Wanli Ming Emperor

Chapter 205: The Story of Taizu, Restoration of the Old System

The seventh year of the Wanli reign was destined to be a noisy year.

During this year, the phrase "the sky is full of uproar" spread all over the country, from the common people to the literati, from the local areas to the imperial court, from civil officials to military generals, from the imperial palace to the military training ground.

The most sensational thing in the capital today is undoubtedly that someone has gathered an army to rebel and took advantage of the opportunity when the emperor was out of the palace to kill him in the street.

As soon as the incident happened, the news spread rapidly, with Gao's mansion at the center of the vortex, swept away by the raging waves.

Power is like a dam, filtering the speed and accuracy of information, and delegating it step by step with ease.

The commanders of each guard, the associate commanders, the generals and assistant generals of each camp, who seemed to be the military officers who should have reacted immediately, actually heard the news quite late.

Even so, they had just hurriedly put on their armor and formed their troops, anxiously waiting for the order to rescue the king.

The next moment, the emperor personally subdued Liu Shiyan, the Earl of Chengyi, and issued an imperial decree ordering all officers of higher rank to go to the parade ground to watch the execution.

All the commanders, associate commanders, and generals, no matter what they thought, had to immediately dismiss their soldiers and rush to the parade ground.

……

The parade grounds of the three major camps of the Beijing Army were all located outside Deshengmen and Andingmen (now the area of ​​Xiaochangkou Street and Xiyingfang Hutong). The Grand Parade Ground refers to the General Parade Ground outside Xuanwumen in the south city, which was opened by the emperor in the fifth year of Wanli at the request of Gu Huan.

All major events, such as the rotation of guards and appointment of generals by the Beijing Military Government, the distribution of rewards, the testing of new firearms, or the emperor's personal inspection tentatively scheduled for New Year's Day next month, or even the military punishment of high-ranking military officers who violated the law, would be carried out in the Grand Parade Ground.

This is the kind of place that generals and commanders would naturally frequent and be very familiar with.

Then, today, the emperor was summoned for no reason after being assassinated, but the atmosphere was very different from usual.

The wind and thunder gradually subsided, but the sky was still gloomy. The heavy rain continued to fall, and the rain, mixed with snowflakes, fell on the open-air parade ground.

The imperial guards stood straight with solemn expressions as they guarded key positions in the parade ground, surrounding it tightly.

Perhaps it was because they had just experienced a fierce battle, the murderous intent in the eyes of the imperial guards had not completely dissipated, and the blood-stained weapons had not been put away, but were leaning on the ground, shining brightly, emitting cold light.

There was a faint smell of blood in the air, making the atmosphere even more gloomy and depressing.

A civil official who came from nowhere was the first to occupy a position close to the command platform. After the close ministers accompanying the emperor rearranged the positions of the civil and military officials, he was looking at the commanders and generals who came later with a vigilant and scrutinizing gaze.

There were two large cowhide drums on the left and right of the command platform. The two brave warriors who had killed the most enemies in the quelling of the rebellion were selected to beat the drums.

dong dong dong.

The rhythmic sound seemed to strike at everyone's heart.

Cabinet Grand Secretary Shen Shixing and other officials from the six ministries, such as Wang Xijue and Wang Zongyi, hurried to the parade ground to express their concern for the emperor's safety, but were sent back to their offices to work with a few words from the emperor.

Only cabinet minister Wang Chonggu, Vice Minister of War Chen Jingbang and others were retained by the emperor.

After refusing the emperor's favor of having someone hold an umbrella for them, the two men walked silently to the stage and took the first position as the leading civil officials in the east class.

The military generals who came later would look anxiously at Xu Wenbi and Gu Huan, the leaders of the Western Class, to find out whether the emperor really wanted to send people to watch the execution on a whim, or to take the opportunity to implicate people related to Liu Shiyan - the scope of the related parties was too broad, and no one could guarantee whether they would not be affected.

Unfortunately, no one responded.

After the dull drumbeats also stopped, only the sound of dripping rain could be heard.

The sound of rain best sets off the quiet.

This is especially true at this time.

What is even more disturbing is that the figure standing on the podium in the parade ground hardly moved from beginning to end.

