When Hunjun begins to make elixirs

Chapter 2 The Emperor and His Ministers
Li Shun learned through three years of time-travel observation that he was at the end of the decline of the dynasty. The historical cycle rate had become prominent, private land annexation was serious, and party disputes in the court were constant.

God seemed to be against him. During the five years of his reign, floods, droughts, and locusts occurred one after another. Civil convulsions continued in various places, and the country and the country were precarious and in danger.

There is a folk jingle: "The holy lineage and the holy lineage are left with nothing to eat. Spring comes and falls and autumn dies, and they cannot survive the winter." This shows that the court is incompetent and the people's livelihood is in decline.

At first, he was still imagining that he could single-handedly turn the tide. It was not until the officials spat at him that the saliva was like a huge wave, almost drowning him. Only then did he realize that his predecessor had been eliminated.

Nowadays, the DPRK is roughly divided into three forces. Headed by the left prime minister Hu Minde, the Xungui Group, which started following his grandfather Emperor Sejong's quelling the chaos, controls the government. The only ones who can barely compete with it are the eunuchs and the eunuchs of the eunuch Zhao Zhongxiao, the eunuch Zhao Zhongxiao. The Qingliu scholars represented by Fu Liuzheng.

Among them, the Zhao Zhongxiao and Hu Minde factions had an ambiguous relationship, with cooperation and disagreements, while Liu Zheng's side was quarrelsome with heaven and earth and refused to accept anyone. As a result, under the pressure of the Hu and Zhao factions, they were on the edge of the imperial court and were on the verge of death.

After that, Li Shun would spend the rest of the time hiding in the harem and having fun, never saying a word about government affairs, except watching Hu Minde and others with superb acting skills perform "The Good Minister" in the study room every morning. , completely ruined.

When the hurricane passes, only the grass remains.

In the early morning of the second day, the left prime minister Hu Minde and six ministers under the Zhongshu family came to report something.He was wearing a bright red official robe and a black gauze hat. He was in his prime, with a straight beard and a handsome figure.

Li Shun was still sitting on the dragon chair, but there were two more people on the left and right, one was the eunuch Zhao Zhongxiao, and the other was Fang Zhi, the great scholar on duty at Wenyuan Pavilion.

Li Shun fiddled with the paperweight on the case and asked first, "Dear ladies, what are you going to do today?"

Hu Minde and others were stunned. Usually the emperor was like a mute, and Eunuch Zhao presided over everything. Why did he take the initiative to ask questions today?When something goes wrong, there must be a monster.Hu Minde exchanged glances with Zhou Qing, the right prime minister next to him.

Zhou Qing understood the idea and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, the severe drought in the north has been going on for a long time. In order to relieve the people's distress, the Ministry of Household Affairs would like to allocate 40 taels to go to the south of the Yangtze River to purchase grain for disaster relief."

"Well, okay. You guys can discuss it."

Seeing that the emperor agreed, Zhou Qing breathed a sigh of relief and continued: "Your Majesty, in March of the fourth year of Shengtong, the Xia Xie group who rebelled in Jinzhou under the guise of the 'Shenmu Cult' have been wiped out by the troops sent by Huaidong Commander-in-Chief Sun Wuji. The bandit leader Xia Xu and all the rebel leaders have been captured alive and are being taken to the capital, which is a good example."

"What is the Shenmu Cult?"

Li Shun remembered that he had heard something like this last year, so he chose to hibernate and didn't ask any more questions.

Zhou Qing couldn't answer for a long time, and the military report from below didn't elaborate on these matters. Instead, Zhao Zhongxiao on the side said: "Your Majesty, this old slave knows a thing or two."

"In the second year of Shengtong, after the flood in Jinzhou, a giant tree grew up overnight in Helianwa Village, Datong County. It was about twenty feet tall and covered the sky. It bloomed in three days and bore fruit in seven days. Its fruit was golden in color. , shaped like a peach, but only as big as a plum. At that time, the plague was raging, and it was said that if people ate its fruit, all diseases would be cured. The villagers called it the 'sacred tree', and the Datong County magistrate also reported it as 'auspicious'.

