Di Ming

Chapter 463 Conferring the Title of King of Wu!

The officials and common people of the Southern Dynasty never expected that the Northern Dynasty's massive army of 200,000, which had marched south with great momentum, would surrender without fighting a single battle after crossing the river.

They did not come to attack the Regent, but to seek refuge with him.

It was a false alarm!
The Southern Dynasty, on the contrary, gained over 100,000 more troops. This was undoubtedly a great boon for the Southern Dynasty.

Mr. Zhihu is truly a reincarnated star deity blessed with good fortune.

The court and the public alike were completely convinced of Zhu Yin's methods. Even the most cunning and secretive enemies had to admire his abilities.

...

Zhu Yin's conferment of titles this time was only to reward the generals of the Northern Dynasty who had surrendered and changed their allegiance; it did not involve generals who had quelled the rebellion, such as Qin Liangyu and Yang Yinglong.

Zhu Yin planned to wait until Yang Yinglong, Song Wanhua, and others entered the capital before bestowing rewards upon the generals who had contributed to suppressing the rebellion.

Zhu Yinzhen truly loved the people like his own children. Upon returning to the capital, he immediately ordered the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War to reward the soldiers and distribute military pay, new clothes, coal, and other items.

Even the Japanese soldiers who were once enemy soldiers, later prisoners of war, and now incorporated into the Ming army were given rewards.

The Jurchen prisoners of war intended for the invasion of Burma, though not yet incorporated into the Ming army, were properly housed at the Great Training Ground to prevent them from freezing or starving to death.

Providing compensation to fallen and wounded soldiers is also an urgent matter.

Xu Wei personally visited the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to urge officials in both ministries to handle the matter quickly and meticulously.

Although the court had lost a quarter of its officials, which slowed down its work efficiency considerably, under Xu Wei's urging, these official duties were still completed within a few days.

Compared to the Northern Dynasty, which was notorious for its procrastination and lengthy affairs, especially when it came to rewarding soldiers, the Southern Dynasty was several times more efficient.

Xu Wei was in charge of these military affairs, while Zhu Yin was filling the hundred or so vacant official positions in the court.

Right now, countless people, both in and out of government, are watching these hundred-plus vacancies!

However, after the great victory in suppressing the rebellion and the Xiaoling Incident, Zhu Yin's authority became even greater, and no one dared to take the initiative to seek official positions, for fear of arousing the resentment of the Grand Tutor Regent.

Only Xu Wei openly recommended his fellow townsman: Tu Long, the eccentric genius of Yue!

Zhu Yin certainly knew Tu Long. This man was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and very talented. However, because of his unrestrained and unconventional behavior, he was not tolerated in officialdom and had been dismissed from office for ten years, blacklisted, and never to be employed again.

Tu Long was a man of genuine character. Although he was not tolerated by the sanctimonious and hypocritical gentlemen, he was a true gentleman.

Tu Long was also one of the most popular candidates to be the author of *Mei Ping Jin* in later generations. Although Zhu Yin knew that the book was written by Xu Wei, Tu Long was a popular choice in that later era.

Coincidentally, not long after Xu Wei recommended Tu Long, Zhu Yin received a letter of recommendation from his teacher Shen Yiguan, who also recommended Tu Long.

The teacher recommended Tu Long not only because he was very talented, but also because Tu Long hoped to win the coup and believed that he was the hope of the Ming Dynasty and was on his side.

This surprised Zhu Yin greatly.

It seems that Tu Long is not only insightful but also has a broad perspective. Based on this alone, he surpasses 90% of upright gentlemen!

Zhu Yin admired Tu Long even more. Considering that Tu Long was a genuine Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and had served as an official in the court in the past, he immediately ordered Tu Long to be reinstated and appointed him as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

Reinstated means he is a third-rank official, becoming a high-ranking minister in the imperial court!

This is to fill the vacancy left by Xu Shen.

The Ministry of Justice was originally ranked low among the Six Ministries, only ahead of the Ministry of Works. However, in Zhu Yin's plan, the Ministry of Justice would be a very important ministry, a crucial instrument for strengthening the rule of law in the Ming Dynasty.

