Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 373 Returning to China and the New Era of Ming Dynasty
The British farmer Jiaxi has now formed the habit of kneeling before the portrait of the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao every morning and evening.

Today, in England, many farmers have begun to worship Zhu Houzhao's portrait in their homes.

Slightly wealthier farming families would even build churches specifically to enshrine Zhu Houzhao's portrait.

After all, Zhu Houzhao is now a god in their eyes, the real God, the God who brings them wealth and status.

Thomas and Roger added to the new doctrine that the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao and the king Zhu Zaiqi were members of the holy clan.

Maintaining absolute loyalty to the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao had become the most correct value among the English people at this time, and it was the only way for them to repay the retired emperor's love.

"The Emperor is here, come and pay your respects to Him!"

As soon as Zhu Houzhao appeared in London, he attracted countless Londoners to worship him.

"Let me see the emperor, I want to see the emperor!"

"The old emperor looks like a god, his smile is full of kindness and gentleness!"

People were talking about Zhu Houzhao, and every move he made drew cheers from everyone.

"I am very happy that you are so loyal, kind and pious people of England. I hope you can continue to be loyal, continue to cherish my expectations, love this world, and warm this world. I will grant you happiness!
However, I will also punish evil and bullying! Scotland and France's invasion of England is a sin and needs to be punished. They are unwilling to worship me and believe in me. This is the root of their ignorance and barbarism. Now, I want you to fight back against them, to save them, and to let them say goodbye to ignorance and barbarism! "

Zhu Houzhao's goal was to turn the whole of Great Britain into an agricultural civilization, so he would not let Scotland go.

Today, England has completed the transformation from a maritime trading country to a land-based small peasant economy country. Its more centralized central court and economic model that relies more on farmland naturally make England urgently need to expand.

It can be said that England at this time was like China when the Qin and Han dynasties were first established. The smaller population and developed agricultural production technology led to a surplus of agricultural output, and the surplus agricultural output would naturally be converted into revenue for the treasury. If the treasury had more grain income and it could not use it for trade to exchange for things that the kingdom needed more, it could only be used to expand the army. To expand the army, it would naturally have to go to war and expand the territory.

This is the demand of people from all walks of life in England today, not to mention the emotional factors of Scotland and France invading England.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao's criticism of Scotland and France naturally resonated with all the people of England, and they all hoped that the Kingdom of England would send troops to punish Scotland and France.

It can be said that Zhu Houzhao is still going with the flow and has never gone against the wishes of the English peasants. Today, he is still following the wishes of the English people and promoting England to eliminate the Scottish bourgeoisie while eliminating its own bourgeoisie, until the whole of Great Britain is turned into a closed agricultural country.

Of course, France in the south was no exception, and Zhu Houzhao did not know how his second prince Zhu Zaijie's war against France was going.

But Zhu Houzhao believed that with the current strength of the Ming Empire, even his own vassal state could force France to cede cities and pay compensation. Moreover, under his guidance, England had secretly harbored the intention of revenge against France.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, Zhu Houzhao had been in England for three years.

On this day, the first victory news of England's military expedition to Scotland reached the royal palace. Less than three months after Zhu Houzhao had moved into the new Buckingham Palace, he set out to return home.

On the day Zhu Houzhao left England, nearly one million people from all over England gathered to see him off, and tears almost drowned the city of London. Zhu Houzhao was very emotional about this, thinking that he had blocked England's path to capitalism, but instead he had won the love of the entire English people.

This made Zhu Houzhao sigh. He thought that perhaps even if someone told these people the truth now, they would not think that he, the retired emperor from the East, had harmed them. Perhaps he was the only one who thought that he did this with bad intentions. Perhaps people just wanted to live in a world of farming and reading, rather than a world full of utilitarianism and exploitation.

After Zhu Houzhao returned to the Ming Dynasty, he went directly to the capital.

As far as Zhu Houzhao could remember, he had not returned to Beijing for five years.

Naturally, the entire capital city underwent changes that he could not have imagined.

The electrical research of the Daming Academy of Sciences had made rapid progress. A tram had been opened from Yongding Gate in the capital to Daming Gate, but Zhu Houzhao did not take the tram. Instead, he took a diesel locomotive into the city.

