Rule over Ming Dynasty

The city of Beijing in the cold winter is now covered with snow.

The people living here have truly achieved a stable and prosperous life. In the days ahead, they will reap the dual rewards of investment in government bonds and stocks, and then will be the annual Spring Festival.

Under the rule of Emperor Hongzhi, not only has the national strength continued to increase, but due to the continuous influx of resources from overseas, the happiness index of ordinary people is also rising.

In particular, the planting of high-yield crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn has been promoted. Now the country's grain output is constantly setting new highs, and the population has exceeded 100 million in one fell swoop.

According to rough statistics, due to the impact of the smallpox vaccine, the total population of the earth has now dropped to 400 million, so one in every four people in the world is a Ming Dynasty person.

If the population of vassal states is included, nearly half of the population is now under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty has become a veritable world hegemon.

Forbidden City, Guansui Palace.

"Get out! Get out!"

Just as the people outside were enjoying themselves, the angry voice of Empress Dowager Zhou was heard from inside, and she started shouting hysterically.

The palace maids and eunuchs in the bedroom ran out one after another and kept far away from the high and mighty Empress Dowager. No one dared to offend this crazy woman.

Originally, Empress Dowager Zhou had a bad temper. Now that she had completely lost power, she was like a bomb that could explode at any time.

"Eunuch Lin, what should we do now?"

"Leave someone waiting at the door, let's go back and rest!"

The newly transferred eunuch Lin had just been kicked by Empress Dowager Zhou. Now he patted his butt and prepared to leave as if nothing had happened.

The others exchanged glances silently, and then followed.

Although they are now responsible for taking care of the most difficult master in the Forbidden City, the Queen has increased their allowances, so they don't feel particularly uncomfortable.

Especially now that they have quietly formed a united front, they don't need to worry too much about the Empress Dowager's anger. They just need to take good care of Empress Dowager Zhou's three meals a day.

"Zhu Youtang, I really have raised an ungrateful person. I shouldn't have chosen you back then. I should have let you die with that woman!" Empress Dowager Zhou looked at the empty room and directed her anger at the emperor again.

Although she could still see and hear, there was no eunuch or maidservant loyal to her left; they had all been arrested and imprisoned in the East Depot.

She has become a deaf and blind Empress Dowager in this palace. Not only does she not know the situation in the outside world, she also does not know what is happening inside the palace.

Originally, she wanted to inquire about Prince Chong's situation, but there was no news about her son at all, so she had to worry that the emperor had executed her youngest son directly.

That's right, she has now placed her hopes on her daughter, hoping that her daughter, Princess Chongqing, can bring her useful news.

Waiting has become the most important thing for the Empress Dowager every day, and time passes day by day...

In the palace in the depths of winter, the wind was so cold that it seemed as if even the air had solidified into ice chips, silently cutting through every corner.

The Guansui Palace where the Empress Dowager Zhou lived had no floor heating, and even the house was not very dense, so she could even hear the noises from outside. She could hear the slight sound of the wind blowing through the eaves, and the occasional sound of dead leaves falling to the ground in the courtyard.

Although she had never been a queen, her status as imperial concubine made her one of the central figures in the Forbidden City during the Tianshun Dynasty, especially when her own son was the crown prince.

During the Chenghua period, she became one of the two empress dowagers because of her son's status.

The Qingning Palace where she lived was always crowded with court officials, relatives by marriage, daughters-in-law and concubines. The sounds of people paying homage could be heard at the palace gates. It was such a magnificent scene at that time.

Emperor Hongzhi, who was brought up by her, should have been obedient to her and even under her firm control, but she did not expect that this would be the beginning of her downfall.

After coming to the Hongzhi Dynasty, she, the Empress Dowager, became one of the key targets of the emperor's power seizure. Later, she was alienated by the emperor, and now the rift between them is complete.

In the blink of an eye, it is already late December.

The Empress Dowager Zhou was still counting the days one by one. Now she and the Guanju Palace where she lived seemed to have been forgotten by the whole world. It was so lonely that it was suffocating.

Even though the Spring Festival is approaching, which should be a time of great bustle and bustle, the palace where the Empress Dowager lives is still deserted.

She had been out of contact with the outside world for more than half a month. Now it was completely unclear whether Princess Chongqing and others had not come to pay her a visit, or whether she had been completely placed under house arrest by the emperor and empress.

"Grand Empress Dowager, I cannot enter or leave the palace at will!"

