Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 372 What the hell are these people! ?

In the eighth year of Qianxi's reign, it was the fifth day of the third month.

The sun is shining brightly and spring is in full bloom.

In the Xiang Hall of Changling, Zhu Gaoxu, who knew his destiny, stood quietly in front of the statue of Xu Miaoyun, supporting Zhu Di, who was over seventy years old and holding a cane.

"Your mother has been gone for four whole years."

Zhu Di shed two lines of tears on his old face and said very sadly.

In November of the third year of Qianxi's reign, Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun successfully returned to Beijing. However, just after the Lantern Festival on the 15th of the first lunar month of the fourth year of Qianxi's reign, Xu Miaoyun fell ill.

According to Zhu Di, Xu Miaoyun followed him to sea for more than two years. Perhaps because of being far away from his homeland, he often suffered from insomnia at night, so that his physical condition was not very good and he fell ill several times.

Zhu Di repeatedly wanted to send Zheng He to send Xu Miaoyun back to the Ming Dynasty, but Xu Miaoyun was unwilling and insisted on accompanying Zhu Di to complete the voyage around the earth.

For this reason, the two even had a quarrel.

Fortunately, Zhu Di chose to be tolerant in the end and ordered the fleet to rest at a port on the west coast of Donghua Wozhou for three months in order to allow Xu Miaoyun to fully cultivate.

The place where Xu Miaoyun rested was called Xiya City (Seattle). It was the Qianhusuo City built by the officers and soldiers stationed here when Zheng He was sailing around the earth in the early years.

Three months later, before setting sail, Zhu Di ordered that the Qianhu of Xiya be promoted to Xiya Guards and build a new acropolis next to the original Xiya City. The original Xiya City for Xu Miaoyun's training was renamed Qihuang City by Zhu Di.

Habitat means to live or stay.

Huang means Xu Miaoyun.

Qihuang City is the city where Queen Yongle Xu Miaoyun stayed and lived.

In Zhu Gaoxu's view, Zhu Di's behavior should be unique to the romance between him and Xu Miaoyun.

In the late first month of the fourth year of Qianxi's reign, Xu Miaoyun's condition worsened, and Zhu Gaoxu ordered Han Wang Zhu Gaochi, the crown prince Zhu Zhanji, Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui and the crown prince Zhu Zhanyao to come to the capital.

At the end of February, the King of Han, King Zhao and the two princes arrived in Beijing.

On the fifth day of March, Xu Miaoyun died in the longevity palace at the age of 66, living 20 years longer than in the original history.

On May [-], Zhu Gaoxu gave her the posthumous title of "Queen Ren Xiao Ci Yi Cheng Ming".

On June [-], Queen Renxiao was buried in Changling.

In addition, Zhu Gaoxu also wrote to the Karmapa to build a fast for Empress Renxiao in Mount Wutai in Shanxi and Linggu Temple in Nanjing to pray for blessings in the underworld. He ordered Zhang Yuchu, the real person of the Zhengyi Sect, to lead all Taoist monks to recommend Empress Renxiao to pray for blessings and salvation.

Due to Zhu Gaoxu's attention, Queen Renxiao's funeral was extremely grand, which also made Zhu Di feel a little comfort in his sad heart.

Because of the death of Queen Renxiao, Zhu Gaoxu wore white clothes for one year and quit attending court for one year. He only listened to political affairs at Xijiaomen and other places.

The crown prince Zhu Zhanyu, the beautiful king Zhu Zhantang and other kings served Queen Renxiao for three years. The ministers wore white clothes for 27 days and white clothes for one year. After the anniversary ceremony, the ministers wore light clothes when attending the court. They wear light-colored clothes, black gauze hats, and black horn belts. They still wear plain clothes when leaving the court and perform official duties. They wear public clothes and court clothes when they come to court. It was not until the second anniversary that the ceremony returned to normal.

On November [-], the fourth year of Qianxi's reign, the winter solstice, Queen Renxiao was excused from congratulations. King Li Sun of Korea personally led his envoys to pay tribute to Queen Renxiao with ritual objects.