The emperor arrived in a hurry, scolding the commander of the 26 imperial guards who was slow to react, and angrily rebuking the generals of the three camps who were late. The thousand-mile horse galloping under his crotch neighed incessantly, and the traitor who was dragging behind him kept shouting.

But after the emperor stepped onto the podium, the scene seemed to freeze.

The horse was tied to the emperor's side casually. It was looking around alone, shaking off the rain on its body from time to time.

Liu Shiyan lay motionless in front of the emperor. The bandages had long disappeared and blood was flowing everywhere. At first, his body could be seen trembling slightly, but now there was no movement.

The emperor was dressed in military uniform, with his hands resting on his sword between his legs, sitting silently on the commander's seat.

The military uniform was not the yisa, which was one of the emperor's usual clothes. Instead, it was the first time in sixty years that an emperor of the Zhu family wore a phoenix-wing helmet, fish-scale leaf armor, a longbow hanging from his waist, and arrows on his back.

Everyone looked at the emperor in armor out of the corner of their eyes.

Quite similar to Wu Zong...

The young emperor looked majestic in armor and sword, but it also made the atmosphere more solemn.

at last.

"Your Majesty, the Cabinet, the Ministry of War, the commanders and associate commanders of the 26 Imperial Guards, the deputy generals, assistant generals, generals of the Beijing Camp, the governor-general, the military advisors, the inspector generals, the Five Military Commander's Office... all are here."

Zheng Zongxue's voice was not very deep, but it sounded just right for everyone in the training ground to hear.

From the Cabinet to the Ministry of War, from the Imperial Guards to the Beijing Barracks, all the civil and military officials involved in military affairs in the capital are now here.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the sound from heaven.

However, the emperor did not say anything in response, but just raised his hand and waved away the Beijing camp staff officer.

A long while passed.

Still no action was taken by the emperor.

Everyone looked at each other, and could only bow and greet him: "Your Majesty."

After this shout, there was finally movement on the stage.

The figure on the podium slowly stood up, raised his head slightly, and the face under the phoenix-wing helmet was revealed in front of the civil and military officials.

As he moved, the armor plates on his body clanged.

Following closely, there was a condescending look, without much emotion visible.

Everyone gradually lowered their heads, and the corners of their eyes turned away without making a sound.

The emperor still did not speak, but just quietly glanced at the civil and military officials on the parade ground.

From civil officials to military generals, from the imperial guards to the Beijing camp, they were swept away one by one.

silence.

There was a long silence.

The most frightening thing about the emperor after he was assassinated was his unbridled eruption of rage - this was what the military officers thought before they arrived, but now they suddenly realized that a silent volcano would be even more disturbing.

A feeling of uneasiness began to spread, and the actions of swallowing and pursing lips frequently appeared among the crowd.

jingle.

The sound of the emperor dragging his sword brought a hint of sound to the silence.

Silence seems to accumulate power.

So much so that at this moment, the slightest movement on the stage made people concentrate.

"Today, someone wanted to kill me again. My right governor, the hereditary earl, actually gathered hundreds of soldiers and came within ten steps of me."

Zhu Yijun finally spoke.

Normally, as soon as such words were spoken, someone would immediately fall to the ground and apologize.

But after a long silence, the first sentence would often not be interrupted. Instead, there would be the sound of long breaths coming one after another - no matter what the emperor was saying, it sounded like the sound of nature at this time.

As for the Emperor's assassination...

Everyone subconsciously looked at Liu Shiyan.

Xu Wenbi and Gu Huan looked at each other with complicated expressions. How could a noble family with rich and noble families for generations end up like this?

Chen Jingbang snorted in disgust in Liu Shiyan's direction, as if to make his attitude clear to his colleagues around him.

Xia Kai, the commander of the Yulin vanguard, carefully wiped the sweat off his cheek with his shoulder.

Zheng Zongxue and other close ministers of the emperor looked calm as they scanned the reactions of the people in the parade ground.

In the huge parade ground, besides the sound of the dripping rain, there was only the emperor's voice.

