Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

The tall city walls, towering towers, imposing archery towers and turrets, soldiers in armor, and the wide moat all demonstrate the extraordinary character of this capital city.

A girl in red with a straw in her mouth sat in front of the horse's head, with one leg still hanging in the air. When she saw the capital appearing in front of her, her beautiful black eyes froze.

She is fifteen or sixteen years old, with a cute and beautiful oval face, thin red lips, fair skin, a bit of heroism in her manner, and the braid on the front of her head looks chic.

This person is none other than Princess Ixi who made Mandu Hai go all out to rescue her.

Although Yixi did not run away, his face always showed dissatisfaction, and there was a bit of disdain in his behavior. At this time, he seemed to be looking at the majestic capital of the Ming Dynasty in front of him in disbelief.

"Princess Yixi, this is the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and the gate in front of you is Fucheng Gate!" The person in charge of driving the carriage was an old eunuch, introducing with a bit of pride at this moment.

Yikesi saw that the word "Fucheng" was indeed engraved on the top of the city gate in front of him, but he was still in shock.

Although she had heard since she was a child that Da Yuan Dadu was transformed into the largest city in the world by the Ming Dynasty, and some people told her how big the capital was by gesturing, but that was just hearsay after all.

Now seeing it with her own eyes, seeing the towering city wall, and the seemingly infinite extension on both sides, she clearly felt the strong collision that her soul suffered, and then she realized how incredible the Ming capital was.

On the other hand, although their country, Dayuan, had vast grasslands, countless flocks of sheep, and yurts that could protect them from wind and rain, they were still far behind the Ming Dynasty.

When the general guarding the city saw the team entering the city, he immediately said in a routine manner: "Stop the car, we want to inspect it!"

"Everyone, get out of the way of the Zajia!" Wang Tong, the old eunuch, showed the token hanging on his waist and immediately ordered with some authority.

The general guarding the city saw that the old eunuch driving the carriage actually had a token, and knew that he was a member of the palace on an imperial mission, so he hurriedly released the team.

Now, after all, it is an agricultural society, and the city and outside the city are like two worlds.

When the team entered the city, they seemed to have arrived at the bustling capital from the scenery of lakes and mountains, from the muddy curves to the straight blue brick streets.

As the Autumn Period of Enke is approaching, scholars are now gathering in the capital, resulting in a significant increase in the permanent population, and the streets are now more lively than before.

There are many pedestrians on the green brick street and it is noisy. The side street shops on both sides are filled with antique atmosphere, and the shadows of buildings in the distance are like a slowly unfolding picture scroll.

The sound of people and horses, the sound of gongs, the fragrance of people, the fragrance of flowers, the fragrance of wine and vinegar.

Although Yixi lacked the shock that hit his heart just now in front of the city gate, when he saw the peaceful and contented scene in front of him and the brightly dressed Ming people, he suddenly fell in love with this place.

It's fun to ride on the grassland, but it's also very interesting to visit the shops here.

"Princess Yixi, the most lively place in the capital is the area around the Drum Tower. You can go shopping if you have the opportunity in the future!" Wang Tong continued to drive the carriage and made another recommendation.

Drum Tower?

Ixxi silently wrote down the name, but then shook his head violently.

After all, she was not a guest who came to the capital as an envoy of the Great Yuan Dynasty, but a prisoner who was caught returning the ashes of her teacher. Now she has completely lost her personal freedom, and her life is even in danger.

As for wanting to go to the Drum Tower, let alone whether he was still in the mood, Ming Dynasty would definitely not allow himself, a prisoner, to run around.

"Princess Yixi, sit still!" Wang Tong carefully drove the horse to turn around and reminded him kindly.

Thanks to his well-informed knowledge, he knew that the portrait of this Mongolian girl made His Majesty fall in love at first sight, and now he wants to take this Mongolian girl as his concubine.

Faced with such an opportunity to please the new mistress, he naturally would not miss it, but wanted to leave more good impressions now so that he could rely on her in the future.

The carriages turned into another long straight street one after another, and there was still an endless street in front of them, and this street was busier than the one just now.

Yikesi didn't know that Wang Tong had so many small thoughts. At this time, his attention was all on the dazzling variety of products in the shops on the street, but they were full of temptation.

