Zhang Cheng was now at the edge of the Imperial Palace. He was envious of Zhang Jing, the eunuch of the same generation as him.
Zhang Jing was now the eunuch of the Rites Bureau and was ordered to supervise Dongchang. In the past two years, he had gained Zhu Yijun's trust.
In addition, with the support of Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Jing's position rose.
What about Zhang Cheng?
The Emperor was indeed very concerned about managing the Imperial Academy. Zhang Cheng also knew martial arts, and at the same time, he was in charge of the Imperial Horse Surveillance. It looked like he had a lot of glory, but the actual power and benefits were gone. How could Zhang Cheng feel at peace?
He worked hard to perform in the Education Palace while secretly making things difficult for Zhang Jing. However, he didn't dare to be too brazen.
Zhu Yijun didn't care about this. There was progress only when there was competition. There was also competition between eunuchs.
He purposely suppressed Zhang Cheng. He couldn't not have an old man by his side. In the future, there would be no one to use.
Zhang Jing looked good now, but he didn't know how he would be in the future. Besides, the Education Palace was very important. Zhu Yijun planned to send some eunuchs there after a period of time.
There were many eunuchs studying in the Inner Study Hall. In the past few years, there had been some results. Many with good grades had been sent out to Xu De. He and Wu Qingbo went to do business.
These eunuchs would be stationed in various places in the future. They would follow them and gain experience.
Zhu Yijun knew that there would be problems or mistakes in the future when it came to sending eunuchs to a place. But sometimes, he couldn't reach the sky in one step.
If he removed them, he wouldn't be able to extend his hand.
Perhaps the local civil officials were not of one mind and fought fiercely all day long. The officials in the imperial court also fought fiercely. But if he tried to reform it.
Not to mention other things, if he wanted to implement it, all the scholars in the world would oppose it.
At that time, they wouldn't fight. They would definitely stand on the same line and be very united.
Without the eunuchs and the Imperial Bodyguard, the Emperor wouldn't be able to do anything. Sooner or later, he would be finished.
The Education Palace sent eunuchs to learn some military matters. These eunuchs would be the eunuchs who would supervise the army in the future.
Zhu Yijun did not send out the eunuchs to meet the generals. It was unrealistic to think that a single general could rebel.
An Lushan of the Tang Dynasty, Shi Siming, was such a powerful person. He was a provincial governor, but he still failed in his rebellion.
The Chenqiao Mutiny in the Song Dynasty was a mess at that time. The Daming didn't exist at all. If a general really wanted to rebel, it wasn't something that could be stopped by a supervisor eunuch.
Zhu Yijun sent out the eunuchs to deal with the civil officials.
There were countless cases of officials making things difficult for military generals. When facing military generals, civil officials were full of superiority, but when facing eunuchs, many civil officials were still afraid.
Letting the eunuchs contact the civil officials would also allow them to obtain more accurate information. They wouldn't be deceived by the civil officials if something went wrong.
Of course, there would be other measures, but at present, the most justifiable one was to send the eunuchs to supervise the army.
When Zhang Cheng came, he saw that Zhu Yijun was in a daze, so he stood aside and waited quietly. When the Imperial Majesty was thinking, he hated to be disturbed.
After a long while, Zhu Yijun came back to his senses. He glanced at Zhang Cheng and said with a smile, "He's here!"
"Imperial Majesty, Old Slave is here!" Zhang Cheng said with a smile and quietly waited for Zhu Yijun's order.
"Well, I went to the Palace of Benevolence and Peace today, and the Empress Dowager said that she would select a woman for me. I think you are also an old man in the palace, so tell me about the selection!" Zhu Yijun was not embarrassed and asked lightly.
Zhang Cheng was stunned. He didn't expect that the Emperor would ask about this. At the same time, he was moved. Was this an opportunity for him?
It was a big event to select a queen for the Emperor. If he could get the queen, he would have a bargaining chip to deal with Zhang Jing.
Thinking of this, Zhang Cheng directly smiled and said, "Then, Old Slave can talk to the Imperial Majesty."
"Let's talk about qualifications first. Only women between 13 and 16 years old who are not doctors, wizards, merchants, or laborers are eligible to participate in the selection."
As expected, Zhang Cheng was very familiar with these things. He directly said, "The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Rites are mainly responsible for the selection."
"At that time, the Ministry of Rites will send officials, and the Ministry of Rites will also send eunuchs to search for 5,000 women between 13 and 16 years old all over the country.
After the eunuch in charge of the selection takes a fancy to a woman, he will pay some silver coins as a betrothal gift, and then order his parents to send them to the capital on a certain year and a certain month.
After all the beauties gather in the capital, they will be divided into groups. "
"On the first day after the groups are divided, the eunuch will inspect and select the women. First, they will eliminate a group of women from their overall appearance. For example, those who are slightly taller, shorter, fatter, or thinner are excluded.
On the second day, the selection will be more detailed. The eunuch will start from the facial features, checking the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, hair, skin, collar, shoulders, and back to see if there is any irregularity. If there is any irregularity, they will be eliminated. After looking at the facial features, they will also have to listen to the voice. After all, serving the Emperor can't be muddle-headed. "
"Therefore, the selected women will be required to state their place of origin, name, age, etc. If their voice is muffled, coarse, or flustered, they will be eliminated."
"On the third day, the eunuch will have another assessment standard. First, they will take a ruler to measure the women's hands and feet. Then, they will ask them to walk dozens of steps. Those who have slightly short wrists, slightly large toes, or slightly impatient behavior will be eliminated.
After three days, there are about 1,000 people left. "
Hearing Zhang Cheng's words, Zhu Yijun felt a little awkward. Although he had thought that the scale of the selection would be very large and the rules very strict, wasn't this a little too exaggerated?
"At this stage, there's nothing for us eunuchs to do. The Empress Dowager and Old Consort Dowager will send out midwives, the Empress Dowager's personal maids and nannies. The midwives will lead them into a secret chamber and conduct a more detailed examination and selection."
"For example, they will probe their ribs, smell their armpits, and feel their skin texture before selecting another three hundred people."
"After these three hundred people will be imprisoned in the palace for more than a month, the midwives and the others will, based on their temperament, style, wisdom, and virtuousness, as well as the preferences of the Imperial Majesty, choose fifty women who are 'dazzling in beauty and intelligence' as concubines."
"Of these fifty concubines, the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Majesty will choose the empress and two noble concubines."
"Fifty?" Zhu Yijun glanced at Zhang Cheng and asked. Seeing Zhang Cheng nod, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
He didn't know whether it was a blessing or a misfortune to enter the palace. How could there not be competition between fifty people and one man?
Not to mention other things, if he had one every day and night, it would take two months for each rotation. He could only come into contact with a man once every two months. It was imaginable what kind of state it would be.