Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

The Spring Festival of the 28th year of Hongzhi arrived as scheduled, and this year's snow was heavier than in previous years.

In the dim sky of the capital, the snowflakes were falling like goose feathers, lightly falling on a solemn palace, decorating every brick and tile with flawless white.

Slowly, the snow accumulated on the glazed tiles of the palace into a thick white. The ancient pines and cypresses in the back garden of the palace stood upright in the snow, and their branches were covered with heavy snow, as if covered with a layer of white gauze.

This magnificent Forbidden City was covered with white snow, and the Forbidden City in the snow looked more solemn and solemn. Especially under the falling snowflakes, the outline of the Forbidden City was looming in the snow and fog, like a hazy ink painting.

The Forbidden City is as poetic as a painting, and it is the pride of the whole of China.

As the Ming Dynasty has dominated the four oceans and marched to the five continents, the Forbidden City, which now represents the world's highest architectural art, is famous both at home and abroad, and has become the world's first palace that is well deserved at present.

The Qianqing Palace was also covered by snow, but the atmosphere at this time was particularly solemn.

The faces of the dozens of palace maids and eunuchs living here were stained with sorrow. Especially when entering the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, everyone walked on tiptoe, for fear of disturbing the people inside.

Cough cough...

Coughs came from the bedroom inside, causing everyone who approached to have clouds of sorrow on their faces.

Emperor Hongzhi has been in power for 28 years, and the whole country has undergone earth-shaking changes. The Ming Empire not only dominated the four oceans, but also benefited the people and became an emperor deeply loved by the people.

It's just that such a good emperor is now coughing and making them very anxious.

The candlelight in the room swayed gently, emitting a pale yellow light, adding brightness and warmth to the dim space. The air was mixed with the bitterness of herbs and the incense of the incense burner, and these smells were intertwined.

Zhu Youtang was lying quietly on the dragon couch, his face was pale, his lips showed an unhealthy color, revealing a trace of weakness that was difficult to conceal.

Although his eyes were still deep, they had lost their former sharpness and light, leaving only a faint fatigue and helplessness, and he even closed his eyes quietly several times.

"Your Majesty, how are you now?" Queen Chang sat on the edge of the dragon couch and fed the medicine carefully, looking at Zhu Youtang who closed his eyes and said with concern.

Zhu Youtang opened his mouth slightly and let the soup flow into his throat through his mouth, but the soup fell on the tongue buds, causing the facial features of the whole face to be squeezed together.

Although he always felt that he was in good health, he was now old after all, and he caught a cold without being careful.

Zhu Youtang swallowed all the medicine, opened his eyes and noticed that Empress Chang, who was holding the medicine bowl, was worried: "It's just a cold, it won't kill you!"

"Why do you always say such unlucky words? Don't say that word in the future!" Empress Chang's beautiful eyes were filled with tears, and she immediately said with a bit of resentment.

Zhu Youtang looked at the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall, and seemed to have seen through the world and said: "People have three thousand diseases of birth, aging, illness and death, and I am no exception. We are already at this age, we have to be more open-minded, and this imperial mausoleum has been completed for several years!"

"Your Majesty, you are only forty-five this year, but you are the emperor!" Empress Chang handed over the medicine spoon, looking quite resentful.

Zhu Youtang opened his mouth to drink the medicine, and his facial features were squeezed together again because of the bitterness: "The late emperor lived forty years, Yingzong lived for thirty-seven years, Jingtai Emperor lived for twenty-nine years, Xuanzong lived for thirty-seven years, and I am forty-five this year!"

Forty-five years old is still very young in the eyes of later generations, but now is the ancient times with backward medical care, and his age has exceeded the average.

Especially in the original historical trajectory, Zhu Youtang would not have lived to this age at all. Now he has earned at least ten years of life. What else can't be satisfied with?

Although he has paid attention to diet and exercises by fishing on weekdays, he can't live long in the future with advanced medical care, let alone in this environment now.

Except for the first three emperors of the Ming Dynasty, the lifespans of the following emperors were not long, as if they were cursed by this mysterious harem.

Zhu Youtang has become indifferent to life, old age, illness and death. He was an ordinary person in his previous life, but he has been the emperor of the Ming Dynasty for twenty-eight years. What else is there to be dissatisfied with?

"If you really have any misfortune this time, then... I will not live!" Empress Chang put down the bowl of soup and said stubbornly.

Although her ancestor, Chang Yuchun, the King of Kaiping, was once prominent, the Chang family had already declined by her generation, and her father and grandfather could only stay in Yunnan.

