In the first month of the tenth year of Xuande, Emperor Xuande died.
Although the imperial edict has not yet been promulgated, and the crown prince Zhu Qizhen has not yet held his enthronement ceremony, he is already a confirmed emperor.
At this time, he was not yet eight years old.
It is said that the characteristic of a dynasty that is about to perish is that the emperor is getting younger and younger, but the Ming Dynasty was lucky enough not to perish. In the original history, there was Empress Dowager Zhang as regent, and the assistant San Yang was also loyal, so there was no big problem.
But then again, the Ming Dynasty was at its peak at this time, with vassal kings spread all over the country. It was also very difficult to change dynasties. After all, after decades of experience and the rule of Renxuan, most people were still loyal to the Ming court. of.
Therefore, although the young master was suspicious of the country, the Ming Dynasty was not too turbulent.
Empress Dowager Zhang also thinks so. It is really impossible to overthrow the Ming Dynasty now. Moreover, she also believes in her son's vision and will definitely choose loyal ministers.
But even so, as Yan Keng, the minister of Gu Ming and the emperor's master, you still have to say what should be said.
So after restraining Zhu Zhanji, she turned to Chen Guogong and said:
"I have experienced three dynasties and have gained a lot of experience. It is the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China that Chen Guogong is not only the emperor's master, but also under the orders of the Daxing Emperor."
"It can be seen that the late emperor's trust in Chen Guogong should not be betrayed. Now that the young master is in doubt, everyone in the world is looking at the capital. The vassals and clans are also paying attention to the movements of the court, and the ministers in the court are paying more attention to you."
"I hope Chen Guogong can imitate Zhou Gong in assisting the government, so that the monarch and his ministers can get along well with each other, and leave a good reputation for a lifetime."
These words are not so much a greeting to the "colleagues" who are about to cooperate, but more like a shock to the people of the world, the vassal king, and the ministers.
Yan Keng naturally understood. He lowered his head and said softly:
"If you are a humble minister, you will be spared. You will serve the country loyally and continue the prosperous age of Xuande."
This humble attitude made Queen Mother Zhang very satisfied. She nodded and said:
"Chen Guogong knew what was going on, and this is the best thing. The Daxing Emperor passed away early, and the Crown Prince is young. The two of us still need to work together. I am a prostitute, but it is inconvenient to do things outside the court, and I will have to rely on him in the future. Chen Guogong."
"If you have anything, you can bring it up and discuss it with me."
This is appeasing.
"Speaking of which, I do have something to ask of you." Yan Keng replied.
"What?" Queen Mother Zhang narrowed her eyes.
"Although I have received orders from the two dynasties, I have no relevant real power. Now I am ordered to lead the outer dynasty and assist His Majesty, but it is a bit inconvenient. The meaning of Wei Chen is that in the imperial edict, I was appointed as the chief assistant of the cabinet. "
In fact, Yan Keng has never had a clear political position. He relied on the emperor's trust and his fate-caring status to appear to be extremely active in major events. In fact, he was always just a person who made suggestions.
You know, the descendants of honorable nobles basically hold military positions. For example, the five left governors of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion are all sons of nobles, but they are almost non-existent in the rest of the civil service positions.
Even if some descendants of nobles could no longer ride a horse or wield a sword, they would almost never have the opportunity to hold civil servants.
Therefore, we can see in the history of the Ming Dynasty that once there was peace, Wu Xun rarely appeared in court matters, and his professionalism was inconsistent. Although the five governors of the Fifth Military Governor's Mansion have the right to discuss government affairs, they only discuss government affairs and have no actual participation power.
Yan Keng has been like this in the past few years. Emperor Renxuan was very smart. Although he trusted him, Yan Keng himself had military power, so he was not given actual administrative power as a check and balance.
However, the power of the cabinet has expanded a lot in recent years. When Xuande was seriously ill, the power of the cabinet increased again. If he did not have the corresponding real power, he would not be able to lead the foreign dynasty.
But Queen Mother Zhang's eyes widened when she heard this.
Yan Keng serves as the chief minister of the cabinet, which in itself is not a problem.
But he is already the Zuo Governor of the Houjun Governor's Mansion. You must know that the Houjun Governor's Mansion is in charge of Beizhi!
Good guy, now that we have soldiers and power, will the world have to change its surname?
At this moment, even though both Renzong and the late emperor had great trust in him, she felt that Chen Guogong had really bad intentions and was going to bully their orphans and widowers before his death.
Fortunately, Yan Keng's next words interrupted her random thoughts.
"It's just that if you serve as the chief assistant of the cabinet and take on other affairs concurrently, it will be a loss of energy. Please resign from the post of left governor of the rear military governor's mansion."
Queen Mother Zhang was stunned for a moment. She had thought so much, but she didn't expect that the other party meant exchange.
Yan Keng later explained the reason for doing this. In the future, it does sound a bit ridiculous for the military general Zuo Dudu of the Military Governor's Palace to assist the government. The chief assistant can more legitimately assist the emperor.
Queen Mother Zhang blushed immediately when she heard this. She was obviously being upright and considerate of her grandson, but she thought so, and she couldn't help but feel guilty in her heart. She thought briefly and nodded:
"That being the case, it's feasible."
With the military and government separated, the threat is much smaller. After all, Zhu Qizhen is young, and it is inevitable that the person who assists the government will take over the power.
As for Yan Keng, he didn’t think it was a big deal.
You must know that later Zhang Juzheng did not directly control the military power, but he did not shock the world in the same way?
Although Yan Keng doesn't know this junior, the truth is the same. If you really reach that position, unless the order given is to rebel, the general will not disobey you.
He didn't want to rebel, so why bother with this.
Besides, he has been in charge of the Houjun Governor's Mansion for so many years and has many confidants, so his influence is still very great.
As for the general in charge of government affairs, the position of the chief assistant of the cabinet is a must. Just now the status of the cabinet is getting higher and higher. The status of the chief assistant and his own identity as the prince and grand master is a perfect match.
"It's just that as long as I agree, you, the chief minister of the cabinet, may not be able to succeed." Queen Mother Zhang said again. She was obviously no stranger to politics.
"As long as the Queen Mother agrees, the rest will be left to Wei Chen." Yan Ling said immediately.
Seeing how confident he was, Zhang didn't say anything else.
Compared with the sophistication of Queen Mother Zhang, Queen Mother Sun on the other side is much worse. She has no political thinking. Seeing that Queen Mother Zhang has agreed, she has no objection at all.
At this time, the woman's face was still streaming with tears, and Yan Keng even doubted whether she had heard clearly the conversation he had just had with Mrs. Zhang.
Yan Ling's impression of Queen Sun was not good. Although the love story between her and Zhu Zhanji was quite heartwarming, the deposed Empress Hu was even more pitiful. She was truly a wealthy woman and quite virtuous. When Zhu Zhanji wanted to depose the empress, he was Dissenters.
Compared with Queen Hu, Queen Sun is not even a little bit worse to be honest.
Naturally, I can't have any good impressions of her at this time.
Looking at the crying look now, how can she look like a heroic woman like Queen Mother Zhang? At this time, she only knows how to shed tears and not care about the change of power that really should be paid attention to. How is she like an empress of a dynasty who cares about the world!
So he just gave a symbolic comfort:
"Please rest assured, Queen, I will do my best to comfort the late emperor!"
"Please, Duke Chen." Queen Sun cried again.
"Queen Mother, Queen, that minister has resigned."
Seeing the support of the two people, Yan Keng knew that the matter was half done, so he immediately resigned.
The consent of these two people alone is not enough.
The chief minister of the cabinet is not so easy to get.
(End of chapter)
