The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 390 Believe it or not
On July [-], Zhang Zhou predicted that there would be an earthquake in the capital the day before.

In the early court, after everything had been discussed, Zhu Youtang specially rewarded Xu Qiong at the court, and allowed Xu Qiong's request to be an official, and gave him money to allow him to return to his hometown.

At the same time, according to the results that had been pushed by the court before, Lin Han was almost "favored by all", and succeeded to the post of Minister of Rites on the spot, not even delayed until the second day after Xu Qiong left office.

"I have one more thing to say."

Before the court meeting was dissolved, Zhu Youtang said earnestly, "Before Bingkuan left, the prophecy said that there will be an earthquake in the capital..."

"what!?"

When the ministers present heard it, there was an uproar as expected.

Sure enough, there is something tricky behind it. It turns out that the emperor and Zhang Zhou are waiting here. Let the emperor send Zhang Zhou to Nanjing for an inconspicuous hail disaster. Head up.

No wonder the emperor didn't hesitate so much when he was sent to the Min Gui Prison. In fact, it was to show that after Zhang Zhou left the capital, any disasters that happened in the capital could not be related to Zhang Zhou.

And Min Gui is the one who doesn't follow the rules of the game.

Min Gui has not yet come out of the imperial prison.

Zhu Youtang said: "I don't know when the earthquake will occur. You should take precautions tonight. In this way, you can stop the day tomorrow, and at the same time, make this matter public, so that the soldiers and the people can prepare themselves, so that there will be no accidents." Any injury to humans or animals."

Liu Jian came out and said, "Is it credible to ask His Majesty for such an earth-shattering prophecy?"

Zhu Youtang didn't care about other people's doubts at all, and said indifferently: "Whether it's credible or not, I can't tell. Who knows if things that haven't happened will definitely happen? It's all up to people's hearts to decide. That's it. .Retire!"

The meaning of the emperor.

Believe it or not, I put my words here, Zhang Bingkuan really said so, if you don’t believe it, then stay in the house tomorrow, or find a dangerous wall to stand next to, that is to confront Zhang Zhou’s prophecy , who can control it?
……

……

The meeting ended.

Everyone came out of Fengtian Hall, and immediately gathered together again, this time there were much fewer surprise-like discussions.

Now the emperor belongs to the "showdown", and set a three-month "disaster" buffer period, but within a few days, Zhang Zhou just ran out of the capital, and the capital earthquake came here! ?
Who would have believed this in the past?
Yuan Shou said straightly: "Zhang Bingkuan is intimidating us, we must not believe his nonsense."

Xu Qiong, as a minister who has already retired, should go up to say goodbye no matter what other people's attitudes towards him after the court meeting, but suddenly Zhang Zhou predicted the earthquake in the capital, and he became an indifferent person "Little people".

Even the newly appointed Minister of Rites, Lin Han, was left out in the cold.

After all, Xie Qian is a man of the scene, he walked over to talk to Xu Qiong and Lin Han, and then said with emotion: "...Now that I think about it, it is a good thing to be able to return to my hometown to spend my life, and it is enviable. "

To outsiders, these words are a bit "insincere".

You envy, you can also resign and return home, no one stops you.

Xu Qiong said: "Everyone, I have served the imperial court. Up to now, I still have many regrets that I have not completed, so I will ask you all. I will leave to return to my hometown in two days, and you don't have to send it away. I hope that I will return to you in my lifetime." See you later."

Then everyone bid farewell to Xu Qiong.

After Xu Qiong, Lin Han and others left first, a group of people surrounded the three members of the cabinet and Tu Yu.

"At this time, if there is an earthquake tomorrow, what should we do? Will His Majesty call Zhang Bingkuan back? Isn't the previous effort in vain?" Everyone chattered.

Tu Yuyi said righteously: "Let's not talk about whether the earthquake will really come, I don't believe it. God can always follow Zhang Bingkuan's intention? Then does Zhang Bingkuan represent God?"

Everyone looked at each other.

This is a bit too much... If Zhang Bingkuan didn't have the ability to comprehend the will of heaven, then why he was hit accurately time after time before?
Tu Yu continued: "If he wants to use the disaster to build a reputation for himself, the previous hail disaster will not have to be done to others. Who dares to say that the previous hail disaster was not due to His Majesty's deliberate effort to attribute credit to him?"

