Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 200 From now on, the dragon roars for nine days
History has been changed too much by time travelers.
Zhu Changluo collapsed in 1620 in this historical dimension, which is eight years earlier in this dimension.
Zhu Changluo's mother, Concubine Wang Gong (later promoted to Imperial Concubine because Zhu Changluo was canonized as Crown Prince), died in October 1611 in the original historical plane. However, in this plane, because Zhu Youdong sent famous doctors to treat her from time to time, and there were various medicines to maintain her health, especially Zhu Changluo's position as Crown Prince was very stable. Therefore, Concubine Wang Gong was in very good health.
Unfortunately, Zhu Changluo's death dashed the mother's lifelong expectations, and she lost hope in her heart. After hearing that Zhu Youdong returned to Beijing first and Prince Fu was still in Luoyang, the poor woman could no longer hold on and jumped into the well.
Oh, what a pitiful mother and son.
In short, as the eldest son and grandson, Zhu Youdong had no choice but to take on the main work of his father and grandmother's funeral. By the time he had completed all of this and secured the posthumous title of "Prince Huiren" for his father, it was already mid-November 1612.
At this time, Wanli and Zhu Youdong, the grandfather and grandson, could finally sit down and have an in-depth conversation.
"Dong'er, thank you for your hard work during this period."
"As a descendant, this is our duty."
"Yes." After nodding and letting all the eunuchs and palace maids around him leave, Wanli said, "You and I have been cooperating well for so many years, so grandpa doesn't want to beat around the bush with you. Dong'er, grandpa wants you to be the regent and take charge of state affairs!"
"Hmm..." Without panicking, nor jumping up hypocritically and saying something empty, Zhu Youdong thought for a while and then slowly said, "Grandpa, I still have to observe mourning."
"Nonsense, a country cannot be without a monarch for a day. In the past, when the previous emperor passed away, I didn't see grandpa observe mourning for three years before ascending the throne. According to the rules of my Ming Dynasty, when a close relative dies, one must observe mourning for 27 months. During this period, you cannot drink alcohol. Since you are a child, naturally you won't say it. Also, you cannot have sex. In fact, as long as no wives or concubines get pregnant during this period, no one will delve into it. And again, you don't have to worry about this at your age. Finally, you can't have any happy actions or be particular about your clothes. And speaking of which, Chang Luo is gone, and you are the only crown prince of the country. Whether the crown prince of the country has descendants is related to the stability of the country's foundation. Therefore, it is no problem to choose a concubine for you during this period, as long as no grand ceremony is held within these 27 months."
"...Okay, Grandpa Emperor, do you mean that you want to step back and let your grandson step forward to serve as regent, thus putting an end to Third Uncle's wish?"
"Hey, the throne is something that you only know how uncomfortable it is to sit on pins and needles after you sit on it, but for those who have never sat on it, it is something that you really want. Although you have done a lot of great things over the years and have clearly shown signs of being a wise ruler. However, after Chang Luo's death, it is normal for Chang Xun to have thoughts about the throne. But you are not afraid, are you?"
"It is just as Grandpa Emperor said. I am not worried about Third Uncle at all. Even if Third Uncle wants to raise an army to quell the rebellion after Grandpa Emperor's death, I can defeat him with one hand."
"So, letting you be the regent is not to let you stand in the front and bear a name. After all, no one in my Zhu family can compete with you for the position of crown prince. Grandpa really wants to hand over all the power to you!"
"Uh..." Having said this, Zhu Youdong was really a little surprised: "Grandpa Emperor, what are you going to do?"
"That's right. Grandpa is old and tired. He really wants to become the Grand Emperor and enjoy a few years of peace and quiet. Speaking of which, there have been many Grand Emperors in China over the past thousands of years, but there has never been a Grand Emperor! If he really does it, Grandpa will be remembered by future generations just for this reason."
"...My grandson just lost his father and grandmother, and I feel really sad when I hear Grandpa Huang say such words."
"So you are a filial child. I feel relieved to hand over this country to you. Humph, thinking about the New Year's greetings Ye Xianggao gave me on New Year's Day this year, I almost got mad to death! Whether you can turn this situation around depends entirely on you!"
The Prime Minister Ye Xianggao gave Wanli a new year's message? Oh, that's not a message, is it? It's full of sarcasm!
