The Imperial Palace, inside the Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Youtang called Zhang Zhou over, and then he showed Zhang Zhou something, which was Zhu Houzhao's recent homework summary, as well as several articles that Zhu Houzhao had just written.
"I have asked the lecturer in the East Palace. Although he is not good enough, he has made great progress. The most important thing is that he has been studying seriously recently. I mean, you can go over and see him again. If If he wants to take a walk around the palace, you can take him for a walk."
Zhu Youtang used to be very doting on the prince, but he was very cautious when it came to the prince's outings.
After all, if something happens to that one son, it will not end well.
But now that he has a new son, and even Concubine Xian is pregnant again, he feels that there is nothing wrong with letting the prince go out to see and experience.
Zhang Zhou asked: "Your Majesty, you don't want to teach the prince any more lessons?"
Zhu Youtang sighed: "Speaking of which, I haven't paid much attention to the prince's studies in the past year or two. , even when I returned to Beijing this time, I didn’t see him a few times. I just wanted to use this alienation to let him know that he can’t be arrogant as a prince, but how can I not feel sorry for him?”
< p>As a father, he not only wants to maintain a good relationship with his children, but also wants to put on airs.Zhang Zhou suddenly seemed to understand this man who was almost at a loss. Probably all men would have this kind of worry after getting married and having children.
Historically, Zhu Youtang trained Zhu Houzhao to be a playboy-like and noisy emperor, and this may be the reason for this.
Zhang Zhou said: "I know. I don't know when I should go see you?"
"Let's go back." Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "Recently, I asked the prince to continue studying hard, and I also told him For him, if he can make progress in the next exam, he will have the opportunity to leave the palace. I am not very relieved when he leaves the palace, but if he goes to your place, I will be extremely worried about the prince leaving the palace. After that, I like to go to your places the most. I want to see what you are doing."
Zhang Zhou sighed: "I am just doing some research."
"That's good." Zhu Youtang said, "Even I want to go out for a walk sometimes to see what you are doing. What you do is different from what everyone in the government and the public is doing. You can’t blame me for being too curious. What you do is often fascinating.”
Zhang Zhou thought to himself, are you listening to my story? Is it fascinating?
But considering that Zhu Youtang and his son actually have the same essential personality, and both have such a strong curiosity about unknown things, it can probably be understood.
Zhu Houzhao eventually developed into a noisy emperor, which was closely related to his father. As for whether this kind of nonsense is good or bad, it all depends on how to guide it.
......
......
Zhang Zhou and Zhu Youtang had lunch together, and then chatted for a long time before Zhu Youtang ordered Chen Kuan to send Zhang off. Zhou left the palace.
"Cai Guogong, Your MajestyI have ordered you to pay a visit to the Chengguo Duke's Mansion if you have time in the past two days. "Chen Kuan rarely had the opportunity to be alone with Zhang Zhou. In addition to explaining what the emperor had ordered, of course he also wanted to establish a deeper friendship with Zhang Zhou.
Zhang Zhou said: "Gong Cheng Guo has arrived in Beijing. After that, he also wanted to visit me. Isn’t it good for me to go see him like this? ”
After all, Zhu Fu was a feudal official and was also responsible for Nanjing’s military affairs. As the Minister of the Ministry of War, it would be okay for Zhang Zhou to meet him in his official capacity, but if he met in private, it would seem a bit awkward. It's inappropriate.
Of course, no one in the government or the public will impeach him just because he went to see Zhu Fu.
There are many people in the government and the government who say that he has done something wrong. , especially in private discussions, there are all kinds of unpleasant things.
But no one said that he wanted to rebel, mainly because of his non-party style and as a minister of the Ministry of War. The governor of the Dudu Mansion did not have the energy to focus on these two yamen, because in the impression of civil servants, the rebels must be the kind of people who are very enthusiastic about court affairs. An official like Zhang Zhou spent three days fishing and two days The person who posted the news was more in line with the style of a sycophant.
Chen Kuan said with a smile: "It was ordered by His Majesty. Duke Cheng Guo came to Beijing mainly for the defense of the south. Nanjing. In 2012, we have been coordinating the construction of some ports and large ships along the coast of Zhejiang. In addition to the high cost, the deployment of personnel is also a problem. This time His Majesty called him over to conduct further calculations... and also to further subdivide the military affairs in the south. "
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty didn't mention it to me before. ”
“It’s rare for Your Majesty to meet you, Duke Cai, so naturally you don’t want to waste more time talking about official business. There are some things that Your Majesty actually just wants to resolve privately. Another example is that Duke Cheng previously led troops in the northwest. He has not achieved any results, and now His Majesty actually has plans to train him again. ”
Chen Kuan talked a lot, and the information he revealed seemed to be very secret.
