Starting from Fengtian Temple, out of Fengtian Gate, across the Wulong Bridge, through the noon gate out of the palace city, through the end gate, Chengtian Gate, out of the imperial city.

Outside the Chengtian Gate of the Imperial City, there are two rows of deep house compounds on the left and right, and the left side is headed by the Zongren Mansion, and the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Engineering are lined up in turn.

Behind them, there are the Hanlin Academy, the James House, the Tai Hospital and other departments......

The light carriage went all the way out of the palace along the solemn royal road of the palace in the frenzied flying snowflakes, because the weather was cold, the subordinates of the East Palace who followed the convoy all the way also had white air in their mouths and shrunk their necks.

Zhu Gaochi's figure is now very fat and very weak, but this kind of false fire causes him not to care about the cold, which can be compared to Zhu Zhanji's ability to resist the cold.

The wheels were rolling, and Zhu Gaochi kept looking down at the rules of procedure that Zhu Zhanji took out. He looked at it so carefully that he seemed to forget that there was a son like Zhu Zhanji by his side.

Of course, Zhu Zhanji knew that it was not, because like himself, he didn't know what kind of attitude to face the other party.

They are father and son, but they are also the two largest forces in the court today besides Zhu Di.

Under the impetus of their respective vassals, two opposing forces naturally formed.

In terms of name, Zhu Gaochi is the prince and the crown prince, and he has a special James Mansion to help him win over all forces, occupying an absolute advantage.

However, most of his vassals were civilian officials, and his power was smaller than in the original history, because his support was pitifully small in the clan and the army.

As the grandson, Zhu Zhanji didn't even have the power to open the mansion, but because of Zhu Di's favor and indulgence, coupled with intentional cultivation, Zhu Zhanji formed a force even greater than Zhu Gaochi.

During the Northern Expedition, he established an alliance with Zheng Heng, Marquis of Wu'an, and during the Eastern Expedition, he established an alliance with Liu Sheng, and later established an alliance with the British Gong Zhang Fu, the first person of the Ming Dynasty.

Coupled with the defection of Xue Lu and others, there are more than 20,000 young troops directly under him, commanding all hundreds of thousands of navies of the Ming Dynasty, and the power in the army is far from being comparable to Zhu Gaochi.

This is not all, because in addition to the army, Zhu Zhanji also controlled the Jinyi Guard, set up the Information Department, and controlled the bank, the economic lifeline of the Ming Dynasty, and the entire Ministry of Industry has almost become his personal toy.

No matter in any period in history, even if it was Emperor Jianwen before, during the Taisun period, there was no such great power as Zhu Zhanji.

He has been a prince for seventeen years, and he can only play in the small circle of James Mansion. Every day, except for listening to the ministers tell him about history, bragging, political affairs, and military affairs, he can't touch anything.

And his son is not only famous in the army, but also has the support of the generals and nobles in the army. can also intervene in the internal supervision system and the Jinyi guard system, how can Zhu Gaochi think about it?

Although they are father and son, they are also opponents!

Zhu Gaochi knew very well that all this was deliberately arranged by his father.

He has always been dissatisfied with himself, at first because of Wenchen's support and because he had a good wife, he made himself the prince, but he has always been dissatisfied with himself.

He has been learning from Tang Taizong, wanting his son to compete with himself, and in the early years, he used his second brother King Han and third brother King Zhao to put pressure on himself.

But because of the rapid rise of Zhanji, he was afraid of self-defeating, suppressed the second and third brothers, and now directly supported the third generation to put pressure on himself.

Is it because of power?

Zhu Gaochi thinks not.

Zhu Gaochi knew very well that his father was not like his grandfather Taizu, he was a person who could put all his energy into political affairs, and all the power had to be grasped in his own hands.

He is greedy for enjoyment, and the harem has raised a large number of geisha from the teaching workshop, and he always has to watch a big play every day to be satisfied.