Given Tu Long's personality, he would also be well-suited to be in charge of legal reform.

Upon receiving the order, the Ministry of Personnel immediately went through the formal process of recommending Tu Long to the emperor, and then the Grand Secretariat drafted the appointment of Tu Long as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

Tu Long suddenly became the second-in-command of the Ministry of Justice. Jian was favored by the Grand Tutor and was extremely popular, which made many officials envious.

Next, Zhu Yin issued another order to appoint his confidants and talented individuals from the Xuan Society to fill the vacancies.

Jiang Dongzhi, a veteran member of Zhu Yin's faction, was the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review in Beijing a few years ago. He is currently serving as the Right Vice Minister of the Censorate in Nanjing. Now, he has been promoted by Zhu Yin to Minister of Revenue, filling the vacancy left by Li Tingji and becoming one of the Nine Ministers.

Qi Cai, also a veteran member of Zhu Xi's faction and Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, was promoted to Minister of Rites, ranking among the Nine Ministers, and filling the vacancy left by Fan Lun.

Zhu Guozhen, a senior official in the Ministry of Personnel, was promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief, ranking among the Nine Ministers, and filled the vacancy left by Wen Chun.

Liu Yuanzhen, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, was promoted to Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs and ranked among the Nine Ministers.

Feng Menglong, a clerk in the cabinet who had passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-three, suddenly became the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War! He filled the vacancy left by Zhong Zhenji!
Gao Panlong, a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, was promoted to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites!

The veteran members of the Xuan Society, such as Zhu Yin's old friends Mo Shao, He Bi, and Han Shang, all entered officialdom, becoming either vice ministers or ministers of the court. They all rose from the ranks of imperial students to high positions!

He also appointed nearly a hundred other talented individuals from the Xuanshe (a secret society) directly to official positions, such as censor, supervising secretary, principal officer, and assistant director.

Zhu Yin had not forgotten his old strategist, Shang Yang, who was now the governor of Jingzhou (Luzon). He ordered Shang Yang to be recalled to the capital, relieved of his post as governor of Jingzhou, and appointed as the Minister of Personnel!
The position of Minister of Personnel has been held concurrently by Zhu Yin for the past few months, originally intended for his old colleague Shang Yang.

There is one old friend I haven't forgotten: Zhuang Tingjian.

Four or five years ago, Zhuang Tingjian's term as magistrate of Jiangning was about to expire. He went to Beijing to look for connections, and Zhu Yin easily helped him secure the lucrative position of prefect of Huzhou.

Zhuang Tingjian has now been the prefect of Huzhou for four years.

Zhu Yin, with a stroke of his pen, appointed Zhuang Tingjian as the Governor of Zhejiang and concurrently as the Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, so that he could firmly keep an eye on Zhejiang.

The former governor of Zhejiang had secretly participated in the coup and was arrested by Huya. He was about to be taken to the capital.

That wasn't all; Zhu Yin then appointed a large number of his own talented individuals to fill vacancies in local official positions.

Zhu Yin's actions went beyond mere nepotism; they were a blatant violation of the Ming Dynasty's civil service examination system and an open attempt to undermine the imperial examination system.

A large number of scholars who had passed the imperial examinations (xiucai, jiansheng, juren) suddenly rose to high positions, becoming important ministers in the court and local officials!

Zhu Yin's actions, seemingly driven by personal motives, were actually motivated by a desire for the public good.

First and foremost, he selected people based on their talent and moral character. Even a county magistrate was someone he had assessed as a capable individual.

We will absolutely not use inferior materials.

Secondly, given the current situation, in order to completely control the government and implement reforms, he must appoint members of his own faction without being bound by convention.

If we don't do it this way, can we really implement reforms and change the world by relying on the conservative officials who have an absolute majority?

Absolutely impossible!

Of course, the conservative officials would never accept his good intentions. Nor could he explain them to them.

All I need to do is be worthy of the world and worthy of the Ming Dynasty!

...

Zhu Yin's arbitrary selection of his cronies, disregarding the national selection process, immediately angered many conservative officials who had passed the imperial examinations, and further fueled the dissatisfaction of the gentry and aristocratic families.

