Emperor Ming: Your Majesty, you have caused me so much suffering.

The rumors circulating in the palace finally subsided after being forcefully suppressed by several ministers.

However, if some things are suppressed too much, it will backfire, and the damage caused afterwards will be beyond human imagination.

Zhu Qiyu, who was in charge of government affairs at the Prince of Cheng's residence, had no mood to deal with these matters at the moment, and even stopped inquiring about the Prince of Xiang's entry into the capital.

Once the news gets out, the court officials will absolutely not allow the Prince of Xiang to enter the capital and disrupt the court. After all, the court officials do not want to die, and without a united front, the fall of the capital is only a matter of time.

Looking at the mountain of reports, Zhu Qiyu finally realized that being an emperor was definitely not an easy job.

No wonder a cabinet was established and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was used. If one were to handle matters personally, it would take sleepless nights to barely manage. What would be the point of being an emperor if that were the case?

It's truly unbelievable how Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang managed to have such boundless energy and keep up with all these demands.

Zhu Qiyu felt a surge of admiration. He truly deserved to be called a ruthless man who "started with a bowl and built his empire through sheer hard work!"

As Zhu Qiyu read the reports, his brow never relaxed for a moment.

The court officials and Zhu Qiyu were still too optimistic.

They thought that solving the main problem would solve everything, but reality was far more cruel than they imagined.

Although the court was temporarily stabilized, the chaos in the capital did not ease at all, but instead intensified.

News of Zhu Qizhen's capture had spread to every corner of the capital, causing widespread panic among the people.

With martial law in effect at the nine gates, ordinary people are unable to leave the city. The meager supplies plundered from the surrounding counties and transported to the capital are intended for war preparedness and are not intended for the benefit of the people.

As a result, the capital's supplies were consumed day by day, and there was no way to replenish them effectively.

There was a severe shortage of various supplies, not only food and fodder, but even firewood was extremely scarce, not to mention medicines, salt, vinegar, sugar, and the like.

The capital city does allow merchants from outside to enter, and there's no fear of spies infiltrating at the moment. But who would want to come and die? Even if they made money, they wouldn't have the life to enjoy it.

In just two or three days, prices in the capital skyrocketed several times over. Some nobles even used their privileges to hoard supplies in advance, leaving no supplies in the hands of ordinary people. Even if there were any surpluses, the exorbitant prices made them unaffordable for the common people.

Some people preferred to cook together in small groups, cooking a large pot of food to save firewood, and they all started to eat simpler meals.

Otherwise, if things continue like this, even if there is food, people will starve to death. Currently, there is still a reserve of firewood to sustain us. If the fighting continues for a long time and supplies cannot be replenished, we will have no choice but to dismantle houses and burn the wood. After that, we will just wait to die. It is already the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the cold winter is not far away. We don't know how many more people will die.

Even more alarming, all medicinal herbs in the capital were requisitioned, and all pharmacies were closed, no longer opening their doors to customers, as there was simply no medicine left to sell.

Once infected, people can only tough it out; if they can't endure it, they'll meet their maker.

But this is wartime, and the officials have no time to care about the lives of the people; everything must give way to war preparations.

Upon hearing these reports, Zhu Qiyu felt as if his heart was being torn apart.

What troubled Zhu Qiyu the most was that quite a few soldiers who had fled south after the Tumu Crisis had returned, and these people were terrified.

They propagated the idea that the Oirats were ferocious beasts, invincible.

This is clearly an excuse for failure, using the portrayal of the enemy's strength to cover up one's own incompetence and to mitigate one's guilt.

However, this led to an extremely bad consequence: those people who originally wanted to stay put were now determined to take a gamble and prepare to flee south.

While there was a possibility of starving to death on the way south, staying seemed to offer a greater chance of being killed. If they fell into the hands of the Oirats and became prisoners of war, forced into labor, it would likely be a fate worse than death.

This sense of panic permeated the border regions and northern Zhili, causing great trouble for Yu Qian's grain transport strategy.

The southward flight of the people resulted in a shortage of laborers. During the transport of grain, they also had to be wary of these people suddenly seizing the grain. After all, people would even exchange children to eat each other to survive, let alone rob the government's grain.

The grain shipment originally intended for Tongzhou has been progressing slowly.

Zhu Qiyu was so angry that he gritted his teeth when he saw these memorials.

