Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 373: The Shadow of the Young Dog Appears?
"Prince Faith is a blessing in heaven, and prosperity is equal to heaven. Although he was framed by a treacherous villain and was unfortunately deposed as a prince, his glamorous tricks can never conceal the brilliance of Prince Xin. With the help of the investigation of the assassination of the two eldest princes this time... , I believe it will not be long before my emperor, Long Live, illuminated by holy candles, will issue an imperial decree, allowing Prince Xin to be re-elected as a king and return to court." Holding the wine in his hand, Master Yang Weiyuan, the imperial censor of the Yunnan Province, wiped his mouth. Like drinking honey, he respectfully held the wine in front of Zhu Youjian, who is still the King of Dishonored Faith, and said respectfully: "Your official, dare to borrow flowers and present Buddha to worship the prince with a glass of thin wine. I wish the prince will be re-appointed as soon as possible, and the grievances will be avenged!"

Before the words fell, the fifty or sixty civil and military officials present stood up scrambling to stand up, swarming in front of Zhu Youjian like a swarm, scrambling to toast the wine glass to Zhu Youjian.Tian Ji, who was actually the Minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs, shouted: "Lord Xin, I also offer you a toast, I wish you a very happy return to the throne as soon as possible!" Huang Liji, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, shouted: "Lord Xin, I wish you justice. Dexue, get back to the king soon!" Ni Wenhuan, Minister of Taichang Temple, shouted even louder, "Lord Xin, please drink the wine of Xiaguan! As early as four years ago, Xiaguan knew that you were wronged , but at that time, the officials were very soft-spoken, and the memorial for you, the lord, was sent to no avail. This time, when the emperor's dragon body recovered, the official must lead all the colleagues in the Taichang Temple to jointly sign the table as you, the lord. Avenge!" Master Ni's emotions were intense, and his tone was heroic, as if he had really written some memorial back then, calling out grievances for the trusting prince.The other civil and military officials next to him are not much better than him, their expressions are more colorful than one, and their tone is more impassioned. The hall of Zhu Youjian's old letter palace was so noisy that the sky was dim and the sky was dark, and there was no light day and night.

In fact, we can't completely blame these grassroots officials for their lack of principle and poor character. The main reason is that the current situation in the capital is too complicated and delicate. Two of the three sons died in one breath, and the last one was rumored to be not the emperor's own, but a wild species from the people. The king of abolition, who had been sentenced to political death, also received the emperor's only brother. A chance for Xianyu to turn around!What's more important is that just after the news that the third prince Zhu Cikun was not the real son of Emperor Tianqi came out on the eighth day of December yesterday, at noon today, when Zhu Youjian entered the palace to meet the emperor's brother and wife, he was temporarily in charge of Mingxizong's Zhang Yan, the queen of national power, issued a decree again, giving Zhu Youjian the residence of the abandoned Xinwang Mansion where Zhu Youjian lived!All kinds of circumstances add up, even if Zhu Youjian doesn't want a group of sycophants or fools who are unwilling to lose power and dreams to go further, it will be difficult. ——Of course, if these people knew that Zhang Yan had given back the Prince Xin's Mansion only to temporarily stabilize Zhu Youjian, they would probably disperse in a hurry and run away cleanly in the blink of an eye.

Looking at the big and small officials scrambling to flatter, Zhu Youjian, who was speaking polite words, smiled very happily, as if he had returned to the moment when he almost became the emperor more than four years ago.But what made Zhu Youjian very dissatisfied was that there were too few civil and military officials who came to celebrate his return to his former residence today. Only less than [-]% of the [-] officials in the capital came. At that time, hundreds of civil and military officials generally flocked to Xinwang's mansion.After thanking the officials and drinking a toast, Zhu Youjian left the lobby under the pretext of going to the toilet, and winked at Feng Quan who was present. Feng Quan understood, and quickly followed into the back hall, asking Zhu Youjian: " Your lord, do you have any orders?"

