Chen Wenyue, Secretary of the Ministry of War, and several important court officials were sitting in the three halls of the Chen family's residence. They looked at the nameplate of Li Zhi on the table, with a look of joy and a hint of surprise on his face.
Chen Wenyue looked at Dong Jiuqi, the Minister of Rites, and asked, "What does Mr. Dong think?"
Dong Jiuqi smiled and said: "There is a lot of mystery in this sacrifice to heaven."
Jia Sanwei, the Minister of War, changed his face and asked anxiously: "How?"
Dong Jiuqi looked at Jia Sanwei. He saw that Jia Sanwei's face was very nervous and he couldn't help but think for a while.
However, after thinking for a long time, Dong Jiuqi still said: "This is obviously a sign that Li Zhi wants to win over us officials in the capital and control the court."
Chen Wenyue's face lit up with joy and he asked: "How can Mr. Dong see you?"
Dong Jiuqi stroked his beard and said, "Everyone knows Sima Zhao's heart."
"Sacrificing heaven is a major matter for the family and the state. The emperor should have ascended to the Temple of Heaven in person and led all the officials to offer sacrifices. However, as the king of Qi, Li Zhi, armed with powerful troops and troops in the suburbs of Beijing, arbitrarily summoned his officials to the canal to worship heaven.
"
After looking at the people on the left and right, Dong Jiuqi said: "There is no doubt that Li Zhi wants to surpass the emperor to command the ministers and exercise the emperor's power."
"The Grand Canal's direct connection to Tianjin is the key to water transportation and a sign that Tianjin controls the key to the capital. Worshiping beside the canal instead of at the Temple of Heaven is an obvious signal that Tianjin will have the final say and look up to Tianjin for the future imperial court.
's breath."
"I'm afraid that after this sacrifice to heaven, Li Zhi will lead the ministers to go to court. When the emperor knows about this sacrifice to heaven, he will also understand that the ministers are on Li Zhi's side and will not make any unnecessary resistance.
From now on, Li Zhi has the final say in the court."
Everyone listened to Dong Jiuqi's analysis and remained silent.
After a long time, Chen Wenyue sighed and said: "This Li Zhi is so arrogant and domineering in his work."
Dong Jiuqi laughed loudly and said, "What we want is Li Zhi's dominance."
"If Li Zhi was not domineering, how could he challenge the emperor and try to control the court? If Li Zhi did not lead thousands of officials to worship heaven together, there would be no fight between him and the emperor. If the emperor and Li Zhi had no conflicts, how could we civil servants survive?
"
"Only by encouraging Li Zhi to become domineering, even more domineering, and fight fiercely with the emperor, can we civil servants be like a fish in water and benefit from it."
Everyone looked at each other for a while.
Chen Wenyue suddenly asked: "Has Zhang Guanghang, the emperor's lackey, been invited?"
Wang Heze, the young minister of Dali Temple, replied: "No, Li Zhi did not invite him. What Li Zhi invited this time was not just the few dozen idiots who were loyal to the emperor."
Chen Wenyue stroked his beard and thought for a while, then said: "This Li Zhi's information is quite accurate. It seems that Mr. Dong made a good analysis. This Li Zhi wants to control the court, so he only invited those of us who are aware of current affairs."
Dong Jiuqi nodded slightly and said that Chen Wenyue was right.
Jia Sanwei, the minister of the Ministry of War, who was sitting aside, suddenly said: "Li Zhi brought together us ministers who are aware of current affairs... isn't he going to kill people?"
When everyone heard what Jia Sanwei said, they looked at Jia Sanwei in surprise.
For a long time, everyone laughed.
"Jia Sanwei, you are really frightened by Li Zhi. No matter how bold Li Zhi is, can he kill more than a thousand of us?"
Dong Jiuqi pointed at Jia Sanwei and said: "Jia Sanwei, please tell me. Li Zhi can join forces with us to control the government right away. Why does he want to kill us?"
