The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 300 Officials Exempt from Transportation

Despite Zhu Youjian's tearful complaints about the "shortage of the imperial treasury" in his edict, which made him appear like a patriarch on the verge of bankruptcy, borrowing money from nobles and eunuchs to support the army, he was not fooled.

In fact, Emperor Chongzhen's private treasury was always full, and the amount was probably quite astonishing.

According to Zhao Shijin, a survivor of the Jia Shen Incident and a former official of the Ministry of Works, in his book "Chronicle of the Jia Shen Incident":

After Li Zicheng's army captured Beijing, "the imperial treasury still had over 30 million taels of silver and 1.5 million taels of gold."

Zhang Zhengsheng, another official at the time, who was also the Director of the Department of Military Affairs in the Ministry of War, stated in his "Records of the Two Plains":
"Li Zicheng seized over 90 million taels of silver from the imperial treasury, half of which was gold."

Yang Shicong's account in "A Brief Account of the Verification of the Jia Shen Year" is a more moderate one:
"The thieves broke into the palace and looted a total of 37 million taels of silver and several tens of thousands of taels of gold from various treasuries."

"Those who were employed by the Ministry of Revenue received less than 400,000 in remittances and donated only 200,000."

While these figures vary considerably and cannot be entirely trusted, they all clearly point to one fact:
Even at the very last moment before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial treasury still contained a considerable amount of gold and silver.

Emperor Chongzhen's pleading of poverty to his ministers was nothing more than a trick he had long been accustomed to playing.

His ultimate goal was to get ministers and nobles to donate generously to fight for his Zhu family.

Although these bureaucrats and nobles were no good either, they were all corrupt by nature.

But if the emperors are guarding their own mountains of gold and silver and not giving away a single penny, who would be willing to be the sucker and pay for the Zhu family's money?

Left with no other choice, Emperor Chongzhen had to forcibly borrow a considerable amount of silver from the nobles and eunuchs through imperial edicts.

After raising the necessary funds and supplies, Zhu Youjian immediately issued an edict ordering all troops to rush to the capital to defend the emperor.

General Liu Zeqing of Shandong led 5,000 troops, while General Wang Zhong and Deputy General Meng Ruhu of Shanxi led 4,000 troops.
Wang Pu, the general of Datong, led 5,000 troops, while Dong Yongwen, the general of Baoding, led 1,000 troops.
The most important of these was the order to Zu Dashou, the general of Yongping at Shanhaiguan, to lead 15,000 Guan Ning cavalry to defend the capital.
At the same time, he ordered Guan Ning, Jizhou, Miyun and other places to send another 17,000 troops, led by Zu Dale, Li Chongzhen, Ma Rulong and others, to go to the capital together.

However, the selection of the commander of the loyalist army sparked a fierce debate in the court.

Originally, according to Zhu Youjian's intention, as soon as Zu Dashou came from Liaodong, he would be appointed as the commander of the entire army.
Then, Gao Qiqian, the eunuch in charge of the Guan Ning Army, was appointed as the chief supervisor, with one in the inner circle and the other in the outer circle, to jointly lead the army into battle.

But when he proposed this candidate in court, all the officials and civil servants fell silent.

Who in the capital doesn't know that many of Zu Dashou's nephews and nieces had long since surrendered to Huang Taiji and were serving as officials and leading troops in the Later Jin?

People like Zu Zerun, Zu Kefa, and Zu Zehong—who can guarantee that there weren't relatives of Zu Dashou among the Qing army that invaded this time?

Who can guarantee that Zu Dashou himself is absolutely reliable?

After all, Zu Dashou had a history of mutiny and fleeing during the Jisi Incident.

Although there are extenuating circumstances, the Qing army is currently wreaking havoc around the capital. Who can feel at ease letting a general with such complicated relationships with the enemy and a criminal record lead the army to defend the emperor?

Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen was determined to use Zu Dashou, the civil officials came up with a clever idea: "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao".

They submitted petitions one after another, focusing their efforts on impeaching Zhang Fengyi, the current Minister of War.

