Emperor Wanli reigned for forty-eight years, and Emperor Taichang passed away after only one month in office. Naturally, he had no time to choose a concubine.
For the subjects of the Ming Dynasty, the last time the emperor selected a concubine was more than forty years ago.
Therefore, Emperor Tianqi's selection of concubines was also a rare event.
Especially after the Ming Dynasty lost two emperors in a row last year, it was really unlucky. This selection of concubines can be regarded as a blessing to the Ming Dynasty.
Although the people of the Ming Dynasty were not having an easy time in the 48th year of Wanli era, there was a severe drought in many places across the country, and crop production was reduced. The "Liao rates" temporarily assessed last year were continued to be collected this year, and there was a strong tendency to become a fixed tax.
But this did not affect their enthusiasm for sending their daughter to the palace.
The Ming Dynasty was also the only dynasty that insisted on selecting its queen from the common people.
Wang Wei, the father of the Wanli Emperor and Empress, was originally the deputy envoy (nineth grade) of the Wensi Academy under the Ministry of Industry, and was later named "Yongnian Bo".
Even though Wang Wei, the abbot of the state, was just an inconspicuous official, among the many abbots of the Ming Dynasty, he was already of a high origin, and at least he still had an official position.
Most heads of state are just scholars and have no official positions.
Li Wei, the father of Wanli's mother, Empress Dowager Li, was just a mason, and was eventually named Wu Qingbo.
However, Li Wei was a miser and extremely greedy for money. Emperor Wanli probably followed his grandfather's greedy nature.
Let alone a queen, even if she is chosen as a concubine, if she is favored by the emperor, she will still prosper.
Concubine Zheng’s father, Zheng Chengxian, came from a poor family.
Before she entered the palace, she was sold to a filial piety as a concubine because her family was poor.
At this time, there was a talent show in the palace, and the naturally beautiful Zheng wanted to change her destiny by entering the palace.
But at this time, she accepted Xiaolian's money and had already spent some money because her father was ill. Fortunately, Xiaolian was also a loyal person. Seeing this situation, she couldn't help but feel compassion and was willing to break the marriage without blaming the original betrothal.
Nowadays, although the Zheng family has declined in the circle of nobles, in the eyes of ordinary people, it is like a chicken or a dog rising to heaven.
The selection of concubines in the Ming Dynasty is a real "Cinderella fairy tale" and a shortcut for many poor families to change their destiny.
So as soon as the news spread, 5,000 ladies were quickly gathered.
Of course, it is not easy to stand out from so many people.
Ming Dynasty's post-selection process goes through eight rounds, and these 5,000 people only passed the first round of auditions.
Generally speaking, as long as you are not a loser, there is no problem in passing the audition; even if you are a loser, you can get into the list of 5,000 people with just a little money, but there is no point in doing so.
Because there are still 7 rounds left.
The eunuch will then be responsible for the second round of primaries.
Everyone gathered together, and the eunuch lined up the ladies in a row, sorted them by age, looked at them one by one, and eliminated those who were slightly taller, shorter, fatter, or thinner.
A thousand people will be eliminated in the primary election.
Next comes the third round of selection.
On the second day of the primary election, the ladies who passed the test continued to line up. The eunuchs used very picky standards to carefully examine each person's facial features, hair, skin, and of course their "measurements". As long as there was one violation, they would be "stepped aside."
Then everyone is asked to report their family status, name, age, etc. to check their timbre and manners, and eliminate those with rough voices, unclear speech, and poor manners.
Another 2,000 people were screened out this round.
Then there are the fourth-round picks.
The eunuchs used rulers to carefully measure the ladies' hands and feet, and then asked them to walk dozens of "stage steps" to see their posture and charm.
As a result, those with big feet, thick wrists, and bad manners were eliminated again.
In the end, a thousand beauties were left and summoned into the palace to continue participating in the next round.
At this point, the mission of the eunuchs was completed.
The fifth round is staying in the palace.
The old maids in the palace were separately arranged to "lead the beauties to the secret room one by one, explore their breasts, smell their armpits, and feel their texture" for physical examination, and 300 of them were determined to be the maids selected to stay in the palace.
The sixth round is the Jin concubine.
These three hundred beauties staying in the palace were observed in detail for a month by the emperor's special commissioner. Based on their temperament and speech, they were judged whether they were gentle and honest, intelligent and virtuous.
