The possibility Gao pragmatic thought of suddenly made him realize that he was in a very dangerous position.
At this moment, with the emergence of the method of "worshiping one's legitimate mother" proposed by Wang Xijue, if Princess Zheng reacts, she can also find ways to make Zhu Changxun worship the queen as his legitimate mother based on this principle.
But there is a premise for this matter, that is, the matter of "worshiping one's legitimate mother" must be approved by enough courtiers before it can achieve the desired effect. However, Zhu Changxun definitely could not win the support of the Heart School, so the only person that Concubine Zheng could win over was the Practical School.
To win over the Real School, in the eyes of Concubine Zheng, it would definitely not be to win over the Xu family. The reason for this is not only that Gao Pragmatic currently has the upper hand, but the more important reason lies in Xu Guo's age.
To put it simply, Zhu Changxun was not even an adult when Xu Guo took office as usual.
Except for "foot disease", Zhu Yijun didn't have any major health problems. Unlike Emperor Kao Mu Zong, who was so weak that everyone could see it. And as Zhu Yijun's most favored concubine, she also knew that the emperor was relatively restrained on the whole - maybe she had learned Mu Zong's lesson.
Calculating this, Zhu Changxun will not become the emperor until Xu Guo becomes an official. When Xu Guo retires, who can his mother and son expect to go to the outer court?
If you can’t go to Xu Guo, you can only go to Gao Jingjing. Although Concubine Zheng had never met Gao Pragmatic, she knew that Gao Pragmatic was the same age as the emperor. It was said that he was very good at equestrian skills. Before he became the governor, most of the people in the capital refused to sit in a sedan chair and instead rode horses.
Riding a horse is no better than riding a motorcycle in later generations. This thing looks majestic, but in fact it is not easy. For those who are not good at equestrian skills, riding a horse may be more tiring than walking. And those who can travel on horseback all year round will definitely not be in poor health.
In this way, at least Gao Pragmatic's career will not die due to physical reasons, so once he is willing to support Chang Xun, there is a high probability that he can take care of Chang Xun until he becomes Yuji.
Given Gao Pragmatic's current momentum, he would most likely have already joined the cabinet by then. If the process had been long enough, he would have even become the first assistant, so this advantage would naturally be self-evident.
Since wooing Gao Pragmatic has become the first option, Concubine Zheng only needs to consider the means of wooing her. Judging from Liu Xin's analysis just now, the first person that Princess Zheng wanted to take advantage of was definitely the emperor. As long as she found a way to get the emperor to talk to Gao Jingshi about this matter, or make this request clearly and unmistakably, Gao Jingshi would be very happy. Hard to refuse.
Why was it so difficult to say no now when it was possible to say no before?
Because no one had thought of "worshiping the legitimate mother" before, Gao Pragmatic could refuse on the grounds of adhering to Confucian tradition, saying that he insisted on waiting for the queen to give birth to a legitimate son. The emperor could not object to this statement, and it was even unlikely that he would object, because he also had deep feelings for the queen.
But things are different now. Now both Zhu Changluo and Zhu Changxun can "worship their legitimate mother". At this time, if you ask the emperor who he wants to worship, do you still need to ask the answer? It must be Chang Xun.
No matter who worships him, it's the same. If the emperor brings it up to Gao Jingshi, Gao Jingshi will obviously not be able to object.
The trouble, however, is that Gao Pragmatic doesn't want to do that. Be it Zhu Changluo or Zhu Changxun, Gao Pragmatic looked down upon their historical performance.
Later generations talked about Zhu Changluo, the Taichang Emperor of Mingguang Zong in history. Although he bluntly said that he was addicted to wine and sex, and indulged in sexual pleasures, so that he became a "January Emperor" and even caused such ridiculous things as the "Red Pill Case" Although the story is sad, his short-term governance was still praised, saying that he "removed the mining tax of the Wanli Dynasty, brought order to chaos, and restored discipline."
However, it is a pity that in Gao Pragmatic's view, the emperor's performance showed that he would not be an emperor at all.
Originally, after the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Sarhu, Zhu Yijun had already realized that the troubles on the northeastern border were not small, and began to actively mobilize manpower, material and financial resources to prepare for revenge. However, the sudden death of Queen Wang caused his spirit to collapse, and a month later he also Pass away and live forever.
Under such circumstances, if Zhu Changluo was a smart emperor, he should have known that he was actually under great pressure, and that the rise and fall of the country rested on his shoulders. Moreover, as long as he can avenge Sarhu, his authority can be established.
But the key to successful revenge is having money in hand. Only those who have money can fight wars. This has been proved in the three major campaigns of Wanli. If it weren't for Zhu Yijun spending a lot of internal money, he might not have been able to win any of the three major conquests in history!
But where does the internal money come from? The big one is the mining tax.
