Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 327 Inviting the Emperor to His Death

Those who know the current affairs are handsome.

Zhu Houzhao was not stupid; he certainly knew which choice would be in his best interest.

"Your Highness, the imperial edict is here."

Yu Huatian held the imperial edict and respectfully presented it to Zhu Jinzhen.

"read."

"Yes."

Yu Huatian was overjoyed. He cleared his throat, opened the imperial edict, and began to read it aloud in front of all the officials in the Fengtian Hall.

"I ascended the throne when I was a child, and it has been fourteen years since then..."

"If I am guilty, it is not for the sake of the people; if the people are guilty, the guilt lies with me..."

"King Su now..."

The contents of the will were largely consistent with Zhu Houzhao's earlier words; in short, he was worried about unforeseen circumstances and thus prepared a will in advance. He also mentioned being betrayed by his closest and most trusted people, which broke his heart, and he seemed somewhat disillusioned with the world, feeling that even being born into an imperial family had its share of troubles.

Then, a lengthy exposition was used to praise Zhu Jinzhen for his meritorious service in governing the Shaanxi border, his many years of hard work in guarding the frontier, and his command of a million-strong army. Zhu Houzhao was worried about unforeseen events, and Zhu Jinzhen was to immediately "suppress the rebellion," punish the traitors, and eliminate the evil ministers around the emperor to ensure that the Ming Dynasty could last for thousands of generations.

It was also mentioned that if Zhu Jinzhen succeeded in suppressing the rebellion, he could succeed to the throne based on this imperial edict.

With the Ming Dynasty in his hands, Zhu Houzhao could rest assured and wait.

After Yu Huatian finished reading the imperial edict, which was supposed to be a will,

The Fengtian Hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The officials and ministers racked their brains but could never have imagined that Zhu Houzhao had already intended to abdicate and had even prepared a will in advance.

Many staunch supporters of Zhu Houzhao secretly rolled their eyes, feeling incredibly fortunate.

Fortunately, they didn't go against Prince Su, nor did they act like those fools who couldn't see the situation before. Otherwise, they would have used Prince Su's purge of the court of corrupt officials as an excuse to condemn Zhu Jinzhen as a traitor, just like the former officials of Jianwen Emperor had denounced Zhu Di.

This angered Zhu Jinzhen, who was subsequently killed. After that, Eunuch Sun and Yu Huatian revealed the imperial edict.

Then wouldn't they have died in vain?
This time, while everyone was still immersed in the contents of Zhu Houzhao's will, Provincial Governor Xu Yu was the first to stand up and bow deeply to Zhu Jinzhen, saying, "Your humble servant Xu Yu greets Your Majesty."

"Wait!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yu raised her head and glared angrily, wanting to see who was the one who was so blind.

Even Zhu Houzhao had already written his abdication edict.

Who would dare to stand up and object at this time?
When he looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Zhu Jinzhen sitting on the throne, Xu Yu was speechless. He lowered his head silently and immediately began to reflect on whether he had been too hasty or had done something wrong.

"The Ming Dynasty had only one emperor."

"I don't want another emperor emeritus to appear above my head."

Zhu Jinzhen looked at Zhu Houzhao with a smile on his lips: "Emperor, you should die and go back first. After I ascend the throne and perform the sacrificial ceremony at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, I will dig you up and resurrect you."

"Guards! Summon the emperor to his death!"

The officials were completely bewildered, wondering if they were hallucinating.
Some of the less mentally strong nearly choked on their own saliva, clutching their necks and breathing heavily, looking as if they were about to be sent away on the spot.

"What did His Highness Prince Su just say?"

"If I heard correctly, gulp, it seems... it seems to be..." The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review swallowed hard, his face extremely strange as he murmured, "Are you asking His Majesty to die?"

"My goodness."

"Isn't this unprecedented in history?"

"Anyway, even if the Sima family murdered the emperor in the street back then, they wouldn't dare to ask the emperor to die in front of all the officials!"

