Chapter 154 Nanjing Civil Unrest 1
Zhao Xiaofei remained unconscious, and the Anqing Palace was heavily guarded. Princess Kunxing had banished Li Sihong and Kou Baimen to the barracks, where they watched as the Kenan Army soldiers remained firmly stationed. Wanshan watched over Zhao Xiaofei from within the palace, ready to rescue him at any moment. Despite consulting every renowned doctor in Nanjing, no one could determine the poison the assassin had used.
The people who were going to invite Zhao Xiaokun back were already on their way, and they wouldn't be back for two days. Even as Zhao Xiaofei lay unconscious, a group of people celebrated. Xincheng Earl Zhao Zhilong, Duke of Wei Xu Jiujue, Grand Secretary Wang Duo, Cai Yishen, Right Censor-in-Chief Li Zan, and others were conspiring on a flower boat.
Zhao Zhilong raised his glass and said, "Everyone, Zhao Xiaofei is dying now, and this is our chance to shine. I have already mobilized tens of thousands of troops. With your cooperation, we can accomplish this great cause!"
Duke of Wei, Xu Jiujue, said, "Lord Xincheng, how strong are they? The Kenan Army is incredibly powerful, and no ordinary army can defeat them!"
"The Kenan Army is now leaderless, and his eldest brother is trapped at Huang Degong's place and can't come back. As long as our troops arrive, won't they surrender obediently?" Zhao Zhilong said.
"Don't forget, Zhao Xiaofei's two concubines are now commanding the troops in the military camp. How did Ruan Dacheng and Zhu Guobi fail? I think the Earl of Xincheng knows it!" Xu Jiujue said.
Grand Secretary Wang Duo said, "They are just two prostitutes. Do you really think they are Qin Liangyu? Can they still lead the army without Zhao Xiaofei? Isn't Duke Wei a little overly worried?"
The others nodded in agreement. Xu Jiujue asked, "Who is willing to go to Nanjing and purge the imperial court?"
"The four defenders of Yangzhou, Li Qifeng, Gao Qifeng, Suzhou Hu Shangyou, and Han Shangliang are willing to send troops to purge the court." Zhao Zhilong said.
"How many people do they have now?" asked Xu Jiujue.
"Fifty thousand soldiers and horses! And they are all elite soldiers! They are stationed eighty miles outside the city!" Cai Yishen said.
"But the Yangzhou prefect Feng Dunhou was promoted by Zhao Xiaofei, and there are tens of thousands of militiamen in the local area. What should they do?" asked Xu Jiujue.
"Duke Wei, that prefect Feng and the Kenan Army have been transferred away. We forged a transfer order and asked Feng Dunhou to lead his troops to Chuzhou for support. They are on the way now!" said Li Zan.
"Okay! In that case, we won't be polite! A normal person with the poison can only survive until tomorrow night at most. By then, we will surely succeed if we join forces!" Xu Jiujue was finally convinced.
Inside the Anqing Palace, Princess Kunxing asked, "Why haven't you invited my eldest brother back after being gone for so long?"
Xiao Si said, "Princess, there might be a problem on the way. I have already sent two waves of troops! If there is no news, I will send a third wave."
"Send them now, the prince can't wait any longer!" Kunxing said.
"Yes! I'll do it right away!" Xiao Si agreed and went out quickly.
At this time, Li Zichu came to ask for an audience. Princess Kunxing summoned him to the living room and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Your Highness, I have heard that someone is planning to purge the emperor's side and march into Nanjing. The army is only eighty miles away from the city!" said Li Zichu.
"What? Who is so brave?" Princess Kunxing asked in surprise.
"It's Xincheng Earl Zhao Zhilong and Wei Duke Xu Jiujue, and there are also some other followers. For example, Grand Secretary Wang Duo, Cai Yishen, Right Censor-in-Chief Li Zan and others!" Li Zichu said.
"Why did they mutiny?" asked Princess Kunxing.
