Chapter 67

"This matter is settled; all ministers shall immediately proceed to purchase and equip weapons!"

The assembled civil and military officials looked at each other in dismay.

From the looks in each other's eyes,

these civil and military officials saw the despair in one another's hearts.

After the court dispersed, where once the ministers had chattered like sparrows, now upon meeting they could only exchange a sigh.

"Alas..."

They looked at each other without words; at this moment, silence spoke louder than speech.

In the hearts of the entire court, civil and military alike,

the death sentence had clearly already been passed on the Great Ming.

They might as well use the power still in their hands while they could,

grabbing back whatever they could, however much or little.

What these people failed to notice, however,

was that perhaps because this army was composed of imperial clansmen,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian, when approving silver this time, was truly fluid and effortless.

Vast amounts of silver were allocated to the Ministry of War and the Court of the Imperial Clan as if it cost nothing.

What these scholar-officials did not know

was that this silver was precisely what Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian had approved for them to embezzle.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian was brewing the most extensive case since the founding of the Great Ming, involving so many officials that the list was expected to exceed the combined total of the Four Great Cases of the Hongwu era.

On the other side, on the night before the Yulin Guard was to depart,

after long deliberation, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian finally sent an imperial edict to every scholar-official and military noble of the Great Ming.

69, Old Zhu: "This kid dares to deceive us; don't let him escape!"

This edict stated very clearly:

all sons of court officials were eligible to join the Yulin Guard and go on campaign.

However, the entire court of civil and military officials were, after all, not members of the Zhu family.

Therefore, no explicit restrictions were imposed.

The edict had been issued.

There was only one night.

That night, almost no lights were extinguished in the homes of the high-ranking nobles and officials.

The scholar-officials, dukes, ministers, and nobles of each household were all discussing something.

At dawn the next day,

several hundred "spoiled young masters" had still gathered beneath Qihua Gate.

Most of them were sons of marquises and earls.

The Marquis of Xinjian, the Earl of Chengyi, the Marquis of Huaiyuan, and the Marquis of Lingbi had all sent sons to join the campaign.

Among them, the highest in rank was none other than the youngest son of Xu Xu Yunzhen, the Duke of Dingguo.

Soon, Lan Yu sent people to take these youths away.

Meanwhile, on the city tower, Wang Wang Wang Chengen, hiding behind the arrow slits, had already ordered men to quietly record the names and backgrounds of these individuals.

What these spoiled young masters did not know

was that with their own lives,

they had saved their entire clans.

The Emperor could not possibly perform the duties of hundreds of officials alone.

Afterward, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian would still need people to help him control the court.

These nobles who had voluntarily sent their sons on campaign clearly became the most suitable candidates.

Because the expedition of the Yulin Guard was, in itself, a mess.

If they lost the battle and died, there were still so many princes above them; how could credit for bitter toil ever fall to these scholar-officials and noble sons?

And if they won, it was even simpler: with so many princes still above, why would anyone think rewards based on merit would go to them?

This battle, which originally carried a strong sense of "posturing," once it lost its original function of gilding one's reputation,

naturally became a thankless task requiring great effort for no reward.

It was precisely at such a time that those still willing to send their sons on campaign proved themselves to be the true "pillars of the state" of the Great Ming!

However, at this moment in the Qianqing Palace,

before Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian, a crowd of eunuchs and palace maids had fallen to their knees.

Empress Zhou sat before Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian, her face ashen.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's heart seemed to sense something amiss.

"Empress, has something happened in the palace?"

Empress Zhou, forcing herself to appear calm, looked at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian and said,

"Zhu Zhu Cilang... Zhu Zhu Cilang has left with General Lan..."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang was Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's eldest son.

He was also, since Emperor Wuzong Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Houzhao, the first heir apparent successfully invested as Crown Prince to stabilize the state's foundation as the legitimate eldest son of the Empress.

When Empress Zhou finished speaking, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian felt the world spinning before his eyes; Wang Wang Wang Chengen and others hurried forward to support him.

"Your Majesty, do not worry; we servants will immediately send people to pursue them. General Lan has not yet passed Shanhai Pass; they can still be brought back."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian clenched his teeth tightly; looking at Wang Wang Wang Chengen, who was preparing to rise, he struggled to lift his hand and finally squeezed out two words through gritted teeth.

"No need."

It was when Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian issued that imperial decree last night.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang was in the Hall of Heavenly Purity.

Not long after the memorial was dispatched, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian noticed that Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang's condition was somewhat off.

Wang Wang Wang Chengen helped Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian up from the floor; after forcing down two mouthfuls of warm tea, he gradually came to his senses, gazing blankly at the great hall before him as he spoke with sorrow:

"So many imperial uncles, grand-uncles, sons, and nephews have already gone."

"Lang'er is also flesh and blood of our Zhu clan; how can he stand aside? Let there be only one to bear infamy for ten thousand years: myself..."

Only after a long while, once he had fully recovered his senses, did Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian remember Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, who in the chat group must have been cursing him mercilessly for who knows how long.

After dismissing his attendants, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian struggled to open the chat group.

Emperor Sizong the Martyr:

"Your subject and grandson, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian, respectfully reports to His Highness the Hongwu Emperor, Taizu of Great Ming."

"This morning, the imperial clan organized the Feather Forest Guard; one hundred thousand combat troops and one hundred fifty thousand support troops have already departed for Songshan."

"The Prince of Qin, the Prince of Jin, the Prince of Shen, the Prince of Liao, the Prince of Chu, the Prince of Tang... and the Crown Prince, all have joined the campaign!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been impatient and restless, only gradually calmed down upon seeing the final two characters, "Crown Prince," at the end of Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's message.

In any case.

This descendant of later generations before him.

Had not brought shame upon him!

At this very moment, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian was also sending messages to Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang.

Emperor Sizong the Martyr:

"May Your Ancestral Majesty perceive clearly; your humble grandson privately believes this is what our Zhu clan owes the common people of the world..."

"Recently, your grandson has repeatedly perused the Veritable Records of Crown Prince Yiwen."

"One sentence left a deep impression on your grandson."

"It is better for the hundred officials to weep than for the common people to weep; it is better for one family to weep than for an entire circuit to weep."

"It is better for our Zhu clan alone to weep than for the Divine Instrument to be covered in dust!"

Emperor Taizu the High Emperor:

"Then, when will the children of our family arrive at the battlefield?"

Emperor Sizong the Martyr:

"At the soonest, within a ten-day month; at the latest, no more than a month and a half."

Upon seeing this message, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but sink heavily onto the dragon throne.