Ping An Biography

April gradually passed, and the court was shrouded in a decadent atmosphere. The emperor could not effectively handle the government affairs. Fortunately, there were a group of important ministers in the court, so that the state machinery could run step by step.

One day Zhang Ning was on duty in the yamen of the Ministry of Rites when he suddenly heard bells ringing from the direction of the imperial city. It was unusual for the bells to ring at this time, so he immediately put down his brush and listened carefully.After a while, almost all colleagues stopped working, and everyone paid attention.Many people may have been guessing: the emperor died?

Because it has been rumored that the dragon is not in good health since last month, and the bell will ring at noon this time, it is inevitable that people have this guess.There was a lot of discussion in the yamen, but none of them left their place.Sure enough, after waiting for a while, the Department of Yizhi came to send a personal message: "The emperor has passed away. Lu Butang ordered: Beijing officials above the sixth rank go home and change clothes, and then go to Yumen (Fengtianmen) to discuss matters."

When Zhang Ning got the news, he hurriedly found his groom and asked him to rush back and ask his family to bring Ma Xiao's clothes to the gate of the yamen of the Ministry of Rites.

The sudden death of the emperor is a major event, but it is not Zhang Ning's turn to worry about it for the time being. Now that the officials above are worried, Zhang Ning does not need to panic, as long as he abides by the rules and deals with it.As for the thing that has been worried for a long time: Prince Zhu Zhanji's attitude towards Jianwen's survivors after he ascended the throne.It's still too early now, at least we have to wait for the successful handover of the imperial power, who has the mind to take care of other things right now?

In addition, Zhang Ning secretly felt that Yongan's King of Han had become a big problem again. Would that guy learn from his father Zhu Di and seize the opportunity to seize the throne?In the past, it seemed that the battle between him and Emperor Hongxi had come to an end; but now that Emperor Hongxi died too suddenly, it was obvious that the court was not prepared enough, and the crown prince could not ascend the throne immediately, creating another opportunity for the King of Han.

It can be seen that sometimes someone's seemingly settled situation may turn around by chance. Zhang Ning feels that Hanwang has a great chance now.Regardless of how the King of Han was defeated before, now he only needs to find a way to kill the prince Zhu Zhanji before he ascends the throne, and with the three guards and horses he holds as a prince, he is fully qualified to compete for the throne and has a great chance of winning.

As a member of Yang Shiqi's camp, Zhang Ning and many others are of course unwilling to see Hanwang rise, and say that it is harmful to their own interests regardless of righteousness.However, Zhang Ning probably understands history. In the Ming Dynasty, except for Zhu Di’s successful rebellion, no vassal king succeeded. Therefore, it is doomed from history that the King of Han will not be able to seize this opportunity; even if there is a butterfly effect, it needs time and space conditions. Zhang Ning Conscious that he has not reached the level of affecting the course of history so far. He has only been a fifth-rank Tianzhu official with a short title. What kind of energy has affected the fate of the empire?

So Zhang Ning is not too worried, but Yang Shiqi and other ministers must be worried at the moment.

When the family members brought the clothes, Zhang Ning went into the imperial city with the officials of the Ministry of Rites in sackcloth and filial piety, and rushed to the Fengtian Gate where the ministers usually go to court.

Because Zhang Ning's grade is not enough for the usual early court qualifications, and he has not participated in any grand ceremony in Beijing, except for visiting the Forbidden City in his previous life, this is really the first time he has come back to this place.The corridor outside Fengtianmen is like a tunnel, and the light is not very good for most of the day; after passing through the corridor, a wide square, white marble roads and bridges, and magnificent palaces suddenly appear in front of you, which is really shocking.Zhang Ning felt that the engineers who built the Forbidden City a few years ago must have done it on purpose.

A large group of officials in sackcloth and filial piety walked on the Jinshui Bridge in front of the Taihe Gate. There were five bridges in total. No one walked in the middle, and everyone walked to the left and right four Bin Bridges.A group of loyal ministers and filial sons, but no one is crying at this time, because it is not yet time, and you have to cry if you don’t cry when some ceremonies are held... In fact, whether the ministers cry or not cry does not mean emotional problems, Zhang Ning really does not believe that the emperor is dead Knowing how sad the princes are, it can be said that [-]% of the crying is pretending; if it is worried that the transfer of power will affect the stability of the country, it may be true feelings.

On the contrary, many concubines in the harem were really crying, not for the emperor, but for themselves.In the Ming Dynasty, concubines who did not have children had to be buried. When Yongle died, dozens of concubines were "suicided" to be loyal. Now that Emperor Hongxi died, he played with women all day long. It is estimated that more women were buried than Emperor Yongle. It's just too much, and it's been less than a year since I became the emperor. Some concubines will die with them soon after being titled. It's really a loss, can you not cry?

Zhang Ning and his colleagues from the Ministry of Rites entered the Fengtian Gate, and stood and waited for a long time. Other officials arrived one after another and lined up one after the other.There is a throne in Fengtian Gate, which is the place where the emperor "listens to the government", but of course no one sits on the throne now.I saw Yang Shiqi glanced at the throne above, intentionally or unintentionally, with somewhat melancholy in his eyes.

At this time, some eunuchs and court ladies came from the back of Fengtian Gate. Zhang Ning unexpectedly found that his fellow countryman Wang Zhen was inside, just behind Wang Gou'er.

