Chapter 3: Carrying the tablet to commit murder

Unfilial descendants pay their respects to the High Emperor

Please, Your Majesty, uphold the dignity of the Ming Dynasty for me

Who, who ... ...

First, take out one hundred thousand taels of silver. Each soldier guarding the city will be rewarded with 20 taels, and each citizen defending the city will receive 10 taels. If the royal city is successfully defended, I assure you that there will be additional substantial rewards at that time.

Dah!

In a daze, Zhu Guoqiang heard someone beside him calling his name; it was Chen Qianhu.

The officials who originally held long bows knelt before King De, attempting to persuade him to change his mind

Seeing his son with red eyes and then looking at his cousin lying on the ground with unclosed eyes, Zhu Youxu felt a chill in his heart and immediately made the choice that was most advantageous to himself

Your Majesty, as a descendant of the High Emperor and holding the esteemed title of King, how can you lower yourself to the enemy!

There are ... ...

No, I am dizzy again!

According to Wang Shizhen's "Chronicle of the Flourishing Ming Dynasty", in the De Wang Mansion, there is 1 De Wang, 5 Jun Wang, 7 generals, and 5 local lords from counties and villages. The family is quite large

As the officials were all receiving their orders, Zhu Youshu, who seemed to have gained some courage, turned to Zhu Guoqiang and asked

They are in grave danger, but what about oneself

My son, what should we do next

Looking at the dark mass of kneeling royal family members and officials, Zhu Guoqiang pointed at the corpses on the ground with his still bloodied sword and shouted loudly

Things like silver are merely external possessions; in Zhu Guoqiang's view, the most important thing now is to defend the royal residence. The only thing he feels fortunate about is that this Duke's residence is built within the city of Jinan, surrounded by tall city walls and a moat. Even if the outer city falls, relying on the walls of this royal residence, it can still be defended for a while.

This, this unfilial child

There are more than 200 young eunuchs in the residence, available for command.

Looking at his son holding a bloodied sword, Zhu Youshu's eyes were filled with disbelief. When he finally saw what was cradled in his left arm, his eyes widened, and he hurriedly knelt down.

Face, face, should I let my solitary eye watch helplessly as the citizens of the city suffer at the hands of the Eastern invaders

Well, my son is indeed worthy of being a descendant of the Emperor Gao. His words serve as a warning to me, his father. I, De Fan, have been supported by the people of Jinan for one hundred and seventy years, and I absolutely cannot surrender to the enemy. Otherwise, I would truly be ashamed before Emperor Gao and the people! Come here, convey this order from the king: all the male members of the royal residence must go up to the city walls. If anyone dares to speak of surrender again, they shall be killed!

Father, you need only to coordinate from the center; the rest can be entrusted to me

Determined, Zhu Youshu was about to step out, but Chen Changeng, who was kneeling on the ground, once again rose to kneel before him.

This is the only plaque.

It was I who killed him

Zhu Youshu, kneeling on the ground, could hardly believe his ears upon hearing his son's words. Is this really his son, who, like him, is always engrossed in poetry and painting?

Your Highness, there are still tens of thousands of refugees beneath the city walls of the royal residence, among whom are many able-bodied young men. Your Highness may allow them to enter the city and recruit the young men to assist in defending the city.

Seeing that the weight of the German king far exceeded his height, and that he even had some difficulty walking, Zhu Guoqiang knew that he could not rely on this person. Whether he could survive ultimately depended on himself

Although the tablet is made of wood, it holds special significance for the ancients, just as it does today. When the tablet of Emperor Gao is presented, everyone can only kneel in reverence! This is akin to the moment when Tie Xuan took out the tablet of Emperor Gao in the city of Jinan back in the day

Upon witnessing a person die right before his eyes, Zhu Youxu's face lost all color, and he said in terror

Had I known it would be this simple, I would have directly summoned the tablet of the High Emperor. As for the sword still dripping with blood in the heir's hand, it would naturally be disregarded.

The respondent is a eunuch, and that eunuch is Zhang Quan, the personal eunuch of the king

Chen Changgeng immediately said, after the Qing army's second siege of the city, many common people took refuge under the walls of the royal palace, hoping that the king would show mercy and allow them to enter the royal city to escape the ravages of war

What is going on

The shouting suddenly turned into a scream, and the person's eyes widened as they saw a blade tip protruding from their chest, dripping with blood.

