Chapter 60: May I Ask, Your Highness — Has His Majesty Passed Away

Zhu Cilang claimed he was filial, but the Chongzhen Emperor did not believe it. So not only did he not stop, he actually quickened his pace to flee. Yet these past days he had been so consumed with worry for the country and the people that he could neither eat nor sleep, and his body had grown extremely weak.

Now, with a "mad" Crown Prince chasing him down, his rage and anxiety surged to his head. When he rose from the throne at the Gate of Imperial Supremacy to flee, he was already a little dizzy, and as he descended the steps he did not watch his footing. After only a few steps he missed a step and tumbled down the stairs inside the Gate of Imperial Supremacy! In that fall, his head struck the descending steps hard several times. Instantly stars burst before his eyes, then everything went black, and he passed out cold!

Wang Cheng'en, who had been pulling Chongzhen along in their escape, panicked at the sight. He stopped running, threw himself onto the Chongzhen Emperor's body, and began wailing loudly.

"My Emperor, oh my Emperor, this old slave has failed you..."

The scene of Chongzhen and Wang Cheng'en fleeing, and of Chongzhen tumbling off the platform at the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, had all been witnessed by a group of Grand Secretaries and Ministers standing on the platform. Now Wang Cheng'en had suddenly burst into loud wailing.

These high officials were all stunned. What had happened? Had His Majesty fallen and died? Did this count as the Crown Prince committing regicide to seize the throne?

And what were they, loyal subjects of the Great Ming, supposed to do now?

Zhu Cilang was also a bit dazed. He truly had never intended to usurp the throne! All his frantic scrambling about these past few days had been for nothing other than to rescue Chongzhen and Empress Zhou from Beijing. So when he said he was "filial," he was not wrong at all.

But why was Chongzhen, as a father, so hard to please? Why would he not let his son practice filial piety? Would it not be fine for everyone to flee together? Why did he have to be so obstinate with him? And now he had gone and taken a tumble — surely he had not actually fallen to his death... If so, this really would become regicide and usurpation! And in front of so many people! Even jumping into the Golden Water River would not wash it clean.

Worried about his cheap old man's safety, this great filial son Zhu now showed true emotion, wailing dryly as he ran: "Imperial Father, Imperial Father, you must not pass away..."

Reaching the bottom of the steps at the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, Zhu Cilang dropped to his knees with a thud before the collapsed Chongzhen. After kneeling, he tearfully reached out his right hand to feel for the Chongzhen Emperor's breath... At last, there was still air!

The Chongzhen Emperor was not dead — he had merely fainted!

Whether it was the smell of blood on Zhu Cilang's hand and armor that stimulated him, the groggy Chongzhen began to moan, "Aiya, aiya."

At this, both Zhu Cilang and Wang Cheng'en stopped crying. The two exchanged a glance, and both let out a sigh.

Wang Cheng'en asked, "Thousand Years, is today's matter also something the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor, instructed in a dream?"

Zhu Cilang smiled bitterly. "Companion Wang misunderstands Us. If We were not purely filial, We need only have taken Our troops, gold, and silver and departed — within days We would be Emperor. Why trouble Ourself to enter the palace and rescue Our father? But alas, Imperial Father has been deceived by villains and does not trust Us... Fortunately, Imperial Father is unharmed. Otherwise We truly could not defend Ourself against ten thousand accusations!"

While Zhu Cilang and Wang Cheng'en were speaking, the Chongzhen Emperor had already regained consciousness. But he had grown crafty, and fearing that his fully armed son might kill him, he lay perfectly still, feigning unconsciousness. In this way he heard every word of their conversation without missing a syllable. At that moment, he began to suspect he had misjudged his son...

The Crown Prince had money, troops, and legitimacy. Could he not simply leave? Once Li Zicheng killed him, the Crown Prince could ascend the throne and become Emperor. Why insist on dragging him along?

Could he truly be a great filial son? But he did not look like one!

While the Chongzhen Emperor was mulling this over, Zhu Cilang had already risen to his feet and was striding toward the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, his expression turning considerably colder and more severe.

Outside the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, a group of Great Ming loyal officials saw a Crown Prince whose armor was still stained with blood approaching with a murderous look on his face, and they could not help but retreat several steps.

Zhu Cilang strode up beside the dragon throne. He did not sit upon it, but stood there, his burning gaze sweeping over the high officials standing on the platform of the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, finally settling on Wei Zaode, Grand Secretary of the Hall of Central Supremacy.

Wei Zaode was a coward to begin with. Glared at by Zhu Cilang, his legs trembled at once and he dropped to his knees, asking in a quavering voice, "Your Highness, has His Majesty passed away?"

Zhu Cilang said, "Not yet! But he is unconscious... Grand Secretary Wei, you are the Chief Grand Secretary. What do you say should be done?"

What should be done?

How about just finishing him off?

Those words he dared not speak. Wei Zaode could only put on a mournful face and say, "Now, with a great enemy before us and His Majesty unconscious, yet the state cannot go a single day without a ruler, this subject earnestly begs Your Highness to ascend the imperial throne, to calm the people's hearts and raise morale..."