Zhou Jingdao: "That's what I said, but I'm afraid..."

"Even if there was an earthquake, wouldn't it have nothing to do with him? You have been in the court for many years, why are you still timid because of a young and vigorous young man?" Tu Yu looked very angry.

With Tu Yu coming out to "support the scene", the pressure on the three members of the cabinet suddenly became much less.

Xie Qian also smiled and said: "That's right. Last year, there were many earthquakes in various places, and Zhang Bingkuan was hit early every time. Don't worry, everyone."

Dali Temple Minister Wang Shi asked: "Is there such a possibility? Because the earthquakes in various places in the past were only minor earthquakes, and no civilian casualties occurred, so Zhang Bingkuan felt that there was no need to report it?"

A group of people suddenly stared at Wang Shi.

Wang Shi suddenly felt that he was losing face.

Wang Shi's position in the court is a bit embarrassing. He has been working as the Minister of Dali Temple for several years. Originally, he had a chance to be Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice or Zuodu Yushi, but now he has not even got a nomination. It seems that he If you want to go further, you can only go to the position of the Six Books of Nanjing to develop...

Tu Yu said: "Then you mean that the earthquake in Shuntian Mansion will be serious tomorrow?"

Wang Shi said helplessly, "It's just an assumption."

"There is no such assumption." Tu Yu said, "No one has ever been able to detect the earthquake in advance, let alone an earthquake that occurred at the feet of the Son of Heaven. I don't believe it..."

Hearing this, many people are already whispering in their hearts.

If this is Zhang Bingkuan's first prophecy about an earthquake, that's fine. We can call him nonsense, but the problem is...he has already hit it successfully, more than once...this time it is also related to his own personal interests. Would it be such a "mistake" to say yes, but no result?
It can even be said that even if there is no hit, it may be that Zhang Bingkuan missed the hit intentionally, so that the emperor lowered his trust in him, and in exchange for the opportunity to live in peace with us.

Otherwise, it would be hard to believe that it was explained as his miscalculation.

"Let's go, don't worry about disasters that haven't happened. You have read the books of sages. What's the point of saying this in advance?" Liu Jian, as the chief assistant, can be regarded as setting the tone.

Since we are not sure whether there will be an earthquake tomorrow, we will discuss this issue after tomorrow.

Whether it happens or not, we have to wait until after the fact to discuss the countermeasures, otherwise it will appear that we are worrying unfoundedly.

Afterwards, the crowd dispersed, and everyone said something close to "Zhang Bingkuan is just trying to confuse the crowd". It seemed that no one would believe that an earthquake would really happen in the future.

……

……

Inside Qingning Palace.

Zhu Youtang was greeting the Empress Dowager Zhou, and the Empress Dowager Zhou blamed her grandson for transferring Zhang Zhou away from the capital.

"Give up a capable minister like Bing Kuan just because of some unreasonable criticisms from the people in the court. The Ai family thinks that the emperor is too hasty." The Empress Dowager Zhou said.

Zhu Youtang explained: "Grandmother, this is an agreement between grandson and Bingkuan. There will be an earthquake in the capital tomorrow. This also shows that the disaster in the capital has nothing to do with him, and he has important things to do when he goes to Jiangnan. He has a mission, and he will definitely be entrusted with a heavy responsibility when he returns. The position of minister of the Ministry of War will be reserved for him."

In front of the old lady, the grandson can't hide it.

Who said I plan to give up using him?

It was also clearly stated that the position of Minister of the Ministry of War was prepared for him!

The Empress Dowager Zhou was a little relieved when she heard the words, and said: "Will there be an earthquake tomorrow? Will Ai's family also move out?"

Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan said that this earthquake will not be too serious, as long as the houses are built strong enough, like the pavilions in the palace, as long as they are not in disrepair for a long time, there is no problem. So the emperor's grandmother Don't worry too much."

"That's good." The Queen Mother Zhou said, "But in case of accidents, the Ai family should set up a tent outside tonight."

"This……"

Zhu Youtang felt that he seemed to have cheated the old lady.

Jiang Lu who was next to her said: "Empress Dowager, the summer heat has just gone, and there are a lot of mosquitoes. If you go out of the palace, I'm afraid it will be night... not very easy to guard against."

