Rule over Ming Dynasty

Although Empress Dowager Zhou's family had been dealt with by Zhu Youtang, the husband of Empress Dowager Zhou's daughter Princess Chongqing was beheaded in Xishi, and Princess Chongqing was confined to the princess's mansion for helping Prince Xing marry Jiang.

But Empress Dowager Zhou was not a loner in the true sense, nor was she an old witch with no worries.

Zhu Jianze is her only living son. Because she loves her youngest son so much, she wishes she could keep him by her side forever, and they often exchange letters now.

Princes who were enfeoffed in other provinces were not allowed to come to Beijing, let alone set foot in the imperial palace. This was the custom during the reign of Emperor Chengzu.

However, in the original history, Empress Dowager Zhou claimed to be ill and wanted to summon Prince Chong to the capital for a meeting. As a result, no civil or military official in the court dared to stop her, and the weak Hongzhi also had no objection.

However, history has now undergone major changes. King Chong not only did not enjoy the privilege of entering Beijing, but was also involved in this invisible struggle.

"Prince Chong? What does Zhu Youtang want to do?" When Empress Dowager Zhou saw that the matter involved her youngest son, Prince Chong, a sense of panic immediately surged in her heart.

If it was Princess Chongqing, it would be fine. She wouldn't care much about her daughter, Princess Chongqing, but she only cared about her little son who was far away in Henan.

Now, the emperor actually directed the fire towards Prince Chong, which was something she had never expected.

Eunuch Li knew that Prince Chong was the person that the Grand Empress Dowager cared about the most, and he analyzed bitterly, "Grand Empress Dowager, once Consort He insisted that Prince Chong was the one who ordered her to burn the Qianqing Palace, and there was correspondence between the He family and Prince Chong as evidence, Prince Chong's guilt would be basically established!"

Originally, he always thought that the Empress Dowager was the Emperor's grandmother after all. In this world where filial piety was respected, only the Empress Dowager had the right to bully the Emperor.

The result of the burning of the Qianqing Palace was as he expected. The incident was only traced to He Shanggong. The current cabinet minister Jia Jun was in trouble because of the food given by the Empress Dowager, and the civil and military officials in the court dared not even fart.

However, the emperor's counterattack seemed so sharp. Although the emperor did not hurt the empress dowager in any way, if Prince Chong was not dead, he would probably be skinned alive.

If the emperor keeps holding onto Prince Chong, then the Empress Dowager may seem unscathed in this contest, but she has actually lost completely, and there is no guarantee that the emperor will have any tricks up his sleeve.

When he thought of this, he began to feel uneasy. The Empress Dowager before him might not be invincible.

"This is clearly a frame-up of King Chong. Is there any justice in this world?" The Empress Dowager Zhou regained her sense of justice and angrily stood up for her youngest son.

Eunuch Li thought of the elder Jia Jun who died suddenly after drinking seafood soup for loyalty, and he seemed to be sober and advised: "Grand Empress Dowager, the most urgent task is how to help Prince Chong resolve this disaster!"

It was taboo for a prince to exchange letters with people in the palace, and now he was accused of being the culprit behind the fire in the emperor's bedroom, a crime punishable even by beheading.

In addition, the Empress Dowager had previously indirectly caused the death of cabinet minister Jia Jun. The Emperor would probably not let it go easily and might even order the death of Prince Chong.

"So what even if he puts the blame on Prince Chong? Prince Chong is his uncle!" Empress Dowager Zhou had always regarded the emperor as a junior, and she said with disdain.

The palace maids around looked at each other and realized that this hot-tempered Empress Dowager was not as smart as everyone thought. When things had come to this point, how could she still play the family card?

Eunuch Li sighed secretly, and then directly pointed out the interests involved: "Grand Empress Dowager, throughout history, it is not uncommon for uncles and nephews to fight each other. Even in this dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong boiled his uncle, the King of Han, to death. If the emperor insists on executing the King of Chong this time, I am afraid that people in the world will not blame the emperor too much!"

Unlike the Empress Dowager Zhou who was the imperial grandmother, Prince Chong was merely an imperial uncle, and the nature of killing an imperial uncle was very different from killing the imperial grandmother.

Just as Eunuch Li said, when Xuanzong boiled his uncle, the King of Han, to death, no one accused him of being unfilial, and some even did not think that his execution of the King of Han was wrong.

That's right, the emperor doesn't need to worry too much this time. Not to mention that demoting Prince Chong to a commoner would not make him feel uncomfortable, even beheading him would not have too much negative impact.

"He dares!" Empress Dowager Zhou really cared about her youngest son and threatened him harshly.

