Chapter 305: Become a faint king
Yuyuan.
This place was originally the property of Wei Guogong, but now it has been temporarily conquered as Zhu Houzhao's residence.
The Forbidden City in Nanjing was in disrepair for a long time. Except for a few eunuchs who stayed behind, it was basically not popular. Zhu Houzhao could not spend any more manpower and financial resources to renovate the Forbidden City in Nanjing, so he temporarily stayed in Yuyuan.
At that time, Li Zan, the Minister of War in Nanjing who held the military power in Nanjing, Yu Jing, the Nanjing garrison eunuch, and Xu Pengju, Duke of Wei, all gathered here.
The governor Wu Wending and the governor Dai Jin, who were directly in charge of local affairs in southern Zhili, also rushed to Nanjing to wait for Zhu Houzhao's summons.
For officials in Nanjing, Zhu Houzhao's sudden appearance was a real shock.
Frankly speaking, the emperor has been away in the capital for more than ten years, and these officials in Nanjing are living a life of luxury. Moreover, as the empire has opened up the sea in recent years, these powerful people in Nanjing have naturally made a lot of money. Money, everyone can be considered fat and oily.
The decoration of Zhu Houzhao's suddenly collapsed Yuyuan Garden far surpassed that of his own Royal West Garden. Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but laugh at Wei Guogong Xu Pengju who was the real rich man. Naturally, Xu Pengju could only say that these were gifts from the emperor, and he was afraid that Zhu Houzhao would not be the only one. Not happy, his house was ransacked.
"This platinum and diamond-encrusted toilet is really unaccustomed to use. There is also this gilt silver agate grate and an emerald white jade bowl. Duke Wei, Duke Wei, you have to thank the Ming Dynasty that the country is still strong and the people are prosperous. Otherwise, you are a pile of gold." Jade’s Yuyuan will also become a place full of spider webs!”
Zhu Houzhao waited for other officials to come to Nanjing one after another. These days, he only rested briefly in Yuyuan, so he started chatting with Xu Pengju.
Zhu Houzhao didn't know much about Xu Pengju. He only knew that in the 24th year of Jiajing's reign in history, there was a mutiny in Nanjing's Zhenwu Camp. Rat-like characters.
And now, Xu Pengju came to Zhu Houzhao in the same way. Hearing what Zhu Houzhao said, he was so frightened that he broke into a sweat. Although he was in Nanjing, he also knew that the current emperor, Zhu Houzhao, was a famous murderer. Several nobles had already fallen. He was really worried that Emperor Zhu Houzhao would be raped if he didn't like his extravagant life.
Therefore, Xu Pengju just said in a docile tone: "What your Majesty said is that I can do this only because of your hard work and open up this rare and prosperous age in history! Otherwise, even if I belong to a distinguished family, I will not be able to maintain wealth forever."
"It's good that you understand, but don't worry, I won't take any of the wealth and honor that belongs to your Xu family from you. However, your Xu family can't rely on power and skill to rob you of the wealth that belongs to the court and the people. When your father was alive, He took over the people's land and was punished by me. It was still self-conscious. I don’t want you to be like this when you return the land to the people. You should learn from your ancestors of the Xu family! King Zhongshan and Taizu also suffered hardships back then. We, the descendants of us who enjoy the blessings of our ancestors, cannot destroy the country they built. "
Zhu Houzhao said a few words casually. He didn't know if Xu Pengju could listen to it, but it was always necessary to say it. In any dynasty, it is inevitable that there will be some heroes and nobles left behind. When they conquer the country, they are naturally the dynasty. Heroes, but now when defending the country, they are often a burden to the empire.
In order to support these meritorious officials and their descendants, the court also had to increase a large amount of expenditure, just like the royal family.
Zhu Houzhao's current status determines that he cannot, like Li Zicheng, directly eliminate all these feudal princes and nobles regardless of the reason. Not only in terms of emotions, but also from the perspective of his own imperial power interests, these feudal princes and nobles are his own power group against the civil servant group.
