Chapter 662: This is the foreshadowing of a chapter, also known as: Contradictory Supreme Emperor
Nangong, Chonghua Hall.
Early in the morning, Zhu Qizhen put on a bright red Gonglong robe and came to Chonghua Hall.
Frankly speaking, despite Ruan Lang's persuasion, what happened at the court meeting that day still made Zhu Qizhen suppress a lot of emotions.
Since returning from Yibei, Zhu Qizhen has been very conflicted in his heart.
When he was captured in Wala, he was imprisoned in a small area. He was accompanied by the howling north wind and rough cattle and sheep every day. He was tortured by a deep sense of powerlessness and despair.
Although he had made various efforts, such as wooing Boyan Timur, King Bodu, and ordering Zhang Fu and others to assassinate Xi Ning, deep down in his heart, he always understood that no matter how many things he did, he would eventually be defeated.
The decision-making power is not in his hands.
At this point, no matter how hard he tried, he could only drift with the general trend of the two countries.
At that time, he thought that as long as he could return to the court safely and see Empress Qian, Empress Dowager Sun and others again, that would be enough.
However, when he actually set out on his way home, he began to be afraid again.
Because, there are not only people in the capital who care about him, but also people who don't want to see him...
Although Zhu Qizhen himself has never experienced a battle for the right to inherit the throne, he has received a complete royal education and has seen countless swords and swords in history books.
On the way back to the south, Zhu Qizhen was thinking, if he changed places and was the new emperor in the capital, how would he treat an emperor who was about to return south?
The answer is clear, kill him!
No matter how much disaster this move will cause, no matter how the world will discuss it, and no matter how it will destabilize the already dilapidated DPRK situation again.
For Zhu Qizhen, he had already experienced the feeling of being imprisoned in Yibei, where he was told that the sky was not responding to him, and that the earth and the earth were not working.
Therefore, if he were sitting in the Palace of Qianqing instead, he would definitely kill the Emperor who was about to return south without hesitation and avoid future troubles forever.
The turmoil of the government can be stabilized, the support of people can be gathered, and the loss of national power can be recuperated. However, he only has one life, and he will not take this risk.
Using oneself to save others, Zhu Qizhen felt that there was a high possibility that he would die suddenly on the way back south!
Therefore, he was extremely careful all the way from Datong to Xuanfu. He only dared to wear clothes, shoes and hats sewn by Queen Qian himself, and food and water had to be tasted by someone before he dared to eat them.
The guards who were also given to him first did not dare to leave day and night, because for him at that time, these prisoners wanted him to reach the capital safely the most.
The expected assassination did not come, but Zhu Qizhen clearly felt the malice of his former brother, the new emperor in the capital.
First it was Shu Liang's provocation, then the high-profile persecution and humiliation when he entered the capital, and then the overt and covert surveillance inside and outside Nangong and the condescension when the brothers met.
Everything made Zhu Qizhen feel more and more uneasy. There was always a voice in his heart telling him that the current peace and stability were just an illusion.
Especially after learning about many things that happened in the capital more than a year after he left Beijing, Zhu Qizhen felt more and more that the reason why Zhu Qiyu did not kill him was because the court situation had not been completely stabilized before he ascended the throne.
The time is not long enough and the foundation is not solid enough.
This new emperor also needs the Supreme Emperor to endorse him and tell all the people in the world that his throne is legitimate and legitimate. He took the initiative to abdicate the throne. He is not usurping power, let alone taking advantage of others' danger.
But there is no doubt that as time goes by, the new emperor's status will become more and more stable, and his role and influence as the supreme emperor will become smaller and smaller.
In fact, this has already begun to emerge.
Back then, Shu Liang, a eunuch with a copy of the imperial edict, dared to force him like this in the Xuan Mansion. Zhu Qizhen even used the method of refusing to return to the capital in anger. But in the end, it was not just the thunder but the rain.
Within a few months, Shu Liang was once again arrogantly arrogant in Dongchang.
This would have been unthinkable in normal times.
There is also the welcome ceremony after returning to Beijing. It seems grand, but in fact it is just a carnival to show the legality and wisdom of the new emperor. Zhu Qizhen, who was supposed to be the protagonist, was just a marionette from beginning to end.
.
And during the subsequent Winter Solstice Festival and Zhengdan Festival, the new emperor repeatedly exceeded the rules, almost bringing his disdain and disrespect to him, the Supreme Emperor, to the surface.
However, everyone from top to bottom seemed to be blind and ignored it.
Therefore, Zhu Qizhen had to sadly admit the fact that...
His greatest role had disappeared from the moment he returned to the capital.
Nowadays, the throne of heaven is occupied and the situation of the government is stable. The only reason why the ministers always pay attention to him as the Supreme Emperor is that he still represents the face of the Ming Dynasty.
