Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

A curl of green smoke rose from the stove in one of the bedrooms of the Qianqing Palace, and the whole room was filled with the scent of sandalwood.

When Liang Fang saw His Majesty and the Crown Prince talking, she gently retreated outside the bead curtain and sent all the other people away.

Unlike those eunuchs who had already begun to think about their options, he now simply hoped that His Majesty could say goodbye to the Crown Prince properly, and it was best not to leave with regrets.

Although this emperor did not conform to the Mingjun in the history books, he knew that Emperor Chenghua was not a bad monarch, but a good emperor with his own opinions.

Perhaps it was for this reason that even though Emperor Chenghua knew that reusing eunuchs like them would be spurned by history books, he still insisted on reusing them to found Xichang to rectify officialdom corruption.

It's just that the world is so unfair: good people don't live long, and disasters last for thousands of years.

The good emperor died before his ambitions were fulfilled, and now this simple prince will be at the helm. The future of the Ming Dynasty may not be optimistic.

Zhu Youtang's emotions were finally affected by the original owner of the body, and he said to Zhu Jian on the hospital bed with deep affection and sincerity: "I hope my father will recover!"

"My father has run out of oil, and the future of the Zhu family will depend on you! It's just that you are not strong-willed and your temperament is too pure. How can the world be governed? How can the Zhu family be prosperous?" Zhu Jianshen looked at his son with relief. , but couldn't help but worry.

In today's era, even if you are the king of a country, it is really difficult to do a big business.

Even if he wanted to completely control the situation of the DPRK, he was still forced to compromise with the civil servant group. Not only was he unable to follow Cheng Zong's voyages to the West, but he was also forced to demote his most effective subordinate Wang Zhi to Nanjing, and he ended up feeling disheartened.

This son of his is so simple that he doesn't understand the sinister nature of people's hearts. He even believes that the civil servants' fictitious plan of ruling from the top will definitely be played around by those civil servants.

Zhu Youtang saw the regret in Zhu Jianshen's eyes and said seriously: "Father, I will not let you down. I will definitely take control of this court and create a new prosperous age for the Zhu family dynasty!"

"Control the court? Prince, how do you plan to control it?" Zhu Jianshen was slightly stunned at first, and then asked in shock.

Zhu Youtang knew that the other party was testing him, so he combined his reading of strategy books in his previous life with his own understanding and said: "The way of an emperor lies in checks and balances. It is not advisable to be strong in literature and weak in military, nor is it advisable to be strong externally and weak internally. Trust alone is not as good as the crowd." Trust is worse than doubting the public. As long as there are people inside and outside who are absolutely loyal to my son, and my son gives them important positions, they can control the court!" After a pause, he expressed his position seriously again: "The son and ministers will Imitating my father's path of building a strong army, defending the Northern Yuan Dynasty from the outside, and defending the civil servants and generals from the inside against the Ming Dynasty, we will definitely make the Ming Dynasty prosperous and fulfill my father's vision of sailing to the West."

Although it is not clear what the real intention of Emperor Chenghua's voyages to the West was, it was imperative to open the sea, which could be said to coincide with him.

"Prince, you are finally enlightened, but you...you must be careful when you act, and you must know how to lie dormant when you first ascend the throne!" Zhu Jianshen's eyes overflowed with tears of happiness, but he immediately warned him seriously.

Zhu Youtang knew that this was a good word, so he nodded solemnly and said: "My child will obey your father's teachings!"

"Okay! Okay! I, like this... I feel at ease!" Zhu Jianshen patted Zhu Youtang's hand, seeming to let go of all his worries.

That night, the trajectory of history did not shift. Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen, who reigned for twenty-three years, failed to survive this illness and died in Qianqing Palace at the age of forty.

The Jingyang bell rang, announcing to the world that the Ming Emperor had passed away.

Zhu Jianshen lay quietly in the coffin. After suffering from this illness, he had obviously lost a lot of weight. Death might be regarded as a kind of relief.

Since Zhu Youtang entered the palace, he has naturally stayed with the old emperor.

With the death of Zhu Jianshen, he has now become the new owner of the Forbidden City and will be the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Perhaps many eunuchs and maids have this understanding, so they no longer dare to ignore Zhu Youtang, who is known for his gentle temperament, and their eyes also add a bit of respect.

In the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, under the plaque "Respecting the Heavenly Patriarch", there is a spiritual tree parked in the center, surrounded by spiritual flags. There are palace maids and eunuchs burning gold and silver paper money in front of the candlestick in mourning.

