The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Yi became more wary and asked in return, "You claim to live in the Chenghua era and are not interested in the Hongzhi era, yet you are so enthusiastic about the Zhengde era?"

Gongsun Jin had not expected Zhu Yi to be so perceptive. However, in his and Liu Yangzheng's view, Zhu Yi was putting on an act, afraid of revealing his true intentions, and deliberately keeping quiet about the events that occurred during the Zhengde period.

Gongsun Jin smiled and said, "It's all just to clear up the doubts of our master behind the scenes. As long as your answers to these three questions are convincing, the master will surely reward you with gold and silver treasures, and you will enjoy endless wealth and honor."

"I don't care about wealth and luxury, give me back my freedom, give me back my phone!" Zhu Yi stated his demands.

Gongsun Jin said, "Brother Zhu, as long as you answer appropriately, you'll be able to meet the master and personally negotiate your terms."

"You like history, but can't you just look it up yourself? Do I have to explain it to you?" Zhu Yi said with an unfriendly expression. "During the Zhengde period, the biggest problem was the eight tigers seizing power and abusing their authority."

"Could you elaborate?" Gongsun Jin asked.

Zhu Yidao said: "There was a eunuch named Liu Jin, who was originally a servant of the Crown Prince. He gained the Crown Prince's favor through his acting skills. After the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he and other eunuchs from the Crown Prince's palace, such as Zhang Yong, presented the emperor with amusement toys such as hawks and hounds. They also took the Crown Prince in and out of the palace to seek entertainment among the common people. They were known as the Eight Tigers. In the first year of Zhengde's reign, Grand Secretaries Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian led a group of people to advise the new emperor to kill the Eight Tigers."

Gongsun Jin said, "It's going to be difficult, isn't it?"

"If they had really been killed, what would have become of Liu Jin later?" Zhu Yi said. "Originally, the emperor, under duress from his ministers, had agreed to transfer the Eight Tigers to Nanjing and Fengyang, and would never employ them again. However, the ministers, in collusion with the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial, wanted to exterminate them all, which made the emperor uneasy. Subsequently, the Eight Tigers went to the emperor to plead their case, and other ministers such as Jiao Fang stepped forward to support them. In the end, the emperor changed his mind and not only did not exile the Eight Tigers, but also entrusted them with important positions."

Upright and respected senior officials in the court resigned one after another, using this as an opportunity to put pressure on the emperor. Unexpectedly, this suited the emperor's wishes perfectly. In a short time, the upright officials in the court all left, and the stable team left over from the Hongzhi era had completely disintegrated. In the following years, Liu Jin seized power, achieving near-total control with little involvement from the emperor.

Gongsun Jin asked curiously, "How could someone who wields such power fall from grace? Could it be that he offended the emperor?"

"It's all because he was too eccentric and extremely harsh on those around him, which led Zhang Yong, one of the Eight Tigers, to join forces with Minister Yang Yiqing to complain to the emperor and find evidence of treason in his residence. Without giving Liu Jin a chance to explain himself to the emperor, he was executed."

Zhu Yi said, "However, even without Liu Jin, the atmosphere of the Zhengde reign did not change. The emperor continued to favor Qian Ning, Jiang Bin, and others, making the Ming Dynasty a chaotic place."

Gongsun Jin and Liu Yangzheng exchanged a glance, still somewhat suspicious of Zhu Yi's words.

At the beginning of the tenth year of Zhengde's reign, although Jiang Bin had been recommended by Qian Ning to the emperor's side, his reputation was still far inferior to Qian Ning's. Even when the Prince of Ning's mansion sought connections with powerful figures in the court, they did not follow Jiang Bin's path.

After all, it wasn't until the twelfth year of the Zhengde reign, when Jiang Bin was granted the title of Earl of Pinglu, and in the fourteenth year, when he became the Director of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, that he truly gained absolute power.

They didn't know why Zhu Yi kept mentioning Jiang Bin. Gongsun Jin was also wondering if this person could really influence the affairs of the court in the future.

Gongsun Jin said, "Is that all? Brother Zhu, since Emperor Wuzong was so incompetent, what kind of... chaos occurred among the people during the Zhengde era?"

Zhu Yi said dismissively, "You still say you don't know history? If you don't know, how would you know there was a civil unrest during the Zhengde era?"

