When Yang Shen returned to his house, he heard that Yang Tinghe had returned, and he was curious as to why his father was not on duty at court today, but returned home so early.
When he arrived outside the study room, Yang Shen looked through the open door and saw that Yang Tinghe was writing fast at his desk. He seemed to be doing something shocking and important. There was an unusual caution in his expression.
"Father."
After Yang Shen entered the door, he turned around and closed the door consciously.
Yang Tinghe didn't even raise his head, and casually ordered: "Open it to get some air. There is no need to close the door... I have ordered you to go down and no one is allowed to approach the study."
Yang Shen opened the door again as instructed.
But I was thinking in my heart, why did my father say "breathing" when the weather was suddenly warm and cold in March? Something big must have happened. My father was restless, and his blood was surging, which made him feel stuffy and unbearable.
He did not ask directly, but first told the story of how he went to see Zhu Hao: "Today I met Zhu Hao, a young man from the Anlu Jinyiwei Thousand Households Family who will be the first to take the undergraduate examination."
"Um."
Yang Tinghe continued writing and asked casually, "What's your impression?"
Yang Shen said: "My quick thinking is indeed extraordinary, but as a young man I am not arrogant about my talents. I am humble and courteous. However, when it comes to things, I am more selfish than public-minded, and my knowledge may be a bit short-sighted."
Yang Tinghe lowered his head and kept his hands on his hands: "Is it possible that I am faking it in front of you?"
After thinking carefully, Yang Shen said: "If he is only thirty years old, it may be possible, but judging from his youthful ambition, there is no trace of old age, his speech and behavior are frank and natural, and he does not feel that he is pretentious, this son is worthy of being used. Father, today But something big happened?"
At the end, Yang Shen finally couldn't help but ask the doubts in his heart.
Yang Tinghe no longer struggled with Zhu Hao's problem. Since this Huiyuan didn't show any extraordinary appearance, it was just a new scholar who could potentially be recruited under his command, and it was not unusual.
What was happening in front of him gave Yang Tinghe a headache.
"Leopard Room summons, His Majesty has been unconscious for two days."
Yang Tinghe's words were simple and direct.
Yang Shen took a breath after hearing this: "So...father needs to make preparations in advance, draft edicts and arrange matters to stabilize the capital?"
Yang Shen usually plays the role of the chief aide to the cabinet. He is basically aware of his father's plans. The father and son share most of the time with each other. So when he knew that Zhu Houzhao only had a few days left to live, Yang Shen instinctively realized that, Father is about to do something big.
"Exactly."
Yang Tinghe did not hide it at all, "However, such confidential matters must be kept strictly confidential and must not be leaked. What my father thinks about is how to stabilize people's hearts after a major incident... There can be no chaos in the capital, and there can be no chaos in the world today."
Yang Shen said: "But father, your Majesty has no heirs, who will succeed him?"
Even though the father and son have absolute trust, they have never seriously discussed the issue of the emperor's successor before. They abide by their duties as ministers and will not cross the boundaries of ministers in their conversations even between father and son.
Yang Tinghe still refused to tell his son directly, but said implicitly: "The legal system of the Ming Dynasty cannot be messed up."
The implication is that whoever is responsible is who. If I decide who owns the throne, it will mess up the legal system of the Ming Dynasty. How can I convince others with virtue?
"Xingwangfu?"
Yang Shen is always young, so it is not inappropriate for him to say such things.
"Be careful!"
Yang Tinghe reminded him, but did not deny it.
It is obvious that if the current emperor dies, the closest relationship with the emperor will be his uncles. However, according to the ancestral precepts of the Emperor Ming Dynasty, the person closest to the "eldest brother" must inherit the throne. Xing Wang Zhu Youqi, as Emperor Xiaozong, is the most important person. As for the elder brother, even if Zhu Youqi dies, the throne should be passed on to his son. This is the legal system.
"Father, if there is chaos in the country, how should we suppress the traitors in the court? If we are not careful, we may cause chaos." Yang Shen reminded.
Don’t be too arbitrary in doing things!
Yang Shen has always felt that his father has always been self-centered, thinking that the chief minister can decide everything and acting regardless of the consequences. He is afraid that his father's method of dealing with Jiang Bin will be too radical and cause him to take risks.
Once Jiang Bin rebels, the capital will be in chaos.
Yang Tinghe raised his head: "What do you want to say?"
Yang Shen said: "If something unexpected happens to Your Majesty, but the news is blocked from the outside world and the funeral has been delayed, Jiang Bin pretends to mobilize troops and horses, and the capital is in danger. Now that His Majesty is not in the palace, I am afraid that my father will not be informed in time about what is going on in the Leopard Room."
"Um."
Yang Tinghe stopped writing and thought carefully about his son's words.
"I believe that His Majesty is really on his deathbed and outsiders do not know his life or death. In order to prevent anyone from following Zhao Gao and Li Sigu's example and causing trouble and disrupting the government, we should mourn him as early as possible."
Yang Shen made a bold suggestion.
Zhu Houzhao was in the Leopard Room, and his life and death were unknown. Even if he was alive now, when he would die in the future was beyond the control of the civil servants and the Queen Mother.
On the contrary, it may happen that when the emperor dies, Jiang Bin does not mourn in secret because he is in danger, but instead uses the emperor's edict to spread the decree to cause chaos in the country...
From the perspective of people like Zhu Hao who are familiar with history, Jiang Bin does not have the talent for aggressive military strategy, but Yang Shen's suggestions were carefully considered and were in the interests of civil servants.
Early mourning!
Yang Tinghe thought carefully and shook his head: "This is too ridiculous. If your Majesty is fine, but the court is mourning, wouldn't it be a mess for the country? Besides, I don't want to force him to be too close to the traitor."
