Chapter 639 The Great Altar of Tongtian [two in one]
He stretched out his hand and grabbed it, and the small and exquisite altar fell into Zhu Houzhao's hands. He gently rubbed the altar, and Zhu Houzhao slowly said: "Wang Zheng, please come to see me, Master Shao!"
Wang Zheng, who was guarding outside the secret room, heard the emperor's voice and immediately saluted to the secret room: "I will send someone to invite Master Shao to come here!"
Just as Wang Zheng was giving instructions to his servants, Zhu Houzhao paused slightly and said, "Don't forget to invite Master Zhang to come with you!"
Qingyang Temple
Shao Yuanjie was entertaining someone. If someone saw him, they would be very surprised.
As the chief minister of the current dynasty, Yang Yiqing rarely met people in private, but today he appeared in the Taoist temple where Shao Yuanjie settled.
The two of them were sitting opposite each other, and they heard Yang Yiqing say to Shao Yuanjie: "Master Shao, your Majesty's attendance at court has been significantly reduced in recent days, and he spends more time with Master Shao and Zhang Tianshi. I also ask Master Shao to be able to read this to all people in the world."
I would like to persuade Your Majesty to put the country, the country, the country, and the country first!”
Shao Yuanjie really didn't find it strange that Yang Yiqing came to visit him. It would be strange if the cabinet ministers had no reaction at all to the emperor's changes.
Shao Yuanjie smiled bitterly, shook his head, looked at Yang Yiqing and said, "Master Yang probably thinks that the poor man is trying to trick His Majesty into ignoring government affairs..."
Yang Yiqing shook his head and said: "Whatever the real person said, I definitely didn't mean it!"
Shao Yuanjie didn't say anything more, he just looked at Yang Yiqing with a serious expression and said, "If I say that I have persuaded your majesty to put the world first, would you believe it, sir?"
Looking at Shao Yuanjie silently, Yang Yiqing slowly stood up, straightened his clothes, took a step back and slowly said to Shao Yuanjie: "I would like to ask the real person to guide your majesty out of the wrong path, and put the country first in everything!"
He dodged Yang Yiqing's big salute, and Shao Yuanjie shouted loudly to the Infinite Heavenly Lord and said with a straight face: "I promise you, with the integrity of my life, that no one will be allowed to deceive Your Majesty."
A Taoist boy came in a hurry and said crisply from a distance: "Master, Master, Your Majesty summons you!"
Hearing this, Yang Yiqing looked at the Taoist boy, a sharp look flashed in his eyes, which frightened the little Taoist boy, and he stopped a foot away from the two of them.
Shao Yuanjie took a step forward, patted Tao Tong on the head and said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, Tong, just do your homework!"
Watching the Taoist boy leave, Yang Yiqing looked at Shao Yuanjie and said: "Master Shao goes first, and I will go to see the emperor later!"
Looking at Yang Yiqing's distrustful look, Shao Yuanjie felt helpless but could not explain it to Yang Yiqing, because in the eyes of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and the people in Beijing, Zhu Houzhao, the emperor, had gradually become neglected in government affairs in recent years.
Most of the time, he stayed with Shao Yuanjie, Zhang Yanyi and other Taoist masters.
Although the energetic Zhu Houzhao did not delay the political affairs of the DPRK and the Central Government, and even handled the political affairs of the DPRK and the Central Government in an orderly manner, the Manchu civil and military officials who were fully expecting Zhu Houzhao to surpass his ancestors and become a generation of saints wanted Zhu Houzhao to take over all the affairs.
My mind is focused on government affairs rather than being obsessed with Buddhism.
After all, emperors such as Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of Han were the best examples. They were really worried that the emperor would repeat the mistakes of these emperors.
Needless to say, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were most worried about the changes in the emperor. This time Yang Yiqing even visited Shao Yuanjie personally.
Shao Yuanjie nodded and said: "I am a poor man, please go ahead and welcome Mr. Yang!"
Looking at Shao Yuanjie's leaving figure, Yang Yiqing had complicated eyes, paused slightly, flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.
