The Holy Emperor of Ming

Chapter 77: The Four Major Divisions of Martial Arts Powers
How many martial arts forces are there in the Ming Dynasty?

I'm afraid no one can be sure.

Because there are too many martial arts forces, fighting and killing each other, they may perish at any time, and new ones appear all the time.

When all the martial arts forces reached a certain level, they could no longer ignore the Ming Dynasty court.

The relationship between the imperial court and the martial arts world is one of both opposition and coexistence, with one rising while the other falls.

The orthodox path with the eight major sects as its signature.

It is an evil sect commonly known by many gangs and brutal forces.

A demonic sect dominated by several demonic sects.

They are also from the righteous path, but they call themselves a martial arts family.

In addition, there are Taoism and Buddhism, which are almost integrated with the martial arts world.

Not to mention Taoism and Buddhism, these are the four major divisions of truly powerful martial arts forces within the Ming Dynasty.

As for the rest of the outlaws, independent travelers, etc., except for a very small number of strong ones, their influence is actually not big enough, and they are mostly dependent on these four major divisions.

At this moment, many martial arts forces in these four major divisions have voluntarily or forcibly set their sights on the new emperor who is about to ascend the throne.

Countless actions were taken, affecting everyone from the cabinet and six ministries to ordinary people.

····
October 22, the 16th year of the Hongzhi reign.

Beijing.

At this time, it is naturally a scene of mourning.

But the overall atmosphere is not depressing.

After all, although the emperor was dead, the prince was so powerful that the whole world was speechless.

Even such a big event as the emperor's death seemed to be nothing.

From the imperial palace to the entire capital city, everything was more stable than when Emperor Hongzhi was still alive.

The only thing that makes many people regretful is that because the emperor is dead, they cannot happily talk about such earth-shaking events as the prince's destruction of the Jin Dynasty's Jiannu and the defeat of Kublai Khan.

Of course, many officials and some ordinary people were grateful to Emperor Hongzhi for his benevolent character.

cabinet.

The three cabinet ministers, the six ministers, the left and right censors-in-chief, and the heads of the four temples gathered again.

This was one of the few times they had gathered together since the death of the late emperor.

Originally, the cabinet had no right to convene the six ministers, the left and right censors-in-chief, and the heads of the four temples to discuss matters, but since the Hongzhi period, the cabinet's power and status have continued to rise.

Today, he is clearly the head of all officials, and the six ministers have to step back.

Now that the emperor has passed away and the prince is no longer around, the cabinet is the biggest center of power.

"Just received a letter reporting that on October 19th, the Crown Prince led the Emperor Wu's Dragon Cavalry back to Ningxia Town from the grassland to rest for a day.

Ningxia Town is more than 2,400 miles away from the capital. Considering the speed of Emperor Wu's dragon cavalry and the prince's character, the prince will definitely return to the capital in ten days at most.

There are about seven days left.

It's time to make some decisions." Cabinet Chief Liu Jian said solemnly.

"Yes, how should we implement the late emperor's last will? It's time to have a rule today." Li Dongyang said in a serious voice.

Xie Qian nodded, his serious expression showing his attitude.

Seeing the attitude of the three ministers, the six ministers and others knew that there might be another quarrel today.

Sure enough, a quarrel soon arose.

"How can we solemnly welcome the crown prince back victoriously when the late emperor has just passed away?"

"The late emperor said that the ancestral system was no longer suitable for the times and hoped that the prince would change it in the future. This is really inappropriate."

"The Iron-hearted Divine Marquis is a member of the royal family. How can he stay in the court to assist in the administration?"

"And how can we build up the West Factory again?"

After much arguing, only these four last wishes were left that they were all dissatisfied with.

When the late emperor passed away, he left behind eleven last words that shocked them all.

Everything else was acceptable, but they had been arguing about these four for more than ten days, and there was still no result.

Of course, everyone knew that without results, they were all dissatisfied.

But even if I am dissatisfied, I dare not ignore it, let alone directly reject it.

Because the prince is so powerful.

His prestige surpassed that of all previous emperors and was second only to Taizu and Taizong.

So they could only quarrel and test each other's attitudes while quarreling.

After more than an hour, they once again parted unhappily with each having their own thoughts.

····
On the road from Ningxia Town to the capital.

Thousands of horses are galloping at an extremely fast speed.

The golden flags and the red torrents are like mountain torrents and tsunamis wherever they pass.

No one dared to stand in the way of this torrent.

Zhu Houzhao was still leading the way, controlling the speed of the white dragon and not breaking away from Emperor Wu's dragon rider.

No matter how anxious he was, he listened to everyone's advice and returned with Emperor Wu's Dragon Riders.

Because the more critical the moment, the more you cannot be careless.

Zhu Houzhao has made all the countries in the world extremely fearful, and no one knows whether any powerful celestial being will really take action against him.

Only with the Emperor Wu's Dragon Rider following him, could he not fear the attacks from powerful celestial beings.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao looked more mature.

The injuries sustained during the decisive battle that day had long since recovered thanks to the power of the third level of Tai Chi Thirteen Postures.

His aura was even more unfathomable.

Behind him, there were only 9,238 Dragon Riders of Emperor Wu.

More than a hundred people died in the battle to defeat Jiannu.

The entanglement with Kublai Khan, the subsequent decisive battle, and the subsequent pursuit resulted in the deaths of more than 600 people.

The ashes have been brought back.

Although they lost more than 700 people and many dragon riders were still injured.

