Time flies to March. Logically speaking, the New Year's Day has passed long ago, and all the yamen of the imperial court have returned to normal. The few vassal princes who came to 'visit relatives' in the capital have no reason to stay any longer.
But the strange thing is that the memorial from the Ministry of Rites has been submitted, and the emperor has approved it, but the specific time has never been determined.
It is said that it is because of the family ties of the Tian family that the kings are allowed to stay in the capital for a while, but the actual reason has been divided among the people in the capital.
One theory is that the vassal kings took the initiative to stay in Beijing in order to prevent the vassal reform. Another theory is that the kings were dissatisfied because the transfer of vassal status was blocked, so they stayed in Beijing to wait for the result. There are also rumors from unknown sources. It is said that it was the idea of the vassal kings to seize the official fields and make up for the losses caused by reorganizing the military camps.
In short, all kinds of news are confusing and uncertain. However, during this period, good news came out of the palace. The good concubine Li successfully gave birth to a little prince. It is said that at that time, the emperor personally went to Changning Palace to give him a name. See Ze, take the virtues of a gentleman, and spread the virtue of Ze to the world.
Together with the eldest son Hui Wang Zhu Jianji and the second son Chong Wang Zhu Jianshu, this little prince is already the third prince of His Majesty the Emperor.
It is naturally a good thing for the royal family to have many children and prosperous heirs. However, as soon as this news came out, some people couldn't sit still.
In the British palace, Zhu Yi and Zhang Xi sat opposite each other. The green smoke rose from the incense burner and swirled in the air, just like their faces at this moment.
"It can't be delayed!"
After a moment, Zhu Yi spoke first and said.
"Second Master, I said before that I would first help Second Master with the military affairs, but now it seems that I may have to put it on hold for a while."
"Because of the third prince?"
Zhang Min's expression didn't show much emotion, he seemed to have expected this, and he asked calmly.
Zhu Yi nodded slightly, as if Zhang Shi's attitude made him a little uneasy, so he added another sentence.
"This is also the intention of the Supreme Emperor."
After that, seeing Zhang Xi's face darken slightly, he explained again.
"Second Master, the birth of the third prince is nothing, but don't forget, the last time the second prince was born, the emperor directly promoted Concubine Guo to concubine Shu, but this time the concubine Xian gave birth to the prince, although the emperor still remains There are rewards inside and outside the palace, but this position...has not been touched at all!"
These words were quite meaningful, but Zhang Shi was not moved, his expression remained calm, he picked up the teacup and took a sip and said.
"This is not a strange thing. Concubine Guo has a low status. It is customary for her to become a concubine after giving birth to a prince. However, a good concubine is already a concubine. If she wants to be promoted to a noble concubine, she will be a noble concubine. But if she is promoted like this, a good concubine will become a concubine. Then she will have the same honor as Concubine Hang."
"The imperial concubine's position is important and should not be given lightly. After all, the virtuous concubine is a latecomer and has no desire to accompany her to the palace. What's more, the third prince is neither his direct descendant nor his eldest son. If the emperor was longing for an heir when the second prince was born, then this Hui, I'm afraid it's a bit worse. It seems like it's normal for the position to remain unchanged."
Although this was an explanation, it contained a hint of refutation, which made Zhu Yi frown. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head and said.
"Even for this reason, the status cannot be promoted anymore, but the virtuous concubine has a father and a brother. It is inconvenient for the palace to increase the reward, and there should always be some representation from outside the palace. However, outside the palace, there is only some gold. Silver thing, isn’t that strange?”
Zhang Min finally frowned slightly and asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I think the emperor is waiting!"
Zhu Yi pondered for a moment and then slowly spoke.
So Zhang Min followed up and asked.
"What are you waiting for?"
This time, Zhu Yi did not answer immediately, but looked up at Zhang Shi. After a moment, Fang said softly.
"Of course I'm waiting for the royal heir in the Queen's womb!"
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became stagnant.
Everyone in the government and the public knows that in addition to the Concubine Xian, there is also the Empress who is pregnant in the palace. The Concubine Xian is pregnant slightly earlier, about a month earlier than the Empress.
Now, the birth of the prince on Concubine Xian's side means that the birth of the prince on Concubine Xian's side probably won't be long.
You know, although the emperor now has three princes, they are all concubines and none of them are legitimate sons.
Therefore, the weight of the child in the queen's womb and the newly born third prince are definitely not the same.
Everyone knows this, but...
"What does the queen's ability to give birth to a legitimate son have to do with the virtuous concubine's reward?"
