Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 32 Individuals Acting in Their Own Ways in the Imperial Court
above the hall.

The civil service group, including the four chief ministers, who had originally planned to remain silent, immediately lost their composure upon hearing this.

Does he even know how to be an emperor?! Does he even know how to be an emperor?!

We can tolerate the killing of the entire Imperial Guard.

But why are you suddenly thinking of going on an inspection tour outside the palace?!
What would happen to the Ming Dynasty and its people if you died outside?
With all the civil and military officials leaderless, what should be done?!

the most important is.

If you really knew what the outside world was like, how could we live comfortably?!
Therefore, everyone knelt down and, disregarding all etiquette, loudly admonished Zhu Youjian not to leave the palace.

The Poor Officials Alliance was also momentarily stunned by Zhu Youjian's announcement of going on an inspection tour.

They also strongly disliked the emperor leaving the palace.

Their perspective was the same as that of the eunuch faction: they were worried about the emperor's safety, and their own future and lives were highly tied to imperial power.

For the alliance of impoverished officials, who have already thoroughly offended the civil service and have only just begun to reap the benefits, this is a different story.

If something were to happen to the Emperor, it would be worse than killing them.

However, unlike the civil service group, the crowd did not immediately step forward to dissuade them.

After their initial shock, they quickly began to consider deeper issues.

If the emperor can successfully take this opportunity to leave the palace for an inspection tour, both the majesty and power of the imperial authority will be strengthened once again.

vice versa.

Therefore, they also had to help the emperor go on inspection tours outside the palace.

Having figured this out, Chen Xinjia and the other scholars exchanged a knowing glance, then leaned over the stretcher and shouted:

"His Majesty, with the authority of Heaven, has already declared that he will leave the palace for an inspection tour. Now you are standing up to obstruct him; do you intend to defy the imperial decree?!"

The civil service is also adept at labeling people, and someone immediately stepped forward to retort:

"Chen Xinjia! What do you mean by saying these things in court? How dare you disregard the Emperor's safety! I think you are the biggest traitor in the court and the greatest scourge to the country!"

Back and forth, the Fengtian Hall became lively again.

This time, however, the various factions within the court were much more clearly distinct.

The most powerful and also the most antagonistic groups, the civil service and the poor officials, need no further explanation.

What remained was a group of military officers and nobles who stood quietly by, watching the spectacle.

They had little say in the matter and were essentially just figureheads in the court.

Although they had recently heard that His Majesty was recruiting people from among the fallen military officers and nobles into the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they still dared not speak out.

There was no other way; I was just too scared of being tormented like this.

When Emperor Renzong died suddenly.

Even the eldest daughter of Marquis Wuding, Guo Ying, the Consort Gongsu, could be dragged away to be buried alive with him, let alone these mere little Karami.
It should be noted that Guo Ying was a founding hero and was personally appointed Marquis of Wuding by the founding emperor.

Emperor Taizu also clearly left an ancestral rule: concubines born into families of meritorious officials and military officers could not be buried alive with the emperor.

However, Guo Ying's legitimate daughter was still forcibly killed, even after she had already given birth to three sons for Emperor Renzong.

It was from that time onwards that, apart from a very few exceptional individuals,

These military officers and nobles were thus reduced to mere mascots in the imperial court.

Apart from military officers and nobles who remained silent.

In addition, some smaller, less influential factions in the government also tacitly remained silent.

Out of their own interests, they should also stand up and oppose His Majesty leaving the palace.

However, His Majesty's act of killing a hundred officials in a single day immediately after ascending the throne deterred them from taking any rash action.

Besides these two categories, the rest were feudalist warriors and officials. Some of these old pedants believed that His Majesty should not leave the palace at will for his safety, while others believed that His Majesty's words carried the weight of imperial authority, and that if he wanted to leave the palace, he should leave immediately.

As for the eunuch faction, they have recently been influenced by His Majesty and have become too lazy to argue in court.

Wouldn't it be better to use that time to do a couple more errands for His Majesty?

In short.

The Ming Dynasty's court was very complex, with everyone acting in their own self-interest.

However, none of these were problems for Zhu Youjian.

He never even considered what these people thought.

Zhu Youjian stood up from the dragon throne and left the Fengtian Hall, heading towards the Qianqing Palace surrounded by guards.

There, eight hundred guards from the Divine Might Battalion were already prepared.

As long as he gives the order, the Divine Might Battalion will surge out of the imperial city with him.

Upon seeing the Emperor, he left immediately.

The civil service officials also understood the meaning behind the emperor's move:
The emperor actually wanted to ignore the advice of these officials and leave the palace with his entourage!
No way! What kind of emperor is he?!
How dare he do this? Doesn't he fear being forever infamous in history?!
Which emperor throughout the past thousand years hasn't been most afraid of this?
But everyone knew that now was not the time to think about that.

If words don't work, then we'll have to resort to force.

The officials immediately stopped their pointless arguments.

Led by Grand Secretary Huang Lijie and three Grand Secretaries, a large group of people left Fengtian Hall and headed towards Xuanwu Gate.

When Emperor Chengzu moved the capital to Beizhili, he modeled the layout of Nanzhili and set up four gates in the imperial city: Wumen, Donghuamen, Xihuamen, and Xuanwumen.

As the core gate of the palace, Xuanwu Gate was the only way out of the palace, and they had to stop the emperor there.

Seeing this, the Poor Officials Alliance naturally understood what these people were thinking.

Chen Xinjia immediately propped himself up from the stretcher and led a group of people to follow.

The imperial city was instantly thrown into chaos.

Amidst the chaos.

Huang Liji whispered to one of his trusted subordinates, "Quickly find someone to send a message outside the palace, mobilizing the Beijing Garrison to protect the Emperor's safety!"

Huang Liji knew very well that with just these people, they probably wouldn't be able to successfully stop the all-powerful emperor at Xuanwu Gate.

Therefore, it is essential to have a backup plan.

His subordinates understood and seized the opportunity to escape the crowd.

After running around for a while, the group of people knelt down in unison at Xuanwu Gate, leaving the guards stunned.

What's going on?

Why are so many officials kneeling here all of a sudden?

Huang Lijie, standing in the crowd, knew he needed to step up and lead the charge. He knelt down, faced the officials, and shouted:
"His Majesty's safety is of utmost importance to the Ming Dynasty. We must persuade His Majesty not to leave the palace lightly."

"Otherwise, if His Majesty is startled by any unexpected event outside the palace, even if we die ten thousand times, it will not be enough to atone for our sins!"

The officials responded loudly.

Upon hearing these high-sounding words, Chen Xinjia, who was standing to the side, immediately retorted with a curse: "Bullshit! You're clearly trying to continue deceiving His Majesty!"

Just as the two forces were about to clash again, a sound of orderly marching suddenly came from not far away.

Both sides immediately stopped arguing and looked toward the source of the sound.

A majestic dragon banner was seen being swept along by a menacing black-clad legion, rapidly advancing towards them.

(End of this chapter)