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Chapter 5 Experience 2
As the saying goes, if you had known that you would be sleeping on a bed of urine, you should have slept on a sieve.It didn't take long for Emperor Wanli to discover that it was easy to seize power, but difficult to hold it firmly.There were few trustworthy ministers in the entire court, and they were all trying to educate themselves on how to do things according to their ideas.In other words, they all want to be Zhang Juzheng.

As for the inner palace... bringing up this matter is another lawsuit.Empress Dowager Li had a bad temper and had extremely strict upbringing since she was a child. After Emperor Wanli came of age, he could no longer take care of the government affairs of the outer dynasty, but she still did not relax in the inner palace.

The real queen's surname is Wang, and her given name is Sister Xi. Her father is the deputy envoy of the Academy of Literature and Thought of the Ministry of Industry and a junior official of the ninth rank. Her ancestral home is Yuyao County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and she was born in Daxing County, Shuntian Prefecture, Beizhili.

One more thing to say here is that it makes sense for Zhu Yuanzhang to stipulate that the wives and concubines of emperors and vassal kings are not allowed to marry rich and powerful nobles, which to a certain extent prevents relatives from interfering in politics.

But, the word "well-matched" is not only applicable to civilians, but the emperor can't avoid it either.Emperor Wanli really had no feelings for Sister Wang Xi. Using modern words to describe them, it would be that they were like-minded and incompatible with each other. They had no common ambitions and no common language.

Think about it, if a girl from a small family is selected into the palace at the age of thirteen or fourteen, it would be good if most of them can read.Emperor Wanli loved reading and read all kinds of books. He was very smart since he was a child.

Two people with completely different personalities, different experiences, and even different hobbies suddenly became husband and wife. They couldn't escape and couldn't leave. They had to work harder to have children. It was really not a pleasant feeling.

At this time, an innocent and knowledgeable woman walked into the emperor's life.In the words of Emperor Wanli himself, it is called: soft and beautiful jade, graceful orchid!To put it bluntly, he is smart and lively, knowledgeable about books and good at painting, has a good temper, and can talk a lot.She was Zheng Shubin, who was named Imperial Concubine a year later and Royal Concubine after giving birth to the prince.

As luck would have it, if Emperor Wanli had not slept with the maid who was serving his mother while drunk, and had given birth to the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo the following year, the prince born to Concubine Zheng De four years later would 100% become a prince, and there would not have been so many troubles in the future. .

Emperor Wanli really liked Concubine Zheng De from the bottom of his heart, but Empress Wang was very responsible, never argued or made trouble, and respected her parents-in-law. Apart from not being able to give birth to a prince, she was all the queen's standards, so she couldn't just talk about it.

The queen and the empress dowager were also stubborn, clinging to the ancestral precepts and insisting on standing up.For this reason, Empress Dowager Li even vaguely mentioned calling back Emperor Wanli's younger brother, King Lu Zhu Yiliu.

The meaning is obvious, the empress dowager has the ability and conditions to depose the emperor. If anyone dares to procrastinate on the issue of establishing a heir apparent, don't blame the old lady for turning her back on him.Anyway, Prince Lu and Emperor Wanli are both her biological children, no matter who becomes the emperor!
Look, what a powerful, upright, independent and skillful old lady she is. No wonder she can cooperate with Zhang Juzheng inside and outside. Even if she is a little timid, she can't keep up with Bu Dian.

Emperor Wanli originally wanted to convince his mother. The reason was very simple. Zhu Changluo was born to a palace maid and his background was not very honorable.It would have been better not to say anything in the end. After hearing these words, Queen Mother Li fell out on the spot and cursed her son for being unfilial.Because she was also a palace maid before, so she was scolding the bald man in front of the monk.

After countless efforts, I found a lot of excuses, but neither the courtiers nor the family could understand or support the emperor's choice, and they were not allowed to act independently and do things according to their own ideas.

So Emperor Wanli went to the other extreme. Since everyone is against me, no one can feel comfortable.I won't do anything you say, and don't lecture people all day long. I won't even go to the morning court.From now on, live one day at a time, do whatever makes you feel comfortable, and whoever is dissatisfied can come to the harem to find me!