They also have to undergo examinations on temperament, poetry, and cultivation, and finally fifty people are selected.
From the 5,000 auditions, after many rounds of screening, the remaining 50 people can be said to be the cream of the crop.
Of course, the rewards are also generous, and these fifty people will automatically become concubines.
However, most people can only obtain a relatively low level of concubines. Many people may not be favored by the emperor throughout their lives, but at this moment they have theoretically become the emperor's concubines.
Then there will be a re-election, which will be in charge of the eunuch Liu Kejing and the eunuch Bingbi.
Although Eunuch Wei really wanted to get this position so that he could take the opportunity to install his own people, it was a pity that the eunuch in charge of the ceremony at this time was Wang An. Naturally, he would not let Wei Zhongxian get his wish.
Originally, Empress Dowager Zheng, as the Empress Dowager, must personally check the situation, but in view of the fact that Zheng was suspected of harming the late emperor.
Coupled with the deadly feud with the Donglin Party, she is now just a nominal queen mother in the harem.
It's good that Emperor Tianqi didn't settle accounts with her.
Due to Empress Dowager Zheng's "physical discomfort", it was finally decided that Concubine Liu (Concubine Liu Zhao of Emperor Wanli) would be in charge.
At this point, we have entered the seventh round of "selecting three", which is almost similar to selecting the top three in the imperial examination.
First, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, Bingbi Liu Kejing, presided over the examination of the calligraphy, oral arithmetic, poetry, music, singing and dancing of these fifty ladies to evaluate their cultural quality.
Then Mrs. Liu personally inspected these fifty people in Yuanhui Hall based on the evaluation.
Three people were selected, namely Zhang Yan, Wang and Duan.
These three people are the "one queen and two concubines" of Emperor Tianqi.
When the news reached heaven and earth, Mao Yuanyi was also greatly surprised.
Although the Intelligence Department has sent a total of more than 20 people to the concubine selection team, the probability of them all entering the seventh round of "selecting three" is still very low.
Moreover, Zhang Yan, Wang and Duan are all ladies trained by the Intelligence Department.
Zhang Yan is from Xiangfu, Henan. Six months ago, personnel from the Intelligence Department successfully seduced Zhang Guoji, who had been widowed for many years, and became Zhang Yan's stepmother.
Then under her guidance, Zhang Guoji owed a lot of debt, and finally had no choice but to secretly sell his daughter into the world of heaven and earth.
Of course, these things were all done in secret, and Father Zhang himself would naturally not speak out.
Now Zhang Yan is a spy of the Intelligence Department.
She had been training in the Intelligence Department for half a year just for today's concubine selection.
Wang's situation is similar to Duan's. His father was set up by the Intelligence Department to rack up gambling debts, and finally sold his daughter secretly.
Their fathers all have information in the hands of the Intelligence Department, and they themselves have contracts to be sold into heaven and earth.
Although they are all in perfect condition, the reason why they enter the brothel lies in the hands of the Intelligence Department.
If they don't obey the instructions of the Intelligence Department, their scandal can be exposed at any time, leaving them with nothing in an instant.
In order to control them, the Intelligence Department also retained the portraits of their bodies made by painters using Western techniques.
Therefore, Mao Yuanyi is not worried that once these people occupy high positions, they will not buy into the Intelligence Department's account, and may even cause trouble for the Intelligence Department.
Of course, the three of them don't know each other's identities.
In fact, among the three, Zhang Yan is most likely to be selected as the queen, but Mao Yuanyi least wants Zhang Yan to become the queen.
Although virtue and virtue are the conditions for these ladies to become queens, the purpose of the Intelligence Department in transporting queens is not to send a virtuous queen to assist the emperor for the Ming Dynasty.
They need a queen who can charm the king, be scheming, and help them control the court.
Therefore, it is more about teaching them the ability to charm the king.
In fact, according to the standards of the Intelligence Department, Zhang Yan is not a suitable candidate.
Relatively speaking, Mao Yuanyi is more optimistic about Duan. She is more like the kind of person who can control the emperor and keep him obsessed.
Mao Yuanyi and Ning Yuanbo disagree on this point.
He thinks Zhang Yan is too smart. Although he has not explicitly inquired about the details of the Intelligence Department, he may analyze the forces behind the Intelligence Department from the instructions in the future.
