Jiajing died, the crown prince was not established, there was a power vacuum in the Ming Dynasty, and Yan Song, the first assistant of the cabinet, became the actual controller of the entire Ming Dynasty, and even, he could influence who succeeded the emperor.

This kind of thing is quite rare in other dynasties, but it has happened many times in the Ming Dynasty, and the most recent one is after Zhengde's death and before Jiajing succeeded to the throne.

At that time, there was also a power vacuum in the Ming Dynasty, and Yang Tinghe, the first assistant of the cabinet, also became the actual controller of the entire Ming Dynasty, however, the reason was not that Zhengde did not establish a prince, but that Zhengde had no queen at all.

Yang Tinghe did not have a attachment to power, on the day of the death of Emperor Zhengde of Ming Wuzong, he and the master of ceremonies invited the Empress Dowager to officially announce the Xingxian King Zhu Houyu as the heir to the throne, and the next day, he sent an envoy to Anlu to welcome the Xingxian King Zhu Houyu to succeed to the throne, which can be described as clean and neat.

This matter, when it came to Yan Song, it was muddy and watery, not cool at all, Jiajing had died for several days, and the aftermath was done, he had not even asked the Queen Mother to announce the succession candidate.

Why did he do that?

At the beginning, he just wanted to overwhelm Yang Cong and Yangming, and help the emperor's fourth son, King Jing, Zhu Zaizhen, to succeed to the throne, so as to continue to fool the emperor and continue to be his minister.

However, at this time, after enjoying the cool of controlling the power of the court for a few days, his mind has quietly changed.

If you can hold King Jing Zhu Zaizhen in your hands and continue to control the power of the court, wouldn't you be able to do whatever you want!

He just thought about being addicted to power, but Yan Shifan had already had the idea of plotting to usurp the throne, where is it cool to be the emperor when he is the first assistant of the cabinet!

So, the father and son conspired again.

On this day, in the secret room of the Yan Mansion, Yan Song and Yan Shifan's father and son sat opposite each other and looked at each other for a long time.

Yan Song thought about it for a while, and finally took the lead in speaking: "Donglou, Yang Shun is about to lead the army to the capital, do you think, what should we do then?" ”

When Yan Shifan heard this, he said without hesitation: "Yang Cong is definitely going to die, it's best to give him a crime of rebellion, raided his home, punished his nine clans, Hui'an Yang family, that is notoriously rich, his family's money is even more than our Yan family's money." ”

The Nine Clans seem to be a bit excessive.

However, the struggle for imperial power is so cruel that the winner must kill the loser, otherwise, it is to raise tigers, and people may fight back at any time.

Yan Song thought about it for a while, and then nodded slowly: "Well, the Yang family must be uprooted, then, what about the others?" ”

Yan Shifan said with pity: "The others, that is also the same party, is an accomplice, even if they don't punish the nine clans, they have to be beheaded to show the public." ”

Well, the amount is small and not a gentleman, no poison is not a husband, kill it!

Yan Song sighed and said: "There are a lot of officials in the Yangming lineage, and when the time comes, I'm afraid that the blood will flow like a river!" ”

Yan Shifan still said gloomily: "What is this, which battle for imperial power is not like this, when Chengzu seized the throne and Yingzong was restored, it was all a river of blood." Dad, we can't just stare at Yang Ming, there are some people, we must also kill! ”

Yan Song thought about it, and then suddenly said: "Do you mean Lu Bing and those princes and nobles who are biased towards Yang Cong, I'm afraid it's not so easy to kill them, right?" They all have people under them. ”

Yan Shifan said contemptuously: "The little people under their hands are a fart in front of the elite of the border army, these people, of course, must be killed, but the child is not talking about them, but Yang Shun and his cronies." ”

Yes!

You kid, aren't you crazy, kill everyone yourself!

Yan Song was puzzled: "Why do you even want to kill them?" ”

Yan Shifan then explained: "Dad, do you think, Yang Shun will obediently obey our orders when he holds the military power and controls the entire capital?" Won't he have a different heart? ”

It's really hard to say, people, once they are unrestrained, they are likely to be unscrupulous and lawless.

When Yan Song heard this, he nodded slowly and said: "You're right, this Yang Shun can't be kept, and the cronies and generals under him have to find a reason to clean them up, the question, who do we send to control the elite of the border army in Jizhou Town?" ”

Yan Shifan said confidently: "It's better not to fake the hands of others in this matter, and when the time comes, the child will personally control the elite of the border army in Jizhou Town, it just so happens that there are a few guests who are proficient in the art of war under the child's hands, and let them serve as the leading generals." ”

This matter, talking about this, it seems that it is almost the same, Yan Song nodded again and again: "That's okay, just do it, after Yang Shun leads the army into Beijing, we will find a reason to invite Yang Shun and his generals to the banquet, and take the opportunity to take them down." You should hurry up and get ready, and there won't be any chaos then. ”

That's it?

Yan Shifan was a little unfinished and said: "Dad, haven't you thought about what will happen after we put King Jing on the throne?" ”

Yan Song said a little inexplicably: "Isn't it enough to pinch King Jing in his hands after he ascends to the throne, and when the time comes, we won't do whatever we want?" ”

That's all you need, Quanchen, what good end can you have, no matter how powerful you are, if the emperor wants to clean you up, there is a way.

Yan Shifan reminded with compassion: "Dad, the ministers of all dynasties have nothing to do, just like Huo Guang in the Western Han Dynasty, he has great power, even the emperor can be abolished, what is the result, as soon as Huo Guang died, the Huo family was beheaded all over the house, and there was no one left alive, Dad, you don't want your children and your grandchildren to all die, right?" ”

This!

When Yan Song heard this, his face couldn't help but change greatly, of course he didn't want his children and grandchildren to be beheaded all over the house and killed.

The problem, even if he is in power at this time and covers the sky with one hand, he may not be able to hand over power to his son Yan Shifan.

You must know that Yan Shifan is a prisoner who has not participated in the imperial examination, and it will be heaven to be able to become a six-book scholar, and it is basically impossible to enter the cabinet, and when he is the first assistant of the cabinet, there is no need to think about it, no one will agree.

In other words, once he dies of old age, the position of the head of the cabinet will definitely fall into the hands of others, and when the time comes, won't King Jing take the opportunity to take revenge and kill their Yan clan!

This is very possible, you hold people in your hands as puppets, and people don't want to do everything they can to retaliate.

What to do?

Yan Song only felt dizzy for a while, and for a while, he couldn't think of any countermeasures.

He couldn't help but say anxiously: "How is this good? ”

When Yan Shifan heard this, a ruthless color appeared in his eyes, and he said ruthlessly: "It's very simple, my father can learn from Cao Cao, the king of Wei, please add Jiuxi, and the child will learn from Cao Pi, the prince of Wei, and invite King Jing to take the throne!" ”

, isn't this a plot to usurp the throne!

To be honest, Yan Song really didn't have this idea, he just wanted to be a powerful minister who leaned towards the government and the opposition and covered the sky with one hand, and he didn't think about it at all when he became an emperor.

However, thinking that King Jing might retaliate against the Yan clan in the future, it seems that this throne will really have to be taken over!

He was silent for a while, and then said leisurely: "Dad is old, and there are not many days left, what do you want to do, Dad can't control it." ”