In the prince's residence.
"My layout is basically completed."
In just one day and one night, the prince had already contacted more than ten important ministers in order to agree with the prince's views and protect Zhou Ming's survival in the eight meetings that followed.
"Two great scholars, two ministers and one minister. This kind of support shows that His Highness is already the heart of all ministers and is a well-deserved crown prince."
The scribes on the side also congratulated immediately.
Although the prince was the crown prince in name before, the King of Chu, as an adult prince, was able to stay in the capital.
Although the prince was born to the former queen, the King of Chu was also born to the current queen and was also a direct descendant.
In terms of status, the two are not far apart.
Although the prince has the title of crown prince, everyone knows that the King of Chu is also a strong contender for the ninth-five position.
The emperor had no obvious preference for anyone, so the fight between the prince and the king of Chu was in full swing in the past few years.
This win over was not only to deal with Yang Qingyuan, but also to prove the current prince's status in the court.
When His Majesty was on the throne, there were so many people siding with the Crown Prince. When it comes time to compete for the throne and make a choice, if the Crown Prince gets support, there will definitely be more.
And as the prince's confidant, his status will definitely rise.
The prince was also slightly proud, taking advantage of the opportunity to deal with Yang Qingyuan and integrating his political resources, killing two birds with one stone.
But he forgot that the opponent at this moment was just Yang Qingyuan.
In the eyes of Changsun Fuji, Li Hongyi and two ministers, Yang Qingyuan was just a promising young official.
It can be said that under normal circumstances, when Yang Qingyuan's official career comes to an end, it is similar to that of Changsun Fuji and Li Hongyi.
So facing Yang Qingyuan, although Changsun Fuji and Li Hongyi admire him, they will never fight the prince for him.
In other words, Changsun Fuji and Li Hongyi's political investment was risk-free. Even if the prince failed, it didn't matter to them.
But if Yang Qingyuan was replaced by the King of Chu, the number of people who clearly expressed support for the prince would probably be reduced by half.
"Your Highness, someone is coming from the palace!!"
Suddenly the voice of a trusted guard sounded outside the door.
Just when the prince and scribes were proud, a mysterious man came to the palace.
"Please!"
Soon, a man in a black cloak walked into the prince's study.
"My servant pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince!"
The prince personally stepped forward to help the visitor, "My dear, no courtesy!"
The visitor took off his cloak, and it was none other than the eunuch Bingbi, Wan Gui, the chief of etiquette in the palace.
When Taizu just founded the country, he was full of energy. Even if the prime minister was abolished, he could complete all government affairs of the court and central government by himself. He could be said to be an out-and-out workaholic.
In front of Taizu, Blue Star's Jiujiuliu in later generations was nothing more than a child playing house.
However, as Taizu's age increased and his energy declined, by the end of Taizu's dynasty, Taizu could no longer handle official affairs alone as before, so the cabinet was born.
In this dynasty, Jinshang did not have the energy of Taizu, so he delegated a lot of power to the cabinet.
Except for major matters, all matters are reviewed by the cabinet and given opinions on how to deal with them.
After ordinary government affairs are handled by the cabinet, the memorial will be attached with handling opinions and then submitted to the emperor.
But the emperor still wouldn't look carefully at ordinary government affairs.
But the memorial still needed to be reviewed, so this task fell on the palace eunuchs.
This is how the eunuch Bingbi, who is the Supervisor of Ceremonies, came into being.
At present, the eunuch who holds the pen of the Supervisor of Ceremonies only approves red papers on behalf of the emperor. The eunuchs who plan to approve the red pen in regular script according to the words drafted in the pavilion vote have no independent power.
But even so, the chief eunuch of the ceremonial department was a high-ranking eunuch in the palace.
After all, it is such an honor to write on behalf of the emperor, but it is not a power that ordinary people can have.
Therefore, those who can serve as eunuchs in the ceremonial department are all important people, and this Wan Gui is the person the prince has tried his best to win over in the palace.
For the prince, the movements in the palace are particularly important, and he must know the movements in the palace as soon as possible.
The prince also attracted many people in the palace, among whom Wan Gui was the one with the highest position.
The prince spent more than three hundred thousand taels of silver in order to take this man into his sect.
Of course, Wangui took refuge in the prince not only for the three hundred thousand taels of silver, but also to realize his ambition.
Among the ceremonial eunuchs, there are many eunuchs holding the pen, but there is only one eunuch holding the seal.
The eunuch holding the seal holds the seal of the emperor. After the eunuch Bingbi marks the seal in red according to the opinions of the cabinet ministers, the eunuch holding the seal stamps the seal of the emperor.
Every eunuch with a pen wants to become a eunuch with a palm, and Wan Gui is no exception.
But the current eunuch, the eunuch in charge of rituals, is not something he can shake.
