In fact, from the moment Zhu Yijun said the sentence on the high-gong ticket, "Both palaces are the closest relatives of the emperor, they have never been distinguished from each other, and they should be treated equally", Feng Bao knew that something was wrong.
The reason why Feng Bao dared to come to Concubine Li to stumbling upon Gao Gong was because Feng Bao knew that Gao Gong was a "ruly" person. It is a good thing to follow the rules, but it also depends on the occasion and the specific matter.
Gao Gong's rules-based approach is exactly the same as that of most civil servants who regard the system as a rule of heaven. As for the specific matters at hand, such as who is the "mother queen" and who is the "mother concubine" after Zhu Yijun succeeds to the throne, this is the reality.
According to the rules and regulations of the Ming Dynasty, the "mother queen" could only be Empress Chen. Even though Empress Chen was not the emperor's biological mother, she was the former emperor's empress. After the new emperor succeeded to the throne, he could only call her "the empress dowager", and Li Guifei could only be called "the empress dowager".
Out of his understanding of Gao Gong, Feng Bao concluded that he would stick to this principle and give Empress Chen the title of "Empress Dowager" and Concubine Li the title of "Emperor Dowager Concubine". Although this approach is completely in line with the rules, it is definitely not in line with Concubine Li's thoughts, and it is most likely not in line with the little emperor's thoughts - why should I be the emperor and my biological mother should be inferior to others?
This is the reason why Emperor Jiajing launched the Great Ceremony Conference and caused chaos in the world for so long. The only difference was that the dispute was about who was the emperor of Jiajing Emperor, while the conflict this time was about who was the young emperor's mother.
Perhaps in the eyes of future generations, what is there to argue about? Whose blood I shed is my son!
But in Ming Dynasty, things are not that simple.
This is a great gift! In a Confucian society where etiquette and law are supreme, who is my father or who is my mother must not be messed up. Human relations are so great that they cannot be taken lightly. That is related to who is my father and who is my mother in my family tree a hundred years from now!
If "I" were just an ordinary person, then the problem would be slightly smaller, but this "I" is the emperor! He is an emperor who speaks the constitution and follows the law!
I, the majestic emperor, the supreme being in the world, can’t even truly identify my biological father and mother?
This is how conflicts arise. Unless one party gives in, they cannot be reconciled.
As a civil servant leader, would Gao Gong be willing to give in on this important matter concerning the regulation of the world?
Feng Bao believes: He cannot and will not give in.
That's why Feng Bao found the right opportunity to come to Concubine Li to put eye drops on Gao Gong and stumble her.
But why did Gao Gong give in? It even made it clear in the vote that "foolish intentions...should be treated equally"?
Of course it was Gao Pragmatic who convinced him.
How could Gao Gong, a pragmatic man, be able to convince Gao Gong, a civil servant leader, on this matter? You know, since he is a civil servant leader, while enjoying a distinguished status, he also shoulders responsibilities.
But Gao Jingshi only used three words to convince Gao Gong.
"Great ceremony."
The emperor is always the emperor. He speaks of the Constitution and follows the law. This is the emperor's unique power. Even though the emperor is still young now, he will eventually grow up one day. It may be possible to force him to bow his head now, but what about the future? How much pressure there is, how much rebound!
He is the emperor, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Under the system of the Ming Dynasty, no matter how powerful the powerful officials are, they are only temporary. Can you still suppress the emperor? Want to rebel? At least it is impossible for civil servants, and Gao Gong is even less likely to have such thoughts.
So when Gao Pragmatic mentioned the big ceremony, Gao Gong fell silent.
He was someone who had personally experienced the Dali Conference incident. Although he was still young at the time, he also knew how much turmoil the Dali Conference and its aftermath had caused to the court. And Gao Gong asked himself, such turmoil was definitely not what he wanted to see at this moment - reform was on the rise and the country was on the rise. If there was another big ceremony, how would he face the late emperor in the future?
