Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 120 All officials request to establish a crown prince! The fake emperor is confused: I don’t have a biological son yet
Zhu Qizhen was about to enter Kunning Palace. Shuangxi stood in front of him and bowed, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother said that she will not see anyone today. You and the ladies should go back first."

"Even I'm missing?" Zhu Qizhen's voice suddenly turned cold.

Shuangxi was so frightened that she immediately knelt down and bowed, saying, "It is the Queen Mother's will. Your Majesty, please do not embarrass me."

At this time, Zhang Jingshu stepped forward and pulled Zhu Qizhen, signaling him to calm down. She raised her hand towards Shuangxi and said, "Get up. How is the Queen Mother? Have you called the imperial physician? What does the imperial physician say?"

Shuangxi knelt on the ground and nodded: "Replying to the Concubine Xian, I have already asked the imperial physician, and it is still the same old illness. I have prescribed medicine, and you just need to rest well."

Sun Zhenzhen stepped forward and said, "I'll go make medicine for the Queen Mother. I made the medicine for her in Kunning Palace before."

Shuangxi shook his head again: "Reporting to the Empress Dowager Defei, the Queen Mother said that you are now the Empress Dowager Defei, and you must fulfill your duties as a concubine. Just leave the matter of boiling medicine to us."

Zhu Qizhen looked at Sun Zhenzhen and then at Zhang Jingshu, and spread his hands: "Well, the Queen Mother doesn't want to see us anymore."

At this time, Concubine Zhou and Prince Zhu Jianshen also came to pay respects to the Empress Dowager. When she saw the Emperor, she immediately took Zhu Jianshen to kneel down and pay respect to the Emperor.

"My dear concubine, please go back. The Queen Mother is not feeling well today..." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand.

Unexpectedly, Shuangxi shouted hurriedly: "The Queen Mother said that Concubine Zhou can come in with the eldest grandson."

Zhu Qizhen: “!!!”

Shuangxi bowed to him again and led Concubine Zhou and Zhu Jianshen into Kunning Palace.

Zhang Jingshu came to the stunned Zhu Qizhen, took his hand, and smiled: "Your Majesty, let's come back later to pay respects to the Queen Mother."

Sun Zhenzhen beside him also nodded slightly: "Your Majesty, the emperor's eldest grandson grew up in Kunning Palace, and the Queen Mother loves him the most."

Zhu Qizhen curled his lips and returned to the palace with his arms around her.

……

Yangzhou, Governor's Office.

The new governor of Liangjiang and Three Provinces, Xu Youzhen, has arrived and today he summoned officials of the Liangjiang and Three Provinces who are of the fourth rank or above, which means they must be prefects at least. Even so, the governor's office is packed with people.

"Hey, Mr. Chen, long time no see."

"Sir Liu, the last time we met, we were at the Ministry of Personnel, right?"

"That's right. All of us are highly valued by the Empress Dowager and have been sent to serve as officials."

"After all these years, you have become a local governor."

Everyone was greeting each other in the yard, all of them were in high spirits and chatting happily.

At this moment, Xu Youzhen was looking down from the window on the second floor. Shen Manqing stood beside him, pointing at the officials below and introducing them one by one: "That is Ren Chang'an, the governor of Jiangsu. The ones talking to him are Chen Chang, the governor of Zhejiang, and He Changsheng, the governor of Anhui..."

Xu Youzhen wrote them down one by one, and pointed at a few more people. Shen Manqing spread his hands and said, "I don't know those people either. There are too many officials, big and small, in Jiangnan."

"Okay, then let's go meet them." Xu Youzhen waved his hand.

He strode down, and Li Bing, Ke Qian and Shen Manqing followed him into the yard.

"The Governor has arrived!"

After the announcement, everyone in the courtyard fell silent, and they all bowed to Xu Youzhen: "Greetings, Your Excellency the Governor."

Xu Youzhen glanced at them and smiled, "No need to be polite. I asked you all to come here today to meet and get to know each other. From now on, we will live together."

He looked friendly and everyone laughed when they heard him.

After some official talk, Xu Youzhen got to the point: "Everyone, I came to Jiangnan on the orders of His Majesty to implement the new policy. From now on, I will have to rely on you."

"I am willing to serve Lord Xu." Ren Changan said perfunctorily.

Xu Youzhen glanced at him and snorted, "I don't like to hear that. You are officials of the imperial court, so you should only think about the imperial court and not seek personal connections or harbor partisan views. If you always keep the overall interests of the imperial court in mind, you will be fair and just, and you will be able to do a good job as an official."

Ren Changan's eyes were full of contempt, and he said indifferently: "Master Xu's teachings are fair and just. Who dares to say they are wrong?"

