Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 9

In the main hall of Jiyan Hall is the Zi Palace of Emperor Chenghua, and the temple name and posthumous title have been engraved on the spiritual tablet on the confession case.

The maids and eunuchs knelt here and wailed endlessly, and the sudden autumn rain outside added a bit of desolation.

The ancients believed that people should go home to visit within three days after death, so the children waited in the mourning hall, waiting for the soul of the deceased to return.

As a son of man, Zhu Youtang naturally stayed in Jiyan Hall to guard the spirit every day, and civil and military officials of the third rank and above in the court would also come to Jiyan Hall to pay their respects.

This national funeral requires not only fasting, but also coming here to cry early in the morning every day, and various funeral ceremonies during the period, which is undoubtedly a test for the body.

Zhu Youtang won such a throne for no reason, and now he can bear this hardship, so he honestly took turns guarding the mourning hall with King Xing and other younger brothers.

It is different from the history that many people misunderstand.Zhu Jianshen was not a foolish emperor, and Concubine Wan Gui was not a cruel concubine in the harem. There were ten younger brothers behind Zhu Youtang.

The eldest brother is the 11-year-old Xing Wang Zhu Youzhu, and the youngest brother is the Shen Wang Zhu Youkai who was born last year. It can be said that the population is thriving.

Thanks to the existence of these younger brothers, other younger brothers can help guard the spirit, and instead share the burden of guarding the mourning hall for Zhu Youtang.

The rain in August was tinged with chill, making the ministers shivering outside.

The side hall of Jiyan Hall is a resting place, and everything is available here.

Zhu Youtang came back here for a rest, his legs were very tired after kneeling all morning, Huang Pan seemed loyal to help him pinch his legs and sort out his blood vessels,
"Xinjun, please use tea!" Liang Fang, the eunuch with the seal of the imperial horse supervisor, brought tea, looking cautious and authentic.

Zhu Youtang took the hot teacup and took a deep breath. Just as he was about to put the tea in his mouth, a tall figure flashed in from the door.

"His Royal Highness, please forgive me!"

The person who came was Empress Dowager Zhou's younger brother Qingyunhou Zhoushou, who is now serving as the co-prefect of Jinyiwei, but there was not much grief on his face, and there was even a hint of joy in his eyebrows.

Zhu Youtang saw Zhou Shou's excitement, but the other party was his uncle, and he raised his hand calmly and said: "Qing Yunhou is interested, please sit down!"

"His Royal Highness, we are not outsiders, so the Marquis will just say it straight! There is a piece of fertile land in Baodi that is untaxed, about [-] hectares, and please give me that piece of land!" Zhou Shou's eyes flashed. If you are greedy, you will directly ask for the tunnel.

The so-called untaxed land is not the land exempted from taxation by the court for civil servant groups, but the promise of "never get off work" given by the court to stimulate production.

Take Beizhili as an example. When the Ming Dynasty moved its capital, the surrounding area was still very desolate, but now more and more fertile fields have been developed.

It's just that with the passage of time and the improvement of the water conservancy system, the "output value" of these fields is getting higher and higher, and they already have a very high economic value.

Up to now, these unregistered fields have resolutely become the targets of plunder by relatives and nobles. They first complain to the court, and then drive out the people who cultivated there.

Zhu Youtang knew that the younger brother of the Empress Dowager Zhou was known for being greedy, but it was not easy to refuse directly, so he put down the teacup in his hand and said: "The funeral of the emperor is the most important thing, and the orphan is not a great treasure. We will discuss this matter later!"

"His Royal Highness, this Marquis did not ask you to reward me immediately! I mentioned this matter to you today, and when I am on the Great Treasure, please fulfill this Marquis!" Zhou Shou seemed to be very reasonable about the land that was imperative. typical.

Zhu Youtang was naturally against this kind of robbing of people's land in his heart, so he emphasized again: "Let's just write this down for the time being. It is not suitable to reward the country's funeral, and we will discuss it later!"

Liang Fang who was standing beside him also couldn't understand this greedy little old man, and now was not the time to ask for rewards, so he couldn't help coughing lightly.

"My sister's words are true, the crown prince is extremely filial! This is what the Marquis said earlier, we are not outsiders, we will discuss it at that time!" Zhou Shou realized that he had acted too hastily, and immediately said very affectionately.

"Xinjun, Marquis Qingyun temporarily asked the late emperor for that piece of land, but the late emperor refused!" Liang Fang revealed as she watched Zhou Shou leave happily.

"Well, Gu knows!"

Zhu Youtang picked up the teacup again and nodded lightly, but before the tea was delivered to his mouth, another figure flashed into the door.