The current eunuch in charge of the ceremony is Cao Zhengchun. He is a genuine master of the Dongxuan Realm, and he has also promoted the affairs of the East Jishi Factory.
Cao Zhengchun, who is also the Supervisor of Ceremonies and the leader of Dongchang, is not comparable to Wan Gui in terms of martial arts and power.
But Wan Gui was unwilling to give up, so Wan Gui found a way.
Since this dynasty can no longer serve as the eunuch of the Chief of Ceremonies, what about the next dynasty? !
Although he has some shortcomings compared with Cao Zhengchun, Wan Gui also has his advantages.
Cao Zhengchun was loyal to the emperor and never intervened in the battles between the princes. He remained absolutely loyal and neutral. While gaining the emperor's trust, he also lost the opportunity for political investment.
Wan Gui placed his treasure on the prince.
The prince is the crown prince and the person most likely to inherit the throne. Such an investment is definitely the least risky and safest.
"My father-in-law came here all night long, what's the important thing?!"
Wangi looked around and after confirming that there was no one else except the prince and scribes, he whispered.
"Your Highness, Banzai may have left the palace!"
"What?!"
Wan Gui's words stirred up a thousand waves in the prince's heart.
It is no small matter for the emperor to leave the palace. If it is not done without the Ministry of Rites, it will be a private visit incognito. At this juncture, where can the emperor go? !
"Eunuch Wan, has this matter been confirmed?!"
Wan Gui nodded and said, "As always, one of the chamberlains responsible for accompanying His Majesty today is the godson of this slave. After he left his post, he felt that the emperor today was strange, so he came to tell this slave."
The prince and the scribe did not speak, but listened to Wan Gui's words,
"In the past, when reviewing memorials in Long Live, I would always drink three to five cups of Longjing in one night. I would have a pastry once and go to the imperial toilet twice. But today, only the first cup of tea was brought in. Your Majesty did not use any pastries. I didn’t ask for any more tea.”
The prince and scribes immediately realized the problem.
A person's habits are developed over a long period of time. Without special circumstances, habits will not be easily changed.
"Then the servant sent someone to see Governor Cao, only to find that Eunuch Cao was also missing. Also missing with him was Yu Huatian, the director of Xichang."
Cao Zhengchun of the East Factory and Yu Huatian of the West Factory, these two have always been the two most trusted eunuchs of the emperor, and they also play the role of the emperor's bodyguards.
Although Dongchang and Xichang had affairs, one of them would definitely stay with the emperor and accompany him as a guard, and there would never be a precedent of leaving together.
Now that the two of them disappeared into the palace at the same time, and coupled with the emperor's different behavior from the past, the answer seems to be obvious.
The emperor has left the palace!
Yu Huatian and Cao Zhengchun accompanied him as escorts, so everything made sense.
This news is important!
"Did your father meet anyone before he left the palace?!"
Wan Gui replied, "My slave also asked my godson. After nightfall, the emperor met successively with Master Cheng, the Chief of the Ducha Yuan, and the censor of the Right Capital, Yu DaShi, the Minister of the Ministry of War... and Yang Shaoqing, the bachelor of Wenhua Palace and Dali Temple. !”
When the last name appeared, the prince knew that something was wrong.
Cheng Qingsong, the censor of Youdu, Yu Yanyi, the bachelor of Wuyingdian, and others were all important officials in the court. If there were any urgent government affairs that needed to be reported to the emperor, it was normal to enter the palace at night.
But what about Yang Qingyuan? ! His positions are bachelor of Wenhua Palace, bachelor of Hanlin Academy, and Shaoqing of Dali Temple.
The urgent government affairs of Wenhua Palace are naturally handled by Sun Fuji, the chief scholar of Wenhua Palace University. There are no urgent matters in the Hanlin Academy.
Then it is obvious why Yang Qingyuan entered the palace.
What other cases does Dali Temple have on hand now? !
Unexpectedly, when he gathered the ministers, Yang Qingyuan had already reached out to the referee.
Regardless of the outcome of the court discussion, whether or not to kill Zhou Mingsheng is still decided by the emperor.
What if the emperor has murderous intentions towards Zhou Ming? Then his previous efforts were almost in vain.
The prince instantly felt that the three hundred thousand taels of silver he had given away had all been repaid at this moment!
This piece of information alone is worth more than three hundred thousand taels of silver.
"Thank you, Eunuch Wan, this news comes at the right time." The prince said as he walked to his desk and took out a scroll from the side.
"Eunuch Wan took the risk to come here. I will bear it in my heart. It's a small gift. I hope Eunuch Wan won't dislike it." The prince said and handed the scroll to Wan Gui.
