Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 116 I wish I could torture you to death!

royal palace.

An Le Tang.

Huai En was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. When he rushed to Anle Hall, he saw a little eunuch waiting shivering in the snow.

"What about Your Majesty?"

Huai En only felt his mouth dry and his heart beating violently.

"I have met Mr. Huai."

The young eunuch bowed quickly and pointed to the room behind him: "Your Majesty is inside, waiting for Eunuch Huai."

Huai En looked towards the house and felt dizzy and his vision went dark.

He is very familiar with this house.

That was the room where Zhu Youtang lived until he was five years old.

Since Zhu Youtang was named Crown Prince, no one else has lived in this room.

Now the room is empty except for a tablet.

And Zhu Youtang summoned Huai En in such a special place today.

Huai En had already guessed that something big was going to happen today.

Huai En suppressed the fear in his heart, walked quickly to the room in front of him, and pushed open the door.

Zhu Youtang was seen sitting in the middle of the room with his back to the door.

On the table in front of him, there was a tablet with the words "Zhang Min" engraved on it.

Wang Zhi lowered his head and stood silently behind Zhu Youtang, seeming to blend into the shadows in the room.

Huai En took two steps at a time, crawled on his knees to Zhu Youtang, his voice trembling.

"This old slave Huai En pays respect to His Majesty!"

At this time, Huai'en did not rashly ask Zhu Youtang why he summoned him to an audience.

Huai En lay on the ground and dared not say a word. Zhu Youtang just looked at Zhang Min's tablet without saying a word. Wang Zhi was so silent that people ignored his existence.

The room fell into silence for a long time, with only the cold wind blowing outside the door.

After a long time, Zhu Youtang looked at Zhang Min's tablet and spoke in a low voice.

"Huai En, how many years have you and Zhang Min served me?"

Huai En shuddered all over and blurted out immediately: "Your Majesty, Zhang Min was unlucky. She only served Your Majesty for five years before she passed away first."

"I have been fortunate to serve Your Majesty. Excluding the two years I spent guarding the Xiaoling Mausoleum, I have served Your Majesty for sixteen years."

In the eleventh year of Chenghua, before the late emperor appointed Zhu Youtang as the crown prince, Zhang Min had already swallowed gold and committed suicide.

"Yes, it's been sixteen years."

Zhu Youtang sighed softly: "I still vaguely remember that when I was a child, I lived in this An Le Hall. It was you, Zhang Min and Empress Dowager Wu who came to take care of me every day."

"You are the ones who raised me and you are the ones I trust the most."

"But, Huai En, you disappoint me so much."

To Huai'en, Zhu Youtang's words were like the sky falling.

Huai'en kowtowed repeatedly to Zhu Youtang, his voice already filled with tears.

"Your Majesty! I have always been loyal to you, Your Majesty, and I have never had any second thoughts!"

"If I have done anything to offend the Emperor, I am willing to die as a token of my guilt!"

"To die as atonement?"

Zhu Youtang turned his gaze to Huai'en lying on the ground, with deep pain in his eyes.

"For the crime you committed, I wish I could torture you to death!"

Huai En was shocked. He really couldn't figure out what he had done to make His Majesty so angry and hate him so much.

He actually wanted to vent his hatred by means of lingchi.

Huai En continued to kowtow with such force that he broke his forehead, and blood flowed freely on his face.

"Your Majesty! I have made you so angry, I deserve to die! I deserve to be tortured to death!"

"But I am ignorant. Your Majesty, please tell me clearly so that I can die with a clear conscience!"

"Tell me! Around the 21st year of Chenghua, did you secretly communicate with the cabinet? Did you conspire with the harem?"

"In the case of the previous emperor's poisoning, there were clearly signs of interference from the harem. Why couldn't the East Factory find anything even though they were in the harem?!"

Zhu Youtang suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice.

Huai En first widened his eyes in shock, and quickly glanced at Wang Zhi behind Zhu Youtang, but Wang Zhi kept his head down and stared at his feet without saying a word.

Then Huai En widened his eyes in shock and forgot to reply for a moment.

Zhu Youtang felt even more disappointed when he saw Huai'en like this.

"Speak, Wynn, are you mute?!"

Huai En shuddered all over and came back to his senses from the shock.

Then he quickly said, "Your Majesty, in the 21st year of Chenghua, this old servant is... this old servant is..."

Huai En trembled, unable to make up his mind to tell the reason why he had secretly communicated with the cabinet and conspired with the harem.

Then Huai En knocked his head heavily to the ground again.

"Your Majesty, what I want to say is about Your Majesty."

"Please don't be angry, Your Majesty. Otherwise, even if I die, I will not dare to say anything!"

Zhu Youtang sneered: "Stop talking nonsense and speak!"

"Yes, yes." "The reason why I, an old servant, secretly communicated with the cabinet in the 21st year of Chenghua and frequently contacted Empress Dowager Zhou and Queen Wang in the harem at that time was because... because..."

"It's because the late emperor wanted to depose your majesty from the position of crown prince and make Prince Xing the crown prince instead!"

“Bold!!!”

Zhu Youtang could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. He slammed the table angrily, scaring Huai En so much that his whole body shook like a sieve.

The fact that the late emperor wanted to change the crown prince during his lifetime has always been an eternal pain in Zhu Youtang's heart, and no one is allowed to mention it at all.

The only legitimacy for Zhu Youtang to inherit the throne was that he was the crown prince personally appointed by Emperor Xianzong.

