Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 1986 Inside and Outside the Palace ([-]) "Self-like"

Gao Wushi thought of "a small incident" again, saying that it was recorded in the history books that once a palace maid surnamed Wang died in the East Palace Mansion - the words in the history books were very cryptic about this.Ordinarily, with the size and size of the Eastern Palace, the death of a court lady is really not a big deal. With the medical level at that time, it would have been easy to die due to any serious illness by accident.

However, Wang An planned to report this matter to Zhu Yijun at that time, which aroused Zhu Changluo's dissatisfaction.

It is normal for Zhu Changluo to be dissatisfied. Although he is now the crown prince, his position as crown prince is not stable.Concubine Zheng Huang and even Zhu Yijun, the father, always had the idea of ​​Yi Chu.To put it bluntly, Zhu Changluo cannot make mistakes, and any small mistake may be caught and used by Concubine Zheng, which becomes the reason for his deposed.

As Zhu Changluo's confidant, Wang An's political destiny has been tied to Zhu Changluo's. It stands to reason that he should be on Zhu Changluo's side in everything. Why did he report the death of the palace maid named Wang?
This has always been a puzzle, but Gao Yushi vaguely has a guess: the palace maid surnamed Wang should have an unusual relationship with Zhu Changluo, and there is a high probability that Zhu Changluo was lucky enough to pass by.And the death of the court lady was most likely related to Zhu Changluo. Only in this way would Zhu Changluo be so afraid of being exposed.

From this, Gao Yushi thought of the death of Xizong Zhu Youxiao's birth mother, and the death of Sizong Zhu Youjian's birth mother-these two deaths were not normal!In the past, because I didn't think about it, I didn't think there was anything wrong, but now that I think about it, the problem is very serious.

The former died suddenly in the 47th year of Wanli, and the latter died suddenly in the 43rd year of Wanli. Both of them died unexpectedly.One cause of death is weird, but two?Including this palace lady surnamed Wang, that's at least three!
Gao Yushi analyzed it from the perspective of future generations, and soon there was a guess: Zhu Changluo's princely career experienced long-term depression and fear, which probably caused some kind of mental problem in him, to put it lightly... …For example, there is a tendency to domestic violence, which should be normal, at least not too surprising.

Therefore, at this time, Gao Wushi suddenly connected these things together, that is, the death of the palace maid surnamed Wang, it is very likely that Wang An realized that Zhu Changluo's abuse of palace people in the mansion had become more extreme, so he wanted to report to Zhu Yijun. Stop Zhu Changluo's behavior.

Inferring from this point, it shows at least two points: first, even though Wang An’s political interests have been tied to Zhu Changluo, he still has a certain principle in his heart, and is willing to make great sacrifices for this principle; , Wang An's personality is very stubborn and stubborn. When he thinks something is right, he will try to stick to it.

Of course, in the end he failed to report the matter successfully, and the history books did not explain the reason for the failure to report, only saying that because of this matter, there was a crack in the relationship between Wang An and Zhu Changluo.In this state of interdependence and mutual grievances, the two sides ushered in Zhu Changluo's ascension to the throne.

In the 48th year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun died and Zhu Changluo ascended the throne.This year was also a very special year in the history of the Ming Dynasty. In the same year, there were three monarchs successively.In July, Shenzong died; in August, Guangzong ascended the throne; in September, Guangzong died; then Xizong Zhu Youxiao succeeded, and the next year was changed to the first year of Tianqi.

And for Wang An, this is also an extraordinary year, because at this time, it is less than a year since Wang An's own death.

At the beginning of Zhu Changluo's ascension to the throne, he rewarded the old people of the East Palace as usual. As a result, Wang An's position was to be the eunuch who was in charge of ceremonies and Bingbi, and also in charge of the towel and hat bureau.

It stands to reason that the new king has just ascended the throne, and the eunuch who is in charge of the ceremony is still an old man from the Wanli year. Therefore, there is no problem with several important eunuchs in the East Palace being the eunuchs who hold the pen first.The problem is that Wang An, as Zhu Changluo's confidant, is actually only in charge of the towel and hat bureau, which seems somewhat lonely.

If you compare it, the eunuchs who came to Zhu Changluo after he was established as the prince, such as Zou Yi and Li Shi, spent seven years less than Wang An's time with Zhu Changluo. The admiral Dongchang, the latter is in charge of the imperial horse supervision seal, and the two are also eunuchs holding pens of the Rites Supervisor.

No matter in terms of power, influence, or personal interests (oil and water), Wang An's scarves and hats are completely incomparable with Zou and Li. Therefore, many people—including people at that time and people in later generations—feel that Zhu Changluo is treating people unfairly.

However, Gao Wushi felt that everyone might have wronged Zhu Changluo in this matter.

First of all, in the 48th year of Wanli, Wang An was already in his early fifties.Of course, this age can’t be considered too old, because there are many precedents for eunuchs who were still in power at the age of 70 or [-], but the history books clearly stated Wang An’s physical condition—he has always been in poor health, and he even refused to talk much because of it. Just for "breathing".Therefore, if he holds too many important positions concurrently, Wang An probably doesn't have much energy to deal with it.

