Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 188: Rippling the Waters (Part 3)
"You said you weren't jealous, but you kept it to yourself when so many bastard censors slandered my Qilin'er! Tell me, did you also want to give Dong'er a warning?"
Wanli arrived at the Cining Palace. Before the mother and son had spoken a few words, Empress Dowager Li emphasized her tone: "Zhu Yijun, although my surname is not Zhu, I am your mother! Why don't you tell me the truth!"
"Hehe." The fifty-year-old Wanli still acted a little coquettishly in front of the sixty-eight-year-old Empress Dowager Li: "Mother said that I am jealous, so I am jealous. Anyway, this "沁园春·雪" really makes me feel uncomfortable."
"Humph! What's wrong with you? Dong'er is the grandson of the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, and will be the Emperor of Ming Dynasty in the future. Isn't it natural that his poems contain the domineering spirit of an emperor? Wasn't the previous poem "Ode to the Frog" also full of domineering spirit? I don't see you feeling uncomfortable."
"No... Mother, the poem that this child wrote later is really too overbearing."
"If I were to say, my Zhu family should have had such an emperor. Taizu and Chengzu lived too long ago, and I have only heard about them. But I saw Jiajing with my own eyes. When he was in power, these officials didn't dare to make such a fuss like they do now!"
"Well... Mother, can you please listen to what I have to say?"
"Okay." Of course, no one else could be present for such a conversation. Empress Dowager Li pulled two stools and helped her obese son sit down. She then sat down next to Wanli and stroked his chest with both hands: "Go ahead. I'm listening."
"Thank you, mother." After taking a breath, Wanli said, "Dong'er is a good child. He is only twelve years old, but the talent he has shown is far better than that of Emperor Xuan. I am of course very happy that my Zhu family has such a descendant. However, the biggest problem with this child is that he is going too fast.
I know clearly that the civil officials in this country are assholes. However, no matter how assholes these guys are, this country always needs civil officials to help my Zhu family govern. Dong'er's various actions have angered a large number of civil officials. If we don't suppress them a little bit now, the foundation of my Ming Dynasty may be unstable. "
“…”
"Mother? Ouch! Mother, you pinched me again!"
"You silly son! I asked you to study more, but you just drank and played with cats all day long. Now you are being stupid!"
"What do you mean?"
"What else can I say? I have told you long ago that Dong'er's talent is incomparable even to Emperor Xuan. If we were to find a similar person among our ancestors, it would only be Taizu and Chengzu. When Taizu killed Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang, were there many officials in the court who opposed him? When Chengzu pacified the rebellion, were there many civil officials who opposed him? But not only did they survive safely, they also created the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty. Why is that?"
"Why?"
"Of course, the two ancestors controlled the army! No matter how dissatisfied the civil officials were, they dared not say anything."
"…I am ashamed of your insight, mother."
"Humph! I learned a lot from the late emperor in my early years. I also learned a lot when I was in Zhang Juzheng's time. After retiring these years, I haven't just been a vegetarian in the Cining Palace." The old lady smiled proudly: "Besides, there are many civil servants who support Dong'er!"
"Well... what the Queen Mother said makes sense."
Wanli was not a fool. He reacted immediately after Empress Dowager Li gave him a little reminder.
After the poem "沁园春·雪" was introduced to Beijing, I seemed to have muttered a few words like "little bastard" in the palace. It was probably these two words that were spread by the eunuchs around me - these bastards!
After that, the Donglin Party in Beijing launched an impeachment at a very high speed. But unexpectedly, before the cabinet took action, the two censors of the Censorate led another group of censors to impeach the Donglin Party - this time difference, no matter how you calculate it, could not be controlled by Zhu Youdong remotely.
This shows that Zhu Youdong himself had the support of some civil servants.
As for the military's attitude, it is self-evident.
Why does it feel like this Crown Prince is living a more comfortable life than me, the Emperor? I struggled for so many years during the dispute over the national foundation, but not a single minister stood up to support me. Zhu Youdong has not been impeached yet, but has only been slightly attacked, and so many ministers have taken the initiative to stand up and support him?
"Hey, mother, I didn't expect Dong'er to have grown to this point without knowing it."
"Isn't it good? If a minister from another family had such power, we would certainly get rid of him as soon as possible. But Dong'er is the crown prince. Are you still worried that he will usurp the throne and let you become the Grand Emperor?"
"No, I have never had such an idea. But to be honest, I did want him to return to Beijing to settle down for a few years. He has been too troublesome in recent years. Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about the Jianzhou Jurchens. Do you really think I don't know anything? Yes, the Japanese pirates did have bad intentions and supported the Jiannu with a batch of bird guns. But if the Kuandian Guards had not accepted Dong'er's arrangement and wanted to send bird guns to the Ula Jurchens, how could they have discovered this? The Jianzhou Jurchen incident was obviously deliberately provoked by Dong'er!"
