After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 79 Why did the emperor do that?
Haitang asked Haijiao, but Haijiao really couldn't answer for a while.

In his previous life, he had only been a spy for Jin Yiwei for more than ten years. How could he know so many secrets about the emperor's concubines and princes' clans?Even if you have heard some gossip, you can't keep it true.

He could only think hard, recalling the information he had heard from well-informed elders such as Master, Divine Whip Zhang San, and Grandpa Xin, as well as the discussions he heard while monitoring officials, and make some speculations.

"The emperor cannot say that he loves the fourth prince very much, he is just ordinary. Lu Zhaorong and the fourth prince asked themselves to become successors, and he agreed. Later, they wanted to return to the palace, and Lu Zhaorong also sought refuge with Concubine Sun, doing everything possible to please and seek success. Concubine Sun said nice things in front of the emperor, but the emperor never nodded." Hai Jiao curled his lips, "The most egregious moment was when the emperor was seriously ill. Sun Ge Lao led hundreds of officials to force him to recognize the fourth prince, but he didn't agree. , insisted that he had a son and there was no need for King Ji’s son to succeed him.”

At that time, the emperor even sent eunuchs to Prince Ji's Mansion to scold Prince Ji for having ulterior motives and daring to dream of the throne. Prince Ji immediately wrote a letter to defend himself, saying that he had absolutely no such thoughts and that everything was his own decision...

Many people heard these rumors at that time, which made the fourth prince very embarrassed. Everyone said that he asked for succession and was an unfilial son. However, he looked down on his successor and was even less filial, so the emperor looked down on him. , King Ji also disliked him...

Hai Jiao felt that this incident should be able to explain the true relationship between the emperor and the fourth prince: "The emperor probably really hates this son. Even if the fourth prince hinders the sixth prince from establishing a heir, he is still the emperor's flesh and blood, and the emperor cannot possibly Let him die to make way for the Sixth Prince. Even if Sun Guifei had such an idea, it was only Sun Guifei's selfishness. But the Fourth Prince himself said on his own initiative that he did not want to recognize his father, and wanted to recognize someone else as his father... who would be the father? Will you be happy after hearing this? The emperor fulfilled the wish of the fourth prince and made him the son of Prince Ji. He is already a father-hearted person."

After all, Prince Ji is really rich, and he has the title of prince, which can ensure that he can enjoy wealth in the future.

The emperor, King Yingji, was the biggest competitor during the period of seizing the throne, but he couldn't do anything about him and had to be tolerant and tolerant all the time. He had long been holding back his anger.Most likely out of revenge, he wanted his adopted son to seize King Ji's title and property.But he could give birth to a son, but the fourth prince, as a son, could not happily recognize his father, let alone get along well with Prince Ji.Once the fourth prince "acknowledges the thief as his father", he will no longer be his son...

The emperor's idea is somewhat of a double standard.King Ji himself may feel that he was wronged.He has a son, who would be willing to pass on the title of king to the son of a former political enemy, even if the family property accumulated for many years would be cheap to the heir? !Isn’t this just for self-protection? I can only accept the imperial edict with all my heart, but do I have to show my gratitude to the Holy Grace in front of others? !
Hai Jiao sighed: "Actually, there are many people in Jinyiwei who feel that the fourth prince's appearance is too ugly. At first, Sun Guifei forced them, mother and son, to hire their own successors to protect themselves. When it turned out to be profitable, they turned around and hugged each other again. How can the Sun family's flattering appearance be half princely? If such a person really becomes a prince, who in the civil and military circles in the court can respect him?! In other words, there are only two princes left under the emperor's knees, and the eighth prince is still young and will not Knowing whether he can grow up, the emperor needs to be on guard, otherwise he would have slapped this unfilial son to death!"

No matter how much the emperor hated his son, he would at most punish him with grounding and copying books, not even a serious rebuke.He probably had the thought in his heart that if the eighth prince died young, no matter how much he disliked it, he would let the fourth prince return to the clan and inherit the throne.You can't really take advantage of the throne to the brothers and their descendants who used to compete with him for the throne, right?Then wouldn’t his decades of hard work be in vain?
The emperor's mentality may also be the reason why many people support the fourth prince's return to the clan even though he has no holy family members.The emperor wanted to keep a spare tire, which in the eyes of outsiders was a sign of favor and favor for the fourth prince.

