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

Chen Yi watched Yu Qian leave, preparing to get up and stop him.

Wang Zhi stopped him and said, "Let Youjie (Chen Yi's courtesy name) go!"

Chen Yi sighed helplessly and said, "Why didn't we stop Minister Yu? This matter cannot be accomplished without Minister Yu's cooperation!"

Yu Qian is now of paramount importance. As long as Yu Qian cooperates, the Censorate can extend its reach into the army, and it will be perfectly reasonable and will not violate any ancestral rules.

Since the time of Emperor Taizu, supervising the army has also been the responsibility of the censors; it's just that now they want to slightly expand the scope of their responsibilities.

Wang Zhi shook his head and said, "Let's put it aside for now. You should discuss this matter with us first. It's too reckless to allow your subordinates to submit petitions like this. Tingyi is right. Right now, the priority is to protect the capital. If we create chaos, we will destroy the Ming Dynasty. In that case, we will all lose our lives, the country will collapse, and everything will be over."

Wang Zhi was quite wary of Chen Yi's actions, perhaps because he was provoked by the Tumu Crisis.

After Chen Yi became the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, his style of doing things was completely different from before. Last time, his kneeling remonstrance directly turned into a bloodbath in the Ming Dynasty. Chen Yi had a history of such behavior.

Chen Yi disagreed with Wang Zhi's argument: "The loyalist army has already arrived in the capital, and their supplies are plentiful. With the city's fortifications, I don't believe the Oirats can breach the capital. What's a little chaos? Wu Xun is weak, and the inner palace is under control; this is the perfect time to seize the opportunity. Moreover, with the censors' help, how can there be any chaos? Are we inferior to those inner palace officials? In my opinion, the situation will only improve!"

Hu Ying felt that Chen Yi was too optimistic and retorted, "Beware! Weapons are instruments of death! How can we make assumptions based on mere conjecture? In your opinion, can you predict that our 200,000 elite troops could be destroyed in a little over a month? If 200,000 elite troops could still be defeated, then although the capital has a large number of troops, they are all a rabble. Even if the city is strong, can you guarantee that we can win this battle? You should know that we only have 20,000 armored soldiers now, and the rest will have to fight with their bare hands."

"This..." Chen Yi was speechless for a moment. What Hu Ying said was true. The loyalist troops had indeed arrived, but their armor was gone. This meant that the real decision on the outcome of the battle was made by these 20,000 troops. If these 20,000 troops were all gone, the other troops could only defend and fight a war of attrition, and the situation would instantly become passive.

Even the strongest person will collapse if they can't stand still and are beaten. Once Esen launched a fierce attack on a gate, the Ming army suffered heavy losses, and morale plummeted. Once morale is lost, an army collapses like a house of cards.

Seeing that Chen Yi was somewhat persuaded, Hu Ying said, "I think Tingyi's words are quite right. We should trust His Majesty to relinquish all power. Right now, the priority is to defeat the Oirat Mongols. We can wait until the situation in the court is stable before making further plans."

Hu Ying had already decided to side with Zhu Qiyu; otherwise, he wouldn't have said some things that a subject shouldn't have said to Zhu Qiyu before.

At his age, he truly did not wish for the court to be thrown into turmoil again. He hoped for a smooth transition so that the country would not be lost, and that he would have done right by Emperor Taizong and the late emperor.

He was able to retire with honor, thus avoiding tarnishing his reputation in his later years; as for the rest, it left a headache for future generations.

Chen Yi hesitated for a moment, then his eyes hardened. Today's court meeting had given him a greater opportunity. He said, "There is a good opportunity right now. Since the passes are indefensible, let the Censors of the Censorate defend them."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. Even Wang Wen, the Left Censor-in-Chief who had returned to the capital, stared at Chen Yi. He was not known for his authority and decisiveness, but Chen Yi was known for his benevolence. How could he be so fierce now? Were the rumors all true?

Wang Zhi's expression was truly grim, and he said coldly, "You want to send these colleagues to their deaths?"

Today it has been determined that apart from Xuanfu and Datong, the rest are indefensible. Even if troops are sent to support them, it can only be a small force. If an imperial censor is sent, it is with a determination to die.

A hint of indifference flashed in Chen Yi's eyes, as if he were indifferent to life and death. He slowly said, "Someone must always be sacrificed. I will go personally. I entrust the important matters of the court to you all!"

If the Censor-in-Chief were to wield military power and command operations, this precedent would be set, and regardless of victory or defeat, the issue would inevitably be brought up repeatedly. Once Pandora's box is officially opened, it cannot be closed again.

In fact, it wasn't unheard of for a civil official to command the military. Wang Ji was one such example, though he held the title of Minister of War and was later granted a noble title, so he could no longer be considered a purely civil official.

More often than not, it was only a temporary measure for civil officials to lead the army. For example, during the Jingnan Rebellion, Tie Xuan was a civil official who guarded Shandong, which almost made Emperor Taizong furious. These were all appointments made in times of crisis. Chen Yi wanted to make it a permanent practice.

