I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

At noon, at the Central Military Command.

Minister of War Zhang Jinyan arrived in a hurry and went straight to Zhu Chunchen's official residence.

"Why is Minister Zhang in such a hurry?"

Zhang Jinyan gasped for breath, "Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

Zhu Chunchen then asked, "What exactly is causing this panic?"

"The city gate guards have all been replaced, Duke Cheng, haven't you received the news yet?"

Logically speaking, the rotation of city defenses does not fall under the Ministry of War, but rather is the responsibility of the Five City Garrison Command.

If the city gate guards had been replaced, Zhu Chunchen should have known the news much sooner.

He looked puzzled and asked, "Who replaced the city defenses? When did this happen?"

Zhang Jinyan said, "Just now, the entire original city defense force was taken over by the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"impossible!"

Zhu Chunchen waved his hand and said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard's duty is to guard the imperial city, how could they take over..."

"Oh dear, that's exactly why things aren't going well!"

Zhu Chunchen still didn't believe it and asked again, "If the city defenses were replaced by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, what happened to the withdrawn troops? Why didn't anyone come to report?"

"The officers and soldiers of the Five City Garrison have all been detained by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Now, all the city's defense commanders are Embroidered Uniform Guards. The seven outer gates, the nine inner gates, and all the major roads in the streets are guarded by the Embroidered Uniform Guards!"

"You mean...they've all been replaced by the Imperial Guards?"

Zhang Jinyan nodded: "The streets are teeming with Imperial Guards, no fewer than ten thousand!"

"So, the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard has been mobilized..."

Zhu Chunchen then realized the seriousness of the situation, and cold sweat began to appear on his forehead.

Over the years, His Majesty has consulted with me before doing anything, especially important matters like city defense. How could he suddenly let the Embroidered Uniform Guard take over?

Suddenly, he remembered last night...

"Oh no, quick!"

As he spoke, Zhu Chunchen stood up and hurriedly walked out.

Zhang Jinyan hurriedly asked, "Duke Cheng, what exactly happened?"

Zhu Chunchen then stopped hiding the truth and said, "The Earl of Jiading came last night with 50,000 taels of silver notes, saying he wanted to pledge allegiance to Li Zicheng, the rebel leader..."

"Duke Cheng, you're so foolish!"

Zhang Jinyan pounded his chest and kowtowed, his face full of disappointment and frustration. He said, "The Earl of Jiading is the Emperor's father-in-law. How could he possibly side with the rebel leader Li Zicheng? He must have been sent by His Majesty to test us. You've fallen for his trap!"

Zhu Chunchen said helplessly, "He made such a solemn promise, and... right, he even wrote a handwritten letter!"

"Where's the letter?"

"That letter and the banknotes were sent out of the city early this morning!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jinyan became even more frustrated, saying, "If he was sent by His Majesty to test us, then even if he wrote the letter, it's fake. We're finished, we're completely finished..."

The two had been secretly plotting to join the rebel leader, but unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen had already discovered their plan and even sent Zhou Kui, that old bastard, to test them.

Now the city gates and main streets are full of Imperial Guards, so it's easy to imagine that the next step will be arrests.

Treason is a serious crime, and even a pardon cannot exempt one from death.

Zhu Chunchen said, "Either way we're going to die, we might as well rebel!"

"But the rebel leader is still outside Juyong Pass, and the Beijing garrison has been taken away by Chen Yan. What can we use to rebel?"

"The Five Military Commands still have eight thousand men, more than enough to control the capital!"

"Duke Cheng, the streets are now filled with Imperial Guards; eight thousand men probably won't be enough..."

Zhu Chunchen sneered, "The Embroidered Uniform Guards are all scattered at the city gates and street corners. We won't engage them in battle; we'll charge straight for the Forbidden City!"

Zhang Jinyan thought about it and agreed that this method was not bad.

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guards are numerous, they are scattered. If eight thousand men were to concentrate and rush over, they could arrive at the Forbidden City before the Embroidered Uniform Guards could assemble.