Yang Tinghe is very cautious.
The emperor was not dead, and the mourning was announced directly outside, which would make Jiang Bin's order lack credibility.
But from Jiang Bin's point of view, if the emperor is still angry here, but he is mourning outside, what will I think? If this is not directed at me, who else could it be?
This will make Jiang Bin even more insecure, and his counterattack may become even more violent.
What Yang Tinghe has to do now is, first, to ensure the smooth transfer of imperial power, and second, to stabilize Jiang Bin's mentality and let him fall into the trap step by step.
From this point of view, the opinions of Yang Tinghe and Yang Shen conflict greatly in some aspects. Yang Tinghe seems radical but in fact seeks stability. Yang Shen seems stable but is very radical and prefers to go eccentric. This is why Yang Tinghe was able to win in Dali later. The reason why Yang Shen escaped unscathed from the discussion, but was burdened by the great ceremony discussion all his life.
"Yongxiu, you don't have to go out to meet guests these days. The house has been on heightened alert and all foreign guests will be turned away. If something big happens, my father will go to the palace to meet with the Queen Mother in person to discuss the country's policies. If my father is in the palace, If Huan can't come out in the middle, you will contact your father's old friends and find scholars to secretly build momentum... Do not take this step unless it is absolutely necessary."
Yang Tinghe was always on guard against Zhu Houzhao's death.
After Zhu Houzhao died, the key person who could decide the succession issue was Empress Dowager Zhang. Any decision Yang Tinghe made needed the support of Empress Dowager Zhang.
But entering the palace when the emperor dies is a dangerous move. It is easy to enter the palace and difficult to leave. Now Dongchang and Jinyiwei are both under Jiang Bin's control. In order to prevent himself from being detained or even killed in the palace, Yang Tinghe must make arrangements. After his death, he organized the civil servants and generals who could be mobilized, and even asked his son to use the influence of scholars to put pressure on the court.
Yang Shen said: "Father, if chaos breaks out in the country, who can turn the tide?"
Yang Tinghe walked up to his son, patted his shoulder gently, with a serious face, and spoke generously: "The nobles in the court, the princes, generals, and ministers all have their hearts in the Ming Dynasty. A traitor in power is detrimental to the country and endangers his own life.
They will definitely stand firmly on the side of the imperial court."
The implication is that Jiang Bin is really going to rebel. He can't count on others. He can only hope that the nobles of the governor's office who hold military power in the court will come forward, such as the British Duke Zhang and the Wei Duke Xu.
Yang Shen nodded: "I understand, kid."
Yang Tinghe looked at his son with a bit of fondness in his eyes, and handed the two edicts he had written to Yang Shen to read. Yang Shen knew that his father was doing this to help him grow better.
After reading it, Yang Shen already knew what was going on and did not express any opinions on the two edicts.
The first was an edict passing on the throne, and the second was a posthumous edict issued in the voice of the emperor, disbanding the Beijing camp and training, returning the Baofang actors, and advocating for excellence.
They were all prepared to calm the people after the emperor's death, but there was no mention of Jiang Bin and other sycophants around the emperor. They just didn't want to alert others.
…
…
The news that the emperor was seriously ill seemed to be secretive, but in fact, because there were many people in the Leopard Room, the news leaked everywhere.
Su Xigui soon heard the news and hurriedly came to see Zhu Hao.
At this time, Zhu Hao had just seen Yang Shen return to his temporary residence.
"Little Master, something big is about to happen. His Majesty has been unconscious for a long time. It is estimated that in another three to five days... everything will be as expected by you!"
Su Xigui was very excited.
Before, the emperor was only seriously ill and not yet ready to die, but now he suddenly realized that something was about to change.
The only person who could predict what happened today when the emperor was still alive and kicking was Zhu Hao. Su Xigui couldn't help but admire him.
Zhu Hao said: "How did you learn about this news?"
Su Xigui said with a smile: "The palace doctor revealed that there are also a lot of people in the Leopard Room spreading rumors."
Zhu Hao sighed: "This Jiang Bin clearly holds the power, why is he so careless? Even if he doesn't know the depth of it, doesn't anyone remind him that he should strictly keep secrets at this time? If so, then he will be a real dragon.
What’s the point of being trapped in the Leopard Room?”
Even if Zhu Hao is not Jiang Bin's friend, he still feels that every move Jiang Bin makes is a bad move.
You fucking used the emperor to order the princes, but you are still so careless about the emperor's condition and leaked out any random trends. You don't think you have a long life.
Su Xigui said: "How can Pinglubo be as far-sighted as the young master? Besides, it may be someone deliberately spreading the news. Everyone knows that His Majesty is in poor health. Who doesn't worry about his future?"
Zhu Hao smiled and said, "What you said makes sense."
This is again the fault of Zhu Houzhao himself for his bad moves.
It was clear that he could just recuperate in the leopard room, but he had to prove that his condition was stable when he was working in the field. He rode his horse and did farm work in the fields. As a result, he vomited blood in public, and self-certification became self-inflicted! This also made Jiang Bin
It is difficult to smooth things over with close ministers.
"To put it bluntly, Your Majesty is surrounded by a group of incompetent people who are short-sighted and short-sighted. But now... can you go to Xin'anlu and inform you in advance in exchange for support?"
Su Xigui anxiously wanted to claim credit from Prince Xing's Mansion.
Since I knew the news that the emperor was about to die, I informed Prince Xing's Mansion of the news a few days in advance. Afterwards, the person in Prince Xing's Mansion became the emperor, so I am the hero of Conglong who I support.
These days, we value the merit of early support.
Zhu Hao shook his head: "Everything has been arranged for a long time. Even if we send the message now, I'm afraid it's too late!"