Rule over Ming Dynasty

Donghua Gate seemed to be shrouded in a golden light.

The civil and military officials present had not expected that the Empress Dowager would have such a face. She attacked the emperor so eagerly as soon as she appeared, trying to accuse the emperor of being unfilial.

Although everyone knew that the relationship between the emperor and the Empress Dowager was distant, if we look deeper into the reasons, we will find that the emperor was determined to clear away all obstacles in order to lead the Ming Dynasty to glory.

Not to mention that Zhou Shou, Marquis of Qingyun, committed numerous crimes by relying on his status as a relative of the emperor, and his words and deeds were disrespectful to the emperor, which even indirectly led to the Zhou family's descendants, who were in charge of one of the twelve camps, daring to kill the eunuchs sent by the emperor.

To say that the emperor was unfilial is actually not the case at all.

After all, the emperor did not do anything out of line towards the Empress Dowager. Instead, it was the Empress Dowager Zhou who sent people to set fire to the Qianqing Palace. Now the emperor turned a blind eye to the Empress Dowager setting fire to the Qingning Palace and Guansui Palace.

Just as Empress Dowager Zhou was becoming more and more excited, a loud voice suddenly rang out, interrupting her complaints.

"Grand Empress Dowager, the current emperor is a wise ruler, please be careful with your words!" The chief minister of the cabinet, Yin Zhi, stood up and interrupted the Grand Empress Dowager Zhou.

Empress Dowager Zhou's face turned dark immediately when her accusation against Zhu Youtang was interrupted so rudely.

"The current emperor is a wise ruler, so please be careful with your words, Empress Dowager!" Li Yu and other officials also felt confident and immediately echoed him.

Although they knew that the relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had completely broken down, they did not expect the Empress Dowager to view the Emperor in this way, let alone that she would be so eager to accuse the Emperor of being unfilial.

However, compared to the emperor who was accused of being unfilial by the Empress Dowager, they were even more disgusted with the Empress Dowager in front of them.

In the past, the Zhou family bullied the good people. Zhou Shou, Marquis of Qingyun, relied on his status as a relative to the emperor to constantly ask for rewards. He even placed many of his sons and daughters in the Jinyiwei and the military camp, relying on the status of Empress Dowager Zhou.

Not only did Empress Dowager Zhou fail to help the emperor in his reforms, but she was also the fuse of the harem disputes and the culprit who killed Jia Jun, an important official of the dynasty.

Judging from Jia Jun's death, although Jia Jun was only a juren and was able to be promoted through connections, the fact that he could become the Minister of Works proved his ability, and the fact that he could enter the cabinet and become a prime minister in the Hongzhi Dynasty further demonstrated his extraordinary talent.

Especially on the Beijing-Tianjin Railway and the Ming-Myanmar Highway, it was Jia Jun who took charge of the overall situation. Now Tianjin Port has become the most prosperous port in the north, and the Ming Dynasty is also closely connected with the Indian Ocean through the Ming-Myanmar Highway.

Since ancient times, it has been said that "it is easy to conquer a country, but difficult to keep it." But now that the roads in the Ming Dynasty are unobstructed, the Ming Dynasty has not only become more united, but also strengthened its control over the surrounding new territories.

This important official who made such a great contribution to the Ming Dynasty should have been treated well, and the emperor also put pressure on the medical school to develop penicillin. However, this vicious old woman actually gave him seafood soup.

They more or less saw themselves in Jia Jun. If what happened to Jia Jun happened to other people, they probably wouldn't have to worry about their lives, but Jia Jun, who attached great importance to loyalty and righteousness, did not escape from life and death.

Originally they had a good relationship with Jia Jun, or many officials respected Jia Jun very much. How could they have so much respect for the Empress Dowager now?
Now this old witch doesn't reflect on herself. Not only did she burn down the Qianqing Palace and the Qingning Palace earlier, but now she has taken the initiative to set fire to the Guansui Palace again. She is now so impatient to accuse the emperor of being unfilial.

That's right, whether it's for the ideal of loyalty in their hearts or because they don't want to see this old witch continue to harm the world, they have reason to unite and stop the Empress Dowager from talking nonsense.

Some fringe officials with conservative ideas also shook their heads secretly when they saw the actions of the Empress Dowager.

Although they felt that the emperor's behavior was somewhat unfilial, they felt in their hearts that there was nothing wrong with it. Instead, they had begun to understand the emperor's behavior.

Empress Dowager Zhou's face instantly turned pale. She had never expected that all the civil and military officials in the court would actually protect the emperor together: "Do you know where I have been living these days?" Without waiting for others to answer, she threw out a truth that she thought was earth-shattering: "Do you know that I have been imprisoned and no one is allowed to visit me?"

what?
After these words were spoken, the important officials present could not help but look at each other in bewilderment.

Because Qingning Palace was burned down, there was no other vacant palace of the same size in the Forbidden City, so the Empress Dowager had to be temporarily placed in Guansui Palace.