The grounds for impeachment are also quite sufficient:

As Minister of War, you, Zhang Fengyi, have not only accomplished nothing during your tenure, but have also made numerous serious mistakes.

Moreover, officials at all levels began to investigate Zhang Fengyi's past.

This guy was a member of the eunuch faction during the Tianqi era, and he even shamelessly built a shrine for Wei Zhongxian.

He only escaped punishment during the purge of the eunuch faction because he was a border official.

Today, the humiliating destruction of the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum and the Qing army's unimpeded passage have all occurred during Zhang Fengyi's tenure, and he is responsible for every single one of these incidents!

If you don't step forward to solve the problem, you'll be punished by His Majesty.

Faced with the surging discussions in the court, Zhang Fengyi finally could no longer remain silent.

He was genuinely afraid of being beheaded by Emperor Chongzhen, after all, Wang Qia, the Minister of War, had been imprisoned and executed by Chongzhen after the Jisi Incident.

Left with no other choice, Zhang Fengyi had to bite the bullet and step forward to address Chongzhen:

“Zu Dashou does have flaws and is not suitable to command the entire army.”

"If Your Majesty has no suitable candidate, I...I am willing to volunteer to be the commander-in-chief and go to the front lines to coordinate the various armies in order to defend against the enemy."

Seeing that Zhang Fengyi had volunteered, Zhu Youjian, who was having a headache from the arguing of the civil officials, was actually somewhat moved.

So many years have passed, and finally, in the face of the invasion of the Eastern Barbarians, there are ministers who are willing to step forward, take on responsibilities, and shoulder their duties!

He immediately promised to allocate 12,000 taels of silver and 500 blank reward plaques to Zhang Fengyi, and instructed him to listen carefully to the arrangements made by Zu Dashou and Gao Qiqian at the front line.

At the same time, Zhu Youjian allocated 30,000 taels of silver and 1,000 reward plaques, ordering them to be sent to Shanhaiguan immediately for Gao Qiqian to collect.

Chongzhen's meaning was very clear:

Your abilities, Zhang Fengyi, are only so-so. Then go and lead the other royal troops.
As for the true core force, the Guan Ning Army, it was still entrusted to the two "professionals," Gao Qiqian and Zu Dashou, for command.

To be fair, Zhu Youjian has finally made some progress this time, and his various arrangements are relatively sound.

But he never expected that Huang Taiji outside the Great Wall had already laid a contingency plan.

Upon receiving Emperor Chongzhen's order, Gao Qiqian of Shanhaiguan immediately set off to discuss the matter of defending the emperor with Zu Dashou.

Zu Dashou's only concern was the defense of forward fortresses such as Jinzhou and Ningyuan after he led the main force away.

But the emperor's decree was hard to disobey, and Chongzhen was pressing him very hard.

The two had no choice but to allocate troops, arrange defenses, and prepare to enter the capital to defend the emperor.

It would take at least a month for the army to assemble in the Ningjin area and then travel to Beijing.

But Huang Taiji didn't give them that time at all.

Just as Zu Dashou began his mobilization, Dorgon, Dodo, Yuetuo, Hauge, and others led their troops in two separate groups and marched toward the border.

One Qing army launched a large-scale raid on Jinzhou, while another route circled around to Zhonghousuo (now Suizhong, Liaoning) behind Ningyuan.

Huang Taiji's strategic goal was very clear:
Instead of seeking to conquer cities and seize territory, the goal was to hold back Zu Dashou and the main force of the Guan Ning Army, preventing them from entering the pass.

Faced with the large-scale movements of the Qing army outside the pass, how could Zu Dashou dare to enter the pass?
He immediately submitted a memorial to the court, stating that the military situation outside the pass was urgent, and that he himself was in dire need of protection, making it impossible to spare the main force to defend the emperor.

When Chongzhen received the report, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, and his last hope was dashed.

Left with no other choice, he even began to seriously consider whether he should transfer Hong Chengchou or Lu Xiangshan back to the capital to take charge of defense.

But Zhu Youjian's deep hatred for the peasant army still made him grit his teeth and withstand the pressure.

