Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 351 Luo Tong's Handle
It was late at night, and it was raining heavily.

In the hall of the British government, Zhang Min stood up and cupped his hands.

"...So, this time, I will ask Lord Luo to take care of this matter. I can't help much in the matter of the court, but if there is anything we can help, I will do my best. Please rest assured, Lord Luo. "

Luo Tong also stood up, cupped his hands and said: "Don't dare, although this is a risky move, since it is for the safety of the Supreme Emperor, Luo must be obliged to do so."

After agreeing on the plan, everyone didn't stay any longer, they got up one after another, saluted each other, and then left.

After sending the person out, Zhang Min returned to the hall again, only to see Ning Yangbo, Chen Mao and Jiang Yi, who were supposed to leave through the west gate, were still sitting there.

Zhang Yu was not surprised either, he let out a long sigh of relief, and clasped his fists at Chen Mao.

"I had no choice but to wrong Brother Shunqing."

Chen Mao picked up the teacup on the table and slowly sipped the tea. When he put down the teacup, his face was no longer gloomy just now, but became extremely calm, and he said lightly.

"It's okay for the old man to feel wronged, but are you sure that this Luo Tong is really credible?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, took out a letter from his sleeve, handed it to Chen Mao, and said.

"This is the letter Yang Shan left before he left. You can read it, brother Shunqing. In the letter, Luo Tong is quite praised. I think he can be our nail in the civil servants, so it should be credible."

"In front of him just now, what I said was the truth. The third brother also mentioned him to me, but... I don't think highly of it."

Chen Mao took the letter and didn't open it in a hurry. Instead, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh? What did the third master say?"

Since the death of the British Duke Zhang Fu, among them, if they talk about martial arts and military achievements, they should be Chen Mao, but if they talk about planning and knowing people, they should be Zhang Fu.

Because of this, he was able to successfully stabilize the power of the British government.

Therefore, Chen Mao was convinced by Zhang Fu's words.

Zhang Yu thought for a while and said: "The third younger brother said at the time that this man is brave and resourceful, and has received the grace of the Supreme Emperor, but his personal morals are not good. handle."

Chen Mao nodded, opened the letter, read it carefully, closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then asked.

"In this way, Luo Tong can appear here today, presumably the second master already has something in his hand?"

Zhang Xiang didn't answer directly, but stood up and gave some instructions, and an old servant in the mansion brought up a delicate little box.

He ordered someone to place the box in front of Chen Mao, then turned to Jiang Yi who was at the side, and said.

"This matter is related to Dingxihou's Mansion, let's let Brother Jiang talk about it."

Jiang Yi nodded, and opened the box. Chen Mao glanced at it, but it was a small stack of letters. He picked it up and saw that it was signed by Luo Tong.

He looked at Jiang Yi suspiciously, and the latter opened his mouth and said.

"Brother Shunqing doesn't know. Although this Luo Tong is both civil and military, he is greedy for money, lustful and courageous. In his early years, he was assisted by the Marquis of Dingxi."

"That was eight or nine years ago. Luo Tong was a doctor in the Ministry of War. He went to Gansu to rectify border affairs with the then Shangshu Wang Ji. As a result, he was so bold that he not only embezzled money, but also resold a batch of military weapons. Brother Shunqing has nothing to do with this matter. heard?"

Chen Mao frowned and thought about it, but he was somewhat impressed.

Eight or nine years ago, it happened that he was punished in the mansion because of his ineffective guarding of the border, so he was in the capital.

He vaguely remembered that there was such a thing, but at that time, Luo Tong was just a military doctor, not a big man, so he only had some impressions, but he couldn't remember what it was.

However, after listening to Jiang Yi's words, Chen Mao felt a bit of doubt in his heart, and asked, "Selling arms? This is not a trivial matter. I have never remembered that such things have happened in the army these years!"

Although Luo Tong was a small person at the time, reselling weapons was a serious crime even in the military.

If there is such a thing, with Chen Mao's connections in the army, he wouldn't be so impressed.

Jiang Yi nodded and smiled.

"Brother Shunqing, don't worry, this matter was first investigated by Wang Ji and reported to the imperial court in secret. At that time, Sanyang was in charge, so Luo Tong was escorted back to Beijing for trial, and Wang Ji was ordered to report after detailed investigation."

