Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Unlucky Love

After experiencing countless swords, swords and power struggles, Zhu Qizhen finally ushered in a peaceful and stable life, and in this tranquility, he came to the end of his life. In the eighth year of Tianshun (1464), Zhu Qizhen was thirty-eight years old. It should be said that this is not a very old age, but at this time Zhu Qizhen was already seriously ill and dying. With all his energy, the only thing he can do now is to wait quietly, waiting for death to come. This emperor's life was not glorious. He favored villains, lost battles, was a captive, a prisoner, and killed loyal ministers. If you say that he is a good emperor, it's hard to believe.

But he is a good guy. He trusted almost everyone around him, from Wang Zhen to Xu Youzhen, to Shi Heng, and Li Xian, no matter whether these people were loyal or traitorous, no matter what kind of environment they were in, he was able to treat people kindly and calmly Zi Ruo, the Mongolian soldiers who robbed, the guards, Boyan Timur, and Ruan Lang all became his friends in the end. But the facts have proved that a good person cannot be a good emperor. In the first month of this year, Zhu Qizhen summoned his son Zhu Jianshen, who had also experienced troubles, from his sick bed, and entrusted him with the important task of the empire.

Then, the emperor who was about to die thought for a long time, and said his last wish to Zhu Jianshen. It was this last wish that added the most beautiful touch of color to his life. "Since Emperor Gao, when the emperor died, many people in the harem had to be buried. I can't bear to do this. I don't want to be buried after I die. You have to remember that this will never happen again!" "I will certainly do so." Zhu Jianshen, who was kneeling in front of the bed, solemnly made his promise. Since Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has enacted an extremely cruel regulation. Whenever the emperor dies, someone must be buried in the harem. Needless to say, Zhu Chongba and Zhu Laosi, even the honest Zhu Gaochi and the generous and benevolent Zhu Zhanji There are no exceptions. It is ironic that this inhumane system has finally been abolished by this poor emperor who is famous in history.

Zhu Yuanzhang unified the world, established an empire, and left his name in history; Zhu Di swept across the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty and crossed the desert, and his reputation has survived to this day. They are all legends that we talk about today.Their exploits will always be remembered. But behind their great achievements, there are countless bones on the battlefield, widows and young children crying at home, and unknown crying in the deep palace. It is no accident that Zhu Qizhen finally accomplished what his predecessors did not do. He is not as famous or as great as his predecessors, but Zhu Qizhen has a kind of Ability to have (or not to have) – to understand the pain of others.

Since ancient times, the emperors have seldom understood the living environment of those so-called grassroots people. As long as these people don’t rise up to rebel, other problems seem to be ignored, let alone the joys and sorrows, the ups and downs. But Zhu Qizhen did it, at least in the matter of abolishing the burial, he understood the pain of the innocent people in the harem.Eight years ago, he changed from a domineering emperor to a captive, and then to a prisoner again. From reaching out for clothes, opening his mouth when he came for food, and embracing each other for warmth, this painful experience made him deeply understand I know the sorrow of being in a difficult situation and relying on others, and I also know how difficult it is to survive as a weak person.

So at the last moment of his life, he decided to go against the ancestral system and save those innocent people. It should be admitted that this was a brave and great act. In this world, no one has the right to take the life and dignity of others without reason. Although he has done many stupid and wrong things in his life, in my opinion, he is more like a "person" than those majestic emperors. We can use one sentence to evaluate Zhu Qizhen's life: He is a good man, but not a good emperor. In the first month of the eighth year of Tianshun (1464), Zhu Qizhen, Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, ended his legendary life. He was thirty-eight years old, and the prince Zhu Jianshen succeeded to the throne, and a dynasty that made people laugh and cry kicked off.

A friend once asked me to help him solve a difficult problem: he had a good relationship with his girlfriend, but because his girlfriend was two years older than him, and his family objected, he couldn't make up his mind and wanted to ask my opinion. I thought about it and told him a story, the story of Zhu Jianshen. Generally speaking, the emperor's childhood may not be happy, but it will never be miserable. The same is true for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, of course, the first founder, Comrade Zhu Chongba, was an exception. But Mr. Zhu Jianshen’s childhood seems to be described by this word. Objectively speaking, this man did suffer a lot and suffered enough. Although he finally succeeded in succeeding to the throne and became the emperor, if you have studied him I believe you will also sincerely say:

Brother, you are really not easy! In the twelfth year of Zhengtong (1447), Zhu Jianshen was born. He is the future heir to the throne. In today's words, he was born with a golden key in his mouth, but no one would have thought that just two years later, the tragedy of his life would be will start. In the 14th year of Zhengtong (1449), his father Zhu Qizhen led the army to fight, but he became a meat bun and beat a dog - he never returned.At the most critical moment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jianshen was recommended by him, and was promoted, and was honorably appointed as the crown prince when his teeth were not yet full. He was two years old at the time.

The two-year-old Zhu Jianshen naturally didn't know that the reason why he was established as the crown prince at this time had an extremely complicated political background. At that time, Zhu Qizhen was defeated and captured, and Zhu Qiyu was about to take his brother's place. The scheming Empress Dowager Sun had already expected that this brother would not stop here. Support the exchange conditions for Zhu Qiyu's ascension to the throne. Although the Empress Dowager Sun succeeded in establishing Zhu Jianshen as the crown prince, she knew very well that the people in the deep palace were treacherous, so she couldn't guarantee that Mr. Zhu Qiyu would play tricks like cutting grass and roots, and it was impossible for her to be with her precious grandson all the time. In order to ensure safety, she made a decision: to send one of her cronies to protect Zhu Jianshen.

