The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 204 King Wu was already prepared
On the top of the Yingtian City wall, the workers quickly gathered together, listened to the shouts of the Wu troops below, and slowly began to discuss in a low voice.

"Are they the King of Wu's men? The Northern Expedition Army of Wu is coming!"

“The child is ready to go.”

"The King of Wu knows our difficulties. We really don't want to rebel.

"King Wu can give us a minimum wage of five silver dollars!"

“This is what we want!”

"Great! Your Highness King Wu is merciful. We are saved—"

Many workers were instinctively moved when they heard what Chief of Staff Wu said.

What the ordinary workers in the city want is actually very simple, they just want a little more pay.

But there are also many people who think that things are not that simple:
"You just believe whatever they say! Don't you know what you just did? You have occupied the government offices and released all the criminals!"

"But they said that the King of Wu can forgive the past. The King of Wu said that we also have a part in the Northern Expedition—"

"Let bygones be bygones, that sounds good, but what if they shoot you to death after you leave the city behind?"

"Then what should we do? Are we just going to remain in this stalemate? They said the King of Wu could easily break through the city wall!"

"That's just bragging. The walls of Yingtian City are taller and stronger than those of the Forbidden City. How could they be easily attacked?"

“We really don’t have much food left.”

"Is there a lot of food in the Forbidden City? Will they starve the old emperor of the Forbidden City to death before they starve us to death?"

"Starving the old emperor to death...maybe it won't be a bad thing for the King of Wu outside?"

"This is really troublesome--

"In fact... only if King Wu becomes the emperor directly can we ensure that his promise can be implemented..."

"Then we can be considered to have made contributions to the King of Wu, and even be considered as the heroes of the new dynasty. The crimes of the previous dynasty will naturally not matter."

A group of workers who were already tempted but completely undecided were discussing the matter in a chaotic manner until the shouting team threw grenades and rocket launchers.

Amid the deafening explosion and the impact of flying sand, everyone fell silent.

After a brief silence, the scene became chaotic again:
"This power is too great!"

"What kind of explosive is this!"

"No matter what formula of explosives there is, it can't reach this level!"

"How can this be!"

"With explosives like this, it would be easy to take down the city wall."

"Bomb the wall a few more times and it will collapse."

Many people, in addition to being shocked, subconsciously looked at the person in charge of Chaoyang Gate, who was originally the boss of the dock laborers' guild and is now a member of the Yingtianfu City industry called the Rest Federation.

Not long after the various workers' guilds within the walls of Yingtian Prefecture took control of the various government offices within the walls, they realized that they had really gotten into big trouble this time.

It seemed like they had easily occupied important government offices in the central court of the Ming Dynasty Empire, but they had no idea how to maintain the current situation or what to do next.

Anyone in the city who has a bit of ambition cannot see any future for them and doesn't know how to break the impasse, so naturally they won't join them.

They did not dare to flee the city directly, escape from the living environment they were most familiar with, and had no way of learning the tactics of occupying the mountain and becoming the king in operas.

They are workers, not farmers or hunters, and their generation does not know how to survive in the mountains.

The key is that there are still many imperial troops stationed outside the city, and the Forbidden City can be used as a hostage inside the city to prevent the troops stationed outside the city from attacking.

If they took the initiative to run away, they would have to face the imperial army head-on, and they had no confidence at all.

The bosses of various guilds discussed for a long time and believed that the only correct path at present was to try to conquer the Forbidden City and capture the emperor, his son and high-ranking officials of the court.

Then he took the emperor and other high-ranking officials of the court as hostages, took them away from Yingtian City, and found a place to occupy the mountains and become the king.

The bosses of various guilds prepared for action, and through a naturally formed meeting and discussion, they established a joint consultation organization called the "Jiaoxie Union."

They gathered their main forces and attempted to attack the imperial city, and soon achieved success.

The guild boss and workers were overjoyed and prepared to continue attacking the Forbidden City in one go, but they were stopped by the city walls.

