These sudden appearance of flags can be said to be both unexpected and reasonable.
It is estimated that Zhu Changluo was afraid that he would get the "Edict on Clothes and Belts", so he felt guilty and wanted to strike first.
Although he didn't have a silver gun in hand, it wouldn't be difficult for Li Xianzhong to deal with a dozen bannermen with his skill, but to do it directly in the palace would be almost courting death.
These bannermen did not embarrass Li Xianzhong, but respectfully invited him to the prison in Dongchang in the name of assisting in the investigation.
With Li Xianzhong's current status, he naturally wouldn't waste time talking to these little characters who work under him.
Anyway, now that it’s here, let’s make peace with it!
Although the Dongchang has just been re-opened, there must be people from the Intelligence Department inside, and the news of his imprisonment will soon spread back to Mao Yuanyi.
However, I was indeed careless this time. I had been guarding against those Donglin Party trolls who were secretly making trouble, but I underestimated Zhu Changluo, the "January Emperor."
Wanli's summons was indeed very strange. He just didn't expect Zhu Changluo to dare to attack him directly.
Isn't he afraid that Liaodong will be completely in chaos?
Or maybe this guy is just ignorant and fearless?
The eunuch of the East Factory Palm Print is also called the "Factory Supervisor". Although his rank is not high, he is only a member of the fourth rank.
But it is an extremely important position, equivalent to being the emperor's eyes and ears, and monitoring all officials.
It is usually held concurrently by the eunuch Bingbi of the Supervisor of Ceremonies. The eunuch Bingbi who can supervise the East Factory is also the second-ranking eunuch of the Supervisor of Ceremonies after the eunuch of Zhangyin.
There are even some eunuchs who are responsible for rituals, such as Bingbi eunuchs, whose power is not weaker than that of Zhangyin eunuchs.
Although Zhu Changluo hurriedly reactivated the eunuchs Si Li, the number of eunuchs Bingbi was not satisfied.
After all, only his eldest companion, Wang An, is qualified to enter the ceremonial department.
Although Li Jinzhong was very good at it, he didn't know a few Chinese characters, so he was definitely not qualified to enter the Chief Ceremony Supervisor.
It was impossible for him to hand over Dongchang to Cui Wensheng, the eunuch of Bingbi.
Therefore, although Dongchang is under the eunuch Wang An, the actual helmsman is Li Jinzhong.
Li Jinzhong is now the eunuch in charge of Ciqing Palace, and his identity and status have been rising along the way.
Zhu Changluo still attaches great importance to Li Xianzhong. His identity is not only a side general, but also a popular figure among the powerful circles in the capital.
Li Jinzhong held a wooden box in his hand and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, we have inspected the longevity lock given to Uncle Ning Yuan, and indeed found a piece of silk in the interlayer of the box."
"But it's not a posthumous edict. It just tells the inside story of how Uncle Ning Yuan's biological father, Li Rusong, was killed by the Mongols who were united by civil and military forces in the court."
Soon a piece of bright yellow silk was presented to Zhu Changluo's hands.
At that time, the Li family in Liaodong was extremely domineering, and Zhu Changluo had long heard about it.
When his teachers gave lectures to him in the East Palace, they also mentioned the dangers of feudal separatism and took the Li family of Liaodong as a negative example.
But between the lines of the silk, he could clearly feel his father's deep regret.
In the past twenty years, due to the decline of the Li family in Liaodong, no one was able to restrain Nurhachi. In the end, the Jurchens in Jianzhou rose, which almost led to a huge chaos.
Now the Ming Dynasty's finances have fallen into the quagmire of Liaodong, and they have been unable to extricate themselves for a long time.
He now even suspected that the silk from Wanli was not for Li Xianzhong at all, but for himself.
Did his father use the suppression of the "Liaodong Li Family" to remind him not to touch Li Xianzhong?
This Ning Yuanbo was indeed the number one favorite of the Wanli Dynasty. His father even cared more about him than his own son, and probably second only to his younger brother Zhu Changxun, Prince Fu.
Zhu Changluo directly put the piece of silk into the brazier beside him, and murmured to himself: "Father is really old and confused. How can I reveal this kind of inside story to Uncle Ning Yuan?"
Li Jinzhong asked carefully: "Then what should we do with this longevity lock?"
Zhu Changluo said: "This thing was given to Uncle Ning Yuan by my father, so it will naturally return to its original owner!"