He loves luxury, not only likes to eat well and dress well, but also has a large number of antique cultural relics of various dynasties hidden in the palace, and is often immersed in the satisfaction brought by the historical atmosphere of antique cultural relics.

He was willing to give up power, and now more than 20% of the Ming Dynasty's troops are in the hands of Zhanji.

But why are you so yourself, mainly because of the fundamental differences in national governance!

Like the emperor's grandfather, he can't trust Wenchen, and always thinks that Wenchen wants to use it, and even more so suppress it.

And he is a supporter of Wenchen's governance.

In the past dynasties, that dynasty did not rule the country with literati? Is this something that can be suppressed by suppression? If you don't rely on civil servants, do you rely on military generals? Relying on artisans? Relying on those people who can't read a single word?

The differences between father and son, the difference in political opinions, this is the root cause.

He is actually very satisfied with this son.

From the beginning of the appearance of the globe, this son allowed him to see a whole new world.

Although the son is not biased towards Wenchen, he will definitely not suppress it. For the sake of a Xie Jin, he can threaten his father with his own safety and let him release Xie Jin.

The son is just too assertive and overly confident in his own ability, but one person is short, and there is always a shortage of manpower!

He even hoped to suffer some setbacks during his son's expedition to the East and the West, so that he could truly see himself.

But he didn't expect that Dongying was vulnerable, and even the mysterious sea was conquered by his son.

After returning from the victory of the Eastern Crusade, he had lost the ability to influence this son, and watched him mature step by step and become the brightest star of the Ming Dynasty.

Because Zhu Youstew's recompiled Journey to the West is very popular, it describes in detail the three supreme gods of Taoism and the four great emperors, and comprehensively shapes the chaotic ruling framework of Taoism.

There are even some people among the people who think that the son is the ancestor of the Yuan Shi Tianzun, but because his father and ancestor are still there, he is now in the position of the Arctic Emperor of Zhongtian Ziwei.

Now, because of the blessing of his son, the coastal area has eliminated the Japanese and improved their lives through trade, and every household has either set up a god of wealth or worshiped the god.

And almost all of the gods are not much different from their sons in appearance.

What made Zhu Gaochi disappointed was that there were no legends about him at all, let alone worshipping him.

His heart is very complicated, but on the whole, the satisfaction is greater than the jealousy and loss.

This is his son after all!

It's just that sometimes, this son seems to be a little too unkind to his father.

With this rule of procedure, why can't he discuss it with himself first? If some changes are made according to his opinion, it will not be opposed in the court.

It's just that he didn't think about it, if it really followed his opinion, would this law still be binding?

The carriage stopped at the gate of the James Mansion, because His Royal Highness the Taisun arrived, and the Janes Mansion went up and down, and all came to the gate of the James's Mansion Hall to greet them.

The guards opened the car door, and Zhu Zhanji was the first to get out of the car, but his eyes swept around the familiar ministers, nodded lightly, and then turned around and put down Zhu Gaochi, who was a little inconvenient to move.

The vassals of the James Mansion were headed by Yang Shiqi, and nearly 100 people below Huang Huai, Yang Pu and others neatly shook to the end, chanting in unison: "Welcome to His Royal Highness the Prince, His Royal Highness the Grand Sun." ”

James Mansion is the ruling body of the crown prince, since Zhu Yuanzhang established, the post of young James is a vacant position, and basically no one has held it.

Because the position of a young James is a third grade, in the case of the court officials are the second grade, and in the case of the third grade, a young James is set up as a third grade, which is a bit exaggerated.

However, at the beginning of its establishment, Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention was to be concurrently served by the minister of the imperial court, but later it was found that it was not difficult for the hall official to hold this position, but if the second rank hall official held this position, it was a disguised debasement, so no one really sat in this position.

Now the chief official of the James Mansion is headed by the Zhengwupin Zuo Chunfang University Scholar, and Yang Shiqi was awarded the Zuo Chunfang University Fellowship earlier this year, and the Hanlin Bachelor's Degree.

