Chapter 1661 Renzijuan Palace Storm (2)
Feng Ziying's attitude is very normal in the eyes of Concubine Guo. Now anyone with a discerning eye can see that the emperor favors King Lu more, while the civil servants are more willing to follow the old rules, that is, to establish the chief. In any case, it is not the turn of King Fu who is between the two. Prince Li and Prince Gong.
Many people even think that Prince Gong is only ten years old, and it is uncertain whether he will survive to adulthood. Death in childhood is very common these days.
At least King Shou, King Fu, and King Li not only came of age, but were also married and had children. For example, King Shou already had two sons, King Fu and King Li also each had a son, and King Lu was also fourteen years old. , they can get married immediately, which is a plus in the eyes of many people, including the emperor. However, Prince Gong is only ten years old, many things are still difficult to determine, and the risk of death from illness is not far away.
This is also the pain in Concubine Guo's heart. Her son is better than several other princes, but he can only be excluded from the selection of heir apparent because of his young age. This is something she cannot accept in any case.
Although the emperor's health is not very good now, in Concubine Guo's view, as long as he has a good life, he should be able to persist for two or three years or even three to five years. With talent, he can definitely do better than the other princes.
It is a pity that this view was not supported and echoed by other powerful people. This made Concubine Guo, who seemed calm on the surface, anxious and even a little bit sick and wanted to seek medical treatment.
She had approached Zhang Jingqiu before, but Zhang Jingqiu ignored her; her uncle Chen Jingxuan was still in a state of decline and did not dare to show up. Concubine Guo also asked for advice, and Chen Jingxuan's advice was to try his best to seek advice from royal family members and some people who did not support King Shou. Civil servants came up to think of ways to speak out.
Concubine Guo also tried it with King Zhonghui, who seemed to have a fairer stance, but King Zhonghui was impeccable and refused to get involved at all. This made Concubine Guo very disappointed.
Concubine Guo was moved by the suggestions put forward by her uncle. Among the royal family members, King Zhongshun was undoubtedly the most important. Unfortunately, King Zhongshun had already bet his money on Mei Yuexi and Zhang Su. King Zhongxin did not He was trusted by the emperor, and if he supported him, it would be counterproductive. King Lian Zhong had always stayed out of the matter, and was more difficult to deal with than King Zhonghui. He obviously knew that the waters here were deep and shallow.
On the other side of the eldest princess, Princess Yong'an is relatively friendly to her, but Concubine Guo knows that the emperor is not very close to Princess Yong'an, and favors Princess Yongning more. It's a pity that Princess Yongning left with this **** Mei Yuexi. Getting closer, it was clear that he was aware of the emperor's intentions, so he bet on King Lu.
Today, I accidentally met Feng Keng here, which made Concubine Guo's eyes light up.
My uncle inadvertently mentioned his friendship with the Feng family. His father Feng Tang was the governor of the three sides, and he is still the governor of Ji Liao. He and his uncle are old friends, and Feng Keng was a few years ago. They even came to him for help during the Linqing Civil War, and he responded positively, which allowed Feng Keng to escape. Feng Keng and the Feng family could not deny this connection.
Speaking of several parties involved in the Linqing Civil War, Li Sancai, the then Governor of Water Transport, was already a cabinet minister, and Qiao Yingjia, the censor of the patrol, was already the censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Only his uncle was unlucky and finally became the censor. The governors of the three sides were immediately dismissed.
Now Feng Keng has a great reputation among the young and middle-aged scholars in Beijing. He is highly respected even among the entire northern scholar group. In addition, his mentors are Qi Yongtai and Guan Yingzhen, two northern scholars and Huguang scholars. The weight of the words of a human leader is even more extraordinary. No wonder the emperor would summon him to listen to his opinions.
Perhaps this is an opportunity?
Just how to open up this relationship needs to be carefully considered.
The Princess Yong'an in front of her may be on the same page. Her son seems to be a classmate of Feng Keng, and they seem to have a very good relationship. This is a channel that can be exploited.
Coupled with his uncle's kindness to him, if he can be given more benefits, maybe he can achieve a breakthrough?
Concubine Guo also knew that a character like Feng Ziying who could become the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture at the age of twenty would definitely not be naive and naive. She could not build a relationship by just saying a few nice words or making a few empty promises. What was bribed was that he was not mature enough, and his father and the masters would not allow him to express his position without authorization.
But this is a path after all. On the other hand, Feng Keng is naturally wise, and his attitude can also affect the attitudes of people like Qi Yongtai, Guan Yingzhen and Qiao Yingjia, not to mention his father.
If you can find a way to draw this person into your camp, it can really make a difference.
"Lord Feng is too humble. The fact that the emperor summoned him to ask questions is enough to explain everything." Concubine Guo smiled gracefully. This was not the time to build relationships. It was also a good thing to keep such a distance. "Please, Lord Feng." Duoduo can make suggestions for me, the Great Zhou Dynasty, and share the Emperor's worries."
Feng Ziying responded meaningfully, "It seems that all the empresses in the palace are a little restless during this period."