She would never have dreamed that it was this inadvertent decision that changed Zhu Jianshen's life. The confidant she sent was a court lady surnamed Wan. From then on, this court lady began to take care of the young boy Zhu Jianshen meticulously. That year, she was nineteen years old and he was two years old. Facts have proved that Queen Mother Sun's political feelings are very accurate. After Zhu Qiyu took the throne firmly, she had no intention of returning it at all. Not only did she pursue re-election, she also wanted her son to be re-elected.So in the third year of Jingtai (1452), he bribed the ministers, abolished Zhu Jianshen's prince status, and changed his son Zhu Jianji to be the prince.Although Queen Mother Sun was extremely unconvinced about this change, she was helpless.

These politicians fought back and forth for their own interests, but no one realized that their actions had opened the prelude to a tragedy. At this time, Zhu Jianshen, who was already five years old, naturally didn't know about the affairs of the adults. He just wandered around in the deep palace every day. Not many people are willing to approach the so-called crown prince, and they are very indifferent to him. From the age of two, loneliness and loneliness have been haunting this young child. For him, childhood is gray and dark.And in this gloomy life, the only person who can bring him comfort is that Aunt Wan. No matter how indifferent the people around him are to him, no matter how people reject him and don't play with him, this Aunt Wan always accompanies him, comforts him, and takes care of his life, although his mother Zhou Guifei often Come to visit him, but Zhu Qiyu's eyes and ears are everywhere in the palace. In order not to cause trouble, they always come and go in a hurry every time. In his young heart, this person who is by his side day and night is his reliable support. In this way, Zhu Jianshen and his Aunt Wan depended on each other for life, living a cold and peaceful life, but one day, this life was broken, and a group of people suddenly broke into Zhu Jianshen's palace and said to him aggressively, you You can no longer use the title of prince. From now on, you will be called King Yi. Then these people told him that King Yi has no right to continue living here, and you have to get out of the palace immediately, because your cousin Zhu Jianji will move in soon and become the owner of this place, the new prince. The next thing to deal with is the dismissal of the former prince and the eunuchs and maids around King Yi. In terms of use value, the waste prince is not as good as waste tires.This is because waste tires can still be recycled, and according to historical experience, waste princes are often discarded to the end and permanently scrapped. People have known this truth for a long time, so the scene that often occurs at such moments is that the tree falls and the monkeys scatter, and the people around them pack their bags one after another, leave Zhu Jianshen, and look for another bright future. Faced with this sudden change, the court lady surnamed Wan behaved differently from ordinary people. She didn't speak, but silently watched those who left, and silently prepared the outfit for Zhu Jianshen to leave the palace. Five-year-old Zhu Jianshen didn't know exactly what happened. He only knew that he would move out of here soon, and those familiar faces would soon leave him. There were no answers in his mind, only doubts and worries. "Are you going too?" "No, I will always be by your side with you." This sentence, she finally did it. In the third year of Jingtai, Zhu Jianshen was deposed as King Yi and moved out of the palace. This year, she was twenty-two years old and he was five years old. Zhu Jianshen’s life as King Yi began. Facts have proved that this was the darkest period in his life. Although his father had returned from Mongolia with honor, he was immediately entrusted with the heavy responsibility of a prisoner and imprisoned in Nangong to work hard. He was too busy to meet him, and because he had already moved out of the palace, his mother Zhou Guifei couldn't come out of the palace to see him either.In addition, Zhu Qiyu's subordinates were all around him, watching his actions all the time. If someone caught him, he might go one step further from being a deposed prince to becoming a deposed prince who died young. Five-year-old Zhu Jianshen, without the care and love of his parents, without the patient guidance of his teachers, is in an unpredictable place, living a life that does not know what will happen tomorrow. He may be pulled out at any time and cut off his head, or after a certain meal Sudden food poisoning, sudden illness and died.For him, every day may be the end of life, every day is a painful struggle, and this life lasted for five full years. In this desperate environment, only she was always by his side, taking care of him and comforting him. No matter what difficulties he encountered, she never wavered. For Zhu Jianshen, this person has become his mother, his