I have a cornucopia

Chapter 264: The Six Armies Wept in Mourning, and the Emperor Was Wrathed for His Majesty
Just as the Emperor was heading towards his loyal Nanjing, the drama of persuading Li Zicheng to ascend the throne began to unfold in the Wujiaxue Li Zicheng camp...

And it was led by Sun Shoufa and others.

The news that His Majesty the Emperor's ship sank and he fell into the water and disappeared after being bombarded by militiamen really aroused the anger of these old ministers who considered themselves loyal to Chongzhen.

As for the fact that Chongzhen led the vanguard to break through the iron chains that locked the river, it was not important.

Moreover, it was indeed Chongzhen himself who wanted to go, and Li Zicheng did symbolically dissuade him.

They actually understood Chongzhen's purpose. After all, the opposing garrisons were all old ministers. Both Du Yinxi and Wan Yuanji were old ministers of Chongzhen. The former was already the military governor of Huangzhou before the fall of the capital, and the latter was a doctor of the Nanjing Military Department. He Tengjiao's performance made Chongzhen have some expectations for the loyalty of the southern ministers. So in his fantasy, he arranged the emperor's guards. Even if Du Yinxi and Wan Yuanji would not welcome the emperor like Tengjiao, at least they would never dare to attack him.

What he wanted was that these people would not dare to attack him.

What he wants is fame.

Or it could be said to be the authority of the emperor.

The army was in Li Zicheng's hands, and he indeed could not resist Li Zicheng, but he could re-establish his imperial authority through a series of performances.

He was jumping up and down all the way, and that was actually his purpose.

Let everyone remember that he is the emperor, he is the ruler of this empire, he is the Son of Heaven.

Even those who considered themselves loyal to him secretly supported the Emperor in doing this. After all, their interests were tied to Li Zicheng. Although everyone considered themselves to be Chongzhen's loyal subjects, Li Zicheng gave them really good things.

Under Li Zicheng, they are now similar to the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty, with their own jurisdiction, collecting taxes and controlling business, and supporting their own army. When Li Zicheng needs them to go to the battlefield, he summons them with the emperor's decree, and they can also follow Li Zicheng to plunder. For these military generals who have been suppressed by civil officials for half their lives, such a life is simply too happy, and Li Zicheng will also distribute food to them, so they really don't want to break with Li Zicheng for the emperor.

This is the best way for now.

Li Zicheng's bottom line will not be touched, His Majesty the Emperor can also vent his excess energy, and then the two of them will play on top, while the people below will continue to live happily.

however……

The militia started firing.

They directly bombarded the holy carriage with huge cannons weighing thousands of pounds.

Chongzhen lost everything again, just like he had lost his kingdom in the capital before.

But those old ministers who truly considered themselves loyal to him were also really enraged. Chongzhen was their face, or it was the explanation for their surrender to Li Zicheng. They were loyal to the Emperor and obeyed Him unconditionally. Even if the Emperor was forced to ask them to listen to Li Zicheng, such loyal ministers had no choice but to obey. Similarly, now that Chongzhen had been killed by the traitors, they had to use the most radical performance to maintain their image as Chongzhen's loyal ministers.

Generals Sun Shoufa, Ma Ke, Chen Yongfu and others, with their officers and soldiers dressed in mourning clothes, knelt outside Li Zicheng's camp and asked the King of Qin to avenge His Majesty.

Of course Li Zicheng hurried out to appease them, telling them that the Emperor had not yet confirmed his death and it was a bit early to wear mourning clothes.

But at this moment, the cavalry patrolling on the north bank brought His Majesty's leather hat that they had picked up by the river, and there was a hole in it.

There was a big hole, but because it had been soaked for so long, there was no blood to be seen.

But the rescued sailors were also sent over. They knelt in front of the King of Qin and said that they saw His Majesty being hit by wood splinters stirred up by the cannonballs, and that they and Wang Chengen fell into the water and disappeared with blood.

Do I need to confirm this again?
The King of Qin held the emperor's fur cap and cried with Sun Shoufa and others. He cried like a tearful man, remembering the deceased emperor, and then officially announced that the emperor had been killed by the traitor. Then the King of Qin ordered the whole army to mourn for the emperor. This was necessary. In theory, everyone had to mourn for the emperor. So the armies stopped attacking and hurriedly made mourning clothes. But the question was who would succeed the emperor after his death? The country cannot be without a king for a day. The emperor had three sons, the oldest was only eight months old. There were two who were still alive, but one was kicked out of the jade book, severing the father-son relationship, and the other had been adopted by the King of Qin.

You can't adopt him back, right?
That's definitely not possible. This was an imperial decree from His Majesty to be adopted by the King of Qin. Who can overturn His Majesty's imperial decree?

imperial clan……

The accompanying King of Jin and the original King of Qin, who was now transferred to the title of King of Wei, quickly stated that there was no one in the royal family who could inherit the throne.

If you don’t believe it, call everyone and ask who thinks they have the qualifications.

