Ming Empire

Chapter 303 Return to Beijing
In fact, members of the royal family headed by the Queen Mother Zhou have long wanted to return to Beijing to worship their ancestors.

Beijing was occupied by Jiannu for a period of time, and the Ming Tomb where the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried was also occupied by Jiannu. This became the eternal pain in the hearts of all members of the royal family.Fortunately, Beijing has been taken back, and they don't have to bear the blame for a lifetime.

The land of their ancestors' mausoleum was occupied by Jiannu, which shamed their ancestors. They had to go to the mausoleum to worship and atone for their sins.

Because his wife, Zhu Yu, was going to worship, and Cao Yue himself wanted to go to Beijing to arrange the return of the capital, so he personally led the army to escort the members of the royal family to Beijing to worship their ancestors.

Those important ministers in the court, including Sun Chuanting, Ma Shiying, Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu and others, also accompanied him.

Just at the beginning of winter, the mighty worshipers marched to Beijing through the canal and waterway, under the escort of naval warships.

Along the way, Cao Yue also saw many things that made him happy. The appearance of Shandong and Beizhili during the war has been greatly changed. These places are no longer battlefields, and many people who fled have returned to their hometowns.With funding from the government, large tracts of abandoned farmland were reclaimed and many destroyed houses were rebuilt.

When the large group of people and horses passed by, it was just when the autumn harvest was about to end, and what was displayed in front of everyone was a fairly harmonious harvest scene.

"Production in Shandong and Northern Zhili has resumed, and the situation in the five northern provinces has also been greatly improved. The crisis in our Ming Dynasty has basically passed!" This is Sun Chuanting's emotion to Cao Yue.

"Old man Sun, the situation in Beizhili and Shandong is already good, but today's Shaanxi is a miserable situation. We must restore production and order in Shaanxi as soon as possible. The importance of Guanzhong cannot be ignored!" Cao Yue said nothing. Sun Chuanting was polite and directly said his order.

"The old man understands, you can rest assured about this matter. When Li Zicheng's department is completely wiped out, the situation in Shaanxi will also be reversed. The cabinet must select the best and most sympathetic officials to take up posts in Shaanxi." Along the way This situation made Sun Chuanting admire Cao Yue even more, so naturally he didn't care whether Cao Yue's words were big or small.

In fact, Sun Chuanting has selected and sent many officials who he thinks are capable and can handle things well to Shaanxi.It's just that he didn't fully understand the tragic situation in Shaanxi after the civil uprising, so he couldn't imagine the current situation in Shaanxi.Seeing the situation in Shandong and Beizhili, and listening to Cao Yue's words, I felt a little more aware, so I didn't make things difficult for Cao Yue, and immediately agreed readily.

The fleet finally arrived in Beijing half a month before the winter solstice.

After arriving in Beijing, members of the royal family also returned to the Forbidden City after a long absence.

Today's Forbidden City is not inhabited by anyone, and there are only some maintenance personnel in it. Cao Bianjiao's Xingyuan is not set in the palace, but in another place.When Cao Yue led his army back to Beijing last time, he took over the Hall of Martial Arts where Dorgon lived, but the Hall of Martial Arts was not in the Forbidden City, and after he left Beijing, only a few people in charge remained in the Hall of Martial Arts. people.Because no one lived in the palace, it seemed very unpopular and bleak, which made the members of the royal family, who were already concerned, feel even more desolate.

After arriving at the palace, Cao Yue took the young emperor Zhu Cijiong, Queen Mother Zhou, Zhu Yuxi and others to worship at the place where Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself, and then inspected the palace.Seeing that the Forbidden City had not suffered any major damage, on the contrary, some dilapidated parts had been repaired, Zhu Cijiong, the Queen Mother Zhou and others calmed down a little from their sentimental mood.

"Brother-in-law, I hope to return the capital to Beijing as soon as possible so that the Forbidden City won't fall into emptiness again." Taking a chance, the little emperor Zhu Cijiong whispered to Cao Yue: "The emperor guards the gate of the country, and the king dies in the country. I will never forget the teachings of my ancestors. No, when you come to Beijing this time, don’t go back to Nanjing, let’s stay in Beijing and let all the officials come to Beijing!”

Seeing that Zhu Cijiong was still outspoken, Cao Yue could only persuade with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, you can't be so anxious about this matter. Returning the capital is not a trivial matter. It must be discussed with the ministers. After all, everyone is not alone. It’s not easy to have a home, and it’s not easy to set up a home. The same is true for Your Majesty, you represent Daming behind you, and the return of the capital must be held in a grand manner, you can’t just come here, just stay here!”

Hearing what Cao Yue said made sense, Zhu Cijiong didn't insist, and agreed with what Cao Yue said.

After arriving in Beijing, the royal family members lived in the Forbidden City again, but this time there were not many royal family members and accompanying attendants who came to Beijing, and the big city of Beijing was quite deserted.Coupled with the cold weather, living in it feels more and more lonely.

Aimee Zhu was also in a bad mood, she didn't like Beijing anymore, and she had more feelings for Nanjing. She secretly told Cao Yue that she hoped to return to Nanjing as soon as possible, and she liked her home in Nanjing.

Cao Yue didn't agree with her, not to mention that they might all come back to live in Beijing again in the future, so he gently agreed to Auntie Zhu's proposal, saying that they would return to Nanjing together after the Winter Solstice Festival was over.Only then did Auntie Zhu stretch her brows, expressing that she hoped to stay with Cao Yue forever, she didn't like living in the palace and being separated from Cao Yue.

"We will never be separated for the rest of our lives!" Cao Yue also gave Aimi Zhu a promise just right.

The worship ceremony for the winter solstice will also be held soon. On the day of the winter solstice, all members of the royal family and accompanying officials who returned to Beijing participated in the worship ceremony.

When the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, they wanted to win the world. In order to win the hearts of the people, they did not destroy the Ming Tomb. On the contrary, the court repaired it.When they left Beijing, they fled in a hurry and had no time, let alone energy, to destroy the Ming Tomb. Therefore, the Ming Tomb was still well preserved, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.No matter who it is, they are afraid that the imperial mausoleum will be destroyed by Jiannu, and they will be guilty of a serious crime.

After the grand worship ceremony, everyone returned to Beijing and prepared to return to Nanjing.

The matter of returning the capital has to be decided after the court meeting, and the ceremony will be held after the date is selected. This time, it is impossible to stay in Beijing like this when I come to Beijing to pay homage. Everyone knows this well.Therefore, no one brought their family members with them, and the work to be done was completed, and everyone was eager to return.

But just when Cao Yue and Sun Chuanting decided to escort the royal family members back to Nanjing by boat, Cao Yue received a shocking news.

According to the intelligence sent back by Cao Bianjiao and the intelligence personnel on the front line of the fortified area in Beijing, the Doduo's troops who fled to the grassland and whose traces were uncertain suddenly turned around and went south. According to their whereabouts, they were preparing to attack Beijing.

"It seems that our whereabouts were discovered by Jiannu, and they wanted to catch us off guard!" Cao Yue also quickly made a judgment and immediately formulated a countermeasure.

Temporarily cancel the plan to return to the south, concentrate the troops that can be recruited near Beijing, and prepare to resist the possible sneak attack of Jiannu!
(End of this chapter)