Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

The city of Beijing in the cold winter is now covered with snow.

The people living here have truly achieved a peaceful life. The next few days will usher in the dual investment harvest of national bonds and stocks, and then the annual Spring Festival.

Under the rule of Emperor Hongzhi, not only has the national strength continued to increase, but due to the continuous inflow of overseas resources, the happiness index of ordinary people is also rising.

In particular, the promotion of planting of high-yield crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn has now set new records in the country's grain output, and the population has exceeded 100 million in one fell swoop.

According to rough statistics, due to the influence of smallpox vaccines, the total population of the earth has now dropped to 400 million, so one in every four people in the world is a Ming Dynasty person.

If the population of the vassal states is included, nearly half of the population has now been under the command of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty has become a veritable world hegemon.

Forbidden City, Guansui Palace.

"Get out! Get out!"

Just as the people outside were enjoying themselves, the angry voice of Empress Dowager Zhou came from inside, and she seemed to be shouting hysterically.

The maids and eunuchs in the bedroom ran out and hid far away from the high and mighty Empress Dowager. No one dared to offend this crazy woman.

Empress Dowager Zhou was originally a person with a bad temper. Now that she has completely lost her power, she is like a bomb that can explode at any time.

"Eunuch Lin, what should we do now?"

"Leave someone waiting at the door, and we will go back and rest!"

The newly transferred Eunuch Lin had just been kicked by Empress Dowager Zhou. At this time, he patted his butt and prepared to leave.

The others exchanged glances silently, and then followed.

Although they are now responsible for taking care of the most difficult master in the Forbidden City, the queen has increased their allowances, so they are not particularly uncomfortable.

Especially now that they have quietly formed a group, they don’t need to worry too much about the anger of the Empress Dowager. They just need to take good care of Empress Dowager Zhou’s three meals a day.

"Zhu Youtang, I really raised an ungrateful person. I shouldn't have chosen you back then. I should have let you die with that woman!" Empress Dowager Zhou looked at the empty room and directed her anger at the emperor again.

Although she could still see and hear, all the eunuchs and maids who were loyal to her were gone and were all arrested and thrown into the East Factory Prison.

She had become a deaf and blind Empress Dowager in this palace. Not to mention the situation outside, she didn't know what was going on in the palace.

Originally, she wanted to inquire about the situation of Prince Chong, but there was no news about her son at all, so she had to worry that the emperor would execute her youngest son directly.

That's why she has now placed her hopes on her daughter, hoping that her daughter, Princess Chongqing, can bring her useful news.

Waiting has become the most important thing for the dignified Empress Dowager every day, and time passes day by day...

In the palace in deep winter, the cold wind is biting, as if even the air has solidified into ice chips, silently cutting through every corner.

The Guansui Palace where Empress Dowager Zhou lived had floor heating, and even the house was not very dense, so she could even hear the noise from the outside world. She could hear the slight sound of the wind blowing through the eaves, and the occasional light crackling of dead leaves falling from the courtyard.

Although she had never been a queen, her status as a royal concubine also made her one of the central figures in the Forbidden City during the Tianshun Dynasty, especially when her own son was the crown prince.

In the Chenghua Dynasty, she became one of the two empress dowagers because of her son's status.

The Qingning Palace where she lived was crowded with court officials, relatives, daughters-in-law and concubines, and the sound of paying homage was heard one after another at the palace gate. It was so beautiful at that time.

Originally, Emperor Hongzhi, who had been brought up by her, should have obeyed her and even been firmly controlled by her, but she didn't expect that it would be the beginning of her own loss of power.

After coming to the Hongzhi Dynasty, she, the Empress Dowager, became one of the key targets of the emperor's seizure of power, and later she was alienated by the emperor, and now it is a complete break.

In the blink of an eye, it was already late December.

Empress Dowager Zhou was still counting the days day by day. Now she and the Guanju Palace where she lived seemed to be forgotten by the whole world, and it was so lonely that it was suffocating.

Even though it was the Spring Festival, which should have been a time of great bustle and excitement, the palace where the Empress Dowager lived was still deserted.

She had been out of touch with the outside world for more than half a month. Now it was not clear whether Princess Chongqing and others had not come to pay a visit, or whether she had been completely placed under house arrest by the emperor and the empress.

"Empress Dowager, I cannot enter and leave the palace at will!"

