When Zhu Qiyu went out, it was already three o'clock in the morning.
It is late autumn now, and it gets dark early. Although it is not difficult to see people clearly, it is still necessary to hold a lamp.
When they arrived at Donghua Gate, Jin Ying was waiting at the door with a shoulder carriage.
The light was dim, and Zhu Qiyu couldn't see clearly the other party's expression.
Putting on the shoulder carriage, he headed towards Jiyi Hall.
On the way, Zhu Qiyu suddenly remembered something and asked.
"If I remember correctly, the rule in the palace is to lock the palace door with the key at the time of Xu, right?"
He arrived at three quarters of You hour, less than a quarter of an hour before Xu hour.
According to the rules, after the palace door is locked, no one is allowed to enter the palace without permission without being summoned.
Even if there are urgent government affairs, you still need to go ahead and report it, and you can only enter after being summoned.
This was the case last night when Yu Qian sent military reports to the palace.
Jin Ying stood aside and replied: "Yes, but the government affairs are urgent now. When our family came out, the Holy Mother gave us a token to open the palace gate, so the prince does not need to worry."
Zhu Qiyu stopped talking.
Not long after the meeting, Jiyi Hall arrived.
Entering the palace, a group of ministers had already arrived.
Jiyi Hall is a side hall of Wenhua Hall. It is not big, but it is brightly lit at the moment.
Zhu Qiyu glanced at it and found that the Queen Mother Sun was not here, but there were many people coming.
There were about thirty or forty ministers wearing official robes of various colors, all of whom were important ministers in the court, as well as a few distinguished military ministers.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been preparing for several days.
In the Jiyi Hall at this moment, except for the few people I saw in the morning.
The six ministries, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Hanlin Academy, the Cabinet, the Sixth Section, the Shuntian Prefecture, and the Five Military Governor's Prefecture all had officers in charge present.
Seeing Zhu Qiyu come in, all the ministers stood up and saluted.
"See Prince Tan."
Zhu Qiyu sat down at the top and said.
"My lords, you don't have to be polite, please get up."
Wait for the ministers below to stand up and take their seats.
Jin Ying took two steps forward and said.
"The Empress Dowager has issued a decree that the Emperor has been absent from the capital for a long time due to the recent military expedition. The country's common affairs cannot be left unattended for a long time. From now on, all matters in and outside the capital will be addressed to King Qi Yu. You must obey the orders and do so without any disobedience."
Because it was an oral order, ministers did not have to kneel down to receive it.
But as soon as Jin Ying said this, there was a burst of discussion in the hall.
You should know that although rumors have been rife in the capital in the past few days, no one knows what exactly happened except for a few ministers who participated in the discussion early that morning.
At this moment, after receiving this oral instruction, everyone felt a sense of surprise and doubt in their hearts.
If Jin Ying had not personally come to deliver the message, they would even doubt the authenticity of this oral message.
The oral instructions are certainly not false.
After Jin Ying finished speaking, the four bosses, headed by Wang Zhi, the Minister of Official Affairs, Hu Hui, the Minister of Rites, Chen Yi, the imperial censor of Zuodu, and Yu Qian, the minister of war, stood up and bowed.
"I respectfully abide by the Queen Mother's decree."
With a group of big guys taking the lead, the others will naturally follow Xiao Gui and Cao.
I just had a bad feeling in my heart.
Next, everyone sat down again.
Zhu Qiyu said: "I have called all the ministers here today. It is true that there is an urgent military report to Beijing, and it needs to be discussed by all the ministers."
"Jin Ying, I think that in the next period of time, we will have to discuss things late at night. After today, you will report to the Queen Mother Ming that after today, Donghua Gate will not be closed all night, and officials in charge of various ministries will be given to come to Jiyi Hall to perform affairs at any time.
power."
Jin Ying did not expect that Zhu Qiyu would mention this matter for the first time.
This matter is not big or small.
Speaking more broadly, guarding the palace gates of the imperial city is a very important matter.
But speaking on a smaller scale, it is just a matter of a word from the Queen Mother.
After all, the Queen Mother is still in control of the imperial city today.
Now is a special moment. Jin Ying is not surprised that Zhu Qiyu mentioned this.
The reason for this request is sufficient. At this time, the Queen Mother will not embarrass anyone with such small details.
But what surprised him was that for such a trivial matter, just send someone to Cining Palace to talk about it.
However, why did Zhu Qiyu bring it up on this occasion?
In this kind of meeting where ministers discuss matters, they don't talk about major affairs of the government, but talk about such trivial matters...