"Old Feng Ge, why are there so few people here?" Zhu Youjian asked dissatisfiedly: "Aside from other things, even more than half of the household officials in your hands have not come. Did they come to congratulate you?" , this king doesn't care, but you also know the current situation, what this king needs is the support of all officials, and the support of this king's popularity in the court. Those who don't come, don't they make it clear that they don't want to support this king? "

"My lord, you should spare the old minister. It would be nice to have more than 50 people here." Feng Quan said with a sad face: "Let's not say that you haven't officially restored the prince, most officials still have concerns and dare not come, just say The current situation in the capital. The case of the three princes has not yet been finalized, and no one can say for sure about the emperor's condition. Your chance of succeeding to the throne is still very slim. You cunning old foxes, who dares to bet casually? They are not afraid of following the wrong person, and the original crime of exile has become the crime of ransacking the house?"

"Then you go to the event!" Zhu Youjian said angrily: "The list that the king gave you has more than 200 names of officials. You take people to look for them one by one and tell them that as long as they Support this king to inherit the throne, after this king successfully ascends the throne, I will definitely not forget their contributions! I will definitely not treat them badly!"

"The veteran will try his best to try again." Feng Quan agreed, wiping away his cold sweat, and reminded: "But my lord, don't blame the old lord's resignation, whether you can win the support of the civil and military officials in the court mainly depends on your own efforts! Moreover, today is already the ninth day of the lunar new year. Counting the time, Zhang Haogu will be able to return to the capital in four or five days. With the treachery and shrewdness of that boy Zhang Haogu, it will be a breeze to turn over the iron case! At that time, you will not only have no hope of succession, my lord, but you will also have consequences that even the veterans can't even imagine."

"Understood, I will work hard." Thinking of his sister-in-law's kindness and meticulous care for him when he entered the palace at noon today, Zhu Youjian replied with great confidence.Feng Quan was skeptical, so he had to suggest again: "My lord, the old minister thinks that if you can successfully persuade the emperor and empress to give you an imperial edict like last time, then you will be sure to win No matter how great Zhang Haogu is, he turned the case of the princes over."

"Of course the king knows this." Zhu Youjian replied confidently, and then ordered: "Well, in the next few days, you and I will work separately, and you continue to contact the old department for the king. Persuade them to renew their allegiance to the king. The king is also focusing on the case of the three princes, trying to persuade the emperor's wife who cares about the king like a loving mother to let the emperor issue a will." After speaking, Zhu Youjian thought for a while, and then Added: "Also, the king intends to hold a grand banquet in Prince Xin's Mansion two days later, that is, on the twelfth day of December, to entertain the officials and celebrate the king's return to his former residence. With this reason, those fools Even if you can’t think about it with the wait-and-see faction, it’s okay.”

"Wonderful!" Feng Quan's eyes lit up, and he said happily, "Your Highness is indeed a wise man. This is a good idea. As long as you use this idea to bring all the civil and military officials into Prince Xin's mansion to have a banquet, they will be stamped with you, Lord Xin." It will be much easier for the veterans to connect and organize them to support you, my lord." Zhu Youjian smiled happily, and was also very proud of the ingenious plan he came up with, forcing the court to stand on the sidelines. trick.

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In the early morning of the next day, Emperor Tianqi, who was seriously ill, still did not convene the morning court—this was the sixteenth consecutive day that Tianqi had not attended the court. In addition, the illness of Emperor Tianqi revealed intentionally or unintentionally in the court, and almost every civil and military official was worried. I understand that Emperor Tianqi, who has suffered severe mental blows, may find it difficult to survive this winter this time.In the face of such a situation, Zhu Youjian, as the only younger brother of Emperor Tianqi, not only did not feel too much pain, but also had a little bit of secret joy. The dossier entered the palace, ready to give a big surprise to the seriously ill elder brother!But it is a pity that even if Zhu Youjian entered the Qianqing Palace, he still had no chance to see his brother who was seriously ill. Zhang Yan, who was guarding alone beside Emperor Tianqi's sick bed, only met him in the side hall of the Qianqing Palace.

"Sister-in-law, how is Brother Huang's condition?" After the salute, Zhu Youjian immediately said hypocritically: "I wonder if Sister-in-law can let my ministers go to the side of Brother Huang's sick bed, and see with her own eyes the current condition of Brother Huang?" Condition."

