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

Left side gate.

Zhu Qiyu had no choice but to resume his duties as regent.

After all, yesterday's report was too shocking for the court officials, and Zhu Qiyu was worried that the morale of the troops would be low and they would be difficult to lead.

Today's court assembly should reiterate the royal decrees issued yesterday regarding the two border passes, in order to rally the people's support.

As soon as the court session began, Zhu Qiyu sensed that something was amiss.

Yesterday, the court officials left the court in a daze. Zhu Qiyu thought that many officials would be absent today, but apart from two old ministers who had fainted from anger yesterday asking for leave, all the other ministers were present.

Moreover, a small number of officials appeared quite indignant, as if they had taken some unknown drugs.

Fortunately, Zhu Qiyu received a report from Xing'an yesterday and knew some of the inside story in advance. He even brought Cheng Jing with him just in case, but he was not panicked at the moment.

After the two royal decrees were announced, a burst of weeping erupted in the court, and many officials knelt on the ground.

Then he burst into loud sobs, as if his parents had died. As for what he was crying about, Zhu Qiyu couldn't quite make it out for a moment.

The Han general (Note 1) had never seen this situation before and stood there stunned.

The censor seemed to have already received the news and remained unmoved.

This also meant that no one stepped forward to maintain order, clearly indicating that they had come prepared.

Jin Ying glanced at Zhu Qiyu, and seeing that Zhu Qiyu did not signal to stop him, he dared not step forward rashly.

After crying for a while, the ministers seemed to realize that the atmosphere was about right, and the crying stopped abruptly, just in time.

Chen Yi stepped forward, knelt down, and wept, saying, "Your Highness, I impeach Wang Zhen, the eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, for abusing his power, selling official positions, greedily amassing wealth, committing heinous crimes, and coercing Your Majesty into a military campaign, which led to the Tumu Crisis, the destruction of hundreds of thousands of troops, and this catastrophic disaster. I have heard that those who abuse their power cannot escape execution; those who mislead the emperor and ruin the country should be swiftly punished. Even the ten heinous crimes cannot compare to his crimes; though he may die ten thousand times, he still has more to do with it. Heaven and earth will not tolerate this, and gods and men will be enraged."

Your Majesty, I request that his entire clan be exterminated, his property and valuables confiscated and distributed to the families of the fallen, his ancestral graves exhumed and his remains left to rot. This would hopefully solidify the loyalty of the people, boost the morale of the army, quell the rebellion, and release Your Majesty from detention. The restoration of peace and stability depends on this. Otherwise, there will be no warning for the future, and the people will disintegrate.”

Upon hearing Chen Yi's words, all the officials, as if rehearsed, knelt down in unison, shouting angrily that they would cut Wang Zhen into a thousand pieces.

However, there were still quite a few people among the court officials who stood out like cranes among chickens. These people were either Wang Zhen's henchmen, or people who had not been informed by Chen Yi, or some high-ranking officials.

Zhu Qiyu glanced at Cheng Jing and Xing An beside him, his meaning clear: quickly memorize these people, since even Zhu Qiyu himself couldn't recognize them all.

She then dispatched Jin Ying to inform Empress Dowager Sun that someone was trying to harm her son.

The scene of Zhu Qiyu sending someone to the inner palace was witnessed by Wang Zhi and others. Wang Zhi waited for a long time, giving Jin Ying enough time to inform him, and then joined in the kneeling remonstrance.

After all, it would be best if Empress Dowager Sun knew about this matter, so that her kneeling remonstrance would have any meaning.

The ministers fell into a long silence, all tacitly waiting for Jin Ying to return, or more precisely, for Empress Dowager Sun to give an explanation.

Zhu Qiyu calmly gazed at the densely packed officials kneeling on the ground, a truly magnificent sight.

If a courtier were to shout "Long live the Emperor!" at this moment, Zhu Qiyu would probably float all the way to the Fengtian Hall.

"Rise, my lords!" I almost blurted out.

Zhu Qiyu understood the thoughts of his ministers at this moment. Besides eliminating Wang Zhen's cronies and cutting off Zhu Qizhen's lackeys,

This act of kneeling in remonstrance can be seen as a test and resistance by civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty against imperial power.

With the imperial power now in a state of disarray and the current emperor, who has been captured in the north, having committed a foolish act that has angered both heaven and man, this is the perfect opportunity to challenge the imperial authority.

