The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Meridian Gate, in front of the wide courtyard,

In the duty room of the Ministry of War, Su Jin, the chief secretary of the Ministry of War, breathed hard, looked at Zhang Fuhua, and asked doubtfully: "Budong, can you smell a burning smell?"

Zhang Fuhua moved his nose and took a deep breath: "It smells a little burnt."

It was still bitingly cold in Beijing at the end of March.

The duty room was like an ice cellar for storing vegetables. The elderly minister liked to keep himself warm by the fire, so he must have burned his clothes.

"Sir, please go out and take a look, there's so much smoke!" the clerk shouted.

Zhang Fuhua secretly felt that something was not good, so he left Shuzuo and ran out. What he saw was a straight line of black smoke, which was in the direction of Qianqing Palace.

Many officials came out of the duty room one after another, dumbfounded, looking not far away.

Outside the Meridian Gate, He Neng approached the sedan with a smile and said, "Look, young master, there is so much smoke. I wonder if some prodigal has burned down the house. This is rare."

The fire must have started somewhere, so why should we rejoice in the misfortune?

Yan Chengjin was about to scold this bitch, but when he opened the sedan curtain, he couldn't help but make a sound of straw.

A column of black smoke rose from the palace wall, like the sun rising from the horizon.

A thought came to mind, wouldn't Zhu Houzhao set fire to the palace?

At this time, Qianqing Palace.

Flames burst out from the pillar walls, and the fire covered the entire temple.

The Supreme Emperor Hongzhi's face was so gloomy that he could shed tears. Yesterday, he just gave the emperor's bedroom to Zhu Houzhao. This precious child of his is really willing to do anything!

"What did you do?"

“Eat hot pot.”

The Supreme Emperor Hongzhi responded quickly and rewarded Zhu Houzhao with a violent chestnut.

Zhu Houzhao covered his head and grimaced in pain.

Not satisfied with this, the Supreme Emperor Hongzhi excitedly picked up the dragon-beating whip at hand and hit Zhu Houzhao on his head and face, saying while beating him.

"Let you eat hot pot! Let you eat hot pot!"

Xiao Jing couldn't help but trembled, his eyes couldn't bear to look directly, and he said cautiously: "Your Majesty, all the princes know it."

It's over, my virtuous reputation is completely ruined.

Qianqing Palace was the emperor's bedroom, and the new emperor burned it down as soon as he moved in.

The princes not only wanted to scold the new emperor for being a playboy, but also scolded him for his failure to educate his children and for giving birth to such rebellious sons.

Zhu Houzhao knew that the only one who could save him was Yan Chengjin, "Where is Lao Gao?"

When Yan Chengjin arrived, the Qianqing Palace had already burned down, and the pillars were still burning with residual fire and thick smoke billowing out.

Fortunately, there were no casualties.

The Supreme Emperor Hongzhi's face was stiff and he looked directly at Yan Chengjin. After a pause, he said, "Did the new emperor learn how to eat hot pot from you?"

Yan Chengjin's eyes moved slightly.

It’s not safe to eat hot pot. What if you order the house? The houses are connected together, making it difficult for a person to splash water onto the roof.

It would be very dangerous if a house was set on fire.

It seems that hotpot will no longer be available in the house from now on.

"I did eat hot pot at my residence, but the fire that the hot pot can ignite is not strong enough to burn down the palace. Does the new emperor really eat hot pot?"

Zhu Houzhao had a loyal and honest expression and blinked: "Lao Gao, I am really eating hot pot."

Even if the Supreme Emperor Hongzhi was deceived by Zhu Houzhao, Yan Chengjin would never be deceived by him.

How could Zhu Houzhao be a master who would admit his mistakes obediently? If he did so obediently, then there would be something fishy.

This guy is not eating hot pot!

But now it was time to test the brotherhood, and he stood aside and said nothing.

The Supreme Emperor Hongzhi sighed angrily.

At this time, a voice next to my ear said: "The Supreme Emperor, all the princes are coming to Qianqing Palace, and there is no way to stop them."

