Zhu Di is getting older.
It had to be said that he also felt a sense of precarity as he watched his contemporaries continue to wither away.
For an emperor, his age is considered a long life.
The north has been pacified; the voyages to the West are still continuing, steadily bringing income to the Ming Dynasty; the capital move has been completed, the ministers followed Zhu Di to the north, and the nobles were divided into two groups. The Hongwu nobles generally stayed in the south, while the nobles of Hongwu generally stayed in the south. Yongle Xungui followed Zhu Di to the north.
The ceremony had been completed long ago, and the Japanese rebellion was completely subsided after the great victory of Guangning Bo Liu Rong in the 17th year of Yongle.
Since Zhu Gaoxu became a vassal, there have been no major setbacks in the court.
Yongle Chao, also in peace, slowly came to an end.
However, what Zhu Di did not expect was that in the twilight years of his life, he would finally face a storm.
…
Yongle twenty-two years.
In a secret room of a palace in the capital, two people were talking quietly.
One of them had a pale face and a somewhat shrill voice, and turned out to be a eunuch, while the other had a strong build and was obviously a military general.
"King Zhao, do you know about this?" The eunuch's name was Wang Yan, and he was a member of the imperial palace. He looked quite nervous at this time.
If King Zhao doesn't approve, it will be all in vain. Maybe when Zhu Gaosui ascends the throne, he will turn the butcher's knife on them.
"King Zhao... didn't say anything. He just put down the tea cup and left." The military commander's name was Meng Xian, but he was King Zhao's confidant and the commander of the guards in Changshan.
He was still a little uneasy at this time, but also a little excited. After all, this was a major event of killing a dragon!
Unexpectedly, just following King Zhao to Beijing, something like this would happen.
However, it turned out that with the passage of time, Zhu Di's health became worse and worse. In recent years, he had been hiding in the harem, leaving Zhu Gaochi to take charge of the government.
Under the leadership of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Ming Dynasty became more and more prosperous. However, unlike Zhu Di who valued eunuchs and even used eunuchs to establish Dongchang in the 19th year of Yongle, Zhu Gaochi hated these people extremely.
Wang Yan was scolded by Zhu Gaochi for bullying others, so he became dissatisfied. He teamed up with other scolded eunuchs to drive a wedge between the emperor and the prince many times. Although he failed, it also caused the prince to visit Yongle less and less often. It happened that Zhu Gaosui came to see the emperor. He immediately thought that this was an effective estrangement. His Majesty was interested in King Zhao, so he had different intentions.
King Zhao's silence became the last straw in this matter.
"It's done!" Wang Yan was overjoyed when he heard this. This was clearly the acquiescence!
After all, the third eldest son of the Zhu family was still unable to restrain his ambition.
After letting his two elder brothers excel in the past few decades, he finally planned to make his final bid for the throne.
My lofty prince, I want you to pay the price for your contempt for me!
In Wang Yan's eyes, viciousness and joy flashed.
"It's just...father-in-law, there are huge armies surrounding the capital, and together we only have only ten thousand people. Is it really okay?" Meng Xian was still a little worried.
"Don't worry." Wang Yan said confidently:
"Didn't you guys already take control of Changshan's middle guard, Changshan's left guard, Xingzhou's rear guard, and Tongzhou's right guard?"
"When the time comes, I will poison Emperor Yongle in the palace. You guys will immediately lead the army to the capital. Among the capital, there is Peng Xu, the commander of the Yulin Vanguard, who will assist you. We will launch an attack together, kill the prince, support King Zhao, and share the glory! "
Seeing that Meng Xian was still hesitant, Wang Yan quietly approached him and showed a smile:
"Don't worry, this is not just our fault, God also allows it!"
"Someone in Qintian Prison did the math. Guess what he figured out?"
"What?" Meng Xian's forehead was dripping with sweat, his eyes widened, and he asked nervously.
"There will be a change of ownership in ten months!" Wang Yan's voice was low, but every word was sonorous and powerful. Meng Xian took a breath of air.
"God, God's will!" The caution on his face slowly disappeared, replaced by surprise and madness!
Seeing his reaction, Wang Yan gradually showed a look of satisfaction in his eyes. He knew that his ally was completely firm.
"How's the forgery of the edict going?"
"Gao Zheng is almost ready, but his nephew is unreliable and wants to report to the court secretly. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and intercepted him in time, otherwise he almost ruined our important event!"
"Okay, be careful. In a few days, we'll be ready to start an attack!"
…
"You mean, someone from Xingzhou and Tongzhou came to report that the garrison stationed there suddenly disappeared. At the same time, some towns in Beizhili also reported that the two garrison stations in Changshan had inexplicably left their garrison and headed north?"
Listening to the reports from his subordinates, Yan Keng noticed something unusual.
There has been no military mobilization in the capital in recent times, and the Ming Dynasty is at its peak, so King Qin is even more nonsense.
So the question is, without receiving orders, the four guards marched towards the capital at the same time. What did they want to do?
Yan Keng's eyes narrowed, and his hand was on the sword at his waist.
Do you want to take advantage of this lion's old age and bite off a piece of meat from his body?
But it could also be His Majesty’s secret order.
After all, His Majesty is getting older, and it is not impossible that he will be more suspicious and vigilant. Maybe this time the court will be turned upside down again, and the will of heaven is unpredictable.
Yan Keng still prefers the latter. He really can't imagine that when the dynasty was still at its peak, there would be such a rebellion that could be called an egg against a stone.
"Bai Ma, I'm going to meet the Holy One!" He finally decided to confirm.
"etc."
Yan Keng paused before stepping onto the carriage.
Many years of military career made him a little vigilant at this time.
Tongzhou and Xingzhou are so close to the capital that they can almost arrive at the same time. If something really happens, it will be very serious.
"Let the garrison guarding the city gates keep a close eye and guard them closely."
"Jun'er, take my badge and sleep at Sanqian Camp tonight, and pay close attention to the situation in the capital, just in case."
Yan Keng is the Zuo Governor of the Hou Army Governor's Mansion and the direct superior of the three battalions. There is nothing wrong with his words. As his eldest son and the next successor of the Wu Xun family, Yan Yan, who is already twenty-seven years old, is often in Beijing. You can mingle in the camp, stay in the three thousand camps, and no one will gossip.
He made these arrangements just in case.
After all, once there is chaos, the first and most important thing is to control the army.
It should be nothing serious, otherwise my father would have already sent a letter to remind me. Yan Keng thought about it and felt more at ease.
Although Yan Ling retreated behind the scenes, his presence was always indispensable in all major events of the Ming Dynasty. He always controlled the situation through his two sons and made the Ming Dynasty move in the direction he desired.
There was no letter from Yan Ling this time, so I guess there shouldn't have been any major events recently. Yan Keng took it for granted.
Little did he know that it was precisely because of the existence of the Yan family that history had gone awry.
Historically, this rebellion was reported by Gao Zheng's nephew Wang Yu before anyone could raise an army. As a result, they were all wiped out before they could take action. This matter was not even considered high in the magnificent Yongle Dynasty. Therefore Yan Ling didn't pay attention at all.
But this time, due to the frequent invasion of Mongolia before, Gao Zheng's vigilance, which had been stationed in the North for many years, was greatly enhanced. Although Mongolia was defeated, the high vigilance he developed did not decrease. Gao Zheng saw it and was immediately caught by them, so much so that the court didn't get any news!
I don’t even dare to write like this, just because I was scolded by the prince for a few words, I had to change the emperor... It was still in the early Ming Dynasty... It’s really magical.
(End of chapter)
