Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2385: Abnormal Movement (IV)

If Gao Youshi was a very special person in the Wanli Dynasty, then Li Wenjin deserves the title of "another special person". On the one hand, it was because Empress Dowager Li loved and felt guilty about this younger brother, and on the other hand, it was because Zhu Yijun knew what his uncle had done for him.

Zhu Yijun is a nostalgic person and now attaches great importance to reputation. Therefore, his tolerance for Li Wenjin is so high that even Gao Youshi finds it difficult to judge accurately.

Li Wenjin's "invincibility" came from the fact that he fled from his hometown to the capital with his father Li Wei. Because of his sister's good fortune, she entered Prince Yu's mansion as a maid. At this time, Jiajing was still playing power games between his two sons and was unwilling to make a clear decision on the position of the crown prince. Suddenly, Prince Jing died without an heir, so whether Prince Yu had a son became the key to whether he could ascend to the throne.

As a result, Li Wenjin's sister, who later became Empress Dowager Li, suddenly became pregnant and immediately became the focus of care in Prince Yu's mansion. The Li family knew that the critical moment was coming, but because of Zhu Yuanzhang's rules on palace confinement, Li Wei and his eldest and second sons could only worry and could not help at all.

At this time, Li Wenjin, the youngest son, stepped forward and took the initiative to castrate himself and become a eunuch. Therefore, after some operations, he was able to enter the Prince Yu's mansion to take care of his sister - it was called care, but it was actually protection, and he even had to taste the food for his sister (if it was poisonous, he would be poisoned first). Later, when Zhu Yijun was born, he continued to protect his nephew, including tasting Zhu Yijun's food after he was weaned, until Jiajing passed away and Prince Yu ascended the throne.

Because of this great sacrifice and contribution, and because it is natural for an elder sister to love her younger brother, after Longqing passed away and Wanli ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Li actually became the guardian of the young emperor, and her favor towards Li Wenjin never decreased. Even though Li Wenjin had been involved in power struggles in the court many times and had messed around in them, Empress Dowager Li insisted on protecting him and almost never said a harsh word to him.

When Zhu Yijun took power, he was also very grateful to his uncle. In addition, his imperial education was mainly based on traditional Confucianism (with Gao Youshi's influence as a supplement). Therefore, even from the perspective of "kinship", he could not delve into Li Wenjin's problems. This led to the fact that no matter how Li Wenjin "acted" for many years, he would not die.

It can be said that although Li Wenjin did not have the red book and iron certificate, he was more "invincible" than those who really had the red book and iron certificate. So much so that even Gao Youshi never thought of killing him - not because he really couldn't do it, but because there was no need.

The favor of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager was there, which meant that it was basically impossible to kill Li Wenjin politically. If he wanted to die, he could only create some "accidents" or assassinate him. But even with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, doing such a thing was risky.

Especially, Li Wenjin was not like his two brothers who were nominal governors in the Five Military Governor's Office. He was the current eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household and the Imperial Horse Supervisor. He was a real eunuch with real power. Even though the military power of the Imperial Horse Supervisor was weakened a lot with the establishment of the Imperial Guard, it was still too difficult to assassinate such a person who at least controlled the military power of the Jing Army (originally composed of eunuchs, but later not limited to eunuchs, but because it was always controlled by eunuchs, it was called the Jing Army).

Facing Menggu Zhezhe's shock, Gao Youshi said calmly: "Since the establishment of the Imperial Guard, the Imperial Horse Supervisor has actually stopped interfering in the military affairs of the Jingbei Camp, but he still nominally controls the Tengxiang Four Guards, the Warrior Camp, the Clean Army and other armies. In other words... he is still one of the commanders-in-chief of the Imperial Guard in name, but because the Imperial Guard has implemented an organizational structure designed by me, the Imperial Horse Supervisor's power to command troops has been ignored invisibly.

However, the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty can sometimes be circumvented, sometimes ignored, but it is often difficult to abolish it directly. I originally planned to let the system of the Imperial Guards become a natural "rule" over time, but I didn't expect to face possible controversy so soon.

