The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 372 Black Robe
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the second year of the Tianqi reign, Zhang Chun, the general commander of Hejian, was jointly interrogated by the three judicial departments, the Eastern Factory and the Ministry of Justice. He was eventually executed by slow slicing at Caishikou for treason and attempting to assassinate the emperor. The other generals and lieutenant generals who participated in the rebellion, a total of twelve people, were beheaded together and displayed to the public. The capital was crowded with spectators that day. The people of the capital who had suffered from the war cursed and threw stones and rubble that almost drowned Zhang Chun and others. The scene was spectacular.

On the evening of the eighth day, the heads of twelve rebel generals, including Zhang Chun, were neatly piled on the desk of the Duke of Protector of the Country. Liu Zhaosun ordered his cook Tan Er to make Zhang Chun's skull into a wine vessel for drinking.

Tan Ertui said that he had chopped off pig heads and cow heads, but had never touched a human head.

Before Tan Er could explain, the Duke of Huguo's face was filled with murderous intent, which frightened the cook so much that he dared not say anything more. He hurried to the kitchen and used his butcher knife to perform a second processing on Zhang Chun's head.

Jin Yuji and Yang Qing'er looked at their husbands, and both beauties had deep worries on their faces.

The rebellion of his subordinates, the defeat in Shaanxi, the untimely death of Zhang Yan, the sudden death of Shen Lian, and the unknown life and death of Lin Yu were all blows that Liu Zhaosun endured silently. The long-term high-intensity work and tremendous mental pressure made this 26-year-old young man's temples gray and his temperament became weird.

This is the twenty-sixth birthday gift that fate has given to the time traveler.