friend, his reliance, and an inseparable part of him.During those dark days, this man supported him and stayed with him through the most difficult moments. Five years later (1457), Zhu Jianshen's father won the throne again. His hard life finally came to an end. Feng Shui took turns, and he moved back to the palace again and resumed his status as a prince.Naturally, she was still by his side. This year, she was twenty-seven years old and he was ten years old. During his days as the prince of the East Palace, the increasingly mature Zhu Jianshen gradually developed subtle feelings for this woman who was seventeen years older than him. I believe that during this period of time, a special change took place in their relationship. His father Zhu Qizhen and mother Zhou Guifei were aware of these situations, but they did not stop them. Instead, they selected three women for Zhu Jianshen as candidates for the queen, and waited for him to choose the canonization after he ascended the throne.Because they believed that this court lady surnamed Wan would never become a queen, and when Zhu Jianshen grew up and became sensible, she would naturally leave her. In the eighth year of Tianshun (1464), Zhu Qizhen died of illness, and Zhu Jianshen succeeded to the throne. From then on, this Wangong lady officially became the emperor's concubine. This year, she was thirty-five years old and he was eighteen. Although the court politics of the Ming Dynasty was very complicated, with princes, nobles, civil servants and military generals all appearing on stage, rolling up their sleeves, fighting with each other, but in my opinion, when it comes to the level of struggle, the beauties in the harem are also at the same level. Very tall, with Gu Pan's smile, every gesture of his hand is enough to kill a person, it can be said that a woman does not give up to a man. Regarding this question, my dear Comrade Hua Mulan taught us a long time ago: Who says women are inferior to men! The crown prince Zhu Jianshen became the emperor, and the maid of honor became the concubine Wan. It can be regarded as a consummation of merit and virtue. At this time, the concubine Wan has gone through the turmoil and is almost in her forties. Most of the pets, many people do not understand. The emergence of this situation is not just a matter of understanding for the young women in the harem. They are very angry and unconvinced: How can such a woman be favored? Among those unconvinced women, the highest rank is Empress Wu. If you want to talk about this Ms. Wu, she has a lot of background and background. When I was running for the queen, the judges (Zhu Qizhen) first decided on a Ms. Wang, but this Ms. Wu relied on her background as an official. , and he had a lot of contacts, so he even found someone to handle the judges, engaged in a secret operation, squeezed Ms. Wang out, and finally became the queen. You know, Zhu Qizhen personally decides the candidate for the queen, so what magical power does this Miss Wu have that can change Zhu Qizhen's decision? This is because she knows a very powerful person——Niu Yu. We don't need to introduce too much about this person, just two points are enough: 1. He is Zhu Qizhen's trusted eunuch; 2. Before Zhu Qizhen died, he summoned two people, one is Zhu Jianshen, and the other is him . With such a person taking care of her, Miss Wu's becoming a queen is naturally a no-brainer, and there is really no need to make any unspoken rules. With such a background and relationship network, the young and beautiful Ms. Wu naturally did not pay attention to the thirty-five-year-old Aunt Wan. She absolutely couldn't bear being left out by Zhu Jianshen, so she thought of a way to punish Aunt Wan. But unfortunately, it turns out that this is not a good way. Maybe she was too young after all, Miss Wu didn't think about the consequences at all, she went straight to find Aunt Wan, pulled her back and beat her up. This method can be described in four words: simple and rude.Of course, she still has a theoretical basis for this board. After all, she is the queen, so she called it - to rectify the discipline of the harem.Auntie Wan almost lost her life with this beating, and it also gave a sigh of relief to many concubines in the harem. At this time, Ms. Wu can be described as majestic and powerful. It is said that the most violent wind is a 12-level storm, and the behavior of Miss Wu is really a storm, but the facts prove that in history, the most violent wind is not a storm, but a pillow wind. Concubine Wan was beaten and complained to Zhu Jianshen when she went back. In this battle, Empress Wu relied on her family background and status, while Concubine Wan relied on her favor, so what was the result? Naturally, Concubine Wan won. (The emperor still has the final say) After Zhu Jianshen heard that Concubine Wan was beaten, he was very angry and dealt with it immediately. He abolished Miss Wu's status as queen, and she had only been queen for a month at this time.In addition, Ms. Wu's father was also dismissed from office