Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Hongwan
The Donglin, which Gu Xiancheng painstakingly managed during his lifetime, was like planting a seed deep in the soil—the second generation of disciples grew up, became officials in the pilot test, and became a member of the Ming court, setting off a new storm. .
Yang Lian, courtesy name Wenru, was born in Yingshan and was a Jinshi in the 35th year of Wanli. Ren Bingke gave Shizhong; he is upright and upright, outspoken and outspoken, so although he is not a big official, he has established a good reputation, and he seems to be a leader in the second generation of Donglin.
Zuo Guangdou was also a Jinshi in the 35th year of Wanli. He was born in Tongcheng. By arresting and governing the powerful and evil officials of the bureaucracy, more than 70 fake seals and more than 100 fake officials were obtained, which shocked the government and the public.
Both of them were born in Donglin, and they were in the same year of the pilot test. They had a close personal relationship and had the same views and opinions on many things, so they quoted each other in the court; , Yuan Huazhong, Zhou Chaorui, and Gu Dazhang who were Jinshi in the 35th year of Wanli, and Gao Panlong's disciples, Wei Dazhong, Huang Zunsu, Li Yingsheng, and Wanxi who were in the 44th year of Wanli, Zhou Shunchang, Miao Changqi, Zhou Zongjian and other like-minded people communicated with each other and faintly combined to form an invisible small group of Donglin in the court, which could often play a great role and influence in trouble.
This time—after the news that Concubine Zheng Gui wanted to be the queen began to spread from the court, Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou gathered these friends to discuss and discuss, and then raised fierce objections, which aroused the echo of public opinion; after that, Sun Ruyou He came forward as an official of the Ministry of Rites to prevent this incident; unexpectedly, in just a few days, another incident occurred in the palace—the new king fell ill due to lust on the day he took the throne. Of course, this group of honest and upright people It is absolutely impossible not to make a big noise.
Yang Lian was the first to attack, and then everyone responded, forming an unstoppable wave of voices; moreover, specific methods were also set out, and they were carried out one by one.
In addition to forming public opinion, everyone also pointed the finger at Zheng Yangxing, the nephew of Concubine Zheng who was an official in the court, forcing him to pass on the opinions of the courtiers to Concubine Zheng, and exerted heavy pressure;
Things quickly and satisfactorily developed:
Three days later, the seriously ill Emperor Taichang personally interviewed Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others, said a few words of comfort to the courtiers in a weak but sincere tone, and also expressed his acceptance of everyone's opinions, that Cui Wensheng would be punished, and that Cui Wensheng would be punished. Alienate Zheng Guifei.
Yang Lian said bluntly: "Concubine Zheng intends to take the position of empress dowager, and I think it is absolutely impossible--Long Live God should respect the Queen Mother as his aunt, and the Empress Dowager as his birth mother; the noble concubine is neither the aunt nor the birth mother. Don't be too polite!"
Emperor Taichang also accepted the words, he nodded weakly, and said: "I will tell the Supervisor of Rites to do it!"
Thus, Concubine Zheng, under the double pressure, gritted her teeth and hated the fate, but also had to be manipulated by the fate, gave up the idea of becoming the empress dowager, and voluntarily moved to the Palace of Compassion and Ning to live.
The courtiers seemed to have won an unprecedented victory, and the reputation of Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, and their Donglin friends suddenly improved a lot.
Of course, Emperor Taichang was even more impressed with Yang Lian. When he summoned the ministers again a few days later, he specially appointed Yang Lian to meet with him—he actually wanted to be a good emperor, and even though his IQ was low, Not so low that he can't distinguish between good and bad; Yang Lian impressed him deeply, and he intuitively thought that he was a capable person who should be reused; even, Yang Lian's integrity reminded him of Guo Zhengyu who taught him to read many years ago, causing him There are some special feelings in my heart.
Therefore, even if his mental and physical strength were weak, he still tried his best to say something to Yang Lian to show his unusualness: "Yang Qing is commendable for her loyalty, and I am very relieved!"
For Yang Lian, this is not only a great honor and grace, but also inspired him to have a sense of "knowledge" and the feeling of swearing to die for repayment.