Moreover, she has a pure heart and is likely to become a real virtuous queen, who is not as easy to control as other ladies.
It's just that Uncle Ning Yuan was more optimistic about Zhang Yan, and deliberately instilled in her the harm to the Ming Dynasty from foreign invasion and the gentry's failure to pay food.
Even Mao Yuanyi can't see his uncle clearly. If His Majesty is really working hard, I'm afraid the first person he can't tolerate is him, a powerful vassal with heavy troops in Liaodong.
Emperor Taichang almost attacked him before, but this really healed the scar and made him forget the pain.
In his opinion, many of the things Li Xianzhong is doing in Liaodong are no different from those of a feudal lord. But any normal king or cabinet would not let him develop like this.
Only a chaotic political situation can give Liaodong a good opportunity for development.
To be honest, he prefers the Liaodong model to the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty is already very old. Those rules and regulations restrict the emperor tightly, and it is difficult to achieve great results.
So Mao Yuanyi also played a little trick. Originally, all the ladies who entered the palace to choose concubines were supposed to learn some mechanical skills and carpenter skills, so that they would have more common topics with Emperor Tianqi in the future.
But he deliberately did not let Zhang Yan learn these things.
Soon came the post-election days.
This has also entered the last step after the election, "improving".
At this time, Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao had arrived at Yuanhui Hall, and the three ladies to be selected had also arrived in front of him.
Today is the "imperially appointed" day, so in addition to Concubine Liu and Liu Kejing who were previously responsible for the selection, Wang An, Wei Zhongxian, Ke Yinyue, and the chief assistant of the cabinet Ye Xianggao, along with all the cabinet ministers and officials from the Ministry of Rites, have all arrived at the scene.
The ministers had already seen the information of the three people. They were selected from 5,000 ladies after seven rounds. Everyone was very satisfied, so the final choice fell to Zhu Youxiao.
Of course, Wei Zhongxian's fellow guest Yinyue could also influence the decision of Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao to a large extent.
However, due to the interference of Wang An and the Donglin Party, they did not have the right to "choose three".
So now they can only choose among the three answers Li Xianzhong prepared for them!
From Ke Yinyue's perspective, she looked very angry at these three ladies.
Because when Zhu Youxiao marries a wife in the future, he will definitely gradually become alienated from her as a wet nurse. Once she falls out of favor, her status as a "holy lady" will be greatly reduced.
Wei Zhongxian also seemed very helpless about this. He also carefully selected many ladies this time. As long as these people can reach the last level, they must be the queen.
But how could Wang An, the chief seal officer of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, let him get his wish?
Now he can only follow Zhu Youxiao's temper.
Surprisingly, Zhu Youxiao also gave these three people several test questions.
They are a Huarong Tao wooden board, a Rubik's cube, and a Luban lock box.
Ye Xianggao and others all felt that His Majesty was a bit childish. How could the Queen of the Ming Dynasty be decided through these strange skills?
However, they had strictly controlled the situation in the first seven rounds. In the eighth round, no matter who His Majesty chose, he was suitable to be the Queen, so they allowed His Majesty to do as he pleased!
Zhang Yan also played this Huarong Road when she was a child. Naturally, with her intelligence, she couldn't resist it.
The three of them soon passed this level.
But this was her first time seeing a Rubik's Cube, and it still took her some time to figure out how to do it.
But when Zhang Yan finally solved the Rubik's Cube, she found that the other two competitors had already begun to solve the Luban Lock.
In less than a stick of incense, Duan and Wang unlocked the Luban lock's mechanism box.
But when they happily opened the mechanism box and took out the note inside, they were disappointed to find that the note actually had the word "fei" on it.
After another stick of incense, Zhang Yan still had not unlocked the Luban lock.
At this time, Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao came to her side and taught her step by step how to finally open the mechanism box.
When Zhang Yan was about to open the note in the box, she was stopped by Zhu Youxiao.
He said to the two people who had unlocked the Luban lock: "You two, show the note in the box to everyone!"
To everyone's surprise, there was a big "fei" written on both pieces of paper.
Everyone just thought that Zhu Youxiao had been interested in Zhang Yan for a long time, and played a little game with the two concubines as a joke.
Your Majesty really likes to play, but the Emperor did not say whoever solves the problem quickly will be crowned queen.