Zhu Zhanji supported Zhu Gaochi and did not return the salute. Zhu Gaochi patted his hand and laughed loudly: "Why is it so ......?"

Everyone straightened up, and Yang Shiqi said with a smile: "His Royal Highness Taisun has been away from the capital for three years, benefiting all the people, and he deserves to be a minister......

When Zhu Gaochi clapped her hands, Zhu Zhanji knew what he meant, indicating that he could stand.

So he let go of the arm holding Zhu Gaochi, and returned a half-salute and said, "Assist your father, please accept the gift from Xiao Wang." ”

The crowd is again in the end. "Don't dare to be a gift to His Royal Highness, this is the duty of ministers."

After the three bows, after the ceremony, everyone surrounded Zhu Zhanji and his son into the main hall.

Zhu Zhanji of Jamesburg is no stranger, although he has not come much over the years, but every year during the New Year's Festival, he will also transport a few carts of gifts to the subordinate officials of Jamesburg under the arrangement of Zhang.

It's just that the environment here hasn't changed, but the officials have changed a lot. Most of the subordinate officials present now are newcomers that Zhu Zhanji has never seen.

The main hall here is not as big as the Fengtian Palace, and the subordinate officials below the seventh rank do not have the right to enter the deliberations, so only the subordinate officials of the fifth, sixth and seventh grades guard them to enter.

There were about twenty or thirty of these people, plus some chamberlains and guards, and there were about sixty or seventy people in the main hall.

Entering the main hall, everyone quickly found their own place. The order of official positions determines the order of seating, and this unwritten unspoken rule is the most important rule of officialdom since ancient times, and everyone must strictly abide by it.

In fact, not only in officialdom, but even in a big family, whether it is eating or traveling, there are unwritten rules that everyone will abide by.

When eating, which junior dares to sit on top of the patriarch? When traveling, the hostess walked in front of the man, that is, she did not understand the rules.

It's just that the family is affected by emotional factors, and it is a little less exquisite than the officialdom.

Everyone sat down, and Yang Shiqi, who was the first on the right hand, took the lead in asking the questions they were most concerned about on behalf of the subordinate officials. "Your Highness, when the ministers observe this rule of deliberation, it can be said that they form a complete set of rules that limit the ministers' deliberations to a reasonable framework, but why do they let the ministers balance independently?"

Yang Shiqi's question also represents the doubts of almost all ministers.

In everyone's eyes, the emperor is the rightful arbiter and balancer, but now, why would the emperor take the initiative to give up this power.

This kind of voluntary concession is inconceivable in the eyes of everyone, and the meaning represented in it is far more than the law itself.

If they can make the emperor give up more power because of some restrictions on themselves, they would even prefer the laws to be stricter.

But passive abandonment and active abandonment are completely different things, and the emperor is now taking the initiative to back down, and making the ministers feel that there is a trap in this.

This is a generation of emperors who are known for their toughness!

However, no one noticed the trap or conspiracy. Because this matter was originally a very simple thing, it was nothing more than that the emperor was tired of the endless quarrels at every court meeting, so he came up with a set of rules to limit it.

The ministers can object, but under the emperor's tough methods, no matter how unwilling they are, they will eventually accept it.

So, there's no need for any conspiracy at all.

Then this matter becomes not so simple, because what is the point of this voluntary waiver of rights?

Of course, Zhu Zhanji will not directly say that this is only the beginning of a change, they deliberately give up a little power, just to let all the ministers into the game.

As long as the ministers enter the game, the future situation will be more favorable to the royal family, which is to take a step back and withdraw the fist, in order to fight harder.

And he is also confident that after ascending the throne, he will re-limit this part of the power that he has relinquished.

In history, the Ming Dynasty was the "golden age" of Wenchen's rule, and they monopolized the imperial power, so that Jiajing and Wanli did not affect the overall situation if they did not go to court for decades.

