Xu Xianchun came to report back to the emperor. He had tried his best in the past few days and found out the crimes of more than a dozen ministers. After drawing up the list, he went to the palace and reported it as soon as possible.
"Is all this evidence conclusive?"
Zhu Youxiao asked in a deep voice after reading the list.
Even though he was mentally prepared and knew what civil servants were like in this era, he was still shocked when he actually saw it.
"Your Majesty, it's all true. I have all the evidence of these crimes."
Xu Xianchun has been extremely tired these past two days, and all his Tiqi are even more exhausted. He has not slept for two days and two nights.
Zhu Youxiao saw it in his eyes.
"Wang Banban, all the Jin Yiwei who participated in this matter will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver. The Jin Yiwei will command the minister Xu Xianchun to give a set of Feiyu suits and an embroidered spring knife."
"You go back and have a good rest. Your people will also take half a day off to relax and unwind. Those civil servants will keep a close eye on them from now on and enter the palace early tomorrow."
Xu Xianchun quickly thanked him and slowly backed out.
Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment and then ordered:
"Yang Huan, bring Imperial Concubine Zheng and Li Xuan to Qianqing Palace."
Yang Huan on the side shouted:
"I obey the decree!"
Just then a young eunuch came in and reported to the emperor:
"Your Majesty, Zhang Shize has arrived outside the palace with five hundred Yulin troops."
Zhu Youxiao quickly stood up and walked outside.
…
Value room
A group of civil servants are discussing tomorrow's court meeting and how to attack the emperor.
They are:
"Second Assistant of the Cabinet Liu Yishui, Assistant Minister of the Cabinet Han Xu, Minister of Civil Affairs Zhou Jiamo, Minister of Rites Sun Shenxing, Minister of Household Affairs Wang Yingjiao, the official department was all assigned to Wei Dazhong, the imperial censors Yang Lian and Feng Sanyuan, and the criminal department were all assigned to Shizhong Mao Shilong , Wang Wenyan and others from Zhongshushe are basically from Donglin, and there are more than thirty people in total."
Censor Yang Lian said:
"Tomorrow I will be the first to impeach Fang Congzhe. At that time, all ministers and colleagues must speak out together and drive him out of the capital first. Then the three parties (Qi, Chu, and Zhejiang) will not have anything to worry about. Then we will ask your majesty together. Leaving the palace."
Wang Wenyan, a member of Zhongshushe, immediately agreed:
"What Mr. Yang said is absolutely true. We must drive Fang Congzhe out first, otherwise the three parties may support Your Majesty."
Zhang Heming, Minister of the Ministry of War, said again:
"After driving away Fang Congzhe, we will impeach Xiong Tingbi together next time, drive Xiong Tingbi out of Liaodong, and support Duke Yuan in taking office. When the time comes, I, Dong Lin Qingliu, will be in charge of the government. Duke Yuan will definitely plow the court and sweep the holes in Liaodong. The restoration of Ming Dynasty’s glory is just around the corner.”
Zhang Heming had wanted to drive away Xiong Tingbi for a long time. He was a minister of the Ministry of War and ordered Xiong Tingbi to go to war several times. Who knew that Xiong Tingbi didn't care about him at all. After driving Fang Congzhe away this time, his backer in the court was gone. How could he still survive? How to fight with me.
"Mr. Zhang is indeed worthy of being an important minister of the country. If the situation continues like this, you will all be remembered for eternity."
Wei Dazhong said flatteringly.
As soon as the civil servants heard this, they began to praise him in various ways.
This was the normal behavior of civil servants in the Ming Dynasty after the Wanli period. Before the work even started, you would congratulate me and I would congratulate you. In their hearts, everything seemed to be a fact as long as they thought of it.
Live in your own world.
…
royal palace
Zhu Youxiao looked at the five hundred sergeants standing in front of him and was very satisfied. After so many days of reorganization and training, it looked like a strong army.
At least they were standing neatly, and at a glance everyone was high-spirited and glowing.
This is something Zhu Youxiao invested in. In order to improve their physical fitness and enable them to formally form an army as soon as possible, Zhu Youxiao gave all the guards a monthly salary of two taels of silver, three meals a day, and meat at noon every day.
However, the training is equally hard. He insists on the requirements for elite soldiers for everyone. They must be proficient in everything with swords, guns and sticks. He even lets them fight in close quarters with real materials every day. He organizes a big melee for three days, and everyone must
Being able to draw a bow weighing at least 60 pounds was his most basic requirement for the Yulin Army.
They have to train with heavy loads every day just to find heavy armored infantry who can wear three layers of armor and fight like Jiannu did. After all, in this era, well-trained, brave and capable heavy armored soldiers are really invincible.
If you want to defeat the enemy, you must have a stronger armored force than theirs.
Some people talk about using firearms and artillery to deal with it, which is completely unreasonable.
First of all, the firearms of this era are terrible. Even the flintlock gun is just more convenient and not much more powerful.
As for artillery, unless you use hundreds or thousands of artillery pieces for carpet bombing and build heavy armored troops that charge into the formation on horseback, otherwise you will lose your life.
They also have to spend a lot of money to form a high-mobility cavalry army of at least ten thousand people. Each person must have at least two horses. Otherwise, even if they defeat the Jiannu on the battlefield, they will not be able to cause maximum damage to them. After all, everyone has a horse.
, the infantry couldn't catch up at all.
What's more, there will be a battle in Mongolia in the future, and the cavalry regiment must be there. This is the conclusion he came to after in-depth study of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing's fighting methods and the knowledge of later generations in his head. The only way to deal with cavalry is with cavalry. In this era without Maxim
, the cavalry is always the protagonist.