The only worry now is whether we can successfully break in!

"In that case, I will immediately dispatch my trusted men to the warehouse to allocate military equipment!"

Just as the two had made up their minds and were about to take action, they heard a commotion outside.

Zhu Chunchen's expression changed drastically. Could it be that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already arrived?

Zhang Jinyan asked, "Duke Cheng, what should we do?"

Zhu Chunchen gritted his teeth and said, "I can't worry about that now, let's go!"

The two walked outside, only to see someone coming towards them.

"Duke Cheng, Minister Zhang!"

Zhu Chunchen was somewhat surprised and asked, "What brings the Duke of Yingguo to visit?"

This man was none other than Zhang Shize, the Duke of Ying, who was only in his early twenties and served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Right Army Commandery.

During the Ming Dynasty, the first noble family was originally Xu Da, the Duke of Wei. During the Jingnan Rebellion, the Xu family split into two factions. Although one family became the Duke of two states, the two families were no longer on good terms and Xu Da lost his status as the first noble family.

Starting from the Yongle reign, the Duke of England, relying on his status as the first meritorious official in the Jingnan Campaign, rose to become the highest nobleman of the Ming Dynasty, and his family controlled the Beijing Garrison for generations, a position that was unshakeable.

Even during the reigns of powerful eunuchs like Liu Jin and Wei Zhongxian, when officials vied to curry favor with them, only the lineage of the Duke of Yingguo ignored them.

In the third year of the Chongzhen reign, Zhang Weixian, the seventh Duke of Yingguo, passed away, and his son Zhang Zhiji inherited the title.

However, Zhang Zhiji was frail and sickly and frequently took leave. At the same time, the court was facing many disasters, so Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to switch the positions of Duke of Yingguo and Duke of Chengguo. Duke of Chengguo was appointed as the Grand Commander of the Five Military Commissions, and Duke of Yingguo was transferred to the position of Commander of the Right Military Commission.

In the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen reign, Zhang Zhiji passed away, and his son Zhang Shize inherited the title at the age of twenty.

At this time, Duke Cheng, Zhu Chunchen, had controlled the Beijing Garrison for more than ten years and was already deeply entrenched in power. In addition, Zhang Shize was still relatively inexperienced and not enough to command respect, so Emperor Chongzhen did not change his position.

Therefore, although the two are both dukes, they are in a superior-subordinate relationship.

Zhang Shize glanced at Zhu Chunchen, then at Zhang Jinyan, and said, "Duke Cheng, Minister Zhang, you both look so rushed. Where are you headed?"

Zhang Jinyan looked at Zhu Chunchen, unsure how to answer.

The two secretly contacted Li Zicheng, without involving Zhang Shize.

Firstly, treason is a serious crime, and if even the slightest hint of it leaks out, the consequence is the extermination of nine generations of one's family.

Secondly, if Li Zicheng had truly gained the throne, the two of them would have been instrumental in his rise to power, so how could they easily share the spoils with others?

Seeing Zhang Shize ask the question, Zhu Chunchen said, "I heard that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has taken over the city's defenses. I haven't received any imperial decree, and I was just about to go to the palace to ask His Majesty for clarification."

"No need!"

Zhang Shize shook his hand and said, "The imperial decree is in my hands!"

As he said this, he took out the imperial edict from his bosom and held it high.

Zhu Chunchen's lips twitched incessantly, and his face turned pale and then purple, looking extremely unsightly.

Zhang Shize said, "His Majesty has decreed that I, Zhang Shize, the Duke of Yingguo, shall, from this moment forward, take full control of the Five Military Commands!"

Zhu Chunchen forcibly suppressed his anger and asked, "Then what should I do?"

Zhang Shize shook his head and said, "I don't know about that."

Zhu Chunchen looked suspicious. Could it just be a simple job transfer?

But since things have already come to this point...

Let's cut the Gordian knot, or should we do the opposite?