Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Renshou Palace, main hall.

In fact, the draft is a relatively long process. Since it requires a lot of manpower and financial resources, it has not been favored by the civil service group.

This draft is different from the past. It is not only to select palace maids for the Forbidden City, but also to select the Empress of the Ming Dynasty. It can even be said to be to select the mother for the next emperor.

Why was it that false rumors about the draft during the Longqing period led to people in Hangzhou marrying off their daughters overnight?

Precisely because Longqing already had a queen and a prince at that time, who would be willing to send his daughter to the palace to be an old maid?

In fact, there were very few emperors in the Ming Dynasty who had a wedding ceremony after they ascended the throne. They usually decided on the candidates for their queens in the East Palace.

For example, when Emperor Chenghua just came of age, Yingzong made great efforts to select the crown prince. At that time, he selected three princesses, but they only finalized them on his sickbed and passed away.

The same was true for Zhu Youtang. Civil servants recommended Zhang Yujiao, the daughter of Zhang Qi's cousin, and a group of women from the capital, and then Empress Dowager Zhou finalized the candidates.

As for Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi, and Zhu Zhanji, they all got married first and then succeeded to the throne. The only emperor who only got married after he ascended the throne was Zhu Qizhen, the Yingzong who succeeded to the throne at the age of eight.

But now history has quietly changed. After Hongzhi refused the marriage arranged by civil servants and the Empress Dowager Zhou, he would become the second emperor to have a wedding after he ascended the throne.

Under the auspices of the Ministry of Rites, officials and eunuchs at all levels selected the best five thousand beauties from various places and sent them to the capital.

After primary selection, secondary selection and selection, only 300 of the 5,000 beauties who came to the capital are left, and these 300 beauties will officially enter the palace tomorrow.

After entering the palace, they will be screened again. Next, they need to live a collective life in the Forbidden City, mainly to observe their character issues.

Only fifty people with dignified words and deeds and good conduct can enter the next round of screening. Finally, the queen mother selects three people who are handed over to the emperor to choose the queen.

As the master of the Forbidden City, Zhu Youtang, one of the three hundred beautiful ladies will become the Empress of the Ming Dynasty. It is indeed necessary to appear tomorrow to leave a little impression on them.

The Queen Mother already regarded Zhu Youtang as a relative, so now she was thinking of Zhu Youtang, so she made such a request.

Zhu Youtang was not so busy that he couldn't squeeze out this little time, so he nodded gently and said: "Okay, you can arrange the time tomorrow, and I will go over and take a look!"

"The information of the three hundred beautiful ladies has been sent to Qianqing Palace, but the Ai family just wants to know something!" The Queen Mother's fingernails were very long. Seeing that the matter had been finalized, she elegantly picked up the tea cup and smiled lightly.

Zhu Youtang reached out and picked up a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake from the colorful porcelain basin, took a small bite, and said casually: "What's going on?"

"What kind of queen does your majesty want? Don't get me wrong, your majesty. The Ai family just wants to help you choose the most suitable candidate. There is no other intention!" The Queen Mother was worried that Zhu Youtang misunderstood that she wanted to manipulate the selection of queen for the civil service group, so she explained seriously.

Zhu Youtang knew that the Queen Mother had long been abandoned by the civil service group, and was even less important than Princess Shao in the Chenghua Dynasty, but he did not have a clear standard in his heart.

In fact, there is no standard for this kind of thing. It is just like a joke: a rich man is preparing to marry a wife. The rich man gives three candidate girls one thousand yuan and asks them to fill the room.

One girl bought a lot of cotton to fill half of the room, another girl bought a lot of balloons to fill three-quarters of the room, and the last girl spent the least money to buy candles to fill the room with light.

Ordinarily, the rich man should choose the last girl, but he chose the one with the biggest breasts.

Zhu Youtang chewed the sweet osmanthus cake in his mouth and asked seriously: "Queen Mother, what kind of woman do you think is suitable to be my queen?"

There was no hint of caution in the words, but rather sincerity, and he was indeed seriously asking the Queen Mother for advice on this issue.

"This palace seems peaceful, but whoever wants to get more things will inevitably have frictions and disputes, so the Ai family thinks that they need a woman with a strong temper and who knows how to coordinate the relationship between the palaces to be the queen! "The Queen Mother realized that the intelligent emperor in front of her was still a "child" after all, so she honestly expressed her thoughts.