Then Li Jinzhong pointed to several boxes on the ground and said: "Here are all the memorials that the ministers of the DPRK and Central Committee impeached Ning Yuanbo Li Xianzhong over the past year, but His Majesty has not issued them. There are thousands of them."
Zhu Changluo asked: "Has Dongchang verified the contents?"
Li Jinzhong said: "Most of the courtiers' impeachments were based on random talk without any evidence at all."
"However, Uncle Ning Yuan did collect taxes from those businessmen privately. Most of the others involved Mongolia, Jianzhou and North Korea. Dongchang has just begun to recover, and the agents have not yet penetrated into these areas, so it is impossible to obtain evidence!"
"In addition, there is no such thing as empty pay or false claims of military merit in Kaiyuan, Tieling and Fushun under Ning Yuanbo's jurisdiction. It is impossible for so many important figures whose heads were captured and killed the Tatars to be false."
Hearing this, Zhu Changluo still nodded and said: "My father is so greedy for money. Uncle Ning Yuan is good at exploiting his business and doing what my father wants. If he didn't ask the businessmen privately to collect taxes, how could he get such money to dedicate to his father." "
Originally, he thought that Li Xianzhong was just like those nobles, a jester who "drinked the blood of soldiers" and falsely reported his military merits for promotion by sending money to his father.
But now it seems that his military exploits are real, and he is indeed outstanding in battle.
Li Jinzhong said: "Your Highness, Supervisor, how should Uncle Ning Yuan deal with it now?"
"After all, he has a lot of influence in the DPRK and Liaodong. Although he was secretly taken to prison, sooner or later, ministers will still ask about him?"
If his father really gave Li Xianzhong a "clothing edict", then he would not be able to tolerate Li Xianzhong even if Liaodong was in turmoil again.
But now it seems that Li Xianzhong is only getting money for his father, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to give him a good beating and continue to get money for himself.
After all, Ming Dynasty is facing financial constraints now, and not all ministers have the ability to get money.
Silver is not only something that the father likes, but is also indispensable to the court.
Zhu Changluo just lived a relatively poor life since childhood and didn't like luxury, but it didn't mean that he didn't know the importance of money.
He said: "The Ministry of Rites did not say that there were envoys from North Korea accusing the 'Ming Army stationed in North Korea' of misbehavior. Someone actually asked. Ning Yuanbo, as the governor of North Korea, just came to Dongchang to cooperate with the investigation."
The imperial prison is a secret prison used to hold prisoners. Originally, only Fusi of Jinyiwei in Beizhen owned the imperial prison.
Later, with the improvement of Dongchang's status, imperial edicts were also set up.
No minister can ask what happened in the imperial prison. It can be said that as long as he enters the Dongchang imperial prison, he can only look at Zhu Changluo's face.
However, Li Xianzhong lived quite comfortably here, living in a clean and tidy single room, and eating wine and meat at every meal.
This made him feel very surprised. Could it be that the notorious imperial prison had such a scenery, and it also emphasized that "the punishment is not good enough for the doctor"?
He soon got his answer because he met an old acquaintance here.
This person is none other than the eunuch in charge of Ciqing Palace, Li Jinzhong, who has not yet become the "9,000-year-old".
Li Xianzhong saved Li Jinzhong's life outside the Qianqing Palace, and now it is reasonable for him to "repay the favor".
After all, "Nine Thousand Years Old" still has clear grudges.
Li Xianzhong said: "May I ask Eunuch Li, what crime did I commit that led you to invite me to the prison in Dongchang?"
Li Jinzhong said with a smile: "Our family does not dare to punish Ning Yuanbo. It is just that the King of Korea sent a special envoy to accuse the atrocities of the 'Ming Army stationed in Korea'. This matter is related to the reputation of our Ming Dynasty."
"That's why our family had to invite Uncle Ning Yuan here to cooperate with the investigation!"
Li Xianzhong said: "If you have anything to ask, Eunuch Li, just ask, and I will definitely cooperate!"
Li Jinzhong pushed a plate of pig ears in front of Li Xianzhong and said, "Our family is disturbing Uncle Ning Yuan's meal. Thank you for your cooperation."
Li Jinzhong's move was to remind himself that walls have ears. Li Xianzhong naturally understood it. It seemed that Zhu Changluo should be next door.
