"Nowadays, the national situation is difficult, and I have ascended the throne for the first time. I will have to rely on all of you dear ones in the future."
"Come! I would like to toast all my dear friends here. I hope that all my dear friends will join hands with me to prosper the Ming Dynasty together!"
"I will not give up even if I die. I am willing to serve your Majesty and serve the Ming Dynasty till my death!"
Zhu Cixiang raised his glass and said loudly, and everyone reciprocated the favor and stood up to show their loyalty.
I just don’t know if some of them are sincere or not.
However, I felt deeply in my heart that this little emperor was not only more generous than his father, but also more easy-going.
If he could have succeeded to the throne more than ten years earlier, he might have been able to revive the Ming Dynasty.
After drinking the wine, everyone began to praise Zhu Cixiang.
The atmosphere in the palace suddenly became lively, and everyone was no longer as nervous and restrained as before.
The wine has passed three rounds, and the food has passed the five flavors.
Zhu Cihong saw that some people sitting in the back had begun to secretly take advantage of the wine-waiting maid.
Then he got up and walked slowly to the hall. When everyone saw this, they also got up one after another.
"Dear dear friends, I have always had a question, that is, if the intruders attack the capital, what will happen to me and the civil and military forces of this dynasty?"
Clang.
As soon as he finished speaking, there were several sounds of wine glasses falling to the ground.
Obviously, I didn't expect that His Majesty would suddenly ask such a question, and I was a little at a loss for the moment.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. We still have hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Ming Dynasty, and your Majesty is a wise king through the ages. I believe that your Majesty will destroy the rebels and revive the Ming Dynasty, which is just around the corner!"
After a while, Dingguo Duke Xu Yunzhen, who was sitting in the first place on the left, came back to his senses. He thought that His Majesty was drunk and talking nonsense, so he hurriedly paid his respects.
Others also stood up and bowed down one after another.
"Alas! My dear friends, there is no need to be nervous. I am just imagining it. All my dear friends are ministers of the humerus who live with the country. Feel free to speak freely today. No matter what you say, I will forgive you and others!"
Zhu Cixiang waved his hands and said with a smile.
But I thought in my heart: This really treats him like a three-year-old child.
But that's right, after all, he is only fifteen this year, but actually only fourteen.
His father, Chongzhen, was already eighteen when he ascended the throne, so he was still coaxed into confusion?
"this……"
When everyone saw that His Majesty insisted on disturbing the scenery and persisted in this topic, they were also embarrassed.
How do you deal with such a heavy topic?
"Since all my dear friends don't want to imagine it, I'll just imagine it."
"After the bandit army breaks the city, my father and I will naturally want the king to die in Sheji. Then we can set fire to the Purple Gold City."
"Well, as long as those civil servants are willing to surrender, they will most likely continue to be reused and continue to enjoy high-ranking officials and generous salaries in the new dynasty. After all, the world must be governed by civil servants, and this has been the case in all dynasties!"
"As for the fate of all my dear friends here, I have no idea."
Zhu Cixiang ignored the embarrassed expressions on everyone's faces, but clasped his hands behind his back and started talking to himself.
Everyone became more and more frightened as they listened. Cold sweat broke out on their timid foreheads, and finally they all knelt on the ground.
At this time, everyone still didn't understand that the little emperor was clearly trying to beat them.
How dare you treat him like a fourteen-year-old child?
"The British Duke, please tell me, if a thief comes into the city, can you, the British Duke, still be able to keep your title?"
"Your Majesty, if...if that day really comes, I will take all the children in my family and vow to fight the intruders to the last person in order to repay the country's favor!"
British Duke Zhang Shize also had tears in his eyes when he talked about emotional aspects.
"I will also take my children with me and vow to fight the intruders to the last man in order to repay the country's favor!"
Everyone also followed suit.
For a moment, the whole hall was bursting into tears, it was so touching.
"My dear friends, I am so pleased that you have such determination!"
Zhu Cixiang also sighed with emotion, and then changed his voice and said: "It's just that what I said just now is just an imagination. Then imagine someone who is greedy for life and afraid of death and joins the bandits."
"Consort Gong, tell me, if any of you here turn to thieves, will you be able to continue to enjoy high positions and titles?"
"Your Majesty, it is absolutely impossible. Since ancient times, I have never heard that the nobles of the previous dynasty can continue to enjoy the preferential treatment of titles in the new dynasty."
Prince Consort Gong Yonggu gritted his teeth and spoke boldly.
"The prince-in-law is a sensible person!"
"Yes, the intruder is short of civil servants, money and food, soldiers and horses, beautiful women, land and houses, everything, but he is not short of nobility!"
"Because he has a large number of literati and generals under him who are waiting to be ennobled, waiting to be rewarded with beauties, mansions, gold, silver and jewelry. But where do these things come from?"
When Zhu Cixiang finished speaking, he glanced at the nobles on both sides with burning eyes.
Everyone was already trembling, and even the timid ones began to tremble.
