Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 198: Prince Yu’s Mansion was destroyed, and the national weapon was taken away!
"Jiang Ming?"

The little prince called and Sun was shocked.

Several tribal leaders nearby were also shocked.

The Tatars and the Ming Dynasty are eternal enemies, an irreconcilable hatred.

We all live under this world, and eventually one of us will disappear, and Hulahaci's choice was undoubtedly to make the Tatars disappear.

Sun hesitated when he called.

Looking at the arrogance of the right-wing cavalry on the grassland, he knew that if he did not surrender to the Ming Dynasty, he would be forced to death by his uncle Altan sooner or later. But if he surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, he would be betraying his ancestors.

To die standing or to live on your knees.

Da Lai Sun was unable to make a decision and still had a last glimmer of hope for his uncle Altan's humanity. He said, "Don't move yet. The trade between our Tatars and the Ming court will be reopened. Uncle Altan has taken away so many cattle, sheep and horses. As long as we are given food to survive the winter, our people will be able to survive. Everything will be worth it."

Hulahaci had a deeper understanding of his nephew Khan's weakness, but as Dalaisun said, the most important thing on the grassland is food. Some livestock and face are not important. I hope that Altan will remember the feelings of the same ethnic group and give the left wing of the grassland a glimmer of life.

Just wait a little longer.

The other tribal leaders looked at each other, but Hulahaci's words gave some people some ideas.

Instead of letting Altan take away the cattle, sheep and horses of his tribe at low prices and then selling them grain at high prices, why not bypass Altan, the profiteer, and trade with the Ming court?
The geographical location is there, and trade can be carried out in Datong Town, Xuanfu Town, Jizhou Town, and even Liaodong Town.

Try it when you get back.

……

Fengzhou Beach in the northern part of the Saibei.

Altan Khan's tent.

Ye'er Zhongjin was like a young swallow returning to its nest and throwing herself into Altan's arms.

Altan immediately threw away the "Analects of Confucius" in his hand and patted Yeer Zhongjin's round buttocks twice.

Yeer Zhongjin smiled generously and asked, "Does Zuhan also read Han books?"

Altan Khan's hand rubbed along the seam of his clothes and said, "I heard that the Governor-General of Xuanda, Wang Chonggu, wrote a sentence in his memorial to the court, saying that I 'got the exquisite and exquisite things of China, and always boasted about the Eastern Tartars.' Well, Eastern Tartars is the name the Ming court gave to the little prince and his people. Yeer Zhongjin, what does this sentence in the Governor-General of Xuanda's memorial mean?"

As he spoke, he kissed Yeer Zhongjin again, and suddenly his expression became sad, and he said reluctantly: "Yer Zhongjin, are you coming here to say goodbye?"

Yer Zhongjin's mother was Altan's eldest daughter, Yabuhai. According to the rules of tribal marriage, she married the Qirgis leader Jiheng Aha as his wife.

Yeer Zhongjin was the second daughter of Yabuhai and Jiheng Aha.

Ye'er Zhongjin was not only beautiful, smart, and good at singing and dancing, but she also studied Chinese and foreign characters diligently and learned martial arts.

At this time every year, Yer Zhongjin would go back to Qierjis to visit his relatives, but Qierjis was located in the far northwest, sparsely populated and with endless desert. This time he would have to wait until the beginning of the spring when the ice and snow melted to see it.

Yer Zhongjin learned Chinese and read Chinese books since she was a child. When she grew up, she was full of curiosity about the Han people and imitated the dress of Han women in every way. At this time, she wore a shoulder apron around her neck and a pink silk skirt on her lower body, but with a red belt around her waist. Her graceful figure became more and more attractive. As she moved left and right, Altan felt that the winter on the grassland was not so cold, and his anger rose.

Yeer Zhongjin blinked his two big eyes, looked at Altan, and pouted: "Humph, Zhongjin doesn't want to go back!"

"Hahaha! It's fine! It's fine!"

Altan was overjoyed. He picked up Yeer Zhongjin and walked to his couch. He reached out to pull her skirt and said, "Come on, take it off. There is a brazier in the tent."

"..."

Altan's health was getting worse and worse. He held Yeer Zhongjin in his arms and said, "My little oriole! My lark!"

As he said this, he kissed her all over the face.

At this moment, Shen Weijing entered the Khan's tent, bent his right knee and lowered his right arm in Tatar etiquette, and shouted: "Greetings, Khan!"

