Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1034 Life under House Arrest

Before becoming emperor, Zhu Youjian never thought that he would sit on this position, but as fate would have it, he became the ruler of the world.

After becoming the emperor, Zhu Youjian had the idea of ​​being a good emperor, and he did so. In the more than ten years since he sat on the throne, Zhu Youjian can be said to be the most diligent emperor since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Even Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang could not compare with him in terms of diligence.

He spent more than ten hours a day dealing with state affairs. Apart from eating and sleeping, he had almost no entertainment, let alone a day of rest. Zhu Youjian knew that the country was in a difficult situation, the finances were empty, and there were serious external and internal troubles. In order to save money, he did not even have a good set of clothes as an emperor. Even the dragon robe on his body was patched up, and he did not make a new one for several years.

Underwear and other things were made by the empress, imperial concubines and palace maids. Not to mention meals, which were never extravagant. The simple three meals a day were no different from those of ordinary families. He would often issue decrees to cut down on palace expenses, which was unheard of for an emperor like him.

From an ordinary person's perspective, Zhu Youjian's actions are worthy of praise, and he does have a heart for a strong country. Unfortunately, being a human being is different from being an emperor. Zhu Youjian was not a good emperor because of his short-sightedness and personality. During his years as emperor, he not only failed to get the country out of trouble, but made the country worse.

Why did it become like this? Zhu Youjian always thought it was the fault of his ministers, and also because of his bad luck. During the years when he was the emperor, the Ming Dynasty was plagued by disasters and man-made disasters, and his ministers were not worthy of being used. They were all good-for-nothings who only knew how to talk big but not work hard, which made the country become like this.

Over the years, Zhu Youjian never reflected on himself, let alone thought about whether it was his own fault that made the country like this. His character flaws made him never feel safe, and he lacked the vision and means of a monarch. Until Zhu Shenzhu suddenly raised an army and took over the capital under the banner of clearing the court of evil and pacifying the country, Zhu Youjian still felt that he had never done anything wrong, and it was only these ministers and officials who were wrong.

Having lost power and becoming a puppet from an emperor, Zhu Youjian felt extremely lost, unwilling and angry.

In his opinion, he had worked hard for this country for more than ten years and did not consider himself a tyrant. Why did he end up like this?
At first, Zhu Youjian still had some hope. He hoped that loyal officials and righteous men would raise their arms and rescue him from the water and fire, so that he could rule the world again. But as time went by, this hope gradually became a bubble, especially when Zhu Shenzhu gradually took control of the government and eventually forced him to abdicate after becoming the Queen of Wu. Zhu Youjian was completely disappointed and no longer had any ideas.

After abdicating the throne, Zhu Youjian had even made plans to die. In his opinion, he was no longer of any use as an emperor. Since Zhu Shenzhu had officially ascended the throne, he would probably take action against him next.

According to the fate of many emperors who lost their thrones in history, he simply died quietly. After his death, no one would threaten Zhu Shenzhui's throne, and he, the former Chongzhen Emperor, would completely become history.

So since the Qianqing Palace was moved to the Changchun Palace, Zhu Youjian had been prepared for this, waiting for Zhu Shenzhui to send someone to take his life.

He was not afraid of death. As a former emperor, Zhu Youjian had his pride. What was wrong with death? It was nothing more than a reincarnation. But in his heart, Zhu Youjian was worried about his queen, concubines and children. But the royal family was ruthless. Even fathers and sons could kill each other for the throne, let alone him and Zhu Shenzhu? He could only blame them for having to be born in the royal family and become his own children.
But after waiting for several months, Zhu Shenzhui did not come to take his life. Although he was placed under house arrest in Changchun Palace, he was not lacking in all the benefits of Changchun Palace. To put it bluntly, he was even better off living in Changchun Palace than when he was the emperor. After all, when he was the emperor, he was very stingy and was reluctant to spend money. He was reluctant to make decent clothes on weekdays. But now? Not only is he not lacking in food and clothing, but as long as he does not leave Changchun Palace, he can do whatever he wants in it.

As time went by, Zhu Youjian's initial mentality gradually changed, from the initial uneasiness to the calmness now. Moreover, during the house arrest, he gradually got used to this kind of life, without the anxiety caused by national affairs, and without the ups and downs caused by various problems. Zhu Youjian's daily routine began to become regular, resting normally every day, reading books during the day, walking around in the yard to exercise when tired, or chatting with the queen and concubines, or caring about their children's studies, etc.

As a result, Zhu Youjian no longer had any previous worries, and his mood became calmer. One day, two days, ten days, a hundred days, and several years passed in a flash. He got used to this kind of life, and not only did his complexion become much better than when he was emperor, even his bad temper became much calmer.

Sometimes Zhu Youjian himself thought that this kind of life might not be bad. Although he had no freedom, he also had no worries. Especially since he was no longer the emperor, those responsibilities and burdens had nothing to do with him anymore. Without those pressures, he felt much more relaxed.

