In the Duke Cheng's Mansion, the already old Zhu Xizhong was sitting on a velvet thick-cushioned lounge chair, taking advantage of the rare warm spring to bask in the sun.
My husband, who used to be inactive as he got older, has been worrying a lot lately. Physical fatigue is a minor thing, but the key is mental fatigue. Now that I learned that my eldest grandson has been invited by Gao Pragmatic to go for an outing in Xiangshan, I feel better. Many people do this to bask in the sun.
Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of the country, is actually very average in terms of military ability, but he has been highly trusted for decades and has a pretty good reputation as a civil servant. Of course, he has his abilities.
His abilities, taken together, are twofold: resolutely obeying the emperor's instructions and vigorously making friends with civil servants as aid.
If some young and vigorous nobles were asked to evaluate him, they would definitely be called "the Duke of Licorice". If I had to make an analogy, I am afraid it would be Li Chunfang among the nobles.
Zhu Xizhong himself had heard similar comments, but he didn't care. He even sneered in his heart: This is just a childish view.
Zhu Xizhong has been very astute since he was young, and is good at recruiting various high-ranking officials and celebrities. He can play both sides of the aisle without offending anyone, so he has a good reputation and a prosperous official career. , the two mansions on the right, the General Shenji Camp, the Admiral's 12th Regiment Camp and the 5th Army Camp. In the original history, he served in three dynasties, went out of the city to worship heaven and earth 66 times on behalf of the emperor, and was rewarded with countless gold and silver treasures.
At the same time, Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Juzheng are still very good friends. This is clearly proven: after Zhu Xizhong died, Zhang Juzheng personally wrote an article to commemorate him. His words were full of praise, which shows that the friendship between the two parties was deep and the relationship was profound.
Another clear evidence is after Zhu Xizhong's death in the first year of Wanli. At that time, his younger brother Zhu Xixiao, who was serving as the governor of Jinyi, bribed Feng Bao with a large sum of money and asked to grant his brother Zhu Xizhong the title of king. At this time, Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao were in a political alliance, and Feng Bao's opinions had to be taken seriously. In addition, Zhang Juzheng himself and Zhu Xizhong had a close personal relationship, so they planned to confer the title of king on Zhu Xizhong. At this time, Chen Younian, a minister, firmly opposed it. Shangshu said: "According to the decree: after the death of a meritorious official, he will be granted the title of king, and the marquis will be granted the title of duke. Those who are hereditary descendants will only enjoy the original title in life and death. Zhu Xizhong did not How can you randomly add favor to someone who has made great achievements in conquering the enemy?"
However, Zhang Juzheng, who was a very influential minister and powerful man at that time, did not follow Chen Younian's suggestion and arranged to posthumously title Zhu Xizhong "King Dingxiang". This also paved the way for his student Liu Tai to later impeach him for acting arbitrarily, violating the ancestral system, and making kings indiscriminately. Liu Tai's memorial stated that he was worried that if this was done, the duke's family would be heavily bribed in the future. Citing this example (referring to Zhu Xizhong's case of enfeoffing the king), he would go to the Chen Dynasty to beg endlessly.
In the eleventh year of Wanli, due to the liquidation of Zhang Juzheng, the Duke of Chengguo was affected, and Zhu Xizhong's title was captured. In the fourteenth year of Wanli, the matter not only did not calm down, but intensified. The then Duke of Chengguo, Zhu Yingzhen, was forced to commit suicide in anger. Wanli was shocked and angry after hearing the news. He delayed the normal attack on the Duke of Chengguo for fourteen years before allowing Zhu Dingchen to attack the Duke of Chengguo.
The aftermath of a person's death can last for so long and have such a big impact. Even if Zhang Juzheng is a big reason for this, it would be too much to say that Zhu Xizhong is just a waste with no ability and no influence. .
Of course, looking back, the incident of Zhu Xizhong being crowned king cannot be said to be completely unreasonable: when Emperor Jiajing returned to Chengtian Mansion after the grand ceremony, when he passed by Wei Hui, the palace caught fire and the situation was extremely critical. It was Zhu Xizhong and Lu Bing who rushed into the fire scene and rescued Emperor Jiajing. With such an unusual rescue mission, and being the first of the nobles himself, Zhang Juzheng pretended to be Wanli and posthumously conferred him a prince title. He still said something like: I am thanking him for saving my life back then. Well, this is what a pure and filial king should do!
However, since Jiajing's death, Zhu Xizhong's health has become worse and worse. It stands to reason that he is only fifty-four years old this year, three years younger than Gao Gong. However, Gao Gong is currently in good health and energetic, and there is no trace of Zhu Xizhong's behavior. Come on old.
At this moment, he was lying on the recliner with his eyes closed and concentrating. The maids and slaves beside him were all holding their breath subconsciously, for fear of disturbing the quiet old man.
However, at this moment, a voice came from outside: "Little Zheng Wu, on the orders of young master Zhen, I have to report urgent matters to my father-in-law!"
A maid servant was so frightened that she quickly looked towards Zhu Xizhong. I saw Zhu Xizhong suddenly opening his eyes, his usually old and cloudy eyes showing a fleeting sparkle, but immediately calmed down again, turning into an old-fashioned look with half-squinted eyes, and said feebly: "Let him Come in."
Everyone secretly thought: "The eldest young master has never been in good health. My heart is all about young master Ying Zhen. When I heard that he sent someone to report urgently, he actually saw him immediately."
The eldest young master here is of course not talking about Zhu Yingzhen's brother - Zhu Yingzhen is the eldest grandson and has no brothers. This young master is talking about Zhu Xizhong's eldest son and Zhu Yingzhen's father, Zhu Shitai.
That Zheng Wu was a tall man in his thirties, forty-four or five years old. He had a tough aura, but his rules were not bad at all. After entering the back garden, he bowed down from afar and said, "Young Zheng Wu, I have met my husband."
Zhu Xizhong glanced at him lightly and said feebly: "Get up, what's wrong with Ying Zhen, why are you so anxious to send you to report?" He was secretly worried that his grandson didn't know how to restrain himself, or that Gao Shidu was relying on his uncle's prestige. If you are too arrogant and a disagreement arises between the two of you, or it may escalate into a violent conflict, then a good thing will turn into a bad thing, and you will be in big trouble.
In fact, he was not very afraid of Gao Gong. After all, his identity was here, and the political influence of Duke Cheng was here. Even if Gao Gong wanted to touch him, the emperor would not follow Gao Gong even in such a thing. The temper comes.
But he was very afraid of trouble, especially since he had always adhered to the concept of serving as a minister and an official, which was that peace was the most important thing in everything. For an imperial master like Gao Gong, it was too late for him to befriend him, so why would he be willing to conflict with him?
But now the matter may be really serious, because Zheng Wu did not stand up, but said decisively: "Young Master Ying Zhen confessed: This matter is of great importance, please step aside first."
Zhu Xizhong was not afraid that Zheng Wu would be unfavorable to him, but after hearing these words, he felt even more worried. He subconsciously changed from lying down to sitting up, and waved to the people around him with a serious face: "Stay back."
After everyone retreated, Zhu Xizhong pretended to be calm and said: "Can we talk now?"
"I'm sorry, sir." Zheng Wu replied: "Young Master Yingzhen said: Gao Jingshi's soap dedicated to Long Live is extremely effective. Now he has obtained Long Live's permission to produce it exclusively and sell it to the public. Gao Jingshi just made it clear, We are willing to accept shares from all the noble families in Beijing, including me, and at the same time... there are some discounts."