This kind of decline of imperial power, although the power of Wenchen was boasted by a group of Wenchen, it made Daming a deformed one-legged. As a result, Daming was crumbling in the bustle, and with a slight push, it collapsed.

From the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, Hu Weiyong was removed from the post of prime minister, and a century-old struggle with Wenchen began.

Zhu Di killed Fang Xiaoru and supported the internal prison, all of which were to curb the struggle for power of Wenchen.

Zhu Zhanji's untimely death brought this struggle to an end. After his death, his son was still young, and Sanyang thus occupied the upper hand in the struggle between the imperial power and the Wenchen.

A change in the civil fort, the noble class, the internal supervision forces all fell, and the imperial power fell, ending with a great victory for the civil ministers.

In other words, no matter how Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji take precautions now, it is impossible to stop this kind of struggle.

It was precisely because of this that the ministers were surprised and frightened that the emperor was willing to give up part of his power.

But because Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji threw out the position of speaker, in the eyes of the ministers, this is a disguised prime minister, which makes everyone excited, which hides this little fear.

Compared to the power that can be obtained, a little hidden danger is nothing.

But for the middle and lower civil servants, it is impossible for them to reach that throne, so they also want to understand what is the reason for this.

Zhu Gaochi was a little confused at this time, he was originally worried that Zhu Zhanji would come up with this plan, and Zhu Zhanji would be jealous of Wenchen, so he wanted to call Zhu Zhanji to the James Mansion to ease the relationship between the two sides.

It's far better to explain some things face to face than to keep them all in mind.

But now they found that the ministers did not care about the restrictions imposed on them by this rule of procedure, and were even more excited because the emperor was willing to give up the power to balance in the court.

He frowned and thought for a while before he realized that although the emperor still needed to rule in the end, the power of the ministers was greater.

Zhu Zhanji smiled and said, "Scholar, how old is my imperial grandfather this year?" ”

Yang Shiqi paused for a moment, then understood, and showed a knowing smile. But most people haven't figured it out yet, and the conversation needs to go on.

He replied: "Your Majesty has been twenty-nine years old, and this year is fifty-nine. ”

According to the actual age, Zhu Di was born in 1360, and this year is the end of 1418, and he is fifty-eight years old. But according to the current algorithm, the second day of May next year will be Zhu Di's 60th birthday.

However, when Zhu Di got that Zhu Zhanji was about to come back at the end of the year, he had already made an order that there would be no Wanshou Festival next year, because at that time, he must be in the Star City of Nanyang.

The Western Expedition has now become his obsession, and in comparison, it doesn't matter if a birthday is over.

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said: "The emperor is about to be sixty, and he has a heart to go west, and in the future, this court will still need to be maintained by his father and ministers." And his father's health is not good, and his energy is naturally not as good as that of his grandfather, so appropriate decentralization is also the trend of the times. ”

This time, everyone understood at once, but while they were happy, they didn't forget to congratulate Zhu Gaochi on getting better and better. They are all close ministers of Zhu Gaochi, so they naturally hope that Zhu Gaochi's health will be better.

Zhu Zhanji had long thought of using this excuse to cover up his true purpose, because this was "reality" and was very credible.

And Zhu Zhanji said: "Born alone in wealth, grew up in prosperity, enjoyed luxury since childhood, and likes strange tricks and tricks. In the future, even if I am in power, I don't want to be busy for seven or eight hours a day like Gaozu, and I won't be like the emperor to strategize in all directions. ”

Although this sentence is not explicitly stated, everyone understands the meaning. In other words, even if Zhu Zhanji ascends the throne in the future, he will think about having more fun every day, instead of dealing with government affairs all day long.

Since he wants to play, who will handle the political affairs? Of course, it's them.

So when they heard this, everyone was originally a little alienated from Zhu Zhanji, but now they all became hot.

