Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

The next morning, with a gentle breeze, Zhu Jian led his troops down the river by boat to Yingtian Prefecture. It had been so long, it was time to meet with the officials from the Six Ministries of the Cabinet who had come south to pay homage to their ancestors. These people hadn't been making a fuss about impeachment lately, they were quite quiet.

He also planned to see for himself the wealth of Yingtian.

These large ships were all merchant ships requisitioned from Wuchang, not warships, and they did not have cannons or other weapons; they were all for commercial use.

Three hundred years later, this land was blasted open by the cannons of warships at sea, millions of people died, and the flames of war still echo in our ears.

"This servant will bring His Majesty a cup of fresh tea!" Fang Zhenghua said as he walked out of the storeroom.

Originally, Fang Zhenghua was supervising Xiong Wencan in Xiangyang, but now that Zhu Jian no longer needed a eunuch supervising the army, he took him with him, intending to return to the capital together after going to Nanjing.

Zhu Jian turned and took the teacup, took a sip, and said, "Go and fetch a boatman. I want to ask him about the boats!"

"As you command!"

Before long, a dark-skinned man covered in sweat followed Fang Zhenghua to Prosecutor Zhu with his head down.

"This humble servant, Li Er, pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!" After saying this, he hurriedly knelt on the deck, not daring to raise his head.

Get up!

"Zhenghua, go and bring this man a cup of tea!"

After saying this, Prosecutor Zhu squatted down on a wooden crate on the deck: "How many years have you been on the ship?"

Upon hearing this, the man quickly replied, "I've been on this ship for over twenty years!"

"Where have you been?"

"I've been to Sichuan, Nanjing, Zhejiang, and Fujian!"

Zhu Jian nodded slightly after hearing this: "I've heard that Zheng Zhi of Fujian has many dragon boats. Are any of them as large as this one?"

"Big! They also have warships, twice the size of this one!" the man said, then paused, "They also have ocean-going ships, I heard those are even bigger, but I haven't seen them!"

"I've heard that there are still quite a few foreign ships on Taiwan Island. Those ships are very large, capable of carrying nearly a thousand people!"

Zhu Jian nodded repeatedly and then asked, "How long does it take to train a pilot?"

"You can become a master oarsman after a year of sailing, and you just need to avoid seasickness during the two months of rowing!"

Zhu Jian pointed to the tea placed beside the man and said, "Drink your tea and then go back!"

"Yes!" After drinking the dregs, the man wiped his mouth, got up, and walked into the cabin.

After the man left, Zhu Jian stood up and gazed at the rapidly receding scenery on both sides. After a long while, he slowly spoke: "Fang Zhenghua, take a few men and go to Fujian from the next dock. Find the Fujian governor, Xiong Wencan, and have him contact Zheng Zhilong. Tell him that I am going to Nanjing and wish to invite Zheng Zhilong to a banquet! Should he come to Nanjing, or should I go to Fujian on my way and ask General Zheng what he thinks?"

"This servant obeys the decree!" Fang Zhenghua said, then turned and quickly left, arranging for people to disembark at the next dock and ride horses to Fujian.

Zhu Jian cannot afford to offend Zheng Zhilong now. Natural disasters are rampant, Li Zicheng is in the west, and the Jurchens are in the north. If Zheng Zhilong in the southeast were to cause trouble again, the Ming Dynasty would have to fight on three fronts, which is really unbearable. Moreover, Zheng Zhilong is also threatening the heartland of Jiangnan.

Moreover, there are Dutch, Portuguese, and Japanese pirates at sea now, it's very chaotic...

Half a month later, Zhu Jian traveled at a leisurely pace and arrived in Nanjing in early March of the twelfth year of the Chongzhen reign.

Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, Grand Secretary Zhang Zhifa, Second Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan, and other high-ranking officials, along with local officials from Southern Zhili, representatives from the Six Ministries of Nanjing, and prominent local gentry, welcomed Inspector Zhu's arrival at the Nanjing dock.