But Zhang Zhou thought about it a little, and Zhu Feng didn’t even know that his old father came to Beijing. The purpose was probably clear. In fact, the Duke of Chengguo was also very confused and uneasy about coming to the capital.
Zhang Zhou also knew that the emperor's main purpose was to weaken the power of the old honors. However, the Duke of Cheng and the Duke of Wei are both the main forces in Nanjing. Although the Duke of Wei is now in Zhejiang, helping Zhang Zhou take care of port and coastal defense matters, he will also have some impact on the stability of the Ming Dynasty's military.
Chen Kuan said: "In addition, His Majesty has ordered not to see the British prince recently. He has been petitioning recently to step down from all positions. According to His Majesty's estimation, he wants to use some power to gradually transfer matters such as the Beijing Camp from his hands to Zhang Rui's, and Zhang Rui is now considered to have a certain position in the northwest. He has made great achievements, but he has not reached the point where he can take the leading role alone. ”
After hearing this, Zhang Zhou understood even more that Zhu Youtang was very wary of Jiuxun.
Once the emperor wants to achieve success in military affairs, he must first Those constraints were removed, and the old honorsThey seem to be serving the royal family, but they are all a group of conservative people. In Zhu Youtang's view, they are all obstacles to clearing the grassland.
This group of people can neither be expected to lead the troops in the front line to fight, nor can they be expected to guard the rear when the imperial commander personally marches.
Otherwise, Yingzong will go on an expedition and be captured, and the rear will just replace you with an emperor for fun.
When an emperor wants to use ministers to do things for him, he will also be wary of ministers. In many cases, the strife between factions is not a conflict between forces, but the emperor's instructions and acquiescence behind the scenes.
As for Zhang Zhou, it seems that everything is just doing things for the emperor, but many times, he is also used as a gun by Zhu Youtang, so that the emperor can rest assured and wait for Zhang Zhou to help him eliminate those potential The negative factors will be eliminated.
……
……
Zhang Zhou left the palace gate and was going directly to the Duke Cheng’s Mansion.
But he still chose to give Cheng Guo Gongfu some time to prepare. He first asked Liu Gui to inform Zhu Feng, letting Zhu Feng know that he would be there two hours later, that is, at sunset. Before arriving at Chengguo Duke's Mansion.
After all, he is also the Minister of the Ministry of War and a big shot in the court. It is best to inform him in advance wherever he goes.
Obviously the Duke of Chengguo didn’t know what Zhang Zhou was going to do. In order to prevent Zhang Zhou from coming to investigate the crime... Although they themselves didn’t know where the crime was, they still hurriedly asked Zhu Feng to come. Ask to see Zhang Zhou.
So before it got dark, in Zhang Zhou’s theater, Zhu Feng brought the generous gifts prepared by his family to Zhang Zhou.
"Zhijie, what are you doing? You and I have known each other for so long, but are you still so out of touch?" Zhang Zhou said.
Zhu Feng said: "I don't know what's inside, but my grandmother found me today and asked me to deliver it."
Zhang Zhou smiled.
The Chengguo Duke's palace gave gifts not in the name of the head of the family, Zhu Fu, but on the orders of Chengguo's wife, Zhu Hu, to hand over the matter to her grandson Zhu Feng, who had already established a separate family... In this way , even if someone said that the Chengguo Palace secretly communicated with Zhang Zhou, they would say that this was just a personal relationship between Zhang Zhou and Zhu Feng and had nothing to do with the family.
"Does it make any difference who gave it to me?" Zhang Zhou said, "You represent the Duke of Chengguo, and this time I want to visit, so you give me a gift. Everyone knows what you are going to do. "What? Take it back."
Zhu Feng said: "I only have the power to give gifts, but I don't have the power to take them back. If Brother Zhang doesn't want to take them back, just take them with you when you go over."
Zhang Zhou seemed speechless.
Liu Gui next to him smiled and said: "Master Hou, this is a gift from you. But if you take it back later, what should you tell outsiders? They thought it was from my master."
p>"This..." Zhu Feng was obviously not a person with big ideas.
Zhang Zhou said: "You take this gift back to your own house first, and then send it back to your house later. Let's not talk about it now. You are here to ask on behalf of my family what I am doing there. Right?"
"Yes." Zhu Feng is also a real person.
He just obeyed whatever the family asked him to do. < /p>
"Huh?" Zhu Feng was shocked.
Others don’t know what the old father’s level is, but he, as a son, still knows it.