Before today, Zhu Zhanji liked strange tricks and tricks, and because he didn't pay attention to Confucianism, he was criticized a lot, but now when he is willing to "delegate power", these shortcomings are all gone, and they have become advantages.

It doesn't matter if you don't like Confucianism, as long as you are willing to give us power and let us have a bigger stage to realize our life ambitions, you are good, you are right.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Zhu Zhanji also laughed secretly in his heart, these people are really fooling. I'm afraid they can't imagine that their grandson will be fooling them from now on.

As long as today's words are spread, Zhu Zhanji believes that there is no one in the entire court who does not want him to ascend the throne, and there is no one who will not support him.

Xungui, the generals supported him because they had formed an alliance long ago, and the internal supervisors supported him because he could bring benefits to the internal supervisors better than Zhu Gaochi.

Now as long as the ministers change their attitude towards him, who will not support him?

In such an atmosphere, everyone naturally threw out good words without money, and Zhu Zhanji had a very happy conversation with the subordinates of the East Palace.

Zhu Gaochi now completely understands, and feels that his worries are really unfounded!

He also wanted to ease the relationship between his son and Wenchen, but his son's one sentence was more effective than his ten words.

And Zhu Zhanji's words are also in line with his positioning, because he himself feels that the emperor does not need to meddle in everything, he only needs to control the overall situation, and let Wenchen handle more affairs.

And when Zhu Zhanji left the James Mansion, his words had already passed through the mouths of countless people, word of mouth, and set off huge waves among the ministers.

There is no conspiracy, no traps, everything is because the emperor is old, and he has little energy to go west, so he will release power.

And these ministers who originally opposed the Western Expedition are now eager to celebrate the New Year, and the emperor will go to the Western Expedition so that they can have more space to realize their life ambitions.

They opposed the westward expedition because it cost too much money and hurt the country's capital.

The western expedition to Timur not only required sending a larger fleet to sea, but most of the cost was in the northwest.

Although it is far from the sea, all the materials can be loaded onto the ship, and there is no need to requisition people, saving countless manpower and material resources.

The Ming Dynasty now has nearly 3,000 first-class and second-class warships, 400 large treasure ships, and more than 10,000 small ships below 1,000 stones.

If it was just a naval battle, it didn't matter if the Ming could organize an army of two or three million.

However, it is impossible to hurt the national capital of Timur just from the sea, and if you want to achieve full success, you must also go out from the land and attack from the north and south.

It is 5,000 miles from Yingtianfu to the northwest, and then from the northwest to the Turpan State, Yili Lili State, and the Golden Horde and the Eastern Chahatai Khanate to reach Samarkand, the northern capital of the Timurid State.

This long march of more than 10,000 miles requires hundreds of thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of troops, and it is delayed on the road for more than a year.

The consumption of millions of people for a year or two is a huge burden, although the Ming Dynasty has now built a cement road to the northwest, and the speed of the expedition is much faster, but what about Jiayuguan?

There are also hundreds of thousands of military horses for the distribution of grain and grass, which is much farther and more consumed than the Northern Expedition to Tatar.

Although Zhu Di has been preparing for three years and has made various preparations, the ministers still oppose this plan, the main reason is that the gains outweigh the losses.

But now, they don't care, it's not them who lose anyway. It was the ordinary people who were requisitioned, and the money spent was also the silver of the court and the emperor.

can also take this opportunity to let the emperor go out for two or three years, he is not in the country, but they have the final say!

Whether the battle is won or lost, they are all winners.

Of course, at this time, they had not yet unified their thinking, and after listening to Zhu Zhanji's words, these ministers had no worries about the future, and began to connect more actively, wanting to compete for the position of speaker.

In the palace, Zhu Di took painkillers, although this medicine has a good effect, but it is more drowsy after taking it.

By the time he woke up, it was already evening.

Then he saw the information reported by Jin Yiwei, and he couldn't help but say to himself in surprise: "Just because of Zhan Ji's words, now the ministers are all supporting the expedition to the west?" ”

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