As a last resort, he had no choice but to place his hopes for defending the capital region and driving out the Eastern barbarians on Zhang Fengyi, Liang Tingdong, the governor of Xuanda, and Gao Qiqian.

Emperor Chongzhen knew in his heart that these three men were probably unreliable, and he had already lowered his expectations of them to the bare minimum:
You don't need to kill generals and seize flags or defeat the Eastern Barbarians; as long as you can find a way to drive the Eastern Barbarians out of the pass, that will be a great achievement.

However, to Chongzhen's utter surprise, these three clowns, as soon as they took office, joined forces to stage an astonishingly absurd drama.

Just as the three were heading to the capital, Ajige and Abatai unexpectedly ran into trouble in Dingxing County to the south.

Faced with the Qing army's approach to the city, the soldiers and civilians of Dingxing County were united in their hatred of the enemy and held their ground to the death, even resorting to a scorched-earth policy.

Under the organization of the prefect and a retired local gentry, the Qing army fought for six or seven days but still failed to capture Dingxing County.

Ajige worried that if this precedent were set, nearby prefectures and counties would follow suit and defend to the death, so he made up his mind to attack and break through the city at all costs.

Ultimately, with the combined efforts of Ajige, Abatai, and others, the Qing army finally captured Dingxing County at the cost of the death of a low-ranking officer, Batmadar.

After the city fell, the Qing army discovered that the commander of the defense was Lu Shanji, an old friend of Yuan Chonghuan, a former subordinate of Sun Chengzong, and who had served as a scribe in the Liaodong army.

Although his military abilities were mediocre, he was very good at organizing defenses and boosting morale, and he was also a long-time adversary of the Qing army.

Upon hearing this news, Ajige finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It turns out they were just unlucky and ran into a tough opponent; not all Ming soldiers suddenly became capable fighters.

So he immediately led his troops north to continue attacking nearby prefectures and counties, and within half a day, Fangshan and other places were successively captured.

After the Qing army had spent so many days in Dingxing County, Zhang Fengyi, Liang Tingdong, and Gao Qiqian, the "three giants," finally arrived in the capital at a leisurely pace and began to discuss strategies for defending against the enemy.

Although none of these three men were experts in military affairs, they all shared a clear and common understanding:

If Zu Dashou's main force from Guan Ning cannot come, this battle is impossible to win.

So the three of them came up with an extremely unethical and shameless plan: to remain inactive.

Once the Qing army had looted enough and was about to retreat, they would symbolically follow and "pursue" them.

They could also borrow the heads of refugees or their own defeated soldiers to fabricate war achievements and fool the enemy.

With the plan settled, the three men gritted their teeth and led the loyalist army south, arriving in Zhuozhou and setting up camp, watching the Qing army plunder from afar.

When Ajige learned of the arrival of the main Ming army, he simply ordered them to ignore them and continue looting. He would retaliate if the Ming army dared to pursue them.

Seeing this, Zhang Fengyi and Liang Tingdong were at a loss, caught in a dilemma.

However, Gao Qiqian, who had long served on the border and had seen the world, and Wang Pu, the general of Datong, came up with a "solution".

They secretly slipped back to Dingxing County, which had been ravaged by the Qing army, and searched through the ruins and piles of corpses abandoned by the Qing army, attempting to cut off their heads and claim credit for their crimes.

Unfortunately, before retreating, Ajige had ordered all the bodies of his fallen men to be burned, leaving the two men with nothing.

Left with no other choice, Gao Qiqian and Wang Pu had to steel themselves and order the heads of the civilians who had died in the city to be cut off, repaired, and then taken back to the Zhuozhou camp.

Using these heads, the two of them lied and claimed that they had repelled the Qing army attacking Zhuozhou, which finally fooled them.

Seeing the Ming army hesitate to advance, Ajige became even more emboldened.

He then divided his forces and captured more than a dozen prefectures and counties, including Wen'an, Yongqing, Xiongxian, and Anzhou.

A small group of Qing troops even penetrated deep into Mozhoukou and ran into the troops of Liu Zeqing, the Shandong general who had come to "serve the emperor".

