Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 651: The King of Jiaocheng

Zhu Shenzhui did not beat around the bush and immediately asked Wen Tiren what suggestions he had for the current situation.

Wen Tihen hesitated for a moment, then asked Zhu Shenzhu one question, which was the situation of Emperor Chongzhen.

Hearing this question, Zhu Shenzhu naturally understood the other party's intention. Indeed, the life and death of Emperor Chongzhen and his subsequent treatment were very important, which also determined the key to what to do next. If Emperor Chongzhen died, then Zhu Shenzhu's actions would be no different from Zhu Di's back then, both of them were rebelling and usurping the throne under the banner of Jingnan.

But if Emperor Chongzhen was not dead and Zhu Shenzhu had no plans to kill him for the time being, then there would be a lot that could be done.

As early as the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao used the emperor to control the princes. Wasn't it just holding Emperor Xian of Han in his hand to control the world? Now it has only changed from Cao Aman to Liu Huangshu, and it is still using the emperor to control the princes. The nature has not changed.

"Your Majesty has been exhausted from overseeing state affairs over the years. Now your body is not feeling well and you are a little unwell. The imperial physician has recommended that you rest more."

After hearing this, Wen Tiren was completely relieved.

Wen Tiren bowed to Zhu Shenzhu and said, "Since Your Majesty is temporarily unable to handle state affairs, I think the priority now is to stabilize the capital and the local areas. I ask Your Majesty to temporarily supervise the country for Your Majesty, lead the government, and pacify the world."

"Regent?" Zhu Shenzhui raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised.

He didn't expect that Wen Tihen would actually ask him to be regent directly. The regent system had existed as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty. It generally refers to a special political system in which someone else would take over the government when the monarch is away or unable to manage affairs due to health reasons.

The regent is basically the crown prince, and this system goes one step further than regency. Zhu Shenzui originally planned to be only regent, but Wen Tihen directly proposed the position of regent, which made him very excited.

"I'm afraid it's not appropriate to have him act as regent." Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and said, "Although Your Majesty cannot manage affairs for the time being, you still have a prince. If you want to act as regent, it should be the eldest prince. If a member of the royal family acts as regent, there may be criticism."

"No!" Wen Tiren stood up and said, "Although your majesty has princes, they are all young. The eldest prince is only nine years old now. How can he serve as regent for your majesty? If state affairs are handed over to a child, it will not benefit the country. Moreover, there are precedents of royal family regents. First, Duke Zhou served as regent and managed affairs for the emperor. Later, Empress Dowager Guo served as regent. During the Mongolian period, Genghis Khan died and appointed Ogedei to succeed him. However, there was also the story of Tolui serving as regent for three years. Your Majesty is a royal family of the Ming Dynasty, a direct descendant of Taizu, and your majesty's great grandfather. Now that the Ming Dynasty is facing internal and external troubles and local unrest, it is even more appropriate to let older royal family members share the country's worries. There is nothing wrong with your majesty serving as regent."

"This..." Zhu Shenzhu thought for a moment and shook his head, "There are so many respected people in the royal family, and even more with high titles. Even if the royal family is to be the regent, they should be selected from the princes and dukes. How can it be the turn of a lieutenant like me?"

Wen Tiren said sternly, "If we let the princes or dukes govern the country, let alone whether they can convince the people, their abilities are insufficient. The Lord's ability is known to everyone. For the Ming Dynasty, it is more appropriate for the Lord to govern the country. In addition, among the royal family, although the Lord's title is low, his status is noble. Compared with the royal family members such as Prince Fu and Prince Lu, I think the Lord is more suitable."

"Moreover, as far as I know, your Majesty had intended to restore the title of King of Jiaocheng earlier and consulted the cabinet. Now, you can restore the title first and then supervise the country."

"Restore the title?" Zhu Shenzhui laughed in silence. This Wen Tihen was really good at taking advantage of loopholes. He actually talked about the issue of restoring the title after talking about it in a roundabout way. He didn't expect this.