"The letter has been sent to the Princess's residence in Chongqing. I don't know why there has been no reply yet!"

"Grand Empress Dowager, even if you really want to beat me to death today, I dare not carry you and break into the Palace of Heavenly Purity!"

……

The palace servants, led by Eunuch Lin, faced various orders from Empress Dowager Zhou and only obeyed those within their capabilities. They were powerless to do anything beyond their capabilities.

After all, they were not the Empress Dowager's confidants, and even their monthly wages were paid by the Empress. So why should they risk losing their heads for the Empress Dowager who beat and scolded them on a daily basis?

"Get out, all of you get out!" Seeing that she had no way of commanding these palace servants, Empress Dowager Zhou angrily drove them out.

It’s not that she didn’t want to use tougher measures. Even if she wanted to beat these disobedient eunuchs and palace maids to death, her strength didn’t allow it.

Whether she admits it or not, her confidants were killed or imprisoned, and now she has no one to rely on and has truly become a useless person.

Five days later, the Spring Festival arrived as scheduled.

The red lanterns outside the Guansui Palace swayed in the wind, but they did not bring a single bit of warmth. The Chinese character for "Fu" pasted on the window lattice also looked so pale and powerless, unable to dispel the loneliness that filled the room.

Empress Dowager Zhou was sitting on the couch, playing with a jade Buddha in her hand, but the next moment the jade Buddha had shattered on the ground, and the palace servants outside had become accustomed to it.

There was an unspeakable loneliness in her eyes. Although her face was still dignified, her brows could not hide the vicissitudes of time and the loneliness in her heart.

The second day of the Chinese New Year is destined to be a very lively day.

Several eunuchs were in a hurry, and although they passed by Guansui Palace, no one dared to stop there.

Outside the palace, no one came to pay respect to the Grand Empress Dowager. In the past, relatives and officials came to pay respect to her in an endless stream, but this year no one came, leaving the Grand Empress Dowager alone to endure the coldness and loneliness. Grand Empress Dowager Zhou seemed very calm, and seemed to have an answer in her heart: "Sure enough, they have imprisoned me and do not allow anyone to visit."

If it weren't for this reason, she wouldn't have believed that on this important day of the second day of the Chinese New Year, not even a single relative came to visit her.

Compared with the deserted Guanju Palace, this year's Renshou Palace and Kunning Palace are more lively than in previous years.

Now the Ming Dynasty is rich and powerful. Not only is the national treasury full, but the internal treasury is also solid.

Since the sixth year of the Hongzhi reign, the imperial palace would light up the Aoshan Lanterns in front of the Meridian Gate every year and arrange various programs to entertain the people.

The people of Beijing also like this atmosphere very much, so they all come to West Chang'an Avenue to join in the fun, resulting in the current prosperous business on Chang'an Avenue.

Those imperial censors knew very well that the Ming Dynasty was now strong and hosting the Aoshan Lantern Festival was just a drop in the bucket. Seeing the excitement of the people, they naturally would not risk the wrath of the world and impeach the government.

In fact, the festivals arranged are no longer limited to China's own cultural performances, but also introduce some cultural performances from Japan, Korea and Southeast Asian countries.

For example, Japanese Kabuki was very popular among the people in the capital, so much so that some wealthy families had a special liking for this kind of male performers and were even prepared to spend money to buy them.

But happiness is always short-lived, and the Lantern Festival is here in the blink of an eye.

Although it was still freezing cold in Beijing, a bright white full moon hung high in the night sky.

As the night deepened, the entire palace was immersed in silence. Only the lights in the Empress Dowager's bedroom were still burning lonely, illuminating this corner forgotten by the world.

Meow……

Because there is a tradition of keeping cats in the Forbidden City, a calico cat wandered to the Outer East Road and suddenly let out a long cat meow.

At this moment, flames shot up into the sky from the palace next door.

"The water is gone! The water is gone!"

When Eunuch Lin and other palace servants saw Guansui Palace on fire, they immediately started shouting and screaming.

The Forbidden City has a sophisticated fire-fighting system, and now it is winter, so a large number of people have rushed in from all over, hoping to put out the fire as quickly as possible.

The eunuch in charge rushed over and wanted to save Empress Dowager Zhou, but found that she was fully dressed and looked very excited when she saw the fire in Guansui Palace.