But its momentum, power, and other aspects are different from before the expedition.

It's like going through a baptism and transformation.

It became a truly sharpened sword.

At this time, the prince followed them closely without saying a word. While on the road, countless information came to Zhu Houzhao from all directions.

From the capital, from the border, from Gansu town, from Jin, and so on.

From time to time, there were flashes of anger and murderous intent in Zhu Houzhao's eyes.

After several days of rapid march, Zhu Houzhao finally saw the familiar city from afar, his eyes slightly red.

"Dad, I'm back."

Ten miles away from the capital.

All officials and nobles were dressed in mourning and waiting here.

In the distance, on both sides of the roads leading to the west gate of the capital, there were countless curious people following.

"Boom~!"

The sound of horse hooves came from far away, from light to like thunder.

The extremely ferocious red torrent came with a mighty force, as if it was going to crush everything.

When they were half a mile away from Baiguan, they still did not slow down.

Such power made many civil servants and nobles turn pale and terrified, and they couldn't help but retreat.

Even people in the cabinet and the six ministries broke out in cold sweats.

If they didn't know that the prince would never kill them, most of them would have run away.

After getting closer by more than ten feet, Zhu Houzhao raised the Sun and Moon Divine Spear and began to slow down.

Emperor Wu's dragon rider slowed down accordingly.

When it came to a complete stop, the white dragon stopped half a zhang in front of the cabinet and the six ministers.

The Emperor Wu Dragon Rider was only a few feet away from them.

Many officials felt weak all over, and some even collapsed to the ground with faces full of fear.

That kind of power is really too terrifying.

After all, the people who can remain calm even when faced with a collapse of Mount Tai are extremely rare.

Faced with this extremely arrogant, rude and arrogant behavior that had never happened before in the Ming Dynasty, all the officials chose to accept it no matter what they thought in their hearts.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince returns victoriously to the court!"

Led by the Cabinet, the six ministries and nobles, all civil and military officials knelt down and saluted.

The people in the distance also knelt down one after another.

After much arguing, the senior civil servants finally chose to compromise.

The prince was only welcomed ten miles away, and it was not too grand. The people were not organized and it was all up to their own will.

"Everyone, get up."

Without giving it too much thought, nor any attempt to show his power, Zhu Houzhao just rode on the white dragon impatiently, looking at the officials and then at the people in the distance.

Subconsciously, he straightened his back and spoke loudly, and his voice echoed for miles around.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

All the officials stood up, and the people stood up one after another.

"Go back to Beijing." Zhu Houzhao was not in the mood to say anything more at the moment, so he said directly.

Liu Jian and others who wanted to say something had to shut up.

In the middle of the cleared road, Zhu Houzhao led Emperor Wu's Dragon Cavalry towards the capital.

"Your Highness and the late Emperor had a deep bond as father and son, so it's normal for him to be a little anxious.

Everyone, let us return as well."

Looking at the backs of Zhu Houzhao and Emperor Wu on dragon horse, who ignored all the civil and military officials, Liu Jian, the head of all officials, coughed lightly and spoke loudly.

All the officials nodded, looking as if they agreed with it.

Many officials spoke seriously about the deep father-son relationship between the late emperor and the crown prince, which was rare since ancient times.

Being so anxious to return to the palace is truly a sign of great filial piety and should be a role model for the world.

in the palace.

Zhu Houzhao, who ordered Emperor Wu's Dragon Cavalry to return to the camp, came to the mourning hall with only a few people.

Ignoring those people who were crying as if they were dying, Zhu Houzhao just stared blankly at the coffin.

Step by step, he came closer.

"Your Highness, please pay respects to the late emperor first." He Ding, who was serving on the side, whispered in his heart.

Zhu Houzhao ignored him, put his hands on the coffin, and uttered two words: "Open the coffin."

"what!"

The mourning hall, where the sounds of wailing, chanting and incantation were heard rising and falling, suddenly became quiet.

Open the coffin!

"Your Highness, it's not a good idea to open the coffin." He Ding said hurriedly.

"Open the coffin. This prince wants to know how my father died." Zhu Houzhao just looked at the coffin and said in a low voice.

Some people wanted to dissuade him, but seeing that the prince was obviously in a bad mood, no one dared to speak.

The coffin was soon opened.

Because of the weather, and more because of special protection, that familiar face was just pale, with nothing else.

Zhu Houzhao's eyes were misty, but he endured it.

He said, "Check them all."

Zhu Wusi, Zhu Ye, Xu Ruowu, Wang Zhi, Li Guang, Zhang Fengfu, Liu Jin and others had no choice but to step forward and "offend" the late emperor's body.

"Your Highness, this matter should not be publicized," He Ding whispered to himself.

The meaning was very clear, asking His Highness to issue an order prohibiting anyone from telling anyone.

"What are you afraid of? Who dares to say more?" Zhu Houzhao suddenly turned his head and glared at him, shouting with red eyes, like a tiger about to lose control.

He Ding knelt down with a plop and cried, "This old slave deserves to die."

All the people who were crying had already lowered their heads and dared not look any further.

The Taoists and monks who were chanting scriptures also lowered their heads and lowered their voices, as if they heard or saw nothing.

After an incense stick of time, Zhu Wusi and others carefully examined Zhu Youtang's body, and after looking at each other, they confirmed it.

(Please subscribe, thank you for your support.)
······
　Thanks to Chenshi Wanderer for giving another reward of 1000 Qidian coins, thank you.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)