August 19, noon.
Zhu Qiyu spent three and a half days and ran nearly three hundred miles.
After the group had lunch, Cheng Jing came to Zhu Qiyu and asked for instructions: "Your Highness, there are only forty miles away from Baoding Fucheng. Should we rush into the city today or stay one night outside the city?"
Zhu Qiyu smiled and said: "Don't rush, just walk slowly. We will camp outside the city tonight, and everyone will have enough energy. When we enter the city early tomorrow morning, I will take you to have fun. Everyone eats, drinks, and drinks. If you want to play, all the expenses are mine.”
When everyone heard this, they cheered in unison.
Only Cheng Jing persuaded with a worried look on his face: "Your Highness, the imperial court has just experienced a huge defeat, and His Majesty's life or death is uncertain. If we just indulge in fun like this, I'm afraid it won't have a good impact if it spreads to the imperial court."
Zhu Qiyu patted Cheng Jing on the shoulder and said with a relaxed smile: "You all can work boldly and confidently. Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility for it.
Besides, the court's requirement for the vassal king is to indulge in pleasure all day long, eat and wait for death. If you really care about political affairs every day, the court will be afraid and suspicious.
Given the situation in front of me, if I really ran to the palace and took care of this and that, others would think that I had an agenda. "
Upon hearing this, Cheng Jing nodded and agreed with Zhu Qiyu's opinion.
Zhu Qiyu then ordered: "Everyone should change into civilian clothes. Let's keep a low profile and don't flaunt around in the name of the palace.
From now on, you call me Second Young Master, and don’t call me Your Highness anymore. You should also stop calling each other by official titles.
In addition, Mr. Cheng and Mr. Yu will ride with me in the carriage. I have something to talk to you about. "
Everyone hurriedly responded in unison, rested for another half an hour, packed up and moved on.
This time everyone was not in a hurry and walked forward slowly.
Although the interior of Zhu Qiyu's carriage is not very big, it is quite luxurious and comfortable. In the front half, there is a couch on each side. Cheng Jing, Yu Gang, and Yu Shan sat on the two sides in turn.
The back half is a soft couch, covered with several thick layers of cushions, all made of white fox fur, which is soft and warm.
A small coffee table is fixed on the soft couch, with books and fruits placed on it. Zhu Qiyu covered his legs with a brocade quilt, leaned comfortably on the thick cushions, and looked at the three "Conglong Ministers" sitting on the side of the couch with a smile.
The three "little ministers" were so frightened when they saw Zhu Qiyu that they all hurriedly asked His Highness King Tan for instructions.
Zhu Qiyu pretended to clear his throat and said with a faint smile: "Everyone has heard about the Tumu Fort Incident. My imperial brother has probably been captured. Anyway, he will definitely not be able to return to the capital for a while.
A country cannot live without a king for a day. It won't be long before the court will appoint another emperor. The only candidates who can succeed are me, the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Jianshen, and the king of Xiang, Zhu Zhanzhen.
Who do you think the court will choose, and how should our Prince Tan's Palace respond? Tell us your opinions. "
After hearing this, Cheng Jing and the others' expressions changed drastically and they almost fell off the couch.
Yu Gang hurriedly turned around, stuck his head out of the small window of the carriage, and looked back and forth.
Fortunately, Zhu Qiyu had already ordered the guards to keep a shot away from the carriage. When Yu Gang saw that the guards were far away, he turned back and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Seeing this, Zhu Qiyu teased: "Mr. Yu, do you want to get out of the car now? If you hurry up and rush back to the capital to tell the Queen Mother what I just said, you will be promoted and make a fortune, and your career will be just around the corner."
Yu Gang was stunned when he heard this: King Xi has been approachable and gentle these days. He always calls himself 'I' and calls several close ministers sir. This is the first time he calls himself a widower, and he is obviously very serious.
Yu Gang hurriedly stood up and knelt down, and defended: "Your Highness knows it well, a loyal minister will not serve two masters. No matter what your Highness chooses, I will follow you to the death without any regrets."
Zhu Qiyu raised his hand slightly to signal Yu Gang to stand up, and said with a smile: "Mr. Yu's words are serious, there is no need to live or die, what he said is so disgusting.
Except for Wang Cheng who is driving outside, there are only four of us, the monarch and his ministers. If you have anything to say, feel free to say it. "
After hearing this, Yu Gang stood up and sat back. Just then he continued: "Your Highness, forgive me for being bold. I have been thinking about this issue for the past two days.
I think about it, if His Highness inherits the throne, he may be suspected of being unfair in his position. If it is not handled properly, there may be endless troubles. "
"The emperor's improper position will lead to endless troubles!"
Zhu Qiyu shook his head helplessly and murmured to himself, repeating this sentence.
Zhu Qiyu thought of Ma Shun, the poor commander of the Jinyi Guards and a close confidant of the great eunuch Wang Zhen. Soon, he would be beaten to death by the ministers in front of him, the prince of the country, at the court meeting. die.
The main reason why the ministers dared to kill Ma Shun was to give themselves, the prince of the country, a warning, and to warn themselves that in the future they would be a weak emperor who was not in the right position.
Another motive of the ministers was to beat Wang Zhen's cronies to death in public to scare the eunuchs.
It is still the early Ming Dynasty, the trend of eunuchs taking power has just emerged, and people do not have a deep understanding of the nature of the struggle between eunuchs and civil servants.
If you know the history of the late Ming Dynasty, anyone who knows a little bit about political struggles will know one fact:
The eunuch party is the imperial party!
The 9,000-year-old Eunuch Wei, who had all the power in the world, was actually nothing more than a sword for Emperor Tianqi.
Today's Wang Zhen and his cronies may also have the idea that the eunuch party is the imperial party.
Therefore, the ministers killed more than just one Jin Yiwei commander. More importantly, the imperial party's confidence in being loyal to the emperor was severely damaged. From now on, anyone who wants to be loyal to the emperor must think carefully about his own fate.
Zhu Qiyu was lost in thought when Yu Shan on the side saw this and put forward a different opinion: "Your Highness clearly knows that I thought that your Majesty would go on a personal expedition, which would be a disgrace to the country and a great loss of prestige.
If His Highness takes his place, cultivates virtue internally, controls foreign barbarians, and establishes unparalleled achievements, he will naturally win the hearts of the people in the world. Who will dare to say that His Highness's position is unfair? "
As soon as Yu Shan said this, the four people, including Zhu Qiyu, were all surprised and looked sideways.
Yu Shan felt terrified when everyone saw him. After a long while, Zhu Qiyu said with a smile: "Sir, you are really quick to talk. He even dared to say such words as 'Your Majesty went on a personal expedition and lost his master and humiliated the country.'"
Yu Shan replied sternly: "Emperor Zhaolie once said to Pang Shiyuan, 'You are the king, and you have nothing to hide'. I am an official subordinate to His Highness, so naturally I must put His Highness's interests first.
Since Your Highness dares to ask about your successor, I will naturally dare to speak out. "
When Zhu Qiyu heard this, he asked again: "Both gentlemen are from Jiaxing, and they should be familiar with things in the south of the Yangtze River. If I say: When I become emperor, I will reopen the old port and sail to the West. What do you think, sir?"
As soon as Zhu Qiyu said this, it was Yu Gang and Yu Shan's turn to change their expressions.
Seeing this, Zhu Qiyu laughed and asked with interest: "Why, the families of these two gentlemen are also involved in maritime business?"
