Chapter 89: Zhu Xiongying, the little overlord of the palace (please subscribe and vote monthly)
Yesterday, Zhu Ying just came back from Xiaoling.
The situation in Xiaoling is still fresh in my memory.
Since ancient times, emperors have paid great attention to Feng Shui. As a royal mausoleum, Xiaoling Mausoleum was heavily guarded.
It almost has its own independent system, which is not controlled by anyone and is directly under the jurisdiction of the emperor.
When I went there with Song Zhong, the Jinyi Guard, I was already being interrogated by Xiaoling Guard when I was just approaching Zhongshan.
Towards the end, there are layers of checkpoints and a strict system.
The Xiaoling Guards seemed to be guarding the emperor's tomb, but in fact they had a very high status and never lacked salary.
Xiaoling Guard also has an experience department with a strength of 5,600 officers and soldiers.
There are five places in a guard, and there are 1,120 people in each place.
These officers and soldiers were selected after long-term training, and 500 elite soldiers were selected as the core combat force of Xiaoling Guard.
The emperor gave him a bullfighting uniform and an embroidered spring knife, which gave him a very high status.
The selection criteria for elite soldiers are those who can ride a horse, whip a whip, run at high speed, ride a horse across a trench, cross a wall, and shoot an arrow from a horse. Only those who can hit two out of three arrows are qualified.
These elite soldiers undergo adjustments and assessments every five years, and a elimination system is implemented for the last ones.
Those who are not qualified can ask their sons to continue to help guard the tomb. If there are no sons to serve as soldiers, they can receive their salaries and return to their hometowns to retire.
This is a special benefit only available to the guards of Xiaoling. It is the same as the pensions of later generations, which shows that the Ming Dynasty attached great importance to Xiaoling.
The Xiaoling Guard has never let down the royal family. From the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Ming Dynasty, a total of 276 years, the Xiaoling Guard was stationed for 267 years.
It seems that there is a difference of ten years, but in fact, the Xiaoling Guards were not officially stationed in Xiaoling until the tenth year of Hongwu.
This means that it was not until the fall of the Ming Dynasty that the Xiaoling Guard was forced to disband. After that, Xiaoling was no longer garrisoned and was severely damaged.
The old man said that his eldest grandson was buried near Zhongshan.
How can anyone dare to bury him casually in the Zhongshan Xiaoling Mausoleum?
What's more, the old man is still a minister of the court. After his eldest grandson dies, can he be buried secretly in Zhongshan?
Having lived here in the Ming Dynasty for ten years, Zhu Ying is very aware of today's customs.
Unmarried women, dead men, unmarried men, and those who died young are not allowed to enter the ancestral mausoleum.
For the royal family, the ancestral mausoleum is naturally the Xiaoling mausoleum.
According to the custom of the Ming Dynasty, if someone dies before the age of sixteen, it will be regarded as a premature death.
According to the old man, his eldest grandson died ten years ago when he was just eight years old.
He is not even qualified to enter the ancestral mausoleum.
What's more, it's Zhongshan Xiaoling Mausoleum.
No matter how great my achievements are and how good my relationship with His Majesty is, it is impossible.
Even His Majesty’s biological princes and grandsons...
Thinking of this, Zhu Ying's mind suddenly froze, her eye sockets expanded slightly, and her pupils contracted.
The eldest grandson of Huang Ming, Zhu Xiongying, His Royal Highness King Yu.
Hongwu was born in the seventh year, and died in the fifteenth year of Hongwu. He died young at the age of eight and was buried in Zhongshan.
call.....
On the busy street, Zhu Ying took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled it.
At this moment, he seemed to have made some extraordinary discovery.
"My boss." Uncle Zhang's voice came, pulling Zhu Ying out of her thoughts.
Zhu Ying came back to her senses, with a little complexity in her eyes, she pondered slightly, and then said: "It's okay, go back."
Just now, Zhu Ying suddenly stopped and stood on the street for a long time. Uncle Zhang didn't know the situation, so he called out a reminder.
...
Daming Palace, square in front of Fengtian Hall.
