It's March, and the situation in the capital is suddenly tense.
When Zhu Hao was traveling, he could see many cavalrymen in military uniforms strutting through the city in groups, either coming from the leopard room or coming from the city gate. Every time a cavalryman passed by, the people on the roadside would jump up and down.
"The men and horses in the training camp of the Mighty Regiment are all direct descendants of Pinglubo. Now they are led by Zhu Cong... It should be called Li Cong. Almost all the defense of the capital has fallen into his hands."
Su Xigui and Zhu Hao have been almost inseparable these days. They went to the theater together this time, followed by Sun Ru and several entourages.
Zhu Hao looked at the dust raised along the way by the cavalry and nodded slightly.
He seemed to understand why Jiang Bin was arrested and imprisoned within less than three days after Zhu Houzhao's death. He obviously had a good set of cards, but he had the mentality and style of a warrior, without any scheming. Dongchang and Jinyiwei were all there
Under his control, he also knew how to set up powerful regiments and training camps, and the defense of the capital was almost entirely in his own hands... In this way, if the emperor dies, you can launch a mutiny and become emperor.
To put it bluntly, there is a lack of counselors around to make suggestions.
"My dear, what do you think?"
Seeing that Zhu Hao was still observing the direction of the cavalry's departure, Su Xigui couldn't help but ask softly.
Now Su Xigui is very attentive to Zhu Hao's words and deeds, and maybe a few words that casually slip out of Zhu Hao's mouth will benefit him a lot.
Zhu Hao said: "It's nothing. It's too domineering and will have no good results."
Su Xigui said with a smile: "If Pinglubo had people like Xiao Dangjia planning around him, I'm afraid he wouldn't be so criticized. Now even the people in the market are looking forward to them being eradicated as soon as possible. They are so unpopular. No wonder the Prime Minister Shen De
Don't be angry, just wait for the final reckoning."
This actually reminds Zhu Hao that Zhu Si's future opponents will not be Jiang Bin, Xu Tai, Li Cong, Zhou Yong and the like, nor Zhang Zhong's powerful eunuchs in the palace. In the final analysis, they will still have to fight with civil servants.
Because these people couldn't even fight Yang Tinghe, and when Zhu Si came to the capital, the overall situation was decided. Shouldn't we give these people more strength now so that they can fight Yang Tinghe until Zhu Si comes to the capital?
Helping the traitors in the court?
Zhu Hao thought for a while and finally gave up the idea.
Although from the perspective of the beneficiary, secretly adding fuel to the flames will greatly affect the power of the civil servant group, Jiang Bin has too much power at his disposal. He must take advantage of it and wipe it out without giving him a chance to breathe.
machine.
In fact, the move of Yang Tinghe and other civil servants to eliminate Jiang Bin was considered a risky move. There were dangers everywhere, and the whole situation could be overturned if they were not careful. Zhu Hao felt that there was really no need to cause trouble behind his back.
"Let's go, what's going on today?"
Zhu Hao asked.
"Battle in Changsha." Su Xigui replied with a smile.
"oh."
Zhu Hao remembered that Guan Dezhao and his son had nothing to do recently, so they simply sang in Su Xigui's theater. Peking opera with Qin opera singing has caused a trend in the capital just by Guan Dezhao. After all, most of the operas that were popular in the capital before were
There is nothing special about the "Zhiguai" drama written by Zhu Hao in terms of singing and stage posture. Anyone who is willing to learn can gradually master it.
But Guan Dezhao's skills cannot be easily learned by others. His voice and skills require more than ten or even decades of practice. As soon as Guan Dezhao came on stage, he immediately became a celebrity in the theater.
…
…
Inside the theater.
Guan Dezhao was singing on the stage, and it was hard to get tickets for the theater. Zhu Hao seemed to have returned to the bustling scene of Anlu's opera troupe. There were many people outside who came to watch the opera, either rich or wealthy. Inspired by Guan Dezhao's powerful stage power, cheers came one after another.
