Hearing He Yi's proposal to adopt him to Empress Hu, Zhu Qiyu was stunned for a long time, and then he patted his forehead as if he suddenly realized:
"Adopted? Yes, the Queen Mother Sun was originally a concubine. It was all because of the late emperor's doting on his concubine and destroying his wife. Moreover, it was only when there was no loyal minister in the entire Xuande Dynasty that he successfully coerced my aunt to give up the position of queen.
Now I have upheld justice for my aunt, allowed her to regain her status as a head wife, and turned the Queen Mother back into a concubine. Who dares to say that I am wrong?
Empress Dowager Sun used her concubine to destroy her wife. This was her Achilles heel. We must seize this point.
Moreover, the Supreme Emperor was not the Empress Dowager Sun's biological son, but the Empress Dowager Sun secretly took the palace servant's son and considered him her own son. This point will also be made clear to all people in the future, so that the truth will be made known to the world. "
Now it was He Yi's turn to be in a daze: even the emperor was not the biological son of the empress dowager, so the emperor had come up with such a way to deal with people.
After being stunned for a long time, He Yicai asked: "Then how does your Majesty plan to treat the prince?"
Zhu Qiyu replied without hesitation: "When the prince is fifteen years old, let him concurrently serve as King Xiang. I have already set a good example for him in advance. I am the emperor and also the king of Qi, and he is the prince and concurrently the king of Xiang."
A few years after he got married, he was asked to go to Changsha to become a feudal lord. Then a few years later, he took the initiative and asked to abdicate in favor of someone worthy of his post. After a few more pushes, I reluctantly complied with his wishes.
Since ancient times, vassal kings who succeeded in ascending to power either succeeded in seizing the throne from their direct descendants in the capital or raised troops from the frontiers. So Changsha is a good place, far away from the capital and far from the border.
I will give the prince countless fields and treasures, and he can live comfortably as a vassal king in Changsha and live out the rest of his life in peace. In this way, everyone will be decent and there will be no need to ruin the harmony. "
"But now there is Prince Xiang."
Zhu Qiyu shook his head: "In the fifth year of Jingtai's reign, the eunuchs in charge of the capital camp and the Queen Mother's natal brothers united with the ministers and nobles of the court to rebel and sent troops into the palace with the intention of hijacking the Supreme Emperor and restoring him to the throne.
That day was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Supreme Emperor specially summoned Prince Xiang’s family to Beijing to congratulate him. As a result, when the Supreme Emperor held a banquet for his ministers that night, the rebels took advantage of the empty defense of the imperial city and led thousands of people into the palace.
This mutiny will kill many, many people, including all the brothers of Prince Xiang’s family and the Empress Dowager Sun’s natal family, as well as Jin Ying, Xing’an and all their cronies.
In this way, the lineage of King Xiang will be extinct. In a few years, I will grant the title of King Xiang to the prince. "
He Yi was quite confused when he heard this. It was understandable that the emperor wanted to destroy the Sun family, but why did he hate King Xiang so much?
Zhu Qiyu shook his head. He knew what He Yi was wondering about, but he couldn't say it. In ancient times, there were four major immoral things: kicking the widow's door, digging the grave of an impoverished family, eating confinement milk, and scolding the mute.
In history, Zhu Zhanzhen, the king of Xiang, proposed to destroy the mausoleum of Queen Hang and expel Queen Wang and her daughter from the palace of Prince Nie after the restoration of Zhu Qizhen. It took several lifetimes of great virtue to come up with such a weird idea.
Therefore, Zhu Qiyu had already made a decision in his heart: There is no problem in letting the prince live, but Prince Xiang must go to see the late emperor.
However, Zhu Qiyu still explained to He Yi: "I can also give King Xiang a chance. If in the fifth year of Jingtai, the Supreme Emperor summons King Xiang to the capital to congratulate him, but King Xiang does not come, forget about it and let him stay in Changsha." Well. If he insists on coming to support the Supreme Emperor, then I can only apologize."
He Yi replied: "If Your Majesty is determined to do this, then after asking the Supreme Emperor to meditate and give way, he should no longer be called the Supreme Emperor.
