Chapter 8: The Underworld (Part 8)
The projected Zhu Yuhuan did not answer Zhu Di's doubts, but started his own operations in an orderly manner.
First, the news that Zhu Qizhen was captured by the enemy Wala was spread throughout the city, and then the female officials in the palace persuaded Concubine Zhou De, playing both sides.
When the common people learned about it, the ministers naturally knew it clearly, and they were all a little unsure.
Given Zhu Qizhen's personality, even if he was captured, he would not reflect on his own problems, but would only blame all the mistakes on the court officials. If he really came back, these people would most likely be in trouble.
In particular, they jointly submitted a memorial, begging Princess Shunde to serve as regent...
For the generals, who had witnessed the emperor's downfall and the methods Zhu Qizhen had used against officials, if they agreed to welcome the emperor back, they would not only offend the eldest princess, but also face the hidden danger of Zhu Qizhen. It would be better for them to stick to it.
Therefore, the Wala hardly gained any benefits from the generals defending the city along the way. They were unable to succeed every time they attacked, and were furious at the shameless behavior of the Ming army in not recognizing the emperor.
In short, it has almost become a consensus that Emperor Zhu Qizhen must not be allowed to return.
After the court session, Zhu Yuhuan announced that he had sent someone to Datong to inform Shi Heng that the emperor's identity must be verified. If the Oirat Mongols did not verify the identity, they would immediately attack the Oirat Mongols. Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Sun was furious and immediately started arguing with Zhu Yuhuan.
Fortunately, Hu Yi immediately proposed to make Zhu Jianshen the crown prince, the eldest princess regent, and remotely respect Zhu Qizhen as the emperor, so as to avoid the situation from getting out of hand.
But everyone in the Zhu family who was watching the projection knew very well that Zhu Yuhuan had already made her own backup plan and was determined to achieve her goal today.
As if to reassure Zhu Yuhuan, Hu Yi specifically suggested that Prince Zhu Qiyu of Qin share the responsibility with Zhu Yuhuan. Zhu Qiyu was so frightened that he immediately declined and explained to everyone who was in charge of the entire royal family now.
Empress Dowager Hu, as the Queen Mother, was in charge of the imperial palace, while Zhu Yuhuan, as the eldest princess, was the regent and assisted in the administration.
Zhu Yuhuan simply sneered and said, "I've summoned you to court today not only to discuss matters concerning His Majesty, but also to inform you of something." She unfolded the military report and spoke coldly, "The Changping and Jinshan areas were completely ravaged by the Oirat Mongols led by Yesen. The Changling Guard was among those affected by the Oirat invasion, and many of the officers there were killed or wounded. Great-grandfather's mausoleum was also disturbed by the Oirat Mongols. His spirit watched in heaven as the people and officers of the Ming Dynasty were murdered and abducted by the Oirat Mongols."
Not only did the court officials dare not speak, even the Ming Palace Garden in the underworld was silent. Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji could not help but look sideways at Zhu Di, not daring to say a word.
As expected, Zhu Di was stunned at first, then his face turned red, then purple, and he trembled for a long time before shouting, "Turtle! Turtle! You deserve to be killed!"
What is humiliation? This is humiliation. Not only did I allow myself to be beaten, but I also didn't even lose face for my ancestors. I was simply handing myself over to be beaten!
Zhu Gaochi knew better than anyone how terrible his father could be when he was angry. Of course, he would not speak at this time. Instead, he pulled his son to kneel obediently beside Zhu Di.
At this point, the best thing to do is to say nothing and just take the beating.
Zhu Di looked at his son who had been left behind for many years, then looked at the grandson he had personally appointed as the crown prince. He pointed at the two and said, "Hello... hello! Are you still my descendants? How could you give birth to such a thing! Zhu Zhanji, get out of here!"
After saying that, Zhu Di didn't hesitate and pulled out the jade leather belt from his waist and started fighting. Even Zhu Yunwen, who was standing next to him, couldn't stand it anymore and turned his head away to stop watching Zhu Di "educating" his grandson.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very calm. He looked at the cursing Zhu Di coldly and didn't say much. He just focused his attention back on the projection.
With Zhu Di's "righteousness", it seemed reasonable and well-founded to condemn or even depose the former emperor Zhu Qizhen.
The Empress Dowager Sun behind the curtain was obviously aware of this and was about to say something when the female officials beside her took a step forward, obviously warning the Empress Dowager Sun that if she dared to act rashly, these female officials would not be polite.
