Unofficial History of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty

Jiang Bin was a competent courtier, and he never asked more questions than Emperor Zhengde said.

After Emperor Zhengde sighed this unimaginable sentence, his expression returned to normal: "Come, criticize the chapter."

Jiang Bin complied, and watched as Emperor Zhengde put the family letter back on the table.In fact, there is not much to write about in this book, and so far I have not received even a single reply letter, so my uncle must still be angry at him for making his own decisions.

After teaching the family letter to his servants, Jiang Bin came to Emperor Zhengde's south-facing room located on the central axis of the Leopard House.Emperor Zhengde tasted that "if there is qi, there will be life, and if there is no qi, there will be death", so he chose this place full of vitality to live in.When Jiang Bin first met Emperor Zhengde, it was in the corner of the attic where there were desks and beds.

"Sit." Emperor Zhengde said without raising his head when he knew Jiang Bin was coming.

Waiting at the side was Zhang Yong, the eunuch of Bingbi, who was over fifty years old.This Eunuch Zhang Yong Zhang was originally one of the "Eight Tigers". It was rumored that he once fought Liu Jin in front of Emperor Zhengde because he couldn't understand Liu Jin's domineering behavior, and the two broke up since then.When the king of Anhua, Zhu Zhiyu, rebelled, Emperor Zhengde sent Yang Yiqing, the Minister of War at that time, to governor Ningxia and Yansui, and appointed Zhang Yong as the supervisor of the army.After Zhu Zhixiu was captured by Yang Yiqing, the two jointly exposed Liu Jin's crimes to Emperor Zhengde by offering prisoners, and Liu Jin was executed by Ling Chi.

Of course, Jiang Bin didn't think that this Eunuch Zhang joined forces with the Yang Cabinet except for Liu Jin's intention to eliminate harm for the people, but Jiang Bin also had to admit that this Eunuch Zhang with deep decree lines and a hoarse voice was around Emperor Zhengde. The service was extremely thoughtful, without flattery, and seemed honest and honest. It was no wonder that Emperor Zhengde handed over the power of approving awards to him.

At this time, there were two stacks of memorials of the same height on the lacquered wooden table of Emperor Zhengde, half of which were written by Zhang Yongzhao with a vermilion pen, and the other half had to be reviewed by Emperor Zhengde himself.This is not to say that Zhang Yong, the other half of the memorial, can't make a decision, but it's his smoothness and sophistication concealed under his honest and honest appearance.Back then, when Liu Jin sat in this position, he almost did all the approval of the memorials. The real power was above the cabinet, and it became inevitable to become the target of public criticism.

Jiang Bin sat beside Emperor Zhengde and watched him review the memorial.It is said to be a review, but in fact, most of the time, Emperor Zhengde was just like Zhang Yong, who wrote the proposals of the Cabinet Great Scholars' small notes with a Chinese ink pen.

Emperor Zhengde seemed to be born with a nocturnal temperament. He often stayed up one or two hours before the morning court before taking a nap, and continued to rest after returning from the morning court.For his servants, the wild and unrestrained Emperor Zhengde showed a rare bodhisattva heart. He ordered Jiang Bin, who was also trained by him to be upside down day and night, to accompany him, and asked Jiang Bin to bear the tiredness and listen to his self-talk when he was reviewing the memorial. Soliloquy.

"It's clear in the matter that it's in the power of the day, either to impeach this or to impeach that. I can make a big fuss about anything. How about replying 'the landlord has no small*'?"

For these words, Jiang Bin went in one ear and out the other.I can't understand the left and right, and I think it's the cry of a hen when she lays eggs.Of course, Emperor Zhengde did not always give birth smoothly.Whenever Emperor Zhengde put down his vermilion pen and paced back and forth, Jiang Bin would go to the cage and bring out the drowsy little leopard to Emperor Zhengde to hug and smooth its fur.Emperor Zhengde often followed Jiang Bin along, sighing and sighing, reminding Jiang Bin of the nagging washerwoman in Xuanfu.Emperor Zhengde was tired from sighing, and would sleep on Jiang Bin's hard abdominal muscles.Emperor Zhengde's explanation for this was "harder pillows are good for the cervical spine".

When he fell asleep, Emperor Zhengde was woken up by Jiang Bin, squinting his eyes and waiting for him to wipe his face.As the guise chosen by Emperor Zhengde, Jiang Bin consciously shared the work of the internal officials, obediently playing tricks.

For the dislike of the early dynasty, Jiang Bin would never lose to Emperor Zhengde, but both of them performed their duties conscientiously.In order to avoid suspicion, Jiang Bin broke up with Emperor Zhengde and went to wait outside the Meridian Gate with all the officials before Yinshi, but this behavior of not having 300 taels of silver here was often considered hypocritical by the officials.

