Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 135 Resignation
Wu Bing stood straight with a solemn expression on his face.

The ministers below all nodded in agreement when they heard what Wu Bing said.

Everyone present had studied hard for ten years before they were qualified to become an official.

Just to help defend the city, His Highness is actually preparing to grant official positions to so many people. Could it be that their ten years of hard study is not as good as defending the city for a few days? How can this convince the people of the world?

The ministers looked up, but this glance made them suddenly startled.

The Regent looked furious. He stood up and stared at Wu Bing below. He shouted:

“Who else has this idea?”

His Highness the Regent spoke in a cold voice, glancing at the ministers below. When the civil officials saw His Highness the Regent's expression, they all trembled in their hearts. For some reason, the figure of Ding Kuichu suddenly flashed through their minds.

Not long ago in Zhaoqing, His Highness seemed to have the same demeanor, and then the Prime Minister was directly dealt with and taken down.
Wu Bing in the hall saw the furious look on His Royal Highness the Regent's face, and his heart trembled.

Although what he said just now was what he thought in his heart, it was mostly out of anger.
Seeing that His Highness seemed to be furious, he immediately came to his senses and began to regret his decision.

This matter should be handled by Lu Daqi, how could it be his turn to speak? Didn't you see that all the ministers in the field were silent?

Wu Bing's face was covered with cold sweat, and he was about to confess his mistake, but before he could open his mouth, the Regent above him spoke up.

"I asked you ministers to discuss the defense of the city, but you all kept silent."

"Now that I have finally come up with a solution, you are here talking to me about the imperial system!"

"The imperial court system?"

"The imperial court system of our Ming Dynasty still has two capitals and thirteen provinces. Where is the capital now? Where is Nanzhili? Why have I never seen these two capitals and thirteen provinces since I ascended the throne? Now my life is almost gone, and you are still talking to me about the system?"

"Wu Bing, do you think I don't know what you discussed in the government office earlier?"

"The main force of the Qing army will have more than enough time to flee Guangzhou. They even have a ready-made excuse. If you block the Regent in front of you, no one will dare to say you are wrong even if you escape, right?"

"Today I want to put an end to all of you people's thoughts. You want to escape, but I don't want to. You want to escape when you encounter bandits, and you want to escape when you encounter the Jian Nu. Is this how you escaped from the capital to Guangdong Province?"

The cold voice of His Royal Highness the Regent echoed in the hall, and when Lu Daqi, Su Guansheng and others heard it, their faces changed immediately, and then they all stood up and bowed to apologize.
"I dare not, Your Highness, please punish me."

Jiao Lian, Bai Gui and other military officials who had been silent all along had no choice but to bow down and apologize.

"That's not what I meant... I meant that even if we recruit civilians to defend the city, there is no need to break the imperial system..."

Wu Bing's body trembled slightly, but before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by His Royal Highness the Regent.

"Loyal subjects and common people will volunteer to defend the city, right?"

"Chen Bangyan, assign him a district with a thousand people and let him be the inspector of this district. Let him be in charge of distributing grain, recruiting soldiers, and maintaining security in this district. Do not give him any one person and let him recruit people on his own. I want to see how many loyal officials and righteous men he can recruit."

"Who else has this idea? I will grant your wish and let you all go and recruit loyal officials and righteous men in this city," His Highness the Regent said in a cold voice.
The ministers below were all shocked when they heard this. Looking at Wu Bing, whose face was pale, they all shook their heads slightly.
Wu Bing was originally the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, but now he has been promoted to the ninth rank inspector. I am afraid that since Wu Bing started his career, he has never been such a lowly official. His Highness is furious right now, who would joke about his official position?
Wu Bing's forehead was covered with sweat and his body was shaky.

He just instinctively wanted to protect the interests of those who came from the imperial examination system, and because he was angry for a while, he subconsciously spoke out to advise them.
His original intention was just to make His Highness change his mind and not suddenly grant him an official position and promise him a promise, which would break the rules of the court. It would be best if His Highness could turn back and quickly evacuate Guangzhou. This would be the best of both worlds.
But they first discussed evacuating in private. Just now in the hall, they had tried to dissuade him several times, which had already angered His Highness the Regent. This time, his advice just happened to hit the gunpoint of His Highness, causing His Highness to vent his anger all at once.

Wu Bing was terrified, and subconsciously looked up at Lu Daqi with pleading eyes, but Lu Daqi was sitting in his original position with an expressionless face, as if he didn't notice Wu Bing's gaze at all.

