Rule over Ming Dynasty

On the execution platform, a headless corpse lay quietly on it. A large amount of blood flowed from the gaps in the wooden boards, and soon dyed the ground red.

died?

died!

Really dead!

……

The onlookers saw the human head rolling on the ground and smelled the smell of blood in the air. Many people still couldn't believe what they were seeing.

He Qiaoxin was not the first six ministers to be beheaded during the Hongzhi Dynasty, but there was great controversy during the period, and even mainstream public opinion in the capital once called for his release.

However, after the "Ming" magazine was launched, He Qiaoxin's reputation underwent a 180-degree change, and he became a street rat, including among literati.

Now the emperor's clean execution of He Qiaoxin not only strengthened the current status of imperial power, but also changed the history of the capital's public opinion being dominated by literati.

The long-lost spring sun appeared in the sky over Beijing, and the golden sunshine fell on every corner of this ancient city.

"Who will be next?"

Qiu Jun, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, and other Qingliu officials were at a restaurant not far from the execution platform. They took leave to come here to watch the execution. When they saw He Qiaoxin being beheaded, an inexplicable feeling surged in his heart. Fear.

In other dynasties, even if the emperor did not regard He Qiaoxin's status as the Minister of Punishment, he would have backed down because of the public opinion in the capital, but he happened to meet such a capable tyrant.

Judging from the reaction of the people in the capital, He Qiaoxin not only failed to leave a good name, but also smelled bad, and was really nailed to the pillar of shame.

Death is not terrible. What is terrible is that they will remain infamy for thousands of years after death. It is simply murderous and heartbreaking.

Xiyuan, Hall of Mental Cultivation.

It seemed very quiet here. Wisps of sandalwood came out of the copper stove and floated in the air, filling the main hall of Yangxin with a light fragrance.

Wearing a dragon robe, Zhu Youtang looked more and more like an emperor. He sat upright in front of the imperial cabinet and was seriously handling the government affairs of the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

Although the ice and snow outside has melted, he is not too excited in his heart. Hongzhi still faces many challenges in four years, especially recently, his right eyelid has been twitching.

It is said that after solving He Qiaoxin this time, his prestige as an emperor will rise to a higher level, and all the civil and military officials in the dynasty will follow him to create a new situation for China.

But judging from the feedback from Prince Xing's Mansion, many people seemed unwilling to accompany them through all the difficulties, but wanted to be replaced by an emperor who would share the blessing of peace with them.

After all, this is not a novel, and there is not so much domineering spirit. Both the civil servants group and the Xunqi group are safeguarding their own interests.

Even though he has been in office for more than three years and thinks that he has done a pretty good job, the situation at hand is still not optimistic, and can even be described as external and internal troubles.

Naturally, some people still want to replace him due to internal troubles, but Zhu Di's method cannot be used. However, he is only 21 years old, so the best way to replace himself is probably to accidentally fall into the water like Zhengde.

The external worry is the turmoil at the New Year's Day meeting. It seems to be a family matter, but it is essentially a diplomatic matter.

After all, the Alchuka tribe is nominally the Ming Dynasty's guardhouse, but in reality it is one of the seven Jurchen tribes in Haixi and belongs to the Ming Dynasty only in name.

A full month has passed, and the leader of the Alchuka tribe still has not come to Shanhaiguan. Now the Ming Dynasty has to prepare to conquer this disobedient tribe.

Based on the consideration of national interests, the best way this time is to shock the entire Haixi Jurchen, and the territory of the wild Jurchen is the best choice for the Ming Dynasty to control the entire East China Sea.

Zhu Youtang would naturally not be afraid of the small Alchuka tribe, but the geographical location of the Alchuka tribe was too remote, and the Ming Dynasty had to be wary of rebellion from other Haixi Jurchen tribes, so it was cautious.

"Your Majesty, you haven't eaten much recently. This is the Four Gentlemen Soup that I made for you. Please try it!" Empress Chang came with two beautiful maids and presented the soup very wisely.

When Zhu Youtang saw this empress who cared about him, he felt warm in his heart and said: "You guys took turns coming to bring me soup, so you ate less at dinner, but my body is still the same as before. You are knew!"

"I know you are powerful!" Queen Chang was no longer a shy girl, but she glared resentfully at the man who always bullied her and begged for mercy.

The two beautiful palace maids divided their labors and cooperated, and soon a bowl of steaming soup was presented to Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang has always made nourishing soups, but his favorite has always been chicken and turtle soup, and the taste of the Four Gentlemen Soup is actually very average.

As the first remedy for replenishing qi, it is naturally worth drinking. Because the ginseng added to the soup has a refreshing effect, it is also loved by Zhu Youtang.

