My life skills in Daming Liver

As the emperor was in great power, there was naturally a set procedure for holding funerals.

But that was not what the ministers were concerned about at this time. After a long time, the eunuch Feng Bao, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, returned to the palace with a copy of the imperial edict.

Immediately afterwards, Feng Bao read out the contents of the imperial edict in front of all the ministers.

"The Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng was ordered to serve as an auxiliary minister to help manage state affairs."

When Feng Bao finished reading this sentence, the officials in the hall had different thoughts.

Zhang Juzheng's comrades naturally felt that the stone in their hearts had fallen. With this edict, the legitimacy of Zhang Juzheng's rule was continued.

The crown prince Zhu Yijun is only four years old after the Chinese New Year, and it will take at least ten years before he wants to take charge of the throne after he ascends the throne.

Zhang Juzheng was in his prime, the golden age for a politician, which meant that Zhang Juzheng could continue to be in charge of state affairs for more than ten years.

The past ten years have been enough for everyone to feel at ease, and those Zhang Juzheng's followers naturally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Juzheng's enemies were extremely disappointed.

Although many people are still full of distrust of the imperial edict, with this imperial edict, Zhang Juzheng has firmly secured his position in power. Who can drag him down?

But Feng Bao did not put away the imperial edict, but continued to read:

"After my departure, the Empress Chen will be the Empress Dowager Xiaoan, and the imperial concubine Li will be the Empress Dowager Cisheng. The empress dowagers of the two palaces will hang down the curtains to supervise state affairs."

After Feng Bao said this, everyone stared at him.

Zhang Juzheng stared at Feng Bao fiercely, almost swallowing Feng Bao.

Feng Bao was trembling all over, but he still stood on the imperial collapse and responded to the gazes of the officials.

Li Chunfang finally smiled. As he expected, Zhang Juzheng Group was not monolithic.

It was a normal thing for the empress dowager to supervise the country in all dynasties, but there was indeed no precedent for the empress dowager to listen to politics behind the curtain in the Ming Dynasty.

This is Zhu Yuanzhang's political system design. Unlike the empresses of the Ming Dynasty who came from the noble families of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the power of the natal family was generally not strong.

For example, the current empress Chen of Emperor Longqing, her father was only a member of the Imperial Guard Qianhu, and was posthumously granted the title of Marquis after Chen was granted the title of empress.

The father of the imperial concubine Li, Li Wei, was an ordinary businessman, and he was granted the title of marquis only after his daughter gave birth to a prince.

And the strong civilian politics prevented the influence of foreign relatives from raising their heads even in the Ming Dynasty.

However, although she has never listened to politics behind the curtain, the Queen Mother still has great power when the monarch is young.

In the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were times when the queen mother oversaw the country. When the emperor was unable to fulfill his abilities, the queen mother's edicts could also represent the imperial power.

However, this "edict" allowed the empress dowagers of the two palaces to listen to politics behind the curtain, which indeed weakened Zhang Juzheng's governing authority.

Zhang Juzheng looked at Feng Bao, and he understood that he had underestimated this political ally in the palace.

This edict also confirmed his status as assistant minister and moved out of the two palaces to supervise the country, making it clear that Feng Bao was betting on both ends.

And this so-called "edict" cannot be refuted by Zhang Juzheng.

If Zhang Juzheng refutes this, it will shake his legal authority to govern.

Looking at Feng Bao on the imperial steps, Zhang Juzheng suppressed his anger and said to the emperor's corpse on the imperial steps:

"I obey the imperial edict!"

Zhang Juzheng took the lead in complying with the imperial edict, and all the ministers also knelt down to worship, and finally the funeral ceremony of Emperor Daxing began.

As the auxiliary minister, Zhang Juzheng first went to the East Palace, received the crown prince Zhu Yijun into the palace, confirmed the identity of the heir to the throne, and supported Zhu Yijun to ascend the throne.

Immediately afterwards, preparations for the funeral of Emperor Daxing began.

When news of the emperor's death came out, Wang Shizhen and Lu Er got the news and immediately sent people to deliver the news to the southeast.

