In the icy and snowy weather, it was not easy for Zhu Houzhao to get up from the gentle countryside.
It wasn't until I drank a bowl of hot bone broth and ate three cookies that I felt better.
Queen Xia has been in the palace for many years and is very familiar with the emperor's preferences. Not only what she eats, she also knows how much she eats. When she is ready, she recruits people to come over and change the emperor's clothes.
"As the New Year approaches, you should worry more about matters in the palace."
Queen Xia was dignified, polite, and beautiful. "Your Majesty, you can rest assured. Even if you have any questions, your mother will take charge of the overall situation."
Zhu Houzhao patted her hand and said, "There are more and more people at home, and I will inevitably not take care of it sometimes, such as forgetting someone's birthday, etc. You should take more responsibility for these and remind me when necessary."
"yes."
"How's Sooyoung doing lately?"
He was talking about Princess Xiurong, born to Queen Xia, who is now six years old.
"It's okay, I'm just clamoring to see my father."
"Outsiders say that it is virtue for a woman to have no talent, but I don't care about that. You still have to teach her how to read and write, or paint and play the piano. She has to find something to do, otherwise her life in the future will always be boring."
Queen Xia said, "Then let Xiuyu and Xiurong be together?"
Xiuyu was born to Concubine Shen Shu, and Xiurong was one year old.
Concubine Shen Shu was first married into the palace at the time of the emperor's wedding. She was originally favored, but because of the lawlessness of her relatives, she was ignored by the emperor. Although she later corrected herself and saved some things, there were too many people in the harem and the emperor had little time. , with such a slight difference, the frequency of seeing the emperor would be much lower.
And the virtuous concubine Chen, who was favored later, is now a virtuous concubine.
The difference is still very obvious.
Queen Xia's suggestion that Xiuyu and Xiurong be together is still in line with the emperor's wishes. It doesn't matter what the adults are, the children will still be his children.
As Queen Xia herself, Zhu Houzhao appreciated her ability to be tolerant.
"Okay." The emperor scratched the tip of her light and white nose playfully, "Ya'er can do whatever she wants."
Queen Xia dodged shyly and said coquettishly, "Your Majesty."
But Zhu Houzhao didn't care and left proudly after succeeding.
On the other hand, the maid in Kunning Palace also found this scene magical when she witnessed it, so she added kind words, "The Queen and Your Majesty are in harmony, they are deeply in love, and they can set an example for the world."
Queen Xia herself was very happy, "Stop being so glib, why don't you hurry up and invite Concubine Shu?"
"Slave, let's go now!"
The emperor also has a daughter, born to concubine Kui'er. She is only three years old in the New Year. It is too early for her to learn anything.
Zhu Houzhao's side,
In the early morning, when he had nothing to do, he wandered to the Wenhua Palace to see how the three princes were studying.
In fact, rationally speaking, it would be better for the queen to have a son. As a legitimate son, there would be no problem in being crowned prince and inheriting the throne.
If there is no legitimate son, he is still a bastard, and there will inevitably be a fight in the court.
The eldest princes Zaihe and Zaiyan have Pinghai Bomei as their support.
The third son Zaiyao was born to the noble concubine Xian.
Zhu Houzhao also had to support him.
This is of course the right choice to prevent one family from becoming dominant, but future battles may be unavoidable.
No matter what, he couldn't be too naive. If Queen Xia just didn't give birth to a prince, she would have to face what she had to face.
But from another aspect, there are advantages to not having a legitimate son.
Since there is no legitimate son, everyone has a chance, and Zhu Houzhao can make a choice and choose the one he is satisfied with from among several sons to be crown prince.
In this way, he will naturally pay attention to their growth status.
On the road before they arrived, Zhu Houzhao ordered, "I just want to take a look and tell them to keep quiet."
"yes."
In addition to teaching some knowledge about world geography, navigation, mathematics, etc., these princes also have to learn Confucian classics, and they tend to focus on the main parts.
As the children grow up, Zhu Houzhao also feels the character traits.
The eldest son Zaihe is more courageous, and although he looks small, he often speaks boldly. Zhu Houzhao is afraid that he will be too confident.
The second son, Zaiyan, is a bit delicate like a woman. He rarely talks and does things in a leisurely manner. Because of this calmness, he is very conscientious in reading and writing, and naturally has the best mastery. However, he has a cowardly personality, which is fine for ordinary people, but not for a leader. Zhu Houzhao hopes that he can correct himself a little.
The third son, Zaiyao, is six years old in the new year. He is a bit naughty and quirky, but Concubine Xian is very strict with him. Zhu Houzhao sometimes feels that it is unnecessary and always suppresses his nature, and in the end he loses his own characteristics.
