Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 75 Your Majesty, Yang Ting and the others should all be killed!

Zhu Houcong knew that recognizing Emperor Xiaozong as his father was the political opinion of most civil officials.

And these people will not easily give up this political stance.

Because many of these people are morally flawless and even very strong-willed.

But as conservatives, they advocated the etiquette and laws of Sima Guang and Cheng Yi, and wanted the emperor to be bound by the etiquette. They were afraid that the emperor would gain arbitrary power and carry out drastic reforms without restraint.

Zhu Houcong also knew that political struggle was not as simple as treating people to a meal; it would involve bloodshed and death.

The establishment of the great imperial power does not mean that one can control the bureaucrats of the world by showing favor and gaining the respect of the people. It is indeed necessary to kill a few people to establish the power.

Therefore, in history, Jiajing still beat people at Zuoshunmen and beat sixteen civil servants to death with sticks.

It is impossible for Zhu Houcong to avoid this situation just because he was better at creating momentum and winning over court officials than Jiajing in history.

After all, there are some particularly stubborn people who protect rituals. Even if you beat them to death, they will still stick to their own ideas.

Unless Zhu Houcong was really willing to give up most of his power, become a puppet emperor, and only seek the empty title of a benevolent, filial and holy monarch.

But Zhu Houcong didn't want that.

because.

That way he would always be the one being wronged.

The people closest to him were wronged.

By the way...

The people did not have an easy life either.

and.

On the contrary, the people will have a harder time because the power of the scholars is not checked.

As a result, he, the emperor, will have to bear the stigma of disappointing the people of the world, which is undoubtedly a waste of injustice.

Therefore, whether in private or in public, Zhu Houcong would only pretend to be kind on the surface, but would still show his iron fist in private.

However, how to display this iron fist needs to be considered.

Zhu Houcong felt that first he had to further firmly control the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard in his own hands.

The factory guards had no choice but to follow his rhythm.

He said whoever is to be killed can only be killed by the factory guards!
Cannot be over-enforced.

We can’t just not execute it secretly!
When Zhu Houcong returned to Qingning Palace from Wenhua Palace, he glanced at the Jinyiwei guarding Zuoshunmen.

At this time, these Jinyiwei all knelt on the ground because of the appearance of the emperor.

Zhu Houcong said nothing and just continued walking forward.

Ever since Luo An, an old man from the palace, replaced Mao Rui on duty at Donghua Gate, with the cooperation of Liang Chu, the chief minister of the cabinet, Zhu Houcong gradually replaced the guards in the palace and the Jinyiwei on duty with his own people.

Therefore, the Jinyiwei that Zhu Houcong saw now were basically his own people.

But this does not mean that Zhu Houcong can be completely assured that there will be no dangerous situations around him or any information leaks.

because.

In the palace.

There are still quite a few palace people, who may be spies for the eunuchs in the inner court and the officials of the outer court.

And outside the palace.

The people in the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were basically the original factory and guard personnel who lived in the capital.

Among these people, many were spies for the eunuchs in the inner court, officials of the outer court, or their private servants planted in the Jinyiwei.

of course.

After Zhu Houcong ascended the throne, he had always asked Huang Jin, an old servant of the royal palace with a deceptive appearance, to conduct secret investigations by means of coercion and inducement.

Who are the party members?

Who are the people who just live to get by?

Who are the ones who are highly conscious and truly loyal to the emperor.

By the way.

Zhu Houcong also asked Huang Jin to find out which nobles and officials were close to each other.

in other words.

Zhu Houcong asked Huang Jin to secretly set up an intelligence group.

Zhu Houcong knew.

As the grand ceremony began.

Zhang Cong's article, which was extremely deterrent and could be regarded as a nuclear bomb on the discussion of grand ceremonies, was made known to the world.

The struggle between the ritual advocates and the ritual defenders will surely become increasingly intense.

He must take control of the factory guards as soon as possible at this time, and then control the inner court.

otherwise.

The flames of war generated by the struggle between these two factions will eventually burn onto the emperor himself.

Unless he, the emperor, does not use scholar-officials to rule the world.

and so.

After seeing Huang Jin, Zhu Houcong asked:
"Have you investigated which nobles Qiu Ju secretly contacted, as well as their private spies in the palace and the imperial guards, and the palace servants and imperial guards who secretly contacted the outer court?"

"Your Majesty, everything has been investigated. I have already drawn up the list and will present it to you in the near future." Huang Jin was a cautious person and would not hide anything from him.

Zhu Houcong believed that as long as he said that everything had been investigated clearly, then everything would have been investigated clearly.

"I'll give you another month to review it. Don't make any mistakes!"

But out of caution, Zhu Houcong still asked Huang Jin to review it.

