Chapter 961
Gathering in the Capital
The Prince Zhou's Mansion was located on the west side of the inner city, and the surrounding area was basically occupied by the mansions of various vassal kings in the capital.
After receiving their fiefdoms, the princes would be driven out of the capital to return to their fiefdoms. In recent years, only the current emperor, the former Prince of Cheng, has been allowed to remain in the capital despite having fiefdoms.
However, this is not exactly a good thing.
Not far from the Zhou Prince's Mansion, there was a mansion with a plaque bearing the name of the Duke of Qian hanging above the gate. The Duke of Qian, Mu Bin, lived there. Since he ascended the throne, he had always stayed in the capital, occasionally being ordered to return to Yunnan to comfort the soldiers and the people.
His official title was Duke of Qian, but in reality, the Mu family always received the treatment of a prince.
His father and grandfather were both posthumously granted the title of king, and it is likely that he will be as well.
Though the princes didn't say it aloud, they all knew that Mu Bin's presence in the capital served two purposes: besides the emperor's favor, it was also to keep the Mu family in Yunnan in check.
After all, since the late emperor, Yunnan has been constantly waging war, with hundreds of thousands of troops being continuously deployed. The capital needed a hostage that the emperor could trust.
In contrast, the other princes without military power were much more at ease, and they began visiting each other as soon as they arrived in the capital.
They are relatives I haven't seen for many years, even though we are separated by several generations of blood.
The Zhou king's residence was especially bustling.
As everyone knows, King Zhou and the Grand Preceptor have a past relationship and are quite good. Several times, when the Grand Preceptor had something to do, King Zhou would act as if he were sick and submit memorials on her behalf.
At this point, the King of Lu directly asked the King of Zhou, "King of Zhou, did you perhaps receive some benefits from the Imperial Advisor? She is a Taoist physician, and your Zhou royal family is skilled in medicine. Could it be that she truly possesses an elixir of longevity and immortality, which she gave to you?"
King Zhou's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly waved his hand: "King Lu, you can't talk nonsense. There's no such thing as an elixir of immortality in this world. Medicine can indeed prolong life, but I've never heard of an elixir of immortality. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order of things..."
“That’s just something to fool the ignorant masses,” the Prince of Lu interrupted him. “It’s just common sense in the world. Why would Taoist priests cultivate immortality? What kind of Taoism does Pan Yun practice, and what makes her a national advisor?”
Even now, King Lu still doesn't know why Pan Yun became the Grand Tutor.
"It's really strange. Pan Yun neither teaches His Majesty cultivation nor concocts elixirs for His Majesty to achieve immortality. Why did His Majesty appoint her as the Imperial Preceptor? Just because she went to Datong and retrieved the late Emperor's body from the enemy army?"
The King of Qin was in Xi'an, where a large army had been transferred to Datong for support. He knew more about the matter and sneered repeatedly upon hearing this: "This Grand Preceptor is quite formidable. Although she doesn't concoct elixirs of immortality for His Majesty, her abilities are considerable. Otherwise, why wouldn't any of the civil and military officials object?"
He said meaningfully, "That's because they've all seen her true abilities."
The princes thought about it and realized it was true. When Wang Zhen controlled the government, every year there were fearless civil officials who submitted memorials to impeach him, and the military generals also cursed that eunuch dog in private.
Pan Yun became the Imperial Preceptor as soon as he took office, and being a Taoist priest, he should have faced even more opposition.
With a new emperor ascending the throne and his position unstable, if we don't oppose him now, when will we?
However, since she was appointed as the Imperial Preceptor, not a single impeachment memorial has been submitted to the court, and the soldiers in the army speak of her with great admiration.
The King of Qin's gaze swept over his relatives. Others might not know, but he did. Pan Yun had retrieved the late emperor's body from among ten thousand soldiers, freeing the Ming Dynasty from the control of the Oirats. For this one act alone, she was revered by the entire army.
I just don't understand why those civil officials have been holding back their anger.
The King of Qin lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, then looked at the King of Zhou and smiled, "King of Zhou, you are on good terms with the Grand Preceptor. Since you have come to the capital, shouldn't you host a banquet for him?"
King Zhou had originally intended to invite the Grand Preceptor, but after King Qin mentioned it, he changed his mind and declined, saying, "I only met the Grand Preceptor once when I was young. Many years have passed, so what friendship do we still have? All the previous matters were only about the matter at hand, not about the person."