Many officials who passed the imperial examinations in both the provincial and municipal levels could not rise to the third or fourth rank even after many years. However, those scholars, students of the Imperial Academy, and graduates of the provincial level who had never held official positions rose to high positions simply because they were close associates of Zhu Yin!
When one person attains enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!

Is this acceptable? Where are the ancestral rules of the Ming Dynasty? What dignity is left for a person who has passed the imperial examination and holds a prestigious degree?
The Jiangning clan's methods of seizing power are truly appalling!
When the news spread, countless conservative bureaucrats and gentry were filled with rage.

However, Zhu Yin now holds absolute power and has just quelled the rebellion in the southwest, crushed the Xiaoling Incident, and subdued the Northern Dynasty's army. He is at the height of his power and influence. Even if they harbor resentment, they dare not speak out.

Left with no other choice, they could only secretly write poems and books, doing their utmost to curse, insult, and ridicule.

However, a new wave of upheavals against Zhu Yuanzhang, triggered by this incident, began to sprout uncontrollably!
...

On the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Yin ordered She Chongming and An Bangyan to be executed by slow slicing on charges of instigating a rebellion and harming the people.

The male members of the She and An clans who were captured and brought to the capital by Song Wanhua and Yang Yinglong were all beheaded, while the children and women were confiscated as government slaves and distributed to meritorious officials.

Those who followed She Chongming and An Bangyan in their rebellion, including their non-royal generals and minor nobles, were killed, and their relatives and clansmen were all enslaved.

The rebellious forces in Yongning and Shuixi were completely wiped out and eradicated. Two people were executed by slow slicing, more than 500 were beheaded, and more than 7,000 were enslaved by the government.

The million serfs enslaved by the two chieftains were suddenly registered as commoners of the Ming Dynasty.

Thus, the two major chieftains who ruled Yongning and Shuixi vanished without a trace.

Zhu Yin announced the abolition of the hereditary chieftain system and the implementation of Sinicization in Yongning and Shuixi. At the same time, the fiefdoms of Qi Jiguang and others were all settled in these two places, becoming miniature fiefdoms in Yongning and Shuixi.

The regent's harsh treatment of the rebellious chieftains severely deterred the nobles of the southwestern tribes. Many chieftains rushed to send their sons to the capital to pay tribute, and some even petitioned to personally come to the capital to pay homage.

...

On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Yin once again bestowed titles upon meritorious officials.

Yang Yinglong was enfeoffed as Marquis of Zunyi, Song Wanhua as Marquis of Guiyang, and Ma Qiancheng as Marquis of Xinxi. These were all county marquises, with fiefs of sixty li. The reason for such high titles was that they were all Tusi (local chieftains), feudal lords by nature, and had entered the system with their own capital. Their fiefs were originally within their hereditary territories.

According to Zhu Yin's plan, in the future, apart from their legally granted fiefdoms, all hereditary territories beyond those fiefdoms will be subject to the policy of replacing native chieftains with direct imperial administration!
He also bestowed the titles of Wu Zhongnan upon Lancha, Ying Ruinan upon Mao Wenlong, Ying Yongnan upon Cao Wenzhao, Wu Xinnan upon Meihe, Ying Zhinan upon Niman, and Zhong Ruinan upon Kangxi…

Qin Liangyu was also granted the title of County Lady (equivalent to a Marquis). Ding Hongying, Galo, and Jin Yunniang were all granted the title of Township Lady (equivalent to Barons).

According to Zhu Yin's reforms to the nobility system, there will be no distinction between imperial nobility and commoner nobility in the future. Apart from the titles of Prince and Princess, all other titles, including Prince of the Commandery and Princess of the Commandery, can be granted to meritorious officials of different surnames.

That's the magnanimity of Zhu Yin!

This was not merely to reward merit and win over officials, but also to establish a more rigorous, rational, and grand system of meritorious nobles, to create a new group that could internally counter the conservative civil officials, gentry, and local chieftain separatist forces, and externally pursue an expansionist policy.

It's essentially about elevating the status of the core base.

