The Ming Dynasty began in the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign.

Gao Wencai and Fang Zhenghua escorted Emperor Chongzhen and the Crown Prince to Yongding Gate. The defensive situation on the city wall infuriated Emperor Chongzhen.

There were only about a thousand soldiers defending this section of the city wall. Some soldiers were sleeping by the crenellations, while others were resting in various places. Less than half of them were actually standing guard.

The bandits are about to besiege the city. The capital should be on high alert and ready to fight at any time. But at this time, the morale of the defending soldiers is completely low. How can they defend the city?

Looking at the state of the Ming garrison, Chongzhen's eyes turned bloodshot. He wanted to kill, but with so many soldiers so lax, who could he kill?

The crown prince beside Emperor Chongzhen was also surprised. Although he knew the capital's defenses were weak, he hadn't expected it to be like this...

"No wonder Li Zicheng's army was able to enter the city so easily!"

……

Upon seeing an army arrive, the soldiers slowly rose, looking listlessly at Emperor Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang.

"Where is Zhu Chunchen?"

"I ordered him to guard the city, but why is he nowhere to be seen?"

Unable to tolerate it any longer, Emperor Chongzhen roared at the soldiers...

Upon hearing the person before them address themselves as "朕" (Zhen, meaning "I, the Imperial Censor"), the soldiers realized the Emperor had arrived and hastily knelt down. A captain cautiously said:

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Cheng visited two days ago, but has not yet set foot on the city walls..."

The Duke of Cheng was one of Chongzhen's most trusted nobles, yet he carried him around in such a manner with a formidable enemy at hand. Chongzhen was so angry that he trembled and could not speak for a long time.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Cilang hurriedly asked:

"Soldiers, are your pay being issued on time?"

The commander shook his head and returned the greeting with clasped hands:

"No, the Beijing garrison hasn't received a single penny of pay for over half a year, and many soldiers are starving while guarding the city..."

Zhu Cilang shook his head helplessly. The soldiers' pay was so badly owed that their families were starving. Who would be willing to go hungry to defend the city?

"Da da da..."

Just then, another group of people arrived from below the city. The newly appointed commander of the Beijing Garrison, Earl of Xinjian Wang Xiantong, led three thousand Tongzhou soldiers.

Upon seeing Emperor Chongzhen there, Wang Xiantong was greatly surprised and hurriedly stepped forward to bow in respect.

"Your subject, Wang Xiantong, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"No need for formalities!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Wang Xiantong thanked the emperor and rose.

Emperor Chongzhen asked sternly:

"With hundreds of thousands of troops in the Beijing garrison, why are there only a thousand or so men with no morale at Yongding Gate? If they are all like this, wouldn't the capital be in grave danger...?"

Although Chongzhen was very angry, he knew he couldn't blame Wang Xiantong, who had just taken office. He wanted to find out the situation first.

Wang Xiantong hurriedly cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, I have investigated and found that the city's defensive forces number over 30,000, which is already the entire strength of the capital garrison. If the rebels attack the city, the dozens of miles of city walls will not be able to be fully defended. I urge Your Majesty to urgently deploy troops for defense, otherwise..."

It was obvious that the more than forty-mile-long city wall of the capital was not even enough to fill the entire defensive position, let alone defend against hundreds of thousands of bandits.

Emperor Chongzhen was stunned when he heard this. The Beijing garrison's military pay was usually in the hundreds of thousands every year, but now there were only more than 30,000 soldiers, and they hadn't received their pay for half a year.

"Where are the soldiers? Where is the money?"

"Zhu Chunchen, I trusted you so much, and the Duke of Cheng's mansion has shared the fate of the nation for over two hundred years, yet you repay the Ming Dynasty in this way..."

If Zhu Chunchen had been present, Emperor Chongzhen would have killed him without hesitation...

Emperor Chongzhen was stubborn, but not stupid. At this moment, he was very clear that the capital seemed to be indefensible. Did he want the emperor to die for the country?

He was in a bad situation, but those treacherous officials deserved to die even more. Chongzhen decided to immediately return to the palace and summon the officials, nobles, and their servants to defend the city. Anyone who dared to refuse would be killed!

