At this moment, Chen Yiqin's vision blurred, and he saw a large wave of officials surge into the Forbidden City.
With a swish, he stood up and walked a few steps to the corridor. Looking out, he saw more and more people, all in official attire, seemingly in a state of righteous indignation.
The Crown Prince was greatly alarmed and blurted out, "Why isn't anyone stopping them?"
Chen Yiqin also marveled, "Your Highness, normally it's the Directorate of Ceremonial that oversees this, but since you've been presiding over state affairs, the Directorate has also stopped managing things. Currently, General Xie Zhao is in charge of the palace guards, but why aren't the personal guards here now?"
The Crown Prince leaned on the railing and looked into the distance. He saw that there were already eight to nine hundred officials, with more constantly pouring in. The one leading seemed to be a Censor?
"Elder Chen, who is that Censor?"
Chen Yiqin saw that the man was standing directly above the steps, short and stocky, and recognized him at once. He said, "Is it Ge Shouli?"
Ge Shouli, that was Yan family's man, but where was Yan Shifan?
The Crown Prince instantly realized, inwardly groaning, and cursed, "Good heavens, Yan Shifan, to dare to deceive this King?!"
Chen Yiqin also understood in an instant – these people were here to force the palace. Indeed, at the Jianji Hall, the capital officials quickly filled the square, each holding a small booklet. No one knew what it was.
Ge Shouli stood on the steps and declared loudly, "Fellow colleagues, a momentous event has occurred in the Great Ming Dynasty! Someone has incited the Crown Prince to act against the established order! The Great Ming Dynasty is doomed!"
Hoo!
Over a thousand people immediately shouted in unison—"Treasonous officials ruin the country!"
"Inciting the Crown Prince to act against the established order!"
"Clear the monarch's surroundings! We want to clear the monarch's surroundings!"
"The Great Ming Dynasty is finished!"
"The Jiangyou rebellion case must be reinvestigated!"
"Thoroughly investigate the Jiangyou rebellion case!"
"Zhu Mo's rebellion is true! But there are others also rebelling!"
Ge Shouli, seeing that the time was ripe, shouted again, "The Great Ming Dynasty was originally at its zenith, but why has it fallen to this state? The Crown Prince presiding over state affairs, with treacherous officials seizing power, is the root of the calamity!
Fellow colleagues, we receive the nation's salary, and we must fulfill the nation's duties! Today, even if I, Ge Shouli, die, I will seek justice for the people of this land!"
"Good!"
"A brave man!"
"Censor Ge is truly a pillar of the nation!"
"I will also risk it all!"
"Risk it all!"
"Let us all risk it all!"
At this point, emotions were running high. Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Restore the Grand Secretariat!"
"Restoring the Grand Secretariat can save the Great Ming!"
Whoosh!
Boom!
As soon as this was said, there was immediate jubilation—"That's right! Restore the Grand Secretariat!"
"Please have Elder Xu come out to take charge!"
"The evil of clearing the monarch's surroundings! Execute Chen Yiqin!"
"Chen Yiqin is a treacherous official!"
"Please execute Chen Yiqin and all below him!"
"Restore the Grand Secretariat, severely punish treacherous officials!"
"Restore the Grand Secretariat, thoroughly investigate the Jiangyou rebellion case!"
"Thoroughly investigate the rebellion case!"
By this point, the Crown Prince and Chen Yiqin understood it all: these people were instigated by the Yan family, and their goal was to restore the Grand Secretariat and abolish the Crown Prince's presiding over state affairs. As for the reason, it should be the Jiangyou rebellion case?
Chen Yiqin, with his ears full of curses against him, despite his usually gentle nature, couldn't help but feel a deep sense of fear and worry. "Your Highness, what are they holding in their hands...?"
The Crown Prince was originally quite timid, but he had a stubborn streak within him. Realizing he had been tricked by the Yan family, he was furious and shouted, "Guards! Go summon General Xie Zhao! Immediately mobilize the palace guards and drive all these rioting officials out of the Forbidden City!"
But at this moment, the officials were surging like a tide, and it seemed they had a deep plan and were well-prepared. Ge Shouli then took a petition from his chest and shouted loudly, "Fellow colleagues, this is a petition written by several of us Censors, requesting the Crown Prince presiding over state affairs to execute the treacherous official Chen Yiqin, reopen the Grand Secretariat, and thoroughly investigate the Jiangyou rebellion case! I will read it to everyone—"
He immediately opened his throat and began to read, his voice rising and falling with dramatic cadence. The main points were that the system of the Privy Council was contrary to ancestral precepts, Chen Yiqin had unilaterally made state decisions, allowing treacherous people to take advantage and cause trouble. Regarding the Jiangyou rebellion case, local officials were dissatisfied, and there were other confessions and evidence compiled and made public, which were fabricated. The case involved far-reaching implications, Chen Yiqin incited the Crown Prince to frame Grand Secretaries, and the unauthorized creation of ritual vessels was actually instructed by Chen Yiqin, with Prince Yi of Nanchang leading the affair, and five people including the Prince's long-term secretary Li Wen, were silenced... These words were naturally written on the small booklets held by everyone. These booklets were naturally printed by Yan Shifan overnight. As long as a person could read, they could see that the entire Jiangyou rebellion case was actually manipulated by the Crown Prince behind the scenes. And to shield the venerable, Chen Yiqin was deliberately blamed. Since ancient times, when the monarch made a mistake, it was naturally the minister's fault, and since Chen Yiqin bore the burden of the entire Grand Secretariat alone, he was naturally beyond reproach.
