Chapter 1 The Young Emperor!
In 1488, the Ming Dynasty ushered in its ninth emperor, named Hongzhi.
Datong Mansion.
Countless men and horses attacked the city wall of Datong Mansion, and the city defenders fought tooth and nail to guard this fragile line of defense.
The sounds of fighting and shouting were deafening.
The little Tatar prince personally led an army of 100,000 troops to the gates of Datong Prefecture.
As the city gate was broken, countless Tatars rushed into Datong Mansion!
Datong Mansion was lost!
A few fast horses came out of the small gate and rushed eight hundred miles straight to the capital!
Urgent!
Danger, danger, danger!
Tatars enter the customs!
The Ming Dynasty is in danger!
……
The Forbidden City, the imperial capital.
In the Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Youtang still felt incredible when looking at the extremely luxurious decorations around him.
“I traveled through time... and became the Hongzhi Emperor Zhu Youtang who just ascended the throne...”
“The young emperor who is only seventeen years old...”
Zhu Youtang looked at the dragon robe on his body with excitement.
"Your Majesty, this is a newly drafted memorial by the cabinet. Please take a look at it."
At this time, the white-haired Wynn came to Zhu Youtang, holding a memorial in his hand.
Zhu Youtang calmed down his emotions and calmed down.
"Well, let me take a look."
Zhu Youtang nodded, picked up the letter and took a look, but the more he looked at it, the darker his face became, and in the end he was so angry that he threw the memorial down. On to the ground.
"It's too much to bully others, it's simply too much to bully others!"
"They want to blatantly covet my money!"
"I won't allow it! I will never allow it!"
>
The content of this memorial is that after the cabinet vote, it was decided to abolish the method of receiving grain and opening up the middle, which was established by the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang during the Hongwu period, and to replace it with the method of folding color.
Naoliangkaizhong means that after merchants transport grain to border towns, they go to the court to exchange for salt of equal value.
This system is not very efficient and has many problems.
But its biggest advantage is that it can effectively avoid corruption.
Because the entire transaction process is barter and does not involve cash.
Even if the cabinet minister and the border town military officer secretly colluded to deduct food and salary, all they could get was grain or salt.
No cash!
If you want cash, you have to cash it out.
It would be disgraceful for others to see a grain store opened in the general soldier's house or sell salt in the elder brother's house.
So for the sake of corruption, the Chief Minister of the Cabinet Wan An and the Minister of Household Affairs Ye Qi unanimously abolished the Kaizhong method that had been used for more than a hundred years and replaced it with the Zese method.
The salt and military rations have been marketized and can be traded with cash at will.
The euphemistic name is that this can increase the income of the imperial court, but the actual result is that not only the income of the imperial court has not increased, but there is also a problem with the food and salary in the border town.
Because it is easier to cash out, corruption in border towns is completely out of control, and military pay is insufficient all year round.
And this phenomenon lasted until the end of the Ming Dynasty!
The folding method marketized salt, which was fatal to the Ming Dynasty!
Because he was well aware of the damage done by the color-folding method to the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youtang would never allow this decision.
But Huaien stood in front of Zhu Youtang and spoke tremblingly.
"Your Majesty, the Cining Palace has agreed to this document. It has many red approvals and seals..."
"What?!"
Zhu Youtang sneered repeatedly: "Okay. Ah, a cabinet, a harem, a ceremonial supervisor, this is Seize my power!"
"Since my decision doesn't work, why did Cining Palace send the zhezi to my Qianqing Palace?"
Cining Palace is the Empress Dowager Zhou? The family's residence, and the approval of red and seals were the exclusive rights of the two eunuchs, Si Li Jian.
The Ming Dynasty cabinet had a special voting system. That is, the cabinet first drafted opinions on all matters large and small in the court, wrote them on the ballot, and then submitted them to the emperor for decision-making.
Under this system, the cabinet has certain suggestion power, the six ministries have execution power, and the decision-making power is firmly in the hands of the emperor.