If the princes knew about this, they would not give up easily.

Although he was fighting for power in the court, the Supreme Emperor also wanted his son to become a virtuous king, so he turned around and said, "Let the gentlemen go to Fengtian Palace, and I will go there later."

After taking a few steps, the Supreme Emperor Hongzhi turned his head again: "You and the Yan Qing family are coming too!"

Zhu Houzhao did not expect that his father would ask him to go to Fengtian Temple with him, but he walked very slowly and soon reached the back of the team.

"Lao Gao, you owe me a huge favor. I got beaten because of you."

Yan Chengjin hurriedly blocked the man's mouth. Seeing that the Emperor didn't seem to hear him, he turned into the palace alley.

But he is confused, what does it have to do with me?

"What did you burn?!"

Zhu Houzhao snorted and said angrily: "It's a hanging lantern. I bought a hanging lantern in Liangxiang and was about to celebrate the housewarming when it caught fire."

Yan Chengjin didn't say much.

Zhu Houzhao liked to hunt for novelties in Liangxiang. If this thing was really bought in Liangxiang, it really has something to do with him.

Fengtian Temple,

The Supreme Emperor Hongzhi sat on the throne and struggled for half an hour. He was exhausted and on the verge of collapse, but he still had to face questions from hundreds of officials.

Liu Jian was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, that black smoke just now?"

He is a thoughtful person who can predict further things based on details and guess the answers in his mind.

But it still feels impossible.

"The new emperor burned down Qianqing Palace. Where are he and Yan Qing's family?"

All the officials were filled with astonishment.

Liu Jian and Li Dongyang looked at each other but remained silent.

Xiao Jing said quickly: "It's right behind, I'll go and urge you personally."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Chengjin and Zhu Houzhao walked in from the main entrance, and there were whispers in the hall, all of them scolding Zhu Houzhao.

The Supreme Emperor Hongzhi frowned and looked at Zhu Houzhao: "You can tell the princes yourself."

Yan Chengjin bowed and said, "There is something fishy about this. The hotpot's brazier is extremely small and it uses charcoal. It cannot be burned without open fire."

The ministers glanced at it and listened quietly.

"The new emperor said that the hanging lanterns were purchased from Liangxiang. I have to go back to the palace to ask before I can give the emperor an answer."

The faces of all the officials were different.

When the emperor heard this, his face eased a little. It was not because of the hot pot, but it showed that the prince was not so stupid.

Naturally, he wanted Yan Chengjin to investigate.

At this moment, the eunuch came in and reported: "Shuntian Prefecture Governor Liu Qing wants to see you."

Liu Qing walked into the hall and looked at Zhu Houzhao deeply. Good boy, you are the only emperor in the Ming Dynasty who dares to do this.

He bowed slightly and said: "Today, a Frenchman came to the yamen to beat the drum, saying that he was an envoy of the Tudor Kingdom and wanted to meet the emperor."

Yan Chengjin saw this and stood up to leave.

Back to the mansion, he called Wang Bushui and Xie Yu, both of whom said that Liangxiang did not do the business of hanging lanterns.

Liangxiang gathers merchants from all over the world, and there are all kinds of goods.

But when I saw the hanging lantern, I was a little surprised. The white cloth on the hanging lantern was patterned with various patterns such as mandarin ducks and bluebirds.

The key is its fire, which looks like black stone and can smell of sulfur.

When it is lit, it makes a sizzling sound and the flame is extremely fierce.

"Red phosphorus?"

The discovery of phosphorus means that matches will also appear.

But the Ming Dynasty is still using fire sticks. Phosphorus was discovered a hundred years earlier. This is not something produced in Liangxiang.

Yan Chengjin looked at Wang Bushui, "Who sold this?"

Wang Bushui heard that the palace where the emperor slept was burned, and his legs trembled with fear: "I don't know either."

Before the hanging lantern was sold, it had already been passed on several times.

"Go to the Wucheng Bingmasi."