Ming Empire

Chapter 199 Establishing a new monarch as soon as possible

Empress Zhou's move shocked everyone, including Cao Yue who did not expect this, so he had to kneel down.

On the Yanziji Pier, there was no one standing, and everyone was prostrate on the ground, crying loudly.

Those officials who originally had doubts about the death of the emperor and prince Zhu Cizhao, or guessed that there were very complicated secrets involved, temporarily dispelled their doubts after hearing Queen Zhou's tearful explanation of the whole situation.

It's not that they never thought that Empress Zhou might be coerced by Cao Yue or Sun Chuanting to say this, but when they saw Empress Zhou talking about these things, she didn't feel unwilling to be coerced at all, and she didn't express her dissatisfaction with Cao Yue and the new Nanjing army he led. Instead of the resentment of the army, it was the tragedy of the fall of Beijing and the emperor being forced to commit suicide. At the same time, he was grateful to Cao Yue for leading the army to rescue them, avoiding a greater tragedy from being staged.

If all this was coerced by Cao Yue, no matter how good the Queen Zhou's acting skills were, it would be impossible for her to act so naturally. The pain was only revealed in the face of national crisis and the death of the emperor. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Cao Yue and the Nanjing New Army.Although the doubts in the hearts of all the officials will not be completely eliminated because of today's incident, most of them already believe that Cao Yue did not direct all this, nor did Cao Yue force the emperor and prince to death.

Emperor Chongzhen was really misunderstood by his ministers, so that he missed the good opportunity. He didn't even have time to call up the army of King Qin. Cao Yue led the new army in Nanjing to rush to Beijing but failed to relieve the danger in Beijing. In the end, he took a huge risk and led a part of the army He rushed outside the city of Beijing, rescued Queen Zhou and others before the bandits rushed into the palace, and sent people to take away the princes who were ordered by Emperor Chongzhen to be sent to the mansion of Zhou Kui.Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide and died for the country without waiting for Cao Yue's troops to arrive in Beijing. He did so in despair and was unwilling to be humiliated. The prince died completely by accident.

This is the conclusion most people came to after seeing Queen Zhou weeping bitterly.

But today's scene did not allow the ministers to think too much. When Queen Zhou knelt down and asked all the officials and soldiers to avenge the emperor and restore Daming Rivers and Mountains, Cao Yue had already asked Queen Zhou to stand up and pull out the The sword bestowed by Emperor Chongzhen on that day made an oath to the alliance: "Expel the Tartars, pacify the bandits, avenge the emperor, and restore our Ming Dynasty!"

The soldiers behind him immediately followed his oath and roared, and soon the roar continued and became earth-shattering.

Immediately, Cao Yue stood up, continued to wave his sword and shouted slogans, overwhelming roars sounded inside and outside the Yanziji camp, and the birds in the vicinity flew up from the forest where they were living, screaming and rushing into the air.

The officials who were kneeling on the ground were also shocked by the earth-shattering roar. Some timid people sat down on the ground in fright, but most of them were still infected by the roar and raised their arms and shouted: " Drive out the Tartars, pacify the bandits, avenge the emperor, and restore our Ming Dynasty!"

Empress Zhou also stood up with the help of the maid beside her. She looked at the soldiers who held up their sabers and muskets, and heard the deafening roar, and couldn't help crying again.

After the roar finally calmed down, Empress Zhou, who wiped away her tears, and Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong supported each other, walked to the officials, saluted everyone present, and said: "My fellow ministers, Lord Long Live has died for the country. He died very heroically. We must hold the most solemn funeral for him... Before Long Live, what he hoped most was to restore the glory of Ming Dynasty and let the people of the world live a prosperous and peaceful life. I hope to put down the bandits, eliminate the slaves, and restore peace to the world, but unfortunately it has not been realized. The wishes of the Lord Long Live have not been fulfilled. The Ai family hopes that the kings can help him realize it. The country cannot be without a king for a day, the prince is dead, and the Lord Long Live There are still a few heirs left, so the lords can choose a virtuous one among the few heirs left by the Long Live Lord to be the king, no matter who the lords choose to be the king, the Ai family will fully support it."

Hearing what Empress Zhou said, the ministers were surprised again. All along, they knew that Empress Zhou was very virtuous and won the favor of Emperor Chongzhen. Tradition.But today, Queen Zhou said such words in front of so many Nanjing officials and tens of thousands of soldiers, and the meaning behind them is very intriguing.

Some smart people immediately thought that after Empress Zhou and other members of the royal family were rescued by Cao Yue, Cao Yue and Sun Chuanting must have communicated with Empress Zhou and others in the process of going south, what happened to Emperor Chongzhen, and who supported him The matter of becoming the emperor must have been discussed, and it is very certain that they have discussed the result.

In fact, there is only one candidate for the new monarch, and that is Ding Wang Zhu Cijiong, because he is the only son born to Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou, and he is the most orthodox heir to the throne.Unless Zhu Cijiong died, the heir to the throne might fall on the heads of several other princes.It's just that Queen Zhou said this today, as if there was a change in it. Could it be that the result of their discussion was not for Zhu Cijiong to inherit the throne?
These Nanjing officials are veterans in the officialdom. They know very well that when the old and the new are changing and the new king is about to stand, it is very important to stand and stand in line.If you stand on the wrong team, your future may be ruined, and you may even lose your life; if you choose the right team, your future may be limitless.Therefore, what many people think in their hearts is to find out as soon as possible what the inside story is.

Of course, those who can achieve high positions in Nanjing officialdom will not be fools. All of them know that the current situation in Nanjing is controlled by Cao Yue. After all, Cao Yue has an elite army of 10,000+ in his hands, and the Jinyiwei in Nanjing is controlled by him. , Even officials in Nanjing like them sighed.They can also guess that the current Empress Zhou and several princes are also controlled by Cao Yue.

It can be said that Cao Yue, who holds a heavy army and has made great contributions to saving the Ming royal family from danger, is now the most influential official in Ming Dynasty.After the new monarch is supported, he may have the final say on the selection of officials in the DPRK and China.

Many people rejoiced that they hadn't opposed Cao Yue all this time, and they only whispered any dissatisfaction, otherwise they would be in big trouble this time.

The eyes of many officials fell on Cao Yue, wanting to see what the youngest "power" person in the history of Ming Dynasty would do.

Hearing what Queen Zhou said, and seeing the eyes of all the officials on him, Cao Yue felt a little pressure, but also felt a sense of honor. He immediately saluted Queen Zhou and other members of the royal family again, expressing that he and everyone Colleagues will definitely do their best to arrange the affairs of the country well, and do a good job in the aftermath of Emperor Chongzhen, so as not to disappoint Queen Zhou, members of the royal family, and the people of the world.

At this time, Sun Chuanting also stood up very appropriately. He said that first, Queen Zhou and other members of the royal family should be invited to enter the city and stationed in the Nanjing Imperial Palace, and other matters will be arranged in the next few days.

After hearing what Sun Chuanting said, other Nanjing officials immediately echoed, saying that Queen Zhou and King Ding and their party must be very tired. The prince was worried.

(End of this chapter)