Objectively speaking, once Shen Changmao makes up his mind, his work efficiency is still very high.
Under his secret operation, within just two hours, the news that Prince Zhu Heyu and Zhao Junchen had reached an alliance had already spread throughout the capital.
This news, like thunder on the ground, immediately caused an uproar in both the government and the public!
No one expected that Zhu Heyu and Zhao Junchen, who had always been at odds with each other, could so easily put aside their differences and work together!
Especially the Qingliu people were all in disbelief and could not accept it. For a moment, they felt as if their faith had collapsed.
Indeed, after the Shaanxi-Gansu War and the civil war, Zhao Junchen's reputation in the government and the public has changed a lot, but this change will still take a period of time, and the hostility towards Zhao Junchen among the Qingliu people is already deep-rooted, and their prejudices are deep-rooted. It still cannot be completely eliminated!
Especially not long ago, Zhao Junchen used despicable means to persecute Guo Tang, one of the Qingliu Qingliu young masters. During that time, the Qingliu people were all disgraced and in a state of embarrassment - for the big-minded Qingliu people, such an old grudge How can it be easily resolved?
Therefore, in the eyes of most Qingliu people, Zhao Junchen is still their enemy! And the sudden alliance between Prince Zhu Heyu and Zhao Junchen is nothing less than a complete betrayal for most Qingliu people!
On the other hand, as Emperor Deqing's idea of establishing another prince became more and more explicit, the Qingliu people did waver in their stance. They did not firmly support Zhu Heyu. Instead, they gradually leaned towards Zhu Hejian, which could be regarded as actively betraying Zhu. He Yu, but Qingliu's active betrayal is justifiable. Didn't Mencius also say that "a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall"? But how can your prince Zhu Heyu betray Qingliu?
Therefore, on this night, there was a lot of traffic and people coming and going in front of the gate of the Prince's East Palace. People came to see Prince Zhu Heyu and wanted to confirm the authenticity of the news in person. This situation continued until the evening. There was no slowdown at Haishi.
In the Prince's East Palace, Zhu Heyu had long been aware of this situation. When faced with questions from the Qingliu people, he did not hide anything and frankly admitted that he had formed an alliance with Zhao Junchen.
After the Qingliu people got the affirmative answer, they all objected fiercely and were heartbroken, but Zhu Heyu still insisted on his opinion and had no intention of changing his mind.
In a certain respect, Prince Zhu Heyu still retains his original stubborn character of never looking back.
In the end, the prince Zhu Heyu and Qingliu had a very unpleasant quarrel, and Qingliu waved his sleeves coldly and walked away.
That is to say, starting from this night, the Qingliu people and the Crown Prince Zhu Heyu completely broke up.
*
"Your Highness the Crown Prince! Please think about it carefully again! Who is Zhao Junchen? Who are his cronies? They are all corrupt officials and traitorous officials despised by the world, and they are destined to be infamy for thousands of years! As the Crown Prince, you have always been He is upright and has a good reputation throughout the dynasty, how can he cooperate with such a person?"
When Wang Bo, a lecturer at the Hanlin Academy, gave his speech, it could be described as impassioned and chest-beating!
"Yes, because of the slight success in the Shaanxi-Gansu War, Zhao Junchen's recent reputation has improved slightly, but his foundation is too poor, and all his disciples and minions are all greedy idiots, and there is absolutely no hope for him. It is possible to correct evil and return to righteousness! And sooner or later, Prince, you will be a noble person, how can you join them? If these corrupt officials and traitorous ministers are reused, won’t our Ming Dynasty lose the country without generals!? "
On the other side, Li Zhengchun, the director of the Imperial College, also looked distressed and tried his best to dissuade him.
Seeing the two men's blunt words of advice, the faces of Prince Zhu and Yu were filled with helplessness and exhaustion.
For more than an hour, similar scenes have been repeated many times in the Prince's East Palace.
Zhu Heyu was also very clear about the subsequent development of such a scene, but he still patiently explained: "Of course I understand the concerns of all the sages, but my top priority is to stabilize my position as crown prince! Judging from the current situation, my father
I am becoming more and more disgusted with me. If I don't do well, it will be impossible for me to securely succeed to the throne. I must make some achievements to change my father's mind! Looking at the government and the public, only Zhao Junchen can
Help me succeed! This is my only choice now!
Although Zhao Junchen was a corrupt official, his style has indeed changed a lot in recent times. He has even personally dealt with corrupt officials under him many times. This shows that he really wants to change his ways! And I and I
After he cooperates, he will also closely urge him to make further corrections, so that he will never delay state affairs or undermine the government's agenda!"