Xu Pengju naturally understood these principles. After listening to what Zhu Houzhao said, he didn't feel anything was wrong in his heart. Moreover, seeing that the emperor personally said that he would not take away any of his family wealth, he felt relieved. He only thought about how to curry favor with Zhu Houzhao, and began to wish that Zhu Houzhao was with him. This Yuyuan is blessed with one or two women from the Xu family.
Naturally, Zhu Houzhao came to the Xu family not to look for flowers. He came to rectify Jiangnan. Naturally, rectifying Jiangnan would inevitably lead to conflicts with the powerful locals in Jiangnan. Wei Guogong was considered the most powerful in Jiangnan. If he could suppress Wei Guogong's government , naturally other large Jiangnan households will not make waves.
This is also the reason why Zhu Houzhao wants to stay at the Wei Guogong Mansion.
However, through the contact with Wei Guogong Xu Pengju in the past few days, Zhu Houzhao found that Xu Pengju was not a courageous and capable person, and he was relieved. However, he could also see that Xu Pengju was not someone who cared about the country and the people. He had been rich and powerful for a long time. The power of the common people was ignored.
Zhu Houzhao hoped that Wei Guogong Xu Pengju would have this awareness under his own instigation and realize that the alleviation of class conflicts would be of long-term benefit to his Xu family.
Before Wang Shouren arrived in Nanjing, Zhu Houzhao could not reveal his true purpose directly, so he took the opportunity to inspect the entire military and political affairs in Nanjing.
Nanjing is different from Beijing. Nanjing still has the system before the Zhengde Dynasty, and there is still a Beijing camp, and the Beijing camp in Nanjing can only be described in one word, and that is weak!
As for the civil and military officials, most of them are naturally not as spiritual as those in Beijing. After all, most of these officials are pensioners. In addition, Nanjing is located in the south of the Yangtze River, a gentle and wealthy hometown, and it is very popular for civil and military play to be popular.
When Zhu Houzhao was about to ride a horse to inspect the Nanjing army, many Nanjing officials could no longer mount their horses and had to follow him on foot. They had not walked even a mile. Not to mention the civilian officials, some generals were out of breath.
Xu Pengju was like this now. He felt like his heart was about to jump out and his heels were like lead. However, His Majesty the Emperor on the horse was still in high spirits. As the garrison of Nanjing and the commander of the Beijing camp, he could not fall behind and could only continue. He gritted his teeth and followed, but for a moment he fell to the ground and fainted.
Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao woke up Xu Pengju and couldn't help but said: "Xu Pengju, Duke of Wei, you are also a garrison in Nanjing, in charge of the military power of Nanjing, and you are also the Queen of Zhongshan King, but look at you now, do you still look like a military general? You can't ride a horse. Now, after walking for less than five miles, you fainted. With your physical strength, how will you be able to lead troops against the enemy in the future?”
"I, I am guilty!"
Xu Pengju said breathlessly.
Zhu Houzhao had no intention of dismissing Xu Pengju now, and he couldn't find anyone suitable for this position at the moment, so he just snorted and slammed the whip: "Liu Shi, the Jin Yiwei, you drive Wei Guogong to the school ground! The rest of the people are waiting, first Come with me!”
Zhu Houzhao then went to the school grounds first.
But here, before Wei Guogong was sent to a carriage found by Liu Shi, the royal guard, and before Xu Pengju had time to thank Zhu Houzhao, Dai Jin, the patrol censor of Southern Zhili, shouted at an inappropriate time because he was new to officialdom. One sentence:
"Wait a minute! The emperor is still riding a horse. As a minister, how can the Duke of Wei drive away in a car? Your Majesty's kindness is really contrary to the principles of a monarch and his ministers! If the Duke of Wei dares to ride away, I will impeach the Duke of Wei for the crime of transgression!"
Xu Pengju had no choice but to get out of the car and continue walking forward with gritted teeth.
And this time.
The Beijing troops on the Nanjing campus have indeed been assembled. For fear that Zhu Houzhao would be too disappointed, Li Zan and Xu Pengju, the ministers of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, had spent the night looking for peasants to serve as the Beijing troops. However, it was difficult to get new cotton armor and new firearms at the moment. After all, Zhu Houzhao arrived in Nanjing too suddenly, so that the Nanjing army looked like a group of thieves, and their morale was very disorganized.