Upon seeing the Qing army, Liu Zeqing was terrified and immediately ordered his troops to form a defensive formation.

That Qing army unit was only sent out to plunder; seeing that the Ming army was numerous and powerful, they retreated on their own.

After the Qing army had gone far away, Liu Zeqing shamelessly reported to Emperor Chongzhen that he had fought a bloody battle with the Qing army at Mozhou Pass and successfully repelled them.

Emperor Chongzhen, far away in the capital, was unaware of the situation and even issued an imperial edict to commend Liu Zeqing.

By this time, Ajige and Abatai had already made a fortune.

Because they had captured too many people, livestock, and valuables, and their army was too bloated, they finally decided to withdraw.

Ajige divided his forces into two routes, with himself leading the main force to make a show of force in Zhuozhou to intimidate the main Ming army.

Abatai led his troops to seize border forts along the Great Wall and was responsible for transporting the spoils of war out of the pass.

Of the three leaders in Zhuozhou City, Zhang Fengyi and Liang Tingdong had completely given up, while only Gao Qiqian was still pretending to command the army.

But he didn't dare to step forward and fight; he just went through the motions.

Abatai was able to successfully transport the tens of thousands of people, livestock, and property he had captured northwards, and sent someone to inform Ajige to prepare for evacuation.

At this time, Ajige, who was in charge of the rearguard, had only a little over a thousand men left by his side because he had been constantly sending troops to escort people, livestock and valuables.

Ming scouts discovered that the Qing army was outnumbered. Zhang Fengyi, Liang Tingdong, and Gao Qiqian felt that their opportunity had come and finally mustered up their courage to order a pursuit.

As soon as the Ming army left the camp, Ajige decisively led his more than a thousand elite troops in a counterattack, once again storming into Xiong County and looting it.

This actually violated Huang Taiji's instruction of "not draining the pond to catch all the fish," but Ajige had no other choice at the time.

He had to bluff; if the Ming army saw through his true strength, he would truly have no way to return.

This trick really worked.

When Zhang Fengyi and his two companions heard that the Qing army had launched a counterattack, they were terrified and immediately ordered the entire army to retreat to their camp, never daring to utter the word "pursuit" again.

Seeing this, Ajige felt reassured and led the rearguard troops to retreat rapidly northward, successfully joining forces with Abatai in the Miyun area.

When Zhu Youjian heard in the capital that the main force of the Qing army had gathered in the Miyun and Pinggu areas, preparing to calmly cross the border, he was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

He issued several stern edicts, denouncing Zhang Fengyi and others for their incompetence, and ordering the loyalist army to immediately head north in pursuit, forbidding them from retreating to the south and hesitating to advance.

Under the emperor's strict orders, the three leaders reluctantly led their troops northward.

By the time they arrived in the Miyun area, the Qing army had already been gone for some time.

At this moment, the supervising eunuch Gao Qiqian was almost in despair. "I'm just a supervising eunuch."

In the past, when I followed Zu Dashou and Wu Xiang, I didn't have to worry about fighting at all.

Now that I'm working with those two idiots Zhang Fengyi and Liang Tingdong, how come in the end they want me, a spineless eunuch, to take charge of military affairs?
What exactly are Zhang and Liang thinking?
Aren't they afraid of being executed by His Majesty and having their heads displayed along the nine border regions? And what is Ding Kuichu, the Governor-General of Jiliao, doing? Why isn't he intercepting the Tartars along the Great Wall?!

Although Gao Qiqian was afraid, he was even more afraid of being punished by Emperor Chongzhen.

Left with no other choice, he had to take a desperate gamble and managed to catch up with Ajige's army.

At this moment, Ajige and Abatai were escorting the last batch of spoils, slowly retreating northward along the border wall.

During this period, the Qing army was complacent and overconfident.

Ajige even ordered his soldiers and captured civilians to drape themselves in the stolen floral fabrics, making them all dressed up in flamboyant attire.

The Qing army played music, sang, and danced all the way, as if they were celebrating the New Year at a market.

