I have a cornucopia

Chapter 267 How can there be an immortal country since ancient times?
The light in the emperor's eyes did not last long, because only half an hour later, the camp of the Guangdong-Guangxi Allied Forces at Xijiangkou was surrounded by the militia commanded by Gu Jiang.

No one is allowed to enter or leave.

Even on the river nearby, six warships appeared, with their guns through the open ports pointed at the camp.

At the same time, the militia in the city also blocked the palace, and no one was allowed to enter or leave...

Even the regent, even Ma Shiying, those ministers who were not from the Jiangnan faction were not allowed to enter or leave, and all connections inside and outside the palace were cut off.

Those in the Senate are real old foxes. Now that they have already torn their faces apart, there is no need to cover it up anymore. They might as well just go for it. However, although public opinion is on their side now, it is still difficult to say what the situation will be. After all, there are still a lot of troops around Nanjing that do not belong to them, and the regent in the city has a strong influence on public opinion. If she insists on welcoming her father, the people will most likely be influenced by her. After all, she is still very much loved by the people.

Then seal off the palace, don't let her know about this, and don't let her come out to meet the people.

Let her accept the reality after things are done.

In fact, this is also a good thing for her. After all, she still has to maintain the bottom line of filial piety and cannot stand up against her father, so these things can be done by others for her. This is also what Yang Feng wants. The old guys know very well his real purpose of not showing up until now. Fang Fengnian has already stated the requirements of the Elders Council in public and has also received the support of the people. Then force Chongzhen to abdicate and pass the throne to the princess, so that she can become the empress in a legal way.

otherwise……

Otherwise, His Majesty the Emperor would have died of illness.

After all, he had vomited blood in public, so it was reasonable for him to die of illness.

night.

Xijiangkou Camp.

"Get out! Get these traitors out! I don't want to see them again!"

His Majesty the Emperor, lying on the sickbed, weakly supported his upper body, pointing at the new Grand Secretary Li Suigong who reported to him, and roaring with a bit of madness.

His face was red, obviously from being overly excited.

Then he continued to cough after roaring.

Li Suigong looked at Zhang Jiayu with an inquiring look, while the latter looked at Lao Wang.

The court they had just formed was just a makeshift team, and they didn't take it seriously.

When the emperor's eyes lit up, he appointed Zhang Jiayu as the Prime Minister, Li Suigong as the Grand Secretary, Bai Guigong as the Admiral of the Imperial Camp, Chen Shangyong as the Minister of War and the Minister of Punishment, Kuang Hong as the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Rites. In short, everyone had a share, and even the soldiers were granted the title of Jinyiwei. After Li Suigong and others understood the current situation and his current physical condition, they just treated it as playing house with him. Anyway, they only had 5,000 people and could not support the emperor's ambitions.

His Majesty the Emperor also understood this after being surrounded, so he was bedridden for a while.

As for now, it is actually the ministers headed by Liu Zongzhou and Qian Shisheng and representatives of the Senate who have come to seek an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.

Or……

negotiation.

It can also be called forcing the emperor to abdicate.

"Your Majesty, would you like to meet them?"

Lao Wang said cautiously.

His Majesty the Emperor angrily grabbed the medicine bowl beside him and smashed it directly on Lao Wang's forehead.

"You want to betray me too?"

he roared.

Lao Wang knelt down quickly.

"Your Majesty, I followed you from the capital to here, and now there are some things that I have to say. The world is already like this, and you can't win back the people's hearts no matter what you do. How many truly loyal ministers are there now? Yang Feng ruled Shandong, and if you ask Shandong to choose between you and Yang Feng, they will definitely choose Yang Feng. Shaanxi also belongs to Li Zicheng, and if you ask the people of Shaanxi to choose one, they will definitely choose Li Zicheng. Although these people in Jiangnan are rebellious, they still regard the princess as their master, and they dare not do anything extreme. They just want Your Majesty to abdicate, and after the abdication, he will still be the emperor. But if it were someone else, it would be difficult for you to be a commoner.

I had advised you to go to Yunnan before, but you didn’t listen and insisted on coming to Nanjing. Now that things have come to this, I really have no other choice.”

Lao Wang said while crying.

He let Chongzhen go to Yunnan, which was really the last move.

Even if Mu Tianbo wants to be a powerful official in Yunnan, he still has to protect Emperor Chongzhen. The Mu family's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty can be guaranteed. They may not be loyal to a certain emperor, but they are loyal to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Without the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, there would be no Duke Mu. They must have the backing of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to control Yunnan. This is where their legitimacy lies, so they are truly united with the country.

When Chongzhen went to Yunnan, he was still the emperor. At most, Mu Tianbo would be in power, but he was not like Li Zicheng who held the emperor hostage to control the princes. Instead, he was a powerful minister like Zhang Juzheng.

And this is the best result Chongzhen can achieve now.