"As the regent, the great-grandson of Emperor Taizong, even if everyone in the world insults me, Zhu Yuhuan, for being tyrannical and domineering, I will never allow you to lightly brush this matter aside and erase the humiliation suffered by my great-grandfather. If you insist on taking over the position of regent, please seek out someone else, whether it's Prince Xiang or Prince Qing, you loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty."
"Your Highness, you may not know that before Your Majesty went to war, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory observed Mars entering the Southern Dipper, a sign of disaster for the emperor. In ancient times, Emperor Wu of Liang once stepped out of the palace barefoot to ward off this event, but Your Majesty remained indifferent. Today's disaster is the result of Your Majesty listening to slander, failing to follow Heaven's will, and abandoning your border patrols."
After these two paragraphs were spoken, Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while, then clasped his hands and said, "She is quite clever, and she even knows how to use the celestial signs to build momentum for herself."
Although Zhu Yuhuan herself was a Taoist, one could tell from her daily appearance that she didn't believe in these things at all. At this moment, she was talking about celestial phenomena only to lower Zhu Qizhen's reputation and elevate her own status.
Empress Dowager Sun was obviously aware of this and tried hard to defend her son, but Zhu Yuhuan did not intend to give her too many chances. Instead, he directly asked Peng Deqing, the current director of the Imperial Observatory, to come in. He not only revealed all the records that proved the event, but also made public the situation of Taibai being visible in the daytime when Zhu Zhanji ordered Zhu Yuhuan to become a Taoist.
Now, whether smart or not, everyone can see that the reason why Zhu Yuhuan did this is not simple.
Although Zhu Yunwen hated Zhu Di's family to the core, he also understood, like his grandfather, that Zhu Yuhuan was indeed a capable person. At least at this moment, she was the most capable person.
Peng Deqing's next words were even more complicated:
"Taibai sees, the heroine Chang, in Zhao Fenye."
Any one of these three is accidental, but together they happen to form a person, and that is Zhu Yuhuan.
Zhu Zhanji never imagined that his hasty decision to allow his daughter to become a nun so that she could assist in government affairs would have such an impact today.
When he thought of the imperial edict he had given to Zhu Yuhuan, the ominous feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger.
Seeing Zhu Yuhuan's ambition, everyone was still a little hesitant. Zhu Youtong, who had been following his mother behind the curtain, stood up at this moment.
What she held in her hand was the imperial edict that Zhu Zhanji had given to his daughter.
Zhu Zhanji's breathing stagnated, and he closed his eyes as he watched everyone verify the decree.
Zhu Yuanzhang sneered at this and said, "What do you mean by 'suffering from one's own actions'? This is what you deserve!"
Zhu Di stopped speaking for his grandson and simply said, "That's what he deserves! If he had been nicer to Lady Hu and had a son with her, things wouldn't have gotten to this point! Look at Lady Sun, she's clueless and incompetent, and you're the only one who loves her and her son like treasures!" He glanced at Zhu Gaochi and said, "You too. Don't think I don't know how you dote on Lady Guo. It's just that she's a little smarter, and she hasn't become as spoiled as Lady Sun!"
Zhu Gaochi: "..." No, he didn't say anything, why should I scold him too...
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Zhu Di was angry because his mausoleum was being harassed by the Oirat army and even openly plundered the local people. He sneered, "Who told some people to build a mausoleum in northern Zhili and leave the mausoleum of our ancestors behind? No wonder they encountered such a thing."
Zhu Di: “…”
Zhu Di could no longer sit still. He walked over to Zhu Zhanji, pointed at his forehead and cursed, "What's wrong with you? Didn't I push the border outward in the beginning? Why are you holding me back and instead pushing me back? I think your son is unlucky too. He has a father like you who pushed the border back to the vicinity of the capital. Now he's been captured, not to mention that even my Changling Mausoleum is in danger!"
Zhu Zhanji had no way to refute and could only accept it.
In the projection, Zhu Yuhuan was already holding Concubine Zhou De's son, her own nephew, in her arms, looking like a mother with deep love for her son, and she wanted to adopt both of Zhu Qizhen's children into her fold.
Concubine Zhou De obviously realized that doing so would give her the opportunity to take over the power of the entire harem, and she fought bravely for Zhu Yuhuan, which was very impressive.
Zhu Yuanzhang was quite displeased. He hated women like Concubine Zhou De the most. Not to mention that she was a woman of modesty and spoke like this in the court. How could she behave like a concubine? She even had ulterior motives towards Zhu Yuhuan. She was really a mean person.
At this point, Zhu Qiyu, the most qualified heir to the throne in Beijing, clearly did not want to take responsibility. Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu agreed, Hu Yi took a neutral attitude, Zeng Heling, who was temporarily acting as the leader, was Zhu Yuhuan's teacher, and the rest of the ministers either lacked qualifications or status, so how could they say much? They could only follow Zhu Yuhuan's wishes, kneeling on the ground and shouting "Long live the emperor".