The walls of the Forbidden City and the imperial city are not at the same level of defense.

The large number of artillery on the walls of the Forbidden City, combined with grapeshot, are the most convenient weapons for the defenders to suppress ordinary infantry.

No matter how many ordinary soldiers there were, they couldn't rush forward.

The guild boss discussed for another two days and tried to negotiate with the emperor in the palace, hoping that the emperor would increase their wages and, most importantly, pardon them.

But the emperor ignored them and was concentrating on guarding the Forbidden City and waiting for King Wu to come to Beijing.

The Federation was caught in a dilemma.

You can only take it one day at a time.

Now, after hearing what King Wu had sent people to shout out, many workers were moved, but they didn't dare to believe it.

Several workers gathered around the head of the Laborers' Guild:
"Brother, what should we do now?"

"This explosive is too powerful. The city walls are useless now."

"Can you trust the promise of the King of Wu?"

The boss frowned and said:

"You ask me, who should I ask? Just ask them directly!"

The boss reached out and picked up a tin loudspeaker, which was borrowed from the Yingtian Prefecture Yamen and was usually used to speak to citizens.

The boss held the megaphone and shouted to the crowd:
"How can we trust His Royal Highness the King of Wu? How can we guarantee the conditions His Royal Highness the King of Wu has stated?"

The staff officer in charge of the call looked at the draft given by Zhu Jianxuan and found a suitable response to this question:
"At least a month ago, His Royal Highness Prince Wu had already written to His Majesty, suggesting that His Majesty increase your wages.

“It’s just that there hasn’t been time for specific discussion and implementation yet.

“You can go to the Forbidden City and ask His Majesty to show you this letter. It can be said that the King of Wu requested that it be shown to you.

“After you get the letter, His Royal Highness the King of Wu can send someone into the city to accompany you to see His Majesty.

"His Royal Highness the King of Wu will send someone to persuade His Majesty to issue an imperial decree, requiring all government and civilian factories in Yingtian Prefecture to raise wages together, and at the same time pardon all of your crimes." The labor boss was obviously stunned when he heard this:
"Wait a moment, we'll go ask right away!"

The leader of the laborers didn't let anyone else go, and he ran down the city with a tin horn and ran to the east gate of the Forbidden City.

The leader of the labor force also did not dare to get too close to the Forbidden City, as there were a large number of artillery pieces controlled by guards in the Forbidden City.

Also from a distance, using a tin horn to shout into the room:

"We are discussing the matter of opening the city with His Royal Highness King Wu. Your Royal Highness King Wu asked His Majesty to bring out the letter he wrote to His Majesty a month ago."

The palace guards in the Forbidden City were also startled when they heard the shout:
"King Wu is here?"

"King Wu... Is this a good thing or a bad thing..."

"It should be a good idea to discuss the issue of opening the city instead of attacking it directly."

"No matter what, go and report to His Majesty."

This was exactly the effect Zhu Jianxuan wanted, to let the news that he was seriously discussing the matter of Kaesong spread naturally, and make them believe that he really wanted to save his father and eldest brother.

The two guards quickly ran into the Forbidden City, met the Ming Emperor Zhu Zhonglin in the Qianqing Palace, and reported the situation outside.

The old emperor sat behind his desk, leisurely flipping through a vernacular novel, while the crown prince Zhu Jiancan stood absent-mindedly beside him.

The old emperor felt that with Zhu Jianxuan's ability, he should be able to solve the outside troubles, so he was more relaxed.

The old emperor personally experienced the standard weapons of the King of Wu’s army, and through the rapid victory of the Northern Expedition, he realized the actual combat capability of the main force of the Wu Kingdom.

The old emperor felt that as long as one of the main forces of the Wu State arrived in Yingtian Prefecture, they would be able to directly defeat the mob of these unruly people.

At the same time, all the officials, soldiers, and workers outside cannot be truly trusted.

