No one can save a person who is determined to die, not even the emperor.
Emperor Hongwu was worried about Empress Ma's illness. He repeatedly asked her to move to the Qianqing Palace, had the imperial doctors consult together, and ordered the ministers to pray and offer sacrifices. However, Empress Ma refused in order to avoid implicating the Imperial Medical Bureau and ministers in the future.
Empress Ma even advised Emperor Hongwu: "Life and death are determined by fate. What's the point of praying? Doctors can cure diseases, but they can't cure fate. If medicine and prayers don't work, I'm afraid they will be punished for it. Your Majesty, this is not the outcome I want to see."
Empress Ma was indifferent to life and death, prepared to face death, and refused medical treatment. She did not value her own life, but cherished the lives of others. The female doctors in the palace and the imperial doctors outside the palace were all under her protection and were grateful to her.
Empress Ma's health was deteriorating. After Hu Shanwei returned, she was unable to manage the affairs of the palace. Empress Ma petitioned Emperor Hongwu to request six bureaus and one department to assist Concubine Li Shufei in handling palace affairs.
According to the clues obtained by Hu Shanwei, the real murderer's family was powerful and had great ambitions. Concubine Li Shu was the only one among the four concubines who had no son. After her father Li Jie died in battle, he was given a prominent title, the General of the State, and the Commander-in-Chief. However, the Li family had no successors and was the weakest family.
Empress Ma excluded Concubine Li Shufei, intending to help her and hand over the harem to Concubine Li Shufei, who had no conflict of interest, hoping that she could suppress the restless harem.
Emperor Hongwu always trusted Empress Ma and agreed to her request.
Concubine Li Shu was a quiet person, and she was responsible for raising the little princess. She could not refuse the important task, so she had to face it head-on. She followed the old rules for all the reports from the six bureaus and one department. If there were no old rules, she would summon the seven highest female officials to discuss it, and she did not dare to act on her own.
It was Empress Ma's birthday on the eighth day of the eighth month, and preparations were being made for the Qianqiu Festival birthday celebration, but Empress Ma refused to take medicine and calmly waited for death. While Concubine Li was preparing a grand birthday gift, she also had to prepare for her funeral!
Weddings and funerals had to be prepared at the same time, and they couldn't be mixed together to avoid conflicts. Both Li Shufei and the six bureaus and one department were facing unprecedented pressure, and they were busy until midnight every night.
However, the Ministry of Rites suffered the most. The rituals and music of the previous Yuan Dynasty had collapsed, and they could not refer to the funeral ceremony of the empress. The funeral process of the first empress of the Ming Dynasty had to be revised. The Ministry of Rites took the ceremony they had compiled after staying up all night and presented it to Emperor Hongwu for approval. The emperor scolded them, "My empress is blessed by heaven and will not die. Are you cursing the empress?"
Emperor Hongwu seemed to have amnesia. It was clearly he who ordered the Ministry of Rites to prepare the state funeral for the empress, otherwise how could the Ministry of Rites dare to do all this on their own
The official from the Ministry of Rites was dragged out by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and beaten with a stick. He cried out in pain and smeared plaster on his buttocks. He was afraid to sit down and continued to be beaten while standing.
Therefore, when Empress Ma was critically ill, both the harem and the front court were shrouded in dark clouds, as if a storm was about to come, and were shrouded in an atmosphere of anxiety and tension.
Emperor Hongwu was anxious and irritable, and he pushed innocent officials from the Ministry of Rites out to be beaten with a stick. It was not because of Empress Ma's illness, but because the southern expeditionary army far away in Yunnan had encountered setbacks. Reports of the crisis were transmitted to the capital day and night, making Emperor Hongwu very anxious.
After the Southern Expedition Army successfully captured Qujing, the commander-in-chief, Yingchuan Marquis Fu Youde, divided his troops into two groups. He led his troops to attack Wusa, while Yongchang Marquis Lan Yu and Xiping Marquis Mu Ying attacked Kunming, where the Northern Yuan Liang King was. Liang King Bazaci Walmi was defeated repeatedly and finally committed suicide in Dianchi Lake. Lan Yu and Mu Ying entered Kunming.
