Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 163: The Court of the Emperors
Inside the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Qizhen sat high on the main throne, with his ministers and officials standing below.

Yesterday at midnight, Wuqing Marquis Shi Heng, the eunuch Cao Jixiang of the Sishejian, the right governor of the Qianjun Military Governor's Office Zhang Wei, and the left deputy censor-in-chief Xu Youzhen and others suddenly broke into the Nan Palace and welcomed him into the Fengtian Palace.

They acted in secret, although not too secretly. Dozens of people used battering rams to break down the wall of Nangong, then ran to the Donghua Gate and started knocking on the door.

After opening the gate, everyone took Zhu Qizhen through Wenhua Hall and Wenyuan Pavilion, and ran to Fengtian Hall to sit on the dragon throne.

During the entire process, not a single guard went to report to Zhu Qiyu, and no one tried to stop him.

It's like entering a deserted place.

The most incredible thing was that despite the restoration being carried out with such great fanfare, the officials did not hear any news about it at all. It was not until the morning when they went to court that they discovered that the person sitting on the throne was not Zhu Qiyu but Zhu Qizhen.

This can only mean that there are no spies in the palace for the officials, no spies for the emperor Zhu Qiyu, and no one to protect the emperor.
The guards are like guards.
But after the dust settled, the palace guards seemed to come alive.

Under Zhu Qizhen's order, the gates of all imperial palaces were blocked and the Twelve Guards patrolled the entire city under martial law to prevent generals and soldiers loyal to Zhu Qiuyu from causing trouble.

In ancient times, imperial power was supreme.

Before the dynasty represented by this imperial power ends, the highest position will be supported by countless people.

And now, with the support of dozens of people, Zhu Qizhen has returned to that position.

The restoration process was like child's play.

But that's how things are, and the ministers can only accept it with a wry smile. Who made him appear in this place and sit on that dragon throne?

The Fengtian Hall was so quiet that one could hear everyone's heavy breathing.

Zhu Qizhen glanced down and shouted, "Someone come here."

The warriors holding golden hammers below looked at each other, and finally stepped forward helplessly.

There was a disturbance when Zhu Qizhen entered the Fengtian Palace before.

The warriors wanted to use hammers to beat Shi Heng, Cao Jixiang, Zhang Wei, Xu Youzhen, Yang Shan and Wang Ji, but were scolded by Zhu Qizhen.

In that situation, no one dared to go up and hit Zhu Qizhen. After all, there was only one idiot like Cheng Ji in thousands of years.

With the lessons learned from the past, the rest of us are not fools.

In addition, Zhu Qiyu himself was in poor health and his son died, so he had no descendants. Who could he blame?
So, like all the civil and military officials, they had no choice but to welcome Zhu Qizhen again.

At Zhu Qizhen's call, the warriors rushed out. Zhu Qizhen pointed at Yu Qian below and shouted angrily: "Put Yu Qian and Wang Wen in jail for me."

"Yes!"

The warriors rushed over and captured Yu Qian and Wang Wen.

Yu Qian stood in the crowd and looked around. Everyone avoided his gaze and refused to meet his eye.

He laughed miserably.

Although he was a hero in the Battle of Beijing, it was he who turned the tide and saved the Ming Dynasty.

But he was a straight-talking person who often criticized the issue rather than the person, which offended too many colleagues.

Minister of Rites Wang Zhi and others believed that Zhu Qiyu was not the eldest son and was not legitimate. If Zhu Qizhen came back, power should be returned to Zhu Qizhen.

Yu Qian opposed it, arguing that since Zhu Qiyu was already the emperor, he had legitimacy and should not abdicate, which led to a disagreement with conservative ministers led by Wang Zhi.

After the Battle of Beijing, Shi Heng felt embarrassed that he was granted the title of hereditary marquis even though his contribution was not as great as Yu Qian's. So he wanted to show goodwill to Yu Qian, so he wrote to Zhu Qiyu, requesting that Yu Qian's son Yu Mian be granted the title of marquis.

As a result, Yu Qian righteously refused in the court and criticized Shi Heng in public, which put Shi Heng in a very embarrassing situation and turned his favor into hatred.

