Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 218 Zhu Yuanzhang issues an imperial edict to Chongzhen

"The Royal Guards are investigating the case. All outsiders please leave immediately."

On the street outside Liulichang, a group of Jinyiwei followed by Shuntianfu yamen runners swarmed in.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the power of the Jinyiwei on the ground had declined significantly, but its strength in the two capitals, especially Beijing, was still very strong.

Chongzhen reigned for 17 years and killed many officials, mostly by the Censorate and the Imperial Guards, who had sufficient control over Beijing.

So when they learned that there was unusual movement in the city, the Jinyiwei immediately took action and quickly appeared at the scene.

However, when the Jinyiwei arrived, everyone was dumbfounded, just like the onlookers.

As a product of later technology, the projector was almost a dimensionality reduction attack when it was used in the Ming Dynasty.

All they saw was an old man in a dragon robe staring at them majestically in the magnificent hall above, telling them that he was Zhu Yuanzhang.

"How to do?"

"Um, how about we take a look first?"

"This is no longer something we can decide. Let's go back and report to our superiors."

"Old Four, you go."

Seeing this, the five Jinyiwei didn't dare to take a step forward.

Xiaoqi immediately appointed someone to report to the general flag.

He looked around and saw that the people around him had already fled, leaving only the person watching the movie next to the screen.

Xiao Qi hesitated for a moment, then walked up to them, bowed, and said, "Excuse me, who are you?"

"I am Liu Bing, a minor flag of the Nanjing Jinyiwei."

The leader took out his badge, saluted and indicated his identity, saying, "We are here in Beijing to publicize the event of Taizu's descent to the earth on the orders of His Majesty Taizu and His Royal Highness Prince Wu."

"So we are colleagues. I am Zhou Zhao, a flag bearer of the Imperial Guards of the Northern Pacification Division."

Zhou Zhao cupped his hands and said with an embarrassed expression: "We have also heard about this matter, but the attitude of the court will make it very difficult for us to deal with it."

Liu Bing smiled and said, "When gods fight, mortals suffer. I can understand that, but we are also doing our job. Compared to the current emperor, we dare not disobey the orders of the great ancestor."

"This, this, this"

Zhou Zhao smiled bitterly and said, "But what should I do now?"

"You can choose to arrest us or report us to your superiors, but my suggestion is to not do it if it's difficult."

Liu Bing said calmly, "We are ready to die when we come to Beijing this time. If the court wants us to die, we have no choice but to die. But His Majesty Taizu will come to Beijing later. If you do not work hard, His Majesty Taizu will not say anything. But if you are willing to be his lackeys and disobey His Majesty Taizu's orders, when Taizu returns to the capital, your heads will be in danger. To be honest, at least hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in Jiangnan, and Taizu is still so resolute in his actions."

These words, which contained a subtle threat, made Zhou Zhao look embarrassed and he didn't know how to respond.

The news about the appearance of Ming Dynasty founder Zhu Yuanzhang in the south has been brewing in the market for more than half a month. It cannot be said that the news is known to the whole city, but almost half of the people in Beijing have known about it.

Therefore, many people are now saying that since many officials in the south have submitted to Taizu, it means that this is the real Taizu who has come, and the common people at the bottom all believe it.

Zhou Zhao was just a small flagman, leading a few imperial guardsmen to follow the orders of their superiors. How could he dare to ask about the affairs of the imperial court and the great ancestor of the south?
The most frightening thing is that there is now a subtle confrontation between the North and the South again.

The emperor and officials in the court do not believe it, but the people do, which means that there is a high possibility of a political contest between the north and the south, and even a military contest.

When the time comes, it will be up to these Jinyiwei to work hard. For these low-level soldiers, it is really like a fight between gods and mortals.

"Thank you for telling me, but there is nothing we can do. We can only listen to our superiors now."

Zhou Zhao could only say helplessly.

"It doesn't matter."

Liu Bing waved his hand.

They are almost all dead.

Including the eunuchs and Jinyiwei who came to convey the imperial edict to Chongzhen.

After all, what Zhu Yuanzhang did was actually to take back Chongzhen's power and take the throne himself.

Even if a normal person is really sure that you are his ancestor, who would be willing to do that?
After all, it is not uncommon for royal family members to kill each other.

But Zhu Yuanzhang had to give Chongzhen a chance.

Just because he committed suicide for his country instead of kneeling down and surrendering like Puyi, he deserves this opportunity.

Therefore, these people became dead soldiers and abandoned children.

Seems ridiculous.

However, this is the ancient times and it is also the reality.

However, what the world does not know is that they all volunteered to sign up from the newly recruited Jinyiwei and the eunuchs staying in the Nanjing Palace.

Because Lao Zhu promised that if they died, their families would be treated well and given a lot of land and money. If they survived, they would also be given a lot of rewards.

