On May 29 of the first year of Hongxi, Zhu Gaochi died of illness and reigned for less than ten months.

But in ten months, he made a major shift in the Ming Dynasty from territorial expansion to focusing on the livelihood of the people. In just over nine months, he reshuffled the cabinet, granted him the rank of eminent adviser to some of his confidants, and enriched the administrative office with well-known scholars and capable officials, and began his work of organizing the new government. Many of his newly appointed officials had already served him when he was regent in Nanking or Suncheon, and some had supported him when he had disagreements with Zhu Di, for which Zhu Di had been punished. Zhu Gaochi naturally thanked these loyal fans of his, and in order to compensate for the humiliation they had suffered before, each of them was named a high-ranking official of the first grade and was rewarded richly.

The cabinet was no longer an unaccountable advisory body under the rulers of the Ming Dynasty, and scholars personally participated in decision-making. This collective leadership was indispensable for Zhu Gaochi's vigorous efforts to dismantle his father, Zhu Di's unpopular plans, and to establish a regular civilian government throughout the empire.

He eliminated redundant officials, selected virtuous ministers, eliminated redundant officials, and appointed Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, and Yang Pu (known as "Three Yangs" in history) as auxiliary ministers. abolished the ancient palace punishment, opposed luxury, stopped the treasure ship from going to the West, and stopped the royal procurement of jewelry; Everywhere to Tang Taizong as a model, the Ming Dynasty discipline, love the people like a son, he ordered tax reduction, for the disaster-stricken areas to give relief, open some mountains, for farmers to fish and hunt, for the displaced people to change the usual punishment, to take proper resettlement practices, all of this made the people of the Hongxi Dynasty get full recuperation, the productive forces have been unprecedentedly developed, the Ming Dynasty entered a stable and strong period, but also the beginning of the history called "the rule of Renxuan".

Zhu Gaochi was an enlightened Confucian monarch who, like the ancient sages he imitated, adhered to the ideals of simplicity, benevolence, and sincerity. He was unanimously praised for his efforts to consolidate the empire and correct the harsh and unpopular economic plans of the Yongle period.

And now, he lay quietly.

The internal officials and supervisors set up a mourning hall and arranged the palace, the mixed hall department cleaned the body and clothes for Emperor Renzong, and the scarf and hat bureau, the needlework bureau, and the internal weaving and dyeing bureau prepared mourning clothes for the princes and princes and officials of various halls and ministries.

The 3,000 battalion soldiers guarding the palace gate wore a white shirt outside their armor, and even the halberd in their hands was wrapped in a layer of white silk.

The mourning hall is located in the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, the plain curtain in the hall is white, the cigarette smoke is swirling, it is very solemn and solemn, and the tablet of Emperor Renzong is enshrined in the middle of the high arch.

The officials in charge of various ministries and halls stepped into the Qianqing Palace in a panic, and even many princes and lords who rarely stepped into the palace gate also appeared at this time.

With the crown prince and queen in front, the queen in the back, and then the minister, they cried profusely.

Queen Zhang is only forty-five years old, and she has been at odds with her husband in the past few years, and it is impossible for her to see her husband pass away. One is that he will be really lonely in the future, alone in the palace, with the name of the queen mother, he can only enjoy his old age in peace.

Zhu Zhanji remembered all the things about his father, and began to look down on his father, thinking that he was too cowardly, and then taught himself step by step to attach importance to his relatives and be lenient, so that he could learn to be both rigid and soft. When he made a mistake, his father tried every means to protect himself, and now, his father is gone, everything is a thing of the past, and he can no longer hear his father's teachings and no longer get his father's love.

In less than a year, the emperor's grandfather is gone, his father is also gone, the two most important people who affect him are gone, he is twenty-six years old, he is full of righteousness, even after being hit, he has become very haggard, and his eyes are swollen from crying, Yang Shiqi stepped forward and comforted: "Please mourn on the prince's day, now it's time to hold an enthronement ceremony." ”

"Please invite the crown prince into the palace as a ceremony!" The ministers bowed down.

Zhu Zhanji accepted the cry, did not agree, his face sank like water, and when everyone looked at each other and didn't know the prince's intentions, he saw the prince waving his hand.

