Qianqing Palace. Although most of the time nowadays, the emperor no longer attends court meetings, leaving it to the reluctant prince to take care of it.
But the emperor did not become desolate because of this. For some reason, he got up earlier in the morning and went to bed later.
In the palace, there is a copy of the memorial in the Cabinet Office. Matters concerning military aircraft and government that are not covered by the Cabinet are also covered here.
After the emperor wakes up in the morning and coaxes his children, he begins his day by familiarizing himself with what happened in his empire the day before.
In addition to reviewing the backup of the memorials drafted by the cabinet, it is also necessary to re-examine the rulings from the emperor on certain major matters.
After having lunch at noon, I took a short nap. But now I call it a nap, but it is better to say that I temporarily put aside the government affairs and continue to coax the children.
Erbi. Reading the classics and history, and then still dealing with what was happening in the empire. The emperor is busy.
No matter where you are, you are just busy in another form. In the Qianqing Palace, which uses only purple wood instead of agarwood, all the objects are of the simplest appearance, without much carving and decoration, and everything remains as it is.
There were not many chamberlains and maids serving in the emperor's palace. The emperor stubbornly believed that as long as his legs and feet could still move and his hands could lift animals, he would not need so many people to serve him.
The emperor maintained the simplest life schedule and way. However, in a corner of the palace, hosted by the emperor himself, everything was decorated extremely delicately.
It can even be said that it is completely different from the emperor's temperament. It can be described as luxurious. A small bed made of red sandalwood, a floor mat made of ivory, priceless fragrances transported thousands of miles from the deep forest west of Champa Road, ornaments and toys that are either jade or gold, the royal family is everywhere in the chaos. The luxury that can be unleashed.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who had had breakfast for a while, was pressing his hands on the railing beside the bed, looking at the two little children Zhu Wensheng and Zhu Fuling lying on the bed, who seemed to be having a little fight with a kind smile. people.
The brother and sister are only a few months old now, but they have been raised to be white and tender, with strong and strong limbs. Sun Gou'er, the steward of the inner palace, clasped his hands together and looked at the emperor enjoying himself with his grandson with a smile on his face.
This is a required course for the emperor every day. After the eldest son and eldest daughter of Taisun Mansion calm down, His Majesty the Emperor will continue with the daily imperial affairs.
Zhu Yuanzhang coaxed his two great-grandsons for a while, then looked sideways at Sun Gou'er: "The great-grandson should have entered the territory of Henan Province now." Sun Gou'er stepped forward, raised his head and forgot to glance at the bed. He saw the prince and the prince. The woman had calmed down, so she lowered her voice and whispered: "Finding it, His Highness should be in Guide Mansion now." Hey.
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed softly: "Speaking of which, I shouldn't have let him leave Beijing. The child is only this old. When the kid returns to Beijing next year, the child will not even know him as a father."
"His Royal Highness Taisun cares about the country. This is our blessing for the Ming Dynasty." Sun Gou'er whispered, looking at the two little people on the bed.
There was a commotion in Yingtian City because of the birth of the eldest son of Taisun Mansion. Although they were suppressed in time, the people outside who had their eyes on power would not let it go.
This is also an important reason why the eldest son and eldest daughter are still being raised in the emperor's palace to this day.
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted twice: "When they can really take charge of the country and stabilize the world, and no longer need an old man like me to sit in charge, that will be the blessing of the Ming Dynasty." Sun Gouer smiled, and sometimes there was no need to reply to the emperor's words. , those are just the emperor’s own words.
At this time. There was movement outside. Sun Gou'er glanced at the emperor, carefully bowed and stepped away, and after leaving the side palace, he turned around and walked out of the palace.
When he came outside and saw who was coming, Sun Gou'er showed a smile on his face, nodded and said: "It's all three pavilion elders who are here." Ren Hengtai was the first to speak: "Thank you, Sun Daban, please report it. I will send you an urgent report. I hope His Majesty will judge you." This was a quick note that could send all three cabinet ministers into action.
Something big must have happened somewhere. Sun Gou'er nodded and immediately turned around and entered the palace. After a while, he hurried back and waited aside.
"You three, please come in, His Majesty is waiting." Ren Hengtai took the lead, shook his clothes and stepped into the palace.
Xie Jin followed behind and nodded to Sun Gouer in thanks. Xu Yungong said, "I have Laosun as my companion." When the three of them entered the palace, they could not go to the side palace.
In the front hall, Zhu Yuanzhang already had his hands on his hips, looking at the three cabinet ministers who walked in. The country has had a cabinet for some time.
