Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 208: Please ask the Empress Dowager to come forward, sit in the palace, and take charge of the government!
"This……"

Zhu Youlang was still hesitating, but Yu Shen had already grabbed Zhu Youlang's hand and forcibly pulled him towards the palace.

"Your Highness, please forgive me for my rudeness."

Yu Shen took Zhu Youlu and walked quickly into the palace. Because Yu Shen walked too fast, Zhu Youlu stumbled.

But Yu Shen didn't care. Zhu Youlang was just a prince without power. Even if it was rude to say so, it was a compliment to him.

What he really cares about now is how to seize power in the government.

When Yu Shen brought Zhu Youluo into the palace, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others had already entered the palace.

Now it’s a race against time. Whoever seizes the initiative first will have a greater chance of winning.

After Liu Jian and Li Dongyang entered the palace, they rushed straight to the harem.

They wanted to go to Qingning Palace to bring out Zhou who was imprisoned by Zhu Youtang.

Just as they entered the harem, Fu Dahai, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, and a group of young eunuchs from the harem, holding various weapons in their hands, blocked them with nervous looks.

Fu Dahai was extremely grief-stricken, with a sad face, and asked fiercely: "My lords, do you know that entering the harem without being summoned is a capital crime!"

"Everyone, please leave immediately, or we will not be polite!"

When Fu Dahai learned the news that Zhu Youtang had been attacked, he was half shocked and half frightened.

At this time in the capital, there were few people who truly hoped that Zhu Youtang could return safely.

And Fu Dahai is one of them.

Because Fu Dahai's interests are closely related to Zhu Youtang.

If Zhu Youtang really could not return to the capital, then he, the eunuch who was promoted to the position of Chief of Imperial Household Department by Zhu Youtang, would be completely finished.

When the new emperor ascended the throne, the first person he wanted to get rid of was the former emperor's right-hand man.

Fu Dahai wanted to do something, but the Silijian was just an administrative agency.

The Imperial Household Department played a major role in government affairs, but had almost no military role.

The East Factory under the Imperial Household Department was basically empty except for the necessary personnel to maintain its operation.

When Wang Yue went to war against Annan, he took with him two thousand Dongchang guards to serve as military supervisors.

When Liu Jin went to Xuanfu, he took with him another thousand Dongchang guards.

In addition to the Dongchang spies spread all over the Ming Dynasty, there are still three thousand Dongchang men in the capital who are absolutely loyal to Zhu Youtang.

And among these three thousand people, there are still one thousand people who can be mobilized.

The worst thing is that these three thousand Dongchang men only obeyed the orders of Zhu Youtang.

These Dongchang men will only obey the orders of whoever Zhu Youtang appoints to lead them.

From beginning to end, Zhu Youtang never let Fu Dahai have any contact with the East Factory.

As a result, although Fu Dahai was the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, he was still unable to dispatch the men of the Eastern Depot.

Before receiving orders from Zhu Youtang, these Dongchang men would not obey orders from anyone.

Similarly, the few remaining factory guards in the capital city could not be commanded by anyone.

In desperation, Fu Dahai could only summon the twelve eunuchs of the inner palace to protect the Forbidden City in an emergency.

But the thing that worried him the most still happened.

Two cabinet ministers and a minister of one of the six ministries, along with six or seven high-ranking officials from the court, actually broke into the harem!

Ministers from the outer court must be summoned into the harem, which is a big taboo in the royal family!

After Fu Dahai got the news, he rushed over with his men and managed to intercept Liu Jian and others.

Faced with Fu Dahai's intimidation, Liu Jian remained fearless and instead asked back in a deep voice.

"Eunuch Fu, don't you see the situation clearly?!"

"Now, you, me, and Queen Mother Zhou, our goals are the same!"

"If you can see clearly, you shouldn't stand in front of us now, but go with us to ask the Queen Mother Zhou to come out and take charge of the situation!"

Fu Dahai was stunned by Liu Jian's question.

From the time he learned the news until now, Fu Dahai has been busy crying. He never thought that one day his interests would be consistent with those of the civil servants in the court.

"What do you mean?"

Fu Dahai was confused and asked anxiously.

I was afraid that if I wasn't careful, I would end up in an irreparable situation.

Liu Jian patiently analyzed the situation for Fu Dahai quickly, and tried his best to win Fu Dahai over to his side.

"Eunuch Fu, now that His Majesty has been attacked and his life or death is unknown, what do you think those civil servants in the south will do at this moment?"

Fu Dahai blinked: "Uh... moving the capital?"

It was no secret that the southern civil servants had been committed to moving the capital for decades. Even Fu Dahai, who was in the deep palace, knew about it.

"That's right!" Liu Jian slapped his thigh. "Now those civil servants in the south will definitely want to support a young new emperor and then have the new emperor order the relocation of the capital."

"At this moment, who is the only person in the entire capital who can stop the relocation of the capital?"

Fu Dahai suddenly realized: "It's Zhou!"

"But Zhou has been stripped of her title by His Majesty and has been imprisoned."

