golden scales

"Grandfather, which emperor in history would eat, drink, and do nothing all day long?" Zhu Heyuan asked, pulling his grandfather's cuff.

Chongzhen laughed until his eyes turned into crescent moons, patted his grandson's head, and said: "Those are all fools, addicted to wine and sex, not a good thing, don't even ask."

"But I just want to be that kind of emperor." Zhu Heyuan muttered, then jumped up to see if there were any pastries on the Supreme Emperor's imperial case.Father Huang said that he is overweight now, so there is a ration of sweets, and he can no longer eat whatever he wants.

"You don't have to think about it." Chongzhen stroked his beard and smiled: "The throne belongs to your eldest brother, so you can be a vassal in the country that waits for you. But even so, you can't learn from those stupid people. I just want to eat and drink."

"Oh." Zhu Heyuan felt a little lost, and said again: "Then why did the father ask the second brother what kind of emperor he wants to be?"

"Oh? How did your father ask?" Chongzhen smiled, but there was a tremor in his voice.

Zhu Heyuan sounds like he is six years old, but in fact he still has some shortcomings.As the third child, he has never enjoyed the treatment of the crown prince Zhu Hegui. His father just took him to play and never really taught him anything.Even an ordinary family can't take care of more children, not to mention his father has to manage the entire empire.

So Zhu Heyuan had no intention of relaying the conversation between his father and his second brother to Chongzhen a few days ago—this must show that Zhu Cihong's genetics are really strong, and his sons are all very smart, especially with a super memory.

Chongzhen just smiled, smiled.Smiling until Zhu Heyuan ran out to find something else to play... something to eat.

As a person who is completely indifferent to state affairs.Chongzhen finally felt the need to remind his son of the Supreme Emperor who didn't even know the name of the six waiters.

After Zhu Cihong greeted him the next day, Chongzhen stayed behind, saying that he wanted to look at the painting made last night together.

The father and son entered the study room, but Chongzhen didn't show any intention of taking out the painting. He let the emperor's son stand, and sat on the Taishi chair by himself, saying: "What do you think of the temple master?"

Zhu Cihong was a little surprised.Said: "Why did the emperor come here to ask?"

"Didn't you like to read the memoirs of our ancestors when you were young? Let's chat with our father and son." At this moment, Chongzhen is acting like an emperor and his father, insisting on pressing down on Zhu Cihong.

"The master of the temple is still quite farsighted in major issues, but unfortunately he is too stubborn and unwilling to compromise." Zhu Cihong said: "The dispute between the country and the country is the inflection point of the Ming Dynasty's prosperity and decline. In fact, it can be improved to a higher level."

Chongzhen gently stroked his beard, and said, "Why do you think there is a dispute between the country and the country?"

Zhu Cihong didn't understand what the old emperor meant, and said, "I still don't know the reason for the compromise. Thais and Westerners say: politics is the art of compromise, and my son thinks it makes sense."

Chongzhen shook his head and said, "No. What I'm asking is why the temple wants to change the crown prince."

"Because of Concubine Zheng." Zhu Cihong was stunned for a moment, and said, "Grandfather is cautious in his words and deeds, and he will not be disgusted by the master of the temple. Most likely Concubine Zheng wants mother to be more precious than son, so she instigated the temple." For Zhu Cihong, it is contemporary history, where historical materials and gossip fly together.Truth and rumours.But in the final analysis, it was caused by a woman who wanted her son to be emperor.

"You know," Chongzhen's expression changed, "Then why do you still want to abolish the prince!"

Zhu Cihong felt quite wronged, but his mental age was much older than Chongzhen, he didn't show any emotion, he just kept his identity and said: "I don't know where the father heard it, my son definitely doesn't have such an idea."

Chongzhen still didn't believe it.Zhu Heyuan is an innocent child, could he lie?

"The only son is the Duan family, and the five sons are all born of the empress, and they are all young. How could they change the country inexplicably?" Zhu Cihong was quite helpless.

These words just blocked Chongzhen's mouth, because Chongzhen wanted to use this rhetoric to dispel his son's unreasonable thoughts.

"Father, where did you hear that?" Zhu Cihong turned from defense to offense.

Chongzhen waved his hand, and said, "Do you think I'm a fool, and I can't recognize people, so I can't see what you think? You are obviously partial to the second child now, and you think I don't know?"

"Father, you have wronged your son." Zhu Cihong called Qu Qu.

"No matter where I went back then, you, King Ding and King Yong followed." Chongzhen said: "Nowadays, you often bring Heqi and Heyuan when you go in and out, instead of the crown prince. What's the reason for that?"