Even before they set off, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu gave their family 300 taels of silver, which was enough to buy hundreds of acres of prime farmland and a large mansion in Jiangnan.

Therefore, in this era when human life is worthless, let alone 300 taels of silver, even if it is 30 taels of silver, a lot of people will come to die.

There are hundreds of open-air movie theaters in the city, and the Beizhenfusi, which is in charge of the arrests, is almost going crazy.

Almost every small flag that went there did not dare to make decisions on its own, and all of them had to rely on the higher-ups for decisions. As a result, the small flags reported to the general flag, the general flag reported to the centurions, and the centurions reported to the thousand-man army.

This process of reporting to various levels wasted a lot of time.

At this moment, outside the Daming Gate, a team of dozens of Jinyiwei slowly came to the palace gate.

It was evening, and the palace gates had long been closed. The patrolling guards immediately shouted, "It's curfew soon. The palace gates will not be opened. No one is allowed to enter!"

"I am Lu Jiude, the eunuch in charge of Fengyang, and I am here on the eunuch's behalf to convey His Majesty's orders."

Lu Jiude got off the carriage and saw the guard commander outside the Daming Gate. He smiled and said, "It's Captain Zhao. Are you on duty today?"

The Ming Dynasty's imperial palace guards were originally under the charge of the Imperial Guard Commandery established by Zhu Yuanzhang, but later he established the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the palace guards were responsible for protecting the emperor's safety.

By the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the emperor gradually began to trust eunuchs, and the East Factory, which was controlled by the Silijian Supervisor, began to replace the Jinyiwei.

However, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was still responsible for most of the patrol and protection tasks of the imperial palace, while the Eastern Depot was responsible for the emperor's personal safety and the security of key palace gates.

After all, the East Factory itself was set up in the imperial palace, which gave it a greater inherent advantage than the Embroidered Uniform Guard which was set up outside the palace.

Lu Jiude, as the eunuch garrisoning Fengyang, came from the Silijian, which in turn controlled the Jinyiwei and the Eastern Depot. Therefore, he naturally knew the commander of the guards of the Eastern Depot.

Zhao opened his eyes and was about to kneel down to salute, but suddenly he realized something and said in astonishment, "It turned out to be Eunuch Lu. Whose order did you say you were following?"

"Great Grandfather!"

Lu Jiude bowed to Nan Fang and said, "To be honest, it is true that the Great Ancestor came to the mortal world. Now the entire South has submitted to him. I came back this time with the Great Ancestor's imperial edict and some magical instruments that allow the Great Ancestor and the emperor to communicate even though they are thousands of miles apart. This matter is of great importance, so please report it immediately. If anyone tries to stop us or arrest us, we will not resist, but we hope that when the Great Ancestor's army arrives in Beijing, the whole family of the Great Ancestor can survive the sword of the Great Ancestor."

"."

Captain Zhao stood there, and the guards around him looked at him. It was not a good idea to do anything about it.

Today he even felt a little regretful for accepting two taels of silver from his colleague and promising to cover for the colleague who was going home to take a concubine.

What is this called.

After all, the matter of Taizu has caused a lot of uproar in the city, and everyone says that Taizu has really come, otherwise the entire south would not have submitted immediately.

As it happened, Taizu's envoy came today.

What should I do?

Grasp!
If it is really the Great Ancestor who has descended to the earth, he will be dead in the future.

The current emperor can also kill him.

What's this called?
A stubborn mind leads to two ends being blocked.

Fortunately, Captain Zhao is not stupid. He naturally reports such a troublesome matter to his superiors.

After a few seconds of silence, he said, "Then please wait a moment, Eunuch. We will report this matter to Eunuch Wang right away."

"Ah."

Lu Jiude nodded and said, "Thank you for your help."

As if he had been pardoned, Captain Zhao hurried back to open the palace gate and flew towards the Chengtian Gate of the Imperial Palace.

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, eunuchs were in power, with the Silijian at the top. The boss of the Silijian was called the Seal-holding Eunuch, and the second was the Writing Eunuch.

Gao Shiming, the last eunuch in charge of the imperial seal during the Chongzhen period, resigned due to illness and stayed at home to recuperate. After that, the position of the eunuch in charge of the imperial seal of the Silijian was vacant and was taken over by the eunuch in charge of the pen.

The eunuch who was in charge of writing at the beginning was Cao Huachun, but Cao Huachun also took sick leave and went home. Now Wang Chengen is in charge.

Captain Zhao arrived at Chengtian Gate and told the commander of the Chengtian Gate guards about the situation. The commander of the Chengtian Gate guards had no choice but to enter the palace and go all the way to Dongchang to report the news to Dongchang governor Wang Dehua.

Wang Dehua did not dare to neglect it and had to go to the Qianqing Palace to report to Chongzhen.

At this moment, in Qianqing Palace.

