"Your Majesty, the late Emperor has visited heaven and the Emperor has ascended the throne. How do you think the Emperor compares to the late Emperor?" Liu Jin asked.
"This... what should I say? As a minister, how dare you talk nonsense about the late emperor and your Majesty?" Zhang Yanling said.
Liu Jin said calmly: "It seems that the Marquis is still very wary of our family and refuses to talk to us. Let's just say it to our family. The late emperor was diligent and kind, and he was a sage and a rejuvenating king. Emperors throughout the ages have been unmatched.
.In my opinion, the emperor is currently far inferior to
Although the emperor is smart, his temperament is completely different from that of the previous emperor and needs to be tempered. The emperor is too young and will only be a fifteen-year-old boy after the New Year. In time, he may be the master of sage, but now he is
Far inferior to the late emperor."
Zhang Yanling nodded slightly, and Liu Jin's words were pertinent. Although Emperor Hongzhi was highly praised in history, Zhengde was derogated more. But in fact, apart from doing some ridiculous things, Zhengde was not important in the political affairs of the court.
He is not confused about the matter. His intelligence and ability may not be inferior to that of Zhu Youtang. Of course, this is Zhang Yanling’s own opinion. Liu Jin’s words are neither derogatory nor complimentary. Although they are tactful, for now, they are
That's right.
"I basically agree with what Eunuch Liu said. The current emperor is still young, and he still needs time to practice." Zhang Yanling said. "But, what does this have to do with the death of the late emperor?"
Liu Jin said softly: "Master Marquis, you must have heard of the tyranny of the outer court. When the late emperor was still alive, he treated the civil servants of the outer court with great respect and held them in high regard. But even so, the outer court pushed even further and often forced others to do so.
The late emperor was very angry. For example, the late emperor used some money to hold a wedding ceremony.
When the Zhongliang family relied heavily on matters, they all petitioned to stop them and forced the late emperor to listen to them. There were also many matters concerning government affairs that they had to make their own decisions. If the late emperor refused even the slightest disapproval, they all gathered together to petition.
, and threatened to resign, and made some strange and grumbling remarks in private. The Marquis must have heard of these things."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Of course I know all this. Those people in the outer court did go too far sometimes. But the late emperor did not fully rely on him. Although the late emperor was kind, he was soft on the outside but strong on the inside, and a man who knew what he was doing.
It won’t help if they make trouble again.”
Liu Jin nodded and said: "The Marquis can see it clearly, and there is no need for our family to say more. The outer court has become more and more domineering over the years, and its power has been greatly improved. Although the late emperor treated him with respect and courtesy, he was ungrateful. They tried their best to exclude dissidents and formed a family.
It is no secret that civil servants and cronies are involved in this matter. Secretly, their hands are all over the place.
He stretched himself out, interfered with the military power, and instigated attacks and criticisms on the family of Xunqi. Not to mention other things, the two princes of your Zhang family were asked to participate in the performance in front of the late emperor for no less than five or six times. It was just you, Mr. Zhang, who was behind the scenes.
You are tough enough. The late emperor supported you, and your Zhang family was immune from their criticism. Otherwise, I am afraid they would have succeeded long ago."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Eunuch Liu knows so much. You know all these things."
Liu Jin said in a deep voice: "It's not that our family wants to know, but these things are obvious. The outer court obviously wants to monopolize power, influence the government, and exclude dissidents. But they have never been able to do this.
There was nothing the Qi family could do. It was because of the late emperor’s trust in the Xun Qi family and the inner court that they could not succeed. They could not pass the first emperor’s test. So although they were angry, they could only stare.
."
Zhang Yanling said: "Eunuch Liu, could it be that because the late emperor was not at their mercy in the outer court, so..."
Liu Jin said in a deep voice: "Master Hou is really a smart man. This is the reason for our guess. The late Emperor was wise and kind, and everyone in the world loved him. Those people in the outer court couldn't fool the late Emperor at all, and they couldn't let the late Emperor accept them.
at the mercy of him, so he
They will never want to dominate the government and influence the previous emperor. And if the previous emperor dies, the young prince will be the one who takes the throne. At that time, they can influence the new emperor at will. Because the new emperor is still a child, they can only rely on them.
fundamental
It was impossible to see through their plot, and they had no courage to confront them. Because of this, they attacked the late emperor. Moreover, after the incident, they lightly convicted him of negligence and killed the two imperial doctors involved.
I kept saying that this matter would never be proved. Who would have thought that because it was too hasty, it would be covered up. Our family thought about it for a few days, and finally figured it out. It must be them. They want to control the government and let the emperor be at their mercy. It must be so."
Zhang Yanling looked at Liu Jin in astonishment. He was surprised that Liu Jin's explanation of the matter was logically self-consistent. The meaning expressed by Liu Jin was very simple. The ambition of the civil servants in the outer court was inflated and they tried to fully control the power of the government and influence the emperor. Share
to
Supreme decision-making power. But Zhu Youtang was not something they could influence or control, so they secretly murdered the late emperor and replaced him with a fourteen-year-old boy as the emperor. This would facilitate their manipulation and control.
achieved their goal.
The reason is simple and seems to be smooth, but Zhang Yanling wants to laugh. Liu Jin is insulting her own IQ. It is a fact that the civil servant group is trying to seize power to check and balance the imperial power, and it is also a fact that they want to exclude dissidents and dominate one family. But no matter what,
It is nonsense to say that they did not hesitate to murder the late emperor for this reason. Unless there were powerful conspirators and careerists in the outer court, how could they do such a thing.
Morally speaking, anyone who makes such a decision will definitely not be able to gain a foothold in the civil service group. It is the crime of regicide and the ultimate crime of treason. It is also stupid in terms of feasibility. Emperor Hongzhi is still in office.
The status of the civil service group has been greatly improved, and its power is rapidly increasing.
With their rapid promotion, they have already surpassed the nobles and the inner court. In time, they will definitely dominate the power of the government. In this case, there is no need for them to risk the disapproval of the world and commit regicide. The new emperor who was replaced is completely
Unknown, how do they know they will be completely controlled?
The self-consistency of the logic on the surface is full of loopholes if you think about it carefully. If Liu Jin is not stupid himself, or he thinks that others are also brainless, he actually told himself such a guess. It is really ridiculous.
However, Zhang Yanling didn't want to expose all of this. He wanted to know what Liu Jin's purpose was of waiting for him here today and telling him these things? He couldn't tell him these things for no reason, he must have a purpose.
"What Eunuch Liu said... does make some sense. If the speculation comes true, then this matter is too terrible. This is really a coward, and there is no chance of redemption. Are these people in the outer court crazy? Too much
It’s terrible, it’s terrible.” Zhang Yanling smacked her lips.
Liu Jin saw that Zhang Yanling seemed to believe what he said, so he echoed in a low voice: "Yeah, thinking about it makes me go numb. There are some sanctimonious ministers in the court, and the new emperor is young and has little experience.
The strength is so weak that just thinking about it makes me sleepless at night and makes me feel frightened. Lord Marquis, our Ming Dynasty is in danger."