What? Urging him to take the throne already?

Zhu Cilang had not expected this Chief Grand Secretary to be so loyal to the country... This was clearly a loyal minister! How had the Chongzhen Emperor failed to make good use of him?

At this thought, Zhu Cilang nodded. "Grand Secretary Wei is indeed public-spirited and loyal to the state — a pillar of our Great Ming!"

"Grand Secretary Fang, you speak as well," Zhu Cilang then put the question to Fang Yuegong, Grand Secretary of the Hall of Literary Profundity. "You concurrently oversee the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War, and are a trusted minister of Imperial Father. Your insight must be extraordinary!"

Fang Yuegong was a native of Xiangyang Prefecture, in his forties, and had been an official for over twenty years. He was known for his incorruptibility, and indeed looked the part of an honest official — gaunt and withered.

Hearing the Crown Prince's question, Fang Yuegong knew there was no avoiding it, so he steeled himself and answered, "Since His Majesty cannot govern, Your Highness might first serve as Regent and administer the state, to calm the hearts of the people and the army..."

"Hmm, what Grand Secretary Fang says is also for the good of the nation!" Zhu Cilang nodded, then asked Qiu Yu, Grand Secretary of the Eastern Hall, "Grand Secretary Qiu, what say you?"

Qiu Yu had come to court dressed in mourning clothes. He and Fang Yuegong were from the same hometown, both natives of Xiangyang Prefecture. When Li Zicheng stormed Xiangyang, Qiu Yu's father, Qiu Minzhong, had cursed the bandits and died; his son Qiu Zhitao had feigned surrender and then contacted Sun Chuanting to serve as an inside agent, but Li Zicheng had killed him too.

This man and Li Zicheng were sworn enemies to the death!

And the one who could help him exact his revenge now appeared to be none other than Zhu Cilang, this cunning and ruthless Crown Prince!

Qiu Yu gritted his teeth, stepped forward two paces, and knelt before Zhu Cilang. "This subject earnestly begs Your Highness to put the state and the realm first — first take command of the army and break out of the siege. Once the imperial carriage reaches the seaport at Dagu, it will not be too late to ascend the throne or serve as Regent."

This one was also a loyal minister!

Zhu Cilang thought to himself: He had originally assumed the entire court was full of ministers who would doom the nation, but now it seemed he had misjudged them.

Next Zhu Cilang looked at Fan Jingwen, Grand Secretary of the Eastern Hall. Fan Jingwen was an old man in his sixties, his beard and hair streaked with gray, very thin, swaying unsteadily where he stood, looking as though he had not eaten for days.

"Grand Secretary Fan, do you think We should serve as Regent, or ascend the throne?"

Hearing Zhu Cilang's question, Fan Jingwen sighed. "Your Highness may ascend the throne, or serve as Regent — either is fine. So long as we can break out of the encirclement. Otherwise, it is all empty talk."

A practical man!

This term there were five Grand Secretaries. One, Li Jiantai, had left the city to serve as Supreme Commander, and no one knew where he had died by now. Four remained in the city: Wei Zaode, Fan Jingwen, Qiu Yu, and Fang Yuegong — every one of them a loyal minister!

"Good, good!" Zhu Cilang said approvingly. "You Grand Secretaries are indeed all loyal and upright men of our Great Ming! And We are also a filial son... Today's armed remonstrance was something We were forced to do. We believe that when Imperial Father awakens, he will surely forgive Us! With filial sons and loyal ministers like us working together with one heart, the Great Ming will certainly be restored!"

"As for the legitimacy of Our regency — did Imperial Father not already issue a palace directive? We are Commander of the Army and Governor-General of Zhili Military Affairs... When the Crown Prince goes forth, he commands the army; when he remains, he serves as Regent. Now that We are escorting the imperial carriage out of the capital, We naturally use the title of Commander of the Army. However, a palace directive is never quite proper. Let the Grand Secretariat draft the formal edict at once!"

Wei Zaode said, "This subject receives the order. This subject will draft it immediately. But the red endorsement..."

"The Directorate of Ceremonial?" Zhu Cilang asked. "Where is the Directorate of Ceremonial?"

Gao Yushun, the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and Wang Cheng'en, the brush-holding eunuch, were gathered around the Chongzhen Emperor, pinching his philtrum! In truth, Chongzhen had long since awakened, but he was still feigning unconsciousness.

Hearing Zhu Cilang's call, Gao Yushun had no choice but to run back, drenched in sweat, and kneel before Zhu Cilang as well.

Zhu Cilang asked, "Does Imperial Father's palace directive still need a red endorsement?"

Gao Yushun answered, "It does not. The palace directive already bears the red endorsement. Attaching the draft edict will suffice."

"Good!" Zhu Cilang rubbed his palms together and said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble you Grand Secretaries to write the draft edict... In this way, We will be rightfully entitled to command the army and govern the military affairs of both the Northern and Southern Zhili!"

Recommending the little lizard's great work, Cao Cao's Chef — a novel that gender-bends the Three Kingdoms and adds gourmet food. Very interesting.

(End of Chapter)