Chapter 52: I Observe the Heavenly Signs—There Are Ten Imperial Stars!
Page (1/3) Final.
The Grand Preceptor of the Oirat, Choros Esen, was satisfied as he set about his separate plans.
Zhu Youjian waited for a long time, but no prompt appeared indicating the rise of national fortunes. He glanced back at Baozong, who was panting heavily, and suddenly understood.
This fellow was still an emperor in name; Esen might have been eliminated, but seeing Baozong’s stubborn expression, who could guarantee that, in an effort to redeem his reputation, he wouldn’t incite another incident like the Huailai mutiny?
“The crisis at Tumu has been resolved. Ancestors, please follow me to the Imperial Palace. No doubt chaos reigns there now,” Zhu Youjian declared with a grand wave, leading everyone out of the Orthodox timeline.
Though he did not possess the ability to teleport instantly, he could exit and re-enter, choosing his anchor point at will.
...
Shuntian Prefecture, Forbidden City.
The vast palace had lost all its usual solemnity and awe.
Virtually every official in the capital, regardless of rank, was crammed into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, their fierce arguments enough to make one’s scalp tingle.
The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet and the key ministers from the Six Ministries stood at the forefront, restraining themselves enough to avoid drawing swords.
“News from the front: Arat Jiyuan has led his army to capture thirteen cities east of Xuanfu, including Huailai, Yongning, and Longmen Garrison. He has blocked the route into Juyong Pass, cutting off the Grand Army’s retreat. His Majesty remains encamped at Tumu, unable to enter the Pass. Your Highness, a swift decision is needed!” reported Yu Qian, then Minister of War, covered in dust and facing Zhu Qiyu, whose brows were tightly knitted.
Yu Qian had been punished with hard labor in the mines by Eunuch Wang’s order for advising Emperor Yingzong to reconsider his campaign. Only upon being summoned by Prince Cheng, Zhu Qiyu, did he escape his predicament and immediately assume the post of Vice Minister of War.
Zhu Qiyu, hastily appointed as regent, was overwhelmed with anxiety, hesitant in every action for fear of making a misstep that would arouse the emperor’s suspicion and lead to his own downfall.
Naturally indecisive, he was now even more reluctant to take responsibility, lest he be held accountable in the future. So he deflected the matter, asking, “Vice Minister Yu, what do you think should be done?”
“An order must be issued immediately to mobilize all reserve troops and local garrisons to bring their supplies and occupy Shuntian, to guard against the Oirat forces breaching Juyong Pass and threatening the capital!” Yu Qian replied without hesitation.
His words instantly silenced the tumultuous hall, all eyes regarding him with a complex mix of surprise and suspicion.
Such a mobilization clearly implied abandoning any notion of aiding Tumu or sending troops to reinforce the emperor. Instead, it prepared for the worst.
A battle to defend the capital!
Disregarding the emperor’s safety out of concern for the state would, to future generations, mark Yu Qian as a paragon of virtue—but within the dynasty, such words could easily cost him his head.
Yet for Yu Qian, who placed the nation above all else, the fate of the Zhu family was not his concern. The country was greater than any royal house!
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He was prepared to pay with his head if necessary—what mattered it?
By the golden throne, beside the Dragon Seat, Commander Ma Shun of the Embroidered Uniform Guard glared furiously, cursing, “How dare you, Yu Qian! His Majesty is leading the army at the front. We should mobilize all troops from both capitals and thirteen provinces to his aid. Yet you propose bringing soldiers into the capital? What are your intentions!”
As the most trusted foster son of the Grand Eunuch Wang Zhen, Ma Shun was adept at hurling accusations—whoever was vulnerable, he would target, with no concern for the consequences.
Even Zhu Qiyu was startled, shaking his head vigorously. “Yu Qian, you are too bold. Admit your mistake! If His Majesty returns, you will surely be punished!”
Yu Qian looked at him with disappointment, his tone unyielding: “Your Highness must order the mobilization now, or the nation will be in peril. Our ancestors will be enraged!”
