The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 281 Information Barriers
Tang Hao is preparing to leave Beijing.

Zhu Houzhao was a little annoyed.

He insisted on taking Tang Hao out for a walk.

His Majesty the Emperor was upset, but it was not because of the court affairs.

To be honest, the current situation in the court is "very good".

Zhu Chenhao, a rebellious king with ulterior motives, was enjoying a fight with the civil officials and gentry headed by the chief minister of the cabinet, Yang Tinghe.

Zhu Houzhao was very happy when he saw this. It was worth it for him to suppress the murderous intent in his heart and give Zhu Chenhao a chance!

If you can't even defeat Yang Tinghe, then what's the point of your rebellion?

Therefore, what really worried Zhu Houzhao was the issue of his offspring.

Yesterday, Liu Wentai, the most famous doctor in the Imperial Hospital, personally examined the emperor and empress and confirmed that there were no problems with either of them. At least in terms of having children, that was completely achievable.

However, Liu Wentai mentioned that Zhu Houzhao was in very poor health, with weak breathing, back pain, weak feet and knees, etc.

Well, this is a sign of kidney deficiency!
So Zhu Houzhao was very annoyed now, and he finally understood why Queen Xia's stomach had not responded.

If anyone is to blame, it can only be Zhu Houzhao himself. He spent the previous year and a half on Feng'er, a boy lover, and ended up making himself weak.

Thinking back to the strange look Empress Xia gave him last night, even though Zhu Houzhao was thick-skinned enough, he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

So when Tang Hao wanted to leave again at this moment, Zhu Houzhao started to act like a child and insisted that he find a way to take him out of the palace to relax before leaving.

At first Tang Hao refused and didn't even want to pay attention to this guy.

But Zhu Houzhao's stubborn temper came out and no one could persuade him.

In desperation, Tang Hao could only ask Chen Kuan to find a set of eunuch's clothes for Zhu Houzhao to change into, and then took him out of the palace in a swagger.

The civil officials and gentry were completely unaware of this. Yang Tinghe had finally obtained solid evidence against Zhu Chenhao through the Censorate and was rushing to the Qianqing Palace to meet the emperor, ready to deal a fatal blow to Zhu Chenhao. However, he was told that the Emperor was missing. The Prime Minister was dumbfounded on the spot.

In the downtown area of ​​the capital, there are cars coming and going and people flowing.

You should know that Beijing, as the imperial capital of the Ming Dynasty, was not only the national political center, but also the center of international exchanges. Foreign envoys coming to pay tribute were often seen. The tribute items included rare birds and animals such as lions, tigers, zebras, peacocks, ostriches, ivory, gems, corals, rhino horns and other rare treasures.

The larger markets in the capital of the Ming Dynasty included Chaoqian Market, Lantern Market, Inner Market, Poor Man Market and City God Temple Market, but only Chaoqian Market was open every day. The scope of this market roughly started from the Zhengyang Bridge Archway in the south and ended at Daming Gate in the north. It was the most popular and prosperous street block in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty.

Since Zhu Houzhao wanted to come out and relax, Tang Hao simply took him to this bustling market to stroll around and let the Zhengde Emperor, who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, breathe in the smell of cigarettes.

This Chaoqian City is known as "where scholars, civilians, workers and merchants from all over the world come and gather here, jostling each other and bustling all day long". Various shops are lined up on both sides of the street, some with tall signs, and shop assistants are singing loudly to attract customers. In the middle of the street, someone is carrying two large cages, attracting passers-by to stop and watch. The cages actually contain ferocious lions and tigers, and the horse riders escorting them are dressed in strange clothes. They are obviously foreign envoys who have come to pay tribute.

Not far ahead, several officials were riding horses out of the alley. Two people in front were holding sticks and shouting, and there were people holding fans to protect them. I didn't know whether they were shopping or rushing to a business place. Looking further ahead, there were people driving a few camels leisurely, perhaps they came from the distant frontier.

These were extremely new to Zhu Houzhao, who had lived in the deep palace for a long time. He looked around. Seeing this, Tang Hao felt a little pity for no reason.

Yes, mercy.

Although it seems a bit ridiculous to pity an emperor who rules the world, the thoughts in one's heart will not lie.

Is it really that good to be an emperor?

