Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 176: Shocking Changes, the Unpopular Prince Su's Mansion

Facts have proved that the celestial beings on land would never act on impulse for no reason.

When Zhu Jinzhen opened the door and Yang Ning came over.

The news of the great changes in the capital suddenly reached Yang Ning's ears without any warning.

"Have you heard? The Iron-hearted Divine Marquis actually colluded with all the officials to depose the current emperor."

"Your news is out of date. I heard that our current emperor is a fake."

"Fake? It's impossible, right?"

"How is it impossible? All nine gates of the capital are sealed, and His Majesty the Emperor is reportedly under house arrest in the palace, awaiting the truth of the matter. All court affairs are handled by the Iron-hearted Marquis of Hulong Villa and the cabinet. Who would dare to do this if there wasn't a problem?"

"Yes, I heard that even the Queen Mother agreed, how could it be false?"

Yang Ning's spiritual thoughts spread out, and the information he received was a bit confusing.

All kinds of rumors were flying around the capital. The seemingly peaceful capital was actually in turmoil.

"The emperor was deposed?"

"How is this possible?" After Yang Ning sorted out his thoughts, he turned around without hesitation and quickly slipped through the door.

Tiance Mansion, Zhu Jinzhen’s study.

"You mean, Zhu Wusi controlled the nine gates of the capital, and, claiming Zhu Houzhao was a false emperor, he joined forces with the cabinet officials to place him under house arrest in the palace?"

Zhu Jinzhen was also quite surprised, but he managed to calm his turbulent thoughts and continued to listen to Yang Ning's report.

The more he listened, the weirder Zhu Jinzhen's expression became.

Zhu Wusi did raise an army to force the emperor to abdicate, and even intended to usurp the imperial power and ascend the throne. He also did persuade some court officials to depose Emperor Zhu Houzhao, but he did not intend to establish a new emperor.

But...

Welcome back the emperor.

That is the real Zhengde Emperor Zhu Houzhao.

"(⊙o⊙)...?"

"Your Highness, who is Zhu Wusi going to welcome back?" Changsun Wangqing was stunned. She even almost suspected that the Emperor Zhu Houzhao, whom her Highness had released, was a fake.

Even Li Chengen couldn't help but wonder, could it be that Zhu Houzhao was replaced on the way back? Otherwise, why would Zhu Wusi use such an outrageous excuse?

Zhu Jinzhen noticed Li Chengen's expression and shook his head. "With Xue Ling and Guo Jingzhong, two land immortals, one watching over us, one in the open and one in the dark, and dozens of celestial phenomena surrounding us for protection, even if a celestial being took action, it would be impossible not to alert them. A substitution would be impossible."

"Then this..."

Li Chengen did not doubt Zhu Jinzhen. It was just that Zhu Wusi was able to use this excuse to convince most of the civil service group and the noble group, so there must be real evidence.

Otherwise, all the civil and military officials in the court would go crazy and think of deposing the emperor!

Zhu Jinzhen closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then shook his head and laughed: "What a trick of replacing the prince with a cat, so real! It seems I underestimated Zhu Wusi."

"This……"

Changsun Wangqing and Li Chengen both looked puzzled.

Zhu Jinzhen reminded him: "The prince of Nanping Palace is almost identical to Zhu Houzhao."

They say a desperate dog will jump over the wall.

Zhu Wusi’s situation is probably similar.

In addition, with someone secretly fanning the flames, it was not difficult to accept that Zhu Wusi took action early.

Just one thing.

This surprised Zhu Jinzhen a little.

Zhu Wusi had just joined forces with his ministers to depose Zhu Houzhao, and then he announced that Zhu Houzhao was a fake emperor, and that the imperial edicts he issued without the approval of the cabinet were forged and false.

"Your Highness, I personally think this matter is not that simple."

"The cabinet and court officials are well aware of whether the emperor is real or fake." "Even if the cabinet and some court officials are in cahoots with Zhu Wusi, the empress dowager will not be able to restrain herself."

"unless……"

Zhu Jinzhen took over Zhu Jianqiu's words and continued, "Unless Zhu Wusi comes up with something that forces the cabinet, the ministers, and even the Queen Mother to compromise."