The decision-making power is divided into two parts. One is the imperial pen to approve the red and make the final decision.
The second is to stamp it with the royal seal, so that the memorial can have legal effect.
These two major powers were originally in the hands of the emperor, but in order to reduce his workload, Emperor Xuanzong set up eunuchs with pens and eunuchs in the ceremonial department to let eunuchs assist him in handling official affairs.
But now, Zhu Youtang has not even seen the memorial drafted by the cabinet vote. Cining Palace has directly agreed to it through the eunuch Bingbi and the eunuch Zhang, bypassing Zhu Youtang.
The cabinet and the harem directly eliminated Zhu Youtang!
"Your Majesty, the Cining Palace has also given away zhezi before. Your Majesty, you have no other objections. Moreover, the zheji must be sent out from the Qianqing Palace in order to comply with the rules..."
Huaien Observed Looking at Zhu Youtang's face, he said carefully.
Zhu Youtang's face was uncertain, and his heart was filled with anger.
It turns out that the harem's interference in politics has become so serious that it has reached the point of wantonness.
But when he thought of the power of Empress Dowager Zhou, Zhu Youtang couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.
Zhu Youtang, who had just ascended the throne, faced the strongest generation of relatives in history.
The relationship between the Zhou family and the cabinet is extraordinary. The death of Yingzong back then was very strange, and it was most likely the Zhou family's fault.
Before Yingzong died, he specifically left an edict not to allow the Zhou family to be buried together.
But later in the seventeenth year of Hongzhi, the Queen Zhou passed away, and under the operation of the cabinet, she replaced the Queen Qian as a noble concubine and was buried with the Yingzong.
This incident alone shows the influence of the Empress Dowager Zhou in the harem and cabinet.
And the person who really calls the shots in the entire palace is also the Empress Dowager Zhou.
Zhu Youtang's three uncles, two uncles, and a series of relatives of the Zhou family were all awarded titles.
These people either serve in Jinyiwei or in the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army, and they have a tight grip on Zhu Youtang's palace.
Zhu Youtang was unable to resist at all!
And there is one more thing that makes Zhu Youtang extremely afraid.
That is the death of Zhu Youtang in history, which is also extremely suspicious.
Historically, around the 16th year of Hongzhi, Zhu Youtang was deprived of power by the Empress Dowager Zhou and the cabinet at the same time.
First, there was an inexplicable fire in the harem. Zhu Youtang's trusted eunuch Li Guang, who was the factory director of Dongchang at the time, committed suicide after being accused by the Empress Dowager Zhou.
Then the cabinet found a list from Dongchang, which recorded several high-ranking officials who had bribed Li Guang.
On the list are the six ministers of the DPRK and the Central Military Commission, as well as the nine-border general military officers in the border areas, all of whom are from the Emperor Zhu Youtang's party.
The cabinet jointly submitted a letter, and a total of more than 50 high-ranking officials were impeached and removed from office by the cabinet.
Zhu Youtang's direct followers, from the six ministers to the chief military officers of Jiubian, were all removed, and Zhu Youtang completely lost power.
One year later, in the 17th year of Hongzhi, the Empress Dowager Zhou passed away.
The tight band that had been on Zhu Youtang's head for seventeen years was finally gone, and Zhu Youtang began to seize power.
From the inner palace to the frontiers of the government and the public, Zhu Youtang made a series of personnel transfers.
But the result of the two-pronged approach was that a few months later, Zhu Youtang was sent away with a bowl of soup from Taiyuan Hospital.
In the eighteenth year of Hongzhi, Zhu Youtang passed away!
Thinking about the situation he was about to face, Zhu Youtang clenched his hands, feeling extremely angry.
At this moment, a sound of nature sounded.
"Ding! A check-in location has been detected. Do you want to sign in?"
Zhu Youtang was overjoyed and immediately said silently in his heart: "Sign in!"
