Zhu Di took a deep breath, slowly calmed down his turbulent mood, and said loudly: "Enter the city!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Zhu Neng, Qiu Fu and others responded respectfully and were filled with excitement. Feng's wife Yinzi was right in front of them, so they couldn't help but be excited.
The army entered Jinchuan Gate and approached the palace.
the other side.
After learning that King Yan had entered Jinling City, all the officials immediately got busy, especially the civil servants, whose enthusiasm was even more intense than that of the generals.
One by one, they were preparing for the change of court, and even some civil servants began to rack their brains to write edicts for Zhu Di to ascend the throne.
Even the eunuchs were mobilized, and the usually lifeless palace became particularly lively today.
…
Zhu Di moved very quickly and advanced into the palace in just half an hour.
Fengtian Hall, square.
Zhu Di reined in his horse and stopped, looking at Fengtian Temple directly in front of him, his face flushed, but he did not take another step forward.
He is giving Zhu Yunwen a chance, a decent chance.
Of course, if Zhu Yunwen refused to show his dignity, he would not mind helping Zhu Yunwen show his dignity.
"Zhu Neng and Qiu Fu, surround the entire palace." Zhu Di ordered, "Let the soldiers restrain themselves and don't act recklessly."
The two of them agreed, turned their horses' heads, and retreated.
Zhu Di took another deep look at Fengtian Temple. Although he wanted to rush in immediately and sit on the throne of the Nine-Fiveth Supreme Being, his reason told him that there were more important things to do.
The banner of his army was to provide peace to heaven, not to rebel.
Although everyone knows that he is a rebel, he cannot admit it. As long as he does not admit it, no one dares to say it openly.
Just when Zhu Di was going to the Xiaoling Mausoleum to worship his ancestors, a group of officials in court uniforms came in a hurry, each one running faster than the other. He only regretted that his parents had two legs.
Seeing this situation, Dao Yan chuckled and said, "Your Highness, you might as well accept the new ministers' homage before going to worship your ancestors. You won't miss this moment."
Zhu Di nodded in agreement. He also needed to be recognized, and he didn't want to offend all the officials right away.
It is true that an emperor and his ministers are the same, but there must be a process.
He is not a successor, he needs these ministers to recognize his legitimacy.
At least, he must be so under the current baseless situation.
If everyone is offended, there will inevitably be trouble.
Soon, a group of officials came closer. The six ministers and ministers, headed by Ru Yu, Minister of War, bowed their heads and shouted: "Long live King Yan!"
(Patch: In order to appease Zhu Di, Zhu Yunwen removed Qi Tai from the post of minister.)
Many military generals also followed, but they couldn't keep their faces down and just saluted without saying much.
Among the ministers, Ru Jin was the most enthusiastic, almost lying on the ground begging Zhu Di to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.
However, there are also high-level people among the civil servants. For example, Hanlin editor Yang Rong did not persuade Zhu Di to proclaim himself emperor, but praised Zhu Di's actions in calming the emperor.
After finishing the work, he advised Zhu Di to offer sacrifices to the Xiaoling Mausoleum to appease Taizu's spirit in heaven.
The civil servants all had bright tongues, and they patted them openly and covertly, and their flattery turned out to be beautiful.
…
Inside the Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Yunwen sat quietly alone. He was the only one in the huge palace. Voices shouting "Long live King Yan" could be heard faintly from outside, and a wry smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
After straightening his clothes, Zhu Yunwen stood up and walked to the red lacquered wooden pillar, took off the Emperor's Sword, looked at it for a moment, and then pulled it out suddenly.
"Changlang~!"
The three-foot green peak came out of its sheath. Zhu Yunwen didn't hesitate, he held the sword across his neck and was about to kill himself.
"Clang!"
Zhu Yunwen felt his mouth go numb, his hand holding the sword loosened uncontrollably, and the Emperor's Sword fell to the ground.
Turning around abruptly, Li Qing walked slowly over.
"Li, Mr. Li?"
"Why bother?"
"I can't let him look down upon me anymore," Zhu Yunwen said with red eyes.
Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief and asked: "If you were asked to choose again, would you still be willing to be the emperor?"
"I don't want to." Zhu Yunwen shook his head decisively.
"Then you have the opportunity to choose now, why give up?" Li Qing asked.
Zhu Yunwen said quietly, "If I don't die, the world will continue to be in chaos. This may be the only thing I can do for the Ming Dynasty."
He looked at Li Qing and forced a smile, "Thank you, you are still willing to accompany me now."
After a pause, he asked again: "Did you deliberately make the capital empty so that King Yan could enter the capital?"
Li Qing nodded and admitted, "I don't want to let the Ming Dynasty continue to suffer from internal friction."