Prince Wu's Mansion
Wang Zheng looked at Shao Yuanjie's figure with a smile on his face, and hurriedly greeted him: "The real person is here, your Majesty is waiting for the real person in the secret room!"
Shao Yuanjie nodded towards Wang Zheng and said, "Thank you, father-in-law. I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
At the same time, Shao Yuanjie glanced at the secret room and said in a low voice: "May I ask my father-in-law, did your majesty summon other people?"
Wang Zheng glanced towards the secret room and whispered: "To tell you the truth, Your Majesty also summoned Zhang Tianshi!"
Shao Yuanjie nodded slightly and strode toward the secret room.
Entering the secret room, Shao Yuanjie saw Zhu Houzhao sitting there. In front of him was a piece of bright yellow silk, which at first glance looked like an imperial edict.
However, Shao Yuanjie was no stranger to this piece of silk, and it wasn't the first time he saw it. He just didn't quite understand why the emperor often looked at such a piece of silk in a daze.
After all, this is just a piece of silk that seems to have nothing special about it. I don’t know what the emperor is looking at when he stares at this piece of silk in a daze time and time again.
If you want to say that this piece of silk is something left by Chu Yi, then that's fine. After all, everyone knows the affection between the emperor and Chu Yi, so it makes sense that the emperor attaches great importance to what Chu Yi left behind.
among.
The key point is that this piece of silk is not what Chu Yi left behind at all.
Shao Yuanjie slowly walked into the secret room. The sound of footsteps startled Zhu Houzhao, who was in trance. Zhu Houzhao slowly raised his head and glanced at Shao Yuanjie.
Seeing Shao Yuanjie walking into the secret room, Zhu Houzhao just nodded to Shao Yuanjie, pointed casually and said: "The real person is here, please sit down and talk!"
Shao Yuanjie bowed respectfully, and then stood in front of Zhu Houzhao. Unless he was in court, Zhu Houzhao was actually quite approachable when getting along with him in private. Shao Yuanjie had been with Zhu Houzhao for nearly ten years. Regarding Zhu Houzhao's
He knew his temper very well, so he didn't feel any restraint. He sat opposite Zhu Houzhao very naturally, and his eyes naturally fell on the piece of silk in front of Zhu Houzhao.
With a bit of a smile on his face, Shao Yuanjie said to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, I have hurriedly summoned this poor Taoist to come here. What are your orders?"
Zhu Houzhao chuckled and said, "Don't worry, wait until Master Zhang comes!"
Shao Yuande nodded and calmly said to Zhu Houzhao: "Not long ago, Mr. Yang, the chief assistant, went to see Pindao!"
Zhu Houzhao was not surprised at all, and smiled slightly and said: "Oh, it seems that my chief assistant is really a little anxious. With his temperament, if he is not really anxious, he will never run to disturb him.
It was cultivated by a real person."
After all, he has been an emperor for more than ten years. Zhu Houzhao is no longer the ignorant emperor he was. Although he does not dare to say that he knows the temperament of the civil and military officials of the dynasty, the temperament of many important civil and military officials in the dynasty, what they are good at, and what their weaknesses are, Zhu Houzhao
But it couldn't be clearer.
Yang Yiqing has been an official for many years, and has been the governor of the border town for more than ten years. However, his temperament cannot be more calm. Generally speaking, even if it is a big matter, when it comes to Yang Yiqing, Yang Yiqing will handle it calmly and with great dignity.
General style.
For someone as calm as Yang Yiqing to be able to look for Shao Yuanjie, it can be seen that the civil and military officials in the DPRK headed by Yang Yiqing have some opinions on some of his actions in recent years.
Shao Yuanjie smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, please don't be too talkative. Your Majesty is a generation of holy kings. The super sect and ancestors are just idle, but you should not focus on other things."
Zhu Houzhao was not worried, he was not the kind of emperor who couldn't listen to opinions, and this was not the first time Shao Yuanjie persuaded him, but he had his own plan in mind.
Apart from him, he has not told anyone his thoughts, so neither Yang Yiqing nor Shao Yuanjie, his trusted confidantes, know his specific plans.
