Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 594
Hua Yuncheng, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, did not expect that His Highness Zhu Cihong, King Hui, would be so direct.

But at the same time, Hua Yuncheng also despised His Royal Highness Zhu Cihong even more in his heart.

He is indeed still supporting King Hui Zhu Cihong in name.

But like Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian, he also saw that today's eldest son of the emperor does not have the potential to be a king.

Hua Yuncheng admits that he is an official fan, and he is also very eager for the position of the chief assistant of the cabinet.

But this should not be the reason why the eldest son of the emperor used it to win over his courtiers.

Because if you want to get the position of the chief assistant of the cabinet, it is enough to please the current majesty, why bother to take the risk to help your eldest son become the prince first, and then wait until you become the emperor before you can become the chief assistant.

In Hua Yuncheng's view, Zhu Cihong's greatest advantage is because he is the eldest son.

In the hearts of many stubborn ministers today, they still hope that the succession of the throne will follow the traditional Confucian thought of establishing a descendant and establishing an elder.

This is the biggest reliance of the eldest son of the emperor and the best reason to win over the officials.

It's a pity that Zhu Cihong, the eldest son of the emperor, didn't even realize this.

This is also the reason why Hua Yuncheng switched to the third prince Zhu Cihuan, but now he also knows that the eldest son of the emperor has to use it. After all, the third prince's power is still small and he can only rely on the eldest son Zhu Cihong to attack the king's party.

Therefore, Hua Yuncheng didn't directly express his disgust because of the words of the eldest son of the emperor Zhu Cihong, but just smiled and said:

"His Royal Highness Hui Wang, don't worry, everything is not over yet, and everything is still uncertain. The emperor's age is at its peak, and it has not yet reached its end. Guaranteed to be yours in the future, even within three years, you will be able to regain the crown prince!"

Hui Wang Zhu Cihong was very excited when he heard this, and he suddenly felt that Hua Yuncheng, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, was much more reliable than Gao Hongtu, the former chief assistant of the cabinet.

Because Hua Yuncheng directly said that he would be the crown prince again within three years, but when he cried and begged Gao Hongtu back then, Gao Hongtu only said that he would spend the rest of his life to help him obtain the crown prince.

Comparing the two, King Hui Zhu Cihong felt that Hua Yuncheng was more trustworthy and talented than Gao Hongtu:
"Sure enough, Master Hua is more capable, and Master Gao is far inferior to you."

Hua Yuncheng was actually not too satisfied with Gao Hongtu in his heart.

Because in his opinion, Gao Hongtu was too cautious. He wanted to support Hui Wang Zhu Cihong but did not dare to deceive the emperor. Hua Yuncheng also snorted coldly:
"He, Gao Hongtu, is a rat. He likes to hide when things happen. What can he do! He has been the chief minister of the cabinet for so long, but he dare not find a way for his own people, and let Ma Shiying take advantage of it for nothing!"

Hua Yuncheng had hinted to Gao Hongtu before that he hoped that Gao Hongtu would use his power as chief assistant to work for him, but Gao Hongtu refused, which is why he now chooses to directly express his dissatisfaction with Gao Hongtu.

However, it didn't take long for the three of them to comment on Gao Hongtu.

Soon, Hua Yuncheng, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, got to the point, commanding the eldest son of the emperor, a party. He was quite energetic, and only said:
"Now it seems that in the election for the new chief assistant, we lost and the Dingwang party won. Don't think about it. After Ma Shiying takes office as the chief assistant, he will definitely use many people from the Dingwang party, but this does not mean that we will There is no way to counter the general.”

"We have to find our advantage first. Your Royal Highness Hui Wang is the eldest son. Many ministers support you, and more importantly, the queen also supports you. Although the queen empress lives in the inner palace and does not participate in government affairs, her daughters do The government, especially Xu Zhaohua!"

After Hua Yuncheng said this, Yongwang Zhu Cihong spoke first:
"It's not that we haven't thought of the method you mentioned. We also tried to get close to Xu Zhaohua, but she was always indifferent and didn't mean to go with us, even though we had told her that her father Xu Xianqing was our father. on one side."