"The letter has been sent to Princess Chongqing's mansion, and I don't know why there has been no reply so far!"

"Empress Dowager, even if you really want to kill me today, I dare not carry you to break into the Qianqing Palace!"

...

The palace servants headed by Eunuch Lin faced various orders from Empress Dowager Zhou and only obeyed what they could do. They were powerless to do anything beyond their ability.

After all, they were not the confidants of the Grand Empress Dowager, and even their monthly salary was paid by the Queen. Why should they risk losing their heads for the Grand Empress Dowager who beat and scolded them every day?

"Get out, all of you get out!" Grand Empress Dowager Zhou saw that she could not drive these palace servants at all, so she drove them out angrily.

It's not that she didn't want to use tougher measures. Even if she wanted to beat these disobedient eunuchs and palace maids to death, her strength didn't allow it.

Whether she admits it or not, her confidants were killed or imprisoned, and now she has no one to use, and she has indeed become a useless person.

Five days later, the Spring Festival arrived as scheduled.

The red lanterns outside the Guansui Palace swayed in the wind, but they didn't bring a trace of warmth. The blessing characters posted on the window lattice also looked so pale and powerless, unable to dispel the desolation in the room.

Empress Dowager Zhou was sitting on the couch, playing with a jade Buddha in her hand, but the next moment the jade Buddha had broken on the ground, and the palace people outside had become accustomed to it.

There was an unspeakable loneliness in her eyes. Although her face was still dignified, her eyebrows could not hide the vicissitudes of time and the loneliness in her heart.

The second day of the Chinese New Year, this was a day destined to be very lively.

Several eunuchs were in a hurry. Although they passed Guanju Palace, no one dared to stop there.

Outside the palace, no one came to pay respect to the Grand Empress Dowager. In the past, those relatives and officials came to pay respects one after another, but this year no one came, leaving the Grand Empress Dowager alone to bear the desolation and loneliness.

Grand Empress Dowager Zhou seemed very calm, and seemed to have the answer in her heart: "Sure enough, they imprisoned me and did not allow anyone to visit."

If it were not for this reason, she would not think that on this important day of the second day of the Chinese New Year, not even a single relative came to visit her.

Compared with the desolation of Guanju Palace, this year's Renshou Palace and Kunning Palace are more lively than in previous years.

Now the Ming Dynasty is rich and the people are strong. Not only is the national treasury full, but the inner treasury is also solid.

Since the sixth year of Hongzhi, the palace has lit the Aoshan Lantern in front of the Meridian Gate every year, and arranged various programs to entertain the people.

The people of the capital also like this atmosphere very much, so they all come to West Chang'an Street to join in the fun, resulting in the current prosperous business of Chang'an Street.

Those imperial censors know that the Ming Dynasty is now strong, and holding the Aoshan Lantern Festival is just a drop in the bucket. Seeing the excitement of the people, they will naturally not risk the world's disapproval to impeach this matter.

In fact, the festivals arranged are no longer limited to China's own cultural performances, but also introduce some cultural performances from Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia.

For example, Japanese Kabuki is quite popular among the people of the capital, so that some wealthy families have a special liking for this kind of male performers and are ready to spend money to buy them.

But happiness is always short-lived, and the Lantern Festival has arrived in the blink of an eye.

Although Beijing is still cold, a white full moon hangs high in the night sky.

As the night deepens, the entire palace is immersed in silence. Only the lights in the Empress Dowager's bedroom are still burning alone, illuminating this corner forgotten by the world.

Meow...

Because the Forbidden City has a tradition of raising cats, a cat wandered to the outer east road and suddenly made a long cat cry.

At this moment, the palace next to it was on fire.

"The fire broke out! The fire broke out!"

When Eunuch Lin and other palace servants saw Guansui Palace burning, they immediately shouted.

The Forbidden City has a mature fire extinguishing system, and now it is winter, a large number of people have rushed here from all over, just hoping to put out this fire as soon as possible.

The eunuch in charge rushed here to save the Grand Empress Dowager Zhou, but found that the Grand Empress Dowager Zhou was dressed neatly, and she looked very excited when she saw the fire in Guansui Palace.

"Go and tell the emperor that my bedroom has been burned, and now I have to move into Renshou Palace!" The Grand Empress Dowager Zhou has decided to fight back and immediately put forward her request.

