Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 342 Triumph
In the last month of the eighth year of Taichang, the Ming city of Beijing was always in high spirits, preparing to welcome their mighty emperor.

This year has not been easy.

Initially, the Tartars reached Gubeikou and Xifengkou, and Shanhaiguan temporarily banned the travel of merchants and civilians, creating a tense atmosphere.

Later, the emperor personally led the army to fight, and the important officials who stayed behind were responsible for keeping the capital stable. Naturally, the city defense had to be much stricter than usual.

Later, the Jinzhou border wall was breached, and it was said that Jianzhou and Korea had rebelled. That was the peak of panic among the people in the capital.

It was not until the first snow fell that news of victory began to arrive: the great victory at Laoha River, the great victory at Tashan, the great victory at Jinzhou…

Now the emperor has not returned to the capital yet, but the content of the peace treaty has been drafted and will be announced to the world when he returns to the capital.

Come to the Talk Room, there are new stories to tell.

The audience naturally had different opinions.

"We've already surrounded them, why let them go? Isn't that like letting a tiger go back to the mountains? In my opinion, we'll just drive them all into the sea to feed the fish!"

"Your Majesty is wise and powerful. Is there anything you can think of that Your Majesty can't think of?"

"Hmph! What tiger? I think it's a sick cat in disguise! Have you heard? The border general is actually very unhappy! So many Tartar heads, how much military merit must be earned!"

"Are you afraid that it will be difficult to reward you for your merits? That's not the case..."

"What do you mean by not necessary? It takes so long to travel from Xuanda to Liaodong. How much silver does it cost? I heard that Your Majesty asked for so much land from the Tartars in one go, so you can only use the land as a reward..."

Ordinary people and scholars talked and discussed on various occasions, while the Jinxian Academy was busy preparing for the grand ceremony.

Offering sacrifices to heaven, earth and the country in the Imperial Ancestral Temple are the most basic. In addition, when the emperor returns triumphantly to Beijing, the process of welcoming him back to the Forbidden City should also be extremely grand, right?

The eldest prince, who was just beginning to grow up and become sensible, also became one of the protagonists.

"Your father has been traveling around for so long, how hard it must be! He works so hard, but this increasingly stable country will be handed over to you... in the future, right? Don't complain about being tired!"

In front of Queen Guo Lanzhi, there is not only Zhu Youjian, but also Zhu Youzhu.

The two brothers were dressed in formal attire, and they had to practice hard, because they were going to go out of town together to welcome their father. Although the third brother was almost three years old, he was still too young.

The crown prince has not been officially appointed, so Guo Lanzhi cannot speak with any confidence.

Looking at her son, she said earnestly, "Even if it's cold, you must not lose your manners! You must memorize the speech and you must not tremble or shiver when you speak! Recite it again for me."

"Yes! We have heard frequent reports of victory from outside the Great Wall. Our emperor has captured the enemy and reopened the border. The barbarians in all corners of the world are terrified, and the people of the nine provinces are bowing down to us..."

It was a long piece of emotion with ill-formed sentences, but it was claimed that it was written by the eldest prince himself.

Of course, someone paid for the writing, so one must be careful. The son worships his father, and the eldest son is intelligent and generous, so these are all things to consider.

The palace is also making more preparations, including cleaning the harem.

Last year, the emperor took Concubine Shen with him when he went out of the capital for an inspection. After he came back, she was indeed pregnant and gave birth to the fourth prince this year.

This year, the emperor went to Jizhou Town and Jinzhou again, but he did not bring anyone from the harem.

Now that he has returned victorious, he must be extremely vigorous and full of pride. Naturally, the harem is eagerly looking forward to receiving his blessings.

Among them was Yehenara, and she was prepared in accordance with the imperial decree.

The decree of Empress Dowager Li.

After the good news reached the palace, Empress Dowager Li was overjoyed.

Although the situation was critical before, now that we have defeated the Tartars and expanded our territory by thousands of miles, this is naturally a sign of great prosperity!
Therefore, she now believes more and more in the fate.

The emperor is destined to be the emperor, so the Bodhisattva warned him in a dream. Yehenara had received a divination since she was a child that "the one who gets it will either prosper the world or destroy it". Now the emperor has only half of her achievements, so of course he must go further.