After taking Kunming, Lan Yu and Mu Ying handed the city over to Feng Cheng, the Duke of Ying, who came to reinforce them. The two generals sent troops to attack Duan Shi, a native official of Dali who refused to submit to the Ming Dynasty.
The two famous generals Lan Yu and Mu Ying joined forces and did everything they could to quell the rebellion. They were unstoppable and captured Dali. Many local officials along the way surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, but the rear encountered a crisis: the local officials of Yunnan, such as Wusa, Wumeng, Mangbu, and Dongchuan, took advantage of the fact that Lan Yu and Mu Ying's army was conquering everywhere and that Kunming's defense was weak, and actually assembled an army of 200,000 to attack the city of Kunming!
At this time, it was Mu Chun's uncle Feng Cheng who was guarding Kunming. How could the garrison of Kunming City, which had less than 20,000 soldiers, fight against 200,000 rebels? Fortunately, Feng Cheng was the descendant of a famous general, and he did not panic in the crisis. He urgently sent people out of the city to look for rescue, and organized the army and civilians to defend the city.
Feng Cheng defended well, and the 200,000 rebels were unable to capture Kunming after a long siege, so they simply surrounded the city. There was a food crisis and a shortage of medical care and medicine in the city.
Fu Tianxi, the youngest son of Yingchuan Marquis Fu Youde, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expedition Army, followed Feng Cheng to guard Kunming. He was killed in battle while leading his troops to break out, and even his body was never recovered.
Hu Bin, the eldest son of Hu Hai, Marquis of Dongchuan, died in battle.
Speaking of Hu Bin, you may feel unfamiliar. But you should still remember the young talent whose dream of becoming a prince consort was shattered when Wang Ning, the prince consort, knocked off his wig with a ball. One was a fairy in Langyuan, and the other was bald. Hu Bin was not selected because of this. Not to mention his hair, he even lost his life now.
Young generals who were highly expected died one after another during the southern expedition.
Emperor Hongwu closed the war report and sighed, "Give generous gifts to the Yingchuan Marquisate and the Dongchuan Marquisate, bury Hu Bin with honor, and since Fu Tianxi's body is gone, let's build a cenotaph for him."
The main reason for the Siege of Kunming was that the local officials immediately changed their minds after submitting to the Ming Dynasty. Taking advantage of the weak air defense of Kunming City, the local officials colluded with each other to rebel and counterattack Kunming City. Unrest broke out in Yunnan, and the two generals Lan Yu and Mu Ying rushed around to put out the fire.
Among the Yunnan-Guizhou areas, the only relatively stable province was Guizhou. Cheng Pengju, a spy of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, assassinated Ma Ye. The main contradiction in Guizhou immediately changed from the contradiction between the local natives and the Ming Dynasty garrison to the contradiction between Guizhou and the Northern Yuan Dynasty. With the cooperation of Madam Shexiang and Madam Mingde Liu Shuzhen, two native officials loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and Mu Chun, Guizhou enjoyed temporary peace for a short time, and there was no crisis like the one in Kunming.
The two completely different situations in Yunnan and Guizhou, especially the fact that Lady Shexiang's submission was more powerful than 100,000 soldiers, made Emperor Hongwu deeply aware that the problem of the southern territory could not be solved by force alone. The sincere submission of the natives and local officials, and the exchange and integration between the local natives and the Central Plains civilization were the long-term solutions.
Emperor Hongwu received the latest battle report from Mu Ying, that the Naxi leader Ajia Adeh at the foot of Lion Mountain in Lijiang, Yunnan, wanted to submit to the Ming Dynasty.
Naxi people do not have fixed surnames. They use their father's name as their son's surname, so it keeps changing. For example, the current Ajia Ade, his father is Ajia, his surname is Ajia, and his son's surname is Ade.