……

Upon returning to the capital, Emperor Chongzhen immediately issued an edict ordering all ministers and nobles to attend a meeting, with latecomers to be fined 50,000 taels of silver…

……

Hall of Supreme Harmony

This time, Emperor Chongzhen replaced the Great Han General with Gao Wencai and Fang Zhenghua. Zhu Cilang stood in the court for the first time, with Gao Wencai and Fang Zhenghua standing on either side of him...

Upon learning that the rebels had captured Changping, the officials knew that all was lost and closed their gates, preparing to surrender after Li Zicheng entered the city.

Their mansion gates were repeatedly knocked on by the Imperial Guards:

"His Majesty has decreed that all ministers and nobles must immediately appear at court; those who disobey will be executed without mercy!"

"The Ming Dynasty is about to fall, what's the point of holding court?"

The officials did not want to go out, but considering that the bandits had not yet attacked the city and that Emperor Chongzhen still held the reins of power in the capital, they reluctantly got up and headed to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

On the Jinshui Bridge, Wei Zaode and Chen Yan met. Chen Yan whispered:

"Your Excellency, Wu Sangui has no intention of coming to the emperor's aid. The court has no one left to rely on. Why is the emperor holding a meeting at this time?"

Wei Zaode shook his head:

"The rebels have swept through the enemy lines like a whirlwind, and the government troops have surrendered at the mere mention of their name. The Ming Dynasty's fate is sealed. Listen carefully to what the emperor has to say in court; too much talk leads to mistakes, so be careful not to say the wrong thing..."

The Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, instead of finding ways to serve the country at a critical moment, was trying to evade his responsibilities!

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan nodded in agreement:

"The Grand Secretary is right; we can simply watch the show..."

……

After an incense stick had burned, only half of the civil and military officials had arrived. Emperor Chongzhen remained silent, simply looking at the memorial in his hand.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Wang Chengen was quietly recording the list of late officials. Another half incense stick had passed, and there were still ministers and nobles who had not arrived.

In the main hall, the officials behaved in various ways. Some closed their eyes to rest, some whispered among themselves, and others kept glancing at Emperor Chongzhen and the Crown Prince out of the corner of their eyes.

They were curious as to why the Crown Prince, who had never attended court before, was here for this occasion. Perhaps Emperor Chongzhen wanted the Crown Prince to experience the atmosphere of the court, but alas…

After another half incense stick's time, dozens of people still hadn't arrived. Many ministers were getting impatient and were about to step forward to present their memorials when Emperor Chongzhen slowly put down his memorial.

His gaze swept across the faces of the assembled officials, noticing that most of them looked bewildered, showing no sign of worry whatsoever.

Emperor Chongzhen felt a pang of sorrow. These ministers were all people he valued, so why were they all treacherous and wicked?

Suppressing his anger, Emperor Chongzhen coldly asked:

"My lords, the bandits are about to besiege the city. Do you have any plans to defend against them?"

No one submitted a memorial; the Hall of Supreme Harmony was eerily quiet, as if Emperor Chongzhen had just let out a fart…

Emperor Chongzhen looked coldly at Wei Zaode and asked indifferently:

"Chief Minister Wei, as the head of all officials, are you only capable of flattery? The court is in dire need of capable people now, why do you remain silent?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zaode immediately knelt down and kowtowed:

"Your Majesty is wise; your subject will heed your words!"

……

Wei Zaode was extremely sparing with his words. No matter what Emperor Chongzhen said, Wei Zaode would repeat the same phrase, which infuriated Chongzhen to the point of liver pain.

He then asked several ministers, who all knelt and kowtowed, offering no suggestions. Finally, Chongzhen lost his temper and began to curse loudly:

"A bunch of mediocre officials, what use are you to the court? Even if you keep a pack of dogs, they'll bark a few times when their master is bullied. You're not even as good as dogs..."

Chongzhen's words made the officials blush with embarrassment, but they remained silent, and some even cursed Chongzhen in their hearts.

Emperor Chongzhen could easily see through his ministers' intentions, so he simply went all in:

"Since you are all pretending to be deaf and dumb, I will no longer seek your advice. Issue an edict that all servants in the residences of civil and military officials shall go to the city to assist in the defense of the city. Those who disobey the order shall be killed without mercy."

Anyone who is late for today's court assembly will be fined 50,000 taels of silver as a reward for the soldiers. Those who disobey will have their homes confiscated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard...