I have a cornucopia

Chapter 255: King Qin is years old

The content of His Majesty the Emperor's edict was very simple. It stated that the Prince of Qin had no son, and in order to prevent the Qin vassal state from becoming extinct, the Emperor's third son was made the heir of the Prince of Qin and was named the Crown Prince of Qin.

There is no cover-up.

It was simply to give the son to Li Zicheng.

This matter is actually quite embarrassing. No matter how hard you try to cover it up, it will still be like that.

So there is no need to hide it.

Besides, no matter how well you write to a rough man like Li Zicheng, it would be like throwing a pearl into the dark. Li Zicheng had a deep understanding of this. He once wrote an imperial edict to Li Zicheng, but Li Zicheng didn't understand what was written at all. He became angry and thought that Li Zicheng was deliberately humiliating him. In the end, he punched and kicked Li Zicheng, and the swelling on his face took half a month to disappear.

This imperial edict summoned all civil and military officials, including several military leaders who were relatively close, such as Li Guo, Yuan Zongdi, Liu Fangliang, etc., and then it was formally read out in Chengyun Hall. His Majesty the Emperor personally watched from the throne. After the imperial edict was read out, Li Zicheng accepted it without hesitation. Then everyone in the hall was stunned, but soon they woke up, and then there was an excited cheering of "Long live the emperor". Especially Sun Shoufa and others, they were so excited that they cried on the ground.

They all understand.

This meant that no matter what happened in the future, the throne would belong to Chongzhen's son. Those who considered themselves loyal ministers and were in fact loyal but had to pretend to be nice to Li Zicheng could finally rest assured.

The military leaders under Li Zicheng were also very satisfied, as this meant that their wealth and glory could be smoothly transferred.

No matter what the final outcome is, the transition can be smooth.

After Chongzhen abdicated and Li Zicheng became emperor, of course he could not treat them badly. After Li Zicheng's death, they were still the new emperor's base, so he could not treat them badly. Even when the new emperor restored his surname to Zhu, they were still the new emperor's base. Even if Li Zicheng died before Chongzhen, they were still the new Qin King's base. Once Chongzhen died, the new Qin King would still be the emperor, and they would still be his loyal ministers.

In fact, these military leaders no longer have the ambition they once had; they have already enjoyed wealth and glory for a year and a half.

It's been a year and a half.

Well, not that long actually.

But for these guys who have been wandering for half their lives, a year and a half of this is enough to make them lazy.

They were even satisfied with their status as Ming Dynasty aristocrats. After all, they killed people and set fires in the hope of being recruited. Every bandit had the dream of becoming a noble for generations, and once they got it, they would like it. They all began to marry with the gentry. What other pursuits could we expect them to have?
Therefore, this common heir of Chongzhen and Li Zicheng ensured that they would enjoy wealth and glory in the future, whether it was the Ming or Shun dynasty.

In other words, Li Guo felt a little regretful, but he was not yet ambitious enough.

Besides, if Chongzhen abdicated, Li Zicheng would have to keep his title as emperor, and he and Zhu Cixiong...

Li Cixiong is also a brother.

The Crown Prince of Qin changed his surname but not his given name. This was the King of Qin's own initiative, because Cijiong was the name bestowed upon his son by the Emperor, and of course it could not be changed.

Zhu Cixiong became Li Cixiong, the surname was changed but the given name was not, the prince became the prince of a vassal state, and Chongzhen's son became Li Zicheng's son...

This magical world.

Of course, the scene where His Majesty the Emperor personally took his son's hand and handed him over to Li Zicheng was even more magical.

It was so magical that Prince Yang, who was watching the live broadcast, felt that the world was a little unreal.

It has to be said that His Majesty the Emperor is also a ruthless person, or it can be said that suffering makes people grow. If the emperor in the past had this kind of ruthlessness, perhaps he would not have ended up like this today. After all, he grew up through repeated hardships and already had some of the forbearance and cunning of a decent emperor.

He's already darkening.

Of course, he wasn't white in the past, he was just stupid.

"The King of Qin and I are as close as brothers. I am incompetent in governing the country, which has led to great chaos in the world. Fortunately, the King of Qin assisted me and wiped out the evildoers, bringing peace to the country. The King of Qin is like a brother to me. I have entrusted all state affairs to the King of Qin, so that I can enjoy a prosperous era. You should obey the orders of the King of Qin and treat him as you would treat me!"

On the screen in front of Yang Feng, His Majesty the Emperor was holding up the hand of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin and shouting to the ministers who were kneeling.

Next to them, the still confused Zhu Cijiong, of course, now Li Cijiong, was standing there watching in complete bewilderment.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

Li Jiantai quickly knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor".

Then all the civil and military officials came to their senses, knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor".

"King Qin is nine thousand years old!"

Chongzhen suddenly shouted.