He also knew that he was not qualified to enter the palace to meet the emperor because his official position was only for the sake of work. This exception, in addition to Emperor Taichang himself, also included external environmental factors-after thinking about it, he became more and more empathetic. Know what to do.
"Your kindness is mighty, we will never let you down..."
He called together all the like-minded Donglin friends, and expressed his thoughts: "At present, Long Live Lord has not long ascended the throne, and he is in a difficult situation. Internally, there are many troubles in the palace, externally, the government is uncertain, and he is seriously ill. It is time for us to work together. , to serve my life and be loyal, to share the worries and labors of the Long Live Lord..."
As he said that, he explained with confidence one by one what he planned to do to "serve his life and be loyal": "Even though Concubine Zheng moved to the Palace of Compassion, she may not be willing to keep her own place; Qianqing Palace, and the emperor's eldest son was kept in the palace on the grounds of nurturing; a certain servant once heard rumors that Xi Li was born in a humble family, but was favored by seductive skills. How can such a woman be in the middle palace? We must go to the palace as soon as possible , I suggest choosing ladies from all over the world, and those who establish virtuous virtues as queens..."
The mixed feelings of morality, responsibility and repaying the king's kindness made his spirit particularly high, so he didn't even consider whether he was qualified to intervene in the important matter of setting up a queen, and he completely forgot that many years ago, Emperor Wanli was still a young man. When he was an emperor who was full of hope and expectations, he got into trouble with the ministers because of the establishment of a prince, and even had many unfortunate consequences. His flourishing justice, morality and highly idealized outlook on life Covering up everything made him insist on intervening in the emperor's personal emotional issues like making history repeat itself.
Secondly, he also tried his best to envision the national economy and the people's livelihood for Emperor Taichang: "Incorrect government officials, financial difficulties, continuous natural disasters among the people, and tax increases every year, resulting in the decline of people's livelihood and complaints, are all urgent matters; , is the border trouble of Liaodong——Nurhachi, the chief of Jurchen, launched a rebellion, which is no small matter.
And what he said, Zuo Guangdou and others felt the same way, so everyone agreed and they had to put it into practice immediately; Zou, do you want to discuss it with the elders of the cabinet first?"
However, Yang Lian, who was eager to "repay the king's kindness" in his heart, immediately rejected this suggestion: "No need——I will submit the memorial as soon as it is ready, and then discuss it with others. There will be too many people, and the matter will be delayed!"
Wei Dazhong still couldn't let go of one thing, and struggled to say one more sentence: "Establishing a queen is a big matter. If you don't discuss it with the cabinet scholars first, it seems—a little—to be too polite!"
When he was talking, he looked at the expressions and reactions of other people, expecting to get some help; unexpectedly, none of the other people responded to his words, so he sighed secretly and stopped talking.
Yang Lian, on the other hand, eloquently wrote the melody of "Please choose a lady and make a queen", while saying: "If the elders in the cabinet are not happy, let him be unhappy-if the Lord Long Live sees you If the memorial is not happy, just blame it on a certain person! A certain person is loyal to the country, dedicated to the king; does what is right, says what is right, and is not afraid of being punished!"
Therefore, this memorial was sent to the palace under such "willing to go its own way".
However, this time, Emperor Taichang's reaction was far beyond the expectations of this group of people—Emperor Taichang neither agreed to Yang Lian's request, nor expressed any displeasure, but did not respond at all.
Yang Lian was not called into the palace again as expected——
One day, two days——on the tenth day, Yang Lian began to feel uneasy, and he quietly said to Zuo Guangdou: "Could it be that today, like the previous emperor, he doesn't read memorials at all?"
Of course Zuo Guangdou couldn't answer this question, he could only tell him solemnly: "It's useless to guess, just wait patiently!"
So, he counted the days with Yang Lian, one day, two days, three days—the two waited together.
Unexpectedly, after counting for a few days, what they were waiting for was not Emperor Taichang's imperial decree Zhu Zhu, but a thunderbolt from the blue that shook them unconscious:
Emperor Taichang passed away on the day he took the throne for just one month.
Now, the Daming Palace is shrouded in unprecedented gloom and mist. The new monarch passed away only one month after he ascended the throne. Shock and fear arose in everyone's hearts, covering up the sadness they should have had.