Li Jinzhong said: "The North Korean envoy accused me of 'Ming troops stationed in North Korea' smuggling in North Korea. Selling salt will disrupt North Korea's market and cause North Korea's tax revenue to drop sharply. I wonder what Ning Yuanbo's explanation is?"
Li Xianzhong said: "The Yellow Sea Salt Farm was North Korea's statement that it could not afford the cost of Ming Dynasty's military garrison in North Korea, and it finally compensated in the form of a salt farm. If I don't sell salt in North Korea to raise military expenses, can't I smuggle salt back to Ming Dynasty and sell it?"
"As for smuggling, that is even more nonsense. Our Ming navy stationed in North Korea did purchase supplies from the Ming Dynasty and shipped them to North Korea, but they were all supplies for the Ming army stationed in North Korea."
"Catch thieves with dirty things, and catch cheaters with doubles. It is clear that officials in North Korea are engaged in smuggling themselves, but they dare to scold our Ming army stationed in North Korea. It is simply unreasonable? As long as North Korea can produce any evidence that our Ming army is involved in smuggling, they will Uncle Ben will definitely punish me severely."
"As far as I know, some ministers in North Korea often make a fuss about me as the Ming army stationed in North Korea in order to compete for the position of leader and leader. I don't believe that the North Korean king Li Zhu and the North Korean leader Kim Zidian will send envoys to slander me.' Ming troops stationed in North Korea', please also ask the court to carefully verify the true identity of this so-called 'North Korean envoy', so as not to be used by anti-Ming officials in North Korea."
Li Jinzhong said: "Thank you, Uncle Ning Yuan, for reminding me. Our family will definitely check this situation carefully with the Ministry of Rites."
"There are still some things that need to be verified with you. We hope that Uncle Ning Yuan can also explain."
"It is said that when the civil servants broke into the palace at Dong'anmen, someone suggested that the nobles from the capital should also go to Dong'anmen to show their support for the prince. However, you spoke out to stop this behavior. Is this true?"
Hearing this, Li Xianzhong had to give this "9,000-year-old" a thumbs up. He seemed to be looking for trouble with Li Xianzhong, but in fact, he intended to give Li Xianzhong a chance to dispel Zhu Changluo's doubts.
It seems that Li Jinzhong really wants to help him.
Li Xianzhong said: "This statement is not accurate. I did not stop others from going to Dong'anmen to break into the palace. I just analyzed the matter."
"As a noble of the Ming Dynasty, I am deeply favored by the emperor. Naturally, I am loyal to the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty. Both your majesty and the prince are the objects of our allegiance."
"Although we have hereditary and irreplaceable titles, we are still ministers of the Ming Dynasty. This kind of intrusion into the palace is tantamount to forcing the palace. Xianzhong just feels that as ministers, we should not interfere with the imperial power. This is the duty that ministers should abide by. .”
Later, Li Xianzhong explained his accusations of colluding with foreigners, lying about military achievements and even colluding with the harem.
Soon after, Li Jinzhong came to Zhu Changluo.
Zhu Changluo said: "I thought Li Xianzhong was a military general, but I didn't expect that he was so eloquent. No wonder he could please my father."
Li Jinzhong said: "I think Ning Yuanbo is a very honest person. There is nothing wrong with a minister being loyal to his father. Nowadays, the ministers in the court are keen on forming factions, but ministers like him who are only loyal to their father are not right." too much."
Zhu Changluo sighed and said: "Li Xianzhong is good at fighting, and he is also good at collecting money, and he has made great contributions to the country. It's a pity that he is from Empress Zheng's party, which really puts me in trouble!"
Li Jinzhong said: "From my slave's point of view, it is absolutely true that Uncle Ning Yuan is loyal to His Majesty. Empress Zheng's party is pure nonsense!"
"Your Highness must not forget that when His Highness fainted at the gate of Qianqing Palace, no one dared to help him. Uncle Ning Yuan came out of Qianqing Palace and immediately helped up His Highness and woke him up."
"If he is really a party to Empress Zheng, how could he defy Empress Zheng's wishes in front of everyone and help His Highness?"
"My servant heard that Empress Zheng intended to marry her niece to Uncle Ning Yuan, but Uncle Ning Yuan refused on the spot and asked your Majesty to grant the marriage. This shows that Uncle Ning Yuan is not a party to Empress Zheng."
"As for Empress Zheng's request to confer the title of Uncle Ning Yuan in front of His Majesty, it is more likely that Empress Zheng intended to challenge the ancestral system of 'passing the throne to the direct descendant', rather than because Ning Yuan Bo was one of his party members."
