No matter how Sun and Zhu Qizhen tried to persuade him, Zhu Qiyu remained unmoved.
Zhu Qiyu vaguely remembered someone saying that the emperor's power only existed ten steps away and within a thousand miles.
Thousands of miles away, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, so he can't care so carefully.
Within ten steps, the emperor is also a mortal and has only one life.
So even though Zhu Qiyu is gaining momentum now, once he lives in the Forbidden City, if one of the thousands of palace maids and eunuchs is a die-hard loyalist of Zhu Qizhen and finds the right opportunity for Zhu Qiyu to come and make a move, everything will be in trouble. It's all over.
This 'come on' could be drugging, strangulation, or pushing the emperor while he was walking by the water.
It is easy to hide from an open gun, but difficult to guard against a hidden arrow.
Who knows what fantastic ideas the opponent will come up with. In short, once there are more people around, it will be inevitable and impossible to guard against.
Since the dispute could not come to an end, Empress Dowager Sun looked at the several clan members sitting at the same table, hoping that they could stand up and persuade the emperor to change his mind.
Among the clan members present, the highest-ranking ones were Princess Yongjia, King Min, and Prince Consort Zhao Hui. The most noble person was Zhu Wengui, the king of Soochow.
The eldest princess of Yongjia had a deadly feud with the Sun family for a long time, so she naturally sided with Zhu Qiyu wholeheartedly.
King Min and the eldest princess of Yongjia are siblings, so they naturally advance and retreat together.
The king of Soochow was released from imprisonment and restored to freedom by Zhu Qiyu, and was given preferential treatment by Prince Wei Bi, so his position was very clear.
Sun didn't expect these three people to say anything good, but placed her hope on the Prince Consort Zhao Hui.
The four generations of Taizong, Renzong, Xuanzong and Zhengtong all regarded Zhao Hui very well. When Zhao Hui married Princess Baoqing, Renzong, who was still the prince, went to see his aunt off in person. His level of attention was unprecedented in the history of the Ming Dynasty. All extremely rare.
But as soon as Zhao Hui opened his mouth, Sun was greatly disappointed, and Zhao Hui persuaded: "Since Your Majesty has made up his mind, there is no need for the Queen Mother and Emperor Gongrang to persuade you any more.
Your Majesty can live comfortably in the western suburbs, which is beneficial to your family and country.
You see, His Majesty has only been on the throne for two years, and already twelve empresses have become pregnant, and he has successfully given birth to his eldest son.
It can be seen that Yuquan Mountain in the western suburbs has a suitable climate, water and soil that support people.
Besides, His Majesty has made no omissions in government affairs. Now the wars in all directions have gradually subsided, state affairs are in order, and the Ming Dynasty is already thriving.
Therefore, His Majesty can live wherever he likes, and there is no need to force it. "
After saying that, Zhao Hui immediately added: "The matter of your majesty establishing a queen and taking in a concubine is also a private matter of your majesty, and it is also up to your majesty to make your own decision."
Hearing this, Sun, Qian, and Zhu Qizhen all changed their expressions.
Zhu Qizhen was particularly surprised. It was not like he had been hunting in the north for two years, but the structure of the court had changed so much. Most of the clan members, nobles, civil and military ministers present here sided with the emperor.
Listen to what Zhao Hui said: It's okay for the emperor to leave the imperial city and live in the western suburbs. The emperor does not appoint a queen, but can freely choose his concubines. If you co-write the emperor, you will be completely unfettered, right?
Sun and Zhu Qizhen were about to think carefully about how to counterattack next. Unexpectedly, Queen Qian suddenly answered and asked Zhao Hui:
"What my great-granduncle said was wrong. In the past, His Majesty only acted as the successor to the throne, so it was justifiable not to establish a queen. Now that His Majesty has officially accepted the abdication, is it not appropriate to establish a queen?
Have you ever seen any dynasty or generation that only had an emperor but no queen? "
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hui immediately retorted: "If it is according to what the Supreme Empress said, since Your Majesty has accepted the abdication, he should completely follow the rules of the emperors of the past dynasties?