Zhou Peisheng was stunned for a moment, then he laughed knowingly: "That's true."
Feng Ziying met Emperor Yonglong in the East Palace.
The inner palace is divided into two parts, one is the East Palace, where Emperor Yonglong lived alone, and the other is the West Palace, which is much larger than the East Palace and is mainly prepared for the harem concubines and underage princes.
In fact, every Autumn Festival at Tiewangshan is not as tense as this year. Not only do all the concubines come, but all the princes also come together.
In the past, there were times when Tiewangshan Qiuyi had the intention of establishing a reserve, but generally speaking, it had been basically decided before. Tiewangshan Qiuyi was just a formality, and the emperor was mostly rich and powerful, so after the reserve position was decided , at least there will still be a long period of time for the prince to be trained and trained through Zhan Shifu. After a few years or even more than ten years of training, taking over the throne will mostly be uneventful.
For example, during the reign of Emperor Yuanxi, Prince Yi Zhong served as the crown prince for twenty years but failed to succeed to the throne. Emperor Yonglong also served as the crown prince for several years after becoming Prince Zhongxiao before taking over the throne.
The two emperors Guangyuan and Tianping who preceded Emperor Yuanxi had been crown princes for many years. They succeeded to the throne smoothly and never caused any turmoil.
But this time it was different. Emperor Yonglong's poor health was no longer a secret. Even the Mongols and Jurchens outside the border wall, the overseas Japanese and even the Hongmaofan and Folangji people had heard about it, but his subordinates had heard about it. But there are five sons, all of them seem to have opportunities, and none of them are willing to stand down.
In this case, the longer you delay, the greater the trouble will be. This is why Emperor Yonglong decided to decide on the candidate for the crown prince after the Autumn Festival. Only in this way can he use two or three years of time and energy to help his son eliminate it. Obstacles, cultivate his confidants, stabilize his position, and allow him to successfully secure his position before he closes his eyes.
Looking at the young man who walked in slowly, Emperor Yonglong was in a daze for a moment.
The first time I saw this young man, no, he should still be considered a teenager at that time. At most, he was a teenager moving towards the stage of youth. When was that? After putting down the rebellion of Ningxia Kuaibai and Liu Dongyang, this was the time when this son came back to report his victory and pay an audience, right?
Although I had heard of this man's reputation before, I had never seen him. That time was a solo in the East Study Room. Well, this guy was given the exclusive honor of only the cabinet minister and the minister of the six ministers. Emperor Yonglong He was deeply impressed. Feng Ziying's performance that time made him particularly satisfied, especially Feng Ziying's proposal to recover Shazhou and Hami, which were lost in the previous Ming Dynasty. This became a highlight after he succeeded to the throne. Both scholars and the people praised it. Absolutely.
On the contrary, the subsequent policy of opening up the sea was quite controversial. Although the court benefited a lot, Feng Ziying suffered a lot of criticism. Especially these criticisms came mostly from the northern gentry, who believed that Feng Ziying, as a northern scholar, was actually a loser. Jiangnan's plan harmed the interests of the North.
In fact, it cannot be said that the interests of the North are harmed, but it is true that the interests of Jiangnan are greater, but the one who benefits the most is the imperial court. From this point alone, Emperor Yonglong felt that Feng Ziying's overall view was better than many in the imperial court. The important ministers who are clinging to their responsibilities, and the group of Jiangnan scholars in Nanjing are even more contemptible.
“The humble minister Feng Keng has met the emperor.”
Feng Ziying kowtowed according to the etiquette.
"Flat body, grant me a seat." Emperor Yonglong was leaning on the throne. The bright yellow dragon robe was loose, which showed his old and thin body more and more. This made Feng Ziying's heart tremble. Compared with the last time he saw him, the emperor was His body seems to have aged a lot, and even his clear and sharp eyes seem to have become a lot cloudier, and they no longer have the fierce and domineering look of the past.
"Feng Qing, I haven't seen you for a while. I came back to Beijing from Yongping. Isn't it difficult to sit in the position of the Prime Minister of Shuntian?" Emperor Yonglong withdrew his reverie with satisfaction, looked away, fell out of the window, and then returned to this place. body.
“It is my duty to eat the emperor’s salary, to be loyal to the emperor, and to share the emperor’s worries.” Feng Ziying responded calmly.
“Well, I like to hear these words. If all the officials in the imperial court have Ziying’s attitude, then I can enjoy the rest of my life in peace.” Emperor Yonglong sighed.
Feng Ziying quickly stood up, "Your Majesty!..."
"Okay, I made a mistake. However, my health is not good. This is no secret. Ziying should also know my intentions for this autumn event." Emperor Yonglong got straight to the point, "I have already met you a few days ago. Many people, I have listened to the opinions of many people. Of course, this Autumn Festival is not just about selecting and establishing the throne. I also have some other affairs that need to listen to opinions from all sides. Ziying, You are not a court official, but the affairs of Shuntian Prefecture are related to important areas in the capital, and I think your opinions are equally important, so I summoned you here specifically to hear your opinions."
(End of this chapter)