Chapter 94: The monarch and the ministers play against each other
All the eunuchs in the small hall were gone. Zhu Youtang sat on the small platform, his face became solemn, and he said calmly: "Do you know that I summoned the vassal kings to come to the capital?"
Liu Chengfeng sat back on his chair and said, "I heard a little bit about it."
"Yeah." Zhu Youtang nodded, and then said: "Originally, I wanted to establish a friendship between all clans, and we are all from the same clan. Each vassal king is not allowed to leave the vassal territory without permission. This is the rule of our ancestors, but like this
I have never seen many of my relatives since I was a child, so I thought it would be better to summon them to the capital and have them pray to the Ancestral Temple and worship their ancestors. Secondly, I can also meet them.
, look at what all the feudal kings look like, just like ordinary people’s homes, these relatives walk around and get close to each other."
Liu Chengfeng thought to himself: "I don't know how many generations have passed between these relatives, and some of them can't even reach eight poles. What's there to get close to?" But he smiled at Zhu Youtang and said: "Your Majesty is generous to others.
If the princes knew His Majesty's thoughts, they would be delighted."
Zhu Youtang had a sullen face, snorted coldly, closed his eyes with a flash of light, and said coldly: "But some people don't know."
When Zhu Youtang looked kind and cheerful, it was indeed refreshing, but when Long Yan became furious, his whole body had a murderous air, and his every move gave people a faint sense of powerful oppression.
He said coldly: "King Ningkang brought his second son, King Shanggao Zhu Chenhao, to the capital. He behaved arrogantly and often spoke arrogantly. Especially that time, Zhu Chenhao often had conflicts with other kings and was extremely rude."
Liu Chengfeng was listening, but he was thinking in his heart that Prince Ning and his family had heard of it, and they had been stationed in Nanchang. Jiangxi was a land of plenty, and when Zhu Di was in trouble, Prince Ning followed him, so he got such a good fiefdom.
, Come to think of it, Prince Ning and Prince Gao were so arrogant in Jiangxi that they actually brought this habit to the capital. Isn't this looking for death?
Liu Chengfeng said: "Your Majesty's intention is to let the Jin Yiwei..."
Zhu Youtang interrupted: "That's not what I meant. After all, they are the kings of the clan. Besides, Prince Ning and his family played an important role in the Jingnan period. How can I easily add guilt? It's just arrogance. Could it be that I am guilty because of this?"
Siblings can kill each other? If I want to add to the crime, I won’t look for you."
Liu Chengfeng thinks so, but there are a lot of Ning Wang's short stories in the market, especially many storytellers. Liu Chengfeng will also listen to them in his free time when setting up a calligraphy stall. This Ning Wang is popular among storytellers.
He has always been a buffoon. But through these few words, Liu Chengfeng can roughly understand the causes and consequences of Prince Ning's family.
The first generation of King Ning was named Zhu Quan, and his fiefdom was in Daning. He and King Zhu Di of Yan and other princes controlled the troops and horses along the border. Zhu Di raised troops to quell Jingnan. Although he won consecutive battles and victories, there were too few troops and horses, so he later used the abacus beads.
He hit Ning Wang Zhu Quan on the head. After a period of deception, he used both soft and hard tactics to finally force Zhu Quan onto the pirate ship. In order to deceive him, Zhu Di also promised to rule the world with Zhu Quan if Jing Nan succeeded in the future.
But you must know that Zhu Di is a thick-faced and sinister character. When he really takes over the world, how will he admit his mistakes? So they removed King Ning's fiefdom in Daning, cut off his troops and horses, and sent him away.
Went to Nanchang and had a good time "enjoying happiness".
In Jingnan, Prince Ning has always been the second fool. Anyway, he was fooled all over the place. But on the other hand, even though he was fooled, the imperial courts in the past dynasties would give some preferential treatment to Prince Ning and his family.
Compensation, mostly because of this, made Prince Ning's family unavoidably arrogant. Coupled with the ancestral disapproval, Prince Ning's family also felt resentful. This time they finally entered the capital and saw the prosperity of the capital, thinking that they were all Jings.
Difficult, Zhu Di and his family dominated the world, and it was so cool to live in the Forbidden City. But his family was nestled in Nanchang. The palace in Nanchang was like heaven and earth compared with the Forbidden City. Naturally, the hearts of Prince Ning and Prince Shang Gao were
I was even more dissatisfied.
