Gao Zhong thought for a long time, then picked up the imperial edict on the table and studied it for a long time. He turned around, bowed to Huo Zheng and said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan, which can be solved once and for all. It can not only eliminate Yang Lin's people, but also Once you gain the new monarch's complete trust, from now on Enxiang, no one will be able to challenge your position within or outside the new dynasty."
When Huo Zheng heard this, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh? I'd like to hear the details."
Gao Zhong took a glass of water, made it sticky, and used his finger as a pen to write four words on the table: "Establish a new king."
After Huo Zheng looked at it, the turmoil in his heart never calmed down for a long time. He raised his head and took a deep look at Gao Zhong, and saw that his expression remained the same.
After all, Huo Zheng had been in power for many years, but he still calmly rebuked: "Gao Chong, what do you mean? This is a serious crime of genocide. Do you want to put my entire clan in a place of eternal destruction?"
Hearing this, Gao Zhong smiled slightly and said, "Don't be anxious, Mr. En. Let me explain the stakes slowly."
Huo Zheng pondered for a long time, and then his heart moved: "Okay, I'd like to hear your opinion."
Gao Zhong said: "Enxiang, the affairs of the court are yours at the moment. The late emperor did not clearly appoint anyone as the crown prince before his death. The country is not upright. The so-called new king, which prince to welcome to the throne is just a matter of your thoughts. The only thing I worry about is how to explain things to the government and the public, but now we have three major benefits for re-establishing a new king."
"First, the new ruler has no foundation to speak of in the court. The new king he establishes must obey your advice. From now on when a new dynasty is established, Enxiang must speak his mind in the court."
"Secondly, if the benevolent minister imitates the ancestors and assists the new monarch in ascending the throne, then he can enjoy the merit of supporting him alone."
"Third, we can use the name of the new king to completely eliminate dissidents in the court, which is justifiable."
Hearing this, Huo Zheng shook his head and said: "The truth is that I was just a commoner in the past. In the era of other countries, I was just a small prison guard in Chen Guoyi. It is only because of the late emperor's appreciation and respect that I have reached my current prominent position. The late emperor told me on his deathbed , I dare not forget, how could I be so virtuous and capable, how could I dare to do such a treasonous and unethical thing? I ask myself that my loyalty to the late emperor is unparalleled among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and I am even more loyal to our country, the Jin Dynasty. I call you here today. I came here to discuss how to deal with Yang Lin, so don’t mention the matter of abolishing the establishment."
Gao Zhong stamped his feet and persuaded him earnestly: "Oh! My Lord Xiangguo, once an emperor and a courtier, if Lord An Guo succeeds to the throne, it will be a matter of time for you, Enxiang, to lose power. Lord An Guo only needs to gain more wings and secure his position." , will definitely reuse the Yang family's relatives, even if you get rid of Yang Lin now, as long as An Guojun's position is stable, it only takes one word to re-activate Yang Lin, why are you doing all this useless work? "
"When Yang Lin comes to power, he will definitely take revenge on Mr. Xiangguo. Mr. Xiangguo, please think about it. The left general Yichenghou Yang Lin is the uncle of Anguojun, and the Wuchenghou Yang Yan is the father-in-law of Anguojun. Now he is also a border soldier. Commander-in-Chief, his daughter is the head wife of Lord An Guo, and will definitely be the queen of the new dynasty in the future."
"Lord Xiangguo, let me ask you, are you the one who loves me in the eyes of the new king? Or do the Yang brothers love me in the eyes of the new king? Once the Yang brothers gain power, how will the king deal with himself? Enxiang, Gao is so sincere. Every sentence comes from the bottom of my heart, Sir, please make a clear decision?"
When Huo Zheng heard this, his face seemed to be slightly moved. He picked up the late emperor's edict on the table and held it in his hand for a long time. He couldn't let it go. He thought of the late emperor's instructions before his death. How could he abolish the imperial edict for such selfish reasons? It was really difficult for him to convince himself in his heart that it was not impossible to let Yang Lin go if it didn't work. At least he could welcome a new king and be able to follow the dragon. Presumably Lord An Guo would not treat him badly after he came to power.
When Gao Chong saw that Huo Zheng was still looking at the edict in his hand, hesitating and silent, Gao Zhong simply turned his head and grabbed the edict, ran to the brazier, lit the edict of succession and burned it. Huo Zheng was shocked when he saw this. He got up, quickly rescued the edict, took off his coat and put it over the edict to extinguish the flames, only to see that the edict was half burned.
Huo Zheng was so angry that he stood up, pointed tremblingly at Gao Zhong, and cursed angrily: "You... you are so bold... you are so bold? Don't you know that destroying the edict is a capital crime?..."
Gao Zhong calmly said: "Master Xiangguo, of course I, Gao, know what the crime is. Once the edict is destroyed, it will be destroyed. Just write a new one. If Master Xiangguo does not listen to me, there will be disaster in the future. The Yang brothers have gained power, and I, Gao, have been following Enxiang for many years, and I will be unavoidable when the time comes. Gao is not only saving Enxiang, but also saving myself!"