"You may not be able to persuade me, but the empress may be able to. Besides, the old minister has another way. Your Highnesses should know that Gao Hongtu was impeached by the imperial censor for his unhealthy behavior. We will take this as well. Kind of things to make a fuss."

Hua Yuncheng, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, laughed sinisterly as he spoke.

And Zhu Cihuan, the king of Yong, understood what Hua Yuncheng meant after thinking about it, and laughed suddenly: "What you said is very true, as long as Xu Zhaohua is with us, we will control the supervisor of ceremonies. So what if the party controls the cabinet, at most it will be evenly divided with us.”

King Hui Zhu Cihong rubbed his head: "Although I don't quite understand Master Hua's consciousness, I listen to Master Hua!"

Now Hua Yuncheng really likes Hui Wang Zhu Cihong's character, so he nodded hurriedly, and said:

"His Royal Highness Prince Hui cannot do this by himself. Once His Majesty finds out, the consequences will be disastrous. For the Empress, His Royal Highness Yong Wang will go to persuade him. As long as the Empress agrees to persuade Xu Zhaohua, the matter will be half done."

"That's right, let the third brother go about this matter, it's great for the third brother to go! In this way, there will be the third brother!"

No matter how stupid Hui Wang Zhu Cihong was, he knew what crime it was for the prince to incite the harem to help him collude with internal officials. Although he admired Hua Yuncheng's fearless style of doing things, he was unwilling to let himself take risks, so he wanted to Without thinking about it, he directly expressed his support for the third prince, the Yong Wang Zhu Cihuan, to lead the matter, and he could just sit back and enjoy his achievements.

Yong Wang Zhu Cihuan was quite disappointed and despised Zhu Cihong's behavior in his heart.

But he also knows that now he can only use the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Cihong, to achieve his political goals, so he said with a smile:

"Big brother, why should you be so polite? Big brother's business is my big business. I'm willing to go through fire and water for big brother, and I'll do whatever I want!"

"As expected of my good third brother! Hehe!"

Zhu Cihong laughed. He felt that he was very smart. He didn't have to take risks, and he could increase his bargaining chip to regain the crown prince. Why not do it.

Hui Wang Zhu Cihong's mood became very good, and in the following days, he continued to play the role of a benevolent prince and a filial son.

And Yong Wang Zhu Cihuan successfully applied and got the opportunity to enter the palace to meet his mother, the Queen Zhou.

Empress Zhou was also a little disappointed when she learned that the chief assistant of the cabinet was not Gao Hongtu but Ma Shiying, but she knew that she could not interfere in the government affairs, and she was not very clear about the foreign court, so she didn't say much.

But when Yongwang Zhu Cihuan entered the palace and told Queen Zhou about how Ma Shiying became the chief minister of the cabinet and planned to suppress and murder the emperor's eldest son Zhu Cihong, Queen Zhou became anxious.

"Is this really the case? Ma Shiying is really going to kill your elder brother?" Zhou Hou asked.

"Isn't it? At the time when the eldest brother's position as the crown prince was abolished, he was the mastermind behind everything. Today, Master Gao lost his position as chief assistant, and he was also the mastermind behind the scenes. He even went to Jiangling to cover up his own crimes." The purpose is to deceive the emperor as well."

Yong Wang Zhu Cihong said.

"No, I'm going to tell His Majesty!"

Eager to protect her son, she wished she could tell Ming Emperor Zhu Youjian right now.

But Zhu Cihuan held her back: "Don't get excited, the queen mother, the harem is not allowed to engage in politics, let alone the affairs of the foreign court, and your majesty has already made Ma Shiying the chief assistant. You are not joking, and you can't go back on your word. It's best not to tell your father. In order to avoid the misunderstanding of the father and the emperor, the son-in-law is slandering the head of the court for the elder brother, this matter should be considered in the long run, the elder brother and Master Hua have such an idea now, they need the help of the mother, maybe it can save the elder brother's life."

"What idea?" Zhou Hou hurriedly asked.

Yong Wang Zhu Cihuan hurriedly whispered in Zhou Hou's ear.

　Rain for the lord and add more updates!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)