It was because the emperor selected the concubines from all over the world and ignored her status as the descendant of a guilty minister that she became the empress.

After so many years of living together day and night, she has become inseparable from this man. If Emperor Hongzhi really has any misfortune, then she will definitely be buried with him.

Zhu Youtang's originally tired eyes flashed a gleam of spirit, and he reached out to hold Empress Chang in his arms, carefully feeling the body temperature and heartbeat of this woman.

In the blink of an eye, it was the eighth day of the first lunar month.

Originally, this was the day when the emperor held the morning court, but it was directly cancelled.

"Is the emperor ill?"

"Don't guess, the emperor is in his prime!"

"In the past, the emperor would summon important ministers and princes. Don't you think it's unusually quiet this year?"

...

Civil and military officials smelled something unusual at the first time. Some well-informed officials immediately disclosed the truth and pointed out the suspicious aspects of the palace.

Emperor Hongzhi was a broad-minded emperor. He would summon some important ministers or princes to the palace every Spring Festival, but this year's situation was indeed a bit unusual.

There was no movement in the palace during the Spring Festival, and the morning court was cancelled, proving that the emperor was not just suffering from a cold this time, but was very seriously ill.

As the news of Emperor Hongzhi's serious illness spread, the people of the entire capital were immediately in an uproar, and the capital market was the first to react.

After 18 years of development, the system of the Beijing Stock Exchange has become more and more mature. It not only pays great attention to protecting the interests of investors, but also punishes the other party to bankruptcy for fraud.

"Royal Textile, limit down!"

"Royal Watch, limit down!"

"Royal Clothing, limit down!"

...

The stocks of the Beijing Stock Exchange fell in response. Not long after the trading hall opened, it was firmly pressed on the limit down board by the crazy fleeing funds.

It is worth mentioning that although the famous stock god Li Si lost to the Royal Shipping Industry, the current market value of the Royal Shipping Industry has reached 200 million silver dollars.

It was this increasingly perfect securities market that shared the dividends of the times with ordinary people through stock dividends when the Ming Dynasty plundered overseas resources.

Royal Shipping brought dividends and investment returns to 100,000 shareholders, but the demand for ships has come to a weak period, and now the position of Royal Shipping's leader has been replaced by the new overlord Australian Steel.

The predecessor of Australian Steel was Royal Steel. After integrating Australia's iron ore and steel mills, it was officially renamed Australian Steel and became the world's largest steel supplier.

This steel, which is much harder than pig iron, has become the most popular basic material nowadays. It has not only been used in agricultural tools, but also widely used in buildings, bridges and ships.

The annual output has reached one million tons, and the profit has exceeded 10 million silver yuan. If the Ming Dynasty can maintain rapid development, it must be inseparable from the support of steel, and Australian Steel will definitely become the most dazzling existence.

Although the stock market has been ups and downs in recent years, Australian Steel has become a new giant after Royal Shipping, and it has also given a large number of shareholders huge dividends and investment returns.

After the market value of Australian Steel surpassed Royal Shipping, it became the new benchmark of the Beijing Stock Exchange. Its success or failure largely determines the mood of stockholders.

"Australian Steel, limit down!"

After learning that Zhu Youtang was seriously ill, although Australian Steel was the most profitable company in the world, it was directly pressed on the limit down board, and its market value immediately evaporated by more than 20 million taels of silver.

"Fall... limit down?"

"Australian Steel is a giant!"

"How can a company with more than 2 trillion yuan fall to the limit down?"

...

Since Australian Steel has repeatedly set new highs and is the most profitable company, and many people have made more than ten times the profit from it, there are more than 100,000 retail investors here, but at this moment, they are collectively dumbfounded.

From a business perspective alone, the demand for Australian Steel is still strong, and now that Australian Steel is expanding its new plant, it will only make more money in the future. It's just that today, this stock was firmly pressed on the limit down board.

"If the emperor dies, the sky of the Ming Dynasty will fall!"

"Only the Hongzhi Dynasty can make me feel so safe and trustworthy!"

"If the emperor and father are really gone, where will our Ming Dynasty go, and will it be better in the future?"

...

The people have unconditional trust in Zhu Youtang, and the current reputation of the court is largely due to Zhu Youtang, but it will be different if someone else is in charge.

That's why, after learning the news that the emperor is seriously ill, many people are no longer optimistic about the future of the Ming Dynasty, and perhaps greatly lower their expectations, and even start to hoard gold quietly.

Although many important officials have contributed to the current situation of the Ming Empire, it is the great and capable Emperor Hongzhi who really created all this.