Zhu Youtang has already put on a set of filial piety clothes. He puts filial piety first. Even if the country cannot live without a king for a day, he must finish the funeral first.

Fortunately, things have already been planned, so the funeral is being handled in an orderly manner.

"I will pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince!"

When Zhu Youtang came to Dongnuang Pavilion, Wan An and other officials knelt down and worshiped.

Zhu Youtang's mood was not high. Looking at the ministers kneeling in front of him, he was unable to determine who was loyal or traitorous, or whether they were all traitors.

But before he could speak, Queen Mother Zhou next to her immediately reminded: "Zhan'er, have you forgotten how grandma teaches you on weekdays? Let them get back on their feet!"

"Pingshen!" Zhu Youtang glanced at the Queen Mother Zhou with complicated eyes, still treating herself as a three-year-old child, but still chose to do as she was told.

As the conflict between Emperor Chenghua and the civil servant group intensified, the harem became a battlefield without smoke, and he was kept in the cold palace for six years.

After his biological mother passed away inexplicably, his custody rights fell into the hands of Queen Mother Zhou. Therefore, his life has always been controlled by this grandma, even if he chose his crown prince.

But after all, I am no longer the well-behaved and obedient Zhu Youtang. Now I know how to distinguish between good and evil, and can also see through some people's dirty thoughts.

"Queen Mother, there will be a national funeral tomorrow. The most urgent task is to determine the temple name and posthumous title of the late emperor!" Liu Ji immediately reminded the Queen Mother Zhou after getting up from the ground.

Wan An turned his head and glanced at Liu Ji, and found that Liu Ji paid less and less attention to his chief assistant. This matter should be proposed by his chief assistant.

Zhu Youtang also looked at Liu Ji and felt that his new king was not as important as the Queen Mother Zhou.

"Very good. Let's discuss this, ministers and ministers!" The Queen Mother Zhou seemed not to be in pain of losing her son, and had already begun to preside over the affairs of the court.

Zhou Hongmo, the Minister of Rites, saw that Liu Ji had taken the lead, so he stood up and expressed his position without hesitation: "The Emperor Daxing is agile and intelligent, and he can serve as the constitution. The ruling party is determined and called Su, Zhengji takes the picture, he is called Su, and Weidek is called Su. , so it can be designated as: Emperor Xianzongsu!"

"Zhou Shangshu, our ministers should be honest and pragmatic! You are so ostentatious and ignore the shortcomings of the current government. How can the new government implement the new government?" Xu Pu, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, his face darkened, and he immediately responded tit for tat.

Zhou Hongmo's brows furrowed slightly, and he seemed to be arguing with reason: "How can the Taihang Emperor not be worthy of being superficial? When he was in power, there was turmoil internally and the Northern Yuan was defended externally. Why couldn't he be worthy of the word 'su'?"

Both sides insisted on their own opinions, and this was where they began to quarrel, and then Wan An and Liu Ji joined in.

Zhu Youtang silently watched this group of quarreling ministers, but found that the cabinet had indeed been divided, and two factions led by Wan An and Liu Ji emerged resolutely.

If we put aside good and evil, this situation is undoubtedly beneficial to ourselves. Wan An and Liu Ji are an ideal pair of civil servants who can check and balance each other.

As for his cheap teacher Xu Pu, he was also unwilling to be left alone. Judging from his words and deeds, he already wanted to show off his talents in the new dynasty.

Just arguing is not an effective way to solve the problem, especially when they have to finalize the temple name and posthumous title of the late emperor before dawn.

"Empress Dowager, what do you think of Emperor Xianzong?" Liu Ji seemed to have already made up his mind and immediately made a request to Empress Dowager Zhou.

Empress Dowager Zhou glanced deeply at Liu Ji, but directly expressed her support: "Everyone, stop arguing! Let's follow what Mr. Liu Ge said on this matter, and let Xianzong be the pure emperor!"

"Yes!" When Wan An saw Liu Ji and Queen Mother Zhou joining forces again, he immediately chose to compromise.

Zhu Youtang noticed that Queen Mother Zhou and Liu Ji seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding. The two of them seemed to be singing in harmony, and they turned to look at these two people with an understanding.

As in the original history, Zhu Jianshen's temple name was set as: Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, the posthumous title "Chun" is an abbreviation, and the real title is Emperor Jitian Ningdaocheng Mingren revered Wensu Wuhongde Shengxiaochun.