At least that was not the case in Tang Hao's eyes, it was even pitiful to the extreme.

Zhu Houzhao was the eldest son of Emperor Hongzhi and the only adult son, so he was blessed with the advantage of being designated as emperor at an early age.

However, during his growth process, all forces placed their chips. The civil officials included Yang Tinghe, Liang Chu, Mao Ji, Jiang Mian and other teachers of the Eastern Palace; the eunuchs included Liu Jin, Gu Dayong and other eight tigers; even his wife, Queen Xia, was involved in various calculations and games of power behind the scenes.

So to be honest, Zhu Houzhao was just a poor guy who was schemed against by various forces.

Moreover, because of the actions of the scum emperor Zhu Qizhen, the "Ming Dynasty God of War", the emperors of the Ming Dynasty could not easily leave the palace after that, let alone lead the army in person. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao was unable to leave the palace many times in his life. The last time he left the palace was to attend Tang Hao's wedding.

Among those forces that plotted against him, the civil officials and gentry were undoubtedly the most ruthless and the most ruthless.

They wanted to create another wise and benevolent ruler like Emperor Hongzhi, so they used their skilled Confucian rhetoric and utilized benevolence, righteousness, morality and patriarchal rituals to put layer of shackles on the emperor in order to achieve the goal of undermining the imperial power.

Unfortunately, Zhu Houzhao is not his father, Emperor Hongzhi, and Tang Hao will not allow Zhu Houzhao to become his father, Emperor Hongzhi!
Look, I’m taking the poor guy out for some fresh air.

The two walked north along Zhengyangmen Street and soon saw a large archway with five rooms, six pillars and five floors. A peddler was carrying a load on his shoulder and knocking on a wooden clapper with his face slightly raised. He might be looking at the plaque on the archway, thinking about which store he should send his goods to in order to maximize his profits.

Behind the archway, three narrow bridges span the moat side by side. Across the bridge is the Zhengyangmen City Wall, with a majestic arrow tower standing on the moon wall. On both sides of the archway, on and under the bridge, and especially between the stone bridge and the moon wall, many small vendors gather, some setting up tables, some carrying loads, and others simply placing their goods on the ground.

The south gate of the city wall was only for the emperor to enter and exit. Usually the main gate was closed and pedestrians could only enter through the east and west side gates. The space inside the city wall was not large, but there were many vendors active there, and stalls were even set up inside the doorway.

There is a small temple on each side of the Zhengyang Gate in the city wall. The west one is dedicated to Guandi and the east one is dedicated to Guanyin. A woman holding a bundle of incense is about to enter the Guanyin Temple to worship. Outside the east and west gates of the city wall, there are shops everywhere and many tourists.

Zhu Houzhao was in a good mood and insisted on taking Tang Hao to the temple to worship. However, the emperor and his minister had a disagreement on who to worship.

Tang Hao naturally wanted to worship Lord Guan, a righteous Lord Guan who was revered by every warrior. However, Zhu Houzhao was like a lunatic and insisted on worshipping Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. It was not known whether he went there to pray for a child.

Finally, Tang Hao seemed to have thought of something and allowed Zhu Houzhao to pull him into the Guanyin Temple.

This small temple is not big, with only a clay statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva, but it is very popular, with women coming in one after another to burn incense.

Looking at Zhu Houzhao who could hardly walk, Tang Hao finally became alert. It seemed like he had dug a big hole for himself.

So Marquis Zhongshan grabbed the emperor and dragged him out of the Guanyin Temple. He found a deserted place and roughly lifted Zhu Houzhao up and pushed him against the wall.

The Jinyiwei who were secretly protecting all around were so frightened when they saw this scene that their legs almost went weak.

They subconsciously looked at Mou Bin, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who was disguised as a peddler and whose face was also filled with panic at the moment.

What the hell, Marquis Zhongshan, are you fucking crazy?
You were talking and laughing and having fun just now, why did you attack His Majesty the Emperor as soon as you came out?
That's His Majesty the Emperor, the only heir of the royal family, can't you show him a little respect?
Zhu Houzhao had been favored and pampered since childhood. He had never been treated so rudely that he couldn't help but get furious.

"Savage, you are f*cking crazy, let me... this young master down!"

"Zhu Houzhao!" Tang Hao warned with red eyes, "I'm warning you, don't touch those lewd women you're trying to rob!"

