Chapter 12 Things in Beijing
When Zhu Yuhuan brought An Han to Xu Wangzhi's residence, the two had already dried the herbs.
Seeing Zhu Yuhuan coming, Xu Wangzhi, who was originally sitting down to rest, sighed and said, "It has been raining for a while. I finally waited for the rain to stop and the sky to clear up. I was hoping that you two would come to help me dry these herbs. In the end, you two came here after we both finished drying them-"
Zhu Yuhuan was amused by her wilted look. She cleared her throat and said, "Don't the princess have servants in her mansion? Why don't you call them over?"
Xu Wangzhi said confidently, "They don't know the importance of this herb. What if it gets damaged?"
An Han immediately came over with a smile and said, "Then I'll give Sister Xu a shoulder massage and a leg massage—"
Xu Wangzhi raised his hand and pinched her plump cheeks. "Don't come here, come with me. I looked at the patient's condition you recorded some time ago, and there are a few words that are difficult to distinguish."
An Han finally got a chance to temporarily get away from the eldest princess, so he naturally followed Xu Wangzhi's footsteps and went into the house together.
Seeing this, Zhu Yuhuan exchanged a glance with He Yong, and the two of them walked together to the tree in the courtyard, with Huai En standing watch at the door. Zhu Yuhuan then spoke, "I'm busy with affairs in central Yunnan, so it's inconvenient for me to leave. I've asked you to come here."
He Yong hurriedly said, "Central Yunnan is bustling with activity right now, and some local officials still harbor ill intentions. If Your Highness were to leave without permission, I'm afraid the people would be uneasy. My station isn't far from here, and since this is Your Majesty's order, I should come and receive it."
Zhu Yuhuan nodded slightly, then asked, "How's it going in Luchuan?"
Reports from the southwestern border would not be sent to Zhu Yuhuan, but would be handed over to Wang Ji for disposal, so Zhu Yuhuan did not know the situation inside Luchuan.
However, with He Yong at the border, although information transmission was not smooth, Zhu Yuhuan was not completely blind.
He Yong quickly said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I've gathered intelligence, and Luchuan is relatively stable now. Because of Your Majesty's newly appointed envoy, the tribes in Luchuan are acting independently and testing each other. It won't be possible to unite like they did when Si Renfa was here anytime soon."
Si Renfa's family was killed by Mu Ang, and some of his blood relatives were executed by Zhu Yuhuan after the capture of Luchuanbei. It can be said that the entire Si family was reduced to ashes.
In this way, no one could inherit Si Renfa's original title of Luchuan Xuanweishi. After Zhu Yuhuan and Wang Ji discussed it, they selected a suitable puppet from among the tribes and supported him. Zhu Qizhen issued an edict to appoint him as the new Luchuan Xuanweishi, and gave his tribe many privileges that Si Renfa had never had. He was allowed to trade in the southwest border, which seemed to mean that he would be made the "king" of Luchuan.
This was done to stir up unrest within Luchuan and indirectly maintain peace on the southwestern border.
"Your Highness is the mastermind and can easily resolve Luchuan's troubles."
Zhu Yuhuan shook her head slightly and said, "The general trend of the world is that after a long period of division, there will be unification, and after a long period of unification, there will be division. Rather than watching the fire from the other side of the river, it is better to completely take Yunnan into our pocket first." She raised her eyes and smiled, "As for Luchuan, since I have been there once, I can go there again. Are you still worried that Luchuan will not be included in the map of the Ming Dynasty one day?"
Zhu Yuhuan believed that the gradual division of Luchuan was within expectations and therefore not surprising.
This strategy was Zhu Yuhuan's original plan for dealing with the growing power of the Oirat. He would support the remnants of the Arutai led by Adai and unite with the Wuliangha to deal with the Oirat, thereby buying time and training the soldiers on the northern front. As the saying goes, "When the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman gains." Once the three factions were nearly depleted, he could consider defeating them one by one.
However, the matter was not under Zhu Yuhuan's jurisdiction at the time. Empress Dowager Zhang and Zhu Qizhen both insisted on directly eliminating the legitimate Adai Khan in order to strengthen the authority of the young emperor. Therefore, Zhu Yuhuan would not take the initiative to provoke the two of them, and simply let them do as they pleased.
Now that it is used on the southwestern border, it is not a waste.
He Yong asked cautiously, "Your Highness, Minister Wang has not returned to the court yet. Could it be..."
Zhu Yuhuan came back to his senses, smiled slightly, and said, "Of course it's to monitor me, the eldest princess."
