RPAGF Chapter 7 My Empire is Sick
Chapter 7 My Empire is Sick
Inside the Longevity Palace.
silence.
The air was filled with various unpleasant smells.
The Jiajing Emperor lay prone on the cold, gold-brick floor, his cheeks swollen and blood still seeping from the corner of his mouth.
Our ancestors have truly come back to life.
Gods really exist.
What he had been obsessed with for twenty years was now laid out before him.
Zhu Di's slap completely jolted him awake from his dream of immortality.
The blue flame in Zhu Zai Rui's palm burned away all his understanding.
It turns out that the stuff he concocted was nothing more than a fart.
He's a joke.
A complete joke.
Zhu Di glanced at the unconscious Yan Song, his face revealing undisguised disgust.
He kicked the limp old man into a corner to keep him out of the way.
Then, he walked to the only relatively clean chair in the hall, sat down with an air of authority, and slammed the "Yongle Imperial Sword" onto the table next to him.
"Clang!" The sound startled Jiajing, making him tremble all over.
"come over."
Emperor Jiajing, feeling as if granted a pardon, crawled on his knees to Zhu Di, prostrated himself on the ground with his forehead pressed tightly to the earth, and said in a trembling voice, "Your unworthy descendant Zhu Houcong pays his respects to Grandfather Chengzu... Your grandson deserves to die a thousand deaths, I beg for your forgiveness, ancestor..."
He no longer dares to refer to himself as "朕" (the imperial "I"), but only as "孙儿" (his grandson).
"Deserving of death?" Zhu Di sneered. "Then tell me, what crimes have you committed?"
Jiajing's body trembled even more violently, and sweat mixed with blood slid down his forehead.
What crimes did he commit?
He didn't know where to begin.
Has he neglected court affairs for twenty years, thus abandoning state matters?
Is he obsessed with alchemy, wasting countless amounts of silver?
Was it the favoritism towards treacherous officials like Yan Song that led to the corruption of the court and the suffering of the people?
Or... just now, you were yelling and shouting at your own ancestors, threatening to kill them?
Each one of them is enough to get you beaten to death.
"Grandson...Grandson..." Jiajing stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Zhu Di's patience ran out.
"I will speak for you!"
He slammed his hand on the table, making the longsword jump.
"What did I see on my way from Wudang Mountain?"
"The official roads are in disrepair, and the post stations are abandoned! The canals are not filled with grain transport boats, but with pleasure boats for your own enjoyment!"
"This strategically important area, which should be the most prosperous place in the land, has vast tracts of fertile land lying fallow! Nine out of ten villages are empty, and you can't even see a decent person in sight!"
"And you!"
Zhu Di poked Jiajing's nose with his finger. "As the Son of Heaven, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty! Hiding in this smoky, chaotic place, playing with a bunch of charlatans and burning stones!"
"Who have you done right?!"
"Do you have any respect for the empire established by our founding emperor?! Do you have any respect for my determination to move the capital to Beijing and for the emperor to guard the nation's borders?! Do you have any respect for the soldiers who died on the battlefield to protect this country?!"
Every word Zhu Di uttered struck Jiajing's heart like a hammer blow.
He lay on the ground, too afraid to make a sound.
He had never been reprimanded like this before.
He was the emperor, and from childhood to adulthood, everyone fawned over him and treated him with utmost respect.
This was the first time someone had pointed their finger at him and berated him mercilessly, and he couldn't refute it.
Because Zhu Di certainly had the right to criticize.
Zhu Zaiyi watched quietly from the side, having already withdrawn the Samadhi True Fire from his palm.
Zhu Di's anger was not only directed at Jiajing personally, but also at his disappointment and heartache over the changes that had taken place in the country more than a hundred years after his departure.
Zhu Di was exhausted from scolding, and his chest heaved violently.
He was, after all, a person from over a hundred years ago. Although his body had been enhanced by the system, the intense fluctuations in his emotions still left him feeling exhausted.
He took a few deep breaths, picked up the tea that Jiajing hadn't had time to drink earlier, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Pooh!"
He spat out all the tea in one gulp.
"What the hell is this? It smells awful!"
Emperor Jiajing was terrified and hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, this is...this is 'immortal tea' brewed with morning dew..."
"Immortal my foot!" Zhu Di slammed his teacup down, shattering it. "From this day forward, if I ever hear the word 'immortal' from your mouth again, I'll cut your tongue out!"
"Yes...yes! Your grandson obeys! Your grandson will never dare to do it again!" Jiajing hurriedly kowtowed.
Silence fell over the hall once again.
After a long while, Zhu Di's voice rang out again, but this time, it was filled with exhaustion.
"My empire is sick."
"And he is quite ill."
He turned to look at Zhu Zaiyi, who had remained silent.