In February, March, and April of the fifth year of Qianxi, King Paramotha of Siam, King Mahabengai of Champa, and King Shenhena of Chenla successively sent envoys to pay homage to Queen Renxiao with ritual objects.

On August [-], the fifth year of Qianxi, King Xia Wang of Bo Ni came to court with his princess and accompanying officials. The note that the princess wanted to present to Queen Renxiao was inscribed with gold thread, and some local products were presented. Zhu Gaoxu ordered people to give it to Queen Renxiao. The donated notes and local products were displayed in front of the statue of Queen Renxiao in Xiangdian Hall, Changling.

After that, starting from September [-], the fifth year of Qianxi, to March [-], the sixth year of Qianxi, the kings of more than ten countries, including the Harie Kingdom, the Guli Kingdom, the Alu Kingdom, and the Kezhi Kingdom, or personally led their envoys. Ministers went to the Ming Dynasty, or envoys were sent to the Ming Dynasty to offer rites and sacrifices to Queen Renxiao.

When Empress Xu was critically ill, she once said to Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu: "Life and death are determined by fate, so you don't need to be overly sad."

When Zhu Di asked Empress Xu if she had anything else to say, Empress Xu told Zhu Gaoxu to cherish the people, seek talents, be kind to the clan, and not to be arrogant to her natal family.

Zhu Gaoxu burst into tears when he heard this, and Zhu Di also burst into tears. Even before her death, Queen Xu did not forget to persuade Zhu Gaoxu to put the country first.

Empress Xu also warned the Crown Prince Zhu Zhanyu, the King of the United States Zhu Zhantang and other emperors and grandsons to "respect the superiors, benevolent to care for the subordinates, respect the family, and be kind to the relatives", and asked them to always keep it in mind.

Empress Xu also taught Zhu Zhanji, the eldest son of the Han Dynasty, and Zhu Zhanyao, the eldest son of the Zhao Dynasty, asking them to concentrate on their studies and study diligently, and asked Zhu Gaoxu to treat these two nephews well.

After the death of Empress Xu, Zhu Di, who was nearly seventy years old, could not control himself and burst into tears. Zhu Gaoxu could only ask the prince Zhu Zhanyu to comfort him politely.

"Dad, if mom sees you like this, she will definitely be very angry."

Seeing that Zhu Di was already in tears, Zhu Gaoxu persuaded him warmly.

Zhu Di raised his hand to wipe away his tears. Thinking of Queen Xu's voice and appearance, he burst into tears and said with a smile, "I'm afraid there will be another quarrel with me!"

He paused, looked at the statue of Queen Xu and said: "Your mother is the best woman in the world. Although she is in the palace, she wholeheartedly loves and protects the common people in the world. She is kind, wise, virtuous and kind, and her virtues are not inferior to those of Empress Dema of the Ming Dynasty of the Later Han Dynasty and Empress Changsun of the Tang Dynasty."

Zhu Gaoxu looked solemn and said: "In my son's heart, my mother, like my grandmother (Queen Xiaocigao), is the greatest queen in history."

"Cough cough."

Zhu Di suddenly coughed and seemed to have trouble breathing.Zhu Gaoxu quickly raised his hand and patted Zhu Di on the back with controlled force.

"Okay, stop shooting."

Zhu Di raised his hand to interrupt Zhu Gaoxu, hit the floor hard with his crutch, and said loudly: "Let go of your hand, I can walk by myself."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't talk nonsense. He knew that Zhu Di had been very strong all his life. Even though he was old and frail, he still managed to look like he could move freely.

In fact, because Zhu Di spent more than ten years in Peiping when he was young and often braved the severe cold to fight in the fortress, when he got older, he suffered from senile rheumatism, and some of his finger and toe joints were deformed.

Fortunately, Zhu Gaoxu ordered the imperial physician to carry out targeted nursing care, so that after Zhu Di passed his sixtieth year, his physical condition would be much stronger than in the original history, otherwise Zhu Di would not be able to survive now.

