Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 38 The “Three-Divided” Imperial Power
Tian Yi, who was already old, followed him from behind and suddenly felt full of energy again.

Perhaps it is because His Highness is very different from His Majesty. He is truly concerned about the country and the people and is willing to listen to his advice.

Of course, it was also because Zhu Changluo gave him the power to purge the inner palace.

This is different from previous weeding.

We need to identify those with talents... I'm afraid Your Highness will need to use eunuchs in the future.

Zhu Changluo then went to the Cining Palace first.

It is still necessary to visit your parents regularly in the morning and evening.

The emperor is still there, but since he is alive and his "fingers can move", he can issue orders.

But this decree was actually the will of Zhu Changluo and Empress Dowager Li.

Before he officially ascended the throne, he "assisted" Zhu Yijun in handling state affairs as the heir to the throne, and also sought the opinion of Empress Dowager Li.

An emperor paralyzed in bed and unable to speak, an heir who had not yet completed the enthronement procedure, and a woman who could not interfere in politics together constituted the imperial power during this extraordinary period.

After visiting Zhu Yijun, Zhu Changluo came to the Buddhist hall in the Cining Palace.

He first knelt down beside Empress Dowager Li, bowed to the Bodhisattva, and prayed. Then he asked softly, "Grandmother, do you really want to do this?"

"That witch is so vicious, how can we forgive her so easily!"

In front of the Bodhisattva, Empress Dowager Li gritted her teeth.

She has already shouldered many sins, but in her mind she had no choice. And with Zheng Mengjing causing trouble, things are getting out of control.

Today, the Queen Mother Li decided to do two things in the name of the imperial edict: first, to promote Consort Wang Gong to Imperial Noble Consort, and second, to deal with Zheng Mengjing.

She bewitched the emperor, fought for the foundation of the country, ignored the emperor's serious illness and made a lot of noise, which caused the emperor to have a second stroke.

New evidence was obtained during the interrogation of people in the Zheng Mansion. Even many officials were involved. They have been stirring up trouble for many years and there is already evidence from witnesses and materials.

Of course, there must be a scapegoat when there is a major turmoil in the change of imperial power.

We cannot talk nonsense about witchcraft, lest there be discussions that the emperor has lost his moral integrity, so it is better to just attribute it to a dispute over the foundation of the country.

The emperor was bewitched, and although his reputation would still be bad, it would be more understandable to others.

As a result, the emperor suffered another stroke and Zheng was to be executed. The third son, Zhu Changxun, was to be demoted to a commoner and sent to Fengyang.

There will be no more assassination by stick, but if it can happen, one can imagine how brave Zheng Mengjing is.

Although she had taken the risk because Empress Dowager Li had died at that time, Zhu Changluo now clearly stated that he remembered the favor she had shown him that day.

Who can tell?
Zhu Changluo was not concerned about the outcome of his treatment of her, but he did not expect that it would bring disaster to Zhu Changxun.

"But Third Brother..."

Queen Mother Li knelt down, her voice tired, "What are you afraid of? Foreign officials ridiculed you for being ungrateful? The order was issued by the Emperor... Now that your foundation is not stable, you ascended the throne suddenly, and you have to deal with internal and external troubles. Chang Xun is not the youngest son, how could he not remember this grudge now? Under normal circumstances, it is naturally difficult for the vassal kings to rebel, but in the future..."

Her voice was trembling. "I have already shouldered so many sins. I don't care if I have one more. This is all for the country and our ancestors."

Zhu Changluo was silent for a while, then kowtowed to her: "Grandmother, I will always remember your kindness. I will never forget the dangers of my country."

Perhaps in the eyes of Empress Dowager Li, Zhu Changluo's cruelty to his third brother, who had already been planted as a potential candidate for the throne, could intimidate some people.

Zhu Changluo felt more clearly that Empress Dowager Li was actually a mature political animal.

There was a reason why she was so harsh on Zhu Yijun back then.

She gave all her motherly love to Prince Lu, but had only one request for Zhu Yijun: to hold on to power.

Now she feels the same way towards Zhu Changluo, except that she has an additional hope of preserving the Ming Dynasty.

In this regard, the two have the same ambition.

Empress Dowager Li nodded and said, "The Emperor has his grandmother to take care of him. The Empress is a pitiful person, so don't be harsh on her. After you ascend the throne, let her live with your mother in Renshou Palace. You can treat them as one, and she will have a companion."

"My grandson will obey your order."

"Go ahead and do your work. Ask Tian Yi and Chen Ju more questions."

There were only four people who were directly involved in the incident that night. Although Chen Ju and the others understood, they would never talk nonsense now.

Let Queen Wang come along to take care of things, just for the time being.

In fact, Empress Dowager Li was still worried that Zhu Yijun would do something again when he was awake, or tell the prophecy.

