Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Wang Chengen walked up to Chongzhen and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister and all the ministers have important matters to discuss and request an audience with you."
Chongzhen put down the ginseng soup in his hand, pouted and said, "No!"
Wang Chengen had no choice but to tell Xie Sanbin and others what Chongzhen meant.
Xie Sanbin was unwilling to give up and advised: "Please ask Eunuch Wang to report it again. This matter is of great importance!"
Wang Chengen directly refused: "If you want to say it, you can say it yourself."
"Okay!" Shi Kefa nodded, "Just let us see His Majesty, and you don't have to worry about anything else."
Wang Chengen ignored Shi Kefa and said to everyone, "Your Majesty said he would not see you, so please go back!"
"It's fine if you don't meet me," Xie Sanbin took out the memorial and said, "This memorial was written by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself. It must be presented to His Majesty."
"Okay." Wang Chengen took the memorial and returned to the Qianqing Palace.
Chongzhen was too lazy to read the content and just asked Wang Chengen to read it out loud.
As he read on, Wang Chengen was so scared that he immediately shut his mouth.
Chongzhen asked: "Why don't you read it?"
"I am afraid I have read it wrong."
Chongzhen had guessed the content of the memorial from Wang Chengen's reaction.
He calmly ordered, "Tell me, what does the prince want to do?"
Wang Chengen lowered his head and replied, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said in his memorial that there are treacherous ministers in the court who are blocking the way for speech. If Your Majesty does not reply to his letter, he will raise an army to defend the king."
Hearing the words "serve the king", Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally!
Finally, the Jiangnan gang was forced to rebel.
If they did not rebel, Chongzhen would have no way to take the initiative.
Now they are rebelling...
No, it's still one step away from rebellion.
Chongzhen ordered: "Order the Imperial Household Department to write a letter to the Crown Prince in my tone and handwriting, saying that I am in good health. In addition, there are rumors in Nanjing that he is planning a rebellion and has prepared a dragon robe. Ask him in the letter what is going on."
"This..." Although Wang Chengen was a little stupid, he had realized that Chongzhen was trying to trick them.
There are only a few eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department, and no matter how similar the imitation is, there will be flaws.
There is a group of people in Nanjing who make a living by writing.
It was easy to see the flaw and realize that the letter was not written by Chongzhen himself.
Doing so would not only fail to appease the prince, but would make him speed up his return to the throne.
at the same time...
The people in the cabinet will be regarded as treacherous ministers by Nanjing, and the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department will also become a threat to the eunuch party.
Looking at the huge blame thrown at him by Chongzhen, Wang Chengen didn't dare to take it, nor could he bear it.
He knelt on the ground and pleaded, "Your Majesty, I think it would be better if you wrote this letter yourself."
Chongzhen glared at him and said, "What? You dare to disobey my order?"
"I dare not, I just think this matter is of great importance..."
"It is precisely because of the importance of this matter that I have entrusted this matter to the Imperial Household Department!"
"But..."
"No buts. Go write the letter. When you finish writing it and send it to Nanjing, inform the cabinet so that they don't have to worry."
Although Wang Chengen was helpless, he had no choice but to act according to the order.
When leaving the Qianqing Palace, Wang Chengen turned his head and glanced over his shoulder.
Although he couldn't see the pot, he was sure that he had taken the blame.
......
On the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month, Chongzhen's letter arrived in Nanjing.
The Ming Crown Prince Zhu Cilang summoned civil and military officials from Nanjing to review the contents of the letter.
Zhu Cilang was the first to read it. After reading it, he did not express his opinion, but handed the letter to Ni Yuanlu.
Although Ni Yuanlu didn't say anything after reading it, he shook his head slightly in front of everyone.
Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin, did not hold any official position, so he would not appear here.
Ma Shiying was the third one to check.
After reading it, he muttered softly, "Something seems wrong."
Ni Yuanlu asked, "You also noticed something was wrong?"
"Yeah," Ma Shiying nodded.
The fourth person who watched was Gao Hongtu, the Minister of Finance of Nanjing.
Following them were the Left Vice Minister of War Ren Jun, the Right Vice Minister Cao Rong and others.
After they have all finished watching, it will be the turn of the nobles.
After Duke of Wei Xu Wenjue, Marquis of Funing Zhu Guobi, Marquis of Chengyi Liu Kongzhao and others read it, the letter returned to Zhu Cilang's hands.
Zhu Cilang asked: "You have all read the contents of the letter. Father said in the letter that the emperor is in good health!"
"The letter is a forgery!" Ma Shiying could not help but say, "Although I am not very knowledgeable, I have seen a lot of your majesty's calligraphy. Although the handwriting on this letter is somewhat similar to your majesty's, there are many differences. It is obviously a forgery at first glance."
Ni Yuanlu clasped his hands together and said, "I second the motion!"
"I second this motion." Other Donglin Party members expressed their opinions one after another.
Seeing this, the nobles also expressed their opinions, "I second the motion!"
"Forged!" Zhu Cilang gritted his teeth and said, "If the letter is really forged, then I'm afraid that Father..."
Ni Yuanlu bowed again and said, "I think your memorial was never delivered to His Majesty, but was secretly intercepted by the Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department, who forged a reply letter to stabilize Your Majesty."
Zhu Cilang deliberately frowned: "Why are they doing this? Aren't they afraid of being convicted if the emperor finds out?"
Ni Yuanlu immediately replied: "Your Highness does not need to consider the purpose of their actions, but to find a way to return to the capital to meet His Majesty! Only when the father and son meet can the truth be known."
"Yes," Xu Wenjue responded immediately, "We must return to the capital to see His Majesty."
"Return to Beijing..." Zhu Cilang looked towards the north, "If I go back directly, I'm afraid I'll run into trouble."
Ma Shiying quickly added: "Your Majesty has not attended court for more than a year, and now there is a forged letter from Your Majesty. This shows that the imperial court in the capital has become the world of treacherous ministers and eunuchs. Now the treacherous ministers block the way for speech, and the eunuchs are monopolizing power and ruining the country. If this continues, I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty will be in danger!"
"I second the motion!"
"I second this motion!"
The sound of a tape recorder was heard in the hall.
Zhu Cilang said worriedly: "This is indeed a big trouble!"
Seeing that the time was ripe, Liu Kongzhao, the Earl of Chengyi, immediately proposed: "Your Highness, as the crown prince, should share the country's worries."
Zhu Cilang looked at Liu Kongzhao and asked softly, "What does Earl Chengyi mean?"
Liu Kongzhao knelt down and said, "I think Your Highness should issue an order to call on troops from all over the country to come to the capital to defend the king, wipe out the treacherous officials in the court, and restore order to the Ming Dynasty!"
"I second the motion!" Duke of Wei Xu Wenjue was the first to respond.
"I second the proposal!" Funing Marquis Zhu Guobi followed.
Under their leadership, all the nobles knelt down.
They had long been faced with a situation where they would die if they did not resist.
Now is a good time to rebel in the name of serving the king, why not do it?
Zhu Cilang nodded: "I do want to serve the king, but..."
Liu Kongzhao immediately asked, "But what? Your Highness, please speak!"
Zhu Cilang said worriedly: "But we don't have enough soldiers and horses, I'm afraid we can't come to the king's rescue!"
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