Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 44 A Triumphant Beating of a Censor

The next morning, around dawn, while the capital was still pitch black, the Forbidden City was already brightly lit.

In the master bedroom of Kunning Palace, Zhu Jue was sitting upright in front of the bronze mirror, waiting to finish washing and grooming.

Princess Zhou stood behind him, personally combing his hair with a comb.

At this time, she has not yet been made empress, because according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, when the emperor dies, his body must be kept in the Renzhi Hall for at least eighty-one days.

In other words, she will have to wait another two months before she can become empress.

However, she no longer cared.

This was all because her husband, the emperor, treated her very well. He not only dined with her every day, but also rested in Kunning Palace every night, never staying overnight in the inner palace.

More importantly, the emperor is becoming more and more handsome.

Back when they were at Prince Xin's residence, he only thought his husband was handsome.

After her husband became emperor, he grew more and more imposing and heroic, captivating everyone who looked at him.

Before she knew it, little stars were appearing in her eyes again.

Zhu Juena was also enjoying a rare moment of warmth.

Who would have thought that someone would be so oblivious as to disturb them at this time?

Fang Zhenghua suddenly called out in a shrill voice from the doorway, "Your Majesty, something has happened outside."

Upon hearing this, Princess Zhou was so frightened that she almost dropped her comb.

Can't you wait a bit before saying it, buddy?

Zhu Jue said irritably, "What is it? Come in and talk."

Fang Zhenghua hurriedly entered and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the officials from the outer court are gathering outside Xi'an Gate. There are already dozens of them, and they are all holding memorials in their hands. Their expressions are also quite unpleasant."

These guys are trying to force me to resign!

That's how the civil officials in the outer court were; if the emperor didn't listen to their advice, they would force him to abdicate.

Emperors are generally helpless when faced with a coup by their ministers, because these men claim to be acting in the best interests of the country and its people, and to be emperors in the best interests of the people. Dealing with them would earn them the infamy of persecuting loyal officials!

However, he is different; he has someone to take the blame, so the blame doesn't fall on him.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then decisively said, "Summon Wei Zhongxian to come and pay his respects."

At this moment, Wei Zhongxian got up.

He just hadn't expected that the current emperor would summon him to Kunning Palace so early.

Now that he has handed over the Imperial Guards and the Eastern Depot, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards are not allowed to stay in the capital at night, he has no idea what is happening outside.

However, no matter what, the current emperor cannot be kept waiting.

He jogged all the way to the master bedroom of Kunning Palace, and respectfully bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then feigned a sigh and said, "Zhongxian, I've angered the officials in the outer court so much to protect you. They're instigating the censors to gather outside Xi'an Gate in preparation for a coup. What do you suggest we do?"

what?
Censors are forcing the emperor to abdicate!

This is a bit difficult.

If you don't let me use force, then there's simply no way to stop me.

Wei Zhongxian's eyes darted around for a moment before he forced himself to say, "Your Majesty, the only solution now is to fight. Fight them so badly they can't even crawl in, then let's see how they manage to force the palace."

Yes, that's what I think too.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "You said it yourself."

I was right.

Oh, so this means I'm being made a scapegoat again.

I've gotten used to taking the blame for so many times, it doesn't bother me anymore.

Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, it was this servant who said it. His Majesty didn't say anything. His Majesty didn't know about this matter. This servant took it upon himself to do so."

Hmm, you've got some skills in your head.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "How do you plan to fight?"

Uh, is there any other way to fight this? Wouldn't it be enough to just beat them up?

Wei Zhongxian cautiously suggested, "Your Majesty, how about using a whip?"

Sure enough, you just wanted convenience, so the Embroidered Uniform Guard had a riding whip.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly, then asked, "Do you know how Chen Hong beat you?" Chen Hong?

Which one was from the Jiajing era?
I wasn't even born when that guy hit people, how would I know?

Wei Zhongxian shook his head awkwardly and said, "This servant does not know."

You do not know?

