In the Huangji Hall, he looked at the civil and military officials kneeling to him on both sides, and Zhu Cixiang sitting on the dragon chair.
At this moment, I finally felt the pleasure of being so high and domineering over the world, as if I could kill everyone with just a wave of my hand, as if the whole world was in my hands.
This is a pleasure that cannot be expressed in words and can only be experienced personally.
It is also a feeling that I have never experienced before in this life.
No wonder that in history, countless people fought for this chair with bloodshed, killing each other, killing mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and turning the sun and the moon into discolorations.
It's no wonder that countless emperors refused to part with this chair until their death.
Because this feeling is so wonderful that once you have experienced it, you will be addicted to it and never be able to let it go.
Even after the ministers thanked him and stood up, Zhu Cixiang still narrowed his eyes slightly, enjoying the pleasure.
It wasn't until Wang Chengen coughed and reminded him that Zhu Cixiang returned to his original position and quickly adjusted his mentality.
Then he glanced at the ministers and said in a deep voice: "My dear friends, yesterday there was a military report, announcing that both towns have been lost.
The vanguard of the intruders has arrived at Juyong Pass, and I think the defeat will be reported again in the near future. Once Juyong Pass is lost, the capital will no longer have a barrier, so I am determined to defend the capital and fight against the intruders to the end!"
"I am willing to defend the capital and your majesty to the death, and fight against the thieves to the end!"
The ministers on the left and right knelt down together again and sang loudly.
Obviously everyone is aware of the intruder's movements, and they have also known for a long time His Majesty's decision to hold on to the capital.
Everyone has been mentally prepared for this.
It must be said that Zhu Cixiang's performance in the past half month gave everyone a glimmer of hope to defend the capital and repel the invading army.
Historically, the reason why everyone from the civil servants to the military, civilians, merchants, and gentry had no hope was to just sit back and wait for the intruders.
The main reason was that Chongzhen himself was too incompetent and his performance was too poor. He was in a miserable mood that he was about to lose his country all day long. He couldn't come up with any countermeasures. How could he expect the civil and military soldiers and civilians under him to have confidence?
Since Zhu Cixiang ascended the throne, he has always shown confidence, and with a series of operations, everyone once again felt like a backbone.
"Okay! We, the Ming Dynasty, expelled the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty and restored the Han Dynasty to our country. It has been more than two hundred years since we established our country.
We have faced crises several times during this period, but we have survived them safely in the end. I believe this time will be no exception. As long as our monarchs and ministers work together, we will be able to turn the crisis around again and revive the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Cixiang didn't care whether they were sincere or perfunctory. He stood up and praised them loudly. At the end of the sentence, he waved his hand with great momentum.
The ministers also worked hard and shouted in unison again: "I am willing to follow Your Majesty to the death, to fight against the intruders, and to revive the Ming Dynasty!" It was as if it had been rehearsed in advance.
"I am deeply gratified that all my dear friends have such determination. Please stand up if you are safe."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"In order to coordinate the defense of all forces in the capital, I have decided to appoint Zhongyi Bo Zhou Yuji as the general who defends the city. He will hold the emperor's sword and the emperor's edict to take charge of the overall situation!"
After everyone stood up, Zhu Cixiang said directly.
Wow!
There was an uproar in the hall, and discussions broke out one after another.
Everyone was not surprised that His Majesty would appoint a general to guard the city to take charge of the overall situation.
Surprisingly, His Majesty would choose Zhou Yuji.
Neither the civil officials nor the nobles were convinced by this.
How can He De be able to take on this important task this week? How qualified is he to take on this important task?
Even Tang Tong and Wu Xiang, who were both military generals, were still dissatisfied.
In Tang Tong's view, Zhou Yuji was the commander-in-chief, and he was also the commander-in-chief.
As an earl, he brought 8,000 troops to the capital, while Zhou Yuji could only lead a mere 1,000 remaining troops.
Therefore, even I, the general who defended the city, was more qualified than him.
Not to mention Wu Xiang. When he went into battle to kill the enemy, Zhou Yuji was still unknown. They were completely different in generations, at most they were only one generation apart from his son.
However, the two of them also knew that even if Zhou Yuji was not qualified, it would not be their turn, so they chose to sit on the sidelines.
"quiet!"
Wang Dehua let out a wolf howl, and the palace immediately fell silent.
"Why, do you have any objections to it?"
Zhu Cixiang didn't look at the row of civilian officials at all, but looked at the row of distinguished military attachés.
But the civil servants seemed not to notice Zhu Cihong's attitude. A censor took the lead in stepping out and bowing.
"Your Majesty, this battle concerns our country, the Ming Dynasty. Zhou Yuji is no more than a general soldier. What virtues and abilities do he have to shoulder this important task?"
"Your Majesty, I second the proposal. In addition, I suggest that the Heavenly Official of the Ministry of War be responsible for coordinating this battle to defend the city. The Ministry of War is already responsible for commanding the world's soldiers and horses, and it is legitimate and reasonable to serve as the general of the city defense!"
"I second the proposal!"
There was a line of civil servants. Except for Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of War, who did not move, the rest of them all came out to pay their respects.
This scene immediately made the nobles extremely anxious. Just as several earls were preparing to go out, they were stopped by the British Duke's eyes, and Dingguo Duke also shook his head.
Obviously, based on their current understanding of His Majesty's temperament, they will never let the Minister of War be the general who defends the city. There is no need to rush.
Zhu Cixiang was furious and a little puzzled at the same time.
What I was furious about was that these civil servants dared to play this trick with me.
I wonder if they all choose to protect themselves wisely?
Why are you so positive today? Did you take the wrong medicine?
Then he sneered: "Zhang Aiqing, do you think you are qualified and capable of taking on this important task?"
"If your Majesty trusts you, I will definitely...!"
Zhang Jinyan knelt down with determination.
But before he finished speaking, Zhu Cixi roared directly: "I don't trust you. As long as you have the qualifications to carry Yu Shaobao's shoes, the situation in our Ming Dynasty will not be ruined to this point. How dare you be so shameless now?"
Isn’t this a shameless statement?”
Zhu Cixiang didn't give him any face.
He estimated that the reason why these civil servants were so active was because they thought it would be convenient to open the city and surrender.
"Your Majesty actually doesn't trust me so much. I have no face to stand in the court anymore. I would like to resign from the post of Secretary of the Ministry of War. I hope your Majesty will give you permission!"
Zhang Jinyan's old face turned red. He didn't expect that the little emperor would humiliate him so much.
"I also wish to resign, and I hope your majesty will grant you permission!"
Except for a few people who showed hesitation and confusion on their faces, all the others followed suit and resigned, including the first assistant to the cabinet, Chen Yan, and the second assistant, Wei Zaode.
In fact, it was not that the civil servants took the wrong medicine today, but that the general who defended the city was too important.
When the Tumubao Incident occurred and Wala besieged the capital, it was Yu Qian, the Minister of War, who took charge of the overall situation and tried to turn the tide. From then on, the generals and nobles were completely suppressed by the civilian officials.
If this time the city defender will be a military general or a nobleman, once the city is defended and the intruders are driven back, it can be foreseen that the military general or nobleman will rise again and suppress the civilian officials.
That's why the civil servants were surprisingly unanimous in arguing their case, even resorting to collective resignation as a coercion.
"allow!"
"Everyone, get out of here!"
Zhu Cixiang did not accept this trick at all, he slapped the dragon case and shouted loudly.
To be honest, he really didn't plan to ask these civil servants to come today. They came by themselves.