eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 200
From the fifth watch on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the time of Prince Zhu Houzhao does not belong to him.The various processes and every word spoken in the Great Court Meeting and the Great Banquet have been predetermined in advance.

This is not a place and occasion for being clever, when the empress in the harem meets a married woman, and it is not a time when Zhu Houzhao can see each other with a lady from a certain palace and have an imaginary love.

Don't look blindly, even if you can tell whether this group of delicate and beautiful women are married or waiting for marriage, but you can't tell if you are confused. When you look back, you find out that they are related to you. Love, that's not what Zhu Houzhao wants.

So don't have illusions, just say what you should say to your courtiers, and don't go to Wenhua Hall if you should appear in Fengtian Hall. Everything will pass in peace and stability. When something happened, it would be even worse for Emperor Hongzhi to breathe again.

But it's not the time to relax at all.
Zhu Houzhao would watch musicians and operas invited from the outside in the palace, and when he had a lot of time, he would organize some eunuchs in the palace to perform a Cuju, but it was nothing interesting.He didn't kick, he could only watch, and when he kicked, everyone stood and watched him kick, not even daring to touch him.

Fortunately, although it was plain, the big and small affairs in the palace were not chaotic. When the prince was found, there was an order to explain what to do. Emperor Hongzhi was also relieved when the news reached his ears.

Zhu Houzhao also considered going out of the palace, but he canceled it to reduce the emperor's worries. Besides, it was not good to hear the news. His father was sick, and it was not good for you to travel outside the palace.

If there is anything different from the prescribed actions in etiquette, Zhu Houzhao wrote a letter to Wang Jia. It's nothing serious, just telling him that the palace is a little boring, how are you doing outside the palace?
It happened that Li Dongyang was a guest at his house and saw this scene.

Although Mr. Li Ge was an extremely human minister, his personal fate was very tragic.

The eldest son Li Zhaoxian was smart since childhood, but died at the age of 27.It should be due to too much pressure, reading books, fell ill in the examination room, and died before taking the exam.The second son was only ten years old, and the third son was even younger and died when he was one year old.Therefore, Li Dongyang has a sentence in "Crying Wuer" Volume [-] of "Huailutang Poetry Draft": "Children are dissatisfied with birth, so they are lifelong."

He also had three daughters, but basically they all died during the Chenghua period.

To this day, there is no child at this age, only a son from the brothers in the clan.

So when it comes to the Chinese New Year, Li Dongyang, who is prominent in front of people, looks sad.

Historically, after Zhengde succeeded to the throne, the elders Liu and Xie returned to their hometowns. Only Li Dongyang stayed. Later generations interpreted it from various angles. I don’t know if you have ever thought about it. Li Dongyang is not in the imperial court. It is barren.

Because it was a letter delivered from the palace, even if Li Dongyang was present, Wang Jia would tell him to wait a while to finish reading it.But after watching it, it looks weird.

Li Dongyang asked: "Is there something wrong?"

"No." Wang Jia shook his head, the prince gave him a letter, he couldn't talk much with others, especially the tone inside was like a friend to a friend, others might show off, but he wouldn't, "Mr. Xi Ya said earlier , the prince intends to formulate a plan, but I don't know what the plan is?"

Li Dongyang saw that he didn't have anything to say, so he didn't ask more questions, and then said: "I heard that the prince should cover everything, and every yamen in the capital should have it. The heavenly officials also know that the prince cares about one thing. It is uncertain when it will be just a note announcing people to enter the palace. Therefore, Mr. Liu Ge means that the cabinet should discuss it with the ministries first, so as not to be caught off guard after the opening of the office."

"As far as the Ministry of Officials is concerned, it is Hongzhi's 18-year plan, and a goal for the next three or even five years. His Royal Highness will definitely ask at that time, so I wonder if we should draw up something first?"

After hearing this, Wang Jia couldn't help but shook his head and smiled slightly, and then apologized and said, "Mr. Xi Ya, forgive me, but I laughed for something else. It was when the prince was still young and studying, he made a great wish to revitalize Daming As for my own responsibility, I felt impassioned in my heart when I heard it, but I didn't expect that after only a few years, His Highness told us people to think about business affairs during the Chinese New Year. From this point of view, a prosperous age can be expected."

A prosperous age can be expected... Probably many people are thinking this way,
Emperor Hongzhi never appeared on the Zhengdan Festival this year.

Although with the current power of the Eastern Palace, the imperial court cannot be chaotic.But all sorts of speculations are unavoidable, officials of all sizes in the DPRK should have already prepared to change their name to the emperor.

Wang Jia's words made Li Dongyang feel this way.

The talent of the prince is obviously better than that of the current emperor, which is a common consensus.

Some people in the court are impetuous because of this matter, and some people are actually holding back their energy, waiting for the sage to come to the court, waiting to stand bravely at the forefront.

Everyone dare not say it, but everyone thinks so.

"Lu Shumao's reputation has been ruined, and now officials, big and small, don't want to make a fool of themselves." Li Dongyang leaned closer, "The cabinet doesn't even want to. Their juniors can still be thick-skinned, but we can't afford it."

This is true.

