Seeing that all the civil servants were driven out in despair, the noble generals on the right were very relieved.
Even Duke Ying and Duke Ding were very happy.
They expected that His Majesty would not hand over power to civilian officials, but they did not expect that His Majesty would be so direct and powerful.
This kind of courage is not even matched by Taizu Chengzu!
"Do you have any objections to my appointment of Zhou Yuji as the general who defends the city?"
Zhu Cixiang looked over again.
He can be rough and direct with civil servants, but he must persuade them with reason when dealing with nobles and generals.
"Your Majesty, although the Zhou Commander-in-Chief has experienced many wars, he still belongs to the Shanxi Commander-in-Chief. If he serves as the general guarding the capital, it may be inappropriate, and the soldiers in the capital may not be convinced. I hope your Majesty will think twice!"
With the lessons learned from the civil servants just now, the nobles became more polite and cautious, and an earl stepped forward.
"I second the proposal. I hope that your Majesty will put the overall situation first and choose virtuous ministers and generals!"
"I would like to inform your Majesty that the British Dukes have been loyal for generations and have served their country with countless loyalty. They are role models for generals in the world. I suggest that the British Dukes take charge of the overall situation, which will surely make all the armies at home and abroad work together as one."
"I second the proposal!"
"Your Majesty, the lineage of Dingguo Gong has been loyal and loyal for generations. Our ancestors followed Taizu Chengzu to conquer the world and made great achievements. I suggest that Dingguo Gong be in charge of all the internal and external armies..."
For a time, the nobles were divided into two groups.
One group chose to support Duke Dingguo, and the other group chose to support Duke Ying.
As they talked, they started to quarrel, and some even rolled up their sleeves and prepared to fight.
As for Zhou Yuji, he had long been forgotten in a corner. Tang Tong and Wu Xiang had always watched with cold eyes.
Seeing all the nobles starting to push and pull, and their faces turned red, Zhu Cixiang felt like he was in a mirror.
These guys have become smarter now, and they even know how to put on a show for him, creating the illusion of discord between the two factions, so that he, the emperor, can feel at ease and check and balance.
"quiet!"
Seeing that the situation was out of control, Wang Dehua had no choice but to shout again.
"I sincerely believe in the loyalty and ability of the two princes. It is most appropriate for one of the two princes to control the internal and external armies, both emotionally and rationally, and for public and private purposes.
However, as the saying goes, if you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger. The two princes have been in Beijing for a long time and know very little about the intruders. They know themselves but do not know the enemy. The outcome is really unpredictable.
And this battle is related to the country of Ming Dynasty, as well as to the wealth and life of everyone here, and there is no risk at all.
Therefore, with the primary purpose of defending the capital, when choosing generals to defend the city, can the two princes be fully confident?"
"This... I will do my best to live and die with the capital."
After all, the two of them were not thick-skinned enough, so instead of patting their chests and making promises, they bowed politely.
In fact, the two of them were really unsure.
"I don't want you to live and die with the capital. I only want you to defend the capital and repel the intruders."
"The reason why I chose Zhou Aiqing as the general who defended the city is because he not only stopped a million bandits at Ningwuguan with more than 10,000 soldiers, but also killed more than 200,000 bandits. If he hadn't exhausted all the troops in the end,
, I ordered him to abandon the pass and return to the capital, so that the bandit army still cannot take a step beyond the thunder pool."
"Two princes, if it were one of you, could you do this?"
After Zhu Cixiang finished speaking, everyone looked shocked and looked at Zhou Yuji at the end.
I finally understood why His Majesty insisted on choosing him.
With this kind of record, he can indeed be called the best defensive general in the Ming Dynasty.
"I am ashamed of myself."
Duke Yingying and Duke Dingguo looked at each other, sighed deeply, and replied in unison.
Obviously, the two of them could see that His Majesty's attitude was firm and difficult to change. In addition, Zhou Yuji could be considered a newly promoted noble, so they did not persist.
"It turns out that all the beloved ministers have no objections, so the matter is settled."
Zhu Ci also breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two compromising.
Otherwise, it would be really hard to handle, after all, they are the main force defending the city.
"Zhou Yuji comes forward to listen to the seal!"
"I'm here!"
Zhou Yuji didn't hesitate, and immediately came out of the procession and knelt down on one knee in the palace, but his heart was already moved to the point of confusion.
"Zhou Aiqing, I now designate you as the Taibao of the Crown Prince, the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Military Commands, holding the Emperor's Sword, holding the Emperor's Edict, and commanding all the armies at home and abroad. Anyone who does not respect orders will be punished by the emperor's nobles, civil and military officials, and down below.
As for the army, civilians, gentry, you can kill them first and then report them!"
"Your Majesty, Zhou Yuji, accepts the edict to express my gratitude! Long live my emperor! Long live my emperor!"
After Zhou Yuji kowtowed three times and shouted loudly, he took the Emperor's Sword and the edict from the tray held by the eunuch at the side.
Then he turned around, holding a sword in one hand and an edict in the other, holding it high and facing the ministers.
