Ming Dynasty, Beijing City.
This is the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and the towering Forbidden City in the center of the city is also the center of the world.
This metropolis, which was built in the Yuan Dynasty, underwent extensive construction after Zhu Di ascended the throne. It replaced Lao Zhu's palace in Nanjing and became the center of the world again.
More than two hundred years have passed since the capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. From Emperor Yongle to the present, eleven emperors of the Ming Dynasty have reigned over the world and controlled this beautiful river and mountains.
Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun has been emperor for forty-eight years, breaking the record of his grandfather Jiajing and becoming the longest-reigning emperor in the Ming Dynasty.
But now, this Ninth Five-Year Emperor, his poor health has been deteriorating since last year. He is often dizzy and unable to do things. The serious illness has made the emperor feel miserable.
Wanli was obese and had foot problems, so his health had not been very good. He has been suffering from this disease for a long time, but it has never been cured, which has brought him great pain.
Later medical experts judged that Wanli's condition was most likely caused by atherosclerosis of the lower limbs, which may also be accompanied by severe hypertension and diabetes.
As a well-known otaku among the emperors of the past dynasties, Wanli did not go to court for decades. In addition to the reason that he did not want to see his ministers, the torture of illness was also one of the reasons. However, being in the harem did not mean that Wanli was unable to control the court. On the contrary, he had great influence on the country. In general, he is still a powerful emperor.
A few days ago, Wanli's Queen Wang suddenly passed away. Although Wanli had always doted on Concubine Zheng and didn't have much affection for Queen Wang, they had been husband and wife for many years after all. The death of Queen Wang made Wanli feel extremely sad.
Ma Rong, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, came to the Hongde Hall. He did not enter the hall immediately, but first asked the young eunuch serving Wanli in a low voice.
After asking, Ma Rong walked into the hall and walked quietly to the inner hall. At a glance, he saw Wanli lying on the couch with his back to him. His body was rising and falling slightly with his breathing. He didn't know if he was awake. Still asleep.
Not daring to disturb Wanli, Ma Rong stood at the door with his hands down, waiting quietly.
I don't know how long it took, but Wanli, who was lying on the couch, coughed suddenly. Ma Rong hurriedly stepped forward, helped Wanli get up, and lightly beat the dragon's back a few times.
Wanli spit out a mouthful of thick phlegm and his coughing eased a little. Ma Rong reached back and took the ginseng soup from the young eunuch, and served Wanli to take a few sips.
After taking the ginseng soup, Wanli's complexion improved a lot. Only then did he notice Ma Rong who was serving him, and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Mr. Fang Ge knelt down outside the Rende Gate to pray for His Majesty's blessing." Ma Rong reported in a low voice.
"Why is he here again?" Wanli frowned. Fang Congzhe was the chief minister of the cabinet. On the sixth day of April, Queen Wang passed away. Fang Congzhe asked to see Shengyan, but Wanli sent him back directly. Unexpectedly, only a few days later, Fang Congzhe here we go again.
Moreover, according to what Ma Rong said, Fang Congzhe actually knelt down and begged outside Rendemen, the dignified chief minister of the Ming Dynasty cabinet. Such behavior made Wanli extremely unhappy. Wasn't this forcing him to see him?
For a moment, Wanli subconsciously wanted to say no, but when the words came to his mouth, Wanli hesitated again.
Nowadays, there is no one in the cabinet. Fang Congzhe is the chief minister but he is the independent prime minister. Fang Congzhe is the only one in the entire cabinet. Not only the cabinet, but also the ministers and hall officials add up to only five people. There are countless official vacancies in the entire Ming Dynasty's central organization. One person in each department has to do the work of three or four people, barely able to maintain operations.
After the former Chief Assistant Ye Xianggao, Fang Congzhe was specially selected by Wanli to replace Ye Xianggao, and he was also a clay Bodhisattva that he placed in the cabinet. Once Fang Congzhe gave up his job, the Ming court would be completely paralyzed. This is something we have learned from the past. Fang Congzhe did this last year. He stayed at home for more than 40 days on strike and strongly demanded that Wanli agree to resign from his position as chief assistant. Wanli repeatedly tried to persuade him to stay and appease him, and it took a lot of effort to get Fang Congzhe to return to his job. Return to the cabinet to work.
Right now, my health is getting worse day by day, and my condition is much more serious than this time last year. If Fang Congzhe gives up his position at this time, the government will be paralyzed. In addition, after the defeat of Liaodong last year, Ming Dynasty is now in crisis. Even if Wanli no longer wants to see Fang Congzhe, he can only meet him once and talk to him at this time.
"Go! Bring him to see me." Wan Li hesitated, thinking it would be better to meet him, so as not to force Fang Congzhe too much and this guy goes on strike again.
Ma Rong responded, stepped back and quickly walked out of the Hongde Hall. After a while, he arrived outside the Rende Gate. When he saw Ma Rong coming, Fang Congzhe, who had been kneeling outside the door waiting patiently, was overjoyed and hurriedly asked if the emperor was willing. See yourself?
"Your Majesty is meeting Mr. Pavilion at the Hongde Hall." Ma Rong whispered. Fang Conzhe stood up in a hurry with a happy face. But as soon as he stood up, his feet became weak because he had been kneeling for too long. Fortunately, Ma Rong helped him. Alas, this prevented Fang Congzhe from falling directly.
Ma Rong led him into the inner palace, and after a while he arrived at Hongde Hall. Ma Rong asked Fang Congzhe to wait outside while he went in first to report. Fang Congzhe bowed his hands to Ma Rong to express his gratitude, and Ma Rong went in first. After a while, Ma Rong came out again and took Fang Congzhe into the palace.
