Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 062 Mother and Son Have a Night Talk
While Zhu Youdong and Zhao Shizhen were talking late into the night, the current emperor Zhu Yijun was also having a heart-to-heart talk with his mother in the Cining Palace.
Although Empress Dowager Li firmly stood on the side of Zhu Changluo during the dispute over the foundation of the country, making Wanli very embarrassed, on the one hand, Wanli's fundamental purpose in the dispute over the foundation of the country was not to depose and enthrone, and on the other hand, this fat emperor was really a filial son. Therefore, whenever Wanli was free, he would still visit Empress Dowager Li.
Originally, Wanli was very tired after dealing with so many state affairs in the morning, and he just wanted to come over for a routine visit in the afternoon. But somehow, after the mother and son talked, they became more and more speculative, and finally they simply abandoned the servants, sat face to face and talked until the evening.
"I remember that when I was young, I was ignorant and made trouble in the palace and got drunk. As a result, my mother made me read "The Biography of Huo Guang". Haha, now that I think about it, if my mother had let Yixuan be the emperor and I had been the Prince of Lu, it would not be as hard as it is today."
"Hmph~" Although the son in front of her had grown into a fat man weighing more than 200 pounds, Empress Dowager Li still gently stretched out a finger and poked Wanli: "You didn't think so at the beginning. At that time, you cried bitterly and kowtowed for mercy."
"Ah~~ That's why I was stupid at that time. The position of emperor was so difficult to sit on, but people were scrambling for it. Look at Yixuan. I heard that he lived a very comfortable life in Weihui. He spent the whole day reciting poems with a group of literati, or painting for fun. He was nothing like me, who was worried about the operation of the entire Ming Dynasty every day."
"I know you have a hard life. I knew how powerful the court officials and even the censors were during the Jiajing period. But what can we do? Emperor Shimiao (Jiajing) once told your father that a monarch rules the world by himself, and also fights the world by himself. Being an emperor is destined to be hard and lonely."
"Hehe..." After a helpless smile, Wanli looked up at the roof: "In fact, when I was a prince, I felt that my father was too weak. Mr. Gao had the final say on everything. I thought at the time, if Gao Gong had the final say on everything, what's the point of being an emperor? Now it seems that my father is really a wise man. With Mr. Gao, he only needs to control Gao Gong. Mr. Gao will naturally deal with other court officials and other problems. This way, it will be much easier!"
"I have always admired your father. Outsiders think he is weak, but he is actually very determined." She also raised her head and after a little reminiscence of her late husband, Empress Dowager Li looked at Wanli with a complicated expression: "In fact, you originally had the opportunity to be like your father. It's just that you are stubborn and too strong-willed, so..."
"...I know that when Mr. Zhang was here, the situation in our Ming Dynasty was much better than it is now..."
"... Hey, after so many years, you finally said this. When your father was teaching me history in the early years, he once told me the king he admired the most. Um, do you know who it was?"
"This? Emperor Xuan of the Former Han Dynasty? Or the Xuan Temple of this dynasty?"
"Haha, at least you still know your father's temper and didn't mention founding emperors like Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang. Well, your father admired both Emperor Xuan very much, but the one he admired the most was King Huiwen of Qin."
"King Huiwen of Qin? The one who had Shang Yang torn to pieces by chariots? How is that possible?"
"I want to ask you, did Shang Yang's reforms in Qin make Qin stronger?"
"Of course."
"But Shang Yang's reforms also offended a large number of Qin officials, right?"
"Well, the reform will definitely be like this."
"In order to appease the emotions of these nobles, King Huiwen had Shang Yang torn to pieces, but he completely retained the laws that Shang Yang had established. Is this a wise move?"
"……clever!"
"Your father passed away too early. If he had been given another ten or twenty years, Gao Gong's fate would not have been much better than Shang Yang's. Let Gao Gong rectify the country, and then dismiss him when you take the throne. This is the purpose of your father's tolerance of Gao Gong."
