"What did you dream about?"
"I dreamt of an old man in a tall hat, who claimed to be the spirit of Emperor Taizu. He said that a disaster was coming to the Great Chu, and that a grand sacrifice must be held in the southern suburbs on May 15th. All civil and military officials, royal family members and dignitaries must be present, and an imperial decree must be issued to all the people in the city to leave, in order to avert the disaster." said Empress Dowager Zhang.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager frowned slightly and understood why Empress Dowager Zhang was so worried.
If it were just an ordinary prophecy, whether true or false, it would be fine to tell it. But such a major matter naturally could not be casually commented on, so she did not mention it.
Empress Dowager Zhang observed her expression and continued, "This sounds truly absurd. I didn't take it seriously before. These past few days, the person in my dream has been pointing out some everyday things, like clothes getting torn by tree branches, and they've all come true. Last night, he even produced a self-portrait as proof, claiming it was hidden somewhere in the Ganguang Palace and has never been discovered."
"Really?" The Grand Empress Dowager stood up immediately. "Where is the painting hidden? I'll order someone... No, you go with me and retrieve it yourself!"
Empress Dowager Zhang naturally responded without hesitation.
Since the death of Emperor Xian, the Qianguang Palace had been sealed, with no one entering or leaving, save for a few eunuchs responsible for sweeping and dusting. Huang Xiu personally took the key to open the door, ushering the Grand Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother inside. He saw that in just a few months, the place had already become somewhat desolate and deserted.
Empress Dowager Zhang, supported by Aunt Qiu, led the way in front. She did not enter the main hall, but went around to the warm room at the back where the emperor took his daily nap. She took out a long bamboo tube from a corner against the wall that even the cleaning eunuch would not notice.
Things like this were usually used to hold scrolls of calligraphy and paintings. Although she still didn't know whether the contents of the paintings were the same as what Empress Dowager Zhang had said, the Grand Empress Dowager was already 60% to 70% convinced.
When the painting was opened, it was indeed a self-portrait of Emperor Taizu. Even the seal and inscription in the corner were exactly as Empress Dowager Zhang had described.
This painting was not even recorded in Taizu's diary. It was impossible for Empress Zhang to have seen it anywhere else except in her dreams.
At this time, people still firmly believed in divine right of kings and the spirits of the dead. Furthermore, the Empress Dowager, a woman, controlling the imperial court was a move that was both forced and unorthodox. While the Chu Dynasty didn't erect a stone tablet declaring "The harem is forbidden from interfering in government affairs," the fear of imperial relatives was a constant throughout the dynasties. Even the sight of a hen crowing at dawn was often taboo for court officials.
Now that Taizu has given a warning in a dream, it is an acknowledgment that the prince in Empress Dowager Zhang's belly is the legitimate heir of the Chu Dynasty. It is also an indirect way to vindicate her, the Empress Dowager who is in charge of the government.
So after seeing the painting, she had almost no hesitation and ordered Huang Xiu to send someone to the Council of State to invite several ministers over.
At this point, since the higher-ups had already expressed their views, the court officials had no choice but to believe it, regardless of whether they believed it or not. However, they also pointed out that while holding a sacrifice was fine, issuing an imperial decree forcing all the people in the city to leave was almost impossible.
The Chu Dynasty had enjoyed peace for a long time, and the population of the capital had grown rapidly. The city had even expanded several times, and now there were nearly a million people living in the city. Not to mention that many people simply wouldn't obey the imperial edict, and even if they did, there would be nowhere to accommodate so many people.
Therefore, several important officials were of the same opinion: "This matter is too disturbing to the people and may cause chaos. It is better to cancel it."
"No!" Empress Dowager Zhang, who truly knew the situation, objected immediately. "Since Emperor Taizu warned me in a dream, this must be extremely important. What if I bring disaster upon myself because of my lack of sincerity?"
This was the first time that Empress Dowager Zhang stood up and clearly expressed her opinions in front of the court officials.
But at this moment, neither the Grand Empress Dowager, who was at the head of the group, nor the several important officials standing below paid much attention. After all, the dream was the dream of Empress Dowager Zhang, and she had it more than once, so she naturally paid attention. And since they were supposed to follow the instructions, it would be difficult to explain if they only did half of it.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has a point, but this matter is truly serious," Xue Zhidao said. "You must know that there are nearly a million officials and civilians in the capital. To support so many people, countless workshops and shops must be operating day and night. It's easy to get them out of the city, but how do we calculate the losses of this one day?"
Others also echoed and cited other examples to illustrate that this matter was really difficult to handle.
This is not a question of getting everyone out of the city, but a question of completely paralyzing this metropolis at the center of the country for a whole day and doing nothing.
What it will bring about will be a very terrifying chain reaction.
Empress Dowager Zhang listened to the explanations of several important ministers one after another, and gradually realized that even if she could really get all the people to leave the city, not to mention the numerous difficulties and obstacles in the process, the losses would probably be no less than an earthquake.
After all, she and He Qing were both women in the deep palace, and it was inevitable that they would be negligent in such a big situation.
But at this moment, it was impossible to go back and consult He Qing. Empress Dowager Zhang felt troubled and lowered her head, saying nothing more. Seeing this, the Grand Empress Dowager said, "This matter is difficult to decide at this moment. When you return, please draft your memorials and submit them. We will discuss this tomorrow."
…
The next day, an expanded meeting was held. In addition to several ministers from the Council of State, the six ministers were also summoned. Furthermore, Gu Zheng, the president of the Hanlin Academy, was also present, clearly a result of the Empress Dowager's extra favor.
Of course, the most important thing is that He Qing himself was present.
The news of the ancestor’s dream was not spread out for the time being, but the Empress Dowager did not hide it from He Qing.
After hearing the courtiers' concerns, He Qing realized she'd been overthinking things. She pondered the old saying, "One person's shortcomings are often accompanied by two people's strengths." She couldn't handle this matter directly, and concealing it would be useless. So, she simply asked the Grand Empress Dowager, "What kind of disaster would require the entire city to flee? It sounds like a tsunami."
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