"Go and tell the emperor that my bedroom has been burned down and I will be moving into Renshou Palace!" Empress Dowager Zhou had already decided to fight back and immediately put forward her request.

Renshou Palace?
After hearing what Empress Dowager Zhou said, they realized that the fire was not only started by the Empress Dowager, but also intended to disrupt the peace of the harem.

Not to mention that the Empress Dowager lives in Renshou Palace. Even if the Empress Dowager is reasonable and gives up Renshou Palace, where can the Emperor arrange for her to live?
Of course, these had nothing to do with them, nor were they able to decide. But the fact that Empress Dowager Zhou dared to set fire to Guansui Palace showed that she realized that this old woman was a little crazy.

The next day, East Fifth Institute.

"Grand Empress Dowager, please!" Liu Jin came in person and said respectfully to Grand Empress Dowager Zhou.

Empress Dowager Zhou knew that Liu Jin was the emperor's most favored eunuch, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise slightly. She immediately and proudly climbed onto the phoenix chariot with the attitude of a victor.

After all, he had been in the harem for decades, so dealing with the emperor's grandson who he had watched grow up was just a piece of cake for him.

No matter what, she was the emperor's grandmother after all. Even though she knew that she was the one who started the fire, the emperor could do nothing about it and had to give up the Renshou Palace.

Of course, entering the Renshou Palace is only the first step. The next step is to get all his confidants back and make sure the emperor knows how powerful he is.

The Phoenix Chariot headed south and soon reached the end of Outer East Road.

The Empress Dowager Zhou, who was sitting on the Phoenix Seal, thought that she would turn west from here, but she didn't expect that she would go through Taiji Gate and continue south to the Outer Court East Road. "Liu Jin, where are you taking me?"

Although her personal freedom is no longer under her control, she is still the high and mighty Empress Dowager, so she seems to be calm inside.

What's more, coming to the outer court area now is more beneficial to myself, the imprisoned person.

"Grand Empress Dowager, haven't you always wanted to meet the court officials? Today, His Majesty has shown mercy and has just gathered all the court officials outside the Donghua Gate. You will be able to see them later!" Liu Jin met the Grand Empress Dowager's gaze and explained with a smile.

Empress Dowager Zhou was stunned at first, and then she was overjoyed.

Ever since she was imprisoned in Guansui Palace by the Emperor and the Empress, even though she was the Empress Dowager of the current dynasty, she had no chance to speak and had actually become a mascot.

No matter how much injustice she suffered in Guansui Palace, she had no place to complain.

If he could meet with all the court officials, then as long as he told them about the suffering he had endured in recent days, the emperor who was high above him would surely be ruined.

As for the Empress Dowager herself, she would surely receive more care from the court officials in the future, and the Emperor would no longer dare to imprison her. She would even have to come and pay her respects to him every day.

When Empress Dowager Zhou saw that things were developing in her best interest, she suddenly realized that even though Hongzhi had made some achievements, he was still the stupid and obedient prince.

Now that the Lantern Festival has passed, although it is still the Lantern Festival holiday for officials, the festive atmosphere has obviously been diluted a lot.

The Empress Dowager Zhou rode on the phoenix chariot through the Donghua Gate. When she saw the slowly rising sun in the east, she felt a little dazed for a moment and could not remember how long it had been since she had left the palace.

As she looked expectantly, she also saw the huge crowd of civil and military officials. Zhu Youtang really did not deceive her, and all the court officials were indeed here.

Since all the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty are here, I will teach my grandson a good lesson and let this emperor taste the taste of disgrace.

"Your servants pay their respects to the Grand Empress Dowager!" The cabinet chief Yin Zhi and other officials had been waiting here for a while and spoke politely to the phoenix chariot that appeared.

Although Empress Dowager Zhou was not familiar with these officials, she could tell their official positions from the patches on their official uniforms: "My ministers, please excuse me!"

"Thank you, Empress Dowager!" Wang Yue was also here and said respectfully.

Seeing so many people, Empress Dowager Zhou couldn't wait to speak: "Although I and the emperor are grandfather and grandson, the emperor is stubborn and self-willed and doesn't listen to advice. However, since ancient times, good medicine tastes bitter and honest advice is unpleasant to the ears. Ordinary people find it difficult to listen to criticism, let alone the emperor? I have been advising for a long time, and the emperor holds a grudge against me. Now the emperor is unfilial. He doesn't greet me during the day and doesn't ask me how I sleep at night. It's even more..." (End of this chapter)