The eighth day of April in the second year of Tianqi.
Before the morning court ended, Huangji Palace suddenly fell into chaos.
The officials from Kaiyuan beat and kicked the noble officials in the capital, and they all performed a thrilling martial arts show in front of the young emperor.
There is no doubt that Kaiyuan has elite soldiers and strong generals, and they have been invincible since the time of Saarhu. They are indeed the strongest army in the world.
However, there has never been a chance to verify the combat effectiveness of the civil servants under Liu Zhaosun.
But now, the opportunity has finally come.
It's time to show and verify the true strength of Qiao Yiqi, Sun Chuanting, Xie Yang and others.
Considering that group fighting in the court was a traditional skill of Ming Dynasty civil servants, everyone was merciless and attacked each other's vital points with all their might.
The tragic scene in front of them made people realize that under Ping Liao Hou, not only the generals were brave and good at fighting, but also the civil servants were full of martial virtue and did not give up too much.
Suddenly, Marquis Pingliao stepped forward and grabbed the emperor's fair little hand, scaring Zhu Youjian into screaming.
The palace maids and eunuchs standing on both sides seemed not to have seen or heard, and they all stood still. The censors on duty in the distance and the Han generals all regarded the emperor as nothing at this moment, and just stared blankly at the fight between the ministers.
Zhu Youjian shook into chaff, his eyes filled with fear and anger.
"Liu...Liu Aiqing, what are you going to do? The guards are coming to rescue you!"
Zhu Youjian tried hard to struggle, but Wufu's iron-like fingers grasped him tightly.
Liu Zhaosun smiled slightly at the young emperor and said in an unquestionable tone:
"Your Majesty, don't worry. Your Majesty is here, so don't worry, Your Majesty!"
Don't worry, of course it's nonsense.
The screams of the ministers could be heard in the ears, and blood spattered within five steps from time to time.
The scene before Zhu Youjian's eyes was even more tragic than the Hunhe battlefield.
A thin civil servant who spoke in Cantonese emphasized took off the hairpin from his bun, leaned over and stabbed Sui Anbo randomly, just like a hard-working old farmer planting rice.
A tall civil servant with a Shaanxi accent picked up the fluorene board used in court and smashed it hard on the head of the chief officer of the Army and Horses Department until the fluorene board shattered and the gray-white brains burst out.
Ping Liaohou looked calm. The bloody scene in front of him was the revenge of the civil servants of Kaiyuan against the noble officials of the capital.
In the past half a month, all the civil servants in Kaiyuan who stayed in the capital were wiped out by Zhu Youjian.
Except for important figures such as Yang Hao, Yang Qing'er, and Xie Yang, who needed to stay as hostages to threaten Ping Liaohou, they were not harmed.
Other civil servants in Kaiyuan were first surrounded by insurgents and then went to the Zhenfu Division to undergo various types of torture including colonoscopy. In just half a month, only half of the more than 230 people were left.
The methods Kang Yingqian used during the plundering test last year were now doubled by the officials in Kaiyuan.
Revenge when there is hatred, repay resentment when there is hatred, this is the law of Kaiyuan.
That's why there was this siege in the court.
Hui'an Bo Zhang Qingzhen, Nanhe Bo Fang Lutai, and Sui'an Bo Chen Changheng fell to the ground, their heads crushed by hundreds of pairs of official boots, and they died on the spot.
In addition to these three initiators of "Jing Nan's attempt to eliminate thieves", Governor Li of the Beijing camp and the commander of the five-city army and horse division were also killed on the spot.
Half an hour later, twelve distinguished ministers were beaten to death by Qiao Yiqi and others.
The chief minister of the cabinet, Ye Xianggao, the chief minister of etiquette, Bingbi Taijia, and Wang Chengen, all stood up and said that Hui Anbo and others deserved their punishment for instigating the emperor and his ministers, causing harm to the country and the people, and dying violently in the court.
The Marquis of Ping Liao clenched the sleeves of Emperor Tianqi, begging the Holy Emperor to forgive him and reward the Kaiyuan officials involved in the matter.
Zhu Youjian, Li Mingrui and others carefully planned the two-month appeasement operation, but it was sabotaged by the Kaiyuan Army in just one day. Li Mingrui committed suicide and martyred his country. The honorable man died sadly, and the officials in the capital turned to Ping Liaohou one after another.
The final result presented made the young emperor feel completely desperate.