"There is no need to explain the reason. It is nothing more than colluding with Shi Maohua to commit treason, interfering with Ma Zheng, and undermining the nine borders. Knowing that he cannot escape death, he wants to drag me down with him."

As Zhu Yijun spoke, he slowly walked up to Liu Shiyan with a sharp knife in his hand, and dragged one of Liu Shiyan's legs towards the edge of the stage like he was dragging a dead pig.

Everyone could clearly see that Liu Shiyan was still motionless and seemed to be dead.

His body was already covered with knife and arrow wounds, and he was dragged all the way here by the emperor, so it was not surprising that he died.

However, although he might be dead subjectively, he must be alive objectively - before the emperor announced the execution, Liu Shiyan could only be alive.

After all, killing the chicken is to show the monkey, and everyone knows it.

"Fortunately, I have learned martial arts for eight years since I ascended the throne. I was not frightened and fled in panic, losing face. Instead, I shot this guy in the throat with an arrow and shot him down on the spot."

Although he missed the target and shot Liu Shiyan's neck, outsiders still didn't know about it.

Hearing the emperor's words, the military officials couldn't help but look sideways.

The situation changed dramatically in one day and the news came extremely suddenly. Only now did I learn about the situation from the emperor's mouth, and my face couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

The emperor was seen standing tall, wearing armor and looking like a mighty general. He was dragging one of Liu Shiyan's legs in his hand, leaving a long trail of blood on the podium.

"Logically speaking, for a case of treason like this, we should leave this thief to the court for trial."

He walked to the edge of the stage, put Liu Shiyan down, and kicked him twice, causing his upper body to crawl on the stage with his head hanging outside.

Zhu Yijun raised his right foot and stepped on Liu Shiyan's back.

When the civil and military officials saw the emperor's actions, they immediately understood what he was going to do.

The general clenched his fists, looked at the emperor in astonishment and excitement, and waited for the emperor's next move.

A group of civil officials looked at Wang Chonggu at the same time, only to find that the latter had a calm expression without any unnecessary emotion.

The attendant, who had just broken into the palace to rescue the emperor, took a step forward, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

How could the emperor do such a thing himself?

"But it is a battle between two armies after all. Liu Shiyan is a military commander and was captured by me personally. Whether I kill him on the battlefield or execute him by military law, after careful consideration..."

Zhu Yijun picked up the sword in his hand and pushed aside Liu Shiyan's messy hair, revealing his not-so-clean neck.

Civil officials and military generals opened their eyes wide, fascinated by this scene.

Just as everyone was concentrating on waiting for the emperor's next move.

The emperor stepped on Liu Shiyan tightly and swung his sword with all his might!
With a puff!
Blood spurted out and a head flew away!
The emperor cut off Liu Shiyan's head with his sword as if he was killing a chicken, and blood spurted out a few feet away!

Xu Wenbi subconsciously dodged to the side and stared blankly at the head falling in front of him.

Wang Chonggu and Gu Huan stood still, staring at the bloody sword in the emperor's hand.

Chen Jingbang reached out and wiped the blood that splashed on his face and took a deep breath to prevent himself from vomiting.

Qi Jiguang paused for a moment, took a step forward, picked up the head that had fallen to the ground, and placed it just below the podium, facing the crowd.

At this time, the emperor's voice came slowly.

"I will personally chop off the head of this thief, so that you can be warned and avoid such unbearable things happening again."

Zhu Yijun sheathed his sword, stared at the civil and military officials in the training ground, and said in a cold voice: "Do you agree?"

Perhaps it was a coincidence that the wind and rain stopped at this time.

The parade ground fell silent.

Faced with the emperor's behavior, no one could tell whether it was a casual warning after venting his anger, or an aggressive attempt to implicate and accuse the emperor.

They all knelt down and pleaded guilty: "Liu Shiyan plotted treason and disturbed the emperor. It was all our fault. We will be ashamed of this and will never do this again!"

Led by Wang Chonggu, civil officials and military generals quickly expressed their opinions.

Zhu Yijun finally showed a hint of tenderness, and patiently explained: "I am not trying to embarrass you."