If the Ming army's border forts along the way were poorly defended, they would take the opportunity to plunder them.
If the Ming army was on high alert, they would greet them from afar and mock them.

Their arrogance made them seem to disregard the Ming army.

And so, the Qing army swaggered through the city and arrived near Yongping Prefecture.

Zhang Fengyi and Liang Tingdong were completely desperate.

Recalling the Jisi Incident, Huang Taiji personally led the main force of the army to invade, but he still didn't dare to be so presumptuous.

Now, these two mere Ajige and Abatai are treating the capital region of the Ming Dynasty like a latrine, coming and going as they please, as if it were their own territory.

Yuan Chonghuan was executed by being cut into a thousand pieces back then, so what good could possibly come of them?
Knowing he was doomed, Zhang Fengyi devised a brilliant way to escape punishment—to commit suicide by eating rhubarb.

Rhubarb is a traditional Chinese medicine. Overdose can lead to chronic poisoning, which can cause diarrhea, dehydration, and even death.

Although the process was painful, it could create the illusion that he had "died from overwork due to excessive concern for the country," and perhaps even protect his family from being implicated.

So Zhang Fengyi stopped caring about military affairs and simply hid in the military camp, eating rhubarb every meal, preparing to fake his death from overwork.

After Liang Tingdong discovered Zhang Fengyi's "secret," he was terrified and completely lost his composure.

If Zhang Fengyi dies, wouldn't all the blame fall on him?
So Liang Tingdong gritted his teeth and started eating rhubarb as well.

The two men ate the rhubarb as their main meal, hoping only to die quickly.

Even at this point, Zhang Fengyi still didn't forget to "make the performance complete," and had someone carry him to the front line in Qian'an.

While "directing" the interception of the Qing army, he suffered from persistent diarrhea, creating an utterly absurd scene.

Liang Tingdong, on the other hand, didn't even bother to pretend anymore and simply stayed near Jizhou, waiting to die without moving.

When the news reached Gao Qiqian's camp, the supervising eunuch was nearly driven mad with anger.

He was just a mascot used by the emperor to monitor the army, how did he become the commander-in-chief in the blink of an eye?

Left with no other option, Gao Qiqian gritted his teeth and led his army to continue the "pursuit".

During the journey, the Qing army even deliberately stopped and fired a cannon randomly in the direction of the Ming army camp, which almost startled Gao Qiqian so much that he fell off his horse.

Even so, he still dared not give up the pursuit, and could only stick to the Qing army like a piece of chewing gum, carrying out formalism to the end.

Along the way, Gao Qiqian did not win a single battle, but was repeatedly mocked by the Qing army.

At this point, the Qing army had completely let loose, with some getting drunk and others dancing, and military discipline had become extremely lax.

Liu Jinghui, the military supervisor of Yongping Prefecture, could no longer stand by and watch, and in anger, he led a contingent of Ming troops in a proactive attack.

This attack actually succeeded in allowing him to successfully raid a Qing army force of over a hundred men in Zaohe Village, Qian'an, and annihilate them completely.

This small team was a Qing army escort, and everyone was completely drunk.

But the most ridiculous thing is that after Liu Jinghui took stock of the more than one hundred people after the war, he found that there were very few genuine Manchurian Tartars among them.

Most of them were prisoners who had followed the Qing army around eating, drinking, and having fun.

Having had enough fun, Ajige finally ordered the entire army to leave the pass through Lengkou Pass.

Before leaving, he was still eager to continue his journey and ordered a large wooden sign to be erected along the Great Wall, on which four large characters were prominently displayed:

"No need for officials to see me off!"

Then he swaggered away with his army.

Thus, from the time Ajige led his troops into the pass from Xuanda and then out of the pass from Lengkou, it took several months and a total of 179,820 people and livestock were captured.

The Qing army itself suffered only four officers and seventy-five cavalrymen killed in action.

The sheer scale of the victory, the minimal losses, and the stark contrast were astonishing.

Huang Taiji was generally very satisfied with Ajige's performance in this unprecedentedly successful looting operation.

They only gave a slight verbal reprimand for their overly arrogant and absurd attitude during their withdrawal.