Zhu Qizhen and Liang Gui joined forces to create the first wave of panic in the Ming Dynasty. Now, these good-for-nothings who escaped back are starting to create the second wave of panic.

Now, not only the wealthy are fleeing, but ordinary people are also fleeing.

"These vermin deserve to die in the north!"

Zhu Qiyu slammed the memorial down, startling Cheng Jing, who was standing nearby. He didn't know whether his prince was referring to the deserter who had returned or to someone else.

Before long, Jin Ying arrived, saying that he had come on the Empress Dowager's orders to summon important officials to the Wenhua Hall for a meeting.

Zhu Qiyu cursed his bad luck, for at this critical moment, he was only adding to the chaos.

He turned to Cheng Jing and instructed him: "If there is any urgent memorial to report, you must go to the palace to report it in a timely manner."

"Here you go!"

There were quite a few people inside the Wenhua Hall.

The ministers and vice ministers of the six ministries, members of the Wenyuan Pavilion, several officials from the Censorate, and officials from the Office of Transmission and the Court of State Ceremonies also came to join in the fun.

After Zhu Qiyu took his seat, Empress Dowager Sun did not use Li Yongchang as a substitute, but spoke through the curtain about the purpose of summoning the officials.

"My lords, I have summoned you here because of the Emperor. I have heard that the court has been making preparations for war in recent days. Why have you ignored the Emperor? No one has inquired about how to welcome him back, and there has not even been any related court discussions. Is this the duty of a subject?"

Upon hearing this, the ministers nearly went berserk.

Chen Yi couldn't control his bad temper at all. These past few days, the Prince of Cheng had given him the task of stabilizing people's hearts, but the capital was in chaos.

They're currently working with the Dali Temple and Shuntian Prefecture to arrest people. Just when things were starting to look up, they were summoned to the Wenhua Hall to be asked these useless questions.

Chen Yi immediately retorted, "Your Majesty, didn't you already send envoys with imperial tribute to the Oirat camp? There has been no news yet, so how can we inquire?"

Empress Dowager Sun, taken aback by this rebuke, froze for a moment, then her anger flared up. She said, "The Emperor is your sovereign and father. When your sovereign and father are in distress, everything should be done to bring the Emperor back. To disregard the Emperor's life and death, do you intend to be disloyal and unfilial?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the ministers changed drastically, and some of them lowered their heads, their eyes filled with anger.

Chen Yi's face turned ashen; how could such words come from the Empress Dowager's mouth?

Zhu Qiyu glanced at Chen Yi and saw that the man was about to explode in anger.

The current political situation is chaotic and there's no room for recklessness; I don't want to die.

I also don't want history to record: In the fourteenth year of the Zhengtong reign, the capital fell, and the Prince of Cheng committed suicide!

Zhu Qiyu immediately rose and bowed respectfully, saying, "Empress Dowager, I am filled with trepidation!"

"We are terrified!"

When Zhu Qiyu stepped forward, his angry expression softened, and he also bowed.

Chen Yi had no choice but to apologize, even though he was dissatisfied with Empress Dowager Sun. However, he held a certain respect for Prince Cheng.

When Empress Dowager Sun saw the officials pleading guilty, a pang of regret flashed through her mind, and she realized that she had acted rashly.

Zhu Qiyu seized the opportunity to speak, saying, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty has been captured in the north, and we have been unable to eat or sleep. How can the officials in the court ignore Your Majesty in order to protect the Ming Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, look at Minister Yu. He has been sleepless for days, and his hair has turned quite white. Ministers Wang and Hu are already so old, yet they risked their lives for the Ming Dynasty. The rest of you all seem to have aged several years, exhausting yourselves and working tirelessly until your dying breath. I am of meager virtue and talent, and have been of little help. Whenever I see so many loyal ministers sacrificing their lives to save the country, not caring about their own safety, I cannot help but be moved to tears."

Zhu Qiyu then kowtowed deeply, bowed again, looked at Empress Dowager Sun, and said, "Your Majesty, I respectfully request that you retract your words. There is no disloyal or unfilial person in the Wenhua Hall, and you cannot be punished for this. If anyone is guilty, the guilt lies with me, not with you gentlemen."

As soon as Zhu Qiyu said this, the hall fell into an eerie silence. The officials looked at Zhu Qiyu, and their backs straightened instantly, as if all their fatigue had been swept away, and their eyes were filled with tears.

At this moment, understanding is everything!

Prince Cheng is a true confidant!