The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

The emperor's decision to adopt Zhu Yi has been tentatively settled.

Next, the Ministry of Rites will arrange the formalities, since it does not involve establishing a prince or crown prince, and it is just a matter of adoption procedures.

Zhu Houzhao then announced another matter: to add one person to the existing cabinet system to fill the power vacancy left by Yang Tinghe after he began his mourning period.

Originally, the process of deciding on candidates for cabinet positions should have involved a selection process, followed by internal deliberations within the Hanlin Academy, then court deliberations, and finally, a decision by the emperor.

But this time Zhu Houzhao did the opposite, directly nominating Yang Yiqing by his own name. Although it was not officially decided yet, it was to show the people in the court that he had opened a special green channel for Yang Yiqing, hoping that Yang Yiqing would enter the cabinet to check and balance Liang Chu and Jin Gui.

In this way, Liang Chu and Jin Gui would not be able to object to anything.

In the end, it was just a symbolic formality; perhaps Yang Yiqing would soon be pushed into the cabinet.

Several ministers emerged from the Qianqing Palace, each carrying their own thoughts.

Jin Gui, being rather impatient, deliberately moved closer to Yang Yiqing and asked, almost as if questioning him, "Minister Yang, you are a highly respected senior official in the court, and now you are deeply favored by His Majesty. Even if you really had to choose someone from a collateral branch of the royal family to adopt in the palace, why Ning Fan? And why a boy who is already over fifteen? Shouldn't you have adopted a young child, so that it would be easier to cultivate a bond?"

Yang Yiqing was also very impatient.

He thought, "You people who come from academic backgrounds are different. Don't you ever consider why the emperor is in such a hurry to adopt a prince?"

If the emperor truly wanted to raise a son, there were countless ways to do so. Choosing this son of the Ning Prince as a model clearly indicated an intention to cultivate his talent for warfare. Otherwise, why would the emperor have sent this son to Zhangjiakou beforehand? Wasn't it to test him?

Yang Yiqing didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Chongdao, I'll only ask you one question: do you think it's better to raise a member of the imperial family, or to let these people who claim the imperial surname cause trouble in the capital every day?"

One sentence from him stumped Jin Gui.

Upon closer reflection, isn't that right?

People like Qian Ning, Jiang Bin, and Xu Tai... The emperor adopted dozens or even hundreds of sons at once, and bestowed upon them the surname Zhu. They gradually replaced the meritorious officials in the capital and seized important positions in the army.

In this situation, if anything were to happen to the emperor, those who would first seize power and determine the course of events would be the close associates of the Zhengde Emperor. If the civil officials did not have strong means, they would likely be led by the nose by these people, and in the end, they could choose whoever they wanted to install.

Seeing that Jin Gui didn't answer, Yang Yiqing gazed into the distance and remarked to himself with a sigh, "A mere child can't possibly control this bunch of demons and monsters!"

These were words that left Jin Gui speechless once again.

Could a three- or five-year-old child be made a prince to control Qian Ning, Jiang Bin, and their ilk? Let alone an infant.

Lu Wan seemed to have heard something and walked over, smiling as he replied, "Who says otherwise? If they were truly ignorant children, they would be kept in the palace for a long time, and we wouldn't even have the chance to meet them, let alone use them to stabilize the court."

For a moment, Yang Yiqing and Lu Wan seemed to have reached a strong tacit understanding.

What they were talking about wasn't patriarchal clan system, but rather human relationships.

From the perspective of patriarchal clan system, adopting a boy over fifteen years old as a prince was indeed not conducive to cultivating the relationship between the emperor and his son.

However, from a human perspective, with treacherous officials in power, there is a lack of means of communication between the emperor and his ministers. Moreover, military power has long been controlled by these treacherous officials. Only a member of the imperial family with military talent and the emperor's trust can maintain this bridge of communication.

In this way, it would be easier for the civil officials to maintain the balance of power in the court through this so-called prince, so as not to let the Ming Dynasty slide into the abyss.

The authorities are fascinated.

After all, from Yang Yiqing's perspective, they couldn't see the scene after the future emperor suddenly passed away, and they didn't know if the civil officials could control the situation. They could only try their best to resolve the political disaster that might be caused by treacherous officials in power through their own means.

Yang Yiqing continued, "If you feel this young man is not a suitable choice, then the Ministry of Rites can recommend a few more. However, I dare say that no one is more suitable than this member of the Ning clan. After all, there are very few people who can satisfy all parties and gain His Majesty's approval."

Lu Wan also added with a smile, "Now we should spend more time getting to know this young man and understand his character. It's worth mentioning that the fact that someone as cautious as the Marquis of Qingyang has such a firm stance on this matter speaks volumes."

Xia Ru can be considered a representative of positive characters in the court. He is incompetent, but upright and not the kind of person who would engage in political opportunism for the sake of repaying a debt of gratitude.

You may not acknowledge Xia Ru's abilities, but you cannot deny his discerning eye for talent.

Jin Gui still wanted to argue, but found that he had no suitable excuse. He could only walk over to Liang Chu dejectedly, as if he wanted to discuss countermeasures with Liang Chu again.

……

……

News from within the inner court was not leaked immediately.

Those who participated in this inner court meeting tacitly chose to remain silent, as if they were also waiting for the emperor's edict.

Or rather, even if some people thought it was possible to adopt Zhu Yi as a prince, there were political risks involved. No one wanted others to know that they had participated in this inner court meeting about adopting a prince, lest they be purged and retaliated against in the future.

Once they reach that level of officialdom, no one thinks about the merit of supporting the emperor's ascension; they are more afraid of being retaliated against.

Their way of life is to avoid making mistakes.

Those who participated in the meeting didn't want to leak the information, but others might be different.

At least Zhu Yi quickly received the news that he was going to be adopted by the emperor, and the person who brought him the news was Qian Ning.

It was Qian Ning who personally came to the temporary residence where Zhu Yi was staying to explain the situation.

"Young Prince, congratulations! From now on, we're brothers." Qian Ning arrived in the courtyard, acting as if he were the greatest contributor to Zhu Yi's ascension to the throne. "I've been wanting to visit you for a while, but haven't had the chance. I heard you moved here, so I came early to tell you the good news."

Before Zhu Yi could even finalize the adoption arrangements, Qian Ning came to claim fraternity.

This left Gongsun Jin, who was standing behind Zhu Yi, speechless.

I've never seen anyone so shameless. They clearly accepted a gift and did something for them, yet they still want to claim kinship with us?

Zhu Yi appeared very enthusiastic, because he knew that if he wanted to rise to power, he would mainly rely on whoever was on his side, and he certainly couldn't expect those civil officials to stand by him.

"How could I dare to claim kinship with Commander Zhu?" Zhu Yi said with a smile.

"Although we are sworn brothers, we are not the same. I was only granted the imperial surname, while you were raised in the palace and are a member of the imperial family. I know that you are about to achieve fame and success, so I have brought you some gifts. They are just a little bit of brotherly affection, so please don't find them offensive."

For the first time ever, Qian Ning changed his approach and gave gifts to others.

Then people carried in boxes and crates, and more importantly, they brought in Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) to protect Zhu Yi, as well as servants and maids.

They claimed to be there to take care of Zhu Yi's daily life, but anyone with eyes could see that.

Qian Ning wanted to find someone to monitor Zhu Yi's every move so that he could keep this so-called prince firmly under his control.