Concubine Li will be Empress Dowager Li in the future. Generally speaking, this status has already determined that this person can only win over this person, but it is unlikely that she will be defeated, because she cannot be defeated - in the future, as the biological mother of the emperor, she must be respected as the Queen Mother, unless If she had done something as scandalous as Qin Shihuang's mother back then, otherwise, what reason would there be to destroy her? In other respects, even if someone did something wrong, Emperor Wanli would never do anything to his own mother in order to maintain his reputation as a "pure and filial king". By then, the big thing would have turned into a trivial matter.
Of course, although Concubine Li will be revered as the Cisheng Empress Dowager in the future, there is actually another person ahead of her, the current queen and the future Rensheng Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager Chen. If Empress Dowager Chen can be resolutely persuaded to stand on his side as internal support, and Gao Gong from the foreign court can arrange some means, although Empress Dowager Li cannot be "brought down", there is still a chance to force Empress Dowager Li to be unable to interfere in political affairs. For example, Empress Dowager Li's father and father-in-law Li Wei, who had a very bad reputation in later generations, was a time bomb. It was not completely impossible to exploit him. But this method may not have a high chance of success, because Empress Dowager Chen seems to have similar personalities to Empress Dowager Ci'an, who was originally ranked before Cixi in the Qing Dynasty. She is a kind and gentle person, not to mention that she is very kind to Empress Dowager Li and Zhu Yijun. It is difficult to find a reason to win her over against Empress Dowager Li and her son. Moreover, even if the Empress Dowager Chen is won over, this matter is not without the possibility of failure. Once this kind of thing fails, the consequences will be too serious. Gao Pragmatic will never choose it unless it is absolutely necessary.
As for why Gao Pragmatic was thinking about what to do after the death of Emperor Longqing, the reason is worthless: the emperor's two sons are both sons of Concubine Li Guifei, who have made great contributions to the country, and she, a queen who lives in the deep palace, She didn't do anything blatantly jealous or favored. Even a favorite like Gao Gong couldn't find a reason to overthrow her.
From this point of view, among the three people, Concubine Li is basically the one who can only be attracted and close, and she must not do the other way around.
So, what about Feng Bao?
Gao Pragmatic thought about it carefully. If we look at the original history, Feng Bao can certainly be killed. Historically, he had a deep resentment towards Gao Gong. He was the person in charge of the incident that framed Gao Gong. There were very good reasons for wanting to move him. And it is not difficult to move him. Although this person is not particularly bad among eunuchs, he is not really a good person. Even though he is not the most powerful eunuch at the moment, and may still have bad reputations, this is the Ming Dynasty, and there is no need for civil servants to make trouble for eunuchs. For example, with Gao Gong's status, even if he just said to the emperor, "How dare such eunuchs disrespect me," Feng Daban would probably end up in a bad way. A eunuch guarding a certain place has a chance.
However, Gao Pragmatic knew that it was better not to kill this person if possible, and it was best not to leave him alone if possible.
Why? Because he belongs to Concubine Li.
As the saying goes, if you don't look at the monk's face to look at the Buddha's face, you have to look at the owner to beat a dog.
Although now that Lord Long Qing is still alive, it is extremely easy for Gao Gong to deal with a mere Feng Bao. However, it is easy to kill a Feng Bao, but it is difficult to grasp the attitude of Concubine Li.
Besides, if Feng Bao is moved today, can’t Concubine Li use Zhang Bao or Wang Bao tomorrow? So Feng Bao's head is not important, what is important is Feng Bao's position. For Gao Gong, Feng Bao's really important position was not the official position in the inner court that he could really achieve outside, but his status as the prince's "eldest companion".
According to the practice of the Ming Dynasty, after the prince ascends the throne, the prince's eldest companion is basically the most trusted eunuch of the new king. What is the status of the emperor's most trusted eunuch? There was Liu Jin in the front and Wei Zhongxian in the back.
Although historically Wanli took matters into his own hands and dealt with Feng Bao soon after he took office, before he took office, he did not dare to deal with the companion that his mother arranged beside him. If Emperor Longqing still dies young as in history, then Concubine Li will still be the final talker on behalf of the royal family! And this represents ten years!
Then, it is best to adopt a win-win attitude towards Feng Bao.
After all, for Gao Gong, as long as there is no Zhang Juzheng, Feng Bao alone cannot pose a fatal threat to him. Moreover, after Long Qing's death in the future, he will be the number one minister who cares about life. What he needs is not to defeat this or that. , on the contrary, what he needed most during that period of time was stability.
Similarly, as long as there is no Zhang Juzheng, or as long as there is no figure like Zhang Juzheng who can replace Gao Gong at any time, how can Empress Dowager Li touch Gao Gong? How will the imperial court function after moving the high arches? If there was no opposition like Zhang Juzheng hiding in the shadow of Gao Gong at that time, hundreds of officials were unanimous, and Empress Dowager Li was not stupid, how could she have touched Gao Gong?
What's more, in history, Empress Dowager Li had an affair with Zhang Juzheng, as the unofficial history said. What's the joke? What chance did Zhang Juzheng have to meet her before Long Qing's death? Even if there is a very rare opportunity to meet each other, can it still be done without outsiders present? Under the extremely strict harem system set by Zhu Yuanzhang, could a noble concubine and a cabinet bachelor still have the opportunity to meet alone?
So she really thought that Gao Gong had second thoughts purely because of Feng Bao's false accusation - Wanli's imperial grandfather Jiajing was found to inherit the throne by Yang Tinghe, the chief minister at the time, after the death of Emperor Zhengde! Although there is no doubt that Zhu Yijun is of Long Qing's blood, and he is legitimately succeeded by the prince, it stands to reason that Gao Gong has no legal basis to depose the emperor and establish a new king, but... what if? Emperor Longqing relied on Gao Gong for everything during his lifetime, and asked Gao Gong for everything. Even if Empress Dowager Li subconsciously thought that Gao Gong was very powerful. Since he is powerful, if such a powerful person has evil intentions and really wants to abolish the emperor and establish a new one, are we afraid that he will not be able to find a reason?
This is what she, as a mother and a queen mother, cannot tolerate the most and will never dare to take risks!
Historically, Gao Gong's downfall was due to Zhang Juzheng's suggestion and Feng Bao's false accusation. In the end, the empress dowager and the young emperor were so anxious that they were so frightened and angry that they did not care about the consequences, and directly ordered Gao Gong to be completely eliminated. He had to hold various responsibilities, so that he could return to his place of origin as soon as possible - which is usually said to be a one-stop operation.
Gao Gong didn't expect such a result at all. He didn't really have second thoughts, so he was naturally caught off guard. What else could he do except follow the order and go home?
In the final analysis, it was Gao Gong who was careless. At the same time, Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao's blow hit the target!
Therefore, Gao Pragmatic believes that as long as Zhang Juzheng is removed, Feng Bao is stabilized, and Gao Gong is persuaded to put stability first during the handover between Long and Wan, the next situation will naturally be bright and bright.
If arrangements can be made in advance so that Empress Dowager Li and even the young emperor can have enough trust in Gao Gong, it will be even more stable.
