Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 862
The Empress Dowager Zeng knew that she was alone and alone, and the ministers would not choose a two-year-old little emperor to take refuge in, and she did not have a powerful natal family as a backing, so it was very wise to choose to retreat to the deep palace with the emperor, basically not interfering with the government , became a symbol of Ming Dynasty.

Since the emperor ascended the throne and returned the capital to Nanjing, although there have been twists and turns in the court, the struggle between the three kings and various factions has gradually come to an end. With the status of the Chu Party, the court gradually calmed down and gradually got on the right track.

Empress Dowager Zeng is also a discerning woman, knowing that when she is weak, she must protect herself, otherwise she would not be able to say "Aijia and the emperor's priest, and the three kings dominate the Rong." Such level words.

In the eyes of the Queen Mother, after the king of Lu was forced into the court, the political ecology of the Nanjing court has basically stabilized. The Chu party is in power and the Lu and Tang parties are in control. The phenomenon will last for a long time.

This situation is also what the Queen Mother would like to see. The emperor is too young. If the court is in chaos, no matter who falls into the hands of them, they will not be able to please them, and their lives may even be in danger. A prince of the Zhu family who is like a wolf and a tiger is the best for the Queen Mother.

But the clan clan was making such a big noise outside, and forcing her to speak for the clan clan at the gate of the palace made the Empress Dowager Zeng keenly feel a little danger. If the king of Chu used force to suppress the clan clan, it would undoubtedly swear the king of Chu's treasonous heart. The foundation of the king's regent will collapse immediately, and the Nanjing court will also fall apart immediately, so she urgently invites Wang Yan to the palace to have an audience.

Empress Dowager Zeng sat inside the bead curtain, and said to the maid: "Has the King of Chu come?"

For such a big matter, due to emotion and reason, it should be reported to the Huang family. In fact, there is no need to send an invitation to the Queen Mother, Wang Yan also has to go to the palace to report.

Not long after, Wang Yan hurried into the Palace of Compassion and Ning with the court ladies, and saluted the Empress Dowager Zeng behind the bead curtain, "Master, see the Empress Dowager."

"The Qing family is not polite." Empress Dowager Zeng's soft voice came from behind the bead curtain, "Give a seat to the King of Chu!"

The palace maid immediately moved a small stool over, and after Wang Yan was seated, Empress Zeng's voice came out again, "Although Ai's family lives in the palace, I have heard about the matter of moving the feudal clan to Taiwan. Today, the clan is at the gate of the palace. The Ai family and the emperor were the ones to make decisions for them. However, since it was the imperial government’s national policy to move the vassals into Taiwan, it was inconvenient for the Ai family to intervene. However, the people gathered were after all the royal family members. The Ai family was still a little worried. The imperial court brought adverse effects, so the King of Chu was urgently summoned to know how the King of Chu and the imperial court would deal with it.”

Wang Yan listened to Empress Dowager Zeng's words, and secretly praised her as a wise woman, "Don't worry, Empress Dowager, I have a perfect plan. It is imperative to move the domain to Taiwan, and I will never let this matter affect the imperial court's national policy."

Empress Dowager Zeng in the bead curtain was silent for a while, and after a while, a weak voice came out, "The reform of the vassal clan is for the king of Chu to bear the name of the clan for the family and the emperor, and to get rid of the evils of the Ming Dynasty. I wanted to solve this matter thoroughly, but due to the precepts of my ancestors, reputation and the pressure of the clan, I did not carry out a thorough reform. If the king of Chu can complete this matter, it will be a great contribution to the country."

Empress Dowager Zeng paused, "Since the king of Chu has a perfect plan, the Ai family shouldn't ask more questions, but can the Ai family make a request, and hope that the king of Chu will not hurt the clan."

What the queen mother said earlier still moved Wang Yan a little. He reformed the vassals for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the world. No matter how good the queen mother said, the kings of Tang and Lu were much more bureaucratic.

However, although the queen mother made him feel moved, he was still not prepared to tell the queen mother how to deal with it, because his method not only hit the clan, but also hit the majesty of the entire royal family.

"The Queen Mother can rest assured that I have no intention of harming the clan, but some punishment is inevitable." Wang Yan said in a deep voice.

If you don't hurt the clan, then you won't use force. Empress Dowager Zeng said, "The king of Chu said so, the Ai family will feel at ease. The state affairs are important. The king of Chu calmed down the turmoil earlier, so the Ai family will stop talking. Let's go!"

Wang Yan got up immediately, bowed and saluted, took three steps back, then turned and left the hall.

Outside the Xihua Gate, on the square where the clan clan sits quietly, the clan clan members fainted one by one due to heat stroke in the sun, and the surrounding soldiers kept dragging the fainted people out, pouring soup and medicine for treatment, and asking them when the situation improved slightly Whether to continue to sit quietly, or go back to recuperate, if you choose to continue, the soldiers immediately lifted him up without hesitation, dragged him out of the shade, and let them continue to expose themselves to the sun.

At this time, whoever leaves is guilty of public anger, so no one leaves.

King Yi and the others were delighted at the fact that the court recruited a doctor, thinking that it was because the court was afraid that they would have troubles, so their persecution would definitely see results. them.

Fortunately, time passed slowly, and the sun finally set, but the clansmen were not relieved, and an even more infuriating thing happened.

I don't know if it's the soldiers of Ming Dynasty who usually eat so well, or they deliberately disgust the clan.

As soon as the sun set, carts were transported to the outside of Xihuamen, and large vats were lifted down. The fragrant white rice, oily broth, and various large pots of vegetables were sent to the come over.

