King Ning's mansion is decorated with lanterns and colored banquets. There is a jubilant atmosphere amidst the gongs and drums. Officials come to the mansion to congratulate him. People often say that the Prime Minister's doorstep is a seventh-grade official. The beloved concubine of a vassal king can't simply be regarded as a woman who uses her beauty to get things done. She carries the face of a king. Who dares not to come to congratulate him?
The gate of the mansion is crowded with carriages and guests. If they come, they have to send a generous gift. The officials rack their brains. The more elegant ones send musical instruments, chess, calligraphy and painting. The more vulgar ones send gold, silver and treasures. The accounting offices of several mansions are busy.
Ning Wang had a radiant expression as he sat on the high seat. He stroked his beautiful beard as he proudly received an audience from the officials of the three bureaus. Everything was prepared. They only had to wait for all the officials to arrive and close the gates of the wang fu. Then they would start the mutiny. At this time, there was no need to be nervous.
The Grand Master of the Red Tassel Association Wang Shenyu, Poyang Lake bandits Ling Tai, Wu Twenty-Four, Da Gouzi, Jiang Shisi, Jiangxi local gangster gang leader Ling Shiyi, Dongting bandits Yang Ziqiao and others are all gathered in the back hall of the mansion. They are all dressed in tight clothes with swords and spears. They look ferocious and murderous.
Since ancient times, these people are the least afraid of rebellion. They are originally in the business of living on the edge of a knife. If there is a chance to be a king or a minister, why wouldn't they do it? They are waiting for the opportunity to show up.
It is time for the banquet. King Ning stands under the golden banner with the word longevity with a smile on his face. In front of him is a horizontal table with a large plate of longevity peaches and many fruits. His beloved concubine, Miss Shenghan, is accompanied by four maids. She gracefully bows to him and then walks to his hand with a sweet smile.
Shenghan is a seventeen-year-old girl. She is tall and slender. She is wearing a green silk jacket with gold embroidery and a light red bikini. Her slender waist is tied with a light yellow embroidered skirt and a pair of high-soled floral shoes. Her jet-black hair was tied up in a bun. The bun fluttered in the wind, making her look gentle and charming. Her oval face was flushed red, making her look delicate and charming.
Her attire was delicate and cute, festive and generous, but it was also a relatively normal attire. After all, she still had Lou Wang Fei and Ce Wang Fei above her. For her birthday to be held in such a manner by wang ye, it was already a great honor in the hougong. If she had more grand makeup, it would seem a bit spoiled and arrogant. This kind of normal attire showed that she knew her limits and was more likable.
This Miss Sheng Han didn't know that her wang ye was going to rebel and really thought that it was her birthday. She smugly walked to the right of King Ning and stood there. She looked at wang ye's back with a smile.
King Ning chuckled. He stroked his long beard and held the cup in his right hand. Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he slowly walked to the front of the table and stood still. Once he started the rebellion today, there would be no turning back no matter if he succeeded or failed. Either he would become the Emperor or he would be beheaded. He could not help but be agitated by such an important decision.
The civil and military officials saw this and knew that King Ning had something to say. They hurriedly stood up and turned to look at the front of the hall. King Ning's eyes slowly moved and swept across the faces of the civil and military officials. His smile suddenly disappeared and he threw the wine cup in his hand onto the ground.
Rebellion, it was a once in a lifetime event. King Ning ye had never practiced it before. Even though he had planned to throw the cup as a signal, he had forgotten that the cup was not empty. To throw the cup down, it first had to be raised. As it was raised, the entire cup of wine splashed onto Miss Sheng Han's face. The beauty, who was caught off guard, gave a sharp cry and covered her face as she stumbled back a few steps.
The civil and military officials were shocked by the situation. The enormous palace instantly became silent. Even the sound of a pin dropping to the ground could be heard. What did King Ning ye see? Why was he angry?
King Ning stretched his neck to look in front of him with a confused expression. Looking closely, he found that the cup had been thrown onto the red carpet that led from the door to the table, so it had not shattered. King Ning ye's old face turned red. Seeing Liu Yangzheng and Li Shishi looking at him with strange expressions, he quickly gave a loud roar. Slapping the table, he shouted, "Come!"
"Here!" There was a loud roar of assent from the front. Two to three hundred palace guards wearing armor and holding steel blades rushed into the hall with murderous intent. The civil and military officials were instantly shocked by the situation and the scene was in chaos.
"Everyone, don't move, don't move! Wang Ye has something to say! "Liu Yangzheng shouted in a loud voice. He turned and bowed to King Ning, saying," Wang Ye, please give your orders! "
Miss Shenghan's eyes were red from the strong wine and she could not hold on any longer. She quickly said, "Wang Ye, this lowly concubine … this lowly concubine's eyes can't take it anymore. This lowly concubine apologizes to Wang Ye and leaves."