"The Grand Marshal was worried that you, the Retired Emperor, would not be used to riding in this carriage. After all, it is unreasonable for the driver to sit in front of you. However, the academicians of the Academy of Engineering who invented the internal combustion locomotive could not figure out a way to let the driver sit in the back and operate the steering wheel to drive the carriage. They had no choice but to ask you, the Retired Emperor, but they did not expect that you would not mind! Now, you let me sit in front of you. I really dare not act rashly."

Chen Hong, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, was the eunuch in charge of picking up and dropping off Zhu Houzhao. At this time, with Zhu Houzhao's permission, he sat in the co-pilot seat and explained to Zhu Houzhao the changes in the capital over the years.

The crown prince Zhu Yizhu was sitting next to Zhu Houzhao. When he heard Chen Hong say that, he just smiled and said, "Old man, now everyone in the world advocates equality for all, but you still keep calling me an old slave. The emperor had already proposed the idea that people are born equal when he ascended the throne. Now you just sit in the back. Do you think the emperor cares?"

Zhu Yizhuo couldn't help but look at Zhu Houzhao as he spoke: "Grandpa Emperor, I wonder if your grandson has said what you are thinking correctly."

"Yes, yes, very true. The Ming Dynasty is not like a vassal state. Here, there is no distinction between high and low. When I first promoted universal education, I anticipated that there would be a day when everyone in the world would become educated. Naturally, no one would want to be a servant. Although our occupations may be different and our wealth may differ, we are all citizens of the Ming Dynasty and should be like one family!"

Zhu Houzhao looked out of the car window as he spoke. Girls with natural feet began to appear on the widened asphalt road. People of all kinds stopped or continued walking according to the red and green signs in the hands of the traffic controllers. There were many more ready-made clothing shops and even so-called models on the densely packed streets. The fact that he, the retired emperor, did not prohibit the common people from traveling when he entered the city seemed to tell him that the capital of the Ming Dynasty was really very different from what it was sixty years ago. There seemed to be no hierarchy and no Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.

“A warm welcome!”

“Warm welcome!” “Warm welcome!”

……

The crowd outside the car window began to make chaotic noises, but the dignitaries responsible for picking up Zhu Houzhao were not panicking as if they were facing a great enemy. The crown prince Zhu Yizhuo even laughed: "Although the emperor has not returned to Beijing for so many years, the young and old masters in Beijing still remember you."

Zhu Houzhao was a little surprised, thinking to himself that if this had happened decades ago, if a top royal relative like himself returned to Beijing, if anyone dared to make such a noise, he would have been caught by the Jinyiwei and thrown into jail, or beaten and killed first. Now, it seems that there is indeed less distrust and estrangement between officials and the people.

Just as he was daydreaming, Zhu Houzhao saw a banner suddenly fall on the street on his left. On the banner was a row of large simplified Chinese characters that had become popular after being compiled and promoted in the 20th year of Zhengde.

The content in large simplified Chinese characters is "Hello, Mr. Zhu Houzhao! Welcome home!"

Is it treason?

Is it outrageous and disrespectful?
Zhu Houzhao didn't feel any of this. He just felt friendly and couldn't help but touch his long beard: "I never thought that one day I would be worthy of being called old gentleman!"

Zhu Houzhao opened the window and waved the long sleeves of his purple Hanfu robe embroidered with dragon patterns.

People of all ages on both sides of the street cheered. Some old men in their seventies and eighties were secretly wiping their tears, but they still couldn't help bending down, kneeling and knelt. The young scholars, however, didn't know what kneeling meant and just jumped up and cheered.

Zhu Houzhao felt very fortunate about this. He was very fortunate that he did not insist on becoming the largest slave owner in the empire. Otherwise, he thought that even if he could see the young people kneeling to him at this moment, he would not be able to hear the cheers from their hearts.

When Zhu Houzhao returned to Beijing, a grand parade was held throughout the capital. Millions of Han people from all walks of life celebrated the return of this elderly man in his seventies in various ways. Even merchants put up advertisements offering 50% off for three consecutive days to celebrate the return of the retired emperor.

"I should have come back earlier. After all, there are not only you in the capital, but also so many lovely people!"

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said that he would rather travel across the ocean and go to great lengths to transform England thoroughly than return to Beijing, simply because he did not want to intensify the conflict with his emperor son. However, what he did not expect was that in the capital of the empire, there were actually many, many people who really missed him.

The car stopped in front of the gate of the Royal West Garden, and it was here that Zhu Houzhao met the core members of the current leadership of the Ming Empire.

