The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 355 Those who play with fire

The western warm room of the Qianqing Palace in the capital.

Zhu Youjian, dressed in a leather uniform, walked quickly towards the main hall. Two young eunuchs walked in front of him with bright corner lanterns, casting a circle of pale yellow light around them.

Mingjiao lanterns have a unique shape, with pointed ends and an oval center, resembling a date. They are filled with whale oil, allowing them to burn longer and emit a brighter, more transparent light than ordinary candles.

The young eunuch hung two bright corner lamps on the wall, and the palace maid came forward to offer tea. Wang Chengen waved everyone away and looked at Emperor Tianqi with a peaceful face.

Zhu Youjian raised the teacup, covered it with the wide sleeve of his dragon robe, pretended to take a sip, and immediately put the cup back on the table.

When he looked up again, his eyes met Wang Chengen's. The king and his minister smiled at each other, and the atmosphere was a little awkward.

"Your Majesty, I have tasted it and no one has poisoned it."

Zhu Youjian was moved and sighed slightly: "Liu Zhaosun's spies are all over the palace, so we have to be on guard."

Wang Chengen's face was full of sorrow. He looked up at the slightly gray hair on Emperor Tianqi's temples, and felt even more distressed for this overworked young emperor.

"Your Majesty has white hair again."

"It's okay. Emperor Shenzong also had white hair at a young age."

Zhu Youjian recalled his elderly grandfather, Emperor Wanli, who was in good health, but was angered to death by Liu Zhaosun. It was his grandfather who promoted this warrior to be the general of Liaodong, but this guy actually repaid the court in this way. He was so heartless.

"Let's not talk about these unimportant things. Have you completed everything I asked you to do?"

Wang Chengen quickly said, "Your Majesty, this is a letter written by General Zhang himself."

Eunuch Wang handed over a wax envelope from his arms.

Zhu Youjian raised his head slightly, took the secret letter, and with trembling hands, quickly opened the envelope.

A page full of scribbled words comes into view. Zhang Chun's calligraphy is still hard to describe and is full of Fauvist style.

Zhu Youjian was too busy to blame Zhang Chun for his rudeness and whispered:
"It has been over a year since the Liu rebels rampaged and invaded the capital. My lord has humiliated me and I am dead! I have been thinking day and night about wiping out the culprit... The Liu rebels have entered Qin, leaving the capital empty. I will personally lead the three armies into the capital to defend the king and slay the Kaiyuan rebels!"

Zhu Youjian quickly burned the letter on the whale oil lamp and said with doubt:
"When did you get in touch with Zhang Chun? Why didn't you report it to me?"

Wang Chengen knelt down quickly:
"Your Majesty, most of the palace maids and eunuchs are spies of the traitor Liu. I am not completely sure and dare not speak lightly on this matter."

Zhu Youjian nodded.

Now in the palace, apart from Wang Chengen and Xu Guangpu, he has no one else he can trust.

Xu Guangpu was originally the chief secretary of Prince Xin's palace and a close confidant of Zhu Youjian. After Prince Xin ascended the throne, Xu Guangpu was promoted to the rank of Grand Secretary of Dongge and entered the cabinet. In the cabinet, he was squeezed out by Yang Hao and others, and was marginalized by the Kaiyuan forces and had little power.

Emperor Tianqi pondered for a long time, then shook his head and sighed:

"Last time, when Liu the thief was fighting in Japan, the elite troops from Xuanfu and Datong traveled thousands of miles to support the king, but they were unable to defeat him. Now, relying on only Zhang Chun, I'm afraid it will be difficult to succeed."

After the disastrous failure of the last "supporting the king" campaign, Zhu Youjian suffered a great blow, and almost all of his close confidants were wiped out by the Duke of Protectorate.

Zhu Youjian had a new understanding of Liu Zhaosun's strength, and knew that the Ming army from the nine borders alone was no match for the Kaiyuan army.

After that incident, Liu Zhaosun's attitude towards the court became extremely cold, and there were rumors that the Duke of Huguo was planning to depose Tianqi and establish Prince Fu as his successor.

"Don't play with fire. If you can't wipe out this thief in one fell swoop, there will be endless trouble."

Seeing that the emperor was hesitant, Wang Chengen said nothing more, stood up and slowly retreated.

After he had taken a few steps, Zhu Youjian suddenly called him.

"I heard that the envoy sent by Japan was detained at the Protectorate Palace."

Wang Chengen felt even more sad when he looked at the emperor's graying temples.

This playmate who grew up playing in the mud with him has suffered many misfortunes since he ascended the throne.

After working so hard and exhausting himself, a man of eighteen or nineteen actually looks a bit old.

Wang Chengen decided to tell the emperor the truth:
"Your Majesty, the one who came is not an envoy, but a princess of the Tokugawa clan, named Tokugawa Chihime..."

Wang Chengen stopped talking halfway.

Zhu Youjian's face, which had been slightly raised, drooped again.