"Is Li Zhi a murderer who kills Confucian scholars on sight? Although the gentry in Tianjin have been equalized in their land and property rights, don't they live well as long as they don't resist Li Zhi?"
Jia Sanwei was young after all. Being pointed out by Dong Jiuqi like this, he became nervous, hesitating and speechless.
Dong Jiuqi shook his head and smiled, saying nothing.
Chen Wenyue smiled and said: "I heard from the little eunuch in the palace that Li Zhi did not get along well with the emperor in the Qianqing Palace, and Li Zhi walked out of the Qianqing Palace with a dark face."
When everyone heard Chen Wenyue's words, they all started thinking about it, and everyone's face looked happy.
Wang Heze suddenly said seriously: "We can join Li Zhi's camp to fight against the emperor, and we can help Li Zhi control the government, but Li Zhi cannot give us some benefits."
Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard this, and they all looked at Wang Heze.
Wang Heze said: "We want to ask Li Zhi before the heaven-sacrifice ceremony is held. We want Li Zhi to promise to maintain the status quo of Jiangnan's land tax, never extend the emperor's evil laws to Jiangnan, and leave a piece of royal paradise in the Ming Dynasty."
Everyone nodded after hearing Wang Heze's words.
Chen Wenyue said: "Good! Since Li Zhi wants to rely on our strength, he must naturally consider our fundamentals. We made this request before the ceremony to worship the heaven. If Li Zhi does not agree, we will withdraw! Let Li Zhi challenge alone. The imperial power of the emperor."
Everyone applauded.
The scheming Dong Jiuqi also nodded and said: "Let's do it like this. Send people to the homes of various officials to tell them that this sacrifice to heaven is of great importance and everyone must be present. At such a critical moment, I think Li Zhi will definitely agree. Our requirement."
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Wang Dehua, the eunuch of Dongchang, knelt on the ground of Yangxin Hall and reported to Emperor Zhu Youjian that Li Zhi had invited thousands of officials to worship heaven together.
Zhu Youjian turned his back to Wang Dehua and looked at the majestic Forbidden City outside the window, without speaking for a long time.
Wang Chengen looked at the emperor's back, walked up carefully, and said, "Your Majesty, what does Li Zhi want to do?"
Zhu Youjian gently closed the newly installed Tianjin glass window of Yangxin Hall, stuck the window bolt, and then said slowly: "Li Zhi is going to kill someone."
When Wang Chengen heard this, he trembled and knelt on the ground with a plop.
His face turned white. He knelt on the ground and thought about it. The more he thought about it, the more horrified he felt. These were more than a thousand important court officials, equivalent to the entire Ming Dynasty. Li Zhi would kill him if he said it, but the emperor did not agree. Did Zhi just do it himself?
Does Li Zhi still have royal laws and rules in his eyes?
If Wang Chengen remembered correctly, the list of one thousand people included great scholars who had taught the emperor, and civil servants who had worked in the palace when the emperor was still a believer in the king. Were all these people killed? Just because they provided the Jiangbei Army with information After getting the information, they uprooted the entire center of Ming Dynasty?
The more Wang Chengen thought about it, the more terrifying he felt about Li Zhi, and his body couldn't help but tremble.
Zhu Youjian turned to look at Wang Chengen and asked: "Wang Chengen, why are you shaking?"
Wang Chengen's whole body was shaking like chaff in a sieve, and he trembled and said, "Slave, I don't know why I started shaking."
Zhu Youjian took a breath, opened a copy of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", took out the list of 1,161 traitors he had hidden in it, and read it carefully.
Wang Dehua took a step forward and asked: "Your Majesty, Yao Minling is a direct lecturer. Your Majesty still wants to listen to him lecture on "Spring and Autumn". Do you want to inform him privately and save him?"
Zhu Youjian put the long list on the table and sighed.
"Save? How to save? If the news is leaked because of saving people, I am afraid that King Qi's plan will be ruined by me."
