Six ministers, ministers, and cabinet ministers were summoned in the middle of the night. After hearing that the emperor's fate was hanging by a thread, they rushed over one after another, but unexpectedly they were blocked here.
How can this be tolerated?
"Get out of the way or not?!" The big bosses' eyes were about to burst into flames.
"I'm sorry, my lords," the little eunuch said with a smile, "the prince has issued a death order and no one is allowed to enter the palace."
"Prince?" Everyone was shocked, "The prince is back?"
The young eunuch nodded: "We don't dare to talk nonsense, and I hope you adults will not make things difficult for our family."
Huang Fu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, snorted coldly: "The emperor is in danger and summoned us to take care of the orphans on his deathbed. Why don't you let us in?"
Huang Fu shouted sharply: "What is the prince going to do? Close the door and become the emperor by yourself!?"
The young eunuch had never seen such a posture before. He was so stupid that he didn't know how to refute, but the prince had issued a strict order. If he really let these people in, his life would be at risk.
"I'm sorry, my lords, our family is also following orders." The little eunuch apologized and asked his companions to close the door.
"How dare you?" Jin Youzi stepped forward to block the door and snorted coldly: "Everyone, don't be deceived by this eunuch. The prince is in Nanzhili, why did he come back? I think there is clearly a big change in the palace, even
The emperor has been threatened."
As soon as this statement came out, everyone's expressions couldn't help but change again.
This is too possible.
When the palace door was locked last night, I didn't hear any news about the prince's return to the capital. So he entered the palace now?
Who believes it!
With a formation as big as the Crown Prince's Honor Guard, if he really wanted to come back, there would be no way to hide it from them.
"Jian Shangshu, please say something!" Huang Fu said in a deep voice.
"Yes, Minister Jian, there is clearly a conspiracy, and the emperor is still waiting for us." Others agreed.
Jian Yi knew that these people wanted to put him in front, but this time he did not fight and stood up without hesitation.
Power is a double-edged sword. If it cannot hurt others, it must hurt yourself. Not everything can be reconciled.
Jian Yi said flatly: "Don't worry about him, just go in!"
Saying that, he took the lead and rushed in, and the others immediately followed.
"You can't come in, you can't come in..." The two young eunuchs were crying and trying their best to stop him.
But at this moment, Xiao Lizi, who had gone to inform the officials, returned with his people.
The two young eunuchs, now the saviors, screamed: "Eunuch Li, stop them quickly. The prince has issued a death order and they are not allowed to enter the palace."
"Shut up, castrate!" Huang Fu scolded angrily: "The prince is clearly in southern Zhili, so don't try to deceive us."
"Wait a minute~" Xiao Lizi looked at him with a calm face, and said "castrated dog", which made him angry, "Who said that the prince is in Nanzhili? Our family saw the prince enter the palace with our own eyes."
He looked at the two young eunuchs: "Did the prince really say that?"
"Hey Eunuch Li, how dare we pretend to pass on the prince's oral instructions."
Xiao Lizi thought about it and turned around and said: "Since the prince has given the order, please go back."
We were sleeping soundly in the middle of the night. He woke us up, and now we are told to go back. Why are we playing monkey?
The six ministries and the cabinet were furious. Although they were hostile, they all despised the eunuchs.
"Who do you think you are?" Jian Yi cursed, "I want to see who dares to stop you!"
Xiao Lizi was also angry.
He was able to stand out from all the eunuchs, enter the East Factory, and gradually be promoted to the second-in-command of the East Factory. How can he be an ordinary person?
When he heard that the prince would not allow these people to enter the palace, he made a decision in his heart and must execute it meticulously.
Whether the prince really wants to become emperor behind closed doors or not, it doesn't matter to him. The current situation is clear. The prince is his future master, and he must remain absolutely loyal to his new boss.
"Someone, come and stop them for us."
A group of Jinyi guards looked at each other, quickly made a decision, and stepped forward as ordered.
Now Jinyiwei has become a vassal of Dongchang. For the sake of their future, they have to surrender.
There is no other way. They are all trying to make ends meet. They have a deep feud with the officials and there is no possibility of mediation;
Moreover, the previous commander, Ji Gang, died because of his friendship with civil servants. It was for this reason that the power and status of the Jinyiwei plummeted.
Having learned from past mistakes, they dare not cross the threshold again.
The wolf-like Jin Yiwei stepped forward, simply and roughly pulled these people aside and blocked them in front of the palace gate.
"How can it be unreasonable? How unreasonable it is..." Jian Yi was so angry that he trembled: when he acted as a minister, he would also depend on the eunuch's face.
Huang Fu even cursed loudly and castrated the dog one sentence at a time.
"Eunuch, His Highness the Crown Prince has said that if they dare to break in, they will be arrested directly." The two young eunuchs were furious and began to fight.
Xiao Lizi said suspiciously: "Seriously?"
"How dare you talk nonsense? Your Highness the Crown Prince said it himself." The young eunuch nodded wildly.
Xiao Lizi smiled: "Very good, arrest them and escort them to Zhao Prison."
"Presumptuous, presumptuous..."
All the officials were about to explode with anger, but they were no match for the Jinyiwei as they were powerless.
He screamed happily, but he couldn't escape the fate of being dragged away in embarrassment.
Xiao Lizi smiled coldly and spat: "Ah, what is it?"