Many of Zhu Yin's long-time subordinates and confidants received rewards, making everyone happy. The only ones who didn't receive titles for the time being were the generals of the Jinghai Army.

...

On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Yin presided over the court assembly and announced another momentous event that shook the court and the public: Jingzhou (Luzon) in the South Seas, Dongning (Treasure Island) in the East China Sea, and Jeju Island would become new territories of the Ming Dynasty!

Jingzhou was established as a province, with the Jingzhou Provincial Administration Commission set up, comprising eight prefectures and sixty-four counties.

Dongning was established as a province, with the Dongning Provincial Administration Commission set up, comprising three prefectures and eighteen counties.

Jeju was established as a directly governed prefecture, under the jurisdiction of Songjiang Prefecture.

A new Zhoushan Prefecture was established, comprising three counties.

At this point, the entire maritime territory of the Jinghai Army was incorporated into the Ming Dynasty!

For the first time in 170 years since Emperor Xuande abandoned the frontier, the territory of the Ming Dynasty has expanded, adding two provinces and one prefecture!
The Zhoushan Islands have also fully restored their county system.

At the same time, Zhu Yin issued an edict in the name of the emperor, officially changing "Chengxuanbuzhengshisi" to "province". Before this, "province" was just a common name, not a legally recognized institutional name. The legal name for all provinces in the Ming Dynasty was "Chengxuanbuzhengshisi" from beginning to end.

Zhu Yin changed the name of the department to the province, obviously to simplify the title and follow custom.

Accompanying the edict to "change the administrative division to a province" was the "Edict to Encourage Immigrants to Reclaim Wasteland":
"The imperial court will be responsible for sea transport for all Ming people who voluntarily immigrate to Jingzhou Province and Dongning Province. Regardless of gender or age, resettlement money and grain will be distributed according to population: five taels of silver, five shi of grain, two bolts of cotton cloth, and thirty jin of salt per person."

"For every ten people, they will be given one ox, one mule, two sets of farm tools, and two looms..."

"Each person may receive up to twenty mu of permanent farmland upon reclamation, and will be exempt from taxes for five years. Any surplus qualified farmland reclaimed beyond twenty mu will be purchased by the imperial court as official land at a high price of one tael per mu." "The artisans who migrate here will be exempt from all taxes and unpaid labor for ten years upon opening any shops..."

"Scholars who are willing to go to Jingzhou and Dongning provinces to serve as county magistrates, assistant county magistrates, or registrars, as long as they have the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination), can recommend themselves to the Ministry of Personnel, participate in the examination, and be selected based on merit."

"Scholars who are willing to serve as prefects, assistant prefects, or vice prefects in the two provinces will be selected based on merit, as long as they have the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination).

"Scholars who are willing to go to the two provinces to become teachers will be selected as eighth-rank officials after five years."

"Anyone who goes to these two provinces to do business, fish, or cultivate estates will be exempt from taxes for five years..."

"Children born to immigrants who survive to the age of three will receive a reward of two taels of silver from the government to help raise them..."

"All new and old immigrants to the two provinces will be exempt from the poll tax..."

Zhu Yin's comprehensive set of preferential immigration policies is truly sincere and thoughtfully considered. All the concerns of immigrants have been addressed.

For displaced people and tenant farmers who had lost their land, this was a dream come true!

Even though the Chinese are attached to their homeland, Zhu Yin believed that once this edict was issued, at least a million poor people from the south would be willing to migrate to the two provinces within three years.

At least a million Han Chinese will immigrate to the two provinces, and within twenty years, the two provinces will become true Han lands!

This edict caused a sensation both inside and outside the country. Many people never expected that the Regent Grand Tutor would bring two provinces of territory to the Ming Dynasty and also plan a large-scale emigration overseas!

Migranting people overseas to reclaim wasteland costs a lot of money and supplies. Zhu Yin, Xu Wei, and Ning Caiwei calculated that for each migrant, the imperial court would have to spend twenty taels of silver.

If the imperial court were to send one million people overseas within three years, it would cost twenty million taels of silver. That's an average of seven million taels per year, an extremely heavy burden.

Given the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty, it would have been impossible to implement such a massive immigration plan.

