Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 45 Yu Qian is very annoying
Empress Dowager Sun raised her eyebrows and asked, "Yu Qian, don't keep me in suspense. What's going on?"
Yu Qian replied: "I have already reported the situation in the capital to you. Judging from the time, this memorial should have been sent to the front line!"
Empress Dowager Sun was even more confused and frowned, "But the emperor is not at the front line!"
Yu Qian shook his head and said, "Even though the emperor is not here, the Duke of Ying is still here, and the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses of the imperial court are still here!"
Hearing this, Empress Dowager Sun suddenly understood.
"You mean... let the Duke of England come back to take charge?"
"That's right!" Yu Qian said solemnly, "During these days, the emperor has led the soldiers in bloody battles, and the emperor and his subjects have long been of one mind. If the Duke of Ying learns that someone in the capital intends to replace the new emperor, he will immediately return to the court and take charge of the overall situation. By then, these rumors will be refuted."
Empress Dowager Sun nodded secretly. Yu Qian was indeed thoughtful. Although the emperor was missing, he had already established enough prestige in the army. If the soldiers heard that someone intended to replace the emperor with a new one, they would surely come with swords in hand and fight to the death!
If the army returns, the matter of enthroning the crown prince will be more secure.
Once the crown prince position is decided, those who support King Qing should stop making trouble.
"In this case, I will make the decision on behalf of the emperor. The Ministry of War will take the lead, and the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory will cooperate to prepare to welcome the victorious army of the Ming Dynasty!"
"Your Highness Yu Qian will obey your orders!"
After returning to the Ministry of War, before he could even sit down , another clerk came to the door and said, "Sir Yu, Scholar Cao wants to see you!"
The Scholar Cao mentioned by this clerk is the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Cao Nai. He was originally going to follow Kuang Ye to retreat to Juyongguan, but Kuang Ye was worried about the front line and insisted on staying. Cao Nai, Wang Zuo and others took a group of civil servants and the wounded back to Beijing first.
Yu Qian sighed. Needless to say, it must about the Prince of Qing's regent.
Originally, these things had nothing to do with me, but in the emperor's edict, I was appointed as the Minister of War and was also given the title of Left General. Now, the threshold of the Ministry of War was almost kicked down, and everyone would come to me first for any matter.
In fact, he didn't understand why the emperor made this decision.
When the emperor wanted to lead the army in person, he was the one who objected the most. He even criticized the emperor in front of all the officials for not understanding military affairs, wasting money and manpower, and damaging the country's foundation.
He still remembers the situation vividly. The emperor was so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick. He wanted to chop himself off to vent his anger. It was Empress Dowager Sun who said some good words for the sake of the late emperor , and the matter was dropped.
However, judging from the imperial edict brought back by Zhang Yi, the emperor is no longer the ignorant child he knew. Even if the late emperor were still alive, the decision he could make in the face of the dilemma at Tumu Fort would be no more than this, right?
Now the prince is young, and the country depends on the eldest prince. The imperial edict clearly states that if the emperor encounters an accident, the Prince of Qing will succeed to the throne.
This avoids the situation where uncles and nephews kill each other, and allows everyone to unite and face the outside world together.
You have to know that the fighting between uncle and nephew in the Zhu family has a historical tradition. The fact that the emperor can see this shows that he truly puts state affairs first and has completely let go of his selfish thoughts.
As for letting himself command the Beijing camp, this is even more incredible.
If the army was defeated at the front, Yesen would certainly lead his troops south and attack the capital directly. There are many cowards among the ministers, and someone would surely propose to move south at that time. The emperor's edict was equivalent to blocking the way to move south in advance, and it was legitimate for him to be ordered to guard the capital.
It’s strange, how does the emperor know that I will definitely not propose moving south?
Seeing that imperial edict, it was as if... the emperor could predict the future...
Full of doubts, Yu Qian came to Wenyuan Pavilion, where five grand secretaries had been waiting for a long time.
The chief minister was Cao Nai, followed by Chen Xun, Miao Zhong, Gao Gu, and Zhang Yi.
The cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty was founded by Emperor Yongle, and it had only been in existence for more than 20 years. Its role was roughly equivalent to that of the emperor's secretariat, with very limited powers and responsibilities. It was far from the cabinet that later generations are familiar with.
Cao Nai looked up and saw Yu Qian, and hurriedly greeted him, "Minister Yu, you are finally here, please sit down!"
Yu Qian bowed to everyone and then sat down at the bottom.
"What is the matter that has you all come to me so urgently?"
Cao Nai spoke first: "The matter is urgent, so I won't be polite with you. Now that the emperor has not returned from the Northern Expedition, what are your plans?"
Yu Qian looked strange and said, "As officials, we should fulfill our duties and do our part."
"Yu Qian, don't be so confusing with me!" Cao Nai simply said, "There are rumors that you took the lead in supporting the Prince of Qin to be the regent. Is that true?"
"Absolutely not!" Yu Qian shook his head like a rattle, saying repeatedly, "Rumors, pure rumors!"
"Really do not have?"
Yu Qian was immediately furious, and he stood up and said, "Master Cao, when have I ever told a lie?"
"Sit down, sit down!" Cao Nai waved his hand. "We old guys just want to check the situation with you. Why are you so excited?"
Yu Qian was also a hot-tempered person. His beard stood up in anger. He said, "I am a decent person and I have done the right things. Now I am being slandered for no reason. How can I not be upset?"
"Okay then!" Cao Nai nodded and said, "Even if you didn't start it, the rumors have already spread. Tell me, in the current situation, do you support the Prince of Qing as regent ?"
Yu Qian sat back down and said, "It's not my turn to worry about this kind of thing!"
"You are wrong!" Cao Nai shook his head and said, "You are the Minister of War, and you are also the candidate for the Minister of Military Affairs appointed by the Emperor. If you don't worry about it, who will worry about it?"
"Well!" Yu Qian had no choice but to say, "The emperor's edict did say that if anything unexpected happened, the Prince of Qing would succeed him. But the emperor hasn't met with any unexpected event, he's just temporarily out of contact. I think that before we get accurate information, this edict is just a piece of waste paper and should not take effect!"
Cao Nai and several other grand secretaries looked at each other and nodded.
"And more!" Yu Qian continued, "Whoever proposed to enthronize the King of Qing at this time must be punished and must be investigated thoroughly!"
At this time, Zhang Yi said: "I drafted this edict. At that time, the army was trapped in Tumubao, and the emperor decided to fight to the death. In order to stabilize the country, he left the edict in advance. If someone has ill intentions and wants to make a fuss about the edict, I will be the first to disagree!"
Cao Nai nodded and said, "In this case, let's make a deal. Before we get the exact news from the emperor, we must all unite. Yu Qian, many people will definitely come looking for you during this period. You must be prepared!"