On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year in 1612, when all levels of the Ming Dynasty resumed work, Ye Xianggao, as the head of the Ming Dynasty's civil officials, publicly submitted a so-called New Year's greeting to Emperor Wanli through the Tongzhengsi. Zhu Youdong was still in Liaodong at that time and had no time to read such things. When he returned to Beijing, he was busy fighting with his father and had no time to read it. It was not until he returned to Nanjing that Zhang Yicheng showed him this congratulatory message. Although he was very angry after reading it, the census work began again...
In short, His Royal Highness was actually very dissatisfied with Prime Minister Ye Xianggao because this New Year's greeting was very inappropriate. However, given his status at the time and His Royal Highness was always very busy, he had no time to deal with Prime Minister Ye.
What did Prime Minister Ye mean in this congratulatory message? The general meaning is: This year is the 40th year of Wanli. I have checked the history of the three thousand years from the Three Dynasties to the Song and Yuan Dynasties. There were only ten monarchs who ruled the country for more than 40 years. Only Emperor Gaozong of the Shang Dynasty was called prosperous, and Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty was poorly governed. The rest were in chaos. King Xuan of Zhou, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and Emperor Wu of Liang were in good order at the beginning but ended in chaos. In more than 3,000 years, there were only two or three monarchs who ruled the country for a long time and ended well. It can be seen that it is not easy to maintain the same rule for a long time. In the past 40 years since Your Majesty was in power, the world has been extremely withered and haggard, and the hopes of the subjects have not been realized year after year. Therefore, Your Majesty’s future evaluation after death is extremely worrying.
In general, what are the problems of the country now? The people are poor and the money is gone. The country is empty both inside and outside. Foreign threats are threatening us day by day. Our soldiers have no food and have been hungry for a long time. How can we resist the enemy? If the border is unable to support and invades the interior, Your Majesty, if you sincerely think about what you can rely on in the capital and what strategies can ensure your safety, you must be disheartened!
How can we solve these problems? Since ancient times, the country has relied on talents. Now, from the cabinet ministers to the local officials, there are no empty ones. Your Majesty is in the upper nine layers, and you let a few ministers and workers obey you. It is absolutely impossible to expect the world to be in order. If talents are not cultivated and vacancies are not filled quickly, there will be no one to use in the future. I have repeatedly requested that the three matters of the meeting, selection, and filling of senior officials must not be delayed any longer. If Your Majesty does not agree with my words, I will dismiss them immediately; if you listen to my words, you should implement them as soon as possible so that the ministers can be effective as soon as possible.
Who were the people that Chief Minister Ye was referring to? Zhao Nanxing, Zou Zhaolong, Gu Xiancheng, Gao Panlong... Chief Minister Ye's position was now completely clear.
In short, although many things in Ye Xianggao's congratulatory message are unreliable and unfeasible, it must be admitted that during the 40 years of Wanli's reign, the country did have many problems. The emperor himself had some ways to solve the problems, but he did lack the ability to fundamentally reverse the country's decline.
However, although I really wanted to agree immediately, I am Chinese after all, so I have to pretend.
"Grandpa Emperor, your grandson is only twelve years old now!"
"It's because you 're only twelve that I let you be the regent first. Otherwise, Grandpa would have abdicated the throne to you. This way, you'll be the regent first, and Grandpa will support you for a few years. When you're fifteen or sixteen and get married, Grandpa will officially abdicate the throne to you. This way, the transfer of power will be smooth, and it will also put an end to Chang Xun's delusions sooner, which is good for him."
"…My grandson is a little scared, but if I say I don't want to be the regent, it would be a lie. So, I will try to be the regent first!
"Do it well! If you do well in the next few years, the reign title can still be Wanli! In this way, whether grandpa's temple name and posthumous title will sound better after his death will all depend on you!"
"Uh... I won't say anything like 'Long live the Emperor'. The Emperor will surely live a hundred years. And the reign title of Wanli will surely shine brightly in the long river of history !"
On September 24, 1612, Crown Prince Zhu Changluo of the Ming Dynasty died.
On November 15, 1612, Emperor Wanli issued an edict to appoint the crown prince Zhu Youdong as regent. It was also clearly stipulated that the regent would replace the emperor in the grand court meetings, which would be held in the Huangji Hall. The six ministries of the cabinet, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the twenty-four offices of the imperial palace were all responsible to the regent!
Zhu Youdong, twelve years after he was born in this era, finally obtained the highest authority in the Ming Dynasty!
