Chapter 284 Zong Baikui (10) Who is worthy of being the Marquis of Shen?
After completing all the necessary measures to stabilize his position, Gao Pragmatic also happened to receive news from the palace on this day.
This news was not easy to come by, because its source was not the emperor - it was easy for the emperor to pass the news to Gao Pingshi, which was what the Chief of Ceremonies did, and generally there was no need to avoid anything, he could just send someone to his door to inform him.
In fact, the news passed to Gao Pragmatic from the palace came from the eldest princess Yongning, or to be more precise, it came from both the queen and the eldest princess.
Gao Jingzhi always had his own news network in the palace, so the sources of news were very wide, and the lines were not just one or two. In fact, he had multiple non-overlapping news sources and multiple news transmission lines, except for the most obvious
In addition to the two lines of Si Li Jian holding the seal of the eunuch Ju, and Si Li Jian Bingbi the eunuch Liu Ping, he also maintained a "long-term cooperative relationship" with other eunuchs with slightly lower status.
When history books describe a person as being deeply rooted in the court, they often do not explain in detail the aspects in which this deep-rootedness is reflected. In fact, people like Gao Pragmatic are called deeply-rooted - whether inside or outside the palace, in various ministries and offices,
Everyone has my people or people who cooperate with me; whether in the court, the military, or among the people in the capital, there are many people who are influenced by me.
Of course, the more important thing is that whether these people maintain a close relationship and cooperate closely with "me", or they are just mentally or emotionally inclined to "me", in the final analysis, it all comes down to interests. "I" can only truly achieve the goal
Only when it affects their actual interests can the above-mentioned bonds and connections be effective and even last long.
What role can Gao Jingjing play in the palace so that he can influence many people to maintain a "long-term cooperative relationship" with him? There are at least two aspects to this: power and money.
Over the years, Gao Jingshi's greatest direct influence in the palace has come from his close allies: Huang Mengyu and Chen Ju - of course, after Huang Mengyu retired, this faction was succeeded by his nephew Liu Ping.
These two people, or the two inner court factions, are a direct manifestation of Gao Jingshi's acquisition of "personnel power" in the palace. It was precisely because Gao Jingshi personally promoted the rise of Huang Mengyu and Chen Ju in his early years, and by virtue of the fact that they were still new at that time
Zhu Yijun, the emperor, had no one around him to take advantage of, so he quietly cultivated the two of them to become the closest people to the emperor. This was the fact that they were able to control the "administration affairs" of the inner court through them for a long time.
If the young eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty wanted to stay in the inner court, they almost all had to join the sect of a certain big official. This has been said many times before. If you don't stand in line, no one will promote you when you have the opportunity to be promoted.
, will protect you when you get into trouble.
On the contrary, if a small fish or shrimp with no foundation is found to be hugged by a thigh, it will only be swallowed up by the big sharks without leaving any skin or bones. To a certain extent, the factions in the inner court are even more distinct than those in the outer court.
very.
The alliance between Gao Jingshi and Chen and Huang, the strongest factions in the inner court, will naturally severely squeeze the power space of the eunuchs who are not the two factions in the palace and seriously damage their interests. This is why Zhang Jing, Zhang Cheng and others will
Going forward one after another and being the enemy of high pragmatism - all other reasons are secondary or superficial reasons, this is the most fundamental reason.
Even Wang An's choice to betray Chen Ju a few days ago actually had this reason: You, Chen Ju, are always supported by Gao Pragmatic, who is about to become the chief minister in the outer court, so when will it be our turn to take the throne?
And you, Chen Ju, sent us to the eldest son of the emperor, so that you can monitor the eldest son of the emperor, and it seems that we can also make great contributions to you. However, this also binds us to the eldest son of the emperor.
, once the emperor's eldest son cannot take the throne in the future, will you really recommend me when you retire? You won't, because you will definitely consider the emperor's feelings when recommending a successor.
In other words, although Chen Ju was promoting Wang An, in Wang An's view, Chen Ju's actions actually restricted him to the position of admiral of Dongchang, and he would never have a chance to aspire to the position of palm seal - unless the emperor
The eldest son succeeds to the throne.
