Chapter 64. The Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian.
After Zhao Junchen came to the Meridian Gate, it didn't take long for him to get permission from Emperor Deqing to see him. 【Read the latest chapter】
However, under the leadership of a young eunuch, Zhao Junchen discovered that the location he went to was neither the Yangxin Palace nor the Imperial Study Room, but deeper inside the palace.
This discovery made Zhao Junchen secretly surprised. Seeing that he was about to arrive at the harem, Zhao Junchen grabbed the young eunuch who was leading the way and asked: "My father-in-law, where are we going? Your Majesty is not in the royal study and the palace." Heart Palace?”
The young eunuch replied respectfully: "Replying to Sir Shangshu, Your Majesty is examining the knowledge of the princes in the Prince's School. After hearing that you came to have an audience, I asked our family to take you to the Prince's School to have an audience."
Hearing what the young eunuch said, a strange color flashed in Zhao Junchen's eyes.
In his previous life, influenced by those unreliable TV novels, Zhao Junchen initially thought that a favorite like him would always accompany the emperor and even have access to forbidden areas in the palace.
But after these days of contact with Emperor Deqing, I discovered that this was not the case at all. Although Emperor Deqing was not a diligent emperor, he still spent a lot of time approving government affairs. In addition, he had to deal with the harem. Concubine, there are all kinds of chores to deal with, plus Emperor Deqing's own preferences, so how much free time can even a favorite like Zhao Junchen have to accompany him?
In fact, the so-called "favorite" is just more convenient when meeting the emperor, being summoned by the emperor more frequently, and being the first to be remembered when the emperor is bored, nothing more. Since returning to Beijing, Zhao Junchen has actually had no more opportunities to meet Emperor Deqing than those important cabinet ministers.
As for entering and exiting the restricted areas of the palace, it was even more impossible. This time, with Emperor Deqing's permission, he met in the prince's library, which was the deepest time that Zhao Junchen had ever gone deep into the palace.
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen asked again: "My father-in-law, I wonder which princes your Majesty is testing the knowledge of?"
The young eunuch replied: "If you want to reply to Master Shangshu, several princes in Beijing are here."
Zhao Junchen frowned slightly and continued to ask: "His Royal Highness is here too?"
Seeing the young eunuch nodding in response, Zhao Junchen sighed softly in his heart.
Although Zhao Junchen is not afraid of trouble, he does not like to cause trouble. Since returning to Beijing, he has always avoided Prince Zhu Heyu whenever he could. Today, he was unable to avoid it, fearing that there would be another confrontation.
However, Zhao Junchen could not go against Emperor Deqing's will, so he had to follow the young eunuch towards the prince's study hall.
………
"I have met your Majesty, long live my emperor."
After arriving at the prince's study hall, Zhao Junchen entered with his head lowered, not daring to look around, and just saluted Emperor Deqing.
Emperor Deqing was in a good mood today. After seeing Zhao Junchen, he smiled warmly and said, "Is Zhao Aiqing here? It's a good time for you to come to me to see how the knowledge of these princes of mine is. Are you the second one?" The No. 1 Scholar in 19 years has a lot of knowledge and talent, so you can help me make some comments."
Zhao Junchen stood up, came to stand next to Emperor Deqing, and then said with a smile: "Your Majesty is ridiculous. All the princes have inherited your Majesty's blood. They are all the best among men, even if they are only one-tenth of your Majesty's intelligence. With hard work, talent and knowledge, I am already far superior to you, so how can I be qualified to comment? I am honored to meet Your Majesty here today. I can see the grace of all the princes and hear their high opinions. I have already cultivated them in my previous life. What a blessing.”
After these days of training, Zhao Junchen was able to say these disgusting words without changing his face in front of Emperor Deqing.
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Emperor Deqing laughed and scolded: "When will you change your habit of flattering others? You just know how to be obedient."
Even though he said this, looking at Emperor Deqing's expression, it was very helpful.
Therefore, although Zhao Junchen was criticized, he was not worried. Instead, he shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, you are looking down on me. What I said is from the bottom of my heart, so how can you flatter me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a familiar cold snort.
Zhao Junchen took the opportunity to look up and saw six princes sitting in the prince's study hall, headed by Prince Zhu Heyu. At this time, Zhu Heyu was looking at Zhao Junchen with cold eyes. The cold snort before was also made by Zhu Heyu.
