Ming Dynasty: At the beginning, the house was ransacked and the ancestral temple was burned down.

Chapter 204 The three main halls were burned! Zhang Juzheng’s memorial day! The emperor who risked his life!
The tenth day of March, the twenty-fifth year of the Wanli reign.

Under the great expectations of Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun, Concubine Li Jing gave birth to the seventh prince Zhu Changying.

Zhu Yijun was naturally happy to have a son, and he immediately promoted Concubine Li Jing to Concubine Li Guifei!

However, perhaps because fortune and misfortune go hand in hand, the weak Li Guifei, who had just given birth, died of illness on the 21st of the same month before she could have the ceremony of enthroning her.

His new favorite had just given birth to a child for him, and she died suddenly of illness. It would be a lie for Zhu Yijun to say that he was not sad.

The extremely grief-stricken Emperor Wanli immediately issued an edict to posthumously confer the title of Imperial Noble Consort Gongshun Rongzhuang Duanjing on Consort Li.

The title of Imperial Noble Consort is equivalent to that of Vice Empress, and although it is conferred posthumously, it is already an extremely rare honor.

I don't know if it was due to guilt or if Zhu Yijun really fell in love again.

This middle-aged emperor, who was in his thirties, was sad and upset for a long time because of this incident.

Emperor Wanli even issued an edict because of this matter, wanting to place Consort Li's coffin in his own main tomb so that he could be buried with her a hundred years later.

There is nothing wrong with His Majesty the Emperor wanting to have his favorite concubine buried with him.

However, how could the officials, who were already extremely dissatisfied with the emperor's laziness and inaction, agree with the emperor's "unruly" idea?
All the officials had only three words to say - I disagree!

The officials even said in a high-sounding manner: Although Imperial Noble Consort Li gave birth to two princes, she was neither the empress nor the biological mother of the crown prince. Why should she be buried together with the noble emperor?

In addition, some ministers took this opportunity to make a point and said: The Crown Prince's biological mother, Concubine Gong, gave birth to the crown prince for Your Majesty, and made such an invaluable contribution, but she is still only a concubine! Your Majesty not only did not think of rewarding Concubine Gong, but also thought of Concubine Li, which really lost the priority and damaged the dignity!

There are so many such speeches that they are almost innumerable.

Not only did all the officials collectively oppose the emperor's idea of ​​being buried with Imperial Noble Consort Li, they also used this as an excuse to curse the emperor in a roundabout way.

Emperor Wanli was almost angry to death, but in his rage, he could only be angry for a while.

In the end, Zhu Yijun had no choice but to compromise. All he could do was to order that the two princes born to Imperial Noble Consort Li be raised by the Queen herself.

The matter just passed like that. Although Emperor Wanli lost his second beloved woman, at least his first love, Concubine Zheng, was still alive and well.

Logically speaking, after the death of Imperial Noble Concubine Li, Imperial Noble Concubine Zheng no longer had her only competitor in the harem.

Her emperor husband should also put more time and attention back on her.

This was indeed the case. Zhu Yijun began to dote on his Concubine Zheng as he did before.

However, the way the two get along with each other has changed invisibly.

Zheng Mengjing could clearly feel that although Zhu Yijun was with him physically, his heart seemed not to be there.

She didn't know whether Zhu Yijun had discovered anything. She only knew that the other party was the emperor, and a little investigation would reveal that Concubine Li's death was related to her.

Zheng Mengjing knew it, but she didn't take it seriously. After all, if Zhu Yijun wanted to hold her accountable, he would have done so long ago. Why did he wait so long and keep silent?

This indecisive emperor simply didn't want to face reality.

Just like the beautiful dreams that Zhu Yijun occasionally had, they were nothing more than a safe haven in which he indulged in order to escape reality.

……

At the beginning of the 25th year of Wanli's reign, Zhu Yijun lost a woman he loved.

However, this was just a small beginning of his "destined" unlucky year.

Time flies, and it is June 19th, the 25th year of the Wanli reign.

On this day, Zhu Yijun always felt that something was wrong since he woke up in the morning, and his heart was inexplicably panicked.

When I asked about the date, I found out that today was June 19th.

June 19th is not a special day.

However, June 20th was a day that left a particularly deep impression on Zhu Yijun.

