Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 62 Prince Yu forces the emperor to abdicate, and the couple are of one mind!
Yan Maoqing paid a visit to Prince Yu!

Prince Yu Zhu Zaihou was holding a book in his hand and seemed to be reading it, but he was walking back and forth. When he walked to the door, he looked up at the sky outside from time to time, then turned around and looked at the book again. It was obvious that his mind was not on the book.

At this time, Princess Li was sitting quietly by the side, slowly embroidering a Taoist robe.

In another six months, it would be the Emperor's birthday. The Emperor had everything he needed, so Concubine Li took a different approach and prepared to embroider a robe with the Taoist Thousand Words Sutra on it.

But her eyes were always focused on Prince Yu's movements.

As the situation in Zhejiang improved, the civil and military officials in the court accelerated the pace of retrieving people from the imperial prison and wanted to jointly petition the emperor to release Yan Song, Xu Jie and Yan Shifan.

Now, all that’s missing is someone to lead the memorial. Prince Yu’s identity and status make him undoubtedly the most suitable.

Yan Maoqing said it very bluntly. The father and son of the Yan family and Xu Jie all supported Prince Yu. It was reasonable for Prince Yu to take action.

Otherwise, it will inevitably dishearten the civil and military officials loyal to Prince Yu's Mansion.

"How long has it been since Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong came?" Prince Yu finally couldn't help it and asked Concubine Li, but his eyes fell on the memorial that Yan Maoqing put down.

"It's been quite a few days." Concubine Li sighed.

Ever since the war broke out in the court, Prince Yu's Palace sided with the civil service group of Yan Song, Xu Jie, and Yan Shifan, and Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong rarely came to the palace.

In the past, Prince Yu had never criticized Zhang and Gao, let alone called them by their names.

Now, Prince Yu could not understand the situation in the Ming Dynasty and thought of Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong again.

The two men had not come to visit the palace for a long time, which became the fault of Prince Yu.

"There is a passage in Mencius that I still don't quite understand. Master Xu is in the imperial prison. How about asking Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong to come and lecture on the book today?" Prince Yu tried to find a way out.

The page of the handscroll was exactly the Li Lou Part 1 chapter of Mencius, but the part that was not quite clear was "to flatter and obey, and to put one's relatives in an unjust position."

Although the Li family of Concubine Li fell into poverty when Concubine Li was young, she had been educated and could read. Although she could not take the imperial examination, she was not inferior to ordinary scholars.

She knew the principle of "to please and obey, and put one's relatives in an unjust position" and also knew where it came from.

Confucius mentioned in the "Book of Filial Piety": "If a father fights for his son, he will not fall into injustice. Therefore, when injustice occurs, the son cannot help but fight with his father." This makes clear the children's responsibility to obey and advise their parents.

However, Mencius put forward a different view on this basis. He believed that blindly obeying parents and not persuading them even when they made mistakes was actually putting parents in an unjust situation, and was therefore also an act of unfilial piety.

Prince Yu placed Confucius' "Book of Filial Piety" on the desk, but he held Mencius' "Li Lou" in his hand.

Princess Li understood Prince Yu's thoughts. In the prince's mind, he believed that the emperor was wrong to imprison Yan Song, Xu Jie, Yan Shifan and Hu Zongxian. He wanted to find Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong just to make them confirm his ideas.

Prince Yu, instead of proposing ideas and then asking someone to make a decision, you make a decision and then ask someone to justify that what you did was right.

Concubine Li frowned slightly. If she could put aside her personal stance, Hu Zongxian might be innocent, but the imprisonment of Yan's father and son and Xu Jie was a good thing for the country and the people.

But unfortunately, Prince Yu could not put aside his personal stance. The Yan father and son and Xu Jie were the means for him to gain the support of half of the court and were the key to pushing Prince Yu's Mansion into the Forbidden City.

Concubine Li and the Li family depended on Prince Yu and Prince Yu's Mansion for survival. In this situation, they could only answer politely: "Your Highness, Master Zhang is busy with the cabinet affairs and Master Gao is a person who can't tolerate any sand in his eyes. If we ask them to come today, I'm afraid..."

