The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 245 The First Message of the First Year of Hongxi (Fifth Update)
Seeing that Li Fang understood, Li Xianmu said no more.

"If my family is to be restored to its noble status, then many of the marriages we are currently considering will have to be changed."

In the past, the Li family mainly relied on Li Xianmu to improve their status. Since it was Li Xianmu who brought about this, the benefits naturally varied depending on who benefited from it.

As Li Xianmu's nephew and niece, they naturally received great benefits, whether in official positions or through marriage, they could enjoy treatment far exceeding that of Li Fang and Li Mao.

But now that Li Fang has become a Duke, his status is naturally very different. The children of a Duke of the highest rank naturally possess great power, especially the heir apparent of the Duke.

To be considered a good match, one must choose from the legitimate daughters of dukes and marquises, or the legitimate daughters of ministers.

“Every marriage is an opportunity to find allies. Third brother, who do you think you need as political allies? Now that we have many children, we can arrange some marriages between our children and our families.”

Marriages among scions of noble families have always been like this, including the marriage between Li Xianmu and Zhang Wan, which was also a political marriage. It was just that Zhang Wan genuinely loved Li Xianmu, which added a touch of warmth to the marriage.

Li Xianmu pondered and said, "It's really hard to say now. There's no one who particularly needs to be bound by marriage for the time being, so let's not rush this matter. We'll discuss it again during the New Year. The decree to restore the title will probably not be issued until the Hongxi era."

We are still using the reign title of the twenty-fourth year of Yongle, and the era of the first year of Hongxi will not officially begin until next year.

……

The Yongle era ended with the end of the reign title and was completely left behind in the past. All those glorious moments and shadows were buried in the dust of history with the death of Emperor Yongle.

Tens of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty welcomed the Hongxi era amidst the sound of firecrackers during the New Year!
The emperor sitting on the throne was someone on whom great hopes were placed since he was a crown prince. He was kind, wise, and decisive. In just a few months after ascending the throne, he corrected many of the mistakes made by the late emperor and brought order to the entire court.

Everyone believed that the Ming Dynasty would usher in a new glorious era during the Hongxi reign, and that the ills of the Hongwu reign would be completely eradicated in this era!
Li Xianmu was also full of ambition. He was the emperor's most trusted minister. Compared to the late emperor, who was somewhat wary of him, the current emperor treated him like family and supported almost all of his policies.

Many of the measures that were praised by the world came from Li Xianmu's suggestions. Zhu Gaochi was able to ask the right questions on almost every issue, and then the emperor and his ministers worked together to implement the new policies.

Even Li Xianmu, who had always been wary of politics, couldn't help but sigh that Zhu Gaochi was simply a gift from heaven to be emperor, and that it was no wonder that the Li family had worked so hard for two generations to help Zhu Gaochi ascend to the throne.

What Zhu Gaochi brought to the Li family was not only political trust, but more importantly, the possibility of realizing political ambitions. Li Xianmu felt that 70% of the problems that his father had told him about during the Hongwu reign could be solved during the Hongxi reign.

The first day of the first month of the first year of the Hongxi reign!

Li Xianmu, full of confidence and composure, knelt in the ancestral hall, offered incense to his father, and said lightly, "Father, you must have seen the Crown Prince ascend the throne. He is indeed as you said, a wise and benevolent ruler."

I will correct all the things you said back then, and the Ming Dynasty will surely usher in its most glorious era. The Li family will also reach its peak in this era.

May Father bless the family from heaven, and may Father watch closely as his son brings prosperity to the family.

Your son will always be your pride!

After saying this, Li Xianmu kowtowed several times on the ground before taking out the jade slip and beginning the annual routine of listening to his father's prayers.

Judging from the recent passing of the late emperor, the value of this information is immeasurable. If we could obtain similar information again, it would be almost equivalent to glimpsing the future.

"The Supreme One understands the profound mystery, the Ancestral Gods are above, the first day of the first month, Yin and Yang communicate with the underworld."

Li Xianmu, a descendant of the Li family, respectfully requests his ancestor to issue a decree to bless his descendants!

With a solemn expression, Li Xianmu held the jade slip and recited the incantation his father had instructed him to recite one by one.

This was the first time he used this magical artifact during the Hongxi era, and he hoped to obtain useful information.

With a wave of his hand, the mirror, carved from a single piece of spirit jade, quietly appeared in his palm, still as warm and smooth as the first rays of the warm sun.

The thin mist-like haze on the mirror surface quietly dissipated.

The map of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty was once again vividly displayed before Li Qi. It not only included a map of the Ming Dynasty, but also a map of Japan.

The area around Iwami Ginzan was particularly bright.

Li Qi looked at the mirror and immediately saw a purple message. The rest were blue and white messages. Without hesitation, he clicked on the purple message.

With just one glance, Li Qi fell silent.

"The emperor died on the twelfth of May!"