……

Qianqing Palace.

"Remember to light up the halls in the palace these two nights."

Just like in the past ten years, Zhu Yijun once again gave orders for this matter.

"Your Majesty, I have always remembered it, please rest assured." Chen Ju replied as he did in previous years.

"Tell the people below to be careful with fire." Zhu Yijun did not forget to remind them.

After all, his Qianqing Palace had just been built not long ago. If any sparks were to start again, the national treasury would really have no money to build him a palace.

"I understand." Chen Ju agreed.

After explaining the important matters, Zhu Yijun stopped snapping his fingers.

Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, "How long has it been since Zhang Chonghui went to the Eastern Palace? Hasn't his wife given birth yet?"

Chen Ju replied awkwardly: "Your Majesty, as I remember, his wife is only three months pregnant... not that fast."

"Oh..." Zhu Yijun agreed, then found fault again: "His wife is pregnant, why is he asking for leave? It's not him who is pregnant!"

Chen Ju didn't know what to say. After all, what the emperor said made sense.

But Zhang Chonghui found an excuse that his wife was pregnant and had trouble eating or sleeping, and insisted that he stay with her, and he didn't go to the Eastern Palace for more than three months.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, Zhang Chonghui is just stalling for time and idling away his time. He has no intention of... doing that." Chen Ju directly said the truth that he had been thinking about for a long time.

As a servant, Chen Ju naturally didn't dare to say what the word "that" meant. Of course, even if he didn't say it, His Majesty the Emperor knew it.

Zhu Yijun had indeed found out. He knew that Zhang Chonghui was pretending to be sick one moment and then saying that his wife was pregnant the next. It was obvious that he was deliberately delaying time.

Wait until the emperor dies, and then support the crown prince Zhu Changluo to ascend the throne, and then rehabilitate Zhang Juzheng.

Zhu Yijun knew that by the time he realized what was happening, he had already been possessed by a ghost. He restored the official positions of Zhang Jian and Zhang Yun, and even arranged a marriage for Zhang Yunxiu.

Zhu Yijun knew that he had been fooled by Zhang Chonghui, but it was not a big deal.

After all, he was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Even if the ministers of the previous dynasty did not listen to him, the ultimate power was still in his hands.

He could reinstate the Zhang family members, and naturally he could also easily dismiss them. However, he felt that he was too disdainful to do such an ungrateful thing.

"Send a message to him. I will give him another year. If he still can't help me solve the problem, I will just... reward him with a cup of poisoned wine!"

Zhu Yijun made a harsh statement directly. He felt that he had been benevolent. He at least gave Zhang Chonghui another year and at least let Zhang Chonghui become his father.

Chen Ju respectfully responded to the Emperor's words, but at the same time, he didn't quite understand one thing.

His Majesty the Emperor, who holds the imperial power, could easily find a reason to kill a criminal like Zhang Chonghui at any time, so why did he repeatedly give him a chance to survive?
Isn't this just raising a tiger to cause trouble?

Chen Ju didn't understand.

Not to mention that he, a eunuch, didn't understand, even Zhu Yijun himself didn't understand.

However, the clever Emperor Wanli could always find a reasonable excuse for some of his unreasonable actions.

For example, once Zhang Chonghui, a descendant of Zhang Juzheng, died, his reputation as an emperor would be ruined.

Although, Emperor Wanli's reputation is not bad for this, just like he always likes to change his orders every day.

……

I don’t know if it’s because this day is unlucky or if something is wrong, but Zhu Yijun just feels uncomfortable all over today.

When night fell, Zhu Yijun, feeling uneasy, once again reminded Chen Ju to make sure his subordinates were careful with the candles that were particularly bright tonight, so as not to accidentally burn down the Qianqing Palace again.

As it turned out, Zhu Yijun's worries were useful.

That night, the Qianqing Palace was indeed brightly lit, but there was no fire.

However, Emperor Wanli, who had been sleeping uneasily to begin with, still smelled a familiar "burnt aroma" just as he was about to fall asleep.

Yes, June 19th, the 25th year of the Wanli reign.

Just one day before Zhang Juzheng’s memorial day, the Forbidden City caught fire again!