When he saw that it was Shen Weijing, Altan actually pushed Ye'er Zhongjin away. Shen Weijing's springtime beauty was revealed countless times, but he still felt frightened every time he saw it.

Altan, shirtless, asked, "Xue Chan, how is the collection of the increased taxes in the left wing going?"

Xue Chan.

It means to participate in the discussion.

When Zhao Quan and Qiu Fu were alive, they were the two Xue Chans that Altan Khan was proud of.

After peace talks with the Ming Dynasty, traitor leaders such as Zhao Quan and Qiu Fu were sent back to the Ming court as a condition for peace talks.

I heard that traitors like Zhao Quan and Qiu Fu suffered all kinds of tortures in the world before they died. When they died, there was no flesh and blood left. Only empty skeletons looked like a skeleton that had been rotten for years.

However, the Ming court did not even leave any bones for these traitorous leaders. After the deaths of Zhao Quan and Qiu Fu, they mixed kerosene into the bodies and burned them completely, leaving no bone residue or ashes.

Shen Weijing replaced Zhao Quan and Qiu Fu and became Altan's only Xue Chan. As a semi-partner, he should enjoy higher treatment and higher trust than Zhao and Qiu.

Yeer Zhongjin did not shy away from this. He changed into new silk clothes while sitting on the couch. He stole a glance at Shen Weijing and tried his best to calm down. However, he was still a little unskilled when speaking. He said, "My Lord Khan...My Lord Khan, everything went well."

"Didn't the people of the little prince's tribe resist?" Altan asked, pointing directly to the biggest concern in his heart.

"What can we do if we resist? There is only one master on the grassland, and there is only one Khan on the left and right wings of the grassland, and that is Khan!" Shen Weijing flattered.

These words really touched Altan's heart. Thinking back to how he had always persuaded him to unite with the little prince and Zhao Quan and Qiu Fu on the left wing of the grassland, Altan felt relieved. He raised his head and laughed, "Well said! Well said! However, I have long seen that the little prince is as cunning as a grassland fox and has the patience of a grassland wolf. Even if he has not yet stolen any fish or shown his fangs, we cannot let our guard down.

The high priest said that there would be snowstorms on the grassland. In the cold weather, cattle and sheep would be frozen to death. In the coldest times, even people would be frozen to death.

The time is after the new trade. By then, I will give the bran to the left wing of the grassland. The desperate little prince may do anything, but I will let the well-fed right wing cavalry guard the middle of the two wings. Once the little prince makes any unusual moves, I will make sure that he has no place to stand on this grassland!"

The tax increase order not only took away the cattle, sheep and horses from the left wing of the grassland, but also weakened the power of the left wing of the grassland. What Altan had to do was to repeat the feat of his grandfather Dayan Khan in unifying the grassland and truly become the Khan of the grassland.

With great ambition, Altan seemed to have regained some energy. He pulled Yerzhongjin over and started galloping again.

Amid the charming calls of "Khan" and "Khan", Shen Weijing walked out of the sweat tent.

He originally wanted to talk to Altan about how to deal with the increased cattle, sheep and horses from the left wing of the grassland, but seeing that the Khan was not interested in this, he thought about it and continued to let the Shen family solve these "troubles".

In the trade with the Tatars, a horse only sold for fifty taels of silver, but the Shen family could buy it for sixty taels of silver. The money should belong to the Khan, and he would keep it, but he and the Shen family accepted the profit from the resale with tears.

The same goes for cattle and sheep. The left wing of the grassland suffers and Altan bears the infamy.

"I've earned so much money, all thanks to my teacher's care in the Ming court. It's time for me to move around." Shen Weijing murmured, looking in the direction of the capital.

The digger does not forget to dig the well.

If it weren't for his mentor's order, he might still be working as a translator in Huitongguan. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being a translator, but being an envoy of the Ming Dynasty in Tartary offers him a wider range of opportunities.

If you want to give gifts, you have to give expensive gifts!
……

It was such a cold day.

It was snowing heavily and the wind was cold.

But the mistress of the house left the windows and the door wide open, allowing the cold wind wrapped in snowflakes to blow in.

This is the person with fire body in the world.

That is the most masculine and strong person.

Ordinary people think that a person who is extremely masculine and strong should remain calm in the face of adversity, remain calm in danger, and would rather break than bend.

Little do people know that the biggest difference between a very masculine and strong person and an ordinary person is that they have a clear conscience and are not entangled.

For example, when a person is in a dangerous situation, he should eat when he should eat and sleep when he should sleep.