When Zhu Houzhao rode his horse and led a team of imperial guards behind him, these Beijing soldiers were so frightened that they knelt down in a hurry, no different from a group of common people meeting an official.
"Fortunately, King Ning did not attack Anqing Mansion back then!"
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but said something, and then asked: "Where is Li Zan, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing?"
"Reporting to your majesty, Li Butang, like Wei Guogong, is not strong enough and could not follow for a while." At this time, Wu Wending, the governor of Southern Zhili, who was following Zhu Houzhao, said.
Zhu Houzhao was speechless after hearing this and said with a smile:
"No one in charge of the army can ride a horse, and they can't cross country. It's really a joke in the world. From now on, all officials in Nanjing must run and learn to ride horses in the morning for three months. Wu Wen has appointed you to teach. No matter what the officials of the Ming Dynasty are, Both civil and military personnel have the responsibility to protect the country and govern the country. They cannot fail to meet basic physical fitness! Have you forgotten the six skills of a gentleman? ”
After Zhu Houzhao said it, Wu Wending accepted the order.
About half an hour later, when the sun was already high in the sky, Xu Pengju and other officials arrived.
They usually could only walk around in sedan chairs, but now they were all exhausted from walking, and when they saw Zhu Houzhao, they could only apologize one after another.
"Okay, I would like to apologize to the soldiers, especially the Duke of Wei and Li Zan, the Minister of War in Nanjing! If this were during war, you would be the ones who delayed the military aircraft!"
After Zhu Houzhao said that, Xu Pengju and Li Zan were both very shocked. Normally, they didn't even bother to look at these Beijing officers and soldiers. But now if His Majesty the Emperor didn't want to inspect, they had to follow. There would be no reason to apologize to these officers and soldiers. , therefore, it is difficult to accept it.
"Why, do you really think you are the superior one and care about your own face?" Zhu Houzhao asked coldly.
"I don't dare!"
Xu Pengju and Li Zan replied, and then they had to apologize to the Beijing troops.
The Beijing officers and soldiers in Nanjing also had a confused look on their faces, but when they saw the two high-ranking officials apologizing to people like themselves, who were exhausted from standing still, they did feel less complaining, and they all turned against His Majesty the Emperor who was standing on the horse. Got some good feelings.
After Xu Pengju and Li Zan apologized, Zhu Houzhao looked at Li Zan: "It's time to start!"
Li Zan, the Minister of War in Nanjing, nodded and began to preside, while Xu Pengju was responsible for leading the Beijing troops to complete the corresponding military drills.
But the whole drill process was a mess. The coach Xu Peng could not move his sword, and the officers and soldiers were in no order. Not to mention Zhu Houzhao, even the accompanying Jinyi guards could not help but laugh out loud. And Li Zan, the Minister of War in Nanjing, was eager to find someone. Mouse hole drilling.
Zhu Hou was in no mood to look after him, but he didn't say anything. This phenomenon of Nanjing's armaments being depleted was not unexpected. He couldn't say he was disappointed. He just felt that it was a little more difficult for him to rectify Jiangnan. Nanjing The depletion of armaments means that it will be difficult to win against local forces by using force. Zhu Houzhao was secretly glad that he had made plans in advance and asked Wang Shouren to bring two divisions of the Guards. Otherwise, he would have to rely on Nanjing's army. He was really not sure what he could do in Jiangnan.
"In the fifteenth year of Zhengde, the cabinet reported that the Nanjing Ministry of War had completed the replacement of weapons as scheduled. Why are there still officers and soldiers in these armies using firecrackers with match ropes?" Zhu Houzhao asked at this time, and Li Zan, who was already sweating on his forehead, had to apologize. : "I don't know, but I was in charge of the Southern Army in the seventeenth year of Zhengde."
"Then why didn't you report it?" Zhu Houzhao asked coldly.
"I am not an official and I have no right to impeach others," Li Zan replied.
Zhu Houzhao smiled coldly, said nothing more, and just rode away: "Go back! Officials leave on their own, there is no need to follow!"
