kingnovel Chapter 5 The Gatekeeper Emperor
Chapter 5 The Gatekeeper Emperor
Zhu Zhanji dared not look directly into Zhu Di's eyes, and could only tremble with fear.
He completely forgot about the children of his beloved ones; that damn son of his was such a disgrace!
Zhu Di eventually put down his sword, cursing as he went to issue an imperial edict, completely extinguishing Sun's hopes of entering the palace.
Meanwhile, many people in the Ming Dynasty were hurling insults at Zhu Qizhen on the small screen, creating a spectacular barrage of comments on the screen.
Li Shimin was utterly speechless. Faced with low morale, a lack of supplies, bad weather, and a leader who was a eunuch, it was utterly absurd. This was something no human being could do.
At this time, the orthodox dynasty
Many court officials cursed under their breath, their faces contorted with despair. They couldn't understand what hope there was left with such an emperor. Before the Oirat Mongols even attacked, they might die of anger before they could!
Lin Ke shook her head as she watched the group of people getting quite angry. If they knew what happened next, they would probably be furious.
These criticisms did not affect Zhu Qizhen at Juyong Pass. He only felt that the civil and military officials were really useless and had wasted more than 200,000 troops.
Wang Zhen wasn't a soldier by training, so his defeat wasn't unusual. I hadn't even gone to war yet! None of that happened, so what wrong have I done? They're the ones who are wrong!
This was the first time Lin Ke had spoken so much. She first drank a glass of water and then continued, "Fellow ancestors, this is not the most outrageous thing. In later generations, whenever the Ming Dynasty is mentioned, people think of the emperor guarding the country's gates and the monarch dying for the country. This is the Ming Dynasty. But it just so happens that an emperor like Zhu Qizhen came along."
"His outrageous actions almost led to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty. It was also this war that caused the Ming Dynasty to decline from its peak. The young emperor thought it was just a simple war, but the final price was undoubtedly enormous."
Early Ming Dynasty
Upon hearing this, many ministers widened their eyes and swayed. They had considered the potential impact of this defeat, but they could not allow it to be the beginning of decline!
Suddenly, Empress Dowager Zhang's vision went black. Empress Dowager Sun, who was standing beside her, carefully helped her sit down, but she pushed her away forcefully, pointed at her and scolded, "What a fine son you gave birth to! I shouldn't have followed Zhanji's wishes and made you empress. With a mother as stupid as you, how could your son be any better!"
Lin Ke's gentle voice fell again on the screen, seemingly carrying a calming power, but the reality was extremely cruel.
"We mentioned earlier that the Ming army was in chaos, with elite soldiers and civil and military officials wiped out in one fell swoop. What was our Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen doing at this time? What!? You're saying he was going to fight the enemy or commit suicide?"
"No, no, no, he pretended to be in deep meditation, then surrendered without resistance. Later, seeing that Esen treated him quite politely, he accepted the prisoner without any remorse."
"Esen's brother Bayan Temur believed that his survival in the chaos must be divine protection, so he did his best to keep him alive and even became good friends with him."
"Isn't this outrageous? Two hundred thousand people died in vain! So many civil and military officials died in vain!"
"If you ask me, Fan Zhong really lost out big time. He killed Wang Zhen and even died protecting him. You know, he later exonerated Wang Zhen and built a temple for him! It's really not worth it. You could say he wronged the world, but he certainly did right by that bastard Wang Zhen!"
"It's obvious what Esen meant by leaving Zhu Qizhen behind. The next move will give Zhu Qizhen another title after the Great Ming War God and the Oirat student—the Gatekeeper Emperor."
"On August 21, Esen took Zhu Qizhen hostage and brought him to the city of Xuanfu and Datong of the Ming Dynasty, demanding that Zhu Qizhen open the city gates."
Yongle period
Zhu Di, cursing and clutching his chest, roared, "Don't tell me he actually did it! He's brought shame upon the entire dynasty! Is this really a descendant of our Zhu family???"
Zhu Gaoxu covered his mouth, wanting to laugh but not daring to. Father, this is your beloved grandson!
I've never seen my older brother get beaten by Dad so frequently. The footage shown on the screen before wasn't complete, and some parts were even blurry. I don't know if I'll be able to sit in that spot!
Zhu Qizhen agreed without hesitation. [Ahem, I'm the emperor, open the door!]
"Fortunately, everyone except Zhu Qizhen was clear-headed, and the soldiers guarding the city risked disobeying the imperial order and refused to open the gate."
"However, I really didn't expect that the emperor of a country would really have no shame. Perhaps Zhu Qizhen felt guilty for not asking to open the door. This is just my own guess and I'm not responsible for it. He actually ordered people to retrieve the clothes, wine vessels and other property of Zhu Mian and Song Ying, who had already died in battle, and send them to Esen and his good friend Bayan Temur."
"I seriously doubt that Zhu Qizhen was really Zhu Zhanji's son. Even if we don't say he resembled his father, he certainly didn't have a shred of integrity or courage! It's worth mentioning that Zhu Qizhen encountered only good generals. When he was captured, Guo Deng even specially found someone to contact him and try to rescue him, but this guy was afraid of dying and didn't dare to escape, so he refused."
"We've already made contact despite the lax security here, can't you give it a try? Can't you learn from the legendary cart driver of Gaoliang River in the Song Dynasty, who outpaced horsemen in a donkey cart!"
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: !! Who is this?!