[However, you know, this is not what a prince like you should think about. 】
[No matter how powerful Prince Qi’s Mansion is, and no matter how big of a threat it poses to the imperial court, what does it have to do with you building the Prince’s Mansion? 】
[Even if Prince Qi's Mansion rebels and becomes emperor and changes dynasties, Prince Qi's surname will still be Zhu. As long as your Prince Xing's Mansion does not participate in it, you will not be implicated in any way and can still be your own prince comfortably. 】
[On June 17, the 14th year of Zhengde, your father Zhu Youji passed away at the age of forty-four. He was given the posthumous title of "Xian" and was called King Xingxian. He was buried in Songlin Mountain in the northeast of Zhongxiang City in the royal ceremony. At only twelve years old, you succeeded as King Xing and took over the palace under the assistant of the chief historian Yuan Zonggao. 】
[You thought that life would continue to be so dull. 】
[Until March 14th, the 16th year of Zhengde, Emperor Zhengde Zhu Houzhao passed away. Since Emperor Zhengde had no heirs, when he was dying, Yang Tinghe, the first assistant, anticipated the issue of successors. He quoted the principle of "brothers will last until younger brothers" in the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions". The edict was issued in name. On the day after the emperor's death, Yang Tinghe asked the chief ceremonial officer to ask the Queen Mother for an edict to officially declare you as the emperor's heir. 】
[Everything was so sudden. Before you could react, you became the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and ascended the throne in Fengtian Hall with the reign name "Jiajing". 】
Zhu Di clenched his fists. All this seemed sudden, but in fact he had been prepared for it.
Emperor Zhengde's death was not an accident in the first place!
Zhu Di felt a little emotional: The poor Emperor Jiajing, before he ascended the throne, was already doomed to be controlled by civil servants. Even Zhu Houzhao couldn't defeat the civil servants. Can Jiajing, an emperor who supported the throne, control the court?
What worries Zhu Di even more is that Jiajing's sense of Prince Qi's Mansion seems not to be very good. After such an emperor ascends the throne, will he still allow Prince Qi's Mansion to sit firmly in the southwest?
[In the first year of your accession to the throne, you started a fierce confrontation with the civil servants. 】
[You order the courtiers to discuss the title of King Xingxian of your biological father, and discuss with the civil servants headed by Yang Tinghe and Mao Cheng who should be the emperor, that is, the father in the patriarchal sense. 】
[This struggle has lasted for three years. Do you think you can’t become the emperor and your father can call you daddy? 】
[Jinshi Zhang Cong comes forward and asks you to inherit the throne without heirs. Please respect your biological father and build a royal temple in the capital. You order the courtiers to gather for discussion. Yang Tinghe and others fought hard. However, despite the objections of the courtiers, in October, you honored your biological father, King Xingxian, as Emperor Xingxian, your grandmother Xianzong's imperial concubine Shao as the empress dowager, and your mother's concubine Empress Cixiaoxian as the empress Xingxian. 】
[This three-year battle came to an end. You suppressed the momentum of the civil servants, dismissed Yang Tinghe and others, and allowed Zhang Cong, who was loyal to you, to sit in the position of chief minister of the cabinet. 】
[This is the first time in decades that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has truly monopolized power. 】
[What Wu Zong Zhu Houzhao never accomplished in his whole life was solved by you in just a few years. 】
Zhu Di was a little surprised. He had to admit that he had underestimated Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houcong.
These words seem very simple, but it is difficult to implement them.
Zhu Di could imagine how tough Jiajing's methods must be and how smart his mind must be to monopolize power in a chaotic situation, suppress civil servants, and control all power.
As for the issue of the title of King Xingxian, it became a cover. Jiajing's real purpose was to compete for power with the civil servants. In this power-playing battle, he won.
But from this incident, Zhu Di smelled something unusual.
He could feel that Jiajing was a person with a strong desire for power and control. Would such a person pretend not to see Prince Qi's palace and continue to be his emperor safely?
Before he ascended the throne, Jiajing thought he could not see Prince Qi's Mansion, because no matter how good Prince Qi's Mansion was, it had nothing to do with him as a vassal king, and he had no reason to pay attention to Prince Qi's Mansion.
Jiajing, who had just ascended the throne, thought that he could not see Prince Qi's palace because he had no power, and even if he had ideas, there was no possibility of them being realized.
But Jiajing, who now holds the power alone, has the reason and the strength to eliminate such a serious problem in Prince Qi's Mansion!
[After taking the throne, you have been diligent in government affairs, rectified the political agenda, and implemented the New Deal. The power of the ceremonial supervisors was reduced, the guarding eunuchs were abolished, the supervision system was strictly enforced, and the powers of the factory guards and the legal department were strictly separated. Paying attention to the appointment of wise ministers such as Zhang Cong and Xia Yan, you learned the lessons of the previous dynasty when the eunuchs were in power and disrupted the government. You strictly controlled the eunuchs, revived and strengthened the emperor's power, and transformed the government. 】
[You also pay more attention to selecting officials based on their character and talents. You have repeatedly issued decrees asking the ministers of the two capitals, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the foreign ministers to inquire about talented people. You said: "If there are talented people who are worthy of important positions, they should be recommended by the public regardless of their qualifications. If there is a vacancy in the official department, , it should also be used simply and appropriately, and no evasion is allowed.”]