The Tianqi Emperor was certainly aware of the contents of the Niuguan Treaty. According to the treaty, Japan was required to send the Tokugawa women to Beijing to marry into the Ming imperial family. Zhu Youjian knew that this woman, Tokugawa Senhime, should belong to him. At least that was what was written in black and white in the Niuguan Treaty.

"Your Majesty, I have seen her. She is not very pretty, rather ugly, and not very tall."

Wang Chengen hurriedly comforted Zhu Youjian, making this king with a strong sense of self-esteem feel better.

"It's better to stay at his house. Liu the thief has kidney deficiency anyway. He already has three wives, and they say they're all as fierce as wolves and tigers. Now there's another Japanese woman, so four women, it's only a matter of time before he dies of exhaustion!"

Emperor Tianqi waved his hand to interrupt Wang Chengen, looking displeased:

"Whether he's stunningly beautiful or plain-looking, Liu Zhaosun isn't a lecher. He's asking for the Japanese princess, and it's probably not for women."

Wang Chengen asked in surprise: "What is that?"

"He wants to further control Japan and become its emeritus emperor. Bumbutai is now the Great Khan of Khorchin, and Liu Zhaosun uses her to remotely control Mongolia; Korea is also under the control of the Kaiyuan Army... Japan, Mongolia, and Korea, he is now the emeritus emperor of three vassal states, and this is not enough, so he finally wants to extend his evil hands to the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Youjian became more and more angry as he spoke. His tone was rapid and his face flushed. Wang Chengen hurriedly handed him tea.

Emperor Tianqi drank a sip of hot tea and gradually calmed down.

From the time when the Kaiyuan army occupied the capital until now, for more than a year, Zhu Youjian had tolerated Liu Zhaosun's various acts of usurpation and had even made preparations to become Emperor Xian of Han.
As soon as Liu Zhaosun speaks, Zhu Youjian will take the initiative to perform the ceremony of abdication.

However, after retreating again and again and enduring again and again, what they got in the end was endless humiliation.

Liu Zhaosun even wanted to steal his woman. Although she was sent from Japan, in terms of status, Tokugawa Senhime should be the concubine of Emperor Tenqi, or a quasi-concubine.

If he can snatch the concubine today, he will snatch the queen tomorrow.

Zhu Youjian didn't dare to think any further, he let out a long sigh:

"How many guards are there around Liu Ze?"

Wang Chengen quickly replied:
"Your Majesty, the traitor Liu has been recklessly aggressive, making enemies on all sides. His armies have been divided and are now at the end of their strength. He has withdrawn half of the troops stationed in the capital to rescue Shaanxi, and I heard that Henan is also in turmoil recently, and they are sending troops again. Currently, the defenses of the nine gates of the capital are just a shell."

Zhu Youjian sneered, "He's not planning to rebel, but he really thinks he's the Protector of the Country, putting out fires everywhere."

Wang Chengen laughed and said, "That's right. This Wufu is a fool. He even sent his own guards to Shaanxi to help suppress the rebellion, leaving only a dozen guards with him. They take turns guarding the place every day. Sometimes there is no one around him."

The expression in Zhu Youjian's eyes changed, and he already had a plan to eliminate the thief Liu in his mind.

He held Wang Chengen tightly and whispered:

"Wang Banban, where did you get all this information? Is it reliable?"

Now, the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division is firmly controlled by Liu Zhaosun. Apart from Wang Chengen, the emperor has no other spies around him. He is trapped in the palace and is no different from a blind man.

"Your Majesty, I heard this from Qiao Yiqi."

"Qiao Yiqi?"

Zhu Youjian seemed to be thinking about something and recalled it for a while.

"I remember that this man was a close confidant of Liu Zhaosun. He was outspoken and almost beheaded as a rebel when he was young because of something he said wrong. It was Yuan Keli who saved him."

Wang Chengen gave a thumbs-up and praised sincerely, "Your Majesty has a good memory!"

"Your Majesty, Qiao Yiqi is a man of unwavering integrity, outspoken, and never lies. However, I went to great lengths to obtain this intelligence, and I was able to finally get him to let his guard down and spill the beans. The informants at the Five Cities Military Headquarters also reported that the number of Kaiyuan troops stationed on the city walls has decreased significantly. They don't even know many of the officers; they must have been recently promoted."

Zhu Youjian was not interested in these military deployments. He was only concerned about how many people were left in Liu Zhaosun's central army guards.

"If we send someone to assassinate him, what are the chances of success?"

Wang Chengen screamed, then looked around and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, are you really going to die with the thief Liu?"

Zhu Youjian grabbed the teacup and held it tightly in his hand. He ignored the scalding hot tea and said word by word:

"I have sworn a solemn oath before our ancestors that I will never reconcile with the thief Liu. If I cannot kill him in battle, I will perish with him!"

Zhu Youjian rubbed his hands excitedly as he spoke, walking back and forth in the west warm room.

Wang Chengen stood beside him, staring at the emperor without saying a word.

This is an opportunity, an opportunity to eliminate the thief Liu.

(End of this chapter)