After all, from the moment he was arrested in Baoding, he had actually lost his kingdom, and no matter how hard he struggled, he could not go back to the past.

It's good enough to be a weak king living in peace in a corner under the protection of powerful officials.

In this way, he could rely on the Mu family to establish a new court in Yunnan, while Jiangnan could still only act as regent, and all other places could still only respect the emperor from afar. In fact, the Yunnan court could not control them anyway.

Everyone will continue to live in peace.

Only Dorgon, a foreigner, and Li Zicheng, a usurper, would become common enemies of all parties.

But Chongzhen insisted on going to Nanjing and making one last effort for his imperial power, but ended up losing everything. The only thing he could fight for at this time was to step down with dignity.

But the emperor wanted to step down gracefully...

It's not that easy.

Since ancient times, how many emperors who thought they stepped down in a dignified manner in front of people of different surnames could survive? Afterwards, they were always given a cup of poisoned wine. That is, those who abdicated and became the emperor emeritus could still maintain their dignity. Although they might not live a happy life, at least most of them could save their lives.

So the most sensible thing to do now is to abdicate and then say that he has no son to succeed him. After all, the original crown prince has been deposed and expelled from the imperial book, and Zhu Cijiong was adopted by Li Zicheng, so he is already an outsider. The remaining three infants will definitely not be able to succeed him. The adult children are just princesses, and they are already fake crown princes. Abdicate and pass the throne to the princess. At most, add some restrictions, such as returning it to her brother when her brother grows up, and the princess cannot get married before returning the throne, so as to avoid having a son by then and being reluctant to return it to his brother, so that the throne falls into the hands of a different surname.

These conditions can be added...

Of course, even if it is added it is just a cover-up, but for now it is enough to save face.

But abdication and passing the throne to the princess is necessary. Otherwise, can we still expect Zhang Jiayu and his five thousand men to turn the tide for His Majesty the Emperor?

Give me a break.

There are at least 50,000 people gathered outside.

The core of the Northern Expedition Army is the three southern provinces, which are now all surrounded outside, including the militias of various prefectures originally stationed in the north of the Yangtze River. On the river is the Zhejiang Navy, which was originally intended to reinforce the front line.

How to turn the tide?
There is no hope.

And the princess is the only one who can keep the emperor alive.

Li Zicheng would not let him live, and Dorgon would not let him live. He also had no ability to go to Yunnan, so the princess was the only choice left. "Your Majesty, I think you should call them in and see what they say first. We are indeed willing to fight to the death for Your Majesty, but we only have these soldiers and horses. We are unable to protect Your Majesty. The most we can do is die on the battlefield for Your Majesty."

Zhang Jiayu also said this with tears in her eyes.

As a loyal minister in the traditional sense, he was indeed feeling extremely sad at this moment.

Several others also cried.

After all, they did not have deep feelings towards Chongzhen. The chaos in the late Ming Dynasty had little impact on Guangdong. Guangdong even took the opportunity to make a fortune in recent years. After all, the war in the north made the arms business booming. Guangdong, which had the largest steel base in the Ming Dynasty and had long begun to manufacture weapons such as red cannons and dove guns, naturally became an important target for arms procurement. Jiangxi, Huguang, and especially Nangan, all purchased large quantities of Guangdong arms. It can be said that the Guangdong gentry had an extremely happy life in the past two years.

Therefore, in their eyes, Chongzhen was still the emperor who had been in power for nearly twenty years, and as loyal subjects, they still had to stand on Chongzhen's side.

but now……

"If my master insults me, I will die. I will lead my troops to fight them!"

Kuang Hong, like his father who was as capable as Ji Kang, impulsively stood up and walked outside.

"return!"

Chongzhen said.

Kuang Hong quickly turned around and knelt down.

"Tell them to come in!"

Chongzhen said weakly.

Lao Wang quickly got up, wiped the medicine and blood off his face, and walked outside. Soon he came in with Liu Zongzhou and others who looked like immortals from the stars.

"I pay homage to Your Majesty."

Liu Zongzhou took the lead and knelt before the Emperor.

Liu Daru is now really more and more like an old immortal in the stars, because he has been very successful in the past two years. Although he has white hair and beard, his complexion is ruddy and radiant, which is in sharp contrast to the emperor who seems to be dying on the hospital bed.

"Why are you here?"

His Majesty the Emperor said.

"Your Majesty, I have been entrusted by the Nanjing Elders' Council to lead the local eunuch Qian Shiyi of Jiashan and the citizen Qian Qianyi of Changshu to come to see Your Majesty. The Elders' Council, based on the public opinion, would like to ask Your Majesty to pass the throne to Princess Kunxing and abdicate as the Emperor Emeritus."

Liu Zongzhou said very directly.

