Chapter 372 The mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole follows behind!
Here, Zhu Gaojie and his close friends were discussing matters in the East Palace, and the aristocratic families were not idle either.
In addition to the officials in the capital quietly gathering together to plan, the real people behind the scenes also began to sit together and begin their plot.
"What a strange thing. What on earth is this prince doing?"
Somewhere in the east of Hedong, the heads of several big families gathered together, their faces uncertain.
The head of the Pei family said angrily:
"He actually did this to so many Confucian scholars and has such a vicious heart. How can he be worthy of being the crown prince of a country?"
The Pei family suffered heavy losses this time. Not only did they lose a lot of smart younger people, but even a minister of the Ministry of Rites was dismissed from his official position and returned home to provide for his retirement.
Therefore, he was extremely dissatisfied with Zhu Gaojie and wished something would happen to the East Palace immediately.
The Lu family on the side also suffered a lot this time. In the two guard posts near the Wenyuan, several generals were members of their family. They made friends with other generals through money. As a result, Zhu Gaojie ordered them to kill them all this time. The Jinyi Guards
Drag them out and behead them all!
Although the Lu family still has other forces in the court, the head of the Lu family regretted this loss. You must know that it is not easy to make friends with generals in the army. With the prestige of Zhu Di and Zhu Gaojie in the army suppressing them, they
The Lu family also spent a lot of effort and money to win over these generals, but Zhu Gaojie killed them all this time!
Therefore, he also said with great dissatisfaction:
"I think the prince is just messing around! Do you really think that by forcing him down, I will be afraid of him?"
"If he still wants to sit on the throne safely, he should know how to make way for us!"
The Pei family has many literati, while the Lu family is deeply involved in the military. Each family has a literary and a military, and has attracted and trained many officials and generals. It is indeed quite powerful, so many times, they can't help but have some contempt for Zhu Gaojie in their words.
Living among everyone is the Cui family from Hedong.
Since the beginning of the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Cui family of Qinghe has been the most prominent. However, after hundreds of years of war and the devastation of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, the Cui family has long since begun to wither.
In today's Ming Dynasty, the Cui family can only be said to be a big family in Hedong, but even so, they cannot be underestimated at all.
Although these families have long since changed, and are no longer as powerful as the former gentry clans, but exist as local wealthy families, their power is still huge and intricate, and they are already considered an extremely powerful force in the Ming Dynasty.
At this time, the head of the Cui family said coldly:
"Stop talking nonsense."
"The prince's move, in my opinion, is a foolish act, which is not surprising."
"If he suppresses it for a while, it will not only bring backlash to him, but it will also give us an advantage."
"They are just some Confucian scholars and some low-level generals and leaders. You can just appease them on your own. Talking more is useless."
There was a bit of cunning in his eyes:
"The old emperor is seriously ill at the moment. He must have been watching the prince all day long, thinking about when he would succeed to the throne, so he made such a stupid move!"
"As long as we can seize the opportunity, we will naturally be able to set off a general trend, control the overall situation, and force him to make concessions."
"What do the Tatars say?"
The head of the Lu family said excitedly:
"I have had people contact several princes, and they all agreed and are ready to unite together and concentrate their forces to break through the border and rush in!"
The situation on the Tatar side is different from that in the Ming Dynasty. In addition to the old king, there are more than a dozen princes who also control a large number of troops with strong troops and horses.
The head of the Cui family nodded and ordered:
"You also need to put more thought into establishing a good relationship with those princes, and the old country leader also needs to get involved. This time, maybe we will have to rely on their Tatar power to control the situation in the entire north!"
The head of the Lu family was a little hesitant when he heard this. He hesitated and said:
"Those Tatars, although they have many troops, the prince has hundreds of thousands of troops deployed in the northeast and northwest. If a war really breaks out, the Tatars may not be able to help us much...
"
"Confused!"
The head of the Cui family stood up and shouted angrily:
"So what if he has soldiers?"
"As long as we secretly help the Tatars with information and logistics, and then find ways to delay the march of the troops in the Northeast, won't we be overthrown by the Tatars in one fell swoop?"
"As for the northwest side, with our help, hasn't the King of Han already established a firm foothold?"
"When the time comes that he and the Tatars will cooperate with each other, how much resistance will there be in the northwest?"
"Speaking of it, the prince has hundreds of thousands of troops deployed in these two places, but those Tatar soldiers in Mobei are not for nothing!"
"I don't believe it. With us secretly helping the Tatars, can the prince's troops be able to resist them?"
The head of the Pei family on the side suddenly became elated with joy. He now disliked Zhu Gaojie a hundred times. Hearing the words of the head of the Cui family, his heart was also filled with joy.
"Congratulations, Master Cui!"
He said happily:
"As long as the Tatars defeat the prince's hundreds of thousands of troops, his status in the army will definitely plummet. If we find ways to exert our strength in the court, he may not even be able to inherit the throne, haha!"
"He is not the only prince in this Ming Dynasty!"
"If the King of Han fails to rebel, then why don't we replace him with another prince, or just let the King of Han continue to be in power, hahaha!"
Several people looked at each other and smiled, their eyes full of unstoppable ambition and desire.
After a long time, the head of the Cui family snorted coldly:
"As long as the Tatars go south and defeat the prince's army, other princes will naturally be unable to restrain themselves. It doesn't matter whether we support the King of Han or other princes."
"When the prince is driven to the south, the south of the Ming Dynasty will be our world!"
"The Tatar alien race is not worth relying on, and it may be a wolf that is not well-raised. When the time comes, we will let the prince who supports the higher position compete with him, and both sides will have to rely on us. Wouldn't it be beautiful?"
The ambitions of these aristocratic families have long been ingrained. They only want to eat meat, drink blood, and grow their families. They have never thought about the life and death of the people of the Ming Dynasty!
They have long been accustomed to secretly trading with the Tatars and sending large amounts of prohibited materials in exchange for wealth, and they even think that the imperial court is mediocre.
However, what they didn't expect was that Zhu Gaojie had already been on guard against them!
In addition to the spies of the Jin Yiwei secretly monitoring everyone day and night, secret orders are constantly being sent to the army, just waiting for the moment these people reveal their flaws!
At that time, it will be the best time for Zhu Gaojie to close the net and take a thunderous strike to eradicate the family!