Ajia Ade's ancestors have been the heads of the Naxi ethnic group since the Tang Dynasty. The family's territory spans Yunnan, Tibet and parts of Sichuan.
The powerful family often fought with Tubo for silver and salt mines.
In addition to being powerful, this family also had a long-term vision. During the Song Dynasty, when Kublai Khan led the Mongolian army to conquer Dali, this family helped Kublai Khan destroy the Duan family of Dali. They were granted the title of second-rank Xuanweisi by Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty and continued to actually rule this land.
Now, King Liang of the Northern Yuan Dynasty was forced to commit suicide by slashing his throat in Dianchi Lake by Lan Yu and Mu Ying. The Yuan Dynasty was doomed. The leader Ajia Ade realized that the Ming Dynasty was approaching, and immediately surrendered to Mu Ying, leading the Naxi people to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
This is the biggest good news for the Southern Expedition Army.
With Lady Shexiang as an example, Emperor Hongwu decided to use conciliatory tactics and bestowed generous gifts on Ajia Ade. "Zhu" is the surname of the Ming Dynasty. Removing the left and right strokes makes it "Mu". So Ajia Ade was given the surname "Mu", so he should be called Mu De. The Mu family inherited the position of Lijiang prefect and established the "Mu Mansion". They obeyed the rule of the Ming Dynasty and, as before, paid tribute, sent troops, and performed corvee labor.
After using the Mu Palace to stabilize Lijiang, Yunnan and other areas, Mu Ying finally got a chance to catch his breath and led his troops to rescue his brother-in-law Feng Cheng, who was besieged in Kunming City by an army of 200,000.
Emperor Hongwu was planning and controlling the overall situation of the southern expedition in the capital thousands of miles away, day and night. Only when he was devoted to his work could he put aside the anxiety and sadness about Empress Ma's serious illness.
He was a husband, but also an emperor who expanded the territory. He had no time to be sad. He could not, like other husbands, stay by his wife's bedside to spend her last moments with her.
He had no way to save his wife's life, but every moment a soldier of the Ming Dynasty's southern expedition was dying in a foreign land. Emperor Hongwu devoted himself to his official duties. He felt that this would result in fewer deaths in the Ming army and save more lives.
Ruthless? Affectionate
A controversial ruler like Emperor Hongwu did not care what others thought of him.
One imperial edict after another was sent from the Qianqing Palace to Yunnan, and there was no news that Empress Ma was critically ill. Mu Ying and Empress Ma were like mother and son, and Emperor Hongwu did not want to affect Mu Ying's morale.
Empress Ma also wanted to see Mu Ying and Mu Chun before her death, but she tacitly reached an agreement with Emperor Hongwu not to mention the father and son. Given Empress Ma's standards as a virtuous queen, she would never let her selfish desires affect the Southern Expedition Army.
In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, on the eighth day of the eighth month, the Qianqiu Festival, it was Empress Ma’s fifty-first birthday, and she lived to this day.
The Qianqiu Festival was held as scheduled, with people from all over the world coming to pay tribute, and it was extremely lively. Among them, the pair of green "phoenixes" presented by Mrs. Mingde of Shuidongjia in Guizhou were particularly eye-catching.
When the pair of green peacocks spread their wings and flew, their beautiful wings with their own halo were eye-catching and amazed the whole audience.
The phoenix is flying, its feathers fluttering. The grass is thick and lush, and the sound of its wings is endless.
Even Empress Ma got up from her sickbed as if she had a last burst of energy, and sat on a recliner outside. The "Phoenix" hovered in the clouds above her head, and Empress Ma smiled, "It's great to be able to fly freely."
Hu Shanwei looked at Empress Ma's smile, and it was as if two hands were thrust into her heart, twisting it into a knot. She was very conflicted. Empress Ma wanted her to give up, but she was unwilling to do so. However, she could not disobey her order, so she simply kept silent and stopped talking to Empress Ma about this topic. Anyway, her brain and hands were on her body, and Empress Ma would not control her all the time.
