Prince Jing was there to seize command of the army. Having already incurred the wrath of the soldiers, he immediately struck while the iron was hot, shouting:
"Li Tingzhu! You tell us! How did Tumen Khan enter the passes? And why did you transfer the Beijing garrison away from Gubeikou?"
As his words fell,
The entire place fell silent, but many soldiers knew of this matter and immediately turned their gaze to Li Tingzhu, who had already stood up.
Li Tingzhu's heart was filled with terror. He knew that if he couldn't turn the situation around now, he would likely die at Prince Jing's hands today! He raised his hands and shouted:
"Soldiers! I, Li Tingzhu, have guarded the nation's gate for over a decade! Have I ever made a mistake? I, Li, have been in charge of the Beijing garrison since the Gengxu Incident—?"
Haha!
"Silence!"
"Silence, traitor!"
"Still daring to quibble!"
Hahaha!
The soldiers were still bewildered and quite moved by his impassioned words. Just then, a series of cawing laughter, incredibly jarring, reached everyone's ears.
When Prince Jing heard him speak of past events, he guessed that Li Tingzhu intended to sway the soldiers with emotion. If that were the case, the soldiers would likely sympathize with him, so he decisively shouted to stop him.
"Li Tingzhu, I ask you, how did Tumen Khan, with sixty to seventy thousand men, enter Gubeikou? As the Governor of the Beijing garrison, do you bear no responsibility? Do you know that the capital was in danger last night? It was because you, without authorization, transferred the main force away!"
Clip-clop,
Clip-clop...
In the midst of the great silence, Prince Jing's horse hooves sounded alarming.
He rode up to Li Tingzhu, pointed at him with his whip, and shouted:
"Li Tingzhu! I ask you, where is the commander of the Beijing garrison, Wu Dui? Why did he not agree to your troop transfer? You tell me! Speak..."
Without waiting for Li Tingzhu to utter a sound, he turned to the soldiers and said:
"Soldiers! If Commander Wu had not defied this man's orders yesterday and transferred the Shenji Battalion back for defense, our Great Ming capital would have already been breached by the Tubu!"
"This man still wants to quibble!"
"Commander Wu and Li Tingzhu, the truth and falsehood are so clear! Do we still need to say more?"
"If the inner ghost is not eliminated, what about the lives of countless soldiers?"
"Soldiers! What do you say we should do?"
Huala!
"Kill him!"
"Kill the inner ghost!"
"Eliminate the traitor!"
"..."
Li Tingzhu's ears were filled with thunderous roars, and his face turned ashen, his legs already trembling. After all, the transfer of troops yesterday was indeed based on a secret order he received from Yan Shifan. At this moment, with a guilty conscience, and seeing the fire in the eyes of countless soldiers, he shivered. Just as he was about to speak in his defense, Prince Jing gave him no further opportunity—
"Guards!"
"Take Li Tingzhu down!"
"As the Crown Prince acting as Regent, I will temporarily assume the role of Governor!"
"Generals Guo Hu, Jiang Yingxiong, and Wu Ding shall jointly hold the military seals!"
These three represented three different factions. Guo Hu was considered neutral, indifferent to the court's affairs. Jiang Yingxiong, however, was from the Yan family, and Wu Ding was Prince Jing's own confidant. The joint command of the three was intended to appease everyone and prevent the Yan family's faction from making a reckless move. In reality, by the time Guo Hu had gone through this process, he could no longer distance himself and had to follow Wu Ding, thus creating a two-to-one advantage, and the military power of the Beijing garrison was effectively seized.
As his words fell,
The twenty to thirty officers and generals behind Li Tingzhu were no longer flustered.
Wu Ding roared:
"Are you not going to apprehend him?"
Huala!
A dark and strong middle-aged man stepped out from among the officers, pointed at the soldiers next to him, and immediately four men ran out, pinning Li Tingzhu to the ground.
"Injustice!"
"I am wronged!"
"Prince Jing! You cannot do this!"
Prince Jing waved his hand and said calmly:
"Escort him to the capital..."
Only then did he carefully examine the more than twenty generals, and suddenly said:
"Where is Hu Zhen? Why is he not here?"
Uh~
Jiang Yingxiong immediately stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said:
"Reporting to Your Highness, Hu Zhen, the参将 of the Shenshu Battalion, committed military law several months ago. He is currently in the supply battalion... Your subordinate, your subordinate will go and summon him to receive orders immediately!"
Having said that,
He showed a look of panic and trotted away.
This Hu Zhen, like Wu Ding, was an old acquaintance of Prince Jing from many years ago. Displeased with the arrogance of the Yan family's generals, he was beaten thirty military rods by Li Tingzhu and was serving in the supply battalion. He naturally dared not speak out.
Prince Jing was quite satisfied and said loudly:
"Soldiers! The crisis of the Beijing garrison has been resolved... I, the new acting Crown Prince, will prioritize the peace and stability of the border. Anyone who has merit, I will reward!"
