Chapter 7 The pressure of imperial power (please collect)
There are two long-term officials in the palace, with the left as the most respected.
After the former Right Chief Shi Yuan Zonggao left the palace six years ago to serve as the inspector of Jiangxi, Xie Changjie came from the capital to take over Yuan Zonggao's position.
After the original Zuo Changshi died of illness two years ago, Xie Changjie took over the position of Zuo Changshi.
He was one of the top three Jinshi scholars in the 18th year of Hongzhi's reign, and could be regarded as Yang Tinghe's "disciple", but his ranking was too low. After ten years of wasted time with little hope of promotion, he spent a lot of effort to become the right-hand official of the palace.
official position.
Officials in the royal palace do not expect to be promoted anymore, but there are other benefits. In the local area, the status is not low, and the royal palace grants land, food, and wealth.
He, Zuo Changshi, had taken some advantage from the princess not long ago.
Now that the situation has suddenly changed, Xie Changjie is no longer a human being for a while.
While he was thinking wildly, Zhou Zhao had already solemnly said: "Xiaomiao has only one son, but Emperor Daxing has no heirs. The current prince and the late king are both descendants of Xianmiao's concubine. Your Highness, the heirs have been unified since ancient times, and the legal system belongs to the same body."
.”
When he said this, Zhu Houcong understood.
The civil servants gathered together to fight against the Jiajing Emperor and refused to let others recognize their biological father and mother. This was because many of the morals and etiquette of this era were different from those of later generations.
At this time, if the direct lineage has no descendants, there are many examples of adoption from the concubine lineage, so that the family business can be legitimately inherited.
The current family business is the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, the co-owner of the world.
Whether the Queen Mother or the courtiers, they must support a just and upright emperor, so that they will not be considered as treacherous ministers and traitors, leaving others with excuses.
This is not only the foundation of their interests, but also the foundation of Jiajing's own governance.
Normally this is the case, unless...
Zhu Houcong remembered what Lao Qin had said: I don’t know whether the edict was written incorrectly on purpose or because I really didn’t think it through. Anyway, the Taoist Master seized on those words and insisted on fighting for more than 20 years!
At this time, Jiang's tears finally flowed down: "Wang Er, what should I do?"
"Concubine, don't worry." Zhu Houcong had some confidence in his heart and quickly comforted his mother, "After all, it's not clear what the imperial edict said."
"Exactly!" Zhou Zhao said, "Before the edict arrives, there is no need to start a war and argue."
However, Xie Changjie advised earnestly: "Your Highness, as I just said, the lineage of the royal family will not be cut off, it is still the blood of Your Highness. Now we should focus on the country, the country, and the country..."
"Shut up!" Ms. Jiang was angry, with a sad tone, "Is this how you, the royal ministers, are loyal to the prince? If the prince passes away, you can't call me mother! Yili, when I see the prince, I still
You need to bow down! The Queen Mother has no son, so she will take my son away..."
"Princess, be careful what you say!" Xie Changjie was startled and quickly tried to dissuade her.
"Isn't that what it is!" Mrs. Jiang pointed at him, "You are all trying to separate our mother and son for the sake of serving the dragon!"
Xie Changjie cried sadly: "Princess, your highness is your biological son. Now that your highness has such a destiny, do you hope that your highness will only be a prince for the sake of a status? The emperor's ancestors have taught you that if you don't respect your brothers, you will always be your brothers.
For example, why did Your Highness follow the edict and reach the highest level? Now that the imperial edict has been issued to the world, if Your Highness does not obey the edict, the world will be in chaos immediately. Your Highness will be ashamed of his ancestors and will be infamy for thousands of years! The country, the country, and the country are the most important, and the ministers and others are working hard...
"
Seeing their pretentiousness, Zhu Houcong could only feel the power of the Queen Mother and the elders, the selfishness of many palace officials, and the reputation of etiquette and law.
Although he has not really become the emperor, some clues can already be seen in the scene where the ministers will cry and even die to remonstrate in the future.
"Don't discuss this matter any more. We'll wait behind closed doors for now."
Zhu Houcong ended the debate and returned to the "harem" area of the palace.
I have more homework today. I know who is in the Yingying Group. Now I have to go back and check the preserved Di Bao and the actual records that have been compiled during Xiaozong's reign.
What is also certain is that the turning point should be in the expression of the imperial edict.
The next morning, while having breakfast with Mr. Jiang and his sisters Zhu Qingyuan and Zhu Qingyi, Zhang Zuo came in to confess to Changjie and ask for an audience.
