"Exactly, the harem is empty and the queen dominates it. This is abnormal. It breaks the ancestral rules and weakens the foundation of the country. Only when the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has a full harem and the rain and dew are wet, can he continue to have descendants and bring blessings to the world. The people of the world
If everyone follows the emperor's lead, the people in the world will wither away." Li Dongyang said.
"The queen is the only favorite, and the relatives are arrogant. The emperor's protection of the Zhang brothers for the queen's sake is a kind of interference by the queen in the affairs of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, it is an act of the harem interfering in politics. Should we report these principles to the emperor and let him
Understood." Xie Qian also said loudly.
"No, no, no, Mr. Xie, you cannot start from this angle. You cannot criticize the queen. That will violate the emperor's taboo. Remember this. If you want to take action, you cannot start from this aspect, but should do it in a roundabout way." Li Dongyang
hurriedly said.
Liu Jian nodded and said: "Dongyang is right. You can't act too hastily or target the queen. You can't...be too direct in asking the emperor to choose a concubine. The emperor really loves the queen."
Xie Qian said in a deep voice: "Then we just stare at her? We can't give a memorial to persuade her, and we can't criticize the queen, so what else can we do?"
Li Dongyang stood up and walked slowly thinking. Liu Jian and Xie Qian both looked at him, and their eyes followed his figure. The three bachelors in the cabinet were famous. The so-called "Li Gongmou, Liu Gongdan, Xie Gongyou talked." That was not a joke.
In fact, when encountering difficult matters, it is often Li Dongyang who comes up with the idea, and Liu Jian, the chief assistant, who makes the final decision. Once Li Dongyang uses his brain, he will definitely come up with a solution.
Li Dongyang stopped and sat down on the chair.
"Dongyang, do you have an idea?" Xie Qian said happily.
Li Dongyang said in a deep voice: "The Emperor sincerely loves the Queen, but that doesn't mean that the Emperor won't fall in love with others, right? Just like Mr.
You dote on your young and beautiful concubine a lot, don’t you?”
Xie Qian spat: "Why are you taking me as an example? Men naturally like young and beautiful women. The emperor should be no exception. It's just because of the queen's face, or because he is afraid that the queen will be unhappy, so he refuses to do that. I
I don’t believe that the emperor doesn’t like young and beautiful girls. This will not affect his love for Queen Zhang.”
Li Dongyang patted the table lightly and said with a smile: "That's right, it's just as I thought. It's impossible for the emperor not to be interested in young and beautiful women. Although the queen's manners and grace remain unchanged, she is no longer young after all. So the emperor did not accept
Concubine, it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I don’t want to hurt the queen’s heart. If that’s the case, then there’s something to be done.”
Liu Jian said in a deep voice: "You mean... let the emperor have contact with other women?"
Li Dongyang nodded slowly and said: "Exactly. Select young women and let the emperor come into contact with them. Over time, friendship will develop. Or, choose a good time, such as...after the emperor drinks, or...at certain specific times
. In short, the emperor is a man, how can he not have such needs? As long as another woman is lucky enough to meet him, the emperor will not treat it as nothing. At that time, he will be protected. Maybe the situation of exclusive favor can be broken. "
Hearing this, Liu Jian laughed and said: "Wonderful, wonderful. Dongyang is really full of schemes. He can come up with such an idea. In fact, the emperor has never seen beauties in the harem. The emperor is devoted to his love, so we need to select those who are not only
It must be pretty, and it must be the kind that can impress the emperor. For example..."
"For example...a woman who looks like the queen when she was young..." Xie Qian said in a deep voice.
"Hahaha, exactly, exactly." Liu Jian pointed at Xie Qian and laughed.
Xie Qian also laughed, and Li Dongyang even covered his mouth and laughed. No one would have thought that these three cabinet bachelors were actually planning such a thing and laughing so happily.
"We can't come forward in this matter. Otherwise it will be too risky. We have to find someone to help us do it." Li Dongyang said.
"Who is willing to do it? Who can I ask for it?" Xie Qian said.
Liu Jian looked at Li Dongyang and said softly: "Dongyang, do you want the Zhou family to come forward?"
Li Dongyang nodded slowly and said: "The Zhou family hates the Zhang brothers deeply. They are also relatives of the emperor, and they have easy access to the palace. It is most suitable for them to do it. If it works, everyone will be happy. If it doesn't... it has nothing to do with us."