[The originally decayed court is once again full of life, and your power is unprecedentedly strong, becoming the most powerful emperor after Yongle. 】
[If you die suddenly, or if you continue in your own state, future generations should look after you as the emperor of the ages. 】
[You have done everything the emperor should do, but your inner uneasiness is growing, and you have turned your attention to Prince Qi’s Mansion! 】
[You have to take back the power of Prince Qi’s Mansion. Only in this way will you feel at ease! 】
Zhu Di was very tired. The situation he least wanted to see happened.
Does Prince Qi's Mansion pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty?
Yes, of course!
The 100,000 Southwest Army, an army completely different from the Ming Dynasty army, was built by successive kings of Qi and possessed elite equipment. The honor established by the first king of Qiwu gave them high morale.
More importantly, they were loyal to King Qi, not the Ming Dynasty.
Once Prince Qi's Mansion rebels, the Ming Dynasty will suffer an unprecedented disaster, even worse than the invasion of Mobei!
Prince Qi's Mansion is also a descendant of the Zhu family. They have an army that sweeps the world and have a reasonable excuse for rebellion. People in the streets and alleys of the Ming Dynasty regard Prince Qi's Mansion as a model of protecting the country and ensuring peace and stability, and are deeply supported by the people.
But the reason why Prince Qi’s Mansion is so powerful is because emperors of all dynasties have acquiesced!
From Hong Xi to Xuande and Jingtai, these three emperors all acquiesced in the expansion of Prince Qi's Palace. If not for their connivance, Prince Qi's Palace would not have developed to such a troublesome level.
Could it be that these three emperors and their majesties were fools and left such a disaster to future generations?
Not really.
It's because they know that as long as Prince Qi's Mansion is in the southwest, there will be no chaos in the south of the Ming Dynasty, and the court only needs to focus on the defense of the north. There is no need to worry about dividing the troops for fighting, and it can bring unimaginable economic development to the court. Convenience, this is the trump card they left to future emperors, which can bring a ray of hope to the Ming Dynasty when the Ming Dynasty is most dangerous.
The reality was just as the three emperors expected, and Prince Qi's Mansion did not betray their trust.
Not every emperor would be as enlightened as Hong Xi, Xuande, and Jingtai, but they all chose to acquiesce.
This is because they don't have the strength to change everything.
Ming Dynasty needs stability.
As for Jiajing, it was an accident.
[The reason why the emperors of the past dynasties were unable to attack Prince Qi's Mansion was mainly because it was difficult for the Ming Dynasty to divide its forces and fight against Prince Qi's Mansion on one side and Mobei on the other. Once the Ming Dynasty invests its main army in the south and Mobei invades on a large scale, it is very likely that the Tumubao Incident of that year will be repeated. 】
[But you don’t have this worry, because Wu Zong’s great victory in Yingzhou solved the Ming Dynasty’s worries in the north. You can use troops against the south unscrupulously without worrying about the war in the north. 】
[You convened the cabinet and told the ministers very bluntly: "I am going to use troops against the southwest to take back King Qi's power. You can figure it out."]
[However, what you didn't expect was that these cabinet ministers who were promoted by themselves all united and rejected your proposal, and they all denied the use of troops against the southwest. 】
[They feel that the previous emperors of all dynasties have maintained friendly relations with Prince Qi’s Mansion, and Prince Qi’s Mansion has never had any intention of rebellion. It has always been stationed in the southwest safely to protect the Ming Dynasty. Once troops are used against Prince Qi's Mansion, it will waste people and money. If troops are sent to desert,
Forget about the north, if you send troops to the southwest, isn't this your own family fighting your own family? This is against the ancestral system. 】
[Yes, you heard it right, it goes against the ancestral system! 】
[Could it be that the imperial court’s pretending not to see Prince Qi’s Mansion has become an ancestral system? What’s the point of this! 】
[At least, that’s what the ministers think. This has been done by the ancestors of all generations. Isn't it against the ancestral system for you, Emperor Jiajing, to act recklessly? 】
Zhu Di: "..."
This ancestral system seems to have been pioneered by him?
Ahem, is this important?
unimportant!
Zhu Di really wanted to swim down the long river of time to a hundred years later, grab Jiajing's collar and yell: "Listen to my ancestors, my child, the water here is too deep, you can't control it!"
If one's own family uses troops against one's own family, wouldn't it make people laugh if word spreads about it!
Prince Qi lives well in the southwest. Not only does he have no intention of rebelling, but he also protects the south for the court, stabilizes the situation, and is beneficial to the country. Why do you have to fight him when you have nothing to do?
However, Zhu Di knew very well that Jiajing was not mentally disturbed. On the contrary, he was very sober.
An emperor like Jiajing, who was very suspicious and obsessed with power, could not possibly allow anyone who threatened him to appear in his territory.
And Prince Qi's Mansion seriously made Jiajing feel uneasy.
[You are angry. This is the first time since you took the throne that you feel that power is out of your control. 】
[You laughed and said to everyone: "I don't know when the southwest was renamed "Qi State", and the ministers of Qi State even sneaked into the Ming Dynasty's cabinet! All the important ministers in the cabinet are speaking for King Qi! "】
[You insist on using troops against King Qi despite the opposition of everyone. All those who oppose will be killed! 】
[Reluctantly, the civil and military officials could only agree and agreed to the proposal to conquer the southwest. 】
