From the first day he came to this world, Qin Kan realized the importance of imperial power in this era.
The emperor is heaven, the backbone, and the source of all power.
¡°Civil officials are the most cunning people in the world. They know how to watch people¡¯s actions and take action step by step. The character of each generation of emperors directly determines the attitude of the civil servants of each dynasty. For example, Emperor Hongzhi was a man who worked hard to govern, loved the people, and had a gentle personality. He was like an honest scholar who lived in his study for a long time.
Of course, he was never merciful when it was time to show off his sharp edges and fangs. The ministers below respected and feared him, so any of his will and goals were often achieved without hindrance. Therefore, under the rule of this wise king for nearly two years In the past ten years, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, Yang Yiqing and many other famous officials and officials appeared in the court. Even the most notorious eunuchs in history did not cause trouble to the country during the Hongzhi Dynasty. Instead, they emerged such as Xiao Jing and Wang Yue. , Chen Kuan and a large number of relatively loyal eunuchs.
But Zhu Houzhao was different. He lived in a daze all his life. In the fourteen years since he ascended the throne, the only achievements he could make were that he personally went to war several times and put down several rebellions. In the Battle of Yingzhou, the Tatars were defeated. Prince Boyan was so beaten that he retreated to the grassland in despair. However, when it came to the return of his subjects, Zhu Houzhao was much inferior to Emperor Hongzhi. Throughout his life, from the time he ascended the throne to the present, it was a life of constant fighting with ministers. .
Needless to say, he hated the ministers, and the ministers also hated him. As for the relationship between the monarch and his ministers in the Ming Dynasty, the Zhengde Dynasty was the most tense and cold, and the two sides were almost enemies. Although he was polite in front of his face, he had many treasonous thoughts in his mind, such as getting hit by a car when he went out.
Yang Tinghe was right. At this moment, Zhu Houzhao's life and death were uncertain. Qin Kan could vaguely sense the rustling sounds of people not far away from Xihua Pool in the pavilion. Apparently many ministers were impatient to wait in the Leopard Room. At the door, small groups found a secluded place to discuss important matters. Everyone's faces were full of sadness and anxiety, but this sadness was somewhat sincere, and only they knew it.
Even in the pavilion where Qin Kan is now, he is surrounded by party members and friends. From Yan Song. The faces of Zhu Hui, Mou Bin and others were scanned one by one. Their eyes met Qin Kan, but they were exceptionally calm and clear.
Qin Kan suddenly wanted to smile three times for Zhu Houzhao
"Mr. Qin, you are His Majesty's most trusted minister. You are also the closest friend in private. We all regard you as our leader. Your Majesty's life is in danger today. If he cannot be saved, the world will be in turmoil. This will be the plan for the Ming Dynasty. , and for my future and fortune, please give me some advice." Yan Song's calm voice was like a wisp of cold wind blowing through the night, interrupting Qin Kan's chaotic thoughts, and he suddenly came back to his senses.
Qin Kan rubbed his tired eyebrows, sat unceremoniously on the stone bench in the pavilion, and said expressionlessly: "Your Majesty's life is at stake. I am extremely anxious in my heart. I have already lost my sense of proportion. How can I come up with an idea?"
Everyone in the pavilion suddenly showed a bit of embarrassment on their faces.
They heard the dissatisfaction in Qin Kan's words, and there was a hint of accusation.
Mou Bin looked around at everyone's expressions, composed his words, and then said cautiously: "Master, there are unforeseen circumstances. Since this kind of thing has happened, we have to face it. At this moment, in the leopard room, the hospital's All the imperial doctors and famous doctors are doing their best to treat His Majesty. We are discussing here to stabilize the country and people's hearts, so as not to panic after an unspeakable disaster"
Qin Kan sighed and said with a depressed expression: "I understand what you mean, but I'm in a very confused mood at the moment. If you have any rules, you can just say it. I'll listen."
??????????????????????????????????????? Everyone's eyes are on Yang Tinghe. He is the chief assistant bachelor of the cabinet. If there is a big change in the Tian family, he is the most qualified to speak.