Regarding this cold snort, Emperor Deqing seemed not to have heard it. He just smiled and explained to Zhao Junchen: "I am commenting with the princes on the pros and cons of various dynasties in ancient and modern times. Each prince chooses a dynasty. The prince is commenting on the Tang Dynasty. The judgments on the pros and cons of the dynasty are quite insightful."
As he spoke, Emperor Deqing nodded to Prince Zhu Heyu and said, "Prince, please continue."
Prince Zhu Heyu nodded, no longer looking at Zhao Junchen, and just continued: "As Erchen said before, the prosperity and strength of the Tang Dynasty was especially the 'Government of Zhenguan'. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty can also be said to be one of the few in history. During his reign, he was politically enlightened, loved virtuous ministers and distanced himself from villains, accepted advice with an open mind, practiced frugality, and revived culture and education. Passed down for thousands of years.”
After a pause, Prince Zhu Heyu said again: "It can be seen that for a king, accepting advice, employing people, and caring for the people are the top priorities. It is not an exaggeration to say that these are the three important things of an emperor. As long as he does these well At three points, we can reappear in a prosperous age. This is just my humble opinion, and I ask my father to judge."
Hearing Prince Zhu Heyu's judgment, especially the last few sentences, already sounded like an admonishment. Although it was reasonable, Emperor Deqing couldn't help but frown slightly.
However, at this time, Emperor Deqing couldn't show off his face. He just asked the other princes: "What do you think of the prince's words?"
Facing Emperor Deqing's inquiries, all the princes were obedient, either praising the prince's words or repeating the prince's judgments, but no one refuted, and no one could put forward a more novel point of view.
In fact, this is normal. During the Ming Dynasty, princes were granted the title of king when they were ten years old and received fiefdoms when they were twenty or so. There were few exceptions. Although the treatment seemed generous, the Ming Dynasty also had the strictest restrictions on vassal princes. After the fiefdom is established, the vassal king cannot leave the fiefdom and cannot return to the capital without an edict. The two kings are not allowed to have private meetings. If they make the slightest mistake, they will be demoted to common people. Those who dare to participate in political affairs rarely end up with a good ending. Only those who are lazy can do so. Only those ridiculous princes who indulge in drinking and sex are respected as "virtuous kings".
What's more, in Fengyang, the central capital, there was a prison area specially used to imprison clan members. Over the hundreds of years of the Ming Dynasty, the number of clan clans imprisoned there only increased. By the time of Emperor Deqing, it had been There are hundreds of royal family members imprisoned at any time, including many princes, counties and kings.
And Zhu Heyu, as the prince, is the future emperor in the eyes of the princes, how can he dare to refute it easily? Naturally, Zhu Heyu said whatever he said. Even if he had some brilliant insights, he did not dare to show them in front of Zhu Heyu, for fear of arousing Zhu Heyu's suspicion.
Seeing this situation, a trace of disappointment flashed in Zhao Junchen's eyes. He really hoped that there would be a prince who dared to compete with Zhu Heyu. If that was the case, Zhao Junchen wouldn't mind supporting him secretly. It's a pity that these princes were intimidated by the public. The emperors of the past dynasties suppressed the royal family members in various ways. Although he was young, he did not show any signs of vigor.
On the other side, Emperor Deqing was a little unhappy when he saw that the princes were so cowardly and glanced at himself and Zhu Heyu from time to time while talking. His father always hoped that his children would succeed. Seeing that the princes were so unworthy, Emperor Deqing would naturally not happy.
Of course, if a prince suddenly became famous and overtook Zhu Heyu, it would be hard to say whether Emperor Deqing would be happy or suspicious.
Looking at Zhao Junchen who was standing with his hands hanging, Emperor Deqing's expression changed and he suddenly asked: "Zhao Aiqing, what do you think of the prince's words?"
After Zhao Junchen hesitated for a moment, he shook his head and said: "Back to Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince's judgment is extremely insightful. 'Accepting advice', 'employing people', and 'caring for the people' are the three most important things for a king. What's more, It was a great benefit for me to open my hut, but..."
Speaking of this, Zhao Junchen looked like he wanted to say something but didn't dare.
Seeing Zhao Junchen like this, Zhu Heyu's eyes turned cold, but Emperor Deqing was very interested and asked: "How about it? Just say what you want. Even if you say something wrong, I won't blame you, no need to hesitate. "
Zhao Junchen seemed to be forced, he hesitated for a moment, aroused Emperor Deqing's curiosity, and finally said: "It's just that the prince's praise of the Tang Dynasty is a little too favorable to the past and not to the present. In Yichen's opinion, throughout the past and present, The most powerful dynasty is our Ming Dynasty. However, things have changed over time and the environment is different. Our Ming Dynasty may not necessarily learn from Li Tang in everything. As for Tang Taizong, he can be regarded as a wise king, but if he is a saint, King, but he is still far from it. As far as I am concerned, from ancient times to the present, there are only three emperors who can be called 'saint kings', and they are all in our Ming Dynasty."
