The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 727: Being too old to die is a thief
Emperor Guangde had never looked at his two mothers as carefully and attentively as he did today.

After Liu Zhaosun disappeared, Jin Yuji and Yang Qing'er aged faster and faster, and it was no exaggeration to say that their hair turned white overnight.

Old wrinkles covered the foreheads of the two women like a shaman's curse.

The sad news of the emperor's disappearance was like a lead bullet, shattering all their thoughts and hopes.

If it were not for supporting Liu Kan, if it were not for the Great Qi, the two of them might have died like Liu Rushi and Bumbutai, and followed the retired emperor.

Today, the hunched bodies of the two old women roam the deep corridors of Kunning Palace, their frail figures gradually swallowed by darkness and despair.

"Kunning Palace is really cold, Eunuch Li, please buy some more charcoal for the two Empress Dowagers later."

"I've already remembered it."

On the second day after Emperor Guangde placed Princess Liu Yufei under house arrest, he came to Kunning Palace as usual to pay his respects to the two empress dowagers.

He has been greeting people in this way for twenty years, and it has become a habit.

"Mother, have you taken the Korean ginseng that Li Jong brought from Changbai Mountain during the twelfth lunar month?"

Liu Kan looked at Jin Yuji's gray hair and felt that his mother looked older than she had been in the past few days.

"Kan'er, thank you for your trouble,"

The Empress Dowager Cisheng was leaning on a cane, leaning forward slightly, and obviously did not hear what Emperor Guangde said clearly.

The personal maid repeated the emperor's words again. This time, Empress Dowager Cisheng heard it clearly and nodded tremblingly:

"We haven't finished drinking the ginseng sent in the winter, and two more boxes were sent in the twelfth month. How can we finish them? Tell them not to pick them. The mountains are high and the forests are dense, with wild beasts everywhere. I wonder how many ginseng farmers will die picking a thousand-year-old ginseng..."

Emperor Guangde smiled awkwardly and said, "My Queen Mother is kind, but those ginseng farmers were born to do this. Farmers cultivate the land, and ginseng farmers dig ginseng. They each have their own jobs. When the Jiannu occupied Liaodong, these people began to pay tribute to ginseng for decades. Their corvée labor was much heavier than it is now. Not only did they pay tribute to the Ming Emperor, they also had to..."

Jin Yuji knocked her cane on the floor twice, and Emperor Guangde quickly stopped talking:

"Jiannu is Jiannu, Da Qi is Da Qi. We are not the Later Jin Dynasty, and you are not Nurhaci. Don't compare yourself to Jiannu. Last year, Liaodong suffered a snowstorm, and many crops and livestock froze to death. The people are having a hard time. Don't mess with us."

Hearing the word Liaodong, Emperor Guangde's face turned ugly, and he murmured:
"According to what the Queen Mother said, the corvée labor of the participating households will be abolished first."

The wrinkles on Empress Dowager Cisheng's forehead smoothed out. "Yes, the Great Qi is still in its infancy, so we can't mess around with it."

Li Juying echoed, "The Empress Dowager Cisheng has the heart of a living bodhisattva. The people of several counties should be grateful to her."

"I don't ask for any gratitude, just don't mutiny or rebel. I haven't been back to Shenyang in many years. I wonder if Shenyang is still peaceful? Your father's death anniversary is coming up in a few days, and I want to go back and visit."

When people heard that Empress Dowager Cisi was going back to Liaodong, the atmosphere around them suddenly became tense.

Liaodong has been in turmoil recently.

The hall suddenly fell silent, and the palace maids and eunuchs did not dare to speak.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager looked unhappy, Emperor Guangde dismissed everyone, and only he and the two Empress Dowagers were left in the hall.

Empress Dowager Yang Qing'er was still beating her wooden fish like a puppet, just like an old nun in meditation.

Emperor Guangde hesitated for a long time, and finally said anxiously: "Mother, I came here today, in addition to paying my respects, I also want to ask you to come forward and appease the commanders of the various corps..."

The Empress Dowager Cisheng raised her cane and pointed it at Emperor Guangde, shouting:

"Liu Yufei, despite the risks, rushed back from Suzhou to mediate between you, and you've put her under house arrest? By doing this, there's no room for easing the situation. Now everyone knows you're going on a killing spree. What else can I do?"

Empress Dowager Cisi was extremely shocked when she heard that Liu Yufei was arrested.

She didn't expect that Emperor Guangde would do such a thing.

"Kan'er, do you have to wait until Heaven and Earth are enraged and people are resentful, until death is imminent, before you stop?" "Mother, it's not that I want to put her under house arrest, it's that she's a traitor and is colluding with outsiders to rebel!"

Jin Yuji raised her cane and struck Emperor Guangde with it. "You're still stubborn. If it weren't for the Princess and us two old men, those officers outside would have rebelled long ago! What do you think you have?"