Yang Tinghe wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, took a deep breath to calm down, and then slowly said: "First of all, what I said was in a situation where big changes may occur. If His Majesty's auspicious person and Tianxiang is safe and sound, what I said today can be invalidated. That¡¯s it.¡±
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Yang Tinghe thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "If something unexpected happens to your majesty, you must first establish a new king. The country cannot be without a master for a day, and a new king must be established as a righteous minister. It is a pity that your majesty is still in the prime of life in the Spring and Autumn Period and has no heirs. There is no succession edict left, so we can only initiate a cabinet meeting to select the one closest to His Majesty's bloodline as the new king from the vassal kings or princes from various places. I believe that all the civil and military officials in the dynasty will have no objection to this."
Yan Song, Moubin and others nodded.
"As the saying goes, 'the father will be the son,' and the so-called 'the brother will be the brother,' since your Majesty's line has no children, it can only be traced back to the generation of the late Emperor Hongzhi. In the past, Emperor Xianzong had fourteen princes. Among them, the eldest son of the emperor died early when he was less than one year old, and the second son, Prince Gonggong, also died when he was less than three years old. Later, it was the turn of Emperor Xiaozong and Hongzhi to take the throne.??Your Majesty is really in an unexpected situation, so the line of the late Emperor Hongzhi is cut off. We can only choose the new emperor from the remaining princes of the late Emperor Xianzong. In terms of order of succession, the fourth prince of the late Emperor Xianzong, Prince Xing, will be the new emperor. Well, the king of Xingxian, the one who blessed you, unfortunately passed away this year. Last month, His Majesty gave him the posthumous title of "Xian". King Xingxian was the second legitimate son of King Xingxian. The eldest son, King Yuehuai Zhu Houxi, died early five days after he was born. The second son, Zhu Houcong, naturally inherited the throne of Xingxian. The title of King is granted to Anluzhou, Huguang"
Yang Tinghe stroked his long beard and said calmly: "In terms of bloodline and age, I think the candidate for the new king is most likely the new Jixing King Zhu Houcong. This son was born in the second year of Zhengde. This year Twelve years old, it is said that he was born smart and well-behaved, a man of great ability, a man of etiquette and good sense. He is also proficient in the "Book of Filial Piety" and "The Great Learning". If something unexpected happens to His Majesty, after the cabinet initiates a court meeting and a court meeting, His Highness Prince Xing will probably die soon. I will receive the request for enthronement jointly written by the Cabinet, the Supervisor of Ceremonies and the Secretary of General Affairs."
After all, he was the chief minister of the cabinet. Yang Tinghe spoke for a long time and discussed the kings of the Zhu family in detail. Everyone in the pavilion nodded repeatedly. Everyone knew that Zhu Houcong, the king mentioned by Yang Tinghe, would eventually inherit the throne if nothing else happened. The candidate was chosen. Confucius wrote a book and established the world. He had already established the etiquette system for monarchs and ministers. The position of emperor cannot be taken by anyone who wants it. Bloodline and age are the most important. If something unexpected happens to Zhu Houzhao. The halo of luck will fall on Zhu Houcong's head without any surprise. Whether he likes it or not, he is determined to be the emperor.
Qin Kan sat quietly in the pavilion without saying a word. After hearing the name "Zhu Houcong", his face couldn't help but move slightly, and then his expression became increasingly bitter and unclear.
Zhu Houcong is the famous Jiajing Emperor in history. He came to this era and changed the original history. However, some things still happened stubbornly according to the original trajectory. Zhu Houzhao still fell into the water. And Zhu Houcong is also undisputedly qualified to inherit the throne.
At this moment, Qin Kan couldn't help but feel a little sad.
What have you changed? What is the meaning of coming to this world? Since history cannot be taken lightly, why did God choose to let him come here?
"It is the king's duty to eat the emperor's salary and be loyal to the emperor. This is the duty of a minister. We all hope that your majesty will survive this disaster. However, if the truth cannot be done, we will have to establish a new king. To stabilize the people of the world, This is also the duty of a minister. Mr. Qin, it doesn¡¯t matter what you and I think at the moment. What matters is what the people of the world think. They need the stability of the country and the presence of monarchs and ministers in the court to make this country stable and orderly. Keep moving forward, the tillers have their fields, the merchants make profits, the officials carry out their duties, the old have someone to rely on, and the young have someone to support them. These are the foundation of the country. Mr. Qin, at this time, we should put the country and the country as our top priority, and personal friendship It can only be put aside for now.¡±
Mou Bin¡¯s words made everyone in the pavilion nod in agreement, and Qin Kan could not argue with them.