"Ding! Sign in successfully, and you will be rewarded with the Emperor’s Art of Conferring Gods!”
“You have learned the first level of the Emperor’s Conferring Gods, strengthening your muscles and bones.”
"Ding! Reward 10,000 Dongchang Fanzi, who have been placed in Dongchang, with full loyalty level!"
"Ding! Reward 10,000 Xichang Fanzi, who have been placed in Xichang, with full loyalty level!" !”
“Ding! Li Yiwan Jinyiwei has been placed in Jinyiwei, and his loyalty is at full level! "
A warm current passed through Zhu Youtang's limbs, and Zhu Youtang suddenly felt that his whole body was full of strength, and he seemed to have endless use in his body! energy.
And these 30,000 factory guards are what Zhu Youtang relies on to turn things around and regain military and political power!
Zhu Youtang sat back on the dragon chair, closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Wynn. Zhu Youtang was able to live safely until he inherited the great treasure, and two eunuchs were indispensable.
One is Wynn and the other is Zhang Min.
It is a pity that Zhang Min has been forced by Concubine Wan Gui to commit suicide by swallowing gold, and Wynn is the person Zhu Youtang trusts most at the moment.
Under the influence of Concubine Wan Gui, Emperor Xianzong wanted to establish another crown prince many times.
For the last time, Emperor Xianzong called Huaien, who was already the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, and issued an order to abolish the position of crown prince Zhu Youtang.
Huaien was immediately frightened and did not dare to accept the order. He knelt in front of Emperor Xianzong and shouted: "I dare not accept my order until I die. Your Majesty would rather kill me than let the people in the world kill me!"
>
It means that Zhu Youtang's crown prince cannot be deposed. If he wants to be deposed, he must be killed first.
Emperor Xianzong was furious and immediately demoted Huaien to Fengyang to guard the imperial mausoleum.
It was not until last year that Wynn returned to the palace and became a eunuch delivering edicts to the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
"Wynn, from today on, I order you to be the admiral of the East Factory!"
Wynn's eyes suddenly widened, his whole body trembled with excitement, and he quickly knelt down to thank him.
"Old slave, thank you for your grace!"
Wynn never expected that he would be able to return to the pinnacle of power of the Ming Dynasty at such an advanced age.
Excited, I burst into tears.
But after wiping away my tears, I couldn't help but feel a little depressed when I thought of the current situation in the Zhonghe Palace.
He raised his head and carefully glanced at Zhu Youtang, who was sitting on the dragon chair.
"But Your Majesty, Liang Fang, the current director of the East Factory, is a member of the Empress Dowager Zhou. I'm afraid..."
A sneer appeared on Zhu Youtang's face: "Are you afraid of me? Your orders don’t count, right?”
Wynn was so frightened that he kowtowed quickly: “I don’t dare!”
Zhu Youtang picked up the teacup at hand and lightly moistened his lips.
"Go to Dongchang and have a look. There is a gift I have prepared for you there."
"After taking charge of Dongchang, secretly bring people into the palace and wait for my disposal."
"Retreat and let Jinyiwei Qianshi Moubin come to see me."
"It's your Majesty, this old slave retires."
Wynn stood up slowly, bowed and slowly walked out of Qianqing Palace.
Not long after, a young man wearing a flying fish suit and holding an embroidered spring knife came to Qianqing Palace.
"Report to the Emperor, Jin Yiwei Qianshi Mou Bin is asking for an audience!"
"Xuan."
Mo Bin strode into the Qianqing Palace with his head lowered, and went straight down. Kneel down and salute: "Your Majesty, Mou Bin, see you."
When he just learned that he had been summoned by the emperor, Mou Bin was excited and excited.
But now kneeling in front of the emperor, Mou Bin only felt an invisible pressure, which made him breathless.
"No courtesy, raise your head."
A majestic voice sounded, and Mou Bin dared to raise his head cautiously and quietly looked at the figure sitting on the dragon chair.
