Chapter 864
Requesting the Establishment of a New Emperor
Empress Dowager Sun's gaze swept across their faces one by one, knowing that the situation was hopeless and that she had neither the power nor the means to oppose it.
The Ming Dynasty cannot be destroyed in her hands, much less in her son's hands. She closed her eyes tightly and nodded, saying, "Granted! The Prince of Cheng shall succeed to the throne."
Yu Qian thought it would take a long time to persuade Empress Dowager Sun, but he did not expect her to agree so easily.
He immediately knelt down and performed a grand salute: "Your Majesty is wise, we, your subjects, thank you!"
Ministers Wang Zhi and others knelt down as well, but before they could respond, the Empress Dowager suddenly opened her eyes and stared at them, saying, "But I have conditions."
The officials looked up at Empress Dowager Sun.
Empress Dowager Sun remained expressionless, half of her face obscured by the shadow of the screen, making her appear somewhat dim: "The retired emperor is the legitimate heir, and the crown prince should come from the retired emperor's lineage."
Yu Qian frowned deeply: "Empress Dowager, the Emperor Emeritus has no children at this time."
Empress Dowager Sun said expressionlessly, "Once you rescue the Emperor Emeritus, it will naturally happen."
Yu Qian frowned, about to object, when Wang Zhi tugged at him from behind.
Yu Qian remained silent, and Wang Zhi said in a low voice, "At this time, maintaining stability in the court is of utmost importance."
But wouldn't this cause future trouble?
How unfair this is to the Prince of Cheng!
But when he looked up at the Empress Dowager's resolute face, he knew that if they didn't agree to her today, they wouldn't be able to get the imperial edict.
Without an imperial edict, the Prince of Cheng's ascension to the throne was somewhat illegitimate. At this critical moment for the country, even the slightest illegitimacy could lead to disaster.
Yu Qian had no choice but to swallow his pride and bow in agreement.
Empress Dowager Sun breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ordered her ministers to draft imperial edicts for the Emperor Emeritus's biological children. The child was still nowhere to be seen, but she had already chosen a name for him.
The middle character was chosen by the founding emperor, so she only needed to choose one more character.
Regardless of who the child was born to, as long as he was Zhu Qizhen's eldest son, he would be given this name and would be the next emperor.
The officials exchanged the Empress Dowager's decree for an imperial edict and immediately withdrew to find Zhu Qiyu.
Yu Qian's face was ashen, and he walked with great speed. Wang Zhi and the others jogged behind him. Seeing his aggressive demeanor, they pulled him aside and advised, "In front of the Prince of Cheng, you should still say a few good words for the Empress Dowager. Otherwise, if the mother and son are at odds, it will be detrimental to the country."
Yu Qian's chest heaved with anger as he whispered, "At a time when the nation is on the verge of collapse, she is still thinking about the continuation of her lineage. Isn't the Prince of Cheng the son of Emperor Xuanzong, and the legitimate heir of the Zhu family?"
"A crown prince who hasn't even been born yet, whose intelligence or stupidity is completely unknown, is to be designated as the crown prince? It's utterly absurd!"
Wang Zhi said in a low voice, "She's afraid we won't save the Emperor Emeritus. Sigh, let's find Prince Cheng first and ask him to ascend the throne."
The Prince of Cheng was completely unaware of this. He was busy in the cabinet when Yu Qian and others came in with the Empress Dowager's edict to invite him to ascend the throne. It was as if a thunderbolt struck his ears.
The prophecy, which I had deliberately forgotten since receiving the message, suddenly exploded in my mind.
Pan Yun's words echoed in his mind: "You will be the next emperor, and you will be an emperor who will go down in history."
In the end, all that remained in my mind were Pan Yun's compassionate yet meaningful eyes.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!"
It took the Prince of Cheng a long time to come to his senses. As soon as he did, he shook his head and said, "I... I can't do it!"