Although the conditions in Guansui Palace are indeed far inferior to those in Qingning Palace, it is also one of the residences of the Concubine Dowager and the conditions cannot be considered too bad, so this is already the best arrangement.

Empress Dowager Zhou seemed to have become accustomed to life in a big palace. She had complained to Jia Jun about this before. This time, she even burned down Guansui Palace herself and specifically requested to live in Renshou Palace.

If the previous complaints about living in the palace could be more or less understood, the subsequent remarks about confinement left everyone completely confused.

After a moment of distraction, Li Yu was the first to react: "May I ask the Empress Dowager, where did you get the idea of ​​imprisonment? I have never heard of not being allowed to visit the Empress Dowager!"

If the fact that the emperor imprisoned the Empress Dowager was confirmed, Emperor Hongzhi's reputation in history books would certainly suffer a certain degree of negative impact.

"Isn't this obvious enough? During the Spring Festival, have you seen any of my relatives enter the palace to visit?" Empress Dowager Zhou looked at all the civil and military officials in the court and decided to give Zhu Youtang a hard time.

Although her relatives have died out, there are still a few families in the capital area, and these people have become rich and powerful today because of their status, so they come to the palace every year to curry favor with her.

His own daughter, Princess Chongqing, would come to the palace to meet him every year. Even his youngest son, who lived far away in Henan, would send someone to wish him a happy new year, even though he did not come in person.

That's why she decided to expose the emperor's numerous crimes in front of all the civil and military officials in the court.

A bunch of important officials looked at each other in bewilderment, and then Wang Yue stood up and said, "Grand Empress Dowager, as far as I know, no relatives of the Grand Empress Dowager came to the palace to ask for a visit during the Spring Festival!"

Snapped!
A slap suddenly sounded, as if it was slapping Empress Dowager Zhou in the face.

The middle and lower-level officials around could not help but whisper to each other. Now, not only was the Grand Empress Dowager alienated by all the civil and military officials in their court, but even her relatives did not dare to come.

In fact, this is very reasonable. If the Empress Dowager Zhou was still the powerful grandmother of the emperor, even the most distant relatives would try their best to enter the palace, but now the status of the Empress Dowager is no longer what it used to be.

Especially this year, it is already known to the world that she burned down the Qianqing Palace, and she also personally forced the important official Jia Jun to death. Who would dare to get close to such a crazy woman?
That's right. It wasn't that the Emperor or the Empress imprisoned the Empress Dowager and did not allow outsiders to visit her, but that the Empress Dowager had no relatives at all.

"No...no, this is absolutely impossible!" Empress Dowager Zhou widened her eyes and shook her head unwillingly to believe it.

It would be fine if she was isolated by the emperor now, but if even her relatives stayed away from her, then she would still have no confidence to compete with the emperor. This was a reality she was unwilling to accept.

Fei Hong, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was a rising star among the poets. He stood up and said confidently, "Your Highness, the Empress Dowager, the Ministry of Rites is in charge of the relevant list so that the court etiquette can be granted in advance. This is absolutely true!"

"You're talking nonsense! How could I not have a relative to visit me? No matter what, Princess Chongqing must come to the palace!" The Empress Dowager loudly retorted as if her tail had been stepped on. Minister of Industry Chen Kun stepped out and reported with a hint of meaning: "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, Princess Chongqing contracted a carbuncle on her back at the end of the year, but was successfully cured with penicillin! But why she didn't come to the palace, we don't know the reason, maybe she was ill!"

Originally, carbuncle was a disease that could easily kill people, but since the First Medical College developed penicillin, it has been hailed as a miracle drug.

During the Spring Festival, many dignitaries chose penicillin treatment, and Princess Chongqing was one of them.

Everyone also didn't understand why Princess Chongqing didn't go to the palace to visit the Empress Dowager. All the civil and military officials present looked at the Empress Dowager with a hint of resentment in their eyes.

If it weren't for this old witch who gave the seafood soup to take Jia Jun's life, Jia Jun, the cabinet minister, would definitely be safe and sound now, instead of the Ming Dynasty losing a pillar of the country who was good at fortifications.

"This unfilial girl is really a jerk!" Empress Dowager Zhou cursed with gritted teeth, and then looked at the civil and military officials present: "If they don't come, won't any of you civil and military officials come to wish me a happy new year?"

Although the Ming Dynasty prohibited close contact between the imperial harem and foreign officials, it was normal for them to visit during festivals. During the heyday of Empress Dowager Zhou, all the important officials in the court were present.

But this year, not only did no important ministers request to enter the palace to pay New Year's greetings, but not even an ordinary official did.

This……

The officials present were speechless when faced with this rather tricky question.

By now, all the civil and military officials in the court knew that the Empress Dowager had the Qianqing Gate burned down. At that time, Jia Jun was isolated when he was summoned to the palace to pay homage to the Empress Dowager. Who would dare to go to Beijing to pay New Year's greetings to the Empress Dowager during the Spring Festival and risk the disapproval of the world?
Unfortunately, this reason cannot be stated directly, otherwise it would be an act of infidelity.