What on earth is this Prince Tan thinking?
Jin Ying was slightly surprised, but didn't think much and said.
"Follow the prince's orders."
As the voice fell, Jin Ying caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye. The ministers below looked at Zhu Qiyu with different eyes.
At first, there was still a bit of contempt.
As he spoke out the instructions, the expressions of the ministers below became more solemn, and even their backs were straighter than before.
I see……
Jin Ying smiled bitterly in his heart.
This Prince Tan is really good at taking advantage of situations.
As he just thought, this matter is not a big deal.
But because it involves the defense of the palace gate, it is very sensitive.
More importantly, this is a matter under the sole control of the Queen Mother.
Jin Ying undoubtedly represents the Queen Mother Sun in this palace.
The Queen Mother can agree to such sensitive matters.
It can only show that the Queen Mother really handed over the power of governing to King Tan!
It's not like the previous days, it's just a marionette.
Jin Ying stepped back and took in the expressions of everyone below, and couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration in his heart.
Two short sentences back and forth, seemingly calm.
However, with the power of Empress Dowager Sun, King Tan's image in the hearts of the ministers has changed.
At least for now.
The courtiers should all know this clearly.
He, Prince Tan, can now make the decision!
Regarding the changes in the expressions of the ministers below, Zhu Qiyu's expression remained as usual.
I was the emperor for seven or eight years in my previous life, but I didn't even have this means, so it was all in vain.
Anyway, Queen Mother Sun sent Jin Ying here for the apparent reason of supporting him.
In this case, it’s free if you don’t use it!
After gathering his thoughts, Zhu Qiyu continued to speak.
"Military reporting is in charge of the Ministry of War. Yu Shilang, you will preside over today's discussion!"
"I accept my order."
Yu Qian stood up, took out two military reports from his large sleeve robe, and said.
"At three o'clock last night, our military department received a report from the Huailai Guards, saying that our army was surrounded by the enemy in Tumubao and suffered heavy losses."
A group of ministers below heard what Yu Qian said.
There's nothing too surprising about it.
Just a defeat!
Both the government and the public, apart from the emperor himself, other ministers, especially civil servants, were generally not optimistic about the war.
You must know that although the Ming Dynasty mobilized a large number of troops this time, with Wang Zhen misbehaving there, even a sure-win battle could be lost.
What's more, when the military reports were sent back several times before.
The army had already had several encounters with Ye Xian, but the Ming army did not get any benefits. Instead, several generals died in the battle.
Therefore, the ministers were basically prepared for the defeat this time.
Just looking at this posture, I'm afraid the losses will be heavy this time.
This is the thought of most of the officials in the palace.
However, there are a very few smart ones who suddenly have an ominous premonition when they think of the Queen Mother's oral instructions just now.
Yu Qian didn't care what the people below him thought and continued.
"After receiving the report, the Ministry of War quickly ordered the garrison approaching the pass to gather the remaining troops on the spot. At You time today, Yang Hong, the chief military officer of the Xuanfu garrison, submitted a detailed military report."
Hear this.
Some people who had already speculated in their minds were gradually unable to sit still.
Gather the remaining troops on the spot?
This is no ordinary defeat.
The army is outside, but as long as the Chinese army is still there, the army will obey the orders of the Chinese army.
Yu Qian calls the remnant army, so that means...
"Could it be said that the bandits actually broke through the Chinese army's tent?"
The speaker was Miao Zhong, a cabinet scholar.
He was an old minister of Xuanzong, and he was appointed to the direct cabinet as a minister of the Ministry of War. He was also in charge of the Hanlin Academy, and he was familiar with military affairs.
After hearing this, I couldn't help but be surprised.
As soon as these words came out, the officials below couldn't help but stir up a commotion, and a burst of noisy discussion quickly broke out.
You must know that the emperor himself was in charge of this expedition.
If the Chinese army's tent is breached, wouldn't that mean...
Is the emperor also in danger?
Seeing that the scene had become noisy, Jin Ying stepped forward and shouted.
"quiet!"
When the ministers gradually calmed down, Zhu Qiyu also spoke.
"You don't have to worry, the detailed military report has been sent, and I will inform you of all the details..."
What Yu Qian is holding in his hand now is actually a copy of the military newspaper.
It was actually lying quietly inside Zhu Qiyu's sleeve robe!
Therefore, he knows better than anyone what they will hear next.
Looking at the burning palace lantern, Zhu Qiyu's eyes showed a hint of complexity.