Chapter 5 Chapter 5 It's Your Fault

In this year, turmoil occurred one after another in the Ming Dynasty. In February, there was a civil uprising in Wuchang again. The people gathered together to protest, killed six of the tax inspector Chen Feng’s attendants, and burned the governor’s office—this was after three years of public grievances in Wuchang and Hanyang. The specific actions of the second outbreak were far more serious than the one that injured Chen Feng more than a year ago—— This time, there were tens of thousands of people gathered together, and the target of their anger was Chen Feng, who was originally a eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor, but came to Huguang and other places to serve as a mine tax eunuch and acted recklessly and extorted money; The prison yamen escaped death by hiding in the Prince Chu's mansion; in the end, Jin Yiwei Ti cavalry was dispatched to attack, and the gathered crowd was barely dispersed.

However, such a major incident was reported to the imperial court, and the ministers wrote to Chen Qingsan to reply to Chen Feng, but Emperor Wanli did not reply for a long time. It's not that he is completely indifferent to this matter - he understands the content of the memorials read to him by the eunuchs, and it doesn't just go in through the right ear and come out through the left ear carelessly, but a stunned. On the surface, he didn't say a word, kept silent, and didn't have any special expression. With a blank face, he re-entered the intoxicated breath of the fragrance of drugs; the sound of.

"Is Chen Feng really that bad?" As if asking, but also with some surprise—— This time, his mind was not completely addicted to drugs, and the voice of thinking gradually rose in the slight tremor of his mind, and gradually there were criss-crossing lines in his mind. He remembered how Chen Feng knelt before him in the past. He was respectful, humble, and loyal, and he was completely trustworthy. Then, after Chen Feng took office as Huguang Tax Supervisor, he was very satisfied with the amount of gold and silver he received— —After thinking about it carefully, he asked again: "Is Chen Feng really that worn?"

Among the memorials read by the eunuchs, there were those written by Shen Yiguan, a cabinet scholar, Yao Wenwei, the head of the Nanjing Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Wu Zhongming, the head of the Nanjing Ministry of Civil Affairs—the most impressive one was Li Dao, the Jiangxi tax supervisor. Li Dao's memorabilia is different from other people's, only pointing out that Chen Feng was a disaster place - Li Dao clearly pointed out that Chen Feng: "Invasion and concealment of tax money, interception of traders, collection of three solutions and one, sick country and deprivation of the people!"

A few words touched his heart deeply, and made him shout angrily from the bottom of his heart: "What? Three signs and one solution?" Only one-third of the mining tax collected in the Huguang area was paid into the inner treasury of the palace?Chen Feng's personal embezzlement was twice that of Jin Feng? "is this real?" That respectful, humble, and loyal servant actually committed embezzlement?Kneeling, something like a dog betraying him - he began to tremble. Two months later, he ordered Chen Feng to be recalled, and Du Mao, the guard eunuch of Chengtian Mansion, acted as Chen Feng's replacement;

Moreover, in the second month after Chen Feng was recalled to Beijing, there was also a civil uprising in Su Ming, which was also caused by the harsh exploitation of the tax-collecting eunuchs—— The eunuch sent to Suzhou was Sun Long. In May, he led the order to levy an additional tax of three qian for each loom. He made a wishful thinking: Suzhou has always been a place rich in silk weaving, and eight to nine out of ten people use "weaving" as their business. There will be more than one million more, not only to win the favor of Emperor Wanli, but also to make a lot of money in his own pocket.

However, he did not expect that machine owners who already had to pay heavy taxes would have to pay an additional "three dollars per machine" levy. They immediately lost their jobs, their livelihoods were greatly affected, and turmoil arose suddenly. On the third day of June, thousands of weavers gathered in the city, led by Kunshan Ge, surrounded Sun Long's tax office, and killed several of Sun Long's minions. Sun Long escaped over the wall and escaped death; The mechanics still refused to disperse, until the next day, a large number of officers and troops were dispatched to suppress——

But this time, after listening to the eunuchs reading the memorabilia, Emperor Wanli frowned before they finished reading all of them. He first hummed angrily like a child, "Why didn't you beat Sun Long to death together? That would be the end of everything!" Then he sighed to Concubine Zheng and said: "This eunuch is fine when he is in the palace, but he makes trouble when he goes out-look, something happens in two months, which makes me very quiet There are no days!" After finishing speaking, the chubby jaw trembled for a while, and the head shook several times.