Perhaps influenced by the new era and new ideas, Zhu Houzhao discovered that the system of ministers of state affairs that he had originally established had changed.

Because he discovered that his emperor son, who was older than himself, was standing in a row with these ministers wearing crowns and jade belts to welcome him, the most respectable old man in the empire, back to the capital. It was just his emperor son standing in the middle.

Zhu Houzhao glanced at these top officials and found that on the left and right of his son Zhu Zaile were Xu Jie and Yang Bo, followed by Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong, Tan Lun and Zhang Han.

Zhu Houzhao could not help but ask Zhu Zailei: "Where are Gongjin, Fenyi, and Zhifu?"

"Your Majesty, all the gentlemen you asked about have passed away," Zhu Zailei answered Zhu Houzhao personally, with a sad look in his eyes. He could not elaborate on the struggle between himself and Xia Yan, nor did he say that he eventually dismissed Xia Yan and replaced Yan Song with Yan Song, which led to the demand that the vassal states pay tribute to the Ming Empire and the acceptance of Yan Song's advice to lend money to the vassal states and not repay them. Naturally, he did not mention the multiple naval battles between the Ming Empire and the vassal states as a result.

Zhu Houzhao didn't want to ask more about politics, so he just sighed and said, "It's a pity that we didn't get to meet. Fortunately, my Ming Dynasty is full of talents. I know these people in python robes. You can use people, but you have to remember that between countries, who is close and who is distant, you still have to consider the differences and similarities of civilization."

Zhu Houzhao said this naturally to remind Zhu Zailei. Although Zhu Zailei did not take the initiative to mention the military and political affairs of the Ming Central Empire in recent years, he had heard about some important events and knew that the Ming Central Empire had fought several wars with some vassal states of royal families and nobles over the years.

It is difficult for Zhu Houzhao to avoid such a thing. After all, the resources of the earth are constant. If the Ming Central Empire wants to become more prosperous, it will inevitably deprive other countries of their interests. However, Zhu Houzhao does not want countries in the same Chinese cultural circle to have internal strife and friction too early.

"After all, there are still some barbarians in the West and the North who are different from us who have not been eliminated. The Ming Central Empire itself has the most benefits and wealth, and it has the obligation to maintain and expand our own civilization! This time I went to England to help your fortieth brother transform, and the effect is still very obvious. You can ask someone to study it. In the future, the Ming Central Empire will have to specialize in this matter. I decided to give you the military power of the Marine Corps first, and you will be responsible for using this army to fight against forces outside the Chinese cultural circle!"

Zhu Zailei was naturally happy to hear that Zhu Houzhao was going to return some military power to him. He hurriedly bowed and said, "I will follow your instructions! You have been traveling a long way and should rest early. I know that you like Japanese girls, so I have already sent people to Japan to ask General Ashikaga Yoshiteru for 100 of them. They are now in the Royal West Garden. You can enjoy them to your heart's content."

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and laughed: "Are you hoping that your father will die of exhaustion soon? I don't know what you have done with the Shogun of Japan, but I must get Japan!"

As Zhu Houzhao said this, he entered the Royal West Garden impatiently.

I couldn't sleep well for a hundred days.

In late winter, Zhu Houzhao, who was overly exhausted, fell ill again. Fortunately, the medical technology of the Ming Dynasty had made great progress, such as the discovery of antibiotics. Also, because he had a good foundation when he was young and his mood had been good in recent years, he received proper guidance in the art of sex from someone special, and he got better after the first month of the year.

People say that old people become cold in spring and hot in autumn, but Zhu Houzhao became healthier and healthier. He could still walk ten thousand steps every day and even asked Chen Hong to send someone to teach him how to drive the new Ming car.

However, just when Zhu Houzhao was full of energy, the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty reported a piece of news to him, a news about the assassination of the Japanese Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru. This made Zhu Houzhao very happy, because it meant that Japan would fall into the Japanese chaos again, and this was undoubtedly the best time for the Ming Dynasty to destroy Japan.

Otherwise, once Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan, the Ming Dynasty would have to pay a greater price to destroy Japan.

But now he is no longer the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Although he has military power in his hands, this war to annihilate the country naturally involves more than just military affairs. Therefore, as the retired emperor, Zhu Houzhao has to order his emperor son to follow his wishes and launch the war to annihilate the country against the Japanese pirates as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)