The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Although there had been rumors that Emperor Longqing was in poor health or even broken, due to the quick actions of Dongchang and Jinyiwei, these rumors were quickly nipped in the bud.

However, Emperor Longqing's health was indeed not good.

In the past two months, he has not dealt with much government affairs.

It just so happened that during this period, the memorials submitted in various places were not of any importance. Almost all of them were approved by the Director of Ceremonies in accordance with the cabinet votes, so Gao Gong had no reason to go to the Qianqing Palace.

In the Qianqing Palace, Long Qing was still slumped on the bed with his eyes half closed. One of the two palace ladies was rubbing his left leg, and the other was rubbing his right leg. Although he was only thirty-five years old, Long Qing's face did not have much life and looked sickly due to the "evil ghost in his lust" who played night after night.

He had been in this state for several days. Even though the doctor from the imperial hospital tried several prescriptions, the effect was not good.

At this time, Emperor Longqing was in the side hall of Qianqing Palace. Through the window, he could see the gate of Qianqing Palace on the other side of the square, and there was a bright yellow on the roof of the palace gate.

He knew that those were the yellow tiles on the three main halls.

Unknowingly, Emperor Longqing thought of his childhood, perhaps the happiest time for him.

With the support of the prince's brother, he and King Jing lived happily in the palace, although his brother had not yet become the prince at that time.

Then, he became the prince, but soon he disappeared.

People in the palace secretly rumored that it was because my brother met his father on the day he was crowned prince.

Yes, during Emperor Longqing's childhood, apart from his mother and his father's other concubines, there were only three brothers.

As for the eldest brother whom he has never met, he naturally has no memory.

The prince's brother was gone, and his life in the palace became difficult, even though he was the de facto eldest son of his father.

His brother King Jing, who was once close to him, also kept a distance from him. This relationship lasted until they both reached adulthood and moved out of the palace.

At this time, he became King Yu, and his brother also became King Jing.

Then, Gao Gong came to Prince Yu's Mansion, and then there were many people who came and left.

Scenes of past events seemed to appear before Emperor Longqing's eyes again. He still remembered his joy when his eldest son was born, and his pain when his eldest son died.

Until he got the news that his brother had died in Anlu, and apart from his children, his only remaining relatives were his father and the emperor.

Then, my father also died. The day before he died, he called himself into the palace. He told himself a lot, but now he doesn’t seem to remember it.

He became the emperor, the emperor of the Ming Empire.

Defending Chengdu, by the way, my father said that it was difficult for him to defend Chengdu because he really did not have the potential to become a wise monarch.

But what will the court be like after he ascends the throne?

It seems that they have always been fighting, you fight me, I fight you.

Until now, although it has only been six years, many cabinet ministers in the imperial court have left, and they are all victims of political struggles.

But what changes have occurred in the court?

It seems that just like before, finances are stretched thin and we cannot make ends meet every year.

Yes, it's just that there seem to be fewer Japanese pirates, and there are very few memorials about the looting by Japanese pirates along the coast.

Emperor Longqing didn't know whether this was because he agreed to open the sea, and the Japanese pirates all changed careers and became maritime merchants.

If that were the case, that would be horrific.

Just a few businessmen can stir up trouble along the coast and create turmoil in several coastal provinces of the Ming Dynasty.

There is also the Datong Peace Agreement. It seems that now only some money needs to be rewarded to the Mongols. For more than a year, there seems to be no major war in the northern border towns.

Although there were sporadic battles, they were all due to fights between the two sides over some minor disputes, not even conflicts.

Hey, why should I think about this?

Emperor Longqing felt panic for no reason when he thought of this.

You know, he is still young, how can he imitate those people of seventy or eighty years old and look back on the past with sadness.

Footsteps sounded outside the hall, and Meng Chong walked into the hall with old steps. Several chamberlains behind him followed him step by step, carrying a pile of memorials.

After bowing in front of him, he stood up and said to him: "Your Majesty, this is the memorial approved by the Director of Ceremonies yesterday. Please take a look at it."

"Are they all drafted by the cabinet?"

Of course Emperor Longqing had no intention of reading these memorials at this time, so he just asked lightly.

"Yes, they are all approved according to the voting plan."

Meng Chong replied.

"Is there anything important?"

Emperor Longqing nodded and then asked again.

"It's all trivial matters reported to the local government, nothing important."

Meng Chong replied.

"Then send it to the cabinet and let them deal with it."

Emperor Longqing said a little tiredly. Although he only dealt with a few words, he felt physically and mentally tired.

After ordering Meng Chong and waiting for them to leave with the memorial in their arms, Emperor Longqing ordered the chamberlain next to him to go to Qingning Palace to call Feng Bao over. He wanted to ask the prince about his situation in the past two days.