Wu Bing felt desperate when he saw this. He knew that Lu Daqi would not protect him anymore.
When Liu Yuansheng and other officials saw this, they all turned their heads away, avoiding Wu Bing's pleading gaze.

In fact, even if Lu Daqi wanted to protect him, he couldn't. Although the matter of Ding Kuichu was full of twists and turns, and the officials in the court couldn't figure out the details, after this incident, the officials in the court began to know one thing: this prince really dared to kill people.
Moreover, he not only dared to kill, but also had the ability to do so. The two imperial guards plus the Jinyiwei, almost all the troops in the court were now under the control of His Royal Highness the Regent.

Wu Bing saw that no one was willing to speak for him, and he became more and more desperate.
Inspector? He was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. How could he have ever been such a minor official?
Moreover, if he was really demoted to be an inspector, his reputation for half his life would be ruined in an instant and he would become a laughing stock among other people.

Wu Bing thought of this, gritted his teeth, lowered his head and stood up, saying in a trembling voice:
"Every word I say comes from my heart. If the court rules are suddenly changed so that commoners can suddenly become officials, it will surely chill the hearts of scholars all over the world. Evildoers will also try to gain official positions if they see any loopholes, which will greatly undermine the court system."

"Although the situation is critical now, if we suddenly change the court system because of this emergency, it may cause eternal disaster. The suggestions and advice made by this old minister are all from the public interest."

"Since Your Highness believes that what I said is not right, I have no face to serve in the court any longer. Please allow me to resign."

After Wu Bing finished speaking, he shuddered and bowed.

There was silence for a moment, and then a laugh suddenly came from above.

His Highness the Regent was standing at the top, and suddenly he burst into laughter, but his laughter became colder and colder. Liu Yuansheng's officials looked at the laughing His Highness, and they became more and more frightened in their hearts.
"Please resign?"

"I haven't heard these two words for a while."

The ministers were all trembling in their hearts when they heard the cold words coming from above.

Since Gui Jianguo came to power, there have been two people who dared to resign in the court. One was directly dismissed from his position as a cabinet minister and expelled from the court, while the other even lost his life.
Wu Bing suddenly remembered the fate of the two people who resigned, and his face turned pale.

But before he could say anything else, His Royal Highness the Regent spoke in a cold voice:

"When the Qing Dynasty appointed officials, they were all loyal and virtuous, and they came to support the country. Now that you see that the isolated city is difficult to defend and your lives may be in danger, you want to resign?" "Dream on!"

"I have absolutely no such intention..."

The faces of the ministers below suddenly changed, and Wu Bing knelt on the ground and spoke in a trembling voice:

If this statement is confirmed, he will be ruined in an instant.
Wu Bing looked pleadingly at the Regent, but the Regent had a grim look on his face and interrupted him before he could finish.

"I tell you, once you enter Guangzhou, there will be ministers who die for their country, but no ministers who resign!"

His Highness the Regent had a stern look on his face. He glanced at the officials below and did not wait for them to answer before continuing.

"Of course you still have a way to save your lives, that is to seize the city gate of Guangzhou and welcome the Tartars into the city."

"This way you can not only save your life, but also become a high-ranking official among the Tartars and continue to enjoy your wealth and splendor."

"I want to see who has such great ability to accomplish such a great cause under the nose of my imperial guards," the cold voice of His Highness the Regent resounded throughout the palace.

"We, the Imperial Guards, swear to follow Your Highness until death."

As soon as His Royal Highness the Regent finished speaking, Jiao Lian, Li Chengzhi and others looked solemn and immediately came out to reply.
Zhao Xing, who was below, saw the red-robed civil officials in the room all bowing their heads, and he felt relieved.

Those turbans usually looked up to the top and spoke in a pretentious manner, but today they were scolded like quails by His Highness. It was really refreshing. Thinking of this, Zhao Xing's face turned slightly red and he shouted loudly:
"That's right. We, the Imperial Guards, only obey His Highness' orders. We will do whatever His Highness tells us to do. Whoever dares to betray His Highness, I, Zhao Xing, will be the first one to not forgive him."

As soon as Zhao Xing finished shouting, he saw Jiao Lian and Bai Gui staring at him. Seeing the fierce looks on their faces, Zhao Xing was startled and felt a chill on his neck.

