The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Qingning Palace.

Queen Mother Zhou was sitting there, not as lazy as usual, but as if she was very concerned about court affairs, and sitting in front of her was her good grandson Zhu Youtang.

"Emperor, Ai Jia actually wants to ask, what do you think of the British Lord? He has been loyal and good for several dynasties. The Ming Dynasty can continue to this day because of his contribution. Even if you think highly of Bingkuan, but We can’t just throw the British Duke into a remote place in the mountains and let him fend for himself in the northwest, right?”

Queen Mother Zhou's words seemed to be speaking for Zhang Mao.

Zhu Youtang said: "Royal grandmother, what your grandson actually wants is for the British Duke to show off his martial arts for his old merits. I will not encourage them to live in the shadow of their ancestors, just like Baoguo Gong, and so will my grandson. They all entrusted them with important tasks, but they failed to live up to their expectations."

"Hey, he is an old man. What can he rely on if he doesn't rely on Zu Yin? You do the same... In this way, you can send a capable person to take over his errand. Then everyone will be happy, right?"

Empress Dowager Zhou's words also surprised Zhu Youtang.

In the past, Queen Mother Zhou would only be so persistent when it came to the Zhou family or matters involving his concubines.

But now Empress Dowager Zhou obviously wants to interfere in court affairs.

A noble lady in the harem, no matter how awesome she is, is just the emperor's grandmother. How can she dictate how the emperor employs people?

Zhu Youtang said: "Isn't this... bad?"

"Are you afraid that Bingkuan won't be happy?" Queen Mother Zhou asked.

"Absolutely not. Bingkuan has no opinion on the British Lord's expedition. I have decided to change everything in the past. This has nothing to do with Bingkuan." Zhu Youtang habitually spoke for Zhang Zhou.

He was afraid that the old lady would misunderstand that this was all Zhang Zhou's "conspiracy".

Empress Dowager Zhou said: "The Ai family also feels that Bingkuan is not such a person. Some people have malicious rumors that he, Zhang Bingkuan, wants to be in power, so he will exclude Duke Bao Guo and Duke Ying. However, the Ai family has gotten along with him and doesn't know who he is. Who is he? He is easy-going by nature, how can he be so fussy about everything?"

"That's what the Imperial Grandmother said." Zhu Youtang became excited.

His eyes became brighter.

He seemed to be able to reach a consensus with the Queen Mother Zhou when it came to praising Zhang Zhou.

But he didn't know that sometimes the old fox just took his pulse and deliberately followed his wishes and said a few words that he liked to hear.

Empress Dowager Zhou sighed: "But you also know that no matter how well Bingkuan does, no matter how humble he is, there will always be criticism from others."

"My son will punish those people." Zhu Youtang clenched his fists.

It seems that whoever goes against Zhang Zhou will never end with him.

"You have to convince people with virtue, not force. The Aijia know that it is difficult to take back the decision you made. Are the Aijia the kind of old people who don't know how to advance or retreat? In this way, even if you can't bring the British public back for the time being, You should also give his family more rewards and let his family know your attitude." Empress Dowager Zhou seemed determined to help Zhang Mao.

Zhu Youtang said: "Grandma Huang, I want to ask you, did anyone tell you anything?"

"No." Empress Dowager Zhou said, "The Ai family is just telling you as someone who has been through it. If you can't get along with Jiuxun, you can't get along with your throne. Don't forget, decades ago... they caused some trouble. Come."

Zhu Youtang looked obviously cautious.

Although Empress Dowager Zhou didn't say it explicitly, she probably knew that this was about the incident of seizing the door.

A warrior would dare to plot against the emperor, let alone his fellow ministers?

"The Ai family is just afraid that you will make the relationship too tense and end badly. Sometimes you think highly of Bingkuan, but don't you think about it, Bingkuan's popularity in the court is still supported by the Governor's Mansion? If the Governor He has fallen behind in the government, who will support him? Even if some grass in the court is tilted towards him, once the wind is not right, there is no telling where they will fall. On the other hand, some old ministers can't blow it. When the wind blows, the grass grows firmly on their side.”

Queen Mother Zhou naturally adopted an attitude of "this is all for your own good".

In fact, Zhu Youtang didn't like hearing this, but facing the old lady, he couldn't find a reason to refute.

"Emperor, running a country does not depend on one person. No matter how good Bingkuan is, he is just a single tree. No matter how you use him, don't chill the hearts of the old heroes in the court. When the family and country are in trouble, the civil servants in the court may not be able to handle it. Stay here, but these old heroes can all be at your side." Empress Dowager Zhou continued to follow the instructions.

Zhu Youtang said: "My grandson doesn't think so. If something happens, it's not necessarily who will take care of it."

