The Prince of Huai was eventually demoted to a commoner, and the imperial court aimed to select a person with upright character among the descendants of Prince Huai to take the throne.
In this way, Zhu Houzhao could explain that after all, it was too heavy handed to depose a prince. The other vassal kings would not react too fiercely. After all, they had not wiped out all the Huai Princes, and the prince still wanted to have some friendship. However, after King Huai suffered this blow, the palace's future expenses may not be as generous as before.
The incident with King Huai also made Emperor Hongzhi think of another issue. After returning to the palace, he issued an order to summon the British Duke Zhang Mao to the palace for an audience.
The British Duke Zhang Mao was the grandson of Zhang Yu, the king of Hejian, and the eldest son of Zhang Fushu, the king of Dingxing. In terms of being the favorite of nobles, the British Duke had been the favorite of his relatives for several dynasties. And he has been in charge of the Beijing Camp and the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion for decades.
Sometimes, he would be sent to perform events such as court banquets and temple worship.
In the Qianqing Palace, Hongzhi huddled under the quilt again, and Xiao Jing helped him cover his legs with the quilt. Because the emperor was in poor health, he would behave like this once it got cold, and the British prince was one of his own, so the emperor was not polite.
"Xiao Jing, please give me a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The British father was now an old man with a white beard and couldn't stand standing all the time.
"I called you here today because I have something to say. After thinking about it, it would be best to talk to you first. After Emperor Xuanzong, I, the empress of the Ming Dynasty, have never chosen families with high honors and important ministers. However, I have nothing to do with the matter of Zhejiang's nest. I have also been wondering whether my prince is not suitable for this kind of practice."
Such words seemed to be commonplace, but the British prince obviously did not expect that this was the reason for entering the palace. His movements have slowed down now, and his figure has gained weight. Outsiders say that he is honest, but as he is at the center of the imperial court, he cannot survive for decades just by being honest.
For words like this, whether they are big or small, it is definitely not appropriate to tell a foreign minister, that is, just talk to him about it. In fact, it was also a way for the emperor to show the close relationship between them.
It's hard to say that the emperor was a little concerned about the gossip of some people in the court.
It doesn't matter, let's first respond to the emperor's behavior of showing intimacy. Just like falling in love, when someone expresses their feelings, you can't give up on them.
So the British Duke expressed his feelings, "Your Majesty, I don't know what is appropriate or not. I only know that the Zhang family has received great favor from the country. No matter what the foreign ministers say, the British Duke will definitely be loyal to your Majesty and to the Crown Prince." .”
What he said had basically nothing to do with the emperor's previous question. People who don't know will naturally think that he is honest. But in fact, he manipulated the emperor's thoughts.
"I didn't say anything about you." Emperor Hongzhi smiled and waved his hand, "I feel that my body is getting weaker and weaker. The prince is very smart, and his strategy and wisdom far exceed that of my father. But the only thing that worries me is that he has some Harsh."
The British Duke thought for a moment about the prince's behavior and nodded in agreement, "His Royal Highness indeed has no room for disgrace in his eyes. Oh, I understand. Your Majesty feels that if His Highness can marry a girl with a common surname, not according to the ancestral system, then your natal family can still provide for you." Your Highness, please give me some help. If you were an ordinary girl from a good family, you might not have this benefit."
"...Yes." The emperor's eyes were dark, "With me here, the prince can still consider the mood of my old father and use a slightly softer approach. Once I am a hundred years away, the buffer between the prince and many people will be gone. By the way, What I said to you today has not been told to anyone else, not even to the Prince, so the British Lord wants to keep it a secret.”….
"I understand, I have a tight mouth." The British public said that His Majesty really has good intentions. "But His Royal Highness is a very smart person. As long as someone in the court brings this up, it won't take long for His Highness to You can guess it."
"You can guess. It's my proposal. What does the British Council think?"
"Your Majesty treats me so sincerely, so I will just say a few words from my heart. I hope your Majesty will not be offended by anything wrong."
These are polite words. Emperor Hongzhi has a good temper and is a dignified British man. As long as he is not crazy and talks nonsense, the emperor will not blame him.
"You can say whatever you want."
"Yes. I believe that our ancestors made the national policy of marrying the queen of this dynasty to a girl from an ordinary good family in order to prevent disasters caused by foreign relatives in the Han and Tang Dynasties. Our ancestors were worried that the ruler who defended the throne was not strong enough and would be bullied by others. But.