"Your Majesty is just and arbitrary, wise and mighty. He should be able to distinguish between loyal and evil and correct chaos. These rebellious ministers and traitors have disrupted the capital and harmed hundreds of officials. They deserve their punishment. Your Majesty should reward the ministers who have made meritorious service, and do not make the ministers feel discouraged."
Liu Zhaosun looked at Zhu Youjian with bright eyes, and his calm and peaceful tone revealed a murderous aura.
Zhu Youjian looked distracted, unwilling and unable to deal with this powerful minister anymore. He nodded feebly and accepted his fate.
Marquis Pingliao clapped his hands, and Qiao Yiqi, who was covered in blood, immediately stepped forward and took out two lists full of names from his arms.
Liu Zhaosun took a look at the list and saw that there were stains of blood on the lower left corner.
"Your Majesty, this is the list of soldiers who will accompany me to conquer the Japanese country and fight against the red-haired barbarians. I would like to ask your Majesty to reward them according to their merits."
The palace maid respectfully took the list and presented it to Emperor Tianqi.
Before Emperor Tianqi could speak, Marquis Pingliao handed over another list.
"Your Majesty, this is the list of civil servants who will pacify Li Mingrui's rebellious officials and guard the capital. Please reward him according to their merit..."
The palace maid handed the two lists of awards to the emperor with both hands. Zhu Youjian waved his hands without looking at them, and said with an expressionless face:
"Accurate performance, reward according to merit, retreat from the court."
The bloody morning session on April 8 finally came to an end.
However, the Kaiyuan Army's revenge did not end there.
On April 10th, Zhu Guozhen, the second assistant to the cabinet who led the plan to "remove thieves at peace", was beheaded for treason, his property was confiscated, and his family members were exiled to Kaiyuan.
After investigation and interrogation by Shen Lian Zhangdong and others, it was found that among the officials in the capital, more than 100 people were involved in this matter, including 37 officials of fifth rank or above.
On April 12, Liu summoned Sun Shangshu and only punished the first culprits. "Those who threaten and subordinate officials will be dealt with lightly."
On April 13th, Emperor Tianqi issued an edict, naming Liu Zhaosun the Duke of Protector of the Country, and he was promoted to the pillar of the country.
The chaos in the capital in the second year of Tianqi has finally come to an end.
The people in the capital who were originally panicked and worried about suffering another military disaster, after hearing about this incident, they all expressed their gratitude to the Kaiyuan army and compared Ping Liaohou to the great savior who could turn the tide.
Like citizens of all capitals around the world, the people living in the capital of the Ming Dynasty were extremely concerned about politics, but they were indifferent to the struggle for power at the top of the hierarchy.
What the common people are always concerned about are the gossips that are said to come from a certain father-in-law or a certain censor in the Forbidden City, such as:
Emperor Tianqi was slapped in the face by Marquis Ping Liao in public; the Kaiyuan Army was going to retaliate and massacre the city; Marquis Ping Liao asked the people to believe in religion; they can no longer eat beef!
Rumors like this are flying all over the sky, and for the people at the bottom, it is difficult to tell the truth from the false.
But one thing is certain, that is, every time before similar rumors are officially spread, the price of rice, coal, vegetables, and various other commodities in the capital will skyrocket as if they have wings.
This has made many families who were not already wealthy even worse.
Therefore, from this perspective, the people in the capital are the ones who really care about politics.
Speaking of which, I must mention the official residence newspaper (similar to later newspapers) published in various streets in the capital in March and April.
The following is an excerpt from the title of the official newspaper published after the eighth day of March in the second year of Tianqi. It is first translated into vernacular.
If there are any similarities, all are true.
1. Beasts from the wild land of Fuso landed at Busan Port. (March 8th)
2. The unspeakable rebels and traitors are approaching Weihaiwei. (March 18)
3. The heinous Kaiyuan rebels entered Tianjin. (March 23)
4. Liu Zhaosun occupied Tongzhou. (March 30)
5. Marquis Pingliao approaches Zuo’anmen (the first day of April)
6. Nicholas War God, Grand Tutor of the Ming Dynasty, Minister of the Ministry of War, Bachelor of Jianjidian, Marquis of Pingliao, Chief Military Officer of Liaodong, Governor-General in North Korea, Chengxuan Envoy of the Han Dynasty, and Archbishop of the Diocese of Asia, Nicholas Ares, returned to Beijing successfully today. The people eat pots of milk and welcome Master Wang! (April 8th)
