Seeing Zhu Cijiong seeming to understand but not quite, Chongzhen smiled bitterly.
His words were indeed rather obscure.
It's not that he did it on purpose, but some things can't be said clearly.
The times are always progressing.
In order to maintain their rule, the rulers of feudal dynasties often do things that hinder the progress of the times.
But the wheel of history will not stop moving forward.
Therefore, the dynasty will inevitably collapse.
So there was a king who lost his country.
Many times it is the fall of a dynasty that gives rise to the last monarch, rather than the last monarch causing the fall of the dynasty.
Chongzhen, who understood this well, continued, "Governing a country is not as complicated as you might think. It is nothing more than the emperor governing the officials, and the officials governing the people. You only need to appoint wise ministers as your chief ministers to govern the country well."
Zhu Cijiong asked quickly, "May I ask, Father, which wise officials are there in our Ming Dynasty?"
Chongzhen snorted coldly: "In my eyes, there are no truly virtuous ministers. I always employ people when they are virtuous and dismiss them when they are not. And I have the final say on whether they are virtuous or not."
Chongzhen paused for a moment, then picked up a piece of paper from the dragon desk and asked Wang Chengen to hand it to Zhu Cijiong, saying, "These people are all very good. It's up to you whether to use them or not."
Zhu Cijiong opened the paper and looked at it carefully, and found more than a dozen names written on it.
Ranked first is Shandong Governor Zhang Huangyan.
The second is Shanxi Governor Yan Yingyuan.
The third one is Wang Fuzhi, the governor of Liaodong.
The fourth one is Huang Zongxi, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.
The fifth one is Gu Yanwu, the governor of Fujian.
......
After Zhu Cijiong became the crown prince, he began to get involved in state affairs.
These people have two things in common: they have a good reputation and are in their prime.
The oldest, Huang Zongxi, was 51 years old, and the youngest, Zhang Huangyan, was only 41 years old.
Zhu Cixiong quickly understood Chongzhen's intention.
As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints his own ministers.
After he ascends the throne, he will definitely build up his own power.
Which civil official in the world doesn’t want to join the cabinet?
These provincial governors were no exception.
When these powerful people enter the cabinet, they will naturally support him and become his faction.
As for why there were no names of military generals, Zhu Cijiong knew it very well.
He stayed in the army during the pacification of Liaodong and Jiangnan.
Those generals were his men anyway, so there was no need to do anything unnecessary.
Zhu Cijiong kowtowed immediately and said, "Thank you, father, for your guidance."
Chongzhen nodded slightly and said something that Emperor Tianqi had said to him: "My son should be like Yao and Shun, the holy emperor ruling the country with ease."
"I will remember your father's teachings."
"Well, tell me your second story."
Zhu Cijiong lowered his head and hesitated.
He didn't know whether he should ask that question at this time.
Just as he was hesitating, a noisy sound suddenly came from outside.
Someone said, "I have something urgent to do to see His Majesty. Please let me in."
The eunuch on duty blocked them with a shrill voice, "Your Majesty is resting, you can't go in. Besides, the war report from the Ministry of War is extremely urgent, how can your Ministry of Works have an extremely urgent matter?"
Seeing this, Wang Chengen, who was in the hall, quickly walked out to check the situation.
It was already late at night.
By the light of the lantern, he discovered that the person who was going to see the emperor was Fang Yizhi, the Right Vice Minister of Works.
Wang Chengen rebuked, "Your Majesty is resting, why did Minister Fang break into the palace so late at night?"
Fang Yizhi came close to Wang Chengen and lowered his voice: "It's a steam engine."
Wang Chengen was stunned and asked in a low voice: "Have you made the steam engine?"
Fang Yizhi nodded: "Yes."
"Hold on."
Wang Chengen turned around and went back into the hall to report the situation to Chongzhen.
Chongzhen stood up excitedly: "Let him in."
Fang Yizhi walked into the hall and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, an hour ago, the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works made a steam engine according to the blueprint. It has been running continuously for an hour without any problems. I came here to report."
"Good, good, good!" Chongzhen was so happy that he said three good words in a row.
The steam engine was finally invented.
In fact, he went to the Ministry of Industry to see the prototype of the steam engine half a month ago.
It was a behemoth.
This thing may not change anything in a short period of time.
But as time goes by, technology matures.
Miniaturized steam engines can be installed on ships to provide power.
By then, the ocean pattern and even the world pattern will undergo tremendous changes.
After Fang Yizhi reported the situation, he stepped back and the hall returned to silence.
Chongzhen continued to ask Zhu Cijiong: "Now you can talk about the second thing."
Zhu Cijiong took a deep breath and opened his mouth several times but didn't dare to ask the question.
Looking at Zhu Cijiong's expression, Chongzhen smiled.
He stopped questioning Zhu Cijiong and sat on the dragon chair with his eyes closed, feeling it.
He could feel his breathing slowing, his heartbeat slowing, his life slipping away.
In a trance, Chongzhen fell asleep.
In a dream.
He met a lot of people.
His father, Emperor Zhu Changluo, had experienced the struggle for the foundation of the country, the case of the assassination with a stick, and the case of the red pill, but he was emperor for only one month.
There is Zhu Youxiao who said that my brother should be the elder brother of Yao and Shun.
There were Sun Chengzong who led the army to Liaodong, and Yuan Keli who fought against the Jian Nu.
There were Lu Xiangsheng, Man Gui, Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao who died in the battlefield.
There is Sun Chuanting who fought against the bandits on his own.
There was also Yuan Chonghuan who was killed too late and Wei Zhongxian who was killed too early.
When he saw Yuan Chonghuan, Chongzhen wished he could kill him again.
You should know that Chongzhen was not a suspicious, fickle, or quick-success-seeking person when he first ascended the throne.
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