The majestic Emperor was imprisoned in the imperial court thousands of miles away. This was the shame of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, for the Ming Dynasty, welcoming the Emperor back was something he had to do.
However, when he really returned to the Ming Dynasty, this effect naturally disappeared.
The rest is nothing more than to demonstrate the legal authority of the new emperor, so that the world can see the harmony of the Tian family, see the kindness and generosity of the new emperor, and see the moral order of the new emperor.
The meaning of his existence will completely become serving the new emperor.
Since this is the case, then the feelings and image of the new emperor are naturally placed first.
The emperor insists on protecting Shu Liang, but the ministers can only give in. The emperor wants to hold the ceremony with great fanfare, and the ministers not only have to do it, but also do it with all their heart.
Can follow.
銆愭帹 drill鄪笅锛屽挭鍜阒呰 faintclounder
Not only that, in the official documents, these insignificant details must be hidden "for the sake of His Majesty", so that the world can see the image of an emperor who respects his elder brother, is generous and kind.
Zhu Qizhen understood that if things went on like this, he would be slowly forgotten in Nangong until no one remembered him, and he would suddenly become seriously ill and pass away.
Perhaps, Queen Qian, Concubine Zhou and others will also go with them. Of course, they are "voluntarily buried" and will be awarded posthumous titles after their death.
As for his princes, they will be given preferential treatment, given a large fiefdom, and then be matched with a complete and capable set of royal officials to go to the fiefdom and become a vassal.
In a few years, no one will mention the sudden death of the Supreme Emperor, and his princes will be impeached by officials from all over the country in various ways.
Then, after being forgiven several times, the emperor had to reluctantly cut off the king's title and sent him to Fengyang to be imprisoned under a high wall.
And these, in the court, will not cause the slightest disturbance, everything will go as planned, and all the people in the world will still praise the emperor as the holy emperor. Only his lineage will no longer have a trace of vitality.
This is not Zhu Qizhen’s conjecture, but what is really happening!
Zhu Qizhen would not sit still and wait for death, so he could only protect himself.
Although he had already retreated to Nangong and announced that he would ignore political affairs, when his figure completely disappeared from the court, it was also the time of his death.
What's more, there is a prince!
Although Zhu Qizhen did not particularly like Zhu Jianshen, the eldest son of a concubine, but now, this prince has become his only means to participate in political affairs.
And more importantly, as long as Zhu Jianshen can sit firmly in the East Palace, then he, the father of the prince, will not be completely forgotten even if he is in the Nangong.
Therefore, whether it is for himself or for the prince, Zhu Qizhen cannot really ignore world affairs.
Fortunately, although she was not in the capital during this period, the queen mother still gathered some forces that were enough to be used.
But what he didn't expect was that when he really intervened in political affairs for the first time after returning to Beijing, he ended up in disgrace.
Originally, Zhu Qizhen just felt a little anxious about Ren Li's defeat, worried that he had lost a big arm in the court.
However, with Ruan Lang's encouragement, Zhu Qizhen realized that he was just a tool used by Ren Li to unite other ministers and cover up his crimes. Therefore, in addition to anxiety, Zhu Qizhen became angry.
The more he fell into this situation, the more sensitive the string in his heart became. In fact, this was the reason why he finally chose to believe Zhu Yi.
He needs a loyal minister to make him feel that he is not betrayed by others.
However, the emperor's heart is always contradictory. Zhu Qizhen's heart told him that Zhu Yi could trust him, but what happened at the court meeting always lingered in his mind.
Coupled with the delay in the prince's resignation from the cabinet, Zhu Qizhen urgently needed someone to discuss it with him.
Therefore, even though he knew that this was very arrogant, he still issued an edict and asked Princess Changde to bring her consort Xue Huan into the palace.
Before issuing the edict, Zhu Qizhen calculated the reactions of all parties.
Although he was in Nangong, he was nominally enjoying his old age and was not under house arrest. Regardless of whether he wanted to or not, at least on the surface, he took the initiative to abdicate the throne and give up power, completing the smooth transition of imperial power.
For this reason alone, everyone in the court must respect him.
Therefore, as long as he interferes in government affairs without knowing it and summons several ministers, although it may easily lead to various speculations, it is not considered an out of bounds matter.
There will be no opposition in the court, and it is unlikely that there will be a big reaction from the emperor.
After all, what Zhu Qizhen summoned was considered a relative of the emperor, and he did so in the name of Empress Qian.
More importantly, even though Zhu Qizhen was sorry for the country during the civil war, he did not feel sorry for his younger brother, whether it was the rewards and care he showed to his younger brother before the personal expedition, or the active concessions he made after returning to the court. On the contrary,
Simply speaking from the relationship between the two, Zhu Qiyu took the throne from him.