Zhu Yuhuan made too many demands when he returned to Beijing this time, not to mention that these demands were far beyond the scope of a minister's jurisdiction. Not to mention that Zhu Qizhen was worried, even if Zhu Yuhuan was sitting in that position, he would have to think twice.
However, the biggest difference between the two of them is that Zhu Qizhen is not worried that Zhu Yuhuan will "rebel". In the current peaceful situation, Zhu Yuhuan will not "rebel on his own initiative" unless he is under too much pressure and becomes mentally ill.
As for the so-called "active rebellion", the final right of interpretation now often lies in the emperor's mouth, and Zhu Yuhuan does not have any nominal advantage now.
He Yong couldn't help but sigh for the eldest princess in his heart.
He knew very well that the eldest princess always had a clear sense of priorities and would not have too many selfish motives when faced with such a major event. On the contrary, the emperor did not understand the eldest princess's true feelings and was very wary of her.
Isn't this just wantonly trampling on the princess's sincerity? If it were anyone else, they would probably have given up hope long ago.
Zhu Yuhuan didn't know what He Yong was thinking. If she knew, she would definitely laugh at He Yong.
She never had any hope for Zhu Qizhen, nor did she have any unrealistic fantasies about anyone sitting on the throne, so naturally there would be no so-called despair.
She has seen a better world, and her enthusiasm is only for her own ideals.
As long as you have a clear conscience, why should you feel discouraged?
As the two were talking, an autumn breeze blew over, rustling the leaves, and Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but sneeze.
He Yong was startled and asked quickly, "Is your highness feeling unwell?"
Zhu Yuhuan just rubbed his nose and said, "It's inevitable to get sick with the change of seasons. Hopefully, I'm by your side, so don't worry."
As if in response, Xu Wangzhi's voice came from inside the house:
"Hey, hey, hey, Anhan, those herbs over there were blown away!"
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but smile and said to He Yong, "I'll go and help clean up as well, so that she won't complain about me not helping later."
He Yong responded immediately.
After a whole year of adaptation, the craftsmen were no longer as lost as when they first arrived in Yunnan, and they could communicate fluently with the local people selected by Zhu Yuhuan to help build blast furnaces and smelt metals.
For these ordinary people, living in peace with people they have never met is the easiest thing, not to mention that they work together in most cases and there is no emotional distinction between them based on ethnicity or region.
Coupled with the establishment and education of official schools, ordinary people who had no strong resistance to the Ming Dynasty have completely accepted the governance of court officials. It can be said that with these court officials, their lives are easier than when they were making a living under the chieftains. At least they are no longer the "private property" and "slaves" of the local officials.
The local officials who had originally tried to resist gradually surrendered under either coercion or appeasement, and could hardly make any waves anymore. Many of them accepted the court's arrangements, moved to the interior with honorary titles, and became the court's pawns.
In such a harmonious environment, the craftsmen's efficiency improved a lot, and they soon rebuilt the Wunong Temple in central Yunnan with even better facilities than Nanhaizi. They used the abundant resources to start studying the "steam engine" mentioned by Zhu Yuhuan.
With the various production tools and complete water conservancy facilities that were continuously improved by the Wunong Temple, the area of farmland available for cultivation in Yunnan has become larger and larger, and the output has also become higher and higher. Although it cannot achieve self-sufficiency in a short period of time, it is already a great improvement compared with the previous situation where local officials were undercurrents and the people had difficulty making a living.
Zhu Yuhuan was naturally pleased with the increasingly harmonious and stable Yunnan.
Although she knew that the policy of returning the native people to the Han people was a good thing, she was not very familiar with it. She was just crossing the river by feeling the stones, and there were some twists and turns during the process. However, being able to achieve such a good result so quickly was a great encouragement to Zhu Yuhuan.
Zhu Yuhuan was not unaware of the rumors in the court, but he remained silent just waiting for the outcome.
Waiting for a result that can give those people a powerful counterattack, and now is the best time.
When Zhu Qizhen saw the memorials of Wang Ji and Zhu Yuhuan, he was very surprised. He immediately issued an edict to praise the two of them, prepared various rewards, and had them sent to Yunnan.
Zhu Yuhuan was under pressure, and so was Zhu Qizhen. Zhu Yuhuan had received too many "privileges" that he should not have, which was bound to attract criticism.
Fortunately, the previous "killing the chicken to scare the monkey" of Yang Shiqi was effective. Most people "dared to be angry but dared not speak out" about Princess Shunde's audacious behavior. Only a few people wrote letters to complain, such as Liu Qiu, who had previously written a letter to Zhu Qizhen urging him to strengthen the northwest border defense.