Zhang Min asked with a frown.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Yi sighed and continued.
"Second Master, why do you have to pretend to be Hutu?"
"Leave aside the sons of the Supreme Emperor, there are now three princes in the palace. Although the eldest prince is a commoner, he is older. Before the emperor's draft, there was only this one prince for many years. Naturally, he has always been favored. What's more, Concubine Hang's mother's family is not an official family. Quan and Don’t mention it.”
"The same goes for the second prince. His mother-in-law, Guo, was born in the draft. Although she is from a good family, she has no foundation in the court. But the third prince is different. Her mother-in-law is the commander of the left guard of the government army, Li Tong. If so, it’s comparable to the Queen’s Empress.”
"Now that the virtuous concubine has given birth to an imperial heir, if she is promoted to a noble concubine, or if her father and brother are rewarded with titles, then her status in the palace will be similar to that of Concubine Hang."
"Logically speaking, this is not a big deal. It is just a struggle for power in the harem, and it does not affect the overall situation. However, it is precisely because the emperor is unwilling to increase the reward that it shows that there is something scrupulous about it, and this scruple, This is the hidden worry for you, me and even the Supreme Emperor..."
At this point, the meaning has basically been revealed. It would be too disrespectful for Zhang Xi to continue to pretend not to understand.
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xi asked.
"So, do you think the emperor is paving the way for this possible legitimate son to be born?"
These words were really too sensitive, so Zhang Xi carefully considered his words and said them very carefully, but he finally completely solved the situation in front of him.
Zhu Yi nodded slightly and said.
"Although our dynasty has ancestral family traditions, in the past dynasties, the succession to the throne has always been unavoidable with all kinds of overt and covert struggles. The emperor is unwilling to reward the virtuous concubine. In addition to being wary of the third prince threatening the heir, I feel that there is no Other reasonable explanations."
Zhang Min fell silent. Of course he understood what Zhu Yi meant.
The inheritance of a great position naturally has its own rules and regulations, but this process is often accompanied by the light of swords and shadows, which makes people's hearts treacherous.
Apart from anything else, looking at the inheritance of these generations of the Ming Dynasty, various unexpected situations have occurred.
If everyone really abides by moral order, then how could Emperor Renzong have been walking on thin ice for decades, and how could there be rumors that "the prince is sick, you should encourage him".
When imperial power reaches its peak, many things may not change.
Although the third prince is neither heir nor eldest son, as Zhu Yi said, because of the turmoil in the draft, the concubine Xian was unexpectedly selected. Based on the status of her mother's family, she is indeed comparable to the queen. After all, when the emperor got married, he was still the late king of the vassal. That’s all.
In this way, promoting a virtuous concubine or re-employing a virtuous concubine's mother's family is actually giving the third prince an opportunity in disguise.
Although it is too early to say this now, and there are many difficulties due to the constraints of patriarchal rituals, but from the emperor's point of view, it is natural to avoid all possible risks in advance, so this risk is very small, and the same of.
Of course, whether the third prince has a chance is not the focus of Zhang Xi's current concern.
What he needs to be concerned about is what signal the emperor's 'preparation' reveals.
As Zhu Yi said, if the succession of the throne is not involved, then whether the status of the concubine is higher or lower, or whether the concubine is stronger or weaker, it actually does not affect the overall situation.
After all, the position of the East Palace is in the lineage of the Supreme Emperor and has nothing to do with the third prince. But now, the emperor is still wary of the princes fighting in advance. Even when the queen does not know whether she is a prince or a princess in her belly, he starts to deliberately Unintentionally 'paving the way', this actually means that the emperor is very likely to have already planned to change the reserve position.
Of course, they had already speculated on this before, but after all, there was no evidence. At least, judging from all the emperor's performances in the past, he strongly supported and valued Donggong Chuben.
But now, from the birth of the third prince, there are already some clues.
After a moment of silence, Zhang Xi looked up at Zhu Yi and asked.
"how do you want to do it?"
"Xunwei!"
Zhu Yi slowly uttered two words and then said.
"Although there are only a few clues about the Xian Concubine, we must take precautions. For the current plan, we still need to strengthen the power of the East Palace as soon as possible."
"During the spring hunt last year, preparations for the preparation of the young army for His Highness the Crown Prince were made. Now that the new year has passed and Yang Jie has already returned to the capital, there is no reason to delay the preparation of the young army in the East Palace."
"Now that the young army has been established, it is natural to select the honorary guards. This matter cannot be delayed any longer. Otherwise, if the Queen really gives birth to a legitimate son, it is uncertain whether this matter will be repeated."