"It's better than stepping on the palace, and it's better to suppress people!" The Empress Dowager Zhou said, "When Li Guang was there before, I was always afraid that some natural and man-made disaster would happen because of him, but now I use Bingkuan. What natural and man-made disasters can he tell in advance... Can this be the same? So, emperor, you still have to have a discerning eye to know who is available and who is not."

"Yes, grandson has been educated." Zhu Youtang hurriedly said.

"By the way, emperor, when will your concubine outside the palace give birth?" asked the Queen Mother Zhou.

"It's been these two days." Zhu Youtang said, "In fact, it has exceeded the expected delivery time, and I have sent someone to take care of it at all times."

The Empress Dowager Zhou said with a smile: "If the world is spinning and the earth is shaking, and you can add another heir to yourself, the Ai family thinks that this is the grace of God to you, and the meaning will be extraordinary."

Zhu Youtang said: "Grandmother, it's really good to have a baby during the earthquake?"

Those who are emperors feel that the old lady is "seeking trouble for nothing".

If he had a son born on the day of the earthquake, wouldn't others regard this son as a "disaster"?But the old lady insisted on saying that this is grace, which probably meant to turn bad things in a good direction.

The Empress Dowager Zhou sighed: "Anyway, I hope to be the heir of the emperor. If it's a little princess...it's always a little imperfect. You have to bring someone into the palace, and then pay homage to the Ai family. The Ai family can still help you." You keep her."

This is clearly hinting to the grandson that if you, the imperial concubine, move to the palace, your safety will not be guaranteed because you have a jealous wife.

"Yes." Zhu Youtang agreed.

Empress Dowager Zhou said: "I heard that the two Zhang family have returned to the capital these two days?"

"I'm back, today we went to the palace together to meet the queen." Zhu Youtang said, "Grandson doesn't plan to see them anymore! They didn't make much contribution in the Northwest and Liaodong, and even if they did, it would be Bingkuan I got it from helping each other. I didn't intend to grant them titles either."

"You should be rewarded for meritorious service, but you can't entrust them too much. You should know what they look like. But hurry up and bring Bing Kuan back. Ai's family didn't see him for a while, and they still panicked. Bing Kuan is very good at handling things... ...Ai’s family still has something to ask him to help with.”

"What's the matter with the emperor's grandmother, it's the same as telling her grandson."

"No." Empress Dowager Zhou said, "There are some things that must be done by him."

……

……

Zhu Youtang left Qingning Palace.

Seeing the calm and relaxed expression of the Empress Dowager Zhou, Jiang Lu asked: "Empress Dowager, what's the matter with you, I can help you with it."

"Aside from wanting to have more great-grandchildren, what other ideas does the Ai family have?" Queen Mother Zhou said.

"Then you..."

"You want to ask, what does Aijia want Zhang Bingkuan to do? Aijia doesn't need him to do anything. Aijia just wants the emperor to think more about what's behind it." The old fox's smile appeared on the Queen Mother Zhou's face.

Jiang Lu said: "This servant does not understand."

Empress Dowager Zhou got up and said: "You don't need to understand, Zhang Bingkuan's mission has actually been almost completed, if the emperor trusts him more than those ministers, then there will be no peace in the court in the future, Aijia is actually alienating Don’t you understand their monarchs and ministers?”

"Ah?" Jiang Lu felt that he asked something he shouldn't ask, and also knew something he shouldn't know.

The Empress Dowager Zhou said: "However, Zhang Bingkuan's use of troops is a unique skill. In the future, we will install some kind of Northwest General System for him, let him guard the frontier, and there will be no conflicts with the ministers of the court. After ten or twenty years, he will be equal. Grassland, when I came back, I was not so close to His Majesty, so I was just an ordinary courtier. Hehe. At that time, the Ai family was no longer there. After the Ai family is buried, the Ai family will not be able to control the direction of the Ming Dynasty. .”

……

……

Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling went to Kunning Palace to visit their sister, but they didn't see Zhu Youtang, nor did they get the desired reward.

The two walked out of the palace with displeased faces.

"Second brother, tell me, we have contributed so much, my Duke Chang and your Marquis Jianchang have not been found yet. Has Your Majesty forgotten us?" Zhang Heling looked at his younger brother who was walking on the side of his head.

Zhang Yanling said: "I just want to live a peaceful life in the capital for a few days."

Zhang Heling scolded: "You son of a bitch, didn't my sister say that we should check the woman outside the palace? In the future, our sister will not be the only mistress of the palace. What if something happens to our nephew?" , it will be the people over there who will gain power in the future.”