If they encountered a Ming general who knew how to choose the right moment to fight, wouldn't this attitude lead to a huge loss?

Of the four Qing officers who died in this battle, besides Batmadar, who died during the assault on Dingxing County;
None of the other three died from the pursuit of the Ming army; they were all killed by the resisting Ming soldiers and civilians while attacking cities along the way.

Even one of the officers, named Budai, was killed by fleeing Ming soldiers while attacking Changping.

Changping fell without a fight due to internal strife, yet Qing soldiers still suffered casualties.

It's truly heartbreaking.

It can be said that as long as the Ming Dynasty could feed its soldiers on the front lines;

If every prefecture and county could organize an effective resistance like Dingxing County;

If Zhang Fengyi, Liang Tingdong, and Gao Qiqian had even a little bit of knowledge about seizing opportunities, or even a little bit of shame and courage;

Ajige's journey into the Central Plains this time will never have been so easy and pleasant, with such a bountiful return.

Commanders like Dorgon, Dodo, Yuetuo, and Hauge in Liaodong faced Zu Dashou's elite Guan Ning troops and basically gained nothing, eventually having to withdraw their troops and return to Shenyang.

After the main Qing army force crossed the border, Gao Qiqian immediately led his troops to search back and forth near the border wall.

Heaven rewards those who persevere, and he finally found three Qing soldiers who had fallen behind due to drunkenness.

Gao Qiqian was overjoyed and immediately ordered his army to surround and kill the three stragglers, finally obtaining three genuine Tartar heads.

Although it's a bit less, at least it's something.

When the three severed heads were reported to the capital, the entire city of Beijing was in an uproar.

Good heavens, after several months of back and forth, the Jurchens were able to move freely in the capital region. The court mobilized tens of thousands of troops, but in the end, they only managed to cut off three heads.

What shocked the entire court and the people of the capital even more was that, despite Gao Qiqian's incompetence, he had at least brought back three real Tartar heads.

What about the Minister of War and the Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong? What were they doing?
They can't even compare to a eunuch without testicles?

When Zhang Fengyi heard that the Qing army had arrogantly marched out of the pass and even hung up a sign that exempted officials from seeing them off, he was filled with despair.

He knew perfectly well that, given the emperor's temperament, he would absolutely not be able to tolerate such a humiliating disgrace.

Rather than being locked up and taken to the capital, where he would be subjected to a joint trial and then subjected to a thousand cuts, it would be better to end his own life quickly.

In desperation, Zhang Fengyi gritted his teeth, obtained a huge amount of rhubarb, and devoured it in the military camp.

He suffered from severe diarrhea that night and died in the military camp.

When the news reached the capital, Zhu Youjian was so angry that he almost overturned his desk.

You, Zhang Fengyi, fought a terrible battle, yet died so easily!
The emperor was still furious and ordered that Zhang Fengyi's crimes be investigated further.

When Liang Tingdong, the Governor-General of Xuanda, heard this news, his last glimmer of hope was shattered.

Recalling the horrific scene of Yuan Chonghuan being executed by slow slicing after the Jisi Incident, Liang Tingdong was immediately filled with dread.

In a moment of panic, he "accidentally" fell off his horse in Xiadian.

After falling from his horse, Liang Tingdong only lost one finger, but he shamelessly used this as an excuse to recuperate in Jizhou, hoping to delay the inevitable.

But you can't escape your fate forever. During his recovery, he became increasingly frightened and eventually followed Zhang Fengyi's example, eating rhubarb and dying from it.

Ironically, it was Liang Tingdong who conspired with Wen Tiren to accuse Yuan Chonghuan of "colluding with the enemy and betraying the country" and "holding troops but not providing aid" during the Jisi Incident, and strongly advocated for Yuan Chonghuan to be executed.

Now that he has suffered a defeat and failed in his duty, he doesn't even have the courage to face trial.

Zhang Fengyi and Liang Tingdong committed suicide one after another. Ding Kuichu, the governor of Jiliao, was also implicated and was arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and brought to the capital to be imprisoned for trial.