After Li Jinzhong's persuasion, Zhu Changluo finally gave up the idea of killing Li Xianzhong. However, it was decided to imprison him for a period of time first, so as to sharpen his spirit.
Li Xianzhong suddenly disappeared after being summoned by Wanli, which made Mao Yuanyi and others anxious.
Fortunately, the spies placed in Dongchang soon received news: Li Xianzhong was being held in the imperial prison in Dongchang and was fine for the time being.
Zhu Changluo's sudden attack caught them off guard.
Soon Mao Yuanyi followed the previous plan and spread the news to the distinguished circle.
This also caused the nobles to explode. The prince actually attacked Li Xianzhong directly, and instead of following the normal procedure, he was directly sent to prison.
At this time, the honorable circle was also divided into two factions.
A group of people represented by Chengguo Gong Zhu Chunchen believed that if they were indifferent to Ning Yuanbo's matter, not only would North Korea's business be ruined.
There is no guarantee that there will not be a second or third Li Xianzhong.
The British public minister Zhang Weixian advocated waiting and seeing the situation before talking.
After all, they don't understand the situation now, and it will be difficult to solve the problem if they act rashly.
Just as they were hesitating, news of the death of Emperor Wanli came.
On April 21, the forty-eighth year of Wanli, Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun, the longest reigning emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty, died of illness in the Qianqing Palace.
However, since Wanli's health had been in poor health before, everyone was still mentally prepared.
The Ministry of Rites issued an obituary notice the next day.
The people of the capital once again wore mourning clothes and were forced to abide by various taboos.
After all, Emperor Wanli was less than 60 years old this year, and his death was still very sudden for ordinary Ming people.
They all felt that the Ming Dynasty was unfavorable. The queen died just last year, and now the emperor died.
There is no end to this mourning.
At this time, Li Xianzhong was almost forgotten by the nobles.
A country cannot live without a king for a day. On the first day of May, Prince Zhu Changluo officially held a succession ceremony and became the fourteenth emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Changluo issued an edict to name the new dynasty "Taichang", which will be officially launched in January next year.
He soon gave his father Wanli the honorary title: Fan Tianhe, Daozhe, Sudun, Jian Guang, Wen Wu, An Ren, Zhi Xiaoxian Emperor.
He also posthumously named his biological mother Wang as Xiaojing, Wen Yijing, Zhenci, and Yinsheng Queen.
When the new emperor ascended the throne, in addition to the traditional amnesty for the world, Emperor Taichang Zhu Changluo also allocated one million taels of silver from his internal funds to make up for the military pay (mainly Liaodong) and rewards owed to various towns over the years.
It even issued an edict to abolish the various mine supervisors and tax envoys established during the Wanli period.
Of course, the Hongtoushan copper mine in Liaodong is excepted, because the ownership of this copper mine belongs to Ye He, but it was handed over to Ningyuan Bo Li Xianzhong to operate, and its income was given to the emperor's internal funds, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the governor of Liaodong.
Naturally, it is impossible not to lose this income.
So the mine supervisor here became the only remaining mine supervisor.
Since the filling of the vacancies of officials in the capital had been completed before, Emperor Taichang only ordered that all the vacant officials of the local generals should be filled.
He also canceled the previous penalty of suspension of pay for officials who broke into the palace, and added Liu Yijing and Xiong Tingbi to the cabinet.
These series of measures taken by Emperor Taichang Zhu Changluo are called the "Taichang New Deal".
Relying on the internal funds collected by Emperor Wanli over the years, Zhu Changluo quickly regained the hearts and minds of the country.
Both the frontier soldiers and officials inside and outside the capital praised him, which made Zhu Changluo quickly expand.
After Zhu Changluo became emperor, Li Xuanshi (there were two Xuanshi surnamed Li in Zhu Changluo's harem, respectively called "East Li" and "Xi Li", the Li Xuanshi mentioned here is the most favored "Xi Li") moved in with him. In the Qianqing Palace, her ambitions expanded rapidly and she asked Zhu Changluo to make her the queen.
Zhu Changluo had no choice but to convene the ministers to discuss and planned to make Li Xuanshi the imperial concubine.
Li Xuanshi and the emperor's eldest son Zhu Youxiao hid behind the curtain and eavesdropped.