"Your Majesty, do you have any resentful concubines in your heart?" Queen Chang suddenly asked seriously as she watched her earnestly eating the gentleman's soup she had made.

Zhu Youtang was eating very slowly now, gently tasting a small mouthful of ginseng-flavored soup: "Why does the Queen ask this?"

Huh?
Liu Jin, who was serving the emperor here, looked at the virtuous queen in confusion when he heard these words.

"I have been serving Your Majesty for more than two years, but I have not been able to give birth to a prince for Your Majesty so far!" Empress Chang looked down at her belly, which was blocked by the Taibai Mountain on her chest, looking very guilty.

Zhu Youtang knew that this woman was worried about this issue because she was considering her own interests, so she raised her head and said seriously: "To be honest with the queen, I am indeed a little anxious, but how can I blame you? Besides, I don't come every night Jiaotaigong, not only did you fail to give birth to an heir for me, they also failed to live up to expectations!"

Ordinarily, I already have enough women, each of them has their own beauty, and they can also arouse their animal nature.Unfortunately, no matter how hard they worked, their stomachs never moved.

If it weren't for historical evidence, he would have begun to suspect that he was suffering from infertility.

But he also understood that in addition to the generally short life of the Ming Emperor, there were more or less problems with the inheritance of his heirs.Like the later Zhengde, Jiajing, who lived for 60 years, actually only left the Longqing lineage, and Tianqi also had an extinct heir.

Just like this, although he was a little anxious and hoped to solve the country's problems as soon as possible, he was far from the point of complaining.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask Your Majesty to abolish my position as Queen. I am willing to demote you to a noble concubine!" Queen Chang suddenly knelt down solemnly as if she had made a great determination.

what?
Liu Jin couldn't help being dumbfounded when she saw Empress Chang kneeling down suddenly.

Zhu Youtang was also shocked by Queen Chang's actions. He immediately put down the soup bowl seriously and said: "Queen, you are joking too much!" "Your Majesty, I am serious, please abolish my concubine." Position!" Chang Yourong raised his head to meet Zhu Youtang's gaze, two lines of tears already sliding down his cheeks.

When Zhu Youtang saw Chang Yourong looking like this, he felt distressed and said, "Queen, what happened? Get up and speak slowly, I will definitely make the decision for you!"

At this moment, he thought of the fight in the harem, the concubine Zhang Yujiao who was supported by the civil service group, and even the Empress Dowager Zhou who personally supported Zhang Yujiao as the crown prince.

It's just that things are different now. No one can force him to abolish the queen, and there is no reason to abolish the queen.

"Your Majesty, have you heard about the Eastern Divine Fortune in the capital?" Chang Yourong shook his head and refused to get up, and then asked a question seriously.

Zhu Youtang did know this person, so he nodded gently: "The one holding the sizu? I have heard of this person. Guo Yong said a few days ago that this person is very accurate, so some people call him the Eastern God."

Fuji, this is a divination method of Chinese folk belief, also known as Fuji, Carrying Ji, Fuluan, Wailuan, Jiangbi, Qingxian, Bu Zigu, Jiaji, etc.

In Fuji, someone needs to play the role of being possessed by the god. This person is called Luansheng or Jishen.

The god would possess Luansheng and write some words on the sand table to convey the god's thoughts.In this way, believers communicate with the gods to understand their meaning.

As the most prosperous place in this era, the capital can naturally attract the country's top charlatans and magicians, and the Eastern Divine Calendar mentioned by Empress Chang has become famous this year.

First, the fuji he gave to Wan'an was "A villain can repeat himself, and when he has the strength of a prime minister, he can turn disaster into good luck!"; second, the fuji he gave to Xu Qiong was "a tree this year, an eye next year, things are at the turn of the old and the new." !”

"Thanks to your majesty's kindness, I returned to the province yesterday and reunited with my parents. However, my father believed deeply in the ritual of supporting the altar, and specially arranged for the Oriental God to come to the mansion to support the altar. I have always been worried about your majesty's children. At that time, I also asked him on a whim. His Majesty's heir, the result, the result!" Queen Chang's pretty face showed a bit of sadness, and she couldn't help but choke up at the end.

Huh?
Liu Jin was so smart that he immediately realized that the problem lay in the content of the fuji.

Out of his understanding of the court, Zhu Youtang faintly smelled a conspiracy: "What was detected?"

"In the calamity of the emperor's heir, when there are two queens, Zhang is like Qin, and he always starts anew!" Queen Chang bit her lower lip, and then told the result of the battle.

Zhu Youtang frowned, looking puzzled and said: "Chang Congxin?"