King Yi and others thought it was the imperial court's favor, so they sent it to them, and they were very disdainful. Can the clan prince eat this?King Yi immediately ordered the people around him not to eat. Only when he was hungry could Wang Yan be forced to come out and the court could make concessions.

But who would have thought that the food delivered was not for them at all, but for the soldiers surrounding them to eat.

For a moment, a spectacle unfolded outside the entire Xihua Gate. More than ten thousand soldiers, surrounded by thousands of clans, began to eat.

The clan sat quietly for an afternoon, and they were also very hungry. The smell was already uncomfortable enough, but some soldiers still faced them, deliberately eating slowly, chewing slowly, and then watching them intently while eating.

Seeing this, King Yu, who was watching from a distance, couldn't help but say two words, "Shameless!"

Hearing the sound, Tang Wang also walked to the window, looked at the scene outside, and was a little confused. This whole afternoon, the Chu party did not do anything meaningful and beneficial to the settlement of the Zongfu's affairs. Crooked ways, and even some rogue methods, do they think that this will make the clan quit in the face of difficulties?

The clans gathered to create a bargaining chip and then force the court to compromise, but now the court does not talk to them at all, and has prepared treatment methods. As long as they don't die, they are allowed to sit quietly. They are on hunger strike and are more hooligans than they are.

The clans were very angry by the soldiers around them, they didn't expect the imperial court to be such a rascal.

There is no curfew in Nanjing. In July, Nanjing is more lively at night than during the day. Normally people would run along the Qinhuai River at night, but today countless people and scholars flocked to Taiping Street.

The clan gathered to make trouble, such a big event has already been spread throughout the city, and all kinds of rumors are flying in the city.

Ordinary people would not dare to join in the excitement, but with Ying Tianfu's guidance, it will be different.

At this time, lanterns were hung on both sides of the entire Taiping Street, and many vendors even set up small stalls, which was even more lively than the Lantern Festival.

After dinner, as it was getting dark, more and more people gathered on Taiping Street. On the high stage, several troupes who had only rehearsed for a few hours also appeared on stage one by one, ready to sing.

"Which song is the king of Chu singing?" Tang Wang was a little puzzled.

The clan's troubles, such a bad thing, should have blocked the news to avoid spreading the influence, but he said yes, and even attracted the people of Nanjing City, so he didn't worry that the people would misunderstand that he was targeting the clan, and he had evil intentions?

Outside the Xihua Gate, the exhausted clans suddenly noticed that besides the soldiers surrounding them, a large number of civilians had gathered, surrounded by three layers inside and three layers outside, watching them point and point , There is a lot of discussion.

For the high-ranking clan members, this feeling is very bad, just like the pigs in the fence being surrounded by people, discussing which one is fatter and which one can be slaughtered.

Several clans were very dissatisfied and got up and scolded, and asked the soldiers to disperse the people, but the soldiers ignored them at all.

Other armies may still have some respect for the clan, but Zhongzhen Town, which has the imprint of the peasant army, is not afraid of these vassals. The peasant army broke out in the north. In addition to natural disasters, most of the feudal vassals in the Ming Dynasty were concentrated in the north, which is also a big reason .

From the view of class history, it is easy to describe the gentry and landlords as heinous existences, thinking that they will oppress the people. Of course, there must be such people, but in fact, many gentry are not only big landlords, but also local good people, building roads and bridges They are always there for relief in disaster years. After all, gentry's fields are also planted by people. How many educated gentry are stupid enough to force the people in their hometown to starve to death.

In times of calamity, most of them organize the villagers to form strongholds to protect themselves against the looting of foreigners. Therefore, the gentry is the cornerstone of the stability of the dynasties of all dynasties. Donglin is no longer a thing, but it is also for the benefit of the people in the south of the Yangtze River.

The gentry have more or less some education, and it’s not easy for the folks in the village to strike hard, but corrupt officials and suzerains are different. One of them has no education, and the other just goes to the local area to make money, and has no affection for the local people. It doesn't matter, so the peasant army swept across the north and slaughtered members of the Ming royal family. One of the biggest characteristics is determination and thoroughness.

These soldiers were strokes, seniors, maybe even drank a bowl of Fulu soup, so naturally they were not afraid of the clan vassals, and ignored them at all, instead they drew out a section of their swords, and the clan quickly sat back in fright.

"What exactly is Wang Yan going to do?" King Liao and other vassals became a little uneasy.

King Yi glanced around and swallowed, "No matter what, Wang Yan wants more people to know that he oppresses the clan, which is a good thing for us!"

"Yes! Wang Yan is not afraid to let more people know that the imperial court is oppressing the clan and the blood of the Taizu. We have nothing to fear!" King Xiang calmly said, "Don't panic, everyone, just sit and see what tricks they can come up with!"

While the clan was talking, on the big stages on both sides of Xihua Gate, a burst of gongs and drums sounded, and the opera began to sing.

While singing "Fulu Banquet" and "Xin'an Wang", the title of the play was announced. The two kings Tang and Lu who were not in the same room suddenly stood up at the same time, and panic appeared on their faces. color.

This "Fulu Banquet" is known from the name. This kind of thing is nothing more than folk rumors. How could the court mention it? In front of you?
When the emperor was in power, he had to take a protective attitude towards the crimes of the clan among the people, and he could not speak up, and he did not dare to speak up, but Wang Yan dared to mention such things. , It is useless to hide it, it will only cause conflicts to accumulate and deepen, and cause the people to distrust the government. Only by daring to face it can the problem be solved.

(Thanks to Pingpan 399, Tianyi, book friend 338841 for their rewards, thank you for subscribing, recommending monthly tickets, please support.)
(End of this chapter)