"Well, you can think so, but don't say it out loud, especially don't let them know. Let's do it this way. The married woman is about to enter the palace recently. The Ai family will let them ventilate the air first, so that everyone can settle down. In the future, there will be peace in the court. Whatever it is, let’s discuss it more... The Aijia won’t force you to call the British Duke back, so just help him fight this battle, and the Aijia won’t say anything!”

……

……

Zhu Youtang came out of Qingning Palace, feeling angry but didn't know where to vent his anger.

With his past benevolence and filial piety, he would never be angry with Queen Mother Zhou, but now he obviously feels that the old lady is a bit partial to Jiuxun.

Li Zhang, who followed behind, was cautious and silent, fearing that he would be offended.

"Who mentioned Bingkuan to the Empress Dowager? And who has met and greeted her... find out together!" Zhu Youtang suddenly became angry at Li Zhang.

"Yes."

Li Zhang felt aggrieved.

Who am I provoking?

I'm obviously just a bystander, how can this have anything to do with me?

Zhu Youtang said angrily: "Now that someone can ventilate, they can reach the inner palace. Now that I have dealt with the ministers, do I still want to scheming with my family members?"

Li Zhang did not dare to take the initiative this time.

He could tell that the emperor had a problem with the old lady.

In the past, when the old lady gave Zhu Youtang a few words of advice on court matters, Zhu Youtang would not only not get angry, but would also feel grateful.

but now……

"I will send a reward to Duke Cai Guo's house. As for the British Duke, there is no need. I will also give you a hereditary title of Commander of the Royal Guards. In addition, I will give you a farm, a house, etc... Bingkuan has found several million taels of silver for me. This is all He deserves it," Zhu Youtang said.

"Yes."

Li Zhang felt a little relieved.

It would be great if the emperor could find a way to solve the problem. If he can't find it, then he is unlucky.

The emperor's current strategy is to increase Zhang Zhou's position and give him more rewards. If the emperor's mind is balanced, he probably won't be so entangled in this matter.

……

……

Xie moved to the mansion.

On the same day, Cai Feng from the Like Department came to visit and told him that several people involved in the impeachment of Wang Shouren were imprisoned. Xie Qian suddenly felt that something was wrong.

"When did it happen?" Xie Qian asked.

Cai Feng also looked very anxious and said: "It was just after noon today. He was taken away directly from the Yamen. I thought it was just a routine questioning, but who knew that he was taken directly to Beizhen Fusi. At night We didn’t come out before, and everyone in Kedao felt that the situation was serious, but now there is nothing we can do.”

Xie Qian waved his hand and said, "It's useless to tell me. I can't ask Jin Yiwei for someone, right? Since they dare to arrest someone, they must have orders from above."

Cai Feng said: "Look, could it be..."

"What do you want to say? Be careful what you say!" Xie Qian gave a stern lesson.

The general meaning is that even if you think this matter is related to the directive of our cabinet, you cannot associate this matter with other matters. Even if the matter comes to an end when it comes to these people, otherwise if the situation escalates, who will fish them out?

"Mr. Ge, please think of a way quickly. According to past experience, you will definitely be punished if you spend the night in the prison. These are just a few writers. They have never seen such a battle. They are going to cause trouble." If it’s not good…”

"Didn't I know their bones couldn't withstand the torture?"

"Ugh!"

Xie Qian said: "You go back first and go through the back door. Don't let anyone see you. Next time if something happens, ask someone to send you a letter. Don't go directly to the front door! Or just tell the boss if you have anything to do."

Cai Feng said: "Do you think you dare to say this kind of thing to the emperor? If you do this, you will cause trouble, and the emperor will... be reprimanded by your majesty."

"You are just too forward-thinking! Well, even though this incident did not happen because of you, you did go a bit too far. Whether you participate in the impeachment jointly or separately, it is always... alas!"

Xie Qian obviously also wanted to shift the responsibility to Yan Guan.

But he seemed to know that he couldn't push it away.

If the emperor insisted on taking action on those who participated in the impeachment of Wang Shouren, it would be difficult for them not to reveal the person who taught them to do this, and Xie Qian would probably be involved.

……

……

Xie Qian went to Li Dongyang's house overnight.

This was also the only time he visited Li Dongyang at night in the past two years, and it was because of DPRK-China affairs.

After all, we usually don't meet each other when we look up, so there is absolutely no need to have such a private meeting and just listen to what others say.

"Tell me first, did His Majesty order the arrest, or did the Jinyiwei handle it on their own?" Li Dongyang seemed very calm.

Xie Qian said: "Jin Yiwei has not received the holy will, dare to take people?"

Li Dongyang said: "Judging from the current situation, it may not be possible."

Xie Qian was startled.

He immediately understood that what Li Dongyang meant was that Jin Yiwei did not always obey the emperor's orders. Sometimes Li Zhang also had the power to give orders, and Zhang Zhou also interfered a lot with Jin Yiwei.

