My father is Jiajing

Chapter 192: His Majesty the Emperor wants to appoint a crown prince?
Lu Bing’s report soon received a response.

After reading Lu Bing's report, Emperor Jiajing immediately ordered Lu Bing to work with the three judicial departments to arrest Qiu Luan and interrogate him.

When Qiu Luan learned that Lu Bing had been targeting him, he was terrified and worried. Within a few days, he frightened himself so much that he became seriously ill and could hardly walk.

But Lu Bing still did not let him go. In order to protect the evidence from being destroyed by Qiu Luan, Lu Bing sent Jinyiwei general Shen Lian to search Qiu Luan's Xianning Marquis Mansion that day.

Under Shen Lian's meticulous investigation, all of Qiu Luan's past illegal crimes were exposed to the light of day. For a time, Qiu Luan, the once high and mighty Marquis of Xianning, who was deeply favored by the emperor, became a rat crossing the street.

What's more, there is a legend that the early death of Champion Marquis Zhu Wuji was caused by Qiu Luan.

This is more like stirring up a hornet's nest.

The people in the suburbs of Beijing, who already missed Marquis Guanjun, and the soldiers who participated in the battle against the Tatar invasion in the suburbs of Beijing, became even more outraged after hearing this rumor. They excitedly expressed that they must severely punish the traitor Qiu Luan and comfort the spirit of Marquis Guanjun in heaven.

Lu Bing and the three judicial officials also acted very quickly. Within two days, they had compiled the charges against Qiu Luan and submitted them to Emperor Jiajing for his review.

After seeing the charges and the punishments proposed by the three judicial departments, the Jiajing Emperor showed no extra expression on his face. He calmly replied to the report of the three judicial departments with his imperial pen: "The crime is extremely heinous. He deceived the emperor and his father and betrayed the emperor's grace. His family shall be confiscated and his entire family shall be executed!"

Although Emperor Jiajing showed no expression on his face, the words he wrote were filled with murderous intent, which made people feel cold at the sight of them.

You have to know how much favor he had for Qiu Luan in his early days. No matter how Qiu Luan did things, as long as it did not touch the bottom line of Emperor Jiajing, Emperor Jiajing would always remember the kindness of Qiu Luan who spoke for him during the great etiquette dispute, and would always lift him up high and let him go gently.

And at critical moments, they would support him, give him enough honors and favors, let him hang the seal of a general to gain military merits and qualifications, and want to make him the number one person in the military and a mainstay of the country.

Unfortunately, Qiu Luan is a hopeless case. No matter how many chances he was given, he never managed things well. Moreover, he acted recklessly many times and almost caused major failure.

The Tatar invasion this time made Emperor Jiajing extremely disappointed and angry.

In May, Datong's generals Zhang Da and Lin Chun died in battle. Emperor Jiajing once again appointed Qiu Luan to guard Datong, and restored his title of Gong Bao which had been stripped of him for his previous mistake. He also gave him the seal of the General of the Western Expedition, and had high hopes for him.

However, after he arrived in Datong, he was not only afraid of fighting and fearing the enemy, but also made peace with the bandits, deceived the court, led the Tatars to invade the capital, and disguised himself as a loyal and devoted minister. This was simply a slap in the face of Emperor Jiajing.

How could Emperor Jiajing tolerate him for behaving like this?
Therefore, after Emperor Jiajing replied to the three judicial officials, Qiu Luan's guilt was immediately determined.

This is the crime of treason and the crime of framing loyal and good people.

Emperor Jiajing also issued an order to strip Qiu Luan of his title and execute his entire family. His parents, wife, son, Shi Yi and Hou Rong were all beheaded, and his concubines, daughters and grandsons were distributed to the homes of meritorious officials as slaves. His property was confiscated and put into the national treasury, his family members were exiled, and his accomplices were all convicted and exiled.

Finally, Qiu Luan's head was shown to the nine borders to warn the generals.