All the bustle in the world is for profit, and all the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit. The so-called irreconcilable contradictions in the world are, in the final analysis, just irreconcilable conflicts of interests - have you ever seen the Sweet Zongzi Party and the Salty Zongzi Party arguing with each other, but you can
Have you ever seen them become sworn enemies?
Gao Jingzheng has many "cooperating partners" in the inner court. Firstly, he can take care of certain people or suppress certain people through the hands of Chen Ju and Liu Ping. Secondly, he can also satisfy the greatest pursuit of most eunuchs.
——The pursuit of money.
The greed of eunuchs in terms of money is well known to everyone, but what many people may not understand is that although there are many ways for eunuchs to make money, there are actually not many ways to make big money.
Just as the hierarchy among eunuchs is strict and even far superior to that of the outer court, the ability of eunuchs to make money is also very different. A eunuch who wants to make big money in the capital generally needs two conditions: to be in a high position or to hold an important position.
Eunuch is a "profession" that completely relies on the emperor's endorsement. Being able to hold a high position among eunuchs not only means that he has a distinguished status in the eunuch system, but also means that this person is deeply trusted by the emperor. In this way, the more senior the eunuch, the more
The more eunuchs can borrow the power of the imperial power, the more naturally they become the targets of countless people below who must fawn over them.
This is like saying that Chen Ju promoted Wang An before, and within ten years he was able to promote him to the position of admiral of Dongchang, the second-in-command in the inner court. This shows how important the emperor's trust is to eunuchs - it is crucial!
When he reaches such a position, his position in the inner court is like a high and pragmatic position in the outer court. Some people are fawning and seeking refuge, so naturally there will be no lack of filial piety. This kind of money is the most reliable way, and the emperor also
Well, even the Queen Mother often knows the inside story, but no one will tell it because it is already an unspoken rule.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! However, high positions are always very limited, every carrot is a pit, and if the "godfather" in front of you has not left, then you have no chance to rise to the top. The eunuch system of the Ming Dynasty did not
As for the elimination system for the last rank, everyone usually works for life until death, or resigns to the emperor after they can no longer work. Therefore, it is difficult to wait for high-ranking officials in the inner court to become vacant.
It is better to expect them to die of old age or resign than to expect them to fail in a certain political struggle and eventually be demoted to Nanjing to grow vegetables. This is a bit like many Japanese companies in later generations, with a lifetime employment system and extremely strict seniority ranking. Young people
When you join a company, you should never expect to rise to the top. You can only follow the "seniors" and cater to everything. When the seniors get old and quit or even just send it, then it will be your turn - of course, unless your family is a wealthy family.
.
Therefore, compared with high positions, what most eunuchs can really hope for is important positions. What are important positions? Being able to work in the ceremonial supervisor is almost an important position, as long as they have the opportunity to go out of the palace to do things. However, it is not
It is said that only the post of the Chief of Ceremonies is an important position. In the Ming Dynasty, the twenty-four eunuchs (this is the abbreviation, actually it is the 12th eunuch, the 8th bureau, and the 4th department), but all the eunuchs who hold the seal of the first eunuch can actually be considered important positions.
After all, when you reach the level of Palm Seal, you are not only in charge of a single supervisor, specializing in certain affairs, but also, judging from the level, you can be transferred to the Chief Ceremony Supervisor for re-use.
Even Zhidian Supervisor, who is in charge of sanitation, and his eunuch are familiar faces who often appear in front of the emperor - remember one thing, the logic of power operation is many concentric circles, the closer to the center of the circle, the stronger. Zhidian
The Supervisory Palm Seal may seem insignificant, but in the circle closest to the center of the circle, it is much more powerful than the people in the outer circle.
The driver may not be important, but if he is the top driver, do ordinary people dare to look down upon him?
However, Gao Pragmatic was very cautious in his dealings with various supervisors. Instead, he focused more on the various bureaus and departments of the inner court, such as the Military War Bureau, the Banking Bureau, the Salary Cherishing Department, the Baochao Department, etc.
