Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 68

Chapter 68 Hidden Worries in a Flourishing Era
Spring is the season of revival, vitality and joy. But at this moment, the situation in Beijing City was completely different. It looked extremely sad and oppressive, especially for the various yamens.

All the officials and civilians in the city were doing this because an old man had let go of them at this moment. This old man’s name was Yang Yu.

Yang Shiqi, born in Taihe, Jiangxi Province, was one of the most outstanding politicians of the Great Ming Dynasty. Since the founding of the Wen Dynasty, he had been an official from five dynasties to Huagaidian University. He was also a minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs and an assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. He could be said to be an extremely human minister.

With the help of his two cabinet colleagues, Daming finally ushered in the first prosperous era of Tomb Cleansing-Ren Xuanzhi after decades of founding of the People’s Republic of China. Back then, because of the Great Ancestor and Taizong Nan’s expedition to the north, the emptiness of the treasury was completely filled. The people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the internal and external troubles were swept away.

And he, along with two other cabinet colleagues, Yang Rong and Yang Pu, were also called the “Three Yang Cabinet” by the descendants. In the eyes of the descendants, this cabinet was the most united and wise cabinet of the Ming Dynasty in more than 200 years. Compared to Liu Xie and Li’s cabinet in the Filial Piety Sect, this cabinet was even more fascinating, and it was not an exaggeration to say a single thing about the first cabinet of the Ming Dynasty.

However, the banquet that ended all over the world, after five dynasties, the old people who had worked hard for the imperial court and the people for decades, finally came to the end of their lives.

Four years ago, Yang Rong died of illness. Four years later, it was Yang Shiqi’s turn. Only Yang Pu, who was the last surviving member of the Three Yang Cabinet, was left to support this prosperous world, but the newcomers had yet to appear. Who can take over their shift?

This was the question of Great Ming in this prosperous era, and it was also the doubt of all the subjects in the world after knowing that Yang Shiqi had passed away. Where would Great Ming go after Three Yang?

Yang Shiqi’s death shook the government and the public. Not only did the officials and the people pay their respects, even Emperor dropped out for a day and issued a decree to pay their respects. Soon afterwards, the honor of his death was announced-the posthumous title of Wen Zhen, bestowed on the Grand Master.

The capital’s March was plunged into mourning, but there were also people who were quite excited about it, because he knew that with Yang Shiqi’s death, the mountain that was pressing down on him had disappeared in two, leaving only Yang Pu who was already old, and the day of his emergence was not far off.

This person was Wang Zhen, the number one person in the Great Ming Imperial Court and the most beloved eunuch of the Son of Heaven!

As a member of the Eastern Palace who grew up in Emperor when he was accompanied by the Crown Prince, Wang Zhen gradually came to prominence in the palace after the orthodox emperor took over the throne. After a few years of dormant training and painstaking management, his influence inside and outside the palace was even more shocking.

Not only did the Son of Heaven rely on him as a trusted aide, he also had countless factions in the court for his use. If it weren’t for the fact that the imperial court was filled with righteous people and the respected old officials of the previous dynasty like Sanyang, this eunuch would have taken advantage of the favor of the Son of Heaven to seize all kinds of power and become a power castrate long ago.

However, now that Yang Shiqi was dead, Wang Zhen, who had always been cautious, could finally display his skills and ambitions, letting the subjects of the world know that he was not just a flatterer!

Unlike many eunuchs before the Great Ming Dynasty, Wang Zhen had not entered the palace since he was young. It was a palace gate that he castrated himself after he reached adulthood and found it difficult to do anything on the path to fame. In fact, he still had the fame of a scholar on him.

Compared to the later eunuchs, Wang Zhen’s knowledge was nothing. However, at this moment, amongst those who were ignorant and didn’t even recognize a single word, they felt like they were standing out from the crowd. As a result, Eunuch Wang, who came from a scholarly background, quickly stood out. Not only was Emperor Xinzhong respectful, even the eunuchs and eunuchs in the palace were respectful and obedient to him.

Under such an environment, Eunuch Wang’s self-confidence naturally expanded infinitely, and his ambition gradually grew. He even had the thought of becoming a cabinet minister and having his achievements praised by future generations.

However, Wang Zhen had clearly overestimated his status and underestimated the disdain and vigilance that civil servants had towards them. Thus, when he had first thought of this idea and hadn’t really done anything, he had been collectively boycotted and suppressed by the officials led by San Yang.

After being unable to stretch his ambition, Wang Zhen could only vent it in other ways. For example, he used all sorts of methods to seize money and benefits, or he continuously bribed the people who planted him in the court, waiting for an opportunity to rise again.

Now that Sanyang was gone, the opportunity was already at hand.

@ @ @ @

Although he was very happy about Yang Shiqi’s death, he could not wait for Yang Pu to go with him. But on the surface, he still had to do it, so when the Yang Clan set up a mourning hall and the officials went to worship, Wang Zhen also followed.