"Two days ago, Shi Maohua bribed a foreign monk to assassinate the emperor, and today Liu Shiyan gathered troops on the street to plot rebellion." "This is going on one after another..."

"Just now I couldn't help but wonder if someone would follow the example of Marquis Zhaowu and lead the Beijing Army and the Imperial Guards to attack my palace tonight."

The emperor had a pleasant expression, but his words were full of fierceness.

As soon as the words came out, both civil and military officials turned pale with anger.

The next moment, someone couldn't hold back any longer and suddenly fell to his knees, begging for mercy.

"Your Majesty! Liu Shiyan's rebellion has nothing to do with us!"

"Your Majesty! We are loyal to you, and the sun and the moon can attest to that!"

"Your Majesty clearly shows you!"

People kept prostrating themselves on the ground, crying out that they were innocent.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun did not comment: "Just that it has nothing to do with you?"

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

He could not hide the disappointment on his face: "The so-called king humiliates his subjects and they die..."

"My Minister of War colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. My Right Commander gathered troops to rebel. I don't know how many of my guards were killed or injured today. My paralyzed teacher was frightened by the weapons. Liu Shiyan cursed my relatives to their faces."

"Your Majesty has suffered such a great humiliation, and you just want to tell me that it has nothing to do with you?"

"This is my military department!?"

"This is my imperial guard!?"

"This is my Beijing Camp!?"

"Did I feed the dogs all the millions of taels of military pay I took out from the treasury?!"

The emperor couldn't hold back his tone more and more as he spoke, and by the end he was almost roaring, with the armor on his body vibrating and his surging anger instantly sweeping across the parade ground.

Everyone present changed color.

Wang Chonggu was about to express his position.

But the emperor had no intention of allowing anyone to interrupt.

"Where is the commander of the Yulin Vanguard?"

The emperor uttered a low chuckle, and Xia Kai immediately shuddered all over.

Almost subconsciously, the latter knelt on the ground in embarrassment and replied hastily: "Your Majesty! I..."

Zhu Yijun interrupted him rudely: "Don't call yourself a vassal anymore. Answer me, the Imperial Guards failed to search the foreign monks two days ago, and then they failed to intercept Shi Maohua at a checkpoint. Today, Liu Shiyan's rebellion was overlooked."

"Once, twice, and three times."

"Are you incompetent or are you harboring evil intentions?!"

Xia Kai's face turned pale and he kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent! I am incompetent!"

Zhu Yijun had a blank expression on his face: "Incompetent? Then why did you recruit 70 soldiers these days?"

This is what Lu Weizheng found out yesterday. Zhu Yijun was not just making it up to scare people on purpose.

Hearing this, Xia Kai knocked his head harder and harder, with a continuous banging sound: "Your Majesty, I am guilty! I used soldiers without permission to repair the house for my mother!"

Ah.

A sneer.

It turned out that the emperor was smiling with his lips but not his eyes.

"Okay! Since you mentioned your mother, I will pardon your crimes of embezzling military pay, privately letting Shi Maohua go, and forcing soldiers into service."

He took off the sword from his waist and threw it over: "Kill yourself."

A parabola passed by, and Xia Kai stopped moving abruptly, staring in a daze as the emperor's sword fell in front of him.

Everyone frowned and looked sideways.

Zhu Yijun was too lazy to look at him again, so he turned around and asked again, "Where is Li Chengen, the brave lieutenant commander of the Second Battalion of the Shenji Battalion?"

Li Chengen was watching Xia Kai's play when he suddenly heard the emperor calling him. He was shocked!
He quickly turned around, met the emperor's gaze, and said in horror: "Your Majesty! I definitely did not participate in this!"

The Imperial Guards are the Imperial Guards, and the Beijing Garrison is the Beijing Garrison.

The former twenty-six guards, including the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Yulin Guard, were directly under the emperor, guarding the capital and were dispatched very frequently.

The latter, the Shenji Camp, the Wujun Camp and the Shenshu Camp, belonged to the military government and were under the jurisdiction of the governor and the vice minister of the Ministry of War. Except for daily training, they all stayed in the barracks obediently. Li Chengen had no ability and no chance to participate in them!