This fire of unknown cause came very strangely, suddenly rising from the Xihe Gate on the west side of the Jinshui Bridge and spreading to the three main halls in the center of the imperial city: the Huangji Hall, the Middle Hall, and the Jianji Hall!
When it rains, it leaks; when the fire starts, there is also headwind.

When the fire suddenly broke out, a strange gust of wind blew from nowhere, carrying with it the blazing flames and scorching tongues several feet high, and it rushed forward rapidly!
Any buildings and palaces that were touched by the violent wind and raging flames were quickly engulfed in flames!

The glazed roof tiles crackled in the fire, and there were continuous explosions, flying all over the sky like hail!

The fire burned for the entire night and almost engulfed half of the Forbidden City!
In addition to the three main halls being burned down, the Huangji Gate and the Yemen Gates on both sides of it were also all burned down!
Even the Wenzhao and Wucheng pavilions on both sides of the square where civil and military officials stood during the morning court, along with their corridors, were burned to ashes!
Only the Meridian Gate was spared from disaster because it was separated by the Jinshui River!

The raging fire spread from the Ye Gate all the way to the entrance of the Qianqing Palace where Emperor Wanli lived!

The fire was so fierce that if the fire was put out a little slower, Emperor Wanli would have to move back to the Western Garden and cultivate immortality with his ancestors...

……

Although Emperor Wanli's Qianqing Palace escaped the disaster, the three main halls of the Ming emperor were all gone.

Looking around, the once magnificent palaces are now only a shocking pile of ruins.

Zhu Yijun was completely dumbfounded. He didn't expect the fire to spread so quickly and so violently!
At the same time, Zhu Yijun realized one thing!
——His ministers can’t sit still anymore!
……

After an investigation by the Royal Guards, they did not find any trace of arson in this sudden fire.

Coincidentally, the Qianqing Palace was brightly lit that night, so many people believed that the fire was an "accident" caused by sparks from the Qianqing Palace that "accidentally" flew out.

Zhu Yijun didn't believe that this was an accident. It was obvious that someone had seen that he would light more candles in the palace on June 19th and 20th, and used this as an excuse to deliberately set the fire!

The fire came so suddenly and fiercely that Zhu Yijun even suspected that someone had deliberately poured kerosene into the three main halls. Otherwise, how could it have burned so fiercely?

However, only ruins remain of the three main halls today, and it is impossible to verify whether anyone poured kerosene on them. Even whether the fire was started intentionally is not so important.

Zhu Yijun originally wanted to find out the culprit, but after ten days of searching without any results, he began to hope that the fire was just an "accident".

Because his ministers were taking advantage of the situation again.

June 30th, the 25th year of the Wanli reign.

Liu Gang, a scholar from the Imperial Academy, fired the first shot in cursing the emperor, writing a petition:
"Two years ago, there was a fire in Kunning and Qianqing Palaces. When the emperor issued an edict to blame himself, his sincerity was lacking and the people did not benefit from it. I knew at that time that the resentment from heaven had not yet ended!
For many years, the Emperor has not offered sacrifices to heaven, has not visited temples, has stopped court lectures, has abandoned his subordinates, has not accepted advice, and has opened mines everywhere. He truly has no fear of the will of heaven!

The hearts of the emperor and his subjects should be harmonious and united, but now the emperor's heart is thousands of miles apart. I think that the disaster today is the retribution of heaven!

Add to that the drought and floods, there was no green grass in the wild, people were angry and resentful, and everywhere they went were like enemies, so the emperor was punished by a disaster from heaven, and a fire broke out in the three main halls!

I would like to ask Your Majesty to think about it yourself. Has Your Majesty been meditating on the Tao day and night?
I have heard that where there is accumulation there will be disaster. I would like to risk my life to tell you that where there is accumulation is:

The marriage of the emperor’s eldest son has not been canonized for a long time, which is a backlog of traditions; the requests of ministers, both big and small, for official business are mostly ignored, which is a backlog of documents!

In local government offices, there are officials but no one present, which is a result of accumulated vacancies; all the ministers who have been dismissed are not employed, which is a result of accumulated talents!
There are Japanese pirates outside and thieves inside, which are the accumulation of bandits; the ministers who guard the border and manage the rivers, who speak empty words to deceive their superiors and do not think anything is strange, are the accumulation of playfulness!