When Huo Zheng heard the words "disaster of annihilation" coming from Gao Zhong's mouth, he was stunned for a moment. In fact, he himself understood the stakes, but his unconditional loyalty to the late emperor prevented him from doing anything that would betray the late emperor. thing.
He looked at the dilapidated edict of succession in his hand, and thought of the three sons and one daughter under his knees. He also thought of how he had been walking on thin ice for so many years and finally climbed to the high position of Prime Minister Zuo. He was below one person and above ten thousand people. Now he only had his own heart. If you are more ruthless, your wealth will be preserved and your descendants will be blessed. Huo Zheng was struggling in his heart and his hands were trembling.
Then Huo Zheng calmed down, closed his eyes and said to himself: "Your Majesty, I am guilty. I have betrayed your trust..."
After saying that, Huo Zheng threw the other half of the edict that he had finally rescued into the brazier. In an instant, the flames in the brazier rose into the sky. As the flames burned, the edict turned into a piece of black fly ash and was burned at the same time. The loyalty to the late emperor in his heart...
Seeing this, Gao Zhong was secretly relieved.
Huo Zheng watched helplessly as An Guojun's edict of passing the throne was turned into ashes. He was silent for a long time. Since he was determined to abolish the throne secretly, he simply put his hands aside to maximize the benefits.
After a long time, Huo Zheng regained his composure, turned around and looked at Gao Zhong and said in a deep voice: "Gao Zhong, business matters are urgent right now. The country cannot be left without a master for a day. We must seize the time to rewrite the new imperial edict to correct the throne. The throne of the king is to calm the hearts of the people in the world."
Gao Zhong heard this and said, "Does Enxiang have a suitable candidate in mind?"
Huo Zheng pondered for a while and said: "I think that Mrs. Xu's son, Prince Yin, who is the sixteenth among the late emperor's princes, is smart and well-behaved, and is worthy of a great responsibility."
Gao Zhong secretly laughed when he heard this. Young Master Yin was only ten years old. Huo Xiang most likely wanted to establish a ten-year-old baby emperor. He couldn't take charge immediately so that he could be in power all year round. What could he be worthy of? What the hell does a ten-year-old kid know? It's just nonsense. If you really do this, you are basically swearing to the world that Huo Zheng wants to monopolize power and hold the emperor hostage to order the princes.
Gao Zhong objected categorically: "Mr. En, this is absolutely impossible. In order to stop everyone in the world from talking about it, except for Young Master Xiu, we should welcome the late emperor's adult prince. If we raise a baby who is still in his infancy, I am afraid that the courtiers will People will think that the prime minister is suspected of being dictatorial and disrupting the government, and it may be difficult for the government and the public to convince the public. Moreover, our court has the practice of the queen mother coming to the court to take the throne. If the young master Yin is established, Mrs. Xu will have to rely on the mother and son to honor her. As the Queen Mother, Mrs. Xu will be behind the curtain to listen to the government. It may be difficult for you, Enxiang, to monopolize the power of the government. Gao thinks that the current priority is given to the adult princes of the late emperor."
When Huo Zheng heard this, he immediately realized that it was okay to have exclusive power, and the court had a system to establish heirs and elders. In any case, the late emperor still had several adult princes. No matter how senior they were, it was not the turn of a ten-year-old baby to succeed. If you really want to do this, then you, Huo Xiangguo, are really Sima Zhao's heart. Everyone knows it. By then, let alone controlling the government, you will definitely end up with a fate that is undeniable. Huo Zheng does have power over the government and the opposition, but with his current situation. The power is not enough to cover the sky with one hand. If you dare to put a little kid up there, you may cause a lot of trouble.
Thinking of this, Huo Zheng immediately agreed: "Yeah! It makes sense, but the truth was ignored."
Huo Zheng asked again: "Then who among the late emperor's princes do you think is worthy of a big position?
Gao Zhonghao calmly said: "Your Majesty, only Mr. Anlehou, Prince Sheng, who is a vassal in Zhixian County, can be worthy of this great responsibility."
Huo Zheng frowned and said, "Oh? Why him? Is there no other choice among the adult princes of the late emperor now?"
Gao Zhong analyzed: "En Xiang, among the adult princes of the late emperor, apart from the ninth prince An Guojun and his son Xiu, there are only three remaining princes: the seventh prince, the prince Zhe, the twelfth prince, the prince Zhuo, and the fourteenth prince, Anlehou, the prince Sheng. In fact, we have no choice but to choose Young Master Sheng. The seventh prince, Young Master Zhe, was sent to the mountain to practice Taoism very early by His Majesty. If he is appointed, he may not be able to convince the public, not to mention that he may not accept our arrangement. Besides, , the power of the Pang family behind his mother's family, Mrs. Pang, is not small. The Pang family is an old noble family from the Three Jin Dynasties and has quite a reputation in the military. It is difficult for us to control it."
