Chapter 1826

No one overestimated Emperor Yuanding, nor would they underestimate him.

At present, Emperor Yuanding indeed lacked the courage to burn his boats. In private, he had discussed with Zhao Jichong that if it really didn't work, he would summon the Three Great Camps to the capital and use force to compel the Secretariat to submit.

Zhao Jichong was first bewildered, and then turned into panic.

Before he could even persuade the Emperor, the Emperor himself lost his nerve.

"Xie Changling is not that easy to deal with!"

Zhao Jichong felt relieved, "Your Majesty is wise! The several main generals of the Three Great Camps have intricate connections with the Marquis Prefecture. If we can persuade Chen Guanfu, half the matter will be done. The fear is that Chen Guanfu will refuse to cooperate."

Emperor Yuanding felt anger rising in his heart.

"Chen Guanfu, as the father-in-law of the Emperor, does not think about how to repay the monarch's grace, but instead flirts with that group of civil officials. It is truly detestable."

Zhao Jichong could not let himself appear incompetent, so he came up with another idea, "Can Your Majesty persuade the Empress to try to persuade the Marquis Prefecture? We can use the eldest imperial son as a bargaining chip!"

The implication was to promise to name the eldest imperial son as Crown Prince in exchange for the Marquis Prefecture's support.

As long as the Marquis Prefecture was willing to defect, with the Marquis Prefecture's influence in the military and Marquis Pingjiang's influence in the world, the Emperor would be enough to contend with Xie Changling and the others. At that time, the roles of attacker and defender would be reversed, and it would be Xie Changling and the others who would be anxious.

Emperor Yuanding had a dark face, clearly disapproving of Zhao Jichong's method; he had never even thought about naming the eldest imperial son as Crown Prince.

Zhao Jichong was anxious!

One must utilize all available resources.

The Emperor, on the other hand, kept a stiff face, guarding his useless self-esteem, and refused to reconcile with the Marquis Prefecture no matter what.

Just making a promise, promising the eldest imperial son as Crown Prince, the Marquis Prefecture would never remain indifferent.

Such a simple way to break the deadlock, yet the Emperor disdained it.

He sighed, "Your Majesty, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."

This was much better than the idea of summoning the Three Great Camps to the capital.

Once the Three Great Camps entered the capital, the situation might not be under the Emperor's control.

Emperor Yuanding was not Emperor Taixing.

Emperor Taixing could let the Three Great Camps enter the capital, and could also make the Three Great Camps obediently leave the capital.

Did Emperor Yuanding have this ability?

In case the Three Great Camps listened to orders but not to proclamations, and wantonly looted the capital, that would be the greatest disaster for the Great Ming Dynasty! This behavior of Emperor Yuanding would be recorded in history books and leave a bad name for ten thousand years.

Zhao Jichong had no good feelings at all for that group of soldiers, nor did he have any confidence that he could command that group of soldiers.

The soldiers and generals of the Great Ming were not weaklings.

Subordinates rising against superiors, although not a tradition, did not mean they dared not do it.

Emperor Yuanding frowned, dissatisfied; asking him to beg the Empress and the Marquis Prefecture was more uncomfortable than killing him.

Back then, when he first ascended the throne, he had also implicitly tried to win over the Marquis Prefecture and showed goodwill toward them.

But how did the Marquis Prefecture repay him?

Chen Guanfu was in the Secretariat, flirting with Xie Changling, colluding with each other, and opposing him everywhere.

Many times, he wished he could kill Chen Guanfu and be done with it.

Asking him to take the initiative to reconcile with the Marquis Prefecture, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Enough, say no more. Official Zhao, I asked you for an idea, not for you to give me a difficult problem."

Zhao Jichong felt wronged and also in a difficult position.

Finding a way to persuade the Marquis Prefecture to defect was the fastest and best method he could think of; it could resolve the current predicament without spending a single soldier or general, tearing a hole from the Secretariat, and never having to be as stifled as he was now.

"Your Majesty, allow me to go back and think about it."

Facing the Emperor's pressure, Zhao Jichong could only use the delaying tactic.

