I have a cornucopia

Chapter 252 Chongzhen, See Chongzhen Again

Chengtianmen.

“So these are the masterminds!”

Prince Yang, standing in front of a shop in Qianbu Gallery, looked at the Chengtian Gate.

The bloodstains in the square in front of him haven’t been washed away yet!
Qian Xi, Ge Lin and other Northern Expedition Army, or rather, dozens of his subordinate generals, stood there in the blood-stained area, led by Gu Jiang, presenting the Book of All the People to Gu Xichou, Liu Zongzhou and other officials who came out to receive them. Liu Daru, with white hair like an old immortal, was surrounded by officials and looked like the moon surrounded by stars. He solemnly took the Book of All the People from Gu Jiang's hands.

In theory, the last great Confucian scholar of the Ming Dynasty thus completed his connection with the most famous thinker among the Ming Dynasty survivors, and also the most progressive thinker in the next two hundred years.

Liu Zongzhou was the last of the Ming Dynasty.

After all, he died of hunger strike when Hangzhou fell, and never became a Qing soldier in his entire life.

As for Gu Yanwu...

Is there any other thinker in our Qing Dynasty who can be compared with him?

Or did the Qing Dynasty have any real thinkers before it was beaten down by foreigners?

The inheritance of the new and old gentry was also connected.

"This is a historic moment, totally worth a photo!"

Prince Yang held up the camera with satisfaction, and it was a Polaroid camera.

This was an unexpected gain for him.

After all, the probability of being able to touch this in modern times is still very low.

After he adjusted himself, he took a group photo of Liu Daru and Gu Sixiangjia, and then spit out a photo with a strange style. He then held it in his hand and admired it as if a famous photographer was admiring his own work.

“It looks a bit like a crime scene!”

He commented disapprovingly.

It really looked like a crime scene, after all, there was blood everywhere in the square.

In puddles.

As for why Liu Zongzhou and others did not show up when the situation was so bloody, they had various reasons, such as being ill suddenly. Liu Daru was over 80 years old, so it was reasonable for him to be ill. Another example was that he left the city and hurried back after hearing the news. In short, they all had their own reasons, and then they just watched tens of thousands of people led by Huang Zongxi besiege the Chengtian Gate to force the emperor to abdicate, resulting in bloody conflicts and hundreds of casualties. But as soon as Gu Jiang and others arrived, they all showed up. It would be a miracle if this was not planned long ago, so the masterminds were Liu Zongzhou, Gu Xichou, and of course, those who came out with them, as well as Gu Jiang who was holding the Ten Thousand People's Book at this moment, and Huang Zongxi who had led people to force the emperor to abdicate before.

Huang Zongxi forced the emperor to abdicate and stirred up public opinion. Generals led by Gu Jiang joined in, as did civilians and the army. Then civil officials led by Liu Zongzhou took over.

All that was left was for them to advise the Regent.

If the regent does not agree, it will be a larger-scale abdication.

Those officials who hurriedly left the capital will soon complete the next wave of forcing the emperor to abdicate. Then the people and the military in various places will continue to express their wishes to the regent, asking him to pretend to be the crown prince. They will even create some accidents when necessary, and then use them to tell the regent the consequences of her refusal to pretend to be the crown prince.

Until she agreed.

Of course, the premise is that Yang Feng does not interfere.

So Prince Yang was attacked and fell into the water. As for whether he died after falling into the water, that was of course a surprise, but even if he didn't die, they bet that Yang Feng would understand what they meant and then choose to withdraw voluntarily.

This works in his favor.

His intentions towards the Regent were obvious, and although his intentions towards the Regent's body might indeed be just rumors, his intentions towards the Regent's future were clear to anyone with a brain. If he could push the princess to the position of Regent, of course he would want her to go a step further, and even become an empress.

Queen!
Now everyone likes it!

Yang Feng liked to have an empress, just to realize his ambition of separatism for a long time. A male emperor would hardly tolerate him for a long time, and conflicts would eventually break out, but the empress was different, especially one who obviously had special feelings for him. Even his existence was a guarantee of the empress's safety. He was the empress's umbrella, so of course he could rule as he pleased, not to mention Shandong, he could even rule the entire north.

And the gentry now also like it. After all, the empress is not in a legitimate position, and an illegitimate ruler needs to treat his ministers with tolerance.

Treat local areas by delegating power.

Of course everyone likes this.

It is said that the gentry of our Ming Dynasty have begun to have the awareness of the gentry of Great Britain.

The monarch!
Female ones are the best.

Of course foreigners are also welcome.

Since she is a woman and a foreigner, she is worthy of being called a wise and benevolent ruler.

As for the explanation of her throne, this is something everyone is good at and is not worth mentioning.