"There are several Gongshi who are in the same class as the young master and are watching the show in the audience. Do you want to meet them?"
Su Xigui knew the identity of the visitor very well and came here specifically to inquire.
Zhu Hao shook his head: "No need, it's not good to see him now."
"Oh, I remember the young master said that the imperial examination will not be held as scheduled, right?" Su Xigui asked.
Zhu Hao smiled and nodded.
Su Xigui thought for a while and analyzed: "There was a rumor from the Ministry of Rites that His Majesty has decreed that the palace examination will be held on March 15th. Even if His Majesty does not come to Fengtian Palace in person, the palace examination will not be greatly affected. After all, there have been
The old tradition of Your Majesty not visiting in person during the imperial examination is... Xiao Dangjia means that the Ming Dynasty's national funeral will be before mid-March, right?"
Zhu Hao said: "Dongzhu Su, if your words spread, it will really cost people's lives."
"No, no, that's nonsense."
Su Xigui looked aside and saw that Sun Ru was the only one in the private room.
Sun Ru, on the other hand, is the kind of person who is short-sighted. At this time, she was concentrating on the stage below and did not pay attention to the conversation between Zhu Hao and Su Xigui. But even if he heard it, there was no need to worry that it would be leaked.
At this time, the singing was reaching its climax, and the cheers from outside did not stop.
There was a lot of noise, and Su Xigui didn't speak for a long time. His face looked a little anxious, and his eyes were darting around, as if he wanted to leave.
This is another major "secret" analyzed from Zhu Hao's words. Asked Zhu Hao, Zhu Hao did not deny it, then it is very likely that the national mourning will really happen before March 15th, and now it has entered March.
Months, which means that there are at most ten days of preparation time, so why not make arrangements quickly?
"Dr. Su, have you had any interactions with anyone in the cabinet recently?"
Zhu Hao suddenly asked.
Su Xigui was puzzled and asked: "Are you talking about Mr. Yangge? The young master should know that Mr. Huang has always been rejected by the old faction of Yangge. He thinks that he has too close contacts with the middle officials, and there are many accusations against Mr. Huang.
I have always been afraid that Mr. Yang Ge will suppress him after he takes power. How can I, as a businessman, have contact with Mr. Yang Ge's people?"
Zhu Hao said: "Not at all?"
"This... can't be said to be completely absent. Nowadays, many civil servants exchange information. There is a disciple of Grand Scholar Liang who met with me and asked me about my views on the current situation. I did not express it clearly to him.
, but both of them think something big might happen after the spring this year..."
Su Xigui did not hide it.
Originally, Su Xigui was Huang Zan's white glove. When Huang Zan was away from the capital, he needed to stay in the capital to help with the affairs. The purpose was to avoid affecting his current official position in the event of a major event. It would also be best to allow Huang Zan to return to the capital and serve as the six ministers.
.
Under such circumstances, Su Xigui will inevitably have contacts and exchanges with people from the core factions in the DPRK and China.
"Bachelor Liang..."
Zhu Hao repeated it.
Su Xigui asked hurriedly: "Is there something wrong? If it doesn't work, I won't see you again. Oh, by the way, recently Wang Shangshu of the Ministry of Civil Affairs has sent people to ask for opinions. Yesterday, he even talked with his special envoy.
Late at night, Wang Shangshu was very sad about Huang Gong's situation in the court, and once mentioned that he would help Huang Gong return to the court to take charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs."
Zhu Hao nodded slightly again.
Undecided.
After Wang Qiong was imprisoned in Lu Wan, he was transferred from the post of Minister of the Ministry of War to the post of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which was a normal transfer. Although Wang Qiong had always been tabooed by Yang Tinghe, his achievements and prestige in the court were not comparable to ordinary people. His successor as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs was
From a certain perspective, it is "what everyone expects".