The Supreme Emperor is the Supreme Emperor, and Your Majesty is the Emperor. In this way, in name, you are one head shorter than the Supreme Emperor. "
Zhu Qiyu sighed: "I am also worried about this matter. Do you have any good ideas for Xingyi?"
He Yi smiled and said: "Since it is the Supreme Emperor who abdicated the throne to His Majesty, why not change the title of the Supreme Emperor from the Supreme Emperor to the respectful Emperor?"
Zhu Qiyu clapped his hands: "Yes, as the saying goes, brothers and sisters are respectful. The word "Gong" puts the Supreme Emperor in a lower position than me. Well, it means respecting the Emperor.
Hey, I can't help it either. If the Supreme Emperor could take the initiative to take his whole family, including the prince, to Fengyang to guard the mausoleum after returning to the capital. I am willing to renovate the Fengyang Palace so that the Supreme Emperor can live a more luxurious life than before, and the family can live the rest of their lives in peace and harmony.
It's a pity that no one wants to let go. Then I am very helpless. I can't return the throne to the Supreme Emperor. Then I will take the lives of my whole family. "
He Yi heard the words and hurriedly comforted him: "Your Majesty, you don't have to feel guilty. In fact, as an emperor, you are already kind-hearted. If it were a ruthless emperor, there would be no need to be so complicated and take care of the feelings of the Supreme Emperor's family."
Zhu Qiyu smiled bitterly: "Hey, let's make do with it. I'll tell you my specific plan, and you can help me read it in detail.
After the war this year, I will release the Jiansu people and the Wu people. Then, two palaces with princely specifications were built next to King Xiang's palace, one in the south and one in the north. Then build a palace of Prince Tan not far away.
In the second year of Jingtai, after several palaces were built, Prince Nie's family was asked to go to Changsha to join the feudal clan. Then the common people from Jian and Wu were named county princes, enjoying the courtesy of princes, and allowed them to live in two palaces, one in the south and one in the north of Prince Xiang's palace.
Isn’t King Xiang staunchly loyal to his eldest son? Well, I’ll put the two real dragons of Jian Shu and Wu Shu at his door. I want to see if he is truly loyal and loyal to his eldest son, or if he just thinks he is. Ye Gong, who loves dragons. "
He Yi heard the words and praised: "Your Majesty, that's a good slap on the face. If King Xiang really firmly supports the system of succession, he should be loyal to the Jiansu people. If he doesn't be loyal to the Jiansu people, it can only mean that he is lying. Invite your name, Ye Gong loves dragons."
Zhu Qiyu nodded and continued: "In the first year of Jingtai, I will make major adjustments to the important officials of the imperial court and send a group of people to Nanjing.
At the same time, a major adjustment was made to Shanxi's civil and military officials, Yang Hong and others were eliminated, Shi Heng, Fan Guang, and Sun Bor were all sent to guard Shanxi, and the offensive was stepped up.
The most important thing this year is to communicate more cordially and kindly with the princess.
In the second year of Jingtai, the princess gave birth to my eldest son, and then sent Prince Xi's family to Changsha, and everything became peaceful.
In the same year, the first joint examination and palace examination of the Jingtai Dynasty were held, taking this opportunity to select a large number of young talents. "
The next three years of Jingtai will be the focus. Zhu Qiyu took a sip of tea and continued:
"In the third year of Jingtai, my concubines gave birth to children one after another. By autumn, I already had multiple sons. At this time, the throne was stable, and it was time to welcome back the Supreme Emperor.
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, we welcomed the Supreme Emperor outside Xizhimen, and asked him to face the memorial tablets of the dead soldiers in Jingguan and Tumu.
Then three months later, during the Chinese New Year, all the vassal kings, civil and military officials, and powerful gentry from all over the country will come to Beijing to pay their respects to the emperor. At the same time, Ye Xian and Boyan Timur were defeated and killed.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to congratulate me, I took all the vassal princes, civil and military officials, and powerful gentry to rebuild the capital outside Xizhimen. The heads of General Ye Xian and Boyan Timur were also installed, in order to frighten and frighten those who were dissatisfied. "