Although there were many carriages on this street, the eunuch who drove the car in front of her seemed to have a lot of status and status. The oncoming carriages all gave way, and some people cast curious glances at her.

Yixi has been bold since he was a child, but he ignored these surprised looks and looked at the signboards of the shops on both sides as he went about his own way.

Fortunately, she had longed for Han culture since she was a child and had a Han teacher Shen Mo, so she was able to recognize the names of the shops, but she was only confused about the brand new "lock shop".

But the road finally came to an end. After twists and turns in an elegant and quiet residential area, the carriage stopped in front of a house, and she was placed under house arrest here.

It was June, the weather in Beijing was changeable, and a heavy rain came as expected.

"Princess, will the Ming Emperor execute us?" Tana, the accompanying maid, who had been very worried about her safety, asked in fear.

A wry smile appeared on Yikesi's face, and he shook his head gently and said, "I don't know! It's just that my teacher once taught me a saying: Once you come, let it go."

Now that the situation has happened, and he has become a prisoner, no matter how worried he is now, it is of no use. On the contrary, it is better to live here peacefully.

"It's so stuffy here!"

"What do they want?"

"If you continue to be locked up like this, I will go crazy!"

…

After only two days, Ixxi couldn't stand the days of house arrest anymore, but he kept walking back and forth in the corridor, grabbing his hair and complaining in distress.

Even if a beautiful woman complains in pain, she still has a lovely beauty.

Tana, the accompanying maid, saw that food was delivered to them three times a day, both meat and vegetable. It was like raising them like pigs, which made her feel very happy. Naturally, she would not be dissatisfied with this kind of life.

Yixi planned to face life and death, even if the Ming Emperor wanted to execute him, he would admit it, but he wanted the Ming Emperor to give him an explanation. After much thought, she decided to protest by going on a hunger strike.

The next morning, the little eunuch who was responsible for delivering meals came over and saw that the meals delivered earlier were not moved. He just looked at Iksi in surprise and took away all the meals.

At noon the next day, the little eunuch who was responsible for delivering meals came over and saw that the meals delivered earlier had not been moved. He just looked at Yikesi in surprise and took away all the meals.

In the evening of the next day, the little eunuch who was responsible for delivering meals came over and saw that the meals that had been delivered earlier were not moved. He just looked at Yikesi in surprise and took away all the meals.

After not eating for a whole day, this Mongolian girl missed meat very much.

Seeing that the little eunuch was about to leave with the food, Yi Kexi hurriedly pointed out three fingers to emphasize: "I'm on a hunger strike! I've already had three meals!"

"Huh? Uh... I will report it!" The little eunuch was stunned for a moment, then realized that the princess was having a temper, and then assured her very seriously.

"I want to eat meat, I'm so hungry!"

Although the young eunuch reported the matter to his superiors that day, it was impossible to get it properly handled right away. Ixi was so hungry that night that he tossed and turned, but he already began to miss the fragrant mutton.

It's just that tonight is very long, and her stomach has been growling, and she has already begun to regret using such a cruel method to force the Ming Emperor to give her a clear explanation.

Near noon the next day, Wang Tong arrived belatedly.

When he saw the pitifully hungry Iksi, he immediately asked in confusion, "Princess Iksi, but this food is not to your liking?"

"You locked me up here, and I'm going crazy! You either need to deal with me quickly, or let me go for a walk, otherwise I will definitely go crazy!" When Yi Kexi saw Wang Tong appear, he immediately Speak out your demands.

In fact, when she said this, she already felt regret in her heart.

After all, she was a prisoner, and she couldn't help but be afraid that her unreasonable demands would irritate the Ming Emperor and kill her.

"Princess Yixi, our Majesty said that we will meet all your requirements, but you are not locked up now!" Wang Tong was stunned for a moment, and then said seriously.

Yikesi blinked his eyes, then pointed to the door that was always open and said in shock: "My lord, do you mean that I can enter this house at will and play outside?"

"That's right! We will arrange personnel to follow you to protect you, and you can't take the opportunity to escape!" Wang Tong nodded seriously when he realized that there was a misunderstanding.