Although the officials didn't dare to whisper in front of Jiang Bin and Yu Shi, there were always "eyes and eyebrows".Jiang Bin just pretended not to see it, and waited for the eunuch to beat the court drum of the Wufeng City Tower on the Meridian Gate, and then stood in separate shifts.At Maoshi, the left and right gates of the Meridian Gate were opened for the direct generals and hundreds of officials to stand in the south of the Jinshui Bridge according to their grades. Open one door each, civil servants enter through the left tuck gate, and military officials enter through the right tuck gate.In the middle of the upper corridor of the Fengtian Gate, there is a golden platform for the imperial seat, and between the gates of the hall are lined up "Generals of the Han Dynasty" in armor and helmets.The bells and drums played on the left and right of Danbi, and the Emperor Zhengde entered through the imperial gate. The guards in Jinyi opened their umbrellas and round fans, and climbed the steps from east to west to stand on the left and right sides of the throne.After the Emperor Zhengde came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony and took his seat, he blew his whip again, Honglu Temple sang "Entering the Class", and the left and right civil and military officials all entered the Royal Road.

Civil officials went north to west, and military officials went north to east, performing the ceremony of bowing once and knocking three times.At the end of the ceremony, the officials of Honglu Temple sang and played. All civil and military officials coughed and called it "cleaning".

Most of the things played by the officials have been published in documents, but there is still a need to recite the memorials in the hall to let the officials know.However, although some generals had "big voices", they could not meet the standard of "beautiful appearance", so they asked the Secretary of General Administration or the officials of Honglu Temple to read the memorials for them.This kind of sameness always made the naturally rebellious Emperor Zhengde express his dissatisfaction with his breath, and was reminded several times by the Honglu Temple official who blushed and coughed, but turned a deaf ear.

At this time, officials from various ministries reported government affairs to Emperor Zhengde as usual, and Emperor Zhengde either asked or answered questions.Jiang Bin lost his mind as he listened, and raised his head until he felt restless.The one who is currently playing the memorial is Gu Qing, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites who once insinuated and criticized Emperor Zhengde when he was in his forties at the banquet.Previously, the eunuch Liu Jin was in charge of the government, but Gu Qingqing was not attached to him, and was demoted to be a member of the Southern Military Department Wai Lang.After Liu Jin was put to death, Fang was transferred to Wai Lang, a member of the Ministry of Rites, and later moved to the right servant of the Ministry of Rites.At this moment, Gu Qing actually began to directly admonish Emperor Zhengde with explicit words during the memorial.The content of the direct remonstrance is nothing more than accusing Emperor Zhengde of indulging in pleasure, being ridiculous, and failing to live up to the ardent expectations of Emperor Hongzhi and the people of Li.After Gu Qing finished playing the long story, Jiang Bin smelled a sense of schadenfreude that quickly spread.The reason why he gloats over others' misfortunes is because Mr. Gu has robbed the speech officer's job.

At the beginning of the founding of the country, Taizu established the Yushitai, which was later renamed the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The supervisory censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate were divided into [-] provinces, with a total of [-] channels.Most of these supervisory censors are masters who admit to death. They are only seven-rank officials, but they are not afraid of offending others.Later, Taizu set up six departments, corresponding to the six departments of the Central Committee. Each department was set up for Shizhong and left and right for Shizhong.The six departments inspect and supervise every five days. If there is any delay or slow action, it will be reported to Emperor Zhengde. The most troublesome thing for Emperor Zhengde is that if they think that some of the orders of Emperor Zhengde are inappropriate , to return it.

Therefore, when Liu Jin was there, every day, every day, every time Emperor Zhengde gave an order, these energetic officials would jump out and say that this must be the decision Liu Jin induced Emperor Zhengde to make, and refused to accept it. implement.Even though the officials quoted the scriptures every day and scolded people without swearing, Emperor Zhengde still had nothing to do with them. Who let them be set up by Taizu?What's more, since ancient times, few kings dared to kill the officials.After Liu Jin was put to death, these officials not only did not stop, but pointed their spearhead at Emperor Zhengde.Jiang Bin figured that Emperor Zhengde gave him a mansion with fertile land but forced him to stay in the leopard room to wait. Mostly it was to distract the attention of the officials, and he took advantage of it.But for other officials, it's not the same thing. No matter how high you are, if you dare to challenge the emperor on this occasion, there will be no good end. This is why Jiang Bin expressed sympathy for Mr. Gu.

Jiang Bin glanced at the cabinets in front of him. From Liu Zhong, Liang Chu, Jiang Mian to Li Dongyang, the chief assistant of the cabinet, they were all expressionless and made it clear that they did not intend to interfere.So the eyes of all the officials were glued to Emperor Zhengde's face.Emperor Zhengde listened to Gu Qing's scolding without changing his face, and said in his dantian: "Got it."

