Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 149 Community of Interests

"Queen Mother, Queen Mother."

Following a series of anxious cries, a young eunuch stumbled into the courtyard where Queen Mother Zou was.

Although it was already late at night, there were still many people standing in the yard, and the lights in each room were brightly on, as if they were waiting for something.

This is not surprising. Although the news that the Tartar artillery will soon arrive in Hangzhou has not spread, it cannot be concealed from those who should know it. Therefore, the meeting of the ministers tonight will inevitably lead to everyone's full investigation.

However, Empress Dowager Zou was an extraordinary person after all, and the people she sent were naturally qualified to listen in the hall, and this little eunuch was used to pass messages back and forth.

"Have they come to a conclusion?"

As soon as the young eunuch stepped into the room, he heard the empress dowager's indifferent voice, as if she was not particularly concerned about the matter.

But if he really didn't care, why would he send someone to sit in? Why would he wait here in the middle of the night?

"Queen Mother, something happened!"

The young eunuch was also a man who had never seen the world. He seemed to have been frightened in the front hall. After shouting, he stammered and told what he had seen and heard.

At the beginning, the ministers seemed to be discussing matters in great harmony. Apart from some people occasionally quarreling with each other, they did not dwell on minor mistakes as they did in the past.

Although this was unexpected, it was also reasonable.

After all, the interests of all parties were involved in the city of Hangzhou at that time, and it was natural that such a scene that had not been seen in decades would appear under the "unity of mind and purpose".

Thinking of this, Queen Mother Zou stopped worrying and calmed down before listening to the eunuch continue:

"After the discussion, the gentlemen were about to leave, but Zheng Hongkui proposed to transfer the princes to a safe place.
Later, several adults said that since His Highness was not here, they dared not make a decision on their own, but Zheng Hongkui and several princes kept arguing, and they started fighting in the front hall. "

absurd!

At this moment, Empress Dowager Zou had only this one thought in her mind.

Faced with a powerful enemy, these people did not think about how to repel the enemy, but instead fought in the hall like street thugs. They really should all be exiled three thousand miles away and sent to Qionghai to catch fish!
But as soon as this thought disappeared, another thought arose in her mind, and the words that came to her lips took on a different form.

"Go ahead and see what they can do in the end."

As soon as he finished speaking, the young eunuch left, but Empress Dowager Zou closed her eyes and began to think carefully.

According to common sense, when the lord was away, the ministers started fighting. As the queen mother, she should naturally step in to stop them.

But this is just common sense after all.

Although she did not understand military affairs, she knew that this was the most critical moment for the small court in Hangzhou.

If we can defeat the Tartars and keep Hangzhou, all the ministers will naturally be convinced, and it will lay the foundation for controlling half of the country. But what if we go wrong?

For the Qing army, taking Hangzhou or winning that battle could turn the situation around, but for the Ming Dynasty, there was no room for error in these two areas.

If one of these two places fails, a landslide and an earth-shattering collapse will follow. Can Zhu Cilang still save his life in the chaos?
By then, the court officials would surely establish another emperor. If she forcibly suppressed the kings today, how would she face the new emperor in the future?
Difficult.

Empress Dowager Zou sighed in her heart, then glanced at Xu Shaoyue, the only daughter of Duke Wei, who was standing beside her. She didn't know what she was thinking, but she asked the fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl a question.

"Girl Yue, should I go to the front hall?"

Some time ago, Empress Dowager Zou heard that the only daughter of Duke Wei was in Hangzhou, so she summoned her to serve her.

Originally, this matter was of a very utilitarian nature, but after spending a few days with this straightforward and clever girl, Mrs. Zou couldn't help but develop a genuine liking for her.

This kind of liking is not that strong.

For example, Queen Mother Zou knew very well what kind of hardships this little girl would face if she was sent into the palace, but in order to win over the Duke of Wei and please His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, she would still throw this inexperienced little girl into the quagmire.

And she was asking questions not because of trust or anything like that, but just wanted to hear what conclusion would be drawn after putting aside the influence of utilitarianism.

"Go ahead."

"Why?"

Why?

This question made Xu Shaoyue stunned. She couldn't understand why she needed a reason to stop a fight.

Finally, Xu Shaoyue, who racked his brains but could not come up with a reason, could only helplessly answer: "There is no reason to stop a fight."

