Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 284: Persuading the Crown Prince to Become a Prince
Zhu Houzhao didn't know why, but as he got older, he became more and more afraid of death.

Although he knew that he did not belong to this world and could not accept some of the cultures of this world.

But now he had to admit that he still had some attachment to life in this world, to power, and to the life of an emperor.

He thought that his mentality would be much better after the 17th year of Zhengde.

He had already worried about death in the 16th year of Zhengde. He was indeed worried that his imperial career as the Zhengde Emperor would end in the 16th year as in the original history.

At that time, he felt the same as people in later generations when they heard that the world would end in 2012. It was not until the th year of Zhengde that he relaxed a little.

But now, Queen Xia's words made him realize that if he could really live as long as he wished, it would not be a good thing for many people in the empire.

Zhang Zhong wanted to become the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department.

Naturally, there will be civil servants who want to become the prime minister of the cabinet, especially when there is almost no difference between the prime minister and the prime minister nowadays.

Of course, in the future there will definitely be princes who want to become emperors, but it is impossible for anyone to want to be a crown prince for his entire life.

But Zhu Houzhao wanted to live a long life.

Now he began to understand why the emperors of ancient times were eager to find the elixir of life, because the pursuit of eternal life is also a kind of human nature.

Zhu Houzhao didn't know how many people in the future would wish to live a hundred years like Queen Xia.

But what Zhu Houzhao could foresee was that if he really lived to be a hundred years old, people like Zhang Zhong who wanted to rely on the new emperor to get further would find a way to make themselves meet the King of Hell early.

Zhu Houzhao suddenly wanted to kill all these people.

But he knew that he couldn't kill him. If he killed one Zhang Zhong, another Li Zhong would definitely appear.

Liu Jin's violent cough brought Zhu Houzhao back to reality. Looking at the bright and beautiful spring scenery, he seemed to have an epiphany. He knew that he could not block a person's hope, but he could use other people's hope to serve his own hope.

Zhu Houzhao's hope has never changed. He wants to change the Ming Dynasty and the world he lives in. He wants to make himself the most secure and happiest emperor.

Zhu Houzhao didn't know whether he could transform the Ming Dynasty into what he wanted during his lifetime, but he knew he had to work hard to make his life full of hope, rather than worrying about when his imperial career would end.

"Liu Jin, you are old too. There are only a few of the Eight Tigers left by my side. Zhang Yong betrayed me. Luo Xiang and Gao Feng are either sick or dead. Wei Bin went to Nanjing. Now there are only you, Gu Dayong, and Ma Yongcheng. You are the ones who have been with me the longest. I don't treat you as slaves, but as friends. You'd better live longer, otherwise I will really become a lonely man."

What Zhu Houzhao said was not false. Liu Jin was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, Ma Yongcheng was in charge of the East Factory, and Gu Dayong was in charge of the West Factory. They were the foundation for him to maintain his imperial rule and the basis for suppressing the civil servant and scholar-official group since he ascended the throne. But now, one issue that Zhu Houzhao had to pay attention to was that the inner court was also being renewed, and the people who followed him were also getting older. As this group of people grew older, he would lose his most loyal lackeys and the ability to control the government and the country.

What a terrible phenomenon!

One's own imperial power may gradually decline in the future, and only when a new emperor appears will the imperial power be highly concentrated again!
Zhu Houzhao did not want to see this phenomenon, because it did not mean that the empire was moving towards democracy, but rather marked its own decline.

Zhu Houzhao was unwilling to allow this to happen. He wanted to keep the empire under his control while he still had the chance.

Liu Jin glanced at Zhu Houzhao. He knew that he had been accompanying the emperor for more than 30 years. Because of years of horse riding training and the fact that he had not suffered as a child like the previous two generations of emperors, his body had always been healthier than others. He was afraid that he would not have a problem living another 30 years. Therefore, when he heard Zhu Houzhao say this, he could not help but think of the days when he might not be able to accompany Zhu Houzhao in the future. His eyes moistened for a moment, and he could not help but say what he had thought of in his heart:
"I am an old man, and it is the greatest blessing in my life to be remembered by Your Majesty. I think it is time for me to hand over the seal of the Imperial Household Department and retire. I hope Your Majesty will grant my approval!"

Zhu Houzhao nodded. It would not be a good thing for him or other ambitious eunuchs if Liu Jin occupied the position of the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department for a long time. After all, everyone wanted to replace him.

