In the court, the most precious achievement is neither killing generals and seizing the flag, nor stabilizing the country, but following the dragon.
The reason why Sanyang rose through the ranks and controlled the government for so many years was not because they were former ministers of the Prince's Palace when Emperor Renzong was in hiding.
Why did Li Xian, the Duke of Feng, and Yu Qian, the Minister of War, be so high-spirited and give advice in the court? Especially Yu Qian, they repeatedly confronted the emperor in person, but in the end they were fined and banned. It was not because they supported the emperor today.
merit.
The emperor and his ministers are the unbreakable truth.
People like them are destined not to be reused by the emperor today, so the only way to become a general or a general is to bet on the future prince.
Although it is said that the current prince is just a little baby less than three years old.
According to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, the prince was taught how to read and write when he was four to five years old. He left the court to study at the age of eight, and established Zhan Shifu to support the East Palace. It is still more than five years from now.
It seems like there is still a long time, but these five years are actually the most dangerous five years.
The status of the East Palace is very delicate, especially for the current prince. His status can be said to be stable, but it cannot be said to be stable.
One of the conditions in exchange for the emperor's ascension to the throne is to establish the emperor's heir as the prince. From this point of view, the status of the East Palace is almost unshakable.
But after all, that is not the biological son of today's emperor.
As the new emperor took control of the court step by step, even with the assurance of the edict at that time, the ministers of the court were faintly worried whether the emperor would have the idea of changing the East Palace.
This can happen at any time.
To other ministers of the court, Prince Gengyi was only violating etiquette, but to Luo Tong and others, it was blocking their future career.
Because once the East Palace becomes the heir of the new emperor, the people who are now being re-employed, such as Yu Qian, Shen Yi, Feng Guogong and others, will naturally become the political force of the new prince.
As for them, they can only wait to be left out in the cold until death.
Therefore, they are now gathering together and working hard to strengthen themselves, not only to take back the Supreme Emperor, but more importantly, to be able to protect the East Palace when the emperor shakes it.
Of course, this matter is very complicated. The prince is the foundation of the country and cannot be shaken easily. Moreover, one of the conditions for the emperor to ascend the throne is to establish the emperor's son as the prince.
Therefore, if the East Palace is to be moved, they will definitely not be the only ones who oppose it, but no matter what, strengthening yourself can always give you more confidence.
Moreover, another problem is that the current East Palace is too young and weak and has no appeal at all.
Therefore, they could only use the Supreme Emperor as their banner to gather a group of political forces in advance before the East Palace was completed.
The Supreme Emperor and Dong Gong are father and son. Binding the Supreme Emperor is equivalent to binding the Eastern Palace. The more they contribute to this matter, the more political benefits they will gain in the future.
In addition, there is one more thing.
The cold stove must be burned in advance to be useful. It is difficult for Luo Tong and others to approach the East Palace directly.
What they were most worried about was not that the emperor would change Dong Gong, but that the emperor would devote all his efforts to cultivating Dong Gong.
Just imagine, if the emperor really cultivates Dong Gong as a prince, Yu Qian, Wang Wen, and Feng Guogong will all be arranged to be Dong Gong's teachers and accompany him every day.
So if the prince really ascends the throne in the future, will he continue to reuse them?
So getting close to the Supreme Emperor is the only way.
Luo Tong and others envisioned that the ideal situation would be to first welcome back the Supreme Emperor, and then, with the intervention of the Supreme Emperor, arrange for them to enter the Zhan Shi Mansion, wholeheartedly support the establishment of the East Palace, and become a complete follower of the dragon.
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If that fails, then as long as they protect the Supreme Emperor and have filial piety and etiquette, they will also have to use them when the future prince succeeds to the throne.
Even if Dong Gong is older and does not have to enter Zhan Shifu, they can become Dong Gong's confidants through the Supreme Emperor.
There is no need to say much about the joints in between, but they all understand it in their hearts.
At this moment, Ren Li pierced the window paper, obviously planning to show off his cards.