"Your brother's illness is still the same. He is groggy all day long, unconscious, and coughs constantly when he wakes up." Zhang Yan said kindly: "The imperial doctor said that the emperor must take a good rest for this illness. Tired at the slightest bit, so you should wait a little longer, Brother Wang, when your brother recovers from his illness and regains consciousness, my sister-in-law will immediately send someone to announce that you will come to the palace to have an audience with him."

Although Zhang Yan did not show the slightest resentment, and her tone and attitude were still very kind, but Zhu Youjian, who has always respected his sister-in-law, still had a thought, that is, for the first time, he found that his beautiful, almost delicate sister-in-law was a bit hateful——If the sister-in-law let himself When I met my brother, I told my brother about the third prince, and my brother, who was seriously ill, might pass on the throne to me immediately.In desperation, Zhu Youjian had no choice but to hold out a stack of case files, and said respectfully: "Sister-in-law, my younger brother entered the palace today to report the case of the three princes. Yesterday afternoon, after careful interrogation by my younger brother, the temptress Hou Er, the husband of Kebaba, and Ke Guangxian, the brother of the seductress, have also confessed, admitting that the Hakka family secretly planned the assassination of the eldest prince Zhu Ciyan and the second prince Zhu Ciwei, and also explained the place where the murder weapon was hidden. Ke Guangxian also confessed that they did help the concubine Ke have an affair with the villain Ximen Ding, impregnating the concubine Ke and pretending to be the prince. This is the confession that Hou Er and Ke Guangxian drew up. Please read it to the emperor's wife and pass it on to the emperor on behalf of the minister .”

"Transfer to the emperor? Do you really want your brother to die of anger?" Zhang Yan was angry in her heart, but her face remained calm. After reading the case file and statement carefully, Zhang Yan asked again: "Brother Wang, what do you want?" Has the family of the guest prostitute been tortured? Could these confessions be tortured by you?"

"The ministers only imposed some minor punishments on them, and did not dare to impose major punishments." Zhu Youjian said with some guilt: "The reason why they confessed is mainly because they are afraid of the majestic power of the emperor and the imperial code of Ming Dynasty. So the ministers only used some minor punishments, and they confessed quickly."

"That's good." Zhang Yan put down the case file and statement, and said with a satisfied expression: "These things will be placed here with my sister-in-law first, and I will ask your brother to make a decision after his illness recovers. This case involves the privacy of the palace. , there must be no public trial, it can only be decided by your imperial brother, so don't rush to hand over the case to the San Judicial Division, and don't interrogate the criminals again, leave them a dog's life for the time being, and wait for your imperial brother to decide how to deal with them .”

"Don't transfer it to the Third Law Division for the time being?" Zhu Youjian was a little dumbfounded. If the case is not immediately handed over to the Third Law Division, naturally it will not be settled quickly, and Zhu Youjian's contribution to solving the case cannot be rewarded immediately. More importantly, However, the identity of the third prince's illegitimate child could not be confirmed immediately, and it was still a huge obstacle for Zhu Youjian to ascend the throne of the emperor's younger brother.But Zhang Yan couldn't help saying, stood up and yawned and said, "Brother Wang, my sister-in-law stayed up all night last night because of the illness of the emperor. She was too tired, so I went down to rest first. You resigned, go home and wait for you. Brother Huang has regained his senses, and sister-in-law will immediately send someone to send you into the palace."

"Sister-in-law, my brother dares to ask again." Zhu Youjian didn't know where the courage came from, and he knelt down in front of Zhang Yan with a plop, and said cautiously: "Now the third prince has confirmed that he is the guest concubine and the troublemaker. The bastards born of fornication, the eldest prince and the second prince have already been murdered by the evil woman, and the younger brother dared to ask the emperor's wife... When the time comes, the Ming Dynasty will never fall into the hands of a foreigner... Plant it in your hand?"

