Hu Shanwei, the most distinguished concubine of the Hongwu Dynasty, the biological mother of Zhu Tan, the King of Luhuang, the great-aunt of Guo Liangdi, whose status in the current East Palace is almost equal to that of the Crown Princess, who once visited the thatched cottage to guard the mausoleum, invited her to the harem, laid off and re-employed as a military advisor, thus rising from a bronze statue to a king. When she was about to be named the empress, in order to avenge her son, she poisoned Prince Yiwen Zhu Biao to death, and was secretly executed by Emperor Gaozu with a cup of poisoned wine. The Concubine Duanjing Guo, whose title was comparable to that of Daenerys the Dragon Mother, became a benchmark set by Hu Shanwei for Concubine Zhang Shu.
Hu Shanwei and Consort Duanjing Guo were both teachers and friends. Guo was not smart enough, not beautiful enough, not young enough, not hardworking enough, and her emotional intelligence and IQ were mediocre. However, during the years when Guo was in charge of the harem after Empress Xiaoci's death, she won the respect of Emperor Gaozu, members of the royal family, and even concubines and palace servants. This was not easy.
Hu Shanwei gave the "Diary of Concubine Duan Jing" to Concubine Zhang Shufei, and first highlighted the key points, "Concubine Shufei, just follow the book, you only need to do half of what Concubine Duan Jing did."
The daily records are a diary, similar to the farming literature of later generations. They record what Concubine Duanjing did and said during her lifetime, how she responded to things, how she was rewarded or punished, and even her meals, accommodation, and garden visits are recorded in detail.
Each record is very brief, just like a microblog limited to 140 characters, recorded by a female official from the Palace Shanggong Bureau and her subordinate female scholars, updating the daily status of Concubine Duan Jing, but without pictures or beauty selfies.
Concubine Zhang Shufei was the descendant of a surrendered minister from a "friendly country". At the end of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the harem was in chaos. The basic mode of palace fighting was that a favored queen or concubine and a powerful eunuch would join hands to deceive and confuse the king. On the one hand, they would seize the power of the previous dynasty and sell official positions and titles; on the other hand, they would focus on family planning, various abortions, murder of royal heirs, and infertility in the harem. It was a hard mode of challenge where they had to do both and both hands had to be strong.
Typical representatives are Queen Ki, who was a tribute girl from Goryeo during the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and Pak Buha, a eunuch slave from Goryeo.
Concubine Zhang Shu's father, Zhang Yu, was the head of the Northern Yuan Privy Council (director of the Central Intelligence Agency). Influenced by his father, this was probably Concubine Zhang Shu's impression of the harem. So, when she took over the power of the harem, she unconsciously wanted to seize power and monopolize it. She did not trust the six bureaus and one department, and she had a natural hostility and vigilance against Korean (formerly Goryeo) women.
However, in order to consolidate her power, the last empress of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Empress Ki, chose Kwon from her motherland, Goryeo, as the Crown Princess for her son.
Coincidentally, the face of the Korean girl group in the Yongle Dynasty's harem, Concubine Xian, also has the surname Quan. Therefore, Concubine Zhang Shu was deeply afraid of Concubine Quan.
This book "The Daily Records of Concubine Duan Jing" is a complete set of "Five Years of College Entrance Examination and Three Years of Simulation", "Huanggang Question Bank", "After-class Exercises" and "Self-cultivation of Concubines".
After eating for a month, Concubine Zhang began to doubt her life:
I must have opened it the wrong way
This must be a fake record of the imperial concubine’s daily life
Why is what is written in the book completely different from what I heard
The methods used by Concubine Duanjing and the concubines of the Northern Yuan Dynasty were completely opposite.
Competing for favor? Not true. Concubine Duan Jing often played the role of a pimp, recommending new beauties to Emperor Gaozu.
Infertility? Not possible. If Emperor Gaozu did not enter the harem for a month, Concubine Duanjing would be more anxious than anyone else. She would call a meeting of the concubines in the harem to discuss in depth "what I need to do to expand the royal family", conduct criticism and self-criticism, and call on all the sisters in the harem to roll up their sleeves and work hard, try to sleep with the emperor next month, and contribute their own strength to the expansion of the royal family.
Family planning, abortion? Not true. Concubine Duan Jing's principle was to have as many children as possible. If a concubine got pregnant, Concubine Duan Jing would be happier than Emperor Gaozu, as if she was the biological father of the fetus.
Our goal is: No miscarriage! We will focus on ensuring a safe birth and a healthy pregnancy, so that both mother and child are safe.
