Chapter 52: Striving Together for the Restoration of Han!

Wang Chen'en knew that this must be the Emperor's final round of arrangements before his departure on an imperial tour outside the capital.

Daring not to show the slightest negligence, he hurried out of the Palace with a retinue of attendants to make notifications door to door.

The imperial faction led by Chen Xinjia and the military officials and nobility led by Zhang Weixian were awakened from their sleep, feeling somewhat dazed at first.

Upon hearing that the Emperor had summoned them to enter the Palace in the middle of the night, their minds instantly began to race.

An imperial summons in the dead of night must portend matters of grave importance.

Not daring to delay, and harboring emotions half excited and half nervous, the crowd hurriedly donned their official robes and proceeded toward the Imperial Palace.

Before long.

The two factions, numbering nearly a hundred men in total, were led into the Palace of Heavenly Purity, where Wei Zhongxian, Cao Hualun, and Wang Chen'en were also standing.

When everyone had arrived, Zhu Youjian emerged from the side chamber, and the assembled company hurriedly dropped to their knees to pay their respects.

Facing the crowd prostrate before him, Zhu Youjian dispensed with all superfluous words and spoke directly:

"In a few days, I shall leave the Palace for an inspection tour. After my departure, the affairs of the Great Ming state will require the utmost dedication of you all."

At these words.

Except for the very few individuals who had already been informed in advance of the Emperor's tour, the rest of the company was struck as if by a thunderbolt.

Although they had aligned themselves with Chen Xinjia and Zhang Weixian, everyone in their hearts knew full well that the sole reason for their actions was the Emperor himself.

The Emperor was the ultimate pillar and backbone for them all.

Once the Emperor left the capital, leaving aside the question of danger, the factional strength they had managed to unite with such difficulty would inevitably suffer a drastic drop in morale.

If the civil official clique were to launch an offensive, there was every likelihood they would be scattered at the first onslaught.

A rather young Hanlin academician was the first to lose control of his emotions; tears welling in his eyes, he shuffled forward on his knees and said, "Your Majesty, for the sake of our Great Ming's empire that has only just begun to recover... you... you must not lightly leave the capital!"

The rest of the crowd immediately followed suit with remonstrations.

"Your Majesty! This must not be!"

"......"

With a calm tone, Zhu Youjian pressed his hand downward to interrupt them: "I brought you here not to listen to such talk."

As these words fell, the chorus of remonstrations within the Palace of Heavenly Purity instantly died away.

Yet after a silence of merely two or three breaths, Chen Xinjia slammed his head heavily against the floor and cried out in a loud voice:

"Your Majesty! Whatever you require us to do after your departure from the capital, we shall willingly brave boiling water and tread through fire without hesitation!"

Chen Xinjia understood.

The Emperor's departure on an external tour must have been planned long in advance; how could it be dissuaded by a few words?

That being the case, executing the duties entrusted by the Emperor after his departure was of paramount importance.

Chen Xinjia's declaration successfully shifted the mindset of the gathered assembly considerably.

"Prioritize the well-being of the common people, and attempt to gradually extend this policy to the prefectures and counties near the capital."

"Remember, however, that you must never be overly hasty; the current strength of the Great Ming is not yet sufficient to achieve that."

"At the same time, recruit artisans extensively from among the populace, especially those skilled in firearms."

Zhu Youjian issued his instructions in meticulous detail.

Listening to these words, Chen Xinjia and the others exchanged glances and collectively shouted, "We shall strictly obey the Holy Will!"

Judging by the current situation, as for the tasks commanded by the Emperor, even with his departure from the capital, they would not be overly difficult to accomplish so long as they remained united in heart and purpose.

The shouting of the crowd did not cause Zhu Youjian to pause.

He knew deeply that political struggles are dark and cruel.

Once he left the capital, assassinations, bribery, psychological warfare... all manner of underhanded means would inevitably emerge endlessly.

Therefore, he had to bind these people together even more tightly.

Zhu Youjian continued: "The military commanders need only drill the Capital Garrison properly."

The group of military officers exchanged glances and also responded in a loud voice, "We shall surely guard the Capital Garrison well for Your Majesty."

Following that, Zhu Youjian turned his gaze to Wei Zhongxian and said:

"After my departure from the capital, palace affairs shall be managed by Wei Zhongxian, Director of the Directorate of Ceremonies. Whenever you have matters on which you cannot reach a decision, come and consult with him."

For Zhu Youjian, once he left the capital, this organization required a leader personally designated by him.

