"Zhongkang, why do you think there are constant natural disasters in our Ming Dynasty? Is God punishing me? But I clearly have no fault!"
Emperor Jiajing rubbed his brows and said to the middle-aged man in Taoist uniform next to him.
In recent years, he has worked hard to govern, which has caused the overall national strength of Ming Dynasty to rebound again.
Whether it was Dongchang or Jinyiwei, the news they brought was that officials were generally much more honest, and the public was mostly praising the emperor.
"Water Margin of Loyalty" also set off a big wave among the people, just as Emperor Jiajing expected. Although it is not that those bandits and bandits directly became loyal ministers after listening to the storytelling, but when faced with the government's encirclement and suppression, Their will to resist was also much weaker, and they were more easily pacified by the court.
Everything in the Ming Dynasty seemed to be prospering.
However, what troubles him is that natural disasters continue to occur among the people.
Although the court's relief can always arrive in time, and the disaster-stricken areas will receive tax exemptions from the court, and the people can barely survive, this is a huge expense, and it is inevitable to cause refugees, deaths and injuries every time.
At this time, he was holding a memorial in his hand, which was to report to the emperor that Huguang had been hit by another disaster, and requested the imperial court to provide grain support and exempt autumn grain at the same time.
He sighed, approved the request, and at the same time allocated a sum of money from the Ministry of Accounts.
But continuing like this is not an option.
Zhongkang in the emperor's mouth, that is, Zhiyi Zhenren Shao Yuanjie, heard this and immediately said:
"Your Majesty, I am about to report."
"I looked at the sky last night and found that the stars in the sky had changed, but it was not a good omen. I just didn't know where they should be. Now that your Majesty has said this, I think it means that natural disasters are frequent, so in response to this change in the stars, it is God who warning."
"Oh? How can it be changed? Master, cast a spell for me!" Emperor Jiajing's eyes lit up and he said immediately.
Shao Yuanjie shook his head:
"Your Majesty, this is the relationship between celestial phenomena and human energy. It cannot be changed by a Taoist."
"According to my opinion, this is caused by my lack of morality. Some of my ministers must behave recklessly, causing God to be angry and punish me!"
Zhu Houcong immediately believed what he said. After all, judging from the situation of the previous clean-up, there were many scum among these sanctimonious ministers. At this time, several years had passed since the original clean-up. If some moths had spawned, it would not be a problem at all. strangeness.
No wonder my Ming Dynasty is in trouble now. It turns out that you guys are corrupting Chao Gang. Even God can't stand it anymore!
He immediately ordered the ministers to reflect on themselves. However, what he did not expect was that this time his behavior caused a strong backlash from the ministers.
They were already very dissatisfied with the fact that the emperor was always fiddling with mysterious things, and now he was even getting angry. How could they tolerate this?
"unacceptable!"
"Your Majesty really believes what Taoist Shao said! How can the disaster in Huguang be related to the character of our ministers? Do we have to blame all of the natural disasters in the Ming Dynasty on us!"
"It's a pity that you sit down at the front table in the middle of the night and don't ask about the common people or ghosts and gods! It's simply ridiculous to listen to the Taoist priests and ask the ministers to reflect on themselves."
"Your Majesty has acted very wisely over the years, why are you so confused on this matter?"
"We will go to court together to force the emperor to expel Shao Yuanjie, and bring clarity to the government!"
The ministers were so excited that they planned to rely on their collective strength to force him. They must ask the emperor to drive Shao Yuanjie away and "get him back on track"!
…
Yan Yuan was half-lying on a chair, squinting his eyes and listening to Yan Yuanmo telling the news in the court. At this time, he was obviously getting older. The long years since Chenghua had turned this young boy into a white man. He is an old man with gray hair, but his eyes reveal wisdom.
He was used to seeing strong winds and waves, so he didn't have much reaction to this incident. He just said lightly:
"Shang Shu objects? Ha..."
"Your Majesty is a selfish person. His quest for immortality is essentially driven by his selfishness. He wants to live forever and have the supreme power forever. It's just that his hard work over the years has given way to his selfishness. It’s just covered up so that it’s not easy for people to find.”
He pointed out the crux of the problem sharply.
"Anyone who stops him from taking this path will be his enemies."
"Just watch, those who are prepared to oppose the emperor's cultivation will not end well..."
"You told our people that no one should get involved in this matter."
…
As expected by Yan Yuan, the turbulent attacks of the officials not only had no effect, but also inspired Zhu Houcong's rebellious psychology.
In the original time and space, Emperor Jiajing never compromised when faced with the pressure from the court officials during the Grand Ceremony Meeting. It shows that his stubborn attitude was the same this time.
What's more, since he was opposed to cultivating Taoism, even the important ministers in the cabinet would not dare to persuade him easily. The courtiers directly wrote to him, so how could he agree?
Among them, Yang Ming, the Hanlin editor who spoke the most fiercely, directly said that Emperor Jiajing was moody and inappropriate, trusting Shao Yuanjie's skills and writing them in history books. I don't know what future generations will think of it!
This is tantamount to pointing at Zhu Houcong's nose and scolding him. His name is left in the history books. If he practices Taoism and his name is left in the history books, what kind of good reputation can this be? It's equivalent to saying that he is a foolish king!
No one can save me now.
Yang Ming was directly arrested by the furious emperor and sent to prison. He suffered a lot. The ministers who interceded for him were all imprisoned one by one just like the calabash boy who saved his grandfather. The other ministers were also imprisoned. A one-year fine as punishment.
This also reveals the emperor's determination - whoever dares to say that my quest for immortality is wrong will not get good results!
Naturally, the natural disasters will not stop. Originally, this might have led to Shao Yuanjie's revelation, but he directly said that the natural disasters would not stop because the unethical behavior of the courtiers still existed.
In this case, Zhu Houcon actually believed it. Now, all the courtiers in the court realized how addicted Emperor Jiajing was.
No one dares to speak about spiritual practice anymore.
The imperial court continued to operate under such circumstances until the twenty-first year of Jiajing.
In the past ten years, countless things have changed.
Yang Tinghe passed away, and Xie Qian and Yang Yiqing also fell into the torrent of time.
Yan Shizhong also died, and the Yan clan in the court changed.
The current cabinet is composed of Yan Song, Xu Zan, and a new member named Xia Yan.
Yan Yuan died in the 19th year of Jiajing. At the age of seventy-six, Yan Yuanmo inherited his title.
Even the Taoist Shao Yuanjie has died in the years.
Emperor Jiajing also gradually entered middle age from a young boy.
(End of chapter)