Of course, Meng Chong would not go there personally to send the memorial to the cabinet. He would just arrange for the few chamberlains holding the memorial to deliver the things.

Before coming here, these memorials had been registered in the clerk's room, so there was no need to take them back to the Supervisor of Ceremonies for processing.

This is also the norm during this period, so Meng Chong is already very experienced.

After Feng Bao had an exchange with Emperor Longqing in the Qianqing Palace, he keenly noticed that the emperor's mental condition seemed to be getting worse.

"Your Majesty, do you want to cancel tomorrow's Synodic Meeting?"

After Feng Bao told the story of Prince Zhu Yijun's daily life these two days, he suggested.

Emperor Longqing only had regular court meetings, but he still participated in the Synodic Court meetings twice a month.

It was because of poor health in the past two months that I was able to avoid the Shuowang Dynasty.

After listening to Feng Bao's suggestion, Emperor Longqing wanted to nod his head and agree, but then he remembered that he had seen the secret post before and knew that the government and the public were talking a lot because the emperor had not shown up in the past two months, so he shook his head and said, "Tomorrow, the New Moon Palace will be held as scheduled. Tian feels much better."

Yes, he wanted to show his face in front of the courtiers. In the past two months, the only people he had seen, except those in the inner court, were Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng from the cabinet.

I always don't go to court, and the government and the public will inevitably have strange ideas.

"But Your Majesty, your body is not feeling well yet."

Feng Bao said this from the bottom of his heart. Although it felt like Emperor Longqing had been caring about the prince's daily life for more than a month, it didn't seem to be a good sign, but he also sincerely hoped that Emperor Longqing would get better and hold on for at least another year until Wei Guangde came back.

Although Wei Guangde will definitely be beaten by Gao Gong in the short term after returning to the court, it is better to have someone who can speak in the cabinet than the immediate collapse of the emperor.

But his kindness was obviously not taken seriously by the emperor, and Emperor Longqing interrupted him.

"You don't need to worry about this. It's your duty to serve the prince well."

After Emperor Longqing said this, he asked Feng Bao to kneel down.

Feng Bao left the Qianqing Palace and met the cabinet minister Zhang Juzheng who was coming over before he walked a few steps.

"Mr. Zhang Ge, are you asking to see the emperor?"

Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng were also old acquaintances. It was not good not to say hello when they met, so they stopped and bowed their hands to Zhang Juzheng.

"Eunuch Feng, did His Majesty summon you just now? How is Your Majesty doing now?"

Zhang Juzheng was smiling and asked eagerly after he handed over to Feng Baogong.

"Your Majesty, are you feeling well?"

Feng Bao replied, "Mr. Zhang Ge came here to see the emperor?"

"I'm going to have a court meeting tomorrow, but I don't know if His Majesty will go to the palace."

Zhang Juzheng replied.

"Your Majesty is going to court."

Hearing that Zhang Juzheng came for this matter, Feng Bao spoke.

"His Majesty issued an order?"

Zhang Juzheng originally just said it casually, but he didn't expect Feng Bao to know about it.

You know, the cabinet didn't get any news about this matter, but Feng Bao knew about it in advance, which is really strange.

"Previously, I saw that the emperor's body was not in good shape, so I wanted to invite your majesty to attend the court meeting at the end of the day. He could get himself well before going to court, but your majesty did not agree and ordered the court meeting to continue as usual tomorrow."

Feng Bao told about the previous situation in Qianqing Palace, and Zhang Juzheng was silent for a moment after listening.

"Eunuch Feng is right. If His Majesty is in poor health, there is no harm in postponing the meeting."

Zhang Juzheng said.

"Did Lord Chief Assistant call you here to ask?"

Feng Bao asked again.

Zhang Juzheng nodded, which was regarded as acquiescence.

"If I had known earlier, I would have sent someone to deliver the news to you first, so I wouldn't have had to make this trip in vain.

Now that we're here, let's go see the emperor. The emperor seems to be getting thinner and thinner. "

Feng Bao said again.

When Zhang Juzheng heard Feng Bao's words, his heart moved, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face and he said: "In the future, please let Eunuch Feng know if you have anything to do. You and I are also considered old people, so we should keep in touch more often." "

"Yes, in the capital now, we are the only ones who came out of Yu Zhuan. The others are either serving as officials or being assigned to jobs. They are thousands of miles away from the capital."

Feng Bao said.

"I invite Eunuch Feng to my house tonight. It's been a long time since we had a drink."

On the afternoon of May 14, the sixth year of Longqing's reign, a piece of news spread among the yamen in the capital.

Emperor Longqing, who has been out of court for two months, will attend the Shuo Wang Dynasty meeting tomorrow.