"Zhang Shize, now leads three hundred sergeants and royal guards to seal the palace. No one is allowed to enter or exit the palace without my order."
Zhang Shize didn't know what His Majesty was going to do, but he knew that he should obey the holy orders. This was what his grandfather had told him time and time again.
"I obey the decree!"
After Zhang Shize left, Zhu Youxiao looked at a sergeant standing in front of him and asked:
"May I have your name?"
The sergeant replied forcefully:
"Your Majesty, my name is Li Xing!"
"You will be in charge of these two hundred soldiers for the time being, waiting for my order."
After Zhu Youxiao finished speaking, he turned around and returned to Qianqing Palace.
Imperial Concubine Zheng and Li Xuanshi had not left the palace for a long time. Just now, Jin Yiwei suddenly rushed into Yikun Palace and said that the emperor wanted to see them. At this moment, both of them were uneasy.
Concubine Zheng is okay. After all, she has been in the palace for so many years. What kind of things have she not seen in the world? She fought with Emperor Wanli against the ministers in the battle over the country. He was just worried about his own status. As for his life, she knew
The emperor will definitely not kill her.
And Li Xuanshi is about to collapse now. How many years has she been in the palace? The last time she dared to put Zhu Youxiao under house arrest was all because of the support of Concubine Zheng. Now her backer is like a Bodhisattva crossing the river and she can't save herself. She is already almost
I was driven crazy by Zhu Youxiao's "cold violence".
"Your Majesty, please bring Concubine Zheng and Li Xuan here!"
After Yang Huan brought the people in, he wisely retreated outside and closed the door, guarding the door himself.
This is the first time that Zhu Youxiao has met Concubine Zheng. Even though she is older, she still has her charm and good temperament. She is worthy of being the master of the harem for so many years. She is so rich and powerful. No wonder the emperor's grandfather has only lived for so many years.
Favoring her alone, she must have been a stunning beauty when she was young.
As soon as Li Xuanshi came in, he knelt on the ground and begged for mercy:
"Your Majesty, I know that I am wrong. I am obsessed with ghosts. All this was done by the imperial concubine. It was not my concubine who caused the death of the late emperor."
Zhu Youxiao ignored her at all. She had been sizing up Concubine Zheng in front of her, and Concubine Zheng was also sizing up Zhu Youxiao, and they both kept silent as if they were in understanding.
After a while, Concubine Zheng said:
"The emperor ordered me to come and have something important to do with my concubine?"
Even without saluting or saying hello, Zhu Youxiao still looked down on her, but he didn't care.
"I intend to build a series of Buddhist halls in Yikun Palace to worship Grandpa Shenzong. The imperial concubine was Grandpa Shenzong's favorite person during his lifetime. Will you be willing to keep vigil for Grandpa Shenzong?"
Concubine Zheng already had a result in her mind. She was going to be placed under house arrest. However, she also guessed that this was the result and it was also the best result for her. She said with a helpless smile:
"Since the emperor has such filial piety, I should obey it."
Talking to smart people saves your worries.
"Give the imperial concubine some tea and take care of her, otherwise be careful with your heads."
After saying that, he stood up and walked out.
Li Xuanshi on the side felt that he could still be saved, and was about to beg for mercy when he heard Zhu Youxiao said coldly:
"Drag this poisonous woman who plotted against the late emperor to death in front of the late emperor's spiritual throne!"
When Li Xuanshi heard this, his mind went blank and he couldn't even ask for mercy.
Jin Yiwei came in and dragged her out alive.
"Wang Wangfu, go and bring the eunuchs and maids from Yikun Palace."
"Yang Huan, Wei Zhongxian, bring Jin Yiwei and Dongchang Fanzi to check the palace for me. If there are any troublemakers, kill them on the spot and bring all the eunuchs and maids here."
After saying that, he walked towards the harem. There was another person in the harem who had the same transcendent status as Concubine Zheng, and that was Emperor Shenzong's Concubine Liu Shi Zhao.
Concubine Liu Zhao did not fight for power and gain like Concubine Zheng. Instead, she kept eating fast and chanting Buddha in the harem to maintain her health. Zhu Youxiao came here just to serve Concubine Liu Zhao as in charge of the harem.
"Why does the emperor have time to come to my place today?"
Concubine Liu Zhao had always kept aloof from the world and did not want to interfere too much with matters in the palace, so Zhu Youxiao naturally knew that.
Because he couldn't really leave the harem to others to take charge of it. No matter who it was, Zhu Youxiao only believed in himself for this kind of thing.
"I am here to invite Concubine Zhao to live in Cining Palace and hold the Queen Mother's seal to preside over the harem."
Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.
"The emperor can rest assured that the harem will be safe and sound. The emperor can do great things with all his heart."
Concubine Liu Zhao also knew what the emperor meant, so she accepted it directly.
"In this case, I will honor Concubine Zhao as the concubine at the court meeting tomorrow. The concubine can now tidy up and move into Cining Palace."
"I have something else to do, so I'll leave first!"
Concubine Liu Zhao saluted and said with a smile:
"Emperor, walk slowly!"
The grand search of the palace lasted for three full hours and did not come to an end until evening.
Zhu Youxiao looked at the thousands of eunuchs and maids kneeling in the square and said slowly:
"Yang Huan, take someone!"
That night, the entire palace was filled with the smell of blood, and hundreds of palace maids and eunuchs were all killed by the royal guards.
These people are either in cahoots with foreign ministers, or they are colluding in the palace to harm the unfavored princes and princesses, and there are even worse people like Wang An who are in two boats.