Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 663 This is a foreshadowing chapter, also known as: The Contradictory Supreme Emperor

Nangong, Chonghua Palace.

Early in the morning, Zhu Qizhen put on a bright red dragon robe and came to Chonghua Hall.

Frankly speaking, despite Ruan Lang's persuasion, what happened at the court meeting that day still made Zhu Qizhen suppress a lot of emotions.

Since returning from Yibei, Zhu Qizhen has been very conflicted in his heart.

When he was captured in Wala, he was imprisoned in a square inch of land, accompanied by the howling north wind and rough cattle and sheep every day, and he was tortured by a deep sense of powerlessness and despair.

Although he has made various efforts, such as wooing Boyan Timur, King Bodu, and ordering Zhang Fu and others to assassinate Xining, deep down in his heart, he always understands that no matter how many things he does, the final result will be The decision is not in his hands.

Things have come to this, no matter how hard he tries, he can only follow the trend of the two countries.

At that time, he thought that as long as he could return to the court safely and see Empress Qian and Empress Dowager Sun again, his wish would be enough.

However, when he really set foot on the way home, he began to be afraid again.

Because, in the capital, there are not only people who care about him, but also people who don't want to see him.

Although it is said that Zhu Qizhen himself has not experienced the struggle for the heir apparent, he has received a complete royal education after all, and has seen countless swords and swords in the history books.

On the way back to the south, Zhu Qizhen was thinking, if he changed places, he was the new emperor in the capital, how would he treat the Supreme Emperor who was about to return to the south?
The answer is very clear, kill it!
No matter how much disaster this move will cause, no matter how the world will discuss it, and no matter how it will make the already dilapidated court situation turbulent again.

For Zhu Qizhen, he has already experienced the feeling of being imprisoned in Yibei once, being called every day and the earth is not working.

Therefore, if it were him sitting in the Qianqing Palace, he would definitely kill the Supreme Emperor who was about to return to the south without hesitation, so as to avoid future troubles forever.

The turmoil in the court can be stable, the support of the people can be drawn back, and the loss of national power can be recuperated. However, he only has one life, and he will not take this risk.

Judging others by himself, Zhu Qizhen felt that there was a great possibility that he would 'die suddenly' on the way back to the south!
Therefore, he was extremely careful all the way from Datong to Xuanfu. He only dared to wear clothes, shoes and hats sewn by Empress Qian himself, and food and water had to be tasted one by one before he dared to eat them.

It was also given to his guards first, and he dared not leave his body day and night, because, for him at that time, these captives hoped that he would reach the capital safely.

The expected assassination did not come, but Zhu Qizhen clearly felt the malice from the new emperor in the capital, his former brother.

First was Shu Liang's provocation, then the persecution and humiliation with great fanfare when he entered the capital, and then the overt and covert surveillance inside and outside the Nangong Palace and the condescension when the brothers met.

Everything made Zhu Qizhen feel more and more uneasy. In his heart, there was always a voice telling him that the current peace and stability was just an illusion.

Especially after learning about many things that happened in the capital more than a year after he left Beijing, Zhu Qizhen felt more and more that Zhu Qiyu didn't kill him now, it was just because the court situation had not been completely stabilized and he ascended the throne The time is not long enough, the foundation is not strong enough.

This new emperor still needs himself, the Supreme Emperor, to endorse him, to tell all the people in the world that his throne is justified, and that the Supreme Emperor took the initiative to take the throne, not to usurp power, let alone take advantage of others' dangers.

But there is no doubt that as time goes by, the position of the new emperor will become more and more stable, and the role and influence of himself, the Supreme Emperor, will become smaller and smaller.

This point, in fact, has already begun to emerge.

At the beginning Shu Liang was an eunuch who dared to persecute him in the Xuanfu with a copy of the imperial decree. Zhu Qizhen even used the method of refusing to return to the capital out of anger, but in the end, it was not just thunder and rain, but little rain. In less than a few months, Shu Liang swaggered again in Dongchang.

This is usually unimaginable.

There is also the welcome ceremony after returning to Beijing, which seems to be grand, but in fact it is just a carnival that shows the new emperor's legal system and wisdom. Zhu Qizhen, who was supposed to be the protagonist, is just a marionette from beginning to end .

Then, during the winter solstice and Zhengdan festivals, the new emperor repeatedly violated the rules, and almost put his disdain and disrespect towards him, the Supreme Emperor, on the table.

However, the whole court looked like a blind man and ignored it.

Therefore, Zhu Qizhen had to sadly admit the fact that...

His greatest role had already disappeared from the moment he returned to the capital.

Now, the throne is in control and the court is stable. The only reason why the ministers always pay attention to him, the Supreme Emperor, is that he still represents the face of Ming Dynasty.

