Chapter 23: The Edict of Loyalty to the King

  In the second year of Chongzhen, on November 4th, in the capital of the Great Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen was discussing the safety of the capital with members of the Grand Council in the Wenhua Hall. The hall inside and out was extremely quiet, only the voices of Emperor Chongzhen and the various ministers could be heard when they were discussing matters. The eunuchs and palace maids all knew that during this critical autumn season, even small mistakes could lead to big ones.

  The Grand Secretary Han Zhen was already sixty-seven years old, his waist was still quite robust, and his spirit was also very sharp. However, Emperor Chongzhen still granted him a seat to show respect; at this time he was talking eloquently: "Your Majesty can rest assured, the Jurchen rebels are located in the remote and cold northeastern corner of Liaodong, with extremely limited resources, they must not be able to raise a large army to come here. Zhuang is a strong city, let alone it is the location of the Governor's office, with many soldiers and generals, the Jurchen rebels either will not go there or will be blocked under the city wall if they do."

  Chongzhen Emperor was still a bit worried, according to Zhong Jinwei's words, this time the construction of the enemy is the main force, invading the capital. If it's true, how can we defend against it? Should the imperial edict be issued or not? Unfortunately, there are too few messages coming now, and there is no way to confirm whether it is as Zhong Jinwei said or as the prime minister said.

  The Chongzhen Emperor furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

  Han Bang finished speaking and saw that Emperor Chongzhen was just listening, without saying a word. He turned his head to look at his colleagues, but they didn't show any approval of him either. So he had no choice but to turn back to face Emperor Chongzhen, waiting for him to express his opinion. At the same time, in his heart, he quickly reviewed what he had just said and couldn't find anything that was unreasonable.

  Suddenly, the grand hall became very quiet, with no one speaking. Emperor Chongzhen woke up from his contemplation, and his brow did not relax due to Han's words: "Does the Grand Chancellor think that Yuzhou can be defended?"

  Han Yan was taken aback. Logically speaking, it should be possible to hold on, but what if it can't be held? It's better to be safe: "Your Majesty, holding out for a few days is no problem at all. If the enemy attacks Zhuozhou, the court will understand the situation and quickly dispatch troops from nearby to relieve the siege."

  "If Zhuozhou is held for several days and cannot be defended before the arrival of reinforcements, Jianxi will break through Zhuozhou and head straight to the capital. Does the chief assistant have a good plan?"

  It seems that it has to come to the worst result, and relying solely on the Beijing garrison doesn't seem feasible. After some thought, he replied to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, there are three major garrisons in the capital, with a total of approximately 81,900 people. If Your Majesty feels that the defensive strength is still insufficient, you can order the officials in the capital to lead their families to jointly defend the city, and thus the number of people will be sufficient."

  The emperor's brow relaxed slightly, but he was still a bit worried: "How is the combat strength of your families, ministers?"

  "Your Majesty, by defending the city walls, all that is needed is bravery and strength. During battles, recruit strong civilians to defend the city against enemies, this is a common practice during wartime."

  "It's good. When the war breaks out in the capital, this method can be used." The Chongzhen Emperor thought it was fine and nodded his head in affirmation.

  Suddenly, a hurried footsteps came from outside the main hall. An imperial attendant flashed in and bowed to report: "Your Majesty, the Minister of War, Wang Kai, has an urgent matter to see you outside the palace!"

  Something urgent has happened, could it be another piece of bad news? The Chongzhen Emperor now thinks the worst about everything. Hurriedly, Wang Ji was summoned into the palace.

  The people in the hall stopped talking and turned their heads towards the gate of the hall.

  The urgent footsteps and panting sounds grew louder, and then the Minister of War, Wang Qia, appeared at the entrance of the palace, hastily rushing forward a few steps before kneeling in the hall: "Your Majesty, it has been confirmed that the Jianyu and Mongolian tribes have joined forces with over 100,000 troops. In one day, they captured three garrisons, including Zhuozhou and Bazhou. The relief army sent from Shanhai Pass, led by General Zhao Zuo, was completely annihilated."