Zhu Heyu's earnest words obviously could not convince Wang Bo and Li Zhengchun.
Wang Bo was still unwilling to give in and asked again: "Your Highness, have you forgotten that the young master Guo Tang was framed by Zhao Junchen and his family was ruined? Over the years, Qingliu and I have been humiliated by Zhao Junchen many times.
Don’t His Highness the Crown Prince not care at all?”
Zhu Heyu sighed and said: "These are all things in the past, and we have to look forward after all! Moreover, Zhao Junchen also promised me that he will not embarrass Guo Tang's family again in the future."
Seeing Zhu Heyu's reaction, Wang Bo couldn't help but look disappointed, and Li Zhengchun had a cold expression. He stood up directly, cupped his hands to Zhu Heyu and said: "Since His Highness the Crown Prince refuses to listen to good advice, we will do the same."
I have nothing to say! Farewell!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zhengchun turned around and left without waiting for Zhu Heyu to persuade him to stay.
On the other side, seeing Li Zhengchun resolutely leaving, Wang Bo hesitated a little, but also stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Prince, you... just take care of yourself!"
After saying that, Wang Bo also followed Li Zhengchun.
Seeing Li Zhengchun and Wang Bo leaving one after another, Zhu Heyu's expressions became increasingly tired and helpless.
Zhu Heyu had seen this kind of scene several times today. The Qingliu people waved their sleeves and walked away, which meant that Zhu Heyu gradually lost the support of the Qingliu people.
After sighing again, Zhu Heyu turned to look at the last two guests in the main hall of the East Palace.
These two guests are also the two most important supporters in the hearts of Prince Zhu Heyu - Lv Chunxiao, the censor of Youdu of the Duchayuan, and Bao Wenjie, the minister of rites!
Seeing Lu Chunxiao and Bao Wenjie just sitting aside with expressionless expressions, with no intention of speaking out at all, Zhu Heyu asked in a bitter voice: "But the two of them also disagree with Heyu's behavior and plan to abandon Heyu.
But you can’t leave?”
Lu Chunxiao and Prince Zhu Heyu were both direct disciples of the former crown prince Xiao Wenruan, and they had the closest relationship. Naturally, he couldn't bear to abandon Zhu Heyu like this.
However, Lu Chunxiao also has his own difficulties. He is the censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The Metropolitan Procuratorate has always been the stronghold of Qingliu people. If Lu Chunxiao firmly supports Zhu Heyu, he may not be able to secure his official position.
Already.
Therefore, Lu Chunxiao also smiled bitterly and replied: "I actually agree with some of His Highness the Crown Prince's views, but I will still be in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate in the future. More than half of the officials in the Metropolitan Procuratorate are from Qingliu. If I make it clear
If I express my position, I am afraid that the censors will rebel, so I am afraid that I cannot express my position clearly. This can also help His Highness the Crown Prince to ease the excitement of the Qingliu people."
Zhu Heyu also understood Lu Chunxiao's difficulties. After nodding helplessly, he turned to look at Bao Wenjie, the Minister of Rites.
Seeing Zhu Heyu's faintly pleading eyes, Bao Wenjie's expression was full of contradictions.
In fact, ever since Bao Wenjie accompanied Zhao Junchen on a trip to Shaanxi and Gansu, some of his ideas had gradually been shaken, and he began to doubt whether some of his past persistence was correct and necessary. During this time, he
I have been thinking about this matter all the time, so I have no time to think about other things, and my performance is quite low-key.
After learning about the cooperation between Prince Zhu Heyu and Zhao Junchen, Bao Wenjie also had extremely contradictory thoughts. On the one hand, he believed that Prince Zhu Heyu's behavior was abandoning the bottom line and principles, but on the other hand, he felt that this was Zhu Heyu's behavior.
The best way forward for He Yu.
Under such contradictory thoughts, Bao Wenjie finally chose to wait and see for the time being after hesitating for a long time.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty the Crown Prince! This evening, I just received your Majesty's edict. I will leave the capital for a while and visit Shaanxi and Gansu. Your Majesty thinks that I have a better understanding of the current situation in Shaanxi and Gansu, and asked me to cooperate with the factory guards to further investigate.
The merits, demerits, rewards and punishments of all parties in Shaanxi and Gansu during this period of time... Therefore, I am not able to reply to His Highness the Crown Prince yet, nor can I support His Highness the Crown Prince. Everything can only be done after I complete my sacred mission and return to the capital."
Although Zhu Heyu was a little disappointed with Bao Wenjie's temporary non-commitment, he was not surprised. However, after hearing Bao Wenjie's explanation, he couldn't help but curiously asked: "This is your third trip to Shaanxi and Gansu in the past six months, right?
