Upon hearing Zhu Youjian's words, those ministers immediately regretted their actions.
What ideas do they have?
If I had to give a suggestion, it would be to besiege Guangning rather than launch a fierce attack.
They stopped talking instantly and stood there stunned.
I don't know what to say.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Youjian's expression gradually darkened.
"What? Do you lot only know how to refute Zhou Yanru, but have no good ideas of your own?"
He slammed his hand on the table, causing almost all the ministers to tremble violently.
Zhu Youjian snorted coldly: "Confucius said that to punish someone without teaching them is cruelty. I am not a tyrannical ruler, so I will not punish you this time."
Before the ministers could breathe a sigh of relief, Zhu Youjian continued:
“But from now on, you must all remember this.”
"I will allow you to speak, but if all you can do is object and you cannot offer any other opinions..."
"Then I will not let you off easily!"
In fact, Zhu Youjian had wanted to bring this up for a long time.
His horizons have been greatly broadened by Gao Qingyun.
Zhu Youjian knew that even if he dealt with the Donglin Party and the gentry, and even if he pacified Liaodong, the best he could hope for was a period of revival.
It was incomparable to the flourishing atmosphere of a newly established dynasty.
All the officials in the Ming Dynasty, from the civil and military officials in front of him to the lowest-ranking county magistrate.
It's rotten to the core.
If I whip them a few times, they'll move a little.
If I'm even slightly lazy, they'll just lie down and do nothing.
"If we don't come up with a way to change their mindset that the more they do, the more mistakes they make, and if they don't do anything, they'll make no mistakes at all."
"Even if Master Gao trained many students, Qin Liangyu and her group still managed to carve out a vast territory."
"After I die, the political system will also end with my death."
"Today's opportunity is quite good; I can set some rules for them!"
Zhu Youjian's face was ashen as he scanned the ministers present.
The courtiers felt the pressure from the emperor and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
Although Zhu Youjian was not very old, he had been killing almost indiscriminately in the year or so since he ascended the throne.
After killing the eunuch faction, they killed the Donglin Party; after killing the Donglin Party, they turned their attention to the gentry and canal workers of Jiangnan.
Now, another major war has broken out with the Jurchens, with the flames of war spreading from Liaodong to Goryeo.
Therefore, these ministers dared not underestimate Zhu Youjian at all.
"Your Majesty's words are etched in our minds and we dare not forget them."
The ministers wiped the cold sweat from their brows and spoke tremblingly.
However, their hearts were filled with disrespectful thoughts.
"And you still say you're not a tyrannical ruler! Since the founding of our Great Ming Dynasty, only the founding emperor, Emperor Taizu, had a greater bloodlust than you!"
"Even the Jiajing Emperor, though he liked to use the rod, didn't actually kill many of his ministers!"
"Hmph, it seems that this battle in Liaodong is bound to take another unexpected turn!"
"The Battle of Guangning could very well turn into another Sarhu!"
Many ministers exchanged glances, each seeing the coldness in the other's eyes.
"It seems we really should start preparing soon."
"The situation in Liaodong has deteriorated again, and the Mongols might very well enter the pass as well."
"I wonder if Manchu is easy to learn?"
While they knelt and bowed to Zhu Youjian, they secretly grumbled in their hearts.
Zhu Youjian naturally saw through their thoughts.
His gaze turned cold.
"Hmph, looks like they've forgotten about their last cold!"
"It's a pity that before I went to court today, I forgot to ask Master Gao if there would be heavy rain."
"Otherwise, I will make sure they get soaked in the rain again!"
Just as Zhu Youjian was contemplating how to make these ministers suffer.
A member of the Imperial Guard walked to the door and beckoned to Luo Yangxing.
Luo Yangxing frowned and looked up at Zhu Youjian.
Seeing that Zhu Youjian hadn't noticed any of this, Luo Yangxing was also very proud to walk to the door.
"Commander Shen, what are you doing in the main hall?"
"Luckily, none of the officials saw it, otherwise you would definitely be charged with disrespecting the emperor!"
Luo Yangxing openly scolded him, but in reality, he was also giving him pointers.
The centurion quickly bowed and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Commander."
"But I have come here today because I have urgent military information to report to you, sir!"
He took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Luo Yangxing.
"My lord, urgent report from Liaodong! Mangultai has surrendered!"
When Luo Yangxing first received the letter, he didn't take the matter to heart.
Since the army left the pass, he had been receiving so-called urgent reports almost every day, and he was already tired of hearing them.
He casually asked, "Who is Mangultai? Is he the garrison commander of some stronghold? If he holds any official position, that would be quite a significant matter."
The centurion was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly said, "My lord, this Mangultai is the banner lord of the Plain Blue Banner."
Luo Yangxing's hand, which was opening the letter, suddenly stopped.
"What? You mean Mangultai, who is stationed in Guangning?"
"But...but he still has tens of thousands of Jurchen troops under his command, and the fortified city of Guangning!"
"Why should he surrender the city?!"
Luo Yangxing was surprised, and his speech was tinged with his local accent.
The centurion hurriedly replied:
"My lord, I would never dare to lie to you."
"You don't know this, Master Gao is indeed a master who produces outstanding students. This time, he used a little trick to deal with Li Zicheng, who accompanied General Li to Liaodong..."
The centurion briefly recounted what had happened outside Guangning City.
Most of the credit was attributed to Li Zicheng.
It is said that his disguise was a great success, making Mangultai really believe that the Ming army had many Italian cannons.
In addition, Li Ruolian's strong attack on Guangning put him under tremendous pressure.
That's why Mangultai opened the city gates and surrendered.
Upon hearing this, Luo Yangxing's expression became quite complex.
"This is really..."
He was well aware that the fact that the Beijing garrison had forced Mangultai to surrender in just a few days would inevitably have a far-reaching impact.
"But in any case, Your Majesty will likely be remembered in history from now on."
Luo Yangxing took a deep breath, held the letter high, and strode back into the main hall.
He knelt in the center of the hall and exclaimed loudly, "Your Majesty, great joy!"
Zhu Youjian glanced at him and casually asked, "What great joy?"
"Could it be Li Ruolian and his men who breached Guangning?"
Luo Yangxing was stunned.
"Your Majesty, you already knew?"
"What...what do I know? Guangning has really been recovered?" Zhu Youjian's eyes widened suddenly.
Luo Yangxing nodded and said, "That's right!"
"Urgent report from the front! Our Ming army has launched a fierce attack for several days, and Mangultai, unable to withstand the onslaught, has surrendered!"
Upon hearing this, the assembled officials all turned away in disbelief.
"Luo Yangxing, are you lying about military intelligence?"
"Over the years, only officers of our Great Ming have surrendered to the Jurchens. When will the Jurchens turn around and surrender to our Great Ming?"
Seeing that they didn't believe him, Luo Yangxing sneered.
"My lords, you are mistaken about that."
"The Jurchens were human too, why couldn't they surrender?"
"Or is it that you are loyal to the Jurchens and therefore unwilling to hear this news?"
With such a serious accusation leveled against them, naturally no one dared to accept it.
Everyone immediately shut up.
The hall immediately fell silent.
The ministers were all waiting for Zhu Youjian to speak.
However, Zhu Youjian suddenly stood up, turned around and ran out of the hall.
Wang Chengen hurriedly followed, but the other ministers were now staring at each other in bewilderment.
"What is the emperor going to do?"
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