Hearing this answer, Empress Dowager Zou suddenly felt enlightened.

Indeed, when the crown prince was away, conflicts broke out between the ministers and the kings. What did she, the queen mother, have to worry about when she went to stop them?

At the same time, she also figured out one thing: in this chaotic world, what one can rely on is not a person, but a system.

The so-called system is invisible and intangible, and sounds even more illusory, but as long as what she does is in line with this value system, she will be supported by this system.

Take the position of empress dowager for example, was it given by Hongguang?

No matter how much we talk about it, isn't it because in that value system, this position belongs to her alone?
After thinking this through, Empress Dowager Zou not only understood what to do next, but also understood what to do in the future.

As her mind became clear, the look she gave Xu Shaoyue became more and more kind.

Then he even asked a question that no one dared to ask: "What do you think of the outcome of this battle?"

"Of course, Your Highness wins."

"Oh? Girl Yue has so much confidence in His Highness?"

"That's right. Back in Yingtian, the Tartars couldn't do anything to Your Highness. Now that you have so many civil officials and military generals helping you, what can the Tartars do?"

Empress Dowager Zou burst into laughter at Xu Shaoyue's words. Then she gave some instructions to the maids and eunuchs and went to the front hall.

At this moment, everyone in the front hall was clearly separated and no longer entangled like before.

However, no one present was Mr. Rao’s grandson, so after what had happened, they naturally wouldn’t show any mercy to the other party.

"Traitor! How dare you beat the royal bloodline in the palace!"

"Royal blood? You have been supported by the imperial court since you were born. Now that you are facing a powerful enemy, you are instigated to run away. You are unworthy of being the blood of Taizu!" "Huang Daozhou! Tell me clearly, who instigated you?!"

Zheng Hongkui, who was trying to persuade them, immediately stopped when he heard this.

He was indeed not optimistic about this battle, but he had no other thoughts. He just wanted to coax a few princes to come to Fujian in advance so that he would not be caught off guard if the crown prince was killed in battle.

But who would have thought that as soon as he said that, the officials from Zhejiang Province acted as if their tails had been stepped on, and took turns to explain their reasons and facts, making him feel embarrassed and not knowing how to respond.

This is not difficult to understand. Faced with a powerful enemy, the royal family fled. Once the news spread, it would inevitably cause great damage to the morale of the defenders.

This would only make the already bad situation in Hangzhou even worse, and the officials whose assets are all in and around Hangzhou will naturally not sit idly by.

In fact, up to that point everyone was only engaged in a verbal debate. Even though they were somewhat angry when speaking, they were still polite.

But debates, if left unchecked, will sooner or later turn into a real war of words.

What's more, this matter involves the core interests of many people, so when a prince used a folk rumor as an offensive weapon, the situation was completely out of control.

If you want to know which rumor it is
The king is not a king who will destroy his country, but the ministers are all ministers who will destroy their country.

Is it powerful enough?
Now you can understand why the civil servants, who are usually very particular, beat the kings in the hall.

It is not difficult to imagine what happened next. The princes, who suffered a great loss in numbers, were met with an iron-blooded blow by the civil officials. If some people had not retained a certain degree of rationality, the Zhu royal family might have been destroyed here.

By this time, although everyone had realized that what they had done was inappropriate, they had split up on both sides and started arguing again, but the scene was still so heated that it was rare to see in the world. It was unknown what mattered more to these people in their hearts.

"This old minister pays respect to the Queen Mother."

After a loud shout, all the ministers instinctively looked in the direction of the voice, and when they saw Empress Dowager Zou standing outside the hall door with a sullen face, they did not care about their opponents and turned around and bowed.

"You are indeed the pillars of the country. Are you rehearsing how to fight against the Tartars?"

The old lady's tone was calm when she spoke, but the irony in her voice could not be concealed.

When she came, she actually only intended to stop the infighting among the ministers and didn't care about other things, let alone mocking them with words.

But after seeing such a scene, Empress Dowager Zou, who was always scheming, could not suppress her anger and provoked them a little.

Hearing this, all the ministers began to plead guilty, but she did not ask for a reduction in punishment or forgiveness. She just walked slowly to the center of the hall, turned around and looked at the civil officials, military officers and royal princes who were lying on the ground without saying a word.

