Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 57 Prime Minister, please give the order!

"Hmm? Something's wrong!"

Prime Minister Zifang, who was in the simulated perspective, naturally couldn't see the view of the palace, but Zhou Liang, who was in the macro perspective, frowned:

"What does this... mean?"

It is obvious that Zhou Liang's reforms are beneficial to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is now thriving and getting better day by day. It can be said that it has perfectly achieved the goals set for him by the Divine Emperor. The Divine Emperor should be happy, so why is He angry?

Especially reading these few descriptions, it gives people a strange feeling that "the better the Ming Dynasty is, the more unhappy the Divine Emperor is"... or in other words, the better "Zhou Liang" performs as the Prime Minister, the unhappier the Divine Emperor is!
Could it be that He actually doesn't want to make the Ming Dynasty a peaceful and prosperous era?
This is even more strange, because "Zhou Liang" was promoted by him personally, and the "Thirty-Year Agreement" was also proposed by him. It was he who wanted "Zhou Liang" to bring peace to him. Why is it the other way around now?
"Did He regret it? Or was it that the other me was doing too well, making the old Him look useless, and that's why He's very unhappy?"

Zhou Liang scratched his head, feeling that the logic was a bit off:

"And judging by his attitude, he seems to be wishing for another me to rebel..."

He...what is he trying to achieve?
If he really wanted to stop the reform, he would have just slapped "Zhou Liang" to death! Why this kind of fishing expedition?
The more Zhou Liang thought about it, the more confused he became:
"They want to make the Meiji era a peaceful and prosperous one, but they also want to prevent reforms and even resort to sting operations... This logic is truly chaotic..."

But no matter what, since the Emperor of God has something to hide and is determined to expose his true colors, it is destined that Lao Zhou will not have a good end.

"When you want to accuse someone, you'll always find a pretext. No matter how honest and upright you are, you can't escape a false accusation..."

Zhou Liang sighed softly:
"My guess was right. How could any important official promoted so quickly by Chongzhen avoid a plane crash? Lao Yuan has been sliced ​​into pieces like a roast duck. I hope you won't replicate his death..."

……

You are unaware of what is happening in the palace, nor do you know what tragic end you will face. You are simply busy and focused on governing the country.

[Every day, a large number of memorials from all over the thirteen provinces were sent to the Prime Minister's residence. During the Wanli Emperor's reign, these memorials would have been buried and gathering dust. The decline of the Ming Dynasty was largely due to Wanli's inaction, so his previous experience will naturally become a lesson for you in the future.]

[Now that all the major events in the world are decided by you, you must of course be extremely diligent in reviewing memorials. Just like the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, you always review from morning till night, and you can be said to be working day and night!]

[However, you didn't take elixirs like Yongzheng did, because you knew that elixirs were a scam. Furthermore, you possess considerable divine power. Protected by divine power, coupled with your natural energy, you can stay up all night reviewing memorials without neglecting your duties. You are simply born with the divine body of an ox or a horse...]

[However, speaking of divine power, you suddenly thought: It seems like the Divine Emperor hasn't distributed divine power salaries to his subjects in a long time?]

[Thinking about this, you suddenly realized: Ever since the rebellion in Yangzhou was quelled, it seems... it seems like you haven't used divine power in over ten years? Although you haven't actively consumed divine power, it's strange that the Divine Emperor didn't mention it.]

[Also, since you've been so focused on modernizing the Beijing New Army, you haven't been concerned about the Jinyiwei's affairs for a long time. In other words, it seems their salaries haven't been paid for a long time either...]

You raise your eyebrows: Could it be that... the Divine Emperor is using his traditional skill of owing wages again?

[Thinking of this, you feel you need to go to the palace and ask...]

[That day, having already reviewed the memorials, you took the initiative to enter the Imperial Palace and respectfully inquired of the Divine Emperor about this matter.]

The Divine Emperor doesn't seem to be in a good state. In response to your question, He simply said: "The world is now at peace, so the Imperial Guards and officials don't need to use their divine power to suppress rebellions... They haven't used up all the divine power they distributed ten years ago, so there's obviously no need to distribute more!"

[Hmm... that does make sense. I won't be using it anyway, so it doesn't matter whether I send it or not.]

[However, a bold guess arises in your mind: Could it be that the Divine Emperor's divine power has become even weaker, so He doesn't want to waste it?]

[Thinking this way, you cautiously glanced at Him, wanting to carefully observe His condition, but this very glance left you stunned...] [Because the Divine Emperor reflected in your eyes was not the middle-aged image he had originally had, but... middle-aged and elderly?!]

His hair was gray, his skin had lost its former radiance, and a few wrinkles appeared on his face... Although he didn't look particularly old, judging by the standards of his time, he looked at least fifty years old!

[He's only been around for a little over ten years, and he's already this old?!]

You were stunned for a moment...

It wasn't until after you left the palace that you realized: The Divine Emperor is no longer young. It's the eighty-sixth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, and His actual age is already over a hundred!

[An old man over a hundred years old should have white hair and beard, and live his life counting the days. However, the Divine Emperor looks only about fifty years old, which can be considered a method of maintaining youth.]

【But... couldn't He be immortal? 】

This question leaves you bewildered: You've always considered Him a deity, and deities are of course immortal, but now... He's actually old!

[This is incredible, and it shakes your entire worldview, so much so that you almost instantly think of many stories of regicide and the seizure of the throne...]

[The Divine Emperor has always been like a mountain weighing down your heart. Of course, you want Him dead. The reason you didn't think so before is because your foundation is still weak. If He dies, the Ming Dynasty will lose its pillar and may collapse in an instant!]

Now your foundation is solid, and the Ming Dynasty's reforms have achieved great success. The country is prosperous and the people are strong. The 100,000 new troops in the Beijing Garrison are sufficient to resist any foreign enemies... Although the current Ming Dynasty is still far from the true prosperity of later generations, it will never be so chaotic that the whole country will not survive because of the loss of a Divine Emperor.

[Therefore, his combat value has been greatly reduced...]

[Furthermore, he was the backer of those royal relatives. It was precisely because of his existence that you dared not turn against them, and were forced to make concessions on the issue of reform!]

[These pigs have long been a thorn in your side!]

[If you can defeat the God Emperor, then you won't have to be so cautious when facing these pigs. Just whip the top hard!]

【but……】

[But you ultimately gave up this tempting thought. Since you've already decided to be a loyal minister who perfectly conforms to feudal values ​​and emulates Zhuge Liang in everything, you can't go back on your decision now...]

[Forget it, I'll just have to endure it for the rest of my life! ]

You sighed and walked away from the palace.

[But you never expected that you wanted to let them go, but they didn't want to let you go...]

【…】

In the eighty-sixth year of Chongzhen's reign, just as the Ming Dynasty was thriving, the Tatar tribes from the grasslands suddenly moved south!

[The Northern Puppet is marching south! Prime Minister, please give the order!]

……

(End of this chapter)