"After Luo Tong was escorted back to Beijing, he was imprisoned in Dali Temple. He tried to save himself. After many inquiries, he knew that his father and Wang Ji had a deep friendship, so he asked to go to Dingxihou's residence."

"Before, when my father went on an expedition to Adai Khan, Luo Tong served in the army as a censor, and he had some friendship with the Dingxi Hou Mansion. My father thought he was quite talented, so he resigned himself to it in front of Wang Ji. Intercede for him."

"Therefore, when Wang Ji finally sued the court, he only said that he was guilty of corruption and sex with prostitutes, and concealed the matter of reselling arms. In the end, Luo Tong was demoted to be a gate officer, but he saved his life and official career."

"Later, after the civil war, there was a shortage of people in the imperial court, so Luo Tong was re-promoted as a member of the Ministry of War, Wai Lang, and went to guard Juyongguan. After the War of Oala, he was promoted to the left deputy capital censor because of his meritorious service."

"These letters are the correspondence between him and my father at that time, and the favor Wang Ji sold to my father, which is the evidence of Luo Tong's reselling of arms back then."

Chen Mao nodded thoughtfully, casually looked through the letters and confessions in the box, and finally had a smile on his face.

Selling weapons is a serious crime. Judging from these confessions, Luo Tong sold a batch of weapons to bandits among the people at that time, including even more important weapons such as firearms.

If these crimes were made public, it would be enough for him to go back to his hometown and end his official career.

Of course, Dingxihou's mansion would also be implicated, but the old Dingxihou himself was not involved in the case of reselling arms, but just made things right in the middle.

For a crime of this level, for a mansion of a hereditary prince, it is nothing more than a fine.

What's more, the old Ding Xihou has passed away, and the deceased is the most important. Maybe in the end, the merits and demerits will be offset, and there will be no such mild punishment as a fine.

If this matter is revealed, the person most affected besides Luo Tong should be Wang Ji, the official in charge of the case at the time. This kind of behavior can be called malpractice for personal gain.

But now, even if there is no such crime, Wang Ji will not be able to protect himself, so naturally he has no scruples.

Thinking about it this way, the Son of Heaven's victory over Wang Ji gave them a bargaining chip in their fight against Luo Tong.

Seeing that Chen Mao's face finally looked better, Zhang Min also smiled and said.

"Brother Shunqing, don't worry about it. Luo Tong is just a pawn. It's just because Yang Shan, Xu Bin, Xiao Weizhen and other adults are not in the capital now, and Wen Chen needs him to run around, so I gave him A bit of face, but in fact, he is just a pawn, and our mansions are the real ones!"

Putting the letter back in his hand and putting it back in the box, Chen Mao's brows only stretched for a moment, then he couldn't help sighing and said.

"Having said that, in the end, we still have too few people on the side of civil servants. It is said that our Jingnan Xunguizhong, the British government and the old man have taken root in the army, and the Chengguo government and several other Home, make good friends with civil servants."

"If you want to win over civil servants, it would be the best if Cheng Guogong's mansion can come forward, but now, that kid Zhu Yi, listening to his father-in-law's old fox, insists on leaning on the new emperor's side. Did not take back the title!"

Zhang Min also sighed, with a complicated look on his face, and said.

"Brother Shunqing is right. We are all in the same breath as Xungui, but who would have thought that Zhu Yi with such a twisted character would not get close to us uncles, but listen to his father-in-law. Now an escort general I sent him away, just like that, and he insisted on moving forward..."

The two sighed here and there, but Jiang Yi who was at the side suddenly remembered something and said.

"When I mentioned Zhu Yi, the old man remembered something, maybe I can use it."

Zhang Min asked, "What's the matter?"

Jiang Yidao: "To be honest with Second Master, that kid in my family is about the same age. Recently, my wife is trying to discuss marriage with him. Second Master knows that in these mansions of ours, marriage negotiations are all in the military circle, and my wife sees each other. There are several families, one of which is the second daughter of Wang Qin, the governor of the Zuojun Governor's Mansion."