Renshou Palace?

After hearing what the Grand Empress Dowager Zhou said, they also realized that the fire was not only started by the Grand Empress Dowager, but also intended to break the tranquility of the harem.

Not to mention that the Empress Dowager was living in Renshou Palace, even if the Empress Dowager was reasonable and gave up Renshou Palace, where could the Emperor arrange the Empress Dowager?

Of course, these had nothing to do with them, nor were they able to decide. It was just that the Empress Dowager Zhou dared to set fire to Guansui Palace, and she also realized that this old woman was a little crazy.

The next day, Dongwusuo.

"Empress Dowager, please!" Liu Jin came in person and said respectfully to Empress Dowager Zhou.

Empress Dowager Zhou knew that Liu Jin was the most favored eunuch of the Emperor, and the corners of her mouth could not help but rise slightly, and she immediately boarded the Phoenix Seal with the attitude of a winner.

After all, she had been in the harem for decades, and dealing with a grandson who she had watched grow up was just a trivial matter.

No matter what, she was the Emperor's grandmother after all. Even though he knew that the fire was lit by himself, the Emperor had no choice but to give up Renshou Palace obediently.

Of course, entering Renshou Palace was only the first step. The next step was to bring back all of his confidants and make sure the emperor knew how powerful he was.

The phoenix chariot went south and soon reached the end of the Outer East Road.

Empress Dowager Zhou, who was sitting on the phoenix chariot, thought that she would turn west from here, but she didn't expect that she would go through Taiji Gate and continue south to the Outer East Road: "Liu Jin, where are you taking me?"

Although her personal freedom was no longer under her control, she was the high and mighty Empress Dowager after all, so she seemed calm in her heart.

Moreover, coming to the Outer Court area now was more beneficial to her, who was imprisoned.

"Grand Empress Dowager, haven't you always wanted to see the court officials? Today, His Majesty has shown mercy and has just summoned the court officials outside Donghua Gate. You will be able to see them later!" Liu Jin smiled and explained as he met the Grand Empress Dowager's gaze.

Grand Empress Dowager Zhou was stunned at first, and then she was ecstatic.

Since she was imprisoned in Guansui Palace by the Emperor and the Empress, even though she was the Grand Empress Dowager of the current dynasty, she had no chance to speak and had actually become a mascot.

Even if she suffered more grievances in Guansui Palace, she had nowhere to complain.

If she could meet the court officials, then as long as she told the sufferings she had suffered in recent days, the emperor who was high above would surely be ruined.

As for the Grand Empress Dowager herself, she would definitely receive more care from the court officials in the future, and the emperor would not dare to imprison her anymore, and even had to come to pay her respects every day.

Seeing that things were developing in her best direction, Empress Dowager Zhou suddenly realized that even though Hongzhi had made some achievements, he was still the stupid and obedient prince of the wardrobe.

Now the Lantern Festival has passed. Although it is still the Lantern Festival holiday for officials, the New Year atmosphere has obviously been diluted.

Empress Dowager Zhou rode the Phoenix Paladin through Donghua Gate. When she saw the rising sun in the east, she was a little dazed for a while. She couldn't remember how long she hadn't left the palace.

In her expectant eyes, she also saw the black masses of civil and military officials. Zhu Youtang really didn't deceive herself. All the court officials were here.

Since all the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty were here, she would give her grandson a good lesson and let the emperor taste the taste of disgrace.

"Your subjects greet the Empress Dowager!" Yin Zhi, the chief minister of the cabinet, and other officials had been waiting here for a while, and they said to the Phoenix Paladin in a proper manner.

Although Empress Dowager Zhou was not familiar with these officials, she could tell the rank of their officials from the patches on their official uniforms: "Ministers, please do not bow!"

"Thank you, Empress Dowager!" Wang Yue was also here, and said respectfully.

Seeing so many people, Empress Dowager Zhou seemed impatient to say: "Although I and the emperor are grandfather and grandson, the emperor is stubborn and does not listen to advice. However, since ancient times, good medicine tastes bitter and honest words are unpleasant to the ears. Ordinary people find it difficult to listen to criticism, let alone the emperor? I have been advising for a long time, and the emperor has a grudge against me. Now the emperor is unfilial, not greeting me during the day, not asking me to sleep at night, and even more..." (End of this chapter)