As a result of all these things, the Emperor is obsessed with wine and women in the harem all day long, and does not listen to my advice and is unable to make wise decisions!
The cabinet chief Zhu Geng is a servile and cowardly person, playing both sides and not daring to argue. How can this not arouse the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people?"

The content of the memorial is still very long.

However, even Zhu Yijun, who had been scolded by ministers for so many years, could not stand it anymore.

The censors have always been very good at scolding people, and they can make people break down without using any dirty words.

Zhu Yijun was so angry that he felt dizzy and dazzled. He regretted reading this memorial.

The Wanli Emperor, who was very concerned about his reputation, had spent a long time preparing himself mentally before issuing the edict of repentance the year before last.

In the end, Zhu Yijun had no choice but to grit his teeth and admit his mistakes to his people.

But even though he, the emperor, had already admitted his mistakes, this Hanlin Academy scholar named Liu Gang actually said that he was not sincere enough when he issued the edict to confess his sins!
How can he be sincere? How sincere is enough?

Zhu Yijun knew what his ministers wanted him to do. They wanted him to be a so-called sage monarch.

In fact, he just wanted him to be a good and obedient puppet emperor.

But Wanli didn't want to.

Zhu Yijun would rather waste time and drag it out, and disgust his ministers, than surrender!
However, being tough and stubborn is sometimes useless.

Even the emperor is like this.

Now the three main halls have been burned to ashes, and the things left by our ancestors have been burned, so they have to be repaired no matter what.

However, the Ming Dynasty's treasury is no longer very rich today.

According to convention, the Ministry of Revenue would definitely say that it had no money to repair it. Zhu Yijun had already expected this and he said he didn't care.

However, the Ministry of Households’ cry of poverty is not the point.

What astounded Wanli the most was that after a budget was made by the Ministry of Works, it was estimated that the cost of rebuilding the three main halls alone, just for collecting nanmu and fir trees from Huguang, Sichuan and Guizhou, would be more than 9.3 million taels of silver!
The cost of purchasing some of the wood alone has reached more than 9 million taels, which is already scary!
After the cabinet and the six ministers made an estimate, they concluded that it would take at least 30 million taels of silver to repair the three main halls, and the construction period would be as long as 20 years!

Thirty million taels! Twenty years!

After seeing the estimated result, Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun was shocked and immediately gave up the idea of ​​rebuilding the three main halls!
Zhu Yijun originally thought that as an emperor, he had made a great concession to his subjects by not even repairing the three main halls left by his ancestors.

However, things turned out to be far from that simple.

Now that the three main halls had been burned down, all the ministers tacitly seized this opportunity and attributed the fire in the Forbidden City to the inaction of His Majesty the Emperor!

In this feudal and superstitious age, the Forbidden City where the emperor lived caught fire for no reason. The only thing to blame was the emperor himself, who was incompetent and was punished by heaven.

Emperor Wanli didn't care. He saw things clearly. Even if he threw away his pride and issued an edict of repentance to admit his mistakes, what would that matter?
His ministers would never be satisfied, and would even blame him for not being sincere enough when he issued the edict to confess his sins!

No sincerity, right? Then just say no sincerity!

You burned down the three main halls, right? If you have the guts, burn down the Palace of Heavenly Purity again!

If you have the guts, just burn down the entire Forbidden City!

It seemed that His Majesty the Emperor was determined to go all out this time and remained indifferent no matter how the ministers scolded him.

A huge number of memorials were submitted, but there was only one result - keep them in the palace.

Emperor Wanli managed to barely withstand this severe blow.

However, the only cabinet minister, the chief minister Zhu Geng, could no longer hold on.

Zhu Geng was ill, and his illness was so severe that he collapsed right in the cabinet office in front of many officials who came to scold him. He even had to be carried back home.

The only cabinet minister fell ill, and Emperor Wanli soon learned about it.

However, Zhu Yijun did not say anything. He seemed to have never heard of the news and had no reaction at all.

The cabinet was empty again, and piles of memorials were once again left with no one to vote on them.

Seeing that even a fire could not wake up the Emperor, the ministers of the Ming Dynasty became restless!

(End of this chapter)