"Your Majesty, I was on duty at the military camp yesterday and I have heard about this matter. According to what the Eastern god said, if your Majesty takes the queen as your queen, it will be like a new dynasty, no... not for a lifetime. If you take Zhang as your queen. If so, then...it's the Second Emperor of Qin!" Han Niu saw that Queen Chang was crying and unable to speak, so he carefully helped to clear up the confusion.

goo...

Liu Jin swallowed secretly. This was clearly asserting that the emperor would be extinct. The difference between the two was whether he would be extinct now or in the next generation.

Zhu Youtang immediately felt that he was being targeted, and immediately said with a straight face: "How dare these charlatans and magicians confuse the public with their lies? Come on, the Ministry of Punishment will soon arrest the person and put him in jail!"

This person is simply extremely stupid. How can such a result be made public?Even if I knew that what he calculated was true, I still couldn't believe it, and I would even have to execute him directly.

Once people think that they have no heirs, the degree of filial piety and loyalty will be greatly reduced. There are too many examples of people losing their throne because of the loss of heirs.

Even if he was as wise as Wu Zetian, he still lost on the issue of successor in the end. A group of political opportunists made the choice before the emperor.

That's why it doesn't matter whether this Eastern magician can discern the secret of heaven or not. This charlatan must bear his own anger.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Chang sent the person to the prison of the Ministry of Justice yesterday and locked him up!" Han Niu hesitated for a moment and immediately reported the report carefully.

Zhu Youtang was slightly stunned at first, and then realized that Chang Fu was probably very angry: "The words of the charlatans cannot be trusted! It is my decree to order Dongchang and Jinyiwei to prohibit such rebellious words. Who dares to say anything? If you talk too much, you will be severely punished!"

Since he had no heirs, he also thought about a career as a Feng Shui master, so he knew that this Eastern god was very famous in the capital.

This "Emperor's Successor Tribulation, When Two Queens Meet, Zhang is like Qin, and he often starts anew" is simply weakening his own reputation, so this unfavorable result must be suppressed immediately.

The best thing to do now is to prevent the situation from spreading, and even find ways to eliminate the adverse effects of this incident, and even solve the Eastern Divine Calculation as a last resort.

"According to the order!" Liu Jin felt Zhu Youtang's murderous intention and solemnly said.

"Your Majesty, I would rather believe that I have something than that that I don't have. I would like to ask Your Majesty to abolish my position as Queen. I have no complaints at all. I sincerely appreciate your Majesty's kindness. I also hope that your Majesty can give birth to an heir!" Chang Chang The Queen saw the power of Dongfang Divine Calculation yesterday, but she chose to make another request in faith.

Zhu Youtang stepped forward to help Empress Chang up, and expressed her position with great seriousness: "Queen, don't believe in the evil words of quacks and sorcerers to deceive the public. I will never abolish my queen, and I will have heirs!"

"Your Majesty, I cannot bear the responsibility for this crime!" Empress Chang felt that Zhu Youtang was protecting her, and tears burst into her eyes.

Zhu Youtang stretched out his hand to wipe away the tears on Queen Chang's cheek, and seemed to be very serious in encouraging: "If we keep working hard, the lies of these charlatans will be defeated sooner or later! I will go to Kunning Palace tonight, but you will be here tonight." I have to work harder, I not only want a prince, but also my eldest son!"

"Yes!" Queen Chang nodded tearfully as she thought of the bravery of the man in front of her.

Zhu Youtang watched Queen Chang leave after being calmed down by him. Looking at this graceful figure, he knew that tonight would be a thrilling battle.

But now, there is a difficult matter to deal with.

Originally, he didn't really believe in feudal dross like Fuji, but he couldn't help but believe in some things.

Although this fuji could end up being beheaded, this oriental god seems to be able to see the secrets of heaven.If according to the original history, Zhang Yujiao was made the queen, wouldn't it be "the death of Qin II"?

Although I really don't want to admit it, I have to say that the Eastern god has really figured it out, and he may even be extinct in this life.

At that moment, he also wanted to surrender to fate.According to the original history, he favored or favored that woman alone, so as to get an heir, but deep down he was always unwilling to compromise.

Not to mention that Zhang Yujiao's relationship with the civil service group and the Empress Dowager Zhou was too close. Once the harem was more deeply infiltrated by the civil service group in the future, the subsequent emperors would have to be wary of their own safety.

Throughout the ages, anything can happen in the palace, and it is also a historical fact that queens murder emperors and compete for power.

Zhu Youtang was not sure whether he had encountered a conspiracy or a fortune that was said to be rare in a hundred years. He immediately made a decision: "Liu Jin, immediately transfer him to the prison of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and follow Wang Yue." Say hello, I want to meet this oriental god in person!"

"According to the order, I will make arrangements now!" Liu Jin was stunned for a moment, and then took the order seriously. (End of chapter)