Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

In the main hall of Jiyan Hall is the Zi Palace of Emperor Chenghua, and the temple name and posthumous title have been engraved on the memorial tablet.

The maids and eunuchs knelt here and wailed endlessly. A sudden autumn rain outside added to the feeling of desolation.

The ancients believed that a person should go home for a visit within three days after death, so the children would wait in the mourning hall, waiting for the soul of the deceased to return.

As the son of a human being, Zhu Youtang naturally had to stay in Jiyan Hall to keep vigil every day, and all the civil and military officials of the third rank and above in the court also came to pay their respects in front of Jiyan Hall.

This national mourning requires not only fasting, but also coming here early in the morning to mourn. In addition, various funerals during the period are undoubtedly a test for the body.

Zhu Youtang got such a throne for no reason, and now he can naturally endure this hardship, so he honestly takes turns guarding the mourning hall with Prince Xing and other younger brothers.

It is different from the history that many people misunderstand. Zhu Jianshen was not a confused emperor, and Concubine Wan Gui was not a cruel concubine in the harem. There were ten younger brothers behind Zhu Youtang.

The eldest brother is the eleven-year-old Xing Wang Zhu Youqi, and the youngest brother is Shen Wang Zhu Youkai who was just born last year. It can be said that the population is prosperous.

Thanks to the existence of these younger brothers, other younger brothers can help guard the mourning hall, which in turn shares the burden of Zhu Youtang's mourning hall.

The August rain was slightly chilly, making the ministers outside shiver.

The side hall of Jiyan Hall is a resting place, and everything is available here.

Zhu Youtang came back here to rest for a while. His legs were very tired after kneeling all morning. Huang Pan looked loyal and pinched his legs and combed his blood vessels.

"Xinjun, please have some tea!" Liang Fang, the eunuch in charge of the royal horse supervisor, said cautiously as he brought the tea.

Zhu Youtang took the hot tea cup and took a big breath. Just as he was about to put the tea into his mouth, a tall figure flashed in at the door.

"Your Highness, I would like to express my condolences and accept the change!"

The visitor was Qingyun Hou Zhou Shou, the younger brother of Queen Mother Zhou, who was now serving as a member of the Jinyi Guards. However, there was not much sadness on his face, and there was even a hint of joy in his eyebrows.

Zhu Youtang saw Zhou Shou's excitement, but the other party was his uncle, and behind him was the Empress Dowager Zhou who now held the military power in the military camp. He seemed to calmly raise his hand and said: "Qingyun Hou is interested, please sit down! "

"Your Highness, we are not outsiders. Let me tell you straight! There is a piece of fertile land in Baodi that is untaxed, about 500 hectares. Please ask the prince to give that land to me!" Zhou Shou's eyes flashed. If you are greedy, you will directly ask for it.

The so-called untaxed land is not the land that the civil servant group has been exempted from taxes by the court, but the court's promise to "never start farming" to those who resume farming or open up wasteland in order to stimulate production.

Take Beizhili as an example. When the Ming Dynasty moved the capital, the surrounding area was still very desolate, but now more and more fertile fields have been opened up.

But with the passage of time and the improvement of the water conservancy system, the "output value" of these fields is getting higher and higher, and they already have a very high economic value.

Nowadays, these unregistered fields have become the targets of plunder by relatives and nobles. They first report to the court and then drive away the people who farm there.

Zhu Youtang knew that the younger brother of Queen Mother Zhou was famous for his greed, but he couldn't refuse directly, so he put down the tea cup in his hand and said: "Now the most important thing is the mourning period of my father. The lonely minister has not yet ascended to the great treasure. This matter will be discussed later!"

"Your Highness, I'm not asking you to reward me right now! I'm telling you about this now, and when you get to the big treasure, please help me!" Zhou Shou was determined to do something about that piece of land, and he seemed very reasonable. .

Zhu Youtang was naturally opposed to this kind of robbery of people's land, so he stressed again: "Let's just record this matter for now. It is not appropriate to reward people in this national mourning. We will discuss it later!"

Liang Fang, who was standing next to him, couldn't stand this greedy old man. Now was not the time to ask for rewards, so he couldn't help but cough lightly.

"What my sister said is true. The prince is extremely filial! I have already mentioned this matter earlier. We are not outsiders. We will discuss it later!" Zhou Shou realized that he had acted too hastily and immediately said very cordially.

"Xinjun, Marquis Qingyun temporarily asked the late emperor for the land, but the late emperor refused!" Liang Fang revealed immediately as she watched Zhou Shou leave happily.

"Well, I know it!"

Zhu Youtang picked up the tea cup again and nodded gently. However, before the tea was brought to his mouth, another figure flashed into the doorway.