The King of Qin scoffed, "When the Grand Preceptor was imprisoned in the Imperial Prison to redress the injustice done to my father, the King of Zhou's memorial at that time was also about the matter, not the person."
King Zhou nodded solemnly: "We can't just stand by and watch Wang Zhen harm loyal and virtuous officials." King Qin choked, and the vassal kings exchanged glances, all remaining silent.
Sure enough, for several days in a row, the Prince of Zhou stayed at home and even the Crown Prince was kept in the mansion. It wasn't until the first day of the eighth month, when the preliminary examination for the recruitment of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was held, that the Crown Prince led a group of guards out of the mansion to the competition stage to watch the excitement.
Pan Yun and Miao Zhen, who had been staying at the suburban test site, finally finished their work and returned to Beijing.
Minister of Works Hu Cheng personally escorted Pan Yun to the exit. He was covered in the smell of gunpowder and his face was a little dirty, but his eyes were bright as stars. He excitedly said to Pan Yun, "Give me two more days, and I will definitely be able to change it to the state advisor's satisfaction."
Pan Yun was also very excited: "Good, we have cold-forged the gun barrels and made the breechblocks. I believe that you can overcome the remaining difficulties. I am looking forward to the appearance of the new musket. When that happens, I will ask His Majesty to name the new musket."
Hu Cheng's eyes lit up, and he praised Pan Yun repeatedly, as if she had created the new musket.
Hu Cheng solicitously helped Pan Yun into the car, and then turned around to help Miao Zhen into the car herself. Miao Zhen's lips twitched, and she stepped onto the wooden stool to get into the car by herself.
As the carriage moved, the curtain fell, and Miaozhen exhaled, saying, "Why is a high-ranking official so eager to please us?"
"Research and development funds." Ever since Pan Yun became the Imperial Advisor, the national treasury, the emperor's private treasury, and Pan Yun's personal savings have all been flowing into the Ministry of Works.
Once the restrictions on artisan households are lifted, there will be more people engaged in artisan work across the country, and technological development will accelerate. Hu Cheng will be a significant figure in history.
The preliminary training ground for the recruitment of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was set up in the training ground of the Imperial College.
The Imperial College's training ground was extremely large, allowing for horseback riding and archery practice, and it was also frequently used for the annual military examinations.
Besides this area, the Imperial Guards' training grounds were also frequently requisitioned.
However, because it coincided with the emperor's birthday, not only the vassal kings came to join in the fun, but also foreign envoys came to watch. The imperial guards' drill ground was not suitable, so the drill ground of the Imperial Academy was chosen.
Perfect timing! Let the envoys from vassal states see the students of the Ming Dynasty and experience the culture of their suzerain state.
To celebrate the emperor's birthday, the Imperial College voluntarily opened its gates, allowing ordinary people to enter and watch the games.
You only need to collect the ticket issued by the Imperial College one day in advance to enter.
This is similar to going to the theater to watch a play; the people accepted it well. Moreover, you had to pay to go to the theater, but you didn't have to pay to go to the Imperial College.
Upon hearing the news, the people rushed to collect the tickets, and they were all snapped up in an instant, leaving no tickets available even for the families of officials.
Li Shimian, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, was an upright man, and his students, full of vigor and pride, disdained to serve the powerful and influential, even though many of them were powerful and influential.
Anyway, no one could sneak in without a ticket right under their noses. So, the lucky people who got tickets either went in to feast their eyes or resold them at a high price to make a profit.
When Pan Yun and Miao Zhen arrived, Pan Yue, looking disheveled, squeezed out of the gate and handed Pan Yun three tickets: "The Chancellor has strictly ordered that a student can only bring one relative inside. I can only bring you. Take these three tickets."
Pan Yun took the ticket and asked, "Where did you get this ticket?"
“The second brother was fine yesterday, so I had him bring his brothers to line up and get theirs.” Pan Yue pulled her hand and walked to the other side: “You can also enter through the east gate; there are too many people at the main gate.”
Pan Yun: "Wait, wait, Miaohe and the others haven't arrived yet."
Pan Yue: "I sent my second brother to pick them up. We agreed to meet at the east gate."
Pan Yun then felt relieved and went with him. (End of Chapter)