Zhu Yuanzhang said unhappily, "If your son hadn't been so incompetent, she wouldn't have been able to sit on the throne!"
Zhu Zhanji had been scolded constantly since entering the underworld, and he had just been severely punished by Zhu Di. Now that he was in such a state of embarrassment, he said listlessly, "Grandpa Taizu was right."
After Zhu Yuhuan ascended the throne, it was more convenient for him to handle government affairs in the palace. He also adopted Zhu Shuyuan and Zhu Jianshen as his own children to strengthen his "legitimacy" as emperor and to appease the court officials below.
As emperor, Zhu Yuhuan no longer had to be constrained and could act decisively and skillfully, as if she was born for the throne.
Even though Zhu Yuanzhang was very reluctant to see Zhu Yuhuan, a woman, come to power, he had to acknowledge her diligence and ability.
As the first person in the Zhu family to come to Minggongyuan and start watching the projection, Zhu Yuanzhang saw the performance of several descendants. Naturally, he knew that Zhu Yuhuan was the most diligent among all the current emperors of the Zhu family, and he had a clearer view of the situation.
It’s a pity that she is not a man!
Zhu Yuhuan did not disappoint Zhu Yuanzhang's complex appreciation, and soon became the chief imperial commander in charge of the army.
Zhu Yunwen frowned upon seeing this and said, "Zhu Qizhen was captured not long ago. She is a newly crowned empress, and if she rashly leads the army in person, won't this give people an opportunity to cause chaos?"
Zhu Di straightened his clothes, his expression much calmer than before. He glanced at Zhu Yunwen and said, "What do you know? It's because that brat Zhu Qizhen is so disappointing that she should insist on leading the army in person. If she hides in the capital at this time, won't that cause trouble for future generations? If another emperor wants to lead an army in person in the future, those ministers will cite Zhu Qizhen as an example..."
Zhu Gaochi also echoed: "Father is right. If this happens, where will the emperor's dignity as the head of civil and military officials be?"
"Besides, Yu Qian, Xu Yun and others are still in the capital at this time. These two people who support her ascension will naturally take care of it. Why should Huanhuan be anxious?" Zhu Di sneered and said, "Nephew, your ability as an emperor is not yet up to par."
Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes at him and said, "You're laughing at him? Don't you look at your great-grandson?"
"Huanhuan is my great-grandson. I have never even met Zhu Qizhen." Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaochi and said, "This is your grandson."
Zhu Gaochi, suddenly blamed, was surprised and said immediately, "He wasn't even born when I died! This... I can't just recognize him casually, right?"
Zhu Zhanji showed a bitter expression and honestly admitted: "It's all my fault..."
Zhu Yuanzhang showed no intention of comforting him. "It's good that you know." He stared at the projection and said, "I'm afraid that even though you've admitted defeat, your son still refuses to accept it."
Zhu Yuhuan was able to endure for many years for the sake of the throne, and she must have already hated Zhu Qizhen in her heart. Now she is the emperor and Zhu Qizhen is a prisoner of the Oirat. As long as Zhu Yuhuan wants, she can find a way to have Zhu Qizhen killed.
In the midst of chaos, saving a life is just a matter of convenience.
Zhu Zhanji understood this logic very well, and felt even more conflicted.
But the struggle for the throne was like this. If Zhu Yuhuan did not kill Zhu Qizhen, it would only leave hidden dangers for himself. Zhu Yuhuan would never make such a foolish decision.
As expected, after Zhu Yuhuan arrived in Datong, he revealed to Shi Heng his intention to get rid of Zhu Qizhen and eliminate the trouble forever. The artillery that arrived in Datong with Zhu Yuhuan this time was the best weapon.
This kind of thing has strong lethality and a wide range of impact, so it is possible that Zhu Qizhen would be killed "accidentally".
But Zhu Yuanzhang noticed another point. The implication of Zhu Yuhuan's words clearly showed that he had known Shi Heng for a long time. It seemed that this great-granddaughter was indeed not just a speculator.
She must have laid a lot of groundwork to get to where she is today. No wonder Zhu Qizhen became more and more heartless in her hands.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang switched the projection to Zhu Qizhen, only to see that he had adapted to the local customs, wearing an extra Wala robe over his clothes, and was accompanied by only two remaining guards, looking very embarrassed.
Zhu Zhanji was originally willing to be cruel, but when he saw his son end up like this, he felt sorry for him and finally could only turn his head away silently and not look at him anymore.
