Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 31 I am going to go out of the palace for an inspection today.
For this alliance of impoverished officials, they had already made up their minds to focus on one thing in the imperial court from now on.

Whatever His Majesty supports, we should support even more vigorously.

Whatever His Majesty opposes, we must oppose even more vigorously.

Anyone who doesn't support His Majesty is a son of a bitch!

Its main theme is loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

So when Chen Xinjia went to court again, he and the members of this alliance of poor officials were very excited.

Because it meant they could once again perform in front of His Majesty.

Despite his inner excitement, Chen Xinjia outwardly appeared to be lying on a stretcher, barely alive.

Otherwise, if one person is beaten to death on the spot while the other is alive and kicking, wouldn't that make the punishment of flogging seem biased?

Just as the civil and military officials in the court were each thinking about their own affairs, Zhu Youjian, sitting on the dragon throne, spoke.

His arrangement this time was simple: he only promoted Chen Xinjia and some of the officials who spoke out.

The members of the Poor Officials Alliance were naturally overjoyed by this.

However, the reaction from the civil service was somewhat unexpected.

I thought someone would stand up and object, but to my surprise, they all fell silent.

In response, the members of the Poor Officials Alliance gradually suppressed their joy.

It's true that the civil service group that has controlled the government for many years are all shrewd and capable, but those poor guys who climbed up the ranks of the state step by step are not idiots either.

The biggest problem is having no problem.

If these people haven't made a move yet, then they must be plotting something big behind the scenes.

After realizing this, everyone became more cautious and stopped indulging in the excitement of the past few days.

Next.

The court became rather dull.

It's still the same old three things: military pay, disaster relief, and border affairs.

Zhu Youjian still did not respond to these memorials.

After leaving the court.

Zhu Youjian led his men to Wansui Mountain to continue training the internal exercises.

The Imperial Wardrobe worked through the night to produce them.

The military uniforms designed by Zhu Youjian himself were worn by these inner guards for the first time.

At this moment, these tall, fierce-looking youths, each wielding blood-stained swords, stood in neat rows on the training ground for Zhu Youjian to inspect.

Black inherently possesses an aura of solemnity and severity.

In addition, there's the formidable aura these people develop from their daily battles.

In just over ten days.

This personal guard, numbering no more than eight hundred, already resembled an imperial army.

It was at this moment that Cao Huachun, his eyes bloodshot, approached and bowed, handing over a roster:
"Your Majesty, the list of all the local bullies and thugs around the capital has been completed, totaling 3,712 people, of whom 127 are ringleaders."

"There are also some minor offenses that I haven't fully counted yet. If Your Majesty needs it, I will have someone check them one by one."

Zhu Youjian took the list, flipped through it, and shook his head, saying, "Those with minor offenses should not be included in the statistics for now."

The Shenwei Camp now has 800 men who engage in daily combat, and the prisoners in the capital's jails are almost insufficient to meet their needs.

These three or four thousand people are enough to alleviate the immediate crisis.

Cao Huachun nodded in agreement and continued to report: "In addition, I have recently recruited more than 500 people into the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Most of them are descendants of fallen military officers."

"Another half are from respectable families who have been farmers for generations, and I have also been selecting them day and night from among the Imperial Guards recently."

"Give me half a month, and I will be able to select five hundred men of good character and loyalty from among these men to serve as His Majesty's guards during his travels."

"At the same time, five hundred skilled eunuchs from the Imperial Horse Stables can be selected to serve as guards."

I know that His Majesty will soon be going on an external tour.

Therefore, Cao Huachun has been sleeping only two or three hours a day these days, tirelessly handling all related matters.

Five hundred Imperial Guards, five hundred eunuchs from the Imperial Horse Administration, eight hundred of His Majesty's personal guards, plus some accompanying eunuchs and guards transporting grain and fodder.

As long as Your Majesty's travels do not take you to the border regions, with Your Majesty's martial prowess, these men are more than enough to ensure Your Majesty's safety. Zhu Youjian nodded and encouraged Cao Huachun.

Cao Huachun then asked, "Your Majesty, how should we deal with those local bullies and thugs listed in the register? Should I order the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest them all?"

"No need. These people will be dealt with after I leave the palace in two days."

"This servant obeys the decree." Cao Huachun bowed and accepted.

For Cao Huachun now, hearing the news that His Majesty was going to leave the palace would not be too surprising.

His Majesty is already preparing to go on an inspection tour to even more distant places, so what's wrong with him taking a stroll outside the palace?
He just needs to do his job properly.

then.

Zhu Youjian then instructed Wang Chengen, who was standing nearby, "Go and bring Zhang Weixian into the palace."

During this time.

Besides keeping a close eye on the forces he could control within the Beijing garrison, Zhang Weixian eagerly awaited the Emperor's new decree.

So when he heard from his trusted confidant that Wang Chengen had come to his residence, he rushed out to greet him without even bothering to straighten his clothes.

When he heard the Emperor's decree summoning him to the palace, he was overwhelmed with excitement.

After such a long silence, is His Majesty finally going to take action against the Capital Garrison?!
Looking at Dragon City not far ahead.

Throughout the journey, Zhang Weixian kept calming his excited emotions, thinking about how to best report to His Majesty his insights on governing the Beijing Garrison that he had come up with over the past few days.

just.

What Zhang Weixian didn't expect was...

Upon entering the palace, His Majesty's first words gave him a slight shock of power.

"I will be leaving the palace in two days. You just need to keep watch over the Beijing garrison and not move. There is no need for any guard duties."

No wonder Zhang Weixian was shocked.

Leaving the palace sounds easy, but Zhang Weixian, as the commander of the Beijing garrison, knows all too well how difficult it is to actually do it.

For many years during the Ming Dynasty, no emperor had been able to successfully achieve these two words.

Even those who managed to leave the capital, except for Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu, all met their end by dissolving in water.

Thinking of this critical juncture, Zhang Weixian wanted to offer some advice.

But then he realized that with His Majesty's great leadership qualities, he must have his own reasons for making this decision.

Moreover, His Majesty now indeed has the ability to leave the palace.

Not to mention the repeated humiliations inflicted on civil officials in the court, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Inner Guard, which were already under his control, were enough to force His Majesty to leave the palace.

Think about this.

After taking a deep breath, Zhang Weixian also solemnly knelt down:
"Your Majesty, I accept the decree! I thank Your Majesty for entrusting this confidential matter to me. In two days, I will do my best to guard the Beijing Garrison and will not be disturbed by any trivial matters when Your Majesty goes out to inspect the palace."

"If anything goes wrong, I will bring you my head!"

Zhu Youjian nodded, then drafted an imperial edict for Zhang Weixian to use in two days to oversee the situation, and then sent someone to escort him out of the palace.

Zhang Weixian returned to his residence and dared not delay for even a moment.

He immediately summoned his trusted confidants from the military to discuss the matter.

Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to leak the secret that His Majesty was going to leave the palace, so he found another excuse.

Two days later.

Zhu Youjian convened another morning court session.

He wanted to announce his departure from the palace for an inspection tour in front of the entire court.

Because this inspection tour outside the palace is different from the actual external tours that will be held in the future, its political significance outweighs its practical significance.

Having received prior notice, Zhang Weixian feigned illness and did not attend the morning court session, as he was busy managing affairs of the Beijing garrison.

His absence also alerted some officials.

However, before these people could think further, a casual remark from the dragon throne caused an uproar in the vast Fengtian Hall.

"I am going to leave the palace for an inspection today."

　On the last day of the month, readers with monthly passes, could you please help by casting one or two monthly passes?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)