"The old man also heard his wife complain by chance, saying that the eldest granddaughter of the Wang family is still in her boudoir, but the Wang family is only willing to let the second granddaughter see, which made the wife unhappy, so the marriage was ruined, and, she said At that time, another matter was brought up, that is, the eldest daughter of the Wang family, went to Cheng Guogong's mansion several times in recent days. Coincidentally, Zhu Yi's daughter-in-law was summoned by the Jingyang Palace. Several times, including two times, they brought the eldest daughter of the royal family with them, so the old man guessed, I'm afraid it wasn't..."

Wang family?

Zhang Yu leaned forward, frowned and pondered for a while, then pondered: "If I remember correctly, the old lady of Cheng Guogong's mansion is from the royal family, right?"

Jiang Yi nodded and said, "That's right, the Wang family is that kid Zhu Yi's maternal ancestral family. Wang Qin is the eldest son of the late governor Wang Tong, and also the eldest brother of the old lady of Cheng Guogong's mansion."

In connection with what happened in the capital recently, Zhang Yu suddenly understood, and said, "You mean, Zhu Yi wants to send someone into the palace? But this...is not quite in line with the rules?"

Up to now, although the Ming Dynasty has not explicitly prohibited women of high-ranking officials from participating in the draft, the harem selects concubines from middle- and low-level officials and common people's families, and women from honorable families and civil and military officials of the third rank and above cannot participate in the election. Unspoken rules.

Zhu Yi's grandfather, Wang Tong, from the official to the governor of the Zuojun Mansion, has passed away, but the Wang family has not declined. From the official Wang Qin to the governor Tongzhi, this is a military officer of the first rank, far beyond the normal scope of the draft.

So although he knew that Gongzhong was drafting recently, Zhang Min didn't think about it.

On the contrary, Chen Mao sneered and said lightly.

"The draft is nothing more than the primary selection of the Ministry of Rites, the second selection of the eunuchs, and the final selection of the queen mother. Among them, the primary selection of the Ministry of Rites is the most strict. It is necessary to check the family background, appearance, and conduct. Most of the women are rejected in the primary election. In previous years Women from various high-ranking official residences were rejected in the primary election, so naturally they would not be able to enter the secondary and final elections."

"But this time, don't forget that the person who presides over the primary election is Hu Wei. That old guy is Zhu Yi's father-in-law, and it's not just a matter of letting go."

Jiang Yi was also a little uncertain, hesitatingly said.

"This is just my guess. The selection process has always been handled by the Ministry of Rites. After the primary selection, the list will be sent directly to the Empress Dowager and the Empress. No one knows who is selected until the final selection list comes out."

"Although the reasoning is so, Hu Wei has always acted cautiously. This will lead to impeachment. I am not sure whether he will do it."

Hearing this, Chen Mao smiled dumbly.

"Impeachment? That old guy doesn't care about impeachment! Nine times out of ten, this thing is probably true."

Compared with Jiang Yi, Chen Mao had a lot of dealings with the ministers in the court after all, especially Hu Wei who had been in the court for many years. Chen Mao thought he still had some discernment.

That old fox Hu Wei, since he dared to do it, naturally prepared his speech.

After all, until now, the imperial court has not issued an edict prohibiting families of noble and high-ranking officials from participating in the election, and the emperor's ancestors only said that women from good families should not be sent by ministers.

The scope of the former is too broad, while the latter mainly refers to women who contribute privately without formal channels.

A draft like this that has gone through the Ming road and has been selected layer by layer cannot be regarded as a minister's promotion.

So even if it is impeachment, it is just a storm. With Hu Wei's status, he will be criticized at most, but he has been criticized a lot over the years, so he doesn't care about this.

Therefore, Zhang Xiang's expression was also a bit complicated, and he said: "So, that kid Zhu Yi is determined to cling to the new emperor, but unfortunately, his father fought all his life and died to protect the emperor and retreat. As a result, when it came to him, he would vote for someone else so simply and neatly.”

Chen Mao shook his head, and said, "Since Duke Xiancheng died in battle, Zhu Yi really put in a lot of effort to keep the lintel, but unfortunately we were one step too late and let that old fellow Li Xian take the lead. The eldest daughter is sent to the palace, and I am afraid that she will be completely tied to the same boat as the one in the palace."