Later, some people used this to spread fallacies and heresies, saying that "the sacred tree covers the sky, and the yellow sky replaces the blue sky" to confuse the villagers and establish the so-called sacred tree religion. This is pure nonsense. "

Li Shun nodded: "I see. Since Datong County Magistrate has reported it, is there any fruit?"

Zhao Zhongxiao was speechless for a moment because of Li Shun's strange attention, but it was not surprising after thinking about it.There have long been rumors in the palace that the emperor has started taking elixirs like the previous emperor.Looks like another short-lived ghost!

"There are ten of them kept in the Treasury of the Ministry of Internal Affairs." "Oh? After the court is over, they will be sent to my palace."

"Cough! Cough!" Seeing that the two of them were going to continue this irrelevant conversation, Hu Minde interrupted with two fake coughs.

"You continue." Li Shun smiled, straightened his posture, and continued to listen to politics.

Hu Minde stepped forward with a cold face, and Zhou Qing stepped back knowingly.

Hu Minde said: "Your Majesty, why have I not received any approval for the report I submitted the day before yesterday?"

Li Shun pretended to be dumbfounded: "What's the secret?"

Hu Minde looked at the emperor's confused face, as if he really didn't remember the incident, and reminded him: "There is a vacancy for the Governor of Zhili. Please appoint Zhou Guangzheng, the Minister of War, to fill it."

Li Shun suddenly realized: "Oh, this matter. Hu Aiqing, even if you don't tell me, I will discuss this matter with you today."

"Discuss? What does the emperor think is wrong with the person recommended by me?" Hu Minde's tone was obviously raised a bit, a bit aggressive.He has long been accustomed to the emperor being an object that nods and stamps, obeying his words.

Strangely enough, the founding of the Dayin Dynasty was somewhat similar to the Ming Dynasty in the previous life. Taizu Li Guorui and Zhu Yuanzhang were both from humble beginnings. Legend has it that they were so-called "cultivators". Their personalities and governance methods were also somewhat similar, such as : The feudal king guarded the border, established the "Kingo Guard", an intelligence agency similar to the Jinyi Guard, strictly regulated the administration, etc.

The difference is that he did not abolish the prime minister, and the prince did not die young, succeeded to the throne smoothly, and did not kill the heroes.The prince, later the emperor with the temple name Taizong, reigned for 34 years, worked diligently and loved the people, and created a prosperous era.

All this is based on his superb political skills and high personal prestige.

After the death of Emperor Taizong, problems that had been suppressed for a long time began to be exposed.

For example, regarding the issue of vassal kings, there is still a proverb among the people that "the first generation is a relative, the second generation is a representative, and the third and fourth generations cannot recognize each other."Taizong's brothers identified with him and were loyal to him, but their children and grandchildren did not necessarily identify with his children and grandchildren in the same way.We are also of the same bloodline as Taizu. Your family can be emperor, why can't we?
During Taizong's reign, although the power of the vassal kings was weakened to a certain extent, due to brotherhood and his own "benevolence", it was not completely resolved.

The third emperor Gaozong was barely able to suppress it when he was in power.

After the fourth emperor Ruizong succeeded to the throne, the vassal kings in various places gradually became more powerful.

When the fifth emperor Suzong came to power, the vassal king's disobedience was revealed and he began to make moves.

The sixth emperor Xizong, the "Three Kings Rebellion in the North" broke out in the second year of his reign, and the rebels once reached the capital.Xizong died suddenly and suddenly in fear, leaving no heirs. The country's foundation was uncertain and the country was in chaos.

Fortunately, Hu Chengzhi, the right prime minister at the time, stood up and advocated the succession of Prince Ruizong's third son, King Chen, who was also his predecessor's grandfather and later Emperor Sejong, Li Mao.

(End of this chapter)