Of course Concubine Zheng picked a nice way to say to him: "Being in front of the Long Live God, they are inspired by the Long Live God, so they are naturally better than the other - if they are placed outside, far away from the Long Live God, it is inevitable that they will be a little out of shape! As a human being, it depends on the sageness of Long Live Lord—" She seemed to want to intercede for Sun Long: "There is a saying: 'The adults don't count the faults of the villains.' Long live, don't take the faults of these slaves to heart!" However, this time, Emperor Wanli's reaction was quite different from before; even though Concubine Zheng Guifei had said half a car of good things, he no longer accepted it all, and obeyed everything—and there was no need to delay for another two months— —He immediately ordered: "Tell Sun Long to come back to Beijing, and give me careful interrogation!"

After finishing the order, he took a few breaths, waved his hand, and signaled the eunuchs to wait for the medicine, and after a long while, he slowly closed his eyes, savored it carefully, and fell into a deep sleep. Concubine Zheng Gui, who was awake, gradually darkened after he fell asleep. "Long Live Lord can't even listen to my words!" she thought angrily. Interceding for Sun Long is not without reason - Sun Long gave her a lot of "filial piety", if this time persuaded Emperor Wanli, I am afraid that Sun Long will not be more filial; broken. However, it is just a word "money", so there is no need to take it too seriously - what came to her mind was actually another hidden worry.

