On July 30th, the third year of Chongzhen reign in the Ming Dynasty, just three days after the unengraved imperial seal was delivered to Shenyang City, a sea of people gathered outside Guanglingmen Yuecheng, the north gate of Xuanfu.
The structure of the four gates of Xuanfu City is very complicated. It is not just a simple door opening. Instead, the city gate is surrounded by an urn city. Outside the urn city is a moon city... There are three layers of protection inside and outside. That can What a golden fortress!
Outside the Moon City outside the four gates of Xuan Mansion, it has always been a relatively remote and desolate place. Now it is actually crowded with people. Of course, it means that something unusual is about to happen.
Outside the Moon City Gate, close to the moat, a group of people in black gauze python robes had gathered... They were all senior cabinet officials who had run away from Beijing, including the chief minister of Zhongjidian University. Huang Liji, a scholar and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was assisted by Shi Fenglai, a great scholar of the Jianji Palace and the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Wang Zaijin, a great scholar of the Wenhua Palace and the Minister of the Ministry of War, Zhang Ruitu, a great scholar of the Wenhua Palace and the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and Zhang Ruitu, a bachelor of the Wenyuan Pavilion University. Li Guo??, a scholar who is also the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Xu Guangqi, a scholar of Dongge University who is also the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Sun Chengzong, the imperial censor of Zuodu, Xu Yingyuan, the eunuch in charge of the eunuch of the ceremonial department, Zhou Shizhi, the eunuch of the ceremonial department and the eunuch of the East Factory, and There are the imperial horse supervisor, eunuch Shang Fuming and so on.
Basically, all the heads of the outer dynasty and the inner court came to Xuanfu to see the little Ming emperor who was never seen.
Today is the day when the little emperor returns to his "home" in Xuan Mansion with his five Mongolian concubines!
To be honest, Zhu Youjian, the little emperor of the Ming Dynasty, is so different! I haven’t been in Beijing for more than two years!
Well, you don't like Beijing, you think Beijing is too restrictive, and you just want to stay in Xuanfu like the Emperor of Wumiao. At least the cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies can still find people to discuss important matters with the emperor.
And now this little emperor of Chongzhen not only doesn't stay in Beijing, he doesn't stay well in one place. He wanders around outside all day long... From time to time, he even fights with the northern and eastern slaves and the western thieves. Victory after repeated battles! Although this record is not as good as Taizu and Chengzu, it is no problem for Ming Dynasty to rank third.
If the little emperor just likes to fight outside, the gentlemen in Beijing will tolerate it. After all, the slave thieves in Liaodong looked very powerful, and an emperor who could fight them would be able to deal with them. This way everyone can have a peaceful and stable environment...
However, while he continued to fight, the little emperor used the army in his hands and the prestige established on the battlefield to start cutting the cheese belonging to bureaucrats, scholar-bureaucrats, vassal princes, border generals, and even eunuchs in the inner court one by one.
Although he didn't strike hard, he cut lightly every time, making it impossible for people to resist him... Of course, he also didn't give others a chance to assassinate him! But after cutting too much, it still hurts a little!
What's even more frightening is that as the little emperor has more and more military power in his hands and becomes stronger, the intensity of his attacks is also increasing.
For example, the land tax reform in the eight prefectures of Zhili has aroused public indignation among nobles, eunuchs and scholar-bureaucrats in Northern Zhili!
And the large-scale reduction of troops in Yulin and Ningxia towns in Shaanxi Province made the generals of Shaanxi Province very dissatisfied!
Zhu Youjian's action of expelling the Qin vassal from the country made the clan kings feel a huge threat.
In addition, Zhu Youjian copied Widow Xu and reused Shanxi merchants to manage some of the royal properties, which also made the eunuchs in the inner court feel the risk of being abandoned.
In short, by the autumn of the third year of Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian was already a bit "stinky"... and was about to become the number one fool in the Ming Dynasty!
But this time, he openly sent troops to rob several widows of Hutu Dun Khan, and also wanted to create four new "Royal Concubines Ordo" based on the "legacy" they inherited from Hutu Dun Khan. When I arrived in Beijing, it felt like the sky was falling and the earth was falling.
How could this Ming Dynasty king be so comatose? How could we send troops to fight with the slave thieves for the widow of the Great Khan of the North? Is this something that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty's ceremonial state can do?