Shao Yuanjie could only shake his head and smile bitterly when he saw the emperor's calm appearance. This was not the first time he saw him.
As a minister, he can directly remonstrate with the emperor. As for whether the emperor accepts it or not, that is the emperor's business.
Shao Yuanjie was not that kind of direct minister. He had a good sense of propriety and could not fail to give the emperor face. Therefore, what should be said in his advice was that he had a very good sense of propriety and would never offend the emperor.
While he was talking, he heard the sound of footsteps. When Shao Yuanjie heard the footsteps, he immediately determined the identity of the person.
Except for Zhang Tianshi, there were few people in the capital who were naturally fearful of trouble. Zhang Tianshi walked over in black uniform.
When he saw Shao Yuanjie, Zhang Tianshi was not surprised. He nodded slightly towards Shao Yuanjie, stepped forward to salute the emperor, and then sat down.
The three of them sat opposite each other, and Shao Yuanjie and Zhang Tianshi's eyes naturally fell on Zhu Houzhao.
Zhu Houzhao was heard saying to Shao Yuanjie and Zhang Tianshi: "I want to build a temple to worship heaven. I wonder if you two have any suggestions!"
The emperor suddenly wanted to build a temple to worship heaven, which surprised the two of them. However, after realizing it, the two looked at each other, and heard Shao Yuanjie cough lightly, stroking his beard and saying: "I wonder if your majesty will build a temple to worship heaven?"
What is the purpose of the Tiantian Altar? How can such a poor Taoist and fellow Taoist Zhang decide on the specifications of the altar?"
Zhu Houzhao said slowly: "I want to pray to God to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth!"
Zhang Yanyi and Shao Yuanjie looked at each other, quite surprised, but Shao Yuanjie pondered for a moment and said, "I wonder what your Majesty's requirements are for the size of the altar?"
Zhu Houzhao waved his long sleeve and said: "With utmost solemnity, I want to build the largest altar to worship heaven in the world!"
There was a sound of footsteps, and a voice was heard coming from outside the secret room: "Your Majesty, I am waiting to see you!"
Needless to say, the person who came was Yang Yiqing, but it was not just Yang Yiqing. Judging from the movement, it was probably all the cabinet ministers who came together.
When Zhu Houzhao first ascended to the throne, he seemed to lack confidence when facing the important ministers of the cabinet, and was even restrained by the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty. But now Zhu Houzhao is in charge of the imperial power, and he keeps his word, and no one can disobey you.
will.
Zhu Houzhao heard Yang Yiqing's voice and said calmly: "Please come in and talk with me!"
Then they saw Yang Yiqing, Wang Yangming, and Chen Ding walking into the secret room.
Among the several cabinet elders, Wang Hua and several elderly ministers are missing, and there are a few new faces.
After all, in these years, the Ming Dynasty developed rapidly, and one famous capable minister and official stood out. Similarly, the old ministers in the court, such as Wang Hua, Jiao Fang, etc., also gradually faded out of the court due to health reasons, and a new generation replaced the old ones.
.
"I will pay my respects to Your Majesty!"
Raising his hand slightly to signal the others to stand up, Zhu Houzhao looked at Yang Yiqing and the others with a calm face and said, "Is it possible that the Qing family has something important to do when they come to see me this time because they are not going to deal with the political affairs of the DPRK?"
As the first assistant, Yang Yiqing naturally stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, I am here just to implore you to put the people of the world first and not to wander in evil ways. Your Majesty, the next generation of sage monarchs, should know that immortality is not expected.
…”
If it were any other emperor who was obsessed with immortality, Long Yan would be furious if he was rebuked by his ministers so directly. However, Zhu Houzhao looked calm, with no trace of annoyance on his face. Instead, he looked at
He glanced at Yang Yiqing and nodded slightly: "The Qing family is right. Immortality is too elusive. I have never thought about really wanting to live forever. I just want to keep up with my companion!"
Dumbfounded, Yang Yiqing looked at Shao Yuanjie and then at Zhang Yanyi. The two noticed that Yang Yiqing both smiled bitterly at Yang Yiqing, indicating that it had nothing to do with them.