If the news that Emperor Xianzong wanted to change the crown prince got out, would he be the one to sit on the throne, or would he invite Prince Xing Zhu Youju to sit on it?
Zhu Youtang was very angry at the moment, but Huai'en had to bite the bullet and continue talking in order to save his life.

"Your Majesty, every word I said is true."

"At that time, your majesty wanted to appoint Prince Xing as the crown prince, but the harem and the cabinet were against it. They all stood on your majesty's side, hoping to keep your majesty's position as the crown prince."

"I am closest to your Majesty, and I also hope that your Majesty can succeed to the throne smoothly, so I go back and forth between the two sides to pass on messages."

Huai En's words made Zhu Youtang stunned.

At that time, Zhu Youtang was still studying in the Eastern Palace and was unaware of this matter.

Zhu Youtang still couldn't find Huai'en, so he asked Chen Zhun, the eunuch commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot at the time.

Only then did I know that Huai'en was demoted to guard the Xiaoling Mausoleum because he prevented Emperor Xianzong from changing the crown prince.

But Zhu Youtang really didn't know that even the cabinet and the harem were involved in the change of crown prince.

It turned out that after he ascended the throne, they opposed him everywhere and even joined forces to undermine his cabinet and harem.

Before he ascended the throne, they had always been the force supporting him.

In just a few breaths, Zhu Youtang recovered from his surprise and figured out the seriousness of the matter.

Before he ascended the throne, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was still Zhu Jianshen, and all power was in Zhu Jianshen's hands.

The most direct conflict occurred between the cabinet and the harem and Zhu Jianshen.

Zhu Jianshen wanted to depose Crown Prince Zhu Youtang, which obviously affected the interests of the harem and the cabinet.

Therefore, the cabinet and the harem were all supporters of Zhu Youtang before he ascended the throne.

The reason why Empress Dowager Zhou in the harem supported Zhu Youtang was because Zhu Youtang grew up in Empress Dowager Zhou's Cining Palace and had the deepest feelings for her.

Only after Zhu Youtang ascended the throne did Queen Dowager Zhou have the opportunity to monopolize power and sideline Zhu Youtang.

The cabinet’s ideas were similar to those of Empress Dowager Zhou.

Zhu Youtang was the first prince of Zhu Jianshen to go out of the cabinet to study, and he was also the prince who was familiar to the cabinet and officials.

Moreover, Zhu Youtang had a cowardly character before and was extremely indulgent towards his ministers.

Only the ascension of such a crown prince to the throne would satisfy the interests of the cabinet.

So the cabinet and the harem worked together to keep Zhu Youtang's position as crown prince.

And when Zhu Youtang inherited the throne and ascended the throne to become emperor.

The relationship between the three parties changed from allies to enemies.

Because at this time, Zhu Youtang became the emperor, and the nominal highest power of the Ming Empire fell into the hands of Zhu Youtang.

But Zhu Youtang was not strong enough before and could not keep the power in his hands.

So the cabinet and the harem joined forces to sideline Zhu Youtang.

The relationship between the three parties is constantly changing.

The only thing that remains unchanged is their ambition for power.

Therefore, in order to regain the imperial power, the first thing Zhu Youtang did after gaining enough strength was to take action against his former allies.

Take back the power that was taken away from them!
This is the cruelty of politics. If you are not careful, you will be accused of being mean and ungrateful, someone who can share adversity but not wealth.

This was true of Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, their original intention has never changed, which is to seize the highest power in the world and enjoy the greatest benefits in the world.

The only difference is that before becoming emperor, the enemies were external enemies, while after becoming emperor, the enemies were internal officials.

In other words, before Zhu Youtang ascended the throne, Huai'en was running around for Zhu Youtang's interests, whether he was secretly communicating with the cabinet or conspiring with the harem.

At this moment, Zhu Youtang had wrongly blamed Huai En.

But there is one thing that doesn't make sense in this matter.

In the 21st year of Chenghua, Zhu Jianshen used officials to control the government, eunuchs to control the army, and relatives to control the capital and the palace.

At this time, Zhu Jianshen had already held great power.

If an emperor with real power wants to depose a crown prince, can he succeed just by relying on the obstruction of the cabinet and the harem?

Zhu Youtang frowned: "If the late emperor really wanted to... with the late emperor's skills, can the cabinet and the harem stop him?"

Wynn quickly explained: "Normally speaking, of course it's not possible."

"But your majesty is the true emperor, blessed by heaven, and the emperor destined by heaven."

"At the beginning of the 21st year of Chenghua, just as the late emperor was preparing for this, Mount Tai experienced seven consecutive earthquakes."

"Mount Tai is a symbol of the country and its people. The earthquake on Mount Tai is a warning from God that the late emperor would not allow him to make a big mistake."

"The cabinet chief Wan'an promptly reported to the late emperor that the crown prince is the foundation of the country. If Your Majesty wants to replace the crown prince, the foundation of the country will be shaken, and how can Mount Tai not be shaken?"

"Liu Ji, the second assistant of the cabinet, also wrote to the late emperor, saying that the crown prince is the East Palace, Mount Tai is also called Dongtai, and the imperial palace is also called Dongchao, so Mount Tai and the imperial palace echo each other from a distance."

"Your Majesty's change of heir has angered Heaven, so Heaven has been caused to cause seven consecutive earthquakes on Mount Tai to warn Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty must not make the same mistake again!"

"After that, the late emperor never mentioned the issue of changing the crown prince again."

(End of this chapter)