Looking out of the window, the great scholar from the Hanlin Academy was leading them to read "The Great Learning".
Given their age, they probably don't know what it means, but he was the same way back then. Remember it first, and you'll understand it later.
"The little head is quite cute."
Hearing the emperor murmur this, You Zhi smiled.
Zhu Houzhao looked at it and then thought of something else. The children are all brothers. It is best not to have any vicious fights in the future. Zai Gao, as a general, will let him go to Nanyang in the future. Zaiyan is too calm, but you can go to Japan to get closer...
…
…
Zhu Houzhao still didn't disturb them.
But after returning to Qianqing Palace, he began to mutter, "It has been almost half a year since Wu Wending left. I wonder if he is going well in Japan."
You Zhi comforted him and said: "Japan is a small country. Once the soldiers of tomorrow arrive, they will kill everyone in all directions. How can they stop them?"
Zhu Houzhao lay half-lying slightly bored, playing with the branches he had just picked from the road. After a while, he tilted his head and asked, "What is the cabinet busy with?"
"Slave, are you going to ask? Or should you call the three pavilion elders to come over?"
"You go and have a look, don't summon me."
"yes."
Later, Xie Pi came to report and said: "Mr. Wang Ge is discussing with Liang Shangshu the candidates for the Ministry of Industry. They have drafted a few and asked the Holy Emperor to make a decision later."
"Ministry of Industry?" Zhu Houzhao remembered that Yang Yiqing had promoted industrial development before when he was here, and finally decided on the strategy of setting up the Ministry of Industry and setting up cotton textile merchants.
During this period of fighting, the court was in chaos. He must have been affected by it, and now it is Wang Hao who is taking over.
"Sure, let them discuss it. I'll see the Minister of War and send Wang Jingxuan here."
Because he had just seen the artillery, Zhu Houzhao was now very concerned about the Shenji Camp.
The Shenji Camp has muskets and artillery. He had rebuilt it a few years ago. Now it is only the size of a guard station, with more than 5,000 people. This is specially equipped with firearms.
For example, Zhou Shangwen also had firearms when he was using troops in the northwest, but he only transported a few units there.
After Wang Jing arrived, he was given a seat as usual.
Zhu Houzhao was young and could not sit still. Instead, he stood and walked around and told him, "I went to see the artillery of the Ordnance Bureau yesterday. It is quite powerful. The Shenji Battalion was once the elite force of the three major battalions in Beijing. It's hard for me to let go. The army must always be trained and kept fresh, whether it's weapons or people. The problem of people is a matter of the Ministry of War. Elite guards cannot have old and weak soldiers. As an emperor, everyone says It's great, but in the end we can't lose the battle, which will damage the country's prestige. I won't be able to explain to my ancestors when I go underground. I can just give orders here. When there are more than a hundred emperors over there, who will I give orders to? They all rely on facts. say."
After Zhu Houzhao took back the power of the Beijing camp, relevant administrative affairs were still retained by the Ministry of War. For example, the Ministry of War was responsible for the preservation of soldiers' place of origin information, post-war pensions and other matters.
This time it involves people.
Wang Jing is also a very capable person. He replied: "After I return, I will select a batch to ensure that every one of them is a soldier who can fight."
"Not only the system, but also the background." Zhu Houzhao said: "From now on, the Ministry of War will establish a special confidentiality system, because starting from this artillery, I will order the gradual equipment of weapons produced by the Ordnance Bureau. How to make these artillery, It will be kept secret from now on, and the people who directly use it will naturally be the focus. Because the enemies of Ming Dynasty will definitely find ways to spy on it."
Wang Jing was shocked. He had not considered this matter yet.
"Your Majesty has thought carefully, veteran, I understand."
"Because it will take some time to change clothes, build new systems and other things, wait until..." Zhu Houzhao calculated in his mind, "Wait until next summer, I will have a special visit to the Shenji Camp. Recently, I have waited until New Year's Eve Say it again."
After ten years of governing the country, ten years of expansion, and ten years of Zhengde, Ming Dynasty gradually turned. In fact, this characteristic has become obvious from this year. But he is a bit of a thief, he just does things but doesn't talk.
But he was thinking, for example, he also released Yan Song in the southwest, and the problems there also needed to be solved.
After Wang Jing left, Zhu Houzhao became bored again. The Ministry of Rites mentioned a lot of things, including some sacrificial activities at the end of the year. Which one is more boring...
He still wanted the eleventh year of Zhengde to come soon.
(End of chapter)
