As he washed his face, Xiao Ruxun asked Zhou Yao if he had washed his face before.
He had to wash his face in the morning to feel comfortable. He had to wash his face in cold water in the summer and warm water in the winter. Xiao Ruxun would only feel refreshed after wiping his face with a towel.
Zhou Yao stood at the side and shook his head. "I am not important. Your Majesty is the most important."
"Hehehehe, you are really considerate of me."
Xiao Ruxun handed the towel to a palace maid. The palace maid took the towel in fear and trepidation.
"Did you find this?"
Xiao Ruxun looked at Zhou Yao. "Can they be used already?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. They are all palace maids who entered the palace less than a year ago. They are still doing odd jobs. They are definitely reliable."
"Mm."
Xiao Ruxun nodded. "Arrange for some reliable servants and palace maids to take care of my daily life. Restore order in the palace as soon as possible. You don't have to be the Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace anymore. You still have more things to do."
Zhou Yao nodded to show that he understood.
"Ask the chef to prepare breakfast. Accompany me for a walk."
As Xiao Ruxun spoke, she walked out of the palace and walked around the perimeter of the Extreme Emperor Hall.
"Zixian, what do you think if I arrange for the Ming Royal Family to be under strict supervision in Jeju Island?"
This was the first time Zhou Yao heard of Xiao Ruxun's plan for the Ming Royal Family.
"Placing them on an island surrounded by the sea is naturally the best choice. We can keep a close eye on them, and we can also prevent them from having any sort of influence on the Chinese plains. Restricting their movements is undoubtedly a very convenient thing, but …"
"But what?"
Xiao Ruxun asked.
"But, Your Majesty, Jeju Island belongs to North Korea. Isn't it inappropriate for us to arrange for the Ming Royal Family to be on North Korean territory? Will the North Koreans agree? "
Zhou Yao's worries were not unreasonable. But to Xiao Ruxun, this was not a problem.
"Would North Korea dare to not agree?"
Hearing Xiao Ruxun's words, Zhou Yao expressed that he had nothing to say.
If he were to use the authority of the Central Dynasty to suppress North Korea, forget about Jeju Island, as long as Xiao Ruxun was willing, he could mobilize his troops to occupy the Korean Peninsula and set it up as a province of China. Since they were bent on becoming a smaller China, he might as well fulfill their wish and let them join China once and for all.
Not to mention that six years ago, Xiao Ruxun personally led troops to North Korea to help North Korea drive away the Japanese pirates. Xiao Ruxun knew the political geography of North Korea like the back of his hand. Until now, he still had great prestige and influence in North Korea. With the establishment of the Daqin Empire by Xiao Ruxun, this influence would become even greater.
It could not be helped. North Korea pursued the principle of big government. Lee Chao was much more obedient than the previous Goryeo. He obediently became Daming's dog and proudly called himself a smaller China. When the Manchus first invaded, they tried their best to resist, but they could not defeat the Manchus.
Chong Zhen could not even take care of himself. Although he ordered troops to be dispatched, his subordinates did not obey his orders and watched North Korea be conquered by the Manchus. From then on, they could not become a force for the Ming Dynasty to restrain the Manchus in Liaodong.
It was not until the first half of the 18th century that the North Korean government truly recognized the Manchus as the suzerain. However, the people's hostility toward the Manchus did not decrease much.
Even the Manchus surrendered, let alone the Daqin Dynasty that inherited Daming and represented China's orthodoxy. Would North Korea dare to say no?
"In short, ignore the other vassal states for now. Send a letter of credence to North Korea as soon as possible and tell the King of North Korea that Daming no longer exists. Daqin is the central government. Tell the King of North Korea to change his ancestry and become a vassal of Daqin. Submit a petition to Daqin to bestow a title. First, confirm the monarch and vassal status, then talk about Jeju Island."
"I understand."
Zhou Yao accepted the order.
It should not be said that Jeju Island was occupied by the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. The Mongol Yuan Dynasty even set up a base camp in North Korea to conquer Japan, which was equivalent to indirectly colonizing Korea at that time.
It was not until many years after the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by Daming that the Mongol Yuan Dynasty's official forces on Jeju Island surrendered to North Korea. The current Lee Family of North Korea then began to take over Jeju Island and continued to this day.
No matter what, Xiao Ruxun decided to take Jeju Island under his rule. It was not only to use it to trap the Zhu Ming Royal Family, but also to play some other role.
Of course, the premise was that North Korea was tactful. If North Korea was not tactful, Xiao Ruxun did not mind teaching the North Koreans a lesson.
However, Xiao Ruxun believed that North Korea would be very tactful, just like the Kong Family.
After relaxing, Xiao Ruxun returned to the Imperial Palace to have breakfast. After breakfast, he ordered the civil and military officials in the capital to gather in the Imperial Palace again. Then, he would lead them to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to seek an audience with Empress Dowager Li. He wanted Empress Dowager Li to act according to the plan yesterday.
This way, in a sense, they would be completely cut off from the Ming Royal Family.
They would also be able to glean some useful information from it, such as who was the most shameless, who still had a conscience, who could be kept alive, who could not be kept, who needed to be demoted, and who could be kept alive for promotion.
Even at the end of the Ming Dynasty, under the premise of moral corruption, there were still some officials who were pure and untainted.
At the end of the morning, the civil and military officials gathered. Under Xiao Ruxun's lead, they headed to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. The Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful was much smaller than the Imperial Palace and could only accommodate a few high-ranking officials. As for the rest of the small fries, they could only bitterly follow behind the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful. If not for the fact that Xiao Ruxun had distributed some cotton-padded clothes to these officials last night, they probably would not have been able to endure the cold.
Right now, all of them seemed to be wearing official robes, but the inside of the official residence was bulging. With one look, it was obvious that they were wearing cotton-padded clothes on the inside and official robes on the outside.
Their days were somewhat better and they began to accept Xiao Ruxun's existence. They began to gradually accept that the Daming Dynasty no longer existed and that a new Daqin Dynasty was about to be established.
Even though they had many doubts and questions about the name of the dynasty, they did not dare to make irresponsible remarks. They even believed that Xiao Ruxun felt guilty towards the previous dynasty and used the title bestowed upon him as the name of the dynasty.
Regardless of what these people thought, Xiao Ruxun had already led the civil and military officials to stand guard at the entrance of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful and began a wave of attacks against Empress Dowager Li.
They begged Empress Dowager Li to accept the truth and personally lead Zhu Changluo to participate in the coronation ceremony that would be held on the first day of the first month next year. They would then abdicate the throne to the Daqin Emperor, Xiao Ruxun, and complete the nominal transfer of power.
The cold wind rustled. Their requests were rejected over and over again. They were scolded by Empress Dowager Li for being shameless and disregarding the grace of the Emperor. Their expressions did not look too good.
The more time passed, the more anxious and restless they became.
This was because Xiao Ruxun's expression became more and more unsightly.
With Zhao Shiqing as the leader, the frequency of the officials' requests increased and their tone became more impolite. In the end, they even rushed into the main hall of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful and forced Empress Dowager Li to accept the truth.
It seemed that they were looking forward to the end of the Daming Dynasty and the beginning of the Daqin Dynasty even more than Xiao Ruxun.
Four hours later, in the afternoon, the group of people's stomachs were so hungry that they were growling. Empress Dowager Li finally ended the confrontation and finished her part of the play. She displayed the emotions of an old lady who had no choice but to submit.
The old ministers of the former Ming Dynasty celebrated without restraint before kneeling down in front of Xiao Ruxun, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"
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