My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Wang Jiayan scanned everyone's faces and finally decided to tell them everything he knew.

Then he smiled and said:

"To be honest, I do know some information. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be that the Empress has given birth, which is why His Majesty summoned us."

Everyone was stunned at first upon hearing this, and then they were all speechless.

The expectant look in their eyes instantly dimmed.

They naturally knew that Empress Zhou was about to give birth, but they didn't expect it to happen tonight.

Besides, it seems unnecessary to summon these important officials to the palace in the middle of the night for something like the Empress giving birth.

There's no precedent for this!
Why not just tell them about this during the day?

Clearly, these ministers had misunderstood, thinking that Emperor Chongzhen had summoned them late at night because Empress Zhou had given birth.

But in fact, Chongzhen's main purpose in summoning them was to tell them the news that the Ming army had completely defeated the peasant army!

Normally, in the event of such a great victory, the messenger would definitely report it along the way as he entered the city, and the news would spread throughout the city in no time.

For example, during the Battle of Songjin, messengers shouted good news all the way, and the sound of victory spread throughout the streets and alleys. The people quickly learned of the news, and the entire capital was immersed in joy.

Unfortunately, the timing was unfortunate today. The messenger arrived in the capital late at night, and the streets were deserted, so no one could hear him shouting.

So the messenger went straight to the palace, which resulted in very few people knowing about the news.

Moreover, most of the eunuchs who went to deliver the imperial decree were unaware of the good news, so they naturally couldn't inform the ministers about it.

Only a few eunuchs knew about the Empress's childbirth, and then they told Wang Jiayan about it, which caused these misunderstandings.

Just as everyone was feeling increasingly speechless, a hearty laugh suddenly came from outside the door.

The laughter, like a booming bell, echoed in the silent night, as if trying to break free from the shackles of darkness.

It's obvious without even thinking that the emperor has arrived.

Sure enough, the next second, Chongzhen appeared in front of everyone.

Upon seeing the emperor appear, everyone quickly straightened up and bowed in greeting.

"I will see you, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Chongzhen then smiled and said:

"My beloved subjects, please rise! I have some good news to tell you, and I'm sure you'll all be pleased to hear it!"

As he spoke, he plopped down in the main seat.

Upon hearing this, the ministers inwardly grumbled:
Your wife gave birth and you became a father, what's there for us to be happy about?
Having a daughter is fine, but if you have a son, who knows if you'll have to grant fiefdoms in the future, and the national treasury will have to spend money. What kind of bullshit good news is that?

However, they only dared to mutter these thoughts to themselves, but dared not say them aloud.

At this point, they should have pretended not to know anything and waited for the emperor to personally announce the good news.

But since a eunuch has already revealed the news of the Empress's childbirth to them, the Emperor will probably find out eventually anyway. There's no point in pretending anymore, so it's better to just tell him directly and congratulate him in advance.

Therefore, Xue Guoguan immediately said:
"Your Majesty, this old minister has heard that Her Majesty the Empress gave birth tonight. I wonder if it is a princess or a prince?"

Emperor Chongzhen was not surprised to hear this. After all, there were many people in the palace who knew that Empress Zhou was giving birth today. In addition, he did not order the news to be blocked, so it was reasonable for these ministers to know.

He then smiled and said:

"To be honest, the Empress gave birth to a princess today, and I am very happy."

As he said this, a happy smile spread across his face, a smile brimming with love for his daughter.

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly said in unison:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations on the arrival of the princess!"

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen was even happier, and his smile grew even wider.

But he quickly realized that the summons of these ministers tonight was not for the matter of Empress Zhou giving birth.

The next second, Chongzhen handed the victory report that had been sent from Hanzhong to Wang Chengen, who was standing beside him, and said:

"Daban, go and show it to them, let them have a good laugh too!"

His eyes gleamed with excitement, as if he couldn't wait to see the ministers' reactions upon hearing the good news.

As Wang Chengen approached with a memorial in his hand, Xue Guoguan felt even more speechless.

Is he crazy if he's not the emperor?
Having a child requires a whole memorial to the throne?
Could it be that this memorial contains some secret to having children?

But since he was in front of the emperor, he couldn't complain. He could only respectfully accept the memorial from Wang Chengen and slowly open it.

