Chapter 886
Empress Qian
“I think so,” Pan Yu said in a low voice. “It’s difficult to achieve this by one person alone; it requires the concerted efforts of everyone.”
Having experienced this, both Pan Yu and Yu Rui felt the weakness and powerlessness of individuals on the battlefield.
Even someone as skilled in martial arts as Pan Yun couldn't turn the tide...
“You still have to use your brain,” Pan Yu was truly convinced this time: “My older brother used to scold me, saying I was brave but reckless. I think I was just not good at the imperial examinations, but I’m not bad at military strategy. However, on the battlefield, it seems that being good at fighting doesn’t guarantee victory. You still have to… you still have to…”
Pan Yu scratched his head, unsure of what to say.
Yu Rui continued in a low voice, "We also need a monarch who will take advice, a large army that can be commanded, and colleagues and comrades who will cooperate well and not stab us in the back..."
The first half of this personal expedition was completely the opposite of what was expected;
After suffering a great loss, they actually achieved everything they wanted.
Yu Rui's tone became more firm, and he said in a low voice, "I think it's thanks to the combined efforts of Lord Yu and your sister, but the greatest credit belongs to Prince Cheng."
Pan Yu looked at him.
Yu Rui became anxious: "I'm not flattering you, I'm serious!"
His voice was a bit loud, and he looked around in a panic, then quickly lowered his voice: "If the late emperor had listened to half of his advice, he wouldn't have lost this campaign even if he had personally led the troops."
Ordinary soldiers may not think much, but they feel deeply. As for the officers, who are between the lower-ranking soldiers and the generals, they can feel the discontent and pain of the lower-ranking soldiers, as well as the efforts and pain of the ministers.
At this moment, Qian Zhongzheng knelt before Empress Qian with a limp, his face full of vicissitudes: "If Your Majesty had been willing to listen to advice and not blindly listened to Wang Zhen's nonsense, this matter would not have happened."
Empress Qian's face was numb, but she couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in her heart: "Second Brother..."
She has cried a lot during this period, and her eyes are almost blind from crying. She also fell while raising money for the emperor's redemption, and her leg still hurts.
With tears in his eyes, Qian Zhong choked back sobs as he thought of the corpse he had pulled from the mountain of corpses and sea of blood. “My elder brother’s body has been cremated. I brought back his ashes. I have decided to bury him in three days. Your Majesty, we failed to protect His Majesty. We are so sorry.”
Empress Qian finally couldn't hold back her tears, which streamed down her dry eyes.
Qian Zhong's expression changed, and he crawled forward on his knees, looking at her in a panic: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Empress Qian reached up and touched the tears on her face. Her hand was covered in blood. She stared blankly at it, her vision blurred.
Is she going blind?
The palace maids panicked and called for the imperial physician, then rushed forward to support Empress Qian.
Empress Qian caught the handkerchief from her face, casually lowered her wrist, and said softly, "What's the panic? It's just blindness. In a few days, I'll be joining His Majesty."
The emperor's body had been transported back to the capital before the army returned.
It can be said that he just missed Zhu Qiyu's chance to come to his aid.
When Empress Dowager Sun and Empress Qian received the emperor's coffin, they were both overcome with grief.
During this time, the army was fighting abroad, so Empress Dowager Sun had the emperor's coffin frozen in ice, waiting for Zhu Qiyu to return with his civil and military officials to mourn him.
And she needed to know who had assassinated the emperor.
She did not doubt Zhu Qiyu, but she suspected the border generals and ministers in the imperial carriage, suspecting them of murdering the emperor and shirking responsibility.
Empress Dowager Sun's suspicions were naturally not kept secret from Empress Qian.
Empress Qian did not believe it; she was more convinced that the emperor had died at the hands of foreigners.
"If...if His Majesty were to die at the hands of his subjects, how much pain would His Majesty feel?" Empress Qian shook her head. "How could His Majesty have failed so miserably? Even if His Majesty cannot be called a wise ruler, he is certainly not a foolish one."
Qian Zhong nodded: "It was the Oirat general Arazhiyuan who killed His Majesty, in order to support Toghtoa Bukha in seizing power." Empress Qian immediately believed it. She dismissed the eunuchs, stood up with the help of a palace maid, refused to see the imperial physician, and went directly to Empress Dowager Sun.