For all the officials, six or seven o'clock in the afternoon is already the time for them to stay at home and hug their concubines.

But for Chongzhen, there were still six or seven hours before he could go to bed.

Only a few candles were lit in the Qianqing Palace, and Chongzhen reviewed memorials accompanied by Wang Chengen.

Rumors have been spreading in the city these days, and Chongzhen originally wanted someone to track down the source of the rumors and cut off their long-range routes.

However, after investigation, it was found that there were too many people spreading rumors. If they really wanted to catch them, they would have to arrest half of the city's residents.

So Chongzhen had no choice but to order the Jinyiwei to patrol and not allow the people to discuss it.

However, it is so difficult to shut up those who are talking.

Chongzhen was already extremely anxious and didn't know what to do.

"Otomo, is what you said about Taizu true?"

After approving the memorial, Chongzhen let out a long sigh, put down the pen in his hand and asked Wang Chengen.

As the eunuch in charge of writing, Wang Chengen actually helped Chongzhen deal with state affairs every day, and he did it in an orderly manner. All the memorials were approved by him, so he was very capable.

Hearing Chongzhen's question, Wang Chengen answered cautiously: "Your Majesty, I don't know whether it is true or not. But I think if it's just one or two people, it's okay. But if so many officials in the south believe it, then..."

"But I heard that man killed a large number of officials in the south. Could it be that he was intimidated by him?"

Chongzhen frowned and said.

Wang Chengen thought for a moment and whispered, "I feel that if even Commander Sun was intimidated by him, then perhaps only the real Taizu has this ability."

"."

Chongzhen remained silent.

In fact, Wang Chengen was not particularly favored by him.

Because Wang Chengen is the type who is busy with his work and speaks, and no one can please him.

When in Prince Xin's Palace, the person most favored by Chongzhen was Cao Huachun, and therefore Cao Huachun had the highest status in the first few years of Chongzhen's reign.

But today, all the old people in Prince Xin’s Mansion have passed away or died, so naturally only Wang Chengen is left.

It's a pity that Wang Chengen is always like this and speaks very realistically.

Although what he said was unpleasant to hear, it made sense.

This made Chongzhen a little annoyed.

"Forget it, let's take it one step at a time. If it is really the Grand Ancestor who came down to earth to save the world, then it doesn't matter if I am not the emperor. I am just afraid that it is a villain pretending to be the emperor. The ancestors handed the Ming Dynasty to me, and I dare not slack off in the slightest."

Chongzhen sighed deeply and was about to pick up his pen to continue reviewing memorials.

Now the state was in a state of decay and the South was controlled by others. He was not even forty years old, but his temples were already gray and his face was filled with sorrow.

At this moment, Wang Dehua came in, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty."

"What's the matter?"

"Outside the palace gate, the Fengyang garrison eunuch Lu Jiude wants to see you."

"Lu Jiude?"

Chongzhen was a little puzzled.

These eunuchs were his trusted confidants, so they were sent to important places. Why did they come back without being summoned?
But thinking of the situation in the south, Chongzhen was relieved and sighed: "They were driven back."

"no."

Wang Dehua hesitated and said, "He he."

"What's up with him?"

"He said he was following the order of His Majesty Taizu to return to the capital to deliver the imperial edict to His Majesty."

"."

Chongzhen was stunned.

This is the first time I hear such an unfamiliar word.

He was always the one who delivered the imperial edict to others. This was the first time he heard someone else deliver the imperial edict to him.

The last time I heard about it was probably more than ten years ago when his brother passed away and left a will asking him to ascend the throne as emperor.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

Wang Chengen saw that he was stunned for a while and reminded him in a low voice.

Chongzhen came back to his senses, looked at Wang Dehua blankly and said, "Even my trusted eunuchs have defected to that man in the south?"

Wang Dehua didn't dare to say anything.

There was silence in the hall for a few seconds before Chongzhen sighed, "Let him in. I want to know what that man wants to say to me."

"Yes."

Wang Dehua hurried out.

If it were someone else, such as Li Zicheng who proclaimed himself emperor in the south and even surrounded Beijing and wanted to issue an imperial edict to Chongzhen, Chongzhen would probably have killed the envoy long ago, or even committed suicide rather than suffer such humiliation.

But the other party called himself Taizu, and now the news that His Majesty Taizu had come to save the world had spread throughout the capital, and Chongzhen's ears were callused from hearing it so many times.

Given Taizu's prestige, many people did not have the thought of resisting and were hesitant in doing things.

For Chongzhen, it was natural for him to disbelieve it.

But even if they didn't believe it or not, according to the secret report from the factory guards, all the people in the city believed it. If they went against public opinion and insisted on killing the envoy when the south had already been lost, there would be no room for maneuver.

So Chongzhen also wanted to see whether the other party was really Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)