"Whether you dare to say it is one thing, whether you are willing to do it is another." Xu Youzhen smiled slightly and raised his voice, "I have said before that for those who say one thing and mean another, and pretend to obey but secretly disobey, and hinder the implementation of the new policy, I will execute them first and report later!"

Ren Changan stood up suddenly and bowed: "I have urgent official business, so I will not accompany you any longer. If you have anything to say, please give me the order."

After saying that, he walked away.

Then, Zhejiang Provincial Governor Chen Chang and Anhui Provincial Governor He Changsheng also said they had urgent official business and left. Many other officials also left with this excuse.

There are less than twenty people left in this garden.

Xu Youzhen looked unhappy. He didn't expect that the officials in Jiangnan would be so disrespectful to him, the governor.

Ke Qian on the side laughed at himself: "Sir, this is a good thing. These remaining twenty or so people may be of great use."

"You are right." Li Bing interrupted, "Before I left Beijing, I looked for the Jinyiwei. There is a group of officials in Jiangnan who have been suppressed by the governor and have never been promoted. I guess they are the ones."

Xu Youzhen calmed down and spread his hands: "Then have a good talk with them."

……

Xu Youzhen met alone with Wang Yongren, the magistrate of Taixing County under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou, because Wang Yongren was a Jinshi in the same imperial examination as him, so they were classmates.

After some pleasantries, Xu Youzhen asked directly, "Old Wang, tell me, what is the situation in Jiangnan? I remember that you have been the magistrate of Taixing for at least five years, right?"

Wang Yongren sighed, "Yes, it's been five years. When I first came to Taixing, I was determined to make a career. Now, I have been disciplined."

"I remember that you wanted to take back the occupied land for the people." Xu Youzhen frowned, "What happened later?"

Wang Yong endured a bitter smile and said, "Then I will tell you about the tricks of the Jiangnan gentry."

Although the gentry in Jiangnan had experienced the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and had been severely hit by Emperor Taizu, they recovered rapidly starting from the reign of Emperor Renzong.

Living together in clans, serving as officials for generations, and intermarrying with each other, they have formed a whole. During the Zhengtong period, the entire Ming Dynasty was annexing the land of the common people, and the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River took the opportunity to expand.

Until now, it can be said that it is an iron plate.
The treasury was empty, there were wars at the border, natural disasters continued, the emperor was overwhelmed, and the people were starving and cold. Who cared about these? When Yesen's army arrived in the capital, the inspectors came to raise military pay, but they didn't care at all.

Cry poor, hide your assets, and if all else fails, just pay a little tax and default on most of the payments.

It was at that time that Wang Yongren stood up and asked the gentry to pay the taxes because the court needed military pay for the war. But the next move by the gentry in Jiangnan made him dumbfounded.

The gentry united together and went to the temple to cry.

They all claimed to be disciples of the saints, and denounced the new county magistrate for collecting heavy taxes and oppressing the people. Then, they called on the people to collectively resist the taxes, and the people were easily incited and followed suit.

So, under the banner of serving the people, they cried and screamed in the temple of the sage, cursing the government for oppressing the people. The noise became so loud that the gentry in other parts of Yangzhou immediately responded.

"Alas, I almost lost my job as county magistrate." Wang Yongren sighed.

"Didn't the imperial court send anyone to take care of it at that time?" Xu Youzhen asked.

Wang Yongren shook his head, his face dejected. "I guess there's nothing I can do about it. Think about it, if the matter gets out of hand and comes before His Majesty, what can His Majesty do? Most of the people in the court and the country are from the gentry."

Xu Youzhen took a breath.

Yes, isn't it the gentry who are the biggest obstacle to the new policy? So far, even in the cabinet, there are still many people who oppose the new policy. It's just that under the high pressure of the Queen Mother and His Majesty, they don't speak out.

"It seems that the new policy in Jiangnan is more difficult than ascending to heaven." Xu Youzhen smiled bitterly.

……

Beijing.

It was already spring, and the weather had finally warmed up. After Zhu Qizhen left the court, he did not take a sedan chair, but walked on the imperial road, where he could already see some spring scenery.

A breeze blew by, bringing with it a faint scent of flowers. He looked up and saw that in the direction of the Imperial Garden, several early-blooming peach trees had quietly blossomed, with pink petals clustered on the branches like light clouds. Occasionally, one or two petals would fall with the wind, dancing lightly, and finally lying quietly on the bluestone paved road.

Not far away, a few clear bird calls pierced the silence. The birds in the imperial forest also began to sing, and they were either jumping on the branches or soaring in the air.

