Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 65 Commander Ma, which do you want, this golden bean or this red date cake?!
On the fifteenth day of the first month of the first year of the Chongzhen reign, Beijing was filled with joy. In people's homes, the red paper gourds used to "ward off plague demons" that had been hung under the eaves on New Year's Day had not yet faded, and new lanterns had already been hung up.

During the Yongle reign, Zhu Di issued an order: "Lanterns will be set off for ten days during the Lantern Festival. If there is anything important, write it down and send it in. People can set off lanterns and drink and make merry as they please. The military police will not prohibit this. Night patrols should not disturb or cause trouble. This shall be a permanent rule."

Outside the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, a massive lantern, resembling an Aoshan Mountain, was being erected. Zhu Youjian stood atop the Forbidden City wall, overlooking the busy craftsmen of the Palace Construction Bureau and the Suzhou Textile Bureau. He had been perched on the wall for a long time, yet he still hadn't grown tired of the sight, experiencing a thrill akin to watching excavators at work in his previous life.

The so-called Aoshan refers to the shape of a giant turtle carrying a sacred mountain on its back. At this point, the giant turtle, which forms the base of the Aoshan lantern, was already completed. In Zhu Youjian's view, this thing had a strong flavor of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*, with its bizarre appearance: a dragon's head, a fish's body, a turtle's back, and a qilin's tail…

The giant turtle in front of the Meridian Gate is over fifty meters long from head to tail, and each of its legs is as tall as a building. Zhu Youjian can still stand on the ten-meter-high city wall and look down at this giant turtle. When the entire thirteen-story turtle lantern is completed, its height will reach more than forty meters, and even the Forbidden City will appear short in front of it.

Before the Aoshan Lantern, a squad of soldiers wearing red-tasseled helmets stood guard. A thousand people had already gathered before them, putting immense pressure on the hundred or so soldiers. Fortunately, the people of Beijing, like the tyrannical emperor on the wall, had come to watch the construction of the Aoshan Lantern, not to cause trouble.

This area is within the imperial city limits and is not open to ordinary people on weekdays. It is only open for three days during the Lantern Festival, allowing all people to freely enter and visit the Aoshan Lantern.

Ordinary people dressed in cotton-padded clothes "accidentally stumbled into the imperial palace," timidly observing everything before them. There were also wealthy and powerful nobles who came to join in the fun, behaving quite naturally, even arrogantly, completely disregarding the soldiers before them.

"Get out of the way, are you blind! Do you know who my master is? He's the second young master of the Cheng family!" A servant shoved the soldiers, shouting arrogantly. Beside him, a young man who looked like a playboy glanced at them sideways.

Feeling humiliated under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the soldier shoved the servant aside. Unexpectedly, the servant was so weak that he lost his balance and fell flat on his backside. A murmur of laughter rippled through the crowd. The servant blushed with shame, and the so-called second son of the Duke of Cheng also looked displeased.

"Whose subordinate are you? State your name, or I'll skin you alive!!!" roared Zhu Lixun, the second son of the Duke of Cheng.

The soldier turned pale instantly, regretting his impulsive act. A moment later, a burly military officer arrived. He frowned at his subordinate, who stood with his head bowed, and, feeling a surge of disappointment, ordered him to leave.

"I know you, Wang Lin, Commander Wang, right? What, are you going to protect this person and disrespect the Duke of Cheng's mansion?!" Zhu Lixun said with a gloomy face.

Wang Lin frowned. Even if Zhu Chunchen himself came, he wouldn't dare to speak to him like that, would he? After all, he was the commander of the Emperor's personal guard. He didn't need to, and couldn't, give face to these nobles. Besides, he was just Zhu Chunchen's second son, not the heir apparent, and didn't even have a title.

But adhering to the principle of not offending anyone if possible, and not wanting to cause trouble, he stepped forward.

"What...what do you want to do?!" The playboy was so frightened that he took two steps back.

Wang Lin chuckled, thinking to himself that the lineage of the Duke of Cheng really had no successors; how could they have produced such a scoundrel?

He leaned close to the纨绔's ear and whispered, "Under normal circumstances, I would let you pass. But would you mind taking a look up at the city wall? His Majesty the Emperor is watching from there. Are you sure you want to mess with me?! If you anger His Majesty, I wonder if your father will protect you?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lixun's face turned pale instantly. He stiffly turned his head to look at the city wall, only to find that the Meridian Gate had opened a crack, and a eunuch walked out from inside. Zhu Lixun's heart skipped a beat, thinking: It's all over.

"What are your orders, Eunuch Wang?!" Wang Lin asked, bowing respectfully.

Wang Chengen glanced at Zhu Lixun with disgust, then pointed at him and said, "Take him down. His Majesty wants to interrogate this man personally."

"Understood!" Wang Lin's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and his face showed excitement.

He stepped forward and kicked Zhu Lixun, pinning him face down on the ground. Then, his men skillfully retrieved ropes and bound Zhu Lixun tightly.

The servant boy immediately knelt on the ground, his face deathly pale. His master was, after all, of noble birth, and at most he would be reprimanded a few times. But to appease the emperor's anger, this wicked servant was probably doomed; even if the emperor didn't kill him, the Duke would not spare him.

