Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 610 The Unfathomable Empress of the Ming Dynasty! No Mercy!

Thinking about all this, Xu Miaojin's mind became increasingly chaotic.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm her anxiety; it was precisely at times like these that she needed to remain calm.

If Old Zhu's journey westward was indeed orchestrated by someone in secret, or intentionally or unintentionally, then who that person is is not something she can figure out in a short time.

The most urgent task is to resolve the current crisis as soon as possible.

there is always a solution to a problem.

Xu Miaojin looked at the two sisters beside her and said, "Both of you, please get up. I already know what happened."

Gulizaba and Dinaruoya looked up and saw that Xu Miaojin was indeed not angry or blaming them. They were immediately relieved and got up from the ground.

"Send a telegram to Yang Rong, the Minister of State Affairs who is still in Kaifeng, explaining the situation here," Xu Miaojin quickly decided.

The political and military affairs offices in Jinling were crowded and the situation was unclear, so she still dared not tell them directly that the emperor had encountered a mutiny.

On the contrary, Yang Rong, who was originally a minister accompanying the emperor, should have come here as well if he hadn't angered Zhu Yunwen by the matter of corrupt officials in Henan and been temporarily appointed as an imperial commissioner to investigate the case.

In that case, given his meticulousness, Wang Shoulian might not have been able to stage a military coup.

Yang Rong was personally appointed by Zhu Yunwen, so he should be trustworthy.

Instead of holding the government office in Jinling, he was stationed in Kaifeng, where he was able to wield considerable power as both a minister of state and an imperial envoy.

If you send him a telegram, the person receiving it should report back to him immediately, so that it is not intercepted midway.

The feudal lords have been abolished, and there is no one with such great power in Kaifeng.

Furthermore, although Xu Miaojin was a Noble Consort, she only managed the affairs of the inner palace and never interfered in court politics.

When I was at home, I would discuss politics with my brothers, but it was all just theoretical talk.

Although she was incredibly intelligent, the first problem she faced in this sudden turn of events was which faction the officials below belonged to and who she could trust.

Without this intelligence as a basis, many decisions would be impossible.

Even the smartest person can't solve the problem.

Regardless of the circumstances, Yang Rong was a minister of state affairs and had long been responsible for liaising with the military affairs department. He had connections on both the military and political fronts and was far more familiar with the situation within the court than she was.

Especially in personnel matters.

For example, Yang Rong might know very well whose protégé or relative a certain official in Shandong Province is, thus judging the official's political leanings and reliability.

This is an advantage that Xu Miaojin does not possess.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Miaojin continued, "I remember stating in the telegram to Yang Rong that there might be members of the imperial clan secretly involved in Wang Shoulian's mutiny, and that they might even be trying to take advantage of this coup to do something disloyal to His Majesty."

She did not say it was King Zhu Su of Zhou, after all, this was just her speculation and had not yet been confirmed.

Furthermore, the fact that members of the royal family were involved is sufficient.

Whether it was King Zhu Su of Zhou or not would not affect Yang Rong's analysis and judgment.

Upon hearing Xu Miaojin's words, everyone around was startled.

If that were the case, wouldn't the crisis Your Majesty faces be even greater?

Even Liu Zhenbang, who was kneeling on the ground, was stunned.

Were members of the Ming imperial family involved?

Wang Shoulian's military remonstrance this time was not about Confucian orthodoxy, but involved a struggle for the throne.

How did I get involved in this?

What if something truly happens to His Majesty?
That myself...

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and his body trembled once again.

"Your Highness, should we also send a telegram to the Empress?" a guard beside her suggested in a low voice.

“The Empress is still under house arrest, what good would it do to send her a telegram now?” another bodyguard immediately retorted.

The female guards around Xu Miaojin were originally her personal maids.

However, Xu Miaojin had loved martial arts since she was a child, so she also trained these maids in military uniforms, turning them into female guards.

After changing her clothes, she immediately transformed into a palace maid.

Their relationship with Xu Miaojin was obviously extraordinary, which is why they dared to suggest confinement to her.

"Send it, send it right away!" Xu Miaojin's eyes lit up, and she said repeatedly, "How come I didn't think of that before? Although Sister Gu is in confinement, there is a telegraph machine installed in her palace."

"Quickly, send a telegram to the Empress, telling her to lift the confinement and come out immediately to take charge of the Qin Zheng Hall."

Xu Miaojin's voice suddenly quickened.

Since the invention of the telegraph machine, government offices and the military in various places have quickly followed suit and installed it on a large scale.