The Hetao war is currently at its most intense, and the merits, demerits, rewards and punishments of all parties in Shaanxi and Gansu are still uncertain. Why is my father so eager to confirm? Isn't it enough that Mr. Liang Ge is in charge of the overall situation in Shaanxi and Gansu?"
Bao Wenjie shook his head and said: "The Sacred Heart is unpredictable, and I don't know what His Majesty is thinking. The imperial edict I received was a bit vague. It just asked me to cooperate with the factory guards in doing things, but it's not clear how to do it specifically.
However, it has been many days since the beginning of winter, and the climate in northern Xinjiang is getting colder and colder. I guess that by the time I reach the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, the war in Hetao will be over, right?"
Zhu Heyu vaguely felt that this matter was not simple, but he couldn't think it through clearly for a while, so he didn't study it in detail. He just nodded and said: "Since Lord Bao hasn't thought it through clearly, I won't force you... But as long as Lord Bao
If you are still willing to support me in the future, I will still regard Mr. Bao as a bastard!"
*
Next, Zhu Heyu, Lu Chunxiao, and Bao Wenjie spoke a few more words from their hearts. Seeing that these two people were not willing to talk more, they did not force them to stay, but personally sent them out of the Prince's East Palace.
When Zhu Heyu returned to the main hall of the East Palace, he found that the seventh prince Zhu Hejian had already greeted him with a worried face.
It turned out that long before the Qingliu people visited the East Palace to question Zhu Heyu, Zhu Hejian had already arrived at the East Palace first, wanting to find out the change in Zhu Heyu's attitude.
However, before the brothers could exchange a few words, the Qingliu people came to visit one after another, interrupting their conversation. In order to avoid embarrassment, Zhu Hejian hid in the side hall.
Because the Qingliu people came and left one after another, Zhu Hejian had no chance to come out until this time.
Seeing Zhu Hejian's worried face, as if he was extremely worried about his situation, Zhu Heyu's thoughts were full of complicated thoughts, but he still forced a smile and said: "I've kept seventh brother waiting for a long time. I heard that you have been in poor health recently. Wait.
Do you feel uncomfortable after being here for such a long time?"
Zhu Hejian shook his head and said: "My physical condition is very good and I don't feel unwell. It's just that I hid in the side hall and listened to the Qingliu people arguing with the third brother, and I was a little worried about the future situation of the third brother."
After a pause, Zhu Hejian asked: "Third brother, are you determined to unite with Zhao Junchen? I'm not against third brother's decision, but Zhao Junchen is by no means an easy person to get along with, and he can never be trusted. I
I'm worried that sooner or later he will betray Third Brother and you will suffer a big loss."
On the other side, after today's conversation with Zhao Junchen, Zhu Heyu has made up his mind to stabilize his position at all costs, which means that Zhu Hejian will become Zhu Heyu's political opponent in the future and will be attacked by Zhu Heyu.
Yu's vigorous suppression and deliberate targeting.
Now, seeing Zhu Hejian so worried about his situation, Zhu Heyu felt that he could not face Zhu Hejian's "deep brotherhood" directly, so he avoided Zhu Hejian's "worrying eyes" and shook his head: "Don't worry, I
There is also a back-up plan, and Zhao Junchen will never be betrayed at will... These things all involve temple and party struggles, and are extremely dirty. Seventh brother, please don't worry about it. You should pay more attention to your body.
."
These words seem to have some hints.
Hearing this, Zhu Hejian was full of panic and grievance, and said repeatedly: "Third brother, do you still blame me for being too pushy during this period and threatening your position?... Third brother, you know what I am thinking.
I have never thought about arguing with you, all because my father’s holy orders cannot be violated. I have argued with him repeatedly, but my father..."
"I understand! Of course I understand!" Zhu Heyu waved his hands and said: "I believe in you from the beginning to the end! It's just... I'm afraid that you and I will be involuntarily in the future..."
Having said this, Zhu Heyu suddenly looked up at Zhu Hejian and said: "Seventh brother, don't worry. No matter what, we are brothers whose blood is thicker than water. No matter what third brother does in the future, we will never let him go."
You are wronged!"
Hearing Zhu Heyu's statement, Zhu Hejian's eyes flashed with a hint of understanding and relaxation.
Zhu Hejian could feel that Zhu Heyu had an escape mentality when facing him, but there was not much hostility or disgust.
This means that Zhao Junchen did not tell the truth, and Zhu Heyu still does not know Zhu Hejian's true identity. Zhu Heyu is currently just determined to compete with Zhu Hejian for Zhengshuo and try his best to stabilize his reserve position.
