Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

After making arrangements for Yu Qian, Zhu Qiyu said, "I am preparing to send an envoy to the Oirat to discuss the matter of welcoming back the Emperor. Does anyone have a candidate to recommend?"

These words were spoken and the hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Many ministers doubted whether they had misheard, and several even shook their heads slightly.

They've only just begun their regency, and they're already in such a hurry to bring the emperor back?

He truly has no desire for power or political acumen whatsoever; he seems to be just another Prince Cheng with all brawn and no brains.

The ministers may have their own thoughts, but welcoming back the Emperor is indeed a crucial matter that must be done.

Minister of Rites Hu Ying stood up and said, "I have a candidate, named Yue Qian. He is brave, resourceful, and very eloquent."

Zhu Qiyu nodded: "Since we are welcoming back the Emperor, the ceremony cannot be small. Let's select another deputy envoy."

Hu Ying added, "Ji Duo can be the deputy envoy. He is currently the commander of Datong, and he is fluent in Mongolian and has a great reputation outside the Great Wall."

Zhu Qiyu knew who Ji Duo was. The first time in history was when he and Yue Qian went to the Oirat Mongols to discuss exchanging Zhu Qizhen for Ji Duo. As a result, Esen launched an attack the very next day.

Zhu Qiyu said to Xing'an beside him, "Send someone to summon Yue Qian. I want to personally explain things to him."

At this time, Yue Qian was serving as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and was therefore qualified to participate in court discussions.

However, today's topic is mainly about Beijing's defense affairs, and apart from the Minister, no other officials from the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and other departments are present.

Xing'an bowed to receive the decree, then turned and instructed the eunuch to convey the order to Yue Qian.

Zhu Qiyu then looked at Hu Ying and asked, "What do you think would be appropriate to bring?"

As the Minister of Rites, Hu Ying was the most suitable person to ask about these matters of etiquette and courtesy.

However, before he could speak, another person preemptively replied, "I believe that since this concerns the Emperor, we must not neglect our duties."

Your subject believes that ten cartloads of precious jewels, a thousand taels of gold, a thousand bolts of silk, and ten thousand taels of silver should be prepared.

These words caused an uproar in the imperial court.

It's important to know that at that time, there was no inflow of overseas silver, and gold and silver jewelry in China was still very valuable.

Zhu Qiyu looked in the direction of the voice and recognized the speaker: Yang Shan, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief.

After Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne, he repeatedly submitted memorials to the emperor, requesting negotiations with the Oirat Mongols to rescue Zhu Qizhen.

It was also during his mission to the Oirat Mongols that he sold his family property to purchase rare treasures to bribe Oirat officers, and finally successfully brought Zhu Qizhen back.

He can be considered a staunch supporter of Zhu Qizhen.

Zhu Qiyu sneered inwardly: As expected of a lackey, he's determined to bring Zhu Qizhen back.

Zhu Qiyu looked at Hu Ying: "What does Minister Hu think?"

Hu Ying hesitated for a moment before slowly replying, "Yesterday, the Empress Dowager issued an imperial decree to prepare one hundred bolts of Nine-Dragon Brocade, six trays of pearls, two hundred taels of gold, four hundred taels of silver, and eight cartloads of precious jewels, which were sent out of the capital this morning."

Zhu Qiyu knew about this. After Zhu Qizhen was captured, he sent someone to write a letter to Empress Sun, in which he asked for these things to give to Esen.

He naively thought that if Esen took his things, he would be allowed to return.

Empress Dowager Sun and Empress Qian were so concerned that they quickly ordered the Ministry of Revenue to prepare the necessary items.

However, the other officials were unaware of this matter, which was one of the reasons why Zhu Qiyu brought it up today: to see what your good emperor, empress dowager, and empress had done.

Hu Ying's words immediately caused an uproar in the imperial court.

Even Yang Shan, who had just offered a thousand taels of gold, objected: "The Nine Dragons Brocade is an item reserved for the Emperor's personal use; how can it be given away to others?!"

Zhu Qiyu then looked at the other ministers: "What do you think?"

"Your Highness, you mustn't!" A loud voice overwhelmed everyone.

The assembled officials looked and saw it was Yu Qian.

Yu Qian continued, "Your Highness, not only should the Nine-Dragon Brocade not be sent, but other valuables should also not be sent. We should send people to retrieve them immediately..."

