Just as Zhu Gaoxu realized, it was too easy to be lazy when being an emperor in the Ming Dynasty.
He had always known that the emperor would set the questions and mark the exams himself, but after he summoned Qi Tai, he realized that the emperor could ask the ministers to write a few questions, and then the emperor only needed to choose one topic.
As for how to select the top three candidates, it was even easier. There was no fixed standard for this matter, and the emperor could be very casual, and no one would make trouble. After all, those who participated in the palace examination would not fail, and after the palace examination, they would all become Jinshi, and everyone was happy.
The emperor could judge by who wrote better or looked better, without any problem. For example, Wang Gen during the Jianwen reign was the top scholar, but he didn't get the title because he didn't look square enough; and Huang Zicheng during the Hongwu reign didn't get the tit
In early March, Imperial Noble Consort Mu was about to give birth. Zhu Gaoxu returned to the harem and stayed in the East Palace. However, according to experience, men were not allowed to enter the delivery room, otherwise it would be unlucky for pregnant women. He could only listen to the noise from outside.The Imperial Concubine's palace first summoned many female officials and maids, as well as several midwives. Unexpectedly, from day to midnight, Mu Zhen still did not give birth to the child. Zhu Gaoxu also ordered the doctors of the Imperial Hospital to enter the palace overnight and wait for orders.Later, the concubine Park from Joseon came to Dongyi Palace and reported that the Park family wanted her to enter the Joseon palace at first, so they taught her medical skills since she was a child, and she could help. Zhu Gaoxu then allowed her to enter the delivery room.He stayed up all night in the East Palace until dawn. The next morning, the people i
The spring is bright and beautiful, and everything is back to life. During this period, Zhu Gaoxu recalled the peaceful days in Yunnan, when he had a lot of time every day and could do whatever he wanted. The biggest difference is probably his state of mind; the threats and pressures he is facing now are obviously not that great.The imperial power is related to the moral heaven, and the rules of the world are strict hierarchical. Moreover, Zhu Gaoxu now controls the army, and it is not easy for anyone to threaten the imperial power. When he was in Yunnan, he deeply realized this.He mainly deployed some overseas affairs and had several correspondences with the Shen family.This afternoon, Zhu Gaoxu decided to return to the harem early to discuss with the queen about expanding the harem's concubines.When he saw Guo Wei in Kunning Palace, she was wearing a yellow dress, a phoenix crown on her head, and the crystal clear jade bracelet that was "a match
During the Ming Dynasty, the monsoon in the East China Sea was northerly in March and April. It was not the best time to sail from the lower reaches of the river as the ships were sailing against the wind. If we waited until May and June, the monsoon would become southerly and the sailing would become a tailwind, which would be the best time.However, the imperial court took other factors into consideration and issued an order in mid-March to prepare the navy to leave the coast. Although it was headwind, the fleet could still sail in a zigzag pattern, but the sailing speed would be slower.The Longjiang Port west of the Outer Jinchuan Gate was very busy today, with not only the army and the court, but also many onlookers. Zhu Gaoxu also came outside the city to see everyone off.The fleet that set sail first today is the fleet heading to Japan, with only a few thousand officers and soldiers. The fleet with the most ships is the fleet heading south, which wil
Zhu Gaoxu adopted the strategy of starting small and then big and began to work on his idea.At first, it did not involve the rules and morals of the entire dynasty, nor did it change the existing power structure. He just didn't want to become like his father, Emperor Zhu Di, who imposed fear on others while living in fear for a long time, and even dared not get close to his concubines.Even so, as soon as Zhu Gaoxu did something different, he immediately received various threatening memorials.Generally, those who dared to threaten the emperor would suffer a miserable end. However, as long as the motive of "for your own good" was added, and it made some sense, the effect would be different.For example, the memorial of Xie Jin from the Hanlin Academy dissuaded the emperor from establishing the "Wubeiyuan". Xie Jin's words were very scary, saying that if the emperor were to repeat the mistakes of warlord separatism in the late Tang Dynasty, the country
Honglu Temple, the Ministry of Rites and other official offices, as well as the inner palace supervisors, arranged the canonization ceremony of the two concubines. The two ceremonies each lasted for half a day.During the process of canonizing Concubine Zhuang Li Xianhui, she and Zhu Gaoxu seemed to have nothing to do with each other, each performing complicated etiquette in different places.During this period, Zhu Gaoxu only saw Li Xianhui once, when she came to pay homage and express her gratitude. She was wearing a fancy dress and was a little far away. Zhu Gaoxu didn't even see her clearly. Fortunately, he had seen her before.Before the canonization of Shen Baoyan, there were unpleasant sounds. Chen E, who had been buried alive for seven days and seven nights, wrote a letter disputing the identity of Shen's (Baoyan) biological father. So Zhu Gaoxu issued an order to posthumously give Shen Baoyan's late father the command of Jin Yiwei.In late Mar
The light rain was blowing in the wind, and the sky was gray in the damp morning. The light was not very bright, and the palace, the grass and the trees seemed to have a dull color. The people in the palace followed the sound of the bells and drums and determined that it was sunrise.Over at Fengtian Gate, the emperor, who had come from the land of gentleness, must be receiving the worship of officials. The rain did not affect the morning court, but people were allowed to wear raincoats and perform the ceremony in the brick square outside Fengtian Gate in the rain.From the imperial palace to the whole world, people should start doing their own things at this moment. They go out at sunrise and go to bed at sunset, and people and nature keep the same rhythm.The eunuchs were no exception. Cao Fu, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Kitchen, was not on duty with the emperor today, but he had his own things to do. Cao Fu, neatly dressed and wearing a red and b
The eunuch Cao Fu walked out of the Rouyi Palace holding a green oil-paper umbrella at an angle. He was going to meet Zhu Gaoxu and report the results of his mission. In the rainy weather, the umbrella had to be tilted to prevent the head and face from getting wet.Previously, he had insulted Chen Xianzhen in front of the Queen of Annan, but it was far from enough to calm him down. Cao Fu was not like Wang Jinghong and the others who wanted to do something big and leave a name in history books. He just wanted to feel comfortable. Unexpectedly, the Taoist priest Chen Xianzhen dared to make him so angry.Cao Fu pondered for a while, then quickened his pace and walked towards Fengtian Gate. Cao Fu had not stayed in Rouyi Palace for too long in the morning, so he guessed that the morning court had not yet ended, and the emperor should be in Fengtian Gate to attend to government affairs.Walking eastward along the brick square outside the main gate of Rouyi Palac
Duan Xuehen had never changed her name, and ordinary people who didn't know the inside story really didn't know that she and Mu Zhen were cousins. Even that lady Xu didn't know about this.But the emperor obviously knew. So the Xianpin Park in the palace lived in the same palace with Li Xianhui; the Depin Duan Xuehen lived in the same place with the Imperial Noble Consort Mu Zhen. This arrangement was not without reason. The emperor also generally followed the rules, which made the concubines in the palace get along better. Subtle intrigues were inevitable, but the contradictions were far from intensified.Xu Niang's words were so pitiful that Duan Xuehen felt sympathy for her and agreed to help her introduce the Imperial Noble Consort. But Xu Niang probably didn't know that it would be more effective for Duan Xuehen to lobby the Imperial Noble Consort; Xu Niang was just lucky and happened to find the right person.Duan Xuehen asked Xu Niang to wait while he