The eunuchs in the palace, with the support of the emperor, were all literate, and also had good artistic appreciation skills. For example, Yuhuatian, although he looked cold, few people knew that he was a die-hard poet of Yang Qingyuan. fan.
Wan Gui loves calligraphy and painting.
Wan Gui took the scroll and unfolded a small section, then immediately put it away and presented it with both hands.
"Your Highness, this slave will never dare to accept such a precious gift as the "Ten Thousand Valleys Pine Wind Picture"!"
After just one glance, Wan Gui knew that this "Picture of Pine Wind in Ten Thousand Valleys" was an authentic work by Li Tang.
It is rumored that this picture has always been one of the prince's treasures, but he did not expect that it would be given to him.
The prince smiled and said, "It's just a painting. No matter how precious it is, how can it compare to the friendship that Eunuch Wan has for me?!"
Wan Gui was itching for such a treasure. After much hesitation, he accepted the painting "Pine Wind in Ten Thousand Valleys".
But in terms of the value of this picture, it could not be bought for even 300,000 taels. Wan Gui instantly felt that he had not made a mistake in being loyal to the prince.
"That slave accepted it shamelessly! Thank you Prince for the reward!"
After Wan Gui put away the painting, he said goodbye to the prince, "Your Highness, this servant cannot leave the inner palace for a long time, and is going back now! Your Highness, please take care of yourself!"
The prince nodded, "Eunuch Wan, please be careful too." After saying that, he got up and personally escorted Wan Gui to the door.
Doing this further strengthened Wangui's loyalty.
His vision was indeed correct. His Royal Highness will definitely be a wise king in the future.
Wan Gui left the East Palace moved.
But the prince felt that the matter was difficult.
Yang Qingyuan started directly from Emperor Zhou. If Emperor Zhou was really convinced by him, then all the prince's previous arrangements would be in vain.
The prince and the scribes discussed it for half an hour, but there was no concrete result.
Just when the prince was worried, a woman's voice came to the prince's ears.
"Why worry, Your Highness?! There is still a way at this moment."
The prince walked out of the study door and saw a stunningly beautiful woman standing in the courtyard, followed by a man in black.
A long light green gown is blowing in the wind, which is indescribably elegant. Looking down at the clear stream, she is calm and composed.
The elegant ancient sword hung on her back added to her heroic aura and seemed to remind others that she also had extremely high attainments in swordsmanship.
"Master Fairy!"
This person is none other than the chief of Cihang Jingzhai, Shi Fei Xuan.
After being ordered by her master to go down the mountain to deal with Yang Qingyuan and revitalize Buddhism, Shi Feixuan sneaked all the way to the divine capital.
The most important reason for the prosperity of Taoism, apart from high-end military force, is the support of the imperial court.
Taoism is the state religion of the Zhou Dynasty, and its development is naturally far superior to Buddhism.
Shi Feixuan knew that if she wanted to break the current embarrassing situation in Buddhism, she had to start from the top.
Emperor Zhou ordered the compilation of Zhou Xuan Dao Zang, and he was obviously a die-hard Taoist fan. At this moment, Shi Feixuan was just a Yuan Hua realm warrior. Even if he represented Cihang Jingzhai, he might not be able to get the emperor's attention.
So Shi Feixuan turned her target to the prince.
We can no longer count on this emperor, so let’s work hard on the next emperor!
Not only did Buddhism bet on King Zhao, but Cihang Jingzhai, headed by Shi Feixuan, also bet on the prince.
"Master Fairy! Who is behind you?!"
The prince looked at the man in black behind Shi Feixuan with confusion.
I gave Shi Feixuan a token to enter and leave the East Palace freely, but I didn't expect that she would bring in such a person of unknown origin.
"This is a wise man who can help His Royal Highness break the situation. He was invited by Fei Xuan to help His Highness. However, because of his special status, he cannot be exposed, so he can only dress like this."
Shi Feixuan knew what the prince was thinking at the moment and immediately answered.
Although he has not been in contact with Shi Feixuan for a long time, the prince still trusts Shi Feixuan, at least when it comes to matters related to Yang Qingyuan.
The purpose of Shi Fei Xuan's coming to Beijing must be related to Yang Qingyuan.
Shi Feixuan is also very satisfied with the prince. Although she is a Buddhist, Shi Feixuan still has the confidence of an ordinary little girl in her appearance.
But the prince has never looked at her lustfully, and only has the crown prince Zhou Mingyu in his heart. This makes the master concubine Xuan unhappy, but at the same time she has a very good sense of the prince, thinking that he will definitely be a wise king in the future.
"The common people have seen His Highness the Crown Prince!"
The man in black saluted the prince, "The common people learned of His Highness's predicament and came here to make plans for His Highness."
The prince frowned. He really didn't have a good way to break the situation at the moment. Why don't you listen? !
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