Eunuch Li didn't dare to respond, but he knew very well in his heart that the other party would naturally dare to do so.

Over the years, there was nothing that the emperor dared not do. His courage was evident from the initial killing of the Marquis of Qingyun. If he was really afraid of the Empress Dowager, there wouldn't be so many people being sent to the guillotine.

Now, with the confession of Concubine He and the letters found in He's mansion, the emperor can kill Prince Chong, and the people of the world will not blame the emperor, and may even applaud his actions.

Empress Dowager Zhou was a smart person, so she slowed down her tone and made the latest decision: "Go to the Western Garden immediately and tell the emperor to come and see me!"

Originally, she planned to fight the emperor to the end, but when she saw that the situation involved her youngest son, Prince Chong, she had to reposition herself and planned to reconcile with the emperor.

It would have been fine if he had punished his daughter, Princess Chongqing, but this time the emperor targeted his most beloved youngest son. He had no choice but to swallow his anger and compromise, and then look for an opportunity to strike the emperor hard someday.

Eunuch Li responded and went in person to convey the Empress Dowager's decision.

Due to intermittent snowfall over the past few days, the Forbidden City is now covered in silver. Many places are already covered in snow, except for the palace roads that have been cleared.

The Inner Palace and the Outer Court belong to two different areas. It is very difficult for palace people from the Outer Court to get to the Inner Palace, and it is even more difficult for those who used to be from Qingning Palace.

Before Eunuch Li reached the inner palace area, he saw several eunuchs walking towards him. He suddenly became alert and asked, "Who are you? What do you want to do?"

"Eunuch Li, you are suspected of embezzlement by falsifying accounts. Come with us to the East Factory!" Tan An raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said irresistibly.

Eunuch Li immediately realized that he had become a pawn that the emperor wanted to get rid of, so he pointed at Tan An's nose angrily and said, "How dare you? I am a member of the Empress Dowager's entourage!"

puff!
Qin An took a quick step forward and punched Eunuch Li in the face.

Eunuch Li was short and thin. He immediately felt the huge impact from the fist. He fell backwards and landed heavily on the snow.

"You really can't tell the difference between the big and small princes? You even dare to ignore the East Factory?" Tan An rubbed his fist that he had used too much force and said coldly.

Eunuch Li covered his bleeding nose and immediately realized that this was an act of revenge, so he accused the other party: "You...you are using public power for personal gain!" "Who is public? Who is private? You'd better not choose such a pig-headed person in your next life, otherwise you won't even know how to die!" Qin An waved his hand to the followers behind him and said indifferently.

Eunuch Li was filled with panic and asked in disbelief, "You, the East Factory, want to kill me? Why?"

"The evidence of your corruption is enough, not to mention that you... stood on the wrong side, and you shouldn't have killed Lord Jia!" Jia An stepped forward and lowered his voice, then kicked Eunuch Li heavily in the face.

But I don't know whether Eunuch Li is really stupid or just pretending to be stupid. It is obvious that he has dirty hands and feet, but now he dares to stand on the side of the Empress Dowager and even sends seafood soup without knowing the consequences.

Just because Eunuch Li indirectly caused the death of Lord Jia, his fate was already sealed. Now, anyone who dares to go after the palace servants who were carefully assigned tasks by the Empress Dowager will be in great danger.

Eunuch Li looked up and saw the foot kicking towards his face, and finally realized that he had foolishly chosen the wrong team. He knew that he was going to die this time, and his vision suddenly went dark.

Runing Prefecture was renamed from Caizhou. It got its name because the water from the upper reaches of the Ru River was cut off from flowing into the Ying River through Yancheng, which greatly reduced the flood disaster in Runan and brought some peace to the people.

After Emperor Yingzong was restored to the throne, he named his sixth son Zhu Jianze the first King Chong, and Chongwang City was located in Runing Prefecture.

Prince Chong Zhu Jianze is a big fat man. Although he is only 45 years old, he is much older than several emperors of the Ming Dynasty and can be considered a long-lived person.

Because he had to stay in Runing City every day and could not go anywhere, he just ate and waited for death every day. He did not have the ambition to seize the world like Prince Ning, so he became a fat man weighing 200 kilograms.

Prince Chong Zhu Jianhan was sitting on an intricately carved sandalwood chair enjoying the singing and dancing performance, but he did not have the image of an elegant prince as imagined by the outside world. He was gnawing on a pork elbow.

However, he was deeply loved by the Empress Dowager, and when he came to the fiefdom, her mother asked her brother, the emperor at the time, to reward him generously. Although the size of the palace could not be increased, the palace was decorated magnificently, with jade and porcelain ornaments in an array of colors, and the walls of the study were hung with paintings and calligraphy worth a fortune.