Jiang Yi also frowned, and said: "That's right, and more importantly, with such a backer, I'm afraid it will be even more difficult to win over the old people who were swaying in the Yan Palace."

The three looked at each other, Zhang Min said.

"Since that's the case, we can't say we should try our best to stop it. In fact, the people who should oppose this matter the most should be those civil servants. Brother Jiang, I'm afraid it's our turn to take action this time."

Jiang Yi nodded and said, "Don't worry, Second Master. I'll arrange someone to pass the news to those censors when I get back. They've always been most interested in this kind of thing."

At this time, Chen Mao suddenly interrupted and said.

"Not only do we have to disclose the news to those censors, but also create some rumors, saying that the young prince of the Duke's Mansion intends to offer a woman in exchange for his title, saying that the emperor covets his beauty, and willfully reward the title of the court. The more outrageous the better, in this way, even if you want to hide it, you won’t be able to hide it.”

Zhang Kui clapped his palms and laughed, and said: "Brother Shunqing's move is good, not only can this matter make a lot of noise, but it can also pave the way for Kou Que."

When it comes to knocking, Jiang Yi hesitates, before speaking after a while.

"Second Lord, we really don't want to participate in the quake at all, should we let Luo Tong do it? Will this..."

Zhang Min frowned, a little displeased, and said.

"How can you say that you don't participate at all? The civil servants do a lot of things like knocking on the que. Most of my relatives' families are involved in the army. If I participate, I will inevitably be discussed by the outside world and have conspiracy. If we don't participate, we are helping Luo Tong."

"What's more, it's not like we didn't contribute at all. This time knocking on the que, the mansions and the people who were arranged by the Holy Empress Dowager in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, didn't they all be handed over to Luo Tong?"

Jiang Yi still felt a little uneasy, and said: "Although that is the case, I still feel that the risk of knocking on the que is a bit high. Do you really want to do this? What if it doesn't work..."

Zhang Min sneered and said lightly.

"Do you think that Luo Tong's doing this is really for us? Don't you think about why he encouraged that leader. If Kou Que really succeeds, he, the left deputy, is a censor, and there will be a lot of benefits. "

"Besides, isn't it just a few censors? After all, our foundation is in the Mansion of the Governor of the Five Armies. Even if those few censors get in, we can find opportunities to insert some in the future. It doesn't matter."

Chen Mao's face was also a little displeased, and he spoke.

"Brother Jiang, why do you keep speaking for this Luo Tong? Although we now have his handle, it remains to be judged how credible he is. In my opinion, this knock is a touchstone. He wants to I really have no dissent, and I will definitely do my best this time, if it is really a trap, even if a few censors are thrown in, it will not hurt my foundation."

Seeing that both of them had this attitude, Jiang Yi nodded hesitantly, but, for some reason, he always felt a little uneasy...

　The two chapters are merged together, it’s a little bit stuck, I don’t think much about the follow-up plot o(╥﹏╥)o
　　Regarding the marriages of the royal family in the Ming Dynasty, let me explain. There is indeed no clear regulation, and it must be a commoner woman. The marriage between the royal family and nobles was not only in the Hongwu period, but also in the Yongle period.

　　The prince Zhu Gaochi, the concubine of the Han king Zhu Gaoxu, all came from Wuding Hou's mansion, and the second concubine of the Zhao king Zhu Gaosui came from the Mu family in Yunnan, and they all got married in the ninth year of Yongle, and more princesses married into honorable families. .

　　Although it was to win over heroes, it is enough to prove that in the early Ming Dynasty, intermarriage between nobles and royal families was relatively common, and there was no so-called rule that only ordinary women should be selected into the palace.

　　The real lowering of the family status and the exclusion of honorable and noble heroes from the scope of the draft began with the grandson Zhu Zhanji's selection of concubines, but no matter in the edict of any draft, the scope is "officials, soldiers and civilians, and women from the famous eunuchs of the former dynasty." ".

　　Although in actual operation, the family status of concubines, princesses, and concubines in the Ming Dynasty was gradually declining, and even after Renxuan, there was no such woman as Xungui who entered the palace.

　　However, it has not been found for the time being. In the Ming Dynasty, there were clear regulations prohibiting the selection of honorable and high-ranking women...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)