Therefore, even if Zhu Qiyu hates him from the bottom of his heart, he still has to work hard on the surface, otherwise, he will be regarded as an ungrateful person by the world.
Although there would inevitably be private rumors between the government and the public, Zhu Qizhen could no longer care about finding someone to enter the palace to discuss countermeasures and relieve his anxiety.
However, he had taken care of the emperor and court officials, but he never thought that things would end up bad for his own sister, Princess Changde.
The palace attendant who came back to report said that he saw the consort entering the princess's house intact, but when Changde turned around and entered the palace, he insisted that the consort was infected with the disease.
At this family banquet, Zhu Qizhen would have almost put down his chopsticks and left if he hadn't considered that the summons was in the name of Queen Qian, and spreading the word about it would hurt Queen Qian's face.
The two siblings met again after a long time, but the atmosphere dropped to freezing point.
Neither party said anything more, because there was no need to say more. Princess Changde could not have known that the person who really summoned the couple was Zhu Qizhen, and it was even less likely that she did not know that the person Zhu Qizhen really wanted to see was Xue Huan.
However, she stopped Xue Huan, and she stopped Xue Huan without sincerity.
In fact, even if the eldest princess of Changde said that she would take care of Xue Huan at home, it would be better than the eldest princess of Changde coming alone.
By doing this, she actually had answers to many things!
So, they ate in silence, and as a formality, the eldest princess of Changde resigned. However, the anger in Zhu Qizhen's heart did not disappear because of this, but intensified.
He felt that he had been humiliated. He was obviously the most noble emperor, but now, even his own sister was avoiding him and wanted to draw a clear line with him.
This kind of discomfort was even worse than the hard life he had in Wala. At least at that time, although his life was not very good, both King Bodu and others respected him and regarded him as someone from Treated by the nobles of the Ming Dynasty.
But now, after returning to the capital, he was treated like a savage beast, which made Zhu Qizhen feel extremely angry.
Since even Chang De has this attitude, he has only himself to prove that no matter how downcast he is as the Supreme Emperor, he is still the elder brother of the current emperor and the Supreme Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
He had no time to think about restraint and balance, and he didn't care whether the foreign court would criticize him. In short, Zhu Qizhen issued the edict to be sent to Qianqing Palace.
This edict is actually more like a momentary impulse.
Because it is very simple to crack it, you only need the emperor to come here according to the decree, and you don't even have to follow the decree exactly every morning and evening. As long as you come once, everything will be solved.
The emperor has many things to do, has the country on his shoulders, and is extremely busy with government affairs. Under such circumstances, he can still take the time to come to pay respects to his brother. Once this comes out, the foreign court will definitely praise him.
Moreover, the ministers below will naturally take over the following matters. The emperor can, under the advice of countless ministers, finally 'put the government affairs first' and avoid paying tribute later.
In this way, all the face is gained, and the price that needs to be paid is just a trip to Nangong, just a formality.
It should be said that if the emperor really came, it would be Zhu Qizhen himself who would suffer.
The peace and stability currently maintained between Nangong and the Emperor are exactly what the ministers need, or in other words, this is what his younger brother is best at.
Go with the flow!
The ministers in the imperial court were naturally aware of the emperor's intentions in placing the Supreme Emperor in the Nangong Palace, but they did not care and were even happy to see it happen.
The authority of the emperor was further strengthened, the legal principles of succession to the throne were strengthened, the influence of the supreme emperor became smaller and smaller, and the situation in the court became more stable day by day.
What these new emperors want is exactly what many ministers in the court want.
Therefore, Zhu Qizhen, who openly took the initiative to break this balance, will inevitably be impeached.
Don't think that the Supreme Emperor in Nangong will not be impeached. The admonishers of the Ming Dynasty even have to take care of the emperor's harem, let alone such matters involving the government.
Although it is impossible to really do anything to him in the end, it will undoubtedly diminish his image of taking the initiative to give up power and further reduce his influence in the government.
However, Zhu Qizhen couldn't care about this anymore, even if he knew that this was not the best way, even if he knew that he had just lost his courtesy and should be patient now.
But he couldn't bear it anymore. Princess Changde's indifferent attitude became the last fuse for him to explode. Even if he was criticized by others, he still wanted to see Zhu Qiyu forced to come and make him look down on him.
Even though he knew in his heart that his brother would not look good even if he came over, but even if the outside world thought that he was being low-key, it could at least calm down the restlessness in his heart.
Even Ruan Lang didn't know Zhu Qizhen's thoughts. He even said when giving the order to Ruan Lang that he was sure that the emperor would not come and wanted the government and the public to see the emperor's true face. But
In fact, deep down in his heart, he was expecting Zhu Qiyu to be 'forced' to come to pay his respects.