Zhu Houzhao, who was sitting there, saw the expressions of Yang Yiqing and others in his eyes, and said with a smile: "The Yang Qing family does not need to doubt Master Shao and Zhang Tianshi, they have never bewitched me, or the Qing family thinks
Will I be the kind of foolish lord who is fooled by others?"
"I dare not..."
Waving his hand, Zhu Houzhao took a drawing from the table beside him, put it on the table, and said to Yang Yiqing and others: "It's just the right time for the Qing family to come. Even if you don't come, I will still come."
I invite you to come and take a look at the altar I designed."
Zhu Houzhao kept saying that he was not obsessed with immortality, but now he asked them to see the altar he designed. Yang Yiqing and others thought it was so weird.
Taking a deep breath, several people stepped forward and their eyes fell on the altar painted by the emperor.
At first glance, especially when he saw the data marked on the pattern, Chen Ding, who was most sensitive to data, almost exclaimed: "No, no, an altar of this size cannot be used."
Knowing how much manpower and material resources will be spent, it is really a waste of people and money. I would like to ask Your Majesty to take back your order, burn the drawings, and give up the idea of building such an altar..."
No wonder Chen Ding had such a big reaction, because the scale of the altar painted by Zhu Houzhao was really too big.
An altar has a circumference of 999 feet and a height of 99 feet. It is almost a hill. It is not a small project at all.
Although it is true that the projects started in the Ming Dynasty in recent years are many times larger than this altar, those projects are all related to people's livelihood. As the Minister of Household Affairs, Chen Ding has always given full support to these projects related to people's livelihood.
However, in Chen Ding's opinion, this altar was a waste of money and people. With his temper, if he didn't express his objection, then he would not be Chen Ding.
The white-haired Chen Ding is already over seventy years old, and he can be regarded as a long-lived veteran among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty.
Ordinarily, at Chen Ding's age, he should have taken care of himself long ago, but among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao was the one who could make Zhu Houzhao trust his ministers to take care of the household affairs.
, no one can match Chen Ding.
Chen Ding's daring to confront Zhu Houzhao was what he expected, so Zhu Houzhao's eyes fell on Yang Yiqing and Wang Yangming and said: "What do the two Qings think?"
No more straightforward than Chen Ding, Yang Yiqing looked at the drawing and said to Zhu Houzhao: "But I don't know what use your majesty is repairing an altar of this scale? If it is related to national affairs and the well-being of the people in the world, I will do my best.
I can overcome all difficulties and help Your Majesty build the altar."
This is what he said, but anyone who is not a fool can hear the dark and profound meaning in Yang Yiqing's words.
If it was not related to people's livelihood and the people, then Yang Yiqing, as the chief minister of the cabinet, would not agree with the emperor's decision.
Wang Yangming obviously had the same attitude and could not let the emperor do whatever he wanted, even if it might cause him to hate the emperor.
Zhu Houzhao said slowly: "This altar is related to the future of our Ming Dynasty. I have made up my mind, and several members of the Qing family will immediately dispatch people to build the altar."
"Your Majesty, you can't. This is a move that will harm the country and the people. Please take back your Majesty's orders. Otherwise, I will be willing to beg for my bones!"
Old Chen Ding lost his temper again. He immediately panted and shouted loudly to the emperor, trembling with anger.
Looking at Chen Ding's gray hair and swaying figure, as if he might collapse at any time, Zhu Houzhao sighed softly, stood up and stepped forward to support Chen Ding, and then pressed him on the seat.
He slowly said: "The Qing family has dedicated their lives to the Ming Dynasty, and they have not had a good rest for half of their lives. I really feel ashamed of the Qing family."
Chen Ding said stubbornly: "This is the duty of a minister. A minister should be loyal to the emperor and share his worries. Chen Ding cannot deserve such praise from your majesty."
Zhu Houzhao patted Chen Ding on the shoulder and said: "If the Qing family can't afford it, who in the civil and military dynasties can afford it?"
As he spoke, Zhu Hou looked at Chen Ding and said, "The Qing family is old. If we leave the household affairs to others temporarily, the Qing family can have a good rest."
