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Emperor Deqing's inquiry was naturally to test whether Zhu Hejian had any ambition to covet the throne.
Emperor Deqing was too suspicious and liked to control everything. After asking Dongchang to investigate Zhu Hejian's relevant information in detail, he discovered that Zhu Hejian was quite scheming but had been hiding it. Today's temptation was destined to occur.
If he could not understand Zhu Hejian's true nature, Emperor Deqing would never be able to let Zhu Hejian become the new crown prince with peace of mind.
The Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian had already expected this.
In fact, much of the information received by Emperor Deqing was deliberately made known by Zhu Hejian to Emperor Deqing.
The position of the crown prince seems to be noble and dazzling, but it is also a crater. It is never a comfortable and relaxing position, especially when there is a sensitive and suspicious emperor like Emperor Deqing above, and there are cunning and treacherous ministers below. This position It is even more difficult to sit still.
If the prince behaves too dazzlingly, the emperor above him will be suspicious, and the officials below him will be uneasy, and they will subconsciously reject him; if the prince behaves too low-key, the emperor above him will be disappointed, and the officials below him will look down upon him. , and it is difficult to gain recognition from both the government and the opposition; in short, it is a dilemma.
Before that, Crown Prince Zhu Heyu was too dazzling, but lacked the matching scheming skills. Now, naturally, he cannot secure his position as Crown Prince.
Therefore, when he is about to come to the forefront, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian plans to create an image for himself as a prince that everyone can accept - that is, a conservative who has the ability and means, but does not have too much ambition!
Such an image would not make Emperor Deqing feel fearful or disappointed, nor would it make the officials feel uneasy or contemptuous. It would help the seventh prince Zhu Hejian to minimize resistance and successfully become the new crown prince whom everyone expected.
Then, as long as Emperor Deqing dies and Zhu Hejian ascends the throne, he will no longer have any scruples and can do what he wants to do.
The seventh prince Zhu Hejian was very confident about this plan, because what he was best at was forbearance and disguise.
And today's Q&A is undoubtedly a great opportunity for Zhu Hejian to shape his image!
At this time, after hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian's performance was just right, making it impossible to see any flaws.
He was slightly startled at first, and then a trace of disappointment flashed across his face, but in the end he returned to his usual submissive appearance, bowing his head and saying: "My son, I can't let go of my father and mother, my concubine, and my third brother, but the prince is an adult." After that, you must go to your respective fiefdoms to stay. This is a rule set by Taizu and has not changed for hundreds of years, so naturally my sons and ministers dare not violate it."
Having said this, Zhu Hejian looked up at Emperor Deqing, with a look of gratitude on his face, and said: "My father was not in good health in the past. Father, you can't bear for me to endure the fatigue of traveling and horse racing, so you have granted me permission to stay in the capital." I have been stranded for several years. I also know that my father has been under a lot of pressure because of this decision. Now that I have recovered, I naturally dare not cause any more trouble to my father... So, father, if you plan Let your ministers go to the fiefdom and they will not dare to have any objections. This is also the responsibility of the descendants of the Zhu family."
After hearing Zhu Hejian's words and looking at Zhu Hejian's expression, Emperor Deqing nodded with satisfaction and sighed: "You can understand my difficulties and understand the responsibilities of the descendants of the royal family. It is rare and rare."
At this point, Emperor Deqing shook his head and sighed again, and said, "What a pity. If the prince could be as sensible as you, then I wouldn't have to work as hard as I do now."
The seventh prince Zhu Hejian knew very well that Emperor Deqing's words were still testing him.
Therefore, Zhu Hejian not only did not take the opportunity to speak ill of the prince Zhu Heyu, but instead took the initiative to talk about Zhu Heyu's various benefits, saying: "Father, third brother, although his temperament is more upright, he has absolutely no Bad thoughts, I have always been loyal and filial to my father, not to mention that my third brother's performance has gradually improved in recent times. Father, you are in good health and can live for at least thirty to fifty years. There is no need to worry. , Third brother, he will mature sooner or later."
Seeing that Zhu Hejian took the initiative to protect the crown prince Zhu Heyu, and it was obvious that the brotherhood between him and Zhu Heyu was not false, Emperor Deqing nodded again with satisfaction.
Then, Emperor Deqing finally spoke out the doubts in his heart: "By the way, I heard that during my southern tour, the crown prince and his former cabinet boss Huang Yourong had a confrontation in the capital and made it very unpleasant. In the end, they were After you made suggestions for the prince, you allowed the prince to completely suppress Huang Yourong?"
