Chapter 115: Enemy at the Gate
The officials in the hall were thrown into chaos.
"How come Princess Fuguang's army arrived so quickly?"
"That fool, the Minister of War, buried all the imperial guards in Nanyang, leaving the capital city completely depleted of troops and unable to defend it!"
"I've said long ago that the princess shouldn't be allowed to manage Yuzhou. Now, her ambitions have been amplified."
"What's the point of saying this now? You should think of a solution. Do you really want to help Princess Fuguang break into the city?"
The ministers had heard a little about Princess Fuguang's actions in Yuzhou. They heard that after she took office, she vigorously promoted the system of female households and female officials, and the men in the state were severely suppressed.
All the land and property of the local tyrants and gentry were confiscated, and the officials who served before her were either imprisoned or beheaded. The degree of her cruelty was no less than that of Empress Dowager Chi.
Therefore, they would never surrender to such a person.
However, there were also some people who were optimistic and thought that Princess Fuguang and the current emperor were siblings and were closely related by blood. Perhaps the reason she sent troops was to force Empress Dowager Chi to abdicate and return power to the emperor.
Then they should support it with both hands and feet.
The Minister of Personnel was the first to step out and said calmly, "Your Majesty, the princess and His Majesty have a deep bond. As long as Your Majesty is willing to allow His Majesty to come forward and negotiate with the princess, the princess will definitely withdraw her troops if she doesn't want to be accused of murdering her own flesh and blood!"
Sitting on the throne, Chi Lu's expression was indifferent, and it was difficult to tell whether she was happy or angry.
"Oh?" She sighed softly, glancing at the ministers in the hall. "What about you? Do you all agree with the Minister of Personnel's approach?"
The Minister of Personnel fell to his knees with a thud. "I guarantee with my life that I can persuade the princess to withdraw her troops. I beg the Queen Mother to release His Majesty!"
The other officials followed suit, all kneeling on the ground and shouting in unison: "Please, Queen Mother, release the Emperor!"
At this point, they didn't believe that Queen Mother Chi would still be so stubborn.
Chi Li looked at the kneeling male officials and couldn't help but smile, but her eyes were extremely cold. "Since you ask me so sincerely, then I will do as you wish."
She wanted to see what wonderful expressions they would show when they saw the emperor they had been thinking about.
The Minister of Personnel looked up in surprise, his eyes bursting with ecstasy.
During the many years that Empress Dowager Chi was in power, almost all the civil and military officials in the court had been replaced, but the emperor had never attended court even once.
After all, they are the people of Dayong. They received Confucian education and believed in orthodox ideas passed down from generation to generation. Even if they obeyed the orders of Queen Mother Chi on the surface, deep down they still believed that she was a witch who was misleading the country and abusing her power.
The Minister of Personnel thought that Empress Dowager Chi would still be stubborn, but he didn't expect that she would give in this time.
But it's also true that things have come to this point, and it's useless for Empress Dowager Chi to cling to power.
If she doesn't release the emperor, once the city is broken, she will be a sinner who has harmed the country and the people. Even if the rebels let her go, the people will not let her go.
Queen Mother Chi must be feeling helpless at this time, right?
The Minister of Personnel quietly raised his eyes and looked at Empress Dowager Chi on the throne, trying to see the frustration on her face.
But what surprised him was that Queen Mother Chi was as calm and solemn as usual, with a cold light flashing in her dark eyes.
He was startled, his heart inexplicably flustered. He lowered his head and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty is wise."
"You go to Nan'an Gate and wait first. I will ask the emperor to come to the city and persuade the enemy to retreat. If your plan is really effective, then I will no longer be the empress dowager." Chi Lu's cold voice sounded like a faint smile in the ears of the ministers.
For some reason, even though their goal had been achieved, they felt a little uneasy.
The ministers consoled themselves by saying, "It must be because Empress Dowager Chi has accumulated power for too long."
After watching Empress Dowager Chi leave, they instantly felt much more relaxed and hurriedly left the hall and headed towards Nan'an Gate.
At this time, there were only one thousand guards and two thousand newly mobilized civilians defending Nan'an Gate.
Seeing the civil and military officials coming, the guards who had already stopped fighting were very surprised and quickly invited everyone to the city wall.
The ministers then learned that Princess Fuguang had lined up her troops outside the city and had only fired three cannons as a deterrent, and had not yet officially started the siege.
They suddenly felt much more at ease and became more certain that Princess Fuguang came to kill Queen Chi and save the emperor.
After all, Princess Fuguang is already the most noble princess in the world. She has everything she wants. What else could she be dissatisfied with?
She could only be unhappy that her younger brother was imprisoned by her stepmother.
As for the rumor that Princess Fuguang is a heroine sent from heaven, it is nothing but a false rumor.
No matter what, Princess Fuguang is just a woman. How dare she become the emperor herself?
They were just afraid that Princess Fuguang was too greedy. After saving the emperor, she would become arrogant and want to become the second Empress Dowager Chi.
However, this is something to be considered later. Right now, the most important thing is to persuade Princess Fuguang to withdraw her troops.
The ministers pondered all the way and followed the guards to the city wall.
They looked up and saw flags waving outside the city, soldiers everywhere in the mountains and plains as far as the eye could see, cavalrymen galloping back and forth between the troops, raising clouds of dust, and in the front were five cannons shining with green light, with their black barrels pointing at the entrance of the city wall.