and sent to the army, and Niu Yu, an old friend of the Wu family, was also implicated. What is even more unbelievable is that Sun Tong, who had stepped forward to quell the rebellion, was also dismissed because it was said that he was related to Niu Yu. It is unheard of for a queen to be abolished after only one month in office, and so many irrelevant people are involved in this matter, and the influence is too bad. Cabinet members Li Xian and Peng Shi spoke to Zhu Jianshen, hoping that the emperor can Think twice, take it back. Zhu Jianshen just smiled, did not answer or explain, but just loved Concubine Wan as always. One year later (1466, the second year of Chenghua), Concubine Wan ushered in a turning point in her life. In the first month of this year, she gave birth to a son for Zhu Jianshen. Zongshe worships heaven, thanks to ancestors for blessing. If there is no accident, this son of Concubine Wan Gui will definitely become the successor of the empire in the future, but unfortunately, this scene did not happen in the end. In the second year, the prince fell ill and died young. Concubine Wan Gui was already thirty-eight years old, and it was almost impossible for her to have any more children. This incident hit Zhu Jianshen seriously, but it did not affect Zhu Jianshen's love for Concubine Wan Gui. At this time, Zhu Jianshen was only 21 years old, and it was the time when he was young and romantic, but he was uncharacteristically guarding this older woman day and night. It seems that I will never get tired of being by my side. Zhu Jianshen is not in a hurry, but the ministers below are in a hurry. Cabinet member Peng Shi is probably in charge of the work of the Women's Federation. Seeing that Zhu Jianshen favors Concubine Wan Gui so much, and this middle-aged woman is obviously past childbearing age, she is worried that the emperor will have no heirs. So they gave full play to the work spirit of the neighborhood committee that the civil official group took the world as its own responsibility and took care of both big and small matters, and wrote a very special memorial to the emperor. This memorial can be regarded as a strange article, so I won’t write the specific content, but the general meaning is: Your Majesty the Emperor, you have many concubines in your harem, but you have no sons yet. I think this must be due to His Majesty's doting on one person too much, so I hope His Majesty can distribute his favor to other concubines. This is a major national plan. . I really don’t know if I don’t see it, I was shocked when I saw it, this Mr. Peng Shi actually interfered in the emperor’s private life, and openly wrote a letter to persuade the emperor to find other wives to connect with each other (in classical Chinese, “rain and dew are all dipped”). Such a document has long jumped up and scolded: "I sleep with my wife, do you want to take care of me?" But this Mr. Zhu Jianshen's reaction was even more unexpected. He was not angry at all, but said lightly: "This is my private matter, you let me decide for myself." Then he remained the same. The doubts of the ministers have reached the extreme, they don't understand, this Concubine Wan Gui is not outstanding in appearance, and she is too old, why can His Majesty ignore so many young and beautiful women and favor her alone? Zhu Jianshen understood the doubts of the ministers, but he didn't want to explain anything, because he knew that these people would not understand. In those lonely and helpless years, she was the only one who guarded me and accompanied me through countless wind and rain, always the same, never leaving. Yes, you will never understand. In this world, you don't need a reason to love someone, never have. For Zhu Jianshen, Concubine Wan Gui is his wife, the kindest and most trustworthy person in the world, but unfortunately he doesn't know that Concubine Wan Gui has another hidden face. You must know that although Zhu Jianshen is a very dedicated person, he is the emperor after all, and he absolutely cannot only trust Concubine Wan Gui, and he will often find other concubines or palace maids in the harem. The two parties seem to be living in peace, but Zhu Jianshen seems to have ignored an important doubt all the time: why has he not had any children after so long? Zhu Jianshen never imagined that this happened because all the concubines or court ladies who were pregnant with his children were forced to abort!And it was the concubine Wan Gui who was loved by thousands of people who did this immoral thing. But no one has ever told Zhu Jianshen these things, the reason is simple, they dare not. If things go on like this, maybe the next emperor, Mr. Zhu Youtang, will have to find another place to reincarnate.But at this moment, Concubine Wan Gui's real enemy appeared, and it was this person who completely broke Concubine Wan Gui's wishful thinking. It's funny to say that Concubine Wan Gui's opponent was not chosen, but beaten. In the early years of Chenghua (1465), Dateng Gorge, Guangxi. Han