Outside Juyongguan Nankou Town, in the shade of several tall banyan trees beside the official road, dozens of officials from the inner and outer courts as well as dignitaries and dignitaries were waiting for the arrival of Zhu Houzhao's holy driver. Not far away, a large number of soldiers and horses lined up.
In the wilderness, the dragon flag is fluttering, the weapons are dazzling, and the scene is grand.
The officials of the outer court were headed by Liu Jian, the chief assistant of the cabinet, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, the cabinet bachelors, Ma Wensheng, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, Liu Daxia, the minister of the Ministry of war, Han Wen, the minister of the Ministry of household affairs, Min Gui, the minister of the Ministry of punishment, Zhang Sheng, the minister of rites, Zeng Jian, the minister of the Ministry of industry, and
All the ministers, ministers, and officials from all ministries were on the list.
Wang Yue, Fan Heng, Xu Zhi, Li Rong and other big officials in the inner court were all included. Among the honorary relatives, British Duke Zhang Mao and Dingguo Duke Xu Guangzuo were the leaders, as were dozens of honorary relatives and marquises.
arrival.
After all, after receiving the news that the emperor was attacked by the Tatars, the entire court was shocked. All troops and horses in the regiment were mobilized to prepare for rescue. However, when they arrived outside Juyong Pass, they got the news that the emperor had escaped from danger. The imperial edict was issued, and there was no need to go there.
To welcome the Holy Driver, everyone can only wait for the Holy Driver in Juyongguan Nankou Town.
It was midday at this time, and it was the height of summer. The sun was blazing like fire, and the air was unbearably hot. Even under the shade of the trees, a group of civil and military officials, nobles and nobles were sweating and restless.
However, there was no excitement or expectation at all on the faces of the civil servants, and some were just indifferent and serious. The atmosphere around them was very gloomy, and the three words "unhappy" were written on everyone's face. The reason
Naturally, it goes without saying that the emperor's wanton behavior made the officials in the outer court extremely angry.
In mid-May, after Zhu Houzhao secretly ran out of the capital despite dissuasion, the officials in the outer court have been in anger. Later, when they learned that the emperor had left Juyongguan and went to Xuanfu Town, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian personally led people to
He left Juyong Pass to pursue the emperor, but when he arrived at Juyong Pass, he was blocked inside the pass.
Eunuch Gu Dayong read out the emperor's imperial edict, not allowing anyone to go out of Juyongguan to pursue him, saying that he would return to the capital after completing his patrol, and that all officials should perform their duties and return to the capital to work in peace. The three cabinet members were so angry that they almost vomited blood. Thank you.
Qian even started swearing outside the gate and yelling ridiculous things.
In desperation, the three had no choice but to return to the capital, and then held several meetings with officials from the outer court to discuss the matter. Finally, everyone reached a consensus. The emperor acted so arbitrarily and went his own way. This is intolerable behavior. This incident
Things must be explained, explained, and guaranteed by the emperor. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he actually played such a trick with the court, completely disregarding propriety. This behavior must be stopped.
For Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and other bigwigs in the outer court, they were extremely disappointed with Zhu Houzhao. Their anger stemmed from the failure of their original hopes.
I originally thought that when Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne at a young age, he would obey the advice of the outer court. The late emperor also asked the three members of the cabinet to take care of their orders and assist the government. He should have great respect for the three bachelors in the cabinet. Who would have thought that only half a year after he took the throne, Zhu Houzhao would already
To do such a thing, they have no regard for the feelings of the outer court and have no respect for the three ministers in the cabinet. This is absolutely intolerable. This sense of gap and loss is the most uncomfortable for them.
The original goal of the outer court was to continuously expand its own power and ultimately achieve the goal of balancing the imperial power. The ultimate goal of the outer court was to participate in the final decision-making power of Ming Dynasty affairs. As a self-proclaimed civil servant group, they believed that this was a matter of course. Wang
Sharing the world with the scholar-bureaucrats was already like this in the Zhao and Song Dynasties.
In fact, when the previous emperor was still alive, the outer court was very close to this goal. When the previous emperor was still alive, the outer court already had a lot of decision-making power in government affairs, and its status was already extremely high. But now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, things have gradually changed.
He lost control. Take this incident as an example, it brought disgrace to all the ministers in the outer court, lost all their authority, and became a laughing stock. If this matter is not stopped forcefully, there will be no hope of being able to control the emperor's arbitrariness in the future, let alone
The outer court wants decision-making power.
