Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 229 You Be the Emperor, I'll Be the General
After Zhu Di entered the city, he closed Beijing to the public for five days and five nights.

That day.

Outside the Fengtian Hall, corpses and heads were piled up like mountains.

The palace eunuchs and maids washed it with water, but it was still not clean by the next day.

That night.

The homes of countless officials were raided, and countless amounts of gold and silver were found.

After that day, the killings spread throughout the entire city.

For five days, there were no pedestrians on the streets, only soldiers patrolling day and night.

The imperial court posted a notice, and night watchmen went from street to street, beating gongs and drums, announcing that those whose families had run out of food could register to receive grain.

In just five days, hundreds of thousands of people were ranked and received food.

Where will the grain come from?

Just ask the grain merchants in the capital who were all killed.

Five days later, the gates of Beijing were opened, and as many as a thousand people were hired to move corpses out of the city.

In those five days, tens of thousands of people were killed in the city, and tens of thousands more were imprisoned.

Besides the more than 1,000 officials and their families who surrendered and betrayed the regime during the Jia Shen Incident, nobles, imperial guards, the Eastern Depot, and merchants in the city were all subjected to a large-scale purge.

On the fifth day, a lingering, bloody smell still permeated the large square from Fengtian Hall to the Meridian Gate.

After the people were killed, the blood drained away, seeping into the cracks in the ground and gradually turning black.

Crown Prince Zhu Cilang returned to the Eastern Palace that day and fell seriously ill. He had a fever that night, was trembling and talking nonsense, and was eventually saved by an ibuprofen pill.

Many of the surviving officials were also quite frightened.

Even though Zhu Di later wrote an imperial edict detailing their lives and highlighting their glorious achievements, at least half of them still requested leave, and some even feigned illness to resign.

It wasn't until the sixth day that martial law was lifted in Beijing. Zhu Di ordered the markets to reopen, and the canal boats that had been blocked outside Chongwen Gate gradually entered the city to transport goods to warehouses, allowing the commercial economy to resume operation.

Slowly, life returned to the streets and alleys. Many teahouses and restaurants opened, but although the city had lost less than 100,000 people, the number of people on the streets seemed to have decreased by ten times.

Gone is the bustling city of the past, the hustle and bustle of people gone. The few scattered pedestrians foreshadow one thing—Beijing is becoming increasingly desolate.

However, Zhu Di was not worried.

People always need to eat.

It's understandable that people are terrified and hesitant to go out because they've just experienced such a major upheaval.

When people get hungry, they should still go out to work or open their businesses. Soon the city will return to normal.

As he expected, the Shuntian Prefecture posted a public notice to reassure the people, clearly explaining the whole story.

When the people learned that Emperor Taizong had come to kill officials and generals who had betrayed the country for personal gain, and that the Jurchens had later demanded that people shave their heads and change their clothes after entering the pass, and had also carried out massacres, the people were outraged and said that Zhu Di had done a good job killing them.

As a result, the desolation on the streets gradually improved after a few days.

Although it is still not as prosperous as it was at its peak, it has gradually recovered to about 70-80% of its former glory, and the number of vendors is increasing day by day.

Furthermore, as news of the Manchus massacring Han Chinese spread, a wave of anti-Manchu sentiment surged among the people, with calls to send troops beyond the Great Wall and slaughter all the Manchus resounding everywhere.

This incident even led to a significant increase in the number of people wanting to enlist in the army.

Previously, Emperor Chongzhen could not afford to support the army.

However, Zhu Di even beheaded Chongzhen's father-in-law, and together with various corrupt officials, nobles, and merchants, he amassed tens of millions of taels of silver, more than enough to build an army.

He didn't actually need that many troops, but he still allocated three million taels to Sun Chuanting so that he could expand his army a little.

Even if I can't go to war in the future, it would be good to follow him and clean up the battlefield.

At the same time, Zhu Di made many personnel adjustments.

With so many officials dead, there are serious vacancies in their positions, so it is necessary to recommend some fallen officials to fill those vacancies.

For example, Meng Zhaoxiang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was promoted to Minister of Justice, replacing Zhang Xin. Wang Jiayan, who is currently still in Shanhaiguan, was promoted to Minister of War, replacing Zhang Jinyan.

Soon after the city was closed for five days and officials were massacred, the situation gradually calmed down.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot were not completely abolished; only traitors like Luo Yangxing and Wang Dehua were removed. Li Ruolian, the Embroidered Uniform Guard Vice Commander who died for his country, was promoted to Commander, and another Embroidered Uniform Guard Vice Commander, Wang Guoxing, was also commended and rewarded.

Gao Shiming, the former Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, returned to continue serving as Grand Eunuch, while Gao Yushun, a court eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, was promoted to Director of the Eastern Depot.

Thus, Zhu Di completed an initial team.

The number of people in the city who should be killed or imprisoned has been almost exhausted. What remains is to confiscate their property, which will be handled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot.

As for Chongzhen, he had not yet been deposed, but it was no different from being deposed. He moved to Kunning Palace with the Empress, while Qianqing Palace became the bedroom and office of the young Zhu Di.