His face paled slightly: "The throne belongs to my elder brother. I have never learned how to be an emperor..."
Yu Qian stepped forward and said firmly, "Your Highness, we will teach you everything. We are not asking you to ascend the throne for our own sake, nor is your ascension to the throne for your own!" He stared firmly into his eyes and said, word by word, "We are doing this for the sake of the country!"
Prince Cheng seemed to draw strength from his eyes, and Pan Yun's question from years ago suddenly exploded in his mind: "With the nation in peril, I am prepared to face death. On that day, will Prince Cheng share my resolve?"
Prince Cheng stood there stunned, Pan Yun's words still ringing in his ears: "I hope Your Highness will have my determination to save the country from disaster and prevent the Ming Dynasty from suffering the same fate as the Southern Song Dynasty, and the Han people from falling into the same predicament as the Northern Yuan Dynasty."
He pursed his lips, his gaze towards Yu Qian gradually hardening, and nodded in agreement, "Okay!"
Yu Qian's eyes lit up. He didn't see ambition in their eyes, but rather their determination to share the national crisis with them.
He immediately realized that although the younger Prince Cheng was just as immature as the young emperor—no, even more immature—he possessed a resilience that he had never seen in the young emperor.
Yu Qian almost burst into tears and immediately went to prepare.
With the nation in peril, everything was kept simple; even the dragon robe was made from the retired emperor's old clothes.
The Prince of Cheng temporarily assumed regency and ascended the throne two days later.
In fact, Yu Qian didn't want to go through all that trouble. He could have simply pressed the Prince of Cheng onto the dragon throne, and the new emperor would have been born.
However, the Ministry of Rites disagreed. Moreover, if one wanted to command the troops of the entire country, the necessary procedures could not be omitted, especially since there were many princes of the Zhu clan.
The late Empress Dowager and Prince Xiang are still alive. His status is not low. He also has the right to inherit the throne and is no weaker than Prince Cheng.
Therefore, in order to avoid future problems, necessary procedures cannot be omitted.
The first to be notified was the Prince of Xiang, who was stationed in Xiangyang.
When King Xiang received the news, he was completely stunned: "The emperor personally led the expedition, and even took himself prisoner by Esen?"
He was both angry and resentful, feeling extremely ashamed, but he had no choice but to consider the country's interests. After a moment's thought, he agreed to make the Prince of Cheng emperor and began to stay at home, refusing to see anyone.
But he kept cursing in his room: "The emperor doesn't have a son. Why did he have to personally lead the expedition? He ran away before he even had a son. And now, some people actually want me to be the emperor. Have they lost their minds? I've only ever heard of a brother succeeding his brother, not a nephew succeeding his uncle. I think they just want to cause internal strife in the Zhu family so they can reap the benefits."
The princess listened to his rant until he finished, then steered the conversation back to the main point: "Can the Emperor Emeritus be saved?"
King Xiang said irritably, "Who knows?"
After yelling, he became depressed again and plopped down in a chair without saying a word.
He naturally hoped that the emperor's nephew could be rescued, but what would happen after he was rescued?
He scratched his head, looking troubled.
The two brothers were only one year apart in age; Zhu Qizhen was eighteen and Zhu Qiyu was seventeen. Both were in good health at the time, and he could imagine that once Zhu Qizhen returned to the country, the Ming Dynasty would inevitably be thrown into turmoil.
King Xiang slapped his forehead and exclaimed angrily, "Shameful, shameful, utterly shameful!"
Even so, he didn't utter those words.
The princess sighed and looked out the door without saying a word.
No one knew that their troubles would soon disappear.
That autumn after returning from Japan, I saw people scattered by natural disasters and separated by life and death due to man-made calamities.
Seeing the emperor's series of actions—using Wang Zhen to control his court officials and focusing on personal connections rather than the actual situation—Pan Yun made up her mind.
So she let things take their course, neither offering advice nor stopping them, until they reached their worst possible state. (End of Chapter)