After asking this question, Zhu Youjian also knew that he was too direct, and he was so nervous that he almost stopped breathing.Zhang Yan turned away her pretty face, both shocked and angry in her heart, "The fox's tail is finally exposed. Your brother is still eyeing his throne!" After trying to calm down the anger in his chest, Zhang Yan Yan didn't look back, but just said lightly: "If that day really comes, I, as the sister-in-law and the Zhu family's daughter-in-law, will of course have to make decisions for the Zhu family's brother-in-law."

After all, Zhang Yan left without looking back.Zhu Youjian was so happy that he almost fainted, knowing that his sister-in-law had given him a clear answer. On that day, his sister-in-law would be the Queen Mother, and with her support for his succession, what else could civil and military officials say?And before that, the sister-in-law may encourage the emperor to issue a will to confirm her identity as the emperor's younger brother. If she can do this, then her throne will be even more unshakable!In ecstasy, Zhu Youjian even forgot to thank Zhang Yan, knelt there trembling all over, unable to stand up for a long time.But what Zhu Youjian didn't know was that when his sister-in-law, who had just promised to support his succession, looked at him slightly from the corner of her eyes, not only did she lose the kindness and love of the past in her beautiful eyes, but also full of Resentment and contempt......

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With the personal promise of the queen's sister-in-law, Xin Wang's party suddenly gained a lot of confidence. Even Feng Quan, who was also treacherous and cunning, heaved a long sigh of relief after hearing the news, and hurriedly urged Zhu Youjian to be diligent Entering the palace, diligently connect with elder brother and sister-in-law, and try to get the edict of succession before Young Master Zhang returns to Beijing.At the same time, in order to build a team for Xinwang and build momentum for his succession, the Xinwang party also used the excuse of Zhu Youjian’s rejoicing to return to his former residence to spread wedding invitations and invited civil and military officials from all sizes in the capital to the Xinwang Mansion on the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month. Celebrating Zhu Youjian's return home.Of course, the drunken man’s intention is not to drink, even the poor Hanlin and the poor halls of the Imperial Academy who like to use a pair of shoe soles as gifts, eat and drink for nothing, and the poor officials of the Imperial College understand that the wedding banquet of the Prince of Xin It doesn't taste good, if you don't make it right, you may eat your head!

Why do you say eat your head?Everyone knows that since ancient times, the battle for the throne has always been the most cruel and ruthless. At the sensitive moment of the succession of the throne, if you make a slight mistake and choose the wrong support object, after the new emperor ascends the throne, the first batch of people to be dealt with It is these officials who are in the wrong position, ranging from being dismissed from office to dismissing their posts, to killing their heads and ransacking their homes. There are many typical unlucky people in history. A lesson that wasn't bloody?And Zhu Youjian's various actions after his strong return this time, it is almost clear that he is staring at the throne. At the same time, although Tian Qi is seriously ill, he has not died. With such a complicated background, except for a small number of careerists who are looking forward to climbing high branches and jumping into the dragon's gate, most of the civil and military officials who do not seek merit but do not seek fault, I am afraid that the most hope is that they will never receive a letter from the prince. Please post it.

Is it a blessing or a curse? It’s a disaster that can’t be avoided. No matter how these neutral officials pray to gods and Buddhas to invite great immortals, the invitations for the prince are still sent door-to-door to the eight hundred officials in Beijing. Send a sedan chair to pick it up!As a result, most of the neutral officials were dumbfounded. Go ahead, and you will be branded with the brand of King Xin. If you don’t go, if King Xin really sends a sedan chair to pick you up, you will be forcibly carried in by King Xin’s sedan chair. In Prince Xin's Mansion, the suspicion of Zhu Youjian's hard-core buddy can't be escaped!For a while, many officials felt that they were pushed to the cusp of the storm, pushed onto the narrow path with cliffs on both sides, unable to enter or retreat, and did not know what to do...

These actions of Zhu Youjian, of course, cannot escape the eyes of the officials of the Royalist Party and the Gou Shao Party. Wang Liaoxin, a great ambitious man who peeps at the throne, is helpless at the same time. He doesn't know how to fight Zhu Youjian's arrogance, let alone how to warn all officials not to get too close to Zhu Youjian.And Gou Shaodang held an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.

