Chapter 227 I’ll teach you how to govern a country
There was a hustle and bustle outside Chongwenmen.

In addition to civil and military officials, there were also various nobles, gentry, wealthy people, and common people.

The civil and military officials who came today were even more lively and orderly than the one on the first day of the first lunar month this year when Chongzhen held a court ceremony in the Huangji Hall.

After all, when the court was congratulating him, only Jinyiwei commander Luo Yangxing was present, and no civil or military officials came.

And now, not only the civil and military officials were present, but even those nobles who lived a life of luxury had flocked to the scene.

The crowd was crowded near Chongwenmen, and the bank of the canal was covered with black people. Order was maintained by three battalions of soldiers led by Xiangcheng Earl Li Guozhen.

Zhu Di looked out from the bow and saw that many of the people in the capital had pale faces and ragged clothes, looking at the fleet from afar.

The princes and nobles nearby all had ruddy faces, fat heads and big ears, and were dressed in gorgeous clothes.

The soldiers in the Beijing camp were basically old, weak, sick and disabled, and it was already very difficult for them to maintain order. It is no wonder that they all fled in all directions when Li Zicheng later broke through Beijing.

There was a lot of noise outside, and the sound of shouting was endless. Amid the hustle and bustle, the fleet slowly arrived at the Chongwenmen Pier and docked on the shore.

As soon as the boat stopped, civil and military officials headed by the chief minister of the cabinet, Jiang Dejing, immediately rushed over. The nobles, on the other hand, were inferior to them in status and were blocked from the imperial carriage by the civil service group, and could not get in at all.

Seeing this strange scene, Zhu Di turned his head and said to Zhu Yunfeng: “Have the nobles of the late Ming Dynasty fallen to this level?”

“It’s basically useless. After all, it has been suppressed by the civil officials for nearly 200 years. Dukes, marquises, earls, and those of the first or second rank can’t even raise their heads when they meet a fifth-rank cabinet scholar.”

Zhu Yunfeng also whispered: “Once a saint like Wang Yangming was conferred the title of noble earl, Yang Tinghe would not even allow him to enter the cabinet, and would not allow the civil commander who holds military power to appear.”

“Alas, the Ming Dynasty became increasingly absurd.”

Zhu Di shook his head.

“Don’t be sentimental, it started after your great-grandson Tumubao.”

Zhu Yunfeng shrugged and said, “But some things really can’t be blamed on Bao Zong. He is a waste, but in the final analysis, it is because the nobles of the Ming Dynasty fell into depravity quickly.”

The so-called conspiracy of the civil service group in the Battle of Tumu is of course a ridiculous conspiracy theory. After all, who would dig a hole and bury themselves?

The number of deaths in the civil service group was much greater than that in the noble group, and most of them were senior civil servants. It is nonsense to say that this was a conspiracy of the civil service group.

However, it is also a fact that it was the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Tumu that caused the noble group to no longer gain the emperor’s trust, thus causing the status of the noble group that originally held military power to plummet.

Therefore, as the Ming Dynasty progressed, the nobles became more and more worthless. Apart from the manipulation of the clan leaders, their own lack of ambition was also a major factor.

After all, in the Song Dynasty, civil officials actually suppressed the nobles, and the suppression was even more severe than in the Ming Dynasty.

However, during the Song-Xia War, a large number of sons of generals and nobles such as the Cao family, Gao family, Zhong family, Zhe family, and Yao family were able to stand up and compete with the Western Xia.

By the Ming Dynasty, the only thing left for generals and nobles was eating, drinking and having fun, no different from the Eight Banners descendants of the late Qing Dynasty.

As a result, the descendants of these founding nobles and heroes who helped to pacify the Ming Dynasty became increasingly weak. The emperor and the civil officials could not be blamed, but only themselves for becoming increasingly incompetent.

As they were talking, the boat came to the shore and lowered the wooden planks.

Sun Chuanting’s soldiers on the periphery quickly went up, pointed their swords and guns at them, separated the civil and military officials as well as many nobles and gentry, and did not allow them to approach.