Yongzheng, the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the commander of the expeditionary force, stood at the entrance of the canyon, looking up at the cliffs above. In order to put down the rebellion of the native officials from Guangdong and Guangxi, he led his troops to march thousands of miles to get here, but found that the mountain was treacherous and the direction was difficult. Xun, years of experience in leading troops told him that this is the best place to ambush. When he was worried about not being able to find a safe way out of the mountain, his subordinates excitedly reported to him that they found a dozen local Confucian scholars and village chiefs ahead, who were familiar with the surrounding terrain and were willing to lead the way for the army. Han Yong said: Take me to see. He walked slowly in front of the locals, and instead of going forward to shake hands with them warmly, thanking them for their upcoming contribution to the motherland, he burst out laughing unexpectedly: "You guys dare to assassinate me! Arrest them all!" The head of the Confucian scholars turned pale with shock, but the people on the left and right were all baffled. The soldiers immediately went forward to search their bodies, and sure enough, they found sharp weapons for assassination on them. The subordinates were very surprised: How do you know that these people were sent by the rebels? Han Yong smiled and said: "Don't you understand? This place is in the wilderness, the roads are difficult to walk, ghosts come to hang out, and there are rebels around, how can there be Confucian scholars moving around? Who else can it be if it's not a spies and assassins? " When this incident spread to the rebels, the uneducated local officials were very surprised, thinking that Han Yong had supernatural powers, and he was shocked as a god, and his morale was severely hit. The army was vulnerable and was completely wiped out. The successful Han Yong stood on the top of the mountain, looking down at the big vine in the mountain. The so-called Big Teng Gorge got its name from this vine, which has always been regarded as a sacred object by native officials and worshiped. Han Yong smiled and asked the captured native official: "What is the use of this vine?" The native official was very dissatisfied with his teasing attitude, and replied with a serious face: "This vine straddles the cliff. It disappears during the day and appears at night. It is a godsend here." A smirk flashed across Han Yong's face, and he said to the soldiers beside him, "Bring the axe!" Before the local officials could react, Han Yong suddenly raised his big axe and slashed at the vine with all his strength, so the fetish was cut in two with the ax and became a waste. At this moment, the local officials exploded, and all of them looked at Han Yong dumbfounded and panicked, but Han Yong just smiled relaxedly: "Everyone, don't get excited. It's okay if the vine is broken. Just change the name. I make up my mind. From now on, this place will be called Duan Teng Gorge." This is the famous Chenghua Liangguang Rebellion and the Battle of Duanteng Gorge in the history of the Ming Dynasty. This event can be regarded as a major event, but if compared with the follow-up events caused by this event, it can only be regarded as insignificant. up. It is unbelievable to say that the subsequent thrilling scenes were actually caused by such a small incident: After suppressing the rebellion, Han Yong was preparing to return to the court with his troops. At this time, one of his subordinates asked him for instructions: "We captured a lot of local people, how to deal with it?" Han Yong casually replied: "It's not easy, just hand it over to the local government and let it go back to the village for strict control." Having said that, he suddenly remembered something, and added: "Go pick some young ones, both men and women, and I want to take them back to Beijing." It is necessary to explain here that Han Yong's behavior is considered an old habit. Whenever prisoners were captured in border wars in the Ming Dynasty, some men and women would be selected to the capital, and sent to the palace or palace for different purposes. Generally speaking, women will be arranged to be maids of honor, while men will be more miserable. Their new occupations are more unified-eunuchs.This is how the great Comrade Zheng He entered the court. Han Yong never dreamed that his actions would have a profound impact on the Ming Empire and lead to two completely different results - eight years of heart-pounding chaos and eighteen years of prosperity. Because among the group of people who entered the palace, there was a man and a woman, the man's name was Wang Zhi, and the woman's surname was Ji, whose name was unknown. It's not time for the man to appear on the stage, so let him wait first, and the girl surnamed Ji will become the most terrifying enemy of the magnificent Concubine Wan Gui. Miss Wu's fate made everyone know a common sense: this humble middle-aged woman surnamed Wan is the emperor's favorite person, if