, these are highly pragmatic and truly in-depth cooperation partners.
On the one hand, it is not a pleasant thing for Chen Ju and Liu Ping to directly establish contact with the supervisors and palm prints, and it can easily make the relationship between the two parties tense; on the other hand, the war battle bureau, the bank bureau bureau, Xi
The Xinsi and Baochao departments are all palace institutions that need to be closely connected with the outside world. Jinghua's high pragmatism makes it very easy to quietly complete the control through cooperation.
Some people may be curious, Gao Pragmatic is not short of money anyway, so what is the use of controlling these inner court departments with real power?
In fact, it does not necessarily have to have a clear role at all times, but at least Gao Pragmatic can clearly know the financial situation in the palace, and knowing the finance... can actually predict many things. To give the simplest example: you
Knowing that Desan owes a huge debt to the old butt, but he has built a lot of weapons and equipment, can you still not know that Mustache is going to start a war?
In fact, there is really no such thing as a sneak attack. Those are all signs. At most, the leaders of other major powers do not know the specific date of the outbreak of the war, but the "outbreak" itself must have been expected by them.
Back to the subject, the person in the palace who brought the news to Gao Pingshi was none other than a secretary sent by Jiu Jian Mian Ju's seal.
The Wine and Vinegar Noodle Bureau is one of the "Eight Bureaus" of the imperial court, and is mainly responsible for the purchase and storage of bulk materials. Therefore, it is naturally inevitable to cooperate closely with Jinghua Trading Co., Ltd., the northern commercial overlord.
With this relationship, it would be easy for the Wine, Vinegar and Noodles Bureau to send someone to Jinghua Trading Company to deliver some news. It would be even more natural for Jinghua Trading Company to receive the news and then send it to the Nanning Marquis Mansion. Who would think that there is anything wrong with a servant reporting to the head of the family?
Wrong?
In the study, Huang Zhiting raised her eyebrows slightly and said: "Looking at it from this point of view, everything the master wants to see is being realized step by step. This time, a comprehensive agreement has been reached inside and outside the palace. As long as the master requests the appointment of the heir,
Even the Emperor has no reason to delay any longer."
Gao pragmatic nodded slightly and said "hmm".
Huang Zhiting said in surprise: "The master doesn't seem too happy. Are there any variables here?"
"That's not true. There won't be many changes this time." Gao Pingshi shook his head and said, "I'm just feeling a little emotional, and at the same time I'm also a little worried about the future."
Huang Zhiting was stunned when she heard this, but shook her head and said: "Everything is fine for me, but I worry too easily... What future prospects are worth worrying about? The Ming Dynasty did not have the tradition of abolishing the prince at every turn.
In fact, he is the crown prince and the future emperor, and you, sir, are the first to support him, so what future prospects are there to worry about?"
"From birth to adulthood, twenty years, no one dares to guarantee what will happen in such a long time." Gao pragmatically said in a deep voice: "And the most important thing is that although Concubine Zheng will be affected by this matter,
She was demoted as a concubine, but instead won the emperor's sympathy... If she learns to be smart from now on, that's fine, but if she is just temporarily subdued to wait for the future, it will be very bad."
Huang Zhiting frowned slightly, and after thinking for a moment, she shook her head and said: "I think that even if this possibility does exist in the end, even if it does, it will only cause some trouble, and it will not be possible after all."
"Really?" Gao Pingshi smiled and said, "You are more optimistic than me."
"I think that the master does not really think that Concubine Zheng will be able to make a comeback in the future. The so-called worry of the master is just that he does not want to see any more trouble."
Huang Zhiting spread her hands and said: "Master, in the current situation, even she, Emperor Zheng, and Concubine Zheng can't turn the world upside down. In the future, when the throne of the East Palace is restored, Chang Hao and Chang Xun will also have their names established. Who can turn the world upside down?
?
Besides, in the final analysis, Concubine Zheng can only rely on the emperor. But the emperor is the emperor first and foremost. She cannot make everyone in the world unhappy just because she is happy. Wouldn’t that make her King You of Zhou? In my opinion, as your majesty,
If you are wise enough, you will not do such stupid things as playing tricks on the princes by beacon fire."
