Having said this, Empress Dowager Sun recounted the conversations and opinions she had with Zhu Qiyu and Jiao Jing successively in Cining Palace.
"... The queen mother really cannot handle the political affairs of the outer court. Jiao Prince Consort said that the leader of the Jingwei cannot be a confidant of the Ai family. Otherwise, firstly, it will attract criticism from the outer court. Secondly, if something happens,
It's okay, Nangong and everyone above and below are all people arranged by the Ai family, so your brother can get away easily."
"This is indeed the reason, but after all, the Jingwei is responsible for guarding the palace. The Ai family always feels that it is more secure to use it by their own people. What do you think?"
Empress Dowager Sun certainly trusted Jiao Jing.
However, she did not fully agree with Jiao Jing's thoughts and opinions on many things. However, out of trust, and at the same time, she did not understand many things in Wai Korea, so even if she did not agree with her, as long as she
Even if it wasn't a particularly urgent matter, she would choose to listen to Jiao Jing.
The same is naturally true for Jingwei's affairs.
Jiao Jing advised her, and Queen Mother Sun also listened, but she always felt uneasy in her heart.
Now that her son is back, she can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Zhu Qizhen has been the emperor for many years and is naturally much more familiar with these things than she is.
When it comes to his own safety issues, Zhu Qizhen is naturally very cautious.
After frowning and thinking for a moment, he spoke.
"Jiao Prince Consort's considerations are reasonable, but he neglected one thing, that is, no matter what I do, there will be no shortage of open and covert attacks. Even if the commander of the Jingwei of Nangong is not the one arranged by the Queen Mother, it is really
If something happens to you, there will definitely be countless reasons to excuse it."
As he spoke, a trace of sadness flashed across Zhu Qizhen's face, a self-deprecating smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he said.
"Besides, it will be difficult for the Emperor to find a few people who are willing to bear the blame. Therefore, we must take what is due."
Therefore, there are some things that the authorities are blind to, but there are also some things that only the authorities can truly make correct judgments on.
Outside Datong City, this was the reason why Zhu Qizhen insisted on keeping the more than 20 guards who were also sent first despite Yu Qian's pressure.
To hope that others will care about your reputation is tantamount to putting your life in their hands.
Jiao Jing's statement seems reasonable, but for Zhu Qizhen, at least in Nangong, he has to control it himself before he can rest assured.
Seeing this, Empress Dowager Sun also nodded and said: "The Ai family thinks so too, but the appointment of officials is a government matter. Although it involves Nangong, in the end the Ai family will not intervene. You can only do it. Moreover, there are
One difficulty is, who to choose?"
"Nowadays, many eunuchs in the palace have been killed, and the situation in the outer court is not good. A few days ago, the emperor transferred two of his relatives to guard the imperial city. Many people in the capital guard were transferred out, trying to find someone
I’m afraid it won’t be easy for you to be a trustworthy person.”
The Ming Dynasty implemented a military household system. This system was not only reflected at the local level, but also at the top of the Jingying and Jingwei, up to the 26th Guards. Although ordinary soldiers would be rotated from time to time, the generals who commanded Qianshi and above were
Basically, they inherit their father's position and then move among the 26 Guards and the Beijing Camp. It is a relatively closed system.
Although the Jingwei of Nangong has just been established, there are many generals in the Jingwei who are waiting for selection. If they are recommended from among the nobles, it will cause quite a stir.
But if you choose from among the Beijing Guards, as Empress Dowager Sun said, more than half of the current commanders of the Beijing Guards have been replaced. Most of the people Zhu Qizhen once used have been transferred to the Beijing Camp, or
He simply took advantage of the Battle of Oara and was sent to guard the border.
Because he was the 26th Guards directly under the emperor, it was very easy for Zhu Qiyu to transfer him. He did not replace a large number of people, but one by one. Therefore, when Empress Dowager Sun realized,
The situation has been formed.
Zhu Qizhen frowned, thought for a moment, and asked: "I remember that Meng Ying's eldest son, Meng Jun, inherited the position of commander of the Beijing Guard. This person should be available."
"At the beginning, Meng Ying was implicated in his eldest brother Meng Xian's conspiracy to support King Zhao Jian in the East Palace and was deprived of his title. It was his father who pardoned him and re-employed him. When I was in the East Palace, Meng Jun once did
My honorable guard is a loyal man, but he is not good at martial arts and his abilities are not very useful."
"There is also the Jinyiwei's paid commanding officer named Wu Liang. He is very smart. Master Wang...Wang Zhen mentioned him to me before, but he has a violent personality, so I didn't use him at first."