Qian Zhong saw the serene smile on her face, his heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with grief. He rushed forward, grabbed her dress, and cried out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you are the Empress, you should not be buried alive with her..."
“Brother,” Empress Qian interrupted him, her face serene, “Our ancestors decreed that those without sons must be buried alive with the dead, and I have no sons.”
Not only did Empress Qian have no children, but the emperor's other concubines also had no children.
Zhu Qizhen did not have many concubines, and the Imperial Clan Court felt that there were too few people to be buried alive with him. During this period, a long list was compiled, and twenty palace maids were temporarily selected and given the titles of Lady, Attendant, and Noble Lady. The Noble Lady brought her own servants, so the list became longer and longer.
At this time, everyone in the palace was in danger. The palace maids had to walk on tiptoe, for fear of being noticed by the Imperial Clan Court and being included in the list of those to be buried with the emperor.
In the Empress's palace, nearly half of the people were selected to serve as attendants. In the end, it was Empress Qian who was kind-hearted and insisted on not having palace maids or eunuchs accompany her, but wanting to accompany the Emperor herself. The Imperial Clan Court reluctantly removed her from the list.
Empress Qian: "Once His Majesty's posthumous title is decided, I will be leaving. While I am still here, brother, is there anything you need from me?"
Qian Zhong felt a metallic taste in his throat and clutched her skirt tightly: "Your Majesty, it's just you and me left at home. Please, live on."
Empress Qian's eyes were red-rimmed as she shook her head and said, "The ancestral system cannot be changed."
"Why not? Princess Zhou had no children, so she survived, didn't she? It was His Majesty who personally issued the imperial decree, which shows that His Majesty also dislikes people being buried alive with him."
Empress Qian: "That's because His Majesty showed me special mercy because Prince Zhou pleaded with him many times. As for me... who would plead for me, and who is worthy of pardoning me?"
When Empress Qian heard her brother crying so bitterly, she was also in pain. She hardened her heart, pulled back the hem of her skirt, and strode forward, holding onto the hand of a palace maid.
Qian Zhong crawled two steps, but his leg injury hadn't healed, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Little Sister, Little Sister..."
Empress Qian quickened her pace and only began to weep silently after she had left the main hall.
The palace maid said worriedly, "Your Highness, you mustn't cry anymore..."
Empress Qian shook her head, gripped the palace maid's hand tightly, and choked out, "Take me to see the Empress Dowager."
Inside the palace, the maids and eunuchs helped Qian Zhong, who had fallen to the ground, to his feet. Their eyes were red as they said, "Your Majesty, only you can save Her Majesty now."
The Qian family is not very powerful.
The Qian family was a family of military officers. Empress Qian's great-grandfather followed Emperor Taizong in the cavalry and was promoted to deputy commander of the Yanshan Guard after the Jingnan Rebellion. Her grandfather and father both inherited their grandfather's position. Qian's father later became the deputy commander of the Central Military Commission based on his military achievements.
Among all the new and old nobles, Qian's father's official position was really insignificant.
However, the Ming Dynasty only required women to have a clean background, not their family history. In fact, they preferred women from humble families.
It must be said that the Ming Dynasty had a much better eye for choosing empresses than for choosing emperors.
The Ming Dynasty produced many virtuous empresses, and Empress Qian was already known for her virtue at a young age.
Zhu Qizhen was an emperor who liked to bestow official titles and give benefits to people he liked and was close to. He repeatedly tried to promote the family members of Empress Qian.
But Empress Qian refused them all.
Not long after Empress Qian became empress, her father passed away, leaving her with only two older brothers.
Both of his elder brothers also served in the military, and they accompanied the emperor on this occasion.
In Pan Jun's timeline, both brothers died in battle, while here, Qian Zhong miraculously survived, but his legs were crippled.
To avoid causing trouble for Empress Qian, the Qian brothers had kept a low profile and had not cultivated any connections in court. When Qian Zhong was asked to rescue Empress Qian, he was momentarily at a loss, unsure of who to turn to. (End of Chapter)