After the New Year, the busiest person in the inner court became Wang Cheng, and the busiest person in the outer court became Zhou Chen.
One of them was in charge of the Internal Affairs Bureau and the other was in charge of the Ministry of Works. They worked day and night to implement Zhu Qiyu's plan to build the outer city of Beijing.
The Wang Gong Factory and the Gunpowder Bureau were the first targets of relocation, followed by the Military War Bureau, the Chariot Factory, the Armor Factory and the craftsmen under the Jinyiwei.
Various supervisory bureaus within the imperial city were also significantly abolished.
When King Xiang entered the imperial city again, everything he saw was depressed and dilapidated, and people were panicked.
There are palaces burned to the ground everywhere, and there are eunuchs and maids everywhere who look miserable.
Especially on the way from Long Zongmen to Yinghua Palace, the Yangxin Palace, Cining Palace, and Xian'an Palace that passed by were horrible to look at.
The more King Xiang watched, the more frightened he became. If it had not been notified in advance, King Xiang would have really wanted to turn around and leave the palace and leave the capital as soon as possible.
However, since the conflict between King Xiang and the emperor was already irreconcilable, King Xiang had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow the Emperor's faction into trouble.
After entering the Hall of Yinghua and bowing, Prince Xiang did not show too much politeness and directly asked the doubts in his heart: "Sister-in-law, do you know that there has been a lot of rumblings in the capital now, why are you so anxious to issue the edict of sin against oneself? Woolen cloth?"
Empress Dowager Sun replied: "The emperor issued the edict to punish himself first, and the ministers forced the palace to follow. A fire burned me and I was confused. I compromised in a daze.
But at least the emperor and ministers have agreed to send Ningyang Hou's squadron back to the capital this year, and then lead an army to welcome the emperor back. "
When King Xiang heard this, he frowned. The Queen Mother in front of him seemed to be in a state of chaos. Even if the emperor really kept his promise, he allowed Marquis Ningyang to return to the capital smoothly and ordered him to greet the Supreme Emperor.
But whether the Supreme Emperor can return to Beijing smoothly is still a matter of uncertainty. After all, there are too many variables in the middle.
King Xiang wanted to tell the Queen Mother that without the emperor's sincere welcome, it would be impossible for the Supreme Emperor to return to the capital. But after thinking about it, Prince Xiang swallowed his words again. After all, Queen Mother Sun was already in critical condition and seeking medical treatment. If she was provoked again, her mentality would be completely destroyed.
The emperor's faction and the emperor's faction had just fought for two or three rounds, and most of the Forbidden City was burned down. If the Queen Mother Sun is really irritated and the woman goes crazy, she might cause some shocking disaster.
So King Xiang continued to test: "Emperor's sister-in-law, you are the Queen Mother and the emperor's mother in name. As long as you don't let go, the emperor can do nothing to you. Why did you agree to issue the edict of sin so easily? "
Empress Dowager Sun replied angrily: "Return the emperor's nominal mother? My current nominal mother is Empress Zhen. Legally speaking, the emperor is now the legitimate son, and the emperor is the concubine.
All the eunuchs and maids in Cining Palace were executed by the emperor's order. All the close confidants around me were completely destroyed.
Before, it cost a lot of money to search for gold and silver treasures to redeem the Supreme Emperor. Now there is a fire in Cining Palace, and all the belongings I have accumulated over the years have been burned. Now I want to win over several eunuchs and maids, but I can’t afford the money. reward.
Now if the emperor wants me to see the late emperor, it is just a matter of words. How do you want me to confront the emperor?
Let's just issue the edict of sinner. At least the emperor is accompanying him to issue the edict of sinner, so it is not particularly degrading.
Next, I can only wait and wait. It is impossible to challenge the emperor head-on. I can only wait patiently for the emperor to make a mistake. "
When King Xiang heard this, he felt very cold in his heart. The emperor was unable to return to Beijing, and the empress dowager lost power. People's hearts were divided and her spirit was exhausted. As long as the emperor can give birth to a legitimate son and then completely quell the war in all directions, he will be completely established.
Then it was slowly grinding, and as long as one day the people of the world could fully accept that the emperor was the son of Empress Zhen, the position of concubine would be completely reversed.
Thinking of this, King Xiang asked again: "Is it possible that the emperor's sister-in-law will always live in this small Yinghua Palace from now on? And Queen Qian, is she really placed in a side palace?"
Empress Dowager Sun nodded: "Isn't it already written in the edict of sinners? I want to live in seclusion and reflect on myself. I will not leave the Yinghua Palace until I build a prosperous China.
As for the Qian family, they can only live in the Changchun Palace in the Sixth Palace in the West. The Zhou family lived in the Kunning Palace and became the empress of the main palace. The Qian family lived in the West Sixth Palace, making her look like a concubine. She was really useless. "
"Since the emperor has always said that he respects his direct descendants, why not use this as an excuse to seek justice for Empress Qian?"
Empress Dowager Sun shook her head: "It's useless. Empress Qian has really lost her moral character. The Supreme Emperor, I, the Qian family, and even the late emperor are all responsible for the Tumu Fort incident and cannot be shied away from it.
Besides, Qian's abilities are so poor. After being the queen for so many years, she still becomes lame and blind inexplicably.
Wang's ability was so strong that he died quietly. You pissed off the emperor, and Qian disappeared quietly after a while. "
At this point, King Xiang finally understood. The Shanghuang faction had completely collapsed. Although there were many people who wanted to go to the Shanghuang, they were all useless. Apart from poisoning the emperor's family, there is no other way to make a comeback.
So King Xiang changed his tone, patiently comforted the Queen Mother, and then formally bid farewell to the Queen Mother and set off back to Changsha tomorrow.
After leaving Yinghua Hall, King Xiang did not return the same way. Instead, he left the Forbidden City through Xuanwu Gate, turned west, passed through Chengguang Hall and Yuhe Bridge, and entered Xiyuan.
King Xiang did as Zhu Qiyu said before and picked out some rare birds and animals in Xiyuan and ordered them to be sent to the Tenth Prince's Mansion and brought back to Changsha tomorrow.
King Xiang was restless, as today was his last day in the capital, so he simply walked around and left Xi'an Gate.
As soon as he left Xi'anmen and entered Xi'anmen Street, Prince Xiang was completely speechless. I saw that both sides of the street were filled with all kinds of rare birds and animals, and the streets were bustling with people. There were well-dressed dignitaries everywhere, picking and choosing.
Co-author Zhu Qiyu really wanted to keep none of the rare birds and animals raised in the palace, and give away those that could be given away, and simply move out those that could not be given away and sell them to dignitaries in the capital.
The dignified emperor has become a street vendor. In this case, where is the majesty of the royal family and how is this inappropriate?
King Xiang quickly left Xi'anmen Street and turned north at the intersection. After walking less than half a mile, he arrived at Xicheng Mingyufang.
The confidant at his side quickly reported: "Your Highness, not far ahead is the luxurious restaurant in the capital, Jietian Building. Do you want to go in and take a look?"
Prince Xiang nodded: "Yes, I have long heard that this restaurant is the source of news in the capital. There are some things that the cabinet may not know yet, and the news can be spread here first.
I happened to be here today, so I wanted to have a good look at it. "
So the group entered the Jietian Tower. Prince Xiang did not go to the private room, but sat in the busiest place on the first floor, listening to the discussions of the diners.
(End of chapter)