"The purpose of the abolished letter king is very clear, that is to gather popularity, win over people's hearts, cultivate power, build momentum and establish a foundation for him to inherit the throne." Song Xiance said with a gloomy face, "If he succeeds, then be conservative. It is estimated that on the day of the banquet, there will definitely be a lot of nonsense who have wavered in his arms, and his strength will at least double! Originally, these nonsense were just dispensable and small roles for us, but we must We must prevent the big fish from being hooked by the King of Bad Letters! At the same time, we have to make a more critical point, that is, the emperor who is seriously ill dies suddenly, so before his master returns to the capital, the King of Bad Letters who is out of control can If you can’t turn salted fish over, then no one can tell.”

"Master Song, why don't we expose King Xin's crimes now? Let the emperor deal with him!" Yu Huang suggested.Song Xiance frowned and replied: "This is a way, but we don't have conclusive evidence in our hands to prove that the king of abolished letter is the murderer who assassinated the eldest prince and the second prince, and there is no way to prove that the king of abolished letter is planning to usurp the throne, everything is just speculation And circumstantial evidence proves that these things are handed over to the sick and confused emperor. Not only will it be difficult to overthrow the abolished letter king, but it may also be self-defeating, causing the emperor who values ​​family affection to actually appoint the abolished letter king as the emperor's younger brother and let him inherit the throne! If that’s the case, we’re really going to be on our way.”

"That's right, especially if the emperor is so sick, if he knows that his younger brother has done so many outrageous and brother-in-law things." Liu Ruozai also objected: "Then the emperor might be angered by his This brother is furious to death, in this way, we will not only harm the father, but also help the king of waste faith in turn!"

"But we can't just sit around like this?" Xiao Chuan said in a dilemma: "I went to my brother-in-law's house just now, and my brother-in-law also received an invitation from the King of Bad Letters. Now my brother-in-law is both hesitant and embarrassed. , I don’t know whether I should go or not. In addition, Xu Xianchun, Cui Yingyuan, and Yang Huan from the Zhenfu Division also received invitations. The 22 guards all have their own forces, and as long as one of them is pulled over by the King of Bad Letters, the King of Bad Letters will have an internal response in the palace."

"This is indeed a big problem. Xu Xianchun and the others are Jiu Qiansui's hard-core buddies. Now that Jiu Qiansui has fallen, they are in a state of panic. If the King of Bad Letters reaches out to them, there is no guarantee that they will not be tempted." Song Xiance nodded, and then Frowning, he said, "However, how should we destroy this move of the King of Dishonored Letters? Count on the Duke of England and the Empress, what if the King of Dismissed Letters' actions are supported and tacitly approved by them?" Thinking of this, Song Xiance, who obviously lacked contact with the royalist party, couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat, thinking that if Zhang Weixian and the queen really planned to support the abolished king's succession to the throne, then there would be too much trouble.

"Master Song, do you have any orders from Tanhualang?" Li Shi's representative Gao Dawei said: "Godfather often said that Tanhualang is definitely the most intelligent person in Ming Dynasty, and no problem can trouble him. As long as you follow his orders, you will be right."

"Eunuch Gao, don't be afraid if you tell me." Song Xiance smiled bitterly and said, "Since Nine Thousand Years was paralyzed, my master has never issued an order to my students, and my master once said that he has a way to expose the useless letter." Wang’s crimes and conclusive evidence have not been seen so far. The students are even a little worried now, worried that the host is annoyed at the students for deliberately ignoring Jiu Qiansui, causing Jiu Qiansui to suffer from a stroke and paralyzed. Revenge!"

"What else is there?" Gao Dawei, Yang Zuoji and others present were startled.Song Xiance said with a wry smile: "Your lords and Eunuch Gao don't have to be afraid, you are all confidantes and close friends of the Dong family, and the Dong family will not abandon you. Besides, it is also true that Jiu Qiansui was paralyzed by accident this time. It came from my own idea, and I made it on my own initiative. If the boss really wants to investigate, I will take care of it alone, and it will not implicate the adults and father-in-laws."