The ministers were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they dared not breathe. Some of the timid ones had never seen such a big scene and were so scared that their legs and feet went weak and they could only stand firmly by holding on to the city wall.
The Minister of Personnel said in a trembling voice, "Even if Princess Fuguang wanted to intimidate Empress Dowager Chi, there's no need to make such a big fuss."
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Zhao Mingyue stood on the hill and looked at the city wall of the capital from afar.
She had imagined the scene of returning to the capital many times, but she never thought that when she stood outside the capital again, it would be in this way.
But she came back anyway.
Xue Qi stood beside her, watching the sun setting in the west, and the red clouds covering the entire sky, which was so beautiful that it was beyond words. Then she looked at the majestic Zhao Yuzhang, the heroic Mei Junrong, the armed Yu Zhao, and the Zhu Dafeng standing on horseback with sword in hand in front of the army. Her mood was as bright and joyful as the red clouds in the sky.
A smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She had waited for so long and finally waited for this day.
This decadent and outdated world is finally about to welcome its first female ruler.
And she finally had the opportunity to show her talents in this era that belongs exclusively to women.
Xue Qi looked at Zhao Mingyue, "Princess, why haven't you ordered the attack on the city yet?"
Zhao Mingyue didn't retract her gaze towards the capital, nor did she answer. Instead, she asked in a low voice, "Master Xue, do you think my mother will hate me?"
She was hesitant and afraid.
She was not afraid of the opposition of the court officials, nor was she afraid of the rumors of the people. She was only afraid of seeing A Niang's hateful eyes.
Would my mother hate her? Of course she would.
Even though she gave such an answer in her heart, she still followed the advice of her generals and chose to besiege the capital.
Even though she knew that this was a betrayal to her mother.
But with such a great opportunity to reach the summit right in front of us, no one can refuse it!
Xue Qi didn't think about it, "Princess, based on my understanding of Queen Mother Chi, she will never hate you."
"Really?" Zhao Mingyue looked at Xue Qi happily.
Xue Qi affirmed: "Of course, Queen Mother Chi will only admire you because you have done what she could not do."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a loud shout from the other side of the city wall. The two turned around and saw a group of guards escorting a person up to the top of the city wall. The person was wearing a black robe and a gauze hat, and had a dignified demeanor. It was none other than Empress Dowager Chi.
Behind her, there was a bright yellow sedan chair, and a eunuch next to it was holding a yellow umbrella, which was obviously the emperor's ceremonial guard.
When the male officials saw the emperor's sedan chair, they were so moved that they burst into tears. They immediately knelt on the ground and shouted in unison, "Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long, long live the emperor!"
The people below the city thought that the emperor had come to the city gate to supervise the battle in person. Their thoughts of surrendering and fighting were immediately shaken. They knelt down and shouted, "Long live! Long live! Long live!"
After the shout, everyone quietly raised their heads, waiting to catch a glimpse of the emperor's true face.
The Minister of Personnel even walked up to the sedan chair on his knees and extended his hand respectfully, intending to let the emperor ride in his sedan chair.
After waiting for a while, my hands were tired, but the person in the sedan chair still didn't come out.
The Minister of Personnel frowned. Could it be that the emperor had been imprisoned for so many years and was afraid to see people?
Just as he was wondering, he heard two strange "squeaks" from the sedan chair, and then a hairy monkey hand suddenly grabbed the curtain, pulled it open, and pounced on him.
Before the Minister of Personnel could react, the monkey was already riding on his neck, its two hands tightly grasping his head.
He was so frightened that he immediately jumped up from the ground, waving his hands to slap the monkey, and yelled angrily: "Evil beast! Let go of me!"
Who would have thought that the monkey not only refused to let go, but also bit his ear, pulled it off, held it in its mouth, and started chewing it in big mouthfuls.
The whole scene looked bloody and funny, and both the officials on the city wall and the people below were stunned.
The Minister of Personnel could not bear such suffering. He was furious and pulled the monkey off its neck. He threw it to the ground, stepped on its lower limbs, drew his sword from the guard next to him, and chopped off the monkey's head with a swish.
The red blood splashed all over his face, but he felt extremely refreshed. He didn't even bother to wipe it off. He turned to look at Queen Mother Chi and angrily said, "Queen Mother Chi, you brought a monkey here to tease us and made us kneel before it as if it were the emperor. What are your intentions?"
The other officials also felt deceived and stood up, angrily saying, "We are trying our best to save the court from danger, and yet, Your Majesty, you are fooling us like this. Acting like this is completely unworthy of a superior!"
"In the face of national crisis, the Queen Mother is so stubborn and insists on preventing the Emperor from personally withdrawing the troops. If this capital cannot be defended, Queen Mother, you should die for this country, because this is all the result of your abuse of power and your misfortune!"
Perhaps because they felt that Empress Dowager Chi could no longer do anything to them, these officials who had been submissive in the past straightened their chests and loudly rebuked Empress Dowager Chi one by one, not even calling her "Your Majesty".
Chi Li looked at them coldly and sneered, "Are you blind? You can't even recognize the emperor? May I ask the Minister of Personnel, should the person who personally killed the emperor be executed along with his entire clan?"
The Minister of Personnel's eyes widened in disbelief. What? That ugly monkey was actually the emperor?!
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