Huang Jin nodded in agreement.

Zhu Houcong then instructed Luo An, Zhang Tong, Lu Song and other trusted generals of the Jinyiwei:

"Within a month, recall all the old people in our palace to strengthen the inner court. You don't need to watch over the docks and post stations outside for now."

Luo An and others bowed in agreement.

then.

Zhu Houcong summoned Wu Wendi to meet him.

Wu Wendi didn't expect that he would encounter a grand ceremony as soon as he arrived in Beijing.

It was his first time attending a court meeting, and he witnessed the chaos in the court with his own eyes.

But what made him feel fortunate was that the emperor was not confused, but was very upright, calm and composed, and even had a majestic demeanor without being angry.

This made Wu Wendi look at the emperor who had appointed him as soon as he ascended the throne with even greater respect, and he was convinced that the Ming Dynasty would truly be revived in the hands of this emperor.

Zhu Houcong then asked Wang Yangming's most trusted confidant:

"Did the Grand Tutor really collude with Prince Ning?"

Wu Wendi's face suddenly turned pale and he shuddered with fear.

because.

Wu Wendi clearly remembered that only Wang Yangming, he, and a few of Wang Yangming's disciples knew about this.

But Wu Wendi did not expect that the emperor also knew about this.

“Who spread this?”

"Or has the emperor already planted spies around these people?"

Wu Wendi therefore did not dare to follow Wang Yangming's previous instructions not to expose the crimes of Yang Tinghe and others to the emperor, and had to speak out:
"Your Majesty, in the past, many officials in the court, including the Grand Tutor, did have the idea of ​​replacing the emperor."

After Wu Wendi said this, he glanced at Zhu Houcong, and was stunned to see that Zhu Houcong's breathing was even.

So calm?

Wu Wending continued, "However, the evidence has been destroyed. The traitor Li Shishi would rather be beaten to death by me than confess. Therefore, nothing can be considered conclusive evidence now."

"What do you think?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Wu Wending thought for a moment and immediately said, "I think that those who forced Your Majesty to disown his parents, including Yang Tinghe, should all be killed without fail!"

This time it was Zhu Houcong himself who was shocked.

He knew that Wu Wendi in history had a violent temper.

Because Zhu Houcong had once seen his epitaph.

In Wu Wendi's epitaph, critics said that he "liked to criticize others' faults to their faces, but would do his best to resolve difficulties. Although he was cheerful, he was eccentric and did not follow the crowd. When someone violated a taboo while serving as an official, or advised him to quit, he said sternly: "I have pledged my life to the country, so I don't care about other things. I persisted and did not change my mind."

Zhu Houcong also remembered that in history, after Wang Yangming captured Prince Ning alive and burned the evidence of court ministers' collusion with or bribery of Prince Ning, Wu Wendi was indeed dissatisfied with this and chose to severely interrogate Li Shishi, the Chief Censor who planned Prince Ning's rebellion, and ended up beating Li Shishi to death.

But Zhu Houcong did not expect Wu Wendi to be so tough. He really had no regard for the friendship between scholars and officials at all. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all the ritualists should be killed.

"You are indeed loyal and fearless!"

"But it is precisely because of your loyalty and fearlessness that I want you to assist in the military affairs of the Beijing camp as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. You should know what kind of situation the person in this position will face if there is a change."

Zhu Houcong said.

"It's nothing but death!"

"But this will confirm the crime of treason, and I will die without regrets!"

Wu Wendi replied straightforwardly.

"it is good!"

Zhu Houcong praised highly.

Afterwards, Zhu Houcong asked the cabinet to issue an imperial decree, appointing Wu Wendi as the right vice minister of the Ministry of War to assist in the military affairs of the capital camp.

This means that if a military commander wants to mobilize troops, he needs Wu Wendi’s consent in order to do so legally.

Because the military power of the Ming Dynasty was a model of checks and balances between civil and military officials, sometimes eunuchs would join in, forming a three-party constraint. The admiral who led the troops and the commander-in-chief commanded the various regiments of the Beijing camp, while the officials of the Ministry of War who assisted in the military affairs of the Beijing camp and the eunuchs who supervised the army decided together on the deployment of troops from the Beijing camp.

Let’s talk.

A month later, on the fifth day of the eighth month of the sixteenth year of the Zhengde reign.

Huang Jin formally handed a list to Zhu Houcong: "Your Majesty, I have reviewed and screened all of them. Those who acted as spies, those who were paid to sell information, and those who were forced to report the situation in the palace have all been clearly identified."

Zhu Houcong nodded, picked up the list and took a look at it.

This is the end.

He decided to kill someone, so he ordered:

"Chuan Qiu Ju!"

(End of this chapter)