But Zhu Yin made a fortune again this time, becoming extremely wealthy and not afraid to spend money at all!
The She and An families were both powerful chieftains with long histories, accumulating astonishing wealth. With the confiscation of the property of these two chieftains, the nobles and heads of Yongning and Shuixi, both large and small, also had their property confiscated.

The total amount of private property of nobles that was registered, confiscated, and put into government possession was 14.3 million taels of silver (including silverware), 680,000 taels of gold (including goldware), 130,000 oxen, 220,000 mules, more than 400 elephants, and more than 1.8 million mu of fertile land.

Other grains, jewelry, shops, houses, minerals, and artifacts are difficult to assess in value, and may be worth millions of taels of silver!

Zhu Yin destroyed the wealth accumulated by the two chieftains, including gold and silver worth 20 million taels of silver!

The wealth accumulated by the nobles of Yongning and Shuixi over hundreds of years suddenly benefited Zhu Yin.

It certainly didn't benefit Zhu Yin personally, but rather his Nanjing court.

In addition, there was an enormous windfall: the private property of three or four hundred rebellious officials!
According to Huya's report, the total value of all movable and immovable property is estimated to be at least 80 million taels of silver! It will only be an underestimation, not an overestimation.

Among them, the gold and silver in movable property alone amounted to more than 30 million taels of silver!

Among real estate holdings, there are as many as six million mu of fertile land!
Among the officials whose homes were confiscated, the wealthiest family was the Xu family of Huating, also known as the Xu family of Xu Jie. They belonged to the top gentry families in Jiangnan and were the only top gentry family whose homes were confiscated this time.

The Xu family alone had over four million taels of gold and silver confiscated, along with over 300,000 mu of fertile land. The paintings, jewelry, and antiques were countless!
In addition to the silver confiscated from various tax authorities in the south that has not yet been spent, the Nanjing treasury has nearly 60 million taels of silver in its reserves!
What is this concept?
Even at its wealthiest since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the combined national treasury and imperial funds didn't amount to this much. The year Emperor Wuzong confiscated Liu Jin's property, it was only half that amount!
This is just silver, not including the tens of millions of fertile fields and millions of bushels of grain!

With silver, grain, and government-owned land stored up, it suddenly became the wealthiest period in history!
It is evident how much wealth the Southern Dynasty's treasury had amassed under Zhu Yin's ruthless manipulation.

With 60 million taels of silver confiscated from the national treasury, why would Zhu Yin care about the cost of emigrating overseas?

The figures compiled by the officials of the Ministry of Revenue were enough to make them utterly astonished by Zhu Yin. With so much money in the national treasury, being an official in the Ministry of Revenue must be incredibly easy!
After receiving the various statistical reports, Ning Caiwei, this business prodigy felt quite uneasy and even became somewhat withdrawn.

She painstakingly built Ningyin Trading Company into the largest commercial group in China over ten years, but the money she has earned through business means is only a little over ten million.

However, through armed robbery and confiscation of property, he amassed a windfall of over 100 million (including real estate)! That's ten times more than what he could have made through commercial means!
...

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, heavy snow fell again, and every household drank Laba porridge.

Ning Caiwei and Ning Qingchen, along with Ying Ning, hid in the warmest pavilion in the mansion, enjoying a blissful winter.

Having endured the wind and snow outside, Zhu Yin returned to the mansion and went to the warm pavilion in the backyard. The first thing he told Ning Caiwei and her sister was some unsurprising news:

"Changluo and the Empress Dowager want to take the initiative to bestow upon me the title of Prince of Wu, and to make me regent as a prince."

The warm pavilion was cozy and cozy, with a fireplace, underfloor heating, and a fireplace. As soon as Zhu Yin entered, it felt like he had stepped into an air-conditioned room.

Ning Caiwei took off Zhu Yin's cloak, personally ladled a bowl of Laba porridge for him, and handed it to him with a sweet smile:

"Then you're the Regent, the Imperial Uncle Regent..."

"Alright then." Zhu Yin took a sip of the perfectly warm Laba porridge. "Don't mention that bastard Dorgon, I hate him."