Gao pragmatic nodded at first, but then suddenly smiled and said: "Your theory is correct, but you mentioned that the beacon fire plays on the princes, I would like to argue with you on this matter."
Huang Zhiting was stunned: "What do you mean by this?"
"The so-called beacon-fire play with the princes, or doting on Bao Si and demoting the queen, is probably not just as simple as being infatuated with Bao Si's beauty. In fact, what King You did was a deliberate political move."
Huang Zhiting's cultural level was not as good as Liu Xin's. She didn't know anything about Gao Pingshi's remarks and wondered: "Why is this?"
"First of all, beacon messaging was a method only available in the Qin and Han Dynasties. King Zhou You didn't have it at that time. At that time, military warnings relied on drumming... Of course, this is not the point now."
Gao pragmatic waved his hand and said: "As people of later generations, when we read historical stories, we always habitually focus on the romance of King You of Zhou, while ignoring the cruel political struggle behind it.
The story goes that King You of Zhou doted on Bao Si very much. Not only did he tease the princes with a smile on his face, but he also deposed the main wife Shen and the prince Yijiu, and made Bao Si's son Bofu the crown prince.
However, Empress Shen cannot be deposed just because she wants to, because Empress Shen's brother Shenhou (some say he is Empress Shen's father) was very angry when he saw his sister and nephew being bullied like this, so he immediately joined forces with Marquis Zan to fight against her.
Quanrong attacked the capital city of Haojing.
At this time, King You of Zhou realized that he had made a big mistake, and panicked and asked people to light the beacon to save him. But this time, no one came to save him. So in the chaos and fighting, King You of Zhou and his son Bo
The clothes are all dead.
You see, there are a few key points here: the Queen Shen family is very powerful, and the Shen Hou coalition forces were able to easily defeat the 'Sixth Army of the Son of Heaven', which was the most theoretically powerful at the time, and easily seize Haojing. What does this mean?
Didn't King You of Zhou know how powerful Shen Hou was before that? Since he knew, why did he do that? I'm afraid it can only mean one thing: he thought that if he didn't do something, then he, the Emperor of Zhou, would
Became Shen Hou's puppet.
In addition, let's look at the ending. What is the ending of this story? The Marquis of Shen united with the Dog Rong to attack Haojing, King Zhou You was killed, and everyone supported Yijiu, the son of King Zhou You, to ascend the throne, that is, King Ping of Zhou. King Ping succeeded
After he ascended the throne, because Haojing had been defeated, the capital was moved to Luoyi.
You see, when the whole incident developed, the winner behind it was Zhou Ping Wang Yijiu. But although he was the winner, he did not win all - although he received support from all parties and succeeded to the throne, he had to give up the home of the Zhou royal family.
Beijing, moved to Luoyi, which was looked at by all the princes and had no hope of expansion. From then on, it was limited to a radius of 200 miles, which finally caused the Zhou family to continue to decline and eventually die."
"So that's it..." Huang Zhiting suddenly realized it, but she didn't take it too seriously. She just nodded and said: "Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty is not the Zhou Dynasty, so there is no need to worry about these situations."
"Really?" Gao Pingshi asked calmly: "If some people think that the Ming Dynasty also had a Shenhou, then Zhiting, who do you think in this world is worthy of being regarded as a Shenhou?"
——
Thanks to book friends "Lu Ming Ye Jingqiang" and "Cao Mianzi" for their reward support, thank you!
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PS: Grandpa has been discharged from the hospital. We traveled with him for two days. Now we are basically finished. We expect to resume normal updates starting tomorrow, or next Monday at the latest.
In addition, it was said earlier that the book is "nearing the end", which may have caused misunderstandings to some friends, thinking that it will be finished soon. Let me explain here, this is a book with more than 7 million words written, so the so-called "end" should also be
The million-level word count does not mean that I will suddenly throw out the timetable for the following decades and say that I have finished it... Let’s not talk about anything else. I haven’t even finished Begonia Ye. The imperial examination only takes the Four Books and Five Classics. How can this be done?