In early June of the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen reign (1644), it was a sweltering summer day.

Today is the ninth day since Zhu Di entered the Forbidden City. He is acting as emperor and handles government affairs every day in the Qianqing Palace.

Although he was the one handling it, it was actually Zhu Yunfeng who did most of the work.

Zhu Di at present is, after all, the young Zhu Di. His military capabilities are indeed incredibly strong, but when it comes to being an emperor, he has absolutely no experience in this area.

In contrast, Zhu Yunfeng followed Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao in governing many times, and even served as Zhu Yuanzhang's servant in Nanjing, handling government affairs. His methods of handling these affairs are well-documented and can provide a wealth of reference opinions.

"Dad has only just arrived in Shandong and will probably not get to Beijing until next month. He brought too many people and supplies with him, but there's nothing we can do about it; in war, logistics are everything."

Zhu Di came out from the nearby telecommunications station. He had just communicated with Old Zhu via radio and reported on the work results of the past few days.

Upon hearing that Zhu Di had executed a large number of officials, Zhu Di was naturally very pleased and praised him.

Old Zhu simply couldn't get here so quickly.

Zhu Di traveled light, carrying only a small amount of supplies, such as rapid-fire cannons, mortars, grenades, firearms, bullets, and food, which was basically enough for a 2000-strong army to fight for one or two days.

Although this is already invincible, if the AK and cannon are not replenished after the wave ends, they will become useless. Therefore, Lao Zhu's side must bring enough supplies.

Not to mention the thousands of rapid-fire cannons and mortars, there were tens of tons of shells and bullets, all to ensure the army's combat effectiveness.

Zhu Yunfeng was engrossed in handling government affairs when he heard Zhu Di's words. He looked up and said irritably, "Let the old ancestor take his time. You should at least help me out. What kind of hands-off manager are you, just playing on your phone?"

Zhu Di chuckled and said, "I was just testing your ability to govern."

"What's there to test? Whoever has a lot of gold, silver, and grain confiscated, sends it to the national treasury. Whoever's family members or servants are guilty, those who should be executed will be executed, those who should be exiled will be exiled, and those who should be released will be released. Do you really need to teach me such trivial matters?"

Zhu Yunfeng curled his lip and said, "Besides, now that you've finished your test, it's time to lend a hand."

Zhu Di changed the subject, saying, "Our Zhu family descendants are all born to be emperors. I'm not saying I'm amazing, but you, a modern person, are amazing too. You can be the emperor, do whatever you want."

"Damn lazybones."

Zhu Yunfeng rolled his eyes at him. Anyway, this wasn't the Hongwu era, nor was it his Yongle era. No matter what, he couldn't become emperor. So, he was using the generosity of the Chongzhen era to curry favor with his own people, right?
Just then, five cabinet scholars, Jiang Dejing, Fang Yuegong, Fan Jingwen, Qiu Yu, and Ni Yuanlu, hurriedly entered.

Three people directly surrendered to Li Zicheng during the Jia Shen Incident: Chen Yan, Wei Zaode, and Li Jiantai. The remaining four either fled to the Southern Ming or committed suicide after being captured.

Therefore, it was preserved by Zhu Di.

Of the remaining six ministers, only two surrendered. Among them, Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of Revenue, was the most tragic. He was promoted by Zhu Di to Academician of the Wenyuan Pavilion and concurrently Minister of Revenue, thus entering the cabinet. Zhu Di was somewhat gratified by this.

Although five out of the seven Grand Secretaries and six Ministers betrayed the Ming Dynasty, the remaining eight remained loyal. In addition, Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide to save the country, so the Ming Dynasty did not completely lose face.

As everyone entered the hall, Zhu Di asked in bewilderment, "What happened? Weren't you supposed to be handling your assigned tasks in your respective government offices?"

Grand Secretary Jiang Dejing immediately bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, something has happened."

"what's up?"

"The men who went to arrest Gao Qiqian reported back that he had escaped."

"Gao Qiqian ran away?"

Zhu Di frowned.

Wang Yongji, Gao Qiqian, and Wu Sangui were among the main culprits who led the Qing army into the pass.

Zhu Di actually regretted killing Wang Yongji back then.

If only we had taken Wang Yongji to Beijing, he would have been tortured to death like Li Chengdong. Now that Gao Qiqian has run away, Wu Sangui might also run away.

If they really escape, we'll have fewer people to be executed by slow slicing.

Jiang Dejing said, "We believe that Gao Qiqian will inevitably go to Wu Sangui to seek refuge. He is Wu Sangui's adoptive father and will surely persuade Wu Sangui to surrender to the Jurchens. We believe that the Jurchens will soon invade our borders."

Ni Yuanlu also said: "That's right. I have heard that the Jurchens have many spies in Beijing. Emperor Taizong once said that Wu Sangui opened the gates and let the Jurchens into the pass. The news will definitely spread. We believe that Wu Sangui's surrender to the Jurchens is inevitable. Your Majesty, Emperor Chongzhen's plan to lure and kill Wu Sangui is very likely to fail, and he may even be countered by Wu Sangui."