Mining tax is not "just as the name suggests". It is actually a commercial tax, but it is different from the commercial tax that Gao Wuzhi is trying to implement now - Gao Pragmatic collects commercial tax to collect the money into the Ministry of Household Affairs, while Zhu Yijun's mining tax is collected through the mine. The tax eunuch collected internal funds.
In the original history, Zhu Yijun's mining tax collection was actually not that much every year, but it caused a lot of trouble. The main reason was that there was no system for "collecting mining tax", and the mining tax eunuchs took the opportunity to take advantage of it. , power manipulation, and corruption, so there is a lot of opposition from the people.
However, most of the so-called civil opposition is actually caused by big businessmen. At the same time, the spokespersons of big businessmen continue to attack the mining tax. They have been asking Zhu Yijun to cancel the mining tax for decades, but Zhu Yijun always insists. Refuse to give up.
Overall, the existence of the mining tax is a double-edged sword. It ensures that when the country "happens", the emperor can use money to support the war, and it also leads to sharp opposition from the people and the court.
As the new emperor, it does not mean that the mining tax cannot be abolished as a means of compromise with the officials, in order to temporarily calm down the struggle between the imperial power and the civil servant group.
The problem is that canceling the mining tax also depends on the timing. At this time, Liaodong is about to be completely corrupted. You have given up the most reliable financial power in your hands. What kind of magic operation is this?
His level of wisdom is probably similar to Chongzhen's self-destruction of factory guards.
It can be seen that Zhu Changluo's level is completely unreliable, eight blocks worse than his father Zhu Yijun.
Zhu Changluo is unreliable, and Zhu Changxun is equally unreliable.
We will not talk about the deaths that occurred in the battle over the country in advance. We will only talk about the time after he was granted the title of King Fu and became the leader of the country in Luoyang. His Highness expropriated taxes, invaded the common people, and tried every possible means to steal money. Apart from having no courage to rebel, he basically did nothing bad.
At that time, Zhu Yijun had a cold war with his ministers, and countless memorials sent to the palace were like mud oxen entering the sea. Zhu Yijun ignored most of the memorials from the ministers. The only exception was the memorial from Prince Fu's Mansion. If he submitted it in the morning, he would usually get a reply in the afternoon, and he would grant all his requests.
With such convenience, traitors and desperadoes from all over the world naturally flocked to Zhu Changxun's door. After that, after Emperor Tianqi and even later Emperor Chongzhen came to the throne, Prince Fu was very respectful to him because he was an honored member of the imperial family and the closest vassal to him.
However, what did His Highness Prince Fu, who had such a respected position, do?
This prince, who is said to have weighed more than 300 kilograms, spent his whole life drunk and dreaming, drinking fine wine behind closed doors all day long, engaging in prostitution and living in debauchery. When the bandits were rampant, Henan suffered from drought and locust disasters for consecutive years. The people changed their sons for food, but King Fu ignored him and continued to reduce taxes. He could hardly do even the most basic form of relief.
At that time, recruiting troops from all directions passed through Luoyang. The soldiers said angrily: "Luoyang is rich in the palace. Shenzong spent all the wealth in the world to enrich the king. But now we are allowed to go to war on an empty stomach and die at the hands of thieves. How unfair!"
At that time, Lu Weiqi, the former Minister of War of Nanjing who retired at home, went to the palace many times to persuade Prince Fu, telling him that even if he only planned for himself, he should open the treasury and use some money to support the people. However, King Fu's reaction was recorded simply in history books: "Don't listen."
The consequences of "not listening" were serious. In the spring of the 14th year of Chongzhen, on the 19th day of the first lunar month, Li Zicheng led his army to capture Luoyang. King Fu and his female family members hid in the secluded Ying'en Temple in the suburbs, still trying to survive. His eldest son, Zhu Yousong, had quick feet and escaped from the city. Later, he was welcomed by Ming officials as the "Hongguang Emperor" of Nanming.
He did run away, but King Fu, who was seriously overweight and had difficulty walking, could not escape. He was quickly arrested by Li Zicheng's army and escorted back to the city.
Halfway through, he met Lu Weiqi, the former Minister of War in Nanjing who was being arrested. Lu Lao Shangshu encouraged: "The honor is very important, the prince must not humiliate himself!" After saying this, Lu Lao Shangshu scolded the thief for his unyielding and heroic death.
It's a pity that King Fu has a bear bag, so how can he commit suicide and die for his country? On the twenty-first day of the first lunar month, when he saw Li Zicheng, he immediately kowtowed and begged for his life.
Li Zicheng saw the three-hundred-pound fat ball prince kneeling in the hall and crying for mercy. He didn't know why, but the more he looked at him, the more angry he became. He simply asked his men to tie up Prince Fu, strip him naked and wash him, and then took out several pieces of Prince Fu from the back garden. The deer was slaughtered and cooked in a giant pot with King Fu. A banquet was held at the Zhougong Temple in Xiguan, Luoyang, where he and his subordinates ate together, which was called the "Fulu Banquet". (Note: There are different opinions on the ending of this incident, and this is the most dramatic one.)