you want to offend her, you can only die. Ms. Wang, who took over the Queen's position, was also frightened. She often visited the house and took the initiative to say hello. She was afraid that the uncrowned queen would have a whim and punish her when she had nothing to do. It would be very bad.It's no wonder that Empress Wu is beautiful, powerful, and famous, and she is aggressive, but Concubine Wan Gui ended her tenure as empress with only a small report, killing people invisible, which is really serious. At this time, Concubine Wan Gui seemed to have become the real ruler of the harem. She shouted and yelled, and the guide scolded the north. Whenever a concubine or concubine in the harem became pregnant, she immediately ordered her subordinates to force an abortion. Not allowing others to live is really cutting off children and grandchildren and dominating the rivers and lakes. At this time, Miss Ji from Guangxi entered the deep palace. At this time, she left her home and was alone, watching the strange things around her timidly. No one (including herself) would have thought that not long after, this The shy and timid little girl will shake Concubine Wan Gui's seemingly stable power and status. Miss Ji was assigned to enter the palace and became an ordinary court lady, but unexpectedly, this court lady was loved by almost everyone in the palace as soon as she entered the palace, because people soon discovered that she was a very easy-to-get-together She was originally the daughter of a native official in Guangxi, pampered and able to read and write, but she never complained because a lady from an official family became a court lady, even if they bullied her and gave her a lot of dirty work, She didn't care, and just finished it silently by herself. Although she has no power, no background, and even no extraordinary appearance, she has the most powerful weapon of a woman - kindness. She treats everyone with sincerity, never cares about anything, and just completes the work assigned to herself wholeheartedly. Because of her outstanding performance, her superiors assigned her an important position - warehouse manager. Generally speaking, managing a warehouse is really not a respectable job, but Miss Ji is very honorable as a warehouse clerk, because the warehouse she manages is quite special-the money bank. More importantly, the money bank she manages is not the national treasury, but the internal treasury. It is necessary to explain here that what is stored in the national treasury is the state's money, which is managed by the Ministry of Households, and the so-called internal treasury stores money. The most important thing is the emperor's private money, which is in his own hands and does not need to be handed over to the wives in the harem (it is not easy).This also laid the groundwork for everything that happened later. One day in the fifth year of Chenghua (1469), Miss Ji carefully counted the warehouse as usual, and walked in alone. This man was Comrade Zhu Jianshen. I wondered if he was idle and wanted to go to his own money bank to count money for fun, so he went all the way into the warehouse and met Miss Ji, the warehouse manager. This is the first encounter between them. Zhu Jianshen didn't care about the little girl in charge of the warehouse at first. All he cared about was the money in the warehouse. After looking around, he began to ask about the warehouse's income and expenditure. But after asking, Zhu Jianshen suddenly discovered a very interesting thing. There are many women in the harem, and many of them rarely see the emperor for several years, so whenever they actually meet, they are often "excited, trembling hands, unable to say a word".Zhu Jianshen was already used to this scene, but this time, the usual scene didn't happen. The little girl in front of her is very special. Although she met her for the first time, she responded fluently, and her expression was natural, neither humble nor overbearing. Her answers to questions were clear, orderly, and not nervous. Object, the emperor who ruled the world. The strife and intrigue in the harem seemed to have nothing to do with her. After answering Zhu Jianshen's question, she stood back and stood still without saying a single unnecessary word or asking a single unnecessary question.In her eyes, managing the warehouse is her only job.She doesn't want to get anything, and she doesn't want to fight for anything. Zhu Jianshen was deeply moved. This little girl who looked after the warehouse had no pretentious demeanor, nor did she have any clever temptations. She only had a plain easy-going and friendliness like a breeze, but it was enough. He fell in love with this little girl. Of course, since he was the emperor, he didn't need to go through complicated processes such as getting to know each other better, exchanging greetings, meeting both parents, etc., and he was "fortunately" directly. Things after that were unexpectedly uneventful, and it was not surprising that Miss Ji, the warehouse manager, did not flourish as