The original intention of the cabinet was to handle national government affairs more efficiently and to help the emperor pre-vote some less important matters.
From the emperor's point of view, the establishment of the cabinet naturally meant to take away part of the authority that belonged exclusively to the emperor.
But Zhu Yuanzhang cannot guarantee that he can be diligent in state affairs and that his descendants will be like him.
Another level of Zhu Yuanzhang's thinking was that he had worked hard all his life to build the Ming Dynasty, and had worked hard all his life to build the world.
Your children and grandchildren can also sit in your position more easily. And these cabinet ministers have indeed done a good job.
"The royal family needs these cabinet ministers. At the same time, the royal family must also be careful to prevent these ministers from forming cliques and ignoring the imperial power after gaining power. Therefore, the future lessons of the royal heirs should pay more attention to the education of how to use people." Looking at Ren Heng Tai and the others walked in front of him, and Zhu Yuanzhang recalled in his mind what Taisun had said in his ear.
Royal education must be strengthened. He looked at the small bed behind the side door in the bedroom.
"I will see your Majesty." Ren Hengtai, Xie Jin, and Xu Yungong came to the emperor and bowed with fists in their hands.
"What's the matter, can you invite me to have three cabinet ministers from the Ming Dynasty come together?" Zhu Yuanzhang said casually, waved gently, and Sun Gou'er moved a chair behind the emperor.
Ren Hengtai looked at the emperor's face. The emperor had been in a good mood recently, but he was probably going to be in a bad mood for a long time.
But the country is like this, and it can never be smooth sailing forever. As the chief minister of the cabinet, I bear the brunt of the urgent report and it is my responsibility.
Ren Hengtai coughed lightly: "Your Majesty, the deposed Prince of Guangling County has disappeared in Zhongdu. The government has been searching for it for many days, but there is still no trace." Zhu Yuanzhang, who was about to sit down, heard this and was immediately stunned. He raised his head and stared at him like a torch. The first assistant.
Just such a glance made Ren Hengtai feel like he was falling into an ice cellar.
"What happened? Is your grandson in Zhongdu?" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice had dropped several degrees, making people afraid to move.
After asking, Zhu Yuanzhang slowly sat down and narrowed his eyes, waiting for the answer from the chief and assistant minister of the cabinet.
Ren Hengtai swallowed his saliva and said in a deep voice: "His Royal Highness Taisun came to Zhongdu and was ordered to pay homage to the late Duke Xin on behalf of the imperial court. It must be necessary that His Highness resides in the imperial city of Zhongdu. It is suspected that Zhongdu and the imperial city are infiltrated by the White Lotus Sect. Your Highness ordered the capital to seal the city, and a large number of treacherous criminals were arrested in the city. The city gates were opened only after day and night. The deposed Guangling County King and his wife went out of the city to play the next day, and then disappeared. At this time, His Highness had left the city to cross the Huai River and headed north to Henan Road. Hearing about what happened in Zhongdu, he continued northward without stopping."
"He continued to go north?" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, but suppressed the doubts in his heart and asked: "What do you and Zhongdu mean?" The emperor was asking, and he was concerned about Zhu Yunwen's disappearance. What do you think, and why he disappeared.
Ren Hengtai hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but look at Jie Jin beside him. This guy has been favored by His Majesty a few years ago, and he even said a lot of inappropriate things back then. With him in charge, everyone will be fine for the time being.
Jie Jin was a little helpless, but he could only step forward and explain: "Your Majesty, Zhongdu does not dare to make any guesses. Everything is reported truthfully. But I can see what Zhongdu means. , probably thinking that the possibility of the deposed Guangling County Prince absconding is much greater than that he had an accident." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and those in Zhongdu generally thought so.
He raised his head and looked at Xie Jin: "Then what do you think, Master Xie?"
"I thought that there must have been an accident in deposing the Prince of Guangling County!" Xie Jin answered without thinking. Zhu Yuanzhang showed a hint of appreciation in his eyes and continued to ask: "Then what accidents do you think might happen to that child?" Xie Jin took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Wei Chen is bold and speculates that the deposed Prince Guangling must have been killed by Bai Lian. Abducted by the teachings! If everything is really like this, it won't take long before these people will definitely make a fuss about dethroning the Guangling County King, causing trouble in the place, and intending to attack the imperial court!" When he finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang had a smile on his face It flashed by.