"I am the only son of the retired emperor, the Emperor of Great Qi. I have the legal authority! I follow the will of heaven! I am fair and just, and I believe in the will of the people..."

The Queen Mother Dong was holding a wooden fish and beating it bang bang bang. She turned her head and glanced at Liu Kan as if she was looking at a monster.

Jin Yuji coughed twice and laughed, "Legal? Heaven's way!"

"When the people below recognized you, you were the son of Liu Zhaosun, you were the Emperor of Great Qi, you were the Way of Heaven. Now that the people below don't recognize you, you are nothing! Do you really think you are the same as your father?"

"The reason Deng Changxiong and Wu Ahheng didn't rebel was because of my and Empress Dowager Dong's favor. Do you really think you can suppress these veterans?"

Liu Kan's face flushed red and his throat moved. He wanted to say something, but he was intimidated by the powerful aura of Empress Dowager Cisi and was speechless for a while.

"Earlier, you said you wanted to implement new policies, dismiss officials, and appoint your cronies. We didn't say anything, but simply supported you silently, thinking you had a brand new policy that could make up for your father's mistakes. Now it seems you're just destroying your father's family fortune and regressing to the ways of the former Ming Dynasty."

"Now, the various regiments are dissatisfied with you, and you've messed up the internal affairs. Your sister risked her life to help you clean up this mess, and you actually arrested her!"

Yang Qing'er stopped beating the wooden fish.

Liu Kan suppressed his anger and stood up:

"Mother, you've favored Liu Yufei since she was young, raising her like a man, letting her lead troops and hold power. Has she ever considered me, her brother, or the Emperor of Da Qi? Now that she sees Da Qi in trouble, she can't wait to bring in the rebels to purge the emperor and start a rebellion for her son. She came to Nanjing this time to force the emperor to abdicate! Are you going to sit back and watch her become Empress Wu Zetian?"

Yang Qing'er put down the wooden fish and said, "Forget it, forget it. Da Qi may face this disaster. Since it has come, we should accept it and let nature take its course."

The Empress Dowager Cisheng pointed at the spirit tablet of the retired emperor:
"Liu Kan, your father handed the country over to you, but in just over a year, look at what you have done to the Great Qi! If you still have a conscience, are you worthy of your father?"

Emperor Guangde did not look at his father's spirit tablet, but said with a firm expression:

"The country is in trouble both internally and externally. The army is running out of money, and the people are destitute. I am the one who is changing all these chaotic situations. Reform is bound to go through pain. In the future, when the Great Qi prospers, the world will know that all the efforts and sacrifices now are worth it."

Jin Yuji tightly grasped Liu Kan's arm and stared at Emperor Guangde.

"Kan'er, quickly issue an edict of repentance, release the princess, apologize to the world, issue an edict to stop the military reduction, and recall all the eunuchs and civil servants sent out to buy and sell mines and farmland. This way, Da Qi may have a chance of survival, and you can save your life too!"

"What if I don't do this?"

"Mother, why do you still not trust me? Everyone knows that my father's system has come to an end. Why do you still insist on doing so? If we do as you say, the Great Qi will be doomed."

Emperor Guangde grabbed Jin Yuji's hand and gently pushed his mother away.

His expression turned cold and he looked at the guard at the door:

"Summon Deng Changxiong and Wu Aheng to the Fengtian Hall to discuss the pacification of the Ningguta rebels. I am tired and will return to rest. The two Empress Dowagers, please remain in Kunning Palace and do not wander around! If anything happens to the Empress Dowagers, you will all be beheaded!"

The guards who had been ambushed around Kunning Palace immediately took action and surrounded the four gates of the palace.

Liu Kan said expressionlessly, "Mother, I am sorry for putting you in such a difficult situation. In such an emergency, I must resort to extreme measures!"

~~~~~
In the twelfth month of the sixth year of Guangde, Emperor Guangde suddenly launched an attack and arrested the eldest princess in the Cining Palace and imprisoned her. After interrogation by the royal family, he revoked all the eldest princess's titles and confiscated her fiefdom on charges of "treason" and "great disrespect" and placed Liu Yufei under house arrest in the Cining Palace.

On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month in the seventh year of Guangde, the Eighth Corps stationed in Ningguta marched towards Shenyang without receiving any order from the Ministry of War and announced the "clearing of the imperial court."

On the same day, the 13th Corps stationed in Korchin, which was about to be completely dismantled, responded with troops, and its cavalry moved rapidly eastward, threatening Beijing.

On the 21st, the 15th Corps (Foreign Legion) stationed in Pyeongan Province, Korea, entered Shanhaiguan to quell the rebellion under the pretext of a change in Guanzhong.
The grand civil war of Da Qi officially began.

(End of this chapter)