"Well, you did nothing wrong." Zhu Yunwen was surprisingly calm, "Are you very disappointed in me?"
Li Qing did not answer, but said, "King Yan has gone to worship his ancestors. Now there is still a chance to choose. You should understand that King Yan is only targeting you."
Zhu Yunwen sighed softly: "I understand, but if I don't die, he will feel uneasy;
That’s all, let him be his emperor in peace!”
As he spoke, Zhu Yunwen picked up the sword on the ground and placed it across his neck again.
This time, Li Qing did not stop him, but his sword failed to cut Zhu Yunwen's throat.
After a person has experienced life and death once, it is difficult to have the courage to do it again. Zhu Yunwen's face turned red and the veins on his forehead were exposed, but he couldn't do anything.
"Help me once."
Li Qing: "..."
Zhu Yunzhen was so angry that he shouted: "Aren't you willing to help me with this?"
Li Qing said seriously: "I promised Emperor Taizu that I would protect you, and I don't want to break my promise."
"Grandpa Huang..." Zhu Yunwen said bitterly, "The one he asked you to protect should not be me, but Daming."
"Maybe!" Li Qing sighed, "However, within my ability, I still want to find a way out for you. Of course, if you insist on committing suicide, I won't stop you. Life or death is up to you."
Zhu Yunwen's courage has been exhausted, just like a person who is about to jump off a building and is dragged back, but no longer has the courage to jump again.
"The capital is under martial law, do you think I can get out?"
"I have this." Li Qing took something out of his arms, "This is the customs clearance document that Queen Xiaoci gave me. With it, you can go anywhere."
"Grandma Huang..." Zhu Yunwen took it with red eyes and looked at it for a long time, "But I can't get out of the palace!"
"I'll help you!"
"Help me with a hammer."
Li Qing turned around abruptly, and Zhang Xiu came over with a sullen face.
"Master, you..."
Li Qing was surprised, "Why are you wearing Xiao Guizi's clothes?"
"Go away." Zhang sloppily glared at Li Qing, then said angrily, "Boy, are you willing to go with the old man?"
"I..." Zhu Yunwen's face was full of confusion.
"Go!" Li Qing patted him on the shoulder, "Forget everything and start a new life."
Zhu Yunwen was silent for a while and nodded slightly.
…
Xiaoling.
Zhu Di knelt in front of Zhu Yuanzhang's spirit and said softly: "Father, my son is back."
His eyes were red and he looked lonely, "My son has become a traitor and a sinner..."
Big tears fell from his eyes. Zhu Di didn't want to rebel. He wanted to be the emperor, but he really didn't want to rebel. "My son doesn't want to either...Father, will you forgive me?"
Zhu Di understood that from the moment he entered Beijing, his charges could not be washed away.
No matter how well he did, historians would never record that he was the successor.
Even if there are various reasons, the fact that he usurped the throne cannot be defended.
Zhu Di couldn't convince himself, so he could only promise: "Father, just watch, I will definitely make Ming Dynasty move to a new height, create a prosperous age, and make our Ming Dynasty prosperous forever..."
At this time, Dao Yan walked forward slowly. He did not dare to enter the main sacrificial hall and called softly at the door: "Your Highness, something happened over there in the palace."
Zhu Di was stunned for a moment, then he kowtowed respectfully to me a few times and slowly exited the ancestral hall.
"What's up?"
"There is a fire in Qianqing Palace." Dao Yan whispered.
"Is anyone going to put out the fire?"
"Nobody."
Zhu Di nodded, "Let's go!"
On the way back, Zhu Di took his time. When he arrived at the palace, it was almost dark, and the Qianqing Palace was burned to the point of being almost completely destroyed.
Zhu Di rushed forward in three steps and two steps at a time, shouting hurriedly: "Fight the fire, hurry up...quickly, put out the fire...!"
When the soldiers, officials, and eunuchs heard this, they immediately mobilized and hurriedly fetched water and put out the fire.
The huge palace was completely burned, and no matter how hard we tried, it was difficult to put it out.
Seeing that he could not extinguish it, Zhu Di couldn't help crying bitterly: "My nephew, why are you suffering?
Uncle is here to help you!"
When he cried, everyone knelt down and howled together, and there was a loud cry.
Yang Rong, the editor of Hanlin Academy, cried while taking out paper notes and shouting: "There is a fire in Yanwang Palace, and rescuers can't reach it. He cried: What's wrong, kid? I'm here to assist the country's ears!"
Zhu Di covered his face with his sleeves, glanced back at Yang Rong, and continued to mourn.
…
Outside the Imperial City.
Zhu Yunwen turned back for the last time, looked at the raging fire, and said softly: "It's over, it's all over."
At this moment, he was surprisingly calm and relaxed as never before.