Moreover, the King of Wei said that his majesty and the King of Qin were like brothers during his lifetime, and they called each other brothers. Since the elder brother died, the younger brother should succeed the throne, but the name of the country should not be changed, and the Zhu family ancestral temple should be worshipped. This is equivalent to the King of Qin guarding the Ming Dynasty on behalf of the late emperor and making the Prince of Qin the Crown Prince. After all, the Prince of Qin has the blood of the Zhu family. As for what will happen in the future, that is his own business. He can choose whether he wants to be named Zhu or Li after he succeeds to the throne. However, the King of Qin must swear in public that no matter what happens in the future, he will not change the Crown Prince. Even if the Crown Prince dies first, his descendants will be made the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince has no descendants, the remaining sons of the late emperor will be the successor.

This proposal was supported by almost all the generals, including Sun Shoufa and others. Even Wang Yuncheng, who came as a member of the Huguang Army, was forced to agree.

If he doesn't agree, he might not be able to leave alive.

Besides, the Iron Cavalry King is actually very happy on Li Zicheng's side. People like him must be envious of the happiness of Sun Shoufa and others.

But the King of Qin said that this was not a good idea. He was a loyal minister of the Majesty, so how could he become emperor? This kind of thing was absolutely unacceptable.

Don't make me unfaithful or unjust. If you force me again, I will become a monk.

Of course, this could not stop the enthusiasm of the soldiers. Then Sun Shoufa, Li Guo, and Wang Yuncheng, with their enthusiastic soldiers, broke into the Qin King's tent, forcibly carried him out, put on a ochre yellow robe with twelve dragon groups, fastened a Yishan crown, and invited the Qin King out.

"Don't try to harm me!"

The King of Qin was still shouting.

Of course, after they went out, all the soldiers kowtowed to them.

Finally, after being persuaded by the King of Wei and the King of Jin, the King of Qin reluctantly agreed, and announced in public that the eldest son of Qin would be the crown prince. He swore to heaven that he would never change the crown prince, and solemnly signed and stamped his name on the oath.

In this way, Li Zicheng, the Qin King of the Ming Dynasty, officially became the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. There was no need to rush to change the reign title, after all, the year had not yet ended. As for the civil and military officials, everything remained the same. The new emperor followed the standard of brothers succeeding to the throne and mourned for the late emperor. The officials also followed the system of mourning. At the same time, he announced it to the world and called on all loyal and righteous people in the world to fight against the traitors together...

In other words, it depends on who in the world will accept the new emperor, but Huguang is definitely not immune. Wang Yuncheng was rewarded for his contribution in persuading the emperor to ascend the throne, and was directly conferred the title of marquis. Then he brought his troops back to Wuchang to persuade He Tengjiao to accept reality.

Ten days later.

Nanjing, Longjiang Pass.

"Slaves are only interested in my wealth!"

On the deck of a large ship that was preparing to dock, Fang Fengnian, a elder of the Council of Elders, former Minister of Rites, and Grand Secretary of the Dongke Academy, said angrily.

He had previously represented the Council of Elders to comfort the troops in Jiangbei.

Of course, in fact, they were going to send money to Zhu Dadian, or to the latter's Zhejiang New Army. This 20,000-man army was now staying in Huaiyang under the banner of fighting against Jiannu. The real purpose was no longer Jiannu, but to watch Gao Jie, Liu Yuanqing and others. Yang Feng was just missing, and the Elders Council did not think he was really dead. Although those who were considered Yang Feng's followers were watching from the sidelines, it was not impossible for them to intervene. The Zhejiang New Army had been staying in Jiangbei to monitor them.

The Council of Elders was confident that Yang Feng would stay on the sidelines, because the current situation was clearly what Yang Feng expected, and the latter's goal was nothing more than to push the princess to the throne. The Council of Elders had fought in the court, and their skills in intrigue and deception were so refined that they could be said to be very accurate in judging people.

The prerequisite for the princess to ascend to the throne is that the emperor steps down...

It's okay to die.

No matter how you look at it, it is in Yang Feng's interest for the Senate to oppose the emperor, and giving him an excuse to avoid it was part of the plan.

However, plans are plans, and inferences are inferences. Before anything is finalized, we must be prepared for the worst. Moreover, the situation is ever-changing and no one can guarantee that there will be no unexpected situations.

In fact, the situation around Nanjing is also very complicated.

The coalition forces of the three southwestern provinces, led by Zeng Ying, are still stationed in the Daxiaochang.

They did not support the Council of Elders either. Their supporters in the court were the Fujian and Guangdong ministers headed by Huang Daozhou.

Including the Guangdong-Guangxi coalition forces on the north bank, this coalition led by Zhang Jiayu has shown strong combat effectiveness, and they do not rule out the possibility of being royalists...

The Senate belongs to the popular party.

Public opinion is against imperial power, at least this is what we are bragging about now.

The Senate represents public opinion. Although it is the opinion of the gentry, it is at least part of the public opinion. Chongzhen certainly represents imperial power.