If Emperor Zhengde wrote "I know" in Zhubi when approving the memorial, it means that he did not adopt the suggestions in this chapter.In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, these words have the same meaning. As the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, Gu Qing is well versed in this way, so after saying this, he remained silent.

After retiring from the imperial court, Emperor Zhengde went back to the Leopard Room to sleep first as usual.Jiang Bin first went to the Governor's Mansion to handle military affairs, and then went to the Jingwei Command and Envoy Division to supervise the Beijing Army's training.Although he held the title of Zuo Dudu, Jiang Bin, who was favored by Emperor Zhengde and became a first-rank official, was not accepted by these military officers who judged people by strength.Although he was considered respectful to Jiang Bin, Jiang Bin also understood that it was only because of his high position and authority.

For example, Feng Zhen, who was promoted to the governor because of the thieves in the Central Plains, always drooped his eyelids when he looked at Jiang Bin, as if he was not awake.However, Shenying, the governor of the right, flattered Jiang Bin.Shenying inherited his father's position and was the commander of the Yan'an Guard at first. Later, he led the troops to wipe out the bandits near the capital, and became the right governor.However, he was impeached after Liu Jin's downfall because of his attachment to Liu Jin. In the end, Emperor Zhengde only exempted him from the title of Uncle Jingyang, and his official position remained the same.This behavior of disregarding the counselor's persuasion and insisting on employing people seems to have become another evidence of the mediocrity of Emperor Zhengde.

During the military training, the high-spirited Beijing officials only responded to the questions of Jiang Bin, the spoiled and proud brat from Xuanfu, but Jiang Bin felt bored, so he answered the questions given to him by Emperor Zhengde. house.

The house is located on the banks of the Hun River in the capital city, with green bamboo screened walls, fresh and pleasant, so elegant that it doesn't look like a military officer's residence.Jiang Bin glanced at the Linshui house from a distance, thinking that his uncle Jiang Ziqing in Xuanfu returned all the clothes and money he had sent, and felt uncomfortable.She lives in this house, but Jiang Ziqing still stays in Xuanfu to live a poor life.

Jiang Bin ordered the bearers to turn around and walk back. In childhood memory, the official sedan chair carried by these four people was a symbol of power and wealth, and they once hated it deeply.And now, he has become one of them...

Back in the Leopard Room, before Emperor Zhengde got up, Jiang Bin went to the school field to practice archery, and just hit the bull's-eye when he heard the movement behind him.

Turning around, I saw a man who was walking away.The man was over half a century old, of medium build, with a square face, piercing eyes, and a straight back. If it weren't for the tooth plate on his waist that revealed his identity, Jiang Bin would have thought he was some military officer in the capital.

"Jiang has met Eunuch Zhang!"

The person who came was Zhang Zhong, the eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor.

Zhang Zhong cupped his hands as a salute, and after exchanging pleasantries, he said, "Master Jiang is superb at archery."

Jiang Bin humbled himself, but heard Zhang Zhong say, "I don't know how it compares to Mr. Qian..."

Jiang Bin lowered his bow and said with a smile, "Commander Qian is definitely above Jiang."

The tassel on Zhang Zhong's waist swayed and swayed as he paced: "If Mr. Jiang really wanted to be subservient, why did he spend all his wealth in the first place just to see the emperor?"

Jiang Bin was stunned for a moment, thinking that this Eunuch Zhang might have known about his bribery of Qian Ning back then, but he couldn't figure out why this Eunuch Zhang was looking for him in private.

"Although Mr. Jiang is the governor of the left, he only has the right to command troops but not the right to deploy troops, while the Yumajian is the opposite..." Zhang Zhong's gray temples formed a character with a smile, "Mr. Qian is the commander of the Jinyiwei. Listen to the emperor alone..."

Jiang Bin figured it out. According to Qian Ning's short-sighted and conceited temperament, he only wanted to please Emperor Zhengde all day long, and disdained to form a party with others. As Zhang Zhong said, the governor's office and the Ministry of War of the Five Armies were all under the orders of Emperor Zhengde. The Dudufu of the Five Armies to which it belongs has the right to command troops but not the right to deploy them, and the Ministry of War has the right to deploy troops but not to command them.The Yuma Supervisor commanded the Warrior Battalion and the Four Guards Battalion, and held the military handle together with the Ministry of War and the governor.Jiang Binruo's alliance with Zhang Zhong can be said to be mutually beneficial.However, if this matter is revealed, he may not be able to bear the charge of forming a faction...