After returning to the Qianqing Palace, he took a few deep breaths at the door before entering the main hall. He had to review endless memorials every day, so he had no time to enjoy the spring scenery.

"Your Majesty, these were sent from Jiangnan." Cao Jixiang pointed to a few of the memorials.

"Go and call Yang Guifang." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand.

He opened the memorial and began to read it carefully. After a while, he frowned deeply. In the memorial, Xu Youzhen talked about the situation he encountered when he first arrived in Jiangnan, and also talked about the fact that the magistrate of Taixing collected taxes from gentry. He cried in the temple and deceived the people. Later, he joined other gentry and continued to cry in the temple, under the guise of pleading for the people. In the eyes of the people, they were the embodiment of justice. In fact, they were so powerful that they eventually forced the government and even the court to surrender.

"He's really as ferocious as a tiger." Zhu Qizhen was shocked.

If Xu Youzhen hadn't submitted his memorial, he wouldn't have thought of this at all. Then, when the new policy was implemented, the gentry in Jiangnan would definitely use this method.

So what should we do then?
He thought about it for a long time and was horrified to find that there seemed to be no solution to this problem.

Yang Guifang came to the palace and interrupted his thoughts. He showed Yang Guifang all the memorials sent by Jiangnan, asking for her help in making suggestions.

"Ren Changan and the others are too arrogant!"

"Crying in the temple, under the guise of pleading for the people?"

"This……"

After reading it, Yang Guifang frowned deeply. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond. He smiled bitterly and spread his hands: "Your Majesty, it's a good thing that I discovered their routine first."

"Yes, we still have time to find a solution." Zhu Qizhen said.

The two thought about it for a while, both with bitter expressions on their faces.

……

dusk.

Zhu Qizhen returned to Changchun Palace, where he had been having his meals recently.

"I'm so tired." He lay down straight.

Zhang Jingshu was wearing a plain long dress, extremely beautiful, with long, smooth hair that fell to her waist, and a gentle and virtuous temperament. She came behind Zhu Qizhen, stretched out her slender hands, and gently massaged his back.

Zhu Qizhen enjoyed himself like a big boss, complaining: "I am overwhelmed, there is a big trouble in Jiangnan."

Zhang Jingshu frowned slightly: "What kind of trouble can stump your majesty?"

Zhu Qizhen spoke in a flurry. Zhang Jingshu listened quietly, pondered for a while, and said, "The key to this matter lies in the prestige of the gentry. The people respect them very much, so they are used by them. As long as the so-called prestige of the gentry is broken and their lofty image in the hearts of the people is shattered, it will be easy to deal with. The people will naturally no longer trust them."

Zhu Qizhen sat up straight, held her in his arms, and nodded slowly: "My beloved concubine, what you said makes sense, but how can we destroy the image of the gentry? They have always represented justice."

Zhang Jingshu's fair arms were around Zhu Qizhen's neck. She looked at him lovingly and said, "How about, Your Majesty, compile a biography of traitors? There were many gentry who surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty during the Song Dynasty. How shameless and shameless were they at that time? Write them all down and spread them around the world. Let the people know that gentry are like this. They all do it for themselves."

"Damn, they're really cutting off the firewood from under the cauldron." Zhu Qizhen praised.

He thought this method was feasible. He wrote a book called "Bi Chen Zhuan" to belittle the gentry and published it in Jiangnan. The people in Jiangnan had a high literacy rate and the book would spread quickly. However, this book could not be published by the government. He had to find a way to let the people in the society publish it.

"I'm hungry, let's eat first." Zhu Qizhen's mood suddenly improved.

Zhang Jingshu blinked her eyes slightly and smiled, "Your Majesty, you haven't been to dine with the Queen Mother recently. You should go to accompany her today. Our dynasty values ​​benevolence and filial piety, and the emperor should set an example."

Zhu Qizhen pinched her pretty face and said, "You are sensible! With you in the harem, I will have less worries in the future."

They were affectionate for a while, and then Zhu Qizhen got up and went to Kunning Palace.

……

The dusk is vast.

Zhu Qizhen entered Kunning Palace and the lights were already on inside.

The candlelight flickered. The empress dowager, dressed in a long dress, leaned on the cushion, her long black hair falling in front of her chest. Her face was beautiful and gentle, giving people a feeling of elegance and tranquility.

"Shuangxi, is the food ready?" Zhu Qizhen shouted.

The Queen Mother was obviously startled when she heard his voice, but she did not look up, but continued to pretend to read. Zhu Qizhen walked up to her and bowed: "Greetings to the Queen Mother."

The Queen Mother didn't even raise her head and snorted, "Come and eat for free."