Just when Mingting was busy, Wang Shizhen rushed into the intelligence station and found Lu Er who was busy.

"Stationmaster Lu, this information must be sent to the Governor as soon as possible!"

Lu Er was reading the information sent from the grassland. When he saw Wang Shizhen in such a hurry, he took the information sent by Wang Shizhen doubtfully.

"Rumors in the market? Mr. Wang, is this kind of rumor important?"

Wang Shizhen said seriously: "It's important, very important."

Wang Shizhen said:

"Today, there are rumors on the streets of the capital that Zhang Juzheng, the Prime Minister of Zhongshu, killed Emperor Longqing. He said that he had a nose and eyes, and that the emperor's wind disease had recovered. He summoned the ministers to discuss matters. Emperor Longqing wanted to drink water, but Zhang Juzheng, the Prime Minister of Zhongshu, refused. Providing water was the reason why the emperor died violently."

Lu Er almost laughed and said:

"There are too many such rumors. Why did Mr. Wang send these rumors back to Nanjing?"

Wang Shizhen said: "This rumor is different."

"This rumor started spreading this morning, and now it has spread throughout the capital."

"And the rumors are not only very detailed, but also have the names of the ministers who were in the palace that day. This shows that this rumor is definitely not fabricated randomly. In other words, the person who spread the rumors was also in the palace when Emperor Longqing died. middle."

Lu Er immediately became serious.

Wang Shizhen added: "There is no smoke without fire. If it is a rumor spread by important officials of the Ming Dynasty, it must have a purpose."

Lu Er thought for a moment and said, "To disrupt the situation?"

Wang Shizhen nodded and said: "Yes, Qingyuan Duke Li Wei and his son were arrested and imprisoned on the grounds that they contributed poison to kill the emperor."

"But Qingyuan Gong Li Wei is the biological father of the empress dowager who is now in charge of the country. This rumor is to muddy the water and protect Qingyuan Gong Li Wei."

Lu Er asked: "Is that the rumor spread by Empress Dowager Li?"

Wang Shizhen shook his head and said: "It shouldn't be the case. The Li family comes from a small family and doesn't understand these things at all. If you ask me, it's a rumor spread by ministers within the Ming court who opposed Zhang Juzheng's rule for the sake of speculation."

"Speculation?"

Wang Shizhen said: "The empress dowagers of the two palaces supervising the country behind the curtain are equivalent to exercising imperial power on their behalf, which is a great threat to Zhang Juzheng."

"The Queen Mother supervises the country on behalf of the emperor. Someone has expressed loyalty to the Queen Mother Li."

Lu Er immediately understood what Wang Shizhen meant. This rumor was indeed of great importance and related to the direction of the political struggle in the Ming court.

He immediately sent people quickly to Daku Fort to spread the news back to the southeast.

Sure enough, the rumor spread rapidly in the capital, and officials were even sent to Shuntian Prefecture to prohibit the people from spreading the rumor.

But the result was that the people discussed it even more intensely, and it was a bit of a cover-up.

At the same time, the interrogation of Qingyuan Gong Li Wei and his son also went very poorly.

Li Wei and his son bit him to death and donated the elixir for healing, not poison.

They were the father and brothers of the empress dowager who was in charge of the country, so it was not easy to torture them, so the matter was so awkward.

In the court, some people also proposed to release the two men, because all the red pills and elixirs they presented had been swallowed by the emperor, and there was no evidence that what they presented was poison.

While Zhang Juzheng was busy organizing the funeral for Emperor Daxing and preparing for the enthronement ceremony of the young emperor, this rumor spread in the capital more and more intensely.

Even more outrageous rumors began to appear on the streets of the capital. For example, when Emperor Daxing was seriously ill, Zhang Juzheng had an affair with the current Empress Dowager Li, and was discovered by Qingyuan Gong Li Wei and his son. Therefore, Qingyuan Gong Li Wei and his son only Being jailed.

These rumors that brought the secrets of the palace spread faster, starting from the capital and spreading outward.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng, who had always been tough, finally compromised.

After a joint trial by the three departments of the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple finally produced evidence that Li Wei and his son were innocent.