This also means that when Zhao Junchen cooperates with Zhu Heyu, he still hides his selfishness and will not do his best.
In this way, Zhu Hejian felt at ease.
But on the surface, Zhu Hejian was also full of sincerity and emotion. He nodded vigorously and said, "That's good! You will always be my third brother, and my opinion of you will never change!"
Then, the two brothers, who seemed to be inseparable, held each other's hands tightly. The scene was quite touching.
*
No more talk about the various disturbances that occurred in the East Palace that night.
However, he said that at 15:00 the next day, as Emperor Deqing arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the day's court meeting officially began.
During this court meeting, two highly anticipated things will happen.
The first thing was that Prince Zhu Heyu was officially appointed as an imperial envoy by Emperor Deqing, responsible for investigating the irregularities in government and discipline among the vassals in various places.
The impact of this incident is far-reaching and the implications are vast, no less than the Hetao War on the front line. Naturally, it has attracted the attention of hundreds of officials.
Prince Zhu Heyu has also prepared his luggage. After accepting the official appointment, he will leave the capital immediately after the court meeting is over. First, he will go to Luoyang to be responsible for investigating the most popular and biggest problem in recent years.
King Fu is already the leader among the feudal lords!
However, when Prince Zhu Heyu was entrusted with important responsibilities by Emperor Deqing in the past, a large number of Qingliu people would always stand up to praise his virtues and wave flags to cheer him up. But this time after Zhu Heyu was appointed as an imperial envoy by Emperor Deqing, the entire Taihe
The hall was deserted, and no one spoke for a while. Most of the Qingliu people had expressionless faces, and the officials from various factions also looked like they had nothing to do with themselves.
Under normal circumstances, maybe someone would stand up and say a few words, but a thorough investigation of the feudal king's affairs is too sensitive, and all factions are unwilling to get involved too deeply, and they are catching up with Qingliu and Prince Zhu Heyu.
When a relationship breaks down, it naturally becomes cold.
Under the indifference of the officials, Zhu Heyu also had no expression on his face. He just accepted the imperial edict in a deep voice and stated that he would thoroughly investigate the chaos in government and discipline among the vassals everywhere.
Seeing this situation, Emperor Deqing looked at Prince Zhu Heyu with a hint of pity in his eyes.
In Emperor Deqing's heart, this was the last time he entrusted Zhu Heyu with an important task. He knew that Zhu Heyu would most likely fail in this matter - with Zhu Heyu's character, the investigation would inevitably end in
The implication was so wide that it attracted a lot of backlash from the vassal kings from all over the country - that's why he handed this matter over to Zhu Heyu, so that he could justifiably depose Zhu Heyu, and by the way, he could also give the vassal kings from all over the country a beating.
But in an instant, Emperor Deqing had restrained his feelings of pity, and his expression did not change at all, as if he didn't feel anything wrong with the silence at this time.
As for the second major event during the day-to-day meeting, it was the preparation of military supplies for the Hetao War.
The state treasury has long been out of grain, and it is powerless to support the frontline war. In the end, when Zhao Junchen temporarily took charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs a few days ago, he proposed the highly controversial "Three Grain Raising Strategies", namely "Three Strategies for Raising Grain in Shaanxi and Gansu"
The autumn tax collection will be handed over directly to Huamachiying", "the quota of grain donations for the Imperial College will be expanded" and "the treasury salary will be converted into silver"!
Although these three grain requisition strategies can prepare a large amount of grain in a short period of time, they also touch the interests of all parties in the government and the public. Officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs did not dare to agree, and then there was "Zhao Junchen fainted in anger."
The drama of "Hubu Yamen".
In the end, Emperor Deqing saw no other options and forced the Hubu Yamen to adopt Zhao Junchen's "Three Strategies for Raising Food", which also made the Hubu Yamen bear the hatred of both the government and the opposition.
By today's morning meeting, the three strategies for raising food should have achieved initial results, and the first batch of food should have been shipped to the front line.
After Emperor Deqing appointed Prince Zhu Heyu as the imperial envoy, he quickly shifted his attention to the two ministers of the Ministry of Revenue - Hong Zhengshuo and Ma Sen.
"Hong Aiqing, Ma Aiqing... How is the grain collection matter at the Ministry of Revenue going? How much grain can be collected and transported to the front line?" Emperor Deqing's tone when asking was very polite, but there was an air of no doubt.