The words have been stated as plainly as possible, the King of Germany cannot yield, he can only die! Only in this way can the dignity of the Ming Dynasty be preserved

Where is the person

Chen Changeng and others, who had originally tried desperately to dissuade the king but to no avail, saw the tablet in the hands of the crown prince and thought to themselves

A drop of blood dripped down from the tip of the sword

Looking at the more than twenty members of the royal family still in the courtyard, apart from the one I just killed who was relatively young and strong, the others were either very old or very young.

Please invite the young master into the room, I will assist the young master in donning his armor

With his left leg pressing against the man's lower back, he forcefully drew out the sword, not caring about the shock of killing someone. In order to survive, Zhu Guoqiang could only endure.

Looking at the blood droplets on the ground, Zhu Youxu's face alternated between pale and flushed as he pondered his son's earlier words. Could it be that he intends to take action against me?

Outside the main hall of the ancestral temple, Chen Changgeng and other officials, seeing that the king had made up his mind, all urged him once again with their counsel

With the left hand holding the tablet of Zhu Yuanzhang and the right hand wielding a sword, upon seeing Zhu Youzhu kneel down, Zhu Ciying finally breathed a sigh of relief

Are all the relatives of my clan here?

The tablet of Zhu Yuanzhang was also a matter of necessity, after all, Zhu Youshu was the virtuous king. If he were determined to surrender the city, his own life would truly be at stake

Come here, assist the king to rest indoors

In the realm of the heir, although the De clan has four princes, there are already 11 generals serving the nation, including those who stabilize the country and assist the nation. There are also 35 unnamed and unentitled members of the royal family. Apart from the previously dispatched members who were ordered by the king to guard the four cities, namely Prince Zhu Changtian of Ninghai, General Zhu Changbian of the Tai'an Prince's residence, General Zhu Changfei of the Tai'an Prince's residence, and General Zhu Changlan of the Linqu Prince's residence, all other royal relatives within the fief are present here.

Zhu Guoqiang, who believes that there will surely be brave men under generous rewards, then turned to the official and said

To defend this royal city, one must first understand what cards one has to play.

Regarding this arrangement, Zhu Youshu had no objections and accepted it gladly. After all, for someone like him who only knew how to paint and write, being asked to guard the city walls was truly too much to ask. Moreover, even when he had just seen blood, he felt somewhat dizzy.

I respectfully request Your Majesty's full understanding

Well, tell them that as long as they are willing to defend the city, their families may take refuge in the royal palace

Great King, you must die!

We shall obey your command

As the king was blocked by Chen Changgeng, someone from the raucous royal family immediately rushed over.

Isn't it supposed to be several thousand people

Oh, so that person's name is Zhu Ciying

"Chen Qianhu, how many soldiers do we have in total?"

The great hall was suddenly thrown into chaos, with everyone, whether kneeling or standing, staring intently at the slain General of the State of Fengguo.

Ah... I have killed someone

Crown Prince, Crown Prince

Chen Changgeng's words left Zhu Guoqiang momentarily stunned; he had not expected there to be so few members of the royal family in the residence, nor did he anticipate that there would still be someone guarding the city. It is likely that the situation is now perilous.

Everyone should protect the king as he leaves the city, and make sure not to let ... ... ah ... ...

He spoke of "relatives and elders," but Zhu Guoqiang's eyes were fixed on the De Wang, on his nominal father. If he dared to surrender, then he could not blame his "son" for being unfilial.

Zhu Ciying, how could you kill your uncle...

Your Highness the Crown Prince, according to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, there is only one military unit within the Ministry of Rites, which is nominally composed of 1,700 personnel, but in reality, there are only over 1,500. Additionally, there are 800 guards previously dispatched to protect the tombs.

How can you be so pressing towards me

Everyone listen, this scoundrel actually wants to coerce the king into surrendering. I have already requested the spirit of the High Emperor to execute him. My family has been supported by the people of Jinan for generations. If we surrender, how can we face the High Emperor who expelled the Tartars? How can we face the people of Jinan! From now on, anyone who dares to speak of surrendering to the enemy, even if they are relatives or elders, I will also request the spirit of the High Emperor to execute them!

After several palace maids assisted Zhu Youxu to leave the ancestral hall, Zhu Guoqiang looked at the officials dressed in various colored official robes. They were all civil officials from the government, of course, there were also military officials like Chen Wudi.

Despite being surprised by the performance of the young master, Chen Wudi still hurriedly responded truthfully

Zhu Guoqiang asked again

In this city of Jinan, who can subdue Zhu Youzhu, making him dare not to surrender the city