Although the rest of the group, including Chen Xun, Gao Gu, Xiao Xuan, Shang Lu and others, shared Yu Qian's stance in the Battle of Beijing and opposed the move south, after so much time had passed, everyone had different political views and positions, and thus gradually became estranged.

Even Luo Tong, the commander of Juyongguan whom he recommended, wrote a letter to impeach him.

It can be said that at this moment, eight years have passed, whether it was because Yu Qian was too upright and offended his colleagues, or because of his different political views and positions that led to him losing everyone's support.

In the Battle of Beijing, Yu Qian's effectiveness and role as a court leader had completely disappeared after the Coup d'Emancipation.

Faced with the revenge after Zhu Qizhen came to power, no one stood up to speak for him.

"Laugh, let him laugh, and slap me!"

Seeing Yu Qian's miserable smile, Zhu Qizhen became angry and scolded him harshly.

"Clap clap clap!"

A few warriors still admired Yu Qian and did not use any heavy hands, but just listened to the loud noise.

At this moment, a large number of people suddenly poured in outside the Fengtian Palace.

The warriors on duty outside were very puzzled, while the others remained standing. Yao Zhong, the commander of the Jinwu Youwei who was in charge of security near the Fengtian Palace, saw a large group of familiar faces.

Yao Zhong's father, Yao Tang, was the commander-in-chief of the Jinwu Guard during the reign of Zhu Gaochi. Yao Tang died of illness during the Zhengtong period, and he succeeded his father.

So Yao Zhong knew Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji.

At this moment, when he saw two people wearing dragon robes and following two other people wearing dragon robes, his eyes widened for a moment, his face full of disbelief.

His Majesty Renzong and His Majesty Xuanzong have been resurrected?

what's the situation?
Although I couldn't believe it and even couldn't help rubbing my eyes, thinking that I was hallucinating, but the other party were really two people, and my memory couldn't be wrong.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but trot over, first glanced at his colleagues Sun Gan, Wang Yu, Wang Xing, Bian Zhi, Ruan Xin, etc., then knelt down to Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji and said: "Your Majesty, Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong, this..."

Liu Kegong immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesties Taizu and Taizong are also here. Your Majesties have come down from heaven to inspect the human world. Where are Your Majesties?"

"Your Majesty is in the palace."

Yao Zhong immediately said, "All the civil and military officials are also in the palace."

"Take us there."

A hint of coldness flashed across Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

The three people behind him, Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji, were also furious.

On the way here, they had heard about the situation.

In his early years, Zhu Qizhen favored eunuchs, which led to the corruption of state affairs and the Battle of Tumu.

In other words, in the Ming Dynasty it was not called Tumu Fort, but Tumu Posthouse.

Zhu Yunfeng and his friends had read history books before, which recorded that at Tumu Fort there were 500,000 soldiers fighting against 20,000 to 30,000 Oirat soldiers.

But when I really got here and heard the people involved, I found out that there were actually not that many people. There were only about 230,000 troops from the Beijing garrison and the border troops.

But even so, an army of more than 200,000 was defeated by tens of thousands of Wala soldiers. Countless civil and military officials were killed or injured, and even the emperor was captured. This was simply unheard of.

Upon hearing the bad news, Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji almost fainted from anger.

Because they didn't know that this was a parallel world, they thought it was Lao Zhu who was traveling through time and space, and that it was their descendants who did this.

In this situation, it was good enough that the three of them didn't die of anger on the spot.

At the same time, in the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Qizhen sat high on the dragon throne, looking sinisterly at the court officials below.

He really wanted to purge Jingtai's followers, including Chen Xun, Gao Gu and others.

But he also knew not to rush.

If they really were to take action, many people here would die. If the ministers started to make a fuss and rushed to the Qianqing Palace to carry Zhu Qiyu out, it would cause a palace coup and cause trouble.

So he planned to take revenge on Yu Qian and Wang Wen today, and then slowly deal with the rest of the people later.

Yu Qian had offended too many colleagues over the years, and now he was arrested and jailed, and even slapped in public. Although everyone felt sad for him, no one dared to say anything in the end.

"Hahahahahaha."