These actions were extremely harsh, even more serious than the last time Emperor Jiajing ordered the execution of Xia Yan.

Now Qiu Luan’s problem has been solved.

The heroic spirit of Champion Marquis Zhu Wuzhi finally rests in peace.

Emperor Jiajing issued a clear edict, ordering Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui to report to the ancestors of the Imperial Ancestral Temple on behalf of the Heavenly God about the great victory in the battle of the capital. The next day, he ordered the Ministry of War to hold a prisoner presentation ceremony in front of the Meridian Gate, tying the heads of all the captured Tatar bandits and soldiers on the Meridian Gate Square.

The Ceremony of Presenting Prisoners was the most important military ceremony in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Whenever a major war broke out and the army returned victoriously, the Ministry of War would petition the emperor to present the prisoners of war to him at the Meridian Gate. This ceremony was called the Ceremony of Presenting Prisoners.

Moreover, the norms and momentum of this etiquette are extremely serious and awe-inspiring.

It will make all those watching the ceremony truly feel what the supreme imperial power means!
On the day of the prisoner presentation ceremony, Emperor Jiajing's throne was set up on the Meridian Gate Tower. He sat there, overlooking everything that was happening on the Meridian Gate Square below.

On both sides of him stood senior military officers with titles, as well as many burly imperial guards known as the Han generals.

The oppressive feeling of such a picture will move people's hearts, as if they were seeing the power of heaven.

After the prisoner presentation ceremony began, under the watchful eyes of a large number of officials in the Meridian Gate Square, the captured Tatar prisoners were led in by guards. They had shackles on their hands and feet, and a piece of red cloth with round holes was passed through their heads, covering their chests and backs. They were shouted at to kneel facing the Meridian Gate.

After the prisoners of war knelt, the Minister of War who presided over the ceremony would step forward, stand on the high platform of the Meridian Gate where the prisoners of war were tried, and read aloud the crimes committed by each prisoner that had offended heaven and earth and endangered the people.

After these crimes were read out, the Minister of Punishments would announce that the crimes of these criminals were unforgivable and the law could not be evaded, and would ask Emperor Jiajing to approve their being sent to the city to be beheaded in public according to the law.

Emperor Jiajing, sitting on the Meridian Gate, looked indifferently at the prisoners kneeling below the Meridian Gate, and finally uttered two words: "Take it away!"

In an instant, the Emperor Jiajing's imperial edict was conveyed to two senior military officers nearby, then the two passed it on to four, and then eight, sixteen, and thirty-two people passed it on in succession. Finally, 2 Han generals shouted in unison at the top of their lungs, "Take it!"
The sounds shook the roof tiles and moved all the onlookers.

Only then was the ceremony of surrendering captives completed.

After this ceremony, Emperor Jiajing issued an edict to the Wuying Hall to summon the officials who had made contributions in the defense of the suburbs of Beijing to the hall to await his arrival.

As soon as this decree was issued, people inside and outside the capital were extremely excited!

His Majesty the Emperor is finally going to reward his meritorious officials.

The flowers that many people have been waiting for during this period have all withered.

Finally, this day has finally arrived.

But even on such a lively day, Zhu Zaigui, once the protagonist of the defense of the suburbs of Beijing, had no chance to participate in the reward ceremony. He was only assigned the task of hosting a banquet for meritorious officials after the reward ceremony in Wuying Hall.

When this news came out, everyone in the capital couldn't help but feel shaken.

You know, before this, Prince Yu was just an invisible person, but in these days, he seems to be very active.

First, he came in person to pay tribute to the spirit tablet of Zhu Wuji, Marquis of Champion, and then he came on behalf of God to comfort the spirits of the ancestors in the Taimiao and report the joy of the great victory in the suburbs of Beijing.

Now he has even got a good job to host a banquet in Wuying Palace to entertain meritorious officials.

For a moment, everyone was in a daze. Could it be that His Majesty the Emperor was going to appoint a crown prince?
(End of this chapter)