Led by Lu Wan, Minister of War, and jointly signed by Liang Chu, Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Yang Tinghe and others, more than 100 ministers submitted memorials to impeach Zhang Yuan, which were passed to Zhu Houzhao through the hand of a small twist.

Zhu Houzhao stayed in the other courtyard. She originally planned to calm down, but was disturbed by this incident and was very impatient. However, Zhu Houzhao did not choose to avoid her as before. This was also the fact that Li Fei saw that Zhu Houzhao was worried that Chen Xi would be defeated and died. She wanted to make some changes and leave a diligent image of self-restraint, so she took action decisively.

Because even though Emperor Zhengde knew that Zhang Yuan was taking the blame for him, he did not want history to remember that he was a foolish monarch. He actually pushed his teacher to the death of Chenxi, who had made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty, and had to find a scapegoat to help him take the responsibility.

In this way, history will naturally say that the emperor is right. It is because of the treacherous ministers who deceive the holy and listen to this series of wrong decisions and measures.

When Zhu Houzhao saw the impeachment memorial, he immediately called Lu Wan, Wang Chang and Wang Shouren to discuss the matter.

Zhang Yuan only realized that something was wrong when Zhu Houzhao summoned Lu Wan and others, but at this time he could not enter the other courtyard to meet him.

"What do these people want to do? They dare to say bad things about our family in front of His Majesty? Are they tired of living?" Zhang Yuan still looked arrogant and domineering, as if he didn't feel that danger was approaching.

Zang Xian said bitterly: "Duke, Your Majesty summoned three masters. I think it is necessary to discuss the joint impeachment of you by court officials. I believe Lord Lu and others will follow the situation and put the blame on your father-in-law... Of course, the main reason is that they are eager to find a scapegoat."

Zhang Yuan said angrily: "Does our family look like they take the blame? That's why they unscrupulously put the shit basin on our heads, right?"

Zang Xian asked tentatively: "Why don't you go to your Majesty's other courtyard to kneel down and ask your Majesty to forgive me?"

"impossible!"

Zhang Yuan said angrily, "If our family goes now, it is equivalent to telling the people of the world that our family is really guilty, and Your Majesty will also punish you according to the public opinion... Our family does not want to be honest. Our family did not make a mistake in this matter. All military orders are issued according to His Majesty's wishes. Since you think there is a problem, why didn't they point it out at that time? Who wouldn't do it afterwards? Whoever wants to take the blame will take it? This time our family has arguing with them!"

Zang Xian thought to himself: "You can't even see Your Majesty now, so why do you argue? I'm afraid you can only sit and wait for death now?"

Zhang Yuan said anxiously: "Send someone to notify the people who are serving in front of His Majesty, and ask them to record the situation in full and inform our family in time... Our family doesn't want to close their eyes and listen, go quickly!"

...

...

Zhang Yuan was very anxious. He was afraid that Zhu Houzhao would be punished, but in fact, Zhu Houzhao was not so determined to punish Zhang Yuan at this time. Even if he called Lu Wan, Wang Chang and Wang Shouren, he would just ask about the military information first. Without getting more information from Yansui, he mentioned the matter of the court officials jointly impeaching Zhang Yuan.

Zhu Houzhao said: "...Eunuch Zhang accompanied me to Xuanfu. Although he was a little reckless in his work, he was always because there was no news after the Chen Qing family sent troops, so he would make frequent moves. You don't have to make things difficult for him. If the final result of this battle is very bad, I will not ignore it, but at most he will be dismissed, idle at home, or transferred to guard the imperial tomb."

At this time, Zhu Houzhao was still talking to Zhang Yuan, which made Lu Wan unacceptable.

In the spirit of beating the dog in the water, Lu Wan was the most determined in impeaching Zhang Yuan. He immediately said: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Zhang hides military information but fails to report it, which has caused our three armies to suffer losses, which has led to poor military information transmission in the nine sides. It is not an exaggeration to be sentenced to death even if you commit such a crime. How can you ignore it?"