She was no longer as cold as before, and her mature and beautiful face was indifferent. Zhu Qizhen took a few steps closer and asked, "Is your mother feeling better?"

"I won't die." The Queen Mother continued to lower her head.

Zhu Qizhen held his forehead and sighed softly: "It's easy to die if we chat like this. If the Queen Mother doesn't want to see me, I will not come to pay my respects to her in the future."

"You..." The Queen Mother finally raised her head and glared at him with her beautiful eyes, "What else do you want?"

At this time, Shuangxi led several palace maids and came up with food. She bowed and said, "Queen Mother, Your Majesty, the food is ready, you can eat now. Your Majesty, is there your favorite dish? The Queen Mother prepares it every day."

"That's my favorite food." The Queen Mother stood up.

Zhu Qizhen smiled and walked forward to support her, saying, "Okay, okay, I'll eat for you, okay?"

The two sat opposite each other at the table, started eating, and fell silent. After a while, the Queen Mother actually spoke first: "Now that you have appointed a concubine, it's time to decide on the position of Crown Prince."

Zhu Qizhen frowned.

Is there any relationship between establishing a concubine and establishing a crown prince? Besides, why should I establish a crown prince now? They are not my biological sons. If I want to establish a crown prince, I have to wait until I have my own son.

"Mother, the heir has always been the heir." Zhu Qizhen smiled, "The queen has not yet given birth, so there is no rush. It won't be too late to wait until the queen has a son."

The Queen Mother's beautiful eyes instantly turned cold: "If the Queen could have one, she would have had one long ago! If there is no legitimate son, the eldest son can be made the Crown Prince."

Zhu Qizhen thought to himself, is the Queen Mother thinking about the future? If she establishes a crown prince, at least the emperor can return to the Zhu family. Is the Queen Mother facing reality now?

"Are you not in a hurry?"

"Of course it's urgent. We need to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible to stabilize the country."

……

The next day, morning.

After the court session, the cabinet chief, Wang Zhi, stood up and reported:
"I humbly acknowledge that the emperor's grace is great and has benefited the whole world. However, the foundation of the country lies in the establishment of a crown prince. Now that the emperor's successor has not been appointed, I am deeply worried. I dare to ask Your Majesty to make a major plan as soon as possible to reassure the people of the world.

Since ancient times, the crown prince has been the foundation of the country and the hope of the people. If the crown prince is appointed early, the government and the people will be stable, the officials will have support, and the people will be happy. If the crown prince is not determined, it may arouse the covetous hearts of treacherous officials and shake the foundation of the country. Although I am not talented, I secretly worry about your majesty.

I hope Your Majesty will put the country first and the foundation of your ancestors first. Since ancient times, the eldest son has been the heir apparent. The eldest son of the emperor has noble character and should be made the crown prince to consolidate the foundation of the country and reassure the people. "

As soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers stood up to second his motion.

Zhu Qizhen cursed in his heart.

Damn it, why are you bringing up such a topic? What kind of prince should I appoint? He is not even my biological son.

"No need to be so anxious, right?" Zhu Qizhen spread his hands. "I am in my prime, and the Queen... has been recuperating recently. I may have a legitimate prince."

Yu Qian stood up and reported: "Your Majesty, appoint a crown prince as soon as possible to calm the people's hearts."

Zhu Qizhen didn't expect that even Yu Qian wanted to ask for the establishment of a crown prince?
"Let me think about it and adjourn the court." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand.

He felt something was wrong. The Queen Mother said yesterday that she wanted to appoint a crown prince, and today all the ministers came to ask for it.

……

Prince Qing's Palace.

After Zhu Qiyu left the court, he hurried back and found his military advisor, Tung Xingdao, and said in a very urgent tone: "At the morning court today, the cabinet chief Wang Zhi, headed by the cabinet chief, suddenly asked Your Majesty to appoint a crown prince."

"Ah?" Tung Xingdao was shocked. "It seems that the Queen Mother ordered this. Sigh, the Queen Mother is still far-sighted."

Zhu Qiyu snorted: "Her control over the court officials is still so strong. What should my attitude be next?"

Tung Xingdao thought for a while and said, "We cannot appoint a crown prince. If we do, chaos will come again in the future. Your Majesty will only be the emperor's younger brother, and you will have no chance at all."

Zhu Qiyu nodded heavily: "So, this prince must stop the appointment of a crown prince."

"Your Majesty, you have already controlled some of the ministers. Ask them to make a petition to postpone the appointment of a crown prince." Tung Xingdao sneered, "His Majesty needs people who support him. This way, he can take advantage of the situation to reject the appointment of a crown prince."

"I'll do it right away." Zhu Qiyu was obviously anxious.

(End of this chapter)