"Afraid of what?"

"Your Majesty is overstepping your authority. I'm afraid Master Zhang will not come and Master Gao will not say anything that will satisfy His Majesty." Concubine Li lowered her head.

It is true that lecturing is the duty of the teachers in Prince Yu’s Mansion.

But it also has to be done in moderation. Zhang Juzheng had already given face to Prince Yu once before. When he was not busy with the cabinet, he visited Prince Yu's mansion.

Although Zhang Juzheng's behavior did not satisfy Prince Yu, he was here, and there was no reason to complain. After all, no matter how important it was to lecture the prince, it could not be more important than state affairs.

If Prince Yu went to the cabinet to invite someone today, Zhang Juzheng would definitely refuse.

Gao Gong will come.

But given Gao Gong's hot temper, after hearing about what the prince had done with Yan Maoqing and the others, he would most likely spit in the prince's face without any mercy.

Prince Yu froze there.

Concubine Li thought for a moment and then said, "I still have something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

Ever since Zhang Juzheng came to Prince Yu's mansion last time, Concubine Li persuaded Prince Yu to apologize, but Prince Yu ignored her. Concubine Li's temperament changed. She no longer spoke her mind as before, and always kept her mouth shut when it came to state affairs.

After Prince Yu noticed the change, he inexplicably became more respectful to Concubine Li, and Concubine Li returned the courtesy. Everyone says that it is a good thing for a husband and wife to respect each other like guests, but too much courtesy inevitably leads to less intimacy.

Even at this point, Prince Yu felt empty inside when he saw Concubine Li still speaking cautiously.

Prince Yu suddenly realized that with the size of the Ming Dynasty and the height of Prince Yu's Mansion, as a prince, he had unknowingly lost even a single person with whom he could confide.

"Everyone says it's hard to be an emperor, but being the emperor's son is even harder. The emperor can check and balance the civil and military affairs, but the emperor's son cannot. Do you think that if I apologize to Zhang Juzheng, I can win back Zhang Juzheng's heart? There are irreconcilable contradictions between Yan Song, Xu Jie, Yan Shifan, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong. Not only are there contradictions in political views, but also in power. The struggle for power is not just a dinner party, it's a life-and-death struggle!"

Prince Yu stood there and said dejectedly, "I have chosen Yan Song, Xu Jie, and Yan Shifan, so I cannot choose Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong, unless Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong give up their political views, power, and even dignity, and kowtow to the father and son of the Yan family and Xu Jie, but how is that possible?
If I insist on reconciling the two factions, in the end, I will only incur resentment from both sides.

When faced with two evils, choose the lesser one; when faced with two benefits, choose the greater one. This is why I chose Yan Song and his son and Xu Jie.

Now, Yan Song, Xu Jie and Yan Shifan have been imprisoned, and my father has not issued an edict to put an end to the Xin'an River flood. No one knows whether it is the Azure Dragon or the White Tiger, or whether it will bring good or bad luck.

Tan Lun didn't want to get involved in this matter. Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong were in a position of either live or die. So he would do as you said. He couldn't go to see them.

There is only you in front of me, and you dare not say anything to me.

It is difficult for me to fight, and it is difficult for me to retreat. I am caught in a dilemma.

To be frustrating, the most unfortunate thing is to be born into an imperial family."

Prince Yu suddenly opened up.

Princess Li looked at his thin figure, and his lonely and desolate appearance, and couldn't help but feel distressed. After all these years of companionship, she knew the prince's desire for power, and she knew that the prince often woke up in the middle of the night dreaming of Prince Jing of the vassal state.

"Fight!"

"Then go fight for it!"

"Even if I have to die on the way to succession, I will fight for it!"

Tears welled up in Princess Li's eyes. She put down her Taoist robe and brought the wolf-hair brush dipped in ink and the memorials from the ministers to Prince Yu.

Put down the ink!

Tears shed as I write this memorial.

But ink is ink, and it does not disperse when it comes into contact with water, and tears will dry up quickly.

"Somebody come!"

"Present this report to the palace!"

(End of this chapter)