In the eyes of officials in the court, the battle against Balsborot was actually defeated. Because Zhang Yuan prevented the scouts from going out to investigate military information, he completely did not understand the Tatars' withdrawal of troops. This led to the ridiculous incident of hundreds of thousands of troops gathering in Xuanfu but doing nothing.

In this way, Zhang Yuan should resign in order to stabilize the morale of the army. Especially when the emperor personally led the army but was teased by the Tatars, causing the morale of the entire army to be depressed. Eliminating the culprit is the best way to boost the morale of the nine-sided army.

But when Zhu Houzhao heard Lu Wan say that he would not only impeach Zhang Yuan, but even to be sentenced to death, his face suddenly collapsed, obviously unacceptable. He frowned and said, "Eunuch Zhang is wrong, he will not be punished until he dies. You are just trying to find someone who is responsible... Are you all not responsible?"

Lu Wan saluted respectfully and no longer responded, because he, Wang Chang and Wang Shouren could feel Zhu Houzhao's protection of Zhang Yuan, or Zhu Houzhao repeatedly protected Zhang Yuan for his sake.

Xiao Zhuozi, who had not spoken next to him, thought to himself: "The Queen Li is indeed foresighted. She knows that even if the court officials are angry and put such great pressure on Your Majesty, Your Majesty still chooses to support Eunuch Zhang... She asked me to remain neutral in front of Your Majesty, which seems to be the wisest way."

Zhu Houzhao also felt that his attitude was too tough. He wanted to restore his spirit and be a wise ruler. It seemed inappropriate to attack the enthusiasm of the ministers in this way, so he immediately showed a peaceful attitude: "This matter must be discussed for a long time, and wait for the news from Yansui to come first!"

Zhu Houzhao wanted to calm down the situation, but it was due to his own face. He made many mistakes in this matter and felt deeply guilty. Although Zhang Yuan did not take the initiative to take responsibility, Zhu Houzhao was actually trying to find a way to excuse him.

Unlike the Chinese civil and military ministers in the court who were eager to find someone to take responsibility, Zhu Houzhao, who was concerned about his old love, had no intention of finding a scapegoat for the time being, and felt that this matter could be delayed.

But Lu Wan's attitude was also very firm, and he knelt down and asked: "Your Majesty, now that the morale of the army is damaged, all the troops cannot withdraw from the defense area in a short period of time. If the main force of the Tatars rushed in after defeating Shen Shangshu's troops and the entire army has no morale, how can they defend their country?"

"Nine-side soldiers must now know that the mistakes we made in the Ming Dynasty were caused by the evil people who deceived the holy hearing. Now Your Majesty has awakened and the guilty people have also been punished. Only then will the entire army and civilians be motivated to re-energize morale and fight the Tartars to the end... Please give your Majesty a clear guide!"

Lu Wan was sincere and the reasons he presented were in line with the current situation.

The main reason for the disarray of the imperial army was that Zhu Houzhao came to "play the princes with the fire of war" and transferred all the troops to Zhangjiakou Fort, saying that they would fight to a decisive battle. As a result, they did not even see the shadow of the Tatars. Shen Xi encountered an unprecedented siege. All the people were in vain. They got nothing except fatigue and bad news. If anyone was anxious, they naturally didn't think that Zhu Houzhao was a wise lord worthy of their life.

They would think that today is too ridiculous, and even famous officials like Chen Xi cannot use them well. The strategy he had planned well and was abolished, but in the end they were teased by the Tartars, their faces were gone, and the defeat and death of Chen Xi, who had a very high reputation among the people, would be worthless for Chen Xi.

Unless Zhu Houzhao can make some measures to restore trust to him by all the officers and soldiers, when he fights with the Tatars and vows to serve the country to the death, who will be willing to serve the royal family without hesitation?

Zhu Houzhao's face was not good, and he was actually very hesitant. Even if he wanted to favor Zhang Yuan, he had to see the far-reaching impact of this matter. If the morale of the army was dispersed, it would be a breaking ending. After repeated weighing, Zhu Houzhao suddenly thought about it. Zhang Yuan was actually nothing, the most important thing was the stability of the country and the country. He immediately said:

"No wonder so many of you ministers jointly submitted a report. In fact, they wanted to stabilize the hearts of the three armies by punishing Zhang Yuan, right?"