Xie Qian, the Minister of Publicity, was the most agile, and he suddenly stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, we heard that the Empress Dowager was a little frightened by the fire in Qingning Palace. We were afraid of disturbing her rest, so we did not dare to go to Guansui Palace to pay our respects. Please forgive us!"

The officials present nodded in agreement and asked the Empress Dowager for forgiveness.

Empress Dowager Zhou's face turned pale. It turned out that it was not the emperor who imprisoned her, but that she, the Empress Dowager, was alienated by the whole world. Even her own daughter did not come to see her.

Her gaze slowly swept across the civil and military officials present, looking at these familiar yet unfamiliar faces, but she saw a hint of mockery in their eyes.

The fire in Empress Dowager Zhou's heart was ignited, but she still refused to give up and said, "I am the Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty. Now that the Qingning Palace has been destroyed, what do you think the emperor should do?"

This……

After these words were spoken, all the civil and military officials present became very strange.

Liu Jin was slightly stunned at first, then he stood beside the Grand Empress Dowager and said, "My Lords, the Grand Empress Dowager is asking you a question."

At this time, the officials in front of Donghuamen were bathing in the golden sunshine, and many of them had strange looks on their faces.

Empress Dowager Zhou found that the atmosphere around her was not right, and suddenly realized a problem. Even if the emperor wanted her to meet with important ministers, he could just summon a group of important ministers into the palace. Why did he choose Donghua Gate as the meeting place?

The cabinet chief Yin Zhi and other officials exchanged glances silently, then knelt down together and said solemnly: "Your Highness and others invite the Empress Dowager to stay in Nangong to spend the rest of her life!"

Nangong is located on the east side of Donghuamen, also known as Chongzhi Hall and Xiaonancheng. It was the Palace of the Grandson built by Emperor Taizong Zhu Di specifically for the Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji after he moved the capital to Beijing.

After Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, he expanded and added to the Taisun Palace to use it as a summer palace.

Although the Crown Prince's Palace was far inferior to the Imperial Palace in size and magnificence, as the Crown Prince's Palace and later the emperor's summer palace, its scale was naturally not too small.

Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen was captured and sent back to Beijing, and was placed under house arrest in the Nangong Palace by his brother Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu, which is known in history as the "Nangong Confinement".

Since this is a place where "dragons are trapped", although Nangong and Xiyuan are both royal gardens, their natural conditions cannot be compared with Xiyuan.

As Emperor Hongzhi promoted Xiyuan to an administrative center and a place for recuperation, the importance of Nangong plummeted and was even regarded by the emperor as an ominous place.

Now arrange for the Empress Dowager Zhou to live in the Nan Palace. Although it is impossible for the Empress Dowager Zhou to compete with the emperor for the throne, this palace will become the place where the Empress Dowager is imprisoned.

"Nangong? You are going to settle me in Nangong!"

Empress Dowager Zhou's eyes widened; she had never expected this to be the arrangement.

In this struggle, let alone fighting for the Renshou Palace, now she is not even allowed to stay in the Forbidden City, but is imprisoned by the emperor in the Nan Palace.

What shocked her the most was that this outrageous imprisonment arrangement did not seem to be a decision made by the emperor alone, but a common wish of all civil and military officials in the court.

The former is a decision made by the emperor alone, which is naturally unfilial.

If the request was from all the civil and military officials in the court, and the emperor simply accepted the request, future generations would only look at himself, the empress dowager.

"We are here today to respectfully welcome the Empress Dowager to live in the Nan Palace!" Wang Yue, the chief minister of the Grand Military Affairs Council, stated everyone's position in the face of the Empress Dowager's shock.

He vaguely felt that the emperor did not care about false reputation, at least he never cared about the title of tyrant. However, as ministers of the Ming Dynasty, they naturally had to share the emperor's concerns.

Not to mention that Empress Dowager Zhou had always been causing trouble in the palace. The fact that she commissioned Concubine He to burn down the Qianqing Palace made it unreasonable for them, as ministers, to allow the Empress Dowager to continue to pose a personal threat to the emperor.

When Empress Dowager Zhou found that all the civil and military officials in the court deserved to die, she suddenly asked coldly, "Who came up with this idea? Aren't you afraid of leaving a bad name in history? He proposed that the emperor imprison me. Does he have any loyalty to the emperor? Such a vicious person should be killed!"

When the dignified Empress Dowager moved into the Nan Palace, anyone with a discerning eye knew that this was a disguised form of imprisonment.

She had no intention of letting this person off easily. Although she might not be able to reverse the defeat, she was determined to make the person who proposed this plan lose his office and title, and even have a bad name recorded in history books.

The cabinet chief Yin Zhi and other officials sighed silently in their hearts, and looked at the Empress Dowager with complicated eyes, who was full of resentment towards the instigator. (End of this chapter)