Zhu Houzhao did not disagree with his idea of ​​retiring while the going was good, and because Liu Jin suddenly resigned from the position of the seal of the Imperial Household Department, he thought of a way to consolidate his future power.

"Let Gu Dayong take over your job, let Zhang Zhong be in charge of the Western Factory, and let him also go to the Imperial Household Department!"

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he left calmly.

In his opinion, Zhang Zhong's ability to serve the eldest prince must have been orchestrated by Liu Jin, and Zhang Zhong's desire to become the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department must have been Liu Jin's own wish. He was now transferring Zhang Zhong to the Imperial Household Department, naturally to give Liu Jin's faction in the entire inner court some hope of retaining real power.

But at the same time, I let Gu Dayong be the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, naturally to give Gu Dayong an opportunity to train himself. If Gu Dayong cannot train someone who can compete with Zhang Zhong, I will help him train one.

Zhu Houzhao didn't know when he started to calculate these things, as if he was eager for the officials in his inner court and outer court to fight with each other.

"According to the order!"

Liu Jin replied. He had already expected that the emperor would make such an arrangement. He was also willing to see the emperor make such an arrangement. He believed that only in this way would the emperor be safest. In the future, Zhang Zhong would fight against Gu Dayong on his behalf.

Liu Jin asked to go to Nanjing to rest, but before going to Nanjing, he met Zhang Zhong and gave him a special warning: "You will serve His Majesty in the future. Before I leave, I have to tell you a few words. Don't underestimate His Majesty. Although His Majesty's actions are not like those of an experienced person, and he is often impulsive and reckless, His Majesty is by no means a simple person. His Majesty is at least 500 years behind us! I have been thinking about His Majesty for so many years, but I still don't know what he wants!"

Liu Jin sighed as he spoke.

Zhang Zhong was very happy because he was promoted to the position of Superintendent of the Western Factory, so he naturally listened to anyone's words. When he heard Liu Jin say this, he quickly agreed: "Don't worry, ancestor. I will remember your teachings and serve Your Majesty wholeheartedly!"

"It's good that you know it. Do your best to serve His Majesty. The Western Factory will do better in your hands than Gu Dayong did. Don't get together with Gu Dayong, and especially avoid getting together with people from outside the court, otherwise you will lose your life."

Liu Jin closed his eyes as he spoke.

"I have remembered what the ancestor said. Ancestor, ancestor!" Zhang Zhong answered and called Liu Jin a few times, but Liu Jin did not respond. For a moment, he could not help but reach out and wipe Liu Jin's nose, only to find that Liu Jin had passed away. Immediately, he burst into tears.

After Zhu Houzhao learned the news of Liu Jin's death, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and then he said with relief: "I let him live for seven more years!" On the first day after Gu Dayong became the seal of the Imperial Household Department, Zhu Houzhao asked him to draft an edict for him requiring the eldest son Zhu Zaile to go to Hanbi Hall to practice government affairs for an hour after school every day.

This decree was a shocking event both inside and outside the Ming court.

Because the Ming Dynasty was ultimately an absolute monarchy, the establishment of a crown prince was still a major event that affected the entire empire.

As Zhu Zailei's eldest son, Zhu Houzhao had a more special political status. In the eyes of many Confucian officials, he was the most legitimate successor.

Now, Zhu Houzhao asked Zhu Zailei to learn how to handle government affairs, which made officials inside and outside the country begin to think that Zhu Houzhao wanted to establish the crown prince.

But in fact, Zhu Houzhao had no intention of establishing Zhu Zailei as the crown prince.

"Lei'er, tell me whether you want to be the emperor or not. Tell me the truth!"

Zhu Zailei is only in his teens now, and based on Zhu Houzhao's observation of him, he is not the kind of precocious boy who is almost a demon. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao feels that if he asks Zhu Zailei this question now, he should be able to get an answer from Zhu Zailei's heart.

Zhu Zailei had never thought about this question, or rather, he had never thought about it. He only knew that many people told him that he would become the emperor in the future, but he had really asked himself whether he wanted to be the emperor.

"I haven't thought about it," Zhu Zailei answered Zhu Houzhao truthfully.

Zhu Houzhao smiled with relief. Zhu Zailei's answer at least let him know that Zhu Zailei did not deceive him, so he could not help but pat Zhu Zailei on the shoulder:

"In that case, I will now give you a task. From now on, you must think carefully about this question and think about whether you really want to be the emperor. Answer me after you have thought it through. I will now let you experience the feeling of being an emperor so that you can know more clearly whether you really want to be the emperor."