Hong Zhengshuo hurriedly came out of the queue and replied: "Your Majesty, after two days of overnight calculations, the Ministry of Revenue believes that this year's autumn tax and grain collection from Shaanxi and Gansu should have been about 1.1 million shi, but due to natural disasters
Due to the war, there were bad harvests and losses in various places. His Majesty also pardoned money and grain from many places. The actual harvest was only less than 400,000 shi. The Ministry of Household Affairs has issued an official document asking the officials in Shaanxi and Gansu to collect autumn grain and send it directly to Huama.
Chiying, there is no need to enter the treasury again! However, the distance between Shaanxi and Gansu is far away, and it takes time to deliver official documents. It will be a month after the autumn grains from various places are delivered to Huamachiying, and I am afraid that the water from far away cannot quench the thirst of the near."
Emperor Deqing nodded and said: "This is also a time of helplessness, but after the imperial court regains the Hetao, there will still be matters such as city construction, farming, and troop garrisoning. This batch of food and grass can be sent there as an emergency."
"Your Majesty is wise!" After a quick compliment, Hong Zhengshuo added: "In addition, the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial College also issued an official document, stating that the Imperial College will have 200 'donation prison' places this year, and business gentry from all over the country only need to donate food.
Five hundred shi can arrange for a disciple to study in the Imperial College. There has been no response from places outside the capital, but eleven business gentry in the capital have expressed their willingness to donate food. A total of 5,500 shi of food has been raised. In the next two years,
It can be collected into the national treasury and sent to the front line within days."
After hearing these words, Emperor Deqing frowned and felt that the amount of donated food was too small.
But there is nothing that can be done about it. The imperial court has opened up quotas for "prison donation" to the public for several consecutive years, but the quota has never been as large as this year.
Therefore, there are very few business gentry among the people who have the ability and need to "donate prison". The capital city is especially overstretched. It is enough to receive so much food donation in just two days.
This is very good. The remaining quota for "donating prisons" can only be expected from business gentry from various places outside the capital.
Seeing that Emperor Deqing was a little unhappy, Hong Zhengshuo quickly added: "However, after calculation by the Ministry of Household Affairs, if all the stipends of the feudal princes and officials for the next three months were converted into stipend silver, there would be an excess of 650,000 yuan.
The remaining grain will be transported to the front line soon..."
After hearing Hong Zhengshuo's words, everyone in the Hall of Supreme Harmony looked unhappy.
Over the years, private food prices have been getting higher and higher. After converting salary rice into salary silver, officials can often only buy half of the amount of food. This method of raising food has caused losses to all officials. Naturally,
No one was happy, but the court encountered insurmountable difficulties. This was the only way to quickly raise food, but no one dared to object loudly.
On the other side, Emperor Deqing was both happy and distressed after hearing the amount of grain.
This batch of grain amounts to 650,000 dan, which can naturally relieve the urgent needs of the frontline war. However, after the interests of the officials were damaged, Emperor Deqing also needed to find a way to appease him.
The most important thing is that after this conversion of stipends to silver, the Ministry of Household Affairs must come up with the same value of silver as stipends and distribute them to the lord and officials. According to the market price, this is 1.95 million taels of silver.
!
But before this year's autumn taxes are collected into the national treasury, the Ministry of Revenue is also short of money. This money needs to be temporarily borrowed from Emperor Deqing's private funds. Emperor Deqing is naturally a little worried and distressed, fearing that the national treasury will default on him.
of borrowing money.
"The public account is public and the private account is private. There has always been a clear distinction between the imperial treasury and my private money. This time I loaned the private money to the Ministry of Accounts, and the interest must also be calculated... Well, this matter is not suitable here.
It’s time to bring it up. I’ll have to discuss it with the officials from the Ministry of Revenue after the morning meeting…”
While thinking deeply, Emperor Deqing's expression was full of solemnity, and he nodded and said: "This batch of grain is as high as 650,000 dan, which is enough for the frontline war. The Hubu Yamen must seize the time and transport it to the frontline as soon as possible.
, it must not affect the imperial court’s battle to regain Hetao!”
"I obey the decree! Your Majesty, please rest assured that the first batch of food will be transported to the front line before noon today!"
Under the cold gazes of the officials, Hong Zhengshuo wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with his sleeves and quickly accepted the order.
After the two important events came to an end, the atmosphere in the Hall of Supreme Harmony became slightly more relaxed.
But at this moment, another Minister of Household Affairs, Ma Sen, suddenly came out and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something important to report!"
"Say it."
"Your Majesty, the water transportation is not smooth, and the Ministry of Revenue's grain and silver reserves are in a hurry! Now that the Ministry of Revenue has sent all the grain and banknotes to the front line, the remaining food and grain may not last until next month!"
Following Ma Sen's report, all officials were immediately asked to change the book, and Emperor Deqing felt that his scalp was going to explode!