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"Your Majesty, please do not get angry. In my opinion, although the prince's actions are a bit extreme, the matter is not particularly bad. As long as the operation is done properly, there is still room for recovery."
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Emperor Deqing's reaction was very interesting.
He did not eagerly ask for details, nor did he show too much surprise. Instead, he was slightly stunned, as if he was a little surprised. After a while, he asked: "Now that things have happened, what else can you do? tell me the story!"
Seeing Emperor Deqing's reaction, Zhao Junchen became even more sarcastic, and said in his mouth: "Your Majesty, what Master Lu, the Hanlin scholar, said just now is very reasonable. What His Highness the Crown Prince did, caused the Both the government and the opposition were dissatisfied because he violated the rules of officialdom and Confucian concepts...
After all, although he is an imperial envoy, he does not have the power to imprison the vassal king or torture the clan members without authorization. Such actions obviously shake the country's foundation; although he is the prince and crown prince, he should set an example and must not do anything like this. To kill one's relatives is to be cold-blooded otherwise; His Royal Highness has been criticized by both the government and the opposition because he broke these two rules! "
After seeing Emperor Deqing nod, Zhao Junchen continued: "However, if all this was endorsed by Your Majesty, the situation would be completely different! Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does not have the power to imprison vassal princes or torture clan members, Your Majesty, you Yes, I have!
Your Majesty can declare to all officials that you gave His Highness the Crown Prince the power to make emergency decisions before he left the capital to investigate the vassal's crimes, and that he could deal with the vassal with full authority when necessary!
In this way, His Highness the Crown Prince's extreme actions are legal and compliant, because all these are powers granted by His Majesty, and naturally they do not violate the rules of the officialdom, and the officials and vassals cannot find fault!
At the same time, Confucianism is based on the "Three Cardinal Principles", and among the "Three Cardinal Principles" are the four words "the king is the cardinal guide for the minister". If His Royal Highness the Prince imprisons the feudal princes and tortures the clan members, it is Based on His Majesty's authorization, it means being loyal to the Emperor's orders and being public-minded. No one can say that His Highness the Crown Prince is cold-blooded and cruel to his relatives. The scholars and common people in the world can also find no fault!
In the end, Your Majesty will be able to stop the criticism from all sides, including officials, vassals, scholars, and ordinary people, and you will be able to treat His Highness the Crown Prince lightly, and there will be no pressure at all. "
After hearing Zhao Junchen's suggestion, Emperor Deqing's reaction became increasingly weird.
Zhao Junchen's suggestion can obviously resolve the current bad situation of Prince Zhu Heyu to a great extent. If Emperor Deqing really cared about the relationship between father and son as much as he showed, he would not readily agree at this time. , and will definitely consider it carefully.
However, Emperor Deqing's expression at this time showed a hint of embarrassment and more of hesitation. He remained silent for a long time and did not respond to Zhao Junchen's suggestion.
After a long tea time, Emperor Deqing finally spoke and asked: "You came to see me in the imperial study today just to make this suggestion?"
Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "That's it. I can see that your majesty cares about the relationship between father and son, and your mood is full of contradictions, so I want to share your worries for you, so I came up with this idea, hoping to be helpful to your majesty. "
Emperor Deqing nodded lightly and said: "Your suggestion does have merit, but it is not easy for me to make up my mind... After all, I am the emperor with golden words and a role model for the world. Every move I make is We need to worry about the impact. If I lie to the world today, deceive the world, or even forge secrets in order to protect the prince, once this kind of thing is spread, the impact will be worse than the prince's misbehavior... Therefore, Let me think about it carefully, and you should step back first."
Hearing Emperor Deqing's statement, Zhao Junchen was naturally full of admiration and said: "I only care about sharing your worries and resolving this problem for your majesty, but after all, my vision is too narrow and my view is too shallow, and I don't think like your majesty." Thorough, I admire you greatly, far less than!
Since your Majesty has more things to consider, I won't say any more and will take my leave. I hope that your Majesty will pay more attention to your health and don't worry too much. "
After saying that, Zhao Junchen saluted and left.
When Zhao Junchen left the Imperial Study Room, he immediately stopped being submissive and his face was full of sarcasm and sneer.
At the same time, Zhao Junchen secretly thought in his heart: "It is indeed like this... Emperor Deqing seems to be hesitant, but in fact he has a plan in mind. The emotional reaction he is showing now is largely just for show." That’s it!”
Zhao Junchen deliberately met and talked with Emperor Deqing alone today, in fact, to test Emperor Deqing's true thoughts on the matter of the prince.
Faced with Zhao Junchen's temptation, Emperor Deqing also changed from his previous deep state of mind. He seemed to show his true inner emotions and a lot of sadness, as if he valued the father-son relationship between him and Zhu Heyu, so He couldn't bear to punish Zhu Heyu severely.
However, the deeper meaning of this gesture means that Emperor Deqing has actually made a decision in his heart - in order to calm the public anger and stabilize the government and the opposition, he will sacrifice Prince Zhu Heyu and punish him severely!
But as Emperor Deqing himself said, he was not only an emperor, but also a father. Even if he made a big mistake as a prince, Emperor Deqing could not give up too quickly or punish him easily. On the surface, he must hesitate, otherwise he would It will also leave an impression of being cold-blooded and cannibalistic, and it will be equally unsightly to be recorded in history books in the future.
Since ancient times, how many princes have been deposed throughout the dynasties? Every deposed prince ends badly! When emperors of the past dynasties made the decision to depose the prince, they would always show a look of painful hesitation and grief. In fact, they wanted to prove to the world that they were not heartless people, and they only made such a decision out of necessity.