In other words, it is impossible to prove that the red pill elixir donated by Li Wei and his son was the direct cause of the death of Emperor Daxing.

This result was sent to Zhang Juzheng, and the Prime Minister Zhongshu finally had no choice but to admit the investigation results of the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple.

However, although Zhang Juzheng agreed to release Li Wei and his son, he still removed their titles for "breaking into the palace without summons".

The Ming court finally announced the cause of Emperor Daxing's death to the people of the capital.

The cause of death of Emperor Daxing was still wind disease.

After Li Wei and his son came out of prison, they both had an unreal feeling.

What happened in the dormitory that day was witnessed by both father and son.

Although they insisted that what they offered was the elixir, the father and son still knew very well that the death of the emperor was inseparable from them!

But just like that, his father and son actually came out of prison?

Even Li Wei and his son thought this was a bit funny.

My father and his son harmed the emperor, and the punishment they received was just to lose their title?

But as long as his daughter is still the Queen Mother, the title can be awarded back to her at any time.

The father and son looked at each other and saw excitement in each other's eyes.

Now that his daughter has become the queen mother who listens to politics behind the curtain, and his grandson has become the new emperor, the power of the Li family can only go further.

Zhang Juzheng, the Prime Minister of Zhongshu who seemed to be in control of everything and the entire court, seemed not as powerful as he seemed.

Just as Wang Shizhen accurately predicted the situation in the Ming court, the Ming court was unable to control the rumors. By the time Qingyuan Gong and his son were released, these two incidents had greatly weakened Zhang Juzheng's authority in power.

In March, when Emperor Daxing was buried in the imperial mausoleum, all the provincial governors only sent representatives to the capital. Even the New Army minister closest to the capital, Governor Li Chengliang of Shandong, did not return to the capital in person to express condolences. He only sent himself His son Li Rusong returned to Beijing.

The same was true for Chen Yiqin, the governor of Henan.

Immediately afterwards, the conflict between Chen Yiqin and Li Chengliang further deepened. Chen Yiqin even withheld the grain that should be shipped to Li Rusong in Henan, while Li Rusong stopped shipping gunpowder to Henan.

The two sides have gradually escalated from a battle of pen and ink memorials to a real conflict with real swords and guns.

There were frictions between the new armies in Shandong and Henan, which even resulted in deaths.

But this time Zhang Juzheng did not use his prestige to suppress him. Even after Zhang Juzheng organized the funeral of Emperor Daxing, he began to complain that he was ill at home.

While Zhang Juzheng was retreating to advance, Su Ze received information from Wang Shizhen and Lu Er and immediately convened a cabinet meeting.

Su Ze looked at the map and said:

"The time has come, it's our turn to take action."

Everyone looked at Su Ze.

When Gao Gong stepped down and Zhang Juzheng came on stage, Su Ze did not make a move.

During the battle in Xuzhou last year, Su Ze did not take action.

But it happened that Su Ze chose to take action at this moment.

However, He Xinyin and Shen Shixing didn't know much about military matters, so they remained silent.

Xu Wei knew Su Ze's strategic intentions and did not object.

Only Finance Minister Fang Wanghai said:

"Grand Governor, we just started a war with Annan, and now we are using troops against the Ming court. Aren't we being attacked on both sides?"

"Moreover, Emperor Longqing of the Ming Dynasty was already Feng Ji. He was originally a puppet. Can his death change anything?"

Everyone looked at Su Ze.

Su Ze said: "Emperor Longqing himself has no political ability, but he represents the imperial power."

"Zhang Juzheng was able to command the Ming Dynasty by relying on the banner of imperial power."

"With Zhang Juzheng's ability, given that the new emperor is still young, he would definitely be able to control the Ming court again without our Southeast presence."

Su Ze said flatly: "But this time the situation is different. We have external factors in the southeast!"

"Zhang Juzheng's rule has been shaken. The banner of imperial power has split. This is the time for us to attack!"

When Su Ze said this, everyone no longer objected.

Xu Wei asked: "Grand Governor, where should we attack?"

Everyone looked at the map. This was indeed a difficult decision.

Su Ze pointed to the map and said, "Here!"