"Furthermore, Shenwu Zuowei is commanding Yu Guang. He is from the Jingwei family. He is good at riding and shooting, and he is married to the daughter of the Xue family. His loyalty can be guaranteed, but his official position is not high enough..."
Compared to Empress Dowager Sun, Zhu Qizhen obviously knew much more about the affairs of the capital and the military.
In just a few moments, he pulled out several alternative characters from his memory.
But for these people, Queen Mother Sun had a blank look on her face. She was stunned for a moment before she spoke.
"You know well that although this matter is a government matter, it is not too difficult for the outer court. After all, your brother has already let the word out. If you have made a decision, you can call Ren Li to write a memorial later.
, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Therefore, for the British government and others, the existence of Zhu Qizhen, the supreme emperor, was actually a flag.
Although Zhu Qizhen has now announced that he will no longer "interfere in major affairs," he can still send out his own political signals through other means. Frontal interference is impossible, but side influence is still possible.
In many cases, especially when the emperor obviously disliked the people of the British government, this influence became extremely crucial.
At a small level, they are tied to the Supreme Emperor. If the emperor wants to touch them, it is sending a signal to the courtiers and suppressing the Supreme Emperor. At a larger scale, the Supreme Emperor's presence can help them stabilize people's hearts. After all, there is also the East Palace!
And this happens to be what Empress Dowager Sun plans to say next.
"The matter in Nangong is not difficult. After all, you have just returned to the court, and the eyes of the civil and military officials are still focused on Nangong. Therefore, it is not difficult to make some requests at this time. After all, it is your palace. Even if the emperor goes too far,
, I can’t completely ignore your wishes.”
"However, I'm afraid it won't be easy for Brother Shen..."
After letting out a long sigh, Queen Mother Sun's eyes flashed with worry.
The matter of Nangong was very important to Zhu Qizhen, but in the imperial court, it was actually a trivial matter. No matter who was used or who was not used, it did not matter to the ministers.
However, the East Palace is different, the prince is the foundation of the country!
It is extremely difficult for those ministers to give in on this matter.
This is also the reason why Queen Mother Sun used the harshest tone to ask Zhu Qizhen to return to Beijing after receiving the news.
She might be able to intervene in other matters.
However, when it came to such a big thing as the East Palace leaving the pavilion, she was a member of the harem after all, so there was really nothing she could do.
The previous court meeting was a clear proof.
She just found a few people to enlighten the prince, but she aroused such a fierce counterattack from the courtiers. If she continued to interfere in the matter of leaving the cabinet, then she, the empress dowager of the deep palace, would really become the target of public criticism.
Although those ministers can't really do anything to her, if this happens, her prestige will inevitably plummet, and her previous achievements in resolutely supporting the new monarch in times of crisis will also be exhausted.
In other words, if she really intervenes, it may not be impossible, but no matter whether it succeeds or not, from now on, she can only really retreat to the deep palace.
For Empress Dowager Sun, the matter in the East Palace was very urgent, but obviously it was not to the point where she would risk everything.
"Brother Shen..."
To be honest, unlike Zhu Qiyu, who only had one son and was so painful that his eyes were filled with pain, Zhu Qizhen was not actually too close to or fond of his eldest son.
One is because he has many sons...
Before the Northern Expedition, Zhu Qizhen already had three sons and four daughters. When he left, Concubine Wan Chen was still pregnant with one, and she gave birth to a son at the beginning of the year.
Therefore, although Zhu Jianshen was the eldest son, Zhu Qizhen actually did not love him too much.
As for the second reason, it's because of Qian.
At the beginning, when Zhu Qizhen himself was just born, the late emperor began to prepare for the abolition of the queen. Almost when he was two years old, he couldn't wait to canonize the prince as soon as he was born on the jade plate.
However, when it came to Zhu Jianshen, he had no idea of establishing a prince.
Even before the Northern Expedition, some ministers hoped to establish a national foundation early, but Zhu Qizhen vetoed it.
The reason is that although he dotes on the Zhou family, he and Empress Qian are very close to each other. Therefore, he has always been looking forward to the birth of his legitimate son and then establishing him as the crown prince.
Unfortunately……
Zhu Qizhen asked after gently shaking his head to suppress the unnecessary emotions in his heart.
"Wang Jin has already told me about this matter. The queen mother's idea is that I hope that I can come forward and postpone the matter, right?"
Empress Dowager Sun nodded and said: "The Ai family cannot understand national affairs, but there is a truth that the Ai family always understands. What the opponent wants to do will never be a good thing, so the Ai family is looking for you to come back urgently.
I just want you to stop Dong Gong from leaving the cabinet."