"Bin Zhi, you just know it's impossible." Xie Qian was a little anxious.

Aren’t you, Li Dongyang, over the top?

Even if Li Zhang and Zhang Zhou had a great influence on Jin Yiwei, how big of a deal would they know that they were sent to prison by official orders? Do they dare to mess around?

"Yu Qiao, do you think His Majesty may investigate this matter further and eventually fall on you and me?" Li Dongyang asked.

"Does this need to be said? Your Majesty is obviously serious about it. I still don't know what happened, and I don't feel that Zhang Bingkuan has done anything!"

Xie Qian couldn't understand either.

It stands to reason that there were actually powerful eunuchs involved in this matter. If there was really any news about the emperor, someone would have secretly reported it.

But not now.

Suddenly the emperor issued an order to arrest someone, and Xie Qian didn't even know about it without Cai Feng's reminder.

Li Dongyang said: "Participating in the impeachment of Wang Bo'an... This matter itself is worthy of discussion. Although Wang Bo'an mobilized troops, there were irregularities, but it did not violate the principles of generals in the northwest. It would be better if Zhang Bingkuan took advantage of the courtiers and just said that he would not do it. , first aroused His Majesty’s anger, and then mentioned someone involved in impeaching Wang Bo’an, it’s strange that Your Majesty is not angry.”

"Are you saying that Zhang Bingkuan is up to something?"

Xie Qian looked puzzled.

Li Dongyang said: "If I were Zhang Bingkuan, I might do this."

Obviously Li Dongyang had foresight on this, but because it was the strategy proposed by Liu Jian and Xie Qian, he did not object much.

But he didn't calculate that it wasn't Zhang Zhou who was fanning the flames, but Lu Wan.

As for Xiao Jing, he clearly knew the progress of the matter, but did not inform the cabinet because he wanted to protect himself.

Xiao Jing was not trying to protect himself, but to preserve the inheritance order within the Supervisor of Ceremonies. To put it bluntly, he was protecting Wei Bin.

Xie Qian said: "What should we do?"

Li Dongyang breathed a sigh of relief and said: "If this is really the case, if your Majesty wants to question the officials who participated in the impeachment, you can only pretend not to know. You must not argue in the court. There is no need for us to criticize your Majesty in how he convicts."

"Binzhi, that's... we asked them to do this, and just... gave up on them?" Xie Qian seemed confused.

We were the ones who asked them to impeach Wang Shouren. Now that something happens, we just stand by and watch?

Li Dongyang said: "If we come forward, we will add fuel to the fire, and His Majesty may be waiting for us to come forward, and then he can blame you and me. Is it more important for you and me in the government, or for them?"

"This……"

Xie Qian was a little annoyed.

This is harmful to those officials. It is clear that everything is caused by us, but we are powerless to do anything about the suffering they are about to encounter.

My conscience can't bear it.

"This is the best result for them." Li Dongyang said.

Xie Qian said: "What if they really involve you and me?"

Li Dongyang asked: "What do you think His Majesty will do then? Will His Majesty question you and me face to face, or send you and me to prison? As long as you don't come forward and pretend not to know, Your Majesty will not do anything to you or me."

A dead pig is not afraid of boiling water.

The emperor will not take the initiative to break the harmonious relationship with civil servants. Even if someone reports on their cabinet members, the emperor will turn a blind eye.

But if the cabinet members went to the court to plead for Yan Guan who was imprisoned, it would add fuel to the fire and force the emperor to blame them.

"This... ugh!" Xie Qian looked very unconvinced.

"Zhang Bingkuan..." Li Dongyang's focus was entirely on Zhang Zhou, "If he can do such a thing quietly, he doesn't intend to be my minister. If this is the case, then he should step aside. Step up the layout and make the British public hate him."

"What's the layout? Wang Bo'an has sent troops there..." Xie Qian said.

"Do you think Wang Bo'an can help the British public by sending thousands of soldiers and horses? No matter how well Wang Bo'an knows the art of war, he can't guess where the Tatars are, and the Tatars have always been active around Ningxia. It will give the Ming Dynasty soldiers and horses a chance for a decisive battle." Li Dongyang said.

Xie Qian said: "But he won't be defeated, right?"

Li Dongyang said: "As long as he has nothing to gain, then we will personally come out to impeach him! He is wasting money and doing nothing, which is harming the country and the people. We will also impeach him for all his bad deeds in the past!"

"us?"

Xie Qian was a little confused.

Doesn't this mean that it will arouse conflicts between Zhang Bingkuan and Zhang Mao? Why do we need to show up in person?

Li Dongyang said coldly: "Don't worry, no matter who came forward, Mr. Zhang should know whose rise brought him to his current end. Then he will naturally know who to hate!" (End of Chapter) )