The paper of the memorial gleamed with a slightly yellowish light under the lamp, and the handwriting on it was neat and clear.

After quickly glancing at a few lines of text, Xue Guoguan's eyes widened suddenly, his face filled with shock!
Because he realized he was wrong; it wasn't about childbirth at all, but a battle report about the imperial army and the peasant army!
The Ming army truly defeated the peasant army in Hanzhong. In this battle, they killed 80,000 enemies and captured 70,000. Li Zicheng committed suicide, and Zhang Xianzhong surrendered with his troops!

What's even more shocking is that the Ming army suffered only about two thousand casualties in this battle!

It was an unprecedented and overwhelming victory!

For a moment, Xue Guoguan's hands trembled slightly, as if the memorial weighed a thousand pounds in his hands.

But he seemed unable to believe his eyes, and looked at it carefully again. After confirming that it was correct, a huge joy and shock welled up in his heart.

The news came like a bolt from the blue, leaving him unable to accept it for a while.

He never imagined that the peasant army problem that had plagued the Ming Dynasty for so long would be resolved so perfectly at this time.

But Xue Guoguan quickly recovered, his face flushed with excitement, and his voice trembled slightly with emotion as he said:

"Your Majesty! This is a blessed event for our Celestial Empire! Long live Your Majesty! Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!"

As Xue Guoguan spoke, he gave Emperor Chongzhen a deep bow!

Upon seeing this scene, the other ministers were instantly stunned. They looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion.

What exactly was written in this memorial that could cause Xue Guoguan to lose his composure like this?
Driven by curiosity, they all started walking towards Xue Guoguan.

Seeing the crowd gathering around, Xue Guoguan quickly handed the memorial in his hand to Li Banghua, the Minister of War who was closest to him.

Li Banghua took the memorial with a curious expression and eagerly opened it to read it.

Seeing this, the others quickly gathered around, craning their necks and staring intently at the contents of the memorial.

After reading the contents, everyone was stunned, as if time had frozen at that moment.

Their mouths were slightly agape, their eyes wide, and their faces were filled with disbelief. Although they all knew beforehand that the Crown Prince was bound to win this campaign, they never expected that he would win so easily and so decisively.

With only two thousand casualties, they defeated a peasant army of two hundred thousand, and the fearsome peasant leader Li Zicheng was also killed. It was like a dream!
At the same time, they finally realized that Chongzhen had summoned them tonight not because the Empress had given birth, but because the Crown Prince had delivered good news!
For a moment, everyone felt a pang of guilt, realizing they had wronged Chongzhen.

But soon, Wang Jiayan, the Minister of Rites, hurriedly stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and then said loudly:

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! The scourge of the peasant army has been averted, and there are no more worries within our Great Ming Dynasty! This is truly a blessing for the nation!"

Seeing this, the others quickly chimed in, their faces beaming with smiles, chattering away:

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! This is a momentous occasion, and from now on, our Great Ming Dynasty will have no more worries!"

"With the protection of our ancestors, our Great Ming Dynasty will surely prosper from now on!"

In an instant, all sorts of praise poured in like a tidal wave towards Chongzhen.

Emperor Chongzhen was so happy that his mouth practically stretched to the back of his ears. He couldn't help it; he was just too overjoyed.

It should be noted that Huang Taiji and Li Zicheng had always been like two sharp swords hanging over his head, making him constantly on edge.

Who knows when these two sharp swords will sever the fate of the Ming Dynasty!
As it turned out, not long after Huang Taiji's sword broke, Li Zicheng's sword also broke. Now, the two swords hanging over his head have completely disappeared without a trace. How could he not be happy?
At the same time, the cabinet ministers and the six ministers below the stage were also filled with emotion.

They knew that with the end of this war, the Ming Dynasty would gradually stabilize.

Although there are still some natural disasters in China today, compared to the peasant uprisings, these natural disasters are no longer a major problem.

With the support of national finances and the import of grain from overseas, the various problems brought about by the famine can be completely mitigated.

The Ming Dynasty today is arguably the most prosperous period in nearly a century!

And all of this is probably thanks to that Crown Prince.

