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

Chapter 383 Cruise Ship
Emperor Tianqi was about to explain a few words, but Empress Zhang Yan looked at him and said, "Since Your Majesty mentioned the Song of Everlasting Sorrow just now, you must know about the Tang Xuanzong. In his early years, Emperor Xuanzong was a man of great talent and strategy, and he created the prosperous Tang Dynasty. But in his later years, he favored Yang Guifei and was slandered and misused his ministers. First, there was the treacherous prime minister Li Linfu, who was sweet-mouthed but treacherous, and then there was Yang Guozhong, who was greedy for money and power. In addition, he trusted An Lushan too much and the eunuch Gao Lishi around him."

"That's right. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ruined the Tang Dynasty with his own hands, leading to the An-Shi Rebellion. After that, the Tang Dynasty never recovered and never regained its former glory until it was finally destroyed. Your Majesty is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. You should learn from history and reflect on yourself from time to time. You should be vigilant against eunuchs and treacherous ministers. You should be close to gentlemen and stay away from villains. This is what a wise ruler does!"

"Here it comes again... Here it comes again..."

Queen Zhang Yan's words made Emperor Tianqi feel as sick as if he had swallowed a fly. He had come out for a good time to enjoy the flowers and relax, but just because he looked at his wife a few more times and said a line of poetry, he inexplicably brought up the topic of the country's fall.

What on earth is going on in this woman's head? Isn't she annoying? If Emperor Tianqi didn't know that his wife has always been like this, he would have lost his temper if he had met someone else. She is simply bringing up the issue. Is it necessary to do this?
"Okay, okay, be close to gentlemen and stay away from villains. I know, I know..." Not wanting to spoil the fun on such a good occasion for such a small matter, Emperor Tianqi forced a smile and laughed it off, intending to brush the matter off.

But unexpectedly, today, Queen Zhang Yan had taken the wrong medicine. Instead of giving up, she continued to persuade the emperor, and even told Emperor Tianqi bluntly that it was wrong for him to favor Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian, a eunuch, now has great power in the court. He has many followers around him, and they have become the famous Eunuch Party.

These eunuchs attacked dissidents, making the court a mess, and even more wantonly arrested Donglin Party gentlemen, fabricating charges and executing many people. If this continues, will the Ming Dynasty still be the Ming Dynasty of the Zhu family? Wei Zhongxian even had the title of "Nine Thousand Years Old". The difference between "Nine Thousand Years Old" and "Ten Thousand Years Old" is only one thousand years? Could it be that Emperor Tianqi still trusted Wei Zhongxian to this extent?

In this case, Wei Zhongxian might rebel one day, bringing disaster just like Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in history, and destroying the Ming Dynasty which lasted for more than 200 years. As an emperor, aren't you worried?
Empress Zhang Yan's words left Emperor Tianqi with no way to explain. Could he tell her in front of her that Wei Zhongxian was just a knife of his? He supported the so-called eunuch party, which was actually the emperor's party. It was not Wei Zhongxian who dealt with the Donglin Party and the civil service group, but Emperor Tianqi? He was the main backer?
As a qualified emperor and a politician, Emperor Tianqi naturally could not say these words. Some things can be said, but some words cannot be said. Even if the emperor and the empress are one, Emperor Tianqi will not tell Zhang Yan the truth.

Besides, the Tianqi Emperor knew his empress too well. She was a stubborn woman and had received traditional Confucian education since childhood. Like her father, Taikangbo Zhang Guoji, she was stupid because of reading too much and had no political wisdom at all.

From before he ascended the throne to after he sat on the throne as emperor, the problems of the Ming Dynasty were complicated and deep-rooted. As an emperor without power, he was just a puppet of the civil service group. If Emperor Tianqi wanted to reverse all this and gain real power, he should deal with the wars in Liaodong and the Jiannu, resolve internal conflicts, and solve the people's livelihood issues of the world, etc. It was impossible for him to succeed by relying on the Donglin Party and the civil service group. The only way to succeed was to seize power from them.

Why did Wei Zhongxian, a eunuch, have such power? It would have been impossible if it had not been for the support of Emperor Tianqi. Moreover, Emperor Tianqi used Wei Zhongxian very easily, and he was not afraid that Wei Zhongxian would rebel. The Ming Dynasty was not the Tang Dynasty. The power of the eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty came entirely from the emperor. If Emperor Tianqi wanted to deal with Wei Zhongxian one day, it would be effortless.

Comparing Tang Xuanzong with himself? It was ridiculous! How could this old guy who cheated on his wife compare with himself? Now it was not far from completely taking back the imperial power. As long as Wei Zhongxian made another effort, the Donglin Party would completely collapse. After dealing with the Donglin Party, the next step for Emperor Tianqi would be to reshuffle the entire civil service group. After this was done, Emperor Tianqi would become the first Ming emperor to hold the supreme imperial power since the Battle of Tumu, and there would be no force to contend with him.

But these words could not be said at all, let alone told to Queen Zhang Yan. If Zhang Yan was really smart, she would be able to guess it. If she was a little dumber, it would be okay too, at least she would not always make small talk. But Zhang Yan was so stubborn that she always did this when she was happy, which made Emperor Tianqi both angry and amused.

At this moment, a eunuch suddenly came to report that Madam Fengsheng and Wei Zhongxian had arrived. Hearing that Emperor Tianqi was in a rare mood to visit the Western Garden, they hurried over to accompany the emperor to appreciate the flowers.

Hearing this, Emperor Tianqi was overjoyed. His ears were almost annoyed by Empress Zhang Yan's "teachings", and the sudden arrival of Keshi and Wei Zhongxian saved him. Emperor Tianqi quickly had someone bring them over, and at the same time said to Empress Zhang Yan with a smile that it would be more lively with more people.