"Your Highness, they are all members of the Donglin Party. And they oppose the court's imposition of excessively high commercial taxes!" said Li Zichu.
"Does the cabinet know?" asked Princess Kunxing.
"I don't know at the moment!" said Li Zichu.
"Okay! I understand. You can go down!" Princess Kunxing said, and then asked Li Zichu to go down. She changed her clothes and rode to the palace with her personal guards.
Arriving at Kunning Palace, Princess Kunxing recounted to Empress Dowager Zhou what Li Zichu had discovered. Shocked, Empress Dowager Zhou exclaimed, "What? How could they disregard the greater good? The dynasty has just stabilized, and they're already busy fighting among themselves, disregarding the nation's peril. These traitors will be apprehended, their families exterminated, and finally executed by slow slicing!"
Empress Dowager Zhou was truly furious. The Jiangnan region had just been stabilized. Imperial orders were finally reaching the southern regions, and just when everyone thought everything was settled, Zhao Xiaofei returned to the capital. He was assassinated in the street! Need I even mention the assassin? It must have been those preparing for a mutiny.
"Queen Mother! I came here to ask whether the Kenan Army can enter the city to defend the palace, and send another force to encircle and suppress the rebels." Princess Kunxing said.
"Who will lead the troops?" asked Queen Mother Zhou.
"Two concubines, Li Sihong and Kou Baimen! General Wan and I will lead the troops to defend the imperial city!" Princess Kunxing said.
"Let Wanshan guard the outer city, and you guard the imperial city! The Jinyiwei will secretly arrest these traitors!" said Empress Dowager Zhou.
"Yes! I will arrange it right away!" said Princess Kunxing.
"I never thought that my Ming Dynasty actually needs women like us to fight in the battlefield and defend the country. I really don't know what your father would think if he saw it." Empress Dowager Zhou was moved and tears fell down.
Yes! The Ming Dynasty is now in its most critical moment and has no one to use. They are also asking these orphans, widows, and female generals of the imperial family to defend the city and fight the enemy. How similar is this to the Yang family during the Northern Song Dynasty? Although Mu Guiying's command is a joke, it has become a reality in the Ming Dynasty today.
Princess Kunxing Zhu Mianzhu led 10,000 troops into the imperial city, while Wanshan led troops in the outer city. She also sent messengers to Li Sihong and Kou Baimen, asking them to prepare to send troops to encircle the rebels in the direction of Yangzhou.
Li Zichu received a secret order to secretly capture the rebels. However, his search was in vain. The homes of Zhao Zhilong, the Earl of Xincheng, and Xu Jiujue, the Duke of Wei, had vanished, along with their wives and children, save for their servants. Grand Secretaries Wang Duo and Cai Yishen also came up empty-handed. Only Li Zan was captured.
Princess Kunxing had already ordered Li Zichu to execute those conspirators immediately upon capture, to prevent further complications. So, after capturing Li Zan, Li Zichu ignored his pleas and explanations and simply chopped off his head. His wife, children, and all the men were executed, while the women were imprisoned in the Nanjing Jiaofang Division.
Princess Kunxing, pregnant, dared not move, merely sitting on the imperial sedan chair and gazing down at the city walls. (The sedan chair was a privilege granted by Empress Dowager Zhou.) Gazing at the distant scenery, Princess Kunxing felt a pang of sadness. She dreaded Zhao Xiaofei's departure, leaving her alone to raise the child. She also resented her mother, the queen mother, for being wary of her own family even at this point. If there had been a rebellion, her husband would have done it long ago. Was there still a need to go to Anqing and fight Zuo Liangyu?
Now that the eastern and southern half of the empire has just been stabilized, her husband's life and death are unknown. The emperor wants to visit the palace, but the queen mother won't allow it. She won't even send one or two imperial physicians. Do they really want her to be a widow? And then they take her husband's army under their command, and thus save the Ming Dynasty? What a joke! Without her husband, can you stop the Jianlu from advancing south?
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