Seeing Liu Qiu submit a memorial to the Emperor to impeach Princess Shunde, no one was surprised, from the emperor to the officials. After all, Liu Qiu was a scholar with a strong sense of justice, and speaking frankly about his advice was not a bad thing. It was better than some people who just held an office but did nothing.
But for Wang Zhen, this was an opportunity that came right to his doorstep. Wang Zhen didn't care that Zhu Qizhen was still in the harem, and hurried to find someone.
"Your Majesty, take a look at this. This is the calligraphy Yingying has been practicing recently. Does it have the style of Your Majesty?"
Zhu Qizhen took the stack of papers Zhou Yingying handed over, looked through them carefully, and said, "It's indeed well practiced."
Zhou Yingying received his praise, and a look of satisfaction appeared on her face. She said, "I have not learned much, but I have finally managed to imitate Your Majesty's calligraphy. Will Your Majesty not reward me?"
Zhu Qizhen, who was sitting on the Arhat bed, was amused by her words and ordered the eunuch beside him: "Tomorrow, take out the green jade pen holder from my inner storehouse and send it to Concubine Zhou."
"yes."
While the two were talking, the eunuch outside the hall informed Wang Zhen that he had something to report and requested to see the emperor.
Wang Zhen has always been respectful. If it were not an important matter, he would never disturb the emperor at this time. Therefore, Zhu Qizhen had no hesitation in summoning Wang Zhen.
Seeing this, Zhou Yingying hurriedly stood up and said, "Your Majesty and Wang Banban have important matters to discuss. I will be leaving now."
As soon as Wang Zhen entered, he heard Zhou Yingying's words and quickly said, "What this servant wants to report is not confidential. Your Majesty does not need to avoid it."
Everyone knows that among the current concubines, Zhou Yingying is the most favored. She became Concubine Zhou in just one year. If she gives birth to children in the future, she may be able to be made a concubine. Wang Zhen will naturally not offend Zhou Yingying.
Zhu Qizhen raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this and asked, "What's the matter?"
"I dare not lie to the Emperor. This matter is neither big nor small...it is just a matter of reputation." Wang Zhen saw that Zhu Qizhen's appetite had been whetted, so he said, "It is the reputation of Princess Shunde."
Upon hearing Wang Zhen's answer, Zhu Qizhen, who had been feeling somewhat lazy, immediately straightened up. He placed his arm on the pillow and asked, "What's going on? What does it have to do with my elder sister?"
"Liu Qiu, the Imperial Lecturer, slandered the Princess Shunde for openly seizing power as a woman, acting arbitrarily, and being reckless. This has led to women in the capital and even in Zhili becoming more and more outgoing, creating a corrupt atmosphere..." But everyone knows that the Princess was begging His Majesty to allow her to act as she pleases regarding the Yunnan native system. Isn't Liu Qiu's remonstration slandering her loyalty to the country?" Wang Zhen observed Zhu Qizhen's expression and saw that he hadn't fully listened, so he continued, "The most important thing is that it wastes the Emperor's painstaking efforts to stabilize the southwest! If everyone follows Liu Qiu's example and impeaches the Princess for the sake of her reputation as a clean official, not only will it damage her reputation, but it will also portray the Emperor as a person who is indiscriminate and the originator of women's meddling in politics. Their intentions are despicable!"
Zhu Qizhen didn't take it seriously at first, but after hearing what he said next, his expression became more serious.
After a long silence, Zhu Qizhen finally spoke: "I remember that when we were conquering Luchuan before, it was also this Liu Qiu who wrote a letter of opposition?"
"Exactly."
Zhou Yingying, standing by, saw the cold light in Zhu Qizhen's eyes and knew he was unhappy. She spoke cautiously, "The Empress often teaches me and other concubines in the palace to be loyal men and chaste women, and most importantly, to put the country first. The Princess is so devoted to Your Majesty. If she knew that such opinions are being expressed in the capital, she would definitely feel uncomfortable... Besides, Your Majesty is most filial to the two Empress Dowagers. If Empress Cihui knew that the Princess had a child and was criticized, I am afraid it would affect her health..."
She had been with Zhu Qizhen for two years and had already figured out his temper. If she wanted to speak rashly in such a situation, her words had to touch Zhu Qizhen's heart.
Zhu Qizhen had no idea of this and said coldly, "Take Liu Qiu to prison and interrogate him thoroughly to see if he has any accomplices in spreading rumors and slandering Princess Shunde. If anyone else dares to report this, take them all to the imperial prison and interrogate them."
Wang Zhen knew that the mission was accomplished. He suppressed his joy and replied, "Yes, I will tell Commander Ma Shun to handle this matter right away."
Zhu Qizhen just waved his hand, signaling him to do it as soon as possible.
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