides collided with each other!
It seemed as if the entire Gao Mansion was experiencing tinnitus.

The blood is surging, and waves of blood are splashing all over the sky.

The desperate army will win.

A last-ditch battle that earned the emperor's favor.

In just a moment, the corpses that were crisscrossed fell to the ground, and the remaining people stepped on the corpses and collided with each other again!
Liu Shiyan was only in his forties, and had been on the battlefield for a long time, with extraordinary martial arts skills. At this moment, he was fully armed and attacked like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey, with his moves being very powerful. The imperial guards who were blocking his way fell to the ground immediately.

He even had some free time to help his private soldiers.

As he was caught in a dilemma, the weapons in his hands were stained with blood.

"Rebel!"

Seeing that there was no enemy within five feet of Liu Shiyan, the elite soldiers immediately went to meet him!
Ding Ding Ding!
The sound of metal clashing was endless.

There were no more than a hundred people on both sides, and after several fights and collisions, they actually fought out a bloody war like smoke, rising up from Gao Mansion in the rain with hot air.

"Death to the traitor!"

Jiang Keqian immediately took the field himself, formed a formation with four guards, and rushed into the enemy army with a cold light, attacking Liu Shiyan.

The two sides fought desperately, entangled with each other like a muddy current, muffled groans and screams continued to be heard, and the number of casualties was rapid.

In the melee, Liu Shiyan was stabbed several times in the blink of an eye.

Although most of the damage was blocked by the armor, it was still bloody.

His eyes were red and bloodshot, and his hands were shaking.

"Mr. Liu! I can't get through!"

"I can't stand it anymore!"

The people on both sides shouted in agreement, but they looked pale.

Liu Shiyan looked around and saw that more than half of his own men had fallen down, and they could only barely maintain their formation, and they were all covered in blood.

An inexplicable sense of sadness rose in my heart.

I couldn't even take a single step without even seeing the emperor.

Liu Shiyan clenched his back teeth and was about to give orders and make a final attempt.

suddenly.

The factory guards, who were originally equally exhausted, suddenly became excited and pressed forward with all their might!
At the same time, more and more imperial guards filled the gaps in the formation. In the blink of an eye, there was a dense crowd of imperial guards in front of them!
Liu Shiyan looked up in surprise.

The Imperial Guards are back to help! ?
Liu Shiyan was aware of only a moment, but unexpectedly the stalemate had lasted for so long that he ran out of time and the imperial guards from the front gate came to support!
Is God trying to kill me?

"The Heavenly Soldiers are here to confront you! How long will you continue to resist?"

"Just sit back and wait for death, there is still a way to survive!"

The voices of persuasion to surrender came one after another, some were sharp and thin, some were impatient, and Liu Shiyan felt dazed when he heard them.

His lips parted slightly, as if to shout something in response.

But I found that when I opened my mouth, there was no sound.

The imperial guards before him surged in like a tide, and roughly counting, there were no less than a hundred of them.

Several more light cavalry came galloping over, breaking the formation that was barely maintained into pieces.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Liu Shiyan finally gave up all his strength.

He smiled bitterly, licked his cracked lips, slowly raised the long knife in his hand, exposing his neck, and felt the coldness of the blade close to his body.

When you are at the end of your rope, why fear death?
Rather than sacrificing my head to help these factory guards win military merits, it is certainly better to commit suicide.

To have come to this point and end it by committing suicide was already considered a heroic act!

Even if you go to hell, it will still be a topic of conversation!

After thinking about it, he glared with anger, looked up to the sky, and waved his hands vigorously: "Dog Emperor! Fuck your mother!"

shhhhh!

With a bang, a stream of blood suddenly spurted out from Liu Shiyan's body!
Liu Shiyan flew backwards several steps and staggered to the ground.

He looked at the two arrows flying on his body in astonishment. One arrow pierced through his black armor and pierced his right arm, knocking him to the ground. The other arrow seemed to be a little off and pierced his neck, and the arrow feathers were still trembling.

Liu Shiyan groaned and tried to prop up his body, trying to sit up.

Yu Guangzheng saw Qi Jiguang put the bow and arrow back on the horse's back.

Another young man, dressed in armor, riding a horse and holding a bow in hand, reined in his horse and approached.

"Bandage the Earl of Chengyi. I want to make use of the waste."

As soon as the emperor gave the order, eunuchs came forward and bandaged Liu Shiyan's clothes or tied up his clothes.

Liu Shiyan allowed himself to be manipulated, but he stared at the emperor with red eyes and his whole body trembled.

Zhu Yijun had a blank expression on his face. He casually swung his sword to flatten the ends of the two arrow feathers on Liu Shiyan's body, then turned away.

He glanced at the civil and military officials who had come in to protect the emperor.

"Have Wang Chonggu from the Cabinet, Chen Jingbang from the Ministry of War, all the military governors above the rank of deputy governor and above from the Five Military Governors' Office, and all the military camps in Beijing come to the Grand Parade Ground of the Beijing Camp immediately!"

Zhu Yijun took the rope handed over by Li Jin, and seeing that one end was indeed tied around Liu Shiyan's waist, he tied the other end to the horse harness.

"All the nobles present here, follow me to the Grand Parade Ground of the Beijing Camp! Watch the execution!"

After Zhu Yijun finished speaking, he turned his horse around.

Civil and military officials, eunuchs and guards naturally separated from both sides.

The emperor, wearing armor, dragged Liu Shiyan, rode out of Gao Mansion on horseback and rode away. The accompanying imperial guards did not stop for a moment and followed him in a rumble.

All that was left were the civil and military officials who came to rescue the emperor looking at each other in bewilderment, and a bloody mess on the ground.

(End of this chapter)