The Shuo Wang Chao is held on the 15th day of the lunar month (the first day of the lunar month) and is located in Fengtian Hall. However, this court meeting is just a formality and does not discuss specific matters.

Generally speaking, this kind of formal court meeting does not last too long, and it will pass with a little patience.

Except in the early Ming Dynasty, the current court meeting has long lost its original meaning and is no longer a place where the emperor decides on government affairs.

In the early morning of that day, the official residences in Beijing became lively. Officials got up early to wash up and prepare to enter the palace to meet the emperor.

The Shuowang Dynasty is different from the Chang Dynasty. All officials above the ninth rank in Beijing are required to participate. Almost anyone who is an official can participate in the Shuowang Dynasty meeting.

However, those of lower rank were destined not to be able to see the emperor, and could only stand in the square outside Huangji Hall (Fengtian Hall), waiting for the ceremony to end.

After all, Emperor Longqing had suspended the court meeting for a long time, so the officials who got the news still planned to go for a visit unless they were really delayed.

Soon, all the roads leading to the Forbidden City were blocked by sedan chairs and carriages, making a lot of noise even in the dark.

When everyone gathered outside the Meridian Gate, the senior officials went into the court room to rest, while the rest could only stand in the square, gathering in small groups and talking quietly.

Fortunately, the weather was not cold at the moment, and everyone felt much more energetic after chatting.

Soon after the general on duty, the Su Guards, the Zhizhang Flag School and others lined up to enter the Meridian Gate, the hour came and the Bell and Drum Department sounded the bells and drums, and the civil and military officials filed in through the open left and right doors.

Civil servants enter through the Zuoye Gate, and military attachés enter through the Youye Gate. They are first arranged in order according to their grades in the south of Jinshui Bridge.

After the whip was sounded, they crossed the bridge one by one and arrived at Danqi of Huangji Gate. The civilian officials were the left class and the military officers were the right class. They faced each other on the imperial road and established marquises.

During this period, the censor responsible for picketing was supervising. Anyone who coughed, spitted, was crowded, or behaved improperly would be recorded and dealt with.

Not long after, the bell and drum band standing on the left and right side of the steps began to play music. The emperor arrived at the imperial gate in a sedan chair. Guards in royal robes held five umbrella covers and four groups of fans, climbed up the Danqi from the east and west sides, and stood on the left and right sides behind the throne.

Emperor Longqing slowly moved out of the sedan chair, forced himself to support himself and walked up to the throne step by step.

After he sat down, the whip was blown again outside, and the Honglu Temple "singed" to enter the class. The two civil and military classes on the left and right advanced into the royal road at the same time. At this time, the civil servants "went north to the west" and the military officers "went north to the east" and bowed three times. The ceremony of knocking.

As the proceedings of the Shuowang Dynasty Meeting were carried out one by one, Emperor Longqing, who was sitting on the throne, felt increasingly depressed and drowsy.

He wanted to hold on. After all, he had experienced this kind of court meeting countless times. He knew that if he waited a while, it would be over and he would have completed his purpose of showing up this time. The outside world would not have anything to do with his health. rumor.

Although these news seem to be true.

Pulling himself together, watching the courtiers complete the court meeting procedures step by step under the guidance of Honglu Temple officials, he also kept urging in his heart to end this seemingly meaningless court meeting as soon as possible.

Finally, Emperor Longqing, who was sitting on the large throne, felt his eyes go dark and his body collapsed on the throne.

The Honglu Temple officials below were still unaware, but Meng Chong who was waiting below saw it. The cabinet ministers and Liubu Hall officials in the front row also saw it, and everyone couldn't help but feel nervous.

Among them, the one who was most concerned about Emperor Longqing's health was undoubtedly him.

Before he could take action, Meng Chong had already hurriedly climbed onto the throne, knelt beside Emperor Longqing and called softly.

But after several times, Emperor Longqing did not regain consciousness.

Meng Chong knew that the court meeting could not go on and His Majesty had fainted.

Turning around and waving to the side, he summoned four strong eunuchs to carry Emperor Longqing off the stage. They carefully put Emperor Longqing into the sedan chair, and then the sedan chair hurried toward the Qianqing Palace.

When Meng Chong called the eunuch to come forward, the officials of Honglu Temple suddenly realized that they had suspended the court ceremony and stopped there at a loss.

"Your Majesty is in poor health. Today's court meeting is over. Your Excellencies will go back to your respective offices first and do not forget the state affairs."

Gao Gong stood up at this time, turned around and said to the official in front of him.

Now there are only the servants responsible for cleaning the main hall, and only Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng stand up to maintain order, allowing the officials to exit the square in order and return to the yamen to work.

The news that Emperor Longqing fainted at the court meeting also spread with little wings and spread quickly in the capital.