After a while, Zhu Gaoxu followed Zhu Di closely to the corridor outside Xiangdian.

Zheng He, Wang Jinghong, Qingyao and others who were standing outside quickly stepped forward to salute.

Zhu Di turned a blind eye to everyone. Zhu Gaoxu nodded slightly and signaled everyone to retreat.

"I heard that your plan to build three railways at the same time was opposed by the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty?"

Zhu Di was leaning on a cane with his left hand and resting his right hand on the guardrail beside the corridor. He looked at the mountains and forests in the distance and asked slowly.

Since the death of Queen Xu, he has basically never taken the initiative to interfere in political affairs. Even when he met with Zheng He, Wang Jinghong and other close ministers, he rarely asked about matters in the court.

The reason why he took the initiative to ask about the railway this time was because the matter had caused quite a stir recently. Even the eunuchs and maids serving him in the Longevity Palace were discussing the matter privately.

"There are loud voices in the DPRK and China that oppose the railway construction, especially those over 50 years old. The opposition is particularly fierce. My son is quite scrupulous about this and does not dare to make an easy decision."

Zhu Gaoxu replied softly.

“What are their reasons for objecting?”

Zhu Di asked casually.

Zhu Gaoxu replied unhurriedly: "There are four main points, and my son has refuted each of them or proposed solutions."

"First, they are worried that once the railway opens, the coachmen and traders will not be able to earn a living, and the common people will lose their livelihoods, causing unrest. The son retorted that people are needed to build and maintain roads and run trains, and the common people will not lose their livelihoods. , there will be a lot more work.”

"Second, they believed that the railway would hinder the tombs of private farmhouses and must be obstructed. The local gentry was worried that the roar of the railway would disturb their ancestors and damage the feng shui. In response, the son retorted that the land occupied by the railway was only one foot wide. There will be no impact on farmland, residences or graves."

"Third, they feel that the railway hinders private carriages, horses and pedestrians, fearing congestion and collisions, and worrying that trains may cause car accidents. The son has two solutions to this problem, one is to build an overpass, and the other is to set up an overpass at the intersection between the railway and the road. Look out at the gate and block pedestrians when the train comes."

When Zhu Gaoxu said this, he did not continue, but deliberately chose to pause.

"They don't know much about trains and railways, so it's reasonable to raise these objections."

Zhu Di patted the armrest, nodded gently and said, "And your rebuttal and solution are also very pertinent. I think there is nothing wrong with it."

He paused, turned to look at Zhu Gaoxu, and asked strangely: "You just said that the courtiers opposed it for four reasons. What is the fourth point?"

"Dad, if my son says anything, he will definitely make you angry."

Zhu Gaoxu said with a bitter face: "It's better not to say anything."

Zhu Di knew that Zhu Gaoxu was doing it for his own good, but he was afraid that his anger would ruin his health due to his old age.

But the more this happened, the more he wanted to know.

"Say."

Zhu Di stared at Zhu Gaoxu and said a word lightly.

Zhu Gaoxu seemed to feel a thousand pounds of gravity pressing down on him instantly.

"Okay, I said."

Zhu Gaoxu thought about his words and said slowly: "There are still some people who believe that although the opening of the railway is beneficial, it also has a major drawback. This drawback is that if the enemy invades, they can use the railway to reach the capital directly."

"Hmph! Our Ming Dynasty is the kingdom of heaven, the country in the center of the world. Who dares to invade us?"

Zhu Di sneered first, then picked up his crutch and smashed it against the guardrail while cursing: "Even if there are unscrupulous descendants in future generations who corrupt Chao Gang and cause the enemy to invade by train, can't we demolish the railway? This is simply a fart! Stupid! absurd!"

He cursed and smashed again, and the anger in his heart dissipated a lot.

"Gao Xu, listen to me, all officials who hold the fourth view will be dismissed from their posts to serve the people, and let them go home and farm the fields! What the hell are these people doing!?"

PS: As of the seventh year of Qianxi, the map of the Ming Dynasty’s territory is in the book group. Interested friends can join the group and download it.

(End of this chapter)