The visitor is Zhang Luan, the minister of Honglu Temple. This Honglu Temple is an idle yamen, but it plays an important role in this national funeral, which is to provide various funeral items.

However, Zhang Luan, who was only in his forties, had an extraordinary identity. He was Zhu Youtang's father-in-law.

The eunuch guarding outside originally wanted to stop him, but when he saw it was Zhang Luan, he stepped back.

"Your Highness, I would like to express my condolences and accept the change!"

Zhang Luan also had a hint of joy hidden in his brows, and he pretended to comfort him.

He is from Northern Zhili. His grandfather Zhang Di was once the governor of Kuizhou Prefecture, and his cousin Zhang Qi was the former governor of Liaodong. He himself entered the Imperial Academy in the name of rural tribute, so he can be said to be half an official family.

I originally thought that there was no hope for the imperial examination, but I did not expect that my daughter would be selected as the princess, and I would be appointed as the minister of Honglu Temple by the court.

Now that Zhu Youtang is about to ascend the throne, and he will soon become the father-in-law of the country, his status will naturally rise, and he will become the most dazzling relative of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youtang saw Zhang Luan's excitement, but still calmly raised his hand and pointed to the seat next to him: "Father-in-law is interested, please sit down!"

"Your Highness, I have an unkind request!" Zhang Luan said cautiously as soon as he sat down.

Zhu Youtang looked at the tea that was brought to his mouth, but suddenly he no longer had the intention to drink tea. He looked up at Zhang Luan and said, "Please tell me!"

"This matter has something to do with Quanzi, um, His Highness's brother-in-law, He Ling! He will soon be sixteen, so I would like to ask His Highness to marry him!" Zhang Luan deliberately bit his "brother-in-law" very hard, explaining that Intention.

Zhu Youtang didn't know which family Zhang Luan was interested in, and which family he wanted to marry, but he didn't want to do the evil thing of arranging a wedding, and he especially didn't have a good impression of Zhang Heling.

It's just that the other party is his father-in-law after all, so it's not easy to refuse on his own now.

Zhu Youtang, on the other hand, didn't even bother to ask about the person. He came up with the reason just now and put the request away.

"I told you this too early. I'll ask Jiao'er to explain it to you in detail later. Please be sure to help me this time!" Zhang Luan realized that he had acted too hastily and immediately expressed his stance.

Zhu Youtang found that he was like a lucky man who had won five million, and now all these relatives came to his door one after another. They would definitely come again when he ascended the throne, and they would even ask for it endlessly.

Originally, he thought of using his relatives to control the court, but looking at the greedy faces now, he knew that these relatives would only do bad things.

Zhu Youtang was extremely thirsty at this time, and decided not to care about who was coming in, and what benefits he wanted to ask for from himself, so he unswervingly put the tea to his mouth.

"Your Highness, if you can sit in such a posture, have you lost the wisdom of your successor and forgotten your past teachings?" A young old man who was full of energy walked in from outside and immediately accused him.

Zhu Youtang stopped bringing the tea to his mouth, but he doubted his ears for a while, and looked at the little old man who was preaching in disbelief.

The identity of the visitor was unusual. It was Xu Pu, Zhu Youtang's most senior lecturer.

Xu Pu was the second-ranked scholar in the fifth year of Jingtai. He was first awarded the Imperial Academy as editor and editor, and in the first year of Tianshun, he served as a lecturer in the East Palace. Emperor Chenghua ascended the throne and was promoted to be a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, and then served as a lecturer for Zhu Youtang.

Since his parents passed away one after another and returned to his hometown to observe filial piety, he lost the best time to enter the cabinet and worship the prime minister. It's just that he was a veteran of three dynasties after all, and now he has reached the rank of Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and has become one of the most prestigious high-ranking officials in the court.

Now that Zhu Youtang has ascended the throne, Xu Pu has surpassed Zhou Hongmo, the Minister of Rites, and has become the most popular candidate to join the cabinet in the new dynasty, and even the future chief minister.

Zhu Youtang was stunned for several seconds, but knowing that it was related to his obedience all the time, he asked Huang Pan to stop pinching his legs, straightened his back and said calmly to Xu Pu: "I have not forgotten Master Xu's teachings, just now It is indeed out of shape, I wonder why Master Xu came in suddenly?"

Huang Pan stepped aside silently, but glanced at the little old man who came uninvited. It was clear that his prince was resting here, so it was reasonable to barge in now.

"Your Highness, did you know that the late emperor had the intention to abolish the throne?" Xu Pu asked seriously when he saw that there were only Liang Fang and Huang Pan here.