The news of the assassination of the prince spread and became a hot topic among the people in the capital. When everyone talked about the matter after dinner, almost everyone believed that the assassin was ordered by Empress Zheng and King Fu. The princeling officials took the opportunity to make memorials one after another, asking King Fu to kill him. Fan.
Wanli also believed that the assassination was the work of Empress Zheng and her son. Once the prince was murdered and a scandal broke out in the royal family, he would not only be disgraced, but he would also feel sorry for his ancestors. He wanted to make King Fu surrender to the vassal and avoid the disaster, but he could not do anything to Zheng. The queen spoke, hesitant.
On this day, the Queen Mother came to Qianqing Palace and asked Wanli: "Your Majesty, the ministers have submitted a report to invite King Fu to join the vassal. Have you read these excerpts?"
When Wanli heard his mother mention this, he said, "The children have seen it."
The Queen Mother said: "Fourteen years have passed since Chang Xun was canonized as King Fu. His younger brothers have already been vassal for many years, but he is the only one who has been reluctant to do so. Your Majesty, do you really want to cause a big mess? Is that what you want?"
Wanli murmured: "This..." After pondering for a moment, he said: "Xun'er has decided to become a vassal, and then let him think about it."
The Queen Mother said: "Then think about it. You will be happy when the prince is killed by them." After that, she walked away.
Wanli walked around the imperial study room, feeling upset, and thought to himself: "We must not let the royal family cause a scandal. It seems that we must let Xun'er become a vassal." He came to Yongning Palace and proposed that Prince Fu should be granted vassalship. .
Empress Zheng was startled and said: "If Xun'er becomes a vassal, he will no longer be able to be the crown prince. The Holy One promised that Xun'er would inherit the throne. The Holy One made a golden statement, how can he not keep his word?"
Wanli said: "I have never dreamed of fulfilling my promise to you, mother and son? But that old man Zhao Nanxing holds the position of chief minister and cannot carry out my will, and my mother does not agree with my dismissal of him. What can I do?
"If you hadn't been impatient to harm the prince, there would still be room for buffering. It's all your fault for taking the road. Now the prince's assassination has caused a big fuss, the city is full of troubles, and everyone knows it. What should you do if you call me? What if I don't let Prince Fu Regarding the vassal, how can we block the long-term public opinion of the civil and military officials of the dynasty and the people of Li. At this point, Xun'er must obtain the vassal as soon as possible, and there is no room for negotiation."
Empress Zheng said: "Your Majesty, have you ever thought about how the prince will treat our mother and son when he ascends the throne a hundred years from now? I am afraid that our mother and son will die without a place to die. Don't you think about our mother and son at all?" "
Wanli pondered for a moment and said: "No, the prince has a kind heart and will never commit fratricide."
Empress Zheng said: "His benevolence may not be fake. If our mother and son are really killed by the prince in the future, how can the Holy Spirit bear it?"
Wanli was originally very resolute, but now he hesitated.
Empress Zheng cried: "Instead of being tortured by the prince in the future, it is better for me to hit her head to death now." After saying that, she stood up and hit her head against the pillar.
Wan Li hurriedly grabbed her and shouted: "What are you doing? Don't do this nonsense."
Empress Zheng cried: "Your Majesty, don't stop me, just let me die."
Wanli really didn't want her to die, and shouted: "Okay, okay, stop fooling around, I will think about Xun'er's vassalship."
Returning to the royal study and sitting on the dragon chair, Wanli was in a terrible mood. Sometimes he hated Zhao Nanxing, and sometimes he blamed Empress Zheng.
There were several piles of memorials on the dragon table. Either the princelings asked King Fu to grant him a vassal, or the Zheng party asked to depose the prince. Wanli was tortured by the ministers, exhausted physically and mentally, and couldn't calm down the resentment in his heart, so he took these memorials.
He lost his temper, grabbed a bunch of them, threw them out, and shouted: "You are all forcing me, you bastards, you are pushing me so hard that I have knocked you all, all of you, and not a single one is left." He shouted.
Then he threw out several piles of memorials.
The great eunuch Zhang Cheng stood by and saw Wanli furious. He was so frightened that he did not dare to breathe.
The young eunuch Cao Huachun was not afraid and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down and don't get angry. I have an idea that can help your Majesty relieve his worries. I don't know whether I should talk about it or not?"
Zhang Cheng shouted: "Xiao Chunzi, does the Holy Spirit need you, a dog slave, to come up with ideas? You are so bold, your dog's courage is beyond belief."
Wan Li glanced at Zhang Cheng and said: "How dare you, I haven't spoken yet, how can I allow you to interrupt."
Zhang Cheng hurriedly knelt down and said: "This slave was confused by the little Chunzi, a bitch slave. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Wanli said solemnly: "Get up." Then he said to Cao Huachun: "Little Chunzi, if you have any clever ideas, you might as well tell them."
Cao Huachun said: "As we all know, the commander of the Jin Yiwei commanded Master Luo to face the prince, and the Duke of Dongchang Changchang, Yan Shoufeng, faced Prince Fu. Why not set up an arena for Jin Yiwei and Dongchang to fight. If Jin Yiwei wins, King Fu will become a vassal. If Dongchang
If we win, we will depose the crown prince and establish King Fu."
Wanli thought about it and felt that this was also a solution. The matter was so important that he had to discuss it with the Queen Mother, so he came to Cining Palace and explained the matter. The Queen Mother said: "Your Majesty, what is wrong with Chang Luo?
Why do you just look down on him?"
Wanli said: "Mother, where is the child? Why do you say this?"
