Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 307 His Majesty Wants to Move the Capital?!

In the Imperial Garden behind Kunning Palace, Zhu Youjian squatted by the pond, staring blankly at the ice, holding a box of fish food. The pond was connected to the Inner Golden Water River, and its water flowed continuously; he remembered that it hadn't frozen over until recently.

Zhu Youjian grabbed a handful of fish food and put it in his mouth, chewing it. "That damned eunuch! Why didn't he tell me the fishpond was frozen when he prepared the fish food for me?!"
Upon seeing this, Wei Zhongxian's lips twitched slightly. He bent down and approached the emperor, asking obsequiously, "Your Majesty, shall I have someone dig open this pool?"

"So what if we break it open? It's freezing cold, and the fish aren't even biting. Haven't you ever fished before?! By the way, do you have a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) under your command named Lu Wenzhao?"

"Lu, Lu Wenzhao?! Perhaps there is one, but I don't remember. Your Majesty, may I go and check before reporting back?" Wei Zhongxian said respectfully.

"Oh, no need. Actually, this fish food is quite delicious, you should try it." With that, Zhu Youjian stuffed the fish food box into Wei Zhongxian's hand.

Wei Zhongxian stood there blankly, holding the fish food box. Seeing the emperor still squatting by the pond in a daze, he grabbed a few fish food pellets and stuffed them into his mouth as if possessed. Ugh, a strange taste!
"Your Majesty, this fish food is indeed quite delicious!" Wei Zhongxian said, swallowing the fish food with tears in his eyes.

"Oh, if you like it, eat more. I don't like it," Zhu Youjian said indifferently.

"Thank you for the food, Your Majesty." Wei Zhongxian was on the verge of tears.

A cold wind blew by, and Wei Zhongxian, who was not wearing a fur coat in front of the emperor, shivered from the cold; Zhu Youjian, because he was curled up, did not lose core heat as easily, so he could still endure it, and he silently sniffled.

"Your Majesty, it's too cold here. You should take care of your health. Please go back inside," Wei Zhongxian advised.

"Yeah, it's damn cold! Winters are freezing with no snow, summers are dry and autumns are flooded, is this a place for humans to live?!" Zhu Youjian muttered to himself.

Wei Zhongxian was unsure whether the emperor was speaking to him, and hesitated for a moment. After a brief pause, he tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, perhaps the snow is just a little late?"

"I'm afraid they won't come when they're supposed to!" Zhu Youjian said quietly.

He truly couldn't understand this year's awful weather. During spring planting, there were strong winds and smog, followed by a prolonged drought that scorched the crops. People spontaneously worshipped the Dragon King, praying for rain. And the old Dragon King did indeed deliver on his promise; the rain did come, but unfortunately, it arrived during the autumn harvest.

After winter set in, it started snowing in October, and reports of snow disasters from all over the country poured in like snowflakes. Unfortunately, the snow seemed to deliberately bypass the capital region, only making a token appearance before never returning. A few days ago, a report said that Miyun had experienced five days of heavy snow, freezing people and livestock to death, but neighboring Beijing hadn't seen a single snowflake.

"Your Majesty, Lord Sun has left the capital. Should we send someone to pursue him?!" Wang Chengen rushed over to report.

Zhu Youjian was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then angrily said, "You old scoundrel, you're really giving him too much face! I respectfully call him 'teacher,' and he actually puts on airs like a senior teacher? He was the late emperor's daily lecturer, not mine! What does he want? With his level of competence, does he think he can emulate Zhang Juzheng and take charge of the government?! If it weren't for me, he would have been played to death by someone else long ago!"

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the position of Grand Secretary should be filled by one of our own. Letting someone like that head the cabinet would only cause trouble for Your Majesty!" Wei Zhongxian seized the opportunity to slander.

Seeing this, Wang Chengen hesitated, looking at the emperor with concern and at Wei Zhongxian with displeasure.

"Is Sun Chengzong wealthy?!" Zhu Youjian suddenly asked. Wang Chengen replied, "Lord Sun's family has fallen on hard times. He made a living by teaching in his early years. He was an honest official, and people jokingly called him 'Grand Secretary Sun without gold or silver,' so he probably didn't have much money."

