I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 142 King Ning's Actions

Zhu Houxun did not have a recipe for elixir, but he did have a recipe for poison. To put it another way, all he had to do was add more lead and mercury when making the elixir.

If he gave Zhu Houcong this kind of elixir recipe, as long as Zhu Houcong went back to make it and took it for a while, Zhu Houcong would most likely not live to adulthood.

This is the future Emperor Jiajing. It would be a very tempting thing to get rid of him now. Zhu Houxuan was tempted when he thought about it.

"Chong'er, that's enough!" Xing Wang Zhu Youluo interrupted Zhu Houcong with a stern face, "You can study Taoism, but why are you studying alchemy at such a young age?"

"Father, I know." Zhu Houcong said angrily.

Prince Xing Zhu Youji's words woke Zhu Houxuan up from his thoughts. He suddenly realized that what he had just been thinking was so outrageous.
He actually wanted to attack a seven-year-old child!
Moreover, the course of history has been greatly changed by this butterfly. It is still unknown whether Zhu Houcong can become Emperor Jiajing in the future.

And what's the point of getting rid of Zhu Houcong? Although Zhu Houcong is currently the top candidate for the throne of the Ming Dynasty, there are other royal family members who are closer in blood if he is eliminated.

Prince Rong had six sons, Prince Heng also had six sons, and Prince Yi had two sons. If we talk about blood relationship, Zhu Houxuan cannot be included in the list.

He had also thought about taking the path of patriarchal succession, but he felt that the hope was still relatively slim. Even though he and Zhu Houzhao had a very good relationship now, what he had to do now was to try his best to prolong Zhu Houzhao's rule, and then make plans based on the situation.

Therefore, there was no point in getting rid of Zhu Houcong, and as a time traveler, he had no need to be afraid of a seven-year-old child.

Thinking of this, he looked at Prince Xing Zhu Youlang with a kind face and couldn't help but reflect on himself in his heart.

Then he looked at Zhu Houcong, who looked unhappy, walked up to him, picked him up and said, "My cousin, I don't have any methods of cultivation, nor any recipes for elixirs, but I have plenty of Jing Operas. The best fairy operas in the Ming Dynasty all came from the Jing Palace. There are also many interesting scripts. As long as you like, you can have as much as you like."

Zhu Houxuan adjusted his mentality and really regarded Zhu Houcong as a distant cousin. "And don't worry that you won't be able to see it when you return to Prince Xing's Mansion. If there are any new fairy dramas in Prince Jing's Mansion in the future, I will send a troupe to Anlu Prefecture to perform for you. What do you think of this?"

Zhu Houcong finally showed an excited smile on his face and said in a childish voice: "Thank you, cousin."

Prince Xing Zhu Youlu also laughed, "I've been in Qizhou these few days, and I really like Qizhou's Jing Opera and various storybooks. Anluzhou is relatively remote, and it will take a long time for these novel things to spread to Anluzhou. If my nephew really intends to do this, then I would be more than happy to do so. All related expenses will be paid by Prince Xing's Mansion."

"Uncle Xing, you are too polite. It's just a small favor. Why are you talking about expenses?" Zhu Houxun said politely.

Then Zhu Houxuan and Xing Wang Zhu Youqiu exchanged a few more pleasantries, and both hosts and guests had a great time chatting. Then Xing Wang Zhu Youqiu took Zhu Houcong and said goodbye.

Before leaving, Zhu Houcong still wanted to tell Zhu Houxuan that he should call him the next time he started to refine the elixir.
Hearing this, Zhu Houxuan broke out in a cold sweat again.
Watching the father and son of Prince Xing leave, Zhu Houxuan couldn't help but wonder in his heart: Is this the Taoist emperor? Has he become interested in Taoism at such a young age?
In addition to seeking pleasure in Qizhou, Prince Ning Zhu Chenhao also privately contacted envoys from the capital and sent them a lot of gold and silver. Grand Secretary Liang Chu refused the gold and silver, but Zhang Yong and Jiang Bin both accepted it.

Zhang Yong is now the most favored eunuch around Zhu Houzhao. He is currently the eunuch who holds the seal of the Imperial Stables and ranks first among the eunuchs. Some people may wonder if the first among the eunuchs is not the eunuch who holds the seal of the Imperial Household Department?
This actually depends on the emperor's preference. Zhu Houzhao liked military affairs, and the Imperial Stables was the department that controlled the army, so the eunuch who held the seal of the Imperial Stables was even more popular.

