Chapter 43: The Capital under Martial Law!

[Part 1 of 3]

[December 24th of the 73rd Year of Chongzhen, Gengchen in the lunar calendar. Favorable for banquets, favorable for executions, favorable for coups, favorable for coup d'états...]

[Watching with your own eyes as a ferocious-looking Lu Zhongcheng stabbed his blade straight through Grand Secretary Chen's neck, your blood surged with excitement. After preparing for so long, the time to close the net had finally arrived!]

[For this very day, you had made preparations for more than half a year. Although from the very beginning when the Divine Emperor issued the imperial decree, this confrontation was destined to be won by you, you still had to treat it with the utmost seriousness.]

[Because backing from the Divine Emperor was one thing, the deity would not proactively take action to help you. The only direct force you could rely on was the Emperor's personal military force, the Brocade Guard. Thus, you had no choice but to leverage the power of the Brocade Guard to take charge of the overall situation.]

[To this end, you first spent half a year drinking with Lu Zhongcheng, taking the initiative to address him as "elder brother" and putting your attitude extremely low to build a personal bond... even though you actually neither liked drinking nor enjoyed calling others brothers.]

[However, even if you successfully won over Lu Zhongcheng's Brocade Guard, it did not mean victory was entirely within your grasp. Times were different now; while the military remained a formidable political force, the Divine Emperor had also bestowed considerable divine power upon the civil and military officials of the imperial court. Once they organized themselves to oppose you, it would be difficult for you to win relying solely on the Brocade Guard.]

[Therefore, you ultimately had to enlist the supreme might of the Divine Emperor Himself... But the Divine Emperor would not seek out targets to attack on His own initiative. If you wanted to borrow His power, you had to find a suitable pretext to invite Him over, and by the way, summon all the officials as well so that everyone could clash face-to-face. Only then would the Divine Emperor take action!]

[This pretext could only be the Divine Emperor's birthday...]

[That was why you painstakingly built a garden far away from the capital, using it to host the birthday celebration so that the officials, even knowing it was a trap, would have no choice but to attend.]

[For good fortune, you purposefully named the garden the "Pleasure Spring Garden" (Changchun Garden), alluding to the "Pleasure Spring Garden Incident" when Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty passed away and Emperor Yongzong ascended the throne!]

[There was also the "Gungjeong-dong Cave," alluding to the anecdote of Director Kim "exterminating the pests and shooting the sun" from the South Korean drama "The 5th Republic"!]

[There were also the hometown ditties of the Korean songstresses, and Director Kim drinking to gather his courage before assassinating the pests and Park... ]

[You used far too many historical allusions, all for the sake of achieving success on the first try and seizing state power through a coup in one fell swoop!]

[This was your only chance... To recast the glory of the Great Ming, our generation is duty-bound!]

[Of course, as an expert in running memes, your choices of the "Pleasure Spring Garden" and "Gungjeong-dong" memes this time were not random either. Aside from using them as auspicious omens for the coup, there were some unspoken layers to it as well...]

[“During the Pleasure Spring Garden Incident, the old emperor Kang Mazi passed away...”]

[“During the Gungjeong-dong Incident, Park Kaka, who fancied himself the sun, was star-殲ed with a single shot by a red-eyed Director Kim...”]

[Ahem!]

[You coughed inwardly. What was being implied went without saying...]

[......]

[Grand Secretary Chen was stabbed to death before he could even react, leaving the remaining officials naturally terrified out of their wits!]

[Naturally, they did not understand the South Korean drama memes you were playing at, but they certainly understood what a "Hongmen Banquet" was...]

[A bleeding Grand Secretary, a Brocade Guard Commander with his face splattered in fresh gore, a Prime Minister with an icy gaze, and the aloof yet expressionless Divine Emperor Majesty...]

[This fucking thing was a Hongmen Banquet indeed!!!]

[Part 1 of 3]

[Part 2 of 3]

[The terrified officials instantly descended into utter chaos! Some were so frightened they turned tail and ran; others had their legs shaking so badly they couldn't move an inch; some repeatedly kowtowed and begged for mercy...]

[“I am here to offer birthday greetings! What are you people trying to do?!”]

[For instance, the cowardly Minister of Revenue was weeping snot and tears, howling unceasingly at the top of his lungs!]

[Yet among them were ruthless characters as well!]

[Seeing the Senior Grand Secretary die a miserable death and realizing they were now trapped turtles in a jar, despair instead ignited a fierce counterattack within them...]

[The Minister of Personnel let out a roar, similarly grabbing a dining knife and lunging at you with a murderous expression!]

[He was no fool; he couldn't possibly dare to charge at the Divine Emperor, and fighting Lu Zhongcheng would yield little use. By comparison, trading your paper-tiger Prime Minister's life would yield a far greater return!]

[Furthermore, you had not yet undergone formal and massive infusions of divine power. Relying merely on that sliver of divine power you obtained during the provincial examinations, he, the dignified Minister of Personnel, could beat a hundred of you at least! In such an extreme one-for-one trade, the probability of winning was nearly one hundred percent!]

