Chapter Fifty-Seven Begins

  In the first year of Tianqi, on New Year's Day, 5,000 beautiful women selected from various provinces and prefectures all gathered in one place, which was the capital. At this time, the entire court made this matter a priority, and the various factions that had been fighting each other every day seemed to have reached some kind of consensus and all ceased their activities. On the contrary, the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards were not on the streets, ostensibly to select consorts for the emperor and protect him.

  The Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace, Imperial Study Room.

  The Emperor Tianqi sat expressionlessly behind the dragon throne, with Li Lan and Chen Hong still standing beside him. However, in addition to these two, there was also a eunuch, who was Wei Chao, the supervisor eunuch of the Eastern Depot.

  "Is everything still calm on the side of Huang Zhuang?" Putting down the memorials in his hand, Emperor Tianqi rubbed his tired eyes and asked Wei Chao below.

  "Your Majesty, the batch of skilled craftsmen who arrived a few days ago are currently undergoing trials. As for the results, I am not privy to that information. The items you instructed me to procure are also being processed, although not all have been collected yet, about one-third has been obtained. At the current rate of usage, it should be enough for the imperial estate to use for a while."

  "Good, you first let me carefully investigate the situation. In Nanjing's garrison and the Ministry of War's Arsenal, which skilled craftsmen are available? Especially those hereditary military craftsmen, get as many as possible, but be careful not to arouse suspicion." Since the firearms factory has already gotten on the right track, next is to turn their research into reality, so these craftsmen are indispensable.

  In the Ming Dynasty, many troops were equipped with unified equipment issued by the imperial court, but there was one exception - the Nanjing Garrison. There, they had their own independent workshops and craftsmen, so if you wanted to dig a hole in the wall, it would naturally be there first. Such things that couldn't be seen by others, of course, were still best handled by the Eastern Depot.

  "Your Majesty can rest assured, I understand." For the Director of the Eastern Depot, such things were naturally not difficult, and he didn't take it to heart either.

  And so a new year begins, but for now no one knows what will happen this year.

  Henan, Xiangfu County.

  Zhang Yan was standing at her own door with tears all over her face, while on the other side were her father Zhang Guo Ji and mother Zhang Shi.

  "Yan'er, the road to Beijing is treacherous from now on, you must be careful everywhere. After arriving in Beijing, send someone back to deliver a message." Zhang Shi held Yan's hand at this time, constantly reminding her, and tears kept falling. Although she was not Yan's biological mother, their relationship was closer than that of ordinary mothers and daughters. Zhang Shi had always treated Yan as her own daughter.

  Li Changmao, the county magistrate of Xiangfu, also felt a little uncomfortable when he saw this scene. Things did not exceed his expectations, and Miss Zhang indeed did not disappoint him, passing the selection very smoothly and was about to enter the capital.

  "Don't worry, mom, nothing will happen to me. If I don't get selected, I'll be back soon." Zhang Yan comforted her mother, although she was feeling sad and uncertain about her own future, this 16-year-old girl was also extremely perplexed.

  Before she could say anything else, the other side had already started walking. Zhang Yan also couldn't stay any longer and got on her own carriage with her maid Xiaohuan and set off.

  During this period, the entire capital seemed to be very lively. With the arrival of showgirls from all over the country, the emperor's selection craze was stirred up again. On the streets and alleys, countless people were discussing this matter, as if it had taken over everyone's life.

  However, many people with sensitive political instincts have already sensed that something is not quite right. Although the imperial court still only reports good news and not bad news, it seems to be brewing something.

  Three days later, a very ordinary memorial was placed on the dragon case of Emperor Tianqi. This memorial was ordinary because it was no different from other memorials. It was special because there were no attached opinions from the Grand Secretariat, requiring the imperial review of Emperor Tianqi.

  Since coming to this world, such a thing has happened for the first time. Although Tianqi Emperor had studied history, he only roughly learned about it. As for the three major cases of the Ming Dynasty in the past, although some were well understood, many things were not clear.

  The Tianqi Emperor only remembered that many things happened in the early years of Tianqi, and it was in this year that the Later Jin rose, Shenyang was lost, and the three eastern provinces almost all fell into the hands of the Later Jin. From then on, the Later Jin and the Ming Dynasty began a war that lasted for more than 20 years, and the Ming Dynasty also thoroughly entered the countdown to its extinction.

  The Tianqi Emperor glanced at the Grand Secretary Liu Yijing standing below and said indifferently, "What's this memorial about? Why doesn't the Cabinet have any opinions?"

  "I beg to report to Your Majesty, this memorial is impeaching Fang Zongliu and Fang Dazhang. The Grand Council wants to avoid suspicion, so we ask Your Majesty to personally decide." Liu Yijiang also sensed that something was about to happen, the quiet imperial court seemed to be brewing a huge storm, and at the center of the storm was the Grand Council, or rather, the Chief Grand Councillor Fang Zongliu.

  The Emperor Tianqi nodded slightly and glanced at Liu Yiyuan, saying: "You may withdraw! I will read the memorial."

  After Liu Yijiang left, the Tianqi Emperor handed the memorial to Li Lan behind him. Although the Tianqi Emperor could now understand the memorial himself, he rarely did such a troublesome thing.

  Li Lan didn't hesitate to take the memorial and started reading it. For Li Lan, this kind of thing was already a matter of course. Li Lan's existence had long been no secret, and everyone in the palace knew that this Miss Lan was a close attendant by the emperor's side. In terms of status within the imperial palace, only Wang An, the head eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, could be mentioned in the same breath as her. Even Wei Chao, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot, would address Li Lan as "Miss Lan" when he saw her.

  For the ministers in the imperial court, Li Lan's existence was also a welcome sight for them, after all, it played a role in restraining the eunuchs. For this Miss Lan, they did not dare to offend her either, and respectfully addressed her as Miss Lan. Everyone knew that once the emperor got married, this Miss Lan would at least be a noble concubine.

  "Your Majesty." Li Ran called out, seeing Tianqi Emperor nodding, and continued: "This memorial is from Sun Shenxing, the Minister of Rites, and it impeaches Fang Zongli, the First Assistant Grand Secretary of the Inner Court."

  "Hmph, it's not a small matter, no wonder the cabinet sent it up. It turns out they couldn't hold it in anymore. A high-ranking member of the Donglin Party impeaching the leader of the Chu Party, it seems they finally can't bear it. The Tianqi Emperor coldly smiled and stroked the hilt of the Seven-Star Sword, gesturing for Li Lan to continue."

  Today's first chapter seeks recommendations and collections