"...In the first year of the Wanli reign, why did mother..."
"Because your father is gone, and Gao Gong was not promoted by you. If you still let him be the Prime Minister, how can we control him? Do you think I don't know ? It's just going with the flow. Besides, if Gao Gong is removed and Zhang Juzheng is promoted, there will still be someone to do the work!"
"I know what you want to say, mother. Zhang Juzheng is Shang Yang during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. After his death, it is right to cancel all his honors in order to appease the public anger. But the laws he made should not be changed..."
"That's right. So after Zhang Taiyue died, you wanted to settle accounts with him. I don't say anything, but what you absolutely shouldn't do is think that your own way is better than Zhang Taiyue's. Then slowly change the various laws he left behind."
"Why didn't the mother remind her son earlier?"
"Haha, your father admires King Huiwen of Qin the most, but what about me? I admire the former Empress Dowager of Song the most. That Empress Dowager Cao is really powerful. When there was a turmoil in the palace, she was able to quickly lead a group of palace maids and eunuchs to defend Emperor Renzong. When Emperor Yingzong was in poor health and unable to attend court, she dared to take charge of the court. When Emperor Yingzong recovered, she immediately gave up all her power without any lingering. When I first read about such a heroine, I made up my mind to follow her example for the rest of my life... So, in the tenth year of Wanli, you are already twenty years old, and of course I have to return the power to you. Since I have returned the power to you, if I still interfere with your administration, wouldn't it be too mean?"
"My child... I thank you very much, mother. However, the country is in trouble right now, and I feel very depressed. In addition, I am too fat, and I often feel dizzy and upset. I really can't bear it. Of course, I hope someone can come forward to help me, but there are nearly 100,000 officials and eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty. But after looking around, I feel that there is no one like Zhang Juzheng in the past."
"It's rare to see a person like Zhang Juzheng in hundreds of years. It's normal that we can't find one now. However, my Zhu family also has a Qilin child."
"Mom, are you talking about Dong'er?"
"Of course, there is no need to talk about the strange phenomena in the world when this child was born. Although I eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures all day long, I still remember the saying that a man should not talk about strange things. So when Dong'er was born, I was only slightly surprised. However, what he has done in recent years really makes me feel extremely amazed."
"...Yes... Mother is right. Dong'er is not even six years old yet. It has been less than two years since he started learning, and he has already achieved such results. Although many things this child has done are against the way of saints, I really want to see how far he can go."
"So, we must do our best to support him. I didn't go to school when I was young. After serving the late emperor, your father first taught me to read history books. When your father decided to open the gate, many ministers in the court opposed it. I once asked him why he went against the ministers. He said to me worriedly at the time that it had been almost two thousand years since the First Emperor unified the country. Among so many dynasties, only the Zhao and Song dynasties lasted more than three hundred years, and they survived for three hundred years with only half of the country. It has been more than two hundred years since Taizu founded the Ming Dynasty. There are so many problems in the country. If we don't make up for it, I'm afraid we will repeat the same mistakes. So no matter how much opposition there is, we must open the gate.
I will remember these words for the rest of my life... Dong'er does things a little unorthodox, but I feel that only by doing so can I hope to help the Ming Dynasty escape this cycle of order and chaos."
"Haha..." After a bitter smile, Wanli said, "I now understand why mother kept silent when she changed Zhang Juzheng's decree. I feel uncomfortable hearing what mother said just now. If mother had stood up and pointed fingers at my administration more than 20 years ago, I am afraid that the relationship between mother and son would have been damaged. However, I am old now, so although mother's words just now made me uncomfortable, I know that they make sense."
"Well, actually, I have noticed that after so many years , your ideas have gradually changed. You have begun to pay more attention to the training of future generations."
"I'm already over 40, and with this body shape... Chang Luo is a good kid, but he's too honest. The future of our Ming Dynasty still depends on Dong'er. So, as long as it's not too much, I will help him and tolerate him. After all, this country will be handed over to him sooner or later."