Otherwise, should the civil official clique make an issue of this and sow deep discord, internal strife might erupt beforehand.

Wei Zhongxian harbored the deepest hatred toward the civil official clique and possessed the survival and struggle experience of rising from the very bottom.

Although the rest of the company possessed burning passion, they were ultimately somewhat green.

Choosing him as the leader of the officials during his absence from the capital could not be more appropriate.

With a look of disbelief, Wei Zhongxian raised his head to glance at the Emperor, his voice trembling slightly: "Your Majesty, rest assured! This humble servant... this humble servant, even unto death, shall guard all affairs within the Palace for Your Majesty!"

Wei Zhongxian knew that although he was a personal attendant to the Emperor, he was ultimately a eunuch.

And as a eunuch, he would inevitably face discrimination—an objective fact that could not be avoided.

Just as the faction of officials who had previously gathered around him flattered him to the extreme, yet would brazenly spit insults the moment he showed the slightest sign of decline.

Those Hanlin imperial partisans who had passed the imperial examinations on their own merits would certainly not submit to him easily.

With the Emperor's brilliance, he could naturally take this into consideration, yet the Emperor had still chosen him.

This moved Wei Zhongxian to the point of losing his composure.

Upon hearing that the Emperor had designated Wei Zhongxian as their leader, the civil and military officials paused for a moment before responding in unison:

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. We shall strictly take Eunuch Wei as our head, unite as one, and assist Your Majesty in handling all affairs of state after your departure!"

Yet this time, the voices of the crowd were not quite as uniform as before.

Careless of this, Zhu Youjian continued to instruct Wang Chen'en: "Go and fetch a large bowl of wine."

He naturally knew that a hastily assembled organization like this would inevitably harbor divisions.

What he needed to do was to completely eradicate those divisions.

As someone who had lived through it all.

Zhu Youjian knew that nothing could bind everything within an organization together quite like a sufficiently grand objective.

Hearing the Emperor's command to fetch wine, the minds of those inside the hall surged with emotion, immediately realizing that the Emperor intended to drink a farewell toast with them personally.

For everyone present, this was an immense honor!

To have the Emperor personally bestow wine and drink with them was something that had not occurred in the Great Ming for many years.

Moreover, it was happening under the present circumstances.

Everyone's heart began to burn with fervor.

Amidst their excitement.

Wei Zhongxian, Zhang Weixian, and Chen Xinjia exchanged glances and nodded imperceptibly.

The potential rifts between the military generals, the eunuch, and the imperial partisans were ultimately somewhat melted away by this special gesture of the Emperor.

Soon.

Wang Chen'en came holding a large bowl and placed it on the table before the company.

With an expressionless face, Zhu Youjian slowly walked up to the table.

Just as everyone thought the Emperor was about to speak and bestow the wine,

They suddenly saw the Emperor draw a precious sword from his waist with a metallic clang.

Following that, the Emperor grasped the blade with his left hand and gave a sharp pull with his right, causing fresh blood to well up along the palm of his hand.

Everyone in the hall was frozen in place at that exact instant.

Within the vast Palace of Heavenly Purity, the only sounds to be heard were the frantic pounding of everyone's hearts and the dripping of the Emperor's blood into the wine.

Speechless, all watched this scene unfold.

The Emperor possessed a body of supreme worth and bore the weight of the state; how could he resort to self-inflicted harm with a blade!

Among the stunned crowd, Zhang Weixian was the first to snap out of it, asking in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty... this... why must you..."

Zhu Youjian did not answer, instead sweeping his gaze slowly across everyone present.

This time, the gazes of the crowd did not flinch out of etiquette; instead, everyone returned his gaze with blazing intensity.

Looking at these people, Zhu Youjian said word by word: "For the revitalization of Han, I shall march forward side by side in oneness of heart with you all."

Clang—

The precious sword was cast down upon the floor.

Hearing those words—to march forward side by side for the revitalization of Han—

Zhang Weixian, who was the first to recover, could no longer suppress the emotions in his heart.

Crawling forward on hands and knees, he picked up the precious sword, slashed open his own palm with a single cut, and then reached out to let his blood drip into the bowl.

Immediately following him,

Came Wei Zhongxian, Chen Xinjia, and all the civil and military officials in the hall......

The silence inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity was chilling; only the sound of everyone's blood dripping into the bowl could be heard.

The words spoken by the Emperor echoed continuously in everyone's hearts, igniting every drop of hot blood within their bodies.

Marching forward in oneness of heart!

Revitalize Han!!!