The ministers were puzzled, and the prince grinned and sneered: "I got the secret report, my two uncles are ready to raise troops in Shandong and prepare to come to the capital to seize the throne." ”

The ministers were shocked, and then there was a lot of fluctuation in the mourning hall.

"It's a big rebellion—"

"His heart can be punished—"

"Mayfly regrets the elephant, wishful thinking." They all scolded the king of Han.

The crown prince remained silent, secretly observing the actions of the ministers, thinking that those were truly loyal ministers.

Yang Shiqi thought for a while and said: "Your Highness, this matter is not trivial, Your Highness will take the throne first, convene the ministers, discuss, transfer troops and send generals, and be sure to stop the King of Han." ”

Zhu Zhanji smiled contemptuously: "You look down on my uncle, he doesn't have that ability, you don't have to spend a lot of time, just send some soldiers and horses to kill him." ”

Seeing that the prince was so confident, everyone was also reassured.

Wu'an Hou Zheng Heng stepped forward and said: "The minister prays for an elite army to sweep away the traitors for His Highness." ”

The crown prince praised: "Lone knows that you can defeat the King of Han, but Lone plans to go to the expedition in person. ”

The ministers were dumbfounded, the emperor personally conscripted? That's child's play. The King of Han is only 100,000 soldiers and horses, where is the need to personally conquer, and the prince has never fought, and he has directly recruited in person, which is a bit of a mistake, and the world will change hands, but they saw that the prince's tone was firm and could not be refuted, so they didn't dare to speak, only Jian Yi worried: "Your Royal Highness is responsible for the safety of the world, and you can't move lightly." ”

Zhu Zhanji's expression was firm, and he sneered: "If Lone doesn't go on the expedition, the world will think that Lone is afraid of the two uncles, what's the use of winning, they still think that Lone is a tiger without teeth, Lone in the world, no one is allowed to question it, this matter is so decided, Zheng Heng, you go and gather 100,000 soldiers and horses, I will go on the expedition tomorrow." ”

The ministers heard that the prince had made up his mind, first, they admired the prince's eloquence and foresight, he had the domineering spirit of Emperor Yongle and the leniency of Emperor Renzong, which was a good thing for the country and the people, but it was not easy to do things under such a master, especially those officials who wanted to mess around, and they had already felt the crisis.

"Your Highness, tomorrow - tomorrow will send troops, will it - will it - will it be-" Zheng Heng hesitated.

Yang Pu also said: "Your Highness, you have not yet ascended the throne, and the conquest seems to be unjustifiable. ”

"Lone acts in an eclectic manner, it is a matter of time before he takes the throne, the soldiers are fast, we have to catch them off guard, so that the rebellion can be quelled as soon as possible, the casualties of the soldiers can be reduced, and the damage of the war to the people can also be reduced."

"Your Highness is wise." All the officials are convinced.

Tianjin Wei, Zhang Fu's army was stationed here. When the border is settled, there is nothing for their generals, except for hunting and training, and many soldiers have been lazy for most of the past six months.

Moreover, Emperor Renzong preferred civil officials, and their illiterate generals were gradually squeezed out, and they took their lives in Bo, but the civil officials stepped on their heads, and they were naturally indignant.

Zhu Huan said that he would do it, and he really wrote a letter to Zhang Fu, persuading him to return to the king of Han and help him seize his position.

Zhang Fu, who received the letter, was taken aback, and hurriedly asked the person who sent the letter to be locked up in solitary confinement, without leaking any news, and then summoned his confidant deputy general to show him the letter.

When the adjutant general saw the letter, he was also surprised.

"Master Hou, the King of Han has long had different intentions, and now His Majesty is critically ill, His Majesty employs people, mainly civil officials, and the brothers are quite complaining, if this continues, we can disarm and return to the field, but the King of Han, who was born in the army, will attach importance to military generals." The meaning of the adjutant is that some want to submit to the king of Han. However, they have not yet received news of Zhu Gaochi's death.