This can indeed be regarded as a political signal.

Zhu Cihong accepted Chongzhen's statement, and did not think about his youngest son, explaining: "The crown prince is now out of the court to study, and he is quite motivated. He has some entertainment, so the son doesn't want to bother him." , Zhu Cihong hated that Chongzhen had to call him wherever he went, which affected his progress in writing books.

"The fourth and fifth are still young, so it's not convenient to take them out." Zhu Cihong added.

Chongzhen was skeptical, and tentatively said: "Actually, I also know that the second child is more like you."

"Huh?" Zhu Cihong was a little surprised: "Why didn't my son see it?"

"He who knows others is wise, and he who knows himself is wise." Chongzhen said: "You have the wisdom to know others, but you don't see yourself clearly. Don't look at He Gui who keeps reading books all day long. He is eager to learn, but his temperament is quite weak. Although He Qi is not easy to learn, his temperament of being shameless and obsessed with his own little world is exactly the same as yours."

Zhu Cihong was silent.He knew the eldest son's character flaws, and he was even worried that these personality flaws were caused by his too much emphasis on education, which left a big shadow on the child.Precisely because the eldest son's education had something worthy of his own reflection, he let go more and did not intervene too much in the education of Heqi and Heyuan.

"So if you like Heqi, you can give him a piece of heaven and earth, but the country, the country must belong to Hegui." Chongzhen said: "This is the law established by the ancestors. It is the ancestors who want to ensure the stability of the world, the harmony of the heaven and the family, and the harmony between relatives and relatives." And the established law. Even if you don't care about it, you shouldn't be willful about the safety of the world. Think about the temple."

Zhu Cihong nodded, and said: "Father, my son really wanted to have an emperor who is more suitable for the future development of Ming Dynasty."

Chongzhen had an expression of "as expected".

"However, the son hugged Hegui later. Gradually he gave up this idea." Zhu Cihong felt a little moved.

Zhu and Kyu are his eldest sons.It is also his first son in the past and present.He has always believed that children and grandchildren have their own blessings, and that having a son is also a political need, but when he really hugs him every day, watching him grow up and grow up, and even learn to talk back, the bond between father and son becomes more and more serious. thicker and thicker.

"That's true, and Hegui was hugged by you all day long." Chongzhen nodded and admitted.Pointing to Xiudun beside him: "Sit down."

Only then did Zhu Cihong sit down and said: "People's understanding will definitely change, so although I don't agree with some of Hegui's understanding, my son believes that he will definitely become mature, after all he is only thirteen or fourteen years old. "

——That’s not necessarily the case, you haven’t changed much.

Chongzhen secretly said in his heart, but he didn't say anything.

"What I'm worried about is his values ​​and character." Zhu Cihong said: "He Gui is a very kind child, with a soft heart, and he doesn't want to see the killing. I heard that the people are so poor that they can't eat."

Isn't Chongzhen himself not, he couldn't help sighing after hearing this.

"The problem is that, as an emperor, such kindness and soft-heartedness are inappropriate." Zhu Cihong said: "The father has the Chariot Gorge in his hands, and the son has the mountains and Shaanxi defeats in his hands. Most likely, he will be scorned after a thousand years."

Chongzhen felt his ears burning.If he could be ruthless back then.Block the thieves in the carriage gorge and kill them all.Then the country would be able to restore peace in the eighth year of Chongzhen, and there would be no subsequent rebellion and thieves-at that time, these two people could only be regarded as small leaders in the carriage gorge.

Similarly, Zhu Cihong left the people and resources of the Qin and Jin provinces, but did not carry out his reckless migration, which further expanded Li Zicheng's strength.

There will definitely be keyboard critics in later generations who call it "the benevolence of women".

Neither Chongzhen nor Longjing today has the courage of a certain great leader of later generations to break everything and even dare to rebel against his own family.

"Rather than saying that my son is dissatisfied with He Gui, it is better to say that my son is unwilling." Zhu Cihong has often been thinking about this issue recently.A brain poured out.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Back to the era of Lord Xu." Zhu Cihong said.

Chongzhen was amazed: "How did I ever have Lord Xu in Ming Dynasty?"

"There is a difference between monarchy and political power." Zhu Cihong was not surprised that Chongzhen would have no concept, because in this era, perhaps only some elites know that the emperor may not be able to control the political power.If there is one of Xia Yan, Yan Song, Xu Jie, and Zhang Juzheng in the court after 30 years of Wanli, I am afraid that the emperor of Ming Dynasty really only has the monarchy, and he will not even get any political power.