After receiving this information from Dongchang, this matter became a knot in Emperor Deqing's mind, because Emperor Deqing was not sure what Zhu Hejian's performance meant. The scheming tactics shown by Zhu Hejian in the intelligence far exceeded Emperor Deqing's expectations. However, Zhu Hejian had never shown it to him before. Was this a deliberate concealment with ulterior motives? Or has Zhu Hejian never had the desire to express himself to him?
If it is the former, it means that Zhu Hejian is a deeply hidden careerist who needs to be carefully guarded by Emperor Deqing; if it is the latter, it means that Zhu Hejian sticks to his duty, understands the rules, is capable but not too ambitious, and deserves Deqing. The emperor can reuse it with confidence.
Based on Zhu Hejian's consistent performance, Emperor Deqing was more inclined to the latter, but after all, Zhu Hejian still needed to explain it to Emperor Deqing personally.
At this time, after hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Zhu Hejian's expression changed, and he quickly knelt in front of Emperor Deqing, kowtowed and said: "Since the father has asked, I don't dare to hide it! Back then, the third brother and the front cabinet When Huang Yourong was guarding the capital, the two sides gradually began to have conflicts, and the conflicts became more and more intense. Officials and people were all panicked. The son was worried that his father would blame his third brother for failing to stabilize the situation in the temple when he returned to the capital, so he went there Dong Gong advised the third brother, but..."
At this point, Zhu Hejian hesitated, as if he didn't know how to continue.
Emperor Deqing said, "But the prince didn't listen to your advice at all and still insisted on conflicting with Huang Yourong. So in order to avoid turmoil in the temple and to avoid me blaming the prince when I returned to Beijing, you made suggestions for the prince. I helped the prince suppress Huang Yourong, but is that so?"
However, Zhu Hejian did not answer Emperor Deqing's question this time. It seemed that he was unwilling to talk about the mistakes of the prince Zhu Heyu. He just bowed his head and admitted his mistake and said: "In any case, I should not participate in the political affairs of the previous dynasty. It is my son's fault." I have exceeded the rules, even if there are extenuating circumstances, but the rules are the rules, and I am willing to be punished."
Emperor Deqing asked curiously: "But what makes me most surprised is that because of your assistance, the prince actually suppressed Huang Yourong... Although Huang Yourong is not very capable, he is not an easy person, but He is not your opponent at all. After I learned this news, I was quite surprised, because in my impression, Lao Qi, you have never been a person who is good at calculation and decision-making."
At this point, Emperor Deqing's expression seemed casual, but from the corner of his eye he stared at Zhu Hejian closely, not missing the slightest change in Zhu Hejian's expression, and asked: "But since you have such scheming methods, why did you do it before?" Have you never behaved in front of me?"
Zhu Hejian replied slowly: "I think that it is enough for me to show filial piety and loyalty in front of my father. As for those scheming methods, to be honest, I don't know whether I am good at it or not, but I will do it in the future." If you don’t know how to participate in court affairs, you won’t be able to use those scheming methods, so you don’t need to show off deliberately.”
After repeated testing and receiving Zhu Hejian's answer, Emperor Deqing's doubts finally dissipated for the most part, and he became increasingly satisfied with Zhu Hejian's performance.
Just as Zhu Hejian expected, he showed himself in front of Emperor Deqing to be intelligent and capable but without any ambition. This image made Emperor Deqing feel at ease.
As a result, Emperor Deqing's various temptations finally came to an end.
Emperor Deqing nodded and said, "It's rare for you to have such a consciousness. Since your suggestions for the prince are all out of good intentions, I won't punish you."
Zhu Hejian was not surprised by Emperor Deqing's decision, but on the surface he looked surprised and moved, and thanked Emperor Deqing repeatedly.
Then, Emperor Deqing pondered for a moment, and then said: "Well, I have thought about it carefully just now. Your throne title and fiefdom have not been decided yet. It is not good to rush you out of the capital now... That's all, you Let’s stay in the capital for a while, even if we really want to leave the capital to settle in the fiefdom, we have to wait until after the new year.”
Hearing Emperor Deqing's words, Zhu Hejian knew that he had finally passed Emperor Deqing's preliminary test!
When Zhu Hejian left the Imperial Study Room, he felt a sense of relief that the sky was high and the sea was vast.