"The twelfth prince, Young Master Zhuo, has a violent temperament, moody temperament, frivolous behavior, and no appearance of a king. When the late emperor was still alive, he openly molested Princess Zhennan because of the visit of envoys from all nations, and he was deposed because of this. Common people, the late emperor did not like Young Master Zhuo during his lifetime. If this person succeeds to the throne, it will not be a blessing to the country, and the courtiers will probably be more suspicious of our motives."
"Although Young Master Zhuo is a useless person, his biological mother, Mrs. Li, is the sister of the later general Li Fu. His son Li Li is the prince-in-law of the dynasty. The eighth generation of the Li family has been the general of our dynasty. Their influence in the army is intertwined. The Li family in Luling is also the third generation. After becoming an old scholar in the Jin Dynasty, I am worried that if he is made emperor, he will have to respect his mother, Mrs. Li, as the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother will take the throne when she comes to the court, and she may not be able to control her at that time. The power behind her is even worse than that of the Pang family."
Gao Zhong's implication is that from the standpoint of the late emperor, even if the late emperor was alive, he would never be able to make this son the king. What's more, there is a powerful force of relatives behind Gongzi Zhuo, so it cannot be considered.
Gao Zhong took the analysis and said: "Then there are only fourteenth princes left, Prince Sheng of Anlehou. Enxiang, you also know that Prince Sheng was more favored by His Majesty when he was in the capital. At one time, Prince Sheng, who had not made any achievements, was inexplicably canonized. Lord Changping once aroused criticism from both the government and the public. After the Taiji Palace Incident, the late emperor broke the iron rule that no one could seal the clan and conferred the title of Marquis of Anle on Prince Sheng. This favor was unique even among the princes. I boldly guessed In the eyes of the late Emperor, Gongzi Sheng is very likely to be the best candidate for the crown prince after Gongzi Xiu. If we support him as the new king, at least it will make sense on the surface, and the government and the public will not be too suspicious. also."
"Secondly, Young Master Sheng has basically no foundation in the court except his uncle Zhao Chu. Zhao Chu is an upright man and has a good reputation in the court. He is also one of the auxiliary ministers appointed by His Majesty. If we insist on establishing his nephew as emperor, he will definitely be able to be used by us. On our side, with his support, our change will be much smoother."
"Thirdly, according to my observation, Gongzi Sheng's ability does not seem to be very outstanding. Even if he succeeds to the throne, he is expected to be a mediocre person compared to An Guojun. Gongzi Sheng's mother, Mrs. Zhao, died young, and there is no system for the title of Queen Mother. The possibility of interfering in the government's affairs will also help us further control the government's situation. Enxiang, do you think Gao's analysis is correct?"
Huo Zheng understood. If you hire a mediocre leader, he will definitely be much easier to fool in the future. It will be much easier to deal with than a hexagonal leader like An Guojun who is strong in all aspects. Moreover, the influence of the relatives behind Gongzi Sheng is only Zhao Chu was a Yue man. Zhao Chu was an old nobleman from Guandong and was not born into an old nobleman from the Three Jin Dynasties. His influence in Guanzhong was very weak. Indeed, considering all the conditions, after getting rid of An Guojun, Gongzi Sheng was indeed the best successor. Candidate.
Huo Zheng walked around in circles for several times and said, "Yeah! Okay! Not bad, I really have it for you."
Huo Zheng changed his tone and said: "The only thing I'm worried about right now is that Young Master Sheng is far away in Zhi County. Even if we work hard to get to the capital without stopping, it will take at least a month and a half. The late emperor's body can't stay cold in the palace, right? The late Emperor's absence from the public for such a long time may arouse the suspicion of the courtiers, and it would be terrible if they unite to force the emperor to appear before him!"
Hearing this, Gao Zhong said helplessly: "Master Xiangguo, you are really a fan of the authorities. Have you forgotten the old time when you assisted the late emperor in practicing martial arts in Tai Chi Palace? We can repeat the same trick. You always come out to announce that you are practicing in seclusion today. After passing by With the shock caused by the Prince's incident, who inside and outside the court dares to doubt you now? To doubt you is to doubt the late emperor."
Huo Zheng slapped his forehead and said suddenly: "That makes sense, okay! Let's do it. You immediately draft an edict and send an envoy secretly to Zhixian County to welcome Anlehou to the capital. I will go and persuade Mr. Zhao to see what he can do. Whether it can be used by us."
Seeing that the matter had been settled, Gao Chong breathed a long sigh of relief and continued: "En Xiang, there is one more thing. It is of great importance. There are many people in the inner palace who know the true story of the late emperor. It is inevitable that something unexpected will happen. Gao thought that these People need to deal with it as soon as possible.”
When Huo Zheng heard this, a cold light flashed in his eyes and said: "Don't worry, I have my own plans."
