Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Among the nine wives, the eighteen-year-old Ma Lingqi was the third from the bottom, but after spending a month together before going to the expedition, Liu Rushi and others all called Ma Lingqi "sister".

The etiquette at that time had extremely strict requirements on hierarchy. The concubine's address to the wife had to be based on hierarchy rather than age.

If the etiquette is strictly followed, the concubine cannot even sit or stand with the wife and her husband, and the concubine must call the wife "Da Madam" or "Da Niangzi".

But Ma Lingqi was not the kind of person who would bully others by taking advantage of her power, and Zhang Shikang disliked complicated rules, so he asked Kou Baimen and other women to call her sister.

This is in line with the rules, and Zhang Shikang thinks that this name is acceptable.

“In the Battle of Guanshan, my husband…he didn’t let me participate, but it was indeed a brutal battle, and many people died.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is indeed in the military camp, but he is very sensible and never causes trouble. He also... calls me Master's Wife.

During the Battle of Guanshan, my husband stood on his horse, sword drawn, and never retreated an inch. To boost morale, he and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stood on the high platform for an entire day.

Although Ma Lingqi was a little nervous, she answered the questions in a very organized manner and told Dong Xiaowan and other girls the whole situation.

When she heard that the battle was at its most intense, Kou Baimen clenched her hands tightly, looking as if she couldn't wait to kill the enemy on the battlefield.

"Sister, that's not right. My husband stands on the platform for a whole day. How can he be brave in fighting?" Kou Baimen was straightforward. After he realized what was going on, he spoke directly.

Then her buttocks were attacked by someone.

"Also, sister, did your husband bully you in the military camp?" Dong Xiaowan said with a playful wink.

Ma Lingqi obviously didn't understand Dong Xiaowan's meaning. She just touched her belly and said:

"No, I'm pregnant. How could my husband bully me?"

The women all laughed with their hands covering their faces. Liu Rushi glanced at Zhang Shikang, who looked nonchalant, and said:

"My husband is indeed brave."

……

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

The sunset in the Forbidden City is very beautiful. The setting sun shines through the jade carved railings and the palace window lattices, and spreads on the palace walls which are always dark red.

Everything is so quiet and peaceful.

It was the end of July in the lunar calendar, and the weather was no longer so hot. Emperor Chongzhen was waving his hoe with great vigor.

After two years, there was not a single flower left in Emperor Chongzhen's back garden.

The reclaimed land was divided into four equal parts, one part was planted with corn, one part was planted with potatoes, and the remaining two parts were planted with sweet potatoes and peppers.

Emperor Chongzhen liked spicy food, but he still felt that too many peppers were planted and that he should leave some land to grow peanuts.

Peanuts are also a crop introduced from the Americas, but earlier than potatoes and sweet potatoes. However, due to the lack of active promotion by the imperial court, the planting area was not large.

At the beginning of the year, Zhang Shikang taught Dong Xiaowan how to make five-spice fried peanuts and gave a portion to Emperor Chongzhen.

Since then, Emperor Chongzhen has liked the taste and thinks it is especially suitable as a side dish for drinking.

Yes, since the back garden became a vegetable garden, Emperor Chongzhen developed a new hobby.

For example, apart from meat, he only eats vegetables that he grows himself.

If it weren't difficult to hide raising poultry and fish in the palace, he would even have thought of raising fish in Taiye Lake.

There is also Coal Mountain behind. Wuji once told him that free-range chickens are the most delicious, which are the chickens and ducks raised in the mountains.

But Emperor Chongzhen thought about it and felt that it was not feasible. If the court officials knew about this, they would probably be put to death for their remonstrance.

After all, if Coal Hill was covered with chicken manure, it would be a disgrace to the royal family.

He did not want the court officials to know about what happened in the back garden, mainly because of the lessons learned from the past.

Xizong liked carpentry, Shizong liked to cultivate Taoism, and going back further, there were those who liked cricket fighting and those who liked to run zoos...

But in the end, without exception, they were all labeled as neglecting state affairs by court officials.

Emperor Chongzhen did not want to be labeled as the vegetable-growing emperor, so no one was allowed to enter his vegetable garden.

In addition to Zhang Shikang, and Otomo Wang Chengen.