Wang Zhi glanced at Chen Yi as if he were only meeting Chen Yi today, and said, "I disagree with this approach. There is no need to make unnecessary sacrifices."

"What's so pointless about it?" Chen Yi smiled. "Gentlemen, things always have to be done. Think of your colleagues who died at the hands of eunuchs, think of these 200,000 elite troops. It's a bad thing for a group of people who only read a few books in the Imperial Academy to hold power. The court cannot produce another Wang Zhen. I can tolerate eunuchs extending their reach to other areas, but the nation's weapons cannot be allowed to be used arbitrarily."

Chen Yi had been in Shaanxi for years and had personally witnessed how these eunuchs, with Zhu Qizhen's indulgence, had become utterly lawless.

The equipment was intact when it left the capital, but these eunuchs used their power to transport military supplies to make it so that 80% of it became counterfeit or substandard when it arrived in Shaanxi. The armor that originally weighed nearly 40 pounds was reduced to less than 10 pounds. In other words, what was originally a lifesaver from an arrow wound would now be a death sentence if the armor was worn.

The real high-quality goods have already been transported north to be exchanged for horses and money.

Because of this incident, Chen Yi, who was then the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, submitted a series of impeachment memorials, but the matter was still not resolved, which shows his resentment.

Later, Liu Qiu, a lecturer, submitted a memorial outlining ten matters. The last of these directly addressed the border issue, requesting that censors be allowed to inspect the capital and border defenses, rigorously examine military supplies, and guard against the wolfish ambitions of the Oirat Mongols. Unfortunately, this memorial became Liu Qiu's death warrant, as it was tantamount to tearing off the fig leaf covering the border, ultimately leading to his tragic dismemberment and death.

Chen Yi's words were clearly a veiled criticism; rather than being a direct insult to the court officials, he was criticizing the emperor, Zhu Qizhen. It was acceptable for the emperor to wreak havoc on the people, amass wealth, and engage in extravagant construction projects, but he absolutely could not use the army to cause such chaos.

Chen Yi admitted in his heart that he probably had confidence in Zhu Qiyu, since Zhu Qiyu's actions had been impeccable during this period. However, he had completely lost trust in the emperor, this special being.

It must be said that Zhu Qizhen's northern expedition caused his ministers to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. After all, they had never seen someone lead an army of 200,000 men into battle so casually. The war had already begun, yet they were still preparing provisions, treating the nation's most important assets as a joke.

This time, Chen Yi wanted to restrict the emperor's power to the extreme because Zhu Qiyu's throne was put up by the ministers, which gave him a natural disadvantage.

Wang Zhi sighed deeply and said, "We will not get involved, lest the situation get out of control and the Meridian Gate incident be prevented from happening again. If anything goes wrong, we will stop it. You can apply for a transfer to another post yourself."

"It's a deal!"

Chen Yi nodded and calmly stood up.

He seems to be like Yu Qian, both having their own principles and wanting to prove with their lives that everything they do is right.

Many officials in the Ming Dynasty had a stubborn side. For example, Xu Cheng, who was considered a coward, has not fled the capital and also wants to prove himself right.

After Chen Yi left, Minister of Revenue Chen Xun glanced at Wang Zhi and said, "Grand Chancellor, why didn't you tell Censor Chen that it would have been safer for the Ministry of War to intervene directly? Why use the Censorate? Minister Yu's anger is probably not just because Censor Chen acted without informing him, but because his actions would disrupt the court and hinder the Ministry of War's operations."

Wang Zhi glanced at the group and said thoughtfully, "Perhaps both Imperial Censor Chen and Minister Yu are right in their thinking. Imperial Censor Chen is targeting the eunuchs and the emperor, while Minister Yu wants to use the Ministry of War's titles to control the military officials. Now that His Majesty has the appearance of a wise ruler, if he can govern by doing nothing, it would be a blessing for the people of the Ming Dynasty. If both can be realized, then our Ming Dynasty will have to reform its system."

The ministers' expressions turned solemn. They all understood what Wang Zhi was talking about: when that time came, the civil administration would be able to control the military.

At that time, the eunuchs will perform the duties of the current censors, only responsible for reporting to the emperor, while all the power will be in the hands of the civil officials.

"If that's the case..." A glint of light flashed in Chen Xun's eyes.

"No!"

"No!"

Wang Zhi and Hu Ying were almost unanimously opposed.

Why?

Everyone was stunned!

Wang Zhi and Hu Ying exchanged a glance, never expecting that the other was the one who understood them best.

As long as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was in that position, he possessed absolute power; this was a rule left by the founding emperor.

The administrative, military, and judicial systems are always mutually constraining, and no single power can turn them into a united front directly against the emperor.

Because nobles, members of the imperial family, eunuchs, and even the Censorate all depended on imperial power.

"You underestimate His Majesty!"

Everyone looked up instantly, their eyes becoming clear.