Because Zhu Hejian knew that after today's question and answer, he was one step closer to the position of crown prince!
Next, as long as Zhu Hejian waits patiently for Prince Zhu Heyu to make another mistake!
In fact, the opportunity came faster than Zhu Hejian imagined.
Zhu Hejian had just left the imperial study and was about to go to the Meridian Gate when he saw his personal eunuch Jia Lun walking towards him quickly.
After arriving at Zhu Hejian's side, Jia Lun reported to Zhu Hejian in a low voice: "Your Highness, I just received the news that Zhao Junchen has begun to punish Guo Tang. The method is extremely violent. Not only did he send people to seal the Guo family's 'Sitong Trading Company'. , Guo Tang's brother Guo Min was also arrested, and Guo Tang's grandson Guo Mingtai was also dismissed from the Imperial College as a supervisor... In addition, Zhao Party officials also planned to impeach Guo Tang in a large-scale during the morning session tomorrow morning, and the government and the opposition also began to appear. There are some rumors that are not conducive to Guo Tang..."
After hearing Jia Lun's report, Zhu Hejian couldn't help but look surprised and said: "Oh? Although I knew that Guo Tang was no match for Zhao Junchen, I didn't expect that Zhao Junchen's revenge methods would be so fierce! It seems that Zhao Junchen I plan to use this incident to establish my authority.”
Jia Lun continued to report: "Because of Zhao Junchen's revenge methods, Guo Tang has no power to fight back. Now he has united with some Qingliu officials to go to the East Palace for help."
A gleam flashed in Zhu Hejian's eyes, and he asked, "Has the prince promised to support Guo Tang?"
Jia Lun replied: "It's hard to go against public opinion. The prince has already agreed to Guo Tang's request for help. I'm afraid he will have to fight Zhao Junchen in the ring tomorrow morning."
Following Jia Lun's answer, Zhu Hejian, who was still calm, suddenly had a flush on his face, and seemed to be slightly excited.
"I didn't expect..." Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian said slowly: "My opportunity appeared so soon! Although Zhao Junchen's revenge method this time is a bit fierce, it is also reasonable. If the prince blindly supports Guo Tang, I am afraid that There is no way to get it! At the same time, my father has made up his mind to depose him, but he just lacks a reason..."
Speaking of this, Zhu Hejian's eyes couldn't help but fluctuate.
Jialun said: "Also, in addition to asking the prince for help, Guo Tang also sent someone to send a secret letter to His Highness, asking you to help him tide over the difficulties. Do you want to respond to him? "
When Zhu Hejian heard this, he looked indifferent and decisively gave up on Guo Tang, saying: "With Guo Tang's ability, even if I try my best to help him, he will not be Zhao Junchen's opponent. In this case, why should I Want to help him? If Zhao Junchen knows that I helped him, it will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble... Guo Tang's secret letter should be treated as if he has never seen it. Anyway, he offended Zhao Junchen It is about to collapse and is of no use to me, so I don’t need to pay attention to it at all.”
Jia Lun hesitated and said: "However, Guo Tang is the person who supports His Highness the most within the 'Prince Party'. If he loses him, His Highness will have to spend a lot of effort to get Qingliu's support after he becomes the Crown Prince in the future." ”
Zhu Hejian said coldly: "I'm not Zhu Heyu, Qingliu's support is not that important to me! Qingliu is just a piece of chicken ribs. It's a pity to throw them away if they are tasteless. Getting their support will certainly help your reputation. But Qingliu doesn’t have any ability to do things, and he’s bossing you around all day long, which is really annoying... In this case, even if I lose Qingliu’s support, I won’t suffer much loss.”
After finishing speaking, Zhu Hejian turned to look at Jia Lun, and then said: "Remember, since Zhu Heyu's path failed, then we must avoid making the same mistakes again. Zhu Heyu's path is not so easy to succeed!"
After hearing what Zhu Hejian said, Jia Lun's eyes flashed slightly, and he lowered his head and said, "I took note of it."
On the other side, Zhu Hejian was already walking towards the Meridian Gate with his head raised, and he felt faintly satisfied as he raised his hands and feet.
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ps: In recent times, Chongzi has been balancing work, family, and coding. He has gradually become physically and mentally exhausted, and the plots he has written are not satisfactory - for example, the plot related to Guo Tang obviously dragged on too long - so he needs to wait a little longer. I took a break and reorganized my thoughts. There is only one chapter per day for the time being, but it will be updated twice starting this Wednesday.
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