The Emperor had been captured. All the officials of the Capital City gathered in the great hall and launched into a fierce debate.
"Yesen sent a letter of state, demanding that we cede the lands of Yan and Zhao to him and open the gates of Xuanfu. He says he will personally escort the Emperor back to the Capital City!"
"And you dare believe such words? Once the city gates are opened, it will be difficult to shut them again!"
"How did His Majesty fall into Yesen's hands? Were the more than two hundred thousand troops accompanying him all good for nothing?"
"Is this the time to assign blame? The urgent matter is what we should do—and what should be done about His Majesty!"
There was nothing wrong with those words themselves, but the man who said them was Ma Shun, Commander of the Imperial Guards.
He was Wang Zhen's trusted confidant.
Thus, the officials who had learned that Wang Zhen was dead and knew part of the truth about the northern campaign felt their fury burst through the crowns of their heads the moment he spoke. Pointing at Ma Shun, they shouted, "It was treacherous eunuchs like you who ruined the Ming Dynasty! A man like Wang Zhen deserves to have his entire clan exterminated even in death!"
Naturally, Ma Shun disagreed.
If Wang Zhen's nine clans were exterminated, would that not mean settling accounts with his followers as well?
Everyone knew that he was Wang Zhen's trusted confidant.
Therefore, Ma Shun opposed it with all his might.
Wang Hong, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, was furious beyond measure. Years of resentment toward Wang Zhen and the Imperial Guards erupted at once. The Emperor's capture had already sent his emotions surging and crashing; seeing Ma Shun