[Yet you acted like a veteran general seasoned in countless battles, completely unfazed by his assault, and even calmly raised your cup to take a sip of wine...]

[It was precisely at this moment that a blinding golden light instantly pinned the lunging Minister of Personnel to the ground, leaving this dignified minister utterly devoid of any power to resist!]

[At the very same moment, the rest of the officials were likewise pinned to the earth by the golden light!]

[Realizing what had just happened, all the officials fell into absolute despair: It's over...]

[The Divine Emperor calmly waved His hand, causing all the officials to involuntarily drop to their knees.]

[“Hear the decree.”]

[He said slowly.]

[Hearing these words, you also rose from your seat and then respectfully bowed down... Lu Zhongcheng also released his grip on the dining knife while panting heavily, and then, without uttering a word, dropped to his knees like a toppling golden mountain and collapsing jade pillar.]

[The Divine Emperor spoke.]

[“The officials offering birthday greetings are utterly audacious, plotting to murder Us and assassinate the Prime Minister.”]

[“Fortunately, the Commander of the Brocade Guard protected Us at the risk of his life, rendering illustrious contributions. He is specially granted the imperial surname to display imperial grace!”]

[Lu Zhongcheng... no, Zhu Zhongcheng burst into tears of gratitude on the spot, kowtowing repeatedly to thank the emperor for this grace!]

[“As for the Prime Minister, who directed the suppression of the rebellion, he has also rendered great service. He is specially granted the Nine Concessions, along with the military command over the two capitals of Shuntian and Yingtian, as well as the thirteen provincial administration commissions including Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, and Shaanxi. All affairs of both the inner court and outer domains must first be submitted to the Prime Minister for deliberation, so as to assist the New Policies!”]

[The moment these words were uttered, everyone turned pale with shock!]

[Only you were different.]

[Listening to this long string of titles and the supreme power represented behind them, you merely let out a sigh of relief.]

[Part 2 of 3]

[Part 3 of 3]

[At last... you possessed real power!]

[The previous Prime Minister was nothing more than an empty title, but now you truly wielded matching substantive authority. From this day forward, all major state policies under heaven would be decided by you alone, and every matter would be decisively judged by your sovereign will!]

[And all of this was the reward for passing your test. This "Gengchen Coup," destined to go down in history, was won by you...]

[Before your thoughts could run wild as you prepared to express your gratitude, you saw the Divine Emperor smile meaningfully and say, “We hear that the Prime Minister is over thirty years old yet still lacks a courtesy name. Why not let Us bestow one upon you?”]

[“In former times, Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and Han Xin—the three heroes—jointly assisted the Emperor Gaozu of Han, resulting in four hundred years of the Han dynasty's rivers and mountains. Today, the Prime Minister is also named Liang, sharing the exact same given name as Marquis Liu of the early Han. Why not take Zifang as your courtesy name?”]

[“We lack the good fortune of Emperor Gaozu of Han and cannot have the three heroes of the early Han jointly assist Us, having only the Prime Minister alone to aid the administration. We sincerely hope the Prime Minister will lend your utmost support to sustain the four hundred years of our Great Ming's rivers and mountains, just like the three heroes!”]

[“What do you think, My Zifang?”]

[Zifang?]

[You were momentarily stunned, then bowed deeply to thank Him for His immense grace.]

[“Your subject, Zhou Zifang, will definitely live up to Your Majesty's entrustment! Long live, long live, long live our Emperor!”]

[......]

[On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month in the seventy-third year of Chongzhen, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, the rebel Chen, along with the Ministers of the Six Ministries and other officials, were demented enough to plot regicide and rebellion, attempting to seize state power through a coup in order to obstruct the New Policies!]

[History records this as the "Gengchen Coup!"]

[Fortunately, Prime Minister Zhou Liang and Brocade Guard Commander Lu Zhongcheng risked their lives to protect the sovereign, thereby suppressing the rebel coup!]

[On this very day, Lu Zhongcheng was granted the imperial surname as a token of reward, earning the name "Zhu Zhongcheng"!]

[On the same day, Prime Minister Zhou Liang was granted the Nine Concessions, alongside military command over the two capitals of Shuntian and Yingtian, as well as the thirteen provincial administration commissions including Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, and Shaanxi. All affairs of the inner court and outer domains were henceforth required to be submitted to the Prime Minister for prior deliberation, to assist in the New Policies!]

[On the same day, the Divine Emperor bestowed upon the Prime Minister the courtesy name "Zifang," emulating the tale of the three heroes of the early Han assisting Emperor Gaozu of Han!]

[On the same day, the Prime Minister mobilized three thousand elite Brocade Guards from the Fengtai Garrison to enter the capital, ordered Zhu Zhongcheng to seal the nine gates of the capital, and declared a state of emergency across the city!]

[On the same day, imperial agents swarmed out in all directions to search the entire city for the accomplices of the rebels, arresting nearly ten thousand party members and plunging the entire capital into panic!]

[The following day, Great Ming Prime Minister Zhou Liang, style name Zifang, issued an imperial edict proclaiming to the two capitals and thirteen provinces: The New Policies shall commence this very day!]

[Part 3 of 3]