Liu Haojia also knew that for such a big matter, Emperor Wanli had to have someone to help him make up his mind, so he could only retreat. However, he still quietly told Zhang Jia and Li Song to dissuade Emperor Wanli from acting rashly and to communicate with Zhang Juzheng!
Otherwise, there might be a break between the emperor and the civil service group! And if this happens without the support of the nobles and the army, it will undoubtedly be absolutely fatal! Liu Haojia is willing to work with Emperor Wanli, but he is not willing to die together!
The reason is very simple. Now is the time when the civil official group is extremely powerful. If Emperor Wanli kills civil officials without support from the insiders of the civil official group, it will only trigger a backlash from the civil officials! Once the two sides break up, Liu Haojia cannot guarantee that the people in the palace will really be so loyal! Maybe Emperor Wanli will die in the harem like Zhu Houzhao! And Liu Haojia, who was regarded by everyone as Emperor Wanli's most trusted confidant, would definitely be buried with him!
So Liu Haojia finally stressed to the two of them: "If Long Live Lord insists on having his own way, just say that King Lu is still in the palace and can ascend the throne at any time, so that Long Live Lord may be able to calm down!"
When Emperor Wanli arrived at Empress Dowager Li's palace, Zhang Jia finally caught up with him. Emperor Wanli knew that Zhang Jia had always been inseparable from him. Liu Haojia must have said something if it took him so long to show up. So he asked directly with a cold face: "Did Liu Haojia say something again?"
Zhang Jia knew that he was angry when he heard this title, so he did not dare to hide it from him. Except for the sentence about King Lu, he explained everything else.
Emperor Wanli stood at the gate of the palace for a long time before saying in a dull voice: "Let's go, enter the palace!"
Although the palace maid who had been waiting at the door for a long time didn't know what the two of them were talking about, she knew from the look on Emperor Wanli's face that this was not the time to flatter him, so she led Emperor Wanli into Queen Mother Li's palace honestly.
After entering the palace, before Empress Dowager Li could say anything, Emperor Wanli had already arranged for Zhang Jia to drive out all the palace residents. Empress Dowager Li watched silently as her son drove everyone out of her palace.
When only mother and son were left in the room, Queen Mother Li said: "Long live my lord, who provoked you today? You lost your temper so much? And you took it out on the people in the Ai Family Palace?"
Emperor Wanli sat down next to Empress Dowager Li, sighed and said: "Mother, you know that I am not angry! I really can't find anyone to give me advice, and what I want to say is very important, so this is the only way. .”
Queen Mother Li said softly: "Master Wan, don't worry, these people are all servants of the royal family. It is right for Master Wan live to treat them! Now tell me what happened to you?"
Emperor Wanli raised his head and said, "Queen Mother, have you ever heard of the Master Society?"
Queen Mother Li thought for a moment and then shook her head. Emperor Wanli then asked: "Have you heard of the Plum Blossom Club and the Chrysanthemum Club, Queen Mother?"
Queen Mother Li thought for a moment and still shook her head, but she asked further: "The two associations that Long Live the Lord mentioned sound like they were created by literati! Or is there another secret association like the White Lotus Sect?"
Then Emperor Wanli explained in detail the process of cleaning up the inner palace in the past year. By the time he finished speaking, his mouth was dry and he just picked up the cold tea to moisten his throat!
And Queen Mother Li became more and more satisfied and happy the more she listened! My son has done such an outstanding thing, and the mother is naturally happy! And the best thing is that as one of the people in power in the harem, she only vaguely heard some rumors and didn't know the specific things. This shows that my son is doing things safely! If the ruler is not secretive, his ministers will be lost, and if the minister is not secretive, he will lose his identity. It seems that my son is born to be a wise king!
So Queen Mother Li smiled with satisfaction after hearing this, and said: "Long live the work well, and the manpower is good! It's just that the Ai family doesn't know what the direct relationship between the master you mentioned and this matter is?"
Emperor Wanli put down his tea cup and said, "I didn't say the last part just now, just because I wanted you to have a clear understanding!"
Then he told everything he knew about the Master Club. After hearing this, Queen Mother Li's eyebrows stood up, and she immediately said seriously: "This kind of association must not be tolerated! Long live the Lord must investigate it strictly!"
Although Emperor Wanli has said that it is unlikely that this master will rebel, the purpose of their organization is to suppress the emperor and make a little fortune for themselves, but this situation is unacceptable to any royal family! Any threat to the imperial power must be nipped in the bud! So Queen Mother Li immediately expressed her attitude directly!
Emperor Wanli was affirmed by Empress Dowager Li, and his spirits improved a lot. He said: "I also want to do this, but now I don't dare! One of the reasons is that I don't know who the leader of this master society is? I'm worried. If you don't kill the snake, you will be harmed by it! And what chills me the most is that the person who caught him has clearly confessed that the Master Society is almost a semi-public organization, but neither I nor my mother knew it. This shows that the factory guards Either there are people inside who are colluding with them, or they have been completely deceived! Either way, it chills me to the extreme!"
Queen Mother Li narrowed her eyes and said slowly: "It is impossible to be complicit, and they will never be deceived! It can only be said that they may think they are harmless and let them go easily! But this is not the reason for them to conceal the news! As the royal family Slaves, it is the emperor's responsibility to respond to certain matters, and what they have to do is report the news in detail!"
Emperor Wanli said bitterly: "I think so too! But Liu Haojia suggested that I talk to Mr. Zhang first to win his support! Now I want to know if it is necessary to go? After all, he is also a civil servant, even Maybe he’s a member of the Dominion Club! I can’t trust him! And even if we negotiate, will Mr. Zhang be able to support me? I don’t think so!”
Queen Mother Li asked with concern: "Is this what Liu Haojia suggested?"
Emperor Wanli said: "Yes, that's what he suggested. He gave many reasons, but the one that moved me the most was that he asked civil servants to fight civil servants!"
After hearing these words, Queen Mother Li leaned back, leaned on the chair and relaxed her body, and then said: "Say exactly what Liu Haojia said."
Emperor Wanli didn't know why Empress Dowager Li was so solemn, but he still roughly repeated Liu Haojia's words to persuade him. As a result, after he finished speaking, he found that Queen Mother Li had been listening to him with her eyes closed. He knew he was thinking, so he sat there slowly drinking tea and waiting for Queen Mother Li to speak.