Wang Gou'er led the people to greet Yang Shiqi, Lu Zhen, Xia Yuanji and other important officials. Yang Shiqi asked bluntly, "When the emperor died, was the prince in front of you?"

"Yes, the emperor just said that he wanted to see the minister, and our family hurriedly sent someone out of the palace to tell him, but it was too late." Wang Gou'er said while wiping his tears.

Yang Shiqi asked again: "Does the emperor have a will?"

The two of them just asked and answered, and it took a while for Zhang Ning to realize: This is not a general question and answer, it is clearly an extremely important link in the process of completing the transition of power.Otherwise, what is the purpose of gathering so many officials?It is just to show who will be the legitimate emperor.

As long as Wang Gou'er's mind is not broken, there is only one answer to Yang Shiqi's question, so he said: "The emperor said that he will call the prince back to the capital to succeed him."

Regardless of whether Emperor Hongxi had any edicts before his death, the answer is correct at this time. Is it true that after the crown prince ascends the throne, he will be held accountable for falsely passing on the imperial edict?Of course, if the king of Han ascends the throne, it doesn't matter whether Emperor Hongxi has a will or not.

Yang Shiqi's old face obviously had a slight sigh of relief, and Lu Zhen who was on the side immediately said: "The prince is still in Nanjing, you should immediately draft an edict according to the emperor's wishes, send someone to send it, and then welcome the prince back to the capital to preside over state affairs. .”

"What Lu Gong said is very true." Yang Shiqi nodded and said, "Before the crown prince returns to the capital, all major matters should be discussed and handled by the cabinet and the six ministers."

Now everyone is only thinking about the prince coming back quickly, other things are secondary.

Lu Zhen didn't wait for the other officials to speak, and said anxiously: "Who wants to go to Nanjing to pass the edict?" Although the overall situation is at a critical juncture, Lu Zhen still has his own selfishness in mind: the discussion just now, sending people to Nanjing is actually to do two things , One is to pass on the imperial edict, and the other is to welcome the prince; and what he emphasizes is the matter of passing on the edict, anyone can pass on the edict as long as they hold the imperial edict.

When Lu Zhen said this, although he didn't look at his son-in-law Zhang He, Zhang He was waiting for him to ask for a job, and then he, as a member of the decision-making center, immediately agreed, and most of the others would not be entangled at this juncture .

Unexpectedly, Zhang He was stunned and didn't stand up right away.

Zhang Ning also immediately recalled that he had never heard Yang Shiqi mention this matter. Before, his attention was mostly on his background, and he didn't think about it.But when things came to an end, he quickly understood: For mid-level and lower-level officials, this job is definitely a rare opportunity in a generation, and it is a great achievement!

But the risks are also great, and it is a matter of desperately holding your head in front of you.On the surface, people don't say much, but now who can ignore Hanwang in their hearts?Going to pick up the crown prince now, he might encounter an ambush by the King of Han on the way, and the possibility of losing his life is very high; and for middle and lower officials who do not hold great power, whoever is the emperor is not an official himself. Could it be that the King of Han became the emperor? Are we going to kill all the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty?No wonder that Zhang He was unresponsive, this guy is afraid of death!

Zhang Ning is not afraid, not because he is not afraid of death, but because he knows that Hanwang will not succeed. For him, the psychological risk he has to bear is much smaller.

He recalled that, just as he was about to go forward to ask for a job, he heard a voice saying: "I'm going to the official household division, Yang Lin, and I'd like to lead the order."

Come on!There was someone who reacted faster than him.It turned out to be the fellow Yang Sihai, who was a Jinshi in the middle of last year and worked as a household officer for a year. Zhang Ning had a meal with him at the same table when he first came to Beijing, and he seldom interacted with each other.

Now that someone had already taken the lead, Zhang Ning observed that Zhang He was about to move around, so he decided to hold his breath first, and wait for the "later attack" if he lost the opportunity.

As expected, Zhang He finally stood up: "Let the officials go."

Zhang Ning was happy when he saw this, and it's all over now.The two volunteered, and now there is no arbitrary emperor, just as Yang Shiqi said, "Everything is negotiated", once the water is muddy, there will be an advantage of being a latecomer.

Only then did he calmly stand up and say: "As an official of the Ritual System Department of the Ministry of Etiquette, Zhang has a duty to meet the prince. How can he shirk the responsibility to others?"

Yang Shiqi nodded, looked back at Lu Zhen, Yang Rong and other ministers, and said in a deliberative tone: "It's not too late, how about letting Zhang Ning, the head of the Ministry of Rites, go to Nanjing to meet the prince?"

When it comes to this point, everyone agrees because they are high-ranking officials and not vexatious people.Yang Shiqi said dryly: "The officials of the Imperial Academy are going to draw up the will. Zhang Ning, you go back and prepare the seals, horses and other things. You will go to the Meridian Gate to pick up the will and go on the road as soon as possible."

"The next official takes the order." Zhang Ning cupped his fists and saluted Yang Sihai, and said in his heart: I admire your insight and speed of thinking, but it's a pity that there is no one above you, so you lose here.Brother Sihai, don't be dissatisfied, I am not born with a background, who can you blame for not hugging your thigh?

The worst one was that Zhang He.From Lu Zhen's words and deeds, Zhang Ning faintly felt that they might have discussed it earlier. If you want to say that Zhang He has the best opportunity and background, everything is ready, but he just missed the opportunity in a moment of hesitation. And opportunities are always fleeting.