The emperor on the dragon throne had a very young appearance, but the nobility and domineering air about him made Mou Bin dare not look directly at him.
"Mo Bin, if I let you take charge of the Imperial Guard, what should you do?"
Ah? !
Mo Bin looked shocked, then looked serious and bowed his hands in salute.
"I will do my best for Your Majesty, supervise all officials for Your Majesty, and be the sharpest knife in His Majesty's hand!"
"Very good!"
Zhu Youtang showed a smile: "Mu Bin, I order you to be the commander of the Jinyi Guards."
"Inspect the interior of the Jinyi Guards immediately and eliminate all discordant voices!"
"Find out those people in the palace, the court, and the royal guards who do not listen to my orders!"
Mu Bin and Huai En were in the same mood, first ecstatic, then worried.
The current commander of Jinyiwei is Wantong, the younger brother of Concubine Wan Gui.
Although Concubine Wan Gui has died, Concubine Wan Gui's family is now closely related to the Empress Dowager Zhou...
A trace of worry flashed across Mou Bin's face, which was all seen by Zhu Youtang.
He didn't explain much, just waved his hand: "Go to the Jinyiwei Yamen and have a look, you will know what to do next."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After Mou Bin respectfully left Qianqing Palace, he rushed towards Jinyiwei with a heavy heart.
Huai'en and Mou Bin were both very famous Qing officials during the Hongzhi Dynasty.
With the help of these two people, Zhu Youtang felt at ease with them.
……
Dark clouds are rolling in the sky, and a storm is coming.
After Wynn walked out of the palace door, he glanced at the changed color of the sky and sat on his soft body.
"Go to Dongchang, hurry up!"
"Yes, father-in-law."
The four young eunuchs carried Hua En out of the palace quickly and went to the Dongchang Yamen located at Dongzhimen.
Huaien felt uneasy, trying to figure out what the so-called gift Zhu Youtang said was.
“Father-in-law, Dongchang has arrived.”
When Wynn walked down the stairs, he saw the chilly plaque of "Dong Ji Shi Factory".
He walked steadily into the East Factory and opened the door.
“I’ve met the factory governor!”
A dense crowd crowded into the Dongchang Yamen, sending greetings to Wynn like a roaring tsunami.
These people are uniformly dressed in Dongchang uniforms and hold gleaming steel knives in their hands.
At this moment, after the initial shock, Wynn felt deeply grateful to Zhu Youtang.
His Majesty actually has such a powerful power, and he has put this power into his own hands.
With the divine grace, there is no way to repay the kindness, but to die!
"Children, come into the palace with our family!"
"Yes!"
Ten thousand Dongchang fanzi accepted the order and immediately followed Huaien into the palace!
The same scene was also played out in Jinyiwei Yamen.
When Mou Bin arrived at the Jinyiwei Yamen, tens of thousands of Jinyiwei wearing flying fish suits and embroidered spring knives had been waiting for a long time.
“I have seen the commander!”
Mo Bin stood stunned on the spot.
After recovering from the shock, Mou Bin couldn't help but feel a bone-deep fear in his heart when he thought of His Majesty's last words.
Mo Bin glanced at it and said seriously: "Where is Qinglong?"
"My subordinates are here!"
Qianhu Qinglong of Jin Yiwei, together with Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu , walked together in front of Mou Bin.
These four people are the trusted subordinates that Mou Bin personally trained. They are all good players and are known as the Four Davids of Jinyi.
"Count the men and horses, follow my officer to arrest the traitors!"
"Yes!"
Ten thousand brocade guards came out in full force, hiding in the streets and alleys of the capital under the cover of dark clouds.
At this time, the royal guards of the Empress Dowager Zhou's line were still having fun in the Goulan of the capital.
They don’t know yet what is waiting for them.
Cute new book, please collect it! Please read it! Please comment! New books are updated twice a day, and new books are on the shelves!
(End of this chapter)