"That's good." The Gou Shao Party officials and Gou Shao Party eunuchs present all breathed a sigh of relief, and thought that Young Master Zhang was really good to his friends and party members, so they didn't worry too much.At this time, Song Jin, the deputy admiral of Dongchang, who was going to arrange manpower to monitor the movement of Fei Xinwang's party feathers, also rushed to the venue. As soon as he entered the door, he held up an invitation card and asked, "Master Song, what are you doing? Are you doing this on purpose? Is King Xin playing against Taiwan?"

"What kind of confrontation did I have with the King of Bad Letters?" Song Xiance asked inexplicably.Song Jin brightened the invitation in his hand, and asked suspiciously: "You asked Brother Zhang's father, Mrs. Zhang, to treat guests on the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, and to invite all officials in the capital on the same day as King Feixin to celebrate Brother Zhang's 53rd birthday, didn't you? What is deliberately going against the King of Bad Letters? Don’t tell me, you didn’t come up with this idea?”

"I didn't come up with such an idea?" Song Xiance was startled at first, then his body was shocked again, and he slapped his thigh fiercely and shouted: "Wonderful! Why didn't I think of such a brilliant idea? I deliberately let the old lady of the boss and the waste King Xin invited guests and all the officials on the same day, which not only allowed those officials in the capital who were riding a tiger to step down, but also took the opportunity to strengthen the strength of the boss and us, weaken the potential of the abolished Xinwang, and even disrupt the wishful thinking of the abolished Xinwang Abacus! Who came up with such a brilliant idea?"

"Master Song, please wait! Why can't I understand?" Yu Huang asked in a daze, "Brother Zhang's grandpa and King Feixin had a treat on the same day, so why did they get down the steps of the officials in the capital? So what?" Did you mess up the wishful thinking of the King of Bad Letters? Don’t tell me that the old Mrs. Zhang, who has no official position, can stand against the King of Bad Letters in the official arena.”

"Master Yu, you are so confused! The officials went to the master's mansion for a banquet, did they really go for the face of Mrs. Zhang? Isn't it for the face of the master!" Song Xiance said happily: "You guys Think about it, what is the purpose of the waste letter king's treat, to build momentum for him to seek the court and usurp the throne! Mrs. Zhang's treat is only to celebrate the birthday of the boss's aunt, and the officials in the capital can't tell which is more important? What's more amazing is that the master has a large army in his hand, and he has just made a great achievement in exterminating the slaves. It is only logical that all the officials will accept his invitation, and by the way, there is also a chance to climb up to the high branch of the great hero of the master! As for the Banxin King’s side, it’s clearly a Hongmen Banquet, if you don’t eat well, you may lose your head, all officials have an excuse from the owner’s side, and they will only go to the Hongmen Banquet of the Banxin King if they are stupid!”

"That's right!" Lin Yuji over there also came to his senses, and said pleasantly, "This trick is really clever. If it were me, I would definitely choose to send someone to Xinwang's mansion to give gifts, and I would go to Mr. Zhang's mansion to have a banquet by myself, and avoid it." The coercion and win over of the King of Bad Letters. When the sky falls, there will be a tall Master Zhang to support him, so the position will never be wrong!"

"That's right, this is indeed a good idea." After Song Xiance and Lin Yuji's explanation, the members of the Gou Shao Party present also came to their senses, and all of them beamed with joy.Song Xiance said excitedly again: "There is another point that is the most amazing thing. The reason why the King of Dishonored Letters is so arrogant in the capital is because after the downfall of Nine Thousand Years, no one in the capital dared to confront him. Deliberately singing against him is to confront him head-on from the standpoint of the Nine Thousand Years-old heir, and many people in the capital must have noticed and resented the abolished letter king's desire to seize the heir. Now that they have the backbone of the master, do they still need to be afraid of the King of Failing Faith?"

"This trick kills two birds with one stone. It not only disrupted the wishful thinking of King Xinxin, but also stabilized the hearts of the court. It can even drive King Xin to a desperate situation, forcing him to take risks and expose his flaws!" Song Xiance said. The more excited he was, he laughed loudly and said: "The day after tomorrow, there will be a good show in the capital! Who figured out such a wonderful move?"

(End of this chapter)