Zhu Di was furious when he saw Zhu Qizhen. He immediately said, "How dare this kid keep living? He's the king of a country, but he was captured by the enemy while on a border patrol. This is even more shameful than those kings who lost their country!"
What was the situation of the country taken over by the king of a fallen country, and what was the situation of the country taken over by Zhu Qizhen? I am afraid that people in the future will laugh at the Ming Dynasty for producing such a weird thing.
Zhu Zhanji knew that these words were spoken to him, so he did not say anything.
As he was speaking, Yesen called Zhu Qizhen over and told him that the Ming Dynasty had a new emperor, and even a female emperor. This person was none other than Zhu Yuhuan, whom Zhu Qizhen had always secretly resented.
Even Zhu Yunwen could see that Zhu Qizhen was obviously mentally unbalanced. After a moment of silence, he offered to lead the way for the Oirat to facilitate their attack on Datong. His intentions were evident.
Zhu Yuanzhang finally couldn't hold back any longer and burst out, "Being captured is one thing, and not committing suicide is pitiful. But now an emperor is openly leading a foreign enemy army. This bastard——"
Zhu Di was even more angry than Zhu Yuanzhang. Like a powder keg about to be ignited, he cursed: "Dog leg! Dog leg! How dare he... If it weren't for his sister, even if he was not a king who lost his country, he would be a sinner for all eternity. Instead, he used the Wala army to attack Huanhuan. What a heartless thing! As an emperor, for the sake of his own momentary atmosphere, he even completely ignored the soldiers and civilians on the border. Is he still a human being? He is simply worse than beasts!" After that, he suddenly turned his head to look at Zhu Zhanji and said, "Weren't you still worried about your good son just now? Weren't you still worried that Huanhuan and his brothers would kill each other? Now what has Zhu Qizhen done, you should explain to me in detail. What exactly does he want to do!"
Zhu Zhanji felt nervous when he was questioned by Zhu Di, but every word Zhu Di said was correct. Even if Zhu Zhanji wanted to defend his son, he could not find a suitable angle or method.
Zhu Qizhen was obviously even more shameless than Zhu Di said. When he saw that the soldiers did not move or react to his actions, Zhu Qizhen finally could not hold back and shouted at the city wall, asking the defenders to open the gate.
When he shouted, everyone present felt like their heads were burning with anger, and Zhu Zhanji raised his hands to cover his face.
He really didn't know how to face all this.
Zhu Di couldn't help but ask, "Zhu Zhanji, you didn't teach him anything else, but you taught him how to shamelessly survive in this world? Is this something an emperor should learn?"
Zhu Zhanji really didn't know what to say when Zhu Di asked him this question. His face flushed red, and after a long while he said, "It's all my fault."
When he was teaching his son, he could never have imagined that this day would come.
In his ideal world of peace and prosperity, even if he was confident, the monarch he wanted would not be as arrogant as Zhu Qizhen, let alone openly commit such an act that was tantamount to selling out the country for survival.
Zhu Qizhen was still shouting under the city wall, but Zhu Yuhuan had no intention of showing mercy. Instead, he ordered people to bring bows and arrows and aim at Zhu Qizhen below.
The meaning of this action is very clear. Even if "regicide" is to be investigated, Zhu Yuhuan was the first to take action. The others just followed Zhu Yuhuan. In the future, the evaluation of merits and demerits will also be borne solely by Zhu Yuhuan, and everyone does not need to have any psychological pressure.
As a result, after Zhu Yuhuan took action, thousands of arrows were fired. Zhu Qizhen, who was still shouting, was frightened by this scene and immediately shouted insults at Zhu Yuhuan. Zhu Yuhuan, on the other hand, calmly called the people from the Shenji Camp. These people were even more ruthless and bombarded the people below. Faced with the danger to his life, Zhu Qizhen naturally stopped shouting and quickly hid behind the Wala soldiers.
After all, firearms are extremely powerful and cannot be blocked by a few people, not to mention that Zhu Yuhuan brought sufficient equipment this time, so there is no need to worry about not being able to completely eliminate Zhu Qizhen.
Zhu Qizhen obviously realized that a head-on confrontation would not end well, and while reloading ammunition, he began to openly beg for mercy from Zhu Yuhuan, which showed that he could no longer endure his "captive life" in Wala.
Zhu Yuhuan would not give him the so-called chance to come back, but instead ordered his men to continue firing.
Amidst the smoke and dust of artillery fire, the Wala army retreated in a panic, and Zhu Qizhen disappeared along with the Wala. No one knew whether he was dead or alive.
But this is no longer important. For the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qizhen was officially dead from this moment on.