Wang Jia thought about it carefully, "Mr. Xiya, if it takes three to five years to make a plan for the affairs of the Ministry of Officials, I think there is a question that can be thrown out for a test."

"Appreciate further details."

"Redundant officer."

The problem of redundant officials is actually the same as many problems. It has become more and more serious with the decline of the feudal dynasty. To a certain extent, it is also an inevitable product of imperial power, because the emperor does not trust officials, and it will inevitably appear. Work, another person monitors his work, and then sends someone to monitor the work of the person who monitors other people's work.

Just like chief envoys, inspectors, and commanders, they are officials at the provincial level, but because the emperor doesn't trust them very much, they came up with governors. The governors were not fixed at the beginning. In fact, the emperor sent someone to inspect Fan, later found that the demand was great, so he fixed the governor.

Later, according to actual needs, a governor was created. The governor had too much power, and the emperor was worried, so he sent eunuchs to guard him.

Therefore, the "separation of powers" at the provincial level in the Ming Dynasty was not the three envoys Zhu Yuanzhang first envisioned, but the governor, the governor, and the guarding eunuch.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty also had the system of Enyin, that is, important officials of the court were eligible to allow one of their sons to obtain an official status and receive a salary. At first, this was to win over the official group, but after more than 100 years, they have actually raised many People who don't work.

Of course, there are also Chuanfeng officials. Since the Chenghua period, the emperor has appointed officials at will according to his will. The quantity and cost are minor issues, which mainly hurt the scholars who came up through the imperial examination. They study hard and work hard to death. , In the end, it is better to please the emperor.

As soon as Wang Jia said these two words, Li Dongyang nodded in agreement, but also frowned, "The problem of entrusting officials is not a big problem. Your Highness always puts state affairs first. But other places want to abolish officials. , is really a big deal.”

"Isn't this what Mr. Xi Ya said about the three-year or five-year period? I thought, as long as a part is reduced every year, it is a good governance. The official department has the same good governance, and other yamen also have some. The accumulation of less makes more. Why don't you worry that the court doesn't have a prosperous scene?"

"Okay! Then bring this issue up." Li Dongyang slapped his thigh and heaved a sigh of relief, "His Royal Highness has already talked about the cabinet that day. He said that we can't put it aside because the issue is too big and involves a lot. Procrastinating like this will only make it more difficult in the future.”

Wang Jia could imagine the picture of the prince saying these words, "Mr. Xiya, we must also seize the opportunity. Your Highness has the courage and means, and what is even more commendable is that he has the patience to solve the problem slowly. Mingzhu is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we must cherish it."

How rare this is, the two of them are veterans who have experienced the Chenghua and Hongzhi dynasties, so they can naturally understand it personally.If those in power don't advocate to promote the resolution of these problems, once they miss it, the Ming Dynasty will be full of wars in just a few generations.

Scenes like Wang Jia's house also happened in Beijing's important minister's house. After all, Liu Jian and Xie Qian were not idle either.

After Li Dongyang left, Wang Jia read the letter from the crown prince again, feeling even heavier in his heart.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao will not write letters to people inexplicably. Different people have different methods. When facing Yang Yiqing, he must show him the bottom line, and when facing Wang Jia, he must show kindness. The more kindness he gives, the greater the pressure on him. The less likely you are to object easily.

The big court meeting after the opening of the Yamen will inevitably raise some profound questions, and Zhu Houzhao also needs the unconditional support of these ministers.

Life is full of politics, which cannot be avoided by Zhu Houzhao.

Time flies, and the Lantern Festival passes in the blink of an eye.On the nineteenth day of the first lunar month, a lantern in the East Palace approached the prince's bedroom at night and woke up His Highness.

Zhu Houzhao stood up with sore eyes, and asked, "Father, is there someone to report?"

The eunuch didn't care about the cold on the ground, he propped his hands up and said in a trembling voice: "If you go back to Your Highness, not yet."

Zhu Houzhao sighed, the matter of the Qingning Palace was requested by him earlier, seeing that the emperor was not good, many eunuchs actually took the prince's words first and did not dare to disobey.

However, the concealment was for the sake of the emperor's health, but it was obviously inappropriate to conceal it at the last moment.

He sighed, "Send someone to report."

For several months, many people have been afraid of something happening in their hearts. Unexpectedly, instead of waiting for the news, they waited for the bad news of Qingning Palace.The Empress Dowager Zhou lasted a few months longer than in history, but she died suddenly when Emperor Hongzhi was seriously ill. It is not known what the impact will be.

In Hongzhi's 18th year, it really started with funerals.

At this time, Liu Jin, Qiu Yun and others all arrived, and they hurriedly changed the prince's clothes. Qiu Yun also took an embroidery bag, "Your Highness, here are chopped ginseng, take a few more slices in your mouth!"

The prince has worked hard during the new year, but now he has not had time to recuperate, and he has encountered adversity. It is not known whether the prince can survive this hurdle and this challenge.

"Okay." Zhu Houzhao patted his cheek and ordered, "Open the gate of the palace!"

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I took a nap at noon and overslept, so the update is an hour late, sorry.

Tomorrow, it’s hard to say about the update. I look at my own state. If I can write a chapter, I will update it. Top-heavy...

(End of this chapter)