If one is "ready to fight at any time", it does not mean that he will sit with a gun in his hand and wait for dawn, but that his heart is like an empty city, and he can sleep peacefully with a gun as his pillow.

The same was true when Hai Rui served his mother in her bedroom decades ago.

I take good care of my mother before she goes to sleep, and when she falls asleep, I can fall asleep peacefully.

How could he know that for many nights, after he fell asleep, his mother would always sit beside him like this, taking care of him, and only go to bed when it was almost dawn.

The so-called "serving the mother" is actually the mother serving.

It's almost dawn.

The sea mother was sitting in front of the bed in the inner room, looking at her sleeping granddaughter with kindness in her eyes.

Sudden.

She heard a knock on the door!

As the knock on the door was light and her granddaughter was still sleeping, Hai Mu stood up gently, opened the tent door and walked out.

Seeing the sea mother, the housekeeper called softly, "Old lady."

"What is it?" the sea mother answered.

"A distinguished person has arrived."

"Which level of nobleman?" asked the Mother of the Sea.

Ever since she and her granddaughter came to Beijing, her son had caused a lot of trouble in Jiangnan, and many people who could be called nobles had come to visit him.

She saw him once, twice, and then never again.

The door of the mansion was open, but no guests were admitted.

The butler's voice trembled a little: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty has arrived!"

When Hai Mu heard this, she was startled and immediately walked out of the room. The housekeeper, with a nervous face, quickly bent his legs and knelt down.

Zhu Houcong was seen climbing up the stairs, holding the prince in his arms, walking on the snow, with Concubine Li following behind him.

"Long live the emperor..." Haimu wanted to kneel in the snow, but Huang Jin, who had received the order in advance, stepped forward to support her, "The emperor has ordered that Haimen is loyal and filial, so the old lady does not need to be polite."

The mother of the sea was shocked, and she subconsciously glanced at the emperor, but then lowered her head and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Houcong was only seven years older than Hai Rui and a dozen years younger than Hai's mother. He smiled and said, "Madam, won't you invite me in to sit down with you?"

He was not wearing a dragon robe, nor did he call himself "I". He was holding the sleeping prince in his arms. It looked like an ordinary grandfather holding his grandson. Hai Mu was stunned for a moment and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please."

After entering the house, Huang Jin, who came with him, took the place of the housekeeper and servants in the mansion and skillfully served tea and water to everyone.

The noise in the outer room startled Nannan who was in the inner room. Nannan went out and was a little scared when she saw so many people.

Hai Mu was about to scold her granddaughter to kneel down and kowtow, but Zhu Houcong stopped her, called Nannan over, handed the prince to Nannan, and said gently: "Nannan, he will be your brother from now on, and I want you to take care of him, are you willing?"

The little girl, about seven or eight years old, looked at the dignified and amiable man in front of her, then looked at the eleven-month-old child in her arms, then looked at her grandmother, and then looked at Concubine Li, who was dressed as a noble lady standing far away. After hesitating for a while, her little head with regular features nodded slightly.

Although she didn't know who the person in front of her was, she was willing to take care of the child in her arms as long as her grandmother had no objection.

Just as her father and mother had told her, she was now a grown-up child and had to learn to take care of her grandmother and the younger children when she was away from home.

Sensible and ignorant, such contradictory eyes can only appear in the eyes and body of children. Zhu Houcong touched Nannan's head and said, "Brother is still sleeping, go and carry him to the inner room to continue sleeping."

Nannan obediently took Zhu Yijun away.

Zhu Houcong glanced at Concubine Li, and Concubine Li also walked into the inner room. She would probably live in this mansion from now on.

Prince Yu’s Palace…There is no Prince Yu’s Palace in the Ming Dynasty.

"Thank you, old lady." Zhu Houcong expressed his gratitude to Haimu for not refusing to accept Concubine Li and the Crown Prince.

After Zhu Zaihou left the country.

As a grandfather, Zhu Houcong thought about it for a long time and wanted to keep Zhu Yijun by his side and teach him personally, but he always felt that this was not a solution.

Zhu Yijun was still young, his father was not around, his mother was not around either, and he could not let Concubine Li live in Yuxi Palace.

After much thought, Haimu, who educated the best son in the Ming Dynasty, came into Zhu Houcong's sight.

He did not have high requirements for the descendants of the Ming Dynasty. They only needed to understand the words "loyalty" and "filial piety", understand the sufferings of the world, and understand the simple principles of the world.