King Ning saw that her eyes were closed and tears were flowing down her face. He thought about how the cup had not shattered after being thrown. He felt that today was a big day for the uprising. Two unlucky things in a row was a bit inauspicious. He couldn't help but slightly furrow his brows and say in displeasure, "Leave!" His favorite concubine Shenghan was quickly supported by two servant girls to the back of the residence to fetch water to wash. She did not know that she had angered King Ning.
"Everyone!" After this disturbance, King Ning's mood relaxed. Looking at his strong guards and sharp blades controlling the officials, King Ning's confidence increased. He took a step forward and his voice became steady and loud. "This king will now announce the Empress Dowager's decree. All civil and military officials, kneel and listen!"
There was an uproar in the hall. The civil and military officials now knew that King Ning had made such a big fuss because there was a secret decree from the Empress Dowager. But the back palace did not interfere with politics. This was the rule of Ming Destiny. Internal decrees could not leave the palace unless the Emperor had passed away or a new Emperor had not been installed. Now that the Empress Dowager had suddenly issued a decree, did something urgent happen in the capital?
The civil and military officials were anxious and whispered to each other for information. Liu Yangzheng roared, "All officials, why are you not kneeling and listening to the decree?" As he said this, he lifted his robe and knelt down first. He shouted, "All officials listen to the decree."
Li Shishi smiled and also knelt down. Seeing this, the civil and military officials all left their seats to pay their respects. King Ning saw this and felt a little tipsy. Seeing all the officials kneeling down, King Ning coughed and said in a loud voice, "All civil and military officials, listen to me. When the Former Emperor was still alive, he suffered from not having an heir for a long time. In order to make his subjects and people feel at ease, he listened to the treacherous Li Guang and adopted a son. His intention was to wait until he had his own flesh and blood before announcing the truth.
Unfortunately, the Former Emperor died of illness. Zhengde inherited the throne. This son is not a descendant of the Zhu family, but he inherited our Zhu family's rivers and mountains. He disrupted our clan and prevented our ancestors from eating blood. Right now, this king has received the Empress Dowager's secret decree, ordering me to send troops to suppress the traitors and enter the court to supervise the country. Do you all know about this? "
Nonsense! Who knows about this? As soon as King Ning finished speaking, it was as if a hornet's nest had been poked in the palace. It was a complete mess. There were noises of shock, questions and shouts. Many officials impulsively stood up, their faces flushed with excitement, asking for confirmation.
Jiangxi Inspector-General Lin Jun stood up and sternly shouted, "All of you, shut up!" This old man was a weak scholar with a short stature, but his voice was not small. In a short while, he had subdued everyone. The main hall became quiet. Inspector-General Lin took a step forward, cupped his hands and said in a loud voice, "Master King Ning, you said you received the Empress Dowager's secret decree. May I ask, where is the secret decree? Please take it out and let us have a look. "
King Ning narrowed his eyes and said with a cold smile, "This is a serious matter, naturally it is an oral decree. Zhengde knows that he is not the legitimate heir, so he is very strict with the Empress Dowager. All the maids entering and leaving must be searched. How can he send out an imperial decree? Do you still not believe this king's words? "
Lin Jun laughed and said in a clear voice, "Without the Empress Dowager's personal decree, how can we prove that the current Emperor is not the flesh and blood of the Former Emperor? Just based on your one side of the story, you want us officials of the court to obey orders and rebel? "
King Ning was enraged, his face ashen as he said, "Scoundrel, do you think that this king would speak irresponsibly? You do not need to say more, this king will immediately mobilize the army to deal with the traitors. I only ask you, are you willing to escort the Emperor? "
As soon as King Ning finished speaking, there was a rustling sound of armor leaves. Two guards of the Wang Residence carrying long, sharp knives had already rushed to the back of Inspector-General Lin. They stood there like two eagles looking down on a little chick. But Inspector-General Lin was calm and unafraid. He straightened his neck and angrily shouted, "What did you say? Escort the Emperor? You actually dare to call yourself the Emperor? Do you know that there are no two suns in the sky and no two masters for the officials? With the laws of the founding fathers in place, who dares to go against them? "
Lin Junqing's name spread far and wide. He was famous for being a loyal official. When Xie Qian was still alive, he and Xie Qian were close friends. He praised Lin Junqing's straightforward personality, upright conduct, and strength of character. Back in the Chenghua era, when he was the head of the Ministry of Punishments, he was famous for his strong command. No matter which influential official broke the law, they should be punished according to the law. Even the arrogant family of Imperial Concubine Wan was no exception. How could such a person be willing to follow King Ning and rebel just because of one sentence?
King Ning gritted his teeth and shouted with his index finger, "Take him down!"
