Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 634: Clearing the Imperial Court and Preventing the National Disaster

When Yang Wenyue said this, not only Zhu Shenzhui laughed, but also Wang Jinwu and Wang Hai.

Yang Wenyue was annoyed and confused for a moment. Did he say something wrong? This is impossible!

"Cousin, Lord Yang said that he would kill all nine members of my clan. If all nine members of my clan are killed, will the Ming Dynasty still belong to the Zhu family?" Zhu Shenzhui asked Wang Jinwu with a smile.

Wang Jinwu clasped his fists and said seriously, "That won't do! If you kill all your clans, won't Chongzhen chop off his own head first? Is he a fool? How can there be such a person in the world? If a fool becomes the emperor, isn't it a joke?"

"Hahaha!" Zhu Shenzui clapped his hands and laughed, but Yang Wenyue's face changed drastically in an instant. He stared at Zhu Shenzui with a look of astonishment, and a thought that he had never had before suddenly came to his mind.

"you you you……."

Zhu Shenzhui looked back at Yang Wenyue and jokingly asked, "What do you think? Are you still going to kill all my clans?"

"Who are you?" Although Yang Wenyue already had a guess in his mind, he was still not sure and could not help but continue asking.

Zhu Shenzhui indifferently revealed his identity and told Yang Wenyue that he was a member of the Ming royal family, a descendant of the Jin vassal. In terms of royal family status, he was the clan grandfather of the current Emperor Chongzhen. Since Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, he has kept away from wise ministers and kept close to villains, without regard for the people of the world and imposed heavy taxes, causing rebellions all over the Ming Dynasty and even allowing the Jiannu to invade the capital, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities.

Such an emperor is not qualified to be the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, a series of actions of Chongzhen in recent years have further proved that he is not a qualified emperor. Even though Emperor Chongzhen has worked hard to govern the country, he has no ability at all. The more he did, the more mistakes he made. If the Ming Dynasty continued to be in the hands of Emperor Chongzhen, then it would probably perish.

As a member of the imperial clan, Zhu Shenzhui could not sit idly by and watch the Ming Dynasty continue like this. For the sake of the Zhu family's foundation, he had to do something. So Zhu Shenzhui decided to raise an army, take over, turn the tide, and save the Ming Dynasty.

Yang Wenyue is a wise man and a capable minister. Zhu Shencui hopes that Yang Wenyue can put the world first, abandon the dark and join the light, help Zhu Shencui stabilize the local area and rebuild China. As long as the success is achieved, Yang Wenyue's achievements will be recorded in history, and Zhu Shencui will not be stingy with the reward of the title of duke.

After hearing what Zhu Shencui said, Yang Wenyue was furious. He cursed Zhu Shencui as a traitor. As a member of the royal family, he actually did such a treasonous thing. Since Zhu Shencui was a member of the royal family, how dare he do such a thing? Didn't he know the way between the monarch and his subjects?
The Ming Dynasty was in such a difficult situation. It was not easy for Zhu Shenzhui to raise an army as a member of the imperial clan and disrupt the world. Wouldn't that give foreign enemies an opportunity to take advantage of it? Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen had worked hard to govern the country since he came to power, which was obvious to all. What qualifications did Zhu Shenzhui have to criticize his emperor and father? Not to mention anything else?
Yang Wenyue also advised Zhu Shenzhui to stop at the brink of danger and not to repeat the same mistake. It was not too late to turn back now. As long as Zhu Shenzhui laid down his weapons and apologized, Yang Wenyue could write to the court to plead for Zhu Shenzhui. Then, Emperor Chongzhen might not kill Zhu Shenzhui for the sake of his royal family. It was better than being defeated and dying and bringing trouble to his family.

Yang Wenyue's words made Zhu Shenzhui smile bitterly. He didn't expect Yang Wenyue to be so naive. Even at this point, he was still daydreaming about persuading himself?

Since he started the war, Zhu Shencui never thought of turning back. Although he had planned for so many years and had to start early due to an accident, Zhu Shencui would not back down since he had made the decision. As the saying goes, the arrow is on the string and has to be shot. Now that it has come to this, how could he, Zhu Shencui, "turn back" as Yang Wenyue said?

Furthermore, the capital was already in sight, and he had already taken ninety-nine steps out of a hundred. It was impossible for Zhu Shenzui to hesitate at this moment. If he did, he would not be Zhu Shenzui anymore.

As for Yang Wenyue's words about treason and rebellion, Zhu Shenzhui didn't take it to heart. If it was about rebellion, how did Zhu Di get the throne? How was the Jingnan Campaign launched? If Zhu Di could do it, why couldn't Zhu Shenzhui do it? Moreover, the current situation of the Ming Dynasty was more difficult than that of the Jianwen Emperor. You must know that the Jianwen Emperor only wanted to reduce the power of the vassal states, but now the Ming Dynasty was on the verge of collapse due to internal and external troubles. If the Chongzhen Emperor continued to toss like this, the Ming Dynasty would be gone.

The imperial clan is the imperial clan of the Ming Dynasty. If the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached? If the Ming Dynasty is gone, will the imperial clan still exist? Even an enlightened child can answer this question. Could it be that Yang Wenyue doesn't understand it?

It's certainly not that Yang Wenyue didn't understand, but he just didn't want to think about it that way, or maybe the belief in the relationship between ruler and subject was deeply rooted in his heart, so he said this.

Looking at Yang Wenyue cursing at him with an indignant look, Zhu Shenzui suddenly lost the idea of ​​continuing to talk to him.

Originally, he had Yang Wenyue brought here to see this Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Governor-General of Baoding. After all, Yang Wenyue was quite famous, capable, and had a good reputation among officials. He could be considered a capable official.

