Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 3 Wei Zhongxian plots regency

Time passed day by day, and Zhu Youjian gradually adapted to his current life. No matter who looked over, they would not notice anything unusual.

Xu Yingyuan was detained in Prince Xin's Mansion, but he was a little distracted and worried. At one moment, he was worried that King Xin would not be able to succeed to the throne, so he could only continue to work as an errand in King Xin's palace; at another time, he was worried that he would not be able to make great contributions to King Xin's succession, and would not be reused by King Xin.

After several days of this, Xu Yingyuan finally got an important piece of news from Tu Wenfu, and he couldn't wait to express his gratitude to Zhu Youjian:

"On August 19, Wei Zhongxian and his officials discussed taking photos behind the curtain."

"Shi Feng, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet, said: 'You can't take the exam if you live in Sheyuan, and you can't learn from him.'"

"Wei Zhongxian was displeased and gave up. The ministers asked King Xin to come to the palace to treat his illness."

Reciting this message, Xu Yingyuan said:
"Your Highness, Wei Zhongxian really refuses to give up his power and wants to continue to be regent."

"His Royal Highness did not become the Emperor's younger brother. He must have been the one who got in the way."

"We must find a way to enter the palace and settle this matter."

Zhu Youjian frowned when he heard this, feeling the difficulty of the matter. Although he had Tu Wenfu, a secretly opportunistic insider, he was sure to deal with Wei Zhongxian after he ascended to power. But he did not dare to underestimate the current power of "Nine Thousand Years Old". Wei Zhongxian has thoughts of regent, and he must take it seriously.

In the inner palace, in addition to Tu Wenfu, the royal horse supervisor, who secretly took refuge, Wang Tiqian, the ceremonial supervisor, and others were Wei Zhongxian's confidants.

Only the queen had many conflicts with Wei Zhongxian and the Hakka family, and Wei Zhongxian was unable to control them.

At the court, the current cabinet was formed according to Wei Zhongxian's ideas. It was rare for Shi Fenglai to say a word, and others could not count on it.

Moreover, the influence of hundreds of officials on the palace is very small. Those who can really influence the palace are the nobles who have declined since Tumubao.

Analyzing the situation between North Korea and China, Zhu Youjian recalled historical experience and speculated on what Wei Zhongxian might do:

If you want to be a regent, you can first establish a young emperor, such as Wang Mang and Ru Ziying, the generals and young emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The second is to learn from the eunuchs of the Tang Dynasty and control the divine strategy army to dethrone the emperor.

Both of these points need to be guarded against!
Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian ordered:
"Find a way to tell the queen about this and ask the queen to pay attention to the movements in the harem and not to let any pregnant maid suddenly appear."

"Ask Tu Wenfu to pay attention to the control of the Royal Horse Prison, monitor the movements of the Beijing camp, and whether there is any news of foreign troops entering Beijing."

After taking precautions in these two aspects, Zhu Youjian added:

"Also, tell the British Duke Zhang Weixian about the matter. He is a veteran of three dynasties and knows what to do."

Xu Yingyuan hurriedly accepted the order. Seeing that Zhu Youjian had no other orders after saying this, he asked:

"Where is your highness?"

"Would you like to go to His Majesty and ask for an audience in the palace?"

Zhu Youjian shook his head, looked at the shrine in front of him, and said:
"It's better to be still than to move."

"I want to pray for Brother Huang. After Brother Huang gets better, he will naturally summon me."

Ask Xu Yingyuan to obey the order and deliver the message carefully.

Xu Yingyuan reluctantly accepted the order, and while delivering the news, he became even more worried. This kind of days of being grounded is really not what he wants.

Just at this time, someone in the mansion announced that Zhu Youjian's teacher Liu Hanru requested to come into the mansion to see him.

Xu Yingyuan was irritated, and he was not in the mood to listen to this. Said impatiently:
"His Royal Highness closed the door to thank guests and said he would not see outsiders."

"Go tell him you're missing!"

Menzi was a little helpless and said again: "Mr. Liu is His Highness's teacher and cannot be said to be an outsider."

Xu Yingyuan was furious when he heard this and wanted to teach this disciple who contradicted him a lesson. But then he thought of the words "not an outsider" and changed his mind. He had long been determined to change the situation of thanking guests behind closed doors. He didn't care about arguing with his disciples, and reported to Zhu Youjian:
"Your Highness, Mr. Liu is outside asking for an audience."

"Would you like to meet, Your Highness?"

"Mr. Liu?" He didn't know who it was for a moment. After thinking for a moment, Zhu Youjian thought it was his teacher and said in a gentle tone:
"Tell Mr. Liu that I understand, but it's not necessary to meet him."

