Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 54 One side on the left, one side on the right

The blood of nearly a hundred people filled the large bowl that Wang Chengen had brought over.

The blood-infused liquor slid down the rim of the bowl, appearing extremely eerie under the lamplight, as if some kind of ritual was being performed.

Not to mention that the main hall of the Qianqing Palace was eerily quiet at this moment.

Everyone silently, yet almost fanatically, took the sword from the person in front of them.

Then, with a self-destructive ferocity, he slashed his palm and dripped the blood into a bowl.

If a timid person saw this scene, they would probably be so frightened that they would collapse to the ground.

Time slowly passed in this eerie scene.

As the last person in the hall finished performing the ceremony, everyone stopped what they were doing and stood quietly watching Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian picked up a wine cup that had been prepared and poured a cup of blood wine from the large bowl.

Following his action, the rest of the people also picked up their wine glasses and took the blood wine from the bowl.

When everyone raised their wine cups, Zhu Youjian drank the blood wine, which was filled with the smell of rust, in one gulp.

Without pausing, everyone drank the blood wine together.

These were about a hundred officials and military officers who were not even very familiar with each other.

In this simple and brutal way, Zhu Youjian molded it into an unbreakable lump of refined iron.

no way.

As the supreme ruler, the emperor personally took the lead in making such a move.

How could these officials, who were originally part of the imperial party, not dedicate everything to the great goal of restoring the Han dynasty?
Moreover, for many people, this is their own grand ambition.

Until the group left the palace.

They were still replaying in their minds the unforgettable scene that had just taken place in the hall.

However, the crowd was filled with an irrepressible excitement.

Even under such circumstances, they did not make any unnecessary noise.

No one talked about what had just happened, no one chatted, and everyone just exchanged glances before dispersing in silence.

The most powerful organization is the one that remains silent but shares a common goal.

Three days later.

Fengtian Temple.

Zhu Youjian summoned his ministers and announced at the court meeting that he would be going on an inspection tour that day.

These words caused a stir throughout the court.

Several hundred officials were lined up inside the Fengtian Hall, except for a small number who already knew about the matter in advance.

Most of them were still in a state of confusion.

Just as things were starting to look up in the capital, the emperor suddenly decided to go on an imperial tour. What was his purpose?

But after the shock.

The group immediately put the emperor's purpose for his tour out of their minds and began to ponder another, more important question.

After the emperor leaves the capital, no matter how much prestige he accumulates in just one month, a power vacuum will inevitably emerge.

It is foreseeable that the power struggle in the imperial court will inevitably escalate to an extremely fierce level.

Therefore, we must take advantage of this time to quickly choose sides.

Otherwise, regardless of whether the emperor can successfully return to the capital after a period of time, those who haven't moved on will eventually die without a burial place.

For ordinary people to think they can sit on the fence and reap the benefits without doing anything is simply wishful thinking; the first to fail will be the centrists.

The thoughts of the officials began to churn uncontrollably.

When the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet heard the news of the Emperor's tour, they were timely and alarmed, and hurriedly led a group of officials to kneel down and remonstrate with His Majesty.

The group was heartbroken and cried out that His Majesty must not do such a dangerous thing.

That expression made it seem as if he was even more heartbroken than if his own mother had died.

The imperial faction, eunuchs, and military officials and nobles also stood up quietly to offer their advice.

In the imperial court, officials offered their advice and remonstrances.

Faced with the kneeling crowd offering their advice, Zhu Youjian simply instructed that after his departure, all affairs of the court should continue as before.

He then left Fengtian Hall and went directly to Wansui Mountain.

Wansui Mountain Martial Arts Arena.

All the troops that Zhu Youjian brought on his inspection tour have been assembled here.

The Shenwei Battalion, dressed in black, stood in formation at the front, flanked by thousands of elite soldiers selected from the Beijing Garrison and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

At this moment, the more than 5,000 people were in high spirits, and a large amount of supplies, such as cannons, breech-loading cannons, muskets, and heavy cavalry armor, were neatly arranged on the wagons.

Zhu Youjian, dressed in light armor and riding a tall, fine horse, looked at the crowd and nodded slightly.

"Set off."

With a command from Zhu Youjian.

Five thousand men marched out of the palace from Wansui Mountain in a grand procession.

The officials who had just been weeping and pleading for help in the Fengtian Hall were now all silent, not one of them standing up to offer any further advice.

Some uninformed feudalist fighters initially tried to kneel in groups on the road leading out of the palace to persuade the emperor.

But looking at the civil service group and the imperial faction that has been slowly gaining momentum in the court recently, not a single person has stepped forward.

In addition, the scene of trampling a third-rank official to death in front of Xuanwu Gate a few days ago was still fresh in his mind, so he dared not be the first to stick his neck out.

For the officials and civil servants, for various reasons and purposes, none of them really stood up to offer advice anymore.

But the emperor left the capital.

As officials, they still had to perform all the farewell rituals properly.

Outside the palace.

On the wide Tianjie Avenue.

All the officials of rank in the capital knelt on both sides of the street to see off the emperor's carriage.

at the same time.

Many eyes were also fixed on the direction the emperor's carriage was heading.

When they saw the group of people heading towards the west gate, Huang Lijie and Li Guopu both subtly twitched their eyes.

Heading west, that most likely means going to Hebei.

After the emperor's entourage slowly disappeared on the main street.

The officials who had been kneeling on both sides slowly got up from the ground.

The Emperor has already left the capital.

Without this constraint, the power struggle in the capital will officially enter a fierce stage.

Leaving aside the officials who haven't yet had a chance to choose sides...

At the front of the line.

Huang Liji glanced at the royalists standing opposite him, seemingly noticing something different in their expressions.

However, he didn't think much of it and simply turned and left.

One side is on the left, and the other side is on the right.

Although the two sides are separated only by a main street, they are already as incompatible as fire and water.

From both sides' perspectives, there is no right or wrong.

Yes, it's just a simple life-or-death struggle.

Outside the capital.

After exiting the west gate.

Xiao Hongzi rode his horse to the front of Emperor Zhu Youjian's carriage, knelt down, and asked, "Your Majesty, where do we go next?"

Although they had made some preparations for the inspection tour, no one knew where the final destination would be.

But that doesn't matter. They will go wherever His Majesty tells them to.

"First, we will go to Zhen Ding Prefecture in Hebei."

Zhu Youjian had already looked at the map and was traveling from the capital to Shaanxi.

The most suitable route is: Beijing – Hebei Zhending Prefecture – Shanxi Pingding Prefecture – Shanxi Pingyang Prefecture – finally cross the Yellow River into Shaanxi.

The journey would have been slightly more convenient if it had gone through Baoding, Hebei.

But Zhu Youjian was naturally aware of this.

The hometowns of Huang Lijie and Li Guopu, two members of the cabinet, are Daming Prefecture and Baoding Prefecture, respectively.

He has no interest in wasting time in Hebei right now.

Given the transportation capabilities of that era, even if he traveled non-stop for a whole day, it would still take him a full twenty days to get from the capital to Shaanxi.

Now that we have decided to address the urgent needs of Shaanxi, not a single minute or second can be wasted on the journey.

Therefore, avoiding Baoding Prefecture is the best option.

(End of this chapter)