"They all have husbands and children. As a human being, you would never do such a disgusting thing without any bottom line. Do you understand?"

"Think about your wife and daughter. If they were abducted and raped by some powerful person, would you be able to endure it?"

Zhu Houzhao was stunned when he heard this, and then lowered his head with shame on his face.

He was indeed dazzled by what he saw just now, and had some ideas in mind. He was thinking about asking someone to arrange something and try something new. However, before he could reveal his thoughts, he was discovered by Tang Hao and was now being taught a lesson.

"Alright, alright, I got it, let me down now!"

After hearing this, Tang Hao still did not let go.

"I brought you out here to relax, not to bring disaster to the people!"

"If I find out that you dare sneak out of the palace while I'm not in the capital, or if you dare rob or forcibly take women back to the palace to commit adultery, be careful of your skin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Hao punched Zhu Houzhao on the side of his head, creating a hole in the solid city wall. Zhu Houzhao was stunned by the flying dust.

Tang Hao let go of his hand and turned away.

It's not that he is making a fuss out of nothing, but Zhu Houzhao actually did this in history.

This guy was famous for his "extreme debauchery". He was not interested in the concubines in the palace who followed the rules. He was more interested in women among the people. When he was touring the north, "every night he would rush into tall houses or large rooms, asking for drinks or searching for women, and the people suffered from it." His servants captured women from decent families to serve as his "favorite concubines", sometimes as many as dozens of carts, and women died every day.

Tang Hao didn't want to take Zhu Houzhao out of the palace to relax, but end up opening Pandora's box. So when he saw Zhu Houzhao staring at the commoner woman with lustful eyes, he flew into a rage and directly warned the boy severely.

Zhu Houzhao was humiliated and saw that Tang Hao was really angry and turned away without paying any attention to him. He also realized the seriousness of the problem.

Just at this moment, Mou Bin hurried over with the Jinyiwei.

"Your Majesty, Lord Tang..." "All of them, get out!"

Zhu Houzhao roared angrily.

"Even if Lord Tang really wanted to attack me just now, could you stop him?"

The Jinyiwei took one look at the hole in the city wall created by the punch, and they all swallowed their saliva and kept silent.

Is this something that can be done by human power?

If Zhongshan Hou punches them, they might die!
Mou Bin also smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"That's it, get out of here!"

"Don't bother me to relax!"

Zhu Houzhao angrily drove away these rubbish, and then quickly caught up with Tang Hao.

"Savage, have you become stronger again?"

"Savage, did you use all your strength in that punch just now?"

"Savage, you are so damn powerful, who can withstand this punch?"

“Savage…”

Tang Hao was extremely annoyed, but he couldn't really do anything to this kid, so he could only stop and look at Zhu Houzhao helplessly.

"Can you shut up?"

"I'm hungry, I want to eat!"

Zhu Houzhao laughed and spoke.

Tang Hao sighed and could only lead the way.

Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao hummed a little tune proudly.

Humph, I can’t cure you yet!
The two came to the largest restaurant in the market, and Tang Hao directly asked the shopkeeper to bring up all the special dishes.

While eating, drinking and chatting, the unpleasantness that had occurred previously completely disappeared.

Just when the two were chatting happily, a shrill noise came from downstairs.

Zhu Houzhao looked over and was immediately delighted.

"I didn't expect that the method you gave to the Royal Guards would really work. Look at these guys, they are so angry!"

It turned out that a group of scholars dressed as students were talking loudly, and what they were discussing was the crimes of Japan.

"Oh!"

I saw a man slamming his hand on the table angrily, and then said: "Wakoku is a small country, yet it dares to repeatedly offend the might of the Ming Dynasty. It is simply courting death!"

"We didn't know before that Japan was so arrogant that it even dared to disrespect our great ancestor Emperor Gao!"

"They also disguised themselves as Japanese pirates and wantonly plundered Shandong, Liaoning and other places in our Ming Dynasty. No wonder the Japanese pirates are always a threat. This is simply outrageous!"

Someone followed up angrily.

"Isn't Japan a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty? Do they still take the Ming Dynasty seriously? I heard that they haven't come to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty for many years!"

Someone else followed up.

"What a bullshit vassal state! Haven't you heard? The reason they pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty is to make profits from the trade!"