Zhu Houzhao’s question is very sharp, which is equivalent to clearly questioning the three ministers, do you want Zhang Yuan to be my scapegoat?

Lu Wan replied: "The morale of the army is stable, the country and the country are protected. What's wrong with sacrificing one person? As for other matters, you can leave it behind... Please think twice."

Zhu Houzhao sighed long and could not find any excuses for Zhang Yuan to protect him for a while. She was silent for a while before she said to herself:

"I did something wrong. I believed the slander, so that the soldiers on the nine sides were tortured. Yansui was unable to draw troops to support, causing Chen Qing's family to be in danger... I want to issue an edict to punish myself so that people all over the world know my sincerity in admitting my mistake."

Lu Wan asked for instructions: "How will Your Majesty punish the criminal Zhang Yuan?"

Zhu Houzhao picked up the previous memorial to impeach Zhang Yuan, and his hands trembled. This situation seemed like when he was threatened by Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others to punish Bahu. He was very reluctant. The more others wanted to put pressure on him, let him punish some people who seemed loyal but could not do things, the more they felt that they were deliberately making things difficult for him, and they had serious resistance and rebelliousness.

After a while, Zhu Houzhao waved his hand: "Just do what you said... order Zhang Yuan to resign from the position of the Secretariat Supervisor and punish him to guard the imperial tomb!"

"Your Majesty's wise!"

Lu Wan kowtowed excitedly, as if Zhu Houzhao was so wise, but in fact he still had doubts about Zhu Houzhao's ability in his heart. However, as a subject, he only needed the emperor to be able to do things according to his subject's opinions. As for other things, he didn't care so much.

...

...

When Zhu Houzhao made up his mind to sue Zhang Yuan, not only did Lu Wan and the other two breathe a sigh of relief, but even Xiao Tiaozi was secretly happy.

Before he could say anything, Zhu Houzhao had already settled the matter. Although he did not go to extremes and executed Zhang Yuan, transferring him to guard the imperial tomb also means that Zhang Yuan was convicted. Then he would be a criminal in the future and it would be difficult for him to enter the core of power again.

In this way, Xiao Guozi had the opportunity to get to power. He began to think about Concubine Li's words, but he was still a little reluctant and extremely contradictory to let Li Xing be the eunuch in charge of the seal of the Sili Supervisor.

After Zhu Houzhao issued the imperial order, all his strength seemed to be used up, his face was pale, and he seemed extremely tired. He waved his hand to let Lu Wan, Wang Chang and others retreat, and then sat there silently, as if he was very unwilling to accept it.

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Zhang is looking for a meeting outside."

After receiving the guard's message, Xiao Guozi came over to ask Zhu Houzhao for instructions.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand: "I'm gone, let him clean up and guard the imperial tomb for the predecessor sooner... This time he was working with me, and his actions really made me very angry. He really should reflect on his mistakes!"

Although Zhang Yuan was convicted, it was not obvious from Zhu Houzhao's words that the emperor, as a person, had a great hatred for Zhang Yuan. It can even be said that there was some sympathy.

Xiao Guozi nodded silently. Just as he was about to go out to inform Zhang Yuan about this, Zhu Houzhao suddenly asked, "Xiao Guozi, do you think I am a fool?"

This is not the first time I have heard of this problem. Zhu Houzhao has been reflecting on himself recently and constantly questioning himself.

Xiao Zhuozi replied decisively: "Your Majesty is one of the few wise kings in the ages, so how could he be a fool? After Your Majesty ascended the throne, he will be a prosperous country and a prosperous country and a peaceful people, which is a rare prosperous era!"

Zhu Houzhao smiled bitterly, not very convinced what Xiao Taozi said, but he was not in the mood to continue asking and waved his hand, meaning that Xiao Taozi would go out to spread the news.

Just as he went out, Xiao Guozi finally breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling very proud, "So, don't offend anyone and the favored woman around His Majesty. Concubine Li is so amazing. The opportunity is so good that she caught Zhang Yuan, and she suddenly knocked down the dog thief!"
Chapter completed!