sovbooks Chapter 4: Who were the officials in the capital who participated in the mutiny?
Chapter 4: Who were the officials in the capital who participated in the mutiny?
Forbidden City.
Fengtianmen Square.
At this moment, Fengtianmen Square was already filled with civil and military officials who had come to attend the court assembly.
Today is also Zhu Houzhao's first time attending court after his time travel.
When the late emperor was alive, he attended court every day without fail, and was very diligent.
However, Zhu Houzhao believed that attending court every day was not very effective, so he set a rule that a small court session would be held every three days and a large court session would be held every ten days.
Today is a big court meeting.
Thousands of officials of all ranks in the capital stood in Fengtianmen Square, a dense and impenetrable crowd.
"Snapped!"
"Snapped!"
"Snapped!"
After three sharp cracks of the whip, Zhu Houzhao, dressed in imperial robes, ascended the dragon throne.
All the civil and military officials immediately knelt down and paid their respects.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Zhu Houzhao sat high on the dragon throne, and looking around, he could only see thousands of heads.
"Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"If you have something to report, do so now; if not, the court may adjourn!"
Today, the eunuch standing beside Zhu Houzhao has changed from Liu Jin to Wei Bin.
Liu Jin was given a hundred lashes by Zhu Houzhao yesterday and is still lying in his room recovering from his injuries.
"I have important matters to report."
After Wei Bin called for the court to begin, Xie Qian, the Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, stepped out of the procession with his ceremonial tablet in hand.
Zhu Houzhao glanced at him coldly and then spoke indifferently.
"Granted."
"Your Majesty, Xuanfu is in dire need of help!"
"Huang Zhen, the deputy commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, and Zhang Xiong, the guerrilla general of Xuanfu, have both died in battle. Your Majesty, I implore you to immediately cease the investigation of the capital's troops and dispatch troops to reinforce Xuanfu!"
Xie Qian knelt on the ground, banging his head against the ground, overcome with grief.
He acted like a loyal minister who devoted himself to the country, even unto death.
Zhu Houzhao stared at Xie Qian, his eyes filled with suspicion and scrutiny.
"Thank you, Grand Secretary. I read the challenge from Xuanfu yesterday."
"But I have three questions. I ask the Grand Secretary to enlighten me. If the Grand Secretary can answer these three questions, I will immediately stop the investigation of the army and send troops out immediately."
"First, how many enemy troops have arrived?"
"Second, who is the enemy's leader?"
Third, why did the enemy invade the border?
Zhu Houzhao's question left Xie Qian speechless; he had never considered these questions before.
"this……"
Xie Qian hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, these questions will naturally be answered once the army arrives in Xuanfu."
"The most urgent matter is for Your Majesty to immediately dispatch troops to reinforce Xuanfu; otherwise, if Xuanfu falls, the Ming Dynasty will be in grave danger!"
Before Zhu Houzhao could speak, Xie Qian had barely finished speaking when Duke Zhang Mao of Yingguo also spoke up to offer words of comfort.
"Yes, Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Xie is absolutely right. The opportunity for war cannot be missed. This old minister is willing to fight for Your Majesty and lead troops to Xuanfu!"
Zhang Mao, Duke of England, is a hereditary Duke of England and currently serves as the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission, in charge of the affairs of the five military camps. He is 65 years old.
Following Zhang Mao, Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War, also stepped out of the ranks to put pressure on Zhu Houzhao.
"Your Majesty, I implore you to dispatch troops immediately. If Xuanfu falls, we will all be sinners who have failed our ancestors and our nation for all eternity!"
Besides Zhang Mao and Ma Wensheng, many other officials also stepped forward, urging Zhu Houzhao to immediately send troops to Xuanfu.
"Yes, Your Majesty! Rescuing Xuanfu is of utmost urgency; Your Majesty cannot delay any longer!"
"Your Majesty, please order the troops to be dispatched immediately! I am also willing to go to Xuanfu to fight against the foreign invaders for Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, do not hesitate! The Ming Dynasty is in dire straits. Please make a swift decision!"
"..."
So many officials requested that troops be sent to Xuanfu, and the military dispatch indicated that the situation in Xuanfu was extremely critical.
If it were just an ordinary fifteen-year-old boy, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand such pressure and would have hastily ordered the troops to be sent to Xuanfu.
Let alone ordinary teenagers, even most adults would not be able to withstand such pressure.
However, Zhu Houzhao had already sent the Western Depot to Xuanfu, so he was naturally sitting back and doing nothing.
He sat on the dragon throne, saying nothing, his gaze merely sweeping across the faces of these people, watching these individuals with ulterior motives jump out one by one.
Just then, a young eunuch came to report.
"Your Majesty, Yu Huatian, the Director of the Western Depot, requests an audience."
"Announce!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
A moment later, Yu Huatian walked into the court and first knelt down to pay his respects to Zhu Houzhao.
"Your humble servant, Yu Huatian, greets Your Majesty!"
Looking at Yu Huatian, Zhu Houzhao felt a little lighter, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"No need for formalities. Have you investigated everything I asked you to investigate?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Yu Huatian stood up: "Your Majesty, the Western Depot has confirmed the emergency report from Xuanfu."
"The defeat at Yutailing is a complete fabrication, invented by Zhang Jun, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu!"
Yu Huatian's words shocked everyone present.
"What?!"
"How could it be like this?"
"Oh my god, what... what's going on?"
"..."
Among all the officials in the court, those who were most shocked were the high-ranking officials involved in the case.
They originally thought their plan was foolproof; how could a mere child who had just ascended the throne possibly defeat them?
As long as Zhu Houzhao doesn't succumb to pressure and send troops to Xuanfu under their urging, everything that follows can be conveniently covered up.
But to their utter surprise, Zhu Houzhao saw through their scheme immediately and sent the Western Depot to Xuanfu ahead of time.
In this way, all their plans could no longer be concealed!
Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly. The events in Xuanfu were exactly as he had expected.
But the next moment, Zhu Houzhao's face darkened.
"Yu Huatian, falsely reporting military intelligence is a crime punishable by the execution of nine generations of your family. Do you have any evidence?!"
"Of course I do."
Yu Huatian calmly responded and ordered the West Depot agents behind him, "Bring them all up."
"yes!"
Soon, hundreds of agents from the Western Depot escorted dozens of generals from Xuanfu to the imperial court.
The man at the very front, with disheveled hair, tattered clothes, and covered in bloodstains and wounds, was none other than Zhang Jun, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu.
Judging from his appearance, he had already experienced all sorts of tricks from the Western Depot.
"Your Majesty, according to the investigation by the Western Depot, there is no record of any enemy attack on Xuanfu or its surroundings."
"The soldiers in Xuanfu have never participated in combat against the enemy."
"Zhang Jun, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, has also confessed that this was all a farce he orchestrated himself!"
"Thirty-six generals from Xuanfu were also involved in this farce!"
As soon as Yu Huatian finished speaking, Zhang Jun, who was kneeling in front of Zhu Houzhao, immediately cried out.
"Your Majesty, I deserve to die!"
"It was my greed that led me to commit such a heinous act!"
"Your Majesty, I deserve to die a thousand deaths and dare not escape punishment. I only beg Your Majesty to grant me a swift death!"
"..."
Apart from Zhang Jun, the other dozens of Xuanfu generals were all pale-faced and collapsed to the ground, knowing that they could not escape death and had given up their futile struggle.
They stared blankly with lifeless eyes, numbly awaiting death.
Zhu Houzhao sat up, stared at Zhang Jun below the stage, and questioned him sternly.
"Zhang Jun, I ask you, who are the officials in the capital who participated in this coup?!"