"This time, Japan has been in civil strife and war, and our Celestial Empire sent the great scholar Xie Duo to mediate, but after three years of fighting, they failed. These damned Japanese actually respect the great scholar Xie!"

"What?" a scholar shouted angrily: "This is outrageous!"

"The imperial court must send out a large army to severely teach Japan a lesson. It would be best if the King of Japan came to the Ming Dynasty in person to apologize!"

"Hahaha... Which King of Japan are you talking about? There are two Kings of Japan in Japan! What about the Shogun and the Emperor of Japan!"

"What a bunch of barbarians who don't know etiquette and law! What Emperor Taizu Gao said is true. If the king is unjust, the people will become thieves!"

"What's the point of just apologizing? The key is to kill all these pirates. Do you really think that the Ming Dynasty is easy to bully?"

The scholars became more and more excited as they spoke.

Scholars are good at making comments on the country, writing inspiring articles, and expressing their opinions freely. These are the scholars that the country needs.

After all, they have not yet entered the officialdom, have not experienced the intrigues of the officialdom, and the blood in their bodies has not yet been extinguished.

Tang Hao looked at these guys and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Your Majesty, this is the will of the people."

"Or to put it simply, this is the power of public opinion!"

"The power of public opinion?" Zhu Houzhao asked, seemingly understanding.

"That's right!" Tang Hao took a sip of tea. "To put it bluntly, this era is an era controlled by civil officials, scholars and gentry!"

"The civil officials and gentry are in charge of the government, so they control the discourse in the court; the local gentry control the land, so they also control the local discourse. In other words, the discourse of the entire Ming Dynasty is in their hands!"

"For example, I, the Marquis of Zhongshan, have become infamous under the manipulation of public opinion by these gentry and nobles. I am a household name and a treacherous minister who deceives the emperor and persecutes loyal officials. But in fact, Your Majesty knows clearly in his heart that all I have done is for the Ming Dynasty."

"But the problem is that the scholars and students below don't understand, and the common people are naturally even less clear. Your Majesty, do you understand?"

Zhu Houzhao's pupils suddenly shrank and he began to think seriously about Tang Hao's words.

The right to speak!
The power of public opinion!
"Savage, are you saying... let me try to control this... the power of public opinion?"

"That's right!" Tang Hao said solemnly, "In case you have no place to vent your energy and end up harming the people, why not give you a task before you leave?"

"The Tongzhengsi is the mouthpiece of the emperor, but due to the expansion of the power of the cabinet over the years, it has gradually weakened. The problem lies in its functions."

"There are no such things as fools or stupid men and women in this world. The common people are all simple and kind. The reason why they appear ignorant is because they have no channels to learn about the affairs of the court. Think about it, these common people have to go to the fields as soon as they open their eyes, work at sunrise, rest at sunset, and go to bed at night. They are confined to the fields all their lives. How can they understand the outside world?"

"But think about it again. It is precisely because they have no channels to understand the outside world that the countryside they live in is like an independent kingdom. They have no chance to contact the imperial court at all. All matters depend on the gentry and powerful people in the countryside. They don't understand the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Everything is decided by these gentry and powerful people. They don't know who the current emperor is. In their eyes, the highest official may be the county magistrate, but they can't contact him. So these gentry and powerful people are local emperors in their eyes..."

Just as Zhu Houzhao's face became increasingly ugly, Tang Hao finally revealed his ultimate goal.

"This is called... information barrier!"

"The gentry used their power to deliberately create this information barrier, making Your Majesty unaware of the people, and the people unaware of their emperor. All information must pass through these gentry, so they will naturally tell the people what is beneficial to them, and immediately eliminate what is not beneficial to them!"

"To put it more bluntly, when Your Majesty was fighting with these gentry, through these information barriers, the gentry could even incite the common people to stand on their side and fight against you, the unjust and incompetent monarch!"

"Bastard!" Zhu Houzhao was so angry that his face turned red.

He had never heard these heart-piercing words before.

However, if you calm down and think about it, it is hard not to believe it!

"Because the people have no idea what you are doing or why you are doing it. Everything they hear and see is what the gentry deliberately let them hear and see!"

"Your Majesty, in the next year, you should work hard to break this information barrier!"

(End of this chapter)