Secondly, although Wang An has extensive contacts, the history books also say that he is very strict in official affairs. If such a person is rashly entrusted with an important position, especially in the place where the new king succeeds, it is indeed fearful of accidents.

In the end, although Wang An's position is relatively insignificant, he is still Zhu Changluo's chief think tank.

Zhu Changluo has been in power for only one month, and Wang An is basically in charge of many government orders he issued, including the emperor's use of internal funds to reissue military pay, the use of a group of Donglin party members, and the handling of Zhu Yijun's legacy.

The above three points are enough to show that after Zhu Changluo ascended the throne, Wang An's weight is still very important.Then, according to Wang An's qualifications, after a few years, all the old people of Shenzong will be cleaned up, and the position of eunuch in charge of ceremonies is likely to be his.It is very likely that it was for this reason that Zhu Changluo only gave Wang An a handkerchief to do it.

It's a pity that no one knows that Zhu Changluo has been waiting for the supreme position for decades, but he only sat for a month.Then came the famous "moving palace case". The "Moving Palace Case" is very exciting, but I don't need to go into details here, I just need to talk about it briefly.

Li Xuanshi, the protagonist of the palace transfer case, is Zhu Changluo's side concubine. After the death of Zhu Youxiao's biological mother, Zhu Youxiao has been taken care of by Li Xuanshi.After Zhu Changluo's death, Li Xuanshi hid Zhu Youxiao by his side, did not allow him to contact ministers, and formed a political alliance with Zheng Huanggui, who was already a concubine.

Concubine Zheng Huang was not satisfied with being a concubine, and had been seeking the position of queen mother, while Li Xuanshi was seeking the title of queen, and held Zhu Youxiao hostage to bargain with the courtiers.Then a group of courtiers from the Donglin Party rushed into the Qianqing Palace on the day Zhu Changluo died, and snatched Zhu Youxiao out... There will be several rounds of contests between the courtiers and Li Xuanshi, which will not be shown here for the time being.

Or Wang An, he played a very important role in this matter.As a senior eunuch and a confidant of the late emperor, Wang An naturally had eyes and ears in the palace.Therefore, many of Li Xuanshi's actions were actually Wang An's tip-offs to the courtiers.

When robbing Zhu Youxiao, Li Xuan waited to hide him. At the critical moment, Wang An pointed out the exact location of Zhu Youxiao to the ministers again, so that he could escape from Qianqing Palace.At the same time, after the courtiers robbed Zhu Youxiao, they placed him in the Ciqing Palace, and Wang An was still in charge of taking care of and protecting him at that time.

To put it bluntly, if there is no Wang An, Li Xuanshi hides Zhu Youxiao as a bargaining chip, and the courtiers may have to compromise in the end to meet Li Xuanshi's political demands.And once Li Xuanshi and Concubine Zheng Huanggui became the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager, the trend of late Ming history is likely to change.

This is a move by Wang An to decide the direction of history, and it is also an important reason why later generations often put him among the powerful officials of the Ming Dynasty.

After Wang An ascended the throne in Zhu Youxiao, he actually had a good time.But in May of the first year of Tianqi, Wang An politely rejected Xi Zong's order to appoint him as the eunuch in charge of ceremonies and seals.

There are only a few words in the history books about Wang An's final downfall. Simply put, Wei Zhongxian and the Hakka family wanted to persecute Wang An.But this statement is too simplistic, and even the basic situation is not clearly explained.

Gao Yushi remembers that when Ye Xianggao, the chief minister of the imperial court at that time, commented on Wang An, he once said, "Shang Yingming wants to make decisions on his own, hates security and is strict, and the ropes are not free to move".

That is to say, the little emperor wants to take power by himself, but Wang An has a strong personality and controls the little emperor very strictly, which makes the little emperor feel that he is not free.

At best, this is the strict requirement of Wang An as a "confidant of the first emperor" on the little emperor who is like a nephew; at worst, it is Wang An who is not immune to customs, and finally wants to override the imperial power.

In short, Wei Zhongxian focused on coaxing the emperor to play, the more the emperor loves to play, the better he is in power; Wang An hopes to shape and demand the emperor according to the appearance of the Mingjun in his mind, but it arouses the emperor's resentment, which is probably his final demise the real reason.

Of course, because Wang An had always been on good terms with the Donglin Party members, and because he was killed by Wei Zhongxian later, the Donglin Party treated Wang An fairly well, at least in the history books, they had a lot of protection for him.

Gao Pragmatically summed it up and came to several conclusions:
First of all, Wang An has a certain degree of cultural accomplishment. He has his own opinions on what kind of emperor is a good emperor, and he has a subjective intention to work hard for it.

Secondly, Wang An has a good relationship with the Civil Service Group—whether in the past life or in the present life.This may have something to do with his many years of studying in the inner study. He may have recognized the ideas of civil servants to a certain extent, such as a similar view of the world, and how a minister should assist the emperor.