Of course, no matter whether Zhu Changxun's death was so "wonderful" or not, at least his performance before his death was enough to disgrace Zhu Yijun.
Even Gao Pingshi occasionally persuades himself in his heart. After all, Zhu Changluo and Zhu Changxun are still young at this time, and they may be able to change a lot with their training now. But how can I put it, just like if he were asked to choose another time period, he would not be able to hang out with Zhang Xianzhong. It would be too difficult for him to change his prejudices against Zhu Changluo and Zhu Changxun.
However, the persistence of stereotypes is not the most critical issue. The reason why Gao Pragmatic really made up his mind not to choose between the two of them, instead of trying to find ways to let Queen Wang give birth to a legitimate son, is because of the overall political situation. consider.
This matter is not complicated. All we need to do is make an assumption: Zhu Changxun, who was highly capable and powerful, worshiped the queen as his legitimate mother. With the emperor's favor, Zhu Changxun gained the lead... Can the Heart School agree? Will you give up?
Don’t forget that the study of mind is a “practical study of morality.” In other matters, they may sometimes give in and compromise out of considerations of temporarily avoiding the edge, but in this matter, they have no way to retreat!
Retreating means that the foundation of their school's existence has been shaken or even broken!
By analogy, it is equivalent to asking Gao Pragmatic to admit in public that "the word ancestral system is not easy", there is no need to talk about it at all.
So in the final analysis, Gao pragmatism actually needs to meet three conditions: not only to prevent the Xin School from going berserk and causing a complete division within the civil servant group; but also to allow the side of the Pragmatic School to win; and at the same time, to prevent the emperor from being passive and sabotaging his work from now on. The civilian clique engaged in a long-term Cold War.
The only solution is for the queen to give birth to her legitimate son.
After listening to Gao Pragmatic's analysis and explanation, Liu Xin couldn't help but sigh: "This Empress Wang's belly is really important, and when you said that, even I became a little worried... You said today The rumors...could it be that a blind cat meets a dead mouse, are they really true?"
The rumors Liu Xin mentioned were mentioned by Chen Ju and Gao Jingshi, and Gao Jingshi just told Liu Xin: This afternoon, a new rumor has spread in the capital, saying that the empress had injured her roots when giving birth to the emperor's eldest daughter. I will no longer be able to get pregnant.
Gao Pragmatic was actually not 100% sure that the Queen was fine, but he still said: "Heiding has worked hard on this, and I mobilized the power in the palace to sort out all the Queen's performances when she gave birth to the Emperor's eldest daughter, and even It also includes all the details of the Queen's diet and daily life after that, all compiled into a book and handed over to Mr. Binhu for review..."
"If the emperor knows how much you care about the queen, I think you will be afraid that your life will be in danger." Liu Xin said with ridicule, then paused and said seriously: "What did Li Shizhen say?"
Gao pragmatically said: "Mr. Binhu thinks the queen is suffering from a heart disease."
"Heart disease?" Liu Xin frowned and said, "Is this what you suspected before? The queen is afraid of being said to be jealous and promiscuous, unworthy of her moral character, and unable to be a mother to the world?"
"In addition, Mr. Binhu also put forward a hypothesis." Gao Pragmatic sighed: "He suspected that the previous childbirth did not go well, which gave the queen some kind of fear. This fear made her unwilling to conceive again. So he would unconsciously find various reasons to refuse to be intimate with the emperor..."
Gao pragmatically was extremely serious when he said these words, but Liu Xin nodded repeatedly and said, "I also think giving birth is a very scary thing, especially in this era of unreliable surgery and medicine. A caesarean section or something, without even anti-inflammatory shots, giving birth to a baby is a narrow escape."
Gao pragmatic was stunned for a moment, and then said with suspicion: "Isn't this the reason why you don't want to get married?"
Liu Xin glared at him: "So what if it is, what if it's not?"
Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "I think you are thinking too much. As far as I know, the success rate of a smooth delivery is most closely related to the mother's physical condition. With your physical condition, I think even if you give birth to twins, it will not happen." Nothing dangerous."
"You can't stand and talk without hurting your back!" Liu Xin waved her hands in disgust: "Speak of business, speak of business, don't blame me for nothing. At most, only two or three people care about whether I have a child or not. What we are discussing now is whether the Queen will have children, and there are many people who are concerned about this matter... What are you going to do now?"
Gao pragmatic sighed: "Try to delay..."
At this point, Gao Mo's voice suddenly came from outside: "Master, there is something urgent."
Gao Jingshi knew that Gao Mo would not interrupt rashly, so he looked at Liu Xin and replied, "What's the matter?"
Gao Mo said: "Concubine Zheng's brother Zheng Guotai is here for a visit. He has already arrived."
----------
Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "dj000214", "Jiuyou Shuanghan", and "Ling Qi Zhao Bi Xin" for their monthly ticket support, thank you!
