Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Chapter 76 Zhu Qizhen plots to kill Yang Shiqi

"My son is not a good-for-nothing!"

Zhu Zhanji's eyes reddened involuntarily. These past few days, he had been suffering greatly because of Zhu Qizhen's matter.

You could even say they couldn't lift their heads.

The good reputation and good days of the past have all vanished.

He is no longer a good grandson.

But now he knows that Zhu Qizhen was not a foolish ruler.

Instead, he was framed.

Zhu Zhanji increasingly felt that this was true.

At this moment, he felt both grief and indignation, but also great joy.

But when he wanted to see Zhu Di...

Tianmu's next words left him stunned.

What do you mean?
Zhu Qizhen was framed, and it turned out to be because of him?

Zhu Zhanji was somewhat afraid to continue reading.

If it really was his fault, then he has no one to blame but himself.

Zhu Gaochi, who was walking on the road, was also stunned.

The eternal infamy of his own grandson was actually the work of those civil officials.

You should know that he has been showing great respect to the civil officials in the imperial court these past few days.

They also acknowledged their benevolent governance.

As it turns out, these guys were completely treacherous.

So abominable.

Zhu Gaochi clenched his fists, wanting to confront Yang Shiqi.

But Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui stopped them.

Although they had long disliked Yang Shiqi, they still managed to calm their leader down.

They should first go and discuss matters with Zhu Di.

Let's see which of the statements from the heavens is true before making a decision.

But I had already guessed roughly what was going on.

The person in the sky earlier did not actually lie intentionally.

It's simply because that's how history records it.

But history has long been rewritten by these civil service groups.

Zhu Di wanted to see how this group of civil officials would overthrow the Ming imperial power.

The Battle of Luchuan lasted a full ten years, and the final result was that all the barbarian tribes were terrified, and for the next 150 years, they dared not invade the Ming Dynasty again!

Whether Zhu Qizhen was a foolish ruler depends on the situation at court at the time!

The young Emperor Yingzong ascended the throne, and the real power of the court was controlled by Empress Dowager Zhang and the Three Yangs of the Grand Secretariat.

The Three Yangs Cabinet sidelined the young Zhu Qizhen, allowing him to submit only eight matters at the morning court session each day.

The day before, foreign officials would send copies to the cabinet to make arrangements and report on various matters in advance.

When it came time for court sessions, the emperor only needed to convey his decrees based on the pre-reported content from the cabinet, effectively turning the young Zhu Qizhen into a puppet.

You must understand that although Empress Zhang was wise and virtuous, she was ultimately just a woman. Women's involvement in politics was detrimental to the stability of the court. Therefore, for those few years, the entire court was actually controlled by Yang Shiqi.

Yang Shiqi is no small figure; he represents the interests of the entire civil service.

In the first year of the Zhengtong era, the civil officials took advantage of Emperor Yingzong's young age and, in the emperor's name, prohibited the construction of ocean-going ships!
Not only that, they also reduced the production of warships and weapons and cut back on the navy along the southeastern coast where pirates were rampant!
Why do you think the sea was banned, and why was the Ming Dynasty's navy allowed to weaken further?

Zhu Di was furious.

He was certain that this was the truth, or more accurately, this was the absolute truth.

His eyes were bloodshot at that moment. He actually bore a great deal of responsibility for the growth of the civil service group.

After the Jingnan Rebellion, in order to suppress the meritorious officials in the court, he chose to give more power to civil officials, but he did not expect that they would become more and more arrogant.

"Fourth brother, why do you think the civil service group imposed a maritime ban?"

Zhu Gaochi asked curiously, still believing that his fourth brother could provide the answer.

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze fell upon Zhu Gaoshuo.

Zhu Gaoshuo is indeed under a lot of pressure.

The affairs of the civil service group are indeed worth investigating.

Seeing the expectant looks on his brothers' faces, Zhu Gaoshuo knew that if he didn't give an explanation today, he probably wouldn't be able to leave tonight.