But these were things that Concubine Li, who raised Zhu Yijun alone, was unable to teach him. Perhaps it was because her family fell into poverty when she was young that made Concubine Li, a woman, have an infinite desire for power. Therefore, Zhu Houcong ordered the mother and son to move out of the palace.

In order to show his importance, Zhu Houcong left Yuxi Palace, took Zhu Yijun away, and handed him over to Haimu personally.

"I dare not. Since the princess and the prince have come to my house, I, your grandson and your family, will naturally listen to the princess." Hai Zheng said in return.

Every family has its own problems, even the royal family is no exception. Prince Yu launched a coup and was expelled from his country by the emperor. Although Haimu seldom went out, the door of her house was not closed, and rumors had long since blown in. She could understand everything after listening to them.

Hai's mother was able to raise a son like Hai Rui, so she was certainly not a stupid person. When she saw the emperor coming to visit with his grandson and daughter-in-law, how could she not understand the emperor's thoughts?

After all, she has a clear conscience. The sea mother has never raised any dragons, but she doesn't think she can't raise them well, so she will raise them anyway.

The imperial court has raised them for so long, and the emperor's grace is immense. This is an opportunity for them to repay the emperor and the imperial court.

But the question is, how does His Majesty let her raise the child? Or should He let the Dragon Wife who lives here raise the child?
"Everything is up to the old lady." Zhu Houcong's voice was neither loud nor soft, but just loud enough for the people in the inner room to hear. His delicate body trembled, then he returned to normal and went to coax the two children to sleep on behalf of Hai Mu.

The sea mother knelt down, kowtowed, and said, "I obey your order!"

……

Solved the issues of children and grandchildren.

Zhu Houcong set out to return to Yuxi Palace.

Just outside the main hall door, he saw Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the cabinet, who had been recuperating from illness for many days according to imperial order.

Zhu Houcong looked at Zhang Juzheng, who had almost turned into a snowman, and perhaps because he was too quiet, he wanted to move, so he said, "I want to take a walk outside. Zhang Juzheng, come and accompany me."

Zhang Juzheng was startled, opened his eyes, slightly stretched his almost frozen body, followed him, and asked, "Where does your Majesty want to go?"

"The two palaces and the two Taoist temples will be completed the day after tomorrow. Don't disturb others, just accompany me to have a look."

In November of the 39th year of the Jiajing reign, a fire broke out in the Western Garden and burned down the Wanshou Palace where the emperor practiced Taoism day and night.

Countless rumors appeared in the government and the country.

At the end of November in the 40th year of the Jiajing reign, the cabinet rebuilt the Wanshou Palace on the original site.

The whole government and the country were extremely jubilant.

Within a year, the Ming Dynasty seemed to have changed into a completely different world, and Zhu Houcong also wanted to see what his subjects thought.

"Yes." Zhang Juzheng noticed that His Majesty was in a good mood, and he also hoped that His Majesty would be in a better mood, so that the next words would be easier to say.

They did not ride in a sedan chair, nor did they bring any followers. Even Lu Fang and Huang Jin did not follow them. The emperor and his minister walked away along the road beside the Taiye Lake and close to the forbidden wall of the Western Garden.

Fortunately, the snow stopped at this time. The emperor and his ministers walked on the snow, making a crackling sound. In the silent palace, there was a special kind of sentiment.

Zhang Juzheng was afraid that the emperor would fall, so he wanted to help him up, but Zhu Houcong refused, "I am not that bad, you can go ahead."

Double entendre.

Zhang Juzheng paused, but he did not stand firmly and stumbled. The emperor was criticizing him for his sophistry in front of the emperor. He said respectfully, "I know I was wrong."

"You are just like the other kings I deposed. You don't really know you are wrong, but you are just afraid."

Zhu Houcong stepped on the snow, revealing a rare excitement. "I know that the most common saying in the officialdom is 'Serving in the same court is like riding a boat. If you fall into the water first or second, no one will be spared.' You bureaucrats compare the court to a boat and yourselves to the helmsman. How can you know how to write the word 'wrong'?"

Everyone says that the emperor regards the world as his private property and officials as his enemies, but they ignore what the officials regard the world as?
The emperor was licentious and immoral, but there were still loyal ministers who gave him honest advice.

But what about the officials?

Officials of the Ming Dynasty did not take the laws of the country seriously, and were extremely corrupt, bullying men and women, and running rampant in the countryside.

