The military was consolidated, but there was still peace in the court. Everyone performed their duties and governed the Ming Dynasty fairly well. Several years passed like this, but the courtiers discovered that something was getting more and more wrong with the emperor.
Didn't Wala abandon his armor after the Battle of Huailai? They also threw away the looted gold and silver, after all, they would only affect the speed of escape.
These are all the blood and sweat of the people of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Qizhen originally said that he would use all the gold and silver to rebuild the places destroyed by Ola.
With Zhu Qizhen's words first, after the reconstruction officially began, the officials petitioned His Majesty to provide the money.
However, there was no news about all the memorials, and they were all ignored by Zhu Qizhen.
This happened several times, and everyone understood.
This kid wants to take it all to himself!
And all officials know where the money is being spent.
In April of the 18th year of Zhengtong, he invested money to build a Taoist temple in the palace.
In July, eunuchs were sent south to Ningbo to worship King Jingping in the ancestral hall and built an ancestral hall in Beijing.
In the 19th year of Zhengtong, funds were allocated to renovate various Taoist temples and Taoist priests were rewarded heavily.
Twenty years later, a large number of Taoist priests were summoned to pay tribute, and auspicious ancient books were collected across the country.
All the money was spent on this.
When someone wrote a letter with fierce words, asking the emperor not to indulge in the theory of cultivating immortals and attaining Taoism, Zhu Qizhen was immediately thrown into prison and threatened with death. Thanks to the opposition of the ministers, he finally saved his life.
There is another official named Xu Jue, who was originally just a small Hanlin editor, but because he was good at stargazing, he got the favor of the orthodox emperor. He immediately rose up the ranks and is now the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel.
It can be seen that Zhu Qizhen is obsessed with this way.
…
"You mean, the emperor is addicted to cultivating immortals?" A strange expression appeared on Yan Ling's face.
"Yes, Grandpa, His Majesty is addicted to these things, and now he has begun to ignore the government affairs. Many things are directly handed over to the Chief of Ceremonies for sealing. You see, isn't this the way to bring disaster to the country!"
"Even, even..." Yan Yan suddenly lowered his voice:
"Even the concubines in the harem said that His Majesty has not been with them for a long time... you tell me,"
He clapped his hands together,
"What kind of thing is this! He has forgotten all his father's teachings and only thinks about seeking immortality."
"Every day I think about being able to control the wind and rain and live forever."
"Grandpa, can that spell be taught?"
Yan Yan asked tentatively. Although Yan Ling never admitted it, he had already acquiesced that the strong wind was summoned by Yan Ling.
"If it doesn't work, you might as well teach him how to do it. Otherwise, if this continues, won't there be a Taoist emperor?"
"You just ask him if you can teach him the method of immortality and immortality, right?" Yan Ling noticed his grandson's little thoughts and said with a smile.
"That's not possible. That's grandpa's secret. How can you teach it to outsiders so easily..." There was a hint of longing in his stern eyes.
Looking at his grandson's performance, Yan Ling chuckled:
"Of course there are ways to cultivate immortality."
Still not happy, he continued:
"But it's not something he can get. Destiny is one of a kind, mysterious and mysterious. Your Majesty has no destiny. Being a mortal emperor is his destiny."
"Something will occur if it belongs to your life, if not, do not push it."
"Yes." Yan Yan lowered his eyes, and a hint of regret could be heard in his voice.
…
After twenty years of orthodoxy, conflicts finally broke out.
The reason was that Xu Jue was stargazing and said that there were currently six people in the cabinet (Ma Yu died of illness, Chen Xun, Miao Zhong, and Gao Gu joined the cabinet), which did not match the number of Beidou. One more person was needed to correspond to the stars in the sky, and the Ming Dynasty could be stable.
So the emperor simply asked him to join the cabinet. Zhu Qizhen also knew that Xu Jue could not enter the cabinet through normal procedures, so he simply ordered him to join the cabinet.
The crowd in the court was excited for a moment.
The Sixth Section was convinced of the matter and dismissed it directly. At this time, the emperor and his ministers completely fell out. Zhu Qizhen withheld all the memorials and refused to approve them.
Li Xian went to the palace to remonstrate, but Zhu Qizhen didn't even see him. After the cabinet discussed it, they could only send Yan Yan out.