This is why the term "personal care" is used.

She takes care of her son personally, which is also a kind of "atonement".

"My grandson is not in a hurry to start working. Since that day, many important things have happened..." Zhu Changluo paused and said, "These days, my grandson has also had some ideas about the future. I would like to present them to the Royal Grandmother and ask for her advice."

Empress Dowager Li opened her eyes and looked at him solemnly: "Go over there and sit down and talk."

"Yes."

Having committed such a sin, the only way for Empress Dowager Li to atone for it is to truly avert the catastrophe.

This concerns whether she will go to the eighteen levels of hell after her death.

The grandfather and grandson sat on the chairs in the Buddhist hall. Zhu Changluo spoke straightforwardly: "First of all, it is those three people. The dream only mentioned those three people, saying that they are not the ones who decide the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty. But whether these three people are lucky stars or unlucky stars is still unknown."

Empress Dowager Li looked solemn: "It may not be a good minister who is destined to be robbed? It may also be an evil star that will bring disaster to the country?"

"There is no clue now. It is better to be quiet than to move. I think we should just keep an eye on these three people. If they are loyal and good generals whose ambitions are not fulfilled, and they are disturbed, they will lack experience and may not be useful in the future. If they are evil stars, they can be eliminated in time." Zhu Changluo finished speaking and whispered, "To do this, I have to take control of the factory guards in advance. I can't say why I want to do this, so I can only ask them to pay more attention to my orders."

Empress Dowager Li pondered for a while, and then no longer hesitated: "Grandmother, please give me an imperial decree. You are all servants of the Zhu family. The seal over there will be handed over to you first."

"Grandson thanks the Imperial Grandmother for her trust."

During this transition period, Empress Dowager Li was not confident about handing over all power to him all at once.

Now, Zhu Changluo got the power using these three people as an excuse.

Of course, the reason was not sufficient. It was nothing more than mentioning these three people again to remind Empress Dowager Li of the acquired image and his identity as the master of the calamity.

He has read the files of all three people.

Xu Guangqi was already the top scorer in the Nanzhili exam and had achieved the status of a juren.

Sun Chuanting was just eight years old, but his family had produced prefectural and county magistrates.

Lu Xiangsheng was not even a hundred days old. He was just an ordinary family in a village in Yixing County, Changzhou Prefecture.

It is said that he is a descendant of Lu Zhaolin, a famous scholar in the Tang Dynasty. Whether it is true or not is not important. The village where Lu Xiangsheng is now located is where his grandfather moved to. The last person of the Lu family who was successful was the magistrate of Yixing County after the Zhao Song Dynasty moved south.

By this time, several generations of ancestors had lost their reputation and were just an ordinary family.

Lu Xiangsheng's grandfather had just moved to the place where he lived at that time. There was not even a scholar in his family, so naturally he had no extensive social circle.

It was only after he used this unique trick that Lu Xiangsheng's name was given to someone else after he calculated his birth date and horoscope.

The Lu family had no connections that could lead to high-ranking officials, and this kind of "foresight" made Empress Dowager Li even more convinced.

Zhu Changluo continued: "Then it was Jiannu."

"Grandmother has been thinking about this these days!" Empress Dowager Li said very carefully, "Should we take advantage of the high morale of the Jiannu, the culprit, and send troops to eliminate them immediately?"

"...I'm afraid not." Zhu Changluo shook his head. "After the three battles in Ningxia, Korea, and Bozhou, the financial situation has become difficult. After that, the rewards for meritorious service, plus the expenses of a series of grand ceremonies, the money and food cannot support the conquest of the Jian Nu. Moreover, this is not just a matter of money. We can't guarantee victory, and the civil officials will not support it. We can't tell them about the image of the future."

After the three major campaigns, the finances could no longer support a fourth large-scale campaign in succession.

While we still have an advantage in terms of power, we will naturally have a better chance of winning against the Jianzhou Jurchens than in the future. However, if we want to completely eradicate this scourge, it will still be a long-lasting and costly battle.

What reasons can be used to convince the civil officials?
It is said that the Ming Dynasty would be seized by the Qing army in less than fifty years?

Even if money is not a problem, how many times has the Ming Dynasty already plowed the Jurchens and beaten them? It is not easy to completely eradicate the trouble.

When the new emperor uses military force after ascending the throne, the civil officials will worry that the emperor is "ambitious" and even secretly worry that the emperor wants to do something to them after he has consolidated his military power.

Zhu Changluo was still trying to figure out how to keep his military power, but it was impossible for him to achieve his goal by starting another war immediately.

Empress Dowager Li fell silent, looking worried: "So we can only sit back and watch the Jiannu grow stronger? I heard from the Emperor before that the Jiannu have compiled a written language and destroyed part of the Haixi Jurchens, and their prestige has greatly increased."

(End of this chapter)