But Queen Zhang Yan's face looked very ugly. She didn't expect that after all her good advice for a long time, Emperor Tianqi didn't listen to a word he said. Now he was so happy to hear that Keshi and Wei Zhongxian had come. It seemed that he didn't care about what she said at all.

Her husband still favors eunuchs and doesn't care about the ancestral foundation at all. What will happen if he continues like this? Is the Ming Dynasty, which has lasted for more than 200 years, really going to perish in the hands of her husband?
Thinking of this, Queen Zhang Yan's face turned pale, her sharp fingernails dug into her palms from clenching her hands tightly, and she bit her lips tightly with an extremely disappointed expression.

If this is true, what will happen to her as the queen when the Ming Dynasty falls? The fall of the country, the destruction of the family and the death of the queen are inevitable. Zhang Yan is not afraid of death, but she is afraid of how she will be evaluated in future history books. Will she become the Yang Guifei in the Song of Everlasting Regret, who is pale in comparison to all the other concubines in the palace?
No! Absolutely not! Zhang Yan cried out in her heart. She had read a lot of books since she was young. Since entering the palace, she had always told herself that she should be a queen who is the mother of the country, a queen who assists the wise monarch, and a queen who can leave a name in history like Taizu's Queen Ma. Zhang Yan would rather die than see such a result as a queen who lost her country.

At this time, Zhang Yan suddenly thought of what her father Zhang Guoji had said to her. She hesitated, but soon became firm. At this time, seeing Keshi and Wei Zhongxian coming over from afar, Zhang Yan took the initiative to tell the Emperor Tianqi that she was feeling a little unwell and could not continue to accompany the Emperor Tianqi to play, and wanted to go back to the palace to rest.

Emperor Tianqi looked back and saw that Queen Zhang Yan's face looked a little bad, so he asked with concern whether she was okay.

Queen Zhang Yan forced a smile and said that it might be because the weather was a little hot and she was weak. There was no problem. She told Emperor Tianqi not to worry and that she would just go back to the palace to rest.

Seeing Queen Zhang Yan like this, Emperor Tianqi no longer forced her. He gave her a few words of advice and let her leave first. With the Queen leaving, he had one less person nagging in his ear, and he could also take advantage of the good weather to have some fun.

Queen Zhang Yan said goodbye to Emperor Tianqi, but when she left, she left a few eunuchs and palace maids to continue serving Emperor Tianqi, and she left in another direction with only a few people around her.

As soon as Empress Zhang Yan left, Keshi and Wei Zhongxian arrived and greeted the emperor first. Then Keshi looked in the direction where Empress Zhang Yan left and curiously asked why the Empress left. The Tianqi Emperor smiled and said that the Empress was weak and a little tired, so she went back to rest early. Keshi said that the Empress was really something. Could it be that she saw them coming and deliberately didn't want to see them?

Emperor Tianqi smiled and shook his head, saying that it was not necessary. They were all family, so there was no reason for them to avoid each other. The empress was indeed tired. Queen Zhang Yan had accompanied him for a long time just now. Since she gave birth to a stillbirth, Queen Zhang Yan's health has been poor and she cannot be overworked. When she left, her complexion also looked a little pale, so he let her go back first.

After hearing the explanation from Emperor Tianqi, Ke Shi felt relieved. She said that since the empress was in poor health, the imperial physician should be asked to go and see her. As she spoke, she casually called a young eunuch, gave him a few instructions, and asked him to find the imperial physician to go to the empress's palace to take the empress's pulse. The young eunuch immediately agreed and went to the imperial hospital to find someone.

After the young eunuch left, Ke Shi looked around, raised her hand, pointed at the stone boat not far away and said, "Why not go there and sit down, get some wine or something, enjoy the flowers and talk."

The Tianqi Emperor smiled and nodded, and casually asked someone to prepare it. Then the three of them led the eunuchs and palace maids over there and sat down in the stone boat. After a while, wine, food, melons and fruits were served. Wei Zhongxian poured the wine himself and told funny stories with a smile, which made the Tianqi Emperor and Keshi laugh.

After resting for a while and drinking a few sips of wine, Emperor Tianqi was in a very good mood. Looking at the lotus flowers in the distance on the lake, Emperor Tianqi became interested and asked if there were any lotus pods. At this time, a young eunuch serving on the side said that there should be some. There was a small boat by the lake. Why not row the boat to the lake to take a look?

Hearing about the boat, Emperor Tianqi became even more interested. He greeted Keshi and Wei Zhongxian and asked the eunuch to take him to the boat. The eunuch nodded quickly and took Emperor Tianqi off the boat and walked towards the distance. Not long after walking, they saw a small boat moored to the shore. The boat was not big and could only seat three or four people. No one knew who put it there.

Emperor Tianqi took two steps at a time and walked forward. He looked at the boat carefully and saw the oars on it. He smiled. He turned around and asked the young eunuch if he knew how to row. The young eunuch hesitated and nodded, saying that he could row a little. Emperor Tianqi did not hesitate any more and asked the young eunuch to get on the boat with him. He also gave another seat to another young eunuch.

Two young eunuchs sat, one at the bow and the other at the stern, and Emperor Tianqi sat in the middle of the boat. He stretched out his hand and pointed to the place with the most lotus flowers in the lake, and asked the young eunuchs to row the boat towards that place.

The young eunuchs rowed hard, and the boat left the shore under the ripples and headed steadily into the lake. Emperor Tianqi had lived in the palace for a long time, and had never played like this before, especially sitting in a small boat like this. Sitting in the boat, feeling the waves on the lake, and looking at the lotus flowers approaching in the distance, he clapped his hands and laughed happily.

(End of this chapter)