In essence, nothing major would have happened in Jiangyou, but it was the Crown Prince who, fearing Zhu Mo's succession to the throne, actively framed him, causing Jiangyou to be in turmoil for three months and resulting in over a thousand deaths. And it was only at this point that the officials and the people of the capital were completely convinced—Zhu Mo was indeed of imperial blood! The rumors were not wrong, and Zhu Mo might even be the Emperor's illegitimate son in the common folk! Otherwise, why would the Crown Prince be so anxious? httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
After he finished reading, the crowd's mood turned somber. Many officials were not part of the Yan faction, but with the facts laid out before them, black and white, how could they not believe? After a long period of quiet reflection, someone suddenly shouted, "Today, we must meet the Crown Prince and present this document! How the Crown Prince handles this concerns the fate of the empire! Even if we have to kneel to death at the palace gates today, we must uphold the imperial court's order!"
Whoosh!
Boom!
Everyone had seen with their own eyes that the speaker was the veteran Censor Feng En. Though advanced in age, he was impassioned, and naturally, everyone cheered.
At this moment, even without reading the booklet, the Crown Prince and Chen Yiqin understood: this document was unknown to Fan Yingqi, and the key to it was likely the evidence of the Prince Yi's mansion silencing witnesses, which had been seized by Ma Sen and others. In this case, it was clearly the Crown Prince instigating Prince Yi, and Prince Yi leading the affair. There was no possibility of breaking this chain. Now, only Prince Yi or he himself, Chen Yiqin, could be sacrificed.
Chen Yiqin immediately knelt down and sighed, "Your Highness, this old minister is incompetent. I actually believed Yan Shifan's deceitful words! Alas... for the current situation, the Crown Prince must not pity this old minister's worn-out body... The Crown Prince should quickly go to the Yuxi Palace to confess his guilt to His Majesty! His Majesty, considering the stability of the court involved, will naturally have a proper solution, and the Crown Prince might not be deposed!"
After saying this, he felt that his entire life had been spent only on reading, and all his learning was from books. In a time of crisis, he was truly useless, and had repeatedly fallen victim to Yan Shifan's schemes.
The Crown Prince looked somewhat dazed and said leisurely, "This King felt a twitch in his eyelids recently... So Yan Shifan had this move too... Well, this King will take responsibility for his own actions and will not implicate others."
Chen Yiqin heard this and was extremely panicked. He immediately kowtowed incessantly and cried loudly, "Crown Prince, Crown Prince, you must think thrice! This old minister is utterly useless and deserves to die! The Crown Prince is the pillar of the empire, and there must be no mistakes! His Majesty is wise and discerning, and will surely devise a proper plan..."
Just then, an eunuch rushed up and said loudly, "Reporting to the Crown Prince, Xie Zhao has been claiming illness at home these past few days. General Wang Tingxiu of the Ming Jia Guard is waiting outside the palace!"
Good!
The Crown Prince, turning grief into anger, said sternly, "Tell Wang Tingxiu to lead his men to drive these officials out! Anyone who refuses to leave will be beaten with the court rod fifty times!"
Chen Yiqin cried hoarsely, "Crown Prince, you must not! You must not!"
He knew deeply that if the matter of beating officials were to happen again today, the discussions of the world would never cease, and the Crown Prince's already precarious position would be even more dire.
But the Crown Prince had been manipulated by Yan Shifan repeatedly, and now his eyes were red with anger. He shouted, "Beat them!"
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Over a thousand palace guards rushed into the square, pushing the officials with their spears and swords held horizontally.
Ge Shouli angrily exclaimed, "How dare you all?! We are acting for the future of the nation! Retreat quickly!"
Wang Tingxiu was also a hereditary commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He shouldn't have been involved in today's affairs, but Xie Zhao had ties with the Yan family and had deliberately stayed away these past few days, claiming illness. Now that the matter had fallen upon him, his first reaction was that Jiajing most hated forced petitions and also feared them the most. As long as it was a forced petition, beating the officials was definitely the right course of action!
He immediately said solemnly, "The officials refuse to retreat! Beat them!"
Bang bang bang!
Ah ah ah!
The palace guards did not draw their swords but used their sheaths to strike. These capital officials had never fought anyone in their lives. In their panic, many were beaten black and blue.