Chi Fei couldn't figure out a question, so he couldn't help but ask, "Father-in-law, why did the Holy Lord suddenly decide to form a cabinet." ”

"This is not too sudden, the Holy Lord has long had the idea of following the example of the previous dynasty to form a cabinet. Especially in the past few years, the saint has become older, and his energy has begun to be a little sluggish, and it is normal to propose the formation of a cabinet at this time. ”

"Is the Holy One willing to give up power?"

"Silly boy, as long as you don't have military power in your hands, no matter how much trouble the civil officials make, they can't turn the sky upside down.

In order to prevent the powerful ministers or eunuchs from taking charge of the army, Taizu had already set the ancestral system of separating the civil and military families and the eunuchs not being allowed to participate in politics, so this is not a big deal.

I think that the saint also has some calculations for choosing this juncture to form a cabinet.

There are some things that you should know, so that you don't know the situation in the DPRK and China.

Let me ask you, who do you think is the main hand of the Great Wei's military power? ”

"Isn't the power of the army in the hands of the Holy Lord?" Chi Fei asked in surprise.

"On the surface, it is, but in fact the water inside is very deep, and it cannot be explained in one or two sentences.

Before answering this question, you must first know how Imagami ascended to the throne and sat in that position.

Today's biological mother is just an ordinary palace maid in the palace, who was favored by the emperor and later named a talented person. Later, he gave birth to the Seven Princes, which is now Jinshang.

When the Seventh Prince was five years old, his biological mother died of illness.

In view of the fact that the Seventh Prince had no one to take care of him, Empress Dowager Xie brought him over and raised him under his knees as an adopted son. ”

"Didn't the Queen Mother have a child at that time?"

"The Queen Mother originally had a son-in-law, but she died in less than 100 days, and she didn't come out for many years.

Therefore, the queen mother wants to raise the seventh prince, which is probably a helpless move, after all, she also needs an heir.

But it is undeniable that the reason why Jinshang was able to stand out among the princes and inherit the throne was that Empress Dowager Xie did play a crucial role.

Back then, because of the matter of seizing the heir, the competition between several princes was very fierce, far more tragic than the dispute between the eldest prince and the second prince today.

Because several princes have their own advantages, and the officials and nobles who support them are also different, the court is divided into several factions, and they fight very fiercely in private.

In addition, the former emperor happened to be seriously ill at that time and was unable to preside over the overall situation, which made those full-fledged princes even more unscrupulous.

After the fight, various methods such as poisoning, falling horses, and assassins emerged one after another, causing panic in the entire capital.

Later, the first emperor died, and several princes even directly mobilized private soldiers to force the palace in order to compete for the throne.

At this critical moment, a group of nobles led by An Guogong suddenly led the soldiers of the five military battalions to come to the rescue in the name of King Qin.

At this time, Empress Dowager Xie should cooperate with the outside world, and took the holy decree of the former emperor to announce in public that the first emperor had passed the throne to the seven princes, and those who did not obey would be executed on the spot as a traitor.

With the assistance of Empress Dowager Xie and An Guogong and other nobles, Jinshang finally succeeded in ascending the throne as emperor.

Some of the other princes who participated in the seizure of the heir were placed under house arrest, and some were directly disposed of for treason.

Several princes are still like this, and the people under them naturally have no good end, and most of them have been eradicated one by one by Empress Dowager Xie for various reasons and crimes.

At that time, officials and nobles in the capital were beheaded almost every day, and it can be said that there was a river of blood.

In that year, almost half of the officials and nobles disappeared from the capital, and the tragedy can be imagined. ”

"In this way, the smooth accession to the throne today is really the credit of Empress Dowager Xie and An Guogong."

"Yes. And I believe that the decree back then was also true, and the former emperor really wanted to pass on the throne to the present.

Because among the princes, the personality and character of the present are indeed much better than those princes.

Those princes really made too much trouble back then, which caused the anger of the former emperor, and it was normal for them to issue an order to pass on the throne to the present before they died.

Because when he succeeded to the throne, he was still a minor. Therefore, for the time being, the Empress Dowager Xie will listen to the government, and two important ministers will assist in governing the government today. ”

Chi Fei asked tentatively, "Father-in-law, do you mean that those nobles led by Duke An Guo and assisted the emperor to ascend the throne still hold most of the military power in their hands?"

But doesn't it necessary to have tiger talismans and holy decrees to mobilize troops and horses? Do those people dare to resist the decree? ”

"It is true that the Tiger Talisman and the Holy Decree are required to mobilize soldiers and horses, but I ask you, who is qualified to verify the Tiger Talisman and the Holy Decree?"

Chi Fei listened to his father-in-law's rhetorical question, and quickly understood that the Tiger Talisman and the Holy Decree were by no means qualified for low-level generals and ordinary soldiers, only the generals who really led the troops were qualified to view these two things. He said yes, he said no, he said no, how can the soldiers below know whether it is true or false, they will only listen to orders from above.

Therefore, successive emperors would only let trusted military commanders take charge of the army, precisely to prevent the military power from being controlled by people with ulterior motives.