Zhu Houzhao returned to Yuyuan. Frankly speaking, he was disappointed with the military affairs in Nanjing. He could even guess what kind of maladministration could appear in the army, such as empty pay, personal pockets, and loose management. Nanjing must have it.
However, Zhu Houzhao didn't want to ask anymore. He was tired, and he was used to it. Even he didn't find it strange. In a peaceful and prosperous era without military threats, it was difficult for the officials here in Nanjing City, located in the south of the Yangtze River, to have anything to do with it. In a military crisis, there is not even much motivation to ask the central court for money, and it is difficult for them to have any enterprising spirit.
But Zhu Houzhao still wanted to know how far the officials in Imperial Nanjing had fallen.
Before Wang Shouren rushed to Nanjing with the Guards, Zhu Houzhao decided to let these officials in Nanjing relax and show their most essential appearance to him.
On this day, Zhu Houzhao summoned Xu Pengju and Li Zan again.
Xu Pengju and Li Zan were actually a little trembling and nervous. They were deeply afraid of being punished by Zhu Houzhao. Now that they were summoned by Zhu Houzhao again, they were even more frightened.
Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao just said: "You don't have to be afraid. I know that you all have your own difficulties. The money allocated to you by the Ministry of War is too little. The officers and soldiers of the guard station are not useful. Even if they use good firearms, it will not help. , I came to Nanjing not to deal with you, I just came to take a look, if Now I have also seen it. At least you have not caused any trouble in Nanjing. It can be regarded as no success and no big mistake. I came to summon you today just to ask if there are any interesting places or delicious dishes in Nanjing. , since I came to Jiangnan, I have to taste it no matter what!”
Xu Pengju and Li Zan were quite shocked for a moment. They did not expect that His Majesty would suddenly be so easy to talk to, and seemed to want to travel around. They both felt a lot more relaxed. Among them, Xu Pengju replied: "There are many unique scenery in Jinling." , I am willing to introduce you to Your Majesty.”
"I can recommend some delicious food to your majesty," Li Zan replied.
Zhu Houzhao nodded, then stood up and took a maid from Xu Mansion into his arms and touched her: "Where is the beauty?"
There was a smile on Xu Pengju's face. If Zhu Houzhao asked him about military and political affairs, he was completely unable to answer. However, when it came to pleasures such as wine and sex, he was very confident and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, if you don't treat the people who serve Yuyuan... Satisfied, I will go and get a more stunning maid now.”
"Don't rob civilian girls! Don't take advantage of the opportunity to make money!"
Zhu Houzhao said something and carried the maid into the inner room, while Xu Pengju and Li Zan also retreated. As soon as Xu Pengju and Li Zan retreated, Zhu Houzhao walked out again and told Gu Dayong: "Send someone. Find them and make them think that I am now starting to indulge myself and become a fool.”
"I understand!" Gu Dayong retreated.
Zhu Houzhao nodded and continued to walk into the inner room. Seeing that the maid he had just touched and hugged was still lying on the couch, he sat over and asked, "What's your name?"
"Your Majesty, my name is Su Yue," the maid replied.
Zhu Houzhao leaned down and brushed Su Yue's black hair on her temples: "Why do you still call yourself a slave? The people of the Ming Dynasty are no longer allowed to be slaves!"
"It was the order from the Duke, saying that although there are no slaves in the Ming Dynasty, we are slaves and playthings to serve His Majesty. We can be either big or small in the palace, but we must behave ourselves in front of His Majesty." This maid Su Yue As she spoke, she couldn't help but close her eyes. Zhu Houzhao's heavy breathing made her a little nervous. She clenched her pink fist tightly, knowing what might happen next.
"You don't have to listen to Xu Pengju. You are a citizen of the Ming Dynasty. You have to have your own ideas. I ask you, do you like me? Then..." Zhu Houzhao said carefully what might happen next. This Suyue is getting more and more nervous: "Slave, I don't know!"
Zhu Houzhao stopped his movements and lectured: "You call yourself a slave again!"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me, slave, I, I, I don't know," Su Yue replied tremblingly.
"Are you afraid of me?" Zhu Houzhao asked with a smile.
