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

Chapter 410: Be Yao and Shun
Looking at Zhu Youjian, Emperor Tianqi explained a lot, as if he wanted to tell Zhu Youjian everything he wanted to say. He was very worried that his younger brother would not know how to be a good king after he succeeded to the throne. Being an emperor seems simple, but it is actually not easy, especially for a prince like Zhu Youjian who had not received imperial education since childhood.

However, with Wei Zhongxian around, Emperor Tianqi could rest assured. It seemed that as long as Wei Zhongxian was reused, this knife would still be very useful.

After Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, he did not need to make any big moves. He just needed to sit quietly on the dragon throne, watch more, listen more, and learn more, and slowly learn how to be a good emperor. As for other things, leave them to Wei Zhongxian. With Wei Zhongxian's ability, he would surely be able to handle them properly.

As for whether Wei Zhongxian would bully his master, the Tianqi Emperor was not worried. Wei Zhongxian was just a eunuch. The power of the eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty came from the emperor. No matter how powerful the eunuchs were, as long as the emperor issued an order, Wei Zhongxian could be pulled down and lose everything.

What's more, Wei Zhongxian was already old. He was almost sixty years old and his hair was gray. His originally strong spine was bent. He was also a disabled eunuch. Because his essence was damaged, eunuchs usually did not live long. At Wei Zhongxian's age, he probably would not live too long.

Maybe a few years, maybe even longer. By that time, if Wei Zhongxian is not dead, he will almost be lying on the bed. By then, Zhu Youjian will also be mature. As Wei Zhongxian completely seizes the power of the civil service group in the court, the imperial power will once again return to the hands of the emperor, and then Zhu Youjian will be able to be a true hero.

"My brother should be like Yao and Shun!"

This last sentence was Emperor Tianqi's expectation and encouragement to his younger brother. After he finished speaking, Emperor Tianqi felt that he was not as energetic as before. The long conversation just now had consumed a lot of his physical strength, and he really could not hold on any longer.

However, he still needed to make some arrangements. Emperor Tianqi told Zhu Youjian that he didn't need to return to the palace for the next few days, but could live directly in the palace to avoid wasting time going in and out of the palace and to avoid some accidents.

Emperor Tianqi still remembers the scene of his ascension to the throne to this day. Because of the Palace Move Case, he, the eldest son and heir to the empire, was unexpectedly snatched away from his adoptive mother by a group of Donglin Party members who rushed in. Finally, due to the coercion of the Donglin Party, Concubine Li had to leave the Qianqing Palace sadly. In the end, he, the emperor, almost became a truly lonely and sidelined emperor. If it were not for Wei Zhongxian who was available by his side, Emperor Tianqi would probably have been a pawn in the hands of the Donglin Party.

Now it was a critical moment for the succession of imperial power, and Emperor Tianqi would never allow such a thing to happen again. You must know that although the Donglin Party had been beaten to pieces by Wei Zhongxian in recent years and its power was not as great as before, the Donglin Party's foundation in the court had not been completely eradicated. There were still many Donglin Party members in the civil service group, plus some officials of the same period who were Donglin Party members. If these people took advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble again, Emperor Tianqi would not tolerate it.

To be on the safe side, Emperor Tianqi decided to keep Zhu Youjian in the palace and let Wei Zhongxian take care of him. Zhu Youjian was very nervous about this arrangement and cold sweat broke out on his back.

He was really afraid. He was afraid that if he stayed in the palace, he would fall directly into Wei Zhongxian's hands. What if Wei Zhongxian was against him? But he had to obey the arrangement of Emperor Tianqi. He also knew that now was not the time to break up with Wei Zhongxian. No matter how unwilling he was, he had to endure it, and he couldn't let Wei Zhongxian know his thoughts.

Just like that, after meeting Emperor Tianqi, Zhu Youjian left here, and Wei Zhongxian took him to a palace not far from the Qianqing Palace to stay temporarily.

This place has been tidied up and has all the daily necessities. There are also a few eunuchs and palace maids transferred from other palaces to serve. In addition, Wei Zhongxian also specifically asked Zhu Youjian if he had any requirements for this place or if there was anything missing. If there was any need, he could let him know and he would immediately arrange someone to do it.

Zhu Youjian looked around nervously. He didn't have too many requirements for the residence, and he could even say that he didn't care about it at all. What he lacked was a sense of security, but he couldn't tell Wei Zhongxian. After hesitating for a while, he proposed a condition to Wei Zhongxian, which was that he hoped Wei Zhongxian would go to the Xinwang Mansion to bring his companion Wang Chengen. He was used to Wang Chengen's service, and he felt uncomfortable without him.

Wei Zhongxian agreed to this small request without thinking, and said with a smile that it was a small matter and he would send someone to pick up Eunuch Wang immediately.

Seeing Wei Zhongxian agreed immediately, Zhu Youjian felt relieved and forced a smile to thank Wei Zhongxian.