"I pay homage to Your Majesty, Your Majesty, His Majesty greets you..."
Entering the inner hall, Fang Congzhe saw Emperor Wanli who was already half-lying on the couch at a glance, and quickly stepped forward to salute.
"Sir, there is no need to be polite, please get up. Ma Rong, show me your seat, sir." Wanli raised his hand, his voice was low but dignified.
Ma Rong quickly moved a brocade stool and asked Fang Congzhe to sit on it. Fang Congzhe thanked the emperor again and then carefully sat down.
Sitting down and looking towards the emperor not far away, Fang Congzhe felt deeply that it was not easy to meet the emperor. He is a dignified chief minister of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet. He has been in the cabinet for eight years. In these eight years, today is actually the second time he has met the emperor.
At that time, Emperor Jiajing also did not go to court all year round and hid in the harem to practice Taoism. But at that time, at least the cabinet was functioning normally, and it was not difficult for the cabinet ministers to meet the emperor. Unlike himself, he was the only bachelor commander in the entire cabinet. It was even harder to meet the emperor than to reach heaven. If he hadn't sacrificed his face this time and knelt in front of the door crying as the chief minister, he might not have been able to see him. The emperor's face.
"The violation of the Holy Body cannot be fully known to the outside world. Yesterday I heard the imperial doctor's report, and I was extremely frightened. The Queen of the Central Palace passed away, and the Holy Heart mourned. I looked forward to the Emperor's comfort and comfort, and took good care of it to comfort the Chinese and foreign subjects. Hope." Facing the emperor, Fang Congzhe said sincerely.
Wanli spoke slowly: "I understand. The country is in trouble right now. Sir, you can do your best to help."
Fang Congzhe held up his hand and said, "I have received great kindness from the Emperor. If I can repay it, I dare not not do my best!"
Wanli sighed, and the other party Congzhe said: "Since March last year, I have often been angry and dizzy. I have irregular stomach, vomited several times, and my spleen and stomach have been injured. I still have diarrhea from time to time and my body is weak. Due to excessive diarrhea, The lower part is swollen and painful, and it is difficult to sit down. There is also dripping of wet phlegm, pain in the right foot, and difficulty in walking. I read all the documents every day, but my mind is in a trance and my eyesight is dim, making it difficult to read carefully..."
"Ma Rong!"
"The slave is here!"
"Take the case files from the Tai Hospital and give them to Sir for a look."
Ma Rong responded quickly, walked aside and took out the medical cases for the emperor from the Imperial Hospital and handed them to Fang Congzhe. Fang Congzhe took them and looked at them carefully. Sure enough, the conditions written on them were consistent with what the emperor had just described.
"Sir!" Wanli continued.
"emperor……."
"Sir, please come forward." Wanli waved to Fang Congzhe. Fang Congzhe stood up and came to Wanli's side. Wanli rolled up his sleeves and showed Fang Congzhe his wrist. He pointed at the swelling on his wrist and sighed: "I can't see you, sir. I am suffering from illness, so I need your help in matters of national importance."
Fang Congzhe sighed secretly in his heart. He originally thought that Wanli was pretending to be sick so as not to see him, but he didn't expect that Wanli was really sick. Moreover, when I saw Wanli this time, I clearly felt that the emperor's condition was not serious and he had lost a lot of weight. These cannot be faked.
Fang Congzhe first comforted the emperor with a few words, saying nothing more than that the emperor was protected by hundreds of gods, but he took care of himself, and naturally Wan'an said that. After saying this, Fang Congzhe took advantage of this rare opportunity to bring up the old matter again, complained to Wanli, and told Wanli There is a serious shortage of staff in various departments of the imperial court, and he is the only one in the cabinet. He is old, weak and mentally weak, and it is really difficult for him to support himself. In addition, the major military affairs in Liaodong have not yet been resolved, and now the queen has given a great gift and invited two more people to join the cabinet to help her handle affairs.
As for who these two people were, Fang Congzhe had written to the emperor before, and they were Shi Jikai and Shen Hong. Wanli closed his eyes slightly, and after Fang Congzhe finished speaking, he shook his head without comment.
"The incident in Liaodong was only caused by the disharmony between civil and military affairs. I have already approved it before. Due to my birthday, I have a lot of documents and I don't know where they are. I will send them out as soon as they are found out."
Fang Congzhe was stunned, and then said quickly: "Please ask the emperor to investigate and investigate the matter of inviting additional ministers."
"I know, I'll do it when I get better."
Fang Congzhe felt bitter when he saw that Wanli had adopted a delaying policy again, and continued: "Seeing that the current ministers are extremely lacking in scientific knowledge, in this troubled time, I hope that the emperor will give him some help."
"I understand. Let's do it together when I feel better. Sir, you can go back to the cabinet to handle the matter and assist with it as best you can. Don't shirk the responsibility..."
Fang Congzhe never thought that it would be this time. Wanli continued to delay. Just when he was about to bring it up again, he saw Wanli muttering: "I know...I know..." His voice became softer and his eyelids drooped. , and fell asleep in front of him.
Seeing this scene, Fang Congzhe didn't know what to say. At this time, Ma Rong came to Fang Congzhe and whispered that the emperor was seriously ill. Now that he had met Mr. Fang Ge, he also told the emperor what he wanted to say. For the sake of the emperor, Long If you are in good health, please go back first. Since the emperor already knows, we can just wait patiently for the emperor to get better and deal with those matters.
Seeing this, Fang Congzhe had no choice but to stand up and kowtow to Wanli, and then left the Hongde Hall.
Fang Congzhe had just left the Hongde Hall. Wanli, who was still dazed a moment ago, opened his eyes the next moment and looked in the direction outside the hall. Wanli frowned slightly with a thoughtful expression.