  Chongzhen Emperor suddenly stood up, what? The rebel army has an army of 100,000? Zhao Rate's entire army was defeated? Three Tuans, Yunhe and Zhuozhou all fell in one day?

  These messages came one after another like thunder on a clear day, striking Emperor Chongzhen's head.

  Han Yu, the chief assistant of the cabinet, heard Wang Jia's words and could no longer sit still. He had just comforted the emperor and then received such news, as if someone had slapped his own face with great force.

  The Wenhua Hall was unusually quiet at this time, with only Wang Qia's gasping sounds echoing like thunder.

  Confucians emphasize composure and calmness, even if Mount Tai were to collapse, their faces would not change. But under such huge news, the people in the palace couldn't remain calm anymore.

  Wang Ji knew that as the Minister of War, such a major event had occurred, and he was afraid that it would be difficult to get through this pass. At this time, he also had no time to take care of himself, and he said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, now is the time to issue an edict to call for the king's rescue!"

  The dizziness of Emperor Chongzhen was interrupted, and he regained his senses. Unless absolutely necessary, it would not be possible to issue an edict to the whole country to come to the king's rescue. So, he asked Han Zhan, who had just stood up: "What does the chief assistant think?"

  The enemy has reached an army of 100,000. With the current strength of the capital, it is feared that it will be difficult to defend. Moreover, the land of the capital cannot afford to lose. To ensure against any eventuality, there is no choice but to issue a decree to the whole country to come and rescue the king: "Your Majesty, I think so."

  The Chongzhen Emperor looked at others in the Wenhua Hall, no one dared to take responsibility for the fall of the capital, and they all followed suit.

  The first imperial edict of the Chongzhen Emperor calling for the people to defend the kingdom was issued in this context and sent to all parts of the country.

  Han Yu returned to his own mansion, lost his appetite for food, sat alone in the study, and no one was allowed to enter without being summoned.

  Han Yan reflected on his words and actions over the past few days, especially today. He couldn't help but sigh, feeling old and no longer capable of keeping up. Despite the enormity of the crisis, he had failed to detect it beforehand and was now relying solely on his student, Yu Rong's, efforts to supervise the troops under Yuan Chonghuan. If they could repel the Jin invaders, they might be able to get through this crisis; otherwise, at the very least, he would have to take responsibility and resign.

  Just as he was thinking, there was a knock at the door. Han's heart couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He had already instructed not to disturb him, yet someone still didn't open their eyes. Was it really because they were bullying him for being old? A surge of anger rose up in Han, and he shouted in a low voice: "Who!"

  "Grandpa, it's me." A childish voice rang out.

  Han Dongyi heard it, and his anger disappeared all at once. It turned out to be his own precious grandson. This year he is already sixty-seven years old, but under his knees there is only this one grandson, so precious that he can't bear it.

  He walked over and opened the door to see his fair and lovely grandson standing at the entrance, looking up at him with an upturned face: "Grandpa, I'm hungry, Grandpa! I want to eat!"

  "Alright, alright, Grandpa will go eat with you." With a kind face, the wrinkles on his forehead smoothed out, and he didn't care that he was already old. He bent down and hugged his grandson tightly, "Let's go eat!" All his worries were hidden in front of family affection.

  The night sky in November was very clear, without a single cloud, and the full moon accompanied by countless stars. The cold wind blew from time to time, causing the eunuchs standing outside the palace to shrink their bodies from time to time.

  In the palace, Empress Zhou was persuading Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, it's already late at night, you should rest."

  Chongzhen Emperor looked at Empress Zhou, who had just given birth to their first son this year, and sighed. He used a bookmark to mark the page he was reading and closed the book. Turning around to face Empress Zhou behind him, he said: "I took over the throne entrusted by my imperial brother, and I am in charge of state affairs, which makes me very anxious."

