My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 882 Qianqing Palace (Part )

Although Zhu Zhanji woke up, his energy was still very low. After giving a few instructions to Yang Rong, Hu Hu and others, he closed his eyes tiredly, and waved the ministers to leave, leaving only Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Hu, as well as young Zhu Qizhen.

Zhu Zhanji rested for a while, and then asked Queen Hu to come forward and gave her a few words of advice. The content was also very old-fashioned. It was nothing more than asking her to manage the harem well and help educate Zhu Qizhen at the same time.

In the original history, Queen Hu was deposed by Zhu Zhanji and made Sun Ruowei the queen instead. But now Sun Ruowei was snatched away by Zhu Zhanhe, which allowed Queen Hu to escape.

However, the relationship between Zhu Zhanji and Queen Hu was quite ordinary. He rarely even went to Queen Hu's palace, and only at times like this would he leave Queen Hu alone to talk.

After warning Queen Hu, Zhu Zhanji asked her to take Zhu Qizhen and leave first, leaving only his mother, Queen Mother Zhang.

"Zhanji, you're tired, please rest first. If you have anything to say, it's not too late to talk to you tomorrow!"

Queen Mother Zhang saw that everyone else had left, so she stepped forward and spoke softly.

"No! I...I'm afraid if I don't make it clear, I won't have the chance to say it again!"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Zhanji stubbornly shook his head. Although he did not formally explain his funeral just now, everyone could actually hear that Zhu Zhanji was already making plans for his funeral.

"Zhanji~"

When Empress Dowager Zhang heard this, she finally couldn't help crying out in sorrow, and tears burst out of her eyes. After all, as a mother, she had to send people with white hair to give birth to people with black hair. To Empress Dowager Zhang, it was like going to the past. It felt like a knife was stabbed in her heart. If so many people hadn't been there just now, I'm afraid she would have burst into tears.

"Mother, now is not the time to be sad. I have to explain something clearly to you. After all, Qi Zhen is too young, and you will be needed to help him take charge of the overall situation in the future!"

Zhu Zhanji took a deep breath at this time and steeled himself again.

"You...you said it, mother, listen!"

Queen Mother Zhang finally held back her tears, reached out and touched her son's thin face.

"Cough cough cough~"

Zhu Zhanji first coughed violently, and it took him a long time to stop. Then he took a few breaths and then said: "Mother, what worries me the most right now is that Qi Zhen is too young. Although Yang Rong and Hu Hui support Qi Zhanji, Qi Zhen, but they all have their own selfish motives, and I’m worried that in the future they will take advantage of Qi Zhen’s youth to expand the power of the cabinet!”

Zhu Zhanji did not trust the cabinet created by Zhu Zhanhe. It can even be said that he had thought about abolishing the cabinet since he came to the throne. However, at that time, the cabinet had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and he really needed the cabinet to help him handle government affairs. Therefore, the existence of the cabinet was finally acquiesced.

It's just that Zhu Zhanji has always been wary of the cabinet. For this reason, he even broke the ancestral precepts and made the eunuchs around him literate, and then reused these eunuchs in order to use eunuchs to contain the cabinet, and even the entire civil servant group, to prevent himself from being They are empty.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanji was very worried that if he was gone and Zhu Qizhen was too young, then all the power in the court would fall into the hands of the cabinet. They would unscrupulously expand the power of the cabinet and suppress the imperial power in the hands of the emperor. Convention, then even if Zhu Qizhen comes of age in the future, it may be difficult to change the situation.

"I understand what you mean, don't worry about this, I will help you keep an eye on the cabinet, and I will never let their family dominate!"

Empress Dowager Zhang nodded solemnly and said, as the Empress Dowager, she is also very aware of the situation in the DPRK, especially now that her son is seriously ill and her grandson is young. Empress Hu is also an honest and dull person, so only she can take on this responsibility. heavy responsibility.

"With mother's words, I feel relieved, but..."

Zhu Zhanji first let out a sigh of relief, but in the end he suddenly hesitated to speak.

"Why, what are you still worried about?" Queen Mother Zhang immediately asked.

"I'm not worried about domestic affairs, but I am worried about things outside the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Zhanji sighed and said again in a weak voice.

"Probably not. After all, you are all the descendants of Emperor Taizong. Do they, father and son, really dare to risk the disobedience of the world and cause fratricide to kill each other?"

Empress Dowager Zhang also understood the meaning of Zhu Zhanji's words and immediately said in surprise.

Obviously, Zhu Zhanji is worried about the father and son Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Zhanhe of the Han Dynasty. If Zhu Zhanji is gone, only their orphans and widowers will be left in the Ming Dynasty. No matter how capable Empress Dowager Zhang is, she is just a woman. If Zhu Gaoxu really If they want to bring troops to kill, how can they resist?

"Nothing is impossible. My good second uncle once entered the capital. If I hadn't escaped quickly, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty would have changed hands long ago. Therefore, we must always be wary of them!"

Zhu Zhanji paused for a moment before continuing.

"The veteran Jingnan was dead and old, and the only available Zhang Fu was untrustworthy. After all, not only was he on good terms with his second uncle, but his son Zhang Zhong was also an important minister of the Han Dynasty, so he must not be allowed to Leading troops, fortunately I have promoted a number of generals over the years, so I can entrust them with important tasks..."

As Zhu Zhanji spoke, he also explained some of his military arrangements in detail, and Queen Mother Zhang also wrote them down one by one.

After finally finishing speaking, Zhu Zhanji was so tired that he was sweating profusely and was panting even more.

"Zhanji, please have a good rest. It's not too late to talk again when you have regained your energy!"

Queen Mother Zhang couldn't help but feel distressed when she saw her son's weak appearance.

"No, there is one more thing that I must make clear to you, Queen Mother!"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Zhanji shook his head very stubbornly at this time, and then continued.

"I know you have considered letting the fifth brother take over the throne if I am gone. After all, compared to the young Qi Zhen, it is easier for the adult fifth brother to secure the throne and there is no need to worry about the loss of imperial power."

After hearing her son's words, Queen Mother Zhang was shocked. She wanted to open her mouth to explain, but in the end she failed to speak, so she acquiesced to what the other party said.

"Mother, in fact, I also considered passing the throne to the fifth brother, but later I felt that this was definitely not feasible, because I was worried that if I did this, the big men would make a fuss about it, in case they did not recognize the fifth brother. If we want to seize the throne and send troops under the pretext of helping the Ming Dynasty restore its legitimacy, and then support Qi Zhen as a puppet emperor, then it will be all over!"

Zhu Zhanji also showed an excited expression at the end. Since his illness worsened, he has been weighing the throne as long as he is awake, and finally decided to pass the throne to his son.

"I understand, this matter was not considered carefully by the Queen Mother. Don't worry, I will do my best to assist Qi Zhen in the future, and I will never let my power fall aside!"

Empress Dowager Zhang did not defend herself, but admitted her mistake very generously, and then assured her again.

(End of this chapter)