Once people despair of reality, they no longer want to do serious things at all.In the parlance of later generations, Emperor Wanli was lying on his back, and all the country and the country were free to play with it, just so capricious.

Of course, the emperor lying down is different from the people lying down. He just doesn't go to court or participate in various ceremonial activities. He still has to do the most basic work, such as reviewing title books and memorials.However, he rarely meets with the cabinet academicians to discuss national affairs, and there is an extreme lack of communication.

When it comes to the work of the Ming Dynasty emperor, Hong Tao must have a say. Even though he is in the cold palace, he has lived in the palace for more than ten years. No matter how unpopular he is, he still has to meet with the emperor several times a year out of etiquette requirements.Sometimes in the garden, sometimes in the bedroom, sometimes in the office.How to put it, if you say you are tired, you are really tired, if you say you are not tired, you are really not tired.According to the different status of each emperor, the specific situation must be analyzed in detail.

Since Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister, that is to say, there is no prime minister. Cabinet ministers can only be regarded as senior secretaries and staff advisers and have no decision-making power.All major and minor matters at home and abroad must ultimately be decided by the emperor alone.

As the founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang did this because he wanted to preserve as much power as possible for future generations. Whether it would be beneficial to the country's long-term stability or not, with his level and vision, he really couldn't see that far.

According to the situation at the time, there were not many disadvantages, because Zhu Yuanzhang had experienced hardship since he was a child, and he was the founder of the country. He was very high-spirited. He worked ten hours a day and reviewed hundreds of memorials without feeling too hard. He could grit his teeth and endure it. .

But he forgot a truth summed up by his ancestors over thousands of years: it is easy to move from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to move from luxury to frugality.He can be self-disciplined and work hard because being an emperor, no matter how hard or tiring it is, is more comfortable than the life of the people at the bottom. At least he will not starve to death due to famine, so he does not feel too uncomfortable.

But the next generation and the next generation were born in the Forbidden City with a golden key in their mouths. As a prince, no one is rich in clothes and food. Even if they are not pampered, they will never endure hardship. No one can work voluntarily every day like him. too long.

Now comes the problem. As the country becomes larger and the system becomes more complete, the workload not only does not decrease, but also increases.But the emperor's energy is limited. Even if every generation of emperors is as hardworking and diligent as Zhu Yuanzhang, they are still too busy.

What should I do if I am too busy?Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, thought of a workaround and organized literate eunuchs to help screen the memorials.First sort it out by category, and then prioritize it according to content. This can greatly improve efficiency and reduce workload.

Over time, these eunuchs who helped select memorials changed their original nature of temporary workers and became the emperor's private confidential secretaries, specializing in reviewing the title books and memorials submitted by the cabinet and courtiers for the emperor. Surfaced.

The so-called eunuchs with pens and eunuchs with palm prints are all positions within the ceremonial eunuch.The eunuch Bingbi was responsible for helping the emperor give instructions on the memorial, and the eunuch Zhangprint was responsible for the final review and sealing.

To put it bluntly, these eunuchs are equivalent to the secretaries of future leaders.If people below want to report to work, they must not directly call the boss's mobile phone, nor can they just barge into the office, let alone go to their home.The only way is to contact the secretary first, and then the secretary will inform the leader, and finally make an appointment.

As the saying goes, the king of hell is easy to deal with and the devil is difficult to deal with.Normally, a secretary has no public power, but as a leader's confidant, sometimes he is the leader's eyes, mouth, and hands, and sometimes he simply replaces the leader's brain.

Emperor Wanli lay down, but the Chief of Ceremonies did not follow him. There should be no shortage of inscriptions and memorials, and the emperor should also give approval and approval, so there would be no delay in a day.Of course, most of them may be reviewed by the eunuch Bingbi, who will briefly comment on the key points afterwards.

This situation is a bit like a couple fighting. Some people are noisy and noisy, while others are not noisy or violent, but they can still get by.It's just that if no one pays attention to the other, it will definitely hurt the feelings over time, and it will be of no benefit to both parties and the family. It may even be more troublesome than making a noise.

(End of this chapter)