In the end, Wang An's temper is stubborn and strong, and what he believes is not easy to change.And his main insistence seems to be to some extent...maybe he hopes to be a famous minister?

Thinking of this, Gao Yushi subconsciously glanced at Chen Ju.

Among the great eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Ju had a very good evaluation in later generations. Although he is generally not called a "famous official", at least he will be evaluated as a "virtuous eunuch".Wang An was promoted by Chen Ju, and it is very likely that he regards Chen Ju as his role model in his heart.

At this time Gao Wushi suddenly remembered something, Chen Ju is 60 years old this year...

It's no wonder that Gao Yushi didn't pay attention, Chen Ju really doesn't look old, plus the eunuch, with a white face and no beard, usually looks like he is in his 40s, so it's easy for people to forget his actual age.Judging from his real age, being Wang An's "political idol" is completely in line with common sense.

Wang An entered the inner school to study in the sixth year of Wanli, and most eunuchs enter the inner school when they are about ten years old, so Wang An was probably born in the second year of Longqing, five years younger than Zhu Yijun and Gao Yujun, and he is only in his early thirties this year .

This time Gao Wushi was also taken aback. In his early thirties, he became the admiral of the East Factory?It seems that Chen Ju is really optimistic about him.

At this time, Chen Ju had also been thinking about the high-practical issue for a while, meeting Gao Pragmatism's eyes, he finally came to a conclusion, and said: "As long as you can reason with him, it should be credible."

Gao Wushi nodded to show that he understood, and then asked, "Does this mean the distinction between concubine and concubine?"

"Exactly." Chen Ju finally showed a smile, nodded and said, "Wang An is a child that our family has grown up with. He is a person who sometimes makes our family feel quite like himself. This is also true. One of the reasons why our family recommended him to be the admiral of the East Factory.

The position of the admiral of the East Factory is very important. At that time, our family could recommend many candidates. The reason why we chose him was because as long as this child believes in the truth, he will not change easily.Our family thinks that only such a person is suitable to stay in this kind of position where no big mistakes can be made. "

Gao Wushi nodded his head to express his understanding, and then asked: "In that case, please ask Brother Lingang to go and talk to him in person, and ask him to choose his confidantes and capable people in the East Factory, and tell him about the recent whereabouts of some important officials in Beijing, etc. Find out clearly and report in time. I will draw up a list of specific goals, and Brother Lingang can add it himself if he thinks there are gaps."

Chen Ju nodded at first, but then seemed a little worried, hesitatingly asked: "Will the outer court be disgusted by such actions, and cause some trouble?"

Gao Wushi shook his head and said: "It's just to monitor the misconduct, not to ask them to do other things, even if something happens, just order them to report in time, even if the courtiers are dissatisfied, they can't vent it, at least they won't make it public, brother Lin Gang don't need to worry about that .”

Chen Ju was a little relieved, and sighed: "The birth of the imperial concubine should be a great joy, but unfortunately there are no trivial matters in the Tian family, especially when it involves the dispute between the concubine and the elder... Besides the empress and the elder, there are 'kinship', It’s really not easy at all.”

The concubine is the emperor's concubine, and the elder is Zhu Changluo. As for the "pro", Chen Ju is naturally referring to Zhu Changxun, the son of the imperial concubine Zheng - he is obviously extremely favored, so it can be called a "pro".

Gao Wushi also knows that the current situation is different from the original history, and it is no longer two people who are competing for the crown prince, but three people.These three people also have their own advantages, which is very subtle.

The son of the imperial concubine wins in the word "di", which is logically said to be "destiny", but he has just been born. In the face of the premature mortality rate of this era, he still has a strong uncertainty. After three years of observation, it was found that if the child is strong, then the status will be stabilized.

Zhu Chang Luo Sheng is older, and according to the tradition of "National Lai Changjun", he also has some advantages.However, in the Ming Dynasty, this was not worth a penny in front of the word "严".It's just that many people have already bet on him, so he still has some opportunities.In addition, the emperor's son has not yet passed the high incidence of premature death, so it can't be considered completely out.

Zhu Changxun mainly relies on the love of his parents.If you want to ask the emperor how he feels about the empress and concubine Zheng Huang, you can be sure of the high pragmatism after meeting today. In Zhu Yijun's mind, it should be like this: the empress is a perfect queen, and concubine Zheng Huang is a perfect woman.

His favorite is Zheng Huang Guifei, but it's not that he doesn't love the queen, it's just that the queen is too "queen", and on the contrary, he has a certain sense of alienation.But he also knew that the queen was good, so he would not do anything against the queen.

Speaking of which, Zhu Yijun's current entanglement can really be felt by others like Gao Yushi.

"You and I are courtiers, as long as we do our duty as courtiers." This was Gao Yushi's last sentence to Chen Ju tonight, after which Chen Ju said goodbye to Liu Ping and left.
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Thank you book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your support, thank you!
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PS: I went to pay attention today, the update is a bit late, my fault...

(End of this chapter)