Zhang Xi's face was a little hesitant.
Of course he knew the truth behind this. In fact, this was the reason why the Supreme Emperor had always hoped that His Highness could leave the cabinet as soon as possible after returning to the court.
After the prince leaves the cabinet, he can prepare officials and build a palace, select nobles, and prepare young troops. At the same time, he can have more contact with ministers in the court.
In this way, the East Palace can gradually build up its own team. When the prince gets older, he can gradually participate in political affairs and maintain his reputation in the court.
By that time, the Nangong Emperor will be in charge, the etiquette and laws will be perfect, and there will be help from ministers in the court. As long as His Highness the Crown Prince acts more cautiously, his position will naturally be stable.
Now it has been some time since the prince left the palace. Although the emperor was reluctant to accept the officials in the East Palace, it would be difficult to repeat the matter once it started. Therefore, after this year, the prince's palace has begun to take shape.
Although there are still many problems, such as the emperor taking the opportunity to stuff many of his own people and controlling important positions in the Prince's Mansion, the airs are finally up.
Once this shelf is erected, it will be much easier to find opportunities to replace these emperor's confidants later than without this shelf.
Then the natural next step is to prepare young troops and select honorary guards.
In fact, for them, this matter is more important than the East Palace Beifu, because the Beifu is essentially to form a team of civil servants, and the Xunwei is really related to the nobles.
only……
"It's just a slight clue. Even if a legitimate son is born, His Highness the Crown Prince has already left the cabinet to prepare for the palace, and his status cannot be changed rashly."
Shaking his head, Zhang Min didn't say it clearly, but the meaning behind his words was rejection.
"I'm afraid it's not easy for you to select the honorary guards now. But for the military government, it's almost over now and you can start the next step right away."
A look of helplessness flashed across Zhu Yi's face.
Therefore, everyone's position and identity are complicated. For Zhang Shi, his core interests lie in the Supreme Emperor and the East Palace, but his immediate interests lie above the military mansion.
After the previous lessons, Mr. Zhang now always feels that the most real thing is to have the power in his own hands.
Therefore, in this case, there was an obvious difference between the two.
Looking at Zhang Min opposite with a frown, Zhu Yi seemed to be thinking about how to persuade him. After a moment, he spoke.
"Speaking of which, I felt a little impatient about the morning memorial last time, but the second master insisted, so my uncle and I spoke out together with the second master in the court. But what was the result?"
What he said was a bit rude. Thinking of the scene of being ignored in the court that day, Zhang Xi's face also looked a little ugly.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Yifang continued to persuade.
"Second Master, I know what you want, but you can't rush this matter, and you have to figure it out slowly..."
"Xu Xu Tu Zhi?"
Zhang Min repeated it softly, but his tone was a little weird. After a moment, he sneered.
"It seems to me that the Duke of Guo doesn't take this matter to heart at all!"
"Yes, it is true that the desired results have not been achieved in the court. However, the foundation has been laid. With this memorial, Fan Guang will definitely speed up the progress. I have been watching the military mansion these days. Quickly In other words, within this half month, the detailed report can be sorted out, and once this matter is concluded, a crucial step can be taken."
"At this time, you want me to stop and focus on selecting honorary guards. Isn't it a bit too much?"
"Or maybe the Duke of Guo just talks about it and will retreat when the critical moment comes?"
Zhang Min rarely got angry in front of Zhu Yi, but what he said was indeed a bit serious.
So, Zhu Yi also fell silent.
Of course he knew what Zhang Xi was worried about. The plan he made at the beginning was to help Zhang Xi ascend to power. Until now, although there have been twists and turns, as Zhang Xi said, it has basically gone smoothly.
In this plan, there are two prerequisites. The first is to clean up the people who have been impeached by the military government. This has almost been done. Zhang Min's memorial that day was actually accelerating this process.
The most critical thing is the second prerequisite. This condition is that, at least in the recent period of time, they cannot offend the emperor.
In other words, at least to maintain the situation where the relationship with the emperor does not continue to deteriorate. After all, no matter how much preparation is made and how many favorable conditions are available to make the best of the situation, in the end, the emperor's nod is still required for military matters.
But just as they thought, if the emperor is really paving the way for this legitimate son, then by selecting the honorary guards at this time, the mother is undoubtedly provoking the emperor's sensitive nerves...
If at the end of the day, all preparations are made, but the emperor gets angry and refuses to go with the flow, then most of their previous efforts will be in vain!