Yang Tinghe stroked his beard and said: "Don't worry about the new king. This is the result. Even the cabinet meeting has this result. If something unexpected happens to your majesty, it is inevitable that the new king will ascend the throne. How can we arrange it before that? Please ask Qin Master, please get a charter."
Yang Tinghe's words were rather vague. After all, it was taboo for Zhu Houzhao to say this before he died, so he just said it implicitly.
But everyone in the pavilion understood what Yang Tinghe meant.
The ascension of a new emperor to the throne is a major event. As the saying goes, once the emperor has changed his ministers, the personnel changes in the court below must be considerable. Everyone in the pavilion is of the same party. If you want to sit in this position and serve the people for a few more years , to hold power for a few more years, now we must plan for the future.
Qin Kan¡¯s face was as sinking as water, he looked up at the dark night sky and remained silent.
It was so quiet in the pavilion that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was staring at his face, hoping to see something from the face of the prince.
As the core of a crony, Qin Kan's attitude is too important. Since Liu Jin's death, Qin Kan's performance has been very low-key, so low-key that sometimes ministers even ignored his existence, but only Yang Tinghe, Mou Bin, Yan Song and others Most clearly, Mr. Qin's low profile does not mean cowardice, but he is hiding his power and biding his time to avoid direct conflicts with the Qingliu civil servants. However, the wings of Qin Kan's party have grown rapidly in the past ten years, whether in the capital court or local officials. , Qin Kan's shadow is looming.
Such a figure who holds the power of countless lives and deaths, when faced with the imminent change of dynasty, will he choose to continue to keep a low profile, or will he take the opportunity to expand his power and become a powerful minister that even the emperor dare not offend easily?
"Don't ask me. I just said that I'm in a very confused mood right now. I really don't want to think about things that seem far away" Qin Kan paused and continued, "I only have one thing to say."
Everyone immediately straightened up and cheered up.
Qin Kan slowly looked around at everyone and said word by word: "I believe that Your Majesty will not die, and he will definitely survive this disaster. Therefore, I have no arrangements for the court, because after all, this world belongs to Your Majesty. !¡±
"What we can do is to protect this country for His Majesty until he wakes up, and we cannot give any chance to the ambitious people to cause trouble. Therefore, what I have to do is to arrange things outside but not inside."
Yan Song thoughtfully cupped his hands and said, "What you mean is"
"Send out factory guards and spies to the fiefdoms of various vassals to closely monitor every move of the vassal kings in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. If there is any abnormality, they will be questioned and executed. The twelve founding princes who commanded the regiment in the imperial city of the capital exchanged their positions. besides¡¡"
Qin Kan thought for a moment and said: "Your Majesty has no children. If something unexpected happens, the vassals, refugees and bandits from all over the country will be ready to take action. Although there are many soldiers and horses in the Tuanying of the capital, the Military and Horse Division of the Five Cities, and the surrounding Miyun Guards, in the end I am used to eating Taiping food, and my combat power is not enough. If there is a counter-terrorism attack, I am afraid that it will be difficult to deal with it. I suggest that some border troops be mobilized to Beijing to guard the capital to prevent rebellion."
As soon as Qin Kan finished speaking, Yang Tinghe, Yang Yiqing and others in the pavilion were quite surprised. Mr. Zhu Hui, the protector of the country, frowned more and more, stroking his beard without saying a word. Only Mou Bin and Yan Song exchanged words quickly in the dark. Eyes.
"Mobilizing border troops to Beijing? This" Yang Tinghe hesitated.
Qin Kan sighed: "Mr. Yang, your Majesty had the intention last year to mobilize the border troops from the four towns of Xuanfu, Datong, Yansui and Liaodong to the capital to exchange defenses with the capital's regiments and camps. In order to be justified, your majesty also issued an order to The commander-in-chief of the four towns refers to them as the 'four armies outside' in the decree. Mr. Yang, you should know all these things." (To be continued)