"Without His Majesty's order, no one is allowed to contact Zhou. I still can't let you pass!"

Fu Dahai's reaction was exactly the same as Li Dongyang's, even more resolute.

Liu Jian was very anxious and secretly cursed Fu Dahai for being stupid.

"Eunuch Fu, we have to make decisions in an emergency. If you insist on not letting us go to invite Empress Dowager Zhou, then all of us will have to follow those southern officials and move back to Nanjing." "Eunuch Fu, whose territory is Nanjing? Don't I need to say anything more?"

"When we get to the south, those southern officials will support the new emperor. Do you think you, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department of the previous emperor, will have a good ending?"

When Fu Dahai heard this, his face changed drastically.

He didn't even need to think to know that nothing good would happen to him if he went to the south.

At the same time, Li Dongyang also added.

"Besides, no matter what, if we let Empress Dowager Zhou take charge of the situation, it will not threaten your majesty's throne."

"If Your Majesty returns safely, Empress Dowager Zhou can return power to Your Majesty."

"If your majesty... dies, the Empress Dowager Zhou can still appoint a new ruler who is close to her..."

"No matter what, it won't affect your status, Eunuch Fu."

Li Dongyang's words were very straightforward.

If the situation wasn't so urgent that they needed to seize the initiative every second.

Normally they would never speak so bluntly.

"But what if the officials in the south seize the initiative and make the prince they support the emperor?"

"Eunuch Fu...you are in danger..."

Li Dongyang looked at him meaningfully, waiting for his reply.

When faced with the threat of moving the capital by southern officials, the northern officials, Fu Dahai, Empress Dowager Zhou, and Zhu Youtang all had the same interests.

That is, never move the capital!

Fu Dahai's lips trembled twice, and he finally made up his mind, gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, turned around and ran back.

"We know where Qingning Palace is. You guys should follow us."

Liu Jian and Li Dongyang smiled at each other, then quickly followed Fu Dahai and ran towards Qingning Palace.

Soon, the two arrived at Qingning Palace.

There were several young eunuchs guarding outside Qingning Palace, but with Fu Dahai leading the way, these young eunuchs naturally did not dare to stop them.

Fu Dahai immediately brought northern officials including Liu Jian and Li Dongyang into Qingning Palace.

Qingning Palace was unusually deserted.

The entire palace was empty, there was no one in sight, and there was a desolate feeling in the palace.

Northern officials such as Liu Jian and Li Dongyang turned serious.

It seems that Zhou hasn't been having a good time these days.

After everyone walked into the main hall of Qingning Palace, they saw Zhou kneeling in the palace and praying for the two blank wooden plaques.

Next to her was Aunt Liu who had always been following her.

"Your humble servant, I greet the Empress Dowager Zhou."

When everyone saw Zhou, they immediately knelt down and saluted.

Zhou's prayer paused, she opened her eyes, and looked at everyone in confusion: "How... did you get in?"

Ever since Zhou was banished to Qingning Palace, she never saw these court officials again.

Suddenly seeing so many officials coming to his Qingning Palace, Zhou was immediately shocked and confused.

Liu Jian bowed and replied: "To the Empress Dowager, Your Majesty... Your Majesty led the army in person, but was attacked by the Oirat people in Tumu Fort. His life or death is unknown..."

"what?!"

After hearing Liu Jian's words, Zhou looked dazed for a moment, as if she had returned to a day forty years ago.

On that day, Zhou had just given birth to the eldest son Zhu Jianshen for a year when she was suddenly shocked to hear that Zhu Qizhen's Tumu Fort was attacked.

However, she was still very young at that time and had no idea about political tactics. It was all up to Empress Dowager Sun to deal with the cabinet.

But now, she has lived in the center of power for decades, and her political acumen and political skills are no less than those old foxes in the cabinet.

As one of the people who personally witnessed the Battle of Tumu Fort, Zhou realized instantly that a mutiny had definitely occurred in the north.

Decades ago, that group of border generals in the north dealt with Emperor Yingzong in this way.

Decades later, the group of border generals in the north used the same method to deal with the current emperor.

It's simply too much!

"What's the situation in the capital now? Are those officials in the south going to demand to move the capital again?"

Almost at the same time, Zhou speculated on the next move of the southern officials.

"Replying to the Empress Dowager, the news has just been reported back to the capital, and the officials in the south have not taken any action yet."

"But I guess it won't be long before they ask to move the capital."

"I ask the Grand Empress Dowager to come forward and sit in the palace to suppress the unreasonable wishes of those southern officials!"

After Liu Jian finished speaking, he kowtowed to Zhou.

Immediately afterwards, Li Dongyang and several other officials, including Fu Dahai, kowtowed to Zhou.

"Your humble servant, I ask the Empress Dowager to come forward, sit in the palace, and take charge of the government!"

Listening to the requests of these ministers and the eunuchs in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

Zhou's heart, which had been calm for a long time, couldn't help but begin to beat.

At this moment, as long as she nodded, these northern officials and Fu Dahai would support her to regain control of the harem and take over the government.

Ascend to the pinnacle of power, today!
(End of this chapter)