A few senior eunuchs and court ladies who have served in the palace for many years and know many things about the past began to murmur while trembling all over their bodies from the first cry from Qianqing Palace: "This Could it be God's will--at the beginning, Lord Wanli refused to appoint this young master. He was forced to do so because of the quarrel among the ministers. It’s just that the ministers are causing trouble and insisting on acting against the will of God—how can God’s will be violated? Young Master Fubo, he fell ill after the ceremony, died in a few days, and never even went to court... ..."
And what followed was trembling as if incontinence: "If you act against the sky, you will eventually receive an ominous retribution..."
As a result, these people shivered more and more, and wept bitterly, crying with pain as if their hearts and lungs were torn apart, and it became more clear to people that they were not only crying for the death of the emperor, but also Weeping for the ominous news of the Ming Dynasty.
Taichang Emperor Zhu Changluo died at the fifth watch on the first day of September—this year is still counted in the forty-eighth year of Wanli. His death was indeed foreshadowed on the very day of his accession.
Qi and blood are exhausted, and after indulging in lust, he feels that all the blood in his body is flowing down, from the soles of his feet, out of his body, without leaving a drop.
His whole body was exhausted, his breath was like a thread, and a vague hallucination began to appear in his mind, as if someone was waving to him in front of him in a trance. Floating like the wind; then, the shadow began to call out to him: "Chang Luo——Chang Luo..."
Men and women with the same voice are indistinguishable, it sounds familiar and unfamiliar; it is so familiar that it is like longing for thousands of times in the heart, but it is so strange that it has never been heard in detail; it is the voice of the integration of father and mother, which he projected since he was a child The feeling of admiration, the love of a family that has never been obtained before——
He subconsciously wanted to open his mouth and shout: "Father—mother..."
It never occurred to him that his actual parents were already separated from him, and his own life was so depleted that he had no strength to open his mouth to speak, and was so weak that he couldn't even blink his eyelids. With just a little struggle, he passed out. .
The hallucination disappeared immediately, and there was only darkness in front of my eyes and in my heart.
Drowsy, dark and vast——by the time he opened his eyes, it was several days later. In his drowsiness, he wandered between heaven and earth like a wandering ghost for a week, and finally returned; August 12th , he finally felt that he had regained some strength, so he summoned a few ministers and spoke a few words with them; suddenly, hope rose faintly again.
However, the slight improvement in his health from lethargy and recuperation was only a flash in the pan—two days later, on August 14, he took the rhubarb medicine that Cui Wensheng had taken, and his whole body became exhausted again and he was on the verge of death.
The best efforts of the imperial physicians also extended his life again. On August 22, he summoned the ministers again and managed to cheer up and say a few words. The situation was not bad; however, when the first ministers retreated Afterwards, as soon as he relaxed, he immediately collapsed on the bed like a puddle of mud, and then passed out, only to wake up flickeringly after a long time.
He just said a few words, but it was as strenuous as fighting a tiger up the mountain—even if he opened his eyes, he couldn't sit up; his limbs seemed to be exhausted, and his head was very dizzy.
At this moment, a thought flew into his heart: "I've been taking care of this for many days, but I haven't seen any improvement. Could it be—is the disease going to die?"
Thinking of this, he immediately shed tears; he was always full of fear of death since he was a child, timid, cowardly, and insecure, but now, to face death so alone and unprepared - he trembled and used His hands covered his eyelids.
After a long time, there was a trembling sound in his throat: "Wang An..."
Wang An has served him for many years, and it can be said that he was brought up single-handedly. When he was a child, no matter what happened, he would always cry and call Wang An, and hide in Wang An's arms. Wang An always tried his best Take care of him and protect him——however, this time, there was no response.
After a while, he vaguely heard a voice saying: "Long live Lord, I think he is confused! Didn't Wang An get promoted and become a eunuch in charge of ceremonies? Why is he still called Wang An now?" ?”
He recognized that it was Li Xuanshi who was speaking, and then, Li Xuanshi also gave orders in an extremely authoritative tone: "Don't pay attention to him if he is stupid, call Wang An and let him call him. Just go up and wait on him personally!"
No one in the entire Qianqing Palace talked anymore—but a trace of anger rose in his heart, and he thought angrily: "What kind of talk is this? I really don't take it seriously!"
