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On the eighth day of the seventh month in the second year of Longwu, the red sun rose, and the rosy clouds cast a myriad of rays of light on the Qin Palace.
As soon as the three drums were sounded, all the civil and military officials, led by the Imperial Censor, holding their tablets, walked up the high golden steps with a five-clawed golden dragon coiled on them, and filed into the Purple Palace.
Amid the ups and downs of the loud and clear sounds of drums and bells, tigers and leopards howled and wolves and elephants growled. The emperor displayed his full ceremonial gear, wearing a black dragon robe, a Shiyu crown on his head, and a Longquan sword at his waist, and sat in the Purple Palace.
Han Zanzhou stood on one side of the altar, brushed his whisk, raised his head and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, please ascend the throne. All officials kneel to welcome you!"
Qin Mu walked out of the back hall with his hand on the hilt of the sword. Two palace maids, holding pheasant feather palace fans, followed him and stood behind the throne.
"Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor!" All the officials performed the ceremony of three bows and nine kowtows, and the whole hall was filled with prostrations.
Qin Mu stood in front of the throne with a golden dragon coiled on it. He glanced at the entire hall through the beads covering his face. He was a moment slower than usual before he spread his sleeves and slowly sat down.
"Everyone, please stand up!"
"Thank you very much!"
The civil and military officials stood up and returned to their trains. Everyone understood that the emperor had suddenly convened a grand court meeting and deliberately delayed for a moment before letting the officials stand up. This was a way to establish his authority!
All the ministers lowered their heads slightly, and no one dared to look directly at the dragon throne on the altar. A solemn atmosphere permeated, making those officials standing at the end of the class, who had low official positions and were not even qualified to attend the regular court, feel very uneasy, and sweat appeared on their foreheads.
Today, the emperor wears a sword and goes to the palace, perhaps not just to roar a counterattack against the foreign enemies.
To resist foreign aggression, one must maintain domestic stability. Today, anyone who dares to oppose him may be "killed" first.
The emperor, who had just sat down, stood up again. The breeze from outside the palace blew in, and the black dragon robe on the altar fluttered gently. The light smoke from the gilded cranes on both sides made the tall figure on the altar look a little ethereal.
"Since I ascended the throne, I have worked hard to govern the country. However, the four borders are in turmoil and civil strife has arisen again. Some people say that this is due to my lack of benevolence and virtue. There are endless voices of impeachment, as if they will not stop until I issue an edict of repentance."
The voice coming from Danchi was calm but powerful.
At this moment, apart from Qin Mu's voice, not even a breath could be heard in the entire Golden Palace.
The emperor spoke so seriously from the beginning that the already uneasy mood of the ministers in the palace became even heavier.
These days, the voices of criticism are certainly rising one after another. Although few people dare to point the finger directly at the emperor himself, those who are attacked the most are those who insist on carrying out the emperor's will. This is actually an indirect attack on the emperor.
How can a confession of guilt be issued easily
Except for Emperor Chongzhen of the late Ming Dynasty who issued the edict of apology as a common practice, no other emperor would easily issue the edict of apology.
As the founding emperor, the three words "repentance edict" are the biggest taboo.
Because the edict of repentance is a self-denial of the correctness and rationality of governing.
Qin Mu held the hilt of his sword and said calmly, "I may as well tell you today that I will not issue a self-blame edict. Unless my people all say that I should issue a self-blame edict, otherwise, forget it."
Qin Mu's confidence came from the mountains of dragon coins outside the Great Qin Gate. More precisely, it came from the hands that held up the Great Qin sky.
With such confidence, his voice was not loud, but it made people hear thunder in silence and their hearts tremble.
"Before the Qin Dynasty was established, the reason why we were invincible was because we were united and fought against foreign aggression. But now, facing the invasion of foreign enemies, some people are not thinking about how to fight against them, but are busy trying to make fun of me."
The ministers in the hall replied terrified: "We dare not!"
"Don't you dare? When the Dutch invaded, the Mongols invaded, the chieftains in the southwest rebelled, and emergency documents came one after another, what were you busy with? Now, tell me!"
Qin Mu could not help but let out a loud shout. All the cabinet ministers, including Sima An and Lu Zhenfei, fell to the ground at the sound of the shout.
"I want to be a benevolent monarch and do not want to do things that will lead to the destruction of the enemy. However, please do not push me too far."
Qin Mu's words were very serious, but at this moment, one could also hear a hint of sincerity in them.
The ministers replied one after another: "We dare not. We will die!"
"Today, in this Golden Palace, I have only one thing to say to all the invading enemies: Fight back! My attitude has been made clear. As the saying goes, it is never too late to mend the fold after the sheep have been lost. Ministers, are you still willing to unite with me and resist foreign humiliation together?"
For such a problem, of course no one will jump out and say "I don't want to", no one wants to die.
