Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 410 Winter is coming
Throughout the ninth and tenth years of Taichang, the emperor seemed to be in the capital only at the beginning and end of the year.

But what is meaningful is that there has been no trouble in the capital in the past two years.

This was certainly because the emperor's prestige was high and the military, who had been promoted and rewarded for their military successes in major battles and special favors, closely supported the imperial power. It was also because the emperor was willing to delegate power and appoint prime ministers.

But everyone knows that the emperor will not go on tour again next year.

He didn't like going out for fun. In the ninth year of Taichang's reign, he went to Tongliao, and in the tenth year of Taichang's reign, he went to Nanjing and Guangzhou, both for clear and important purposes.

Ye Xianggao was of course worried that his achievements in his first year as prime minister would not satisfy the emperor.

During this year, he was in power in Beijing and was rarely restricted by the imperial power. Since the position of prime minister was established, the emperor gave this position full respect and power. Now that the emperor was about to return to Beijing, it was time for him to "report on his work".

However, the first ones to "report on their work" or "boast about their achievements" were the Privy Council and the Lifanyuan.

Although Fang Congzhe accompanied the emperor on his southern tour, military and diplomacy are two different sides of the same coin. The credit for stabilizing the situation in North Korea and coming to ask for the title was destined to go to him.

Nurhaci's second and third sons were captured and presented to the emperor, and Korean envoys welcomed him outside the city of Beijing. Such a grand event happened just as the emperor returned to his loyal capital, which was of course the result of Ye Xianggao's deliberate arrangement.

After all, the Executive Yuan and other government offices also made contributions in logistical support for the continued suppression of rebellion in the Northeast and the re-entry of government troops to help Prince Lu quell foreign enemies and internal rebellions.

It was already the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, and the weather was freezing cold.

The imperial carriage traveled by land to the southern suburbs of Beijing, and the fleet remained in Linqing.

After stepping out of the carriage, Zhu Changluo tightened his cloak and his expression became more serious.

This naturally made Ye Xianggao feel a little nervous.

"I'm afraid you've been waiting for a long time. It's cold, so keep it simple and return to the city quickly."

So Zhu Changluo only listened to Liu Jing and Shen Yourong's brief report on the results of the battle, patted them on the shoulders and encouraged them, met with Korean envoys such as Tao Chongdao and Jin Jingrui, and then went straight into the city.

As for the Jurchen captives such as Daishan and Abai, they were not looked at but simply taken away and detained.

On the way, he instructed Niu Yingyuan and Tian Le: "The Administrative Office and the Privy Council will send some people to meet Duke Ning in the back. In Linqing, they will load the money from the ship to a car, and divide the troops to escort the emperor and the silver along the way. The end of the year is approaching, and the news cannot be concealed. Although there are not such daring people in the capital, it is still safer. Replace the grain transport camp and let them go back to take care of the grain transport business, and help the guards to escort the silver to the capital as soon as possible."

Tian Le said quickly, "After the imperial edict arrived, the people were sent out. In order to avoid disturbing the emperor, they did not take the direct route. I sent someone to report, but unexpectedly, His Majesty suddenly ordered a change of route to return quickly. They must have missed the imperial carriage on the way."

"I see." Zhu Changluo nodded. "Wang An sent someone to report that his mother was seriously ill, so he changed his route and rushed back."

Ye Xianggao felt relieved when he heard this, and quickly said, "The Queen Mother is seriously ill? Your Majesty is a filial son, and I am ashamed that I didn't know about this..."

"This is my family affair, you should just focus on government affairs. The news from the palace was transmitted through the Duzhijian. I have issued a strict order that the affairs of the harem should not be publicized at will, so you don't have to be nervous."

After saying that, he quickened his pace.

Zhu Changluo's biological mother, Wang, is forty-six years old this year, which is not very old in terms of age.

But she first worked as a humble maid, and after giving birth to Zhu Changluo, she was neglected and lived in fear. Although Zhu Changluo enjoyed ten years of honor after ascending the throne early, the suffering she had endured in the first half of her life still left some root causes of her health problems.

Most of the illnesses he had suffered over the years were minor, but this time it was an acute illness that forced Wang An to report to the police station quickly, so the situation was of course a bit serious.

"Winter has indeed arrived earlier this year. The canal north of Linqing has frozen over several days earlier. To prevent the fleet from continuing to go north, which would waste manpower breaking the ice and damage the ships, we switched to land routes in Linqing." Zhu Changluo walked to the large carriage in front and turned to Ye Xianggao and said, "The weather is getting colder, and the Executive Yuan must prepare in advance for disasters and famines."

"Your Majesty has considered the long-term, and I have noted it."

Zhu Changluo nodded: "If you have anything to say, let's talk about it tomorrow."

The carriage entered the city at a faster speed. Ye Xianggao and others stood there looking to the north.