When he arrived at the main hall of Chengyun Hall where he received the royal officials, Xie Changjie knelt down and kowtowed after seeing Jiang and Zhu Houcong.
"I know that I have behaved inappropriately in the past, so I came here today to apologize. Yesterday, I even made false statements that made the princess angry. After I went back, I couldn't sleep or eat well. I felt that I would die." Xie Changjie knocked his forehead until it swelled up. If he continued to knock it, he would immediately die.
It was like bleeding, and tears were streaming down his whole face, "This is all the assets of my family. I just ask that Your Highness give me a chance to change my ways."
Zhu Houcong deeply felt the power of power and what it means to be arrogant at first and respectful later.
Just because of the news that he was ordered to inherit the throne by the imperial edict, Xie Changjie suddenly felt as if a disaster was approaching and he was frightened.
But who made him do so many wrong things before?
The vassal princes of the Ming Dynasty were very important in the early years of the founding of the country. The prince's palace also had its own guard army. Generally speaking, there were three guards, numbering more than 10,000.
Jianwen reduced the vassal status and after the Battle of Jingnan, the prince's strength continued to decline.
Naturally, the escort army is gone. Now there is only the Yiwei Division, and the backbones are all selected from the Jinyi Guards. Including the soldiers eliminated from the Beijing Camp, the total number is only a few hundred, better over a thousand.
As for the officials of the royal family, at first they were all Hanlin bachelors, but later they became first-class Jinshi, and now there are even those who hold the title of Juren as their long history.
There is no hope for an official career in this life. How will you live out your life after you take office?
The kinder ones can work in a leisurely job and have some dignity in the local area and live a leisurely life; the unkind ones rely on the power of the palace to amass money and power for the palace, and also line their own pockets. The even more unkind ones even dare to
He used the power he had in his hands to report matters to the court, and then used the emperor's vigilance towards the vassal king to blackmail the palace.
Xie Changjie is the most unkind one!
There was only one underage son in Prince Xing's palace. Previously, Jiang was worried that his son would not be able to ascend the throne due to the influence of Prince Ning's rebellion after his filial piety period ended, so he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of entering the congratulatory table during the Chinese New Year to find out more.
And Xie Changjie exaggerated, saying in the left sentence that the imperial court may further reduce the vassal state, and the Xingwang Palace is in danger of being deconfessed. In the right sentence, the internal ministers and foreign ministers in the court are fighting, and it is necessary to find a teacher, a fellow countryman, and a colleague to take care of it.
A lot of blackmail was done.
Who knew that this orphan and widowed mother would suddenly be blessed with great luck?
Xie Changjie was frightened and anxious, trembling all over.
Having blackmailed the future emperor's family, he thought about this remedy all night long.
Now he is looking at Zhu Houcong eagerly, hoping to save a little life, or even more...
Zhu Houcong, who was sitting above, was experiencing the first direct impact of his change in status, and he had a better understanding of the aura and majesty of imperial power.
After looking at Mr. Jiang, he said, "Jie Changshi, you are an official appointed by the imperial court. How can you plead guilty to the palace like this?"
Xie Changjie's liver and gallbladder were split, and he kowtowed hard again without hesitation. His forehead suddenly started to bleed under the severe pain, and he cried out sadly: "I know that I deserve to die for my crime. I am blinded by lard, and I just feel ten thousand."
He made this big mistake out of unwillingness to be named in the gold list at a young age, but he had to live in the royal palace forever. Your Highness is now in a dilemma, and it is the time to appoint people. Although my character is no longer favored by Your Highness, I only hope that Your Highness will allow me to repent wholeheartedly and serve you loyally.
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Zhu Houcong knew there was something in his words and asked noncommittally: "Why is Xiao Wang in a dilemma?"
Xie Changjie perked up and knew the opportunity had come.
He held his bleeding forehead and said with utmost sincerity: "Since Your Highness intends to inherit the throne but not the heir, the consequences will be unpredictable!"
As expected, Mrs. Jiang became nervous.
Zhu Houcong didn't speak, but Jiang asked worriedly: "How do you say this?"
Xie Changjie spoke eloquently: "Your Majesty has great power, and the power lies with the cabinet ministers. If the Queen Mother wants to continue her filial piety, she should choose a young son to succeed the Daxing Emperor. She will not only have the help of a prince, but also be able to raise him personally.
But if you follow His Majesty’s will and your cabinet ministers to review important matters and listen to politics behind the curtain, isn’t that the best choice?”