Chapter 47: How to Deal with Huang Taiji?

  "'Treasure?' Emperor Chongzhen asked with a smile, 'I wonder what kind of treasure it is?'"

  "Long live... this treasure is...!" Wang Pu said, intentionally pausing for a moment to whet everyone's appetite, before suddenly saying: "The Imperial Seal of the Transmission of State!"

  Heirloom Seal of the Realm!？

  The national jade seal has been lost in the vast desert for over 200 years!

  Chongzhen Emperor and the civil and military officials suddenly held their breath, staring straight at the yellow silk package in Wang Pu's hand. If this yellow silk package really contained the Imperial Seal of the Transmission of State, then it was indeed a treasure, an unparalleled treasure! The sudden appearance of the Imperial Seal of the Transmission of State brought a shock to Chongzhen Emperor and the civil and military officials far greater than capturing the slave leader Huang Taiji alive.

  In the end, Huang Taiji was just a tribal chief outside of China, but the Heirloom Seal of the Realm had always been a thorn in the heart of every Ming dynasty emperor!

  Throughout China's dynasties, they all emphasized the legitimacy of the monarch's divine right to rule, and the Heirloom Seal of the Realm was a physical symbol of this divine right. If you possessed the Heirloom Seal, then you were an emperor appointed by heaven; if you didn't have it, then you weren't a true ruler appointed by heaven - put bluntly, you were a fake dynasty, a fake emperor!

  But since Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty, the national jade seal has been lost forever.

  Chongzhen Emperor suppressed the excitement in his heart and said to Minister of Rites Xie Sheng: "Minister Xie, investigate!"

  The Minister of Rites, Xie Sheng, did not dare to be slow and hastily stepped forward to take the yellow silk package from Wang Pu's hand, layer by layer opening it, and then carefully took out the square-inch transmission jade seal. Along with the Minister of Rites, Fang Fengnian, Zhang Si Zhi, Chen Yan, and the Grand Secretary, Cheng Ji, as well as other officials such as Zhou Yanyu and Wei Zhaocheng, they began to carefully examine it.

  Half a time later, Xie Sheng carefully held the imperial jade seal and knelt down on the Danzhong platform, excitedly shouting: "Long live, we have verified that this jade seal is indeed the lost imperial jade seal of the great desert for over 200 years!"

  "Great, too good!"

  The Chongzhen Emperor was overjoyed when he heard the news, and the return of the Imperial Seal of China was of great significance to the Ming Dynasty. For the current Ming Dynasty, which is in a state of turmoil, the significance is even greater! In ancient times, where feudal superstition prevailed, people easily linked this matter with some kind of "heavenly will", believing it to be an omen of the imminent resurgence of the Ming Dynasty.

  "King Ai Qing." Chongzhen Emperor's face was filled with joy, "You have rendered great service to me and the Great Ming. Tell me, how should I reward you? What kind of prize do you want?"

  "This...," Wang Pu said with a low smile, "is all due to the emperor's great good fortune. What merit do I have? How dare I ask for reward?"

  "Hahaha." Emperor Chongzhen laughed and said, "Speak, speak boldly, what is it that you want?"

  Wang Bodao said: "Really... really say it?"

  Chongzhen Emperor looked around at his ministers and burst out laughing: "Haha, Minister Wang still has some shame!"

  All the officials burst into loud laughter, and the atmosphere in the great hall suddenly became extremely warm. To say that since Emperor Chongzhen ascended to the throne, the monarchs and ministers of the Great Ming had never been so happy before. Some older senior officials were even moved to tears, it's not easy for the Great Ming Dynasty to finally have a sign of revival.

  Wang Pu took a deep breath and said loudly: "Since that's the case, I'll muster up my courage to say it. When we were eliminating the White Lotus rebels in Jining, two female slaves of the enemy were allowed to escape. I hope Your Majesty will pardon me for my dereliction of duty and also grant all the property I plundered from Liaodong to my soldiers as a reward."

  When Wang Pu said this, Fu Shou, the Minister of Revenue, originally wanted to speak out, but after looking at Chongzhen Emperor who was in high spirits, he gave up.

  "We agree." Chongzhen Emperor replied with excitement and without hesitation, "Besides these, do you have any other requests?"

  This was something that Chongzhen Emperor would never agree to in normal times, and he might even have scolded Wang Pu severely. Especially since the treasures Wang Pu had plundered from Liaodong were originally intended to be confiscated by the imperial court. However, now that Wang Pu had recovered the long-lost Imperial Seal of China, everything was easily settled.

  "It's gone." Wang Pu hastily shook his head and said, "I have no other requests."

  "The National Treasure Seal returns to the Great Ming, and Wang's achievements are outstanding." Chongzhen Emperor smiled slightly and continued, "Just rewarding some wealth is not enough, I'm afraid the people of the world will say that I am petty. Haha, so today I grant you a Golden Card of Amnesty, from now on, if you or your descendants commit a capital offense, as long as you present this card, your life will be spared!"

  After saying this, Emperor Chongzhen took a golden plaque from his waist and ordered Wang Chengen to hand it over to Wang Pu.

  The officials were shocked, a golden pardon? That's the highest honor!

