On the tenth day of the first month of March, Li Zhi sat in the big tent of the Chinese army of the Tiger Ben Army, and a few people such as Zheng Kaicheng, Zhong Feng and Cui Changwu sat beside him.

Li Zhi is discussing big things, and he can't let too many people participate, so as not to leak the news.

Cui Changwu arched his hand and said, "Lord Wang, my subordinates think that it is impossible for the Son of Heaven to execute these 1,100 people. ”

Everyone looked at Cui Changwu.

Cui Changwu said: "Now it is rumored inside and outside the court that the prince wants to get close to the civil officials, and it is rumored that the prince wants to absorb the power of the civil officials to control the court. In such a situation, even if the Son of Heaven was angry at the betrayal of the civil officials in the court, he was afraid of the political isolation caused by attacking the civil officials. ”

"Just imagine, if the Son of Heaven kills so many officials in the name of the Son of Heaven, if the prince has a trace of disobedience, what will be the result? After the Son of Heaven used the imperial court law to kill the Manchu Dynasty, he openly broke with the gentry of the world, and as long as the prince released a little news and spread rumors that the massacre was led by the Son of Heaven, the gentry of the world would completely stand behind the prince and deal with the Son of Heaven to the death. ”

"If the Son of Heaven does not do it today, although the civil officials have betrayed the Son of Heaven, if there is a contradiction between the prince and the Son of Heaven, the gentry still support the Son of Heaven, and there are some checks and balances in the court. If the Son of Heaven kills the civil officials of the Manchu Dynasty, not to mention that the prince can control the imperial court, it will be easy to depose the Son of Heaven. When the time comes, no matter how the prince deals with the Son of Heaven, the gentry will applaud loudly, and no one in the whole world will oppose it at all. ”

"If you think about the problem from the perspective of the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven will never break the current fragile balance and stand at the forefront to face the civil officials and gentry."

After listening to Cui Changwu's analysis, everyone was silent.

Cui Changwu has a point, the Son of Heaven is not only pessimistic and disappointed at this time, but also considers the political balance in the court. The most important thing for an emperor is the art of checks and balances, and it is impossible to punch and rush.

Zhong Feng snorted from his nostrils and said, "This Son of Heaven really can't help." Lord Wang, I don't think we should care about these civil affairs, let's send troops directly to Jiangnan, and focus on expanding our territory first. ”

Li Zhi looked at Zhong Feng and did not speak.

Cui Changwu said: "Even if we occupy more territory, if we can't clarify the law, the social order will also be distorted by traitors. What matters is not how much territory we rule, but how much the country's rights and wrongs are asserted. ”

Hearing Cui Changwu's words, Li Zhi nodded and said, "Chief Cui's words won my heart. ”

Standing up, Li Zhi said: "Now that the widow is already the king of Qi, I can't help but think about the people of the world, and I can't help but pick up the burden of the Ming Dynasty." The widow can't sit back and watch so many traitors hide in the court, and destroy the order of the country with Gao Jue Houlu. ”

"The Son of Heaven doesn't dare to kill, but the widow will kill!"

Hearing Li Zhi's words, everyone's eyes widened, and they couldn't react.

Zheng Kaicheng said in a bit of a panic: "Lord Wang, I can't help it." ”

Standing up, Zheng Kaicheng said: "Lord Wang, although these traitors are guilty of conspiracy to commit the crime of rebellion, they are all dignified ministers of the court before the Son of Heaven convicts them. They are the rulers of the Son of Heaven and the rulers of the country. How could the prince kill all the ministers of the Son of Heaven as a vassal king? ”

"Lord Wang, if you do this, you will be regarded as a rebel by the people of the world."

When everyone heard Zheng Kaicheng's words, they frowned.

Zheng Kaicheng continued: "And since the Son of Heaven has no intention of killing all these traitors, how can he sit back and watch the prince wield the butcher's knife? Although all of these civil officials betrayed the Son of Heaven, they were all familiar figures promoted by the Son of Heaven for more than 20 years. When the time comes, the Son of Heaven will lose all his subordinates overnight, and under the anger, how will the Son of Heaven and the prince get along? ”

"The prince doesn't see the disaster of Zhu Rong?"

When the officials in the tent heard Zheng Kaicheng's analysis, they all fell into deep thought for a while.

If Li Zhi killed the civil officials himself, it would be tantamount to challenging the imperial authority of the Son of Heaven and all the gentry in the world at the same time, and the risk was very great.

Erzhurong of the Northern and Southern Dynasties is a lesson from the past.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Er Zhurong, the general of the Northern Wei Dynasty, once killed thousands of civil and military ministers because of the decay and erosion of the imperial court. In the end, the emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty and Er Zhurong, who were supported by Er Zhurong, became more and more incompatible, and Er Zhurong could not tolerate it, so he set up an ambush in the capital and killed Er Zhurong, who was not guarded.

In fact, at that time, Er Zhurong was in power, and the killing of Er Zhurong by the Emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty was a move of righteous indignation. In the end, Er Zhurong's heirs entered the capital and bloodied the Son of Heaven clan.

With the lessons of Er Zhurong's past, how will the Son of Heaven react when Li Zhi killed more than a thousand ministers of the Son of Heaven? It's unpredictable.

Everyone looked at Li Zhi in unison.

Li Zhi sneered and said, "No matter how much risk there is, the widow has to break through." ”

"Without Er Zhurong's iron-blooded massacre, the traitors in the Northern Wei Dynasty would still control the Northern Dynasty for hundreds of years, where would there be a living space for the veterans of Guanlong? Where is the glory of the towering Tang Dynasty after a hundred years? ”

"For the sake of this country and this nation, the widows want to kill the parasites in the capital at one time."

Everyone was shocked by Li Zhi's words, and they were speechless for a while.

The prince has made up his mind? To slaughter ninety percent of the ministers in the court as a prince?

What will the world think? What would the Son of Heaven think?

How to operate specifically, attack the capital?

Zheng Kaicheng gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Wang, think twice!" ”

Li Zhi looked at Zheng Kaicheng and said, "Looking ahead, how to do great things?" ”

Cui Changwu walked out, bowed to Li Zhi, and said loudly: "Your Highness disregards personal safety for the common people, and dares to go to dangerous peaks and is willing to wade into dangerous places, which is really the blessing of my Ming Dynasty and the blessing of the people." ”

Zhong Feng looked at Li Zhi and said loudly: "As long as the prince gives an order, Zhong Feng will lead the Tiger Ben army into the capital, and arrest these civil officials one by one." ”

Zheng Kaicheng's face turned pale, and he said: "I can't help it, my lord, I can't attack the capital, it's undoubtedly a rebellion!" Think of something else. ”

Li Zhi walked back and forth in the tent for a few steps, looked up and pondered for a while.

In the end, Li Zhi asked: "Chen Wenyue, the secretary of the Ministry of War, said that he wanted to invite me, what day is the date set?" ”

Zheng Kaicheng replied: "It's March 15. ”

Li Zhi raised his head and thought for a while, and said: "Okay, it's set on March 14, take my post into the capital, and send all the officials to the Grand Canal outside the city to worship the sky." ”

Zhong Feng was stunned and asked, "The sacrifice to heaven must be led by the Son of Heaven, and it is also going to the Temple of Heaven, how can I go to the Grand Canal to worship the sky?" The prince set a trap like this, for fear that those civil officials would not believe it. ”

Li Zhi sneered and said, "Those civil officials are insatiable, how can they be measured by common sense? You just send the post as I say, and those civil officials will naturally take the bait. ”