The various government offices in the capital naturally took the lead.

The Political Affairs Office and the Military Affairs Office, as the political and military command centers of the Ming Dynasty, each possessed dozens of telegraph machines.

This number is still growing, and it shouldn't be long before it reaches hundreds.

This is to ensure that there are always available machines running, so that telegraph lines are always busy and telegrams from below are not missed.

There was no need to wait in line when sending telegrams to any government office below.

After all, these two powerful institutions were truly the core of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yunwen handled state affairs in the Qin Zheng Hall.

The administrative office is on the left, and the military affairs office is on the right.

He could see the telegrams sent to the Political Affairs Department and the Military Affairs Department as soon as he wanted to.

It is worth mentioning that not only the government and military departments in the palace had telegraph machines, but also the residences of the concubines in the harem, such as the palace where Xu Miaojin lived.

The place where Empress Gu Panjun lived was the same.

This request was made on a whim by Xu Miaojin. She hadn't expected Zhu Yunwen to agree; she just casually brought it up, hoping that her brother would reject her so she could make other requests.

After all, in Xu Miaojin's view, the imperial harem should not be involved in politics.

Such a telegraph machine, capable of communicating with the outside world, naturally could not be installed in the inner palace.

To everyone's surprise, Zhu Yunwen agreed without hesitation.

They also had it installed in the Empress's palace.

Xu Miaojin was completely confused at the time.

What she didn't know was that, in Zhu Yunwen's eyes, a time traveler, tools like telegraph machines for communicating with the outside world were similar to cell phones in later generations—if you had the means, you should install them.

There's nothing you can't pretend to be.

For ordinary people, the telegraph machine was a very expensive and amazing machine.

Sending a telegram is quite expensive.

But for the country's supreme ruler, the telegraph machine was really nothing.

Today, the Ming Dynasty has established a factory specializing in the production of telegraph machines, with professional production lines that can produce dozens of telegraph machines every day.

After all, this needs to be rapidly rolled out to every county in the Ming Dynasty; a small number won't do.

With such production capacity, it was no big deal for the emperor to procure a few machines for the palace.

Gu Panjun is currently confined to the palace and never goes out. She will definitely see the telegrams sent to her, and the news will not be leaked.

Because the people who received the telegrams were the most reliable palace maids.

Even if some of them were disloyal, the Kunning Palace was closed, so there was no way to immediately send out the message.

"The Empress is confined to the palace by His Majesty and can't even leave the palace. Would sending her a telegram be of any use?" The guard who had previously objected asked again. "Of course it would be of any use!" Xu Miaojin laughed. "What do you mean by His Majesty confining her? Actually, she's confined herself to the palace. She can go out whenever she wants."

Xu Miaojin knew the inside story perfectly well.

Besides, since the emperor is not in the palace, the empress is the most powerful person there.

No matter how the emperor punishes the empress, as long as he does not issue a formal decree to depose her, the empress will always be the empress.

If she really wants to come out, no one can stop her except the emperor.

Although Gu Panjun always appeared kind and amiable to outsiders, and was extremely friendly to palace maids and eunuchs, and was a well-known good person, Xu Miaojin knew very well that her "sister" whom she had recognized was far more complicated than she seemed on the surface.

Her cunning was unmatched by anyone in the palace.

If she intervenes, she will definitely be able to stabilize the situation.

If there really is some mastermind behind this, or even someone secretly plotting something, and even managed to trick the emperor into leaving, then this person is most likely in Jinling City.

They are probably taking simultaneous actions at this time as well.

This is where Gu Panjun needs to deal with it.

The telegraph operator immediately began translating and sending the message.

Liu Zhenbang, kneeling on the ground, said, "Your Highness, this humble general is willing to atone for his crimes by performing meritorious service, serving the country loyally, and obeying Your Highness's orders."

He had already realized that if anything happened to the emperor, he would surely die.

The only option now is to "atone for one's crimes by performing meritorious service."

"Alright!" Xu Miaojin nodded and said, "It's rare that you still have such a heart. I do have something I need you to do."

Liu Zhenbang was overjoyed and said, "Your Highness, please feel free to give any instructions you may have."

Xu Miaojin said coldly, "I need to borrow your head."

"Ah..." Liu Zhenbang exclaimed in astonishment.

Before he could react further, Xu Miaojin ordered, "Men, tie Liu Zhenbang up."

The guards immediately stepped forward and tied the man up.

Liu Zhenbang cried out, "Your Highness, spare my life! This humble general has confessed everything!"