After being stunned for a moment, Chen Ding did not show any surprise. He just sighed softly and looked at Zhu Houzhao with a complex expression: "Your Majesty, I know that no matter what I say or do, I can't change your Majesty's mind. Your Majesty allows me to return to my old age."
, I would like to express my gratitude to the Emperor for his kindness, and please ask Your Majesty to allow me to take some time off. Since Your Majesty is determined to build the altar, then please allow me to do my best for Your Majesty one last time!"
Seeing Chen Ding like this, Zhu Houzhao felt a warmth in his heart, nodded slowly and said: "I agree!"
While talking, Zhu Houzhao handed the drawing to Shao Yuanjie, and Zhang Yanqi said: "Two real people, I will leave the altar affairs to you. All the personnel of the six departments of the DPRK and Central Government will obey your dispatch. Be sure to do it."
Build the altar for me as quickly as possible."
Strait of Gibraltar, among the ports.
The mighty fleet once again left the port, but after testing out the details of the Ming fleet and judging the true situation of the Ming fleet's lack of artillery shells, Grand Duke Qiang once again made the decision to conquer the Ming fleet.
I have to say that Grand Duke Qiangwei is not an ordinary person. After experiencing a huge defeat, he still has the courage to fight again. This is not something ordinary people can do.
It was only a distance of about a hundred miles, and within an hour or so, warships appeared on the sea one after another, heading straight for the port where the Ming fleet docked.
When the Spanish fleet appeared on the sea, the Ming fleet was already fully prepared.
When General Levi left in a small boat, Yu Dayou and others realized that the lack of explosive ammunition on their boat must not be concealed, and the Spaniards would definitely take this opportunity to attack as long as they were not fools.
Looking at the battleships one after another, Yu Dayou, Yue Buqun and others looked at each other, and saw a few people nodded at Yu Dayou, then said "take care" to each other, then each got off the flagship, and boarded the other ships in the small boats.
Boat.
Soon the fleets of both sides exchanged fire, and shells roared in one after another. The Ming fleet had indeed run out of shells. After several rounds of explosive shells, what was fired was the solid shell that the craftsmen had rushed out in the past few months.
Played.
As a result, the gap between the two sides suddenly narrowed a lot. Even though the Ming side had fierce artillery fire, the Spanish side had a geographical advantage. The number of warships was more than double the number of the Ming fleet.
It is conceivable that after losing the advantage of artillery fire, the Ming Dynasty faced the Spanish fleet, and the pressure suddenly increased a lot.
As the saying goes, when you meet an opponent in chess, you will meet a good talent. The Ming fleet has experienced many wars along the way, and all the soldiers have been tempered.
The Spanish fleet has also experienced many battles due to Spain's crazy expansion over the years.
It can be said that the Spanish fleet is definitely at its peak. It can be said that it dares to fight and is very powerful. If not, it would not be possible to dare to face the Ming Dynasty again and again despite repeated defeats. This is a powerful country.
The foundation of .
A large sea battle lasted from morning to evening, and there were scattered decks and debris from countless sunken ships floating on the nearby sea surface.
The two sides were originally densely packed with hundreds of warships, but now there were about a quarter less, which shows how brutal this battle was.
On a large ship with no characteristics, Yu Dayou had one arm wrapped in a bandage. He was commanding the generals on the battleship to pursue a Spanish warship with a grin on his face.
Even the flagship that Yu Dayou was riding on was sunk by the Spanish fleet. Fortunately, Yu Dayou got off the ship before the flagship sank. Otherwise, I am afraid that even Yu Dayou would have sunk into the sea with the flagship.
General Levi, who was also in a very embarrassed state, was on a large ship. He was all wet. It seemed that he had just climbed onto the ship from the sea not long ago. He was looking at the battlefield around him with a big smile on his face and said: "
Hahaha, victory belongs to Spain in the end, long live Spain..."
boom
A sudden roar came, and then a battleship burst into flames. The battleship that had been smashed to pieces suddenly fell apart completely in the flames.
"Explosive bombs, where did the shelling come from!"
[Two in one chapter, 6,000 words, please support.]