Two imperial guards immediately rushed forward and grabbed Inspector-General Lin's shoulders. Lin Junqing was unable to struggle free and shouted loudly, "How dare you! I am an official of the court, the Inspector-General of Jiangxi. How dare you take me down?"
The Inspector-General Fang Yunlin's face turned ashen. On the contrary, the Deputy Inspector-General Zhong Liangming had some backbone. He stepped forward bravely and said, "Master King Ning, your words have no basis and you dare to take the officials of the court. Could it be that the Emperor is not the son of the Former Emperor is just a pretense? Are you going to rebel and usurp the throne?"
King Ning was exposed and couldn't help but fly into a rage out of humiliation. He shouted, "The Former Emperor has no son. I have received the Empress Dowager's decree to supervise the country. I am the same as the Emperor. How is this usurpation? You are just a small Deputy Inspector-General and you dare to rebuke me. Come, take him down and push him out of the hall. Behead him immediately! "
The two of them were dragged out by the imperial guards. They still heard Inspector-General Lin's loud cursing, "Thieves overestimate themselves. How dare you covet the treasure. Today the thieves kill me. Tomorrow the Imperial Court will kill the thieves!"
The cursing gradually faded away. The main hall was dead silent. After a while, two guards carrying two bloody heads walked into the hall. They knelt down on one knee and raised the heads high. They reported, "Reporting to your Highness. The criminals Lin Jun and Zhong Liangming have been executed!"
The officials stole a glance. They saw that the two officials who were angrily cursing just a moment ago only had their heads left. Their heads were held by the hair. The area below their necks was a bloody mess. They couldn't help but turn ashen.
King Ning smiled eerily. His eyes swept over the officials. In a fierce voice, he said, "Who else dares to question the authenticity of the Empress Dowager's edict? Step forward!"
The hall was dead silent. No one dared to step forward. King Ning revealed a smug expression. He said, "I want to lead the troops back to the court. I want to restore the imperial family. Are you all willing to work for me and contribute to my cause?"
Liu Yangzheng, Li Shishi, as well as the administrative envoy Zhang Lun, who had been bribed by him, were the first to kneel. With someone taking the lead, the defenses in their hearts were easily broken. On one hand, they wanted to live. On the other hand, they had the idea that they were acting on the Empress Dowager's edict. Most of the officials knelt down. Only a few officials, no more than a dozen of them, stood there. They didn't want to kneel down and rebel. They didn't dare to protest. They were loyal officials who were about to be beheaded. They were miserable and frightened.
King Ning was not polite. He immediately ordered people to throw these hesitant and neutral officials into the palace's prison. At this time, the civil and military officials in the hall could be considered his subordinates. Liu Yangzheng said in a loud voice, "Your Highness, the Empress Dowager ordered you to supervise the country. It's clear that she wants to pass the throne to you. If you send troops to quell the rebellion, it's not justified. Zhengde doesn't have the right to be the Emperor. If you send troops as your Highness, what position will Zhengde have?"
All of this had been discussed beforehand. King Ning heard this and immediately asked, "Then, in Mister Liu's opinion, what should I do?"
Liu Yangzheng immediately said, "For the sake of Ming Destiny's country, for the sake of justifiably quelling the usurping rebels and restoring Ming Destiny's imperial family, this one thinks that Your Highness should immediately ascend the throne and call upon Ming Destiny's subjects to attack Zhengde. Only then will you be successful."
Li Shishi, Zhang Lun, and the others shamelessly agreed. How could the other officials not see the crux of the matter? Seeing King Ning's threatening gaze directed at him, he could only summon up his courage and kneel down to urge. King Ning 'declined' again and again, and in his' helplessness', he could only comply with the will of the people. Tossing his long beard aside, he sighed and said, "Fine, then I … will reluctantly undertake this heavy responsibility for the sake of my Ming Destiny's country."
This King Ning had great ambition but little talent, but he handled matters quickly and efficiently. He immediately moved to the Yin An Hall. A middle-ranking official brought out the crown and dragon robe that had been prepared beforehand and put them on on the spot.
The civil and military officials below looked at this posture. How did it look like he had just ascended the throne on a whim? It was clear that they had prepared beforehand. Just the authentic dragon robe alone could not have been made without a year's work. But no one dared to point it out. Under the command of the middle-ranking official, they uniformly knelt on the ground and cheered, "Long live Your Highness."
Li Shishi presented the declaration of quelling the rebellion, which he had spent a night writing, and read it in the hall. He removed the title of Zhengde and ascended to the throne, changing it to Shunde. Li Shishi and Liu Yangzheng were conferred the titles of Left and Right Prime Ministers and were conferred the title of Duke. He also conferred the title of Minister of War, Zhang Lun, the title of Minister of War. The civil and military officials who came to celebrate the birthday of King Ning's beloved concubine were all rewarded. But King Ning dared not to give them the real power to control the army.