Huala!
"The Crown Prince is wise!"
"The Crown Prince is wise!"
"..."
At this moment, not only the soldiers but also the officers and generals felt immense joy. Firstly, only Li Tingzhu, who had been domineering, was arrested, and no one else was questioned, showing the Crown Prince's great generosity. Secondly, since he was already the Crown Prince, arresting Li Tingzhu this time was merely a matter of heavenly conflict. Why should ordinary people bother with so much? With the Crown Prince's direct care from now on, the generals of the Beijing garrison could look forward to a bright future.
A short while later,
Hu Zhen, limping, had arrived.
At this time,
The soldiers had already returned to their respective camps, and the drill ground was empty, with only many officers and generals awaiting orders. The scene suddenly became desolate. The officers and generals remained standing, while Prince Jing sat in his palanquin. Neither side spoke, creating a rather strange atmosphere.
Hu Zhen and Prince Jing were long acquainted. Previously, because he was near Li Tingzhu, Prince Jing had not seen him. Upon meeting now, Hu Zhen knelt down with a thud and choked out:
"Prince Jing, Your Royal Highness Prince Jing... I, I... *sob sob sob*..."
Prince Jing had always known this man to be responsible and thought that it was precisely because of this that Li Tingzhu had treated him so cruelly. Thinking of the days in the capital years ago, his heart also ached. He said calmly:
"Are your legs crippled?"
"No, no... they still work!"
Hu Zhen struggled to get up, cupped his fists, and bowed:
"Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life!"
Mm-hmm,
Prince Jing was in need of manpower at this time. Seeing that he could still move, he said directly:
"Hu Zhen, you will lead your troops with me to the capital later... Get your legs better quickly... There will be many important matters for you to handle in the future..."
Mm-hmm,
Hu Zhen felt that his hardships had finally paid off, and he choked out:
"Your Highness, my life belongs to the Crown Prince!"
Good!
Prince Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He asked him to bring his four thousand troops to the drill ground, and then selected two thousand strong men from various units. Military tents were erected on the drill ground and guarded strictly. Prince Jing felt safe and fell sound asleep in the tent.
...
At this time, the capital,
was already in a state of disarray.
Yan Shifan and Lu Bing had not handed over their household guards. Instead, they continued to lead them around. They first went to Xu Jiei's residence and, seeing that it was guarded by soldiers, went to Duke Ying's mansion of Zhang Rong, only to find it also protected.
The two decided to go all out. They brought out their subordinate household guards, set fire to houses everywhere, engaged in robbery and murder. Within a few hours, the city was in utter chaos. The citizens of the capital had long been terrified of these household guard demons. Every household kept their doors tightly shut. The common people were fine, but those with some property, and officials of the fourth or fifth rank, had much of their wealth looted.
Wu Dui was responsible for the defense of the city and dared not deploy a single soldier without the imperial court's order. After all, the Privy Council held power now, and Yan Song was the foremost minister. Xu Jie could not even protect himself, so who else could do anything?
As for Zhang Juzheng, he knew that the situation had suddenly changed and was extremely dangerous. Even Li Chunfang had been killed, so what could he do? After Tumen Khan retreated that night, he returned to his residence early and wrote his resignation. Late at night, he left the city with his servants. He was now staying at Lugou Post.
Within the Yuxi Palace,
however, it remained peaceful.
Lu Fang had brought the palace guards and imperial forest army into the Forbidden City, guarding the Western Garden day and night. Although he had heard that the outside was in a terrible state, he dared not dispatch a single soldier.
One must know,
The Shenji Battalion, which was responsible for guarding the city, was internally in a very delicate situation. Wu Dui and a few confidants were suppressing many of the Yan family's officers. If troops were sent out to quell the unrest from here, who could guarantee that the Yan family members within the Shenji Battalion would not lead troops out? If that were to happen, it would only worsen the chaos and make it unmanageable.
Although he felt heartache, he was deeply helpless.
At this moment,
Jiajing was also becoming uneasy. He had lost the composure of meditating like an impassive clay Buddha, which was his usual state. This feeling was very subtle, but Lu Fang had served him for forty years, how could he not detect it?
He did not know what the Emperor was waiting for. He could only guess that it was likely related to Prince Jing. After all, the reason Tumen Khan had suddenly retreated was that Prince Jing had sent troops out of the passes and raided his stronghold...
When the news arrived yesterday, the Emperor seemed quite unsettled, appearing somewhat agitated, and perhaps somewhat pleased? In any case, it was now difficult to make him remain quiet.
Just then,
Huang Jin suddenly appeared by the palace gate, his face anxious as he gestured.
Lu Fang quietly stepped out and asked in a low voice:
"What's the hurry?"
"Old Ancestor, Prince Jing, Prince Jing has seized the military power of the Beijing garrison and has already escorted Li Tingzhu to the capital..."
Ah?!
*Clatter.*
The two looked towards the sound. It was Jiajing's horsetail whisk that had fallen.