Zhu Qizhen laughed loudly upon seeing this, and then he comforted everyone by saying: "Gentlemen, Yu Qian and Wang Wen's crimes are unforgivable, but they have nothing to do with you, please rest assured."

As he was talking, he saw Yu Qian being slapped in the face more than ten times. Fearing that this would draw sympathy from the officials, he waved his hand and said, "Take him away and throw him into the imperial prison."

"Who wants to put my Censor Yu into the Imperial Prison?" At this moment, something strange happened.

Suddenly someone spoke outside the door, and there seemed to be suppressed anger in the voice.

All the officials were shocked. Could it be that Emperor Jingtai had come?

Everyone quickly turned around and looked towards the door.

At this moment, there were four men wearing dragon robes outside the door, and the other two were wearing prince's dragon robes. They were standing at the door and looking around the hall.

The three men wearing dragon robes stunned all the ministers in the hall, and many of them almost dropped their eyes.

You must know that it is now the eighth year of Jingtai, 1457 AD.

此时距离朱棣驾崩的公元1424年才过去33年，距离朱高炽驾崩的公元1425年是32年，而朱瞻基是1435年驾崩，过去短短22年而已。

It seems like a long time, but many of the civil and military officials over the age of 50 or 60 passed the imperial examinations and entered the court as officials during this period.

For example, the Prime Minister Chen Xun was born in the 18th year of Hongwu and became a Jinshi in the 13th year of Yongle. Zhu Di held the examination in the Fengtian Hall and supervised the examination personally. After the examination, in front of many Jinshi, he promoted Chen Xun as the first place champion.

There is also Gao Gu, the second-in-command of the cabinet, who was also a Jinshi in the 13th year of Yongle. He served in the Yongle, Hongxi, Xuande, Zhengtong and Jingtai dynasties.

The Minister of Rites was Hu Yi, and the Minister of Personnel was Wang Zhi.

These two are even more heavyweights. One was born in the eleventh year of Hongwu, and the other was born in the twelfth year of Hongwu. They were Jinshi in the second year of Jianwen and the second year of Yongle respectively, and their qualifications are older than Chen Xun and Gao Gu.

Among them, when Hu Yi was the Censor of the Military Department, he followed Zhu Yunwen to the Taimiao to offer sacrifices to Zhu Yuanzhang, and saw Zhu Yuanzhang's portrait with his own eyes.

Therefore, many officials in the field knew Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji.

That moment.

The entire Fengtian Hall seemed to have stopped in time.

Two seconds later, Liu Kegong stepped out from the crowd and shouted to the people in the hall: "Your Majesty Taizu, Your Majesty Taizong, Your Majesty Renzong, Your Majesty Xuanzong have come down to the court!"

"Taizu Taizong Renzong Xuanzong?"

"This, this, this"

"real or fake."

"It's true. I have met Taizong, Renzong, and Xuanzong. It's them."

"But are there really gods in this world who have descended to earth?"

All the officials were stunned for a moment.

They are different from military generals and soldiers.

Many generals and soldiers were illiterate and believed in ghosts and gods. When they saw them with their own eyes, they naturally knelt down immediately.

But the civil service group has all received higher education, and even though people in ancient times believed in ghosts and gods, they are still skeptical.

But after a while, a group of old officials in their sixties and seventies, led by Hu Yi and Wang Zhi, knelt down and kowtowed, shouting: "Your Majesty Taizu, Your Majesty Taizong, Your Majesty Renzong, Your Majesty Xuanzong!"

The older they get, the more they fear death. The more afraid they are of death, the more they believe in ghosts and gods, so these people almost kneel down in seconds.

If someone takes the lead, others will naturally follow.

Just a few seconds later, a large group of people knelt in the Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Qizhen's party members Shi Heng, Zhang Xun, Xu Youzhen, Cao Jixiang, Yang Shan, Wang Ji and others looked at each other in bewilderment.

Especially Wang Ji, his legs were trembling and he also wanted to kneel down.

Because he was also an old minister, a Jinshi in the fourth year of Yongle, and Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji had met him countless times.