That’s right, the emperor only gave her a title but never visited her.

"Tell your brother clearly that the Yehe tribe must not learn from the three guards of Duo Yan! They are fence-sitters. The emperor will kill them if he catches them! If you are determined to be a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, you will enjoy endless wealth and glory, and the Yehe tribe will also enjoy endless prosperity!"

Empress Dowager Li gave her another warning, and after taking a look at her, she said, "After all, she is old, so take good care of herself. Fast and bathe, burn incense and worship Buddha. When the emperor returns to the palace, serve him wholeheartedly."

"Yes……"

Brother Dong is also very much looking forward to and shocked now.

That bastard Nurhaci actually rebelled. I heard that the government troops have already gone out of the border to suppress the Jianzhou Jurchens.

She was looking forward to hearing the news of Nurhaci's death.

Now that this expectation is placed on the Ming Dynasty, the emperor is of course the person she should be grateful to and repay.

In addition, she was certainly in awe and admired the emperor who was able to defeat the Tatar Khanate, which was far more powerful than the Yehe tribe.

She was unable to feel the undercurrents in the outside world in the deep palace. In her perception, Daming seemed to have done this calmly.

Among the important officials in the outer court, Xiao Daheng, Ye Xianggao, Li Tingji and Shen Li were working hard to sort out the government affairs within their own systems.

The long-awaited court meeting will definitely be held, as well as smaller-scale meetings.

The emperor's focus this year has been on military affairs, so this is a concentrated report on civil affairs.

To be honest, this year was the first year when they gained sufficient power as prime minister.

Because communication was not as timely as before, the emperor naturally gave them greater power to dispose.

If the power is given and the emperor feels that the results are not good enough when they are submitted, then is it that such a large power should not be given, or is it that the person who gives it is unreliable?

Now the four of them met in the main room of the Fengtian Hall.

"Needless to say, we will prepare for a year or two. Once things with the Jianzhou Jurchens and the Joseon Jurchens are going smoothly, the new policy should be implemented." Xiao Daheng looked at Shen Li and Li Tingji, "The three of you and I are old. His Majesty is using us as the bad guys to save his successors from some attacks and troubles." "How does the bad guy Xiao Duzheng do it?" Shen Li asked.

"As for me, my job is to supervise the taxation. I have to pay every penny that is due. Rewards require money. We need to build cities and forts on the new borders, build roads and bridges in Kaiping, Daning, and Liaohetao, relocate people to the borders, set up new government offices, etc...." Mr. Xiao shook his head, "There is also the expedition against Jianzhou and Korea. All the officials, gentry, and merchants in the world say I am Xiao Baopi, so I am Xiao Baopi. In short, the court needs money and food."

"Officials, gentry, wealthy businessmen..." Shen Li understood the intention behind his words.

"They are all sensible people. Now that the strict exemption is being implemented, some local governments have allowed more to remain, but some still collude with each other and use excuses to not strictly implement it; some gentry still submit hidden fields and hidden people by falsely offering them. The Administrative Council and the Ministry of Revenue do not submit clear accounts, and there is no year where the annual revenue is far higher than expected. How can people think that the Ming Dynasty's financial planning is full of problems, and how can it be changed to what Your Majesty wants?"

"Then we will focus on officials this time." Shen Li's eyes narrowed, "Is it really possible?"

"Hasn't the Imperial Court been looking forward to it? It wasn't possible before, but it is possible now." Xiao Daheng smiled, "Your Majesty is good at commanding, and the government troops are loyal and brave. Now your Majesty has killed millions of soldiers in Mobei, and the sword on his waist is still bloody!"

Ye Xianggao's expression froze when he heard this.

This is comparing Your Majesty to Emperor Taizu. The original poem of Emperor Taizu is: Kill all the millions of soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River, the sword on the waist is still bloody! The old monk does not know the hero, but only asks for his name.

Taizu started his business by driving the Tartars northward from Jiangnan and founding his country. He killed millions of soldiers from Jiangnan and countless aristocratic families from Jiangnan who had supported Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang.

But now what remains the same are martial arts and prestige.

Xiao Daheng looked at Li Tingji again and said, "Get ready for the imperial examinations and the imperial inspections. There will be so many positions in the future, and according to your majesty's temperament, only the most capable will be appointed, and background will not be too important. For those who can reform themselves, the northern border is a good place. For those who have committed serious crimes, they should be exiled to the border."