Zhang Fu was silent, and said after a long time: "The prince is the heir cultivated by the first emperor, and he is not inferior to the first emperor. Moreover, after getting the news, King Zhao became the owner of Jiaodong, but did not kill Wei Ninghou. Whether it is the 3,000 battalions, or the Shenji battalion, many people respect Wei Ninghou, he will not die, as long as he ascends to the heights and shouts, a hundred calls, the Han King will be defeated like a mountain, let's observe again, if Wei Ninghou follows the Han King, if he does not obey, we will obey the court. ”

The deputy general admired, and Hou Ye thought much more deeply than him: "Hou Ye is wise, but if the court knows that we will not move." ”

"Keep the people sent by the King of Han tightly in custody, and no one will be allowed to come near. In addition, he sent someone to Jiaodong to inquire about the news of Weininghou. Let's act on the opportune moment. ”

"Master Hou, if you step on two boats like this, will you be classified as a traitor-"

Zhang Fu sneered: "It's all their Zhu family fighting the world, which side are we with, aren't they all the same?" When the first emperor was martyred, how could King Yan's party not be traitors, but what about the future? Jianwen's party has become a traitor, and whoever wins is orthodox. If Your Majesty is no longer there, we still don't know much about the prince's personality, but even if he, like Your Majesty, doesn't fancy the military attaché, at least we don't have to worry about our lives. ”

"Master Hou is wise, his subordinates will do it now."

In Jiaodong, Zhu Gaosui counted Liu Fu's eighteen crimes, and was executed at the entrance of the vegetable market.

Liu Guan, who was in prison, kept asking to see King Zhao after being pointed out by Chen Yuan, but after three days, he was hoarse, no one came in, he lay on the ground, and suddenly became twenty years old, his beard and hair were white, and he was no longer a human type.

Chen Yuan had been sitting, thinking about how the situation would change. The King of Han is sure to rebel, and the King of Han will be defeated, one is that the King of Han is very talented, and the other is that the King of Han has no capable people in his hands.

But he was locked up here, and he had to find a way to organize King Zhao. King Zhao is a new force here, King Zhao and King Han sent troops together, and the people must suffer in the end. I have to find a way to stabilize King Zhao, King Zhao does not participate, I believe that Zhu Zhanji can quickly take down King Han and minimize the losses of this rebellion.

And to be able to keep the glory and wealth of King Zhao, this is a promise to Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi, and it is also that King Zhao really treats himself well, and he can't bear to become a traitor and be beheaded all over the house.

"It's time to eat." Suddenly, a voice came and interrupted his train of thought, and Chen Yuan was taken aback.

In the past few days, the food delivery has not spoken, and the soldiers are also guarding outside, and the three of them have been in the prison, and suddenly they heard other people's voices, which was a little strange, and besides, why is the voice so familiar.

looked at it, it turned out to be the second wife, and said excitedly: "Cairuo, you-"

Geng Cairuo scolded: "It's okay for you to be greedy and lustful." ”

Chen Yuan sneered, he hadn't spoken yet, Liu Guan shouted intermittently over there: "I want to see King Zhao, I want to see King Zhao." ”

Geng Cairuo frowned and asked, "Is he Liu Guan?" ”

When Liu Guan heard this, he came to the spirit, Teng stood up and grabbed the railing with both hands: "Who are you, I want to see King Zhao, I want to see King Zhao." ”

Geng Cairuo naturally didn't have a good impression of the person who framed her husband, and sneered: "King Zhao is late to your son at the entrance of the vegetable market, but he doesn't have the time to come to see you." ”

Ling Chi, this word is chilling when he hears it, and Liu Guan has a picture of his son screaming in his mind: "Impossible, you lied to me, I have evidence of the King of Han, I helped him make great contributions, and he promised to let me be the first assistant." No way, you're definitely lying to me. ”

"Hmph, don't believe it, your son has been dismantled, and the people all praise King Chen Han as the lord of the world."

"No, ah-" Actually, Liu Guan had believed it for a long time, but he really couldn't accept this result, and he shouted heartbreakingly.

"Fu'er, it was my father who hurt you." Liu Guan burst into tears, "Retribution, ah-"

Chen Yuan looked at it coldly, he didn't sympathize, he took the blame, and the poor people also had something to hate.

"Zhu Gaoxu, you can't die well-" Liu Guan scolded, then exerted his strength, and hit his head against the wall, blood splattered everywhere.

alarmed the guards outside, they immediately came in, startled Geng Cairuo, who had mixed in, and then thought about how to escape.