As soon as Mao Shi arrived, the sky was still dark and darkness still shrouded the entire palace. The lanterns in Kunning Palace began to light up. Many palace maids and eunuchs began to get busy. Some of them used the weak lights to clean the courtyard.
, some brought hot water and towels for washing, and were led by a leading eunuch to the outside of a bedroom. The leading eunuch gently knocked on the door of the room and shouted in a high-pitched voice: "Your Majesty, what time is it?"
Get up, today is the day of the decisive battle between Lord Lu and the Tatars, you said you would personally climb the city wall to cheer for Lord Lulu."
After a while, a soft reply came from the dormitory, followed by a thin voice. Soon the door opened, and Emperor Chongzhen walked out sleepily while yawning.
There was also a hint of dark circles around his eyes from lack of sleep. Standing next to him was a slim, plump, upright and beautiful young woman wearing a goose-yellow palace dress. She was the master of the harem and the mother of the Ming Dynasty.
Queen Zhou in the world.
The old eunuch standing at the door waved his hand when he saw Chongzhen coming out, and immediately two palace maids came to Chongzhen, knelt down, raised the basin and towel above their heads, and said in a sweet voice: "Your Majesty, please take a shower."
Upon seeing this, Empress Zhou took two steps forward, took a towel, soaked it in hot water in the basin, squeezed it until it was half dry, then walked to Chongzhen's side and wiped his face gently. Her movements were very skillful. It seemed that
He did these things frequently on weekdays. Feeling the heat brought by the towel and the expansion of his pores, Chongzhen closed his eyes comfortably and felt that all the sleepiness in his body had been swept away.
Chongzhen opened his eyes gently. After feeling much more energetic, he shook his head to Queen Zhou and signaled that he didn't need to wash anymore. Then he picked up the cup brought by the palace maid, washed it hastily and said to Queen Zhou gently: "
Zi Tong, today is the day of the decisive battle between Lu Jiandou and the Tatars. I am going to summon all the civil and military officials to go to the city wall to cheer for Lu Aiqing. You can rest assured and wait for my good news in the palace!"
Empress Zhou gently smoothed a wrinkle on Chongzhen's clothes, nodded gently and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I am waiting for your good news in the palace!"
A smile appeared on Chongzhen's face, "Zitong, don't worry, our Ming Dynasty will be prosperous, and our ancestors will definitely bless our army to defeat the Tatars."
After saying that, Chongzhen turned around and walked out of the palace. Empress Zhou looked at Chongzhen's thin back and the white hair that appeared and disappeared in her heart. As Chongzhen's wife, she knew very well that her husband had done this since he ascended the throne.
The country has put in a lot of effort and effort, but the national conditions of the Ming Dynasty have not improved because of his efforts. Drought, famine, rogue bandits everywhere, and the threat of the Manchu Qing have made the empire full of holes and crumbling. Chongzhen
Like a plasterer, he is working alone and desperately to repair and strengthen this house that is already ventilated from all sides, while inside and outside the house there are people digging hard at the corners of the court. He has put all his efforts into it, but the result is...
It's getting worse and worse. If she had a choice, Empress Zhou would rather her husband was just an ordinary person and live an ordinary life with her. But is there an if in this world? Maybe...
...
The time soon reached Chen time, it was already bright, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony was already crowded with civil and military officials. Emperor Chongzhen got off the dragon chariot and walked slowly to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. When the civil and military officials of the court saw the emperor's arrival, they all bowed down in unison.
He said in a voice: "I respectfully welcome the Holy Master!"
Chongzhen stopped and looked at the ministers who were kneeling aside and said casually: "My dear friends, please be safe."
"Long live thanks!"
When he came to the dragon chair and sat down, Chongzhen said: "My dear friends, today is the day of the decisive battle between the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars. I once promised Lu Aiqing that on the day of the decisive battle, I would go to the city wall to support Lu Aiqing. All my dear friends are with me.
Let me go with you!"
"this........"
All the civil and military officials looked at each other. At the end of the line, an old official came out and bowed: "Your Majesty, the sage said: Prevent disasters first and not hurt others later. Knowing and knowing
Be careful. If a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, how can he take it lightly? The emperor is a man of ten thousand gold. How can he be personally involved in danger when he is the leader of a country? Moreover, when two countries are fighting, they actually require the leader of a country to support them. Isn't this impossible?
This is a joke, so I beg your Majesty to take back your order."
This official is a member of the Ministry of War’s Military Selections and Clearing Division, named Bao Anyi. Although he is only a fifth-rank official and can only be regarded as a small official in the capital city where there are many high-ranking officials, he is considered a member of the Yamen of the Ministry of War.
He was an old man who was about to retire in a few years, so he no longer had so many scruples. He was the first to speak out against Chongzhen's decision. When he spoke out against it, more than a dozen officials around him also stood up and agreed.
"I second the proposal!"
"I also second my opinion!"
"Huh? Are you all opposed to my decision?" Chongzhen frowned and looked at these officials with dissatisfaction, a feeling of dissatisfaction growing in his heart.