"Your Majesty, this title was used to refer to the eunuchs of Wei in the past, and it is somewhat inappropriate for the King of Qin. I think it should be called Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Years Old."

Li Jiantai quickly reminded him.

"I was negligent."

Chongzhen said with a wry smile.

"King Qin is nine thousand nine hundred years old!"

Li Jiantai ignored the emperor's expression and shouted at Li Zicheng in an exaggerated kneeling manner.

Then he lay directly on the ground, like a fallen sloth, and kowtowed to Li Zicheng. Other civil and military officials followed suit and shouted to Li Zicheng, "Live 9,900 years, Qin King of the Ming Dynasty!" Li Zicheng stood there with satisfaction, as if he had reached the peak of his life.

On the same day, the Nanjing Regent's memorial arrived. Princess Kunxing of Nanjing, the Regent, said that the King of Donghai was missing, and there were mutinies and civil unrest in various places. Therefore, she reported this to Your Majesty at the request of the officials of Nanjing and the military and civilians of various places. Of course, she did not ask Your Majesty to approve it, but to make it clear that now I am regent in Jiangnan with the title of Crown Prince. This is just to inform Your Majesty and ask Your Majesty to visit Nanjing. When Your Majesty arrives in Nanjing, the princess will return to the palace to fulfill her filial duties.

Of course, the latter part was just a casual remark. Everyone knew that it would be impossible for Chongzhen to reach Nanjing alive without hundreds of thousands of troops.

He fell into the water, got sick, was even bitten by a poisonous snake, and was assassinated by the Jianlu. There was always something that happened to him during the thousands of miles of journey.

But fortunately, His Majesty the Emperor brought with him an army of hundreds of thousands.

After this memorial arrived in Xi'an, the Emperor immediately issued an edict that he would visit Nanjing to fulfill his wish that had not been fulfilled for almost two years.

but……

The King of Qin protects him.

The King of Qin escorted Your Majesty to Nanjing with an army of 200,000.

The chief minister of the cabinet, Li Jiantai, and the prince of Qin, Li Cijiong, were left behind in Xi'an.

Less than a year later, Li Zicheng marched south again, but this time he brought the emperor with him.

Nanjing.

Cabinet value.

"Shameless, extremely shameless!" Liu Daru roared somewhat excitedly.

I don't know who he is talking about.

Ma Shiying, holding the imperial edict sent from Xi'an, calmly looked at the people crowded in the hall.

In addition to the cabinet ministers and the nine ministers in Beijing, there were also many young people, all of whom looked very indignant.

In addition to the emperor giving his son to Li Zicheng, who would escort him to Nanjing, the imperial edict also banned the local elders' associations and local elite associations, disbanded local militias, and anyone who disobeyed would be charged with treason. In addition, the Northern Expedition Army was retained, but since the King of Donghai had fallen into the water and disappeared, it was replaced by the King of Qin and temporarily stationed in Pukou to wait for the King of Qin to arrive. Of course, this was meaningless because the various camps of the Northern Expedition Army were funded by the local elders' associations.

Now that the elders' association has been disbanded, who will pay for their maintenance?

It has to be said that Chongzhen's blow made all the wise men in Jiangnan a little confused...

I was completely caught off guard!
They were not afraid of Chongzhen leading the army in person.

They had thought of this possibility a long time ago. Since Li Zicheng was holding the emperor hostage to command the princes, it was of course possible that he would lead the emperor in person. Dorgon was known to have taken Zhu Cilang south.

But if Li Zicheng could not reach a cooperation with Chongzhen, it would be very dangerous to lead the latter to the expedition personally. Li Zicheng had too many former Ming troops under his command, and the reason why these people obeyed his orders was because he held the emperor hostage to command the princes. He locked Chongzhen in the palace, so these people certainly had no chance, but he dared to lead Chongzhen south. Wasn't he afraid that some loyal ministers and righteous men among them would secretly collude with Chongzhen and escape?
It is thousands of miles from Xi'an to Nanjing, and one has to walk through mountains and rivers. There are countless opportunities to take action along the way.

Even when he went south, he had to pass through cities that were theoretically still loyal to Chongzhen, and the troops that were theoretically loyal to Chongzhen.

On the mighty Yangtze River, a warship can solve the problem.

He didn't dare take the risk.

But the problem is, if Chongzhen cooperated with him and fully cooperated with him, it would be different.

And this is the situation now.

So it was the turn of the Jiangnan sages to feel embarrassed.

Should I stop it?
bar?
You are a traitor.

No matter what the reason is, as a subject you cannot stop the king.

Don’t stop?

Then Li Zicheng really arrived in Nanjing.

Moreover, Huguang stood aside last time, so they will certainly stand aside again this time. He Tengjiao and the Huguang gentry behind him will only continue to watch Li Zicheng go downstream. Moreover, Li Zicheng will not be short of warships this time. He has already built a large number of warships in Hankou. As long as he reaches Hankou, he can go downstream. Fortunately, the upstream armies and the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan alliance helped Li Zicheng to withdraw last time, but this time it is difficult for the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan alliance to form. In fact, because of the previous confrontation, the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan group is still very dissatisfied with the Jiangsu-Zhejiang group.