Liu Jian stretched out his hand and pointed at Li Dongyang's face. The next moment, loud laughter burst out from his mouth, and his body swayed, causing the candlelight to sway left and right.
…
During the period after the relief work, Zhang Yanling's life was not peaceful. Although he wanted to rest for a few days, the reality did not allow him to do so. After the relief work, the name Zhang Yanling was no longer the same name among the people in the capital.
The previous image of the playboy. Maybe some people still remember the previous image of the domineering Zhang Yanling, but now, they internally defend Zhang Yanling's previous evil deeds.
People are so weird sometimes. When you do a hundred good things and everyone thinks you are a good person, as long as you do one bad thing, you will be criticized verbally and criticized many times. But you have done a hundred things.
Bad things, when everyone thinks you are a disaster, suddenly find that you have done a great good thing, people will immediately praise you in every possible way. They will say things like, 'The prodigal son returns with gold,' 'A great righteousness is not a loss, and a small detail is not constrained'.
.
Generally speaking, Zhang Yanling's reputation among the people has indeed been reversed today. His righteous deed of depleting his family's wealth and stepping forward to rescue the people in times of crisis has become a hot topic and praised by everyone in the teahouses and restaurants on the streets of Beijing.
object.
For Zhang Yanling, he actually doesn’t care about his reputation in the minds of ordinary people. From a practical point of view, these cannot bring him any actual benefits. Word of mouth only brings some vanity. Zhang Yanling
What is needed is not vanity. Moreover, people are fickle and forgetful, and will soon be attracted by another hot topic. Just as they have almost forgotten the impression and panic caused by the previous snow disaster, and rarely talk about the previous predicament.
What Zhang Yanling cares about is the feedback from the Xungui Group and what he can get from the emperor. And this is actually his main purpose besides relieving the people themselves.
On the third day after the handover of the relief work, Zhang Yanling was invited to a banquet at Dingguo Palace. This time, it could be said that the house was full of distinguished guests, including not only Zhang Mao and Xu Guangzuo, but also the three young princes and more than a dozen distinguished guests.
The Marquis was also present. When Zhang Yanling arrived, he received a standing-up welcome like a hero.
From that moment on, Zhang Yanling knew that she could be said to have been truly accepted by these veteran nobles and regarded as one of their own. These people here can be said to be the main force in the noble group.
Almost all of the people present were powerful figures who led the troops in the Beijing camp or had military positions in the Central Army's Governor's Mansion. They gathered here, like a ceremony to welcome them to join, and officially announced that Zhang Yanling had entered their small group.
in the circle.
The reason is of course very simple. When the Xungui Group shows its face in relieving the victims, it will also get more tangible benefits. In the past few years, everyone in the Xungui Family has increasingly felt the influence from the outer court.
The civil servants in the outer court, who are under increasing pressure and power, have more than once criticized the interests held by the relatives' families. The emperor's rewards of land and other gifts are often blocked by the civil servants, causing the emperor to have to
feared.
The right to speak is in the hands of the civil servants. If anything happens, they will use these things to criticize, which makes people all over the world jealous and jealous of the nobles who occupy a large amount of land and live a good life based on the merits of their ancestors.
Dissatisfied. The nobles were naturally very annoyed, but there was nothing they could do about it. After all, this was the fact. They were indeed enjoying vested interests and were the most comfortable group of people in the Ming Dynasty.
But now, when the emperor stood in the snow outside Yongding Gate and said those words of praise for the honorable family, and forcefully stated that he wanted to give preferential treatment to these honorable families who trusted and devoted themselves to the Ming Dynasty, everything was in doubt.
It’s different. The nobles can enjoy all the benefits and privileges they have obtained with peace of mind. They have found the support point that they should enjoy all these as nobles. But the civil servants in the outer court not only failed in the relief matter, but also did so in public
Being slapped by the emperor, how satisfying is this?
"I am here to enjoy the order, don't you agree? Hold it in!" This is the subtext in the minds of the nobles now.
The person who brought about this change was Zhang Yanling. Before, this man was regarded as a laughing stock by almost all the princes and princes, accusing them of relying on nepotism to rise to power. From the moment he went to the rescue, he was secretly criticized by the nobles.
He thought it was just a show. But when he finally gave all the credit to the honorable collective, everything changed. People who usually looked at Zhang Yanling with displeasure suddenly felt that he was so cute and handsome. People who were disdainful of him suddenly felt that he was so cute and handsome.