After a long silence, Luo Tong said with a complicated expression.
"Welcoming the emperor back and protecting the East Palace are all done according to etiquette and law. Only when the heavenly family is harmonious and inheritance is orderly can the country prosper. Luo has a clear conscience and is not just for his own career."
A trace of undetectable contempt flashed in Ren Li's eyes.
Bah, you talk so righteously, these civil servants have really become bitches and still want to erect memorial arches.
Seeing that Luo Tong was unwilling to admit it and Ren Li would not expose him, this kind of thing was tacitly understood, so Ren Li continued with a smile on his face.
"No matter what the reason is, what we have to do is always the same. I am getting older. Even if I am in court, I will not be able to live for a few more years."
"Being nobles like me, we are not focusing on immediate benefits, but paving the way for the younger generations in the family. But you are different from me. You still have a bright future. You don't want to work hard for many years, and in the end, you can only settle down.
Let’s get off?”
Luo Tong looked a little ugly.
This was another thorn in his heart.
As Ren Li said, the most important thing for a noble family is time. The reason why a mansion like the British Duke dares to put chips on the East Palace boldly is because they can afford to wait.
Even if they blatantly support the Supreme Emperor and the East Palace, the emperor can't do anything to them. At most, he will ignore them and suppress them, and ignore them.
But it is basically impossible to remove their titles unless they commit a serious crime.
To put it bluntly, twenty years later, the British government will still be the British government, and they can afford a period of neglect.
So they bet on Donggong. As long as Donggong can successfully ascend the throne, they can still be proud and make a comeback.
But Luo Tong is different.
A civil servant like him has only been serving as an official for several decades.
Luo Tong is not yet fifty years old this year, so he is considered to be in the prime of life, but if he wants to compare with the one on the throne, he has little confidence.
Therefore, he did not plan to see the day when the prince ascended the throne.
But even if the prince does not ascend the throne, the East Palace is still worth betting on.
The prince leaves the cabinet at the age of eight and establishes the Zhan Shifu. After getting married at the age of fifteen at the latest, he can participate in political affairs.
You must know that the rise of Sanyang did not occur after the death of Emperor Taizong.
When Emperor Taizong was still alive, Sanyang, who was an official of the Eastern Palace, already had a pivotal position as the representative of the prince's political power in the court.
Therefore, Luo Tong's greatest hope is to follow the path of Sanyang again, rely on the power of the East Palace to truly gain a foothold in the court, and explore the position of Qiqing.
If everything goes well, this process will take about ten to fifteen years. This span is acceptable for Luo Tong, who is not yet fifty.
But one day the problem is that he has to become a true confidant of the East Palace faction, at least the one they have trained with all their efforts.
This is also one of the reasons why he was active in the British government today and did not hesitate to let them wait on the sidelines while taking the lead himself.
However, he also knew in his heart that he was not their best choice.
As for the civil servants, let alone Yang Shan. He has been dismissed from office and will not be afraid of resurrecting him in the future. But don't forget that there is also Xu Bin and Xiao Weizhen.
The two of them were the first batch of civil servants to seek refuge with the Supreme Emperor, and now they are trying to welcome the Supreme Emperor back in Wala.
Once they come back, Luo Tong can only become their background, or in other words, today's Luo Tong is just a temporary substitute when they are away.
Luo Tong knew this in his heart, but there was nothing he could do.
In terms of qualifications, he couldn't compare to Xu Bin and Xiao Weizhen. In terms of merit, he couldn't compare either. Luo Tong said with a calm face.
"Master Hou said these things, he must not have come here specifically to mock Luo. What is going on, Master Hou, please tell me clearly!"
Unknowingly, Luo Tong's title changed back to the unfamiliar "Master Hou".
Ren Li didn't care about this, raised his hand and patted Luo Tong on the shoulder, and said: "It doesn't have to be like this when studying ancient times. The situation you and I face is actually the same, so at this time, we should be more sincere.