Holding power and controlling the government and the country? Not true. Concubine Duanjing regarded power as a scourge. Her two brothers were both marquises, and the Guo family had a large number of descendants. However, Concubine Duanjing was extremely strict with her natal family and never asked for official positions for them. She also distributed the "Instructions/Admonitions of Concubines of the Zhao and Song Dynasties" compiled by Empress Xiaoci to the female members of the Guo family, asking them to study hard and make progress every day, and use it as a model to cultivate their character and discipline their children.
If the same thing had happened in the Northern Yuan court, people would have eaten it until not even a bone was left.
However, Hu Shanwei asked her to use Concubine Duanjing as a mirror to correct herself, adjust her strategy, and put herself in the right position.
In the final analysis, the rules of the game between the Ming Dynasty court and the Northern Yuan Dynasty court were different.
Concubine Zhang Shu read "The Daily Records of Concubine Duan Jing" again and finally gained enlightenment.
After the epiphany, Concubine Zhang Shu also began her performance.
First of all, she regarded Rouyi Hall, where the coffin of Empress Renxiao was placed, as a holy place. Every day, she would personally go to Rouyi Hall to inspect it, rain or shine.
There cannot be a speck of dust on the altar, the fruits offered must be fresh, and the flowers and bonsai in the Rouyi Hall must be changed according to the season. It is not enough to just put pots of chrysanthemums. It is as if Queen Renxiao is still alive, and the fruits and snacks are the ones she loved to eat when she was alive.
Secondly, Emperor Yongle had to stay with his wife for a year and would not sleep with his concubines during that year. Concubine Zhang could not force women onto Emperor Yongle, nor could she expand the number of concubines in the harem without any consideration or recommend new ones.
However, this did not pose a problem for Concubine Zhang Shu. She was a smart woman. Since there was no ready-made information in the daily records of Concubine Duanjing that she could copy and paste, she used her intelligence and talent. She was determined to create even if there were no conditions. During the national mourning period for Empress Renxiao, all humans in the harem, except cats and dogs, had to abstain from sex. After inspecting the coffin in Rouyi Hall every day, Concubine Zhang Shu led the concubines in the harem to study "Inner Training" and "Book of Encouragement to Good Deeds" written by Empress Renxiao.
The learning requirement is to recite and write the entire text from memory.
The effect of learning was very obvious. Everyone had a copy of Empress Renxiao's Quotations and they memorized them by heart. No matter how well Concubine Quan played the flute, she could not win the favor of the big boss, Emperor Yongle, by memorizing a single sentence from Empress Renxiao's Quotations. The atmosphere in the harem suddenly became harmonious.
Concubine Zhang hated Concubine Quan playing the flute the most. There was no deep hatred between the two of them, just like those who like sweet tofu pudding cannot accept salty tofu pudding.
Concubine Zhang Shufei made rapid progress. Hu Shanwei saw with the naked eye that Concubine Zhang Shufei, who could only answer questions at the beginning, could now answer them quickly.
Concubine Zhang has made progress, and the one who has benefited the most is Hu Shanwei, because only if Concubine Zhang can establish herself, control the harem, not cause trouble, and not exclude the six bureaus and one department, the harem will be stable and everyone can live their lives according to the rules.
Otherwise, Concubine Zhang Shufei and the six bureaus and one department would become alienated and oppose each other, quarreling every day and causing unrest in the harem. The harem would be unstable, people would be scattered, and the team would be difficult to lead. Hu Shanwei, the palace lady, would become an emergency firefighter, putting out fires wherever they were. There would be no peace and no one would have a good life.
If such a situation occurred, it would be her dereliction of duty as a palace lady.
As a Shang Gong, her duty was to guide the Queen. In the absence of a Queen, she had to guide the concubines who were in charge of the harem. Hu Shanwei, including the six bureaus and one department, were all helpers to Concubine Zhang Shufei in governing the harem, not obstacles.
This is the experience that Concubine Zhang Shufei summarized in "The Daily Notes of Concubine Duan Jing". She found that every time Concubine Duan Jing made a big move, there was the shadow of Concubine Hu Shang Gong behind her. Concubine Duan Jing obeyed Concubine Hu Shang Gong's words. Even her own son, Prince Lu Huang, secretly kept "novels of market customs". It was Concubine Hu Shang Gong who exposed it and advised Concubine Duan Jing to discipline Prince Lu Huang strictly.
