But at this moment, there are already kneeling civilians and military generals here.
Some of them are only in their thirties, while others have gray beards and are very old.
Some were wearing casual clothes, and some were wearing armor.
But without exception, they were all kneeling at the entrance of the imperial city, with stubbornness in their eyes.
"Isn't that Mr. Du Andu, the former Minister of Rites? He is Your Majesty's mentor. Why is he kneeling here?"
"And His Royal Highness the King of Shu, the most senior member of the Ming Dynasty royal family and your Majesty's uncle, is here too?"
"Didn't you notice that the blind Zhu Guo was also kneeling? Back then, he was the god of death on the battlefield, and the Buddha was blocking the way of killing the Buddha. I thought he had passed away long ago."
"And that one..."
At the entrance of the imperial city, the Imperial Guard soldiers responsible for the security of the imperial city looked at the hundreds of people kneeling in front of them with astonishment on their faces.
Many old people they thought were dead long ago are actually kneeling here today.
Each of these old men had made great contributions to the Ming Empire.
At that time, he also held a pivotal position in the Ming Dynasty.
But today, they are all kneeling here.
At a glance, there were no fewer than two hundred officials, civil servants and generals kneeling outside the entrance to the imperial city.
The second prince and the third prince stood in front of these people.
A burst of "heartfelt words".
They originally planned to stay at the house but not come over, but after thinking about it, they decided to come forward.
And you must appear with an attitude of standing on the emperor's side.
After this, the emperor would have no excuse to deal with them.
Otherwise, how could the emperor endure it if he stayed in his own house?
"Du Shangshu, taking the imperial examination is beneficial to our Ming Dynasty. Please take people back." The second prince's voice was pleading.
The former Minister of Rites ignored him and knelt on the ground quietly.
"Your Majesty, you are so old, so don't worry about this matter. Father, it's not easy either." The third prince was also trying to persuade the King of Shu.
The King of Shu didn't even raise his head. The third prince was secretly happy, but his face was still full of sadness.
The entrance to the imperial city was opened, and everyone's heads immediately rose.
The emperor walked out of the imperial city expressionlessly.
"Father, my son is incompetent and cannot persuade the ministers. I ask my father to punish me." The second prince fell to his knees on the ground and burst into tears.
"Father, these bastards don't listen to advice. I think we should send a large army to take them back." The third prince was even more ruthless.
If these people who were kneeling had not known in advance that the third prince was acting for the emperor, they would all be scolding him now.
The corner of the emperor's mouth twitched. He had always thought that Chen Changfeng was the originator of acting. Last time, he almost shed tears when he acted because of the Supreme Member incident.
Unexpectedly, my other two sons are also acting geniuses.
If I didn't know what they were thinking, I would have been fooled by them.
"These people are all members of my Ming Dynasty. If you arrest them, will you handle government affairs for me?" The emperor's eyes darkened.
The third prince quickly lowered his head and did not dare to speak.
But he was secretly happy in his heart, he had such an attitude, the emperor would never find a reason to deal with him in the future.
Lao Liu, just wait. This time, if you don’t want to leave the court in despair, I, Chen Wu, will just wipe your neck.
The third prince thought to himself.
The emperor looked at the many civil servants and generals who were kneeling on the ground in front of him.
It's really a huge momentum.
The emperor clenched his fists with a smile on his face: "My dear friends, what is going on? You are kneeling here so early in the morning."
"Mr. Du, you are so old, get up quickly."
"Uncle Emperor, why are you kneeling here?"
"Liu Zhuguo, you are not in good health, please come quickly and give me a seat."
The emperor helped up the elderly people in front of him and asked people to bring stools for them to sit down.
When he met these people, the emperor no longer had much confidence in the continuation of the imperial examination.
Among these people, one is his mentor, one is his only elder now, and the other is the pillar of the country who has made great achievements in the Ming Dynasty.
If you insist on going your own way and insist on taking the imperial examination to get an official position, you will definitely lose your support.
This is definitely not cost-effective.
No matter how many talents are recruited through the imperial examination, some people cannot be replaced.
"Seeing that His Majesty is in good spirits, I feel relieved. I still remember that when His Majesty was still a prince, I taught him his lessons. I didn't expect that so many years have passed so quickly."
"When people get old, they tend to be nostalgic." Du Shangshu wiped his tears and seemed to be lost in memories.
The emperor looked at Du Shangshu in front of him. Even though he knew that he was deliberately trying to win his sympathy with his tears, he still felt a little uncomfortable.
"Your Majesty, I am the only elder of Your Majesty who is still alive. I don't know how many more years I can live. However, the Ming Dynasty is in your hands. Your Majesty should give more consideration to the opinions of the officials, and you must not act arbitrarily."
King Shu's hair was gray and his eyes were a little cloudy.
"That's what the emperor said." The emperor smiled slightly.
"Your Majesty, my eyes are no longer able to see, but my heart is still clear. I, the civil servants and generals of the Ming Dynasty, have paid for the Ming Dynasty. I, a blind man, know all about it. Can your Majesty not see it?" Liu Zhuguo was sitting there.
On the stool, although his eyes were tightly closed, he still felt an evil aura.
"I see everyone's efforts." The emperor sighed.
The emperor knew that if things continued like this, even if redundant officials and generals were to be eliminated, let alone the imperial examination, they would be forced back by these people.
But what can he, the emperor, do now?
"Everyone, I know the purpose of your coming here, but please listen to what I have to say." The emperor took a deep breath.
None of the officials said a word.
Obviously today they are forcing the emperor to cancel the imperial examination and get official positions. No matter what the emperor says, they can't change their decision.
No one responded to him. Anger flashed in the emperor's eyes, and then he said calmly: "The Chu bullies me, the Ming. If I, the Ming, don't fight back, he dares to kill my Ming envoy today, and tomorrow he dares to directly invade my country."
"But you yourselves also know that the Ministry of Revenue does not have enough military resources. As for the reason, I will not say it again. You people know it in your hearts."
"To vent this bad temper, we must fight this battle. There are redundant officials and generals in the army, the court, and the local yamen. If they are not abolished, 30% of the Ming Dynasty's military resources will have to be spent on them."
"You can tell for yourselves whether they should be abolished or not!"
Still no one said anything.
Anyway, they have made up their mind today. No matter what the emperor says, as long as the emperor does not agree to cancel the imperial examination and get official positions, they will keep kneeling here.
The law does not punish the people, and the emperor has no way to deal with them.
Seeing that no one responded to him, the emperor's fists hidden in his sleeves clenched tightly together.
As an emperor, he was so ignored and treated like a clown by the people in front of him.
"Your Majesty, I have no objection to abolishing redundant officials and generals. I am a veteran general in the army and know that matters concerning the bloody nature of our Ming Dynasty cannot be compromised."
"Redundant officials and redundant officers will eat up our Ming Dynasty's military resources and should be abolished."
"I would like to know why Your Majesty agreed to the imperial examination. Is it because it was proposed by the prince?" Blind Liu Zhuguo suddenly spoke, causing the expressions of the second and third princes to change slightly.
However, they also understood that it was basically impossible to change the dismissal of redundant officials and generals, because the battle with Da Chu was bound to be fought.
The most important thing now is to prevent people from taking official positions through the imperial examination.