"Your Highness, please enjoy your meal!" Maids dressed in uniform gorgeous attire came out of the palace and served Zhu Jianze portions of delicious food and fine wine.

Prince Chong Zhu Jianze's face was greasy from eating. He had no interest in these beautiful maids and continued to eat with big mouthfuls. At the same time, he couldn't help but think about the fact that there was no letter from the capital.

Because he was used to a luxurious life, which led to too high expenses in the palace, he planned to ask the emperor for some rewards through the Empress Dowager so that his life would be more comfortable.

However, it has been half a month since the letter was sent to the capital. It should have reached the capital by now and there should have been a reply, but there was no news yet.

The left eyelid of Chong Wang Zhu Jianshen suddenly twitched. He had been feeling uneasy recently and had a vague feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened!" A eunuch walked in quickly, looking very panicked.

Zhu Jianze continued to chew on the pork elbow, and cursed nonchalantly, "Shut up your crow mouth! The current Empress Dowager is my mother, and the current Emperor is my nephew. What can I do?"

"Your Highness, there's a piece of news coming from Beijing just now. It's said that the Empress Dowager has burned down the Emperor's bedroom!" Eunuch Liu, the eunuch in charge of the palace, looked very shocked.

Zhu Jianze didn't bother to continue chewing the pork elbow in his hand. He suddenly raised his head and asked in shock: "Did the emperor burn to death?"

"That's not the case!" Eunuch Liu quickly shook his head to deny it.

Zhu Jianze put down the pork elbow in his hand, rubbed his greasy hands on his clothes, and then sent the dancers standing in the hall away: "The emperor was not burned to death, what a big deal!"

"Your Highness, although the emperor was not burned to death, I'm afraid your reward has been ruined!" Eunuch Liu said bitterly as he looked at the delicacies on the table.

Since the imperial court had begun to reform the rice allowances of the royal family and vassal states, the income of the royal family and vassal states had been greatly reduced. However, Prince Chong's Mansion had been accustomed to a life of extravagance and decadence, and for a time, it needed help from the Empress Dowager.

Now that the Emperor and the Grand Empress Dowager are at odds with each other, it is almost impossible for the Chongwang Palace to increase their rewards.

Zhu Jianze frowned, then waved his hand: "Go to the study and take a look. Which calligraphy or painting can be sold at a good price? Sell them all to me!"

Originally, he was already spending more than he earned, but he had the support of the Empress Dowager. In those days, the Empress Dowager took out a batch of ancient calligraphy and paintings from the inner treasury, which now became an important source of income for him.

"Your Highness, although the author of "Traveling in Mountains and Rivers" is unknown, someone is willing to offer one thousand silver dollars for it!" Eunuch Liu's eyes lit up, and he immediately named a specific painting.

Zhu Jianze didn't know the specific value of the calligraphy and paintings, so he waved his hand and said, "Sell it! Those calligraphy and paintings hanging in the study are an eyesore. This pork elbow is more delicious!"

The corners of Eunuch Liu's mouth twitched a few times, knowing full well that the prince in front of him was just a pig who only knew how to eat and drink.

Just at this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall, interrupting the singing and dancing performance in the hall.

"The Emperor, in accordance with the Will of Heaven, hereby declares: After investigation by the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Dali Temple, with He Shanggong as a witness and He Fu's letter as evidence, it is known that Chong Wang Zhu Jianze ordered others to set fire to the Qianqing Palace, which is a heinous crime and unforgivable... Chong Wang's title is hereby revoked, Chong Wang City is abolished, and all the people involved are taken back to the Imperial Clan Court in the capital to await trial!"

After hearing the contents of the imperial edict, Zhu Jianze collapsed to the ground, his face full of panic: "I am innocent!"

"Zhu Jianze, whether you are really wronged or not, let's talk about it when we get to the capital! Take him away!" Tan Conggui came personally and waved his hand.

Following Tan Conggui's order, the men from the East Factory immediately stepped forward and arrested all the members of Chongwang Mansion. Finally, they put a seal on the door of Chongwang Mansion.

Different from the previous situations where the title of king was stripped at most, this time the royal palace was directly stripped, and all members of the lineage of Chong Wang Zhu Jianze became criminals.

"Mother, you have harmed our son!" Zhu Jianze saw what had happened to his family, but suddenly looked towards the direction of the capital and burst into tears.

There were all kinds of signs that due to the fight between his mother and the emperor, he, a prince far away in Henan, had become a victim of this political struggle. (End of this chapter)