My father is Jiajing

Chapter 469 Jinyiwei Selection

After playing in Xishan for almost half a month, Zhu Zaigui finally returned before the grand opera in the capital began.

When Zhu Zaigui returned to Beijing, the sky in the capital was gloomy, and it seemed that a heavy snowstorm was about to come.

Zhu Zaigui asked Chen to serve the princess and cover her with the fox fur blanket he brought with him, while Zhu Zaigui played with Zhu Yihuan and Zhu Yijun in a car at the back.

The two children's behavior in the car was just like the children Zhu Zaigui met while driving before he traveled through time. After playing for a short while, they both fell asleep in the car. Zhu Zaigui saw that they both fell asleep, so he pulled up the blanket beside him and covered them.

After covering the two little guys, Zhu Zaigui quietly pulled open the curtain on the car window, looked at the scenery outside moving backwards, and also looked at the clouds in the sky becoming increasingly thicker. Zhu Zaigui knew that the sky might really be changing.

The carriage swayed slowly for a long time, and Zhu Zaigui finally returned to the palace again. Then, before Zhu Zaigui could even drink a sip of water, the imperial edict of Emperor Jiajing arrived.

Huang Jin smiled and bowed to Zhu Zaigui, saying, "Your servant greets His Majesty. Your Majesty has worked hard during this period."

Zhu Zaigui laughed and said, "I am confined to the palace, and I have food and drink, so it is not hard at all. But you seem to have lost a lot of weight. When I go back later, I will ask Meng Chong to bring you a few boxes of the best ginseng lemon tea. These ginsengs are all over a hundred years old, which is really rare."

When Huang Jin heard what Zhu Zaigui said, his eyes lit up. He knew that these were all good things, and Zhu Zaigui gave so many at one time, so it was definitely not for him alone.

So Huang Jin, in addition to being pleasantly surprised, also said to Zhu Zaigui: "I will convey the prince's filial piety to the emperor."

Zhu Zaiqi laughed again and said, "Thank you very much, eunuch."

After the two of them exchanged greetings, Huang Jin began to announce the decree.

Huang Jin stood at the first seat in the main hall of the palace and said solemnly, "There is an imperial decree."

Zhu Zaigui bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I, Zhu Zaigui, wish you well."

Huang Jin bowed in the direction of Xiyuan and said, "I am fine."

"Oral order: You shall continue to supervise the country. I decree it."

Zhu Zaigui was stunned for a moment after hearing the decree. He looked up at Huang Jin and asked in disbelief, "That's it?"

Huang Jin hummed, "The Emperor's will is just this one sentence."

Zhu Zaigui was a little surprised and asked quickly, "Should I continue to be confined to my room?"

Huang Jin smiled and said, "The prince will continue to supervise the country, so there is no need to put him under house arrest."

Zhu Zaigui uttered an "oh" and said seriously, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I will accept your order."

Huang Jin came over and helped Zhu Zaigui stand up, and whispered, "The Emperor has already made up his mind, and there will be a result in the next two days. Your Majesty should not meet with Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and others in the next two days, so as to avoid other problems."

Zhu Zaiqi hummed, "Thank you for your reminder, eunuch. I understand now."

Then Zhu Zaigui asked again: "Can I see Hai Rui?"

Huang Jin thought about it and felt that Hai Rui did not seem to be involved in Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng's plot against Wang Bengu this time. Although Yan Shifan also wanted to get someone to implicate Hai Rui, he just couldn't find a decent reason.

Besides, Hai Rui is currently busy with the affairs of the Special Administrative Region, so there should be no problem in meeting him.

So Huang Jin replied: "You can meet Hai Rui, but you can't talk about current affairs."

Zhu Zaigui said: "Don't worry, sir. I have a plan in mind and know what to do."

Huang Jin hummed, and then replied: "Since the prince knows what to do, I am relieved."

Huang Jin then said, "I have another question I want to ask Your Majesty."

When saying this, Huang Jin also deliberately glanced around, as if to see if there were any outsiders inside or outside.

Seeing this, Zhu Zaigui also waved his hand. Meng Chong, who was standing by, immediately understood and quickly retreated with the maids serving in the main hall and the eunuchs guarding the door.

Seeing that everyone had left, Huang Jin whispered, "The Imperial Hospital and the Academy of Medical Sciences have consulted Commander Lu again, and both sides have concluded that Commander Lu will not survive this winter. Now, in addition to being sad and worried about Commander Lu's condition, His Majesty is also considering the appointment of a new commander of the Jinyiwei. I wonder what the prince thinks about this matter?"