Menggu, let's make a hypothesis: if there are rumors that I have passed away or am seriously ill, and Li Wenjin, as the Secretary of the Imperial Household Department and the Seal of the Imperial Horse Department, goes to the Jingbei Camp to announce the emperor's oral order, saying that Li Rumei's troops will be temporarily transferred to the Imperial Horse Department to wait outside Desheng Gate to deter those with ulterior motives in the city. At the same time, he orders Ma Gui to lead the remaining imperial guards to defend the important roads and passes in the capital to prevent foreign troops from invading the city... At this time, do you think Ma Gui will disobey the order?"

Menggu Zhezhe opened his mouth and rolled his eyes. After a while, he suddenly lost his temper and said sadly, "If this is the holy order, Commander Ma has no reason to disobey."

That's natural, because if something as big as Gao Youshi's sudden death really happened, considering his power, it would be normal for the emperor to worry about some unusual movements in the capital.

In this case, Li Rumei, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, was dispatched to lead an elite "partial division" to the outside of Deshengmen to deter the scoundrels in the city. At the same time, the main force of the Imperial Guard was deployed in the key roads around the capital to prevent foreign troops from entering the capital to plot against the emperor. This is simply the most standard way to deal with the crisis of central power. What reason do you have to refuse to execute it? What's the matter? Are you the one who plotted against the emperor?
Once this was carried out, Ma Gui and his 50,000-strong imperial guards would be sent to various locations around the capital, while the 12,000 elite troops of Li Rumei's "controllable" forces would be directly stationed outside the north gate of the capital, ready to enter the city at any time to execute any orders. At this point, Li Rumei's decision was final for the capital.

Since ancient times, whether it is a coup or a mutiny, the most important thing is to quickly seize the center. What is the center? In the Ming Dynasty, it is the emperor, the Imperial Household Department, the Cabinet, and the six ministries. Of the above four elements, the first three are actually basically one - they are all in the palace.

By controlling the palace, the Imperial Household Department and the Cabinet, they could issue imperial edicts and imperial decrees in the name of the emperor. Although most specific orders had to go through the six ministries, the six ministries were just south of the palace, just across the street, so it was not difficult to control them.

Therefore, as long as Li Rumei entered the city at this moment and sent troops to take control of the imperial palace and the six ministries, he would actually have control of the "legal system" and could issue orders to the world in the name of the emperor. For example, he could order Ma Gui, who had just deployed troops around the capital, to ride alone into the capital to report on the deployment. Ma Gui would not be able to refuse, otherwise he would be disobeying the emperor's order and lose his legitimacy.

If this imperial edict was written several times to other generals of the Imperial Guard, saying that if Ma Gui dared to disobey the order, he would be arrested, do you think these generals would listen to Ma Gui or the imperial edict? What a joke, if Ma Gui had the ability to make the generals of the Imperial Guard fear him more than the imperial edict, Gao Youshi would have replaced him long ago...

Menggu Zhezhe was discouraged and said the above words precisely because she had figured out the reason. However, she did not feel discouraged for long, and soon thought of something: "But, isn't Concubine Zheng afraid that the Li family will be bolder...?"

Gao Youshi shook his head and said, "I'm not afraid of that."

"Why?"

"It's fine for the fox to borrow the power of the tiger, but how can the fox replace the tiger to win the support of the people?" Gao Youshi shook his head and said, "The Ming Dynasty has been orthodox for more than 200 years. The political inertia it has developed cannot be changed by force by just 12,000 people. If there is no Emperor Zhu, there will only be chaos in the world.

No matter how powerful the Li family is, their old nest Liaodong lacks financial resources and cannot deter the towns of the world. Moreover, the more than 10,000 people in the capital will be wiped out by the main force of the imperial guards in an instant... Li Chengliang will not do such a stupid thing. Even..."

"Even what?" Menggu Zhezhe asked.

Gao Fusi sneered: "Even if... even if I really die suddenly of illness, my Jinghua's influence in various places will not disappear out of thin air. Just by raising a flag in the north, I can gather an army of 200,000 in an instant.