The same is true for Emperor Deqing today.
In the heart of Emperor Deqing, the love between father and son may indeed exist, but it would never be important enough to affect his judgment. The hesitation he showed in front of the officials today and the pain he showed in front of Zhao Junchen were more to show the world to the world. An explanation, an explanation to the history books, of course, is also to give an explanation to himself, so that he can feel better when making decisions in the future.
It is precisely because of this that Emperor Deqing's reaction was so interesting when Zhao Junchen made the suggestion, because he didn't really want to protect the crown prince Zhu Heyu!
If Zhao Junchen's suggestion was followed, Prince Zhu Heyu could be temporarily saved, but Emperor Deqing would not be able to stay out of this matter. Just like the fratricide that the prince did in Luoyang was all out of the blue. Due to Emperor Deqing's instructions, Emperor Deqing was also involved in this turmoil, which was obviously not good for Emperor Deqing's own image.
"Ha! Emperor Deqing always cared so much about his image in history books, which can be regarded as one of his biggest weaknesses!
Just now, in order to reject my suggestion, he even used the reason that the emperor's golden words cannot lie... Ha, has he told lies less often in the past?
If I guessed it right, he specially summoned Zhang Quan and Lu Zhengming to talk today, or the pain he deliberately showed when talking to me was just a foreshadowing, just to use the three of us. Word of mouth, spread the word about his performance, let the world know that he is also a good father who cares about family ties, and deposing the prince is also a difficult decision for him!
It seems like this... When Prince Zhu Heyu returns to the capital, that is when he is completely deposed... When Emperor Deqing announces his decision to depose, he may still perform in public like he did today... So, I Several plans must also enter the final stage! "
While thinking deeply, Zhao Junchen had already made up his mind, suppressed the sarcastic smile on his expression, and walked quickly out of the palace.
*
There are always countless hidden things hidden in this temple. Conspiracies and calculations are everywhere. No one can know everything, but careerists always hope that they can control everything, so they will deliberately pry everywhere. Just like hard-working bees, they can't sit still.
On this day, not only Zhao Junchen tested Zhou Shangjing, Emperor Deqing and others, but the seventh prince Zhu Hejian also had his own test plan.
Shortly after the start of the morning session today, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian suddenly arrived at the Tongzheng Si Yamen.
Now that Zhu Hejian was in the limelight, everyone regarded him as the quasi-prince. Therefore, when all the officials from the General Affairs Department saw Zhu Hejian's sudden appearance, they naturally did not dare to neglect and hurriedly showed up to greet him.
Seeing the grand welcome from everyone in the General Affairs Department, the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian remained as gentle and humble as ever, saying repeatedly: "Your Excellencies, you are too polite. I am just an idle prince now. There is absolutely no need for you to make such a big show of things. meet."
At this time, several main officials of the General Affairs Department were attending the court meeting. General Affairs Envoy Tong Huan, Zuo Tongzheng Xu Ke, Right Tongzheng Cai Huan and others were not present. The person leading the General Affairs Department Yamen was Left Councilor Xia Ruhai.
Hearing Zhu Hejian's polite words, Xia Ruhai hurriedly said: "His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince is too polite. With your noble status, it is disrespectful for the officials and others to rush to greet you! But I don't know why you came to our office today. What's the matter? If you have any request, just ask, I will do my best!"
Zhu Hejian hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "Everyone who serves in the General Administration Department is a well-informed person, and they must also know what happened in Luoyang! This matter is really too big, and I am worried about the third brother of the prince. situation, so I couldn't help but come here to find out if there is any new news from Luoyang?
... Of course, I also know that my status should not involve me in political affairs, and it is against the rules to do so. However, because the stakes are so important, I really cannot remain indifferent. I hope that all the Lords of the Secretary for General Affairs will be accommodating. "
Zhu Hejian's image is extremely deceptive. In just a few sentences, he describes himself as a sincere person who cares about his brother. Coupled with his humble attitude, all the officials in the General Affairs Department have a good impression of him. .
After Xia Ruhai hesitated for a moment, out of his good impression of Zhu Hejian and his intention to curry favor with the would-be prince, he quickly decided to tell the truth and said: "I hope His Highness the Seventh Prince knows that the Tongzheng Si Yamen has not received any communication from Luoyang today. new news, but it is still early, and the noise caused by His Royal Highness in Luoyang is too great. Officials at all levels must submit memorials to express their attitude at this time. If nothing unexpected happens, there should be new news soon. There is news... How about you go back first, and once the General Affairs Department receives new news, they will send someone to notify you as soon as possible?"
Zhu Hejian hesitated again, then shook his head and said: "Under the current situation, I will be restless even if I return to the house, so I'd better stay here and wait for the news! You adults don't have to worry about me, just go about your business. Just I just arranged for an official who is about the same age as me to chat with me for a few words..."
Hearing what Zhu Hejian said, several young officials in the General Administration Department were all in high spirits, thinking that this was a good opportunity for them to make friends with the Seventh Prince.
However, before several young officials could recommend themselves, Zhu Hejian seemingly designated a young official with a casual finger and said: "This gentleman looks kind, so you can accompany me."
Seeing Zhu Hejian's appointment, everyone in the General Affairs Department looked envious and looked in the direction pointed by Zhu Hejian, wanting to see which lucky person got the opportunity to accompany the seventh prince to talk.
However, after seeing the candidate designated by Zhu Hejian, everyone in the General Affairs Department looked stunned.
It turned out that the person Zhu Hejian was referring to was actually Li Chunchen, who was usually the most disliked person among the General Administration Bureau!
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