Although his breath was weak, he was unable to reprimand Li Xuanshi's attitude, but it was not incapable of arousing the slightest spark - at this moment, he was stimulated with the last willpower in his life: "I will never die - just like that I am too unwilling to die—all those years of bitterness have been in vain, and my days have been spent in vain—I have never lost anything!”
A strong will to survive that had never been seen in his life ignited from his heart like a flame, making his spirit stronger again.
On August 29, his renewed confidence made him hold on to the minister for a longer talk, and the content was more specific.
The ministers who came to see him were led by Fang Congzhe, the chief assistant of the cabinet, and the rest of the assistants Han Gang, Liu Yijing, and Liubu Shangshu followed closely; Chen Zou talked about several major events that should be dealt with in the past few days; then he briefly mentioned the matter of the burial of the Wanli Emperor in Dingling, and the posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous titles of the late Wanli King and Concubine Wang Gongfei, and the posthumous posthumous titles of Concubine Guo Yuan and Wang Cai were being drafted by the Ministry of Rites. A thing for a queen.
Concubine Guo Yuan was originally a crown princess, and Wang Cairen was the eldest son of the emperor and the mother of the school. Both of them died in the Wanli period, and now they are both crowned queens in accordance with the law. He has no special opinions on these things, but he seems to be involuntary He added another sentence: "Servant Li Xuan has told me many times - Qing will handle it as soon as you wait, and make her a royal concubine!"
Unexpectedly, before he finished his sentence, Li Xuan, who was standing behind the curtain, suddenly lifted the curtain and shouted in a deep voice: "Please come in and speak, the eldest son of the emperor!"
The eldest son of the emperor was standing by the school to accompany the ministers. He was only sixteen years old. He was also pale and thin, timid and gentle, without wisdom and self-sufficiency. What's more, because his biological mother died young, he was raised by Xi Li, and he had already grown up. The habit of "obedient" - once called, he immediately walked in obediently.
After a while, he paced out of the curtain, and said something in a daze: "Father, Empress Xi confesses that I want to be named empress!"
"what?"
Now, the dozen or so monarchs and ministers were all dumbfounded, and the atmosphere immediately became stagnant and hostile, and no one could think of a way to resolve it.
And just at this moment, a eunuch's report sounded at the right time, breaking the dullness: "Li Kezhuo, the official of Honglu Monastery, came to Sishanmen to take medicine—he made alchemy himself, and came to present the Holy Lord!"
However, Fang Congzhe and other ministers immediately frowned twice, and said: "This person claimed to donate medicine seven days ago, but this is a big matter, and the ministers think it is inappropriate to accept it; what's more, Li Ke Zhuo claimed that what he refined was an elixir, and the ministers couldn't believe it!"
However, a new hope arose in his heart: "If it really is an elixir, I will be saved!"
He doesn't want to die!It's hard to become the emperor, and I'm not willing to die just like that!
Therefore, even if there is only a sliver of hope, he must firmly grasp it!
The ministers dare not casually believe that there are elixir in the world, but he would rather believe that Li Kezhuo will bring him a miraculous and wonderful elixir!
So, he worked up his strength and shouted three times: "Xuan-Xuan-Xuan..."
The eunuchs immediately passed the decree: "Xuanhongyu Temple Chancellor Li Kezhuo sees you..."
Li Kezhuo came, knelt down in front of him, and carefully "observed, heard, and asked", and then carefully explained the source of his disease and the treatment method, and more importantly, he talked about the elixir known as "elixir". It is clear and clear: "The minister has spent decades of hard work in researching the formula of this taste. After the pill was completed, it was named 'Red Pill'; Pei Yuan, nourish Qi and strengthen kidney..."
Li Kezhuo's eloquence was excellent, and what he said deeply touched his heart; therefore, although all the ministers present were cautious and skeptical, they could not stop his eagerness.
Li Kezhuo quickly took the red pills to offer - at noon, he took the first red pill; in the evening, he took the second red pill.
No one knew what kind of effect the two red pills had on his body, and no one knew how he felt physically and mentally after taking the two red pills in a row—the imperial doctor hadn’t had time to diagnose, Judging, he himself had no time to say it - the time only advanced to the fifth watch in the early morning of the next day, and his life ended.
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