The Queen Mother said: "The prince of Chang Luo has done a good job and has done nothing wrong. Why do you always want to dethrone him and establish Chang Xun in his place? The palm of your hand is flesh and the back of your hand is also flesh. You should not favor one over the other."
Wanli pondered for a moment and said: "Queen mother, I am not treating one favorably over another. In terms of talent, Chang Luo is far inferior to Chang Xun. I just want to find a more suitable successor for the ancestor's legacy."
The Queen Mother said: "Chang Luo's talent may not be inferior to that of Chang Xun. It's unfair for you to say that. The beating is too ridiculous and the Ai family cannot agree."
Wanli said: "Mother, although Chang Luo is not at fault, Chang Xun is his direct descendant after all. It cannot be said that it is completely unreasonable to depose Chang Luo and establish Chang Xun. Some ministers support Chang Luo, some support Chang Xun, and they all have different opinions."
One word, we can't stop arguing. Seeing that the country's affairs are declining, the child is very worried. If things go on like this, the country will inevitably be unstable. The child is forced to take this strategy. I hope the mother can sympathize with the child's painstaking efforts. You old man agreed.
Bar."
The Queen Mother pondered for a long time, sighed, and said: "Forget it, Chang Luo is the future true prince, and he has the protection of the gods. Even if he sets up this ridiculous arena, his position as prince will not be shaken. Since you insist on doing this
, the Ai family will give Chang Xun a chance, and don’t let him mistakenly think that the Ai family is partial to Chang Luo. They are all grandchildren of the Ai family, and the Ai family has never been partial."
Wanli said: "Thank you very much, Queen Mother, for helping me."
Returning to the imperial study, he summoned Luo Sigong and Yan Shoufeng overnight. The two came and knelt down to greet them. Wanli's face was as heavy as water, and he did not let them level up. He shouted: "Luo Sigong, Yan Shoufeng, do you two know your guilt?"
Both of them were startled, and Luo Sigong said: "Your Majesty, what is the crime of this humble minister? Please make it clear, Your Majesty."
Yan Shoufeng said: "I don't know what crime I have committed. Please ask the Holy One to make it clear."
Wanli snorted and said: "Luo Sigong, Yan Shoufeng, don't think that I don't know anything about the scandalous things you have done. I am like a mirror in my heart, I just don't say it.
"You two have each gathered a group of ministers, one supports the prince, and the other supports Prince Fu. The two sides have been fighting each other openly and secretly for more than ten years, which has made the court a mess. My empire will be destroyed in the hands of you two sycophants.
You two really deserve death."
When Luo and Yan heard this, cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.
Wanli said: "Don't you two like to fight? I'll give you a chance to compete openly. I decided to set up a state reserve competition to let Jin Yiwei and Dongchang fight against each other. If Jinyiwei wins, King Fu will become a vassal. If Dongchang wins,
, King Fu will be the crown prince. You two will discuss the specific details and draft a plan and submit it within three days."
Luo Sigong thought to himself: "This must be Yan Shoufeng's evil idea. Humph, Yan Gou, you made the wrong calculation. In the ring, the Jin Yiwei are not afraid of you."
Yan Shoufeng was puzzled and thought to himself: "Who gave the Holy Spirit this bad idea? In the ring, Dongchang is Jin Yiwei's opponent, isn't this harming me? Could it be that Luo Sigong came up with this idea? No way, the Holy Spirit is
Those who are towards the queen will not intentionally favor the prince."
The two of them resigned from the Imperial Study Room. Luo Sigong smiled and said: "Brother Yan, please come to the Jinyiwei General Administration Bureau tomorrow morning. Let's discuss the details of the State Reserve Competition."
Yan Shoufeng said: "Brother Luo should come to Dongchang."
Neither of them wanted to go to the other's territory, so they finally decided to negotiate at the Tea House outside Chongwenmen.
The next morning, the two of them came to Pinmingju, sat in a private room, and talked happily while drinking tea.
Yan Shoufeng said: "Brother Luo, the Jinyiwei is headed by you, and the Dongchang is headed by our family. Why don't we two have a fight, and the outcome will be decided in a while, what do you think?"
"Ha..." Luo Sigong said with a smile, "Brother Yan's martial arts skills are incredible, how can I be your opponent? I can decide the outcome in a while, but brother can't fight, so I have to ask Brother Kun to fight for me."
Yan Shoufeng laughed dryly and said: "We were just joking. The matter is so important that it would be too hasty to just fight for a while."
Luo Sigong said: "Brother Yan, how many battles do you want to compete with?"
Yan Shoufeng said: "Nine Formations, I wonder what Brother Luo wants?"
Luo Sigong spent most of the night yesterday thinking that whether it was one formation, three formations, five formations, seven formations, nine formations, or eleven formations, Jinyiwei had a chance of winning, so he said: "Okay, no problem, then let's compete with the nine formations."
Yan Shoufeng said: "As for the candidates for the competition, our family has a requirement that women are not allowed to participate." He was targeting Tian Xiaofeng and did not want her to participate.
Luo Sigong didn't understand Tian Xiaofeng's fighting ability and didn't include her in his plan at all. He thought to himself: "Why did Yan Shoufeng put forward this condition?" Although he didn't know why, Luo Sigong refused to agree easily and said: "Brother, I also have a condition. If
If the Queen agrees to pardon Li Tianmu, then we will agree to Brother Yan's conditions."
Yan Shoufeng felt that this exchange was a good deal and he readily agreed. The two parties decided to hold the State Reserve Tournament on August 15th. The nine-game bet was to win or lose, and each candidate could only fight for one period.