After drinking a couple of mouthfuls of porridge to warm herself up, she took her newborn, beautiful daughter from her sister-in-law's hands, kissed her, and smiled, "Yingning smells so good."

Xiao Hei came in covered in snowflakes, and just as he was about to shiver, Ning Caiwei stamped her foot and said, "Go outside and shake it off! This is the warm room!"

Xiao Hei had no choice but to crawl through the curtain again and go outside to shake off the snow that covered his body before crawling back in to drink porridge. Then he sat in front of the stove to dry his fur.

Ning Qingchen, with her hair styled in two topknots, asked with a mature and experienced expression:
"Little Tiger, is the young emperor feeling complicated? You are his uncle, but a descendant of Jianwen. Can he really accept that?"

Zhu Yin shook his head. "You underestimate him. Changluo suffered bullying in the cold palace since childhood and was constantly indifferent to his father, so he has a very strong rebellious streak. He hates his father and has no sense of identity with his own lineage. He is a rebel against his father. Do you expect him to protect Zhu Di's lineage? He doesn't even want to be emperor, so why would he care that I am a descendant of Jianwen?"

“I can tell that he doesn’t really care about family seniority, which shows that he lacks identification with the royal family. He wants me to always be his teacher, not his uncle.”

"He told me that although the teacher is my royal uncle, I only want to be the teacher's disciple. It is clear that in his heart, no family elders such as the emperor or royal uncle are as close as his teacher."

Ning Qingchen asked, "Then why did he still want to appoint you as the King of Wu?"

Zhu Yin smiled and said, "This child is smart and sensible, and it's also because I taught him well. A good drum doesn't need a heavy hammer. He knows that if I want to succeed to the throne in the future, I need to have royal status. He's endorsing me and paving the way for me. Of course, it's better for him to bring it up than for others to do so."

Ning Caiwei asked, "If you agree, he will issue the decree. You agree?"

Zhu Yin shook his head. "I didn't agree at first. Conferring the title of Prince of Wu is no small matter, especially since he is the regent. It can't be done so hastily. Besides, I'll be leading a southern expedition to Burma after the New Year. Where would I find the time to deal with the matter of conferring a title? I plan to wait until after I've dealt with Burma and Annam, when my achievements are greater, before conferring the title. By then, public opinion will be more favorable."

"But Changluo persuaded me. He said that many officials resent me now, and the common people may also be influenced by the scholars and have misunderstandings. If I establish the title of prince as soon as possible and have the qualifications to become emperor, it will shut up the gossip of those petty people."

Ning Caiwei nodded and said, "Chang Luo has really grown up. He's starting to think about you now."

Zhu Yin looked pleased. "This disciple wasn't spoiled in vain. He really treats me like his father. The Empress Dowager's idea is to first confer the title of King of Wu and establish his status. It won't be too late to hold the formal conferment ceremony after the triumphant return from the southern expedition next year."

"Only then did I agree. The imperial decree has probably already been issued."

Just as Zhu Yin was speaking, Kangxi's voice suddenly came from outside: "My lord! Good news! An imperial edict has been issued, bestowing upon you the title of Prince of Wu!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of firecrackers crackling came from the courtyard.

Suddenly, cheers and clamor erupted throughout the entire Ningguo Duke's mansion.

Even Little Black darted out like an arrow.

Immediately someone shouted, "Eunuch Zong has arrived!"

It turned out that it was Zong Qin, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who personally came to read out the imperial edict conferring the title of Prince.

Soon, the imperial edict spread throughout Nanjing, adding a unique festive touch to this snowy Laba Festival.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the first year of the Taichang reign, Emperor Taichang officially issued an edict acknowledging Zhu Yin's status as a member of the imperial clan, recording his name in the imperial genealogy, and confirming him as a seventh-generation descendant of Emperor Jianwen, and his generation as an imperial uncle.

Therefore, the emperor's uncle Zhu Yin was enfeoffed as the Prince of Wu, ranking first among the princes, and appointed as regent!
Nearly two hundred years later, the King of Wu reappeared in the Ming Dynasty!

.........

This winter in Beijing, the snowstorms are even stronger and the weather is even colder.