And after the new king ascended the throne, the reason why the fourth prince could keep jumping up and down, because there were always people supporting him, was also related to the fact that the new king was still young at the time - no one knew whether he would be able to live healthily to adulthood and give birth to an heir. The throne, so it is very necessary to keep a living brother.I guess the emperor often told his ministers his thoughts during his lifetime, right?The ministers promoted by the emperor naturally did not want other branches of the clan to succeed him. In particular, Prince Ji and Prince An were both political enemies of the emperor. Their subordinates had fought fiercely in the past and had already formed feuds.

By the time the new king actually takes action against the fourth prince, he already has a queen and a prince, and has a successor, so he naturally has no worries.Except for the die-hard loyalists, no one would bother to plead for the fourth prince.

The emperor's impression of the fourth prince was obvious, but Hai Jiao couldn't tell whether he was dissatisfied with the Sun family and his daughter.

If the emperor has always loved Concubine Sun as much as before, he has never appointed Concubine Sun as his queen, and has not even spent the night in her palace for many years.After the death of the sixth prince, Concubine Sun once wanted to show her beauty and even brought her niece into the palace to stay for a while, but the emperor ignored her.

After having the concubine Xian, the emperor's daily life and food were basically taken care of by the concubine. Sun Guifei was not allowed to interfere. She was also ordered to return the phoenix seal to the Queen Mother Zhou, so that her aunt could regain the power of the harem.Four years ago, he also decreed that he would be buried with Empress Wu, gave the third prince a replacement title of Crown Prince in mourning, posthumously granted titles to Empress Wu's parents, and pardoned all former Wu clan members who had been dismissed and exiled.Sun Ge Lao objected strongly at the time, but the emperor still insisted on issuing the decree, and even personally paid homage to Empress Wu and the third prince in Kunning Palace. It can be said that it was very disrespectful to the Sun family and his daughter.

In the eyes of outsiders, this can almost be said to be a sign that Sun Guifei has fallen out of favor and Sun Ge Lao has lost power.

But in his previous life, the emperor always had great faith in Mr. Sun Ge. Mr. Sun Ge was always powerful and was not reprimanded for his dirty tricks against the Zhou family.Concubine Sun was involved in the death of Empress Dowager Zhou, and the emperor did not hold her accountable. Before his death, he specifically asked the prince to treat Concubine Sun favorably.If it hadn't been for the emperor's words, after Concubine Xian became the Queen Mother, she wouldn't have waited until the Sun family had completely lost power before accusing Concubine Sun of plotting to murder the Empress Dowager Zhou.

It can be seen that the emperor's favor for the Sun family and his daughter has not diminished.

Although the emperor kicked Sun Gelao out of the cabinet before his death, he did nothing else.If Mr. Sun Ge hadn't refused to give up after the new king succeeded to the throne, and still supported the fourth prince to jump up and down, he might have been able to live a wealthy life.

Hai Jiao said to her sister: "My grandma said privately that the emperor would pardon my uncle and the others because she was dissatisfied with the Sun family. Concubine Sun has no son and will lose power sooner or later. But I know in my heart that this is not the case." Let’s just talk to ourselves and feel at ease. The emperor’s favor for Mr. Sun Ge is not that easy to change. If you want to deal with Mr. Sun Ge, someone more trusted by the emperor needs to come forward. That’s why I place my hope on Master Tao Yuetao. Apart from him, it is impossible for anyone else to do this."

Haitang nodded seriously.She had a question: "The emperor advocated reform, and Sun Ge was always the main force, so what did they mainly change?"

Hai Jiao thought for a while: "I only know that the imperial court has cleared the yellow books for many years, and the tax system has been reformed... The people in my hometown always say that life is difficult, and many officials also say that the imperial court should not compete with the people for profit. But I have no money. It has nothing to do with me whether the property is taxed or not."

Haitang took a breath of cold air.

Case solved!
Throughout the past dynasties, any attempt to clear the yellow books or reform the tax system would definitely touch the interests of the landlord class and the gentry, and attract numerous objections.

If Emperor Deguang really wants to accomplish this, and Mr. Sun Ge is willing to fight for him... What does it mean to kill a few princes and exile a bunch of officials?As long as the reform can succeed, the Chu Dynasty will benefit, and the royal family can continue for tens or even hundreds of years. He is simply winning!

　It is expected to be released on November [-], so I need to prepare more manuscripts...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)