Zhu Yuanzhang walked towards the Huagai Hall.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang himself also fought hard on the battlefield, and he hated laziness and laziness.
And that luxurious style.
Therefore, it is stipulated that horses and sedan chairs are prohibited in the Forbidden City, and all officials are required to walk to court.
The Forbidden City we are referring to now is not just the inner city, but also includes the outer city.
This was a pain for the officials of the previous dynasty, because they had no choice but to do it, no matter the wind, rain or lightning. It was fine in summer, but once winter came, it would be really fatal.
In the early days, some officials lived relatively far away and came from poor families, so they were malnourished and suffered from night blindness.
Rushing to the morning meeting in the dark, he fell into the moat of the inner city and almost drowned, but was finally rescued by guards.
Due to the shock and cold, I lay at home for half a month.
"His Majesty took Ru Shangshu with him today. Yesterday His Highness Changsun went to the tomb of King Yu. With His intelligence, His Majesty Changsun might have guessed His Majesty's identity."
Jiang Wei saw that His Majesty was in a happy mood, so he spoke to remind him.
"It's good that you guessed it. We were worried that he wouldn't be able to guess it. This little brat has grown up now and his wings have become stronger. He won't listen to us about anything."
"We can't bear to blame our eldest grandson. We can't beat him again and again, and we can't scold him again and again."
"We remember that when the eldest grandson was little, he was the most naughty and mischievous. With his grandma protecting him, he was simply lawless. If he was beaten or scolded, we wouldn't be able to explain it to the eldest sister."
"Hehe, if he guesses our identity, he will definitely be more honest in the future."
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, very happy.
In this palace, no matter how many sons or grandsons there are, how can they stand up to him?
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the only person who dared to pluck his beard was the eldest grandson.
Very naughty and mischievous.
Zhu Yuanzhang still remembers clearly that he was in Kunning Palace at that time and refused to sleep at night and had to play.
With no other choice, Zhu Yuanzhang could only reject all the maids and eunuchs, then lie on the ground and let his eldest grandson play horse riding.
When the eldest grandson is tired from playing, he can go to bed.
Today, the only person in the world who dares to ride on Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and play horse riding games is Zhu Xiongying, a precious grandson like him.
When Zhu Xiongying was still there, he was a veritable little bully in the palace.
Occasionally, if I go to the Imperial Palace Academy, the whole academy will tremble.
When I was more than seven years old and still healthy, even my biological father Zhu Biao had to take a detour when he saw him.
It would be uncomfortable if Zhu Xiongying got entangled with him.
After casually saying a few harsh words, Zhu Xiongying went straight to the Emperor's grandfather and started crying, requiring him to be scolded.
That kind of doting, no matter what your reasons are, you have no idea to stand aside.
Zhu Yuanzhang was actually very helpless. Even if he didn't want to stand aside, Queen Ma couldn't help him.
Even Zhu Biao was like this, let alone other princes and grandsons.
This is why Zhu Yuanzhang gave in to everything after meeting Zhu Ying, even if it was a taboo in the Japanese court.
When Zhu Ying talked about it, Zhu Yuanzhang had to endure it and could only persuade him with good words.
This is the pampering from the Ming Emperor across generations.
Zhu Ying is the only one.
If a court official brings this up.
Haha, you can have a feast at home, and I will give you death on the spot.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought about the past of his eldest grandson when he was a child, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up slightly, and he walked as fast as flying.
"By the way, pass on our edict and make it clear to Xiaoling Guards that more people should be arranged to guard our eldest grandson's mausoleum so as not to cause any trouble to us."
"I, as an old man, don't know what that bastard is thinking. Hehe, he has probably arranged for these civilians to be manpower for a long time."
"Perhaps they want to destroy our eldest grandson's mausoleum. I asked the Xiaoling Guards to keep a tight watch on it. If anything goes wrong, I will take action against them."
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly remembered the matter about the mausoleum. His mind turned slightly and he guessed that there might be something fishy in it.
The eldest grandson originally traveled to the Western Regions and grasslands. He was brought directly to the capital by the fourth son Zhu Di.