Then the soldiers on the ship also walked along the wooden planks to the dock, ready their AKs, and set up security facilities all around.

At the same time, they separated the crowd, broke into Chongwen Gate, climbed up the city wall, occupied the commanding heights and aimed below.

Zhu Di and Zhu Yunfeng did not disembark until these well-trained elite soldiers had completely taken control of the dock.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness.”

Sun Chuanting was already waiting at the dock and bowed to them.

“Ah.”

Zhu Di put his hands behind his back, nodded, and led the way towards Chongwenmen.

He changed his clothes today on purpose. He was not wearing the modern military uniform he usually wore in battles, but the clothes of Prince Gunlong of the Ming Dynasty.

Although the style was exactly the same as Zhu Yunfeng’s prince’s uniform, Zhu Yunfeng did not wear it, so everyone present could naturally recognize him as Zhu Di at a glance.

When Zhu Di came closer, Jiang Dejing led the entire court of civil and military officials to bow and salute, saying, “Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor Taizong!”

Zhu Di’s official posthumous title in the Ming Dynasty was changed from Taizong to Chengzu by Jiajing.

However, Xu Biao had already submitted a letter to the emperor, saying that Zhu Di did not like this title very much, so everyone began to please him and restored the title to Taizong.

“Who are you?”

Zhu Di asked.

“I am Jiang Dejing, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.”

Jiang Dejing replied.

“Where’s that kid Chongzhen?”

Zhu Di asked again.

For the Chongzhen Dynasty, this year is the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, and Zhu Youjian is 33 years old.

But for the Hongwu Dynasty, this year is the 26th year of Hongwu, and Zhu Di has just turned years old.

So Jiang Dejing still felt a little strange when he saw someone who was obviously younger than the emperor calling the emperor “that kid”.

But thinking about the generation gap, Jiang Dejing said respectfully: “Your Majesty is in the palace.”

“What a stubborn guy.”

Zhu Di curled his lips. Will this grandson die if he admits his mistake?
Jiang Dejing quickly added, “Your Majesty is in the palace burning incense and bathing, waiting for Emperor Taizong to arrive.”

“hehe.”

Zhu Di sneered.

“His Majesty.”

Sun Chuanting came over and his men brought two tall horses.

“Enter the palace!”

Zhu Di jumped onto his horse in a handsome manner, his whole aura changed, and he looked around.

Zhu Yunfeng was a little embarrassed. He stepped on the stirrup by himself, and only with the help of Sun Chuanting could he get up. There had to be a soldier in front pulling the horse, otherwise he would not dare to move.

With a wave of Zhu Di’s hand, the crowd was immediately separated. Zhu Di looked around and walked slowly into Chongwen Gate with a swagger.

The civil and military officials behind him were not even qualified to follow him and were separated by his personal guards.

With hundreds of soldiers guarding on both sides, Sun Chuanting’s troops entered the city to clear the way. No one was allowed to be above the second floor on both sides of the street. The security was tight and the atmosphere was aggressive.

The streets were originally crowded with people, but they were quickly cleared.

The people could only watch from afar, like sewer rats hiding in corners.

Zhu Di saw it and shook his head slightly.

The people in the late Ming Dynasty were so miserable. Even in the prosperous capital, many people were poor and destitute. There were countless people who could not afford food or clothes.

In an era of insufficient productivity and serious land annexation, a natural disaster or a man-made disaster is a bloody history for the people at the bottom of society.

He had heard too many tragic stories during this period.

When he passed through Shaanxi on his way to Tongguan to support Sun Chuanting, he heard about a cannibalistic village.

There was a severe drought in Shaanxi. In order to survive, the villagers began to eat the old people and children who died of starvation, followed by women, and finally nothing was left. There was also a market for human beings, rodents parting with each other, people eating each other’s broken arms, and bones everywhere.

But these are just a sad song of the times. In many places where the plague is rampant, it is not just the death of one village after another, but the death of an entire county, a state, or even a prefecture.

What a scene it is like to have a vast expanse of fertile land without a single living being in sight.

Zhu Di found it difficult to recall.