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, both Emperor Deqing and the other princes were stunned in the prince's study hall.
You must know that the Tang Dynasty and Tang Taizong, after nearly a thousand years of exaggeration by Confucianism, have already become a benchmark for all dynasties and emperors. It is a great honor to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. To say that they are better than others is not to mention treason and apostasy. , but it is enough to make some Confucian scholars curse.
What's more, Emperor Deqing probably knew exactly what had happened in the Ming Dynasty over the years.
Therefore, when Emperor Deqing heard what Zhao Junchen said, he thought that Zhao Junchen was flattering him again. He shook his head and said with a smile: "Oh? Tell me your reason. If you can't make sense, I don't blame you, but such remarks have spread. , you are afraid that you will be laughed at."
However, Zhao Junchen looked calm and said: "Your Majesty, of course I will not lie. In my opinion, the Ming Dynasty is stronger and richer than the Tang Dynasty. It does not have the harmony between the Han and Tang Dynasties, nor is it as old as the Song Dynasty. Coins, the emperor controls the country, and the monarch dies. Who can do this, throughout the ages, in all dynasties, except our Ming Dynasty, which dynasty can do it? This alone is enough to show that our Ming Dynasty is powerful, far stronger than other dynasty."
Seeing that Zhao Junchen could really tell the truth, Emperor Deqing became more interested after being stunned for a moment, and nodded for Zhao Junchen to continue.
Zhao Junchen glanced at Zhu Heyu intentionally or unintentionally, and continued: "As for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince treating Tang Taizong as a sage, it is even more unacceptable. A sage, a sage, since he has the word 'saint', he must be perfect." Of course, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had the ability to govern the country, but when it comes to character, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had the Xuanwu Gate Incident. He killed his brothers, butchered his brothers, snatched his brothers and wives, and even forced his father to abdicate. He had incomplete five virtues. How could he be called a emperor? "Shang" is the word "holy"? For important ministers, it is not a good thing for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to praise him too much. Just learn his methods of governing the country, but you have to be selective about his character and actions. The descendants of the Li family are because of this Too much praise for Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty resulted in the wife taking over the husband's throne, the son taking over the father's throne, the younger brother taking over the elder brother's throne, palace coups were everywhere, and the political situation was unstable, which was also one of the fundamental reasons for the decline of Li Tang. one."
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Zhu Heyu felt like his chest would burst with anger. The reason why he mentioned Tang Taizong before was because he was talking about Tang Taizong's methods of governing the country, but when Zhao Junchen said it, it actually involved him. The Xuanwumen incident seemed like he wanted to learn from Tang Taizong on this point.
On the other side, Emperor Deqing nodded, glanced at Zhu Heyu, and said meaningfully: "What Zhao Aiqing said is indeed reasonable. Tang Taizong's Xuanwu Gate incident disrupted the five ethics, Li Tang's throne change, and the conspiracy The constant chaos is probably due to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. It can be seen from this that the people of the royal family should abide by the five virtues and set an example for the world and future generations. Only in this way can the country be stable and last for generations to come. "
Hearing what Emperor Deqing said, the princes naturally stood up and said yes. Although Zhu Heyu wanted to refute Zhao Junchen's words, he missed the opportunity because of Emperor Deqing's words.
After Emperor Deqing asked everyone to sit down, he asked Zhao Junchen: "Since in your eyes, even Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty is not a saint, who is a saint?"
Zhao Junchen smiled and replied: "Your Majesty, as I said before, throughout the ages, there have been only three so-called sage kings. In our Ming Dynasty, the first sage king was naturally the Taizu of our dynasty, who drove away the barbarians. , established the Han Dynasty, and had the "Government of Hongwu", with civil and military skills, he can be called a sage king; the second sage king is the former emperor, whose diligence is unprecedented in ancient times, and whose love for the people is rare. And, to bring order out of chaos, safeguard the Ming Dynasty, and benefit the people, he can also be called a holy king."
Listening to what Zhao Junchen said, no one knew who the last sage was. But Emperor Deqing still looked like he didn't know, and asked: "Oh, Taizu and the late emperor can naturally be called saints, so who is the third saint?"