  He said, "Taizu once said that in all things, diligence leads to success and laziness to failure; thoughtfulness leads to understanding and confusion to obstruction. Therefore, those who hold their will firmly are not overcome by confusion or laziness, so their work broadens daily and their virtue advances daily. I have taken this as my motto, rising early and sleeping late, handling state affairs, and always finding time to practice it. Why? I am not afraid of hardship, nor do I fear exhaustion, but in exchange, our dynasty has had only a few instances of the imperial edict for diligent kingship, and I have one of them."

  Normally, Emperor Chongzhen would not discuss state affairs with the imperial harem, but today his mood was particularly bad and he felt stifled and unable to vent his frustrations. A single word of comfort from Empress Zhou caused him to pour out all the bitter water in his heart.

  Empress Zhou remained in the depths of the palace, unable to understand Emperor Chongzhen's confusion and powerless to dispel it.

  Fortunately, Emperor Chongzhen did not ask her to respond and continued: "When I was still the Prince of Xin, I had already heard that Yuan Chonghuan had taken charge of Liaodong affairs and achieved many victories against the enemy. As soon as I ascended to the throne, after dealing with Wei Zhongxian, I promoted him out of turn to be the Commander-in-Chief of Jizhou and Liaodong, and Minister of War. At that time, he replied to me saying that he could pacify Liaodong within five years, but now the enemy has reached my doorstep."

  The Chongzhen Emperor became more and more indignant as he spoke, his voice rising considerably.

  Empress Zhou looked out of the Wàngwàng Palace with concern and thought to herself, "Tomorrow morning, I must warn those outside the gate to be careful not to lose their lives for speaking recklessly."

  After the Chongzhen Emperor finished speaking, he felt a little better in his heart. Thinking again, he couldn't help but feel a bit depressed: "But now I still don't dare to move him, and Jianyuan may attack the capital at any moment. Now I am still hoping that he will lead his elite troops, the Gengning Iron Cavalry, to help me repel Jianyuan."

  He sighed again, looking at the lamp flame burning in the hall, and muttered: "Is there really no one who can truly help me?!"

  Although the voice was small, Empress Zhou still heard it and thought of something. She raised her delicate eyebrows and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of her eyes as she gently said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, wasn't it just a few months ago that a heavenly immortal saved Your Majesty?"

  Chongzhen Emperor listened, without any joy, looking at Empress Zhou's thin face, giving birth to a child is like taking a trip to the Ghost Gate, and now she still hasn't recovered, the empress has also suffered.

  A surge of gentle emotions rose from the bottom of his heart, and he said softly to Empress Zhou: "My dear wife, Zhong Jingwei saved my life, but now I've received news that he's still in a coma. Previously, he had mentioned to me that this kind of situation would occur today, and told me what would happen afterwards. I have been hesitant about whether or not to believe him, sometimes thinking I should, sometimes thinking it was unlikely, and all along hoping that the situation he described wouldn't come true, because it's too terrible." As Chongzhen Emperor spoke, he said to himself in his heart: "Oh, king of a doomed country!"

  Suddenly, he remembered that Zhong Jinwei had mentioned a way to solve the predicament and even claimed to be able to cure the Great Ming's illness. No, I must go see him, maybe he'll wake up!

  "We will go and see Chongzhen Wei ourselves." The Chongzhen Emperor said, standing up.

  "Your Majesty, it's getting late at night."

  "It doesn't matter, go and come back quickly, I won't go myself to take a look, tonight's sleep will be bad."

  It was indeed late at night, and Emperor Chongzhen did not want to make a big show of it, so he quietly made his way to the side hall where Zhong Xiang was, under the escort of the inner servants.

  As soon as he arrived at the side hall door, he suddenly heard a voice coming from inside the side hall: "Young master, let me tell you again about my childhood."

  "I am a native of Tongzhou, Hebei Province. I have an elder brother who loves to dance with swords and spears, and my mother is at home. There is a swing in our courtyard, young master. I've loved swings since I was little..."

  Chongzhen Emperor was taken aback. Had Zhong Xuewu come to? But hadn't he just reported that he was still unconscious today? Could it be that he had just woken up?

  His heart leapt with joy, and Emperor Chongzhen didn't wait for the eunuch to open the door either, he himself pushed it open and rushed in.