Under King Ning's order, the bandits and mountain thieves who had been waiting outside the Yin An Hall for a long time came to the hall. King Ning conferred the title of Dongting Bandit Yang Ziqiao as the commander-in-chief of the army, Da Gouzi as the vice-commander-in-chief, Wu 24 Si and Ling Tai as the commander-in-chief, Wang Shengyu, the leader of the Red Embellished Society, Li Zuotong as the vice-grandmaster, Yang Qing as the commander-in-chief, and Li Ziran as the protector of the country.
The official positions conferred in the Yin An Hall included the ranks of the imperial court and the titles of the Jianghu gangs. It sounded neither fish nor fowl, and there was no way of ascertaining who they belonged to. Hearing this, the civil and military officials who had just surrendered secretly frowned. They did not dare to hope that such a Ning Wang would have the great talent and strategy of the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, to succeed in seizing the country. But at the moment, if they did not submit, there was only death. They could only take it one step at a time.
King Ning also asked people to make tens of thousands of copies of Li Shishi's declaration. The declaration listed 20 major crimes of Zhengde, the first of which was to pretend to be the son of the Former Emperor. King Ning ordered people to put up posters everywhere in the city. At the same time, he sent many spies to Jiujiang, Anqing, Jian 'an and other places to put up posters to create momentum. At the same time, he ordered officials in various places to submit to the new emperor and become the founding heroes of the country.
King Ning's Three Guards should have been about 18,000 people. But after he took control of the Three Guards, he secretly expanded it. Ming Destiny's army had always had a good tradition of not getting paid, but King Ning did the opposite. There were only 18,000 people on the list, but the actual number of troops he recruited had doubled. He used his own money to pay them privately.
At the same time, the pirates of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake, the mountain thieves in Jiangxi, the gangs in Nanchang and other places, the local ruffians recruited temporarily, and the criminals on death row released from prison also formed a team of about 30,000 people. In this way, King Ning's troops reached 70,000.
King Ning also ordered people to follow the officials back to the yamen and collect their official seals. All military and political affairs were controlled by King Ning's mansion. At the same time, the local yamen's bailiffs, bailiffs, patrol officers, and militia were also organized. They gathered another 20,000 people. The total force was 90,000, and it was said to be 150,000.
For so many years in Jiangxi, there were many officials recommended, recommended, and bribed by King Ning. Moreover, the publicity created by King Ning and the false image of a strong and powerful army also confused some fence-sitters and opportunists. There were actually many officials from the surrounding prefectures and counties who came to surrender and submit. This greatly boosted King Ning's confidence, so he decided to immediately send troops to attack South Zhili.
Nanchang City, the foundation of the city, was extremely dangerous. The surrounding prefectures did not have enough power to threaten them, so King Ning only left 5,000 troops and horses. Together with King Ning's Crown Prince Zhu Cong and his brothers and nephews, the family servants, tenants, and so on, a total of 10,000 troops were formed to defend the city.
When Zhu Di rose in rebellion, the imperial court's general Li Jinglong also led an army to attack Beiping, the foundation of the King of Yan. The defender of Beiping was Zhu Di's son, Zhu Gaochi. Zhu Gaochi defended Beiping, which was surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people with very few troops. Thus, he strongly supported Zhu Di's military operations and completed the great cause of peace. King Ning now clearly boasted that he was the second King of Yan.
Three days later, Shunde Emperor Zhu Chenhao, who had just ascended to the throne, led his 150,000 troops and marched on land and water at the same time to South Zhili. The first stop, Jiujiang, was conquered in one day. The morale of the 'Shunde army' was greatly boosted and their arrogance was unparalleled.
Shunde Emperor, King Ning Zhu Chenhao's confidence continued to swell. He thought that if he went north along the river, he would be able to establish a capital in Nanjing in ten days and compete with Beijing. So he quickly ordered people to rush back to Nanchang and bring Consort Lou and a hundred imperial concubines and concubines over. He prepared to live in the Nanjing Imperial City and immediately enfeoff the three palaces and six courtyards with 72 concubines and show off the Emperor's image.
At the same time, his army continued to march without stopping. The vanguard was pointed at Anqing, the water and land crossroads. This was the upstream gateway of Nanjing. Since ancient times, if the troops were to attack Anqing along the Yangtze River, Nanjing would definitely be in the bag.
When the confident King Ning, accompanied by the prince and the guests of honor, climbed to the top of the ship and put on the posture of a father and son soldier going into battle, he looked at Anqing, which was about to arrive, and revealed a smile that was already in the bag. At the top of the city wall of Anqing, Beard Wu, accompanied by his son and daughter-in-law, also climbed to the top of the city wall in full armor.
Oh yes, his daughter-in-law, Song Ai, had a little grandson in her stomach. It could be said that the three generations of grandfather and grandson were going to the battlefield together!
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