After explaining the difference between monarchy and political power, Zhu Cihong said: "Father had more than enough energy, although he could change fifty appearances in 17 years, but that was just monarchy, and the political power has long been left aside—otherwise, how can we accept it? It is impossible to collect taxes. The son now seems to be delegating power, reusing civil servants and generals, and clarifying duties. The essence is that the monarchy covers the political power.

"If we get along with Gui Dengji in the future, with his soft heart and kindness, it's hard to guarantee that he won't hand over this regime again." Zhu Cilang sighed: "If you have really tasted the sweetness of power, your son will inevitably have selfishness and want to make this huge power go away." Power is passed on to future generations."

Chongzhen was speechless for a long time, and said quietly: "Everyone has this kind of selfishness, otherwise, where would they come from?"

"In fact, if you think about it, if you can't do it in the future, you can simply separate the monarchy and political power, and the emperor will govern." Zhu Cilang sighed: "The Ming Dynasty belongs to my Zhu family, and it also belongs to the billions of people in the world. In the final analysis, it still belongs to them. "

After thinking for a long time, Chongzhen said: "After the Qin Emperor, dynasties have changed, and there has never been a dynasty that lasted for 500 years. Tang Taizong said that people are like water, which can carry a boat or capsize it, but you are the only one who dares to say that the world is the world. of the people."

"My son only thinks like this recently." Zhu Cihong said with a wry smile: "Having great power, after all, is much better than being a puppet. But the times are changing, and it is better to be a puppet than to be slaughtered. The British on Taixi's side Then there was the king-killing incident, and when our country changed, those rebels also targeted the royal family."

Chongzhen still remembers the tragedy of the national change, the royal family was slaughtered, the ancestral graves were dug up, and even the Taimiao was lost...

"Have you thought about how such tragedies don't happen again?" Chongzhen asked.

"Follow the weather." Zhu Cihong said simply: "Even my royal family can't go against the trend. When the world's resources are in the hands of the landlords, the Tian family will be the world's largest landlords; when the world's resources belong to the industrial and commercial owners In the hands, the Tian family will be the largest business owner in the world. In this way, the Tian family will always be at the forefront, and there will always be a huge number of followers behind, which is the foundation of the Tian family's power."

Tianjia will always represent the needs of the most advanced productivity.Zhu Cihong summed it up in his heart.

Chongzhen nodded, quite appreciative of this.Although he couldn't comprehend the meaning by himself, he could still understand it.

"So even if my family wants to return power to the people of the world in the end, the influence will always remain, and the lives of our descendants will not be in danger." Zhu Cihong said.

Chongzhen was silent for a long time, and suddenly he laughed and said: "After walking around the south of the Yangtze River with your mother, I just feel that this world is very cute. If I really want to hand it over to others, I am a little bit unwilling."

"No one is willing to hand over power." Zhu Cihong said: "But even if you hand over power, there will always be a time to get it back. It's better than clinging to power and being overthrown."

"Aren't you worried that the throne will be usurped after you let go of power?" Chongzhen didn't believe that his son would be usurped, but his soft-hearted grandson was not sure.

"Don't worry, because I can't delegate power to one family." Zhu Cihong said with a smile: "Whether it's power or money, it's like rain. Gathering it in one place is a catastrophe. Add some humidity to the air."

Chongzhen was completely relieved, and said: "You should also say these things to He Gui."

Zhu Cihong sighed, and said: "Father, my son really understands your worries back then." At that time, Chongzhen said to Zhu Cihong: The emperor may not care about the opinions of everyone in the world, or the praise and criticism before and after him, but he will care about his son after all. view.

At that time, Zhu Hegui was just a small meatball, and Zhu Cihong didn't care about it.

Now Zhu Cihong dare not show Zhu Hegui the diary he painstakingly recorded, and dare not let Zhu Hegui know that his father is actually a villain who does not achieve his goals by any means, and has no concept of benevolence, justice and integrity in his heart.The most painful thing is that Zhu Cihong is such a villain, but he still has to educate his children: honesty and trustworthiness.

The villain's way of life, and the value of a gentleman, just like those parents who jaywalk on the road and spit everywhere in later generations, still teach their children to watch traffic lights, listen to the teacher, and be a good boy who is civilized and polite.

The greatest pain in life is this kind of self-disobedience.

No wonder I seem to like He Qi more, maybe it's because he dares to face his inner desire without any sense of shame.

Zhu Cihong thought to himself. (to be continued~^~)