After learning that Zhu Houzhao was attacked by Tatars in Dushi City, some people in the civil service group felt that Zhu Houzhao deserved it. Some even privately used the Tumubao Incident as an example and secretly suggested that if the emperor was captured by the Tatars,
After leaving, the imperial court should immediately look for a new king.
Instead, they said to avoid being blackmailed by the Tatars who took the emperor as a hostage. They said that they should have the courage of Yu Shaobao, dare to take on the responsibility, and not be afraid of being broken into pieces for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, it was because of Zhu Houzhao's behavior that the civil servants in the outer court were extremely angry.
Subsequent irrational words and actions.
Of course, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian and others are not irrational to this point. Although the emperor behaves arbitrarily, he is still young and has opportunities to improve. What is needed is to warn and beat the emperor to make him understand this kind of thing
But it can't happen again. Even this incident may not be an opportunity, which can just eliminate those people around the emperor and bring the emperor completely under control.
Therefore, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others were relieved when they learned that the emperor had escaped from danger. If the emperor was really captured by the Tatars, it would not be a good thing for the entire Ming Dynasty, it would be a difficult matter.
It will also become another humiliation that makes Daming unable to lift himself up and down.
Today, everyone is here to welcome the emperor's return. Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others have already discussed it, and they will never make excuses. From now on, they must let the emperor understand his mistake and let him understand the anger of the officials in the outer court.
Compared with the mentality of the officials in the outer court, the honorable nobles did not have any special complaints about the emperor's border patrol. They just felt that the emperor was a little willful and arrogant. But what the emperor wanted to do was the emperor's business.
You guys actually didn't find anything offensive.
Among all the nobles, Xu Guangzuo, Duke of Dingguo, was the angriest. But his anger was not towards the emperor, but towards his good son-in-law, Zhang Yanling, Marquis of Jianchang. Zhang Yanling was so abominable that he actually informed Zhu Lin to rescue him.
Damn, he Dingguo's government didn't even have one
I got the slightest bit of information. Moreover, at the end of May, Zhu Lin dragged the soldiers of Yaowu camp to the vicinity of Juyong Pass on the pretext of training soldiers and horses. This was obviously an arrangement. This shows that his good son-in-law had no intention of escorting the soldiers from the beginning.
Notify yourself of things.
This is a very embarrassing thing, especially within the Xungui Group. Although all the Xungui Group, including the British Duke Zhang Mao, did not say this to their faces, Xu Guangzuo could tell from their eyes that they
The mockery in his eyes. His son-in-law, Xu Guangzuo, didn't take his father-in-law seriously at all, and didn't respect him as his father-in-law at all. Isn't this a laughing stock?
Dozens of fast horses rushed out from the mountain pass, and a cloud of smoke and dust rose up. Immediately came Mou Bin, the commander of the Jinyi Guards. He led his people to the pass to greet him. As the commander of the Jinyi Guards, he now assumed the responsibility of the emperor's personal bodyguard.
Let him take over.
"My lords, the holy driver has arrived, prepare to pick him up." Mou Bin said in a deep voice.
Liu Jian snorted, slowly adjusted his clothes, walked out of the shade of the tree and walked forward. A group of officials and senior officials from the inner court followed behind and walked forward. Soon after, the honor guard of soldiers and horses at Taniguchi appeared in front, Jingua
Zhu Houzhao, who was riding a horse, came slowly with golden hammers, golden armor, and cavalry guards in dragon flags and brocade robes.
Zhu Houzhao was wearing golden armor, riding on a tall horse, looking left and right, with a relaxed expression and a smile on his face.
"O minister, long live my emperor, long live the emperor!" All civil and military officials, led by Liu Jian, knelt down on the official road and knelt down in unison to worship.
Zhu Houzhao jumped off the horse and said with a smile: "Everyone is excused, please get up quickly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Everyone thanked him and stood up one after another.
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "It's really hard for you all to come from the capital to greet me. In fact, there is no need to do this."
Liu Jian said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I was shocked to hear that the Emperor was besieged by the Tatars. Everyone in the imperial court was extremely worried and anxious. Fortunately, the Emperor was able to escape unharmed. It is really a great blessing. This is the blessing of our ancestors and the blessing of God.
I would like to congratulate the Emperor."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "It's nothing to worry you. I'm safe and sound. Let's go back to Beijing."
