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When Zhao Junchen met Zhu Heyu for a secret talk, Zhao Junchen once told him that the court's investigation into the illegal and chaotic affairs of the vassals in various places was destined to result in loud thunder and light rain!
Because this matter is too sensitive, it not only involves the "ancestral system" and "national foundation", but also the vassal kings and local forces have long been intertwined together. It can be said that one move can affect the whole body, and can only Slowly simmer the matter over low heat and boil the frog in warm water. It must not be done in a big way or in a big way. Otherwise, the vassals from all over the country will be forced to unite to resist, and the situation in the entire court will be turbulent.
What's more, Emperor Deqing's goal this time was never to abolish the vassal system in one fell swoop. He just wanted to scare the monkeys, depose several vassal princes who led the chaos, and take the opportunity to recover some of the benefits from the vassal princes and relieve some of the imperial court. A burden, nothing more.
Therefore, when Zhu Heyu asked Zhao Junchen for advice before going out to the capital to investigate the vassal kings, Zhao Junchen's advice was very simple, that is, to follow the rules step by step - start investigating the most conspicuous vassal kings, and finish investigating one The vassal king would investigate another vassal king, and one vassal king would be convicted and deposed one after another. The resistance Zhu Heyu would face would also become greater and greater. By the time Zhu Heyu's investigation gradually became difficult, By that time, Emperor Deqing and the central court had achieved their goals, and this matter should be over.
This method may seem mediocre, but it is also the most reliable. The results will not be too dazzling, but it will not cause trouble.
The so-called "governing a big country is like cooking a small one", in the final analysis, is actually a means of differentiation and co-optation, to win over a group of people, beat a group of people, and warn a group of people, so as to minimize the hostile power and subsequent impact, nothing more.
But unfortunately, Zhu Heyu failed to listen to the advice after all, or someone misled his judgment, thinking that he performed better this time and could change Emperor Deqing's intention to change the reserve.
Zhao Junchen is more inclined to the latter, thinking that Zhu Heyu has been tricked again.
Now, Zhu Heyu has found conclusive evidence of the crimes of more than ten vassal kings at the same time. The impact is too great, which will inevitably cause everyone in the entire clan to feel insecure and violently rebound. They will also join forces to resist, and Zhu Heyu stands On the cusp of the storm, it will inevitably become the primary target of the feudal kings when they counterattack.
At that time, Emperor Deqing wanted to appease the anger and fear of the entire clan, and he also wanted to depose the prince. I am afraid that not only will Zhu Heyu be unable to make meritorious deeds, but he will do too many mistakes and be in trouble.
The most important thing is that Zhu Heyu's behavior will undoubtedly arouse the resentment and hostility of the entire clan, and will also affect Zhao Junchen's plan of retreat for advancement.
In the past, Prince Zhu Heyu fell into pits many times, and Zhao Junchen always hid aside to watch the jokes. Zhao Junchen even dug many pits with his own hands and gave Zhu Heyu a hard push in the back.
If Emperor Deqing hadn't been trying his best to protect Zhu Heyu at that time, Zhao Junchen would have buried Zhu Heyu alive when he fell into the pit.
But now, Zhao Junchen and Zhu Heyu have turned enemies into friends and formed an alliance, and they must wipe his ass.
Speaking of which, Zhao Junchen didn't do anything during this period, he was just cleaning up the mess for Emperor Deqing and Zhu Heyu, the father and son.
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen shook his head helplessly and said slowly: "The prince... really doesn't trust me like he trusts Xiao Wenruan or Zhao Shancai. I have clearly arranged a way out for him, and it seems that he is willing to risk his death." He is a young man, but in fact he is retreating in order to advance based on the premise of self-preservation... But unfortunately, he still dare not leave his destiny in my hands, and can't help but want to make some achievements, Fighting to the death and fighting with a last resort because of luck... You really don't listen to advice!"
Zhang Yu'er asked tentatively: "If the prince is always disobedient, we can just give up on him. Why bother spending all our energy on him? Yu'er always feels that this person can't achieve anything."
Zhao Junchen shook his head again and said: "It is because it is difficult for him to succeed, so I am betting on him now. If he can still succeed after leaving me, what is my value to him? Will I bet on him in the future? How to control him? What's more, the focus now is not the Crown Prince Zhu Heyu, but the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian who is about to go to the front of the curtain... I must use the Crown Prince to check and balance this person!"
After hearing Zhao Junchen's explanation, Zhang Yu'er suddenly stopped talking, her face turned pale, and a trace of panic flashed in her eyes.
She originally defected from the seventh prince Zhu Hejian to Zhao Junchen's side, and then almost died in Zhu Hejian's plot. She understood the horror of this person the most.
In fact, because of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, Zhang Yu'er still dares not to leave the Zhao Mansion openly and show her face in public. She has always pretended that she had died of stomach disease and lost her beauty.
Seeing the change in Zhang Yuer's expression, Zhao Junchen stood up and walked to her side, patted her shoulder gently, using this action to express his protection and calm the fear in Zhang Yuer's heart.
Zhang Yuer's mood calmed down a little, and then asked: "So, the prince has caused such a big mess, what should we do now to help him resolve this crisis? Once the clans from all over the country unite to target him, this kind of thing can be serious. It’s no joke.”
Zhao Junchen thought seriously for a moment and said slowly: "It is not necessary to help him resolve this crisis, but some plans... can be launched in advance."
