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

The most significant effect of establishing the 12th Regiment was that, in a short period of time, the soldiers of these regiments were at least completely rejuvenated.

In the eyes of the generals, this was not only training troops for the court, but also for themselves; who wouldn't want their soldiers to be elite?

The sounds of powerful drills echoed through the capital, reassuring the people. At least in terms of morale, these loyalist troops already resembled an elite force.

Zhu Qiyu was in the palace summoning Yu Qian and others for a meeting. Chen Mao hadn't even had time to exchange pleasantries upon returning to the capital before being pulled aside for the meeting, leaving Chen Mao completely bewildered.

With constant warnings from the border, the Oirat Mongols, having amassed a large army on the Ming border, were clearly not sightseeing. Their southward advance was imminent.

Zhang Gu's mission brought back good news, and Toghtog Bukha's ambiguous attitude reassured the court. If Toghtog Bukha had refused or readily agreed, it would have meant something was amiss; sometimes, not giving a definite answer was the best answer.

Yue Qian and Ji Duo never returned, and no news came back, casting a shadow over the entire court.

It is highly likely that the two were detained by Esen, and Zhu Qizhen did not intervene, which means that the retired emperor did not approve of the court's actions.

Seeing that the discussion had yielded no results, Zhu Qiyu could only order: "Re-establish border defenses, and follow the imperial decree in all matters."

"Here you go!"

On the other side, Yue Qian and Ji Duo had no way to express their suffering. Just as the Ming emperor and his ministers had expected, they were imprisoned by Esen. After Esen pretended to ask Zhu Qizhen for his opinion, he directly imprisoned the two of them.

This means that the message brought by Yue Qian and the other man was not recognized by either Esen or Zhu Qizhen.

Yuan Bin originally wanted to dissuade Zhu Qizhen from mistreating his envoys, but what he witnessed next was the most absurd scene of his life.

This time, Esen not only came to hear the imperial edict brought by Yue Qian and the other man from the capital, but also read the family letter from Empress Dowager Sun to Zhu Qizhen. Afterwards, Esen even offered advice and analysis for Zhu Qizhen.

"Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, in my opinion, this move is due to two reasons. First, the Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty is colluding with the court officials to usurp the throne and install an emperor to replace you, so that the throne can be passed to the crown prince in the future. In this way, the Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty can still maintain her power."

"Secondly, the Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty is already controlled by the court officials and the new emperor. She wrote these muddled words under duress. Now, the court officials of the Ming Dynasty are certainly full of treacherous ministers, and it is necessary to purge the emperor's inner circle!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qizhen was immediately invigorated, finding Esen's analysis utterly reasonable. The court officials had indeed betrayed him; this was beyond doubt.

Emperor Taizong seized the throne under the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials," so does he intend to do the same?

Seeing that Zhu Qizhen was somewhat interested, Esen added fuel to the fire, saying, "Emperor of the Great Ming, I only recognize you as the Son of Heaven. Let us march south together, eliminate these treacherous officials, and I will help you regain your throne. In the future, my Oirat Mongols will negotiate peace with your Great Ming and live in harmony, how about it?"

Esen was determined to preserve Zhu Qizhen's status as emperor.

Firstly, this would make Zhu Qizhen more valuable, and by using Zhu Qizhen's identity, the journey south would be legitimate, and the obstacles to gaining entry might be greatly reduced.

Secondly, there's the possibility that they'll be forced by circumstances to let Zhu Qizhen return. Letting Zhu Qizhen go back to be emperor would be more advantageous for them, since they've already figured out the emperor's abilities, and he's even worse than a normal person. With such a weak emperor ruling the Ming Dynasty, it would undoubtedly be most beneficial for the Oirat Mongols' development.

Upon hearing such seductive words, Yuan Bin could no longer remain seated. Disregarding etiquette and defying his superior, he shouted, "Your Majesty, do not readily believe the Grand Tutor's words. If the Grand Tutor truly wished to negotiate, he would have released Your Majesty and allowed you to return to the capital long ago. Why then has a new emperor been established in the capital?"

"The envoys have come several times, but the Grand Tutor has refused to release them. He clearly has ulterior motives. Your Majesty, the Grand Tutor wants to use you to reduce the obstacles to entering the pass. You must not fall for his scheme."