The reason why Zhang Jiayu is most likely a royalist is not just because of his performance in the capital, but because a place like Guangdong is obviously suitable for separatism. Under the banner of royalism, the gentry's image of loyalty and righteousness can be satisfied. At the same time, because they are separated by Jiangxi, the imperial power cannot reach them. In this way, opposing the people's faction means that they don't have to listen to anyone and can happily close the door and play by themselves under the banner of loyalty and righteousness.

The more remote the area, the more likely it is that the royalist flag will be raised, because the imperial power can no longer reach them. In fact, they no longer have to worry about the imperial power, so they can naturally play the role of loyal ministers and righteous men.

But Jiangnan directly faces the imperial power and does not have the conditions for this.

Then they can only raise the banner of the people's party to fight against the imperial power in order to ensure their own interests.

Therefore, the troops stationed around Nanjing now have several factions. The militia in the city is controlled by the Council of Elders, and the Southwest Allied Forces outside the city are not clear about their positions. Although the north bank is also dominated by militia, there are also the Guangdong-Guangxi Allied Forces with unclear positions, especially in the north, where Gao Jie's main force is. In fact, there is a confrontation in the city, because the palace is guarded by Yang Feng's entourage, plus those female soldiers and Jinyiwei, and outside the imperial city, the militia is in the name of protection but in fact blocking.

The officials still welcome His Majesty.

Of course, His Majesty has passed away now.

What is blocking Your Majesty is the militia, which is what the Senate calls the public opinion.

But the government respects public opinion, so it will not interfere with the actions of the Senate. However, now the Emperor has been killed by militia artillery fire...

Nonsense, what do you mean he was killed by militia artillery fire?

It was clearly Li Zicheng who murdered the emperor and usurped the throne.

All the newspapers in the three provinces, official notices, and even those spreading rumors among the people, all give me the same message: Li Zicheng murdered the emperor, and the militia bombardment of the imperial carriage were all fake. The militia did not fire at Your Majesty. It was Li Zicheng who was eager to usurp the throne, so he murdered the emperor and then framed the militia. The time has come to test the local gentry's control over public opinion. We must make sure that at least 80 million people in the three provinces hear only one voice.

Li Zicheng murdered the emperor and usurped the throne!
But the problem is that they can’t control anything outside of the three provinces.

Fang Fengnian was urgently summoned back by the Council of Elders to attend the meeting because the Governor of Huguang, He Tengjiao, used militia to kill the emperor and joined the fight against rebellion.

This result is actually inevitable.

If Huguang didn't want to become a battlefield, it would definitely have to join forces with Li Zicheng. In the past, they had to be shy, but now they don't have to be shy. The militia has already bombarded the emperor and killed the emperor. As your Majesty's subjects, the 20 million soldiers and civilians in Huguang must fight against the rebellion and avenge your Majesty. Regardless of whether they recognize Li Zicheng as the emperor or not, they are avenging your Majesty for the greater good. As for the benefits, who doesn't want to come to Jiangnan to grab a wave? It's profitable, and there is a greater good in hand, so why not do it? When the elders of the Huguang Elders' Association thought that the Hunan militia could loot Nanjing, their eyes turned red.

"My sword is not bad at all!"

Elder Fang sneered.

At this time, a civilian ship in front of him was approaching the dock...

"You bastard, don't you have eyes?"

The servants on his ship immediately scolded the ship owner.

Next to the servant stood Fang Yuanlao's former official title, Grand Secretary of the Dongke and Minister of Rites. Although he was actually dismissed by Chongzhen and according to the rules he was not qualified to use this set of ceremonial guards after returning home, he is now a veteran, so does he still care about this?

Before the ship owner could say anything, a man in an old robe came out of the rear cabin door. He raised his head and made eye contact with Elder Fang.

Elder Fang was stunned for a moment, and he pushed the servant away.

The man was also stunned, and then his face changed drastically, and he turned around as quickly as possible...

"Get him."

Elder Fang roared without hesitation.

There was a militia on the shore. When the leader saw that it was him, he immediately waved his hand and ordered the soldiers to move forward.

At the same time, another ship was approaching. On board was Zhang Jiayu, who was stationed at the mouth of the Xijiang River. In fact, he often brought his men across the river. After all, supplies had to be purchased in Nanjing. Moreover, he knew Fang Fengnian, and as a junior, he was about to step forward to greet him.

The Emperor, who happened to turn around, also made eye contact with him, and Wang Chengen came out at the same time and also saw Zhang Jiayu.

Zhang Jiayu was also stunned.

Fang Fengnian's reaction instantly made him realize...

"Escort!"

He drew out his pistol without hesitation and pulled the trigger directly at the militia that was about to board Chongzhen's ship.

The sudden sound of gunfire instantly threw the Guangdong militia behind him into disarray. They also drew their flintlock pistols as quickly as possible and pointed them at the militia on the shore...

(End of this chapter)