The officials naturally loathed Wang Zhen, for a eunuch was a tyrant who humiliated the talented scholars who had studied diligently for years. The root cause of Wang Zhen's power was ultimately Zhu Qizhen.

If it weren't for Zhu Qizhen's indulgence, how could Wang Zhen have usurped the emperor's power and influence?

Secondly, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, apart from Zhu Yunwen, all the emperors, including Taizu, Taizong, and Xuanzong, can be considered "emperors on horseback." Even if Emperor Renzong had not had Zhu Di, the "General Who Conquers the North," he would probably have become another "emperor on horseback." During Zhu Di's rebellion, Emperor Renzong also demonstrated remarkable military capabilities and was clearly not a pushover. However, his focus on civil administration made people overlook his military abilities.

Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne at a young age. After taking power, he still held great power and continued the Ming Dynasty's tradition of "emperors on horseback." He wanted to emulate the glory of his father and grandfather, but he was ambitious but incompetent. He played his good hand badly and directly broke the backbone of the Ming Dynasty.

This was absolutely intolerable to the court officials, especially the civil officials, that the Ming emperor was so full of martial virtue, especially since this time he had squandered the Ming dynasty's wealth. This was a good opportunity to restrain the emperor.

They dared not directly criticize the emperor, but it was perfectly acceptable to criticize him indirectly, since speaking in riddles was something that the ministers were most adept at.

The people of the world have long despised the emperor and his mother!

However, in Zhu Qiyu's view, the officials had chosen the wrong person. He was merely a prince in charge of supervising the king. Why should he take the blame for dealing with Wang Zhen?

The stupid thing Zhu Qizhen did was to find someone to deal with it, and that person should be his mother. As the saying goes, every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor!

Zhu Qizhen was the primary person responsible, Empress Dowager Sun was the secondary person responsible, and Zhu Qiyu was merely a guest. The officials must not "turn the guest into the host".

Zhu Qiyu did not want to stop this farce because it was also in his own interest; the civil officials wanted to eliminate Wang Zhen's faction and suppress imperial power.

Therefore, Zhu Qiyu needed to eliminate Zhu Qizhen's imperial faction and vacate the important positions occupied by Zhu Qizhen's confidants so that they could fall into his hands, such as the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

However, the imperial power was not something that could be challenged at will by the ministers. It was fine to target Zhu Qizhen personally, but Zhu Qiyu was not happy to challenge the imperial power.

In the inner palace, Empress Dowager Sun panicked upon hearing Jin Ying's report, realizing that the attack was aimed at her and her son.

"Can the Prince of Cheng stabilize the situation?"

Jin Ying dared not speak rashly and replied, "This servant dares not make a judgment, but the scene is quite frightening, and the crowd is in an uproar. Your Highness sent this servant to inquire whether you agree with the petition submitted by Imperial Censor Chen and others?"

Empress Dowager Sun became furious when she heard that Chen Yi was the one in question. It was this man who was causing trouble again. He had made her lose face yesterday. If she kept giving in, these officials would have no respect for the emperor and would not take her, the Empress Dowager, seriously.

"Go and inform the Prince of Cheng that the matter is still undecided. I will go to the Wenhua Hall immediately and summon officials of the third rank and above to the Wenhua Hall for a meeting."

At this moment, Empress Dowager Sun no longer cared about not interfering in politics. She only knew that once Wang Zhen was purged, there would be no ministers in the court who would wholeheartedly serve Zhu Qizhen, and Zhu Qizhen might not be able to return.

"Here you go!"

Upon receiving the order, Jin Ying rushed to the Left Gate. Before long, Jin Ying finally appeared before the assembled officials and whispered to Zhu Qiyu the Empress Dowager's message.

Zhu Qiyu was speechless. This Empress Dowager Sun was a master at stirring up trouble. She had already knelt down to remonstrate, and he could only choose one of the two options, but she chose the middle one.

Seeing that Zhu Qiyu had received the imperial edict from Empress Dowager Sun, one of the court officials mustered his courage and spoke up again: "Your Highness, I urge you to make a decision quickly!"

Noisy!

After a short while, Zhu Qiyu glanced at the assembled officials and said, "I am aware of the matters you have reported. Your earnest intentions are known to Heaven and Earth. However, the matter of the construction project is far-reaching and has not yet been resolved. We should welcome His Majesty back so that he can handle it. You should all focus on your duties and refrain from further advice! All officials of the third rank and above shall move to the Wenhua Hall. The Empress Dowager has matters to discuss with you!"

"slow!"