vstars Chapter 196, Recollection Part 2.19 (End) - Annihilation
Chapter 196, Recollection Part 2.19 (End) - Annihilation
January of the seventeenth year of the Tianlong reign.
Because he secretly discovered that the Prime Minister's faction was forming cliques, engaging in corruption and bribery, and harboring treacherous intentions, including plotting a rebellion in conjunction with the Fifth Prince.
Emperor Xuande was furious, but to avoid alerting the enemy, he had to remain silent. He then set a trap at the Lantern Festival banquet and successfully killed the prime minister's faction in one fell swoop.
At the same time, Emperor Xuande acted swiftly and decisively. In order to eliminate any potential threats, not only was the entire Prime Minister's family executed, but also a number of people associated with him were ordered to be thoroughly investigated.
Those officials, soldiers, and merchants who were implicated faced consequences ranging from having their homes confiscated to being executed.
For a time, people in and out of the government were filled with anxiety.
Except for General Chu and his group, who were far away on the border and did not obey the emperor's orders.
It is said that during this massive crackdown, hundreds of people were implicated, and countless merchants and residences had their homes confiscated.
The amount of wealth seized was so vast that it could almost fill the entire national treasury.
Regardless of loyalty or treachery, the entire court and the public were thoroughly purged. With the successive downfall of several important officials, the situation in the palace underwent a dramatic change.
At this point, Emperor Xuande's prestige in the court had finally reached its peak.
But this dynasty was already on the verge of collapse.
Perhaps because of the serious illness that almost cost him his life, Emperor Xuande became increasingly reliant on the Imperial Preceptor and the supernatural beliefs that could bring him good fortune.
He became obsessed with seeking immortality and medicine, and collecting herbs to refine elixirs.
They were even willing to spend enormous amounts of manpower and resources, emptying the newly replenished national treasury, in order to seek those so-called methods of immortality.
However, how could those elixirs be true elixirs of immortality, and how could they truly grant immortality?
The more the Xuande Emperor ate, the weaker he became; the weaker he became, the more blindly he listened to the words of the Imperial Preceptor.
He became increasingly addicted, increasingly dependent, and increasingly confused.
In the seventeenth year of the Tianlong reign, the Xuande Emperor, who had already gone mad with desire, listened to the slander of the Imperial Preceptor and wanted to find some young boys and girls in the palace and among the common people to be used as offerings to Heaven.
Inside the Wenying Hall—
A gyrfalcon silently flapped its wings, skimmed over the roof beam, and gently landed on the windowsill.
It peeked out and pecked at the closed windowsill.
A moment later, a soft sound came from inside the hall, and a candle slowly lit up.
Chu Heng looked at the secret letter in his hand with a solemn expression. "Father has led his army through Fengdu and will arrive in the capital in less than five days."
"So fast?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Ling frowned. "But why is the palace still so quiet?"
Logically speaking, such a large-scale military march toward the capital should have been noticed by the imperial court.
However, the palace remained calm and peaceful. Emperor Xuande was still engrossed in his pursuit of immortality and medicine, and did not notice anything unusual.
It's as if someone in the court deliberately concealed the truth or used various means to obstruct the transmission of information.
"Because the will of the people is like water; it can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
Chu Heng said in a deep voice, "Emperor Xuande is tyrannical and has long lost the hearts of the people. Along the way, several cities have already surrendered to the emperor.
He reached out and lit the secret letter over the candlelight.
The two watched as the flames slowly devoured the letter, turning it into black ashes that drifted to the ground with the wind.
"Father told us to be careful and to try to find an opportunity to escape the capital during the chaos, just in case. We can also take the Seventh Prince with us."
"Once the army marches straight into the capital, eliminates the traitors, and quells everything, we can then enthrone the seventh prince."
But even after Chu Heng finished speaking, Chu Ling's brows remained furrowed in the slightest.
He looked at the jade pendant in his hand, pursed his lips, and said, "Perhaps we can escape, but... what will Your Highness do?"
This statement did not mean that Fu Tingyu was unwilling to leave with them, but rather that since yesterday, Emperor Xuande had very suddenly summoned all the princes under the pretext of praying for the Great Jing Dynasty, so that they could devote themselves to quiet cultivation.
Chu Heng followed Chu Ling's gaze and looked at the jade pendant.
Whether it was a premonition or not, before setting off, Fu Tingyu handed his personal jade pendant to Chu Ling.
They were told that the commander of the Imperial Guards stationed at the southeast gate of the palace had once received a favor from Consort Chen, and that as long as they brought their jade pendants, they would surely receive her help.
Seeing the undisguised worry between Chu Ling's brows, Chu Heng remained silent for a long time before sighing, "Now that things have come to this, we can only take it one step at a time."
"Let's wait and see."
However, even as Chu Wanshan's army approached the capital, they still couldn't wait for Fu Tingyu to return.
Due to the emperor's incompetence and the disorder of the court, the long-suppressed public resentment finally erupted in the Yang month of the seventeenth year of the Tianlong reign.
Under the pretext of "purging the emperor's inner circle," Chu Wanshan led tens of thousands of troops from the border and marched with unstoppable momentum, easily reaching the capital without much hindrance.
On the contrary, due to Emperor Xuande's tyranny, many soldiers and civilians even joined the journey.
However, Emperor Xuande was still immersed in his dream of immortality and had not received any news about the approaching army.
Emperor Xuande only realized what was happening when Chu Wanshan had already led his army to the gates of the imperial city.
In a panic, he could only hastily order the imperial guards to defend the city gates to the death and not allow the rebels to enter the city.
At the same time, he ordered men to bring the two Chu brothers to him, intending to take them hostage and force Chu Wanshan to withdraw his troops.
However, to their surprise, the two brothers had already taken advantage of the chaos and arrived at the southeast gate with Fu Tingyu's token.
Upon seeing this, the commander of the Imperial Guards immediately gave up resistance and led his men to open the palace gates.
As soon as the palace gates opened, Chu Lingshan's army marched straight in, routing the palace guards like a tidal wave.
They stormed into the Golden Palace without lifting a finger.
But they were still a step too slow.
Seeing that all was lost, Emperor Xuande not only committed suicide by sword in the Golden Palace, but also ordered people to set fire to various palaces in advance, wanting to burn everything down along with Chu Wanshan's army.
Even if Chu Wanshan led his men to extinguish the fire as quickly as possible, it was impossible for them to outpace the spread of the fire.
Countless fires blazed fiercely within the palace, shooting straight into the sky, enveloping the once magnificent palace buildings in a dazzling display of light.