Zhu Shenzhui was indeed a descendant of the King of Jiaocheng, who was in turn a descendant of the King of Jin. The title of King of Jiaocheng was lost during the Zhengde reign. Since the King of Jiaocheng had no heirs at the time, the eldest clan had no one to inherit the title, and the younger clan pretended to be the king. The brothers fought over the title, and the quarrel was so intense that Wuzong ordered the removal of the title.

After the title of Prince of Jiaocheng was removed, Zhu Shenzhui's ancestors were classified as ordinary members of the royal family and belonged to the lineage of Prince of Jin until now. Now Wen Tiren suddenly said that Emperor Chongzhen had long planned to restore the title of Prince of Jiaocheng, and even swore that he had consulted the cabinet about this matter. This is clearly nonsense.

However, this is both false and true. You must know that Emperor Chongzhen is now in the hands of Zhu Shenzhui, and Wen Tihen is the chief minister of the cabinet. It is useless for him to make such a declaration to the outside world even if others do not believe it. As long as Zhu Shenzhui takes out the edict of Emperor Chongzhen and hands it over to Wen Tihen on behalf of the cabinet for approval, then this matter will be a done deal.

Wen Tihen was indeed a smart man. In such a short time, he not only came up with the idea of ​​letting Zhu Shenzhui serve as regent, but also directly placed the title of King of Jiaocheng in front of Zhu Shenzhui through the hands of Emperor Chongzhen and the cabinet.

It must be said that Wen Tiren's method is very good. As long as Zhu Shenzhui nods, Wen Tiren will naturally help Zhu Shenzhui to do it. First, he will restore the title of Jiaocheng King, and then he will supervise the country as Jiaocheng King. From a legal point of view, there is nothing wrong with it. However, Zhu Shenzhui thought about it and felt that this was still a bit inappropriate. After all, even if the regent was ordered by Emperor Chongzhen, once it was spread out, there would still be gossip. Even though Zhu Shenzhui was not the kind of pedantic person, and he didn't care about some things, it was better to prepare some things carefully.

When Zhu Shenzhui raised this concern, Wen Tiren's eyes turned and he had an idea.

The king is temporarily unable to manage affairs, and the prince or clan member is appointed as regent. From a legal point of view, there are generally two ways: one is that the king directly issues an order to designate the person as regent, and the other is that the empress dowager issues an order to order the person to be regent.

There was no problem with Emperor Chongzhen, as everyone knew it. As for the Empress Dowager, she had long since passed away. When Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian was five years old, his biological mother died of illness. After ascending the throne, Emperor Chongzhen specifically issued an edict to confer the title of Empress Dowager Xiaochun on his biological mother.

However, although Emperor Chongzhen's biological mother had passed away long ago, there were still elders in the palace. This elder was none other than Concubine Li Kang, who was once known as Western Li.

Speaking of Consort Li Kang, this woman should have been the Empress Dowager. As early as when Emperor Taichang ascended the throne, he was going to confer Consort Li Kang as Imperial Noble Consort and then Empress, but it was delayed temporarily due to some things. Then, due to the outbreak of the Red Pill Case, Emperor Taichang suddenly passed away. It was less than a month from his accession to the throne to his death. Since Emperor Taichang died so suddenly, Consort Li Kang was unable to sit on the throne of Imperial Noble Consort, which is a pity.

After Emperor Taichang passed away, his eldest son Zhu Youxiao succeeded to the throne. As the eldest son's adoptive mother, Li Kangfei should naturally become the empress dowager. However, at that time, a major incident broke out because of the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party members, together with the then Jinyiwei Commander Luo Sigong and the Chief Eunuch Wang An of the Silijian, directly forced Li Kangfei to move out of the Qianqing Palace and directly entered the palace to snatch Zhu Youxiao, who was then the crown prince. As a result, Zhu Youxiao was abducted from Li Kangfei, which led to the outbreak of the Palace Moving Case.