"My father-in-law is mighty." The two young eunuchs were sincerely convinced, with admiration on their faces: It turns out that we eunuchs can also straighten our backs and behave like human beings!
Xiao Lizi enjoyed the compliments from the two of them. He had come here like this before and asked in a slow voice: "Does His Highness the Crown Prince have any other instructions?"
"The prince said he would lock the palace."
"Then why are you still standing there, locked in the palace!"
——
Qianqing Palace.
The little fat man was lying on the bed, with a peaceful face and a deep sleep.
Li Qing and Zhu Zhanji were by his side, and there were only three of them in the huge hall.
The two of them didn't dare to close their eyes, and they didn't dare to let outsiders get close to them. The edict was full of doubts, and Li Qing was also infected by Zhu Zhanji. No one seemed like a good person, and there was always a feeling that the unruly people were trying to harm me.
…
Unknowingly, the view inside the hall gradually brightened, a ray of sunlight flowed in through the windows, and the floor was covered with a layer of golden color.
It's dawn.
The two of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, finally getting through the night.
However, Xiaopang still showed no sign of waking up.
Zhu Zhanji's face was full of worry: "Father...will everything be okay?"
"It's okay for the time being. He's just too tired and needs enough rest." Li Qing said softly.
"What disease does your father have?" Zhu Zhanji asked.
"Emotional excitement caused a sudden high blood pressure, which caused heart failure," Li Qing said in a low tone. "There may be a little hemorrhage in the brain. Anyway... the situation is not optimistic."
Zhu Zhanji frowned and said, "What is high blood pressure?"
Li Qing was not in the mood to explain to him, "You can understand it as... a burning passion attacking the heart."
This time, Zhu Zhanji understood.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Is it really just a matter of day and night?"
"That's not the case," Li Qing shook his head: "I will do my best to treat him, and it will take... quite some time."
As he spoke, Xiaopang snorted softly and slowly opened his eyes.
The two men hurried forward, "Your Majesty (Father), how do you feel?"
"It's okay." There was some blood on the little fat face, and he no longer looked like he was going to die at any moment.
Zhu Zhanji helped him sit up. Although he felt a little inappropriate, he still asked the question in his heart: "Father, was it you who issued the edict?"
"Of course I did it!" Xiaopang rolled his eyes, "But it's no longer needed right now. I think I can still live for a while."
"..."
Li Qing frowned slightly: "Why did you move the capital back to Nanjing?"
"Go back to Nanjing?" Xiaopang was confused, "When did I let you go back to Nanjing?"
When Zhu Zhanji heard this, he relaxed and said, "This is the edict, please read it, father."
Xiaopang took it and unfolded it. After a while, anger rose on his face, "Here comes...ahem..."
"Calm down." Li Qing comforted him and patted him on the back. "We have to solve something. Don't be angry. You can't be angry now."
Xiaopang took a breath and nodded slightly.
"Does the Queen Mother know about this edict?" Zhu Zhanji asked the biggest doubt in his heart.
Fatty shook his head.
Li Qing asked: "Does the Six Ministries or the Cabinet know?"
Xiaopang still shook his head.
Hearing this, Li Qing and Zhu Zhanji were also dumbfounded: "You are the only one who knows?"
"Not at all." Xiaopang frowned and said, "I wrote this edict three days ago. I wrote it in the inner hall. At that time, there were people from the cabinet, six departments, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate in the imperial study room outside. But
, they don’t know the content, and they don’t know that I wrote the will.”
"Then why did you write a will?" Li Qing asked.
Xiaopang smiled bitterly: "Didn't you feel that you were going to die soon?"
"This matter is easy to handle." Zhu Zhanji said, "Father, your dragon body is not in good shape. They must be able to see that. Those people are all smart, and they may have figured out that father has prepared a will;
So while his father was critically ill, he colluded with the eunuchs, found the edict, and then turned it around;
As long as those people are arrested and interrogated, the case will be solved!"
Li Qing nodded. He also agreed with Zhu Zhanji's inference. There was no better explanation.
"No!" Xiaopang shook his head decisively.
Zhu Zhanji was anxious, "Father, it's now this time, don't be merciful anymore, they even dare to tamper with the imperial edict, why not? If you continue to indulge in this way, it will definitely lead to greater disasters."
.”
"Listen to your father." Li Qing looked at Xiaopang, "What are your difficulties?"
"It's not the reason, but... there are too many people." Xiaopang smiled bitterly, "On the day I wrote the edict, we were discussing the migration of the people. Except for you, all the ministers from the other five departments were there, and the cabinet was also there.
There are also the left and right censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, how can we arrest all of them?"
Zhu Zhanji choked and asked, "Why not?"
"Impulsive!" Xiaopang glared at him, "Don't look at what the situation is now. The feudal kings, nobles, and officials have all been offended. If there are more prisons, it will definitely make their already sensitive nerves.
Stretched to the limit, even broken;
If that really happens, the Ming Dynasty will really be in chaos!"
Xiaopang warned: "Zhanji, don't think that just because you took over the army, you can do whatever you want.
Let me tell you, the situation now is much more severe than when your grandfather was in office, and the father and son together cannot compare to your grandfather."
"Investigate, we must investigate!" Li Qing responded: "The prince's starting point is correct. Such a major event as tampering with the imperial edict must not be tolerated. Otherwise, more egregious things will happen in the future."
He asked back: "Have you ever thought about what kind of situation we would face if we came back a few days later?"