This was a well-prepared plan. Zhao Junchen had been secretly preparing it since Prince Zhu Heyu took the initiative to turn enemies into friends with Zhao Junchen.
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That night, just like Zhang Yuer's inference, the memorials of Prince Zhu and Yu to impeach more than ten vassal princes at the same time were sent to the capital. The contents of the memorials could be said to be full evidence of the crimes, which immediately caused a big stir.
The large number of clans involved and the seriousness of the crimes involved far exceeded everyone's expectations.
Everyone was thinking like Zhao Junchen. They didn't expect that Prince Zhu Heyu would perform so well this time. He could find so much evidence in just over half a month, but they just didn't know. Whether such outstanding performance is a good thing or a bad thing for him.
For a time, there was an undercurrent in the capital, and officials from various factions gathered to discuss and inquire about the news. However, because this matter involved many clans, no one dared to take the initiative to express their attitude before Emperor Deqing expressed his opinion. Is observing the change of wind direction.
After Emperor Deqing received Zhu Heyu's memorial to impeach the vassal kings, he rarely reacted. He neither expressed his appreciation for Zhu Heyu's effective work nor angrily reprimanded the vassal kings for their bold actions. He even He did not summon the important officials of the imperial court for discussion, as if he wanted to wait for the reactions of the feudal kings, but also seemed to have other plans.
In fact, after Emperor Deqing received Zhu Heyu's memorial, his only reaction was to cancel the court meeting for the next two days. The ministers were unable to observe Emperor Deqing's attitude in person, nor could they openly discuss the matter at the court meeting. , the discussion became more and more private.
And while everyone in the capital was focused on this big event, a seemingly inconspicuous little thing happened in the capital.
On the third day after Prince Zhu Heyu's memorial was delivered to the capital, a capital official named Song Huancheng, who was the fifth-rank doctor of the Ministry of Rites in the imperial court, suddenly fainted on the spot while working in the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites.
After seeing Song Huancheng fainted, his colleagues in the Ministry of Rites were all shocked and quickly called a doctor for diagnosis.
The doctor's diagnosis made everyone feel unbelievable.
Song Huancheng, a dignified official of the fifth rank of the imperial court, actually fainted from hunger.
But if you know a little about Song Huancheng's personality, you won't be surprised by this kind of thing.
The salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty have always been extremely low. In order to maintain their lives and dignity, officials often had to use some shady means to make money, otherwise they would not even have enough to eat.
But Song Huancheng is a true gentleman. He has always adhered to a clean and honest style. He has never disdained to do things like corruption, bribery, and seeking power for personal gain, and he has never formed a clique for personal gain.
Moreover, Song Huancheng is also fundamentally different from the Qingliu in the court. Although the Qingliu are less likely to be corrupt and bribery, most of them have no worries about food and clothing, come from aristocratic families, and they have never refused to use their rights to benefit the family. He likes to unite the party, but Song Huancheng comes from an ordinary family and has never used power for personal gain. He has never been on the same page as the Qingliu people.
In this era of light and dust, such characters are simply rare.
It is said that Prince Zhu Heyu once admired Song Huancheng's clear name and wanted to accept Song Huancheng into the "Prince Party". However, Song Huancheng said that "gentlemen are not common" and said, "Prince, you are only the future emperor, and Huan Cheng will only be loyal to the emperor today. When the prince ascends the throne in the future, there is no need to deliberately recruit Huan Cheng, and Huan Cheng will naturally be loyal to him."
It is said that after the cabinet chief Zhou Shangjing and cabinet elder Zhao Junchen heard about Song Huancheng's deeds, they also wanted to recruit them. When Song Huancheng faced the recruitment of these two people, his attitude was even clearer and he directly stated "People with different principles cannot work together", which once made Zhou Shangjing and Zhao Junchen unable to step down.
Among the officials in the capital, Song Huancheng also has a nickname, "Song Maoshi", which means that he is as smelly and hard as a stone in a latrine!
Such a person, in the official environment of the Ming Dynasty, naturally lived an extremely poor life, not to mention that Song Huancheng also had a frail old mother and an idle brother in his family. He often had to live on porridge and pickles. It is said that Song Huancheng's first wife also does some prostitute work on weekdays to support the family.
Originally, Song Huancheng's official salary and his wife's needlework could barely sustain daily food and clothing, but...in the past six months, in order to support the war between Shaanxi, Gansu and Hetao, the imperial court had made two consecutive "salary rice discounts". "Yin", all officials could only receive salary silver for half a year, but no salary rice at all. They could only buy grain from grain shops. However, private grain prices have also nearly doubled in the past six months, so Song Huancheng Life becomes even more miserable.
Under such circumstances, is it strange that Song Huancheng suddenly fainted from hunger?
Not surprisingly!
In this world, a gentleman has to live a much harder life than a villain. It is a miracle that Song Huancheng, a role model among gentlemen, can survive to this day.
But this seemingly inconspicuous incident has quietly spread more and more widely, and has triggered a lot of discussions. Occasionally, some voices criticizing the low official salary of the imperial court can be heard.
All of this is as if there is an invisible hand pushing in the dark.
Of course, the Gonggun princes in the temple only focused on major court affairs, such as the impeachment of various vassal kings by Prince Zhu Heyu, and naturally they would not pay attention to such small things.
Therefore, no one can be alert in time to what kind of subsequent impact this little incident will have.
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PS: In the last chapter, Chongzi tried to change his writing style, but after thinking about it, he decided to finish writing the book in the established style first.
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