When she heard that Zhu Changluo refused to make her the queen, she actually pushed Zhu Youxiao out and asked Zhu Youxiao to say to Zhu Changluo: "I want to make Li Xuan the queen."
Fortunately, Emperor Taichang Zhu Changluo was still somewhat sober at this time and did not agree.
But this scene made all the ministers dumbfounded. How dare a small servant to directly interfere in the government affairs?
Even though Emperor Wanli loved Concubine Zheng so much, Concubine Zheng was never seen openly interfering in politics directly in front of the ministers?
What surprised them even more was that the seemingly wise and mighty Emperor Zhu Changluo of Taichang actually had "tracheitis".
Is it a big deal that Li Xuanshi is going to become the queen?
However, they could not directly embarrass Emperor Taichang, so Sun Ruyou, the Minister of Rites, suggested that the posthumous titles of the two queen mothers and deceased concubines should be determined first, and the canonization should be carried out after the funeral of Emperor Daxing. As a result, the canonization of Li Xuanshi was delayed. .
Although she lived in Qianqing Palace, she was still just an optional attendant.
Therefore, she often had quarrels with Emperor Taichang. After many visits, Emperor Taichang began to alienate Li Xuanshi.
At this time, in order to ease her relationship with Emperor Taichang, Empress Dowager Zheng said that she would choose a new concubine for the new emperor as soon as Wanli's mourning period was over.
In order to relieve Emperor Taichang's fatigue, Empress Dowager Zheng presented eight stunning beauties she had found in Jiangnan.
Zhu Changluo and Li Xuanshi were having a conflict, and they lacked a place to vent.
When he saw these Jiangnan beauties, he could no longer hold himself back.
I saw a group of beauties wearing lavender silk dresses appearing in front of me. The skirts swayed gently with their steps, like elegant clouds.
Especially the woman who leads the dance is the best in the world.
Her figure was as graceful as the most outstanding work of nature. The slender waist and plump breasts formed perfect curves, making Zhu Changluo unable to look away. Her slender arms and well-proportioned legs show off her elegant figure, and every movement is as light and rhythmic as a dance.
Her hair was as smooth as silk and spread over her shoulders, shimmering with black luster. Those gently flowing hair swayed with her gait, adding a bit of her unique charm.
When Queen Mother Zheng saw Zhu Changluo's nymphomaniac look, she knew she had given the right gift.
In the past, Zhu Changluo had been suppressed for a long time, and naturally he could only look forward to his favors. Although he got better later, he did not dare to ask for peace of mind under the prestige. Now that he has ascended the throne and is praised by many ministers, he feels even better about himself.
In addition, these women were carefully selected and were best at charming people's hearts. Zhu Changluo soon fell for them.
He began to indulge in the bed,
After all, the prince is almost forty, and his body is not too strong, so he cannot withstand such a torment.
Depression soon set in.
At this time, his chief eunuch Wang An advised: "Your Majesty is responsible for the Ming Dynasty now, so you must take care of yourself!"
Under Wang An's persuasion, Zhu Changluo began to summon imperial doctors to diagnose and treat him.
But at this time, Li Jinzhong said: "The imperial physician must have medicine in his hands that can make your Majesty..."
This "9,000-year-old" man has not been clean since childhood. He has married a wife and even had a daughter. He was a eunuch who owed a lot of debt and had no choice but to commit suicide and find a way to the palace to become a eunuch.
Naturally, he knows more about this matter between men and women than ordinary eunuchs.
Under Li Jinzhong's instigation, Zhu Changluo directly asked the imperial doctor for aphrodisiacs.
At this time, His Majesty's body was already very weak, and the imperial doctor did not dare to prescribe him any more aphrodisiacs.
However, this matter was found out by Cui Wensheng, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, Bingbi.
He was also in charge of the imperial pharmacy. Under the instruction of Empress Dowager Zheng, he secretly prepared aphrodisiacs and gave them to Li Jinzhong.
Since Li Jinzhong had never entered the "Nei Shu Tang" and was illiterate, he could not enter the Li Jian at all.
He knew that if he wanted to make an exception and enter the ceremonial prison, he had to work hard to please His Majesty.
So he took the risk and offered aphrodisiac to His Majesty.
With the help of the medicine, Zhu Changluo quickly regained his prominence.
However, this was an overdraft of energy. On May 12th, Emperor Taichang actually fainted when he went to court, which frightened the officials.
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