The person who came was Zhang Luan, Minister of the Honghe Temple. The Honghe Temple belonged to the idle yamen, but it played a more important function in this national funeral, which was to provide various funeral objects.

However, Zhang Luan, who is only forty years old, has an extraordinary identity. He is Zhu Youtang's father-in-law.

The eunuch guarding outside originally wanted to stop him, but seeing that it was Zhang Luan, he retreated again.

"His Royal Highness, please forgive me!"

There was also a touch of joy hidden between Zhang Luan's eyebrows, and he also pretended to comfort him.

He is a native of Northern Zhili. His grandfather Zhang Di was the governor of Kuizhou Prefecture, his cousin Zhang Qi was the former governor of Liaodong, and he himself entered the Guozijian in the name of a township tribute. It can be said that he is half of the family of officials.

Originally thought that the imperial examination was hopeless, but he did not expect that his daughter was selected as the crown princess, and because of this, he was appointed as the minister of Honglu Temple by the court.

Now that Zhu Youtang is about to ascend the throne, and he will soon become the head of the country, his status will naturally increase by then, and he will become the most dazzling foreign relative of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youtang saw Zhang Luan's excitement, and still calmly raised his finger to the seat next to him and said, "Father-in-law is interested, please sit down!"

"His Royal Highness, I have a merciless request!" Zhang Luan just sat down, Dang Lian said seriously.

Zhu Youtang looked at the tea brought to his mouth, but suddenly lost the mood to drink tea, so he looked up at Zhang Luan and said, "Please tell me!"

"This matter is related to the dog, um, it is your brother-in-law He Ling! He will soon be sixteen, so I want to ask you to marry him!" Zhang Luan deliberately bit the "brother-in-law" hard, and then The explanation is authentic.

Zhu Youtang didn't know which family Zhang Luan had a crush on, and which family he wanted to marry, but he didn't want to do the evil thing of arranging a wedding, especially he didn't have a good impression of Zhang Heling.

It's just that the other party is his father-in-law after all, so it's not easy to refuse now.

However, Zhu Youtang didn't even bother to ask about the object, and gave the reason just now, so he prevaricated the request.

"This matter is too early for me to talk about it. I will ask Jiaoer to explain it to you again. Please be sure to help me this time!" Zhang Luan realized that he had acted too hastily, so he expressed his stance again and again.

Zhu Youtang realized that he was like a lucky winner who won 500 million yuan. Now these relatives have come to his door one after another. They will definitely come back when he is enthroned, and they will even beg endlessly.

Originally, he thought about using his relatives to control the court, but looking at the greedy faces now, he knew that these relatives would only do bad things.

At this time, Zhu Youtang was already thirsty, and decided not to care about who came in, and wanted to ask for something, so he unswervingly brought the tea to his mouth.

"His Royal Highness, you are sitting like this, have you lost the virtuousness of the heir, and have forgotten the teachings of the past?" A young old man who walked in from the outside, but immediately accused him.

Zhu Youtang stopped the tea brought to his mouth, but he doubted his ears for a while, and looked at the little old man who was directly preaching in disbelief.

The identity of the visitor is not ordinary, it is Zhu Youtang's most experienced prince lecturer Xu Pu.

Xu Pu was the No. [-] in the fifth year of Jingtai. He was first awarded the editorship of Hanlin, and served as the lecturer of Donggong Ri in the first year of Tianshun.Emperor Chenghua ascended the throne, was promoted to be a lecturer in the Imperial Academy, and then served as a lecturer to Zhu Youtang.

Due to the death of his parents and returning home to observe filial piety, the best time to join the cabinet and pay homage to the prime minister was lost.It's just that he was a veteran of the three dynasties after all, and now he has reached the position of Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials and a Bachelor of Hanlin, and he has become one of the most prestigious senior officials in the court.

Now that Zhu Youtang is on the throne, Xu Pu's limelight has overwhelmed Zhou Hongmo, Minister of Rites, and has become the most popular candidate for the cabinet of the new dynasty, and even the future chief assistant.

Zhu Youtang was stunned for a few seconds, but he also knew that it had something to do with his obedience all the time, so he asked Huang Pan to stop pinching his legs, straightened his back and said calmly to Xu Pu: "Gu has not forgotten Master Xu's teaching, just now It's really out of shape, I don't know why Master Xu came in suddenly?"

Huang Pan silently retreated to the side, but took a look at the little old man who came uninvited. Obviously, his prince was resting here, so it was reasonable to barge in now.

"His Royal Highness, do you know that the late emperor had the intention of abolishing the reserve?" Xu Pu asked seriously, seeing that there were only Liang Fang and Huang Pan here.

(End of this chapter)