If he could take it for himself, he would save himself a lot of effort. Moreover, taking Baoding would be of great benefit to Zhu Shenzhui's subsequent attack on the capital. Yang Wenyue had been in Baoding for quite some time. If he could help him pacify the place, it would not be a bad thing.

But now Yang Wenyue's attitude made Zhu Shenzhu a little disappointed, but this was normal. After all, as a civil servant, Yang Wenyue still had some "integrity". Moreover, in Yang Wenyue's view, although he was a royal family member, he was still a traitor. Emperor Chongzhen was the orthodox of the Ming Dynasty. How could he possibly surrender to the enemy?
If he took over the capital and the situation changed completely, it was unknown whether Yang Wenyue's attitude would change. As the saying goes, a man who knows the times is a hero. Wasn't it the same before Zhu Di entered Nanjing? After he took over the world, wouldn't the people in the world quickly get used to the existence of the new emperor? Not to mention the officials. To be honest, this is all the Zhu family's business. As long as the person sitting on the dragon throne is still surnamed Zhu, who does the people care about him?
Zhu Shenzhui no longer wanted to argue with Yang Wenyue, so he waved his hand. Wang Jinwu and others beside him immediately understood and dragged Yang Wenyue out regardless of his loud shouting and put him under guard again. When Yang Wenyue's shouting gradually faded away and finally stopped, Wang Hai could not help but persuade Zhu Shenzhui to stop being angry for Yang Wenyue, saying that Yang Wenyue was simply stupid because of reading too much and his mind was not able to turn around.

"What? Do you think I am angry with him?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile. Seeing Wang Hai was slightly stunned, he sighed: "What Yang Wenyue said is not wrong for him. It is a blessing for the country to have such a loyal minister. Unfortunately, if the monarch is incompetent, it will be useless even if there are wise ministers and good generals. This is also the reason why I started an army." "Then... Uncle... Can you still see Cao Minglei?"

"I will not see this person again. He is not of much use at the moment. You and Yang Wenyue can just keep a good look after him. We will deal with everything after the big thing is accomplished."

Wang Hai answered, and at this time footsteps were heard, Wang Jinwu came back. He told Zhu Shenzhui that he had put Yang Wenyue under guard, but he was not tied up like yesterday, and the place was moved from the firewood room to the wing room, but the guard was still strict and would never let Yang Wenyue escape.

Nodding, Zhu Shenzhui stood up and said, "Baoding has been taken. The news cannot be blocked for long. This place is not far from the capital. A fast horse can reach it in one day. Once the capital knows that Baoding has been lost, it will definitely take action. There is not much time left for you and me."

"Wang Jinwu!"

"I am here!" Wang Jinwu replied loudly.

"You take your cavalry and set off immediately to open the front passage for the army, capture Fangshan, Liangxiang, and occupy Xishan."

"Yes!"

"Wang Hai!"

"The general is here!"

"You lead a group to follow Wang Jinwu northwards, make arrangements when you reach the capital, and wait for my central army."

"Yes!"

After the order was given, Zhu Shencui didn't say much. He waved his hand and asked them to prepare for action immediately. After they left, Zhu Shencui summoned the rest of the generals to prepare for the continued advance. He left one part of the army, led by Hu Lin, to incorporate the Ming army in Baoding on the one hand, and to garrison Baoding to ensure the safety of the rear on the other hand. As for the other parts, they all had tasks. The army rested in Baoding for a day and then continued to march north, heading straight for the capital.

At this point, Zhu Shencui no longer concealed anything, because although the battle of Baoding was small in scale, it exposed the strength and intentions of Zhu Shencui's army. What he needed now was to seize the time to capture the capital, rather than consider anything else.

When the army set out from Baoding and headed north, Zhu Shenzui formally swore an oath to boost morale and took out a manifesto that he had prepared long ago.

This manifesto was prepared when I was in Shanxi, and now is the time to use it. The content of the manifesto is thousands of words long and eloquent, with generous words and brilliant literary talent. It lists the many mistakes made by Emperor Chongzhen after he ascended the throne, and points out that Chongzhen ascended the throne at a young age. Although he had great ambitions and intended to turn the tide, he was deceived by the treacherous officials in the court, so that the Ming Dynasty is now in internal and external troubles, rebellions are everywhere, and the people are living in misery.

As a descendant of the Jin vassal, a direct descendant of Emperor Taizu, and a member of the Ming imperial family, Zhu Shenzhu could not watch the Ming Dynasty fall at the hands of Chongzhen. Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of a country, let alone Zhu Shenzhu? Raising an army now was a helpless move. Zhu Shenzhu had no intention of replacing the emperor, but wanted to lead his troops into Beijing to clear the emperor's side and quell the national crisis!

It is somewhat coincidental that when Zhu Di started his army, he used the slogan of "clearing the court of corrupt officials and quelling the national crisis", and today Zhu Shenzhui also used the same slogan.

After the manifesto was read, the army was in an uproar, and everyone's heart was pounding with excitement.

Zhu Shencui ordered wine to be served, and he drank a bowl of it in one gulp. Finally, he smashed the bowl to the ground, drew his sword, and ordered the troops to march out.

At this point, Zhu Shenzhui officially put forward the slogan of "clearing the court of evil officials and pacifying the national crisis", and announced to the world that he, Zhu Shenzhui, would go directly to Beijing to rebuild the Ming Dynasty. When the army left Baoding, the news spread in all directions, and soon all parts of the capital quickly learned about it. When the news came, both officials and people were stunned, and no one expected that such a thing would happen.

(End of this chapter)