At most, Zhang Xianzhong would be anxious for a while, but it would be difficult for Wang Yingxiong, Mu Tianbo, and the chieftains led by Grandma Qin to send troops to stab the emperor in the back.

They would be happy to stab Li Zicheng in the back, but it would be different if the emperor led the army in person.

They all considered themselves loyal subjects, and they were traditional loyal subjects. Even if it had some impact on their own interests, they could not accept sending troops to fight against the emperor. Instead, they could turn around and stab the Jiangnan group of wise men, join the emperor's army, and exchange for Li Zicheng's forgiveness. Really, it was a good choice to surrender to Li Zicheng at this time. After all, surrendering to Li Zicheng was a loyal subject. Although it was a bit weird, Chongzhen was leading the army in person. No matter what the facts were, Li Zicheng now represented Chongzhen.

Even if they had the endorsement of Chongzhen, as loyal ministers they had to stand on his side.

Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi can just wait and see until the results come out, so in fact the two provinces that are in real trouble now are Nanzhili and Zhejiang and Jiangxi.

"Everyone, I won't say anything. Whether to fight or not is up to you guys."

Ma Shiying said while holding the imperial edict.

"What are you talking about? Aren't you the Prime Minister of Nanjing?"

Liu Zongzhou said angrily.

"Mr. Yaoshan, what you said is meaningless. Compared with Li Jiantai, I, the Prime Minister, am not much better, right?
You are too impatient.

You can obviously be more cautious, why do you have to leave in such a hurry?
The princess has already said that she doesn't care. If Your Majesty comes to Nanjing, she will let him do whatever he wants, but she will not order you to stop Your Majesty. She has already received the imperial order. She is the regent of Nanjing for Your Majesty. Now that Your Majesty wants to come, she will not stop him. This is Your Majesty's kingdom, and Your Majesty can do whatever he wants.

As for you all, take care of yourself!"

Ma Shiying said this calmly, then stood up and left.

Of course, he didn't need to get involved. After all, it wasn't his and the princess' turn to worry about this matter. Even if Li Zicheng went to Nanjing, he wouldn't do anything to the princess. Yang Feng was indeed missing, but everyone knew that he wouldn't die. He was just hiding to watch the fun. Besides, even if Yang Feng really died, the Shandong Group and Gao Jie Group were all loyal to the princess. At worst, they could go to Shandong, including Ma Shiying. Without Yang Feng, the Shandong Group was now the only one in the group, and Li Zicheng didn't dare to do anything to them.

In fact, even if Li Zicheng really went to Nanjing, he would not be able to resolve the Jiangnan region in a short period of time. Jiangnan at this time was no longer as weak and vulnerable as before.

We don’t know what the outcome will be if we really fight.

So just watch.

Later, Liu Zongzhou pointed at him angrily, but finally did not say anything. After all, at his age, it seemed a bit unreasonable for him to continue to pester Ma Shiying. After all, you can't let a guy who even has to take a list of names and come to him like a dog to see whether he is satisfied or not, take the greatest responsibility. Just as Ma Shiying said, although he is the prime minister, he seems to be only slightly better than Li Jiantai, mainly because he doesn't have to be beaten.

"Your Majesty's country? No, this is the country of all the people in the world. The world belongs to all the people in the world, not just one family or one surname.

Your Majesty, please do whatever you want.
The people of the world will not agree to this."

An indignant voice suddenly sounded behind him.

He turned around silently and looked at his students. In fact, Huang Zongxi, Gu Jiang and others were all there. These old men had long been unable to make decisions, so he would bring a familiar young man with him to important meetings to avoid being besieged when he went out. This kind of thing has become very frequent. The young man is increasingly dissatisfied with the old men, so there are often old ministers who make decisions that they are not satisfied with and are besieged by young scholars. In this case, it is better to bring a young man to attend.

"The world belongs to everyone in the world!"

Liu Zongzhou sighed.

He found that he was no longer as good as his students.

He is old.

He has fallen behind the times.

But this is indeed the fact. As the number one scholar in Jiangnan, he can be said to be the banner that scholars look up to. However, his actual thoughts are increasingly lagging behind the pace, including his own students. Many of them are now more radical and more popular than him. He is old, and his only value is that he is old, old enough to be used as a signboard, but the gap between him and new ideas is also getting bigger and bigger.

"Then it's up to you. Just go for it. You will have to walk the rest of the way. I'm old now and can't lead you any more."

He patted his student on the shoulder and said.

The old men in the hall also looked at the young men beside them...

"Go ahead, we have the money!"

Gu Xichou patted Gu Jiang on the shoulder and said.

(End of this chapter)