Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

After the time entered December, the number of memorials sent by the General Administration Department every day decreased significantly.

Zhu Youtang didn't react at first. After two or three days, he found that the number of memorials had not increased but decreased. Only then did he remember that at this point in his previous life, it was indeed time to work as a foreigner.

The Spring Festival is undoubtedly an extremely important event for people of this era.

As officials have begun to wait for the New Year, many local magistrates usually choose this time to go to Beijing to resign and give gifts to people, so the number of memorials submitted plummets.

Even the government offices in Beijing adhere to the mentality that one thing is worse than one thing less, and some non-urgent matters are usually postponed until next year.

Zhu Youtang's mentality is completely different from that of the social beast in his previous life. Now when he sees how slack his ministers, who are receiving their salaries but not working, are so slack, he wants to hit them hard on the head.

It’s just that this is this era, and the world is not as big as the New Year.

The winter in the capital was obviously colder than in Beijing in his previous life. Facing this snowy Beijing city, Zhu Youtang simply called off his morning dynasty.

In fact, in the last month, he had not gone to the morning court very often. The palace ceremony was naturally much more comfortable than the palace ceremony, so if there were important matters, just call several ministers to Qianqing Palace to discuss it.

After all, history has changed. He did not become the virtuous emperor Hongzhi who set up the Wu Dynasty. Now he often stopped the morning Dynasty and must have become the faint emperor Zhu Youtang who was criticized verbally and written by civil servants.

Unconsciously, time has arrived at the winter solstice.

Zhu Youtang has now developed a good habit of going to bed early and getting up early. He wakes up after a full sleep as usual, but the weather outside has obviously become colder.

It's just that as the emperor of this dynasty, he naturally has no shortage of clothes to keep out the cold, and the heating system of the entire palace is running, so he can feel very warm here.

Even when I get up every day, there are always a group of palace maids waiting outside to prepare everything. I only need to cooperate a little, and there are dedicated people to take care of washing and dressing.

Zhu Youtang has already followed the Romans. Although he will be manipulated mechanically, he will not feel disgusted when facing these sweet-looking young palace ladies.

"Your Majesty, please sit down!" When it was his turn to wash his face, a pleasant voice like a silver bell sounded.

This palace maid is about fifteen or sixteen years old, with very delicate facial features. She is wearing a standard purple dress with a round collar, narrow sleeves, and small sunflower embroidery with folded branches. However, the girl's good figure shows off the beauty of the seller.

Her skin looked fair and delicate, and she had a delicate appearance, especially her buttocks were very curved. She was carefully helping Zhu Youtang cleanse her face.

Zhu Youtang sat directly in front of the dragon bed. At this moment, he only needed to open his eyes to see the girl close at hand and her sexy red lips.

But I don't know if it's because my nose is too sensitive, or because the girl's body fragrance is strong. I can always smell the orchid-musk-like body fragrance on this girl, and I can see the white neck and a button that has been loosened.

The girl seemed to have noticed Zhu Youtang's gaze, but she boldly looked at Zhu Youtang like a wild little cat.

What girl is not pregnant? Now Zhu Youtang is the only man in the palace. He is handsome and charming, so he has become the secret crush of the young palace ladies.

Especially after learning that Erya had been favored by His Majesty, some beautiful young palace maids were obviously ready to make a move.

No matter how beautiful Erya is, she is still an old woman in her mid-twenties. Their bodies are not as soft as those of sixteen or seventeen years old, and their faces are naturally more juicy.

It's just that the rules of the palace don't allow them to be arrogant. The emperor can favor them anytime and anywhere, but if they are found to be actively seducing the emperor, they may be beaten to death.

A slightly unbuttoned button is actually a brushing aside, and it also sends enough signals to Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang admired the bold and wild beautiful girl. When he saw that she was clean and careful, he asked with great interest: "What's your name?"

"Slave... my name is Pan Jinling!" Pan Jinling's face turned red and she lowered her head nervously as she responded.

Zhu Youtang discovered that this girl was actually a paper tiger. He couldn't hear the last word very clearly, which gave rise to a bad association, so he confirmed it and said, "Pan Jin?"

"Ring!!" Pan Jinling seemed even more shy, but still mustered up the courage to add the last word in a hurry.

When Zhu Youtang heard that the word was not what he imagined, he said with a bit of regret: "Pan Jinling?"

"Yeah!" Pan Jinling was actually quite satisfied with her name, so she nodded vigorously.

Zhu Youtang glanced at her bare feet thoughtfully, but it didn't seem to have a gold bell tied to it, but a small and exquisite copper bell.

Pan Jinling saw that Zhu Youtang seemed to be interested in her, especially since she could feel Zhu Youtang's eager eyes, and she couldn't help but feel nervous and expectant.

"Your Majesty, the dragon chariot is already waiting. The time for the great court meeting is coming soon!" Guo Yongzao hurriedly walked in from outside and reminded him as if he didn't understand the situation.