I used to think that my father was very awesome, but after he went to the battlefield several times and learned information through various channels, he realized that his father was also a mediocre and incompetent person. It was just that he had no information before. , everyone in the family was praising his old father, which made him mistakenly think that his father was a dragon or a phoenix among men.
It turned out to be just a worm.
Being a worm and going to the battlefield, isn’t that just like seeking death?
"Your Majesty, you don't want to go, right?" Zhang Zhou asked.
"Yes." Zhu Feng nodded seriously.
Zhu Fucai is not the kind of noble minister with great ambitions. The only purpose of such a person's life is to eat and wait for death. It is good to enjoy power, or he is good at suppressing his colleagues, but it is just a matter of discussion. When it comes to foreign war capabilities, there is basically no hope.
Zhang Zhou said: "Then your family may be deprived of power, and the identity of the Nanjing military admiral will no longer fall back to your father."
"This is Why?" Zhu Feng asked in surprise.
Obviously what Zhang Zhou said exceeded his psychological expectations.
Hasn’t Nanjing’s military affairs always been managed jointly by ministers, eunuchs, and the Minister of War in Nanjing? Why doesn't Xunchen want it now?
Zhang Zhou said: "Just look at the current defense of the capital. Is there still one person in charge of the situation in the capital camp?"
Zhu Feng thought for a while and asked: " Isn't there you, Brother Zhang?"
"You can't talk nonsense, Zhijie, have you ever seen me take care of the military affairs of the Beijing camp?" Zhang Zhou glared over.
Zhu Feng seemed to understand something and nodded: "I understand. In the past, the affairs of the Beijing camp were basically decided by the British public. It was said that it was the Ministry of War, the Royal Horse Supervisor, the eunuchs, etc. It can preside over military affairs, but in fact most of the military orders come from the British government." Zhang Zhou said: "Isn't it the same in Nanjing?"
Zhu Feng thought for a while. I had to nod.
The defense of the capital and the defense of Nanjing are basically the same in structure.
Xunchen is responsible for daily training, procurement and most daily details, while the Ministry of War can only plan the general direction, and the Minister of War does not have so much time to manage the details of military affairs. .
As for the admiral eunuchs, they seem to have great power, but they serve more as supervisors. The main purpose of most admiral eunuchs is to make money. As long as the money is managed well, there will basically be no problems. , when it comes to matters such as leading troops on expeditions, the admiral eunuch can onlyIt's just a vase next to it.
The admiral has become the person who actually commands and mobilizes the troops. However, it is difficult for war to occur in the capital and Nanjing, and it is also very difficult for the Ministry of War to intervene.
This will lead to the admiral and ministers becoming princes of one party to a large extent.
What the emperor wanted to change was precisely this situation. He first asked Zhang Mao to lead the army to attack his power and bring him down.
At that time, Nanjing’s military affairs were still in the hands of the seemingly loyal Zhu Fu. But when Zhang Mao’s problem was solved, wouldn’t the next step be to solve the issue of Nanjing’s military ownership? If Zhu Fu were to be sent to the frontier to lead troops, his fate would be very similar to Zhang Mao's.
Zhu Feng said: "Brother Zhang, you must help my father."
"How can I help?" Zhang Zhou said, "Tell your Majesty that your Majesty will not be allowed to go to the border town to receive the throne." Soldier? Or should I advise your Majesty to return to Nanjing and maintain the status quo?"
"This..."
Zhu Feng didn't know how to answer for a while.
The emperor clearly wants Zhu Fu to be the second Zhang Mao, so now he can either go to the border town to lead troops and prove his strength so that the emperor can't find an excuse to reduce your power.
If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. Just divide the power and hand it over to different people, just like the current military power in Beijing.
If you don’t want to take either, then you’d better die.
It is not impossible to die in the name of festival.
Zhang Zhou said: "That's all I can say. There are some things that I don't know myself. Your Majesty didn't mention your father's affairs to me today, or did Eunuch Chen, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, mention it to me afterwards. In a word, if your father doesn’t want to make a choice, that’s fine, then it may be simpler and more direct.”
Are you still coming?
"Go ahead. Just go through the motions. Since you're here to ask, I'll give you some time. You go back and explain the situation to your father."
Zhang Zhou sighed, "Then I'll wait. After dark, I will come to the gate of Chengguo Palace again. Of course, there is another option. Your Majesty is afraid that you can’t run the army outside, so I can take you with me. If he can’t, can’t you? “The situation has been serious recently, let’s do it more. It has power and updates faster. Please use your little hands to exit the reading mode. Thank you