After Jin Yiwei discovered the graves of his two eldest grandsons and their adopted son, how could they hide this little secret from Zhu Yuanzhang?
If he could even figure out this trick, how could Zhu Yuanzhang be able to win the Ming Dynasty?
This is because the fourth son Zhu Di and Zhu Yuanzhang have very similar personalities. For now, he is the one with the most outstanding military talent among his sons.
The year before last, he had made a great contribution.
In addition, there is no real solid evidence to support the identity of the eldest grandson.
Otherwise, this one move would be enough for Zhu Yuanzhang to take back Zhu Di's vassal territory and eliminate the prince.
"I obey the decree." Jiang Wei bowed to the side and said.
A hint of joy flashed in his eyes.
He was very lucky now that after receiving the news, he had to report the matter to His Majesty alone at the risk of offending his grandson Zhu Yunwen.
Of course, he also knew in his heart that his grandson Zhu Yunwen had long disliked the leader of the Jin Yiwei like him.
His Highness Changsun is his only way out.
His Highness Changsun currently has no other power to speak of. He only needs to enter early and his Highness Changsun ascends the throne in the future, which will be equivalent to the merit of following the dragon.
After Zhu Yuanzhang finished his instructions, he said: "By the way, help us fetch Duke Xin. Let Guanglu Temple prepare some wine and food, and then go to the back garden."
"I obey the decree."
On the first day of the first lunar month in the 23rd year of Hongwu's reign, when Tang He went to the capital to pay New Year's greetings to Zhu Yuanzhang, he fell ill and could not speak.
Zhu Yuanzhang visited him in person today, and after sighing for a long time, asked him to return to his hometown.
When Tang He was a little better, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered people to take him to the capital, let him enter the inner hall in a sedan chair, held a banquet to comfort him, showed great care, and gave him gold, cloth, royal food, French wine, etc.
Now Tang He has been living in the inner city of the imperial palace.
After so many years, there are not many old friends around Zhu Yuanzhang.
Regarding the joy of his eldest grandson, Zhu Yuanzhang was eager to find someone to share it with, so he thought of this old big brother.
Tang He was kind to Zhu Yuanzhang, but when he was guarding Changzhou, he often made mistakes due to drunkenness.
After asking for instructions from Zhu Yuanzhang but receiving no reply, he made a drunken blunder and complained, which was known to Zhu Yuanzhang.
So after the Central Plains was pacified and when rewards were given based on merit, Zhu Yuanzhang released the remnants of Chen Youding during the Tang Dynasty and conquered Fujian, causing the eight counties to be harassed again.
On the way back to the army, they were attacked by Xiulan Mountain bandits and lost two commanders, so Tang He was not granted the title of Duke.
After Tang He came back from his expedition to Shu, Zhu Yuanzhang reprimanded him face to face for his crime of staying there. Tang He immediately apologized and gave up the matter.
Even when he was granted the title Duke Xin, Zhu Yuanzhang still listed his mistakes while in Changzhou and ordered them to be engraved on the hereditary certificate.
Until the 21st year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang did not want his military power to be controlled by many noble generals for a long time, and he had not publicly taken back his military power.
This intention was noticed by Yukawa.
Tang He grew up with Zhu Yuanzhang since childhood and knew Zhu Yuanzhang's temper very well.
Especially the ups and downs of Xin Guogong made Tang He understand more clearly that the current Zhu Yuanzhang is no longer the Zhu Chongba of his childhood.
Especially with the emergence of the Hu Weiyong case, Zhu Yuanzhang wantonly implicated and killed heroes and generals, making Tang He understand that if he continued to control the military power, he would only bring death to himself.
So I looked for an opportunity and said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "I am old and can no longer command the army on the battlefield. I hope to return to my hometown and find a place for my future death."
Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy after hearing this. He relieved Tang He of his military power, gave him 50,000 yuan in treasures, and built a mansion for Tang He in Fengyang.
Only then did the two get back together.
So far, the only old friend left around Zhu Yuanzhang is Tang He.