Emperor Wanli no longer obeyed her, which was like a bell-like warning. "When the color fades, the love will relax, and if the love relaxes, the grace will be rejected—" This is the end of the beloved concubine since ancient times. Thinking about it, she couldn't help shivering, but she was even more unwilling. She gritted her teeth and shouted from the bottom of her heart: "I haven't faded yet— —Why can’t you talk to him?” A complex thought mixed with many factors came to her mind, a bit of frustration, a bit of loss, and a bit of grief-she controlled herself as much as possible, maintained a calm appearance, and did not let tears fall Come, so as not to let the eunuchs and maids around see it, and tell Emperor Wanli one day if you don’t pay attention; Walked out of the Qianqing Palace. The weather was hot, and she was wearing a light green woven gold tulle top and a dark green flowered pleated skirt. Whenever she moved, the rings on her body made noises. However, Emperor Wanli not only did not wake up because of this, but snored even louder. She lowered her head and almost cried out. After leaving the palace gate, she sat on the soft chariot with the support of the maids, and forced herself to take a deep breath to support herself to maintain a calm appearance and go back to the bedroom; but unexpectedly, the eunuchs lifted the soft chariot and did not take a few steps. As soon as she looked up, she saw Kunning Palace in the distance. A few figures of people walking around in the palace—— Queen Wang is still alive—although she is often ill, she can always get through it procrastinatingly, and she is still alive until now, and she still occupies the status of "leading the six palaces and the mother's world"! She couldn't control it anymore, two lines of hot tears rolled down, and she couldn't suppress the turbulent waves in her heart; while looking at Kunning Palace again in the tears, her emotions became more and more agitated. It was the place she wanted most - and it belonged to another woman - a woman who stood in the way of her dream - She is very familiar with the building of Kunning Palace, and she can't count how many times in her dream she saw herself enter the Kunning Palace surrounded by court ladies, holding up the queen's golden seal, and kowtowing to the sky. Since entering the palace at the age of thirteen, this dream has appeared from time to time, and it has even become the focus of her life. Now, twenty years have passed since then—— The hope of realizing the dream became increasingly slim. Not only could the Queen's golden seal be out of hand, but even Emperor Wanli's heart flew away from his hand. She couldn't help but think back to the many moments when she was favored. Emperor Wanli couldn't do without her for a day, and he just picked the moon from the sky and gave it to her—— But when she thought about it like this, she became more and more sad, and as soon as she covered her face with her hands, she burst into tears, thinking tremblingly: "That was not so long ago!" Sitting on the soft chariot, she cried and trembled all over, and the light green gauze shirt, which was originally as thin as the wings of a dragonfly, seemed to be fluttering in shock, with the panic of having nowhere to live, even more like a drifting Duckweed, encountered a headwind, hurriedly turned around with the waves—— The situation was not in her favor, and it seemed to be a foregone conclusion—two months later, a new decision announced by Emperor Wanli, although it was originally expected by her, would still be a fatal blow if it came true , made her cry like hell— Although things have been vaguely formed, but it is an accidental cause that promotes the concrete realization. On this day, Emperor Wanli was actually indulging in the beautiful illusion brought by drugs as before, and had no intention of dealing with or deciding on anything; he was like a wandering fish, with nothing in his heart. However, the eunuchs came to report to him that Chen Feng, who ordered the recall for him, had arrived in Beijing and was waiting for his call. In an instant, his leisure and ease were all disturbed, and his mood was completely broken. He felt buzzing in his ears, dizziness in front of his eyes, and a sense of irritability in his heart, so he let out a cold snort: "What else are you calling for?" After a heavy meal, he shouted: "Let the Jin Yiwei take it down, interrogate it severely, and ask the crime!" Anger appeared in his expression and voice together, his face turned blue; his breathing was also heavy, his tone was severe, and there was no room for change in what he said. Of course, no one dared to intercede for Chen Feng, and no one dared to disobey his intention—— The eunuchs said in unison: "Your servant obeys the order!" Chen Feng's fate was decided - the eunuchs kneeling on the ground got up one by one and began to execute the order to interrogate Chen Feng, and proceeded as quickly as possible. Of course, the eunuch who was good at observing words and demeanor could clearly feel the anger of Emperor Wanli, and he didn't dare to delay at all, and he didn't dare to let go of favors—soon, Chen Feng's crime was confirmed. The eunuchs quickly came to report to him: "Chen Feng personally confessed that he had embezzled tax money—" He couldn't hear the voice below. The number of confessions made by Chen Feng is a long string, but the number is not important—the important thing is that Chen Feng betrayed him; this personal confession further confirmed the fact of the betrayal , even if he wanted to avoid facing this fact, it was impossible. His ears were buzzing, his mind was confused, his mood was extremely bad, and there was only one voice in his heart: "This damn thing!" "Three collections and one solution" is a fact. Of course, Chen Feng will be sentenced to death-how much tax money has been embezzled, it must be checked out one by one, and sent to the treasury. As for Chen Feng himself, he only