After all, the Tiger Talisman and the Holy Decree are just dead things, and it is the person in charge of leading the troops who really plays a decisive role.

Ning Zhiyuan saw that he had figured it out, and then continued, "The first question you just asked was what I wanted to say to you.

Originally, the guards in various places, especially the forbidden army and the five military camps that guarded the capital, should be under the direct jurisdiction of the emperor, and this has been the case in all dynasties.

But because of the battle for the succession decades ago, the situation has changed.

Nominally, the soldiers and horses of the whole country are under the command of the emperor, but in fact, those nobles headed by An Guogong are the ones who really hold the military power.

This is not only because of the achievements of those people back then, but also because of the careful arrangement of the Empress Dowager Xie in the past few years, which is also the main reason for maintaining this situation. ”

Hearing this, Chi Fei has already understood, which is actually equivalent to an exchange of interests.

An Guogong and others made Jinshang the emperor, and his reward was to ask for military power in various places. This creates an equilibrium of equivalent exchange.

In addition, the people who ascended the throne today were still minors, and the court was mainly controlled by the Empress Dowager Xie at that time.

For the sake of her mother's family, Empress Dowager Xie may not only acquiesce to this situation, but even intentionally connive at An Guogong and others to take power.

After all, Jin Shang is not the biological son of the Empress Dowager Xie, and he is separated from the Empress Dowager by one layer, so it is understandable that the Empress Dowager Xie wants to help her mother's family.

As long as the Xie family remains strong, her authority as the queen mother is naturally as stable as Mount Tai, and no one will be able to shake it.

But a question arises here, has the emperor really been willing to give up his military power for so many years?

Thinking of this, Chi Fei couldn't help but ask, "Father-in-law, are you really willing to keep this situation all the time?" ”

Ning Zhiyuan showed a satisfied smile, "If you can think of this, it means that you have figured out the stakes."

Jin Shang is not a stupid king who does nothing, and he is certainly not willing to lose his military power.

In fact, for so many years, Imakami has been cultivating his own henchmen.

Nowadays, among the several Davids in the capital, how many are the emperor's people, and how many are Anguo Gong's people, it is difficult for outsiders to distinguish clearly. Even I only know a rough idea. ”

"An Guogong and other nobles are willing to watch the military power in their hands gradually eroded by Jinshang?"

"Silly boy, do you think those old foxes are really going to do nothing? Naturally, they have a way to deal with it.

It is difficult for a person to want to be promoted, but it is easy for him not to be promoted. If necessary, it is actually quite easy to kill a few people in the army.

There are many ways, and it can be said that it is impossible to prevent it.

Of course, no matter how bold An Guogong and others were, they did not dare to openly rebel.

First of all, the emperor is the lord of the Great Wei, and the court is orthodox in name.

The Great Wei Dynasty has been established for more than 200 years, and its prestige has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

If An Guogong and others dare to openly rebel, they will soon be condemned and encircled by the people of the world, and it will be difficult to maintain their reputation if they are not justified.

Secondly, as long as our Northwest Army is there, they will not dare to do so.

The Northwest Army has been fighting against the Hu people for many years, and its combat power is far superior to that of any army.

Even the Southwest Army led by An Guogong himself was difficult to match, so they didn't dare to mess around, and only dared to make small moves behind their backs.

In most cases, An Guogong and others did not dare to go against Jinshang.

For example, a few years ago, when the Hu people took advantage of the drought in the northwest to invade the frontier on a large scale, they ordered to mobilize troops and horses from all over the country to support the northwest, and no one dared to disobey at that time.

At this critical juncture related to the survival of the Great Wei, if An Guogong and others dared to openly resist the order, they would not only be scolded by the people of the world, but also easy to leave a handle for Jinshang to withdraw military power.

It can be said that for so many years, the emperor and the Principality of An and other nobles don't want to really tear their faces, after all, it won't benefit anyone.

Now that the emperor is going to form a cabinet, I guess this may also be another secret move by the emperor to curb the continued growth of An Guogong and others.

In fact, I am more concerned about Princess Yanfang's marriage than the matter of forming a cabinet.

The concubine hand-picked by the saint turned out to be the second grandson of Duke An Guo, which is interesting. I thought about it for a long time, but I couldn't figure out why the Holy One did this. ”

Chi Fei couldn't understand what kind of medicine was sold in the old emperor's gourd, and he actually married his own daughter to the opponent of the eldest son, which was equivalent to sending hostages in advance.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration flashed in Chi Fei's mind, and he asked in a low voice, "Father-in-law, how does the Holy Lord treat the princess on weekdays?" ”

"Extremely pampered, almost responsive."

"If that's the case, the little son-in-law has a superficial idea, will this be to save the princess's life in the future."

When Ning Zhiyuan heard this, his expression was awe-inspiring, "You mean, the candidate has been decided in my heart today?" ”

Chi Fei nodded, "This is the only reason that makes sense at the moment." ”

Ning Zhiyuan thought for a while with a solemn expression, then sighed lightly and said, "If this is the case, then our Ning family will have to be careful in the future, that one is not as broad-minded as today." ”

Chi Fei also felt a lot of pressure.