But even so, it is impossible for Zhu Youtang to deal with the father and son just because of the word arrogance. After all, Zhu Youtang is not Zhu Di, his face is not too thick, and his heart is not too dark, let alone Zhu You
Zang was determined to be a holy king like Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and he would not be able to offend the vassal king and leave a stain on himself. Perhaps it was for this reason that Prince Ning saw this clearly and dared to be so arrogant.
Zhu Youtang took a deep breath, his face gradually softened, and said: "When King Ning entered the court, he highly praised the knowledge of his second son, King Shanggao, and also proposed that the princes of the clan should compete in articles in the Baohe Hall ten days later.
Examine the knowledge of the clan members."
Zhu Youtang said worriedly: "You know the prince's knowledge. If he is suppressed by the princes of the vassals that day, how will the court's face be saved? I don't expect the prince to be outstanding. I only hope that he will not be in Baohe.
Just make a fool of yourself in the palace, so as not to be the laughing stock of the world. The prince has many masters, but I know that he listens to you the most. This time, you have the right to improvise. No matter what, you must do it within these ten days.
Please train the prince's knowledge well. This is a major matter that concerns the face of the court and the majesty of the royal family, do you know?"
Only then did Liu Chengfeng know why the emperor had summoned him to the palace in such a hurry. Logically speaking, once his body had recovered, he could just issue a decree and issue some rewards. There was no need to summon him to the palace to express his gratitude. Only now did he know that this emperor
There was trouble, and he had to help from a small army of Jinyiwei Baihu.
Prince Ning suggested that the master's disciples compete in a knowledge contest. He had probably heard that the prince was addicted to having fun when he was in Nanchang, so he deliberately proposed it in a high-sounding way to make the royal family look ugly. It also had another meaning: he wanted to tell Zhu Di's descendants that
Although our descendants of Prince Ning have not become emperors, they are all talented and secretly intend to show off their power.
However, Zhu Youtang could not do anything to the suggestion put forward by King Ning. He could neither punish him nor reject it. After all, promoting Confucianism was a decree issued by Emperor Hongzhi repeatedly. If he refused, it would be like shooting himself in the foot.
.
"This Prince Ning is quite arrogant." Liu Chengfeng thought to himself that he actually had the courage to embarrass the emperor. Could it be that this old guy is tired of being the vassal king and wants to have a taste of having his head chopped off?
However, Liu Chengfeng could immediately understand that those feudal kings were like frogs at the bottom of a well. They usually stayed in the feudal territory and acted arrogantly. They could be said to be the most powerful among ten thousand people. They were extravagant and lustful. The national policy of the Ming Dynasty had no impact on the Ming Dynasty.
The vassal king also adopted the strategy of raising pigs, giving them good food, good drinks, and carefree life. Most of the people who grew up in this environment were arrogant and unscrupulous people. In addition, Prince Ning's status was vaguely high.
Among the kings, he even felt a bit like the leader of the vassal kings. Prince Ning was used to being arrogant in Nanchang Mansion. When he saw the feud between Zhu Di and his family, he naturally couldn't help but make things difficult for him to show off his power.
Such people are simply stupid. No wonder more than ten years later, Prince Ning would be stupid enough to plot rebellion.
However, Prince Ning and Liu Chengfeng have nothing to do with each other. The top priority right now is not to embarrass His Highness the Crown Prince. After all, this competition is a secret fight between various departments of the Zhu family. If Zhu Houzhao can't hold it in for a long time, this royal family
Even if you lose all your face.
The issue of face, not to mention the royal family, but also ordinary people's families, has always taken it very seriously. If I handle things well this time, the Emperor Longyan will be overjoyed, and there will naturally be countless rewards. Although it may not be possible to skyrocket, but at least it will be
Leave the impression of a capable minister in the emperor's mind. With this impression, will the glory and wealth be less?
But what if it fails?
Liu Chengfeng's confidence was not very high. The prince's foundation was there, so what was the use of improvising? But now that the emperor had spoken, Liu Chengfeng could only bite the bullet and give it a try.
Without thinking too much, Liu Chengfeng said sternly: "Your Majesty, I already understand what I mean. I will temporarily move to the East Palace in the next ten days. In any case, the prince will not lose to the high king. Please rest assured, your majesty."
When Liu Chengfeng said these words, he was complaining in his heart, saying in his heart: "Can I say no? Since I can't refuse, I just show myself to be confident."
Zhu Youtang looked at Liu Chengfeng and couldn't help but smile. This Jinyiwei Baihu had already given him too many surprises. This time he was rushed to the hospital because of his illness. The Tian family's face could only be maintained on him; but
I hope this hundred households can impress me with admiration.
"Okay, if it goes well, I will have a reward of my own, Liu Chengfeng, and the prince will entrust it to you."