"Then let's..."

The officials in the Fengtian Hall exchanged glances, their eyes frantically communicating, and finally arrived at an answer that everyone tacitly agreed upon.

Xu Yu, He Jian, the Minister of Justice, and even Princess Yunluo, Zhu Houzhao's most beloved sister, all jumped out and bowed to him, shouting in unison, "Your Majesty, we beg you to die!" "Your Majesty, we beg you to die, my sister Yunluo," Princess Yunluo also bowed to Zhu Houzhao with a smile, making Zhu Houzhao's veins throb and causing him to curse inwardly.

This is truly his beloved imperial sister!
Seeing this, the other officials seemed unwilling to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They all bowed deeply to Zhu Jinzhen, some even prostrating themselves in full kneeling, shouting, "Your Majesty, please go to your death!"

The historian in the Fengtian Hall wielded his pen, creating countless afterimages, yet he still felt his hands weren't enough, and his mind conjured up hundreds of ancient writing styles that could be recorded in history.

I wish I could grow three heads and eight arms to record this unprecedented wonder in its entirety.

"you……"

Zhu Houzhao was speechless and choked with anger, rolling his eyes. Although he had expected this, not a single official, whether a high-ranking official or a mediocre minister, spoke up for him. Instead, because of Zhu Jinzhen's words, they all asked him to die.

Zhu Houzhao was so angry he almost jumped up.

Fortunately, his reason prevailed over his anger, and he could only nod helplessly at Zhu Jinzhen, saying, "Be gentle, it would be best if it were painless."

"Yang Ning."

"The end will be here."

“Since the emperor requests a painless death, let’s help him.” Zhu Jinzhen nodded to Yang Ning, who understood and revealed a strange excitement on his face before turning away.

'boom! '

There was no warning, nor any trace of any action.

Zhu Houzhao collapsed again, standing straight in front of all the officials.

It was as if Zhu Houzhao had truly died at the request of his officials.

This scene caught everyone present off guard.

Although they were mentally prepared, many officials still felt their hearts nearly jump out of their throats when they actually saw Zhu Houzhao fall.

After all, if we really had to say...

Their actions were not much different from those of the cabinet and Zhu Wuji, who were accused of regicide and treason.

It gives the feeling of forcing the emperor to his death.

The key is……

Many people stared sharply at the historians who seemed to wish they had more hands, feeling an urge to rush up and tear up their records. If they were in history, they would leave behind a record of a minister forcing his emperor to commit suicide.

Future generations will have no idea how they will be criticized.

Just now, I was only focused on obeying Zhu Jinzhen's wishes, and since Zhu Houzhao had indeed been resurrected once in front of them before, I inexplicably shouted, "Please, Your Majesty, go to your death."

Looking back now, they broke out in a cold sweat.

Clearly, this is exactly what Zhu Jinzhen was happy to see.

What corruption, what a bunch of ridiculous charges.

With all the officials now urging Zhu Houzhao to die, anyone who dares to offend him in the future will have to consider whether their entire family can withstand such torment.

He can live off this weakness for the rest of his life.

Zhu Jinzhen sensed the resentful and inexplicable gazes, and seeing that the Fengtian Hall was about to erupt into chaos again, he pressed his hands down to calm the officials down, and a deep smile appeared on his lips: "Alright, the emperor is gone, let's continue our previous topic."

"Xu Yu will temporarily assume the position of Minister of Rites. You will be in charge of all ceremonies, including the worship at the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the enthronement ceremony. The Court of State Ceremonies and the Hanlin Academy will cooperate, and the Hanlin Academy will draft the edict of succession."

Zhu Jinzhen made no mention whatsoever of asking Zhu Houzhao to die.

Some people may have 'guessed' his intentions, but they still underestimated him to some extent.

He doesn't need evidence or reason to kill someone.

He will make all officials and factions of the Ming Dynasty today and in the future understand what it means to have the emperor's golden words and the emperor's wrath.

(End of this chapter)