It would be meaningless to mediate the relationship between workers and employers at this time, and it would cause the relatively stable and controllable situation to become chaotic again.

So before the King of Wu led his army to arrive, the old emperor had never considered negotiating with the workers.

The prince was disheartened and had no interest in anything.

When the old emperor heard the report from the guard, a smile immediately appeared on his face, then he sighed and shook his head.

I was wrong. That guy didn't attack directly, but was trying to make peace with the workers. How much he wanted to have a good reputation...

The old emperor was a little speechless, but finally decided to cooperate.

I also recalled the content of the letter I received a month ago. At that time, I completely disagreed with Zhu Jianxuan's suggestions.

Now it seems to make sense.

No matter what, we must not allow the people of the capital to rebel.

Otherwise, even if there were a million troops outside, they might be trapped to death by the rioters in the capital.

The old emperor opened the drawer on the side of his desk and took out the letter that he had casually placed in the drawer.

I took out the letter and took a look at it to make sure the content was correct:

"Now this letter happens to become evidence, allowing that kid to gain the trust of the troublemakers outside—"

The old emperor muttered to himself and shook his head with mixed feelings.

I found a metal cylinder specially used for important letters, rolled up the envelope, put it in, and handed it to the guard:
"Go, send this letter to the leaders of the workers, and let them know that the King of Wu really cares about them..."

The guard took it with both hands and immediately ran quickly to the Qianqing Palace, all the way to the wall of the Forbidden City.

He shouted to the labor boss outside again to confirm the situation, then tied the cylinder to an arrow and shot it out.

The leader of the laborers sent someone forward with a shield to pick up the arrow and open it.

The bosses of these workers' guilds knew most of the commonly used Chinese characters. After taking a quick look at the contents of the letter, they were sure that the King of Wu was not lying.

The King of Wu did suggest paying the workers their wages a month ago.

It was already December, and if the old emperor accepted the suggestion, it might have been implemented next year.

If I had known this I would have waited another month!
But the reality is, if they hadn't been making trouble like they are now, the old emperor wouldn't have taken this matter to heart at all.

This is not the first time Zhu Jianxuan has made such a suggestion.

The struggle at the grassroots level is very necessary. Even if you cannot succeed, you can make people see your strength and ensure that the suggestions that support you are taken seriously and even implemented.

However, the old emperor has decided to make Zhu Jianxuan the crown prince, and Zhu Jianxuan will implement these policies himself. It is really unnecessary for them to make such a fuss now.

The leader of the laborers was annoyed and asked his men to call for help.

Call the bosses of other guilds to the east of the city to discuss the negotiations with the King of Wu.

On the other side, the old emperor muttered to the stunned prince beside him:

"Your brother is here. He didn't directly attack Yingtian City as you worried, but was prepared to reconcile with these unruly people at all costs.

"He's obviously very worried that if you and I get hurt in the city, it might damage his reputation as a living saint. Are you still worried that he won't tolerate you?

“In fact, if he sent troops to attack, he would definitely be able to easily wipe out these unruly people outside before they broke into the Forbidden City.

“As long as we hold on to the Forbidden City, there will be no actual loss, but this will not do him any good either.

“He has no military achievements to speak of, and someone will definitely speak ill of him in the future.

“Whether it is the civil servants in the court, or the workers and the people in the society, they will all spread the most vicious propaganda about him in the future.

“But now he has stepped forward to mediate and brought out the policy he had previously written for the workers.

“Then all the workers in Yingtian City will be grateful for his kindness, and will take the initiative to help spread his reputation for filial piety and benevolence.

"From now on, he will write the official records himself, and the folk versions will be passed on by the children of these workers.

“It’s useless even if others want to slander him.

“That’s the biggest benefit he can get out of this.

"Do you understand it?"

The prince's expression was very complicated. He didn't know what to say, so he could only compliment:
"Father is wise, and my sixteenth brother is extremely intelligent..."

(End of this chapter)