Before Yu Qian could finish speaking, Yang Shan shouted sternly, "How dare you, Yu Qian! What do you mean by this?"

Yu Qian glared back angrily: "Do you really think that sending over all this gold and silver jewelry will bring the Emperor back?!"

Do you really think that Esen won't attack Beijing after receiving this money?!

Innocent!

Your act of kneeling and begging for peace will only embolden Esen and further undermine the morale of the Ming army and people in defending the country.

Yang Shan continued, "So you mean you're not going to rescue the Emperor?"

Yu Qian: "Of course we should save them. We can send an envoy with a small amount of jewelry to the Oirat to negotiate."

After agreeing on the terms, we will select a location to welcome the Emperor back, and at the same time, we will send him gifts.

Some officials also agreed, saying, "Minister Yu's words make sense."

Zhu Qiyu said, "Fine, this is a reward requested by the Emperor, so let's just give it away."

As they spoke, Yue Qian arrived at the Wenhua Hall and bowed respectfully: "Your subject, Yue Qian, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, pays his respects to Your Highness."

Zhu Qiyu spoke, "Rise. I intend for you to organize a delegation to the Oirat Mongols to discuss with Esen the matter of welcoming back the Emperor. What do you think?"

Yue Qian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I will do everything in my power to help you return to court as soon as possible!"

Zhu Qiyu nodded and said, "Go and ask Esen about his conditions first, then come back and report."

By the way, I've heard that the people of the grasslands love to drink, so I'll send them some fine wine.

Drive slowly and don't spill any wine.

Yue Qian looked up and asked, "Your Highness, what conditions are acceptable to our dynasty?"

Zhu Qiyu: "You can handle the specifics yourself, but there is only one thing: you must not damage the prestige of the nation."

"Alright, the Ministry of Rites can discuss the specific number of people in the delegation among yourselves."

Yue Qian, his face full of bitterness, bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

The most difficult part is to "deal with it as it comes".

Grand Secretary Chen Xun and others looked at Zhu Qiyu cautiously, somewhat puzzled as to what the Prince of Cheng was thinking.

It was clearly his initiative to send the mission, but his words showed absolutely no intention of welcoming the emperor back.

Zhu Qiyu certainly wished that Zhu Qizhen would never come back.

To put it bluntly, his whole scheme was just a delaying tactic to buy Yu Qian time to mobilize supplies and troops.

Your Esen dream was to conquer the Central Plains, but other grassland people didn't think that way.

First, paint a rosy picture for them; this will always make them hesitate and buy them some time.

What Beijing lacks now is time.

Once the capital has people, equipment, and food, the previous agreements will be worthless.

If they hold out for ten days or half a month, and the Oirat Mongols run out of ammunition and food, then the tide will turn and the balance of power will shift.

He might even get angry and take the opportunity to kill Zhu Qizhen.

It's a win-win situation.

Zhu Qiyu looked at the quiet hall and said, "The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites should come up with a plan for the mission tomorrow and get the delegation off as soon as possible."

The Ministry of War also needs to immediately implement measures to defend the capital.

The Hanlin Academy has prepared the edicts appointing Yu Qian and others, which will be presented to the Empress Dowager tomorrow along with the edicts for their mission.

By the way, Jin Ying is dead, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard is dealing with Wang Zhen's accomplices, so the Directorate of Ceremonial is a bit short-staffed.

Let's transfer Cheng Jing to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs and temporarily appoint him as its Director.

What do you guys think?

The last sentence, seemingly a question, was actually Zhu Qiyu's test: everyone present knew that Cheng Jing was the head eunuch of the Prince of Cheng's residence.

Zhu Qiyu was blatantly placing his cronies in power.

However, neither the ministers had any reason to object, whether for public or private reasons, since Zhu Qiyu had just helped them convict Wang Zhen.

The ministers then unanimously declared, "We have no objection."

Zhu Qiyu smiled and announced loudly, "If there's nothing else, let's call it a day."

The assembled officials: "Respectfully seeing Your Highness off."

After leaving the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Qiyu, led by Xing'an, headed towards the Renshou Palace.

Under normal circumstances, matters discussed in the vestibule do not require discussion in the anal canal.

However, this is not the normal situation; the current emperor is currently a guest in the enemy camp.

Zhu Qiyu was merely a regent; all major personnel appointments and decisions now required notification to the Empress Dowager, who would then issue an imperial edict.