Zhu Cixiang looked at Gong Yonggu again.
"Consort Gong, you are a sensible person, so let me tell you, who in this capital has the most land, the most money, the most luxurious houses, and the most beautiful wives and maids?"
"Back...back to Your Majesty, in the capital, it is...the royal family and nobles who have the most land, the most money, the most mansions, and the most beautiful wives and maids."
The consort Gong Yonggu also complained unbearably, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow Zhu Cixiang's wishes.
After saying that, I was sweating profusely.
However, more than half of the hundreds of nobles present were spread out on the ground, their faces expressionless.
Obviously everyone is not stupid and has woken up.
Then Li Zicheng is a weakling, how can his millions of troops be any better?
Once they enter the city, the little emperor will burn the palace and walk away happily, but what will they do?
The more everyone thought about it, the more scared they became, and their spines ran cold.
"Yes, the reason why you are able to enjoy everything you have now is because your ancestors received meritorious service and were elevated to nobility, and retired with the country.
If the Ming Dynasty dies, who else in the world can guarantee your interests? Who else can guarantee your interests?"
Zhu Cixiang finally showed his true face and asked the nobles who were slumped on the ground.
Then his eyes were as bright as fire and his tone turned cold: "It's a pity that some of the people here don't know such a simple truth. Not only do they not want to repay the kindness of the country, but they want to liaise with the rebels, and they plan to open the city and surrender when the time comes, and sell it to the owner for glory. It’s worse than a pig or a dog, it’s extremely stupid.”
After saying that, he waved his dragon sleeves, turned around, walked back to the dragon chair and sat down, and then shouted: "Dong Cheng, do you know your guilt?"
"My lord...my lord, I have been wronged. Your Majesty, I am absolutely loyal and will never dare to collude with the rebels..."
Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Chengguo, shouted immediately as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
"Hmph! If people don't know it, unless they do nothing themselves, do they really think that my royal guards are vegetarians?"
Zhu Cixiang's one-shot dragon case.
Of the three princes, the British prince Zhang Shize was the last to die for his country, and he remembered it.
Ding Guogong Xu Yunzhen and Wei Guogong who guarded Nanjing were of the same lineage, so they were not easy to move for the time being.
So if Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, is not treated, who should be treated?
"Your Majesty, I...I am willing to donate one hundred thousand taels of silver to repay the country's kindness."
Zhu Chunchen was not stupid either. Seeing that begging for mercy was useless, he immediately came to his senses and gritted his teeth in pain.
But Zhu Cixiang didn't blink an eyelid.
At this time, Wang Dehua on the side also picked up an imperial edict on the table, opened it and read it out.
"The Emperor, who was entrusted by Heaven, issued an edict: Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, is a traitor who seeks glory and ignores the grace of God. Now he will be stripped of his title, his house will be confiscated, and he will be imprisoned..."
"Your Majesty, I, I am willing to donate 200,000, not 500,000..."
After the imperial edict was read out, Zhu Chunchen said loudly and urgently while being pulled out by the Han general.
Everyone looked at this scene with pale faces.
I still don't understand why the little emperor is hosting the Hongmen Banquet today.
I also understand that this little emperor wants to break the jar.
Looking at the pile of imperial edicts on the desk, how could anyone care about Zhu Chunchen's life and death?
Wang Dehua was also frightened, but he quickly picked up another imperial edict and read it out.
Every time a letter was read out, an earl or marquis would be pulled out of the hall shouting that he had been wronged. The charges were almost all about seeking glory from the seller and having an affair with a traitor.
"Your Majesty, Xun'er, why did you arrest me? I am the father-in-law of the country, and your grandfather, how could I have an affair with a traitor?"
Zhou Kui was shocked and frightened. Before the Han general could get close, he shouted anxiously. He never expected that the emperor would arrest him, the father-in-law.
"Hmph! Zhou Kui, you have the nerve to say that you are the head of the state. When my father raised military salaries, all the civil servants donated thousands of taels. It's a good thing that you not only donated only a thousand taels, but also went to your mother to cry out for your poverty afterwards.
The most hateful thing is that the queen mother gave you all the gold and silver jewelry. You sold 5,000 taels, but you actually took 3,000 taels..."
At this point, the anger in Zhu Cixiang's heart could no longer be suppressed, and he roared: "Pull me down, and give me ten sticks first!"
He originally thought that this matter was a historical fiction, so he sent someone to secretly investigate it at that time. Who would have thought that it turned out to be true.
And in history, this guy sold all three of his brothers, so how could there be any family affection at all?
If it weren't for his mother's sake, he would really want to kill her directly.
"Your Majesty, if I withdraw...can't I refund it?"
Zhou Kui didn't expect that such a secret thing would be known to him. For a moment, he blushed and felt guilty, and quickly begged for mercy.
Everyone despised him and cursed in their hearts that he deserved it, but they were also frightened because this little emperor dared to beat his grandfather, let alone other people.
Fortunately, after nearly thirty more people were arrested, Wang Dehua finally calmed down.