She took a sip of tea and saw Zhu Youtang listening attentively, so she gave an example: "Just like the fish your Majesty caught in Taiye Pond, you sent it to Concubine Shao the first time, and the next day Concubine Yue Jing and Concubine Yang came to play mahjong. , there are little emotions inside and outside the words, and there must be some resentment in their hearts. However, the two of them will not take the initiative to speak, let alone come to your Majesty to say that your actions are unfair, so this requires your queen to listen. She needs to know what to say and what to do. She needs to have rules for dealing with people and things in the harem, so that she can keep the harem in order and avoid disputes! "

After saying this, Liu Jin, who was standing next to him, cast an admiring look.

"No wonder you asked me to deliver fish to the concubines who have children the next day. It's just that I heard that Concubine Yang has been a vegetarian these years, so why would she want to eat fish?" Zhu Youtang listened carefully and took another bite. A mouthful of sweet-scented osmanthus cake made me wonder.

The Queen Mother glanced at Zhu Youtang, who was sometimes smart and sometimes confused, and explained bitterly: "How many concubines in the palace really like to eat fish? But this is the comparison between them, even if they get the fish to dig holes, Buried, I also want His Majesty to send fish to their residence, which is considered to be their face!"

"I don't want the fish I caught to be ruined by them like this!" Zhu Youtang didn't mind showing them a little kindness, but he also had his own principles.

The Queen Mother held the tea lid and poured the tea lightly, and said seriously: "The Ai family is also using an analogy. No one really dares to waste the fish sent by His Majesty! In fact, it is good for you to send more fish. This will make everyone The concubine feels that she still has a connection with you, and it is an extra comfort for them to be in the palace!"

"Anyway, I like fishing now. It doesn't hurt to give them one or two fish occasionally! Now they also like to come to your place to play mahjong. If anyone really wants to eat fish, you can tell them!" Zhu Youtang put the remaining sweet-scented osmanthus cake into his mouth, which was also very generous and authentic.

Since Emperor Chenghua passed away early, these concubines were actually poor people, and sending a few fish was actually a trivial matter.

The Queen Mother nodded slightly, but changed the topic and said: "Speaking of mahjong, you have to ask the Ministry of Industry to get two more sets of mahjong and send them to Ai's house. Now there are not enough mahjong!"

"Okay! Your Renshou Palace is so lively now, you can open a mahjong parlor if you dare!" Zhu Youtang immediately agreed, but couldn't help but joke.

The Queen Mother seemed to take a sip of tea gracefully, but she said very puzzledly: "Your Majesty, what is a mahjong parlor?"

"Place ten or eight mahjong tables here, provide them with some refreshments, and then the winners of the first few games at each table will draw some money!" Zhu Youtang simply gestured according to the pattern in his memory.

The Queen Mother gently put the tea cup down, but her attitude was clear: "The Ai family just saw that they were bored in their daily life, and wanted them to come to Renshou Palace to play together, but this kind of gambling is not a good trend!"

"The queen mother should think long-term. This palace is really not suitable for gambling! I will order the Ministry of Industry to help you get a few more pairs of mahjong tomorrow. However, the ivory in the treasure house seems to have been exhausted last time, so the ivory has to be purchased. I Let the internal officials and supervisors go to the capital to see if they can purchase ivory. If it is not possible to temporarily replace it with other materials, I will ask Guangdong to purchase a batch of ivory and send it to the capital!" Zhu Youtang agreed with the Queen Mother's point of view and proposed a solution. Mahjong plan said.

The Queen Mother was from Southern Zhili, so she had heard about Guangdong, but she was confused and said: "Although the Ai family has never been to Lingnan, there seems to be no elephants in Lingnan, right?"

"It is true that there are no elephants in Lingnan, but maritime merchants from Guangdong travel to Nanyang, and Nanyang has always sold ivory to the Ming Dynasty! If you really want to purchase from Guangdong, you may have to wait for a while!" Zhu Youtang said again Picking up a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake, he explained very seriously.

The Queen Mother gently shook her head, but asked worriedly: "Your Majesty can do it with such heart, and the Ai family is satisfied. It's just that the court spends so much time purchasing ivory. Will this cause trouble to Your Majesty?" Won’t it attract criticism?”

"Those scholar-bureaucrats keep saying that the Ming Dynasty has a vast land and rich resources, so they always think that the Ming Dynasty does not need to communicate with other countries, but they don't know that Nanyang also has the things we need! They don't want to oppose ivory, but they actually want to prevent me from setting up a shipping department to collect taxes. They are afraid of other countries. The merchants took the boat guide and competed with them for business! Whether they talk about the ivory or not, I don't care, and I don't need to care!" Zhu Youtang had already seen the true face of those sanctimonious people, and took a bite of the sweet-scented osmanthus cake and said disdainfully.

The Queen Mother knew that the emperor in front of her had completely controlled the court, but suddenly her heart moved: "I heard that the Ming Dynasty and North Korea are going to open a sea market on Shenzhi Island?"

