Zhu Gaochi's booming voice echoed through the bleak winter wind and in the hearts of Xia Yuanji, Fang Bin, and the others.
They looked at the Regent Crown Prince, who seemed like a different person, then at Prince Zheng Zhu Zhanjun, whose expression was utterly calm. They could only feel that the world was growing more and more surreal.
A Crown Prince on his deathbed had swallowed a pill of unknown origin and instantly become vigorous and full of life?
A good-for-nothing prince who could only count fighting crickets had casually produced a force of Divine Soldiers and a mountain of gold?
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed it even if they were beaten to death.
"Your Highness... You... you really mean to give that unit... a military designation?"
Fang Bin stammered. He was now both afraid of and resentful toward Zhu Zhanjun.
He feared Zhu Zhanjun's unreasonable strength and methods. He resented that he had just advocated moving south, while Zhu Zhanjun had now turned the tide. Wouldn't that make him a clown?
Zhu Gaochi had never felt better in his life, and his mind was clearer than ever, too.
He shot Fang Bin a cold glance. The authority in his eyes made Fang Bin's heart skip a beat.
"What? Does Minister Fang have an objection?"
"I... I wouldn't dare!"
Fang Bin shrank his neck in fright. "It's just... this goes against the Ancestral System. Establishing a military designation out of thin air will surely set the Court and Country abuzz with gossip... It could damage Your Highness's reputation!"
He didn't dare oppose Zhu Zhanjun directly, so he could only aim his objections at Zhu Gaochi.
"Reputation?"
Zhu Gaochi let out a cold laugh. "Compared with His Majesty's safety and the fate of Great Ming, what does my reputation amount to? The capital is about to fall, and you're still worrying about the Ancestral System? About what people might say?"
He swept his sleeve and declared with commanding authority, "It's settled! Zhanjun, leave at once. Do not delay! Xia Yuanji, you will stay and return to the residence with me. I must convene a court discussion immediately and inform the Three Masters Yang!"
The Three Masters Yang were Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu. They were Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi's right-hand men and the core of the future Reign of Ren and Xuan.
For a matter of such military and national importance, their support was essential to truly secure the rear.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Xia Yuanji bowed and accepted the order, though his heart was pounding.
Tell the Three Masters Yang the truth?
This was far more complicated than he'd imagined.
Zhu Zhanjun cupped his hands toward Zhu Gaochi. "Father, Mother, I'll be off, then. Please take care of yourselves. Wait for good news from me!"
With that, he swung back onto his horse and waved to the personal guard who had been waiting for some time. The two riders quickly galloped after the main force.
Half an hour later, at the Eastern Palace, in Wenhua Hall.
The braziers burned brightly, but the atmosphere in the hall was colder than the wind and snow outside.
Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi sat at the head of the hall, his face ruddy and his spirits high. He was nothing like the man who had seemed on the verge of death that morning.
Crown Princess Zhang sat beside him, her expression solemn.
Below them sat three white-haired elder officials—Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu—as well as Minister of Revenue Xia Yuanji. All wore grave and uneasy expressions.
They had just heard Xia Yuanji recount everything that had happened outside the city that morning, at the fastest pace he could manage.
From the grim news brought by the Eight Hundred Li Urgent Dispatch, to Fang Bin advocating a move south, to Prince Zheng Zhu Zhanjun descending like Divine Soldiers from the heavens, and finally to His Highness the Crown Prince "rising from the dead"—each event had struck the hearts of the three Grand Secretaries like a heavy hammer.
"Absurd! Utterly absurd!"
Yang Shiqi, the most upright and hot-tempered of them, was the first to slam the table and rise. His graying beard trembled.
He stared fixedly at Zhu Gaochi and said in anguish, "Your Highness! How... how could you be so muddleheaded? Secretly raising three thousand troops, and heavily armored cavalry with Horse and Rider Armor at that! This is treason! A crime that brings execution of the entire clan! His Highness Prince Zheng... Is he trying to drag the entire Zhu family down with him?"
Yang Rong and Yang Pu said nothing, but the shock and worry on their faces made their position clear.
In the eyes of these civil officials, a feudal prince secretly raising troops was more terrifying than the Mongols reaching the gates of Beijing City.
The first was an external threat; the second was internal turmoil, shaking the National Foundation!
"Master Shiqi, please calm down."
Zhu Gaochi raised a hand, surprisingly composed. "I know what you're worried about. But have you considered this? If not for Zhanjun, we wouldn't be discussing the Ancestral System and treason today. We'd be figuring out how to pack our bags and flee back to Nanjing!"
Yang Shiqi was momentarily at a loss for words.
It was true. Xia Yuanji had just said that the situation had been dire: the Crown Prince had vomited blood, everyone was panicking, Fang Bin had led the calls to move south, and the entire Crown Prince's Mansion had been in chaos.
If Zhu Zhanjun hadn't appeared, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
"B-but that still doesn't justify his secretly raising a powerful army!"
Yang Shiqi held his ground. "Three thousand heavy cavalry, wealth enough to rival a nation, and a Miracle Drug of unknown origin... Your Highness, don't you find this terrifying? Wasn't our understanding of His Highness Prince Zheng that he was an idle prince who knew only how to eat, drink, play, and set fighting cocks and dogs against each other? When did he acquire such heaven-reaching abilities?"
His question struck at the heart of everyone present.
A person couldn't change this much overnight.
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