"Your Majesty does not wish to disturb the court with palace affairs, but we, the ministers, have heard that the Empress Dowager is seriously ill. How can we ignore it? What do you think we should do?"

Ye Xianggao spoke first.

"The Imperial Hospital is placed in the Medical and Nursing Home under the Executive Yuan. Prime Minister Ye has never heard of this?"

Hearing Wang Yingjiao, the chief censor, asking this, Ye Xianggao looked a little aggrieved: "As you all know, after the appointment of the ministers, I petitioned the Imperial Hospital to set up a separate Imperial Physician's Office, where the Imperial Clerk would select experts and the Academy of Scientific Research would serve together. How can I ask about the Imperial Physician's Office?"

The others stopped talking.

The emperor also attached great importance to medicine. After the telescope was invented, the emperor ordered the development of better instruments, saying that good tools were also needed to understand the principles of medicine.

On the other hand, the emperor has delegated his power. If the eight ministers are combined, the power of the ministers will be very heavy. If the Imperial Hospital is under the control of the Executive Yuan, there will always be some sensitive matters. Who doesn't have illnesses? If there is any suspicion in the future, how will the seven hospitals deal with it?
Meeting such a broad-minded sage, they really don't want to let a small problem become an excuse for the power of prime minister to be taken back in the future.

So, under the pretext of studying medicine and serving the royal family at the same time, after becoming prime minister, Ye Xianggao discussed with them and jointly requested the establishment of an imperial medical clinic.

Of course the emperor understood their intentions, so he agreed.

At this moment, Wang Yingjiao asked this question, as if he suspected that Ye Xianggao was pretending to be ignorant. After all, as long as Ye Xianggao was interested, could he really not know what was going on in the Imperial Physician's Office?
"In addition to offering some precious medicinal herbs, we should order the famous temples in the capital to pray for the Empress Dowager. Your Majesty is busy with state affairs, so shouldn't you offer sacrifices to the heavens, the earth, the mountains, the rivers, and the country?"

After hearing Ye Xianggao's proposal, no one else objected.

"How about we first petition together? Then we can discuss this with all the officials in the government offices and submit a petition. The emperor and his subjects all sincerely hope that the Empress Dowager will recover soon. This is always sincere."

"Prime Minister Ye, please draft it quickly. I think it is time to express the intentions of the ministers."

The ministers began to discuss how to express their loyalty and filial piety, while Zhu Changluo rushed back to the Forbidden City as quickly as possible and went straight to the Renshou Palace.

When they arrived at Renshou Palace, Empress Guo Lanzhi and Crown Prince Zhu Youjian were both there.

We met again after a long separation and didn't have time to exchange pleasantries.

After nodding, Zhu Changluo went to his mother's bedside, while another queen mother sat beside him, wiping away tears. "My son is unfilial. Since the imperial physician said that he can only recover slowly, mother must relax. He will recover after a while."

Wang reached out her hand weakly and touched his face. "Old age is beyond our control. I will take good care of them. My prince, please don't blame them. I was thinking that my prince would be back soon, so I couldn't help but wait outside a few more times, and I caught a cold."

She started out as a palace maid and always had empathy for the eunuchs and palace maids.

Zhu Changluo held her hand and nodded: "I will obey your mother's order."

He would never blame the eunuchs and maids in Renshou Palace for not serving them well because of these things.

It’s just that it’s true that a mother worries when her son is away from home, not to mention that he has been on tour twice since last year and this year, each time traveling thousands of miles away.

Compared with previous years, the weather changes were more severe, and the first people to be affected were the elderly, including his biological mother.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, there must be many elderly people who are more likely to get sick or even die in this early cold winter due to various reasons.

In the years after he ascended the throne, Zhu Changluo was not without attention to this issue.

For example, in the sixth year of Taichang, there was actually a rather severe cold wave. But that time it came violently and went away quickly. It was so severe that people in Qiongzhou, Guangdong, which is Hainan Island, reported that "the winter is very cold and all livestock have died."

But the following three years have been fine, except that winter came obviously a little earlier this year.

Zhu Changluo remembered that during the severe late Ming and early Qing dynasties, even Taihu Lake, Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake and other lakes along the Yangtze River were frozen, which showed that the situation would become more and more serious.

After all, if nothing had changed, it would have only been about ten years since the original Chongzhen Emperor ascended the throne. And the natural disasters that occurred during the Chongzhen reign were recorded in many history books.

The Queen Mother did not have a serious or incurable illness, but her body was relatively fragile to begin with, and this time she caught a cold and her condition seemed very serious.

Zhu Changluo stayed with her in Renshou Palace for a long time before going to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Li.

Empress Dowager Li had been praying for his mother in the Buddhist temple for several days, so Zhu Changluo naturally wanted to express his gratitude.

"The emperor has worked tirelessly for his ancestors and has traveled all over the country. Grandmother can't help you at all." Empress Dowager Li sighed, "But I hope the spirit of the Bodhisattva in heaven will pity the emperor's kindness for the country and the people and bless her to recover soon."