"Sigh, send someone to deliver some gold and silver to him. Draft an imperial edict to reappoint Sun Chengzong as the Inspector General of the Eight Prefectures of Beizhili, granting him the right to submit memorials to the emperor!" Zhu Youjian said.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Wang Chengen's face lit up with joy, while Wei Zhongxian's face darkened.

"Well, let Bi Ziyan continue as Grand Secretary. Don't hold onto Shi Fenglai's 'Memorial Requesting Retirement,' let him go. Grant him the title of Grand Master of the Palace and the post of postmaster. He seems to have quite a bit of wealth, doesn't he? I won't give him any money. If I give him too much, I'll feel bad; if I give him too little, he'll look down on me. For someone like him, it's already a sign of my mercy that he was able to leave safely."

Shi Fenglai is a member of the eunuch faction, but he has now fallen out with Wei Zhongxian. However, who knows if he has truly broken ties or if he is just putting on an act with Wei Zhongxian? What good can come from someone who associates with Wei Zhongxian?

Half an hour later, Wang Chengen returned, and Zhu Youjian was caught by Zhang Yan and brought back to Kunning Palace for a severe scolding. He was holding a bowl of ginger soup and gulping it down!

"Why does Your Majesty not cherish your health? What if you catch a cold? You know that illness comes like a landslide and goes like a slow, drawn-out process. Your Majesty is still a child. Don't you even know to hide indoors when it rains or to wear more clothes when it's cold?!" Zhang Yan's eyebrows shot up.

Zhu Youjian looked to Empress Zhou, who lived in the Kunning Palace, for help, but she firmly sided with her sister-in-law. She also wanted to scold the emperor, but she was too timid to do so and could only hide behind her sister-in-law and let her speak for her.

Wang Chengen, with keen insight, rushed over to help Zhu Youjian out of the predicament, but the news he reported was not good: "Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Bi has refused to serve as the chief minister, saying that he has too many complicated matters to manage in the Ministry of Revenue and does not have enough energy to take charge of the cabinet."

“Bi Ziyan is going to oppose me too?!” Zhu Youjian’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Then let Li Guozhen take charge of the cabinet. He’s so eager for advancement, he shouldn’t refuse.”

“This… Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Li is rather inexperienced; I’m afraid he won’t be able to win people’s respect,” Wang Chengen reminded him.

"This won't do, that won't do, are they all trying to make things difficult for me?!" Zhu Youjian was furious.

"Your subject dares not!" Wang Chengen hurriedly apologized.

"I wasn't talking about you!" Zhu Youjian said irritably. "Fine, if we don't have a chief minister, we don't have a chief minister. It's like the court is paralyzed without one! At worst, I'll personally approve the memorials!"

Alright then, let the Second Grand Secretary temporarily oversee the cabinet. Since there's no war now, let Zhu Xieyuan reside permanently in the Wenyuan Pavilion. Also, tell them that I intend to move back to Nanjing, and let them discuss it!

"His Majesty wants to move the capital?!" Everyone was shocked!
"Yes, I originally planned to just run away. Otherwise, why would I have gone to all that trouble to call the Prince Consort back? I figured they probably wouldn't agree to move the capital, but now that this has happened, I'm really scared. Who knows if they'll rebel against me?! I'd better just be upfront with them, in case they can't accept it!" Zhu Youjian said helplessly.

"But why would His Majesty want to move the capital for no reason?!" Zhou said with a worried expression. She didn't consider the pros and cons of moving the capital, but the thought of disrupting her peaceful life made her very anxious.

Zhang Yan's expression was also somewhat strained. She murmured softly, "The late emperor is buried here. If he goes south, will we ever have a chance to come back?!"

"Sigh!" Zhu Youjian covered his face; he knew this would happen. It wasn't that he was bored and deliberately going against his ministers, but rather that he knew very well that what he wanted to do wouldn't get support. To succeed, he had to bypass them, and yet they all started acting like thorns in his side!
(End of this chapter)