Finally, it was decided that Zhang Yan would be the queen, Wang would be the good concubine, and Duan would be the pure concubine.
However, according to the previous agreement, Zhu Youxiao will not officially seal the concubine until next year.
There are still more than two months left, so these three people are temporarily living in Ciqing Palace and do not live with Zhu Youxiao.
But then Zhu Youxiao summoned Zhang Yan alone in Qianqing Palace.
He said to Zhang Yan: "The queen must be puzzled why the three machine boxes all have the word 'fei' written on them, right?"
Zhang Yan said: "I am stupid and can't unlock this Luban Lock, which makes your Majesty laugh. I don't understand the deep meaning of your Majesty's move."
Zhu Youxiao said: "Queen, there is no need to be humble. You can never be stupid if you can enter the final round."
"If I give you one more day, can you unlock this Luban lock yourself?"
Zhang Yan pondered for a moment, shook her head and said, "I have never touched this Luban Lock. Even if it takes another day, I may not be able to unlock it."
It took Zhu Youxiao more than a day to unlock the Luban Lock himself. If these women had not been specially trained, how could they open it in just one stick of incense?
He smiled and said: "I thought so too, so I originally planned to show off my skills in front of the three of you, but who would have known that the two of them would be untied so quickly, so I can only choose my concubine as my queen!"
Then he added: "It seems that many people know about these little hobbies of mine, so they are trying every possible means to train these skills to please me. Does the Queen know how to do carpentry?"
Zhang Yan smiled slightly and said: "I have only learned how to be a female worker, and I really don't know anything about the carpenter's craft. However, if Your Majesty is willing to teach me, I am also willing to learn. After all, many skills are not burdensome!"
Zhang Yan suddenly felt that the big boy in front of her was not like the instructor who had trained her before. He was an emperor who only wanted to play and ignored government affairs.
At this time, she had to think of that painful memory. She was sold to heaven and earth by her father. She thought she would end up in a brothel and become a lowly prostitute.
Unexpectedly, I became a member of the Intelligence Department, and now I have actually become a queen as they said.
Although I don’t know who is behind this organization, it should be a very scary force.
Even if she becomes the queen, she is still just a pawn in their hands.
However, if they want to do something harmful to His Majesty and the Ming Dynasty, they will not let them succeed even if they commit suicide.
Zhang Yan was still in a daze, and Zhu Youxiao took her hand and came to a square.
I saw two distinct groups of people standing on the square: left and right.
Zhang Yan took a closer look at the right formation and saw a group of eunuchs holding sticks. These eunuchs must have been training for a while and were arranged very neatly.
As Zhu Youxiao waved the command flag in his hand.
Those eunuchs, led by a famous leader, kept waving the sticks in their hands, shouting in their unmasculine voices as they walked: "Kill the prisoners, kill the prisoners!"
The leading eunuch was none other than Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch of the Bureau of Ceremony, Bingbi!
If the eunuch training can still be barely accepted.
The Zuo Zhen made Zhang Yan's jaw drop.
A group of palace maids dressed in various colors of clothes were like the eunuchs, waving sticks in their hands and shouting: "Kill the captives, kill the captives!"
Zhu Youxiao said quite proudly: "How is it? Are my troops powerful?"
Zhang Yan only knew that Zhu Houzhao, Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, liked to fool around, but she didn't expect that Emperor Tianqi also had this hobby.
Although this is all nonsense, after all, Zhang Yan has not been officially canonized yet, so naturally it will not ruin His Majesty's elegance.
So he said: "It seems that Your Majesty is still very concerned about military matters."
Zhu Youxiao said: "The Jianlu are a serious concern of our Ming Dynasty. I conduct 'internal operations' in the palace every day, and one day I will personally lead the army to defeat the Jianlu!"
Zhu Youxiao's words immediately shocked Zhang Yan. When the Yingzong's personal expedition caused the "Tumu Fortress Incident", Your Majesty must not create another "Emperor".
So she said: "I heard that Ningyuan Bo Li Xianzhong used the "Call for Jianlu" to conquer Jianzhou a few months ago. Successful reports have been received. I am afraid that the Jianlu will be wiped out before your majesty personally conquers Jianzhou! Your Majesty, as a nine-year-old The Five Supreme Beings naturally sit in the capital and strategize, how can they show off the courage of an ordinary man?"
