After issuing the order, Zhu Youjian felt a sense of loss.
His initial desire to go and share the good news with Gao Qingyun had diminished considerably.
"Enough, enough. I'd better go and discuss matters with my ministers first."
Zhu Youjian shook his head, returned to the main hall, and summoned his ministers.
After all the ministers had arrived, Zhu Youjian said calmly:
"My esteemed ministers, our army has once again achieved a great victory. What are your thoughts on this?"
The court officials felt something was amiss after hearing this.
"That's not right. Logically speaking, His Majesty should be happy about the great victory of the soldiers."
"Why does His Majesty seem somewhat dejected now?"
"Could it be...could it be that this victory report is fake, and that the government troops have actually suffered a defeat?"
Someone immediately had an idea and tentatively asked:
"Your Majesty, should we send more troops to support Ningyuan?"
Zhu Youjian casually replied, "Well, let's do it that way then."
To everyone's surprise, these words only made the court officials more certain.
"The front lines must have suffered a defeat!"
"Otherwise, the Jurchens would have already retreated far away by now, so why would they need to support Ningyuan?"
"Alas, His Majesty has made a complete mess of things, insisting on appointing Li Ruolian and letting Qin Liangyu, a mere woman, lead the army. It's utterly disgraceful, no wonder they were defeated!"
They all began to harbor resentment in their hearts.
For a time, despite having won a great victory, the court fell silent.
From Zhu Youjian to the other ministers, no one spoke.
After a while, Zhu Youjian finally noticed something was wrong.
He frowned and asked, "My dear ministers, why are you all silent?"
Only then did some people come to their senses and quickly began to sing hymns of praise.
"We...we are overwhelmed by Your Majesty's majesty!"
"His Majesty has defeated the Jurchens twice in a row only a few months after ascending the throne, which is truly remarkable."
"Even the two emperors, Taizu and Taizong, were no more than this!"
The other ministers quickly echoed this sentiment.
"Yes, yes, with His Majesty here, our Great Ming Dynasty is invincible!"
Although in their hearts they all felt that the Ming Dynasty had suffered a defeat.
But when it comes to flattery, they go all out.
"Your Majesty is wise and mighty; it is truly a blessing for our Great Ming Dynasty!"
"That's right. I imagine that in a few more years, Your Majesty will be able to wipe out the Jurchens and recover Liaodong!"
Zhu Youjian didn't realize these people were flattering him; he thought they were genuinely praising him.
He said with a smile, "I'm a little embarrassed by what you all say."
"However, I have always kept the matter of pacifying the Jurchens in mind."
At this point, Zhu Youjian recalled the history that Gao Qingyun had revealed to him.
So he gritted his teeth and said, "The Jurchens are the mortal enemies of our Great Ming!"
"Either the Jurchens die, or our Great Ming Dynasty perishes!"
"Whoever can destroy the Jurchens, I will reward him handsomely!"
But as soon as he said this, the courtiers were even more certain.
"It's over. It seems the officers and soldiers suffered a considerable defeat outside the Great Wall this time!"
"Otherwise, why would His Majesty harbor such hatred towards the Jurchens?"
They had no idea that the Jurchens would one day be able to destroy the Ming Dynasty.
They considered the Jurchens to be a trivial matter, and of course they were unaware of Zhu Youjian's true intentions.
The ministers exchanged cautious glances, not daring to continue the topic.
He then made up a random excuse and started talking about disaster relief in Shaanxi and Gansu.
He even deliberately asked Zhu Youjian to spend money to hand over a portion of the confiscated property of the Donglin Party to the Ministry of Revenue.
As expected, Zhu Youjian was not happy when he heard about this.
After enduring a few words, he waved for the assembled officials to leave.
The officials breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left the hall.
After they went out, they immediately gathered together.
"Oh dear, what should we do?"
"The situation outside the pass is probably beyond repair!"
One minister stamped his foot heavily and spoke:
"If the Donglin Party were still around, this battle would never have happened..."
But someone immediately interrupted him.
"What nonsense are you spouting? The Donglin Party are traitors!"
The person who had spoken earlier immediately realized his mistake and quickly said, "I misspoke. I was just a little angry."
"Sigh, it's all Master Gao's fault!"
"The court's defeat this time must be due to his slanderous words!"
These ministers dared not directly criticize Zhu Youjian, so they took it indirectly and vented their anger on Gao Qingyun.
"Hmph, not long ago the imperial court published some kind of ancient literature collection, which is said to have been produced by this Master Gao."
"In my opinion, this is all utter nonsense!"
As soon as he said this, everyone else chimed in.
“That’s right. Even we well-read people can’t compile such a book, so how could Master Gao possibly have done it?”
Their words reflected not only their dissatisfaction with Gao Qingyun, but also a hint of jealousy.
The first person to speak said:
"By the way, since the emperor insists on disguising a major defeat as a great victory, why don't we give him a little push and see how he handles the aftermath!"
Someone asked curiously, "How do you add fuel to the fire?"
The man sneered, "Isn't that simple?"
"Let's spread this news immediately and let the whole Ming Dynasty know about this great victory."
"Then I suggest that the court hold a victory celebration ceremony, so that all the people of the capital and the civil and military officials in the capital can participate."
"I'd like to see how the emperor will handle this!"
The other ministers, upon hearing this, were all very supportive.
But then they remembered that those who had opposed the emperor in the past had all met with bad ends, and they became a little timid.
"This...isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
"Exactly, what if the officers and soldiers only suffered a minor defeat and weren't seriously injured at all?"
"If they kill innocent people at will and claim it as a victory, then we will have suffered a great loss."
But just as they were speaking, someone suddenly rushed over and said to the assembled officials:
"My lords, we have received a secret report from Shanhaiguan that the Beijing garrison has suddenly collapsed and is requesting to enter the pass for temporary refuge."
Upon hearing this, the ministers' eyes lit up.
"Oh! Defeated soldiers from the Beijing garrison?"
"If I remember correctly, the Beijing Garrison was the main force in this operation outside the pass!"
"Since they have all retreated to Shanhaiguan, doesn't that mean... the government troops suffered a crushing defeat?"
They immediately perked up.
“That’s right, let’s hurry back and write a memorial to His Majesty, suggesting that he hold a grand victory ceremony!”
"This matter should also be communicated to the governors and viceroys of various regions, so that the whole world will know about it!"
They were determined to embarrass Zhu Youjian.
When these memorials were delivered to Zhu Youjian, he was still unaware of the inside story.
He considered this great victory as a way to finally win over the hearts of the Ming Dynasty's subjects.
"well!"
"This triumphant ceremony must indeed be held properly!"
Zhu Youjian himself had been thinking about this for a long time these past few days.
He summoned Luo Yangxing and instructed him:
"I have made my decision and will issue a decree to the world."
"Whoever can pacify Liaodong and eliminate the Jurchens will be granted the title of Duke by me!"
For Luo Yangxing, there was definitely no problem with the imperial edict.
"Your Majesty is wise. The Jurchens are truly a thorn in the side of our Great Ming. Whoever can eliminate them should indeed be granted the title of Duke."
Zhu Youjian smiled with satisfaction, and was about to say something more when he saw Wang Chengen running over with a wry smile.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Master Gao is causing trouble again."
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