Concubine Zhang Shufei held the daily record in her hands, just like the protagonist in a martial arts novel who fell off a cliff and obtained the martial arts secret book "Nine Yin Scriptures", just like the protagonist in a fairy tale novel who obtained an elixir and immediately went from practicing Qi to building a foundation, just like the protagonist in a romance novel who knocked over the thermos cup of a domineering president and successfully attracted the domineering president's attention.
Concubine Zhang Shufei's bad luck came to an end and she began to take the first step towards a successful life.
In addition to Concubine Zhang Shu, her maid Tuya also learned how to change her destiny. Girls with strong wills will never have bad luck.
Tuya studied very hard and finally stood out in the palace female scholar selection examination at the end of the year. She passed the examination and was selected into one of the six bureaus and one department. Finally, she was assigned to the Palace Administration Department by Hu Shanwei, which was specifically responsible for the discipline and supervision of the harem.
Hu Shanwei started his career in the Palace Administration Department, a department with real power where it was easy to achieve political achievements.
Tuya didn't expect Hu Shanwei to be so unconcerned, so she went to thank him awkwardly. Hu Shanwei said, "Gong Zhengsi wants fairness, not to offend people. Your personality is just right."
People with a background are not necessarily a burden. If they are placed in the right place, they can also give their light and warmth.
With Hu Shanwei's position, he no longer has to do everything himself. Reasonable personnel arrangements are more important than doing things. If you use the right people, things will be right. Tuya knows martial arts, has a sharp tongue, a hot temper, and a strong background, which is just right for her to go to the Palace Administration Department to intimidate the harem.
Similarly, accepting Zhang Shufei's confidants as female officials in the six bureaus and one department is also a kind of "interest bundling" to facilitate the work of the six bureaus and one department.
In the fifth year of Yongle, Empress Renxiao passed away, and soon after, Eunuch Sanbao sailed to the West. Emperor Yongle had just sent off the huge Ming fleet when good news came from the cabinet: the second revision of the Yongle Encyclopedia was completed.
The Yongle Encyclopedia is known as the Great Ming Encyclopedia, which covers a wide range of topics. Emperor Yongle could look up any entry he wanted to know. It was first handed over to Xie Jin and other members of the Cabinet Secretariat. The first draft was submitted in the second year of the Yongle reign. Emperor Yongle was not satisfied with it, as he thought it only included Confucianism and was too monotonous. He wanted Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and even the Hundred Schools of Thought, and even agricultural books to be included.
Xie Jin, president of the Yongle Encyclopedia, was in a dilemma. The editors were all scholars selected from the Hanlin Academy, who were graduates of the imperial examination system. At the very least, those who were responsible for copying the book were at least scholars, who had received orthodox Confucian education. How could he achieve the "all-inclusiveness" required by Emperor Yongle
Just when they were in a dilemma, Yao Guangxiao, the Prince's Tutor, stepped forward and said that he was willing to join.
Yao Guangxiao was the Zen Master Daoyan, the first meritorious minister in the Jingnan Campaign. After the rebellion was successful, Emperor Yongle ordered him to return to secular life. When he returned to secular life, his surname was changed to "Yao" and he was given the name "Guangxiao". He was appointed as the Grand Counselor, the Prince's Junior Tutor, and was also given a mansion, slaves and beautiful women.
Yao Guangxiao refused to return to secular life and continued to live in the temple. He wore his official robes when attending court during the day and still wore a half-worn black monk's robe after court. Others called him "the prime minister in black."
Emperor Yongle had no choice but to let him go. It was not good for him to be half monk and half layman like this, so he took the opportunity to ask Zen Master Daoyan to edit the book so that he would not have to go to court every day.
Zen Master Daoyan was well versed in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. He assisted President Jie Jin in compiling the book, and it was completed three years later.
Emperor Yongle was very satisfied with the second revision of the Yongle Encyclopedia and praised Xie Jin, saying, "The world cannot live without me for a day, and I cannot live without Xie Jin for a day."
He also praised Master Daoyan, "Master Yao is very talented. Now that the emperor's eldest grandson is officially leaving for school this year, I will leave him to the young master."
Zen Master Daoyan refused to return to secular life, but Emperor Yongle always insisted on calling him Master Yao.
As soon as Zen Master Daoyan finished his study, he went to take care of Emperor Yongle's grandson and was responsible for Zhu Zhanji's education.
Xie Jin was so happy to receive the reward that he walked a little unsteadily. Suddenly, someone behind him said, "Congratulations to Mr. Xie, the Yongle Encyclopedia has been completed. It cannot even be put in a room. The emperor will consult this book every day and cannot live without it. Mr. Xie will surely be remembered for eternity."