How will the young emperor Zhu Youjian be described in future history books?
Several senior ministers who originally wanted to just hang out, immediately felt the tremendous pressure... And there are even more troublesome things. This year is the third year of Chongzhen, and next year it will be the fourth year of Chongzhen. Year!
Students from all over the country are already on their way to Beijing to take the exam!
The current emperor has done so many ridiculous things, why are the officials still not allowed to submit letters to the public? And they also have a reason - Shaanxi has been experiencing drought in recent years, and this year even Henan is experiencing drought!
This is God punishing the foolish king!
If you, a foolish emperor, know your mistakes and do not correct them, the Ming Dynasty will definitely perish due to natural and man-made disasters...
Therefore, the ministers could not survive, so they had to discuss with the heads of the ceremonial supervisor and the imperial horse supervisor, and go to Xuanfu City with them to make suggestions to the emperor... Don't go too far, otherwise the cabinet and the inner court will be ruined. It can’t be contained!
But can this little emperor listen to everyone?
The ministers and eunuchs arrived at Xuanfu and saw the majestic Xuanfu army. Zhu Youjian originally planned to let his front-entry infantry occupy the Xuanfu army, but he made a fortune in Prince Fu's Mansion and Prince Qin's Mansion, so They asked Yang Sichang and Hei Yunlong to recruit 20,000 troops in Xuan Mansion. Now they have raised 5,000. The equipment and training are all good. It makes people's scalp numb when they look at it... Although the little emperor is a little faint, he is real. The emperor who knows how to train and command troops!
The high-ranking ministers and ministers all shrank back a little, but the gentry and common people watching the excitement outside Xuanfu City were still a little outspoken. Although the Ming Dynasty had a secret service and had intimidating Jinyiwei, now the Jinyiwei is also under Zhu Youjian. The target of the knife, how much does Jin Yiwei earn per year? What are you doing? How could you not take action on them? Therefore, the Imperial Guards who know that they are not good at doing things do not do much, and no one cares about public opinion among the people. As for the military officials here in Xuanfu, they also suffered losses because of Zhu Youjian's policy of clearing land and strictly collecting grain. Of course, they had nothing good to say.
So now, before the emperor and his knights arrive, let’s have some fun first!
"It's really unheard of. The emperor of the Central Plains went to the Saibei grassland to rob women...and they were all widows. He robbed five of them in one go!"
"Isn't that right... There is nothing wrong with the emperor's use of troops to fight wars, but it is really against etiquette to send troops to snatch the widow of Hutu Dun Khan!"
"Hey, has this young emperor done enough unethical things?"
"It's just that... God can't stand it anymore. In the Chongzhen Year, the drought is getting worse every year!"
"The harvest is not good, but taxes have to be increased... The grain harvests in Datong and Xuanfu, and the land tax in the eight prefectures of Zhili are several times more than in previous years! Are you going to let people live?"
"Moreover, even the exemptions for scholars have been cancelled. It is really unethical to ask officials and gentry to pay the same salary!"
"The ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty is broken..."
Although the discussion was not loud, most of what was said was rebellious. If Zhu Youjian heard it, he would have to call these people evil gentry and cunning people!
However, Zhu Youjian hasn't arrived yet, and his ears and eyes are still a bit blocked, so he can't hear what they say. However, a group of young scholars who came from Henan to take the exam frowned when they heard this - these Henan candidates are all They came to take the exam for the Spring Palace Competition next year, but it was still early, so they traveled around the capital together. When I was visiting Changping, I heard someone said that the young emperor had committed another evil act of robbing people on the grassland, and was about to return to the Xuanfu in triumph. So I came to Xuanfu to have a look and see what Hunjun’s army looks like? How come you can always snatch people from the grassland? In the past, weren’t the northern barbarians from the grasslands coming to the Great Wall to rob them?
This kind of king who kills people and sets fires every once in a while...can he really be considered a fool?
Just when these scholars were frowning, a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats came from far and near, and gradually it sounded like a thunderous earthquake. Everyone hurriedly looked forward and saw hundreds of people wearing red hoods. Jia's cavalry came rapidly in four neat rows. Some of the flag bearers held high 12 dragon flags symbolizing the emperor.
It turned out to be Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty!
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