Seeing that Chongzhen was a little dissatisfied, Bao An was also a little scared, but after looking at his colleagues around him, he still gritted his teeth and said: "Exactly, Wei Chen knows that the emperor is unhappy, but Wei Chen still wants to say that marching and fighting is natural.
Leave it to the generals of the army, and someone will naturally report the results to the emperor. The emperor only needs to sit in the center and make arbitrary decisions, so why should he be implicated personally?"
"Hmph!" Listening to Bao Anyi's plausive words, Chongzhen snorted dissatisfiedly, "According to you, I can't go anywhere except staying in the palace?"
What Emperor Chongzhen said is a bit harsh. How dare you, a minister, to restrict where the emperor can and cannot go? What does this mean? Do you want to imprison the emperor?
Bao An suddenly had a white sweat on his back, but since he stood up like this, he naturally couldn't just give in, otherwise his colleagues would think of him, so he had to bite the bullet and withstand it, saying in a trembling voice: "Wei Chen
I don’t dare, Wei Chen is just telling the truth."
"According to the truth!" Chongzhen was finally furious. He stood up and pointed at Bao Anyi and cursed loudly: "I think you have ulterior motives. My Ming soldiers are about to shed blood for the country at this moment. As the emperor, I am the emperor.
The soldiers have no right to cheer, so what kind of peace of mind do you have? Huh... You have a terrible heart!"
"It's broken!" All the officials in the Palace of Supreme Harmony knew that Chongzhen had said these words and they knew that something was wrong. This guy Bao Anyi who wanted to be in the limelight was probably going to be unlucky today.
As expected, Chongzhen immediately went on to say: "Come here, drag him out and take off his official clothes. He will never be hired after taking off his official position!"
As soon as Chongzhen finished speaking, two guards in golden uniforms came up from outside the hall and dragged Bao An, who had collapsed on the ground, out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony like a dead dog.
"Huh!" Chongzhen, who was still angry, snorted coldly, glanced at the officials with sharp eyes and asked: "Is there anyone else who wants to persuade me now?"
The officials were speechless for a while. Your Majesty, you have killed the chicken for the monkey to see. None of us dare to hit the muzzle of the gun ourselves. We are just going up the city wall to watch others fight. How can it be so serious?
Finally, Yang Sichang stood up and said: "It is a blessing for our soldiers of the Ming Dynasty that the emperor can go to the city wall to cheer for the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. I think that if the emperor can go to the city wall to cheer for the soldiers, the military morale of the soldiers will be greatly boosted if they kowtow to the sky."
, If the soldiers all work hard to kill the enemy, how can we, the Ming Dynasty, be invincible?"
Yang Sichang was indeed the person who was best able to figure out Emperor Chongzhen's thoughts. The horse shooting made Chongzhen feel much better. He looked at Yang Sichang and said with a gentle expression: "Look, Yang Aiqing still understands the general principles and the righteousness!"
"
"I don't dare, I just tell the truth!" When Yang Sichang heard Chongzhen praising him, his face did not show arrogance, and he still bowed his hands to Chongzhen respectfully and thanked him.
When all the officials in the palace saw this situation, they all secretly curled their lips. Look, it was another "according to the truth". Bao An also said the same, Yang Sichang also said the same, but the results of the two of them were different.
Completely on the contrary, one emperor praised him highly, while the other was dismissed from his official position. This was the result of trying to figure out the holy will. No wonder Bao An has been in the Ministry of War for nearly 40 years and is still an outsider. Look at others.
Yang Sichang became Minister of War after working for less than twenty years. Is this the result of flattery?
Seeing that Yang Sichang was still so humble, Chongzhen felt even more satisfied. He opened his mouth and was about to say something, but still heard several cannon shots from outside, followed by more than ten cannon shots in succession. Although the sound was
It came from a distance, but it still reached the eyes of Chongzhen and the ministers clearly.
Yang Sichang's face changed slightly at first and he said quickly: "Your Majesty, this is the gathering drum, they are about to go to war!"
"What, a war is about to begin?" Chongzhen was shocked and said quickly: "Hurry up and drive to the "Xibian Gate", I want to cheer for all the soldiers!"
After saying that, Chongzhen stood up and hurriedly walked out of the palace. When he arrived at the Taihe Palace, a dozen eunuchs brought a dragon chariot to invite Chongzhen to come up. However, Chongzhen waved his hands and reprimanded loudly: "That's ridiculous. I'm going on an expedition this time.
It’s not like we’re going to the amusement park. What kind of dragon chariot are we making? Hurry up and bring the horse!”
"this........."
The little eunuch on the side couldn't help but hesitate, is this horse so easy to ride? No matter how docile the horse is, it is risky for him to ride on it. What if the emperor falls off the horse and falls?
Chongzhen raised his eyebrows when he saw this: "Well, don't you guys listen to me anymore?"
At this time, Wang Chengen, who had been standing silently behind Chongzhen, quietly made a gesture to the young eunuch.
"Yes, slave, go and fetch the horse." The little eunuch saw Wang Chengen behind Chongzhen nodded lightly, then turned around and ran back quickly...