Zhang Sun Wangqing frowned slightly and said, "Your Highness, if my guess is correct, that thing should be in the hands of the Mongol Emperor Temur. It should be a bargaining chip that can force the Ming royal family, or the emperor, to compromise, right?"

"Yeah! That's part of the reason."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded calmly.

Unless Zhu Houzhao has a huge handle in the hands of Zhu Wusi and his ministers, the drama of replacing the prince with a cat to replace the real emperor will never be staged in the court.

Of course, Zhu Wusi must have given up huge benefits.

But the deeper reason is probably because of him.

"Zhu Wusi was able to achieve this because of an invisible hand behind the scenes. The bargaining chip he originally had may have become 'evidence' of the emperor's collusion with foreign enemies."

"Coupled with the imperial edict drafted by the emperor himself, this is probably the most fundamental reason why Zhu Wusi was able to get the empress dowager's approval and the cabinet and ministers to play this drama with him."

Zhu Jinzhen couldn't help but shake his head when he finished speaking.

The real reason is still unknown.

But it's not difficult to guess.

After all, it was probably because the Prince Su's Mansion was seen as a threat. In addition, the matter of drafting the imperial edict to quell the rebellion after Zhu Houzhao's return was not passed by the cabinet. The civil service group, which had already had some opinions about Zhu Houzhao because of his auditing of accounts and continuous consolidation of military power, simply colluded with Zhu Wusi.

Changsun Wangqing was a little surprised. He hadn't expected the real reason to be this: "Your Highness is saying that the real reason for the compromise between the civil and military officials at court was because of the Emperor's imperial edict to quell the rebellion?"

Zhu Jinzhen held his cup, smiled faintly, and spoke matter-of-factly: "Four years ago, the Su Wang Mansion swept through Lanzhou Prefecture and gradually spread to the entire Shaanxi Province. The Three Divisions and their subordinates carried out bloody massacres several times. Whether they were military generals or civil officials, martial arts families or local tyrants, what was the final result?"

"Back then, the impeachment memorials were so numerous that they filled an entire cabinet room. If the secret guards and Yimei hadn't personally gone to the capital and silenced all the officials, Shaanxi would have been able to enjoy the peace and stability that it felt like a country within a country."

At this point, Changsun Wangqing, Li Chengen and others almost understood everything.

The reason why all the officials in the court accepted Zhu Wusi's absurd and unruly reasons was probably because there was some inside information that they did not understand for the time being, and on the other hand, it was probably because they were afraid of him.

He was wary of Zhu Jinzhen and Prince Su's Palace.

The two powers harm each other, whichever is less.

It doesn't matter whether Zhu Houzhao is real or fake. The moment he knew that the imperial edict to pacify the rebellion had left Chang and fell into Zhu Jinzhen's hands, even if Zhu Houzhao was real, as long as Zhu Wushi used this incident as an excuse, Zhu Houzhao would become fake.

Because, that imperial edict, which did not go through the cabinet, affected more than just the change of the throne of the Ming Dynasty.

It is also in the interests of all civil and military officials in the court.

"So, the reason the entire court, both civil and military officials, supported Zhu Wusi as the deposed emperor is probably because they were afraid that His Highness would use the imperial edict to quell the rebellion and raise an army to quell the rebellion, thereby undermining their own interests."

"So, we should just strike first and directly announce to the world that Zhu Houzhao is a fake emperor. At the same time, we should also indirectly tell the world that the imperial edict he gave to Your Highness to quell the rebellion is a fake."

"To prevent His Highness from obeying orders?"

Changsun Wangqing's analysis made everyone in the room look gloomy, and traces of murderous intent emerged uncontrollably.

"Ok!"

Zhu Jinzhen sneered and nodded: "That's what I mean."

"They are certainly wary of Zhu Wusi, but if they have to choose between Zhu Wusi and Prince Su's Mansion, they will join Zhu Wusi's camp without hesitation. After all, no one can predict what the future holds."

"Zhu Wusi is ultimately a descendant of the Prince of Yan, and is the illegitimate son of Emperor Xianzong, who became pregnant by a palace maid while drunk."

"In terms of closeness and distance, Zhu Wusi is more advantaged than me in this respect."

"Compared to Zhu Wusi, they would rather have Gu take that position."

"Because they are afraid that another Emperor Taizu Gao will appear in the Ming Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)