Upon hearing the translation, Esen flew into a rage and immediately ordered his men to seize Yuan Bin, shouting, "Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, this man dares to sow discord between us! He should be killed!"

"Teach him a lesson or two, and spare his life!" Zhu Qizhen said slowly.

After all, Yuan Bin had been serving him wholeheartedly all this time, which Zhu Qizhen had seen. Moreover, he really needed someone to take good care of him. If Yuan Bin were killed, he would not be able to find a good person to take care of him.

Upon hearing this, Esen nodded and signaled his men to teach Yuan Bin a lesson.

A few moments later, after several screams, Yuan Bin was carried in, already unconscious.

Zhu Qizhen felt a pang of pity and turned his face slightly away.

Esen gestured to his men to carry Yuan Bin away for treatment, and then, his expression softening slightly, said, "Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, what do you think? Let's go south together, and I'll help you regain your throne. How about the Oirats and the Ming Dynasty negotiate peace together?"

Seeing that Zhu Qizhen was pondering, Esen, in order to increase the credibility of his words, said, "After you are reinstated, you should relax the restrictions on border trade with the Oirat Mongols. This is the condition for our peace talks. If you agree, I will immediately reinstate you."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qizhen had already made his decision.

He was by no means stupid, and he was naturally aware of Esen's ill intentions. However, regardless of whether the conditions Esen proposed were true or false, if it could lead to his restoration, Zhu Qizhen was willing to take the risk.

Zhu Qizhen was well aware of his situation. Even someone as powerful as Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who became the retired emperor, could not escape the fate of imprisonment. He was far inferior to Emperor Xuanzong.

If he were to return to the capital as the retired emperor, his fate might be even more tragic and crucial than that of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. At this moment, he was also unsure of his mother's attitude.

If Esen's deduction is true, and Empress Dowager Sun conspired with court officials to depose him and place her bets on her own son Zhu Jianshen, then he would be isolated and helpless upon returning to the capital. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, so the imperial family is simply not trustworthy.

If Zhu Qizhen were to acknowledge the status of the retired emperor at this moment, he would be a deposed emperor in reality, and what good end could a deposed emperor possibly have?

The thought of facing a long period of imprisonment upon returning to the capital made it seem less pleasant than his time in the Oirat Mongols, where he could drink and chat with Bayan Temur, the brother of Esen, and even enjoy the company of many beautiful women. At least it resembled the life of an emperor.

"Grand Tutor, I can agree to travel south with you, but the matter of you helping me regain my throne requires a signed agreement from both sides; otherwise, I absolutely cannot agree."

Esen was overjoyed upon hearing this, as these promises were as free as if they were free money, and Esen could naturally give them.

If Zhu Qizhen cooperates in heading south, the capital might be within easy reach. Once the capital is occupied, Zhu Qizhen can be sent to Nanjing to become emperor. In this way, with the north and south divided, peace talks can naturally be negotiated.

In this way, Yesen also helped Zhu Qizhen regain his throne, which was not considered breaking his promise. Secondly, it restored the past glory of the Yuan Dynasty. If he occupied Dadu, Yesen's achievements would be comparable to those of his ancestors Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan.

In order to appease Zhu Qizhen, Esen actually took out yellow paper and had someone write down the wishes of both parties. He said that after helping Zhu Qizhen to be restored to the throne, the Ming Dynasty would open the door wide for the Oirat in terms of border trade, and there were many other provisions that would benefit the Oirat.

This made Zhu Qizhen even more convinced that this person was only interested in making money and did not really want to make things difficult for him, since the grasslands were really too shabby.

Ha Ming, who was acting as the translator, also wanted to remind Zhu Qizhen not to fall into the trap, but he swallowed his words after they were on the tip of his tongue.

The Oirat Mongols were able to defeat the elite forces of the Ming Dynasty. If Your Majesty were to assist them in their southward advance, they might just sweep through everything in their path, and it wouldn't be impossible for Your Majesty to regain the throne.

As for what price to pay, that's not something Ha Ming should care about. As long as Zhu Qizhen can sit on the throne again, it's all worth it.

A few hearty laughs soon came from inside the tent. The Ming emperor and his officials in the capital probably never expected that the retired emperor of the Ming Dynasty had betrayed them again!