Zhu Youxiao said: "Do the people also know about Ning Yuanbo's expedition against Jianlu?"
Zhang Yan said: "The imperial court distributed 'Liao pay', and the people were miserable. They all looked to Ning Yuanbo to pacify Jianzhou as soon as possible, so as to reduce everyone's burden."
So Zhu Youxiao asked: "Wei Zhongxian, didn't Ning Yuanbo rebuild the captives before and have almost reached the gates of Hetuala?"
"Why has it been so long that no good news has been received?"
Wei Zhongxian hesitated and said: "Of course there is a hidden secret in this, but I dare not say it!"
Zhu Youxiao said: "In front of me, there is nothing else you dare not say, but it doesn't matter, I forgive you!"
So Wei Zhongxian said: "According to what I know, Uncle Ning Yuan knew about the financial difficulties of the imperial court. He only led 20,000 troops to conquer Jianzhou this time. He was using a small number to defeat a large number!"
Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "I know that there are no less than 80,000 soldiers in Jianlu. Ning Yuanbo's expedition is indeed extremely dangerous. He can achieve the 'Great Victory at Gule Village', wipe out Zhenglan Banner, and kill the enemy chief Mang Gurtai." , I’m so relieved!”
Wei Zhongxian continued: "Bo Ning Yuan had few soldiers and relied on the strength of firearms. After capturing Gule Village, Ning Yuanbo wrote several times requesting the imperial court to allocate gunpowder, artillery shells and other military supplies so as not to affect his next move."
"It is said that Uncle Ning Yuan sent more than a dozen letters in a row asking for replenishment of military supplies, but the cabinet has not allocated a single artillery shell. Without ammunition, the soldiers of Liaodong will naturally be unable to break through Jianlu's defense line, so there has been no good news yet!"
After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao became furious and said angrily: "I have long decreed that the cabinet fully support Ning Yuanbo's expedition to establish the state. Why did no one tell me about the lack of armaments of Liaodong soldiers?"
Wei Zhongxian was furious when he saw Tianqi, and thought that the opportunity had come, so he said: "Bo Ning Yuan's letter must have been sent to the cabinet and the Ministry of War. Your Majesty knows that the slave, the chief of etiquette, Bingbi, is illiterate. Could it be that the prince of the palm of the hand has never heard of this information?" Have you not reported it to Your Majesty?"
Zhu Youxiao remembered that his father told him: "The Chief of Ceremonies is used to check and balance the cabinet. Only when the two restrain each other can he control the overall situation."
Now Wang An, the chief official of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, is actually colluding with the cabinet to deceive himself.
Emperor Tianqi was so angry that he directly took the palm of Wang An's position as Supervisor of Ceremonies and sent him to grow vegetables outside the palace.
Wei Zhongxian felt that the actual power of the eunuch Zhangyin was not as great as that of the eunuch Bingbi, so he directly asked the eunuch Bingbi Wang Tiqian, who had a good relationship with him, to take over as the Zhangyin, so that he could continue to control Dongchang.
Although Wang An did not deal with him, he had been kind to him after all. Wei Zhongxian originally wanted to spare his life.
But at this time, Keshi said: "Wang An has a very close relationship with the Donglin Party. Now the court is full of Donglin Party members. Aren't you afraid that one day he will make a comeback?"
So Wei Zhongxian sent Wang An to Nanhaizi outside the palace to grow vegetables, and asked the eunuch Liu Chao, who had a grudge against Wang An, to get rid of Wang An.
Emperor Tianqi even ordered Ye Xianggao, the chief minister of the cabinet, to quickly allocate supplies from Liaodong to help Li Xianzhong destroy Jianzhou.
The emperor issued the decree, and the cabinet had to distribute it, but they were unwilling to distribute this batch of materials to Li Xianzhong.
At this time, news came that Nurhachi was seriously ill, there was internal strife in Jianzhou, and Daishan was establishing himself in North Korea.
Ye Xianggao felt that Jianzhou might really be impossible, so he decided to appoint his protégé Wang Huazhen as governor of Liaodong and allocate major supplies to Wang Huazhen.
In this way, Li Xianzhong restrained Jianzhou's main force, and Wang Huazhen happened to send troops to capture Jianzhou's weakly defended Kuandian area. He was even able to capture Hetuala before Li Xianzhong, and took the lead in destroying Jianzhou.
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(End of chapter)