At least in his opinion, compared with the chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty that he experienced in his childhood, the chaotic times at the end of the Ming Dynasty were infinitely more tragic.

It is no wonder that people in later generations like Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He are not afraid of the ancient imperial power.

Born in an era when people had no worries about food and clothing and the Chinese nation was striving to rise, let alone princes and nobles, one could hold one’s head high even when facing the emperor.

The team continued to move forward and soon passed through the Daming Gate and arrived at the Chengtian Gate, the outer gate of the Daming Imperial Palace. After passing the Chengtian Gate was the famous Wumen Gate.

There are buildings between Chengtian Gate and Wumen Gate. The Altar of Land and Grain is located on the west side, and the Ancestral Temple is located on the east side. One will pass by these two places when entering the palace.

When Zhu Di passed through Chengtian Gate, he saw a large number of palace guards, eunuchs, and palace maids kneeling on the palace road from Chengtian Gate to Wumen, led by a beautiful woman.

She was wearing gorgeous court clothes and no makeup, but her beauty could not be concealed. She had her hands folded at her waist and her legs kneeling on the ground.

“Who are you?”

Zhu Di reined in his horse in front of everyone.

The woman raised her head and replied, “Your Majesty, I am Empress Xizong, Zhang Yan, the daughter of Zhang Guoji, Earl of Taikang. I have come to ask for forgiveness from you.”

Zhang Yan had bright white teeth and a stunning appearance that even Zhu Di was a little dazzled.

But now he has been influenced by later generations. There are so many beauties in later generations. Not to mention the countless cosmetics brands, there are also many natural beauties, even exotic ones. So he quickly came to his senses.

“Get up.”

Zhu Di nodded and said, “You are virtuous and innocent. Your husband doesn’t listen to advice, and your brother-in-law is an incompetent fool. The fall of the country has nothing to do with you, the harem.”

These words can be considered as a conclusion. In addition to eunuchs and palace maids, Zhang Yan also brought many concubines of the Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian brothers from the harem.

When the country was in decline, many literati began to spread rumors that women in the harem were bringing harm to the country and the people.

During the Wei Zhongxian period, Zhang Yan believed that Wei Zhongxian and Keshi were persecuting loyal officials, so she told Zhu Youxiao about their mistakes. However, Wei Zhongxian arranged for ministers to spread rumors and slander her in an attempt to get the emperor to depose her.

Even the fact that her child was stillborn was said to be related to Wei Zhongxian and Ke Shi. This shows that Zhang Yan was very sensible and was able to persuade the emperor to stay away from treacherous villains and restore the government.

It’s just that Zhu Youxiao himself was useless, liked to do carpentry work, and had no ability to govern the country, so it’s natural that they cannot be blamed for the country’s decline.

Many concubines in the harem breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone knows that when Zhu Di and Zhu Yuanzhang come here this time, they will definitely carry out large-scale liquidation and cleansing. If they can get a qualitative analysis at this time, they will avoid future disasters.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. However, as the empress of the late emperor, I was unable to persuade the late emperor to cheer up, and I was unable to manage the court well, which led to the rise of treacherous officials and the eventual destruction of the country. This is all my fault.”

Zhang Yan did not stand up, but continued: “I hope to go to Deling to accompany the late emperor until the end of my life.”

“You have good intentions, but now that I am here, I will not let those who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the country even though they cannot turn the tide in times of national crisis shed blood and tears. You will continue to be the master of the harem, and I and my father will support you.”

Zhu Di sighed, looked around, shook his head and said: “My Ming Dynasty is still worthy of its integrity. My descendants finally have some courage to commit suicide for the country. Even the women in the harem understand the righteousness. But the country has reached this point. The emperor is incompetent. The blame lies with the brothers Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian for not having the ability to be emperors.”

After that, he waved his hand and said, “Help the queen to stand up. You all go back to the harem and do what you need to do. Don’t ask about the affairs of the front palace. Just do as usual. After a while, the dark sky of the Ming Dynasty will finally be bright again.”

“Yes.”

Everyone stood up and helped Empress Zhang back out.

The team moved on.