After hearing Huang Jin's cautious question, Zhu Zaigui was stunned. Can this question be answered?
But looking at Huang Jin's serious eyes, he also understood what Huang Jin meant. This should be what Emperor Jiajing wanted to ask.

But why would Emperor Jiajing ask him this question? This seems a bit against the rules, but since Emperor Jiajing has asked him in a roundabout way, he must have trusted Zhu Zaigui.

Huang Jin, who was standing by, saw that Zhu Zaigui was still hesitating and did not answer, so he immediately threw out an even more explosive piece of news.

Huang Jin whispered, "After the Emperor has dealt with the Wang Zhi case, he intends to retreat and practice. At that time, the Prince will represent the court and the country, so the Emperor wants the Prince to choose a trustworthy person to serve as the new Jinyiwei commander to help the Prince exercise the power of monitoring the world."

Zhu Zai took a deep breath and looked at Huang Jin in disbelief, "Your Majesty, is your immortal body in trouble?"

Huang Jin quickly replied, "No, no, it's just that His Majesty feels that there is an opportunity to break through recently, so he wants to practice in seclusion for a long time, but he is worried about the affairs of the court, so he can only let the prince take more responsibility."

Zhu Zaigui suddenly said "Oh" and thought that something must be wrong, otherwise why would he choose to go into seclusion and practice at this critical moment?
You have to know that in the original historical timeline, Emperor Jiajing lived to be 60 years old and survived until the 45th year of Jiajing before his death. Now is the winter of the 39th year of Jiajing, and there are still five or six years to the 45th year of Jiajing. How could something go wrong? Could he be going fishing?

But looking at the current situation, it doesn't seem to be the best time for Emperor Jiajing to go fishing.

So it was obvious that the Jiajing Emperor must have taken too much drugs, and there was going to be a big problem. Thinking of this, Zhu Zaigui couldn't help but get excited, but his expression didn't change at all. He still said with concern: "If your majesty really wants to retreat for a long time, please be sure to serve in front of the holy carriage and protect your majesty."

Huang Jin hummed, "I will. Your Majesty, please think about who should be the next commander of the Jinyiwei?"

Zhu Zaigui pondered for a moment. This position was indeed very important and must be given to someone he truly trusted and who was truly and selflessly loyal to him.

Otherwise, this good spy and henchman organization will become a decoration. Not only will it have no deterrent effect, it may even mislead one's judgment of information.

Therefore, after Zhu Zaigui thought for a long time, he said to Huang Jin: "How about brother Jing? He is now living in the capital, and he is my brother, and also the most beloved child of your majesty. If he is in charge of the Jinyiwei, there will definitely be no mistakes."

When Huang Jin heard that Zhu Zaigui was going to recommend Zhu Zaizhen as the new head of the Jinyiwei, he was stunned for a moment. Obviously, this answer was beyond his imagination.

Huang Jin asked worriedly, "Is Prince Jing suitable?"

Zhu Zaiqi looked at Huang Jin's worried expression and smiled confidently, "No one is more suitable than him now. I'm sure that the eunuch and His Majesty will understand the reason."

After Zhu Zaigui said this so clearly, Huang Jin's face immediately showed a look of sudden enlightenment, as if it was really true.

Huang Jin bowed to Zhu Zaigui and said, "I understand. I will take my leave now."

Zhu Zaigui escorted Huang Jin out of the front yard of the main hall, and instructed Meng Chong to have someone bring a few boxes of ginseng lemon tea made from century-old ginseng, and to escort Huang Jin away together.

Huang Jin took all the ginseng lemon tea with him, and did not leave any box for himself. He moved all of them to the residence of Emperor Jiajing.

Emperor Jiajing looked at the boxes of ginseng lemon tea and smiled with satisfaction, "Huang Jin, you can take one box, and the rest can be left here."

Huang Jin was flattered when she heard about the reward from Emperor Jiajing and replied, "I dare not accept it. This is all from Prince Yu to show his filial piety to you."

Emperor Jiajing laughed and said, "What is presented to me as a gift belongs to me, and I can't finish all this. You can just take a box."

Huang Jin was touched and replied, "Yes, thank you for the reward, Emperor."

Then Emperor Jiajing also asked about Huang Jin's business.

Emperor Jiajing asked Huang Jin to drive out the eunuchs serving outside the gate of the abode, and then asked, "What did San'er say?"

Huang Jin said: "Prince Yu recommended Prince Jing to be in charge of the Jinyiwei, saying that Prince Jing is your Majesty's closest relative and brother, and no one is more trustworthy than him."

When Emperor Jiajing heard Huang Jin's reply, he was stunned for a moment, but then he reacted. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Indeed, Si'er is indeed the most trustworthy person. Letting him take over Lu Bing's leadership of the Jinyiwei and assist San'er is indeed the best solution."