Liu Jian said in a deep voice: "There is no rush. The Emperor's health is certainly something worthy of celebration, but shouldn't the Emperor give me an explanation for this matter? In the middle of May, the Emperor left without saying goodbye, and it is already July.
The ministers and others came to dissuade them, but the emperor ordered people to stop him in front of Juyong Pass. As a result, the emperor was
Encountering a siege by the Tatars, he was lucky enough to escape. If something unexpected happened to the emperor, wouldn't Haotian collapse and the country be in danger? The emperor is the master of the Ming Dynasty, how can he act without considering the consequences? How can he deceive the people of the city and act arbitrarily? The emperor is worthy of the Ming Dynasty by doing so.
Ancestors? How do hundreds of millions of subjects and people view the Emperor?"
Although he was mentally prepared, he knew that the officials of the outer court would definitely come to cause trouble after returning to the capital. However, Zhu Houzhao still did not expect that Liu Jian would start to criticize him in front of so many people just after they met.
"Um... Sir, can you go back to the capital first and talk about these things? Is it necessary to scold me in public? Can we talk about it later?" Zhu Houzhao whispered with a guilty conscience.
"Your Majesty, here are all the officials of the Ming Dynasty. Because of the emperor's recklessness, the imperial court had to mobilize hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses. Hundreds of civil and military officials waited here for a day and a night, and all the affairs of the imperial court were put on hold. This is because
The consequences of the emperor leaving the capital privately due to his temper. As a monarch, a careless word can disturb people's hearts, and an inappropriate behavior can disturb the society. Doesn't the emperor realize his mistake? Don't you dare to face it bravely? "
Liu Jian usually doesn't talk much, but when he speaks, every word is very precise. What he said now is already very serious. He almost pointed at Zhu Houzhao's nose and cursed him.
Zhu Houzhao felt guilty. Although he was the emperor, he was only a fifteen-year-old boy after all. He did not have the courage to offend a respected veteran like Liu Jian. What's more, Liu Jian was not the only one. There were dozens of important ministers in front of him.
Their eyes were thorny, and he knew that they were all very angry this time. For a moment, they didn't know what to do.
"Liu Shoufu, how can you criticize the emperor like this? This time the emperor has defeated the big conspiracy of the little Tatar prince. The emperor took the initiative to go to Dushi City to meet the enemy with thousands of troops.
, defeated the 50,000 Tatar army and defeated the Tatar conspiracy.
, and wiped out more than 10,000 enemies. Your Majesty’s patrol this time has greatly enhanced our Ming Dynasty’s majesty, wisdom and martial prowess, making it invincible. You should cheer and celebrate this, and be happy that our Ming Emperor is full of martial virtues, courageous and resourceful.
Why are you still blaming the emperor?" Liu Jin couldn't help but said.
Liu Jian and Li Dongyang were moved to Xie, and all the civil and military officials were waiting for Liu Jin. Liu Jin was frightened and smacked his lips: "What are you looking at me doing? Is my family saying something wrong?"
"Liu Jin, you bitch, you are the cause of everything, and you still dare to talk nonsense. Do you think that all civil and military officials in the dynasty are blind? Don't you know the truth of the matter? There are sycophants like you around the emperor. Only a villain would do such a ridiculous thing. Do you still want to cover up this matter? This time the emperor is in danger, the culprit is you bitches who instigated the emperor. You are worse than a Tatar." Xie Qian glared. He cursed angrily with his eyes open.
Liu Jin's face turned pale. He didn't expect that his carefully planned methods were ineffective. A few days ago, when he was still on the road, Liu Jin asked Gu Dayong and others to spread the words that the emperor was actively fighting against the enemy. He even exaggerated the words to send the Tatar troops to the enemy. Exaggerated to 50,000 people. They tried their best to whitewash the importance of this battle and downplay the consequences of the emperor's private departure from Beijing. Unexpectedly, these words were completely ineffective and no one believed it at all.
"Grand Master Xie, how can you...how can you speak like this? It is true that the emperor was wise and mighty and defeated the Tatars. You actually dare to deny that the emperor risked his life to kill the enemy and thwarted the attack of the Tatar conspiracy. You...you are What do you mean?" Liu Jin shouted.
Xie Qian was famous for his fiery temper. Seeing Liu Jin still arguing, he suddenly rushed out, rolled up his sleeves, grabbed Liu Jin's collar, and slapped her.
Everyone was caught off guard and before they could react, they heard three crisp sounds. Xie Qian actually slapped Liu Jin three times in front of the emperor in full view of everyone.