said one word: " twist--" Because he couldn't forgive, his voice became more and more concise and powerful, everyone felt chills down their backs, and he rushed to deliver an order to Fusi of Jinyiwei Town—— In fact, he is the real victim—— After Chen Feng was executed, his mood not only didn't get better because of venting, but even worse. It was so bad that he didn't even want to enjoy the drug. He got up and paced, walked back and forth in the house several times, then he stopped at the window, looking wistfully ahead. In fact, he didn't see anything, he just lost his mind in a daze, and said to himself over and over again: "There is no one in the world that can be trusted!" Although his mind was turning, he felt that his heart was very empty, so empty that he had nothing, so empty that it made him uncomfortable. And at this moment, his thoughts changed, and he suddenly thought of his biological mother—the Empress Dowager Cisheng. This thought came inexplicably, but it was not entirely without reason—it originated from his extreme emptiness, and drove his longing and pursuit hidden at the bottom of his life. He needed something to fill his empty heart, and he was the child who longed for mother's love the most - what he wanted most in his life was mother's love. So, he immediately ordered: "Get up! Go to the Compassion Palace!" Along the way, all kinds of childhood memories flooded back: he loved to snuggle in his mother's arms, put his cheek against her warm and soft chest, smell the sweet fragrance from her body, and listen to her slight snort. And the sound of her heartbeat, with both hands hooked around her neck, and sometimes fiddled with the long string of pearl earrings hanging from her earlobe. That was the feeling that satisfied him the most, and it was also the warmest memory, and he eagerly wanted to enjoy it again. So, he urged the eunuch who carried the chariot to speed up his pace.Until the Compassionate Palace is in sight. The Empress Dowager Cisheng had already been notified first, and she was ready to meet with a bit of surprise; when the soft chariot of Emperor Wanli arrived, first the eunuchs and court ladies knelt on the ground in a dense crowd at the door, and then got up after shouting long live Welcome him into the palace. However, Emperor Wanli's original intention was not to accept the ceremony of "accepting the driver". He went straight into the main hall in three steps and two steps to meet the Empress Dowager Cisheng. The Empress Dowager Cisheng wore a brown uniform embroidered with longevity flowers. There was nothing special about it, but the white hair on her head and the wrinkles on her face had obviously increased; With her noble status, she also surrendered to the years. Emperor Wanli didn't realize it at first - he knelt down on the ground and said respectfully: "My sons and ministers pay respects to the empress, the empress is a thousand years old!" However, after saluting, as soon as he raised his head, the description of the benevolent empress dowager entered his eyes completely. She looked very old-- The cheeks are sunken, age spots appear on the skin, the eyebrows are so thin that the eyes are not very focused, the chin and neck are loose with several layers of skin, and there is only a single pearl on the ear, no long earrings —— He couldn't help being slightly taken aback. She was old—so old that she was very different from the mother in his memory who had a warm embrace, and even, she was like a stranger in front of him, and nothing was right except for the title of "mother". "Mother—" He was so stunned that he could hardly make a sound. But the Empress Dowager Cisheng was already talking to him: "Emperor, how come you have time to come to me suddenly? What's the matter?" This question made him more and more unable to answer, and he stood dumbfounded: but at this very moment, another incident from the past came back to his mind. He thought of many years ago, when he was punished by his mother for cheating, and he knelt in front of her, trembling in his heart. At that time, his mother was in her prime, with a plump body and a heart-stopping majesty in her eyes. Just like the aging in front of him, she was not the real mother in his heart—— Thinking of the past, he became more and more stupid. He ascended the throne at the age of ten, and woke up every morning to the stern call of his mother—as the mother of the empress dowager, the first important thing every day was to wake him up and go to court on time; Obediently obey——in those few years, my mother and Zhang Juzheng were the two incarnations of one person, and they both urged him to be a holy king! His mind was in a mess, and he almost wanted to escape; but, the voice of the Merciful Empress Dowager sounded again: "Emperor—" Her calling was not harsh anymore, but it didn't bring him a sense of kindness either—she seemed to be calling a stranger, distant but full of politeness. After a slight tremor, he accepted the call, and restrained his emotions as much as possible, focused his gaze on the Empress Dowager Merciful, and repaid her a high degree of politeness, thinking of a decent sentence—his There was a smile on his face, and his voice was very respectful: "I have nothing special, I just miss my mother, so I made a special trip to visit her!" Having said that, the Empress Dowager Cisheng also had a smile on her face: "It's rare that you have such a heart!" As she spoke, she slowly got up from the seat, and the two maids who were standing behind her rushed to help her; It was a subconscious action; however, Emperor Wanli immediately rushed forward, leaned in front of her, and walked with her. The Empress Dowager Cisheng still smiled and said, "It's good that you're here! I have something to tell you—it's been a long time since we two talked together!" Emperor Wanli bent his waist slightly, and said respectfully: "Yes—my son respectfully listens to my mother's instructions!" The Empress Dowager