Zhao Xing lowered his head and waited for a while. When he saw that His Highness did not reprimand him and the officials continued to bow their heads and dared not move, he raised his head again.
Zhao Xing shouted happily, but the civil officials on the scene didn't care what Zhao Xing said.
"I dare not

As soon as Zhu Lang finished speaking, Su Guansheng immediately stepped forward to confess his crime.
Seeing Su Guansheng come out to make a statement, Lu Daqi did not hesitate and immediately stepped out to apologize. Then all the civil officials in the field followed him.
Wu Bing knelt in the hall, looking at the ministers who bowed their heads and saluted, and a trace of despair arose in his heart.

He knew that he had been completely abandoned by Lu Daqi and others.
He felt a great regret in his heart. He knew that His Highness was not only angry, but also using him as a target to attack Lu Daqi and the ministers who wanted to abandon the city and flee.

He knew that he was finished. His Highness was now both weak and strong. He was weak against the Qing troops outside the city, but strong against the ministers inside the city. Now the 300 imperial guards in the city were all in the hands of His Highness's confidant Jiao Lian.

Wu Bing looked at the regent with a grim expression above him, and became more and more frightened, but he dared not say anything.

Now the imperial guards in the city obviously only obey His Highness' orders, and His Highness has a sense of justice. If he dares to argue at this time, His Highness will probably kill him directly to establish his authority.

He knew that the Regent in front of him was capable of doing such a thing, because he had just done it!
Wu Bing knelt on the ground with a pale face, and opened his mouth several times, but in the end he was unable to speak.

But Zhu Lang no longer looked at him at this time, and looked directly at Chen Bangyan on the side and said
"Chen Bangyan, what is the current situation in Guangzhou?"

"In the afternoon, the city gates were closed, rumors were spreading in the city, the government office was short-staffed, and they had to protect the government office first. Some evil people in the city took the opportunity to cause trouble."

"There are not enough yamen runners in the city to suppress the rebellion. Since nightfall, there have been occasional looting and rioting in the city. It is quite chaotic," Chen Bangyan said in a deep voice.
"The Qing army is coming, the city must not be in chaos at this time"

"Chen Bangyan, after dawn, you will ask Jiao Lian to lead a hundred imperial guards to sweep the entire city."

"After clearing the entire city, immediately recruit people from the city to serve as inspectors and send them to various districts to maintain public order in the city. Never allow unrest to occur again in the city."

Zhu Lang had a cold expression on his face. After he finished speaking, he looked at the ministers in the hall.

"Su Guansheng, you are more familiar with Guangzhou City. From now on, you and Gu Yuanjing, Chen Bangyan and others will be responsible for the affairs of Guangzhou City."

"After daybreak, send people to search for food and select inspectors. Within three days, you must recruit 5,000 young and strong men and give them to Jiao Lian to defend the city."

"Lü Daqi, you will lead the central government officials to recruit the civilians in the city, make stone tumblers and other city defense equipment, search for saltpeter and sulfur in the city, and recruit the gunpowder craftsmen in the city to prepare gunpowder to assist in the defense of the city."

"In addition, select personnel from the accompanying officials to monitor the distribution of grain in the city. If any corruption is discovered, report it immediately."

After Zhu Lang finished giving instructions on the city affairs, he looked at Wu Chen on the right without waiting for Lu Daqi and Su Guansheng to reply.

"Jiao Lian, take your men to take over the Guangzhou Guards and see how the commander Yang Keguan is. If he is useful, let him lead the men to guard the city. If he is not useful, take his personal soldiers and disband them and incorporate them into the Imperial Guards."

"From now on, you will be in charge of all matters related to the deployment of military equipment and city defense in the city. If you have any questions, report directly to me."

"After daybreak, send 100 imperial guards to Chen Bangyan to help him clean up the city."

"Anyone who takes advantage of the opportunity to loot and cause chaos will be killed on the spot without questioning. Guangzhou City must be cleared before noon tomorrow. Do you understand?"

"The minister obeys the order"

Zhu Lang's voice was cold, and he issued a series of orders directly without asking for the opinions of the ministers below.

As the ministers listened to His Royal Highness the Regent's murderous words, no one dared to refute them and could only obey his orders.
"This city is not only for the court, but also for you and yourselves. Now your lives and property are also entrusted to this city. You should think carefully about what to do."

His Highness the Regent saw that all the ministers had obeyed his orders, and said something in a cold voice, and then walked away.

The ministers listened to the footsteps gradually fading away, and then they stood up. They looked at Wu Bing, who was still kneeling on the ground with a pale face, and their faces were filled with different expressions.
As the ministers dispersed, the entire city of Guangzhou finally began to slowly turn like a rusty machine.
(End of this chapter)