Xu Miaojin stood up and said coldly, "You have confessed, but I never said that I would forgive your crime."

"If Your Majesty survives this ordeal unscathed, I will only take your head."

"If anything were to happen to His Majesty, I would still have to exterminate your entire clan!"

Xu Miaojin was both anxious and furious at this moment, her heart filled with boundless hatred.

How could they possibly let Liu Zhenbang off so easily?

Of course, more importantly, she already had a plan in mind.

The execution of Liu Zhenbang was a crucial step in this process.

Xu Miaojin changed the subject, saying, "Didn't you say you wanted to 'atone for your crimes and serve your country loyally'?"

“By borrowing your head, you can ‘atone for your crimes and serve your country loyally.’”

"Sacrificing you might save the lives of your entire family."

After saying that, she lifted her leg and walked outside.

Outside, the group of warriors brought by Liu Zhenbang were still waiting.

When the Imperial Concubine came out, and the guards behind her were escorting Liu Zhenbang, who was bound hand and foot, they were all stunned.

Before they could think further, Xu Miaojin spoke up: "Liu Zhenbang colluded with Wang Shoulian, the Shandong Provincial Inspector, to plot a heinous crime. Now that the truth has come out, I will execute him on the spot as a warning to others."

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards who had been arranged behind him swiftly brought down their knives.

Snapped!
Liu Zhenbang's head rolled to the ground like a watermelon.

Upon suddenly witnessing the execution of their leader, the warriors were utterly terrified.

Xu Miaojin said loudly, "I know you are just following orders and have not participated in the conspiracy."

"If you reflect on your actions now and obey my orders, I will forgive and forget your past mistakes."

"If we successfully save the emperor, we will not only be innocent, but will also be credited with a great achievement."

"You should understand where to go from here."

All the soldiers knelt down and said, "We are willing to obey the orders of the Imperial Concubine!"

They were naturally unaware of Liu Zhenbang's conspiracy with Wang Shoulian. When they heard the Imperial Concubine say that Liu Zhenbang was planning a rebellion, they were already terrified.

Wu Ding and his contemporaries knew all too well what the consequences of participating in a rebellion would be.

Now that Liu Zhenbang has been executed by the Imperial Concubine, they certainly know what choice to make.

"Good!" Xu Miaojin nodded in satisfaction, and then arranged for three guards to officially take over this group of warriors.

They were to be stationed around the telegraph room to strengthen its security and be ready to be deployed at any time.

Subsequently, he ordered Liu Zhenbang's head to be hung on the flagpole outside to deter those with ill intentions.

After doing all this, Xu Miaojin returned to the inner courtyard.

At this moment, Gulizaba spoke up: "Sister Xu, all the telegrams that needed to be sent have already been sent. It's not a good idea for us to stay here all the time."

“Yes, Sister Xu,” Dina Ruoya said, “As the saying goes, ‘distant water cannot quench a nearby fire.’ Sending them a telegram would certainly be useful, but they can’t possibly fly here in a short time.”

"But His Majesty's crisis is imminent and cannot be delayed."

"If we want to save His Majesty, we have to rely on ourselves."

"We have already controlled a force under Wu Ding, and we have a considerable number of troops under our command."

"Sister Xu, why don't you give the order, and we'll rush into the Confucian Temple and rescue His Majesty?"

“I, Dina Ruoya, am willing to take the lead and be the first to charge in.”

She had an eager look on her face, showing no fear whatsoever.

Xu Miaojin shook her head and said, "No."

"The situation inside is complicated, and it's not like it used to be. Wu Ding and his men are now armed with firearms."

"If even one person fires a shot, His Majesty will be in danger."

"Rushing in rashly and causing chaos might not only fail to save His Majesty but could also harm him."

After saying these words, she couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Firearms and cannons were incredibly powerful, and it was with these weapons that the Ming Dynasty swept across neighboring countries and dominated the seas.

But because it is so powerful, it poses too great a threat to those who get close, which has made her feel restricted now.

If things were still like before, with everyone fighting with swords and spears, rushing in to save Zhu Yunwen, it might not be impossible.

As long as he is protected and allowed to leave, once he raises his voice and gains prestige, the hundreds of thousands of people outside will become his greatest support.

Not to mention that Wu Ding's people should also support the emperor and would not easily participate in a rebellion, after all, this is not a chaotic era.

The real leaders were just a handful of military officers.

Shout to the soldiers... Wait, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Xu Miaojin, as if she had grasped something.

……

(End of this chapter)