I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 164 December , th year of Jiajing
In the Qianqing Palace of the Forbidden City, Zhu Yijun and Huang Jin ordered people to carefully carry Emperor Jiajing back to the bedroom in the back hall and place him on the bed.

After waiting for a while, Zhu Yijun served Emperor Jiajing a few sips of ginseng soup.

Emperor Jiajing slowly came back to his senses and looked at Zhu Yijun weakly.

"Grandpa Emperor, we are back at the Palace of Heavenly Purity. I will go and invite my father. The rest has been arranged."

Emperor Jiajing blinked and closed his eyes with relief.

Zhu Yijun carefully helped him lie down and covered him with a quilt.

"Your Highness, the prince is here to see you." Feng Bao reported softly at the door.

"Well, what time is it?"

"Three o'clock in the morning."

"Tell the cabinet ministers, the ministers of the six ministries, the left and right censors of the Censorate, the nine ministers, and the nobles to wait in the duty room of the cabinet at the Meridian Gate."

"Yes."

Zhu Yijun followed him out of the bedroom, walked to the door of the left hall of the Qianqing Palace, and met his father Zhu Zaigui.

"Father."

Zhu Zaigui grabbed Zhu Yijun's right hand and asked anxiously, "Is father in danger?"

Zhu Yijun nodded solemnly, "Doctor Wan and Medicine King Li had a consultation today, in the past two days. Judging from the situation, I don't think he will survive tonight. Grandpa Emperor seems to have an idea in his mind and has called him back to the Forbidden City."

Zhu Zaigui's face was gloomy, his eyes had an extremely complicated expression, and he stamped his feet and sighed, "How could this happen!"

"Father, now is not the time to talk about this. Let's go and guard Grandpa Huang."

"Yes, yes, go and guard beside Father."

Zhu Zaiqi had just taken two steps when he turned around and asked, "Other things, um, for example, that."

His mind was in a mess. He just felt that this was a delicate moment and he should make full preparations, but he had no idea what kind of full preparations he should make.

Zhu Yijun stepped forward and said, "Father, I have already ordered people to seal off the Western Garden and the Forbidden City. I have also ordered the Imperial Household Department and the palaces in the Forbidden City to strictly prohibit private movement. I have ordered Duke Chengguo and others to stay in the Supervisory Office and the Beijing Camp. I have also ordered the cabinet ministers, the ministers, the left and right censors, the nine ministers and the nobles to wait in the duty room of the cabinet at the Meridian Gate."

Zhu Zaigui looked at Zhu Yijun with mixed feelings, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"Jun'er is better than me."

After taking two steps, Zhu Zaigui turned around again, took Zhu Yijun's hand, and said earnestly: "Jun'er, we are father and son, blood is thicker than water, so help your father more in the future, so as not to be fooled by them."

"Don't worry, father. We are one as king and subject, and father and son are of one mind."

"Well, it's good for father and son to have the same mind."

Zhu Zaigui was in front and Zhu Yijun was behind, and the two of them quietly came to the bedroom in the back hall of the Qianqing Palace.

Seeing Emperor Jiajing lying on the bed like a dried corpse, Zhu Zaigui suddenly stopped and did not dare to move forward.

Zhu Yijun walked straight up to him, leaned over, leaned close to his ear, and whispered softly, "Grandpa Emperor, my father is here."

Emperor Jiajing slowly opened his eyes, raised his right hand slightly, and pointed his finger at Zhu Zaigui.

Zhu Zaigui was startled and immediately rushed forward, knelt in front of the bed, and held Emperor Jiajing's right hand with both hands.

"My father, how did you become like this?"

Emperor Jiajing closed his eyes and looked speechless.

Zhu Yijun reminded from the side, "Father, put your ear close to Grandpa Huang's mouth. I have something to tell you."

Zhu Zaigui quickly stood up, bent his upper body, and put his ear close to Emperor Jiajing's mouth.

"Third brother, I'll leave the Ming Dynasty to you first." Emperor Jiajing said with all his strength.

"Father, I'm afraid I can't handle it." Zhu Zaigui replied with a bitter face, "I know my temper. I don't have my own opinion. Once they coax and force me, I will be at a loss."

Emperor Jiajing smiled bitterly and continued, "Listen to Jun'er more. Just be happy in the Forbidden City."

Zhu Zaigui looked delighted. It was indeed nice to be having a good time in the Forbidden City.

But now is not the time to be happy. Zhu Zaigui regained his sad expression and said, "I will remember this."

Emperor Jiajing turned his eyes to Zhu Yijun and blinked.

Zhu Yijun realized it and shouted to the outside.

"Huang Gong!"

Huang Jin immediately appeared at the door.

"Mr. Huang, please take Wanfu and Feng Bao to the duty room of the cabinet at the Meridian Gate and tell the ministers to come in. The emperor has an order for them."

"Yes!" Emperor Jiajing smiled with satisfaction.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw her son Zhu Zaigui's round face so close to her, and she couldn't help but sigh softly.

A quarter of an hour later, Huang Jin, Wanfu and Feng Bao, along with ministers and nobles headed by Zhu Xizhong and Xu Jie, walked into the back hall. With solemn expressions, they all knelt down outside the bedroom door one after another without waiting for any orders.