“Wang Jiayan is unaware of this matter yet. I believe we should inform him immediately and warn him to be wary of Wu Sangui.”

"I'm afraid it will be too late if we rush there now; the Jurchens might have already invaded the border."

Everyone was talking to each other.

It must be said that the Chongzhen era was not without far-sighted and loyal ministers, such as Jiang Dejing, Ni Yuanlu, Li Banghua, and Li Mingrui, who were all talented and had repeatedly advised Chongzhen to move the capital south.

However, Emperor Chongzhen placed great trust in the two treacherous officials, Chen Yan and Wei Zaode, and refused to listen to sound advice, ultimately leading to the tragedy of the Jia Shen Incident.

Upon receiving news that Gao Qiqian had not been captured, they immediately deduced that Gao Qiqian would definitely defect to Wu Sangui, and thus tried to persuade Wu Sangui to defect to the Jurchens.

"Good thing you came."

Upon hearing that the Jurchens might have already invaded the border, Zhu Di was not alarmed but delighted, and said with a beaming smile, "Quickly, go and summon Sun Chuanting."

"what."

Zhu Yunfeng called out to him, "You don't mean to head straight to Shanhaiguan right now, do you?"

"of course."

Zhu Di said without hesitation, "If the Jurchens dare to come, I can make them die immediately."

Zhu Yunfeng said speechlessly, "Why don't you consider the reality? Beijing isn't completely pacified yet. The stability on the streets depends on two things: first, the might of Emperor Taizong, and second, the troops brought by Sun Chuanting. If we leave now, without sufficient military deterrence, do you believe the capital will immediately descend into chaos again?"

Zhu Di asked in confusion, "Aren't there the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot?"

“We only killed the surrendered high-ranking members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot. The lower-ranking members were a mixed bag, and none of them are recorded in the history books. Who knows what kind of people they were? As soon as we leave, they will be able to wreak havoc on the people.”

Zhu Yunfeng said with a hint of exasperation, "Fourth brother, you still call yourself the Yongle Emperor? Now all you think about is war, you don't have much political sense left. What are we going to do if this continues?"

"."

Zhu Di was speechless.

I can't be emperor anymore, so why should I keep thinking about political issues? Wouldn't that just make me think about war?
"Besides, Chongzhen is still imprisoned in the inner palace. Aren't you afraid that he'll cause some trouble or pull some crazy schemes once we leave?"

Zhu Yunfeng continued.

Zhu Di thought for a moment and said, "Then Sun Chuanting will continue to stay in Beijing, and you will stay as well. I will take men to Beijing."

After saying that, he leaned over to Zhu Yunfeng's table, winked and said, "How about it? You be the emperor, and I'll be the general and go out to fight. Isn't that great?"

"What a load of rubbish!"

Zhu Yunfeng said, "I have no prestige and can't control people. If there is unrest, Sun Chuanting may not have enough manpower and may be caught off guard."

"what is it now?"

"Let's consult our ancestors."

Zhu Yunfeng stood up from his chair and went straight to the telecommunications room.

Zhu Di hurriedly followed behind, then turned to Jiang Dejing and the others and said, "We need to consult with the Emperor Taizu. Please wait a moment."

After saying that, he quickly followed him inside.

Inside the telecommunications room, Zhu Yunfeng picked up his headset, and the announcer quickly called Old Zhu, who was still in Shandong, moving at a snail's pace of twenty kilometers per day.

Old Zhu's pace is indeed slow. Fengyang is only 800 kilometers away from Beijing as the crow flies, but the Grand Canal is 1200 kilometers long. If he travels 20 kilometers a day, it will take him almost two months to get there.

Old Zhu's entourage was so large that it blocked the canal, causing considerable inconvenience to merchants traveling between the north and south and severely hindering economic development in both regions.

But there is no way.

Who told him to be the emperor?
Not long after, the call was connected.

Zhu Yunfeng explained the situation, and Zhu Di saw him wearing headphones and saying a few "uh-huhs" before hanging up the phone.

"How to say?"

"Our ancestor said to send Fu Youde over on light cavalry first. Once Fu Youde arrives, you should set off immediately. However, you can also send a hundred households to Shanhaiguan right away."

Zhu Yunfeng said, "We don't know what the situation is like in Shanhaiguan right now, we need to go and check it out immediately."

How long will it take for Fu Youde to arrive?

"Shandong is only about 500 kilometers away from here, it will take two or three days."

"Well."

Zhu Di nodded and said, "I'll send Zhou An there now."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhu Yunfeng and said with a smile, "At least until Father arrives, you are truly the emperor. Do a good job, I have high hopes for you."

"Hey Hey."

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yunfeng also chuckled.

As modern people.

Although he had helped Zhu Yuanzhang handle government affairs, he was at most a deputy emperor.

Now I really have a chance to experience being an emperor. Once Zhu Di is gone, I can act like a lawless man. It's quite interesting, isn't it?

Unfortunately, Chi Sang wasn't there; he had returned to Changsha.

If he were here, he would surely bestow upon his childhood friend the position of Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, so that he could also experience the thrill of being second only to the emperor.

(End of this chapter)