That's not right. The people above don't know whether Zhu Qizhen is dead or alive, but the people below in the Ming Palace know very well that this guy is probably not dead.
With the efficiency of the ghost messenger, if Zhu Qizhen had died, he would have been pulled down long ago, allowing Zhu Di to have a taste of his own medicine. How come there has been no reaction at all?
Zhu Zhanji was in a complicated mood, but Zhu Di was much more cheerful and said, "This thing is finally gone!"
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and said, "He's still surviving in this world. Who knows how much trouble he'll cause in the future."
Zhu Di was very confident about this and said, "Don't worry, Dad. Huanhuan will definitely not leave Zhu Qizhen any chance of survival."
"That's hard to say. Wala will definitely not let this go."
"Huanhuan has already sent people to secretly follow Wala to find out the situation. He also previously sent that Huang Jinfeng as an envoy to Hami. He must have a backup plan. It's very likely that he wants Hami to stab him in the back!"
As if to confirm Zhu Di's claims, the projection quickly showed Liu Yongcheng leading his troops, along with Hami, in a surprise attack on the Oirat's rear. Not only did they crush the Oirat, but they also captured countless people, including Yesen's mother, Minda Shili. Zhu Di felt a surge of relief at the sight.
He originally thought that Zhu Yuhuan would choose to instigate Hami to oppose Wala in order to ensure the security of the border. He never expected that Zhu Yuhuan would have the courage to dispatch troops from Gansu to attack Wala. Wala's rear was empty because of the previous war. Zhu Yuhuan's boldness brought back extremely high benefits. After receiving the military report of Liu Yongcheng's great victory, Zhu Yuhuan did not hesitate at all. He immediately asked Shi Heng, who was originally stationed in Datong, to lead the army to attack, while he stayed in the rear to inspect the situation in the border town.
The humiliation originally brought by Zhu Qizhen was completely washed away by Zhu Yuhuan, which can be said to have regained face for the Ming Dynasty. After that, Zhu Yuhuan's throne would only become more and more stable.
"This girl is indeed quite courageous and meticulous in her actions."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yuhuan who was checking the military farms in Datong, and showed a rare bit of friendly expression.
Since Zhu Qizhen came to power, Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude has never improved.
Seeing this, Zhu Di immediately took advantage of the situation and said, "Of course, Huanhuan is a descendant of our Zhu family who has received proper education. He will definitely not let us down!"
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the silent Zhu Zhanji and asked, "What do you say? Good Saint Grandson?"
Zhu Zhanji was silent for a long time, then said, "What our ancestors said is..."
This battle can be regarded as a victory in turning defeat into victory. It re-boosted the morale of the Ming army and formally established the emperor's majesty. Zhu Yuhuan took this opportunity to promote many of his reliable officials to further consolidate his position.
After hearing Zhu Yuhuan and Liu Yongcheng mention their plan to lead the army into Beijing to launch a coup through Wang Wen, the garrison commander of Shaanxi, everyone understood why the plan to attack the rear of the Oirat Mongols went so smoothly. It turned out that Zhu Yuhuan had already made preparations for both scenarios.
This method is extremely sophisticated, which makes people sigh at Zhu Yuhuan's familiarity with playing power games.
The Zhu family's confusion was completely resolved. Zhu Yuhuan had long had the idea of taking over and had made arrangements everywhere.
As he was speaking, the image in the projection suddenly became blurry and flickered continuously.
The ghost messenger seemed to have noticed this anomaly and walked in, saying gently, "I'm sorry, there might be some problem with the signal above. The projection needs further repairs, so you can't see the latest content for the time being. Please be patient. If you feel bored, you can go back in time. I'll let you know once the projection is repaired. The Underworld apologizes for the trouble this has caused you all."
This was said very politely. Besides, they were all ghosts, so they had no way of confronting the ghost officials head-on. They could only follow the rules of the underworld.
The underworld was polite to them on the surface, but in fact it was putting these emperors under house arrest and punishing them. It was nothing more than beautifying them with some nice words to give each other a way out.
"I don't know when it will be repaired. It's so boring without this projection." Zhu Di sighed and said, "I don't even have the energy to work anymore."
"Can't we look at the old ones? If you're bored, you can take a good look at what Zhu Yuhuan looked like when he was a child."
Zhu Di ignored the sarcasm in Zhu Yunwen's tone. Instead, his eyes lit up and he said, "That's true. When I was fighting outside, I didn't know what this girl was like at home. Now that I have a projector, it's a good opportunity for me to take a good look."
Zhu Yunwen rolled his eyes and ignored the jubilant Zhu Di.
He was still waiting to see what would happen after Zhu Qizhen came down.
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