However, after returning from the mourning hall, Wang Zhen’s expression became extremely ugly, and the resentment between his eyebrows was so intense that it could not be dispelled. When he returned to the eunuchs with this expression of frustration, the eunuchs under him didn’t even dare to breathe a single mouthful of air, and they were trembling with fear and carelessness.

Only his closest godson, Wei Zhong, waited for a moment before carefully asking, “Godfather, did those officials offend you?”

“Humph! Our family will make them all kneel down in front of me sooner or later!” After gasping for breath for a while, Wang Zhen said hatefully.

“Godfather, please calm down. Don’t get angry because of these guys. They’re just looking for us to vent their anger because Yang Shiqi is dead …”

“It’s not just because of this. Those civil servants have always looked down on people with incomplete bodies like ours. Why do they think that we should lower them by a head? What a joke. They are all people who listen to His Majesty. Where did they get the confidence to believe that our family would be inferior to theirs!” Wang Zhen had obviously been holding back for a long time, so he couldn’t help but vent his anger.

“Godfather, you’re right. They can’t even compare to us in terms of distance and proximity to His Majesty. With his talent, even His Majesty will call you sir. No matter what, he’s no weaker than those guys!” Wei Zhong hurriedly flattered.

Wang Zhen’s face twitched in pain as he regretted his decision. “In the end, there’s still something missing in our family …” However, he didn’t think that without this knife, he wouldn’t have had the status he had today.

“Godfather, don’t be discouraged. We are not inferior to them. Didn’t the Old Ancestor get respected by the officials back then? Up until now, the people still talk about how good he is from time to time.” The ancestor Wei Zhong spoke of was the famous eunuch of the Yongle Dynasty, Zheng He.

Hearing him mention Zheng He, Wang Zhen’s eyes revealed a look of envy, “Our family’s requirements are not high. As long as we can be as satisfied as our ancestor was back then, we will be satisfied. Tell me, what should we do to achieve this?”

Wei Zhong was stunned when he asked this question. How could a eunuch with no power and knowledge give an answer? Fortunately, he was also a rather intelligent fellow. In a moment of shock, he had already said, “Godfather, according to my child, it should be the status of the Old Ancestor who was shot out with a real saber and a real gun. During the calamity, the Old Ancestor had brought soldiers …”

“Lead the troops?” When Wang Zhen heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up. “That’s right! The old ancestor is respected by all officials. Apart from being favoured by the Emperor of the Taizong Sect, his military contributions are also very important. I heard that his surname Zheng is also given by the Emperor of the Taizong Sect because of his merits.” At this point, the envy in his eyes became even more intense. The benefits given by the Son of Heaven, which even ordinary officials could not obtain, were obtained by the Old Ancestor. He truly hoped that he would have such a glorious day.

But soon, the excitement cooled down. “How could there be such an opportunity in this peaceful and prosperous era?”

Wei Zhong didn’t dare to answer, because he had no right to say anything on this matter, so he could only laugh apologetically at the side.

“Ah … it’s a pity that because of a moment of softness of heart, I promised those Tartars. Otherwise, I might really have a chance.” After a moment of silence, Wang Zhen sighed repeatedly.

He was referring to a few months ago, when the Mongolian envoy asked the Imperial Court to open a discussion. At that time, those Meng people had put in a lot of effort to get things done, and Wang Zhen, who was beside Emperor, had also received many benefits. It was precisely because of what he had said that this matter could be accomplished quickly.

But now, Wang Zhen regretted it. If he were to interfere, and if the Meng people’s demands were not met, perhaps they would meet the Great Ming Saber Armament. At that time, he would ask Emperor for a decree, and then learn from the old ancestor to lead the troops to kill all of these Dazi. Wouldn’t he have obtained this military merit?

Wang Zhen was right, but he clearly ignored the gap between his own abilities and Zheng He’s. He thought that he would be able to win a big victory if he went. As for how many soldiers would die in battle and how many innocent civilians would be annihilated once the two sides started a war, he would not think about all of this.

“Godfather, when I mentioned Dazi, I remembered something. Previously, there was a Great Harmony Commander who submitted a report to seek credit for a local county magistrate, saying that he created a sharp weapon to defend against the enemy.” Wei Zhong suddenly said.

“Oh? Is there anything else? Go, bring me that watch.” Wang Zhen immediately became interested and waved his hand.

Wei Zhong didn’t dare to neglect, and after a while, he found out Hu Sui’s letter of credit. Neither the civil servants nor the imperial examiner cared too much about this kind of watch that had nothing to do with the war, so they were quickly suppressed to the ground. If Wei Zhong hadn’t mentioned it now, it would have become a pile of waste paper.

After reading the description above, Wang Zhen thought, “This county magistrate Guang Ling called Lu Zhen is interesting …” However, he did not mention any rewards. After all, county magistrate Lu had nothing to do with him. How could he help him? However, he remembered the name of this small county magistrate in his heart.

No one inside or outside the Imperial Court knew that an idea had already arisen in Eunuch Wang’s heart, and this would be the beginning of changing the entire situation of Great Ming …