In today's grand court meeting, the emperor showed such a strong performance. In addition to the support of public opinion, more importantly, he had the support of the military.
Whether it is the navy or the army, in this political wave, their stance is consistent with that of the emperor. To safeguard the dignity of the emperor is to safeguard the interests of the military itself.
With the support of the military and the people, and a huge consortium hidden behind it that was out of people's attention, as soon as the emperor spoke, three million dragon coins were immediately in place.
Recalling the Chongzhen Emperor, he had to beg humbly several times before he got fifty taels of silver. This emperor was not of the same level at all!
"Gu Yanwu!"
"Your Majesty, I, Gu Yanwu, respectfully listen to your instructions."
"I order you to immediately draft a draft edict to suppress the rebels and submit it to me."
"I obey your order."
"Resign!"
The ministers in the hall were still in shock, but Qin Mu had already stood up. Everyone had no choice but to pay their respects: "Farewell, Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!"
A grand court meeting was over. It was obvious that the emperor did not want to discuss anything at this grand court meeting. He just wanted to show his authority and attitude. With the strong military and public opinion, he wanted all the ministers to understand what it meant that those who obey me will prosper, and those who disobey me will perish.
Now that foreign enemies are invading, our priority should be to resist foreign humiliation. At this time, whoever farts one more time will be courting his own destruction.
The grand court meeting ended quickly, but the pressure on the ministers' hearts did not dissipate. When leaving the Golden Palace, officials at all levels rarely spoke to each other. They were still worried and remained cautious.
But everyone had doubts in their hearts, and the emperor just dismissed the court like that. Did the emperor have already made up his mind about the upcoming war
Just when the ministers were confused, a eunuch came out of the Golden Palace and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty has ordered the cabinet ministers, the six ministers, the foreign minister, and the commanders-in-chief of the navy and army to come to the Huagai Palace to discuss matters immediately."
Sima An, Li Yuan and others couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief when they heard the imperial edict. Fortunately, the emperor did not act on impulse because he had absolute advantage.
Including other ministers, everyone breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the imperial edict.
Looking back at the majestic and solemn Golden Palace, there are those solemnly standing generals and golden-gourd warriors; the flying dragon beast on the high ridge of the palace shines brightly in the sun, the sky is high and the atmosphere is grand, everything is so sacred and inviolable.
Yes, this is the Great Qin. The sacred and inviolable Great Qin Dynasty!
The meetings in the Huagai Hall were going on intensely. After returning to the yamen, officials from various departments gathered themselves together and threw themselves into their work.
The lights in the Ministry of Industry were on all night long.
The lights in the Ministry of War were on all night long.
The lights in the Ministry of Revenue were on all night long.
The lights in the Armory stayed on all night long.
The lights in the Navy and Army Commander-in-Chief's Office stayed on all night long.
The next day, an imperial edict was issued from the magnificent Qin Palace, announcing to the world: Anyone who offends the Qin will be punished, no matter how far away they are!
This was perhaps the most concise imperial edict in history. It only had nine words, but it represented the clear and sharp dragon roar of the supreme ruler in the Qin Palace.
These days, the city of Nanjing, which has been shrouded in the shadow of war and has a somewhat gloomy atmosphere, felt as if the clouds and fog had instantly cleared and a myriad of golden light appeared because of the dragon's roar.
In the market, there are unruly young men, holding swords and singing wildly, singing with high spirits, "Qin has sharp warriors, and their swords are sharp. They wear black clothes and black armor, sweeping across the wilderness."
In the Imperial College, there were scholars who wanted to follow Ban Dingyuan's example and join the army. They went to the Meridian Gate to knock on the gate and ask the emperor for permission to allow them to join the army.
There are eighteen salt merchants in Lianghuai, whose business was damaged by the border war. They specially presented 300,000 dragon coins for military use and asked the emperor to send the royal army as soon as possible to quell the border troubles.
There were also 33 sea merchants who, as if to overwhelm the salt merchants, presented 800,000 dragon coins at a time as military supplies for the Royal Navy, asking the Emperor to pacify the sea borders as soon as possible.
Merchants were the most astute group. The emperor did not borrow money from the dignitaries in the court, but borrowed 3 million dragon coins from merchants at once. Other merchants immediately smelled something different. They donated generously, and the reason for doing so was just to save their own interests and avoid losses.
Regardless of their inner intentions, or whether the emperor himself intended to take the opportunity to elevate the status of merchants, their generosity undoubtedly further boosted public opinion. It was both a motivation and a pressure for both the ministers in the court and the military.
At this time, there is only one voice in the whole country, and that is: war!
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ps: The monthly votes are weak, and I haven't even made it to the top of the category list. This is the first day of the month, and I'm anxious! I'll update another chapter and ask for monthly votes to help me get on the list.
Brothers and sisters, please!
.(To be continued..)
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