Although his expression was natural, Zhao Junchen could still see a hint of expectation on Emperor Deqing's face.
As a "fool" in the eyes of officials and people, Zhao Junchen would naturally not disappoint Emperor Deqing at this time.
"As for the third sage, you are naturally your Majesty." Zhao Junchen spoke with a straight face and without hesitation: "Your Majesty, you have been in power for more than thirty years. The central political situation is stable and the monarch and his ministers are harmonious. As a result, the country is stable. , unprecedented. As the saying goes, 'I would rather be a peace dog than a troubled person.' Although these words are simple, they are enough to express the aspirations of the people. Your Majesty, you have stabilized the country for more than 30 years without any chaos. To the people, it is It will benefit the people more than any other policy to benefit the people. In that case, Your Majesty, if you are not a saint king, who is?"
As Zhao Junchen finished speaking, Emperor Deqing laughed and waved his hands: "Junchen, you are picky and obedient again. How can I be so virtuous and capable, and how can I be called a saint king together with the great ancestor emperor? In this case, next time Never say it again."
Although Emperor Deqing rejected Zhao Junchen's praise as a saint, anyone could see that he was in a good mood.
"These are just my sincere words. How can I choose to say something nice? Your Majesty, you have wronged me again."
While Zhao Junchen was speaking, he took the opportunity to look at the princes. As expected, Zhu Heyu's eyes were cold and he was glaring at him hatefully. Apart from that, the other princes were all silent and did not dare to participate at all. Zhao Junchen and Zhu Heyu fought openly and secretly.
Just when Zhao Junchen was about to look away, a prince sitting behind Emperor Deqing suddenly raised his head and glanced at Zhao Junchen. Seeing that Zhao Junchen was looking at him, he actually smiled kindly and nodded slightly. Then he lowered his head and showed no further expression, as if he, like other princes, did not dare to cause trouble.
Seeing that the prince actually showed kindness to him, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but be startled. He looked at him carefully and saw that the prince's face was 70% similar to Zhu Heyu's, but compared to Zhu Heyu's uprightness, this one was not. The person's temperament is more feminine, and his body is thin, his face is pale, and he is sickly.
"This person should be Zhu Heyu's half-brother, the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian. I heard that he is frail and sickly. Although it is long past time for him to be crowned king and leave the capital, he has been holding off because of his health..."
Thinking like this, Zhao Junchen had a thoughtful look in his eyes.
………
But he said that Zhu Heyu had already prepared for Emperor Deqing's exam today. Taking Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty as an example, he just wanted to advise Emperor Deqing to be close to his virtuous ministers and stay away from villains. He had good intentions, but he didn't expect Zhao Junchen to suddenly get involved. , not only stole the limelight and flattered Emperor Deqing regardless of shame, but also took advantage of Zhu Heyu's good intentions to bite Zhu Heyu back.
Thinking of Emperor Deqing's previous meaningful warning, which was obviously provoked by Zhao Junchen, Zhu Heyu couldn't hold back the hatred in his heart.
Therefore, after Zhao Junchen's words fell, Zhu Heyu had already started his own counterattack, and suddenly said: "Father, Zhao Shangshu is worthy of being the number one scholar. This judgment is indeed thought-provoking. I look at my father." The emperor is in a high mood today, why not take advantage of the excitement and comment on the virtuous and treacherous ministers of the past dynasties?"
Hearing what Zhu Heyu said, Zhao Junchen felt a chill in his heart. He knew that Zhu Heyu was targeting him, so he was not afraid and just concentrated on preparing to deal with it.
However, just as Emperor Deqing was about to say something, Zhu Hejian, who had shown kindness to Zhao Junchen before, suddenly coughed loudly, his body trembled violently, and a sickly rosy look appeared on his face.
Seeing Zhu Hejian like this, everyone was shocked. Zhu Heyu attached great importance to his biological brother and could not care about anything else. He quickly came behind Zhu Hejian, patted Zhu Hejian's back, and said anxiously: " Doctor, call the doctor quickly."
For a time, no one cared about taking the school knowledge test anymore, and the prince's school was in chaos.
In the chaos, Zhao Junchen followed Emperor Deqing closely and came to Zhu Hejian. He also had a worried look on his face, but when he looked at Zhu Hejian, the look in his eyes was full of thoughtfulness.
Zhu Hejian had just expressed goodwill to Zhao Junchen before contacting him. It was too coincidental that the timing of his illness interrupted Zhu Heyu's counterattack.
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