  Wang Pu took the golden pardon from Wang Chengen's hand and exclaimed with joy: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  No need to say more, Wang Pu really likes this thing.

  "Hahaha." Chongzhen Emperor burst into loud laughter three times, then said, "Bring in the slave, bring in Hong Taiji!"

  Wang Chengen hastily stepped forward two steps and shouted in a loud voice: "The Emperor has an edict, to bring the Crown Prince..."

  The two generals of the Han army who had been waiting outside the palace immediately took Emperor Taizong into the grand hall. Although he was already a prisoner, after entering the hall, he did not kneel and remained calm and composed.

  "Emperor Taizong of Tang, why did you not kneel when you saw me?"

  The voice of Chongzhen Emperor was not loud, but it had a tone that was awe-inspiring without being angry.

  The emperor let out a hum from his nostrils and said proudly: "I am also the ruler of a country, why should I kneel to you?"

  "How dare you!" shouted Xie Sheng, the Minister of Rites, "You barbarians also dare to call yourselves a country, and your tribal leaders also dare to claim superiority, it's simply a case of monkeys wearing crowns, shameless and ignorant."

  "Is that so?" Hong Taiji countered calmly, "Since the Great Ming is the Heavenly Dynasty and our Great Qing is just a minor barbarian state, why has it been that for decades the Heavenly Dynasty has been defeated by the minor barbarian state, abandoning cities and territories, retreating step by step? It's truly as if we are following Heaven's will and conforming to the people's hearts. Our Great Qing rose in Liaodong, taking the Great Ming and possessing the world is the trend of the times!"

  "The cabinet premier, Cheng Ji, emerged from the class and rebuked them: 'You Tungus savages, our great Ming dynasty has civilized your ancestors, teaching you etiquette, shame, farming, fishing, and hunting. Yet not only do you fail to repay our kindness, but you also turn against us with knives and swords, bringing calamity to the descendants of our great Ming. This is simply ungrateful and disloyal.'"

  Hong Taiji retorted, "The body of the old ox may be large, but one day it will die. The wings of the young eagle may be weak, but one day it will soar into the blue sky. The newly risen Qing dynasty will also one day replace the rotten Ming dynasty and become the new master of the Central Plains."

  Wang Pu couldn't help but sneer: "You think you can conquer the Central Plains with just a few million Jurchen slaves from Liaodong? Do you know how many Han people are in the Central Plains? 200 million! Even if each person spits, it's enough to drown your tens of millions of Jurchen slaves. You're really a toad trying to swallow an elephant, what a big tone!"

  All the officials burst out laughing.

  Chongzhen Emperor waved his hand and said calmly: "Take him away."

  Two high-ranking Han generals dragged the Huang Taiji out of the palace, and Chongzhen Emperor asked his ministers: "You have all seen the slave leader, he is just a bit fatter than usual, but there are no three heads and six arms, nor is he three zhang tall as rumored. He has two shoulders carrying a head, and is also made of flesh and blood."

  The officials burst into laughter again, and even the normally serious Chongzhen Emperor couldn't help but crack a joke. After finishing his laugh, Chongzhen turned to the officials and said, "While we still have some time before the banquet, I'd like to discuss with you how to deal with the slave leader Huang Taiji."

  "What's there to discuss?" Wang Pu shouted loudly, "Of course he should be cut into a thousand pieces!"

  The Minister of War, Chen Xingjia, hastily stepped forward and memorialized: "Your Majesty, I think that General Wang's words are extremely correct, and Huang Taiji should be punished with dismemberment."

  The Cabinet Assistant Zhou Yanru also stepped forward and echoed: "Long live, I concur."

  Many officials who had been flattering the emperor stepped forward, loudly demanding that the emperor be put to death by lingchi. Just then, however, Left Supervisor-in-Chief Liu Zongzhou stepped forward with a memorial and said: "Your Imperial Majesty, I believe that the bandit Hong Taiji has brought harm to our Great Ming borders for many years, killing countless people. While he should indeed be punished, our Great Ming is after all the celestial dynasty, a country of grand propriety and etiquette. How can we treat him in the same way as those barbarians?"

  Chongzhen Emperor frowned and said: "What do you mean?"

  Liu Zongzhou bowed his head and said, "In the past, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty released the Turkic Khan Ashina Helu, which brought hundreds of years of peace to the border. Why not follow the example of the ancients and repay grievances with virtue? If Your Majesty can release Huang Taiji and use great righteousness to transform him, then send him back to Liaodong, the Jurchen people will surely be grateful for the kindness and virtue of our Great Ming Dynasty and will not point their swords at us. From now on, the affairs of Liaodong can come to an end."

  "Long live, I concur."

  "Long live, I think what Lord Liu said is reasonable."

  "Long live, I also think that Huang Taiji should be released, not killed."

  As soon as Liu Zongzhou's words fell, the officials of the Qingliu faction rushed out to advise Emperor Chongzhen to release Huang Taiji.

  Wang Pu almost fainted in the Golden Hall, how could there be such a stubborn person under heaven? Moreover, they are all high-ranking officials in the Golden Hall. No wonder the officialdom of the late Ming Dynasty is so dark and corrupt. Chongzhen Emperor also scolded before his death: I am not the king who lost the country, you are all the ministers who lost the country.