When Ixi learned that he had made a huge misunderstanding, he immediately jumped up from his seat and called his maid Tana to go out for a walk.

But just as she came to the door, she suddenly stopped.

"Princess, what's wrong with you?" Tana asked, seemingly confused.

Yikesi's stomach suddenly growled. Even if Daming chose to let her go, after a full day and a half of hunger strike, she didn't have the energy to go out for a walk.

After some weighing, I had no choice but to go back and eat the cold meal.

In the next few days, she was finally able to enjoy the happiness of a Ming woman.

The news that the imperial court was negotiating peace with Mongolia is not a secret, but it has now spread in the capital.

When Yi Kexi learned the news in the restaurant, he was very happy. After all, he was one step closer to freedom. As long as his mother negotiates smoothly with Daming, then he will definitely be able to leave Daming safely.

But before that, she actually had one very important thing to do when she came to the capital, and she immediately went straight to the Shuntian government office with a painting.

Xiyuan, Yangxin Hall.

Zhu Youtang handled government affairs as usual. There were not many affairs in hand today. His attention was no longer on the north, but on the south.

His sixth sense last time was actually correct. The looting of their pearling ship was not pirates at all, but actually a form of revenge from Annan.

After all, Li Guangan was an important royal member of the Annan Li Dynasty. Because Li Duan was executed by Ming Lingchi this time, greater anti-Ming forces emerged within the Li Dynasty.

The monarch of the Li Dynasty naturally did not dare to openly wage war against the Ming Dynasty, but he allowed the anti-Ming forces to cause trouble on the southwest border of the Ming Dynasty. These anti-Ming forces have recently frequently looted pearling ships through the Ming Dynasty's internal intelligence.

Originally, he planned to live in harmony with Annan, but after seeing Annan's current behavior, he knew that it was time to prepare for a war.

Zhu Youtang had yesterday ordered Song Min, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, to be escorted to Beijing to await trial. He immediately drafted a new personnel appointment: "As the left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Wang Yue was appointed as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and also in charge of the military and political affairs of Yunnan, and the prime minister of the southwest border. For defense, grant the authority to act expediently!”

The timing is just a coincidence. Now Wang Yue happens to be the Prime Minister of Guangdong Province. Wang Yue is undoubtedly the best candidate to handle the chaos in the southwest.

Although Annan is difficult to naturalize, with Ming's current strength, it can indeed hit them hard. Even if the Li family's regime cannot be overthrown in one fell swoop, the Li family's vitality will be severely damaged.

It’s just that the biggest problem now is not Mongolia, nor the ambitious Li Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty itself. The corruption of officialdom in this place has penetrated deep into the bones.

If he hadn't sorted it out himself, who would have thought that a small official, Wai Lang, from the Literary Selection Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, could lead to the biggest scandal in the history of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, which also brought out the ugly side of the civil service group.

"Your Majesty, I am afraid that Dong Shan has burned all his letters. I have searched his house carefully, but no relevant evidence was found!" Wang Xiang and Du Ming, the Minister of Punishment, jointly handled the case, but they came back to deliver the order.

Zhu Youtang knew that he was lucky to get a breakthrough from Sun Jiao. An old fox like Dong Shan probably wouldn't make stupid mistakes, so he made another decision: "Based on Sun Jiao's letter alone." It’s still not enough to convict all the officials involved, so you two can go and search the Xu family together!”

"I obey the order!" Wang Xiang and Du Ming looked at each other and said respectfully.

Originally, they all thought that most of the letters were written by Qiu Jun, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, but after reading them all, they found that Xu Pu was controlling everything.

Just like this, if you want to deal with the traitorous party headed by Xu Pu, you really need to find some more relevant evidence from Xu Pu, so that you can truly catch them all and reveal the fact that these officials are forming a clique.

As soon as the two left, Song Cheng, Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, came to ask for a meeting.

Things are so weird. Every time Song Cheng comes, Zhu Youtang is always surprised, and this time is no exception.

Zhu Youtang seemed to be in disbelief after listening to the statement of the dark-faced young man in the fifth-grade official uniform before him, and then pointed at his nose very absurdly and said: "What did you say? Princess Yikesi came to Shuntianfu Yamen to find someone." Is this me?"