The majestic Emperor Taishang was imprisoned thousands of miles away in Luting. This is the shame of Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, for Daming, welcoming the Supreme Emperor back home was something he had to do.

However, when he really returned to Daming, this effect would naturally disappear.

The rest is nothing more than to demonstrate the legal system of the new emperor, so that the world can see the harmony of the heavenly family, the benevolence and generosity of the new emperor, and the orderly ethics of the new emperor.

The meaning of his existence will completely become serving the new emperor.

That being the case, then the feelings and image of the new emperor are naturally placed first.

The emperor insisted on protecting Shuliang, and the officials could only make concessions. The emperor wanted to hold the ceremony with great fanfare, and the officials not only had to do it, but also did it with all their heart. can follow.

Not only that, but in the official documents, it is necessary to "keep taboo for the venerable" and hide such insignificant details, so that the world can see the image of a respectful, generous and benevolent emperor.

Zhu Qizhen understands that if things go on like this, he will be gradually forgotten in Nangong, until no one remembers him, and then he will suffer a 'sudden illness' and pass away forever.

Perhaps, there will be Queen Qian, Concubine Zhou and others who will go with them. Of course, they are "voluntarily buried" and will be posthumously granted posthumous titles after death.

As for his princes, they will be given preferential treatment, given a large fief, and then they will be matched with a complete set of powerful royal officials, who will go to the fief and become a vassal.

In a few years, no one will mention the sudden death of the Supreme Emperor, and his princes will be impeached by officials from all over the country in various ways.

Then, after the emperor forgave several times, he had to cut off the king's title with great pain, and sent him to Fengyang to be imprisoned by the high wall.

And these, above the court, will not cause the slightest waves, everything will be logical, all people in the world will still praise the emperor as the holy emperor, only his line, there is no life.

This is not Zhu Qizhen's conjecture, but what is really happening!
Zhu Qizhen will not sit still, so he can only protect himself.

Although he had already retreated to Nangong and declared that he would ignore political affairs, when his figure completely disappeared from the court hall, it was also the time of his death.

What's more, there is a prince!
Although Zhu Qizhen doesn't particularly like Zhu Jianshen, the eldest son, but now, this prince has become the only way for him to participate in political affairs.

And more importantly, as long as Zhu Jianshen can sit firmly in the Eastern Palace, then even if he is in the Southern Palace, he, the father of the prince, will not be completely forgotten.

Therefore, whether it is for himself or for the prince, Zhu Qizhen can't really ignore the world.

Fortunately, although he was not in the capital during this period of time, the queen mother still gathered some forces, which were enough to use.

But to his surprise, the first time he really intervened in political affairs after returning to Beijing, he ended up in disgrace.

Originally, regarding Ren Li's defeat, Zhu Qizhen just felt a little anxious, anxious that he had lost a big arm in the court.

However, with the help of Ruan Lang, Zhu Qizhen realized that he was just a tool used by Ren Li to unite with other ministers to cover up his crimes, so besides anxiety, Zhu Qizhen became more angry.

The more he fell into this situation, the more sensitive the string in his heart became. In fact, this was the reason why he finally chose to trust Zhu Yi.

He needs a loyal minister to make him feel that he has not betrayed his relatives.

However, the heart of an emperor is always contradictory. Zhu Qizhen told him that Zhu Yi could be trusted, but what happened at the court meeting still lingered in his mind.

Coupled with the delay in the prince's departure from the cabinet, Zhu Qizhen urgently needs someone to discuss with him.

So, even though he knew it was very public, he still issued an edict to let Princess Changde bring her son-in-law Xue Huan into the palace.

Before issuing the edict, Zhu Qizhen calculated the reactions of all parties.

Although he is in Nangong, he is in nominal terms to support his life and is not under house arrest. Regardless of whether he wants to or not, at least on the surface, he took the initiative to abdicate the throne and completed the smooth transition of imperial power.

Based on this alone, everyone in the court needs to respect him.

Therefore, as long as he didn't clearly interfere with government affairs and summoned a few ministers, although it would easily lead to various speculations, it was not an overstepping of the rules.

There will be no opposition from the court, and it is not good for the emperor to react too much.

After all, Zhu Qizhen summoned the emperor's relatives, and they used the name of Empress Qian.

More importantly, even if Zhu Qizhen was sorry for the Sheji country during the civil war, no matter whether it was the reward and love for the younger brother before the personal conquest, or the voluntary concession after returning to the court, he did not feel sorry for the younger brother. On the contrary, Simply speaking from the relationship between the two, Zhu Qiyu took his throne.

Therefore, no matter how much Zhu Qiyu hated him from the bottom of his heart, he still had to work hard on the surface, otherwise, he would be regarded as an ungrateful person by the people of the world.

Although there will inevitably be rumors in private between the ruling and opposition parties, Zhu Qizhen can no longer take care of finding someone to enter the palace to discuss countermeasures and relieve his anxiety.