As for the eunuch Gao Qiqian, although he was severely criticized by the censors, Emperor Chongzhen still let him off the hook.

Ultimately, he was, after all, a trusted minister of the emperor.

Although the battle was fought in a disgraceful manner, at least they knew to pretend to chase after the Qing army. Compared to those two cowards who committed suicide by eating rhubarb, at least they had some merit.

In this farce, there was another person who was also held accountable.

He was Zhu Yujian, the Prince of Tang.

When the Qing army ravaged the capital region, Prince Zhu Yujian of Tang, who was far away in Nanyang, was extremely anxious upon hearing the news.

Unlike those princes and royal family members who indulged in wine and women, this descendant of the founding emperor was always concerned about current affairs and had a deep sense of patriotism.

Seeing the enemy cavalry rampaging and the capital under siege, he made a bold decision:
He was going to use his own money to recruit soldiers to march north and defend the emperor!
Zhu Yujian acted swiftly, quickly gathering over a thousand guards and local militia, and preparing provisions and supplies.

During the process, he submitted a memorial to the court in advance, explaining the reasons and requesting Chongzhen's approval.

When Zhu Youjian saw the Tang Emperor's petition, he was not moved, but rather flew into a rage:
It's totally treasonous!
In Chongzhen's view, it was a major taboo for the court to allow princes to command troops.

Emperor Chengzu, who was a prince, launched the "Jingnan Campaign" and seized the throne from Emperor Jianwen.

When Zhu Yujian recruited soldiers to enter the capital at this time, was he genuinely trying to protect the emperor, or did he have other intentions?

"How dare you! Who gave you the audacity!"

Inside the Wuying Hall, Emperor Chongzhen slammed the Tang Emperor's memorial to the ground.
"A prince is not allowed to leave his fiefdom without imperial decree, let alone privately amass troops! What is he trying to do? Is he going to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors in suppressing rebellions?!"

Therefore, a strict imperial edict was immediately sent to the Tang Prince's Palace in Nanyang:
No!

The Tang king must remain in his fiefdom and not act rashly!
However, Zhu Yujian didn't care about all that. He directly defied the imperial decree and led more than a thousand men out of Nanyang, heading north.

But to everyone's surprise, Zhu Yujian ran into a peasant army as soon as he arrived near Henan.

As soon as the two sides clashed, Zhu Yujian's hastily assembled Prince's Guard was routed and suffered heavy losses.

Zhu Yujian narrowly escaped danger and fled back to Nanyang in a sorry state.

But he was still unwilling to give up and thought about regrouping, raising more funds, recruiting more men, and heading north again.

But before he could set off again, the imperial edict of punishment and the newly appointed Governor-General of Xuanda, Lu Xiangshan, had already arrived in Nanyang.

"Prince Zhu Yujian of Tang has defied the imperial edict, left his fiefdom without authorization, and privately mobilized troops. His intentions are treacherous!"

"He shall be stripped of his royal title, reduced to a commoner, and exiled to Fengyang for confinement within the high walls!"

"His rabble is to be disbanded immediately!"

Lu Xiang-sheng had mixed feelings when he read the imperial edict.

He didn't know what the young prince was thinking, but this move certainly violated a major taboo of the imperial court.

Moreover, Lu Xiang-sheng had just been appointed as the Governor-General of Xuan-Da, ordered to clean up the mess, and his primary task was to stabilize order.

The Tang emperor ran right into this trap, becoming the perfect target for establishing his authority.

Zhu Yujian's face turned ashen, and he had no choice but to surrender.

This future Longwu Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty was thus shackled and taken to the Fengyang High Wall Prison.

His heroic act of "serving the emperor" turned into a complete tragedy and a joke.

After dealing with the matter of the Tang King, Lu Xiang-sheng was about to leave the Central Plains bandit suppression battlefield where he had fought for many years and head to the devastated Xuanda front.

Before leaving, Lu Xiang-sheng looked at the towering mountains in the direction of Yunxi and let out a long sigh of reluctance.

"The building is about to collapse..."

"What on earth is wrong with the Ming Dynasty?"

(End of this chapter)