After a moment's thought, Zhu Gaoshuo offered an explanation:

"The maritime ban was because the civil service also knew that there were unlimited resources overseas, and they wanted to control these resources so that they could make money through smuggling."

Yang Shiqi was actually clearing obstacles for civil officials to engage in smuggling!

[In fact, Emperor Xuanzong was quite capable. After ascending the throne, he quickly realized the threat posed by the civil service group, and therefore began to appoint important eunuchs to check and balance it!]

[Eunuchs were loyal only to the emperor, so they could be given power without hesitation; this was, of course, a prelude to later events.]

Eunuchs were the most loyal members of the emperor's faction, helping him to deal with civil and military officials. Having offended everyone, eunuchs were infamous in the historical records of civil officials. However, the crimes of eunuchs were basically all about persecuting loyal and virtuous people; were they truly loyal and virtuous?

Have you noticed a pattern? History books are actually written by the civil service, and they all portray themselves as pure and innocent. The eunuch faction is basically accused of disrupting the court, while the civil officials are portrayed as serving the country and its people!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di became increasingly convinced that this was the truth.

I finally understood the exaggerated causes and consequences of the "Tumu Crisis," which was more reasonable and logical than the so-called history of the Ming Dynasty I had heard before.

He even felt that the rise of civil officials did not actually begin during the Yongle reign.

Did Yang Shiqi have such ability?

Clearly, there are sinister people behind this.

Have you noticed that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty died in very mysterious ways? Many of these deaths defy explanation.

As everyone knows, the three main halls destroyed by fire during the Yongle reign were not repaired until the sixth year of the Zhengtong reign. The Ministry of Revenue was unwilling to spend a single penny. After the three main halls were repaired, Emperor Yingzong of Ming did three major things.

[First, the title of "Shuntian Xingzai" was removed, officially establishing the capital as the capital!]

As you can see, Zhu Qizhen accomplished these three major tasks in just one year.

[It's important to know that six years before the Zhengtong era, the Ming Dynasty was effectively controlled by Yang Shiqi, and Emperor Yingzong's first step in regaining power was to deal with Yang Shiqi.]

Yang Shiqi's eldest son, Yang Ji, was a complete wastrel. He forcibly abducted women and killed many people. Eventually, under Emperor Yingzong's machinations, the matter became widely known.

In the end, Yang Ji was escorted to the capital. Logically speaking, having committed so many crimes, he should have been beheaded long ago.

But Emperor Yingzong neither executed nor interrogated Yang Shiqi, leaving the case unresolved, which actually served to deter Yang Shiqi!

[With Yang Shiqi behaving himself, the cabinet naturally followed suit.]

Less than six months later, Yang Shiqi suddenly died!

"Hurry up and bring Yang Shiqi here to me. Second Prince, you go and do it yourself!"

Zhu Di suddenly realized that this sky was not something only they could see.

Zhu Gaoxu had long disliked Yang Shiqi.

Now that the opportunity has been found, naturally, we will not hesitate to capture the person.

There are two theories about Yang Shiqi's death: either Emperor Yingzong ordered his execution, or the civil service group wanted to abandon Yang Shiqi.

But regardless, he had eliminated Yang Shiqi, a major threat!

When Yang Shiqi was compiling the Veritable Records of Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong, he fabricated the so-called "Renxuan Prosperous Era," which did not exist at all and was entirely a self-aggrandizing act by the civil service group!

After Yang Shiqi came to power, the Ming army's strength declined sharply. Emperor Yingzong was eager to change this and launched a fierce crackdown on the cabinet!

Unfortunately, Emperor Yingzong was too young and took too big a step. He should have taken it one step at a time. He was not facing the cabinet or Yang Shiqi, but the deeply entrenched Southern civil official group, which ultimately led to the Tumu Crisis.

(End of this chapter)