The late emperor's trust and respect for him could be said to have reached the extreme level of a monarch and his ministers. And did the late emperor's last order ask him to arrange a grand ceremony for the Ming Dynasty?
Seeing Gao Gong fall into silence, Gao Pragmatic proposed the idea of respecting the two palaces. After hearing this, Gao Gong was still a little hesitant at the time, thinking that such words were actually unfair to Queen Chen. If Queen Chen refused, everyone would not be able to bear the trouble.
However, Gao Pragmatic told him that the problem with Queen Chen had been resolved.
Gao Gong was only a little surprised, but he immediately knew that his nephew had many ways to solve problems, but the one he used most skillfully was just throwing money.
This is really one effort that can defeat ten enemies. Gao Gong couldn't help but smile bitterly when he thought about it.
After all, there are really not many things in this world that cannot be solved with money. If so, it's probably because you didn't spend enough money.
And more importantly, Gao is pragmatic and rich.
Gao Gong has rarely asked about Gao Pragmatic's properties, and he doesn't know exactly how much wealth he has. But judging from Gao Pragmatic's generosity, Gao Gong even suspects that he is no worse than his uncle's family.
In fact, Gao Gong has a misunderstanding here. Gao Pragmatic's family background, if we just talk about the money from selling these properties, it is actually not as good as the Zhang family in Puzhou. After all, Changlu Saltworks is a giant in the northern salt industry in this era. No tyrants. But Gao Pragmatic's speed of making money is indeed better than that of the Zhang family in Puzhou!
Originally, the most profitable industry in Gao Pragmatic's hands was Jinghua soap. Since last year, honeycomb briquettes have not only monopolized the Jingshi market, but also purchased from the three towns of Jingying and Xuanda, and their sales and profits have also increased significantly. But even so, Still can only give Jinghua Soap a try.
But since the tribute was successfully completed, the huge profits of Jinghua Soap were quickly surpassed by the Jinghua Caravan!
Originally, there were only two trade routes for the Jinghua caravan: from Xuanfu and Datong, leading to right-wing Mongolia.
However, after I was granted tribute, Cao Gan, under Gao Pragmatic's personal planning and supervision, not only opened up two trade routes with the Ordos in Yanbian and Ningxia, but also continued to strengthen his leading position in trade with right-wing Mongolia, "Export Amount" increased significantly due to peaceful trade between the two sides.
Last year alone, that is, Longqing's fifth year, his gross profit reached more than 700,000 taels! Moreover, because they delivered a large amount of daily necessities and luxury goods favored by the nobles to the right-wing Mongolia, they were treated as VIPs by the Anda Royal Court and enjoyed various privileges. Even now, the status of Rangpa Hannaji, the leader of the pro-Ming faction, has been greatly improved in right-wing Mongolia, and he is regarded as the most powerful person in Anda besides Xin Ai Huang Taiji.
And now, Cao Gan has personally gone to Suzhou to prepare to open up western trade routes and open trade routes to Turpan, Duogan, Qinghai, Yarkand, Heshuote and other places.
The last time Gao Pangshi received his report, this guy was in Prince Su's Mansion liaising with the local vassal and the military.
Therefore, even if some necessary expenses are excluded, Gao Pragmatic's industry at hand can provide him with at least one million taels of income every year!
This is equivalent to more than one-third of the Ming Dynasty’s treasury income! And this benefit belongs to highly pragmatic individuals! You know, although Zhangjia's Changlu Salt Farm in Puzhou earns more than this, they have to pay much more than Gao Jingshi. As Gao Jingshi said to Gao Gong before, although the salt merchants make money, But they cost a lot of money - they have to manage everything from top to bottom, not a single link is missing, and they all have to be fed.
Therefore, what big deal is it to spend money to get rid of Empress Chen's family who has no wealth and power?
The "Grand Ceremony Meeting" was really a nuclear bomb left by Emperor Jiajing to Gao Pangshi, which frightened both Empress Chen and Gao Gong.
Now, it was Feng Bao's turn to sit on the wax.