Again, Empress Dowager Sun would not intervene in the matter of the prince leaving the cabinet, but Zhu Qizhen could.
The reason is also very good, filial piety!
The Supreme Emperor has just returned to the court. As the eldest son of the Emperor, the Prince should naturally fulfill his filial piety under his father's knees. As a result, the matter of leaving the cabinet will naturally be delayed for several years.
This reason can only be used by Zhu Qizhen.
However, it was obvious that Zhu Qizhen also had his own considerations about this matter. After thinking for a moment, Zhu Qizhen continued to ask.
"I have just returned to Beijing, and many news are not clear. Does the Queen Mother know how prepared the outer court is now?"
Empress Dowager Sun thought for a while and replied: "It is said that preparations are almost complete. First, the crown prince was conferred the title of Sixth Fu, and then a well-educated person was selected from the Hanlin Academy and the cabinet to enlighten Brother Shen. The only delay was Duan.
It will take some time to renovate the palace, but everything else is ready."
From the beginning to the end, Empress Dowager Sun was very concerned about this matter, so she naturally inquired more about how far the outer dynasty had advanced.
Because of this, she became more and more anxious.
Once everything is ready, even if Zhu Qizhen wants to intervene, it will be difficult.
However, after hearing this, Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said.
"The Queen Mother just said that everything is ready. If I step in to stop it at this time, it will be like making all the preparations made by the court in vain. Even if it is successful, there will be a lot of criticism from the outside court."
"What's more, not to mention that the cabinet and the Hanlin Academy are already waiting for the prince to leave the cabinet. Even if these people can continue to hold on, those who have been promoted to the prince and the sixth master, must they be taken back?"
In other words, the imperial court mobilized troops and gave many senior officials titles, but in the end, the prince failed to leave the cabinet. The imperial court could not keep this face.
Even if you do it reluctantly, it will definitely make the courtiers dissatisfied.
What the courtiers thought before the Northern Expedition, Zhu Qizhen would never consider.
However, now that things have come to a point, some things have to be taken into consideration.
"That……"
Empress Dowager Sun looked a little sad and said after a while.
"In this case, the Ai family didn't think carefully enough. They didn't have to mess up your plan. If I had known this, I wouldn't have let you stay in Xuan Mansion for a few more days..."
It’s not like he just returned to Beijing in such a dejected state, losing face and losing his reputation.
Her edict was too serious.
The original idea was to give Zhu Qizhen a step so that he could come back smoothly, but at the same time, the decree actually forced him into a blind corner.
After all, after reaching the height of filial piety, it is impossible for Zhu Qizhen not to come back no matter what.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qizhen smiled and said.
"The Queen Mother does not need to blame herself. I just said that this matter cannot be prevented, but there are always ways to deal with it. Therefore, even if there is no order from the Queen Mother, I still have to come back after learning about this matter."
"Oh, what method?"
Queen Mother Sun frowned, feeling that her son was comforting her, but with a hint of doubt in her heart.
Zhu Qizhen let out a breath and said calmly.
"Since he wants to leave the cabinet, he can't leave half of it. The prince is leaving the cabinet to prepare for government affairs in advance. How can he leave the cabinet without preparing for the government?"
Hearing this, Queen Mother Sun was startled and asked subconsciously.
"Then you want to..."
At some point outside the window, snowflakes began to drift again, and waves of cold wind blew by. It was warm as spring inside the house, but it was chilly outside.
Zhu Qizhen looked through the window lattice in the direction of Qianqing Palace and said softly.
"Since he wants Brother Shen to leave the cabinet, he must give him enough of what he needs to give! The Crown Prince of the East Palace will naturally be treated like the Crown Prince of the East Palace..."
Empress Dowager Sun understood something in her heart, and subconsciously felt that there was something wrong with this, but she couldn't tell exactly what it was.
After all, this is a national event, involving not only the inner palace, but also all aspects of the outer court. Since Zhu Qizhen said so, the Empress Dowager Sun thought about it for a while, but did not get what she wanted, so she did not continue to think about it. road.
"In that case, then you go ahead and make arrangements. People like Jiao Jing, the British Duke, Ren Li, and Zhu Yi are all available. They can help with the affairs of the foreign court."
Zhu Qizhen nodded, but his expression was a bit inexplicable, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
At the same time, in the Changchun Palace, a fat boy who was playing games with his elder sister suddenly stopped. He felt an inexplicable chill behind him, as if something terrible was about to happen.
Then, he sneezed several times, which frightened everyone in the palace into chaos, fearing that something would suddenly happen to His Highness, and that the entire palace would be unable to eat. Walking around...
This chapter has been completed!