Furthermore, even when he was the emperor, he actually had no freedom. Zhu Youjian was busy with government affairs before, and he didn't have much entertainment. He basically stayed in the Qianqing Palace every day, and the only things that kept him company were the piles of memorials and state affairs. In Changchun Palace, not only is life much more comfortable, but there are also no so many worries, and there is more time to spend with family. On this day, Zhu Youjian got up at Chenshi as usual, washed up, had breakfast, and came to the yard in a Taoist robe to practice a set of health-preserving boxing. He learned this set of boxing after moving into Changchun Palace. The movements are very simple, with only a few postures back and forth. It is said that it is based on Hua Tuo's Five Animals Play. After Zhu Youjian learned it, he would practice it every day. Not to mention that this boxing really has some effect. Since practicing this boxing, he eats well and sleeps well every day, his body is much better than before, and he is more energetic.

After boxing, he would take a walk in the courtyard, and then return to the palace to drink tea and read. When he was Prince Xin, because Wei Zhongxian was at the height of his power, Zhu Youjian was young, and many people around him kept muttering about Wei Zhongxian's cruelty, so the young Zhu Youjian was always worried that Wei Zhongxian would attack him one day, so he racked his brains every day to think about how to protect himself, and didn't think about anything else.

After becoming the emperor, Zhu Youjian worked even harder every day. How could such a life be as leisurely and comfortable as it is now? As for reading, he read a few books when he first entered school, and then he rarely read books. Now the change in circumstances has changed Zhu Youjian's living habits. In the past few years, he has read a lot of books, all kinds of books, especially various historical books. Through these books, Zhu Youjian has learned a lot and slowly began to reflect on his own problems.

Generally, he would read until noon and then have lunch. After lunch, Zhu Youjian would take a nap for half an hour. After waking up, Zhu Youjian would read for a while, or ask his sons to test their academic performance, and the father and son would chat about some topics.

In the evening, he would go to the Queen and the Imperial Concubine and chat with them. After the sun went down and dinner was over, he would continue to read for a while before taking a rest.

In this way, a day passes by, repeating itself every day. Although it is a bit boring, after living this ordinary life for a long time, I gradually get used to it.

Today, like every other day, Zhu Youjian took a short nap in the afternoon. After waking up, he washed his face and asked someone to call several princes to ask about their academic progress.

Zhu Youjian had quite a few offspring among all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. When he was emperor, he had six princes. Except for two who died young, four survived. These four princes were the eldest son Zhu Cilang, the third son Zhu Cihong, the fourth son Zhu Cizhao and the sixth son Zhu Cican, born to Concubine Tian.

In addition, he has two daughters, one is the eldest daughter Zhu Mianzhu, and the other is the second daughter Zhu Huiying. Not long after moving into Changchun Palace, Zhu Youjian's concubine Tian became pregnant again. Last year, she gave birth to another prince for him. This prince is only two years old and is still a baby.

When Zhu Shenzhu was the regent, the eldest son Zhu Cilang was only nine years old, but now he is a teenager. The other princes have also grown up.

Although their identities were different, Zhu Youjian knew that because of himself, his several princes would probably not be officially crowned kings. The best outcome for them would be to be imprisoned in Changchun Palace with him and live out their lives slowly.

But as a father, Zhu Youjian did not want them to spend their lives in mediocrity, so during their time in Changchun Palace, Zhu Youjian was still very concerned about their studies. Although it was not possible for the princes to attend school separately as before, and these princes could not contact the outside world, the princes' studies could only be managed by Zhu Youjian himself, either teaching them personally or letting Wang Chengen be responsible for teaching the princes.

After all, Wang Chengen was the former chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department. All the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty had undergone rigorous education, and there were also internal schools in the palace. You should know that the status of eunuchs in the political system of the Ming Dynasty was extremely special. The Imperial Household Department, as an important department in the political structure of the Ming Dynasty, was almost equivalent to the cabinet. The knowledge of the chief eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department, especially the eunuchs in charge of the seal, was not bad. They were better than ordinary scholars and even better than the scholars who passed the imperial examinations in some cases.

Of course, this does not include Wei Zhongxian, the semi-illiterate, because Wei Zhongxian's background was different. He was not selected through regular eunuchs. He was already middle-aged when he entered the palace, so naturally he had never studied in the internal schools.

Wang Chengen was different. He was a eunuch who entered the palace when he was young and was trained step by step in the inner school. With his knowledge, he had no problem teaching several princes. Moreover, because of Zhu Shenzhu's preferential treatment, Changchun Palace had everything, especially books. Whatever Zhu Youjian needed, he could get. In addition, Zhu Youjian himself had some experience in reading over the years, so teaching several princes together with Wang Chengen was no problem.

(End of this chapter)