"Rui'er".
"Your grandson is here." Zhu Zai Rui stepped forward.
In front of Zhu Di, he also referred to himself as his grandson.
"Tell me the truth, just how rotten is this family now?" Zhu Di's gaze was deep, as if he could see through the entire Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Zaiyi pondered for a moment.
He knew that what Zhu Di needed was the most accurate information.
"Reporting to the Great Ancestor," he said slowly, organizing his thoughts.
"In the imperial court, the Yan faction held absolute power, selling official positions and persecuting loyal officials. Among the officials, eight or nine out of ten were their protégés and former subordinates."
"In the north, Altan Khan often led his troops to raid the passes, burning, killing, and looting, and at one point his army was at the gates of Beijing."
"In the south, Japanese pirates roam freely, and from Liaodong to Guangdong, there is no peace along the vast coastline. Although generals such as Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou have won many victories, the court has been hindering them, and the supply of provisions has been insufficient, making it difficult to eradicate them."
"The national treasury is always short of funds. In order to make up for the deficit, we can only impose three additional taxes, which the people are already under unbearable burden, and there are many refugees."
With each word Zhu Zaiyi spoke, Zhu Di's expression grew increasingly grim.
When Zhu Zai Rui finished speaking, Zhu Di's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
He did not get angry again, nor did he curse.
He simply closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and seemed to age ten years in an instant.
He was reminded of his past.
They marched north to conquer the Mongols, defeating them so badly that they dared not venture south to graze their horses.
South Pyongan was reintegrated into the territory.
When Zheng He was sent on his voyages to the Western Ocean, all nations came to pay tribute. What a magnificent sight that was!
How did it become like this in just over a hundred years?
With treacherous officials in power within the country and powerful enemies surrounding it from the outside, the national treasury is empty and the people are suffering.
This is no longer "illness".
This is rotten to the core.
As Jiajing lay on the ground, listening to Zhu Zaiyi's calm narration, he felt a burning pain on his face.
Does he know about these things?
Of course he knew.
But he doesn't care.
He felt those were all minor matters.
Even if the sky falls, Yan Song will hold it up, and the court officials will hold it up too.
The only thing he cared about was his ambition to achieve immortality.
Now he realizes just how wrong he was.
Just then, Zhu Zaiyi suddenly spoke again.
"However, the founding emperor was not all bad."
Zhu Di suddenly opened his eyes.
"explain."
"When I was at Wudang Mountain, I used my divine sense to scan the world," Zhu Zai Rui said calmly and confidently.
"The foundation of the Ming Dynasty remains intact."
"In the private sector, commerce flourished and handicrafts thrived. In the Songjiang and Suzhou-Hangzhou areas, the seeds of capitalism had already sprouted."
"In the army, Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou, Tan Lun, and others were all military talents that were rare in a century. The Qi Family Army had sharp tactics and excellent firearms, enough to sweep across East Asia."
"In the court, there were also capable ministers such as Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng. Although they were suppressed by the Yan faction, they were waiting for an opportunity."
"Most importantly..." Zhu Zaiyi paused, looking at Zhu Di.
"The hearts of the people of the Ming Dynasty remain. The people of the world still identify themselves as subjects of the Zhu family."
"As long as this foundation remains and people's hearts remain, this disease can be cured."
Zhu Di listened quietly.
Yes.
If it's rotten, you can cut it off.
If you are sick, you can get treatment.
As long as the root cause is not severed, there is still hope!
Back then, when he was in the Jingnan Campaign, he fought against the entire world with only a small territory, and he still managed to conquer it, didn't he?
What are these current difficulties?
Zhu Di slowly stood up and walked to the center of the hall.
That domineering aura of ruling the world returned to him once again.
He looked down and glanced at Jiajing, who was still lying on the ground.
"Issue my decree."
Jiajing was startled and quickly looked up.
"Summon all officials of the third rank and above in the capital, including the Grand Secretariat, the Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Office of Transmission, the Court of Judicial Review, the Five Military Commissions, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to immediately come to the Hall of Supreme Harmony (which should be the Hall of Imperial Supremacy at this time) for an audience."
Jiajing was stunned.
"Ancestor...it's late at night..."
Zhu Di's eyes widened.
"I said immediately!"
"Yes! Yes! Your grandson obeys!" Jiajing was so frightened that he scrambled to his feet and tried to run away.
"Stop!" Zhu Di called out to him again.
"Change your clothes, wash your face, and clean yourself up. Don't go out and embarrass me and the Zhu family!"
Having said that, he ignored Jiajing and instead addressed Zhu Zairi:
"Rui'er, you will come with me."
He paused, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
"I want to see what kind of expressions my ministers will have when they see their ancestor who has been dead for almost 140 years."