However, he counted the emperor and courtiers, but he never thought that things would end up with his own sister, Princess Changde.

The palace man who came back to report said that he saw the son-in-law entering the princess mansion intact, but when he turned around, when Chang De entered the palace, he insisted that the son-in-law was sick.

For this family banquet, if it wasn't for the consideration that the purpose of the summoning was in the name of Empress Qian, and if it would hurt Empress Qian's face if it was spread out, Zhu Qizhen would almost leave with his chopsticks.

The siblings met again after a long time, but the atmosphere dropped to freezing point.

Neither of the two sides said much, because there was no need to say more, Princess Changde could not have known that Zhu Qizhen was the one who actually summoned the couple, and it was even more impossible not to know that what Zhu Qizhen really wanted to see was Xue Huan.

However, she stopped Xue Huan, moreover, stopped Xue Huan without sincerity.

Even if Princess Changde said she wanted to take care of Xue Huan at home, it would be better for the husband and wife not to come alone than Princess Changde alone.

By doing this, many things have already been answered!
So, except for a few disputes when they first met, the two of them were silent throughout the banquet, and after passing the formalities, Princess Changde took the initiative to leave.

However, the anger in Zhu Qizhen's heart did not disappear because of this, but intensified instead.

He felt that he had been humiliated. He was obviously the most honorable son of heaven, but now, even his own sister avoided him in fear and wholeheartedly wanted to draw a line with him.

This kind of discomfort is even better than his hard life in Wala. At least at that time, although life was not very good, but whether it was King Bodu or Ye Xianwai, they all respected him and regarded him as someone from Treated by the nobles of Ming Dynasty.

But now, after returning to the capital, he will be treated like a scourge, which makes Zhu Qizhen feel extremely angry.

Since even Chang De has this attitude, then he has to prove himself that even if he is the supreme emperor, he is still the elder brother of the current emperor and the supreme emperor of Ming Dynasty.

He didn't have time to think about restraint and balance, and he didn't care whether the foreign court would criticize him. In short, Zhu Qizhen issued the edict to be sent to Qianqing Palace.

This edict is actually more like a momentary mood.

Because it is very simple to crack it, all you need is for the emperor to come here according to the will, and you don't even have to follow the will to make sure you spend every morning and evening, as long as you come here once, then everything will be solved.

The Son of Heaven manages a lot of affairs every day, shoulders the responsibility of the country, and is extremely busy with government affairs. Under such circumstances, he can still take time to pay his brother's peace. Once this matter happens, the outer court will definitely praise him.

Moreover, the following matters will naturally be taken over by the ministers below, and the emperor can, under the advice of countless ministers, finally "focus on the government affairs of the court" and avoid the subsequent greetings.

In this way, all the face and face are gained, and the price to be paid is just a trip to Nangong, just a formality.

It should be said that if the Son of Heaven really came, it would be Zhu Qizhen himself who would suffer.

The calm and stability maintained between Nangong and the emperor is exactly what the officials need, or in other words, this is exactly what my younger brother is best at.

Follow the trend!

The group of ministers in the imperial court naturally knew all kinds of intentions of the emperor to place the Supreme Emperor in Nangong, but they didn't care, and were even happy to see it succeed.

The authority of the emperor was further enhanced, the jurisprudence of succession to the throne was strengthened, the influence of the Supreme Emperor was getting smaller and smaller, and the court became more stable day by day.

What these new emperors want is exactly what many ministers in the court want.

Therefore, Zhu Qizhen, who took the initiative to break this balance, will inevitably be impeached.

Don't think that the Supreme Emperor who is in the Nangong will not be impeached. The admonisher of the Ming Dynasty even manages the emperor's harem, let alone such matters involving the court.

Although it is impossible to really do anything to him in the end, there is no doubt that it will wear down his image of taking the initiative to give up power, and make his influence in the government further decline.

However, Zhu Qizhen couldn't care about these anymore, even if he knew that doing so was not the best way, even if he knew that he had just lost his courtesy, and now he should bear it.

But he couldn't take it anymore. Princess Changde's indifference became the last fuse for his outbreak. Even if he was going to be criticized, he wanted to see Zhu Qiyu being forced to come to him and pretend to be a child.

Even if, he knew in his heart that even if his younger brother came over, he wouldn't have a good face, but even if the outside world thought he was low-key and small, at least he could calm down the restlessness in his heart a little.

Even Ruan Lang didn't know about Zhu Qizhen's thoughts. He even said that when he gave Ruan Lang an order, he was sure that the emperor would not come over, and he wanted to let the government and the public see the emperor's true face. In fact, from the bottom of his heart, he was expecting that Zhu Qiyu would be 'forced' to come to pay his respects.

And now, this scene is finally coming...

(End of this chapter)