Zhu Youtang saw Pan Jinling's nervousness in his eyes, but he was not that casual yet, but he still remembered this bold and timid Jinling girl.

Although he has stopped the morning dharna, the bimonthly dharna is still held as usual, especially today is the winter solstice dharna.

The three major festivals of the Ming Dynasty are: New Year's Day, Winter Solstice Festival and Longevity Festival. Just like the New Moon Festival on the first and fifteenth day of every month, imperial ceremonies are held in Fengmen Hall on this day.

When Zhu Youtang set out for Fengtian Hall, more than a thousand civil and military officials had already arrived in front of Fengtian Hall holding tooth plaques against the cold wind.

In the Ming Dynasty, the dental card system and the gate registration system were implemented. The tooth license system naturally required holding a tooth license to enter the palace, while the gate registration system was actually a leave system. If you were unable to attend due to official business, illness, etc., you would fill in an official document to explain the reasons.

It is precisely because of the existence of the family registration system that those pampered martial artists usually find various reasons and then do not go to attend the morning dynasty.

Since many Wu Xun had realized that Emperor Hongzhi would not reuse them, and they did not want to go to a cold frontier to endure hardship, they still took sick leave today.

Funing Marquis Zhu Yong relied on his noble status and knew that His Majesty would probably have to hand over the capital camp to him to command in the future, so he still insisted on checking in at every court meeting.

Zhu Youtang rode the dragon chariot to the throne of Fengtian Hall, accepted the worship of all the civil and military officials inside and outside the palace, and then rode the dragon chariot directly back to the Qianqing Palace.

Since the incident of Ma Wensheng, the imperial censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, who shot himself in the foot last time on the first day of the lunar month, the current imperial meeting has naturally become more orderly, and no one dares to make any mistakes again.

On the one hand, Zhu Youtang has a faction to protect him, on the other hand, Zhu Youtang can use Li Min's greed to attack at any time. Now Zhu Youtang has truly become a "god".

"Holy bows to all gods!" Wan An and Liu Ji led the civil and military officials to bow three times and kowtow three times outside Fengtian Gate, and then returned to their respective yamen.

Zhu Youtang took the dragon chariot back to the Qianqing Palace. Although he was facing the north wind along the way, the mink coat he wore was indeed very warm.

"Your Majesty, the servants are all ready. It's just that it's windy outside now. Do you want to wait a little longer?" Guo Yong, wearing a mink coat given by Zhu Youtang, saw Zhu Youtang returning and came up to ask.

Zhu Youtang knew that he was born in a land of etiquette, and that as an emperor, he could not help himself sometimes, so he gently waved his hand and said: "No! This is your own backyard, there is no need to ride the dragon chariot!"

"Withdraw!" Guo Yong obeyed Zhu Youtang's request unconditionally and waved his hand to the eunuch who carried the sedan chair.

Nowadays, the maids and eunuchs in the Qianqing Palace seem to be more and more disciplined, especially after the Qianqing Palace established a hierarchical system. Because the subordinates will stare at the superiors and want to get higher, even if there are informants in Dongnuan Pavilion, they dare not pass on the news.

Zhu Youtang was wearing a thick mink coat and stepped on the residual snow on the road. The residual snow made a squeaking sound as he walked along the palace road from south to north.

Similar to the layout of the three main palaces, on the central axis to the north of the Qianqing Palace are the three back palaces, namely: Qianqing Palace, Taidian Palace and Kunning Palace.

Since the queen has not been canonized yet, the Kunning Palace located in the far north is still vacant, while the Crown Princess Zhang Yujiao still lives in Chengxi Palace.

When Zhu Youtang walked into Kunning Palace, there was a solemn look on his face.

In his heart, he did not want to canonize Zhang Yujiao as queen. The Zhang family is really close to the civil service group, and Zhang Yujiao is the granddaughter-in-law selected by the Empress Dowager. More importantly, Zhang Yujiao is probably a paranoid.

In the original history, Zhu Youtang was not a monarch who had the courage to go against the trend.

If there were no other forces forcing Zhu Youtang, it is unlikely that Zhu Youtang would have waited for Empress Zhang to give birth without drafting a female into the palace, and it would also be unlikely that Zhu Youtang would become an emperor who would protect a woman like a jade.

It was precisely because of this woman that he only left Zhu Houzhao alone. When Zhengde died, it was because this woman gave away the throne to Zhu Houcong without being able to determine his successor. As a result, Zhu Houcong, under the banner of inheriting the throne without unifying heirs, finally helped his brother King Xing to steal the heir, and he, the great emperor, was treated as a partial clan.

Zhu Youtang did not want to explore this period of history, and there was no need to blame Zhang Yujiao for the historical results that would change. However, it was impossible for him to canonize Zhang Yujiao as the queen just because the Empress Dowager selected her as the crown princess. This emperor still wanted to find a queen who was of the same mind as him, and who would keep a large number of tablets for him even after his death.