After the financial situation eased, Emperor Chongzhen's food also improved a lot. Each meal was increased from one meat and one vegetable to four dishes and one soup.

When he was in a good mood, he would even reward his important officials with lunch.

Of course, most of the dishes for lunch were grown by Emperor Chongzhen himself, and he would even ask the eunuchs to ask the important ministers for their feedback on the dishes.

The food was almost entirely praised, with some saying that the fruits and vegetables were fresh and tasted amazing. Some even exaggerated by saying they had never eaten such unique dishes.

Emperor Chongzhen was very happy, but this was different from the happiness he felt when he heard that a victory had been won at the front line.

The former is because of the country and the people, while the latter is just out of pure happiness, as if something has been satisfied.

In the center of the four-divided field, Emperor Chongzhen did not waste it, but planted seasonal vegetables such as winter melon and squash.

Whenever Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand something, he would ask the eunuchs to go to the General Manufacturing Bureau, or most of the time, to the experimental fields of the Industrial and Peasant Bureau, to find Song Yingxing.

There was nothing Song Yingxing didn't understand about farming.

Emperor Chongzhen took exceptionally good care of the vegetable garden without delaying any state affairs.

The strange thing is that although he did more things than before, Emperor Chongzhen felt more relaxed than before. Not only did his physical fitness improve, but his mood was also much better than before.

When he was tired of working, Emperor Chongzhen stood up the gold-plated hoe given to him by Zhang Shikang, put his hands on the end of the hoe and prodded it, looking at his vegetable garden with a smile.

He looked like an old farmer who was satisfied after the harvest.

At this time, Wang Chengen came in from the vegetable garden gate and whispered:

"Your Majesty, Chief Steward Fang has something to report. I have asked him to wait outside the Qianqing Palace."

Emperor Chongzhen put away his longing and looked at Wang Chengen:

"Why?"

"In reply to the emperor, I asked, but Manager Fang refused to say. Perhaps it is a very important matter." Wang Chengen took the hoe and said.

Emperor Chongzhen frowned slightly.

Fang Zhenghua, the chief steward of the Imperial Horse Administration, was in charge of the Eastern Depot's business. Since Zhang Shikang came to power, the Eastern Depot's business scope had not only not shrunk, but it also had the added task of handling the "Da Ming Monthly News".

After more than a year of hard work, "Da Ming Monthly" has become the best-selling reading material in Daming, with a monthly print run exceeding one million copies.

This is a very impressive number at a time when the literacy rate is still very low.

The content of the Daming Monthly Report is very complex, including important news from around the world, disclosures on wars, and interpretations of new policies.

Of course, there are also some strange stories, such as someone somewhere gave birth to a baby with six fingers.

A wealthy man in a certain place was shocked to find that his three children had three fathers, and he was not one of them.

Moreover, Fang Zhenghua has mastered the essence of Zhang Shikang's shocking body. Even the news of the Guanshan battle has the title:

Shocked! Our army's Grand Marshal defeated the puppet Qing Dynasty at Guanshan, killing over 100,000 enemies.

It was through the Daming Monthly Report that many of the court's new policies were implemented more quickly.

Emperor Chongzhen also liked the Ming Monthly Report very much and required that a copy of the new report be submitted to him every month. Of course, Emperor Chongzhen would not read important military intelligence as he had more authoritative information channels, such as the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

What Emperor Chongzhen liked to read were strange stories.

As a result, Emperor Chongzhen often overlooked the fact that the East Factory also had the function of supervising all officials.

After tidying up his clothes, Emperor Chongzhen returned to the Qianqing Palace. A palace maid had already brought him tea. He sat down, took a sip, and asked:

"Manager Fang, what exactly is going on? Why are you hiding it from Wang Banban?"

Fang Zhenghua was usually very serious, but this time he was even more serious. He knelt on the ground and said solemnly:

"Your Majesty, please ask your attendants to leave."

Emperor Chongzhen frowned again. He glanced at Fang Zhenghua and waved to the palace maids in the hall.

After the palace maid left the hall, Fang Zhenghua did not stand up for some reason.

His brows were furrowed, and he seemed to be in a dilemma. But it didn't take long before he made up his mind and said:

"Your Majesty, Prince Wuying seems to be plotting a rebellion."

……