"Yes, tomorrow I will finalize the first governor of the East China Sea. In two days, I will lead the army to Daming City with Mian Mian!" Zhu Youtang chewed the osmanthus cake and nodded gently.

The Queen Mother looked curious and asked: "Who was the first Governor of the East China Sea?"

Zhu Youtang put the remaining lotus cake directly into his mouth, then dipped his finger in a little tea, and then wrote a name on the table.

"How could it be him?" The Queen Mother looked up at Zhu Youtang in confusion when she saw the name on the table.

Since the osmanthus cake in Renshou Palace was the most delicious, Zhu Youtang often ate two pieces of osmanthus cake here.

Zhu Youtang chatted with the Queen Mother for a while longer. Seeing that it was getting late and the business had already finished talking, he stood up and left.

Qianqing Palace, this place is well taken care of by the palace maids and eunuchs.

Zhu Youtang was used to having dozens of maids and eunuchs waiting around him. Since he had just eaten two pieces of sweet-scented osmanthus cake in Renshou Palace, he was not hungry now, so he went directly to Xinuang Pavilion.

Xinuang Pavilion can be said to be the science and technology exhibition of this era, or a storage room for cutting-edge science. The Ministry of Industry has been trying to improve sea ships and build guns, so it often sends some drawings or models.

"Your Majesty, this is the fishing line just sent by the Ministry of Industry!" The eunuch Wei Juan had been recalled to the capital from Guangdong City's Boti Jusi by the imperial court and was now working in Qianqing Palace. He said respectfully.

Zhu Youtang picked up the long black line and pulled it hard. He found that the pulling force of this fishing line was indeed relatively strong, so he said lightly: "I will put this fishing line on the fishing rod tomorrow. I will try to see if it will be stronger." Get some!"

Instead of silk or cotton thread, this material is made of horsehair.

The use of horse mane to make fishing lines originated in Europe in the 18th century. Because horse mane is soft and elastic, it is a good material for making fishing lines.

Although the pulling force of a single horsehair is not strong and cannot catch a big fish at all, if several are spliced ​​in descending order, the pulling force is still very considerable.

Theoretically, the more horsehair used to create a piece, the stronger the pulling force will be.

As night falls, Qianqing Palace lights up with bright lights.

After dinner and bathing, Zhu Youtang came to Dongnuan Pavilion.

Zhu Youtang usually does not deal with government affairs at night, but he will read the secret reports from the eunuchs, Dongchang and Jinyiwei from all over the country to get more information.

Although he is a high-ranking emperor, if he doesn't spend more time reading the information, he can easily become "blind".

For example, in the defeat of Datong in the 19th year of Chenghua, a total of two thousand Datong soldiers died, but the result was concealed by the civil servant group and the eunuchs of the military.

If the censor hadn't chosen to expose him, Emperor Chenghua would have never known that his army had suffered such a defeat until his death, and it would probably not be recorded in history books.

Zhu Youtang knew that he could not understand the situation in various places just from official memorials, but also had to combine the information from eunuchs and royal guards, so that he could have a more comprehensive understanding of the Ming Dynasty under his rule.

Among so many secret reports, Wang Zhi was the most prominent one.

Although he talks a lot, he is very diligent and can report every detail every day, so that he can clearly grasp Qingzhang's progress.

"His Majesty Liu Zhongcai proposed that the father-in-law of the state and county government officials should live in an ordinary home, and his father-in-law should belong to a wealthy gentry family. Since the imperial court offered a reward for exposing those who hid their land, the local people were enthusiastic about it. It was discovered that the amount of land hid by the officials and gentry was astonishing. There are dozens of families in the civil register! However, dozens of families regretted it and wanted to bribe Liu Zhong with large sums of money. Liu Zhong did not keep any money privately, and he was indeed an incorruptible governor! The bad reputation of slaves was quieted, and no evil gentleman dared to If you steal stolen goods from your slaves, you are afraid that your slaves will kill you!"

Zhu Youtang knew that since the Sun family was uncovered, the process of clearing the father-in-law of Anlu Prefecture was going very smoothly, and he believed that Liu Zhong would not let down his trust.

Now, he only needs to wait for the results of Anlu Prefecture's clearing, and then he can step by step solve the problem of hidden fields in the two capitals and thirteen provinces by using Arrancar.

Summer is a rainy season. Just as Zhu Youtang was flipping through information about various places under the lamp, it turned out that heavy rain was already pouring down in the courtyard outside.

Zhu Youtang was not affected by the heavy rain outside. When he turned over the information Wang Yue handed over from Guangdong, his face turned gloomy.