"Make a wine glass out of General Zhang's skull. I will carry it with me."

~~~~~~
Except for a very small number of rebels who escaped into Shanxi, most of the rest were captured. After the Kaiyuan army conducted a preliminary screening of these prisoners, they executed the stubborn elements among them. The remaining prisoners were assigned to mines in the Gyeonggi area to serve as cheap labor.

After this battle, Liu Zhaosun's rule in Shandong completely collapsed, and he lost control of the Grand Canal. However, the Kaiyuan Army strengthened its control over the northern Zhili region, making it seem like a fair loss. However, overall, the ruling order became more stable. At least in the capital region, the forces that had previously opposed the Protector of the Country were completely eradicated, and Liu Zhaosun's control over these areas was now comparable to that of Liaodong.

Emperor Tianqi was assassinated by Zhang Chun. As the saying goes, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day. The eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Cilang, was less than two years old this year. He had not been named the crown prince before his father's death. However, according to the ancestral system, Zhu Cilang still inherited the throne, and the Duke of Protector of the Country and the Chief Minister of the Cabinet, Yang Hao, served as regents. He was known in history as Emperor Xian of Ming.

Overnight, the Ming Dynasty was in turmoil and both the north and the south were in danger.

Regardless of whether it was out of their own will, supporting the Duke of Protector of the Country had become the wisest choice. Except for a few nobles from the previous dynasty and loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty who had survived, most civil and military officials began to seriously consider supporting him.

In the twelfth month of the second year of the Tianqi reign, the sky was freezing cold and the ground was cracked. The extreme cold weather caused by the Little Ice Age had reached its peak. The city of Beijing after the war was exceptionally desolate and deserted. There were half as many shops on Chaoyangmen Street as in previous years, and the brothels and wine shops that were once flourishing were now deserted.

After the Kaiyuan Army withdrew from Shandong, the North Grand Canal lost control, and bandits and thieves immediately filled the power vacuum. Bandits were rampant along the canal, and the grain transport was intermittent. The capital, which was heavily dependent on the canal, was on the verge of collapse. People's hearts were in turmoil, and prices soared. Around the end of the year, the price of rice and coal in the capital had tripled, and items such as sable fur and pepper were even more difficult to come by at a high price.

The canal was blocked, rumors were everywhere, and everyone's life was difficult. People in the city were freezing to death or starving to death every day.

Under such circumstances, everyone hoped to support a new emperor as soon as possible. It seemed that only when the emperor was firmly in power could the order in the capital be stabilized and everyone could live a peaceful life again.

As for who should be made emperor, the answer is obvious.

On the first day of the first lunar month, the new emperor changed the reign title to Yan Guang. Taking into account that several vassal kings in the south who were closely related to the new emperor had already usurped the throne and proclaimed themselves emperors, there were at least five or six reign titles in Jiangnan, Southwest, and Southeast, so sending troops to quell the rebellion was a top priority.

In the first year of the Yan Guang reign of the Ming Dynasty (the first year of the Wu Ding reign of the Qi Dynasty, 1626), the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Spring Festival, was called "Zhengdan". Early in the morning of this day, Emperor Yan Guang Zhu Cilang sat in the Taiji Hall and accepted the greetings of all officials.

An urgent military report broke the originally peaceful atmosphere. The North Grand Canal was in danger again. The pseudo-emperor Hongguang used his slaves from Jiangnan as the vanguard and marched to Shandong, seeking to control the canal and threaten the capital.

The young emperor Zhu Cilang, whose parents had both passed away, was indifferent to the impending tragedy and could not even understand the military intelligence in the Tangbao. Fortunately, there was the Protector of the Country in the Ming Dynasty, and the Protector of the Country had the final say in all matters.

Yang Hao, the chief minister of the cabinet, said that the canal was the lifeline of the dynasty and must not be lost. However, the canal troops had low combat effectiveness and might not be a match for the Southern Army, let alone the fierce bandits. Therefore, a strong army must be sent south to reinforce and prevent the rebels from entering Shandong.

Minister of Revenue Qiao Yiqi seconded the proposal and further pointed out that at present only the Kaiyuan Army sent to reinforce the capital could take on this task. With a large army gathering in the capital, the supply of food and fodder was tight. As the saying goes, "the army is old and the food is scarce", dispatching the Kaiyuan Army southward could just alleviate the pressure on the capital's food supply.

So who should be sent to lead the Kaiyuan army south?
So, the Protector of the Country came on the scene.

At this time, the Duke of Protector of the Country was the Grand Tutor of the Ming Dynasty, the Grand Pillar of the State, the Grand Secretary of Jianji Hall, the Minister of War, the Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong, the Governor-General of Korea, the Marquis of Pingliao, and the Archbishop of the East. In addition, Liu Zhaosun had rich combat experience. There was no doubt that he was the best candidate to quell the rebellion.

Before the Duke of Huguo set out on the southern expedition, rumors began to spread in the capital that "the Grand Tutor is the emperor."

The Grand Tutor here of course refers to Liu Zhaosun. The news spread like wildfire in the capital, but despite the rumors, Liu Zhaosun himself seemed to know nothing. During the first month of the year, his life was as boring and happy as usual.

Specifically speaking, he was concentrating on marching and boosting morale every day. If we have to add one more thing, it was his romantic relationship with his wife Jin.

The capital had just experienced the turmoil of war, and no one wanted to stir up any more chaos. On the second day of the first lunar month, the Duke of Huguo led 50,000 elite soldiers out of Yongding Gate and marched south.

Seeing that the Duke of Protector of the Country was loyal to the country, the people of the capital felt relieved, and the ancient capital gradually returned to its festive mood.

But no one expected that an earth-shaking event was about to happen at Lugou Bridge, dozens of miles away.

It was said that at dusk on the third day of the first lunar month, the sun was setting in the west. The Imperial Guards were setting up camp at Lugou Bridge, the auxiliary soldiers and civilians were busy fetching water and cooking, and the scouts were roaming around to conduct reconnaissance.

A blind wandering Taoist priest stood on the Lugou Bridge Avenue, looked into the distance, pointed at the location of the Kaiyuan Army's main tent, and said thoughtfully:

"Strange! One day after another, the Black Dragon Xi'an was born under the heavens!"

In other words, this blind man actually saw two suns and the appearance of a black dragon. He almost saw Liu Zhaosun becoming the emperor.

The blind man who said this was Ke Zhen'e, the blind man who had told fortunes for Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chuanting. After several years of dedicated study, Ke's fortune-telling business continued to expand, and he had begun to dabble in the art of prophecies and divination.

Because he had told fortunes for the Duke of Protectorate, he became famous and had many followers in the northern Zhili area, and his business was very big.

This news quickly spread in the Lugou Bridge area, and the situation was about to change.

As a result, the Kaiyuan army began to riot. As if guided by destiny, the soldiers silently regarded Liu Zhaosun as the "second sun". Some people suggested that they should simply support Liu Zhaosun as king. As a result, the soldiers were outraged and petitioned one after another.

Of course, just when everyone rushed into the Duke of Protector's tent and asked him to rise up and become emperor, Liu Zhaosun fell asleep due to drunkenness.

This is not surprising. Everyone knows that the Duke of Protectorate is not good at drinking and will get drunk after three cups. However, the generals and soldiers were excited at the time, so they began to make noise outside the tent. The leaders were the military supervisor Kang Yinggan, as well as several military leaders such as Wang Erhu and Qi Jin.

In the end, everyone unanimously decided to support the Duke of Protectorate as emperor.

Of course, Liu Zhaosun was still sleeping soundly at this time. He knew nothing about the mutiny.

When Liu Zhaosun woke up the next day, he finally woke up. It must be said that the Duke of Protectorate had always slept well.

He yawned, stretched, and opened the curtains. A yellow robe symbolizing supreme power appeared before him.

Kang Yingqian, Wang Erhu and others knelt for a long time and could not get up.

"The generals have no leader, and they wish to make Grand Tutor Ce the emperor."

Before Liu Zhaosun could say a word, everyone rushed forward and wrapped the yellow robe around him.

At this time, all the soldiers knelt down in unison and shouted "Long live the emperor".

Liu Zhaosun looked at the yellow robe that was put on him with a look of horror. He stamped his feet and said:

"Forget it. You people are greedy for wealth and honor. You made me the emperor. I have no choice but to accept it. But I have orders. Can you obey them?"

Everyone shouted in unison: "We obey your orders."

The next day, Kaiyuan's most elite troops returned home to the capital.

Together with the troops stationed in the capital, a total of more than 80,000 people surrounded the palace again. Even at this time, Liu Zhaosun still looked very helpless. He made it clear to his ministers that his usurpation of power was not voluntary, and choked with tears, he said:
"I have received great favors from the late emperor, but I was forced to do this by the generals of the six armies. I feel deeply ashamed and have failed heaven and earth. What should I do?"

(End of this chapter)