She is a fake crown prince, so she is a fake emperor. We are all loyal subjects to your majesty. Once your majesty dies, the throne must be your majesty's descendants under any circumstances, but Li Zicheng will not let those princes go to Nanjing! We don't know who your majesty let succeed him before he died, nor do we know how your majesty died. At this time, of course, we will ask the princess, who is originally a fake crown prince, to pretend to be the emperor and let her father and brothers temporarily keep the country. When all the truth comes out, it will naturally be returned to her brothers.

This is for filial piety.

Only the holy dynasty governs the world with filial piety.

As for when the truth will come out, it has nothing to do with the wise men of Jiangnan.

They just don't believe that someone would give up the throne if he is already the emperor.

The princess is willing, but the King of East China Sea is not!
As long as she is on the stage, she will never step down on her own initiative. They are confident enough that even if a pure girl gets power, she will turn evil over time and will not be willing to give it up.

This is human nature.

and so……

"It's none of my business. A loyal minister like me certainly won't get involved in this mess. They are simply a bunch of traitors!"

Prince Yang finished his words with a dignified and righteous manner, and then quickly left.

Loyal minister!

Loyalty is beyond words!

And the rest is simple.

A group of pillars of the court, led by Liu Zongzhou, took the letter to the people from Gu Jiang and others, and immediately went to the Wuying Palace to meet the Regent.

Then Liu Daru said worriedly that because the King of Donghai fell into the water and disappeared, the people were in panic. After all, the King of Donghai was the pillar of the Ming Dynasty. Without his protection, the people were in panic. The most important thing at this time was to keep the people safe. Especially when he just disappeared, the Jianlu rebelled in the city, and even the militia and the Northern Expedition Army were about to fight. What was going on? This was the arrogant soldiers and generals who were going to cause trouble.

There's going to be a mutiny.

It was obvious that Gu Jiang was emotionally unstable.

The most important thing now is to stabilize them and not allow internal strife at this time.

As for how to stabilize them...

In the past, the King of Donghai was relied upon, but now that the King of Donghai is gone, it is certainly not enough for a princess to be the regent. After all, there has never been a princess who is the regent since ancient times.

Of course, Hu Yuan doesn’t count.

In order to keep them stable, the regent must have a legitimate reason.

False title prince.

Of course, it’s not a fake account.

That is not right, but it is a verbal order from His Majesty...

Zhaoren, come here, it's your turn to convey His Majesty's instructions to your sister.

Before Princess Zhaoren left, His Majesty had specifically ordered her to convey an oral order that, when necessary, she could pretend to be the crown prince to reassure the people. After all, everyone knew what his situation was. Li Zicheng's wolfish ambitions were known to everyone, but His Majesty was unable to extricate himself and had to pretend to be nice to him. However, His Majesty was also afraid that Li Zicheng would interfere in Jiangnan, and he only had the princess as an adult child outside of the country.

Zhu Shuren does not count.

He has been kicked out of the imperial book by His Majesty, and the father-son relationship has been severed.

Only the princess is the de facto eldest among all the children. An elder sister is like a mother.

Then your Majesty's kingdom can only rely on her.

Therefore, His Majesty conveyed an oral order to Princess Zhaoren, saying that if necessary, she could pretend to be the crown prince to reassure the people and put an end to Li Zicheng's ambition to control the south of the Yangtze River.

If necessary, it is not impossible to have a central purpose.

But that would easily give people a reason to criticize. An oral order is enough. Princess Zhaoren said it herself. Who would doubt it? She is just a little girl. How could she have any bad intentions? So even if she lied, it is her responsibility. Besides, she is not yet an adult, so she does not have to bear legal responsibility...

By the way, our Ming Dynasty also has laws to protect minors.

In short, let her young shoulders carry everything!

Of course the Regent could not accept this. After all, it was still difficult for her to accept openly making up stories, and it was even more shameless to use her sister as a sacrifice.

Of course, this is not important.

If she doesn't want to write it herself, then just let someone else write it for her.

So the next day, a eunuch who escaped from Xi'an showed up with Chongzhen's token and oral instructions. After being identified by Han Zanzhou, it was confirmed that he was a close confidant of the emperor, although the regent said he had never seen him. But it didn't matter. How could a daughter like her know who the eunuch who was close to her father was? It was Han Gonggong who was far away in Nanjing and had not seen the emperor for many years. In short, the emperor listed Li Zicheng's rudeness to him in his oral instructions, and was worried that he had the intention of regicide. In order to avoid chaos in the country due to a hasty incident, he ordered Princess Kunxing to pretend to be the crown prince and regent.

That afternoon, a firefight broke out between some Northern Expedition troops in Puzikou City. Gu Jiang and others accused Zhang Jiayu of having ill-intentions and summoned the main forces of the militia from the nearest Yingtian and other prefectures to surround the Liangguang Camp commanded by the latter.

Prime Minister Ma Shiying crossed the river to pacify the situation.

But it accidentally fired.

Although he was not hit by the bullet, Ma Ge Lao was still frightened and ran away quickly.