Emperor Jiajing signaled to Zhu Yijun, who nodded and took out a yellow silk edict from under his pillow.

"Mr. Huang, read it in front of the civil and military officials."

"Yes."

Huang Jin stepped forward, bent down and took the imperial edict with both hands, walked to the bedroom door, and stood still with a calm expression.

Zhu Xixiao, Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Guo Pu, Zhang Juzheng and others knew that this was the last will of Emperor Jiajing.

"The Emperor Fengtian Chengyun issued an edict:
I am the heir of the great throne of the country. I have feared that I am too weak to carry on the great legacy of my ancestors. However, the war has ended and the people are at peace. Thanks to the blessings of heaven and earth, the country has been peaceful for forty-five years. I will always bear in mind the heavy responsibility entrusted to me by the sages, and I will be always vigilant and fearful, and I will never rest in peace.

"

In his last will, Emperor Jiajing reviewed the gains and losses of his 45 years in power.

He mentioned a few words about the New Deal of Jiajing in the early stage, and did not avoid the issue of lax government in the middle stage. He said that he was addicted to Taoism and worshiping heaven, which had delayed state affairs. He had made mistakes and must admit them and apologize to the world.

Then the topic changed to the later civil and military achievements. In the southeast, the Japanese invasion was eliminated, and Jiajing destroyed the nest. In the north, Liuhe and Kalaqin won great victories, and the traitor Xin Ai, who had no king and no father, was beheaded.
Anyway, his merits outweigh his faults, and he is very satisfied. You can decide on the posthumous title you want to give him.

Then comes the highlight.

"The Crown Prince Zai is kind, filial and respectful by nature. He is highly respected by the people and has the divine right to be the emperor. You should appoint the virtuous and remove the evil, and follow the previous edicts. Be virtuous and benevolent, and be considerate of the people.

The Crown Prince Yijun is a man of great wisdom and intelligence, endowed with extraordinary talents by God. He has assisted me personally and has profound knowledge of the subtleties of life, which is well known throughout the world. He can be made the Crown Prince, respectfully protecting the sacred artifacts, assisting my father, and bringing glory to the ancestors.

You are one ruler and one subject, father and son, and you have been diligent in carrying out the great cause. I have no regrets. I also rely on the loyal ministers at home and abroad, the civil and military officials, to work together and achieve eternal peace.
Admire this! "

Xu Jie and others felt as if they had swallowed a bunch of flies.

The civil servants had already made up their minds. The old Taoist emperor was most averse to making a will during his lifetime. So when he passed away, they would use the opportunity to draft a will. As long as they kept it a secret from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it would be easy to coax the Prince into writing a letter similar to a confession of guilt to vent their anger.

Over the past forty years, especially after the twenty years of Jiajing, the civil officials felt extremely depressed by the old Taoist emperor.

No one would have expected that Emperor Jiajing had no taboos at all and drafted his will in advance. He also summoned all civil and military officials to read it out in front of the crown prince and the grandson. As soon as he died, it would be announced to the world and there was no way to change it.

Old Taoist Emperor, I didn't expect that you would suppress us before leaving.

Thinking of this, Xu Jie felt mixed emotions. Thinking back to the decades of battle of wits and courage with the emperor, a feeling of grief for the loss of one's loved ones welled up in his heart.

Your Majesty, my old rival, you are leaving too!
Two lines of tears flowed down Xu Jie's face.

All the other ministers fell to the ground, crying softly, either genuinely or pretendingly.

Emperor Jiajing looked at the crowd from the side, imagining their helplessness. A smug look appeared on his face. He couldn't breathe, his body went limp, and he died with his mouth open.

Li Fang trembled and stepped forward to test his breath, then shouted heartbreakingly, "Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yijun, with tears on his face, knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Emperor Jiajing lying on the bed.

Beside him, Zhu Zaigui howled, "Father, my father!"

Behind him, cries suddenly rose louder and resounded throughout the Qianqing Palace.

"Dong dong dong dong!"

The sound of bells rang out in the bell tower, swaying and echoing throughout the city of Beijing.

Amid the sound of bells, the morning sun of December 14, the 45th year of the Jiajing reign, slowly rose.

Ten days later, in the government office of Panyu County in Guangzhou City, a sixth-rank official was sitting with a serious face. Surrounding him were officials including the Guangzhou prefect and Panyu magistrate, all with helpless looks on their faces.

Everyone looks the same when facing Hai Rui and Hai Gangfeng, the world-famous honest officials.

"I came here just to ask for your advice, I have no other intentions."

"Master Hai, I can ask for your advice, but it's a bit unreasonable for you to look at the household accounts of Panyu County."

Before Hai Rui could speak, the Jinyiwei officer who had been protecting him came running in, sweating profusely, and handed him a wax document.

"Master Hai, it was sent urgently from the capital over 800 miles."

Hai Rui was shocked and tore it open quickly.

"Grandpa Emperor has passed away. Before he died, he told me to ask Hai Rui to come back after I'm gone. He is a loyal minister I leave for you."

Hai Ruiruo was struck by lightning. His body went limp and he fell off the chair to the ground. His face was full of tears and his mouth was open. He was so grief-stricken that he could hardly breathe and his whole body was twitching.

It started with soft sobs, and ended with hysterical crying.

(End of this chapter)