The Hongwu Emperor, who was accompanying him, said, "If the queen likes it, let Madam Mingde pay tribute to the green phoenix every year."
"Madam Mingde and Madam Shexiang are busy building roads in the mountains. I won't bother them. But she—" Empress Ma pointed at Hu Shanwei who was serving beside her, "This child is very much to my liking. It's a pity that she entered the palace too late and has only been with me for more than a year."
Emperor Hongwu said: "That's easy. Let her be buried alive with the dead and accompany Zi Tong in the underworld."
Hu Shanwei: “…”
Now Emperor Hongwu no longer wanted her eyes, he wanted her life directly!
Asking her to be buried alive was as easy as stepping on an ant.
Empress Ma shook her head. "The Imperial Concubine Chengmu Sun is still waiting for me in the underworld. If I take her with me, I'm afraid the Imperial Concubine will be unhappy. I hope she is alive, so I'll let her guard the Xiaoling Mausoleum for three years, burn incense and candles for me, and feed the green phoenixes and deer that roam the Xiaoling Mausoleum. After three years, I will be reincarnated and she won't need to accompany me anymore. Just let her go."
The older you get, the wiser you are. Empress Ma made all the arrangements for Hu Shanwei in just a few words. She didn't even dare to say no - it would be useless, as Emperor Hongwu would be furious and might really want her to be buried alive with him.
Two days later, on the tenth day of the eighth month in the fifteenth year of Hongwu, the princes, princesses, and their husbands all came to Kunning Palace. The concubines from the six palaces in the east and west knelt outside to pray for the empress. It was the end of Empress Ma's life.
Emperor Hongwu stayed beside Empress Ma, holding his wife's hand.
Empress Ma opened her eyes and said to the princes and princesses who were kneeling and crying: "You are all children of the royal family. You were born rich and have no idea of suffering. You have been born into a good family. You must know that this wealth is given by the common people. After eating their offerings, you must fulfill your royal responsibilities. It is said that the royal family is ruthless, and it is not wrong. You can be without small emotions, but you cannot be without great love."
Everyone cried and said they remembered it, even the ignorant little princess cried.
Empress Ma said to Crown Prince Zhu Biao: "You are the eldest brother. You should be friendly to your brothers and sisters, be filial to the emperor, and care about the world. If you do these three things well, you will be a qualified crown prince."
Zhu Biao cried, "I will remember your mother's teachings."
Empress Ma used up her last bit of strength and said to Emperor Hongwu: "I hope Your Majesty will seek out virtuous people and accept their advice, and be as careful as you were at the beginning. If your descendants are all virtuous, the people of the world will have something to rely on."
Emperor Hongwu did not cry. He held Empress Ma's hand tightly and said, "In the next life, I will still be husband and wife with Zi Tong."
Empress Ma was too weak to speak, her pupils gradually dilated, and no matter how hard Emperor Hongwu tried to hold her hands, they could no longer keep them warm.
The author has something to say: Tomorrow on New Year's Eve, a new chapter of Hu Shanwei's career will begin three years later. It is a story about how he will find a job after being laid off, how he will find the real murderer, and how he will take revenge without the support of Queen Ma.
I look forward to everyone’s comments and messages on New Year’s Eve. I will send out 200 red envelopes tomorrow night on New Year’s Eve. I wish you all a happy new year.
100 red envelopes will be given out tonight, and there will be a question about a 100-point red envelope... Yes, we have to do the question even during the Chinese New Year.
In this chapter, Zhu Yuanzhang granted the surname Mu, and Lijiang established the Mu Mansion. CCTV has a hit TV series called "Mu Mansion Storm", which tells the story of the 13th generation Mu Mansion ruler Mu De (Azhai A Si) and his wife Ale Qiu fighting for peace and love. May I ask, who is the screenwriter of "Mu Mansion Storm":
Wang Juan
Wang Liping
Liu Heping
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