Su Yue nodded.
"You are quite honest," Zhu Houzhao laughed.
"Don't be in a hurry to tell me the answer. You have to learn to think with your own reason and think about the consequences of saying this. If you don't want to like me, I can let you go, but you can think about it yourself. If I let you go, What will happen to you after I return to the capital?”
Zhu Houzhao asked.
"I, I have stayed in Yuyuan, I have served His Majesty, and I am already His Majesty's maid. If Your Majesty does not grant me to others, no one will dare to marry me, because not everyone can touch His Majesty's things."
Zhu Houzhao's powerful aura made Suyue completely follow Zhu Houzhao's psychological skills.
"Then what if you say what you want and have sex with me?" Zhu Houzhao asked.
"I will be your Majesty's concubine. I will follow your Majesty to the palace. I will be your empress." Su Yue's eyes flashed with excitement.
"But, it is possible that you will die of old age in the palace, and I will never see you again," Zhu Houzhao said.
"But if I don't behave like Your Majesty, I will die in Yuyuan, unless Your Majesty is willing to give me to someone," Su Yue said.
"I will not give you to anyone, because in my eyes, you are a human being, not a cat or a dog that can be given to you casually. You know, people are independent and not dependent on anyone. People have life, property, and freedom. Rights, people must learn to make decisions for themselves, you can’t expect me to bring you happiness, you have to do it yourself”
When Zhu Houzhao was talking, Su Yue suddenly came over.
Zhu Houzhao also indulged and had another extramarital affair scene in Yuyuan without any scruples.
But the civilization of this era would not think there was anything wrong with what Zhu Houzhao did, and Zhu Houzhao himself no longer had any moral pressure from betraying his wife.
Zhu Houzhao rejected Su Yue's urge to do it again.
For a moment, Zhu Houzhao felt a little heavy. For the sake of moderation, Suyue also needs to understand that she is an emperor and a human being, and you cannot have what you want at any time.
Su Yue was indeed a little disappointed, but she also knew that she could not control the emperor, let alone ask him for anything. When she saw the emperor Zhu Houzhao having sex with another maid named Xi Ling in the same way, she even had to suppress it. own jealousy, face the reality calmly, because although the emperor He said that he was independent, but everyone else felt that he belonged to the emperor. Even he felt so. He could not blame the emperor for anything. He could only find ways to regain the emperor's favor, wear more revealing clothes, and learn to wink. , trying to buy better perfume are all ways to attract the emperor.
In the next few months, Zhu Houzhao completely turned Yuyuan into his own garden of desire and his own den of lust. The maids in Yuyuan also began to become enchanting and wanton. When Zhu Houzhao became less serious, , they were no longer serious and just wanted to use various methods to attract Zhu Houzhao.
Zhu Houzhao also began to indulge himself and began to receive various benefits from Nanjing officials and gentry, including gold and silver treasures, calligraphy and paintings, and beauties. He found that once he used his status as emperor to only ask for benefits without fulfilling his obligations, all The benefits will come one after another.
Zhu Houzhao found that Xu Pengju and other Nanjing officials liked this kind of emperor. When he deliberately acted wildly, these officials were obviously no longer just afraid of him, but also had a sense of intimacy with fellow-minded people. Even the smiles during salutes became more natural.
"Your Majesty, it just snowed last night. The snow scenery around Xuanwu Lake is extremely beautiful. It is rare for Your Majesty to visit Nandu. Why not take this opportunity to take a boat trip."
While Zhu Houzhao indulged in his sensuality, he also met some famous Jiangnan officials. At this time, Wang Xianchen, who built the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou, was able to come to Nanjing to meet Zhu Houzhao due to Wen Zhengming's relationship, and suggested that Zhu Houzhao go to Xuanwu Lake to enjoy the snow.
"Xuanwu Lake?"
Zhu Houzhao instinctively felt something in his heart, thinking that Yang Tinghe had fallen into Taiye Pond for many years, but there were still people who wanted him, the emperor, to go swimming in the lake.
Thank you to book friend Tianjuezhang for the 100 starting coin reward
(End of chapter)