Of course, Zhang Juzheng was not a corrupt official, nor was he a incompetent official, but he was a powerful official.

What Zhang Juzheng pursued was unlimited power. Most of the time, Zhang Juzheng would support the court's reforms, but when it touched the bottom line of the official class, Zhang Juzheng would stand on the side of the civil service group without hesitation and firmly.

For the civil service group, those apparent privileges are actually not important. Having them or not will not affect the survival of officials.

But the secret things like government-run industries are different. China has been a society based on human relationships since ancient times, and "human affairs" are rare and common.

Let’s put it this way, in order to expand his influence in the court and the country, a high-ranking official like Zhang Juzheng had to place trustworthy people in some key positions.

What kind of people can be trusted?
Colleagues who have known each other for many years, disciples who know each other well, and subordinates who voluntarily hand over evidence.

Zhang Juzheng's dilemma was that he had too few familiar colleagues and not many disciples, so there were not enough people to fill the official position held by the chief minister of the cabinet.

As a traditional bureaucrat, Zhang Juzheng used the same method as most bureaucrats to control his subordinates and get hold of others' leverage.

Since Zhang Juzheng accepted Shen Weijing into his sect, he successively accepted dozens or even hundreds of disciples and placed them in various departments of the imperial court.

How did these disciples get into Zhang Juzheng's sect? Wasn't it through generous gifts and huge sums of money?
Zhang Juzheng was not greedy for money, but he accepted the wealth. Once the government-run businesses were opened, the pockets of all Ming Dynasty officials were greatly reduced, which was equivalent to cutting off Zhang Juzheng's "method of selecting officials", also known as the "method of selecting apprentices".

This led to that sophistry in front of the emperor.

Zhang Juzheng wanted to expand the power of the civil service group and wanted to become the head of the civil service and the prime minister of the cabinet.

Speaking of the imperial ship, Zhang Juzheng wanted to make the ship bigger and could accept changing the planks, but he could not accept changing the keel.

"I don't understand." Zhang Juzheng said frankly.

Zhu Houcong waved his hands and said with a smile: "Of course you don't understand. I will only tell you one thing. Only the ship of the country is leaking from the top."

For a ship, especially a leaky one, no matter how much it is expanded or how many times the planks are replaced, if the keel is not replaced, it will eventually sink.

"Who! What are you doing!" Not far away was the forbidden gate of the West Garden, and a loud shout came from the other side.

Zhang Juzheng had just begun to understand, but was interrupted by this shout. He was so angry that he shouted back, "It's me. I'm here to check on the project. What are you yelling about? Keep an eye on other places!"

In the snowy world, Zhang Juzheng's first-grade red robe was very bright. Even if you couldn't recognize the person, you could still recognize the clothes.

Sure enough, the commander of the imperial guards saw the clothes from afar and heard Zhang Juzheng's voice. He kicked and shouted at the imperial guards and replied respectfully, "Yes! I understand! Goodbye, my Lord!"

Through the fall and rise of Lu Fang, the eunuch who held the seal of the Imperial Household Department, everyone in the palace learned a lesson: people who have lost power have only lost power, not died, and must not be underestimated.

Everyone in the court knew that Zhang Juzheng had offended the emperor and had been reprimanded, but as long as he had retained his position as the Prime Minister, he would remain the Prime Minister.

"What a great official power." Zhu Houcong teased Zhang Juzheng again.

Zhang Juzheng then realized that he had done something wrong in front of the emperor again.

As we were talking, we walked around a curved wall and across the ice of Taiye Lake, to the east were the Wanshou Palace and Yongshou Palace projects, and to the back were the Chaotian Temple and Xuandu Temple projects. The two were about a mile apart and were both being renovated and could be vaguely seen.

The Chaotian Temple and Xuandu Temple are not Taoist temples. They are Taoist temples built by the cabinet specifically for the emperor. They are places for fasting, offering sacrifices and practicing Taoism, and have nothing to do with Taoism.

Zhang Juzheng advised: "Your Majesty, if we go any further we will pass through the forbidden gate, so let's take a look here."

Zhu Houcong did not say yes or no, but stopped and looked from afar at the Wanshou Palace and Yongshou Palace in the east, and then at the Chaotian Temple and Xuandu Temple, with such a deep gaze.

"Zhang Juzheng."

"The minister is here."

"I know you are a good official. You dare not keep the two state-defending artifacts that Shen Weijing gave you. I accept them on behalf of Emperor Taizu Gao. You can return to your cabinet."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

(End of this chapter)