described in many harem novels, because with her character, she would not take the initiative to ask Zhu Jianshen for anything. Since then, she still manages her warehouse as usual, and has never talked about this matter to anyone. To her, it seems that this matter has never happened. But the gods chose to give her an extraordinary fate, and not long after, she found out that she was pregnant. According to common sense, in ancient times, if a woman was pregnant with the emperor's child, it would be a great event. The local government would go to the woman's home to beat gongs and drums, set off firecrackers, and discuss future cooperation matters. With snot and tears burning incense to the ancestors, those Feng Shui masters will also go to the ancestral graves of this family to do theoretical research. In a word, two words - scenery. However, the environment that Miss Ji faced at that time should be described in two other words-dangerous. Because the harem at that time was under the jurisdiction of Concubine Wan Gui, and the most intolerable sound for Concubine Wan Gui was the crying of a baby. For her, this was tantamount to the roar of a death knell.For her status, she must get rid of all new life that might threaten her - including those that are about to be born. Due to her mother's nature, Miss Ji wanted to keep her soon-to-be-born child very much, so she concealed it in many ways, but unfortunately, Concubine Wan Gui finally found out about her pregnancy, so the ruler of the harem decided to send her side A trusted lady-in-waiting took care of the matter - aborting the soon-to-be-born child. The person who took her child is coming, but Miss Ji has no countermeasures. She is in the harem with nowhere to escape, let alone seek justice. She knows very well that the children of many concubines were disposed of in this way before. And what can she do as a little warehouse keeper? There is no way to go to heaven, and no way to escape to earth. Concubine Wan Gui's confidant finally came. She walked into Miss Ji's shabby residence, looked at her swollen stomach and panicked eyes expressionlessly, turned and left without saying a word. Then she returned to Concubine Wan Gui's bedroom and replied her answer: "She was physically ill, but she was not pregnant." "Are you sure?" "I am sure." It is not surprising that I have not been able to find the name of this court lady in the history books, because in the eyes of later historians, she is just an insignificant person, but in my opinion, in the history of princes and generals, she also has her own. The title of a man of conscience. Concubine Wan Gui was concealed from the past, and the child in Miss Ji's womb was finally saved, and the harem returned to its former calm, but under this calm appearance, things had just begun. In the sixth year of Chenghua (1470), in July, Jimao. Accompanied by a loud cry, Miss Ji, who experienced painful childbirth, finally gave birth to a boy. Like all mothers, she looked at her child with joy, looked at this newly born life, and hugged him tightly. into the bosom.She has no parents, no brothers and sisters, because even if they did not die in the war, they are destined never to see each other again. Now she finally has the only relative in this world——son. This is a happy moment, her lonely life finally has sustenance and hope. But her happiness didn't last long, because this cry also alarmed another person in the harem, a woman full of loss and hatred. After all, she found out about the birth of this child, and the flames of jealousy burned in her heart. Why did she have a child and I didn't? !I am the ruler of the harem, the most favored woman of the emperor, no one can take all this away from me! She gave the order: "Drown that child!" The person who accepted the order was called Zhang Min. He was just an ordinary eunuch, but I hope everyone can remember this name. He was ordered to come to Miss Ji's residence, opened the door, and saw Miss Ji and the baby nursing in her arms. This time, Miss Ji didn't panic anymore. After so many ups and downs, she knew exactly what was about to happen. She said calmly: "Do what you have to do." Zhang Min stood at the door, watching the mother and child quietly, without moving. After a long time, he walked in and carefully took the child from Miss Ji's hand. "The child is not safe here, so leave it to me, and you can come see him later." He didn't look at Miss Ji's shocked expression any more, and walked out with the child in his arms. Zhang Min took the child away, found a vacant house in the palace, and settled the child. He also discussed with other eunuchs in the palace to squeeze out some money from their meager income to buy milk cakes.裹着蜜糖喂养这个没奶吃的孩子。在没人注意的时候，纪姑娘也会经常来看望她的孩子。 从此，这个孩子就成为了后宫中宫女太监们那枯燥生活的最大乐趣。他们都很喜欢这个孩子，原因很简单，作为这座冷酷的后宫中的普通一员，他们永远也不可能有自己的孩子。 可是随着这个孩子一天天长大，张敏等人逐渐发现了一个新的问题：他们养不活这个孩子。 张敏是一个普通的宦官，并非司礼监，而他的同事和那些知情的宫女们都只是这座金碧辉煌的后宫中的最底层，没有额外的收入，除了自己花销外，每月根本剩不下什么钱，虽然这个孩子不用上托儿所，也不用交什么择所费，更不用上那些各种各样的辅导班，但即使如此，他们还是无法承担养育他的费用。 对于这个问题，纪姑娘也没有更多的办法，她只是一个小小的仓库管理员，也没有额外收入，养不起自己的孩子。 