As far as this court is concerned, there is no need to worry. Now everyone in the court can see that His Highness will be a powerful ruler in the future, and it is difficult for a relative to monopolize power. Therefore, His Majesty wants to slightly change the ancestral system, and there is nothing wrong with it. . However, I think it is better to behave according to the ancestral rules. "
Emperor Hongzhi was puzzled, "Why?"
"Our ancestors decided on this ancestral system, and I believe that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. If it is changed easily, it will inevitably be used as an example by future generations. Furthermore..." The British Duke smiled and eased the emperor's nervous mood, "Your Majesty, really Do you think His Highness lacks a relative to help you?"
There can be no chaos. All the civil servants and generals are only loyal to the prince. Many of them are waiting for the prince to ascend the throne, so they can soar into the sky, so the British prince is right to say so.
But from Hongzhi's point of view, he always has to take everything into consideration and make complete preparations, otherwise how can he rest assured.
"From what the British Master said, it doesn't seem to mean much. I can't help but be confused if I care."
"As a father, this is what happens. However, Your Majesty should trust His Majesty and your ministers. Even if there are some cowards in the court, they will not be able to cause trouble."
Zhu Houzhao probably didn't know that his old father had thought of him to this extent. From the emperor's perspective, what the prince did was certainly radical.
But Zhu Houzhao knew what he was doing, and he had both political and military power.
After King Huai's disposal method is decided, the outcome of Zhejiang Woyu is no longer likely to change. Soon after, the cabinet issued a decree requesting that all Zhejiang officials involved in the scandal be arrested and sent to the capital.
Among them, some lucky ones, like Qian Shi, the minister of Guanglu Temple, could avoid the pain of traveling in winter and be arrested directly from home in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
In Zhejiang, the arrests have actually continued, shaking up the officialdom of South Zhili.
When the decree from the capital came, Zhang Yong was convinced. He ordered to go down and tell Xu Ruoqin about the decree to demote the King of Huai to a commoner. See what else he can rely on!
On the day of Xu Ruoqin's interrogation, this guy was always very arrogant. In the final analysis, he thought there was someone behind him.
Then Zhang Yong also thanked Mei Kejia, "When we heard that Prince Huai was involved, our family was almost frightened. Fortunately, Boss Mei suggested to report and arrest people at the same time, so we did not miss the important event of His Highness."
Mei Kejia did not dare to take credit and said modestly: "My father-in-law is serious, I am working for His Highness, I am just doing my best."…
"In this case, maybe the opening of the sea that His Highness said back then can be accomplished?"
Mei Kejia shook his head, "Otherwise. I don't think the time is fully mature yet, so I can only say it is a small part of it. Father, the sea is opened for trade. Trade requires a stable and peaceful environment, but there are Japanese pirates on the sea."
Mei Kejia said in her heart, those were real Japanese pirates.
"What's the meaning?"
"It means that if the Japanese pirates are not eliminated at sea, or if there is not enough strength to resist the Japanese pirates, then once the sea ban is lifted, it will just let the people along the coast go out to be plundered. At that time, will the court control it or not?"
No matter what, it certainly doesn't make sense, but why bother?
"This is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that the maritime ban is an ancestral system and a national policy. If it is to be changed, it must be very effective after the change. Once the effect is not as expected, or it brings new problems, then politically The pressure will be great.”
To put it simply, it is a kind of political adventure, and if the adventure fails, it may not be corrected for a long time in the future, because future generations will use this failure as a lesson.
"so……"
"So it is best to have a naval fleet. And the foundation of the fleet is ships."
It's a pity that the Ming Dynasty treasure ship of Sanbao Eunuch has faded into the past. In fact, Mei Kejia has wanted to mention the ship for a long time, but there has never been a suitable time. Now that the situation in Zhejiang has changed, it will be easier for him to say something.
So when Zhang Yong returned to Beijing, he also prepared a letter to the East Palace and attached it.
This can’t be blamed for his worries. In the 13th year of Hongzhi’s reign, someone proposed to prohibit anyone from building ocean-going ships and prohibiting anyone from retaining more than two ships.
mast sailing ship. This incident caused some turmoil at the time, and it ended with Donggong being furious.
As for Zhang Yong, he had no good solution for the shipbuilding matter. The most important thing at the moment was to escort these people to the capital smoothly. It was estimated that it would be the twelfth lunar month by then.
96.
royal hired cat