They couldn't even imagine how much prestige the Crown Prince would have when he returned!
Putting aside everything else, after the previous battles and the Battle of Hanzhong this time, His Highness the Crown Prince has completely consolidated his military power.

At that point, let alone if they wanted to seize military power, even if Emperor Chongzhen wanted to take it back, it would probably be impossible.

For a moment, they didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

But now that things have come to this, there's nothing these old folks can do.

After all, they had already experienced the Crown Prince's prowess firsthand; they were no match for him.

Suddenly at that moment, Chongzhen spoke again:
"Gentlemen, this good news was delivered when the Empress was giving birth. I suddenly had a whim to name the princess 'Double Happiness'. What do you all think?"

As Emperor Chongzhen spoke, his gaze slowly swept over the crowd, a hint of anticipation on his face.

Normally, naming a princess is something that doesn't require informing the ministers; the emperor can decide for himself. But Chongzhen was probably too happy tonight, so he brought it up anyway.

However, his real purpose was to hear the ministers praise him.

As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers were speechless.

The reason is simple: the name "Shuangxi" is too ordinary. At first glance, it sounds like the name of a child from an ordinary family. How could it be worthy of a princess's status?

In their view, a princess's name should be elegant, noble, and poetic; how could it be so common?
However, upon further reflection, the phrase "double happiness" is not entirely without merit.

The first joy was that Empress Zhou gave birth to a princess, adding a new member to the Ming Dynasty royal family and bringing new hope.

The second joy was that His Highness the Crown Prince defeated the peasant army in Hanzhong, eliminating a major threat to the Ming Dynasty and bringing complete stability to the country.

Thinking about it this way, although the name is a bit common, it seems to be quite fitting for Otomo.

Furthermore, choosing a name is the emperor's family matter, and there are no rules that a princess's name must be chosen according to her generation. So as long as the emperor and empress agree, there is no problem with the name.

Thinking of this, someone immediately spoke up:

"Your Majesty is wise! Although the name is common, it is easy to pronounce, and with the double happiness, it carries an even more festive meaning!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen laughed even more heartily.

Just then, a group of eunuchs suddenly walked in carrying bowls of steaming noodles.

Then he carefully placed the noodles on the table next to each of the ministers.

This was also a custom of the Ming Dynasty imperial family. After the emperor had a child, he would reward his officials with noodles, called "joy noodles," which represented sharing joy and rewards.

Emperor Chongzhen then smiled and said:

"Come on, come on, have some noodles! Have some noodles!"

Upon hearing this, everyone could only manage a wry smile inwardly.

After all, it was the middle of the night, and they really weren't hungry at all!
But this was a gift from the emperor, and they certainly couldn't refuse. They could only thank him, pick up a bowl of noodles, and force themselves to eat.

They ate carefully, chewing each bite slowly, afraid of making too much noise.

Moreover, nothing can be left over; leaving anything over is disrespectful to the emperor.

So even though their stomachs were already so full they were uncomfortable, they still managed to finish the whole bowl of noodles.

After they finished eating the noodles, Emperor Chongzhen did not keep them any longer and dismissed them.

Since the next day was the day for court, and such a major event had occurred, Emperor Chongzhen naturally had to attend court, and anything could be discussed in the court.

The ministers then took their leave.

However, it is clear that tonight will likely be a sleepless night for them.

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was the next morning.

When the ministers arrived at the court and saw the emperor, whom they had not seen for a long time, everyone was somewhat surprised.

After all, in the four months that the crown prince was away, Emperor Chongzhen only attended court once.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen has now taken the initiative to attend court, which is extremely rare.

They secretly wondered what the emperor's purpose was in attending court today.
After everyone had performed the three bows and nine kowtows, Emperor Chongzhen, without waiting for Wang Chengen to speak, immediately said with a smile:

"My beloved ministers, two joyous events occurred in our Great Ming Dynasty last night, and I wish to share this happiness with you!"

"The first thing is that Her Majesty the Empress gave birth to a princess for me last night, and both mother and daughter are safe and sound!"

As Chongzhen finished speaking, all the officials immediately said in unison:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! The welcoming of the princess is a great blessing for our Ming Dynasty!"

The birth of a son by the emperor was considered a momentous occasion of celebration by the ministers, so offering words of flattery was always necessary. (End of Chapter)