That's just a fictional scene in a play, or are you simply ignorant?

That's alright, if you don't know, I'll teach you.

Zhu Jue carefully instructed, "A whip only hurts a little when it hits through clothes, but if it tears the clothes, it looks terrible. You can't beat them until they're covered in blood, so that the common people will sympathize with them."

You have to order people to beat them with sticks, you know? It hurts a lot when you're hit with a stick, but it's not visible from the outside, and it won't tear their clothes. Then you have people deliberately shout at them, asking why they're pretending to be pitiful. Ordinary people will think they're faking it, you know?

Well, I never paid attention to these things before, which made everyone think I was a heinous villain.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, this servant understands."

Once you understand, go do it right away.

Zhu Jue immediately waved his hand and said, "You should quickly go out through the left Chang'an Gate, gather your men at the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters, have them prepare sticks and clubs, and then go around to the Xi'an Gate from Chang'an Street."

okay!

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian immediately bowed and took his leave, then ran away in a flash.

Soon, he led a group of trusted men on horseback from the left Chang'an Gate to the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) headquarters and made a great show of shouting.

These days, sticks are easy to find, because many people in the city burn firewood. Wealthy families all have woodsheds, and the firewood is piled up in bundles, filling the entire house. Moreover, the firewood is at least three or four fingers thick, and it's common to see pieces as thick as an arm. As for anything thicker, it's unusable; it would kill someone.

Wei Zhongxian ordered the Imperial Guards to go out and bring back an unknown amount of firewood. He then ordered people to select the most suitable firewood and trim off the branches and leaves. Afterward, he led several thousand Imperial Guards armed with clubs from West Chang'an Street to the outside of Xi'an Gate and shouted loudly: "What are you doing? Don't you know this is the gate of the imperial city? You dare to block this place and cause trouble? You've gone too far!"

We've turned the world upside down.

You're the one who's really gone too far!
Those who can be swayed are all greenhorns who have just entered officialdom.

They are not afraid of Wei Zhongxian at all.

"You treacherous eunuch, you're the one who wants to turn the world upside down!"

"You are lawless!"

"You are the greatest treacherous eunuch of all time!"

"You beast who harms loyal and good people!"

Soon, hundreds of officials were cursing and hurling insults.

Oh dear, how dare you insult this humble scholar?
Good scolding!

The scholar was just looking for an excuse to take action.

Wei Zhongxian feigned anger and said, "How dare you insult me! Beat me!"

The Imperial Guards behind him immediately swarmed forward and began to beat him mercilessly with sticks.

These guys aren't good at fighting, but they're pretty professional at beating people.

If they wanted to kill him, they would aim specifically for his head.

If you just want to beat someone so badly they can't even crawl, then focus on their hands and feet.

On the other hand, those clueless young men who couldn't even kill a chicken didn't realize how powerful they were at first. Some of them kept cursing, while others fought back.

However, they were quickly beaten to the ground, screaming in agony.

When Wei Zhongxian saw that the Xi'an gates were open and many people who originally wanted to enter the imperial city were stuck around and unable to get in, he immediately waved his hand and said, "Drag them all to the side of the road and beat them. Don't let them get in the way."

The Imperial Guards immediately dragged these officials to the roadside like dead dogs and gave them another beating.

As they hit him, they shouted, "What are you pretending for? Weren't you so arrogant just now? You're crying so pitifully after just a few hits? Are you all women?"

我们!

Upon hearing this, the officials still let out a series of miserable cries.

There's nothing I can do, it hurts.

Seeing that the officials had been beaten so badly they couldn't move and were too weak to even cry out, Wei Zhongxian waved his hand and said, "Send them all to the Censorate and let Li Kuilong investigate them thoroughly to see who instructed them to cause trouble in the capital."

This guy was so smug, his nostrils were practically pointing to the sky.

You bunch of trash, if I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know how many eyes the Ninth Thousand Years Old Grandfather has!
(End of this chapter)