Zhang Yanling yawned, and was about to say something, but the yawn just opened his mouth, and then stopped abruptly, almost staying there.

Because he saw a "malicious" person standing not far away, looking at them with a smile.

"I'll go." Zhang Heling said, "This kid really can't stand talking about it."

It was Zhu Houzhao.

"You two uncles, are you in good health? You went to the frontier to fight, but you can still come back alive? It's strange, strange." Zhu Houzhao took the initiative to greet him with a spring-like smile on his face.

Although the words... are not so pleasant.

Zhang Heling said: "Prince, what are you doing? After my brother enters the palace to meet your mother, why are you blocking the way here?"

"Don't be nervous, I didn't come to ask you for money, besides, you don't owe me money, do you?"

Zhu Houzhao came over. At this time, he was half a head taller than last year. He came over and held an uncle's hand, and was about to pull it in the direction of Wenhua Palace.

Zhang Yanling shouted: "What is the crown prince going to do?"

"It's not that I ate you!" Zhu Houzhao suddenly became a little angry, "I just showed you some interesting things. I haven't had a chance to go out of the palace recently. I heard that the two uncles came back. I miss you very much. It happened to be with you Do you want to study the military situation together? Is there anything good to share with you?"

"Pooh!"

Zhang Heling shook off his nephew's hand first.

Now when I looked at Zhu Houzhao's eyes again, I found that there was a bit of shame and hatred in those eyes.

There is a kind of meaning of "you brothers are toasting and not eating fine wine".

Zhang Heling said with a smile on his face: "What's the fun for the prince, let's find Mr. Zhang, the Duke of Lai. He is capable, we can't."

Zhu Houzhao said: "I can find him, but you? He has already gone to Nanjing! I also want to go, do you two cooperate?"

"..."

The two brothers looked at each other, and only then did they realize why the eldest nephew was so enthusiastic.

Originally, they wanted to take advantage of their simplicity, or stupidity, to help them leave the palace, and even leave the capital for Nanjing to join Zhang Zhou.

"Looking at your appearance, you are not very cooperative. I also heard that before leaving, Mr. Zhang said that there will be an earthquake tomorrow. I have repaired a room for you, and I will arrange you in it from tonight to tomorrow." Hold on, if you haven't been crushed to death after tomorrow, then I will let you go!" Zhu Houzhao threatened.

"What?" Zhang Yanling jumped up on the spot when he heard it.

With such a threat?
Looking at Zhu Houzhao's side, several eunuchs in the East Palace had already stood together. Even if there were no court guards, if seven or eight people came, three or four people could catch them to the East Palace.

Zhang Heling said anxiously: "Prince, what are you going to do? If you have something to say, speak up."

While talking, he was looking for a place and ready to sneak away.

Zhang Yanling said from the side: "Brother, what are you afraid of? I don't believe this kid dares to mess around! Brother-in-law will definitely not let him go!"

"Not yet enlightened? Go up and take people away!"

Zhu Houzhao gave an order, and the eunuchs of the East Palace first rushed forward, and there were more than a dozen younger ones, chasing the Zhang brothers all over the place.

The two were obviously weak in physical strength, and were quickly captured by a group of young eunuchs who usually worked, and pressed to the ground.

Zhu Houzhao walked over and said with a smile: "That's it, please go to the East Palace and show you something nice, if you don't go. Now it's up to you."

"Prince, what are you going to do?" Zhang Heling asked with a mournful face.

"Ah! Come on!" Zhang Yanling yelled.

Zhu Houzhao shouted: "Gag him!"

Immediately, he realized that there was no gag cloth, and he was not prepared enough, then he took off his shoes, took off his socks, and handed them to Liu Jin, and then Liu Jin knew what to do...

"One is not enough." Liu Jin said.

"Don't you have one yourself?" Zhu Houzhao said angrily.

Liu Jin felt resentful.

Your socks are fine as a gag, mine... unless you don't want to get along with the Zhang family brothers in the future.

Zhu Houzhao angrily took off his other sock and threw it to Liu Jin, and then the two brothers were carried by a group of young eunuchs.

"Today is full of harvest."

Zhu Houzhao took his group of eunuchs from the East Palace, carrying two "trophies", and headed for the East Palace in a mighty way.

(End of this chapter)