In fact, if she really thought about it, she was really annoyed with these ministers. Since arriving in Yingtian, the old lady had not had a few days of peace.

First there were disputes among the ministers, then there were the "three major cases", and later on she was forced to wander around. With such ministers, how could the court be good?

But what can she do?

Even in this situation, she, as the Queen Mother, could only say this much. As for punishing anyone, it was simply wishful thinking.

After all, I still lack strength.

With a sigh in her heart, the old lady asked the ministers to stand up. After seeing their focus spread out on both sides of the hall, she continued, "The Crown Prince is called the Regent, but he is actually the ruler of the Ming Dynasty. He is willing to brave the arrows and personally go to the battlefield. Even if you are not grateful, you should still do your duty. How can you cause such a mess at this time?"

"Your Majesty, we are guilty. But if the kings want to leave Hangzhou at this time, they should be killed!"

Naturally, not all of the princes have ulterior motives, nor is it possible that all of them are in collusion with certain forces.

To put it bluntly, the biggest reason they wanted to leave Hangzhou was that they felt they had little chance of winning this battle. Instead of waiting until the battle on the front was defeated and Hangzhou was in danger and then fleeing in panic, it would be better to prepare for it early.

But when the hat of "having evil intentions" was put on them, they had no way to defend themselves. After all, once they made the decision to leave Hangzhou, only they themselves knew what they would do next.

"I don't understand these things. It's up to you to decide whether to leave or stay," Queen Mother Zou lightly changed the subject and then asked Zhu Guobi, "Duke Baoguo, the situation in Yingtian was much more critical than it is now."

"Reporting to the Queen Mother, of course, we are the only ones willing to stick with Your Highness. People like Zhao Zhilong have even made plans to open the city and surrender."

"Then why do you think Yingtian was able to persevere?"

When asked this question at this time, Zhu Guobi naturally knew what kind of answer the old queen mother wanted. After a little thought, he replied: "Of course, it is because your highness is wise and brave, and the ministers are united as one."

"Well, all of you ministers are well-read in the books of sages, so naturally you are more sensible than an old woman like me," the old empress dowager said after that. She glanced at the ministers and walked out of the hall. When she was almost at the door, she said something lightly and left the hall with the maids and eunuchs.

"It's late at night, please don't delay any longer."

After this incident, although the old lady did not blame any party, after she said "his heart is worthy of death", the kings did not want to mention the matter of leaving Hangzhou again. And after Zhu Guobi said "unity as one", even if the ministers were still unhappy, they did not want to get angry again.

In short, this farce was suppressed by the old queen mother with a few words, and the most important thing was that the helpless old lady did not offend anyone because of it.

Hmm. Probably.

Afterwards, the ministers pretended to discuss for a while and then dispersed.

Everything had been agreed upon before the action was taken, and this later moment only proved that he was not leaving in anger.

Don't just treat this as an ordinary verbal dispute. There were quite a few conflicts that evolved from verbal disputes in the late Ming Dynasty.

If Queen Mother Zou had not stepped in to stop it in time, there is no telling how the situation would have turned out tonight.

This is what is meant by the saying that those who are righteous have many supporters, while those who are unrighteous have few.

The meaning of Tao is quite mysterious when it comes to speaking, but in practice it basically means benefits.

For example, in the matter of defending Hangzhou, the interests of Empress Dowager Zou and the Zhejiang officials were consistent with Zhu Cilang, so they were either firm or wavering, but in the end they would stand on Zhu Cilang's side.

When faced with such interest groups, some forces that want to cause trouble can only make some waves before returning empty-handed.

The same logic applies here. Because he was in a desperate situation, Hu Maozhen's interests were instantly separated from those of the Qing court. Zhu Cilang saw this and exerted various pressures to further aggravate the separation until he personally came to the Ming army camp.

Of course, before the battle was completely over and Hu Maozhen used the heads of Nikan and the Eight Banners soldiers as a token of his surrender, Zhu Cilang would still be more cautious in his actions.

For example, he had previously promised Hu Maozhen to contain the remaining surrendered troops, and what he would do would only be limited to containing them, and he would never put his troops into potential danger before the dust settled.

"After you cross the river, you must not advance too far. You must be able to withdraw in time if the situation becomes unfavorable."

It's late today, sorry
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(End of this chapter)