Li Qi looked at his son kneeling in the ancestral hall, who was beaming with pride, probably still looking forward to a bright future. He glanced at the message in his hand and fell silent. But in the end, he didn't hesitate. With a flick of his finger, the purple message instantly split into droplets of light.

Inside the ancestral hall, Li Xianmu held a jade slip in his hand. He hadn't waited long when he felt a warmth and knew that a message had arrived. Then, a purple halo emanated from it, and his eyes revealed a look of surprise.

Over the years, he has come to understand the principle behind this jade divination slip very well. Among the various interpretations, purple information is the most important, followed by blue, then white, and purple information appears very rarely.

The message about the Iwami Silver Mine was purple back then. I didn't expect the message from the first year of the Hongxi reign to also be purple, but I wonder what it represents. I wish it were a gold mine similar to the Iwami Silver Mine.

As Li Xianmu thought about it, the purple halo on the jade slip gradually dissipated, revealing six large characters on the jade slip.

"The emperor died on the twelfth of May!"

"Clang!"

The moment Li Xianmu saw that line of words, the jade slip fell to the ground. The crisp sound startled Li Xianmu, who quickly picked it up. It was still clean and dust-free. He looked at it again and again, and it still contained those six large characters.

"The emperor died on the twelfth of May!"

Li Xianmu's eyes were filled with confusion. He didn't know what he was seeing, or rather, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He kept stroking the jade slip, hoping to change the words on it, but the jade slip remained there, unmoved. It was as if he was stroking a heavenly book, gentle and warm.

"Ha~"

Li Xianmu finally stopped this futile act, fell to the ground, and unconsciously laughed, with a hint of sarcasm.

"The emperor died on the twelfth of May. The late emperor had given the timeline of twenty-four years before his death."

Li Xianmu was incredibly clever; he received news of this death three times: once from the late emperor, once from his mother, and now.

The first two times the year was recorded clearly and without error, but this time the year was not given. Instead, the month and day were recorded. What does this mean?
Lee Hsien-mu knew at a glance that this meant this year!
The emperor will pass away on the 12th day of the fifth month of the first year of the Hongxi reign!
Li Xianmu refused to believe the information, "How could this be?"

After waiting for twenty years, the emperor finally ascended the throne, and I finally reached the pinnacle of power among the officials of the Ming Dynasty.

With the two combined, all political visions will soon be realized.

But it happened so suddenly!

Li Xianmu felt this was a huge joke. The crown prince had persevered for so many years, only to die less than a year after ascending the throne.

Even with Li Xianmu's resilient mind, he was somewhat unable to withstand this blow. Fortunately, he was no ordinary person. He had created a half-saint using a rank-earth item, which had five major characteristics. At this critical moment, the "righteous path" attribute quickly pulled him back to his senses.

Li Xianmu broke free from the feeling of suddenly gaining and then losing, and began to comfort himself, "Life is full of disappointments, and there are so many people in history whose ambitions were never fulfilled."

Life and death are ordained by Heaven and never subject to human will. Perhaps this is the tribulation I am destined to experience.

Every cloud has a silver lining; perhaps something even better is coming.

These words were like a psychological suggestion, etched into Li Xianmu's mind, quickly restoring his previously dejected state of mind. Although he was no longer as joyful as before, at least he was no longer in a state of dejection that could erupt at any moment.

Putting aside the negative impact of this information, Lee Hyun-mok had to admit that it came at a very opportune time and might even affect his future political plans.

Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Gaochi were completely different. Zhu Zhanji's personality was more like Zhu Di's. Although Li Xianmu and Zhu Zhanji had a good relationship, it was obviously not as good as that of Zhu Gaochi.

These differences will change Li Xianmu's political position. Zhu Gaochi only has four months and twelve days left to live, and he may fall seriously ill after May. In the next four months, Li Xianmu must quietly prepare for the succession.

One of the most important aspects was the semi-regent appointment. Zhu Zhanji was already an adult and had outstanding literary and military talents, so he naturally did not need regent ministers to interfere.

However, if he could appear in Zhu Gaochi's will, it would greatly enhance his future political status.

Thinking of this, Li Xianmu stopped thinking about it, silently kowtowed to his father again, and then walked heavily out of the ancestral hall.

Outside the ancestral hall, Li Fang and Li Mao, along with a group of Li family descendants, waited.

As brothers, Li Fang and Li Mao immediately noticed that Li Xianmu's mood was off and he seemed somewhat depressed. They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with doubt. He was fine when they entered the ancestral hall, so why did he become so depressed after paying respects to their father?

Could it be that she's thinking about her father again?
The two men were naturally unaware of Li's deepest secret, which could only be attributed to Li Xianmu's longing for his father.

Li Xianmu stepped out of the ancestral hall and felt the cold winter wind. Even though the sun was high in the sky, he still shivered.

It's so cold.

Winter of the first year of the Hongxi reign.

His eyes were somewhat dim.

(End of this chapter)