Xie Jin turned around and saw that it was Ji Gang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Ji Gang smiled and said flattering words. Xie Jin thought to himself: Humph, a flatterer! But he said, "Master Ji, you are too kind. I am just doing my duty. There are still a lot of things to do in the cabinet. I will take my leave first."
Ji Gang watched Xie Jin until his back disappeared, with a smile in his eyes. He left the government office at night, returned home, opened the secret room, and saw Mao Xiang's portrait and tablet on the altar.
Ji Gang burned incense to Mao Xiang and opened a nearly torn list on the altar. The list was filled with densely packed names, most of which were crossed out with a red pen, including the bloody name of the son-in-law Hu Guan. All those whose names were crossed out were dead.
Except Xie Jin.
Xie Jin, a native of Jiangxi, was a gifted young man. He won the first place in the Jiangxi provincial examination in the 20th year of Hongwu, the tenth place in the second class of the imperial examination in the 21st year of Hongwu, and was selected as a Hanlin Academy student.
In the 29th year of Hongwu, Emperor Gaozu used the Jinyiwei to kill almost all the wealthy families in the capital, and carefully selected only five wealthy families for the crown prince, forming a five-ring system of succession to prevent the situation of the master being bullied by the young ministers in the future.
The commander of the Jinyiwei at that time was Mao Xiang. When the birds are gone, the good bows are put away; when the cunning rabbits are dead, the running dogs are cooked. The Jinyiwei did all kinds of bad things, and Emperor Gaozu needed to appease the people's anger, so he secretly instructed his son-in-law Hu Guan to impeach Mao Xiang first, saying that Mao Xiang fabricated charges, wronged virtuous officials, and his crimes were heinous.
After Hu Guan fired the first shot in impeaching Mao Xiang, many ministers wrote memorials to impeach Mao Xiang, including Xie Jin.
The Jinyiwei was disbanded, Mao Xiang was arrested and imprisoned, and then executed by slow slicing. Ji Gang was secretly taken away by Mao Xiang and Mu Chun and hidden in Yunnan.
Ji Gang vowed to avenge Mao Xiang, and sadly surrendered to Prince of Yan Zhu Di, reorganized the Jinyiwei, and took charge of intelligence and rebellion work, winning the appreciation and trust of Prince of Yan. After he ascended the throne, he immediately restored the Jinyiwei and appointed Ji Gang as the commander.
Ji Gang got what he wanted. He took advantage of the change of power to settle personal grudges. A large number of people were added to the blacklist. People in high positions and power, such as Li Jinglong, Duke of Cao, and Hu Guan, the son-in-law of the emperor, were all killed by him, and their deaths were very miserable.
Ji Gang vowed to eliminate every straw and every snowflake that broke the camel's back.
However, there were too many names on the list, and there were always a few people who could not be killed without an opportunity, and Xie Jin was one of them.
When Emperor Yongle ascended the throne, he set up a cabinet secretariat in Wenyuan Pavilion in the palace to help handle state affairs. Xie Jin became the first confidential secretary of the secretariat with his talent and successfully became Emperor Yongle's confidant. Even for such important tasks as the compilation of the "Yongle Encyclopedia", Xie Jin was the chief editor, and even Zen Master Daoyan was ranked second.
Now that the Yongle Encyclopedia has been completed, Xie Jin's official position will only become higher and higher, and his power will increase as well.
How to make Xie Jin fall out of favor and then kill him? Ji Gang fell into deep thought.
The author has something to say: I'm going to make trouble again. Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angels who cast [mines]: Gu Yan Nan Huai 2; Fo Xi Chaser, Hui Niao Fei Fei, Er Hua, Daye Zi, Na Tiao Xiao Xiao Yu, Ying Luo 1;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:
Lone Goose Wandering South 90 bottles; Li Daguer, Mini 60 bottles; Carrying a Bunny 30 bottles; Folding Flower Poems 21 bottles; Little Spoon, 110 20 bottles; All the Way Without Words, Forevery, 1031272 15 bottles; Light Rain, Clear and Shallow, Sunshine, Cool Wine Startled Magpie., Capricorn, Ayan 10 bottles; Xixi Chasing Books 9 bottles; Na Tiao Xiao Xiao Yu 6 bottles; Erhua, Longbao, 15806789, Rabbit Axin 5 bottles; Little Girl Eating Lipstick 2 bottles; Peaceful Orchid, Puffertony, Lonely Bird Gugu, 17438403, Momo, Qiongju, 29912851, Primordial Tree Demon 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!