Fortunately, it can be said that Xu Qiong, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, wanted to reciprocate the favor. Although the ritual protectors headed by Xu Pu opposed the draft, the proposal was passed with a high vote.

When the Yuan Dynasty is officially changed next year, the Ministry of Rites will select a group of beautiful girls from Jiangnan and other places to enter the palace. At that time, he will select a child from a good family to be the queen, or select a woman from a well-born family to be canonized as the queen.

The front door of the three major palaces is Qianqing Gate, and the back door is Kunning Gate.

Zhu Youtang walked through the Kunning Gate, like an ordinary person entering a house three times, and resolutely arrived at his own "backyard". The royal backyard is now named "Gonghouyuan".

Gonghouyuan, the buildings on the east road include Duixiu Mountain Yujing Pavilion, Lizaotang, Fubi Pavilion, Wanchun Pavilion, and Jiangxue Pavilion; the buildings on the west road include Yanhui Pavilion, Weiyu Zhai, Chengrui Pavilion, Qianqiu Pavilion, and Yangxing Pavilion. Zhai, there are four gods temple, well pavilion, deer platform, etc.

It covers an area of ​​12,000 square meters. The garden is planted with old locust trees and includes rare stone and jade seats, bronze statues of golden lins, and pile scenes. Not a single flower is seen.

There are Qiongyuan East Gate and Qiongyuan West Gate on the left and right sides of the garden, which can lead to the six east and west palaces; to the north are the Archway Gate and Shunzhen Gate surrounded by Jifu Gate, Yanhe Gate and Chengguang Gate, facing the northernmost boundary of the Forbidden City. Shenwumen.

Zhu Youtang walked along the palace road in the middle. The buildings on the east and west sides of the garden are basically symmetrical, and on the central axis is the Qin'an Hall with double eaves on the top and a gold vase on it.

The base of Qin'an Hall is a Xumizuo made of white marble. The dragon and phoenix patterns on the pillars and railings are graceful carvings. The top of the hall is flat and surrounded by four ridges.

Entering the hall, the Taoist Emperor Zhenwu is enshrined in the center.

"Your Majesty, please offer incense!" Liu Jin and the eunuch Meng Shou, the eunuch of the palace supervisor, had already placed the sacrifices here, and Meng Shou respectfully sent over three incense sticks.

Zhu Youtang took the three sticks of incense, put them in the incense burner, and then prayed.

Emperor Zhenwu is the God of Water, so every year during the Beginning of Spring, Beginning of Summer, Beginning of Autumn, and Beginning of Winter, the emperor needs to pray to the Water God to protect the palace and eliminate fires.

Zhu Youtang knew very well that once the palace was hit by thunder and fire, it would prove that the emperor's virtue was lacking. Even if he was the emperor who was in power every day, he had to ask God for blessings and forgiveness.

Fortunately, in his impression, there were no major fires during his reign, and whether he came to worship the gods or not did not seem to be particularly important.

"Your Majesty, I just went to the Yujing Pavilion to take a look. The snow scene in the Forbidden City is really beautiful. Do you want to go up and enjoy the snow?" Liu Jin also tried every means to please Zhu Youtang, pointing to the Yujing on Duixiu Mountain. Ting suggested.

Zhu Youtang really didn't have any official business in his hands now, so he didn't need to go back in a hurry, so he raised his hand slightly and said: "Then let's go up and have a look!"

Liu Jin seemed very attentive to lead the way. Although there were steps, the eunuch next to him seemed to be taking care of an old man. Everyone looked very nervous, but they were afraid that Zhu Youtang would fall.

Zhu Youtang went up to Yujing Pavilion. Although he was only standing at a height slightly higher than the second floor, he could see the entire Forbidden City and the snow-capped new world in front of him.

"Your Majesty, look, which one is our Qianqing Palace? The highest one is the Fengtian Palace!" Liu Jin looked very happy and pointed to the palace to the south to introduce.

Zhu Youtang has a very good sense of direction and naturally does not need an introduction from Liu Jin, but he found that the snow scenery here is indeed very unique. Just seeing the lifeless appearance of the Sixth Palace on the left and right, I realized that I should fill up the Sixth Palace as soon as possible, otherwise the central area where I was located would be too deserted.

"Your Majesty, be careful of catching a cold up there. You'd better go back to Dongnuan Pavilion as soon as possible!" Guo Yong did not follow him up, but raised his neck and said worriedly from below.

Zhu Youtang couldn't help but sigh secretly, and found that he really couldn't get cold now, so he decided to go home.

As the New Year approaches, it seems that the world is really at peace. Even though he really wants to know the latest news about Wang Yue, no relevant memorials have been sent from Nanzhili.

In the blink of an eye, it’s already New Year’s Eve.

As the fireworks bloomed in the night sky in the early morning, the twenty-three years of Chenghua came to an end, and the Chenghua era also came to an end. Naturally, there will be no more Chenghua twenty-four years.

Instead, the Hongzhi reign made a grand appearance.