Zhu Di passed through the Meridian Gate and walked along the palace road to the outside of the Fengtian Hall.

The Fengtian Hall is majestic and tall. It is noon now and the lighting in the hall is very good. The sun shines down and the light is bright.

When he arrived outside the palace, Zhu Di dismounted from his horse and walked slowly to the palace entrance along the white jade steps.

He saw that the hall was empty. He looked up and saw a young man in his thirties wearing a dragon robe sitting on the dragon throne.

There was only one eunuch accompanying him.

The man looked down at him, and Zhu Di also looked up at him.

A moment later, Zhu Di stepped into the hall and walked up the steps with his hands behind his back.

Wang Chengen instinctively wanted to step forward to stop him, but Zhu Di just looked at him indifferently. Wang Chengen could only step back and stand there obediently.

“Chongzhen?”

Zhu Di leaned over and looked at Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian just stood up from the dragon throne calmly, took off his crown, knelt down and kowtowed, saying: “I, the unworthy descendant Zhu Youjian, pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor Taizong.”

“Ugh.”

Zhu Di originally thought that he would continue to be stubborn, but he did not expect him to kneel down. He could not help but sigh and said, “It would be better if you did this earlier, so that father would not be so angry.”

Zhu Youjian raised his head, but stiffened his neck and said, “I still think I am right. If it weren’t for the ministers misleading me, how could I be the king who lost the country?”

“Confused!”

Zhu Di scolded: “You are the emperor, you are the one who holds the power. You can’t tell who is loyal and who is treacherous. Who can do things and who only know how to be greedy. That is your biggest problem!”

“You only listen to slander, stay in the deep palace and don’t know the suffering of the people. You only know how to be deceived and led by the nose by the ministers. You don’t have your own thoughts, strategies, and don’t know what you should and shouldn’t do. Isn’t it your fault?”

“There are treacherous civil and military officials, but there are also loyal ones. As an emperor, you sometimes need to use corrupt officials as well as loyal officials. But first you have to achieve your goal, at least you have to keep the country stable.”

“You don’t understand the inside story, nor do you know their true intentions. You kill whoever they impeach in the memorial. You are used as a gun by others, but you still can’t see through it. You are mediocre and incompetent, even worse than Jiajing, who has no imperial power at all.”

“I heard that you killed the Minister of War who worked for you in order to cover up your intention to negotiate peace with the Jian Nu. As Cao Cao said, if you are willing to work hard, you will be afraid of your own safety, and if you see little profit, you will forget your principles. You can’t take the blame on yourself, but you only know how to shirk responsibility. Do you still think you are fine?”

“Were there no treacherous ministers during my father’s Hongwu reign? Are there no treacherous ministers during my Yongle reign? Why were my father and I able to achieve great feats, but you can’t do that? Why don’t you understand the reason?”

The repeated accusations did not awaken Chongzhen’s shame at all, but he simply did not argue, and still stiffened his neck and looked at Zhu Di with an unyielding expression.

He looked like an unfilial son in his rebellious youth.

“Idiot.”

Seeing this, Zhu Di was too lazy to teach him, so he just grabbed his collar, pulled him up, and pushed him down.

Chongzhen was pushed off the stage, and Zhu Di continued to push him all the way to the outside of the Fengtian Hall.

Standing outside the palace gate, the army below looked grim, with many civil officials and military generals standing at the bottom of the steps.

Looking at these ministers, Zhu Di leaned over and looked down. He just grinned, showing his white teeth and said: “To be honest, my father returned to the Hongwu period. At that time, I was not the emperor yet, but I feel that I was born to be the emperor.”

After that, he shouted, “Sun Chuanting!”

“The minister is here.”

Sun Chuanting came up hurriedly.

“Close all the gates of Beijing! All the Beijing troops in the city must return to their camps and are not allowed to come out. Have your men guard the city gates, streets, and palace gates!”

“Yes!”

Zhu Di turned his head, pulled Chongzhen over again, grabbed his collar, and said with a cruel look: “Have you heard of the Renwu Martyrdom? Today, let me teach you how to govern the country!”

(End of this chapter)