Chapter six hundred and eighteen: take what you need
The inheritance of the throne has always been known as "the father dies and the son succeeds, the elder brother succeeds the younger brother".
In other words, when the throne is passed down normally, a new emperor will ascend the throne only after the death of the previous emperor. This is very consistent with the feudal order where imperial power is exclusive and the emperor is supreme.
However, no matter how rigorous and complicated the system is, unexpected situations will always occur.
The title of Supreme Emperor is a supplementary measure for the abnormal inheritance of the emperor's throne. However, because it is an abnormal inheritance, it means that the situations that arise are different, and there is no complete system that can be referenced for operation.
Therefore, when the Supreme Emperor does appear, he can often only refer to past examples and the basic principles of etiquette and groping forward.
This situation is actually like a spring, it can be flattened or stretched, but whether it is flattened or stretched, it has its limit.
This limit is very clear, but within the limit, whether the spring is compressed or stretched depends on the specific situation.
The ancients talked about learning from history. To put it bluntly, the rise and fall of countless dynasties was a process of constant trial and error.
In the long history, some people are absurd, some are unbridled, some are restrained, and some are cautious...
Later generations, from these countless lessons learned, will use various methods to make up for the loopholes with systems, ideas, etc., so that the wheel of history can move forward.
The Ming Dynasty never had a supreme emperor, but the Ming Dynasty was courteous, filial, benevolent and righteous. The courtiers of the Ming Dynasty knew what kind of king they wanted and what kind of king the people of the world needed.
Therefore, the limits of the spring between the Emperor and the Supreme Emperor are very clear.
For the Supreme Emperor, no matter how long the spring is stretched, he cannot return to the world and govern the government while the emperor is safe and sound.
Because in this way, if the limit of the spring is exceeded and the spring breaks, the two emperors will fight and the world will be in chaos.
As for the emperor, no matter how tight the spring is, it cannot force the emperor to die.
Because of this, the spring was compressed to its lowest point, and both the government and the public, as well as the people of the world, could not accept an emperor who killed his brothers and kings for no reason.
However, these are just these two limits.
Again, as an abnormal means of inheriting the throne, the existence of the Supreme Emperor itself does not have many historical precedents to refer to.
Therefore, between these two limits, whether the spring is pulling or compressing depends on the specific situation.
In his previous life, due to various reasons, Zhu Qiyu almost pressed this spring to the limit. From the initial ban on entry and exit, to the complete imprisonment, no inside and outside, waiting for Zhu Qizhen to fend for itself.
If he's just one step away, the spring will be completely crushed.
As an emperor, of course he thought about killing them all, but the risk of that step was too great, and no one could estimate the consequences.
Although Zhu Qiyu looked down upon this brother, it must be said that he handled the Nangong Incident appropriately enough.
The goal of maximum benefit is achieved at the minimum cost.
However, the impact of that coup that broke the spring was by no means small, not to mention the long-term impact.
When the Supreme Emperor returns to the throne through a coup, the ambitions of both the government and the public will inevitably grow.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there have been many people who rebelled and rebelled, but the ministers of the imperial court only conspired to rebel when heaven was right.
During the Zhengtong Dynasty, Wang Zhen covered the sky with one hand, separating the inside and outside. His words were like sacred orders, and he could command hundreds of thousands of troops to march.
However, he stayed with Zhu Qizhen until his death and was never unfaithful for a moment.
During the Jingtai Dynasty, Yu Qian held great power, was at the top of his position, and was responsible for saving the world, but there was not a trace of rebellion in his heart.
However, after seizing the gate, first Shi Heng and then Cao Jixiang, both of them amassed private soldiers, became dictatorial and tyrannical, and conspired to raise their troops to rebel.
The reason is simply that they have seen with their own eyes, and even personally participated in it, how to gain power through rebellion.
Once the awe in people's hearts collapses, it will never be able to stand up again.
For Zhu Qizhen, he was forced to a dead end and the spring was pressed to the limit, so it would naturally rebound with the most violent force.
Therefore, once the spring rebounds, it is stretched to its longest length until one end breaks.
Of course, there is a price to pay, but this price is nothing more than Tianshun's dynasty continuing to fall into chaos and the court's operations coming to a standstill.
Compared with what Zhu Qizhen is about to get, it is simply insignificant.
However, for Zhu Qiyu, he could not predict the price he would pay after crushing the spring.
Of course, the Ming Dynasty will not collapse because of the death of one person.
