mtl008 Chapter 659 Surrounded
Chapter 659 Surrounded
Emperor Chongzhen laughed heartily, pointing at her and saying, "Nonsense! You are my daughter, who in the capital would dare to stop you? Besides, do you think imperial edicts are as common as cabbages? Why issue an edict for such a trivial matter?"
Zhu Meichu grabbed Chongzhen's arm and shook it, protesting, "Father doesn't love me anymore, watching me being bullied!"
Emperor Chongzhen felt a rare moment of family bliss, and a sense of happiness welled up within him. On a whim, he relented and said, "Alright, I'm afraid of you. An imperial edict is impossible, but I can give you a handwritten decree: within the capital city limits, no one may prevent you from entering or leaving!"
“A handwritten edict will do.” Fearing that things might go wrong if she delayed, Zhu Meichu took the initiative to grind the ink and handed the brush to Chongzhen. Her eagerness made Chongzhen laugh heartily.
After a moment's thought, Emperor Chongzhen picked up his brush and wrote a line: "Seeing this edict is as if seeing me. Anyone who obstructs Princess Kunxing's entry and exit shall be arrested and punished by the relevant authorities!" He signed the document with the character "检" (Jian). This was his name, differing from that of his elder brother, Emperor Tianqi, Zhu Youxiao, by only one character.
In Chongzhen's view, this edict was merely a way to appease his daughter, who rarely entered the palace; it was no different from children playing house, and she couldn't possibly cause any trouble with it. Inside the palace, who would be so blind as to block the princess's entry and exit? Outside the palace, the sky was high enough for birds to fly and the sea wide enough for fish to leap; she was completely free and could move about without any hindrance, even without an edict.
Zhu Meichu blew on the ink to dry it, then carefully rolled it up and put it away. When Chongzhen saw her like this, he couldn't help but laugh again, just like a parent watching their child play with a toy.
Seeing this, Wang Chengen turned his face away and secretly wiped the corner of his eye. This master had probably smiled less often in the past few years than he had in a single day; it was all thanks to Princess Kunxing that his master could be happy for a while.
After talking with Emperor Chongzhen for a while, Zhu Meichu said obediently, "Your subject came to the palace today because I missed Father Emperor and Mother Empress. I am already content to be able to talk to Father Emperor for a while now. I will not disturb Father Emperor in handling state affairs from now on."
After spending a short time with his daughter, Chongzhen felt much better and said with a smile, "If you miss your father in the future, you can come to the palace anytime. Now go and keep your mother company."
Zhu Meichu nodded, "Your subject takes her leave." She slowly withdrew from the hall, and after disappearing from Chongzhen's sight, she breathed a sigh of relief. Things had gone smoothly enough; next was to rescue Liu Ye.
At this moment, Yang Sichang approached silently, bowed, and asked, "Is the princess leaving?"
For some reason, Zhu Meichu felt an inexplicable aversion to this minister. She snorted, didn't answer, and walked away with her head held high, as if in a show of defiance, without even glancing at him. The palace maids waiting outside escorted her out.
Upon reaching the corner and finding no one around, Zhu Meichu lifted her skirts and ran off towards Xuanwu Gate. The palace maids were stunned, and after a moment they came to their senses and chased after her, calling out, "Princess, weren't you going to see the Empress?"
As Yang Sichang watched Zhu Meichu's departing figure, he felt increasingly uneasy. After hesitating for a long time, he turned around and walked back into the Qianqing Palace.
A moment later, Yang Sichang's furious voice rang out in the hall.
"What? His Majesty has given Princess Kunxing a written edict, granting her free access to any place?"
Emperor Chongzhen looked up and asked unhappily, "What? So what if I give my daughter a handwritten edict? Does it have to be approved by you, Yang Wenruo?"
Yang Sichang immediately knelt down: "Your subject dares not!"
"Get up." Chongzhen waved his hand gently. "Don't meddle in things that aren't your business. Your most important task right now is to direct and command tonight's operations."
Yang Sichang thought about it and still felt uneasy, so he volunteered: "Your Majesty, please allow me to leave the palace and direct operations on-site to prevent any mishaps."
"Granted. Tonight's operation must succeed; failure is not an option. If anything goes wrong, you will be held solely responsible."
"The minister obeys the order."
As dusk approached, darkness began to fall. At Xuanwu Gate, a large number of imperial guards stood watch, preventing even a fly from getting out.
Yang Sichang rushed over and loudly inquired from a distance, "I am Yang Sichang from the Ministry of War. Who is in charge of this place? Has anyone entered or left here tonight?"
A general stepped forward and replied, "Reporting to Your Excellency, as Your Majesty has instructed, we have doubled the number of guards. Without Your Majesty's decree, before 3:45 PM, no one except Your Excellency is allowed to enter but not leave."
Yang Sichang breathed a sigh of relief. But what he said next made him wary.
"However, Princess Kunxing just went out with His Majesty's edict, and we dared not stop her..."
"Wasn't she going to the palace to pay her respects to the Emperor and Empress? Why did she leave in such a hurry?" Yang Sichang wondered. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He turned around and ordered, "Someone, prepare a sedan chair. I'm leaving the palace to go to the capital garrison!"
Under the cover of night, the two groups of people exited Xuanwu Gate one after the other and headed in the same direction.
South of the city, outside the main camp of the Beijing Garrison.
Under the cover of darkness, tens of thousands of Beijing garrison soldiers quietly surrounded their original camp, leaving no room for escape. Hundreds of cannons of varying sizes were positioned in an open area, and some obstructing civilian houses were demolished to avoid interfering with the trajectory of the shells. The civilians within several miles had been dispersed, and those who dared to question the plan were all taken away by the Shuntian Prefecture officials; some were even beheaded on the spot to prevent any disturbance from alerting their target.
Preparations were complete. A deputy general of the Shenji Battalion personally directed the operation, with all cannons aimed at the center of the camp, ready to fire at the appointed time.
Inside the military camp, Liu Ye and Liang Xiaoming were having a late-night conversation by candlelight, unaware of what was happening outside.
Liang Xiaoming asked, "You've almost achieved your goal of extorting Emperor Chongzhen, and you've also figured out Li Fei's background. There's no point in staying in the capital any longer, right? When do you plan to leave the city?"
"Tomorrow," Liu Ye thought for a moment. "Tomorrow morning I'll secretly go and ask Wen Tiren for some information, and then leave the city at noon. After all, we've offended the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Yang Sichang has always had ill intentions. A wise man avoids dangerous situations!"
On a whim, Liang Xiaoming asked, "If, and I mean if, Emperor Chongzhen and his minister Yang Sichang, along with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, were all after you and wanted to take your life, and you were lucky enough to escape, what would you do to them afterward? Would you kill Yang Sichang and stage a coup against Emperor Chongzhen, or would you kill Emperor Chongzhen as well?"
Liu Ye shook his head: "I won't kill Chongzhen directly unless absolutely necessary. In the eyes of the common people in this timeline, the emperor represents righteousness and legitimacy. To kill the emperor with one's own hands just to hasten one's ascension to the throne would put oneself on the opposite side of the people, which would be a losing proposition. Even Li Zicheng would pretend to hold a funeral for Chongzhen, and the Qing army knew to enter the pass under the banner of avenging Chongzhen. They would win people's hearts. Am I, a time traveler who knows the course of history, really less capable than Li Zicheng and Dorgon, making such a low-level mistake?"