大家都养不起，难道要拿去送给万贵妃？正当他们一筹莫展的时候，另一个人说话了。 “那就交给我来养吧。” 讲这句话的正是前任皇后吴小姐。 虽然是前任皇后，但毕竟瘦死的骆驼比马大，吴小姐家有钱有势，养一个孩子自然不在话下，当然了，她的动机估计没有那么单纯，打倒万阿姨仍然是她的最终目的，无论如何，这个孩子能够活下来了。 这之后的五年，纪姑娘的这个孩子一直在宫中生活，虽然他不能出去玩，但在她母亲、吴阿姨、张叔叔以及无数叫不出名字的内监宫女的照料下，他一直幸福地成长着——至少比他的父亲幸福。 日子一天天地过去，孩子一天天地长大，而这些生活在后宫最底层的人们却没有发现，他们已经创造了一个奇迹。 从成化六年到成化十一年（1475），整整五年时间，紧密森严的后宫中多了一个孩子，这一点，几乎所有的宦官、宫女、妃嫔们都知道，但他们却无一例外地保持了沉默，守住了这个秘密。 只有一个人不知道——万贵妃。 这不是一个故事，而是真实的史实，是发生在以争宠夺名、勾心斗角闻名于世的后宫中的史实。在这里，人们放弃了私欲和阴谋，保守了这个秘密，证明了善良的力量。 读史多年，唯一的发现是：几千年来我们似乎在重复着同一种游戏——权力与利益的游戏，整日都是永远也上演不完的权力斗争、阴谋诡计，令人厌倦到了极点。但这件事似乎是个例外，它真正地打动了我。 我们这个古老国度有着漫长的历史，长得似乎看不到尽头，但我却始终保持着对这些故纸堆的热情。 因为我始终相信，在那些充斥着流血、屠杀、成王败寇、尔虞我诈的文字后面，人性的光辉与伟大将永远存在。 这个吃百家饭长大的孩子就这样在后宫中快乐地生活着，对他而言，有母亲的陪伴，还有那么多叔叔阿姨宠爱着他，每一天的生活都是幸福的，但纪姑娘明白，这种日子是不会长久的，她和她的孩子最终还是要面对命运的最后裁决。 这一天终于来临了。 成化十一年，五月，丁卯。 朱见深坐在镜子面前，一个宦官正站在他的身后为他梳头，端详着镜中自己那憔悴的容貌，他深深地叹了一口气，虽然他还不到三十岁，却已未老先衰，这倒也罢了，他真正担心的是另外一件事。 “我还没有儿子啊！” 当朱见深为自己的不育问题而烦恼时，站在他身后的那个人也正在痛苦中思索着自己的抉择——说，还是不说？ 这个梳头的宦官正是张敏。 五年前的那个夏天，他奉命去除掉一个孩子，面对着那对孤苦的母子，他最终违背了冷酷的命令，选择了自己的良知。五年之中，他和这个孩子朝夕相处，看着他一天天地长大，度过了很多快乐的日子，可他很清楚，这件事情总会有一个了结。这个孩子必须获得他父亲的承认，才能活下去，并成为这个帝国的继承者。 现在时机到了。 但他也很明白，自己不过是一个普普通通的宦官，无权无势，如果说出真相，以万贵妃的权势，他将必死无疑。 真相大白之日，即是死期来临之时。 这是张敏一生中最为痛苦的时刻，要让这个孩子活下去，他就必须舍弃自己的生命。 Other than that, there is no other choice. 一生低声下气、地位卑微、终日带着讨好笑容的张敏终于做出了他人生最后的抉择——一个伟大的抉择。 “陛下，您已经有儿子了。” 朱见深惊诧地回过头，第一次认真地打量着这个为他梳头的宦官。 "What did you say?" “陛下，您已经有儿子了。” 朱见深一动不动地盯着跪在地上的张敏，确定他并非精神错乱之后，方才半信半疑地问道： “在哪里？” 但这一次，张敏没有立刻回答他的问题，而是选择了沉默。 朱见深疑心顿起，厉声追问道： “为什么不答话？！” 跪在地上、半辈子卑躬屈膝的张敏抬起了头，无畏地看着朱见深，提出了一个条件： “我自知说出此事必死无疑，但只要皇上能为皇子做主，死亦无憾。” 就这样吧，我相信我做出了正确的决定。 朱见深被眼前的这个小人物震慑住了，他知道，一个有胆量说出这句话的人是不会说谎的。 “我答应你，告诉我在哪里吧。” 然后他得知自己有一个已经五岁多的儿子，正在后宫的安乐堂内玩耍。 此时的朱见深什么也顾不上了，他喜形于色地奔向了后宫，并立刻派人去安乐堂接他的儿子——大明皇位未来的继承者。 此时的后宫已经乱成一团，大家都已知道皇帝派人来接孩子的消息，宦官宫女们都十分高兴，而妃嫔们也纷纷来到纪姑娘的住处，向她道贺。 这也是一件十分自然的事情，自古以来母以子贵，纪姑娘保住了孩子，很快就能成为纪贵妃甚至纪皇后，甚至有可能取代万贵妃成为后宫的统治者。 纪姑娘微笑着送走了前来祝贺的人们，然后她关上了房门，向她的儿子做了最后的道别。 她在战争中永别了自己的亲人，被俘获进宫，在孤苦中延续着自己的生命，直到这个孩子的出现。六年的含辛茹苦，九死一生，她和自己的孩子最终熬到了出头的这一天。 但此刻的纪姑娘并没有丝毫的喜悦，因为她十分清楚，虽然皇位正向她的儿子招手，但死亡却离她自己越来越近。 万贵妃会毫不犹豫地杀死所有与她为敌的人，在这座皇宫中，没有任何人可以保护她的安全，即使她是皇子的母亲。而孩子的父亲，软弱的朱见深对此也无能为力。 她看着自己的孩子，这个她在世上唯一的亲人，最后一次亲手为他穿上了衣服，最后一次紧紧地将他拥入怀中，哭泣着向他告别： “孩子，你走后，我也活不了多久了，你去到那里，看见一个穿着黄色衣服，有胡子的人，那就是你的父亲啊，今后一切千万小心，母亲再也不能陪伴你了。” 年幼的皇子并不知道发生了什么事情，为什么周围的人今天表现得如此奇怪，为什么母亲会痛哭失声。他只知道，自己就要离开这里，到另外一个地方去，去找一个有胡子的人。 离开了哭泣的母亲，这个孩子在他出生五年后第一次走出了自己居住的地方，离开了母亲，坐上了迎接他的小轿，踏上了未知的道路。 很快，他到达了这次旅行的终点，他的父亲正在那里等待着他。 由于深居简出，这位皇子快到六岁了还未理发，头发一直垂到了地上，他就这样跌跌撞撞地向那个穿着黄色衣服、坐在椅子上正凝视着他的人走去。 朱见深看着这个向自己走来的孩子，激动的心情再也无法抑制，他立刻迎上前去，抱住了这个孩子，放在自己的膝上，仔细地端详着他。 很快，他哭了，他一边流着眼泪，一边紧紧地抱着孩子大声说道： “这是我的儿子，这是我的儿子啊，他像我！” 不用亲子鉴定，不用指认，不用证据，这就是我的儿子，毫无疑问。 他牵着这个孩子回到了自己的寝宫，并告知母亲周太后和所有的大臣们，自己有儿子了。 所有的人都欢呼雀跃，周太后更是兴奋异常，抱着她这个来之不易的孙子丝毫不肯撒手，大家都在为大明帝国后继有人而高兴，只有一个人例外。 后宫中的那个女人已经愤怒得几乎丧失了理智，派去堕胎的人敷衍了她，派去谋杀的人隐瞒了她，所有的人都知道这个孩子的存在，却没有一个人告诉她。 “你们都欺骗了我！” 复仇的欲望在她心中猛烈地膨胀。 让那个孩子和她的母亲消失，让一切都回到事情的起点，敢于欺瞒我的人，一个也不能放过！ 那个在宫中躲藏了多年的孩子终于可以正大光明地生活下去了，他有了自己的寝宫，自己的宫女宦官，自己的从属，也有了自己的名字——朱祐樘。 纪姑娘也变成了纪妃，正式成为了朱见深的合法妻子，这个广西来的小姑娘似乎已经迎来了人生的转折。但事实证明，她对自己命运的判断十分准确。 朱祐樘进宫一个月后（成化十一年六月），纪妃死于后宫住所，死因不详。 关于她的死亡方式，最终并没有一个定论，有的说她是被逼自尽，有的说是突发重病身亡。但她的死因却似乎并没有引起什么争论，后世那些特别热衷于挖人隐私的历史学家们，出人意料地对这件事情也没有产生太大的兴趣。 因为所有的人都知道凶手的名字以及行凶的动机。 这位从广西来的小姑娘就此结束了她的一生，直到现在，我们仍然不知道她的名字，她的家庭成员，甚至于她的准确年龄。因为她不善言谈，入宫之后大多数时间，她只是静静地干着自己的工作，接受着别人交给她的任务，从未向人谈起她的故乡和亲人。 十二年后，她的儿子、已经成为皇帝的朱祐樘曾发动无数人去寻问他母亲的家世和亲人，广西各级官员自发动员起来，从布政使到县令，甚至包括当年曾经出征广西的韩雍手下的将领们，纷纷赤膊上阵，改行当了户口缉查员。他们挖地三尺，历时近十年，把广西全境翻了个底朝天，闹得四处鸡犬不宁，最终却只找到几个想借机发财的骗子。无奈之下，朱祐樘唯有在当地树立祠堂，册立封号，以缅怀对这位伟大母亲的哀思。 在历史上，她最终也只是一个昙花一现、连名字也未能够留下的女子。 但我仍然记下了她的名字——一个尽力保护自己孩子的母亲，一个善良的女人。 听到纪妃去世的消息，宦官张敏苦笑着叹了一口气： “这一天迟早是会来的。” 几天之后，他在后宫中吞金自尽。 当一个人不得不走向死亡时，自杀代表着尊严和抗争。 就在给朱见深梳头的那一天，张敏对天许下了一个承诺，用他的死亡去换取这个孩子的生存。上天在这个问题上表现得很公平，他履行了义务，给了这个孩子快乐的生活，也行使了权利，把张敏送上了不归之路。 我查了一下史料才发现，从仕途上讲，这位叫张敏的宦官混得实在很失败，从头到尾，他只是一个门监，在今天这一职务又被称为“门卫”或是“看大门的”。 可就是这个普通得不能再普通的看大门的宦官，却做出了无数名臣名相也未必能够做到的事情。面对死亡的威胁，他选择了良知。 舍弃生命，坚持信念，去履行自己的承诺。这种行为，我们称为舍生取义。 张敏，是一个舍生取义的人。 纪妃和张敏都死了，短短一个月间，朱祐樘就失去了他最为亲近的两个人，此时的他还不懂得什么是哀伤，只是偶尔会奇怪为什么母亲再也不来看他。 而与此同时，死亡的阴影也正悄悄地笼罩着这个孩子，对于后宫的万贵妃来说，这个孩子是个极为危险的人物，他会夺走朱见深的宠爱。于是另一场谋杀的阴谋即将实施。 可能有人会奇怪，如此恶行，难道没有人管吗？ 要知道，万阿姨虽然年纪大了，却并不是傻瓜，她之所以敢如此肆无忌惮地除掉每一个她厌恶的人，其中自有原因。 她看着朱见深长大，十分了解这位皇帝，如果用两个字来概括朱见深的性格，那就是懦弱。公正地讲，朱见深并不糊涂，智商也不低，算是一个正常孩子，可童年的阴影使他的性格十分软弱，并且有极强的恋母情结（关于这个问题，可以参照四百年后弗洛伊德先生的理论），因而极度依赖万贵妃。 这样的一个家伙，有啥好怕？ 眼看朱祐樘就要英年早逝，另一个女人站出来挽救了一切。万贵妃虽然统领后宫，但这个女人，她无论如何也是惹不起的。 此人就是朱见深的母亲周太后，按照辈分，万贵妃还要叫她一声娘亲。要说这位周太后，那可是见过大世面的，想当年，正统土木之变，景泰金刀疑案，刀光剑影，你来我往，周太后都挺住了，万贵妃搞的这点名堂，只能算是和风细雨的小场面。 “把孩子交给我，看谁敢动他一指头！” 一声令下，朱祐樘住进了太后的仁寿宫，这下万贵妃彻底没戏了。 可是历史告诉我们，阶级敌人是不会甘心失败的，不久之后，朱祐樘就接到了万贵妃的热情邀请，希望皇太子（此时已册立）殿下大驾光临。 朱祐樘也没想太多，松一松腰带就准备上路，此时周太后却站了出来，郑重其事地告诉他： “去到那里，什么也不能吃！千万记住了！” “要是一定让我吃呢？” “就说你吃饱了！” 到了地方，万贵妃果然拿出了很多好吃的东西，和颜悦色地对朱祐樘说： “吃点吧。” 朱祐樘收住了口水，说出了违心的答案： "I am full." 按说事情到这里就算结束了，可是朱祐樘小朋友，世事难料啊。 “那就喝点汤吧。” 完了，这句没教过啊！ 他低下头开始思考标准答案，一旁的万贵妃却仍在不停地催促着，要说这孩子心眼还真是实在，憋半天憋得脸通红，终于蹦出了一句惊世骇俗的话： “我怕有毒！” 万贵妃目瞪口呆，看着一脸无辜的朱祐樘，几乎当场晕倒在地：你小子也太直接了吧。 阴谋被搞成了阳谋，这下彻底没戏唱了，那汤里到底有没有毒也不重要了，太子殿下过了一回眼瘾，就此打道回府。 万贵妃晕倒前最后留言： “这小子现在就敢这么干，将来还不得吃了我！” 自此之后，万贵妃就如同斗败的公鸡，彻底失去了往日的威风，不敢再堕掉别人的孩子，而朱见深同志也趁开放的大好形势，越发神勇，又生下了他的第四个儿子（前两个夭折了，朱祐樘是第三个），此后他又接连生了十余个儿子，一举彻底洗刷了不育的恶名。可他怎么都不会想到，除了太子之外，那位第四个出生的皇子在经历了无数风波之后，最终竟然也成了皇帝。 这些事情得等到四五十年后了，还是先安排成化年间的诸位大人们出场吧，他们已经等不及了。