However, an emperor who kills his brother and regicide will undoubtedly make the government and the public lose confidence, and will also give the world's careerists an excuse.
In his previous life, he inherited a country whose treasury was empty, its people were exhausted, and its vitality was severely damaged. It took the government and the public for eight years to finally restore its vitality.
After a coup, how long does it take for the broken awe to be established?
Three years, five years, or longer?
Zhu Qiyu is not a saint. If he could have known about the capture of the door in advance in his previous life, he would certainly have killed Zhu Qizhen without hesitation.
However, that is a helplessness after weighing the pros and cons, and it will never be a proactive decision when you have an advantage.
However, again, at this point in time, everyone only has a vague concept of the two ends of the spring.
Therefore, no one knows how much power the Supreme Emperor holds within these two extremes. The only way to cross the river is to feel the stones.
This is true even for Zhu Qizhen.
Since the return of the Supreme Emperor, restraint and proportion have always been maintained between the Emperor and Nangong.
The emperor treated Nangong with courtesy, as if he had no restrictions, and gave him the face and etiquette that a great emperor should have.
Zhu Qizhen himself never broke the rules, he drank and had fun honestly, and never stepped out of Nangong.
On the surface, it seems that a balance has been achieved.
However, they all understand in their hearts that this balance is temporary, and it will not be long before this balance is broken.
The blurred boundaries of power will not last long. To make them clear, it must go through cruel struggle and sacrifice to truly draw them clearly.
Now, it is just a fragile calmness because the Supreme Emperor has just returned to the court and neither party is ready.
Hidden under the calm, friction and testing between the two sides have gradually begun.
Empress Qian went out to Nangong to congratulate her, which was a test. Zhu Qiyu refused to kneel when he saw the Supreme Emperor, which was also a test. The emperor allowed ministers to pay homage to Nangong, which was a test. Zhu Qizhen summoned the ministers privately, which was also a test...
As time goes by, this kind of temptation will inevitably have a convergence point for confrontation.
Although the Supreme Emperor has retired to Nangong and is in charge of the emperor, it is not easy to truly escape from the whirlpool of the imperial court.
What's more, it is still unknown whether the Supreme Emperor himself wants to escape completely...
In Qinghe Pavilion.
Upon hearing the word "juntun", all the ministers immediately became energetic.
Except for Xu Youzhen, everyone present was from an aristocratic family. The only exception was the Prince Consort Jiao Jing.
However, although the Jiao family is not a noble family, it is still a real family of military officers.
Jiao Jing's elder brother Jiao Yi, although he was just a guard commander, was a trusted general of the Taisun Mansion when Emperor Xuanzong was in hiding.
It was precisely because of this relationship that Jiao Jing was able to marry the royal family, Princess Qingdu, the daughter of Shang Renzong.
Since they are all noble military generals, they are naturally inseparable from the invasion and occupation of military camps. Even if they are not at the border and do not take action themselves, those border generals will still use their own wealth to pursue official careers or to protect themselves.
Meat delivered to your door.
Therefore, when the imperial court wants to rectify the military garrison, the most direct harm is to their interests.
Facing everyone's gaze, Zhu Qizhen did not hesitate too much and expressed his attitude directly.
"The battle strength of the frontier army is weak and the military garrison is depleted. This has long been the case. I heard about it before I went on my own expedition. However, I have never started to rectify it. I am considering that the shortcomings have been accumulated for a long time and cannot act rashly. Even if rectification is needed, it should be done slowly.
, don’t act too hastily.”
"Now that the war in the imperial court has stopped, the official positions in the central government are incomplete, and the soldiers and civilians on the border are recuperating and recuperating. From my perspective, it is really inappropriate to engage in such a large-scale war and shake the morale of the border troops."
"Although the bandits are defeated today, their strength is still there. When I return to the court, I will still see plunders and plunders continuing. If there is a loss on the border due to the reorganization of the military camp, and the bandits take advantage of the weakness to enter and attack the city again, it will be a small loss and a big loss."
"
Of course this is just an excuse, the real reason is...
Zhu Qizhen had no other choice.
Once involved in the whirlpool of government affairs, it is extremely difficult to escape. In the complex government situation, people's positions change more with their interests. The proportion of personal opinions in decision-making is actually very small.
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As for Zhu Qizhen, he has now retreated to Nangong and has already announced that he will no longer interfere in political affairs.
Therefore, if you want to intervene in the affairs of the government, you can only go through the ministers who are still backing him.
