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

Zhu Qizhen followed Ye Xing to count the wealth they had brought, and was greatly disappointed to find that the money was not even enough to feed the beggars.

The other carriage was filled with clothes, and one or two of them were so poorly made that Zhu Qizhen was quite angry. If even clothes were sent in such a perfunctory manner, would any of the court officials still remember him as the emperor?

Enraged, Zhu Qizhen threw the garments on the ground, even stomping on them. He glared at Yue Qian and the other man, coldly asking, "Is this all the court has sent you? Do you want me to go back, or not?"

Faced with such hurtful words, Yue Qian and his companion were so frightened that they prostrated themselves on the ground, unsure of how to respond.

Yue Qian was temporarily replacing Yang Shan, and his purpose was to obtain the imperial edict. Ji Duo's purpose was to deliver clothing and then, on behalf of the Empress Dowager, inquire about Zhu Qizhen's current situation and whether the Oirat Mongols had any possibility of negotiating peace and releasing Zhu Qizhen.

The money was merely to avoid arriving empty-handed, fearing that it would provoke Esen's wrath and have the two of them killed; it was not a ransom at all.

A hint of disgust flashed through Yue Qian's mind as he said, "Your Majesty, the entire court longs for your return. We have come here on the Empress Dowager's orders. The orders mention that the weather is cold in the north, and the Empress Dowager is worried that Your Majesty will catch a cold. Therefore, she has specially sent us to deliver clothing to Your Majesty."

Zhu Qizhen still had some affection for his mother, and upon hearing this, his tone softened slightly, but still contained resentment. He said, "Knowing that it's cold, you should have welcomed me back as soon as possible. Moreover, these clothes are so crudely made; if you truly cared about me, you wouldn't have acted this way! Also, call me Your Majesty. If you call me the wrong name again, both of you will lose your heads."

Yue Qian was practically cursing; he'd have to apologize when he got back! Why couldn't this weirdo just die sooner?

If you admit that you are the retired emperor, you might have a better chance of returning. The situation in the court is now settled, and this oddball is still fixated on his title and considers himself the emperor. It would be a miracle if Esen released him.

Yue Qian had seen many stupid things, but this kind of stupidity was unique in the world!

Yue Qian raised his voice several notches and said, "Your Majesty, the clothes on the ground were sewn by the Empress herself, so they are a bit rough."

Zhu Qizhen paused, a rare hint of guilt flashing in his eyes. He hurriedly picked up the clothes from the ground, carefully dusted them off, hung them on his arms, and crossed his arms over his chest, as if nothing had happened.

He slowly asked, "How is the Empress?"

Neither Yue Qian nor his companion had ever met Empress Qian, so how could they know her current situation? They could only cautiously reply, "Your Majesty, I do not know. I imagine she longs for Your Majesty's return day and night."

As he watched the scene unfold, Esen was dumbfounded. How could one person be so unpredictable?

Was his previous timid demeanor just an act? Zhu Qizhen was now taking shamelessness to the extreme, something even Esen wanted to learn frame by frame.

Esen never expected that Zhu Qizhen simply wanted to vent the anger he had suffered during this period. Based on the basic principle of "being submissive to foreign powers but striking hard against internal ones," Zhu Qizhen knew that no matter how he beat or scolded the officials of the Ming Dynasty, they could only endure it. However, if he beat the officials of the Oirat Mongols, then he, Zhu Qizhen, could only endure it.

"Your Majesty, there's no time to lose; shouldn't we write the edict?"

Zhu Qizhen's expression softened considerably. Although he couldn't manage a smile, he nodded to Esen and said, "Grand Tutor, it will be ready shortly!"

Upon hearing this, Esen simply left Zhu Qizhen and his ministers in the main tent and then left.

Yuan Bin could no longer hold back and advised, "Your Majesty, I believe the most urgent task is to acknowledge the Emperor Emeritus's status. Only in this way can Esen no longer use Your Majesty to threaten the Ming Dynasty, and Your Majesty's return to the south will be just around the corner."

"Damn you, slave girl! Do you intend to usurp the throne like those courtiers? Esen already said he would release me, yet instead of showing respect, the courtiers are so eager to depose me. The entire court is full of opportunists, hoping to gain credit for supporting a new emperor. Their actions are despicable, and their intentions are wicked!"