Zhu Houzhao asked Zhu Zaile to come to his desk and said, "This is a matter that the emperor needs to deal with. Please look through these memorials and tell us what you think. Don't just answer according to the officials' opinions because there are drafts on them. You should have your own opinions!"

Zhu Zailei still found it interesting. He replied, "As you wish, your son," and began to read the memorials on his own initiative.

Zhu Houzhao stood up and stretched his muscles, while listening to Zhu Zaile's views on court affairs and guiding him on how to see through the essence of these affairs.

For a moment, Zhang Zhong was naturally very happy after seeing this scene. He seemed to see Zhu Zailei ascending the throne as emperor, and he became the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department and stood behind the emperor like Liu Jin.

The sound of Gu Dayong's footsteps interrupted Zhang Zhong's fantasy. As the new seal-holder of the Imperial Household Department, Gu Dayong did not want to see Liu Jin's people replacing him one day in the future. If that happened, the person who replaced him would only care about the interests of Liu Jin's party.

Therefore, what Gu Dayong is thinking about now is to get rid of Zhang Zhong, or to cut off the possibility of Zhang Zhong becoming the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department.

"Your Majesty, I recommend Miao Ning to take over Zhang Zhong's previous duties. Do you think this is appropriate?"

The first thing Gu Dayong did now was to place one of his own people next to the eldest prince Zhu Zailei. Zhang Zhong was naturally unhappy about this, and Zhu Zailei didn't know why these eunuchs liked to put eunuchs next to them.

Of course, it was Zhu Houzhao who could decide all this.

Zhu Houzhao knew Gu Dayong's purpose. He could guess without asking that Miao Ning must be Gu Dayong's godson or grandson.

"Well, very good," Zhu Houzhao did not reject Gu Dayong's proposal. He was eager to use Gu Dayong to create obstacles for Zhang Zhong who wanted to advance.

Zhang Zhong was naturally disappointed, but he also knew it was inevitable. After all, he was already the chief inspector of the Western Factory in the Imperial Household Department and could no longer accompany Zhu Zaile.

But Zhang Zhongke was unwilling to give up contacting the eldest prince. Every day he would calculate the time when the eldest prince came to Hanbitang to study government affairs. Basically, as long as he was on duty, he would wait for the eldest prince to appear, and then have a conversation with him, telling the eldest prince how to get along with Emperor Zhu Houzhao and how to express himself to Emperor Zhu Houzhao.

Of course, the eunuch Miao Ning sent by Gu Dayong was also trying his best to please Zhu Zailei.

Zhu Houzhao saw all of this, and he had to admit that people are inherently profit-seeking: "I haven't even acknowledged that Zhu Zailei will inherit the throne in the future, but these eunuchs are actively trying to get to know Zhu Zailei. I just don't know if the civil and military officials outside the court will do the same."

"Your Majesty, the Cabinet Chief Liu Yu requests an audience!"

On this day, Liu Yu, the chief minister of the cabinet who was in charge of the six ministries of rites, households, military, industry, education, and agriculture, asked to see Zhu Houzhao and presented him with a memorial requesting Zhu Houzhao to make Zhu Zaile the crown prince.

Although Zhu Houzhao had expected this, he still felt a little uncomfortable. He was not averse to making Zhu Zailei the crown prince, but he was disgusted that even Liu Yu joined in the fun and showed goodwill to Zhu Zailei, as if he also felt that he would not be emperor for long.

What's more, in Zhu Houzhao's view, it was irrational to make Zhu Zaile the crown prince when it was still unclear whether he met the requirements to be a qualified heir to the throne.

The emperor of the Ming Empire was not a king in a constitutional monarchy, and his ability largely determined the fate of the country.

"Liu Yu, tell me the truth, why are you so anxious to advise me to make Zhu Zaile the crown prince?" Zhu Houzhao asked.

"Your Majesty, I just think that appointing a crown prince early is beneficial to the stability of the country, and the eldest prince is the eldest legitimate son, so it is naturally the most orthodox to appoint him as the crown prince," Liu Yu replied.

"Really? You must have other purposes. Otherwise, why didn't you make the suggestion earlier or later, but only after I let Zhu Zailei enter Hanbi Hall? You'd better tell me the truth. Otherwise, don't think that you can still stay rich and powerful by currying favor with the new emperor when he ascends the throne!"

Zhu Houzhao said this in a stern voice, which frightened Liu Yu so much that he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I do have this idea."

Thank you for the reward of 600 Qidian coins from the book friend Daowu Huaxia

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(End of this chapter)