“Your Highness, Yu Qian harbors wolfish ambitions, secretly colluding with the local garrisons. It would be better to imprison him in the Imperial Prison—I have my methods to make him confess his accomplices. When His Majesty inquires in the future, this will be a great merit!” Ma Shun immediately requested. Now that he commanded all Embroidered Uniform Guards in the capital, the entrance of outside troops would weaken his power. In these uncertain times, might makes right, and he was unwilling to lose his advantage. As for the nation’s fate—what was that to him? It would only hinder his profiteering in chaos!
“No. Yu Qian is a pillar of the state. Do not contemplate such measures again,” Zhu Qiyu warned at last. He merely wanted to avoid trouble, not court disaster.
If Wang Zhen’s faction were allowed to run rampant and persecute the loyal, what would become of the dynasty’s foundations?
“This matter, I will report to the Empress Dowager myself,” Ma Shun’s smiling face turned instantly cold, his tone threatening.
Though Zhu Qiyu was regent on the surface, real power lay with Empress Dowager Sun; Prince Cheng was but a puppet. When he showed respect, he called Zhu Qiyu “Your Highness.” Otherwise, he would trample him underfoot.
Zhu Qiyu dared not protest further. Previously, he feared the power behind Ma Shun; now, he feared the blades in his hands. He muttered, “The Empress Dowager will decide. She will understand.”
A commotion arose outside.
Empress Dowager Sun entered, her eyes red and swollen. She strode straight to the Dragon Seat, swept her gaze over the assembled officials, and sternly asked, “After half a day of debate, have you reached any plan, good or bad? At least let me hear something concrete!”
Xu Cheng, lost in existential bewilderment in a corner, hesitantly stepped forward and saluted, “Your Majesty, last night I observed the heavens—the Ziwei Emperor Star…”
“What of the Emperor Star?” Empress Dowager Sun inquired, feigning deep interest in astrology, though she understood nothing beyond the term itself.
Xu Cheng looked up, replying earnestly, “The star chart shows that the Ziwei Emperor Star has become ten.”
Empress Dowager Sun couldn’t discern if this was good or bad. When the other officials abruptly fell silent, she adopted the same air of profundity, pretending to ponder.
In truth, the entire court was stunned; Yu Qian might not fear death, but Xu Cheng was dragging his entire clan down with him!
(The butterfly’s wings stirred a breeze that reached the imperial court.)
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“How dare you, Xu Cheng!”
Though the Empress Dowager did not understand, there were always those who did. Commander Ma Shun of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, ever ready to seize on a flaw, instantly flew into a rage: “You dare curse the Ming dynasty with division, uttering heresy in the court!”
“Your Majesty, earlier the Vice Minister of War, Yu Qian, tried to exploit His Majesty’s campaign by requesting to bring troops into the capital—clearly treasonous. Xu Cheng now confuses the masses with talk of astrology. Both deserve death!”
“I beg Your Majesty to order their immediate imprisonment in the Imperial Prison. Within a day, I will extract the names of their accomplices and eradicate these traitors, restoring order to the dynasty!”
Empress Dowager Sun cast a cold glance at Yu Qian, then turned her piercing gaze to Zhu Qiyu, demanding, “Is this true?”
“It is,” Zhu Qiyu replied, forced to bow his head and sigh deeply within.
Enraged, Empress Dowager Sun decreed, “Since that is so, Embroidered Uniform Guards, seize Xu Cheng and Yu Qian at once! Force their confessions and execute them without mercy!”
Yu Qian shook his head, utterly despondent.
Xu Cheng, lost in deep self-doubt, paid no attention to what was said.
“By your command, Your Majesty!” Ma Shun replied smugly, casting Zhu Qiyu a contemptuous glance.
Crack!
Suddenly, Ma Shun’s vision went black and stars danced before his eyes. Looking down, he saw—damn, a spirit tablet!
“Who dares such insolence?!”
By the Dragon Seat, a group of men in dragon robes materialized—each brawny and imposing, with two of them extremely fat.
Empress Dowager Sun’s heart leapt in alarm and she called out, “Guards, seize the assassins—”
Crack!
Emperor Xuande, Zhu Zhanji, his face dark as thunder, delivered a stinging slap.
“Ji—Ji elder brother?”
Empress Dowager Sun clutched her face, caught between anger and shock, utterly bewildered.
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