During this period, charcoal prices were high, making it difficult for many poor people to keep warm.

Every day, refugees and beggars who had frozen to death were carried to Zuowangzhuang for cremation.

However, compared to the icy and snowy landscape, news from the south would send an even more chilling feeling through the court.

Inside the Wenhua Hall, the floor heating and charcoal stoves burned brightly. The vast hall was not cold at all. The Crown Prince, Grand Secretaries, and high-ranking officials who were discussing state affairs were all somewhat drowsy.

Consort Zheng, however, was in good spirits. She had just visited the West Garden and spent the night with the Emperor, who was in a good mood and did not suspect that the court had misappropriated the imperial treasury.

Well, by now, Qi Jiguang's army has already crossed the Yangtze River and should have reported back by the river, right? Qi Jiguang is a renowned general with a hundred battles under his belt, and he's very reliable in leading troops in battle, so it shouldn't be wrong.

"Grand Secretary Shen, has the Ministry of War not yet issued any new reports from the south?" Consort Zheng asked with a radiant expression. "Judging by the timeline, Qi Jiguang should have already besieged Nanjing, right?"

Shen Li, who was in charge of the Ministry of War, perked up and said, "Not for now, but it should be soon."

Consort Zheng smiled and said, "Gao Huai, the Grand Secretaries are all tired. Have the Imperial Kitchen prepare some ginseng soup and heat up some milk, so that the gentlemen can rest and rejuvenate."

Grand Secretary Wang Xijue, his eyesight failing, glanced at Consort Zheng and couldn't help but yawn.

Zhang Jing was unusually restless today. He excused himself and left the palace, hoping to clear his mind. Just as he stepped out of the palace gate, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from the direction of Wenyuan Pavilion. Then, he saw Shi Xing, the Minister of War, running over in a panic, his official hat askew.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Jing's heart skipped a beat.

"Lord Zhang!" Shi Xing, not even having time to shake off the snow, held up a report and said in a trembling voice, "News has come from the Yangzhou Imperial Guard by fast horse. Qi Jiguang... has rebelled! He has led the southern expeditionary army and surrendered to Zhu Yin..."

What? Zhang Jing's mind went blank, and his vision went black.

"Lord Zhang!" Shi Xing shouted, "Quickly report to the Crown Prince Regent and the Imperial Concubine!"

Then, Consort Zheng's voice, clear and melodious like pearls falling from a jade plate, rang out from inside the hall: "Zhang Jing, what has happened? Has Tang reported for duty?"

Zhang Jing glanced at the report, his heart suddenly racing, his eyelids twitching violently, and his legs cramping slightly. He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his shock and anger, took the report, and turned to enter the hall with a livid face.

When everyone in the hall saw Zhang Jing enter with a grim expression, their hearts sank instantly.

"Your Majesty! Young Master!" Zhang Jing knelt down with a look of grief and indignation, holding up the report with both hands, "That traitor Qi Jiguang! He has rebelled! He led an army of over 100,000 and surrendered to Zhu Yin without fighting a single battle!"

"He didn't go on a southern expedition; he voluntarily led his army to surrender!"

What? Upon hearing this, Consort Zheng, the Crown Prince, Wang Xijue, and the others all changed their expressions drastically!
"Qi Jiguang led his army to surrender to the false dynasty?" Consort Zheng said dryly, "That's impossible, isn't it?"

She opened her mouth, as if her throat was being choked, and could only point and report.

Zhang Jing immediately stood up and delivered the report to Consort Zheng.

Consort Zheng took the item and her hands immediately trembled. Then the gold hairpin on her head trembled uncontrollably, and her whole body began to shake.

Her stunningly beautiful face slowly became contorted, and the veins on her once fair and rounded forehead became unusually prominent!

Immediately, a woman's sharp shout echoed throughout the entire Wenhua Hall:

"Qi Jiguang! I will kill you! I will exterminate your entire clan!"

"You're so old, and you still dare to lie to me! I'll kill you!"

……

P.S.: I'm so tired, I'm off! Thanks, goodnight! For those of you who can create illustrations, please add pictures to the characters in the book!

(End of this chapter)