However, Wang Qiong came to power without being recommended by the court, so he was naturally criticized. When Wang Qiong rewarded the northwest army generals, he was basically a puppet, only obeying the emperor's edict. This is why the civil servant group believed that he had many conflicts with the Ministry of War.
The "criminal evidence" of collusion between middle-level officials without going through the court system.
Zhu Hao knew very well that if everything develops according to history, there will only be more than a month left before Wang Qiong is imprisoned and "discussed to death". This is the first victim of Yang Tinghe's faction to "kill chickens to scare the monkeys" in front of Zhu Si after Zhu Si ascended the throne.
Of course, the final result is the same as Lu Wan's, which is to guard the border.
The difference is that Lu Wan was sent to the garrison for punishment and his family was confiscated, while Wang Qiong was demoted to guard the border and did not harm his family.
Wang Qiong was the kind of person who knew the truth and stood firmly on the emperor's side during the great ceremony, and finally got his reinstatement a few years later.
With the emperor's condition unclear, something big is likely to happen. Wang Qiong is also very aware that his position in the court is awkward. He can't hope to side with Jiang Bin to help him plot rebellion. In this way, Wang Qiong can only win over anyone.
With the civil servants who might become allies, he tried to form alliances to protect himself.
Huang Zan, as an official who was also hated by Yang Ting and the faction, naturally became the target of Wang Qiong's efforts to win over.
"My young master, are you interested in meeting Wang Shangshu? If you meet with him in the name of Prince Xing's Mansion, even Wang Shangshu will not be able to offend you." Su Xigui asked.
Zhu Hao shook his head and said no.
First of all, he cannot go out and show off under the banner of Prince Xing's Mansion. This is not in his interest.
Furthermore, Wang Qiong was ranked too high in Yang Tinghe's punishment list, and he was ruthlessly captured when Zhu Si first came to the throne. At that time, Zhu Si was not yet on a stable footing, so it was difficult to protect a minister of the Ministry of Personnel who had a poor reputation in the Zhengde Dynasty.
Although Wang Qiong did not do many things out of his heart, his close association with the traitors around the emperor became a political stain that he could not erase.
Wang Qiong, recognized as one of the three most important ministers of the Ming Dynasty, can be ranked alongside Zhang Juzheng and Yu Qian. There is no doubt about his ability.
It would be really unfair to erase his lifetime achievements based on his experiences in a special era. Yang Tinghe’s suppression of Wang Qiong was entirely out of political revenge.
Although Zhu Hao sympathized with Wang Qiong's plight, he was not ready to help.
Zhu Hao said: "If the cabinet takes charge of the overall situation after the incident, I'm afraid Huang Gong will not have a good life in Nanjing."
"ah?"
Su Xigui suddenly became nervous.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought about this, but he just felt that Huang Zan had made so many contributions to the court in the past few years, and he didn't have much interaction with the emperor's closest officials, nor did he say who his position affected.
Furthermore, it was Yang Tinghe who recommended Huang Zan to Nanjing to serve as Minister of Household Affairs, and Huang Zan and Su Xigui had already planned their relationship with Prince Xing’s Palace...
Considering everything in the past, you wouldn’t want to take action on Huang Zan as soon as you get started, right?
But after listening to Zhu Hao's words, he suddenly felt that the problem was not small.
Zhu Hao said: "The best way at present is to make all forces ignore the situation in Nanjing when changes occur. Moreover, Dongzhu Su must reduce contacts with all parties in the DPRK and China recently, even if Wang Shangshu
Don’t say goodbye there either.”
Su Xigui nodded sadly and said: "Then push Wang Shangshu out to block the knife first... I understand!"
Zhu Hao had already said that if there was a change in the court situation, Yang Tinghe would not bother to deal with Huang Zan, so he would have to use Wang Qiong as the leader first. Being related to Wang Qiong would also be tantamount to digging a hole for Huang Zan.
People use handles.
A smart person like Su Xigui immediately realized that it was time to cut ties with Wang Qiong.