But the emperor said in a cold tone: "Liu Zhi, the commander of the seventh battalion of the fifth battalion of the Beijing camp, was reprimanded by me seven years ago, and he has been holding a grudge against me ever since. Now he is even plotting a rebellion with the White Lotus Sect and Liu Shiyan to assassinate me."

"I heard that Lieutenant General Li also holds a grudge. When is he going to follow in Liu Zhi's footsteps?"

Only then did Li Chengen realize what the emperor was referring to.

Seven years ago, Gu Huan was on duty in the Beijing Camp and arrested a group of typical cases, including him and Liu Zhi!

But what did Liu Zhi's rebellion have to do with him, Li Chengen! At that time, besides them, there were also people like Shenshuying Zuoji Hou Zhizhou, so why did they only come to trouble him!

Li Chengen immediately prostrated himself on the ground and said, "Your Majesty! Since then, I have reformed myself, fulfilled my duties, and never had any resentment in my heart!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the emperor's slightly cold voice sounded again.

"Really? Don't you complain about me all day long about 'what I'm doing with my farmland'?"

Li Chengen looked up suddenly, his face filled with horror.

Just at this moment, there was a "plop" sound, and the smell of blood in the air suddenly became strong.

He turned around with difficulty and saw Xia Kai, the commander of the Yulin Guard, falling to the ground with his throat cut by a sharp blade.

Li Chengen's throat was throbbing, and his mouth became dry unconsciously: "Cousin, I am uneducated and unskilled, and I don't know the politics. I was just joking in private..."

The emperor had the power of life and death at this time, and he felt the shadow of death looming over him. In fear, he had to move on to the eldest princess and establish a relationship with the emperor.

"Take off your armor and leave your post."

The emperor's voice was like the sound of nature, and Li Chengen kowtowed repeatedly.

He staggered in front of Gu Huan in a panic, took off the badge and returned it tremblingly.

The civil and military officials present took in all the scenes, and they felt an uncontrollable chill in their hearts that went straight to their heads.

Life and death! Really life and death!

"Marquis Zhenyuan, you are the governor of the Beijing camp, how could you fail to supervise so much?"

Gu Huan was taking Li Chengen's badge in his hand when he heard the emperor's voice again.

He immediately felt relieved. After guarding the capital camp for the emperor for seven years, he could finally retire and avoid following in Zhu Xizhong's footsteps.

Gu Huan lowered his head and knelt down immediately: "I am guilty, please dismiss me."

After saying that, he took off his helmet and placed it in front of him.

But there was no positive response from the emperor.

"Minister Chen, Secretary Jia, do you have any instructions for me from the Ministry of War and the Military Department?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingbang and Jia Sanjin fell silent at the same time.

After a moment, the two looked at each other and bowed, "Your Majesty, Shi Maohua and Liu Shiyan are plotting rebellion, and we have no choice but to take responsibility!"

After the two men expressed their opinions, the emperor finally brightened up and nodded slowly.

Zhu Yijun turned his head and looked at Wang Chonggu, the leader of the class, and said in a gentle voice: "Lord Wang, the Ministry of War, the Five Military Commands, the Beijing Camp, and the Twenty-Six Guards are all in such a state of disarray. What can we do about it?"

When the emperor said this, the military generals present might not be able to grasp the context of the words. They only felt that the emperor had the power of life and death and was very majestic. However, all the civil officials were silent.

Wang Chonggu turned his slightly stiff neck and looked up to meet the emperor's gaze.

look at each other.

Silent gaze.

The two stared at each other for an unknown amount of time.

Wang Chonggu finally opened his dry lips and replied with a folded hand: "Our dynasty's military problems are very serious. Your Majesty, please make drastic changes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the emperor smiled.

Several military officials finally seemed to react, while the civil officials became even more silent.

Zhu Yijun took a deep breath, took a light step, walked to the stage, grasped Wang Chonggu's fist tightly as he saluted, and personally helped him up.

The latter's body was stiff for a moment before he slowly straightened up.

Zhu Yijun patted Wang Chonggu's shoulder gently, turned around again, and walked back to the command platform.

He stood alone on the command platform, his figure erect, facing the ministers: "I will make the following arrangements."