"Meet the Governor!"
Although everyone was extremely envious, they had no choice but to kneel down and salute Zhou Yuji.
Because at this moment, Zhou Yuji represents the emperor and exercises power for the emperor. It can be said that one person is truly inferior to ten thousand people.
This kind of situation has never happened again since the fall of the Tang Dynasty, let alone the Ming Dynasty.
After the ceremony, Zhu Cixi ordered people to build a huge ceremony platform in the Imperial City Campus.
In front of the officers and soldiers of the three armies, the imperial edict was read out again, the emperor was given a sword, he worshiped Zhou Yuji as the general who defended the city, and even made a grand salute to him imitating the ancient ceremony.
All the soldiers were also excited to watch.
After all, military generals have been suppressed by civilian officials since the Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, civilian officials even regarded military generals as slaves and soldiers as pigs and dogs.
Today, His Majesty imitated the ancient ritual of setting up a stage to pay homage to the generals, which means that the days when military generals had low status will be gone forever.
Military generals also long for the day that they can be worshiped as generals and governors, achieve immortal achievements, and be famous throughout the ages.
After the ceremony, it was already afternoon.
Zhu Cixiang summoned all the nobles and middle- and high-level generals to the Jianji Hall to hold a military meeting.
It was originally supposed to be held in Wuying Hall, but Wuying Hall has now turned into a warehouse, filled with a large amount of gold and silver treasures.
In the middle of the empty hall, there was a wooden model of the capital. Zhu Cixiang also put down his arrogance and gathered around with everyone.
"Zhou Aiqing, this is the model of the capital made by my order. How do you think the defense should be arranged?"
Everyone also looked at Zhou Yuji, wanting to see if he really had a few brushes.
"Your Majesty, the walls of the capital city are tall and strong, surrounded by a wide moat. Although the bandit army is said to number in the millions, it is not good at attacking the city. As long as the defense is properly done and there are no mistakes, it is absolutely impossible for the bandit army to break through the city!"
"I suggest that all the city gates be sealed with bricks and stones first to prevent spies in the city from secretly opening the city gates."
"Okay, not bad, block all the city gates."
Zhu Cixiang clapped his hands and said secretly that he had indeed chosen the wrong person and hit the point right away.
Historically, one side was still resisting tenaciously, but someone on the other side secretly opened the city gate and let the bandits into the city.
In the end, it was unclear who opened the city gate first.
"Your Majesty, this is a wonderful compliment."
Zhou Yuji hurriedly said modestly and continued: "Secondly, the capital city wall is about fifty miles long. Although our army has a hundred thousand troops, if the troops are evenly distributed on each wall, it will be too scattered and difficult to defend.
Therefore, I suggest that we do not need to deploy too many troops to guard each city wall and gate. We only need a small number of troops and horses, and leave enough reinforcements, especially elite troops. When the time comes, our army will attack from which side.
Send reinforcements to support that side!"
"Yes, Not Bad."
"This arrangement is very reasonable."
Everyone nodded, agreeing with this.
"Thirdly, the outer city wall is lower than the inner city wall. Our army must be prepared for the outer city to be breached at any time. Even in critical moments, we should take the initiative to abandon the outer city and retreat to the inner city so that we can concentrate our forces to defend it."
"You can first move the people from the outer city to the inner city, demolish the houses near the inner city wall, and transport bricks and wood to the city head for defense."
"What?"
"How does this make it possible for the outer city to have a population of no less than one million? How can it be said that it can be evacuated?"
"Yes, even if we can evacuate, we still can't accommodate them in the inner city!"
This time, all the honorable nobles collectively exploded.
After all, the main population of the capital is concentrated in the outer city.
"Let's do this. First, the old and weak among the refugees will be moved to the imperial city. As for the residents of the outer city who are willing to move, they will not be forced to move for the time being. However, the side close to the inner city wall must be moved."
Although Zhu Cixiang strongly agreed with Zhou Yuji's suggestion, he also knew that the outer city had a large population and the project was too big.
Once it is enforced, it will definitely cause major disturbances, so we have to settle for the next best thing.
When everyone saw His Majesty saying this, they didn't say much.
Immediately afterwards, the defensive tasks began to be arranged.
The 80,000-strong capital camp was led by seven marquises, each commanding 5,000 to 7,000 people, totaling 45,000 people, guarding the four walls of the inner city and the three walls of the outer city.
The remaining 30,000 people, led by two princes, were stationed in the center of the outer city and the inner city to provide timely assistance to each wall and gate.
Tang Tong's 8,000 people and Zhou Yuji's more than 1,000 people served as an elite firefighting team, providing support wherever the situation was critical.
The 10,000 Yulin Army and 20,000 Pure Army will serve as the general reserve force and the inspection team.
Wu Xiang was responsible for commanding the young refugees to carry supplies and assist in the defense.
Li Ruocheng's Jinyiwei is responsible for maintaining order in the outer city, while Dongchang is responsible for maintaining order in the inner city.
After the arrangements were made, everyone felt confident.