Zhu Houxuan had many spies in Qizhou City, so when he learned about this, he quickly reminded Zhang Yong in private. After thinking for a while, Zhang Yong returned the gold and silver he had collected to Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao.

What surprised Zhu Houxuan even more was that Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao actually sent someone to bribe him. He gave him a lot of gold and silver, a total of 20,000 taels of silver, saying that he wanted him to help say a few good words in front of Zhu Houzhao.

It was said that there were many bandits and barbarians near Nanchang Prefecture, and the situation there was very uneasy, which made Prince Ning very uneasy, so he wanted to restore the guards of Prince Ning's Palace. This reason was reasonable, as there were still many chieftains near Nanchang who refused to obey the king.

Of course, Zhu Houxuan rejected Prince Ning's request and returned the gold and silver.

As for what Prince Ning would think after seeing the returned gold and silver, Zhu Houxuan had no idea.
Zhu Houxuan also did not forget to take the kings to visit the factory to see how the exquisite Qizhou products were produced.

I believe that after visiting these factories, the kings will have a new assessment of the value of the factories.

In short, the Wanshou Festival of the eighth year of Zhengde arrived in a noisy and peaceful atmosphere.

Officials from Nanjing, major military and political leaders from Huguang, and princes from the fourteen royal palaces and their families celebrated Zhu Houzhao's birthday.

The main venue for the Wanshou Festival was still the Prince of Jing's Mansion. Under the management of Zhu Houxuan, the specifications were no worse than those in the capital.

After congratulating Zhu Houzhao on his birthday and eating the birthday banquet, everyone rushed to the south gate of Qizhou City to watch the lanterns.

A large area has been cleared there to display the lanterns.

Various kinds of lanterns were displayed there, and many princes spent large sums of money to buy lanterns to compete with each other in wealth.

This is a tradition of watching lanterns, which probably began during the Hongzhi period. As the commodity economy continued to develop and social customs became increasingly extravagant, the phenomenon of competing for wealth began to reappear in China.

Every year, during the Lantern Festival in the two capitals of the north and south, officials and merchants would compete with each other for wealth. They would buy lanterns of different prices, comparing those worth ten taels with those worth ten taels, and those worth a hundred taels with those worth a hundred taels, to see who could buy more and who could buy more exquisite lanterns.

Any lamp is enough to feed ordinary people for several years.

Civil servants rarely compete with each other for wealth, after all, they have to pay attention to their reputation.

Those who really like to compete for wealth are the nobles, relatives by marriage and royal family members. They have nothing to do after eating all day, so they rely on this to pass their boring and dull lives.

This Lantern Festival was prepared entirely for Zhu Houzhao's birthday. As he loved lanterns very much, Zhu Houzhao also asked the glass factory to make a batch of lanterns. These lanterns used a lot of transparent glass and some optical principles. They were very eye-catching and exquisite, attracting various royal family members and officials in Nanjing to stop and watch.

Many Nanjing officials said that these lanterns were much more exquisite than those in Nanjing Lantern Market.

However, the most eye-catching is the Aoshan Lantern in the Ningwang Mansion. This is a large lantern that is several stories high. According to historical records, during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, there were Aoshan Lanterns that were hundreds of feet high.

Although the Aoshan lanterns in the Ningwang Mansion are not over a hundred feet high, there are still many Aoshan lanterns that are fifty or sixty feet high. The decorations on them are made by craftsmen with great care, and the effect is very good.
There are many Aoshan lanterns in the Ningwang Mansion, surrounding half a circle of the Lantern Market.

Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao had previously proposed to Zhu Houxuan that the Aoshan Lantern be placed in the Jing Wang Mansion, on the square in front of Chengyun Hall, but was sternly rejected by Zhu Houxuan.

If this thing catches fire, a large area of ​​Prince Jing's mansion will be burned down.
In history, the lanterns presented by Prince Ning were burned down in the Forbidden City when a fire broke out, and the Palace of Heavenly Purity was burned down. It should be this batch of lanterns.
(End of this chapter)