Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Emperor Chongzhen greeted the nobles and relatives as he walked, with a gentle yet dignified expression.

In fact, Emperor Chongzhen seldom showed such an expression to his nobles and relatives, which made the nobles and relatives who were greeted feel a little flattered.

Emperor Chongzhen walked up to his father-in-law and asked him about his well-being. Zhou Kui also stood up and said a few polite words. It was obvious that both the son-in-law and his father-in-law were not used to it.

Emperor Chongzhen exchanged glances with Zhang Shikang and walked towards the dragon throne. Following Wang Chengen's order, the palace maids and eunuchs who had been prepared lifted the lids on the dishes.

For this banquet, the Imperial Kitchen Supervisor began preparing before dawn. Each table was very sumptuous, with more than a dozen dishes. Emperor Chongzhen even took out the imperial wine that had been stored in the wine cellar for many years.

Emperor Chongzhen's wine table was placed closest to the dragon throne. In addition to Chongzhen, there were also the Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, who had just turned ten this year, Queen Zhou, and two imperial concubines.

After the palace maids and eunuchs had left, Emperor Chongzhen stood up and first paid tribute to the heroic ancestors of his relatives and relatives, and recounted the great achievements of meritorious officials including the Duke of Dingguo, the Duke of Yingguo, and the Duke of Chengguo.

Emperor Chongzhen narrated almost one by one, including the earls who were present, without missing a single one, which moved all the nobles.

After all, nearly three hundred years had passed, and Emperor Chongzhen could still remember the honor of their ancestors one by one, which showed that the emperor cared about them.

Because Emperor Chongzhen spoke with great emotion and his eyes turned red when he talked about the performance of some heroes during the Jingnan Rebellion, the atmosphere in the hall was dull but also a little exciting.

Emperor Chongzhen picked up his wine glass and made a half circle towards the nobles and relatives in the hall. The nobles and relatives also picked up their wine glasses and stood up.

"This first cup of wine is to honor the heroes of your ancestors."

The nobles understood very well that they were able to have their current situation thanks to the kindness of their ancestors, so their expressions were particularly solemn.

"I went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple yesterday. The tablets of Emperor Gao and Emperor Wen were surrounded by the tablets of heroes and martyrs, like guards.

I was deeply moved by this and stayed in the Imperial Ancestral Temple for a long time."

Emperor Chongzhen's expression fell. He looked around at everyone with guilt in his eyes and remained silent for two breaths.

"My lords, I feel guilty towards you!" Emperor Chongzhen frowned with a very sincere expression.

This surprised all the nobles present. They didn't know what the emperor felt in the Taimiao and why he suddenly apologized to them.

"I suddenly realized that day that the martyrs were to Emperor Gao what you are to me.

In the past, I always relied too much on external officials and neglected you, my ministers. Now I think that was a huge mistake.

It is because of your ancestors that Emperor Gao has the present Ming Dynasty. It is precisely because of my estrangement from you that the court is in its present situation.

I am ashamed of you all!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the nobles were in an uproar on the spot. Anyone with a smart brain would naturally guess what the signal was. They were all secretly excited and looked at Emperor Chongzhen with some eagerness.

"Confucius once said, 'It is the greatest virtue to know one's mistakes and correct them.' Today I invite you all to my family dinner. In addition to expressing my apologies to you all, from now on I intend to follow the example of Emperor Gao and Emperor Wen.

Although I am not a virtuous person, I hope that you can put aside your past grudges for the sake of our ancestors' legacy, just like your ancestors did with Emperor Gao, and join me in defending the Ming Dynasty!"

Emperor Chongzhen was very humble, and the signal that he wanted to use military generals was obvious. How could the nobles not be happy? One noble was moved and said:

"How can your majesty say that? Your majesty is the Son of Heaven, and you are appointed by heaven, so how could you make a mistake?

It is we who are wrong! We are the ones who indulged in pleasure and failed our ancestors' kindness!"

Duke of England Zhang Zhiji was the first to bow down, followed by the rest of the nobles and their descendants, who all bowed down one after another and admitted their mistakes.

"We are the ones who have failed Your Majesty! We are willing to stand by Your Majesty and protect the Ming Dynasty!"

At this moment, there was definitely true emotion, and several nobles even had tears in their eyes when they thought of their ancestors who sacrificed their lives for the country.

Emperor Chongzhen hurriedly asked all the ministers to stand up, and then the banquet really began. Emperor Chongzhen drank warmly with the nobles and relatives, and the atmosphere became particularly warm for a while.

After three rounds of drinking, Empress Zhou left first with the ten-year-old Crown Prince and Empress Yi'an. Emperor Chongzhen sat alone at the banquet, his expression once again becoming extremely painful.

He didn't say anything, but just sighed from time to time. Occasionally, after drinking a glass, he would sigh even more.

Marquis Chengyi Liu Kongzhao looked at Duke Yingguo Zhang Zhiji, and seeing that they had no intention of getting up, he stood up himself.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the king is worried and the ministers are humiliated. Your Majesty has said that you will rule the world together with us nobles and relatives. Why are you sighing and groaning now, and why don't you tell us?"

Liu Kongzhao was good at studying and often discussed classics with doctors from the Imperial College. He always spoke in a meticulous manner, like an old pedant.

Huaining Marquis Sun Weifan was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. He stood up and said in a loud voice:

"Your Majesty, please tell us what worries you. We are willing to share your worries with you."

The other nobles and relatives also stood up one after another to express the same idea. They all had an expression of sharing the same hatred for the enemy, which actually moved Emperor Chongzhen a little. He wondered if he was worrying too much and perhaps there was no need to use Zhang Shikang's method at all.

Emperor Chongzhen asked the ministers to take their seats and said with difficulty:

"It's not that I don't want to say it, it's just that it's hard to say it."

Emperor Chongzhen stood up and looked in the direction where most of the sons of nobles were seated. The hearts of Sun Dasheng, Xu Wenyuan and other people from the second sons' group suddenly began to beat faster, and even the other young people at the same table with them became excited.

So what Xu Wenyuan and the others said was true? Could it be that their chance was finally coming?

"Ah, time flies by so fast, and the children of all the nobles have grown up.

To be honest, I originally wanted to promote them and let them go to the Beijing Camp for some training, and then if there is a war, they can be assigned to other camps to help me defend the country."

As soon as these words were spoken, the sons of noble families suddenly responded enthusiastically. Even though Sun Dasheng and the others had hinted at them beforehand, they were still young people after all and could hardly suppress their inner excitement.

In fact, whether it is Sun Dasheng and other members of the Second Sons Group or other ordinary children of nobles, they are all very confused about the future.

Although most of them often went to the Imperial College, the imperial examination was meaningless to them after all. Who would really want to stay at home and wait for death all their lives?

Except Zhang Shikang.

After the nobles and their sons calmed down, Emperor Chongzhen said with a look of sorrow:

"But I think you all know the current situation of the court. People's livelihood is in decline, the treasury is empty, and I am worried about it and can't sleep.

There are enemies outside and bandits inside. In order to prepare food and fodder for the soldiers on the front line, I have greatly cut the expenses of the entire palace.

I am ashamed to say that the expenses for today's banquet were paid by selling the utensils in the palace."

What Emperor Chongzhen said was true, and he had always been very frugal. The nobles and relatives did not doubt it and just sighed.

Especially those young people who had no experience in the world, most of them just realized how difficult His Majesty’s life was, and many of them cried.

"Alas, your majesty is indeed quite pitiful." Taining Marquis Chen Yanzuo sighed and whispered to Xining Marquis.

……