He is a loyal minister, of course he cannot force the emperor to abdicate, but as the Chief Censor, he has the right to report matters. So if the Elders Council, representing public opinion, wants the emperor to abdicate, he certainly has the right to bring them to an audience, but he is not the one who is forcing the emperor to abdicate. He is just doing his duty. As a loyal minister, how can he force the emperor to abdicate?
As for Shui Tailiang, it was still okay for him to be a senior official. After all, he was not completely forgotten thanks to Madam Qian. Besides, Zheng Chenggong was his student. Although the Zheng family wanted to have some literary influence, Shui Tailiang often mentioned his student now. He was much more confident, just like Liang Qichao after Cai E started his rebellion. However, he was dismissed from his post and stripped of his official title by Chongzhen, so he was different from Qian Shisheng who retired. The latter was a local official, while he could only be a commoner.

Of course, it wasn't just the two of them. In fact, there were a total of 18 veterans who came, all of whom had once held high positions of power under Chongzhen.

At this moment, all the dignitaries gathered together, as if they had returned to the Yuntai of the past, except that the person in front of them was no longer the emperor sitting on the throne.

But on the hospital bed.

They are not here to sing praises for Your Majesty.

But forced him to abdicate.

“They are all old people!”

His Majesty the Emperor said with a sneer.

"Your Majesty, we are making this request for your sake. Now that the rebel has usurped the throne, the people of Jiangnan no longer support your Majesty. They do not want your Majesty to enter Nanjing, and even want to resist with force. If your Majesty forcibly enters Nanjing, I am afraid that civil unrest will break out everywhere, and some may even welcome the rebel. At that time, not only will your Majesty be in trouble, but the country will also be in danger. The princess has been the regent in Nanjing for a long time, and she is supported by the people. Moreover, your Majesty's sons are all in the hands of the rebel. It is reasonable for the princess to be the eldest sister to protect your majesty's country. Your Majesty will pass the throne to the princess and retire as the emperor, so that the princess can fulfill her filial piety."

The water is too cold, he said quickly.

"What if I don't agree?"

Chongzhen said.

"Your Majesty, now that things have come to this, you should put the country first and pass the throne to the princess. The people are still willing to be citizens of the Ming Dynasty. If Your Majesty insists on entering the Southern Capital, I am afraid that the country will also be abandoned by the people."

Zheng Sanjun said.

"I treat you as my most loyal and faithful minister, and this is how you repay me?"

Chongzhen sneered.

"Your Majesty, we are serving the Ming Dynasty. The rebels have usurped the throne, Huguang has joined the rebellion, Shaanxi is their base, the Jianlu have seized the capital, Beizhi and Shanxi are theirs, and even if we count Henan and Huaixi, even if we only count those who still obey the Ming Dynasty, it is only half of the country. Moreover, even this half of the country is already divided into many factions. For example, Zhang Xianzhong is not unwilling to establish his own country, but he is just a princess who governs the southern capital. We are still guarding this last foundation for the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has not perished yet, but if Jiangnan is in chaos, the Ming Dynasty will not be saved.

The country is the most important!
His Majesty! "

Wu Shen said with a very sad look.

"Your Majesty, please put the country first!"

A group of elders shouted in the same sad voice.

"Then I won't protect you. There has never been a country that has not perished. The Ming Dynasty has enjoyed the throne for nearly three hundred years, which is a long time. If the Mandate of Heaven is no longer with me, I am not afraid of becoming a king of a fallen country. The worst that can happen is that I will die. I would rather watch Li Zicheng's army approach the southern capital and put all of you dogs in the shackles one by one.

Do you still want to threaten me with this?
Even if I die, I will first watch your entire family being exterminated by Li Zicheng!

Ha ha ha ha……"

His Majesty the Emperor laughed somewhat crazily.

Uh?
All the dignitaries were dumbfounded.

Chongzhen was not stupid. Li Zicheng's son was his son. Even if Li Zicheng usurped the throne, the throne would still be passed on to his son. But if he passed it on to his daughter, the throne would no longer belong to the Zhu family. These guys certainly wouldn't care about this issue. They didn't care what the emperor's surname was, as long as their family could continue to prosper and be wealthy. If Chongzhen officially passed on the throne, the princess would be the legitimate empress. Similarly, the Jiangnan Group and other provinces would accept this empress, and then use this empress as the core to fight against Li Zicheng together, and Li Zicheng would inevitably fail.

Li Zicheng failed, and his son certainly could not become emperor again. Even if he did not die in the chaos of war, as he had been adopted by Li Zicheng and changed his surname to Li, he had lost the qualification to inherit the Zhu family's kingdom.

And then the Queen is still the Queen.

She would not return the throne to her younger brother when he grew up, but would only pass the throne to her son.

Which woman would give her property to her younger brother instead of her son?
And of course her son couldn't have the surname Zhu.

The Zhu family’s empire is finally coming to an end.

(End of this chapter)