"Your Majesty, all the ministers in the court are saying this is our first victory against the Eastern Tartars, and everyone is very excited." Wei Zhongxian thought for a moment and then replied, "The Eastern Provincial Governor Wang Huazhen believes that this is a unique achievement."
After a pause, Wei Zhongxian continued, "Only Xiong Tingbi, the governor of Liaodong, reported that the troops of the three parties had not yet been assembled, and Wenlong launched the attack too early, causing the enemy to massacre almost all the soldiers and civilians of the Four Guards. This has discouraged the people of Dongshan, frightened the Koreans, and robbed the people of Hexi..."
This guy is quite capable. Zhu Youxiao has a new respect for Eunuch Wei. If he were to take the liberal arts exam, with his ability to recite, he would probably be able to get into a 985 university, right?
"Get up!" Zhu Youxiao's tone softened a little, and he leaned back in his chair to think.
Lord Mao is a useful general. Even if he cannot fight the Eastern Tartars head-on, his harassment and guerrilla warfare can play a great restraining role.
But Wang Huazhen was considered Mao Wenlong's benefactor, and Xiong Dachuzui belittled the Zhenjiang victory, so Mao Wenlong must have been angry and resentful.
If Wang Huazhen was immediately arrested and replaced by Xiong Tingbi without a proper reason, would Mao Wenlong be dissatisfied? Would he obey Xiong Tingbi's orders?
Eunuch Wei stood up and, seeing that the emperor was lost in thought, he stood obediently by his side. However, he was somewhat surprised to see Wang Tigan's face was red and swollen.
Wang Huazhen must be captured. Before Guangning is lost, he should be assigned an official position of the same level, or even promoted to a higher level.
As for Big Bear and the Island Master Mao, if they can't get along, then they should be managed separately. One is in western Liaoning, and the other should open a town of its own.
Zhu Youxiao had a preliminary idea in mind, but he still needed to discuss it with others. Looking at Eunuch Wei and Wang Tigan, he couldn't help but shake his head. These two guys were obviously not the right material!
Seeing the emperor's gaze fixed on him, Wei Zhongxian quickly bowed with a smile and said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Liu has already selected three ladies in Yuanhui Palace. They are Zhang from Xiangfu County, Henan Province, Wang from Daxing County, Shuntian Prefecture, and Duan from the Yingyang Guard in Nanjing. They are waiting outside the palace for Your Majesty's decision."
Concubine Liu was the longest-lived concubine in the Ming Dynasty. She entered the palace through a beauty pageant in the sixth year of Wanli (1578) and was canonized as Concubine Zhao at the age of twenty-one.
Although Concubine Liu was not favored and had no children, she was honored as Concubine during the reign of Emperor Tianqi and lived in the Cining Palace. Because there was no Empress Dowager or Grand Empress Dowager in the palace at that time, she was in charge of the Empress Dowager's seal.
Emperor Tianqi's biological mother died early, and the selection and marriage should have been presided over by Li Xianshi, who raised him.
However, because Li Xianshi intended to hold Emperor Tianqi hostage after Emperor Guangzong's death, the "Palace Move Case" broke out, and he was forced to live in the Renshou Hall of the Luan Palace, where the concubines of the previous dynasty lived in their old age.
At the same time, Emperor Tianqi's biological mother, Concubine Wang, was said to have been beaten to death by Concubine Li. Because of this hatred, the selection and wedding were handed over to the cautious Concubine Liu.
Zhu Youxiao was immediately excited when he heard Wei Zhongxian's report. "The beauties are coming! Three of them at once, all of them are his." Although it wasn't the agreed eight, it was still exciting.
Zhu Youxiao suppressed his restlessness and coughed dryly, saying, "Summon them to the main hall and wait!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Zhongxian agreed and walked out.
Zhu Youxiao stood up, pretending to be unhurried, and walked to the main hall accompanied by palace maids and eunuchs, and sat in the middle.
"Xuan Xiunu comes into the palace!" a eunuch shouted in a hoarse voice.
Not long after, Liu Kejing, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, came in with the three selected beauties.
"Your Majesty, we greet you!" Three beautiful ladies in gorgeous clothes knelt down and saluted Zhu Youxiao.
When the three beautiful girls reached this stage, even if they were not queens, they could be canonized as imperial concubines and would no longer be commoners.
As for the unsuccessful candidates, some would return to their hometowns, while others would remain in the palace to serve. As for whether they would have the opportunity to rise to prominence in the future, it all depended on their luck.
"No need to be so polite, stand up!" Zhu Youxiao looked at this person and then that person. They all had good figures, except for their faces.
"Get up!" Wei Zhongxian shouted.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" The three beauties stood up and bowed in thanks. Following Liu Kejing's eye signal, they stood in the positions arranged in advance.
Hey, it will be so difficult for a poor guy like me to find a wife in the future. I have no car or house, and no one will even look at me. But now they are all chasing me.
Look, they are all so beautiful. Three were selected from five thousand people. They deserve to be called beauty queens, right?
After three rounds of preliminary selection, three rounds of re-selection, the first round of interviews, and the second round of re-examinations, the three people selected from the five thousand beauties are truly perfect.
According to Ming Dynasty aesthetic standards, these three beauties were to have "a face like that of Guanyin, a complexion like the morning glow reflecting on snow, or like lotus emerging from water; temples like spring clouds, eyes like autumn waves, mouths like red cherries, noses like hanging gallbladders, white teeth, fine and clean, full chins and broad foreheads, and a graceful figure; necks white and long, shoulders round and straight, backs thick and flat; their gait like blue clouds emerging from distant mountains, their voices like the dripping of flowing water from a deep spring; they were free of hemorrhoids, ulcers, freckles, or other ailments."
You see, anyone with a small mole or freckle on their face or body will be eliminated, and anyone with a bad voice will be rejected.
This is just appearance. Cultural literacy also includes calligraphy, mental arithmetic, poetry, music, singing and dancing, etc.
Zhu Youxiao looked up and felt a little disappointed despite his satisfaction.
Although they were considered perfect, they were all selected according to the aesthetic standards of the Ming people. Of course, the Ming people were not blind, and the likes of Ruhua were definitely not even considered as concubines.
And because of this, these three beautiful ladies look somewhat similar and lack a little diversity.
According to Zhu Youxiao's idea, beauties should be somewhat different and have their own characteristics, so that people will be more interested. What about Zhiling, Bingbing, Yuanyuan...
People are truly never satisfied. With a stunning beauty standing before you, you're still thinking about diversity.
Zhu Youxiao smiled to himself, his eyes fixed on the woman in the middle.
This woman is graceful and elegant, with a slender figure. She is three points fuller than the other two beauties, but still fresh and beautiful.
If we talk about the audition of 5,000 beauties, then the age must not be older than Tianqi, that is, it must be controlled under 16 years old.
Fifteen or sixteen-year-old concubines, especially in ancient times, were rarely seen with beautiful faces and large breasts. Even if there were any, they would probably have been eliminated in the first round.
Therefore, the middle girl is not so much plump as well as better developed than her peers. Her curvy figure immediately caught Zhu Youxiao's attention.
The other two beauties were not bad looking either, but they seemed a little too young for Zhu Youxiao's taste.
After staring for a long time, Zhu Youxiao made up his mind. He raised his hand and extended it to the girl. Just as he was about to speak, Wei Zhongxian bowed and spoke.
"Your Majesty..." Wei Zhongxian lowered his voice, but still spoke with a flattering expression, "Madam Fengsheng once said: This girl will be even fatter and less humorous when she grows up."
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