Just looking at the lineup standing in front of him now, we can tell that these ministers are basically all nobles.
After staying in Yibei for a year, Zhu Qizhen was no longer the naive young emperor. Today, he is better able to understand the ways of the world.
When these people say they are loyal to him, they are not necessarily hypocritical. After all, their fathers and brothers have all received favors from the emperor, and many of them have also inherited their own kindness.
Especially the British Duke. The late emperor used the British Duke highly and before his death, he earnestly asked the British Duke to assist him. This was true.
However, loyalty alone is not enough. The most important thing for a noble family is inheritance first and glory second.
The reasons why they gathered around Nangong were complicated, but the biggest reason was that, besides not being trusted by the new emperor, more importantly, the throne would still belong to Zhu Qizhen's lineage after a hundred years.
Ten years, twenty years, even thirty years, nobles with hereditary titles can afford to wait.
What's more, it doesn't even take that long. In a few years, the East Palace will grow up and be able to have its own power in the court.
Then, the wings of the Supreme Emperor will naturally become the wings of the East Palace. With the power of the East Palace, they, the honorable ministers who have been marginalized in the court, will naturally have a place.
In order to achieve this goal, it is not a big deal to transfer some benefits.
However, the military camp matter involves their core interests.
The reason why nobles can become the top power of military ministers and can influence the huge military commanders and border troops while sitting in the capital is that military garrison is a very important part.
They not only accepted the military camps offered by the border generals, protected and supported them, but also used the military camps to recruit promising border generals from poor backgrounds, building an intricate network of relationships and maintaining their most aloof status.
The end of the military garrison not only means that a large amount of financial resources have disappeared, but also means that the nobles' control over the border troops has been reduced, and the personal connections they have accumulated over the years will be dealt a heavy blow.
Therefore, we must resist. This is the consensus among our nobles during this period of time.
The nobles need Zhu Qizhen, the Supreme Emperor, to unite as a banner. At the same time, Zhu Qizhen must also safeguard their interests.
Naturally, he could not have any other position on the matter of rectifying the military garrison.
After all, now he is no longer a high-ranking emperor, but an emperor who has retreated to Nangong in name only.
Seeing the people below breathing a sigh of relief, Zhu Qizhen's mood was a little complicated, but he continued.
"However, I have already said that I will not interfere in government affairs after returning to Beijing. Therefore, it is inconvenient to intervene in this matter. I can only tell you what I think in my heart. Such a big matter needs to be discussed by the court before it can be decided."
After the words fell, everyone below had different expressions.
Immediately, Ning Yuanhou Renli stepped forward and said.
"Don't worry, your majesty. After I return to the palace, I will start contacting various noble families. I will definitely not allow such matters that endanger the country to pass the court discussion."
The other ministers below also echoed, Zhu Qizhen waved his hand, and the interview ended.
For Zhu Qizhen, he actually couldn't do much. This summons was, firstly, to win over people's hearts, and secondly, to express his attitude.
Once these two goals are achieved, that's it. There's no need to do anything else.
Even before the personal expedition, he was not the kind of person who had to worry about everything down to the smallest detail. He would set the general direction and leave the rest to his subordinates.
However, perhaps even he himself did not realize that, consciously or unconsciously, he actually did not want to say more on this matter.
After all, although he lives in Nangong now, he was once the emperor.
He certainly knew the benefits of reorganizing the military garrison, so he felt somewhat guilty and guilty in making the decision he made now.
However, for Ren Li and others, this is enough.
What they need is just a banner.
For the relatives, the reorganization of the military settlement violated their common interests. However, even under this situation, the attitudes of each mansion were different.
There are those who are as radical as Ren Li who plan to resist, and there are those who are ready to grovel in exchange for stability.
The Marquis of Changping was not the only one among the nobles to submit to the emperor overtly or covertly.
The only purpose of their trip to the palace was actually to get this attitude from the Supreme Emperor.
In this way, for many undecided Jingnan nobles, it would be much more certain to convince them.
What's more, the palace banquet lasted only a short time. When the ministers from the side hall left, it would be too conspicuous if they failed to follow them out.
Because there were no distinguished guests present at this banquet, it was relatively casual.
By the time Renli and others left the Qinghe Pavilion, several ministers had already finished the palace banquet and were ready to leave.
So, after returning to the side hall, Xu Youzhen sneaked into the civil servants while no one was paying attention, while the others mingled with the crowd and followed them out...