Although I deliberately dispersed these forces in various provinces, as long as Yuan'er heard the news and returned to Beijing to inherit the title, he would be able to gather them quickly. Then, under the banner of respecting the orthodoxy of the Zhu family, with my remaining influence, he would gather the strong armies of the nine borders to attack the Li family. Unless the Li family has the ability to defy the will of heaven, they will be crushed to pieces. Such a simple truth, an old fox like Li Chengliang can figure it out with his toes, how could he seek his own death? "

Menggu Zhezhe was silent, thought for a while and asked again: "But if there is really a risk of it going this far, why did the emperor dare to let Concubine Zheng come out to make trouble?"

"Didn't I just say that the premise of all this is that I am either dead or seriously ill and unable to manage things." Gao Youshi shook his head and said, "Besides, this is just one of the variables. The other variable is... the emperor has passed away." Menggu Zhezhe was shocked and subconsciously looked around, but besides her and Gao Youshi, the only person in the room was Gao Mo, who was standing with his head bowed, as if he had fallen asleep.

Gao Youshi spread his hands and said, "Look, I just said that the Imperial Guards only obey orders from two people: the emperor and me. However, the reason why I can command the Imperial Guards is not because I founded the Imperial Guards, nor because most of the generals in the Imperial Guards were my former subordinates, but because of my status as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet.

The Ming Dynasty is not the Han and Tang Dynasties, and the cabinet power is not the power of the prime minister, but an extension of the imperial power. Therefore, if I cannot issue orders to the Imperial Guards, then the only one who can issue orders to the Imperial Guards is the emperor.

My previous assumption was that Concubine Zheng, Li Chengliang and others really colluded and everything went smoothly. However, since the emperor dared to hint to me that he wanted to use the killing stick to intimidate others, he would naturally have a backup plan. If my guess is correct, the emperor should have been prepared for me to really get into trouble..."

When Gao Youshi said this, he suddenly pointed at Gao Mo and said, "Menggu, when the Queen and others come to visit me later, you can listen to the reports of the secret agents in various parts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with Uncle Mo and Yu Fu (Gao Qi's courtesy name). I am sure that the Emperor will take some measures."

Menggu Zhezhe responded doubtfully. At this time, Gao Mo, who had been silent for a long time, seemed to finally "wake up" and suddenly said, "Master, the fire is almost ready."

"It's almost time. Let's go and ask the Queen and the others to come." Gao Youshi smiled and said to Menggu Zhezhe, "I'll lie down. You get a towel and pretend to do that for me." After that, he lay down and rested his head on the brocade pillow. Menggu Zhezhe took a dry towel, folded it narrowly, and placed it on his forehead.

Gao Mo and Menggu Zhezhe quickly left the room. Not long after, the Queen, holding the little prince who was still unable to walk, followed by Concubine Zheng and the eunuch Chen Ju, who was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, entered Gao Youshi's "ward" in a triangular shape.

Gao Youshi looked a little pale at the moment, with his eyes closed and a white towel on his head. The "ward" was filled with a strong smell of medicine, and it was obvious that he was really "sick".

The atmosphere suddenly became solemn. Queen Wang was holding the little prince, and she looked worried when she saw this; Concubine Zheng had a complicated expression, and her beautiful eyes looked at Gao Youshi, who had his eyes closed; Chen Ju had a serious face, but his expression was somewhat heavy.

Gao Fusi seemed to have heard the footsteps, slowly opened his eyes, and glanced at the three people. Although his face was pale and he looked a little weak, everyone still felt some kind of indescribable power when he glanced at them.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"Prince..." Although Queen Wang was dignified, she was perhaps too dignified. She had no such experience at all. After she was called out, she didn't know what to say next.

Gao Fusi coughed twice, apparently weakly, and took the initiative to break the silence: "Empress, His Royal Highness, Imperial Concubine, Master Chen, thank you all for coming. I feel very uneasy."