Now that the new candidate for the future leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has been chosen, Emperor Jiajing couldn't help but feel happy. This is truly a great joyful event.

Otherwise, it is unknown how many years the Jinyiwei would have been neglected. This shows that the actual Jinyiwei is quite different from the exaggerated Jinyiwei in novels, movies and TV series.

The Jinyiwei in novels, movies and TV series are simply god-like existences, and they are extremely loyal to the emperor.

But the actual situation is that as long as the emperor does not find someone he can truly trust to serve as the commander of the Jinyiwei, the Jinyiwei is nothing more than a lapdog led by the eunuchs. The eunuchs will not really use it, and the emperor will not trust it.

After all, once this thing is really used, it will be a double-edged sword that hurts others as well as yourself. Once the person holding the sword is not sure whether he is holding the hilt or the blade, the danger is self-evident.

Therefore, the era of the truly powerful Jinyiwei in the Ming Dynasty was still very short. Except for Mao Xiang, Jiang Lin in the period of Zhu Yuanzhang and Ji Gang in the period of Zhu Di, they could be truly controlled and used as knives.

The commanders of the Jinyiwei in other periods were almost all cowards. Not only were they unable to take charge of things, but they would also pretend to be sick or crazy in order to evade responsibility. What's worse, some were even beaten to death in the Golden Palace by civil servants just because they were eunuchs' lackeys.

Therefore, in some Ming Dynasty novels, the behavior of some protagonists who blindly trust the Jinyiwei is actually the same as seeking death. Can he guarantee that the Jinyiwei commander he trusts is a sincere and reliable lone minister who is loyal to the emperor alone?
What if they are in cahoots with those corrupt officials? If we give the Jinyiwei the power to kill or murder without fully understanding the situation, wouldn't that be courting death?
Therefore, if we analyze and do things according to normal human nature, if there is no one who can be truly controlled or trusted, it is better not to use the terrifying secret service agency like Jinyiwei, so as to avoid backfire due to improper use.

Therefore, during the Ming Dynasty, the actual role and deterrent power of the Jinyiwei were only effective during the Hongwu and Yongle dynasties. For most of the rest of the time, the Jinyiwei was no different from a supporting organization.

Moreover, in order to save trouble and to reward some important ministers with honors, the emperor would sometimes give away positions in the Jinyiwei as a hereditary title, allowing the sons and nephews of some ministers to take up other positions such as the Jinyiwei Baihu Qianhu or Qianshi, which were hereditary.

Obviously, under such operations, it is simply a fantasy for the Jinyiwei to maintain the same terrifying deterrent power as in the early Ming Dynasty.

Because under such circumstances, the Jinyiwei had long since changed its nature and had become a private reserve for some civil officials to ensure that their families would remain prominent for generations.

Therefore, it is simply a daydream to expect such a Jinyiwei to have the combat capability to monitor all officials and intimidate the world!
Therefore, during the years when Lu Bing was in charge of the Jinyiwei, in addition to being the eyes and ears of Emperor Jiajing, he was also actively dealing with the problems that had accumulated over the past hundred years. In the 36th year of Jiajing, he submitted a petition requesting:
"Remove the old and sick officials and allow them to stay in retirement with their salaries to eliminate redundant personnel; those who have been paid for more than ten years will be given half of their salaries, those who have been paid for more than fifteen years will be given one-third of their salaries, and those who have been paid for more than twenty years will be given one stone of rice per month to save redundant expenses. Also, please order those who pay grain to be awarded the general flag not to be assigned to the Jinyiwei to prevent redundancy."

When Emperor Jiajing saw Lu Bing's suggestions, he naturally approved them all.

Therefore, under the leadership of Lu Bing, although the Jinyiwei during the Jiajing period did not cause any major cases, it at least ensured the basic operation and also helped Emperor Jiajing deal with many problems.

For example, in the original historical development, it was Lu Bing who investigated and dealt with the scoundrel Qiu Luan, otherwise this idiot would have deceived Emperor Jiajing for who knows how many years.

From this we can see that if an important secret service agency like the Jinyiwei really does not have a trustworthy and loyal person to serve as its commander, it would be better to put it aside and set up a new eunuch secret service agency such as the "East Factory", "West Factory" or "Inner Factory".

But unfortunately, eunuchs would naturally be resisted and attacked by civil servants. Therefore, few eunuch spy agencies like the East Factory, the West Factory, and the Inner Factory could actually accomplish anything. They were all lonely products of the eunuchs' struggle for power and profit, and could not help the emperor fulfill his obligation to supervise all officials.

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Asking for a monthly ticket~~
(End of this chapter)