"Let him concentrate on his studies and not cause trouble."

Xu Yingyuan refused to give up. Thinking of the disputes between the eunuchs and Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli in the past few years, he continued:
"It would be best to meet, Your Highness."

"Mr. Liu was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi. The co-examiners for this subject were Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli. Ni Yuanlu and Huang Daozhou both claimed to be Yuan Keli's disciples, so they were called Sun Dang."

"Sun Chengzong has been operating in Liaodong for many years, and Yuan Keli has been operating in Denglai, Shandong for many years. If His Highness wants to find out whether there are foreign troops entering Beijing, it is best to meet Mr. Liu."

Zhu Youjian was silent when he heard the words. From these few words, he had already glimpsed a large network composed of students from the same department, the same year, teachers and disciples. As long as you are a Jinshi, you can find the corresponding position in this network——

This deep-rooted civil servant force is more difficult to deal with than the eunuchs.

However, what threatens his succession now is Wei Zhongxian and the eunuch party.

Naturally, the disintegration of civilian power must be put later. Now we must grasp the main contradictions and recognize who the enemy is.

As his thoughts turned, Zhu Youjian vaguely felt that he had some impressions of these names. Looking back on their deeds, he thought they could be reused:

Sun Chengzong was a Japanese official respected by Emperor Tianqi, and he was very important. He was in charge of Liaodong for several years. In my impression, his family later died fighting against the Qing Dynasty. It can be said that they are all loyal.

Yuan Keli had extraordinary abilities. In the second year of the Apocalypse, the Wenxiang Sect, a branch of the White Lotus Sect, rebelled. It was he, Zhao Yan and others who put down the rebellion, and he also supported Dongjiang Mao Wenlong. Moreover, this man had a stiff neck and could even resist the orders of Emperor Wanli. It was even more impossible for Wei Zhongxian to change his mind. Such ministers will sometimes have a headache when they are emperors, but they can be trusted at critical moments.

The name Ni Yuanlu was not memorable to Zhu Youjian, but Huang Daozhou was as famous as Liu Zongzhou for two weeks, both of whom were loyal ministers who died for sacrifice.

Can be used by four people!

After confirming this, Zhu Youjian said:
"How many of them currently occupy what positions?"

"Who is in the capital?"

Xu Yingyuan mentioned these people in order to change Zhu Youjian's mind, but he couldn't think about so many things at once. After thinking for a long time, he said:
"Sun Chengzong became an official in the fifth year of Tianqi's reign, but he is from Baoding, North Zhili, so it is easy to contact him."

"Yuan Keli took office at the end of the sixth year of Tianqi. He is from Suizhou, Henan, so it is difficult to contact him. However, because the three major palaces were completed a few days ago, the merits of the three palaces will increase the number of the prince's minor security and the cumulative number of the prince's Taibao. Your Highness can use this as an excuse to try to summon him to Beijing. .”

"Both Ni Yuanlu and Huang Daozhou served as editors at the Hanlin Academy. Ni Yuanlu went out to preside over the Jiangxi Provincial Examination this year. Huang Daozhou offended Eunuch Wei, and because of the loss of his mother, it was difficult for him to return to his hometown..."

His voice became lower and lower, and it was obvious that he had realized that it was a stupid idea to talk about these people.

Hearing the whereabouts of these people, Inspector Zhu You sighed. Continuing to inquire about other figures in the Sun Party, I learned that Lu Shanji, Mao Yuanyi, Li Banghua and others who were related were also dismissed from office, and they gained a deeper understanding of Wei Zhongxian's power in the court.

After giving up any thoughts of fighting with Wei Zhongxian in the court, Zhu Youjian said to Xu Yingyuan:
"These people are not in the capital, so it's hard to stop them now."

"Go and tell Mr. Liu that I know about his arrival."

"Ask him to write down the age, place of origin, and current status of Jinshi in the same subject, and send it to me later!"

Xu Yingyuan reluctantly accepted the order, feeling really angry in his heart. This time, not only did he not change Zhu Youjian's mind, he also made Zhu Youjian pay attention to Sun Chengzong, Yuan Keli and others. It can be said that he lost his wife and lost his troops.

Now, he could only follow Zhu Youjian's idea and continue to thank guests behind closed doors and ignore external matters.

　"Northern Strategy of the Ming Dynasty": On the 19th (August), Wei Zhongxian and his officials discussed staying behind the curtain to take photos. Prime Minister Shi Feng came and said: "You can't take photos from far away, and you can't learn from him." Zhongxian was displeased and gave up. The ministers please ask the king to come and have his illness diagnosed.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)