It's not that he is better than Li Xian, it's just that he is the son of his mentor. No matter what, the emperor will still meet him.
Sure enough, although his face was not very good, Zhu Qizhen finally met Yan Yan.
"Your Majesty, I've heard that you want Minister Xu to join the cabinet?" Yan Yan saluted first and then asked.
Zhu Qizhen snorted coldly:
"So what?"
"Shilang Xu was originally just a Hanlin editor. Later, he was promoted to the rank of Shilang by your grace. Now he wants to join the cabinet again. He was promoted so quickly. However, he has no political experience at all. The duty of the cabinet is to assist His Majesty in handling world affairs. You Are you sure he can do the job?"
"He knows the art of stargazing and lets the sky decide the direction of my Ming Dynasty." Zhu Qizhen said with a little fanaticism in his tone.
Yan Yan was waiting for his words, and he immediately said:
"Your Majesty, if he really knows the art of stargazing, how could he be just a small Hanlin editor? There are so many opportunities for success in the world, how come he didn't finally gain favor until Your Majesty asked for help?"
"Why didn't he look any different from ordinary people before, but why did he appear immediately as soon as your Majesty asked for help?"
"Your Majesty, he is just doing what you want!"
An arrow hit the target, causing Zhu Qizhen to pause.
He was fascinated by the craze for cultivating immortals, and it was only at this time that he was finally willing to use his brain to think about all this.
Yes, Xu Jue was born in the fifth year of Yongle. There were countless big events after that, but this kid failed to catch them once. Even if he joined business, if he really knew how to watch stars, he would be rich.
It was not until the eighth year of Xuande that he finally passed the imperial examination.
Could it be that he is lying to me? Zhu Qizhen was shaken in his heart.
Seeing the situation severely, he immediately continued his efforts:
"Your Majesty, the First Emperor wanted to live forever and summoned all the warriors from all over the world. What happened in the end? Zulong was so talented, but he could not live forever. The death of the Second Emperor of Qin was not without this factor."
"Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was also obsessed with the witchcraft of alchemists, which led him to do many stupid things. Even the eldest princess married an alchemist by mistake, and the Han Dynasty was in turmoil because of this."
"Your Majesty, isn't this lesson enough? If immortals really exist, they should be ethereal in the world. How can they be easily found by mortals and bestow grace?"
"Then what's going on with the strong wind in Huai Lai?" Zhu Qizhen seemed to have heard some of it, but suddenly asked abruptly:
"I tell you the truth, this is the jade pendant given by your grandfather to help me survive this disaster. Do you still think that there are no immortals and gods?"
Yan Yan had expected it, and he immediately said:
"There have been rumors about my grandfather for a long time among the people, and I also know about it."
"Whether my grandfather has achieved the status of an immortal or a god, I can't say, but there was nothing magical about him during his lifetime. You should also know this."
Zhu Qizhen nodded. Indeed, Yan Ling at that time was just an ordinary old man with considerable wisdom.
"Your Majesty, since you admire my grandfather so much, you should think that even a person like my grandfather could achieve great status only after his death."
"I have never heard of people who become immortals and ancestors while they are still alive. Most of them are just pretending to be gods and ghosts. For example, Zhang Sloppy during the Taizong period had a very good reputation among the people, but has anyone seen him in the end?"
"My grandfather protected the Ming Dynasty with strong winds and turned the tide from collapse. Does he want to see you desperately pursuing the immortal way and not governing the government?"
"Your Majesty, if you are really determined to govern the world well, and if there are really ghosts and gods, they will all see your merits, and you will naturally be rewarded by heaven and earth, instead of hanging with the alchemists here and favoring Xu Jue like this people."
"They themselves have not achieved any achievements in cultivation. Don't you think it's ridiculous that you want to learn magic from them?"
Hearing this, Zhu Qizhen was silent. After pondering for a long time, he finally seemed to understand something and said softly:
"Thank you Chen Guogong, I understand."
"I have been confused during this period."
Yan Yan bowed deeply.
He only felt his heart bleeding, feeling guilty for deceiving His Majesty!
Because, there are really people who can achieve great results while living.
That old immortal is in his backyard now!
(End of chapter)
