eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 644 The Emperor's Southern Tour
On April [-], the [-]th year of Zhengde, the palace gate of the capital was opened wide, and a mighty team of royal guards came out to protect the emperor.

Half a month before this, the emperor had already issued an order to launch a southern tour.

During the southern tour, Yang and Wang from the cabinet assisted the emperor's eldest son in supervising the country. Except for major military and political matters that still had to be sent to the emperor's palace by fast horse, many other government affairs were decided by the emperor's eldest son and the four cabinet members.

However, the results of the processing must be kept intact so that the emperor can review them when he returns to Beijing.

The other two members of the cabinet, Wang Bing and Yang Tinghe, wanted to follow the emperor south.

Among the many ministers, there were also many accompanying them, the main ones were Jin Gui, the attendant, Gu Zuo, the prime minister and foreign minister, Gu Renyi, the commander of the Shaofu, and the commander of the Jinyi Guards, Duke Cheng, etc.

There are virtuous concubines and respectful concubines in the harem.

Concubine Xian's hometown is in the south of the Yangtze River, and the emperor has given her permission to return to her hometown to visit relatives.The concubine Jing was requested by Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Xia at the same time because they were worried about the special situation that the emperor would fall ill while away from home.

Zhu Houzhao had no objection. So many people had brought them, not less than one or two.

In this way, the entire team was very large. The Shenwu Guards responsible for protecting the emperor alone had 2000 people.

Or maybe even though Zhu Houzhao always wanted to visit various places, he still had to wait until the tenth year of Zhengde.

Without certain financial resources, he would not be able to leave the Forbidden City.

On the surface, Emperor Zhengde had two things to do when he went south this time. One was to hold ancestor worship activities in Fengyang, the central capital, and Xiaoling Mausoleum in South Zhili. The other was to go to Ningbo to review the navy that had been built in the Ming Dynasty.

Some ministers also suggested going to Mount Tai to enshrine Zen, but Zhu Houzhao rejected it. He had not yet opened up new territories, so he should not do such things in such a hurry.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao did it for leisure and fun purposes.

From traveling back in time to ancient times, his activities have always been limited to the Forbidden City. At most, he has been walking around Beijing, but that's only occasionally.

God knows how he endured it as a later generation.

In addition, considering the historical drowning incident, Zhu Houzhao did not choose to build a boat, but took the land route via the Liangjing Straight Road.

The emperor's trip was a major event. No entry or exit was allowed on the straight road between the two capitals. The team of Jin Yiwei drove the road three miles in front. There were guards on horseback on both sides of the road to ensure that no one could offend the emperor.

This type of matter is handled by the cabinet Wang Bing, and Zhu Houzhao does not need to worry about it.

At this time, he was spread out in the huge carriage. Because there was no government affairs to deal with, he suddenly felt free.

After reading for a while, my eyes felt sore, so the emperor had been sleeping a few days before departure. He had to make up for the missed sleep.

It wasn't until Yujia arrived outside Jinan that his spirit reached its best.

Zhu Houzhao opened the curtain and looked at both sides of the road. He saw trees, wheat fields, and occasionally some smaller mountain peaks dotted among them.

"Liu Xixian is eighty, is he okay?"

You Zhi, who was waiting on the emperor's carriage on horseback, replied: "Back to the emperor, I am already 82 years old, but I heard that he is very strong and he often visits various places by himself."

The emperor twirled the snack in his mouth, chewing and thinking, and then said: "Stop."

"Yes."

You Zhi pinched the horse's belly, moved forward a little and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Stop!!"

As soon as he shouted, Wang Bing, Yang Tinghe, Gu Zuo, Gu Renyi and other courtiers all came out of their sedan chairs and stood with You Zhi.At the same time, there were chamberlains who went to lift the curtain for the emperor.Only then did You Zhi call out: "Please come down from the sedan chair."

During this period of time, Zhu Houzhao had to wait for these senior ministers to stand up. This is called etiquette.

So the trouble with being an emperor is that it is actually like acting, you have to act well.

Zhu Houzhao walked out rubbing his hands and said casually: "Everyone, get up. I see that the wheat on both sides is growing very well, so I can't help but want to take a look. After reading it on paper, I realize that this matter must be carried out in earnest, and it will be very important to govern the country." It is not enough to just read memorials to see how the people are living in the year. I want to go and see for myself, but I am afraid that a large group of us will scare the people and disturb them."

Wang Bin and others were scared for the first half of what he said, but then they felt a little calmer.

"Let's do this, Chongsui (Jin Gui) and Yishan (Gu Renyi),"

"The minister is here."

"You two will take a trip on my behalf to see how the people are living along the way. Come back to Jinan to meet us. Remember to keep a low profile and don't reveal your identity."

"Yes!"

The emperor waved to Wang Bing again, "You come and take control. Give an order to the governor, the third division, the prefectures and the county magistrates along the way. Tell them to control the subordinate officials in their own yamen, and no one is allowed to intercept the people and intercept the sedan chairs. But If there is a violation, he will be punished for resisting the order, and the chief officer will have a demerit recorded in the Ministry of Personnel for negligence."

Wang Bing led the order and said, "I will do it now."

After explaining this, Zhu Houzhao went to the side and asked a guard to dismount, and then climbed up himself, "I'm tired of sitting in the sedan, so let's ride a horse."

After many years of practice, his riding skills have become very good.

Needless to say, there is no need to say much about the natural environment in ancient times. Every scenery has the feeling of traveling, or it may be because he has been in that city for too long. He always enjoys breathing fresh air and looking at the scenery outside. .

"Mr. Li."

"His Majesty."

"A few days ago, a group of people came from Zhejiang and said that some Japanese rogues were making trouble in Ningbo. The matter was later transferred to you. How is the situation now?"

Gu Zuo is now the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He said: "After the fifth year of Zhengde, the trade between the Ming Dynasty and Japan gradually increased. However, your Majesty issued an order to stop exploration and cooperation, so Japan will benefit from every time it went to sea in the past. The situation has gradually become unprofitable every year. I have heard businessmen who have been to Japan say that there is hatred and even anti-Ming sentiment in Japan. These people come to Ming Dynasty and will act if they are slightly dissatisfied. Extreme. Now, I have ordered them to be imprisoned."

"You asked the Municipal Shipping Department to sort it out as a whole and report all the important foreign-related cases in detail when I go there. I have basically approved them in the memorials in the past. Did they follow it? How did they do it? Get them all together. Come out and take a look.”

After the establishment of the Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Yamen, the Municipal Shipping Department has been placed under the responsibility of the Yamen.

"Yes."

"Nothing happens on the way, you can think about it yourself. I think the Ming Dynasty must have a law specifically dealing with foreigners, so I issued it there during my inspection of Ningbo."

Gu Zuo knew that this matter might not go well.

For many years, the emperor always said the same thing when doing things: whatever he focuses on must have a result.

Although he has always emphasized the rules of the court, the amount of money in maritime trade is measured in tens of thousands. After the previous case in Huai'an Mansion, he actually didn't believe that there would be no problems at all in the Shipping Department.Therefore, if any foreign-related case is not handled well and something is involved, it may lead to disaster.

Zhu Houzhao didn't care about this.

A few days later, the imperial chariot arrived in Jinan City. Liu Jian, the governor of Shandong Province, and major officials from various places met him.

(End of this chapter)