The person who appeared in front of them again at this moment, looking exactly the same as the one in their memory, how could they hold on?
But at this time the coup had already been successful and Zhu Qizhen was about to be restored. When it was time to reward the merits, an accident suddenly occurred and no one knew what had happened.

So the members of the Doumen Party couldn't help but start to wait and see.

Until Zhu Zhanji stepped into the door, raised his head and looked up at Zhu Qizhen and sneered: "Qizhen, my good son, why don't you recognize your father?"

Zhu Qizhen saw that they were coming with bad intentions and was furious, saying, "Where did these lunatics come from to impersonate the late emperor and his left and right guards? Catch them now."

"Who dares!"

Wang Zhi gained confidence at this moment, and immediately stood up to protect Zhu Zhanji, staring at the guards in the palace and said, "This is the late emperor, do you want to rebel?"

Zhu Qizhen sat on the dragon chair and roared, "Wang Zhi, it is you who wants to rebel. Guards, take these people down, take them all down for me."

However, the guards in the palace did not move at all. The situation is unclear now. Wouldn't it be courting death to act rashly?

Therefore, everyone sat like an old monk, seeming to hear nothing.

"Grandpa Taizu, Grandpa Huang, Father, it's a pity that my child died early and was not well-educated."

Zhu Zhanji bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and others to express his apologies.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded his chin and said, "It's okay."

Zhu Zhanji said again: "Grandpa Taizu, Grandpa Huang, and Father, please wait for a moment. I will go and get him myself."

"Go."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

Zhu Zhanji stepped into the hall, and the ministers on both sides stepped aside.

He was followed by dozens of guards including Sun Xing, who quickly rushed into the hall and stopped the golden gourd warriors on the left and right, not allowing them to get close to Zhu Zhanji.

The rest of the guards were divided into two groups to separate the civil and military officials.

Zhu Zhanji stepped in step by step, and the ministers on both sides knelt down one after another.

He reigned supreme over the world, heading upwards.

Zhu Qizhen's eyes widened, his expression panicked, but he soon calmed down and shouted to his left and right, "What are you doing? What are you doing? Save the emperor! Save the emperor!"

Zhu Zhanji climbed up the golden steps and came in front of Zhu Qizhen. He lowered his head as if to look at his eldest son. Finally, he shook his head in disappointment, raised his head, and slapped him hard.

"Snapped!"

A huge slap mark suddenly appeared on Zhu Qizhen's face. His eyes were full of fear and shock. He had never thought that an emperor like him would be beaten like this.

However, before he could react, Zhu Zhanji grabbed his collar again, pulled him off the throne, and pushed him to the guards beside him, saying, "Take this unfilial son to the center of the hall and make him kneel."

"Yes!"

Several guards immediately grabbed Zhu Qizhen and pulled his hands and feet.

Zhu Qizhen seemed to have finally come to his senses, still struggling and shouting: "What are you doing, you are going to rebel, he is not my father, they are pretending to be him!"

As he spoke, he seemed to realize that he was powerless to change the situation. Tears and snot kept flowing down his face. He cried out, "Why, why! I finally got back to the throne. I finally stopped being bullied. Why do you treat me like this? Why!"

Zhu Zhanji ignored him, stepped down from the stage, bowed and said to the outside: "Grandpa Taizu, Grandpa Huang, Father, I have packed everything."

"Quick, go move the chair, how can you be so blind!"

Ji He went in first and spoke in a domineering manner.

A eunuch woke up as if from a dream, and hurried to the back hall of the Fengtian Hall, brought a few chairs and placed them on both sides of the high dragon throne.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked slowly into the hall, followed by Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi. He walked quickly like a tiger, and when he passed by Zhu Qizhen, he lowered his head, shook his head slightly, walked to the stage, and sat down on the dragon throne.

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi sat on both sides, while Zhu Zhanji stood aside respectfully.

The four big Buddhas above.

Each of them held up their head, some were filled with anger, some had indifference in their eyes, or were gazing calmly, like four great emperors, overlooking the world below.

In an instant, the hall was filled with a suffocating feeling. No one dared to breathe. It was so quiet that only the crying of Zhu Qizhen could be heard.

(End of this chapter)