In order to prevent the conflict from escalating, Zhang Jiayu had to order his subordinates to withdraw from Puzikou City.

On the same day, the leaders of the militias in Yingtian, Huizhou, Zhenjiang, and Yangzhou wrote to the emperor in the name of the censor, asking the regent to obey the emperor's order and pretend to be the crown prince to keep the people safe. The elders of the Yingtian Elders Association knelt down and, on behalf of the people of Yingtian, asked the regent to obey the emperor's order and pretend to be the crown prince to avoid civil strife in Jiangnan.

Local officials then joined in.

……

This drama lasted for more than ten days and finally ended with Gao Jie joining.

As the most powerful military leader under the Nanjing court, Gao Jie led his 70,000-man army and requested the regent to obey His Majesty's order...

Xi'an.

Palace.

His Majesty the Emperor huddled beside a pillar, looking at Li Zicheng in horror, who was full of murderous intent.

There was also Wang Chengen who was being held down next to him.

"What are you going to do? If something happens to His Majesty, aren't you afraid that Yang Feng will come looking for you?"

Lao Wang struggled and shouted.

Lao Wang refused to go south to serve as the director of taxation and chose to stay with Chongzhen and be loyal to the emperor. In the past, Li Zicheng gave him some face. After all, whether for Yang Feng's face or for his loyalty, Li Zicheng was still willing to show respect.

But now it’s a big deal.

There was actually a eunuch who fled to Nanjing with the Emperor's oral order?

The King of Qin was very angry.

Very serious consequences.

"Where's Yang Feng? He's fallen into the Yangtze River and has been missing for days!"

Gao Yigong, who was following Li Zicheng, kicked him casually and said.

Lao Wang was stunned for a moment.

"Impossible, this is impossible. Yang Feng is blessed by the gods and will not die."

He then continued to struggle and howl.

Li Zicheng ignored him and just looked at Chongzhen grimly, and even squatted in front of the Emperor.

The latter lowered her head and avoided his gaze like a weak girl facing a villain.

Although His Majesty has been under house arrest for almost two years, fortunately, it is rare that he has been free for almost two years. Although he has been a little tired in the harem, it has not affected his health, so he looks fat. So his past days were really a torture for himself and the people of the world. After finally letting each other go, it can't be said to be a bad thing for him.

"Your Majesty, I am loyal to you. Why do you want to rebel?"

Li Zicheng said very seriously.

Chongzhen...

How does he answer this question?
COSing a Cheng Cheng, of course, it may not be COS, after all, with Li Zicheng's level of knowledge, he may not know the story behind Cheng Cheng.

In short, he, like Cheng Cheng, asked the Emperor this famous question that will be passed down through the ages.

But His Majesty the Emperor couldn't answer!

"King Qin, why do you ask this? If the Nanjing incident is obviously fabricated, it is just to make the princess regent under the title of crown prince. Your Majesty has never heard of this matter, and you are thousands of miles away from him, and there is no premeditated plan. King Qin is blaming your Majesty for this, isn't it unfair?"

Concubine Yuan said angrily.

As she said this, she stepped forward and supported His Majesty the Emperor.

She is actually the master of His Majesty's harem, but she can never be promoted to queen.

Of course, this is not important now. We are all prisoners, so it doesn’t matter what we call them.

"Forgery?"

Li Zicheng said with a strange smile.

Concubine Yuan quickly looked at Chongzhen.

His Majesty the Emperor tried to remain calm and sat up with her help.

"It is a fake, a forgery, it is indeed a forgery. I have never made such an oral order. The King of Qin and I are sincere and there is no doubt that we are king and subject. How could I do such a foolish thing? It must be forged by the rebels in Jiangnan. They made someone lie that it was my oral order to deceive Kunxing. If the King of Qin had not reported it to me, I would have been deceived by these rebels."

He said.

Li Zicheng continued to look at him.

His Majesty the Emperor sat there trembling, like a cat sitting before a tiger.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Li Zicheng suddenly burst into laughter.

The Emperor laughed so hard that he almost collapsed again.

"I've been saying this. Your Majesty and I have been together for so long. When have we ever had any unhappiness? How could Your Majesty suspect me? Wouldn't that make him a tyrant? And you're doing this kind of secret decree, which is obviously fake. Your Majesty, please get up. I'm just here to ask. I'm a rough man and don't like to hide my thoughts. If I have something to ask, I'll ask it and I'll get it clear. Forging Your Majesty's oral decree and trying to use it to deceive the princess and make her do such a disloyal and unfilial thing, it seems that there are many traitors in Jiangnan!

Your Majesty, rest assured. If there are any rebels, we will suppress them. They all say that I am holding Your Majesty hostage, so I ask Your Majesty to lead the army in person, and I will protect Your Majesty to Nanjing.

Let's kill the traitor together!"

Li Zicheng said.

Chongzhen...

(End of this chapter)