All the civil and military officials lowered their bodies and bent over to listen attentively.

The accompanying Zhongshu Sheren came here in a hurry and had no paper or pen, so he had to write it down in his mind.

"Remove Gu Huan, Marquis of Zhenyuan, and replace him as the Governor-General of the Beijing Camp with Left Commander-in-Chief Qi Jiguang."

This was what the question implied, so Gu Huan naturally thanked him calmly.

Although Qi Jiguang was filled with emotion, he remained calm and bowed respectfully.

"Remove the military department's Dushizhong Jia Sanjin to the position of Zuoshizhong of the military department, and be in charge of the military affairs of the Beijing camp."

Jia Sanjin looked up in surprise and looked at Chen Jingbang standing beside him.

Before the latter could respond, he heard the emperor's voice again.

"Remove the concurrent post of Assistant Minister of War Chen Jingbang from his post of Assistant Director of the Military Affairs of the Capital Camp, and let him focus on his main duties as the Minister of War."

Chen Jingbang was speechless and looked at the emperor blankly.

It has long been known to everyone that the emperor does not trust the Ministry of War, but directly stripping it of its function of supervising the Beijing camp is really unexpected!
"Change the Banner Guards to the Ministry of Rites, and reduce their number to 300; only the military craftsmen of the three Wugong Guards will be left, and they will be under the Ministry of Works; the four Tengxiang Guards will be reduced to 1,200, and they will be under the inner court; the seven guards of Tongzhou, Jizhou, Daxing, and Yanshan will be reduced to 1,800, and they will be under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture, Wucheng Bingmasi, the Ministry of War, and the Military Department, and they will be responsible for city defense; the remaining eleven guards, including Jinyi, Yulin, Jinwu, and Huben, will be under my jurisdiction."

Many imperial guards commanders looked at each other in bewilderment.

Xu Wenbi, commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Li Jin, commander of the Huben Guard, remained expressionless - they were directly under the emperor to begin with, and this simply made them closer to him.

However, the commanders of the Banner Bearer Guard and the Military Guard looked unwilling, as they were kicked out of the Imperial Guard by the Emperor!

"The duties of the Ministry of War, such as military system, expedition, military deployment, and dispatch, were stripped from the Ministry of War and placed in the Five Military Commandery, which was still responsible for recruiting soldiers, maps, city gods, military equipment, seals, records, martial arts, salaries, training, post stations, and stables."

"The court will appoint a minister of war soon."

Everyone present in the Ministry of War was shocked!

In this way, wouldn't the Ministry of War become the housekeeper of national defense and military affairs? ?
"The military registration of the Five Military Commands, the garrisons, the guard posts, and the warehouses were stripped and transferred to the Ministry of War, which still controlled the military affairs of China and foreign countries; a new Council of Advisors was established, which selected the Jinshi who passed the military examination, the Hanlin who commanded the troops, and the Xingwu who had military merits to assist in military affairs, study the art of war, and give lectures."

"As the Right Commander Liu Shiyan is plotting treason, all officials above the fifth rank in the Five Military Commanders' Office are suspended from their posts pending investigation."

"Mei Yousong, the Right Secretary of the Military Affairs Department, Liu Zhizhong, the Military Preparer of Shanxi Province, Lu Wanzhong, the Deputy Envoy of Zhejiang Province, Yu Dayou, the Left Commander-in-Chief, Jiao Ze, and others were appointed to the Five Military Commandery."

The parade ground was already noisy.

Li Wengui, the Left General of the Central Army Governor's Office, Zhang Yuanxun, the Right General of the Rear Army Governor's Office and others were confused and frowned - the Five Army Governor's Office had added a lot of powers, and judging from the situation, it seemed that it had nothing to do with them.

"Restore the Grand Marshal of the Five Military Commandery."

As soon as the words fell, the place immediately exploded!

They all looked at the emperor!
Zhu Yijun glanced across the buzzing parade ground and spoke word by word, "I will follow the example of Taizu..."

"He is the Grand Marshal of the Army of the whole country, in charge of the Five Military Commands, and makes decisions on all military affairs at home and abroad."

(End of this chapter)