Emperor Hongzhi could execute princes and relatives to uphold justice for the people, he could make enemies with officials and gentry all over the world to reduce taxes for the people, he dared to slaughter hundreds of officials in one day to let the people eat cheap salt, he could rectify the powerful circles in the capital to crack down on usury, and he dared to recover the lost land in the northeast to settle millions of disaster victims... Emperor Hongzhi was not only a monarch with great talent and strategy, but also a good emperor who cared about the people.

Once Emperor Hongzhi passed away, the Ming Empire would decline for at least ten years, and they would probably become the prey of those in power and would not be able to keep their money.

At noon, the "Shuntian Daily" under the Propaganda Department made clarifications.

The emperor was unwell, occasionally caught a cold, and was slightly uncomfortable, but it was not a big deal. The dragon body is destined by heaven, and with the protection of heaven, he will be able to recover as before. You subjects, don't panic, and don't spread rumors to shake people's hearts.

The foundation of the Ming Empire is solid, the national fortune is prosperous, and there are successful methods for civil and military affairs. All officials should perform their duties conscientiously and jointly safeguard the imperial power. Soldiers should be brave and diligent to defend the territory. People should live and work in peace and contentment, and work hard to build their family businesses.

The Ming Empire will surely prosper and last forever, and enjoy the blessing of peace.

…

In the afternoon, Australian Steel opened the limit down board, and the entire market began to attack.

Not to mention that the emperor was just seriously ill, not necessarily really dying. As long as these companies continue to move forward and the successors stick to the ideas of Emperor Hongzhi, the future of the Ming Dynasty is still promising.

It is impossible to completely recover the stock price.

After all, it has been confirmed that the emperor has been infected with the cold. Although the Propaganda Department emphasized that "there is no problem" and "God blesses", maybe Emperor Hongzhi will really die.

At the close of the afternoon, Australian Steel, as a weathervane for the entire Ming stock market, still fell by 6%.

Although the Beijing Stock Exchange experienced another big drop, investors gradually became rational after suffering several big losses and no longer used leverage to gamble on a single stock.

Today's stock market turmoil is enough to go down in history, but it also proves that Zhu Youtang has extraordinary influence, and the day of his death will definitely be accompanied by a sharp drop in the stock market.

Fortunately, in the next few days, there was no news of the emperor's death in the palace, and there were even rumors that the emperor could get out of bed and walk now.

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youtang's body recovered a lot, so he summoned his sons one after another.

Originally, because of the small number of heirs, Zhu Youtang had not announced the specific situation of the princes, but as more and more sons followed, he simply made all these princes public.

Among so many princes, the most dazzling ones are Zhu Houfeng, who is in charge of Australian Steel, Zhu Houxuan, who is also the Khan of Mongolia, and the kind and generous crown prince Zhu Houye.

However, the first one to be summoned was the fifth prince Zhu Houdeng, a very different prince.

While other princes were receiving business or Confucian education step by step, he was not interested in these things, but spent his mind on arithmetic and scientific research.

Zhu Youtang looked at his son Zhu Houdeng in front of his bed, and sighed: "Originally, I called you all back to the capital. I wanted to have a good reunion dinner before the New Year, but I didn't expect that I would be sick for half a month!"

"As long as my father is healthy, I am happy to run around!" Zhu Houdeng looked stupid, but his eyes responded very clearly.

His biological mother is Ouchi Saeko. She has loved science since she was a child, and she founded her own scientific research team after she became an adult. Thanks to Zhu Youtang's open-mindedness, he also founded the Electric Light Technology Company and became the chief technical officer of this company.

Zhu Youtang looked at this son of Edison who was on the road of science and felt quite strange in his heart, but he still asked with concern: "Is your electric light project going smoothly?"

"Reporting to the emperor, it is now at the last hurdle, and I believe it will succeed this year!" Zhu Houdeng answered with shining eyes when talking about the field he is good at.

Zhu Youtang showed his fatherly side and encouraged immediately: "Science and technology are fast and slow, take it slow, I believe you will benefit the people in the future!"

"I have received the guidance and teachings of the emperor for so many years, and I will definitely not disappoint the emperor's expectations this time!" Zhu Houdeng solemnly stated.

Zhu Youtang summoned Zhu Houfeng and others one after another. In fact, not everyone is a business genius or a technical genius, but these people can run the business well and benefit the people.

I should give them a beating when they should be given a beating, and I should give them encouragement when they should be given a beating. Now that I have given them the opportunity to become chaebols, if they do not cherish it, they will only be raised like pigs.

After sending several sons away, Zhu Youtang summoned his second son Zhu Houxuan, a son who could potentially become the second Genghis Khan. (End of this chapter)