***
Wuzhou Prefecture had just received the good news of the great victories in Quanzhou and Yongzhou, and before it had time to be happy for two days, the tragic news of the great defeat at Lemafeng came.
Zhu Youlang and all the ministers in the court felt like they were on a roller coaster. They were tormented by the successive joys and sorrows and almost had heart failure.
At this time, bad news also came from the southwest. Tens of thousands of Qin troops suddenly descended like gods from the sky, and successively captured Longzhou, Sizhou, Qinzhou, Nanning and other places. Now they are going north through Kunlun Pass and heading straight for Binzhou; they are going east along the Yongshui River and heading towards Guixian County.
The situation in Guangxi suddenly became precarious and dangerous.
Zhu Youlang was so shocked when he received the report that he knocked over the teacup. The scalding hot tea burned his legs, but he didn't care.
He screamed at the eunuch Wang Kun, "Hurry up and send an order to have Qu Shisi return to protect the emperor. Hurry up and have him lead his troops back to protect the emperor!"
"Your Majesty, your foot, hurry... call the imperial physician!"
"I asked you to convey the order!" Zhu Youlang's handsome face twisted, and it was unclear whether it was out of pain or fear.
"Yes, yes, take care, Your Majesty..." Wang Kun himself was also frightened and at a loss. Under Zhu Youlang's repeated urging, he stumbled out of the inner hall and asked someone to convey the imperial edict.
Zhu Youlang hurriedly treated the burns and urgently summoned the ministers to discuss matters. As a result, most of the other officials arrived, but the chief minister of the cabinet, Ding Kuichu, was nowhere to be seen.
It turned out that after Ding Kuichu received the news that the Qin army was attacking from both sides, he was busy moving his property.
During his tenure as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, the Chongzhen Emperor was overwhelmed by internal and external troubles. The emperor was far away from Guangdong and Guangxi and had no time to take care of them.
Ding Kuichu, who controlled the military and political power in Guangdong and Guangxi, took the opportunity to plunder the people's wealth. He spent his days enjoying himself. He sent the navy to Lingyang Gorge near Zhaoqing, drained the river, and took inkstone stones from the old pit under Fuke Mountain. In terms of administrative personnel, he would use whoever bribed the most silver.
Through his lavish plundering over the years, he has amassed a staggering amount of wealth and talent, and is rich enough to rival a country.
Now the situation in Guangxi was pressing, and as the chief minister of the cabinet, his first thought was not how to save the crisis, but how to transfer his huge wealth.
Su Pin, the commander of the Central Army, was a trusted general he had promoted. He had already arranged for Su Pin's father-in-law, Zhong Mingyuan, to be the magistrate of Cenxi. After he felt that Wuzhou was in danger, he immediately asked Su Pin to be responsible for transporting the family wealth. He sent more than 300 ships carrying 200,000 taels of gold and more than 2.4 million taels of platinum to Cenxi, and he also brought 300 to 400 beautiful wives and concubines. It was really a grand and magnificent force.
After arranging all this, he hurried back to attend the court meeting.
Wu Bing, Wu Zhenyu, Li Ruyue and other pro-war factions have already been denouncing him.
Ding Kuichu had expected this, and as soon as he entered the palace, he immediately said, "Your Majesty, what I said is absolutely correct! Not even a single mistake!"
Ding Kuichu looked extremely distressed and cried out to the sky, which made people a little confused. What are you talking about
He was heard bowing and shouting: "Your Majesty! It has come to this. Guangxi is in danger! Your Majesty is in danger! Qu Shisi, Wu Bing, Wu Zhenyu, Zhang Tongchang, Li Ruyue and others are arrogant. They only advocate the Northern Expedition, not caring about the safety of Your Majesty, and do not know how to endure hardships and stop fighting to strengthen themselves.
The Emperor has handed the troops over to them, but now it has been proved that these people are nothing but fools, except for talking big and making noises. The north suffered a crushing defeat and was almost wiped out, while the south was completely unprepared, allowing the enemy to run wild. This is going to destroy our Ming Dynasty!
Your Majesty, at this point, the country is in a precarious situation. If you don’t severely punish those who bring disaster to the country and the people, and recruit capable ministers and generals, the Ming Dynasty will really be ruined! Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Your Majesty... "
Ding Kuichu bowed and cried out loudly, as if he would die in the court if Zhu Youlang did not agree to punish the traitor.
Wu Bing, Wu Zhenyu, Li Ruyue and others were so angry that their lungs were about to explode.
Li Ruyue rushed forward and cursed: "Ding Kuichu, you traitor, what else can you do besides plundering the people's wealth, buying and selling official positions, and framing loyal officials? The emperor summoned ministers to discuss matters, and you, as the chief minister, only cared about transferring the plundered people's wealth and ignored the emperor's will. You are disrespecting the emperor, disregarding moral principles, and committing treason. You deserve to die!"