With Gao Youshi taking the initiative to speak, the Queen felt more familiar with the situation and quickly said in a soft voice: "Prince, there is no need to be so polite. Your health is the most important thing. The Emperor heard that you suddenly fell ill and was very worried. He specially ordered us to come and visit you. I thought that you were the prince's teacher that the Emperor had designated a long time ago, so I brought the prince along..."

Gao Fusi forced a smile and said, "Seeing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I feel that my illness has been cured a lot."

Concubine Zheng suddenly stepped forward, her voice trembling slightly, and she said pitifully: "Prince, I heard that you were seriously ill, and I was very worried. Thinking of the past, I feel deeply ashamed, thanks to your admonition. Today I come here to apologize and thank you."

Gao Fusi smiled slightly, as if he did not take Concubine Zheng's words to heart, and said weakly: "Concubine, you are too kind. As a minister, it is my duty to serve the emperor and the court with all my heart and soul."

Chen Ju said at this time: "Prince, the emperor is very concerned about your condition and has ordered us to bring the imperial physician to ensure that you are in good health."

Gao Shiwu nodded and expressed his gratitude: "Your Majesty's grace is great, Shiwu will remember it in my heart. Please ask the Empress, the Imperial Concubine, and Chen Zhangyin to tell the Emperor that although Shiwu is seriously ill, as soon as he gets better, he will return to the cabinet to take care of things, so as to live up to the Emperor's trust."

The queen looked at the little prince in her arms, then at Gao Youshi, with an indescribable gratitude in her eyes: "Yuan Fu, the prince is still young, and he will need your personal instruction in the future. The court cannot do without loyal ministers like you. You must take care of yourself and recover soon. As for returning to the cabinet to take care of things, you must wait until you are well again."

Gao Youshi's eyes fell on the little prince, and a hint of tenderness flashed in his eyes: "I hope to have the honor of reading classics to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and I will also do my best to teach him what I have learned..."

At this moment, Concubine Zheng suddenly knelt on the ground, tears welling in her eyes: "Prince, I came here today to express my gratitude, because if it weren't for your teachings that day, I would have been criticized by future generations. Today, seeing that you have been sick from working so hard for the emperor and the court, I feel even more ashamed. I... after I return to the palace, I will pray for you in front of the Buddha, and I only hope that you will recover soon and continue to share the emperor's worries as always."

Not only Queen Wang, but even Gao Shishi was not expecting her to kneel down. But she was pretending to be sick at the moment, and it was difficult for her to do anything else. She could only frown slightly and said in a surprised tone: "Why is the concubine so serious? Shishi is just a subordinate, and I don't deserve your great gift."

Seeing this, Chen Ju hurried forward to help Concubine Zheng up: "My Lady, the Prime Minister knows your feelings. This is indecent, please stand up."

Concubine Zheng stood up with the help of Chen Ju, but her eyes were still blurry with tears. The Queen was very confused when she saw this, but she couldn't ask too much at this moment, so she could only change the subject: "Prince, if you need anything, just tell us, we will do our best to meet your needs... The Emperor also said so."

Gao Fusi shook his head slightly: "Empress, I have no other request, but the emperor has not recovered after several months of recuperation since returning to the capital, and I am always worried... If the emperor can be healthy, I, as a minister, can rest assured. Please convey this to the emperor on my behalf, Empress, Concubine Zheng, and Master Chen."

The Queen seemed to feel that Gao Shishi had a hidden meaning and nodded thoughtfully, expressing her understanding. Concubine Zheng and Chen Ju also said that they would convey Gao Shishi's words to the Emperor.

Afterwards, the Queen and her entourage only stayed in Gao Youshi's "ward" for a short while, and probably out of consideration for the outside world's perception, they quickly said goodbye and left. Gao Youshi watched them leave, with a hint of thought in his eyes.

After everyone left, Gao Fusi immediately sat up, took off the towel on his forehead, glanced at Gao Mo and Menggu Zhezhe who had just returned to the room, and asked Gao Mo: "Uncle Mo, where is Zheng Guotai now, and what report does the secret agent outside the Zheng Mansion have?"
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