Seeing Jiang Bin's hesitation, Zhang Zhong looked at the arrow that pierced through the bull's-eye with his hands behind his back and said, "This matter is not in a hurry, but Mr. Jiang is alone and weak. If you want to gain a foothold in this official path, I am afraid that Mr. Qian will pass... "

Jiang Bin rubbed his bow, thinking of Qian Ning's tit-for-tat confrontation that wanted to deal with it quickly, and the military officer's contempt and neglect for him.

The setting sun shone on a red line drawn by a string on his thumb. This string has been stretched for decades. What he wants is not just the empty name of "adopted son".

"Eunuch Zhang, please take a step to speak." Jiang Bin finally turned sideways and said respectfully.

When the sun fell, Jiang Bin woke up Emperor Zhengde.When Emperor Zhengde sat up from the sandalwood bed, he put on the silk uniform for him, and waited for him to wipe his face.

Emperor Zhengde propped his head up to watch Jiang Bin open the window for ventilation, looked at it, and suddenly said: "In your opinion, how should Gu Qing deal with this?"

Jiang Bin's subordinates paused: "Gu Qing has always regarded himself as upright, but today he dared to 'directly speak' to the court, he must have made a plan."

"Plan?" Zhengde got up and sat down at the lacquered wooden table and said with a sneer, "The plan is that I, the foolish king, will take his head! So that he will live forever!"

Jiang Bin turned around to grind ink for Emperor Zhengde, but did not answer his words.

Emperor Zhengde looked at Jiang Bin's repeated movements, and seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he only sighed.

The next day, Gu Qing, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, was promoted to the magistrate of Guizhou.When Lu Qing received the imperial decree, he could only blushed and thanked him.Dongchang stalls vividly described Gu Qing's various expressions after receiving the imperial edict.

Emperor Zhengde, who squinted his eyes when he heard it in the Octagonal Pavilion, finally just stretched his waist, and waved his hand to get the head back.

Jiang Bin was about to ask Emperor Zhengde if he would watch the Beijing army training tomorrow, but Emperor Zhengde suddenly poked him with a wine glass and said, "I always call you Zuo Dudu, it seems to be a bit of a gift, I heard that a low name is easy to raise, why don't I get one for you too? "

Jiang Bin said with a numb face: "It's up to the emperor to decide."

Zhengde thought for a long time, then slapped his thigh and said, "How about the 'second wife'?"

"Two... is it?"

Emperor Zhengde seemed to be interested, he straightened up and pointed at himself, "Have I ever been married?"

"Successful."

"Have you been given a house?"

"Given it."

"Have you ever rewarded you with gold and jade?"

"Rewarded."

"Have you ever slept on your bed?"

"Slept."

"Then you are my 'mistress'".

Emperor Zhengde spread his hands.

The so-called sleeping on the couch was just that Emperor Zhengde went to Jiang Bin's house to "supervise the workers" and lay down on the bed by the way.Jiang Bin always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't pry into Emperor Zhengde's mind, so he could only kowtow and thank him.Since then, Jiang Bin has become the only "second wife" among the sons adopted by Emperor Zhengde to relieve boredom.Of course, Jiang Bin also has ways of revenge, such as reporting Emperor Zhengde's accidental wind and cold to Wu Jie, who caused Emperor Zhengde a headache in a few days.

Who is Wu Jie?Jiang Bin's first impression of Wu Jie was that it was another pillow of Emperor Zhengde.Back then, Jiang Bin returned to the Xuan Mansion in a hurry, and drove straight in without waiting for the servant to report back, so he saw the handsome Wu Jie who was sleeping on the shoulders of the Emperor Zhengde.Wu Jie was an imperial doctor who was promoted from the folk to the court because of his meritorious service in treating Emperor Hongzhi's headache.Different from those colleagues who are born and bred and follow the rules, Wu Jie always wears a refined smile and chokes a group of people to death with a single sentence.

At this moment, Wu Jie, who was alarmed by the news that "the emperor accidentally caught wind and cold during his night tour", was standing in the room of Emperor Zhengde.Emperor Zhengde sneezed, Wu Jie stepped forward to the bed of Emperor Zhengde, looked down at him condescendingly and said, "Does your majesty still remember what I said?"

Emperor Zhengde sniffed: "It's just the wind and cold! Sweating on the extra bed quilt is..."

"That's right, the emperor just insisted on going hunting in the suburbs of Nanjing in the middle of the night and got caught with the wind and cold! It shouldn't be a serious problem..." Jiang Bin added loyally from the sidelines.After saying that, Emperor Zhengde pinched a piece of flesh on his thigh and pinched him fiercely.

Hearing this, Wu Jie's dimples deepened: "The medicine is three-point poisonous, why don't we use another method to sweat the emperor this time?"

Emperor Zhengde was shocked.