In the center of the Forbidden City, who knows what kind of bloody storm their discussions will lead to.

But this is indeed due to practical needs.

The emperor, who returned victoriously, had hoped to shock the world with this great victory.

To put it bluntly, we should continue internal reforms while avoiding any pressing external concerns.

Now that we have such a great victory, we can kill two birds with one stone.

Who would dare to hope for the chance again on the grounds that he had heard about the "chaos" in the civil affairs of the two capitals and provinces during the war after returning to Beijing? He already had the basic prestige and martial virtue of Taizu's "harsh treatment of the gentry in the world", but after all, he was clear about rewards and punishments and was lenient and wise.

Therefore, the important officials he appointed had to create this condition for him.

Shen Li was silent for a moment, then said decisively: "Okay! Then I will make preparations. Since the beginning of the summer grain harvest this year, I don't know how many people have been spreading rumors that troubled times are coming and hoarding grain. The people of Huaiyang have been encouraged to flee south to the south of the Yangtze River, and I don't know how many local big families have kept the common people, saying that they should build a stronghold to protect themselves just in case."

These things do exist, but before the battle situation becomes clear and victory is achieved, it would be a bad idea to create even greater tensions internally.

Now, autumn has passed.

Ye Xianggao said worriedly: "Although it is groundless worry, it can only be regarded as a sign of people's anxiety, and it is difficult to accuse them of a crime."

"Crimes?" Shen Li sneered, "The Inspection Office has plenty of them! It's just that His Majesty suppressed it before, not wanting the Inspection Office to disrupt the government, nor wanting to cause officials and gentry to be insecure. But the style of officials and scholars cannot be changed without a bloody storm! Governor Xiao said it's time, what is Secretary Ye worried about?"

"…The Imperial Study is only responsible for passing on information, so I won't say much."

"Prime Minister Li, let's use the selection of new officials for the Northern Frontier as an excuse to hold the imperial examination next year! The academic supervisors will also hold an imperial examination on the grounds of selecting talents for promotion!"

Ye Xianggao lowered his head and said nothing.

This favor...is not easy to accept.

As they each made their own preparations, the imperial carriage finally approached Beijing.

On December 18, the wind was biting cold, but the atmosphere outside Yongding Gate was hot.

When the emperor returned in triumph, he would naturally walk due south, and after entering Yongding Gate, he would offer sacrifices to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains and rivers.

Zhu Changluo appeared before his subjects, and amid the cheers of "Long live the emperor", he also listened to the congratulations of his two sons who could walk on their own.

He looked at Beijing, which he had been away from for several months, and at his two well-behaved sons, and felt happy.

He did not sit in the specially arranged carriage, but instead led one on each side.

"Let's go! Let the people see that I and my sons are full of vitality!"

This is a long way to go. Zhu Changluo can certainly walk it, and Zhu Youjian will also grit his teeth and keep going, but Zhu Youzhu probably won't be able to walk for too long.

The weather is cold too.

So after offering sacrifices to the heaven, earth and mountains, it became that Zhu Changluo just led Zhu Youjian away, and Erzhuzi sat in the car.

"Are you tired?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"Not tired!" Zhu Youjian remembered his mother's instructions, stood straight, and let the cold wind blow on his tender face.

But my father’s hands were warm.

"That's good." Zhu Changluo looked at the gate tower of Zhengyang Gate from afar and said leisurely, "Father has conquered a larger territory. You will have a harder time than him in the future. Remember their praise of father today. In the future, you must aspire to receive greater and more sincere respect!"

Young Zhu Youjian tilted his head and looked up at his father who was looking straight ahead, then nodded heavily: "Son, I remember it!"

Behind them, the ministers who followed into the city naturally followed.

Fortunately, the emperor did not walk fast.

It seemed as if he wanted to enjoy more of his subjects' support and cheers, or as if he was considerate of the old age of some of his old ministers.

But along this long journey, many people have also gained some feelings.

I'm afraid... the ministers are too old and will not be suitable to follow you in the future.

The emperor did this deliberately, probably to show his subjects that the ruler of the Ming Dynasty is still young and has successors.

Today’s achievements are just like the rising sun.

(End of this chapter)