"It's just a question," Gongsun Jin said. "It's only human nature. When the rulers are without virtue, the people will surely rise up in rebellion. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. The people suffer greatly; how can they willingly endure such oppression?"

Liu Yangzheng glanced at Gongsun Jin, as if to say, "You're really good at making things up."

With such eloquence, it's no wonder Prince Ning values ​​you so highly.

Zhu Yidao said: "During the Zhengde period, a popular uprising caused by the horse administration occurred, which spread from Beizhili to Shandong, Henan and other places. It lasted from the fourth year of Zhengde to the seventh year of Zhengde, and spread to several provinces. It caused the people of the Central Plains to be displaced and the land to be devastated. It took decades to recover from the disaster."

Zhu Yi paused at this point.

In his view, this was the most influential upheaval during the Zhengde period, without exception, because only this upheaval threatened the Ming imperial power.

Seeing Zhu Yi stop, Gongsun Jin couldn't help but ask, "And then?"

Liu Yangzheng then asked, "Does the Ming imperial family simply turn a blind eye to this chaos?"

Zhu Yi squinted and sized up the two of them.

In his view, the two of them had let something slip.

You claim to live in the Chenghua era, so how could you know that a rebellion led by members of the imperial family would occur during the Zhengde era?

However, Zhu Yi immediately felt discouraged. He didn't believe in time travel anyway, and no matter how the other side created the historical background, everything in front of him was fake.

Whether the story is set in the Chenghua or Jiajing era, does it offer any help to the predicament he is facing?

Zhu Yi said in a listless tone: "The Ming imperial family has not been idle either. First, in the fifth year of Zhengde, the Prince of Anhua started a rebellion under the pretext of purging the court of corrupt officials and eliminating Liu Jin. The emperor sent Yang Yiqing to the northwest to supervise the army. It was after suppressing the Prince of Anhua's rebellion that Yang Yiqing returned to the court and joined forces with Zhang Yong to bring down Liu Jin."

Then, in the fourteenth year of the Zhengde reign, Prince Ning rebelled, but the rebellion failed after forty-two days. The Zhengde Emperor's southern tour was also ostensibly to quell the Prince Ning rebellion, but before he even left the capital, the rebellion had already been suppressed.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yangzheng and Gongsun Jin were completely dumbfounded.

Although we heard what we wanted to know, this kid's story... is just too terrifying, isn't it?

Prince Ning has indeed started a rebellion!

Just four years later!

The matter was quelled in forty-two days?

Even when the emperor personally led an expedition, it had only just begun, while our side had already finished?

Is this really such a trivial matter?

Zhu Yi continued, "It was precisely during this imperial tour that the emperor fell ill after falling into the water on his way back. In March of the sixteenth year of Zhengde's reign, he died without even having properly settled his affairs!"

Gongsun Jin looked embarrassed and said, "Brother Zhu, aren't what you're saying a bit too outrageous?"

Zhu Yi turned his head to the side and said, "The occurrence of historical events is inherently absurd. Tell me, what I said is so absurd as to defy common sense and be unacceptable to you?"

Gongsun Jin glanced back at Liu Yangzheng and saw that Liu Yangzheng also looked like he couldn't bear to listen anymore, so he said, "What you said, the Prince of Anhua's rebellion... it failed, so what, after all... this clan wasn't a very large one to begin with. But the Prince of Ning... that's a very important member of the Ming Dynasty's imperial clan. Putting aside why he would rebel against the court, even if... well, it shouldn't be that..."

Zhu Yi said, "Why are you being so coy? Oh, in your world, the Ning Prince's Mansion hasn't fallen yet, so ordinary people don't dare to speak ill of it, right? But I'm sorry, in my world, the Ning Prince's rebellion happened five hundred years ago. What's done is done, and the boat is already rotten. I'm just stating the facts; believe it or not."

Gongsun Jin questioned, "Why did Prince Ning plot a rebellion?"

Zhu Yi retorted, "You should ask why Prince Ning didn't rebel. During the Jingnan Campaign, Prince Yan, Zhu Di, promised to share the throne with Prince Ning if he gained power in the future. But what happened? Not only did he not share it, but he also relocated Prince Ning's lineage to Jiangxi, stripped them of their guards, and placed them under strict surveillance. This is a blood feud, and given the chance, Prince Ning's mansion will definitely seek revenge. It's only a matter of time before Prince Ning rebels."