If we follow the established rules, emperors of all dynasties have appointed their sons as princes, and the princes will inherit the throne.
I have never heard of any emperor passing the throne to his nephew even though he has a son.
According to what the Supreme Queen said, Your Majesty appointed a queen and gave birth to a legitimate son with the queen. Then should his legitimate son be established as prince and inherit the throne? Please also ask the Queen to make it clear. "
When Queen Mother Sun and Zhu Qizhen heard the conversation between the two, they each took a deep breath.
Neither of them expected Qian to suddenly make such remarks, nor did they expect that Zhao Hui would seize the loopholes and fight back mercilessly. Even if most people knew about the loopholes, they would choose to turn a blind eye and not dare to embarrass the Sun family too much.
Empress Dowager Sun and Zhu Qizhen originally did not want to get too entangled in the matter of establishing a queen. If they really forced Zhu Qiyu to establish a queen, it would inevitably involve the issue of whether the emperor and the queen's legitimate sons had the right to inherit the throne.
Isn't this a rush to force Zhu Qiyu to change his position as crown prince?
Therefore, on this issue, Empress Dowager Sun, Zhu Qizhen, and Zhu Qiyu had the same attitude, and they did not hope that a queen would really appear.
Everyone can understand Zhao Hui's attitude. This is to submit a petition to the emperor, and from now on he can only stand on the emperor's side.
Queen Qian's attitude is a bit intriguing. It's not clear whether she really lacks political acumen and said the wrong thing on impulse, or whether she deliberately put the current prince on the fire.
Anyway, the possibility of Queen Qian giving birth to another son is slim, and Queen Zhou is Queen Qian's mortal enemy. It is not certain how Queen Qian is blind and lame.
It is not ruled out that Queen Qian wanted to deliberately trick Queen Zhou and Prince Zhu Jianshen.
At this point, the atmosphere of the banquet was getting more and more tense. Except for the table where the two emperors were sitting, everyone else was silent, and no one was willing to interfere.
Not only did the civil and military officials not speak, but Zhu Qiyu himself also stopped speaking.
Anyway, for Zhu Qiyu, he would never appoint a queen.
As he and his beloved concubines spent two years getting along, they have established a balanced and harmonious relationship.
Zhu Qiyu summed up three principles.
First, try to be as fair as possible.
Human nature is like this, and we are always worried not about scarcity but about inequality.
Zhu Qiyu equalized the status, status, treatment, and proportions of the fifteen favored concubines.
Even for the most difficult issues of queen status and crown prince registration, Zhu Qiyu gave clear solutions:
When he was alive, he did not establish a queen. The fifteen favored concubines had equal positions and were equal to each other.
The prince must treat the fifteen mothers and concubines equally, kowtow and salute them during every year and festival, and must serve them wholeheartedly in the future.
Zhu Qiyu has reserved the status of a little kowtow bug for his eldest son without authorization, and he will have to kowtow to everyone he meets.
As for after he dies, he and his beloved concubines will go to the seaside of Shandong to find a pleasant place to be buried together, and have fun while visiting the imperial mausoleum and ancestral temple.
If your son insists on installing a queen's tablet in the ancestral temple, you should respect the daughter of the Guo family of the Marquis of Wuding as Queen Jingtai.
In a word, everything should be divided equally as much as possible. No one among the fifteen beloved concubines should compete with anyone.
In the words of Lao Tzu, it is to avoid desires and keep people's hearts from chaos.
In addition, the fifteen beloved concubines grew up together like sisters, so there was no cause for conflict.
Zhu Qiyu's second principle is to stop it completely and never look for a new woman again.
When he first became emperor, Zhu Qiyu really thought about three palaces, six courtyards, and three thousand beauties.
But as time went by, Zhu Qiyu gradually understood that if he wanted peace in his backyard, a comfortable life, and personal safety, he had better not accept new women.
(End of chapter)