He patted the armrest of the chair and spoke softly: "I have been the emperor for almost thirty years. Over the years, I have repeatedly issued decrees to persuade the people who were deceived by the White Lotus Sect and other religious societies banned by the imperial court to do good. But there is nothing I can do, like the White Lotus. The teachings will confuse people's hearts and cause harm to the place. Today, people like this can sneak into the imperial city of Zhongdu and kidnap the clan members. It's not unreasonable to think about it." At this point, the emperor's face showed murderous intent.
"Haven't they been saying that I am ungrateful all these years! Now that they have a chance to bully my descendants, they will not give up even if they die! They are young people who have no courage to assassinate the emperor and bully children. How shameless!" Ren Hengtai, who was stunned before, silently glanced at the emperor.
Your Majesty is paving the way for a situation that the imperial court least wants to see. Once someone makes a fuss about deposing Guangling County Prince in the future, the court can say that it was the result of being forced by gangsters and has nothing to do with the original intention of deposing Guangling County Prince.
In this way, those people can no longer use their status as the deposed Prince of Guangling. The emperor gave the people of the world an extremely correct answer, that is, those gangsters could not do anything to the emperor, so they looked for opportunities to regain their position from the emperor's grandson.
After this, even if a huge chaos occurs, the imperial court will be able to take advantage of the great cause. Jie Jin had been observing the situation for a while, and suddenly said in a low voice: "Something happened in Henan Road. Today, two groups came to Beijing urgently. The minister thought that His Highness Taisun must be worried about the affairs in Henan Road. He never turned back to Fengyang, but chose to continue heading north." After finishing speaking, Xie Jin looked straight at the emperor who was looking at him.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel a little more at ease. Mr. Jie, who was considered impetuous by himself at the beginning, has finally become more stable now, and is even better at guessing other people's thoughts and saying what needs to be said.
Zhu Yuanzhang turned to look at Ren Hengtai: "What trouble happened in Henan Road?"
"The check dams and water reduction dams set up by Pan Deshan, the governor-general of the river, all collapsed and destroyed ten years ago, causing a lot of casualties on the river. Even Pan Deshan himself was washed away by the flood. Fortunately, he was quite far away from the upstream, and the water head It's not too big, he escaped, but he is still in a state of embarrassment." Ren Hengtai opened his mouth to report what happened in Henan Road, and finally gave Pan Deshan a little help.
He was an official who only knew how to regulate rivers. Even if something went wrong, the court should be more tolerant. It's just that what kind of situation the River Governor's Yamen and Pan Deshan, the governor-general himself, will face next are beyond Ren Hengtai's control.
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened. Then he let out a long sigh.
"It's the Yellow River again..." The emperor sighed, full of countless emotions. Regulating the river and making the Yellow River peaceful is what countless emperors hope to achieve.
It's just that in the past dynasties, countless money and food have been thrown at it, but no one can really make the Yellow River peaceful.
Ren Hengtai and the other three also looked solemn. The disappearance of the deposed Guangling County Prince is actually not a big deal. As long as he shows up, the court can get him back.
If he never showed up, the court would just treat him as an accidental death. But it's okay if nothing happens to the Yellow River. If something happens, no matter how big or small, it must be dealt with as a top priority.
Ren Hengtai whispered: "The Sansi Yamen of Henan Province and the Governor's Yamen of Hedao are now claiming to be guilty officials, saying that they are investigating the reasons and leaving them for review by the court. In order to calm down the incident and stabilize the people's hearts, they are now all serving as errands, etc. Your Majesty's Holy Judge." Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, but a smile appeared on his face.
"If it is a natural disaster, then it is a crime sent by heaven. What does it have to do with them? Even if it is related, it is caused by me, the emperor." Ren Hengtai and the other three immediately knelt down: "Your majesty is kind and has been ordered by heaven, how can he cause it? Natural disaster." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and continued: "The chief officials of the Sansi Yamen of Henan Province and Pan Deshan are all people who do things. If it is not a natural disaster, it is a man-made disaster, and this man-made disaster is not their fault. Today There are hundreds of thousands of people on the river. Even if they are extremely capable, they cannot control and see everyone. There may be oversights, but they cannot be called guilty." Ren Hengtai, who was originally worried, couldn't help but relax. He took a breath and looked sideways at Xie Jin silently.
There was also a relaxed look on Jie Jin's face. He spoke softly: "Now, what I am most worried about is that these two things today may be the work of one person. If so, the other party must have a big plan. And..." Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and waved his clothes lightly. Robe, volleying in the air.
The emperor frowned coldly and said coldly: "What worries do you have? How much trouble this Ming Dynasty can cause, I will wait and see!"...