Yue Qian and Ji Duo exchanged a glance. Such honest advice was met with such scorn. They sighed inwardly, wondering how people could be so unlucky.

This time, I might have to risk my life, because I could fall off at any moment.

On the other side, Esen frowned deeply. He hadn't expected things to happen so quickly. Did the Ming Dynasty really not want the emperor in his hands and was considering installing a new one?

This completely disrupted his plans. Although he ordered Zhu Qizhen to issue an edict of punishment and not recognize the emperor in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, Yexian knew in his heart that everything was already set in stone.

Should they really let Zhu Qizhen go back and let the two tigers fight each other? But if they did that, they would have finally captured the emperor and hadn't even tasted the sweetness of victory. They had recently been treating him to good wine and meat, and no matter how they thought about it, they felt they were losing out. Letting Zhu Qizhen go back at this moment was absolutely impossible.

Esen summoned his generals for a meeting, and naturally, happy Ning, the notorious traitor, was also present.

The strategist Xi Ning spoke first: "Grand Tutor, I believe the most urgent task is to march south immediately. Now that the capital has an emperor, the people's hearts are at peace. The longer we delay, the harder it will be to attack the capital. The plan to use the Ming emperor to threaten the Ming dynasty's southward relocation has already failed. Grand Tutor should make preparations as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, the generals all echoed, "Grand Tutor, it's time to head south!"

The generals had wanted to head south early in the morning, having heard that the capital was incredibly wealthy. They believed that the Ming Dynasty was now only left with the elderly, the sick, the disabled, and a motley crew, and was not worth worrying about.

Esen nodded upon hearing this, having to admit that Xi Ning's words made sense. Esen had initially decided to frequently visit the border with Zhu Qizhen, both to earn money and to threaten and put pressure on the Ming Dynasty.

Previously, the Ming Dynasty was leaderless and would inevitably fall into chaos. If the Ming court could move south directly, the Oirat Mongols could occupy half of the Ming Dynasty's territory without lifting a finger, which would be much better than a hard-fought battle.

However, he did not expect the Ming court to be so determined, changing the emperor at will, as if they were going to fight him to the death. As a result, Esen's original plans all fell through.

Now that the Ming Dynasty's elite forces have been completely wiped out, they cannot afford to let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, a direct advance will inevitably result in losses, and Esen is not entirely confident in his ability to overcome all obstacles along the way.

Esen first expressed his concerns, saying, "The towns of Xuanfu and Datong are difficult to deal with!"

happy Ning had a plan in mind and said, "Grand Tutor, why bother with these two towns? We can just send people to keep them occupied. We can go south from Baiyangkou, then take Zijing Pass, and we can quickly reach the capital and head south. Right now, the Emperor of the Great Ming can only be truly effective when he is in the capital."

"Grand Tutor, imagine this: if the Emperor of the Great Ming were placed under the walls of the capital, would the garrison commander dare to kill him in public? Even if this emperor were already the retired emperor, the garrison commander would not dare to act rashly. But it is very different when the emperor is far away on the border. Whether it is good or bad depends entirely on the reports from the border garrison commander."

happy Ning's words were incredibly tempting, and Esen's eyes lit up. He had to admit that happy Ning's words struck a chord with him; by keeping Zhu Qizhen bound to the capital, there might actually be a chance to capture the capital.

"Are you sure it's feasible to head south from Baiyangkou?"

"Grand Tutor, I was once the head of the Imperial Horse Administration of the Ming Dynasty, and I also served as the supervising eunuch several times. The border fortresses of the Ming Dynasty are all in my mind. I will definitely be able to help you succeed."

He first gave Wang Xining a look of approval and shouted, "Good!"

Then, turning to his younger brothers, he said, "Bayan Temur, you will personally go to see the Khan with the military orders (Note 1). Give him only half a month to prepare before you march south. I will inform you of the specific battle orders before you depart!"

"Here you go!"

"Boro, go and inform Arazhiyuan to gather his troops and await orders at any time."

"Here you go!"

The Ming emperors and ministers probably did not expect that Zhu Qiyu's ascension to the throne would prompt Esen to march south ahead of schedule, and they certainly did not expect that Zhu Qizhen would send an envoy back with a bizarre edict.