In the evening, Wang Chengen entered the palace and came to Zhu Youjian's side. His arrival finally made Zhu Youjian feel relieved. With a familiar and reliable person accompanying him, his mood was naturally different. But even so, Zhu Youjian was still not careless. When he lived here temporarily, he did not touch any food or water. All he ate and drank were the dry food and water prepared by Wang Chengen for him. Even when he slept at night, Zhu Youjian did not take off his soft armor and let Wang Chengen sleep outside so that he could be alerted as quickly as possible if there was any movement. All this seemed to be cautious, but in fact, Zhu Youjian did not expect that his actions would be useless.

Not to mention that he is now in the palace, the entire palace is filled with Wei Zhongxian's men. Even if Zhu Youjian is not in the palace and returns to his own palace, it will be of no use.

The powerful Wei Zhongxian controlled the two largest secret agencies of the empire, the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If he really wanted to harm Zhu Youjian, would he need to use these tricks? He could just send someone to kill Zhu Youjian. No matter how many soft armors Zhu Youjian wore, these things would be useless when the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were dispatched.

As for poisoning? There was no need to go through so much trouble. Just pry open the person's mouth and pour the poison in. It was not impossible for Wei Zhongxian to do this. For a prince who had not yet succeeded to the throne, killing Zhu Youjian was not much more difficult for Wei Zhongxian than crushing an ant.

Moreover, didn't Wei Zhongxian know about the actions that Zhu Youjian took after entering the palace? This was too much of an underestimation of Wei Zhongxian. But Wei Zhongxian did not react at all. Perhaps Wei Zhongxian believed too much in the promise of Emperor Tianqi, or he had enough confidence in himself and thought that Zhu Youjian was young and ignorant and didn't understand him. It would be fine if they got to know each other slowly over time.

On the second day after summoning Zhu Youjian, Emperor Tianqi called the cabinet ministers and explained in front of them his decision that Prince Xin Zhu Youjian would succeed to the throne after his death. He also told them that the edict of succession was already with Prince Xin, and that Prince Xin would live in a palace not far from the Qianqing Palace in the next few days. When the time came, they would go to welcome Prince Xin to succeed to the throne. Everything had been arranged.

On August 20, the condition of Emperor Tianqi suddenly worsened sharply and he was in a coma for a long time. On August 21, Emperor Tianqi woke up briefly from his coma, but he could no longer speak. He could only look at Wei Zhongxian who was accompanying him, with deep attachment to this world, helplessness and a hint of unwillingness in his eyes.

On August 22, Emperor Tianqi breathed his last in a coma. This young emperor who ascended the throne ended his short life, and his life finally ended at the age of 22.

The civil service group did not give a favorable evaluation of Emperor Tianqi. Instead, they fiercely criticized him for favoring Wei Zhongxian and employing eunuchs.

In their eyes, Emperor Tianqi was an absolute tyrant. It was because he relied heavily on Wei Zhongxian that the Donglin Party suffered a devastating blow. Under Wei Zhongxian's crazy means of dealing with the Donglin Party, including the civil servants and gentry groups, many "gentlemen" of the Donglin Party died at the hands of the eunuch party. Moreover, the eunuch party's taxation and land policies also caused heavy losses to the civil servants and gentry groups, directly affecting their fundamental interests.

But from the perspective of true historical reality, Emperor Tianqi was an undoubted wise ruler. His imperial methods even surpassed those of his grandfather Wanli. Wei Zhongxian and his eunuch party, who were terrified by outsiders, were at best a knife in the hands of Emperor Tianqi. The purpose of everything was to fight for imperial power and to continue to maintain the rule of the Ming Dynasty.

At the beginning of Emperor Tianqi's reign, the Liaodong Jiannu were arrogant, the war was lost, the military suffered a disastrous defeat, the empire was crumbling, and the building was about to collapse. The court could not collect taxes, and the government was controlled by the Donglin Party. The emperor was just a mascot and could not effectively manage the country. In the private sector, the power of the civil service group and the gentry group was growing, the land annexation was serious, and the exploitation of the people reached an outrageous level.

However, these situations changed greatly in just seven years after Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne. With the change and effective implementation of Liaodong military policy and after re-employing people like Sun Chengzong, the Ming Dynasty's war against the Later Jin Jiannu turned from passive to active, and the economic and military blockade achieved good results. Even the old slave Nurhaci was "wounded by a cannon" and died.

While cracking down on the Donglin Party, the imperial power was strengthened. Under the instruction of Emperor Tianqi, Wei Zhongxian began to resolve conflicts among the people, shifting the focus of taxation from ordinary people to the civil service group and gentry, reducing taxes on the people through foreign trade and a substantial increase in commercial taxes, and reducing land annexation. This not only greatly increased the country's fiscal revenue, but also brought real benefits to the people, allowing them to survive.

These achievements were obvious, but they were considered as damage to the interests of traditional scholars. So they hated the Tianqi Emperor to the core, and wished that this young emperor would die early. As long as the Tianqi Emperor was gone and another emperor took the throne, Wei Zhongxian would become a toothless tiger and no longer be a threat. Everything he had lost before could be regained, and he could even make up for the previous losses.

What a pity, what a pity!
Unfortunately, Emperor Tianqi was almost successful. He was the only emperor who was about to completely solve this problem since the civil service group controlled the government after Emperors Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di. If Emperor Tianqi had been given a few more years, he would have become an emperor with great power. By then, the internal and external troubles, the Liaodong Jiannu, would not be a match for the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)