The scene was packed with people, with banners obscuring the sun and stretching for miles.

This was Emperor Chongzhen's first visit to Nanjing in the twelve years since his ascension to the throne. Of course, historically, Emperor Chongzhen's entire life did not include the number of places he visited in a single year...

"Grand Secretary Yang, did His Majesty give any instructions after coming to Nanjing from Wuchang?" Xue Guoguan, who was standing to the side, turned slightly and asked Yang Sichang in a low voice.

Yang Sichang shook his head: "No!"

Since being sent by Zhu Jian to lead troops in Huguang alongside Xiong Wencan, and later entering the cabinet as the concurrent governor of Southern Zhili, Yang Sichang had no contact with Zhu Jian during this period, and he sensed that he had fallen out of favor...

"Do you have news about Grand Secretary Xue?" Yang Sichang asked in return.

"No!" Xue Guoguan said, glancing back at the crowd. "We've been in Nanjing for so long, and no one has dared to ask His Majesty when we can return to the capital!"

"It's better not to ask!" Grand Secretary Zhang Zhifa interjected.

Upon hearing this, Xue Guoguan and Yang Sichang nodded emphatically, deeply agreeing with Zhang Zhifa's words.

They felt that the emperor had held back when he dismissed more than forty officials in the capital last time. Judging from the past few months, the emperor had killed people like chickens, from Shanxi to Huguang. Princes, merchants, gentry, and even Zhang Xianzhong had all been killed one by one. Now that the emperor had come to Nanjing again, they were uneasy and had to deal with it carefully.

If the killing method used in Shanxi had been applied, with so many people present, probably very few would have survived...

Just then, the large ship slowly docked at the pier, and a large number of soldiers poured down from the ship and separated the crowd on both sides of the street.

Seeing the soldiers disembark, the Vice Minister of Rites in Nanjing whispered to the Minister of Revenue in Nanjing, "This seems to be against protocol?"

According to regulations, the emperor's personal guards (the Jinyiwei generals) and special ceremonial officials (officials from the Court of State Ceremonial) were supposed to guide and relay orders, but instead, a large army was present, seemingly veterans of war. Many of their armor still bore black bloodstains, and even the basic royal regalia was absent, with only Ming army flags fluttering in the wind...

"Don't talk too much, or you'll bring trouble upon yourself!" The gray-haired Minister of Rites of Nanjing replied in a low voice.

The Vice Minister of Rites in Nanjing nodded slightly and said nothing more.

Even the cabinet is keeping quiet now; they're just being the ones to stick their necks out. They'll die without even knowing how.

Just then, Zhu Jian, clad in armor, slowly descended the gangway, followed by General Cao Bianjiao, Zhou Yuji, He Renlong, and Liu Guoneng, all with their hands on their waist knives.

Upon seeing the emperor disembark from the ship, all the officials knelt down and cried out in unison, "Your subjects pay their respects to Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

"My esteemed subjects, please rise!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After returning the greetings, the guests slowly rose: "The Cabinet will accompany me to the palace!"

"The army shall set up camp on the spot!"

"yes!"

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. The army surrounding the emperor far exceeded the number of ceremonial guards and personal attendants, but no one knew the emperor's intentions. No one dared to ask further questions and could only follow Zhu Jian slowly toward the Nanjing Imperial Palace...

Before long, Zhu Jian arrived at the palace, followed by a large number of soldiers.

Below the Dragon Platform, Cao Bianjiao, Zhou Yuji, He Renlong, and Liu Guoneng stood on either side of the platform, their hands on their waist knives as they looked at the assembled ministers.

The moment Censor Lin Wendao entered the main hall, he broke the silence, saying, "Your Majesty, I, Lin Wendao, Censor of the Nanjing Metropolitan Censorate, report: Bringing soldiers and armor into the hall, and allowing military men to wield power, is improper! I fear this will lead to the disaster of the former Tang dynasty, with its regional military governors! I humbly request Your Majesty to dismiss those around you!"