Cisheng was satisfied, she walked slowly, and walked to the window. She wanted to look out, but an eunuch immediately came to open the window to let her view out. It's autumn, the wind that blows by is slightly cool, but the sky is unusually clear, blue like satin, without a trace of variegation, and still shining, the blue sky is a row of corridors outside the Palace of Compassion, Connected to the palace gate, the vermilion lacquer on the corridor and the potted flowers arranged along the corridor form a bright and bright light, flashing in the autumn sun. The Empress Dowager Cisheng seemed to be very kind, looking at these things with her eyes, she said in a voice: "The weather is so good today, even the flowers are reflected very beautifully!" Emperor Wanli immediately catered to her words and said, "It's such a rare good weather! My son will accompany you to enjoy the flowers in the imperial garden!" The Empress Dowager Cisheng nodded her head slightly: "That's okay—I haven't stepped out of the threshold for many days, and I just want to walk around!" Therefore, Emperor Wanli ordered the eunuchs: "Get up - go to the Royal Garden!" Of course the eunuchs responded immediately: "Observe the order!" Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager Cisheng suddenly remembered something and ordered: "Slow down!" Then, she said to Emperor Wanli: "It's rare to have such an interest--I also brought my grandson, let's go together!" After all, without waiting for Emperor Wanli's expression, he ordered: "Go and invite the eldest son of the emperor!" For a moment, Emperor Wanli was stunned. He never thought that things would change so suddenly—and after all, he didn't dare to disobey the Empress Dowager's wishes, and he didn't dare to stop the eunuchs from going to invite Chang Luo; he could only force himself to endure, Suppressing the thousand or one hundred reluctances in his heart, he silently obeyed the proposition of the Merciful Empress Dowager. It's just that the smile on his face became awkward, floating on the surface, looking extremely uncomfortable. He could only tell himself in his heart: "Just bear with it, bear with it - take a trip to the imperial garden, and you'll be fine in a while!" However, the Empress Dowager Cisheng seemed to be on the right track with him, and pressed on without letting go—she turned around, her eyes were facing him, and her eyes suddenly became bright, He didn't dare to face it directly, and he couldn't escape, so he had no choice but to carry on. The Empress Dowager Cisheng pushed her even further. She slightly raised her voice and asked him: "I remember that the Ciqing Palace was completed in August last year, and Chang Luo moved in in February this year, but why haven't I heard that it is the 'Eastern Palace'?" While avoiding her eyes, he was thinking about the words that could perfunctory her in his mind, and he answered her after a while: "Chang Luo, you haven't been registered yet——" The Empress Dowager Cisheng still did not relax and asked: "What is the reason for this? Didn't the ministers go to the university one after another many years ago? After more than ten years, it can't be justified!" Emperor Wanli didn't dare to say anything, lowered his head, and let the Empress Dowager Cisheng continue to speak one sentence after another; the Empress Dowager Cisheng sighed as if she was filled with emotion, and asked him in a slow tone: "What do you say?" Let's see, what's wrong with Chang Luo that you hate it, and you are so reluctant to make him the crown prince? After all, he is the eldest son, can you disregard etiquette? Disregard what people in the world say? How long are you going to delay? What's more, this child is honest and filial, there is nothing wrong with it!" Emperor Wanli dodged as much as possible——Finally, he thought of an excuse, so he explained to the Empress Dowager Cisheng: "He is just a palace girl, and the queen mother is not worthy of worrying about him so much. !" But how did he know that before he finished a sentence, he had already suffered a "slap" on the face; then the Empress Mercy, who waved her palm, with a livid face, trembled angrily: "You are also the daughter of a palace girl!" Bitch!" Emperor Wanli woke up immediately, and immediately knelt down with a "plop", saying in his mouth: "I know my mistake!" However, it was too late. Empress Cisheng's trembling body no longer wanted to stand in front of him—with the support of the maids, she staggered back to the bedroom, and when she turned around, she didn't even look at him . Emperor Wanli knelt on the ground, looked up at her leaving back, panicked in his heart, wanted to call her out, but opened his mouth wide but couldn't make a sound; a wave of fear surged like a wave rise. He even lost his mother—— There was another buzzing sound in his ears—the Empress Dowager Cisheng was old and frail, this slap was not severe, and there was no obvious pain on his cheek, but he actually felt the same Putting a knife into his heart—he seemed to be standing naked alone in a vast wilderness. This knife cut off his connection with the world and made him a completely lonely person. He wanted to shout loudly: "Mother! Mother——" However, the figure of the benevolent empress dowager was no longer visible. The eunuchs helped him up from the ground, but he couldn't stand upright, and almost fell down again; after finally helping him to stand still, none of the eunuchs dared to speak, and his ears were still buzzing . He finally struggled to make a sound, it was a call: "Mother--" But this sound was meaningless—like the whistling wild wind he heard on the spiritual wasteland. He wanted to cry loudly, run wildly, and beat everything he could see with all his strength: even, he wanted to cut open his chest with his own hands and dig out his heart—he wanted to bump his head against the pillar! But at this moment, Chang Luo walked in.

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