The people had originally come to see the lanterns, but they never expected to have the chance to witness such a grand spectacle. When they saw Zhu Lixun arrested, they erupted in cheers. Among the crowd, a few who recognized Zhu Lixun immediately tried to squeeze through the throng and run off to warn others.

Zhu Youjian was in a bad mood. Ironically, this was the first time since he ascended the throne that he had seen the people under his rule, the abstract concept transformed into concrete individuals.

He was just observing the spirit of the people of the Ming Dynasty with great interest when this dramatic scene unfolded.

Wang Lin personally carried Zhu Lixun to the top of the city wall. He then left Zhu Lixun behind, bowed, and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Your subject, Wang Lin, Commander of the Golden Guard, pays respects to Your Majesty."

"No gift."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." "Your Majesty, I have captured the traitor and await Your Majesty's judgment."

"Who is this person? How dare he offend you?" Zhu Youjian asked.

“This man claims to be the second young master of the Duke of Cheng’s mansion,” Wang Lin replied.

"You are Zhu Chunchen's son?!" Zhu Youjian frowned.

"Yes, yes... Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was confused for a moment and disturbed Your Majesty. I know I was wrong..." Zhu Lixun said incoherently.

"You should be glad it's the Lantern Festival today. I won't keep you here. Fine you ten thousand taels of silver. Commander Wang, release that servant and tell him to tell Zhu Chunchen to bring ten thousand taels to ransom his son," Zhu Youjian said calmly.

"Damn it, that son of a bitch Zhu Chunchen, he's a pig and a dog, I really want to slaughter this family..." Zhu Youjian cursed inwardly.

In the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Li Zicheng's army besieged Beijing. He himself did not even think he could actually capture the city and was still extorting the title of Prince of the Northwest from the emperor. As a result, Duke Zhu Chunchen of Cheng secretly opened the city gates and went to welcome the imperial army.

Beijing fell so inexplicably, stunning Li Zicheng. He had fought for three years, nearly killing himself, but unexpectedly, Beijing fell so easily.

"You've had a hard day patrolling the city. After your shift, come to the palace for the banquet. I'll treat you to Yuanxiao (sweet rice balls)." Zhu Youjian patted Wang Lin's arm armor and said.

I had heard that the emperor liked to win people's hearts, and today I saw that it was true. But even knowing this, Wang Lin still wanted to cry. Their Jinwu Guard was originally the 26th Guard of the Imperial Guard, the emperor's personal guard. How prestigious they were! But now they have been reduced to being hampered by the Ministry of War, bowing to civil officials, and being ordered around.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!" Wang Lin prostrated himself on the brick wall and shouted.

Zhu Youjian frowned slightly. He didn't like people kneeling down so easily. Kneeling didn't represent loyalty; it was just formalism. But no one else seemed to see anything wrong with it. Instead, they looked at Wang Lin with envy.

"Get up quickly," Zhu Youjian said helplessly.

"Yes! Your subject takes his leave." Wang Lin bowed and clasped his hands, then took three steps backward, determined to complete the entire etiquette.

Just as he turned around, Zhu Youjian called him back.

Zhu Youjian rummaged around in his sleeve for a while. There was a large pocket in the sleeve, which had a large capacity and could hold a lot of things, but it had no compartments, so it was hard to find things.

Finally, Zhu Youjian took out a few gold beans from his sleeve pocket. Under Wang Lin's puzzled gaze, Zhu Youjian stuffed the gold beans into his hand and said, "These are for that soldier. Consider them compensation for his fear and a reward for his loyalty."

"Tell him for me that you are the Emperor's personal guards, and you need not fear these imperial relatives and nobles. Just follow the rules and perform your duties diligently. If you are in the right, I will help you. If you have been wronged, come and beat the Dengwen Drum, and I will stand up for you."

Wang Lin stood frozen, clutching a few gold beans. He walked down the city wall and looked up at the warm winter sun. His eyes felt like they were filled with sand, stinging and blurring his vision. In his heart, Wang Lin cursed, "You dog emperor, I, Wang Lin, have fallen for your trick! I've sold my life to you!"

"What, Commander Ma, why are you looking at me like that?!" On the city wall, Zhu Youjian asked Ma Xianglin, the commander of the White-pole Guard, with his hands outstretched. "Is there something dirty on me?!"

"Your Majesty, no!" Ma Xianglin's face twitched.

"Oh, I see, you want gold beans too." Zhu Youjian suddenly realized, and then began to rummage through his sleeve again.

"I've given away all my gold beans," Zhu Youjian said regretfully. "But I still have a piece of jujube paste cake, would you like some?"

Zhu Youjian, as if performing a magic trick, produced a flattened jujube cake from his palm and presented it to Ma Xianglin like a precious treasure.

After thanking the emperor, Ma Xianglin accepted the jujube paste cake bestowed upon him and began to eat it; he was indeed quite hungry. Ma Xianglin didn't cry; the emperor was just like that, strange and unpredictable, reliable and unreliable—he was used to it.

(End of this chapter)