His idea was very simple, the reason why the emperor wanted to marry his favorite princess to the second grandson of An Guogong was because he had decided to pass on the throne to the second prince.

If the second prince succeeds to the throne, there will be at least one benefit.

That is, the second prince has half of the Xie family's blood in his body, and it can be said that he is the grandson of Empress Dowager Xie and Duke An Guo. In this way, An Guogong and others will naturally open up to Xinhuangwang and will not be wary step by step.

And Empress Dowager Xie and An Guogong are not young, who knows how many more years they can last.

As soon as these two people in charge are gone, the power led by the Xie family will naturally be greatly reduced.

If the second prince was already fledgling at that time, it would not be impossible to take over the power of the Xie family even because of this.

Even if he can't take over the power of the Xie family, at least the second prince has a large number of nobles behind him.

As long as he succeeds in ascending the throne, even if those civilian bureaucrats are unwilling, they can only serve him as their master.

After all, the net worth and future of civil officials are tied to the imperial court, and they are nothing without the imperial court.

If the eldest prince succeeds to the throne, he can only get the support of the civil officials, but he cannot get the support of the nobles who hold military power, and he may even be fiercely resisted by the nobles such as An Guogong.

Even if the Great Prince took the risk of mobilizing the Northwest Army guarding the frontier to return to Beijing to suppress it, it is difficult to predict whether a great civil war would break out that shook the foundation of the entire Great Wei Dynasty.

Therefore, if the second prince succeeds to the throne, the benefits are indeed far better than that of the eldest prince.

Coupled with the fact that the emperor originally favored the second prince, this possibility is too great.

If the emperor really decided to pass on the second prince, then the marriage he arranged for Princess Yanfang would be easy to understand.

As the sister of the eldest prince, Princess Yanfang will definitely have no good end after the second prince ascends the throne, either under house arrest for life or secretly executed, which is the most common fate of many losers in the struggle for imperial power in history.

But if Princess Yanfang is the wife of the second prince's cousin, then the situation is different.

For the sake of his cousin's face, the second prince is likely to be lenient with Princess Yanfang, and even deliberately not to be held accountable for the sake of his own reputation.

Emperor Jing'an saw this, so he deliberately married the princess to the Anguo Mansion to save her life.

The reason why Ning Zhiyuan and the other ministers in the capital did not think about this aspect was because they were all people in the officialdom and were used to considering things from the complex perspective of conspiracy theories.

And as the saying goes, the heavenly family is ruthless, and this kind of shallow father-daughter relationship is often ignored, so there are really not many people who think about it.

As an ordinary person outside the officialdom, Chi Fei is easy to think of this.

After being reminded by his little son-in-law, Ning Zhiyuan remembered that he was also the father of Princess Yanfang.

Once the saint passes away, even if he leaves a holy decree, after all, people go to tea and cool.

As long as the second prince wants to deal with the princess, even if he doesn't do anything on the surface, there are too many yin tricks that can be used behind the scenes, and he can't prevent it at all.

If the second prince ascends to the throne in the future, this is indeed the only way to keep Princess Yanfang.

If the old emperor really wants to pass on the throne to the second prince, Chi Fei will also have a headache.

Although he has no big enmity with the second prince, there are still small festivals.

Back then, King Fu was ordered by the second prince to forcibly buy a literary newspaper, but Chi Fei bit back and made things go wrong.

To say that the second prince has no guilt in his heart about this matter, Chi Fei is the first to disbelieve it.

There is also a conflict between Ah Zhi and the brother-in-law of the second prince, Wu Kanggui, the prince of Changchun. Because of his father-in-law Ning Zhiyuan in front, the other party did not dare to pursue the matter anymore.

However, once the second prince ascends the throne, with the villain character of Wu Kanggui, the prince of Changchun, most of them will take advantage of the power of the second prince to make trouble, which is another hidden danger.

In addition, what kind of thoughts does the second prince himself have in his heart about Ning Zhiyuan, the prince of Zhenguo, who has hundreds of thousands of troops in the northwest, that is also a hidden worry that the Ning family has to guard against.

In short, for the Ning family and Chi Fei, this is really not good news.

However, Ning Zhiyuan was a military boss who was used to seeing big scenes after all, and he sneered, "Although you have to be careful, my Ning clan has been operating in the northwest for a hundred years, and it is not without foundation.

In case someone really can't tolerate us, it's just a shot and two scattered, and no one can think about it at that time.

If you want to deceive my Ning family, it's not so easy! ”

From his father-in-law's words, Chi Fei felt a fierce murderous aura, this is the domineering spirit of the Northwest General.

While Chi Fei's hair stood on end, he couldn't help but have a feeling of blood boiling in his heart, and couldn't help blurting out, "The little son-in-law is willing to follow his father-in-law to the death and advance and retreat with the Ning family." ”

Ning Zhiyuan laughed heartily, then patted him on the shoulder vigorously and said, "I have a good son-in-law, and I am very comforted." ”

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