As a weak woman, Li Kangfei was unable to resist the combined forces of the Donglin Party, the Jinyiwei and the Silijian. She had no choice but to move out of the Qianqing Palace, thus losing the position of Empress Dowager that was supposed to be hers. After this incident, Li Kangfei was devastated and almost got plotted against in the harem. It was only because of the protection of Emperor Tianqi that she was able to survive.

After Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, he quickly saw through the true face of the Donglin Party. In order to strengthen the imperial power, he began to use Wei Zhongxian and formed the Eunuch Party to suppress the Donglin Party.

A few years later, in order to fight against the Donglin Party and to make up for his adoptive mother's regret, Emperor Tianqi issued an edict to confer the title of Concubine Kang on her. If nothing unexpected happened, after Emperor Tianqi completely solved the Donglin Party problem and seized power, he would further confer the title of Empress Dowager Li Kang. Unfortunately, Emperor Tianqi fell into the water and died of illness for unknown reasons, and this matter was not accomplished in the end. As for this favorite concubine of Emperor Taichang, who was originally the only candidate for the Empress and Empress Dowager, she is now just an inconspicuous Concubine Kang in the palace.

Wen Tiren said that according to legal principles, Concubine Li Kang was the adoptive mother of the late emperor. In addition, Emperor Taichang had long wanted to make her the empress, so she should have been the empress dowager. Now that Zhu Shenzhu has entered the capital, he should restore order and restore Concubine Li Kang's status as the empress dowager.

As long as Concubine Li Kang became the Empress Dowager, she would be the most respected person in the harem. When Emperor Chongzhen was unable to manage affairs due to health reasons, the Empress Dowager would issue an order to appoint Prince Jiaocheng Zhu Shenzhu as regent. There was absolutely no problem from a legal point of view.

Moreover, this matter is also of great benefit to Zhu Shenzhu. Li Kangfei is not a woman like Empress Lü and Empress Wu. This woman has no political means, otherwise she would not have been forced to move to another palace and lost her position as empress dowager. Now Zhu Shenzhu controls the palace. Canonizing Li Kangfei as empress dowager can not only rectify the chaos, but also make her grateful. As far as Wen Tiren knows, Li Kangfei's life in the palace has not been easy in recent years, especially after the death of Emperor Tianqi and the accession of Emperor Chongzhen. Li Kangfei was treated coldly in the palace, and her treatment was not even as good as that of ordinary concubines. It is impossible for her not to have resentment in her heart.

Using this method to support Li Kangfei is not only legally tenable, but also can work together with Li Kangfei to stabilize the harem and eliminate Zhu Shencui's worries in the palace. With Li Kangfei's character and the grievances she has suffered over the years, she will definitely support Zhu Shencui with all her strength. Why not do it?

After listening to Wen Tiren's words, Zhu Shenzhu looked at him meaningfully, with a smile on his lips.

Wen Tiren is indeed an extraordinary guy. He can figure out my thoughts from just a few words and come up with such a solution for me. It is really amazing.

Moreover, this guy is very bold and does things to achieve his goals. As a subject, he actually dares to give me this idea. It is impossible for ordinary people to do it.

However, this also proves Wen Tiren's attitude. He wants to use this method to show his allegiance to Zhu Shenzhui, or to climb on Zhu Shenzhui's boat. This is a complete villain, and a guy who is useless, but this is exactly why Zhu Shenzhui uses him. If Wen Tiren is a moral gentleman, Zhu Shenzhui will think twice before using him, but now he has no worries. Once this person is used well, he will not only be his right-hand man, but also a sharp knife.

"Sir, you will have to work hard these days. You will have to shoulder more responsibilities for me in the important affairs of the court. With you here, I feel much more at ease..."

Wen Tiren was overjoyed. He had said so much and put forward these ideas just to gain Zhu Shenzhui's trust. Now Zhu Shenzhui's attitude proved that he had made the right bet. With Zhu Shenzhui's support, he would not only be free from trouble as the Prime Minister, but also have real power. This was what he had always dreamed of!
(End of this chapter)