Emperor Yuanding was very dissatisfied, "Think of a way as soon as possible. I have had enough of these days. Even leaving the palace to escape the heat can be obstructed. I cannot swallow this anger."

Zhao Jichong thought to himself, the Emperor has money but is unwilling to shed a single feather, being excessively stingy. The Minister of Revenue rejecting the escape from the heat was very appropriate. He thought darkly, occasionally he also wanted to see the Emperor suffer.

He bowed and retreated, making a perfect escape.

Emperor Yuanding sat on the dragon throne, not moving for a long time.

The head eunuch Liu Shun was very worried, cautiously leaning in, and asked softly: "Does Your Majesty wish to rest? Would Your Majesty like to go to the harem to relax?"

Emperor Yuanding rubbed his temples, closing his eyes to rest.

Liu Shun waved his hand, and a group of palace servants entered, some holding towels, some holding hot water...

Liu Shun took a hot towel and personally applied it to Yuanding's face, helping the Emperor relax. He said in a light tone: "The ladies in the harem miss Your Majesty very much."

Emperor Yuanding was noncommittal, unable to muster any interest.

He muttered to himself, "If I summon the Three Great Camps to the capital, what are the risks?"

Liu Shun heard this and was scared to death, not daring to make a sound.

At the same time, he dismissed the other palace servants far away.

What the Emperor just said must never be spread.

"The soldiers and generals are arrogant; there must be someone to check and balance them. Is it impossible to bypass the Marquis Prefecture?"

Emperor Yuanding had a hot towel on his face, so his expression could not be seen.

Liu Shun was terrified inside; he realized that the Emperor had really been pushed into a corner. To be precise, the Emperor's patience was about to run out. In the end, it would be either you die or I die.

"Does Your Majesty want a bowl of ginseng soup? The imperial physician said that Your Majesty has been overworked recently and needs to be nourished!"

"Present it!"

"Yes!"

Liu Shun waved his hand to command the palace servants, and then carefully removed the hot towel from the Emperor's face.

The ginseng soup was presented, warm, just right.

Emperor Yuanding drank two mouthfuls, and suddenly gritted his teeth and said: "I have decided to leave the capital to escape the heat; order the Lesser Treasury to prepare for this matter and leave the capital as soon as possible."

"Does Your Majesty not want to discuss it with the court officials?"

"You go to the Secretariat and inform them of this matter. Let the Secretariat draft a list of accompanying officials. Notify the Empress and let her draft a list of accompanying harem members. Give them three days."

Three days?

So short!

Liu Shun bowed to accept the order; he personally went to the Secretariat to pass the message, and then personally went to the harem.

Empress Chen received him personally, "This summer is obviously hotter than previous years; I heard that people in the capital have died of heat. The Empress Dowager also cannot bear the heat. His Majesty leaving the palace to escape the heat is just right for everyone to go to the imperial villa to recuperate and get rid of the heat. Please trouble Eunuch Liu to report back to His Majesty that I will arrange all matters in the harem."

"Yes! If the Empress has no other instructions, I will go back to report."

"Eunuch Liu, walk slowly! Someone, send Eunuch Liu off for me."

Empress Chen did not expect that after the Emperor had a row with the court officials, he would still decide to leave the capital to escape the heat, and even let the Lesser Treasury prepare for it. The implication was that all expenses would be allocated from the inner treasury.

An iron tree blooming, rare!

"I suppose His Majesty is feeling troubled and indeed needs to leave the palace for a few days of peace. The weather is exceptionally hot this year; even I feel a bit irritable."

She chatted with the palace servants beside her.

The palace servant was a bit worried, "His Majesty is suddenly so generous; Empress, could this matter be a bit abnormal?"

"Definitely abnormal!"

Empress Chen suspected that Emperor Yuanding was harboring some unseen bad intentions.

"Order it down; after leaving the palace, everyone must be alert and keep a close watch for me. Especially what enters the mouth and what is used on the body."

"What does the Empress mean?"

"Prevention is better than cure!"