Zhu Changluo nodded silently.

"The emperor is the same." Empress Dowager Li looked at him. "The prince is young. Although the emperor is in good health, he still needs to take good care of himself and not overwork himself. The emperor carries the heavy burden of the Ming Dynasty. Even if he has the protection of gods and Buddhas, he must always be prepared for the worst. Now that the northern border has been settled and Jiangnan has been visited, it's time to rest for a while."

Zhu Changluo knew that she was only talking about her own physical condition.

No matter how much you believe in Buddhism, who can predict the future of birth, aging, sickness and death?
It was also because Zhu Changluo was too "filial" that the long-lived Zhu Yijun was forced to go to the underworld more than ten years earlier to reunite with his ancestors.

If you look closely, except for Taizu, Chengzu and Daojun, the other ancestors did not live long.

Renzong died at 47, which was considered a "long life". Xianzong died at 40. The remaining Yingzong died at 37, Xuanzong, Xiaozong, and Muzong all died at 36, and Wuzong only lived for 31 years. Although Jingdi died for another reason, he was indeed only 29 when he died.

In this comparison, although Zhu Changluo was not yet thirty years old, the word "danger" had already appeared in Empress Dowager Li's eyes.

This was due to both the worry caused by the Queen Mother's acute illness and the fact that she knew how important and time-consuming what her grandson was doing now was.

If anything happens to him, not only will the Ming Dynasty's revival and continuation of its rule be in vain, but if the officials and gentry take advantage of the prince's young age and appoint many ministers, who knows what will happen in the future?

"Grandmother is already sixty-five. Emperor, you shoulder a heavy responsibility, so you must take good care of your health. The longer you can sit on the throne, the better. You must educate the prince well, and make sure nothing goes wrong with him!"

"Grandson has remembered it." Zhu Changluo nodded seriously, "Grandson also knows the importance of things. He has taken good care of his body since he ascended the throne. He has been moderate in drinking and sex. The reform of the system of appointing prime ministers is also to avoid exhausting himself and wasting his mind. Grandmother, please don't worry too much. Grandmother also hopes that she will live a long life and see the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty and peace and prosperity in the world."

"That's good." Empress Dowager Li finally smiled. "You've been traveling all the way and you're tired. You should go and rest early. You've done a great job in the past ten years. Don't worry too much about the rest. Remember to take care of the dragon's health first."

After Zhu Changluo came out of the Cining Palace, he finally had the heart to look at the long-missed scenery of the Forbidden City.

The position of emperor can indeed easily ruin a person's health.

Some are due to indulgence, some are due to exhaustion and other various reasons.

On the other hand, there are countless court officials in their sixties and seventies who are still in good health. Of course, that is also the result of continuous elimination. Those with poor health have fallen on the road to progress early.

The emperor cannot be eliminated, because if he is eliminated, he will become the next emperor.

In the Ming Dynasty, apart from Zhu Yuanzhang, an energetic and ruthless political machine, the father and son Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi had their own division of labor. One was the general who conquered the north, and the other was the regent in the rear, which is why they both lived relatively long lives.

The remaining two who lived to a ripe old age were both carefree grandparents and grandchildren. Daojun was very good at playing the game of emperor's mind. He was carefree because he didn't take the suffering of the people seriously. Zhu Changluo's father was a homebody who felt the world was wide open when he thought of staying at home. Even though he indulged in lust, the physical foundation that was strictly required and carefully cultivated when he was young helped him to bear it for so many years.

The throne is now occupied by Zhu Changluo, and he is about to reach the peak period of illness and death among Ming emperors, between 30 and 40.

Zhu Changluo, who was about to turn 30, returned to the capital when his biological mother was seriously ill. While people inside and outside the palace were paying attention to the empress dowager's condition, how many people, like the Empress Dowager Li, thought about the lifespan of the Ming emperor and pondered the possibility that this holy monarch would also die young?
Zhu Changluo didn't care too much about this. He just felt more and more seriously that he would have to fight against the sky next.

Natural disasters are merciless. When frequent disasters occur, the country's current prosperity will inevitably be hindered.

The national policy of river management, storing grain for disaster preparedness, improving technical capabilities, and enhancing the response capabilities and efficiency of the central and local governments, many things need to be planned in advance.

When Zhu Changluo saw the memorials submitted by the ministers at night, he thought for a moment and wrote only eight words: That’s all, focus on government affairs.

After he had just seen the Queen Mother's physical condition, he knew that it would probably only take two years. After all, the imperial physician had only advised that she should slowly recuperate.

Birth, aging, sickness and death, there is nothing we can do about it.

Winter is approaching, and Zhu Changluo does not want both the emperor and his subjects to spend too much energy on things that will not work.

"Tomorrow I will summon the officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information to come. I want to ask about the exploration and mining of the coal mines."

(End of this chapter)