"Shut up! Shut up! Everyone!" Zhu Youlang saw that the two sides were about to fight again. He was so anxious that he had no time to watch the ministers fighting.
In general, the current situation is extremely unfavorable to the war faction. As Ding Kuichu said, they were the ones who started the war, and the emperor also gave them the troops. But now they have suffered a great defeat and Guangxi is on the verge of collapse. The war faction cannot shirk this responsibility.
Apart from attacking Ding Kuichu's personal character, they had nothing else to say. However, Zhu Youlang was most concerned about the outcome of the battle, because it was related to whether his life could be saved. As for how much money Ding Kuichu had embezzled, no one would have the heart to care about it now.
"Master Ding, please tell me, what should we do now?"
"Your Majesty, now the only way to unite and resist foreign enemies is to punish those who harm the country and the people in the court. Only in this way can we boost the morale of the soldiers in the front and save the Ming Dynasty! Your Majesty, if the treacherous people in the court are not punished, the rest will be out of the question!"
“Ding Kuichu, you…”
"Come here, take the Censor Li Ruyue to the Ministry of Justice's jail and wait for his punishment!"
"Your Majesty! No!"
"Your Majesty, Li Ruyue is just one of the treacherous villains. If you only punish her and ignore the others, how can you convince the public?"
“Your Majesty… ”
In the court, people from both factions rushed out and shouted, making Zhu Youlang dizzy. He stood up, but was about to fall. Fortunately, the eunuch next to him was quick to support him. After standing firmly, Zhu Youlang looked pale and burst into tears, "I don't want to be the emperor anymore!" After saying that, he turned away and soon disappeared behind a large screen.
"emperor!"
"emperor!"
In the court, the pro-war and pro-peace factions shouted at each other, but they still could not keep Zhu Youlang, leaving only an empty throne on the steps. The two factions stayed for a while, and immediately took out their anger on each other. No one cared, and the two factions started to curse each other again, and eventually they could not avoid fighting again. The whole court was in chaos with fists and palms.
Things couldn't get any more ridiculous!
After Zhu Youlang returned to the harem, his stepmother, Wang Shi, the empress dowager, learned about what happened in the court. She hurriedly called Zhu Youlang to her bedroom and scolded him, "Ridiculous! Do you think being an emperor is just a game? I told you not to do it, but you refused to listen. Now you have no right to do it. If you still want to live, you should go back to the court and stop the ministers. Let everyone calm down and discuss countermeasures. Go now!"
Under the loud rebuke of the Empress Dowager, Zhu Youlang felt like he was hit by a bolt of lightning and hurried back to the court. At this time, the two factions in the court were tired of fighting. Many people were beaten with bruises and swollen faces. Some were even worse, with their faces covered in blood from being scratched. It looked exactly like a group of street thugs after a fight.
Zhu Youlang ordered the eunuch to find the imperial physician to bandage the injured minister. After that, he said with tears in his eyes: "I know that you can all surrender, but I cannot. That's why you are not afraid at all. The Ming Dynasty is over, and I am the only one who died. The political situation is so bad, and you are still fighting among yourselves. You are sending me to death..."
"emperor!"
"Your Majesty, we are waiting for your death!"
"No, you won't die. You can transform yourself and continue to be Qin Mu's official. The only one who will die is me! Only me!"
After hearing Zhu Youlang's heart-piercing words, many ministers fell to the ground, crying bitterly and constantly apologizing for their crimes.
Zhu Youlang then wiped his tears and said: "You don't need to apologize or argue anymore. If you want to resign, please do so. If you don't want me to die, please stop fighting and discuss countermeasures."
Ding Kuichu was the first to speak out: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, lips and teeth are cold. I believe that the Tang King in Guangdong knows this truth. I suggest that you quickly send an envoy to Guangdong to ask the Tang King for help and ask him to send troops to fight against the Qin army together."
After a long time of fussing, Zhu Youlang finally heard something useful. Without thinking too much, he immediately did it.
Ding Kuichu continued, "Your Majesty, in order to buy time, I dare to ask Your Majesty to send an envoy to negotiate peace with the Qin State. As long as Guangxi can be preserved, it is okay even if we first submit to the Qin Mu."
"Your Majesty, you can't do that! Did Emperor Sizong ever compromise with the traitors? Your Majesty is the orthodox of the Ming Dynasty. How can you disgrace the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty and become a vassal of the traitors? You thief Ding, you deserve to die!"
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ps: Here is the second update as promised. There will be another update in the evening as usual. Brothers, I urgently need monthly tickets! The competition at the end of this month is so fierce, it makes people worried. I beg for monthly tickets, I beg for protection! I beg for monthly tickets... ... ... Ah!
.(To be continued..)
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