"But through this campaign, he has completely won the favor of the warriors. Isn't this much more legitimate than your shy request to 'ask for advice on military tactics'?"
"Hiss~~Mother, you can't insult your own son just because you have a great-grandson."
Generally speaking, the emperor, as the biggest dictator in the world, has a strong desire for control. The emperor cannot tolerate anything that cannot be completely controlled, even if it is his own son or grandson. But the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were different: since Zhu Laosi, there were so many things that they could not control that being frustrated became the norm for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, when his grandson had a strong power, as an emperor, Wanli was indeed a little uncomfortable. But he would not kill Zhu Youdong as soon as possible like the strong emperors such as Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang.
"Zhu Yijun."
"Mother?"
"You think Dong'er is developing too fast and is too troublesome. But who let him out in the first place?"
"Uh... Mother, it was your son. But at that time, your son was also thinking about whether Dong'er could go to the south to get some silver so that your son could stop the mining tax."
"Did he do it?"
"It's done. Now Nanhua Palace can provide the Imperial Palace with a stable amount of 2 million taels of silver every year. Only then can I have the confidence to completely stop the mining tax."
"For such a great contribution, you don't want to reward him, but instead you want to imprison him?" Empress Dowager Li stood up and stared at Wanli with serious eyes: "During the dispute over the national foundation, I stood on Chang Luo's side. Because his mother, like me, was born a poor palace maid. And I really don't like Zheng Xiu'er... But look, who supported you during the dispute over the national foundation? If Mr. Zhang hadn't passed away that year, you didn't protect his family. How could you be so miserable during the dispute over the national foundation? Now my Zhu family has finally got Qilin'er, who can work for you. If you follow the wishes of some ministers this time and imprison Dong'er, who will dare to work for you in the future? Who will dare to work for my Ming Dynasty?"
"Mother, your words are really like good medicine that tastes bitter."
"Hmph! I have seen three generations of emperors, but I still don't know what you are thinking? What are you afraid of? Dong'er is only twelve years old now. Even if he has great ambitions, would he come to the throne at this age? In ten years, you won't even know whether you will live forever, so why would you care so much?"
"…Mother is right, but before Dong'er, there was Chang Luo."
"We need to teach Chang Luo a lesson this time. Without his nod, the ministers outside wouldn't have acted so quickly and in unison. I recently read the Jinling Daily in the Japanese palace, which introduced the Ottoman Empire's Canon inheritance law, in which the winner must kill all his brothers. This cruel and barbaric method is certainly not feasible in our Ming Dynasty, but there is a very reasonable saying in it: compared with the fate and future of the country, a few lives are nothing!"
"…Mother, what you said is absolutely right. I now know what to do."
Although he was physically tired, Wanli returned to the Qianqing Palace in high spirits after his heart knot was completely untied .
"This servant greets His Majesty."
"Well, Li En, I asked you to find out who leaked the news. Have you found out?"
"After receiving the order from His Majesty, I took all the eunuchs who served His Majesty that day to the East Factory. They have all confessed. It was a eunuch who passed the news to Wang An of Ciqing Palace. All the confessions are ready and can be submitted to His Majesty for inspection at any time."
"Hmph! I'll leave this matter to you. Well, just make it an accident, don't make it too big a deal. The prince is still the prince after all."
"Yes, I understand. Uh..."
"What else do you want?"
"When I saw Your Majesty just now, I wanted to report that Wei Zhongxian, the head of Xinghua Palace, has been waiting outside."
After obtaining permission from Emperor Wanli, Wei Zhongxian had been running back and forth for nearly three days, and his thighs had already been rubbed raw. He endured the severe pain in his legs and still walked in with a normal gait.
"Is there any letter from Dong'er?"
"Your Majesty, there is no wiser man than you. Your Highness, the Crown Prince, has a handwritten letter for you to read."
When Wanli received the letter, his hands felt a little uncomfortable: he thought the letter must be very thick and heavy, but in his hands, it was very light.
I opened the seal and found only one page of paper with only one .
Thanks to his long experience of reading Jinling Daily, Wanli was very clear about the meaning of this symbol. After thinking for a while, he asked Li En to bring a pen and ink, and then drew a heavy "!" on the back of the paper.
After doing all this, Wanli said, "Li En, I am exhausted today. Please help me reply to all the memorials requesting the Crown Prince to return to Beijing to study."
"Yes, may I ask Your Majesty, what is the specific reply?"
"One sentence: What's your business in stirring up a pond of spring water?"