Not long after, Wen Tiren, the first assistant of the Ming Cabinet, and the other four cabinet ministers all arrived at the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace.

Wang Chengen, the eunuch of the celebrant Bingbi, bent down and gently walked into the warm pavilion inside, and whispered to the emperor who was resting on the couch with his eyes closed: "Your Majesty, several cabinet ministers are here, waiting outside." ”

The old emperor slowly opened his eyes and stretched out a hand, Wang Chengen hurriedly stepped forward to help the emperor's back and helped him up, and then stuffed a soft cushion in the back waist for the old emperor to sit down.

"Cheng'en, I'm really old, I'm getting more and more sleepy during the day." The old emperor rubbed his waist with his hands and chattered.

"Your Majesty is not old at all, it is the peak of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the subjects of the world are looking forward to your long live." Wang Chengen took over the conversation and said with a smile.

"You, the old king, know that you will fool me by saying these words. How can there be any thousand-year-old people in this world, and I have not lost money if I have survived until now. Do you know that the ancestors and ancestors of my Ji family have never lived past the age of forty, and they are all the ones who have lived the longest, and they are already content. Just now, I dreamed that the Emperor was talking to me, saying that I should also let go of this burden and let me go to that place with them to enjoy the blessings. ”

The old emperor pointed to Wang Chengen, who also had gray temples and gray hair, and scolded with a smile, and then babbled and said.

Wang Chengen has been waiting for the emperor since he was the prince, and when he heard the emperor's words, he couldn't help but have a sour nose, knelt down and said with a crying voice: "Your Majesty, don't say these words again, inside and outside the palace, the subjects of the world are pointing at you." ”

The old emperor looked at this old servant who had been with him all his life, and his heart was a little sour, and he waved his hand and said: "Okay, I won't say it, don't shed tears, you are old, let people see the joke." ”

Wang Chengen got up at this time, wiped away his tears, and stood beside him waiting for the emperor's orders.

"Go ahead, call them all in and talk. Oh, and the prince, too, come and listen to it. Sooner or later, this country will be handed over to him, and he must know this. The old emperor took a breath and said slowly.

Wang Chengen went out and called several ministers in, and after a few people saluted, they sat on the brocade pier given by the emperor, waiting for the emperor to speak.

"A few Aiqing, when the prince comes, I will say together, there is something for you to discuss together." The old emperor was a little muddy, but he still swept his shrewd gaze on the faces of several cabinet ministers, and said slowly.

Several ministers glanced at each other, and they didn't know what to call the prince to listen to together, so they got up and said in unison: "The ministers obey the order." ”

After less than a stick of incense, the crown prince Ji Siyuan also arrived, and sat on the left hand side of the emperor's imperial couch after greeting the emperor and several ministers.

"I have called you here because there is a matter that I cannot decide for a while, so I let you discuss it. Cheng Eun, bring the recital. The Emperor spoke.

Wang Chengen's secret report from the Datong Thousand Households Office was first handed over to Wen Tiren, the first assistant of the cabinet.

Wen Tiren's brows twitched as he watched it, and after reading it, his face returned to calm, and he handed over the secret report to the second assistant Zhan Zhize.

After several ministers read it, the secret report reached the hands of the crown prince Ji Siyuan.

Ji Siyuan is only in his early twenties now, when he was young. If it weren't for the fact that several of his brothers died halfway, this prince would not have been able to take his turn as a prince.

The royal family of the Ji family doesn't know what the reason is, anyway, the emperors of all dynasties since Taizu are very short-lived, and they don't live to be forty years old. Not only the emperor, but also the children of other royal families are all the same short-lived.

Therefore, although the Ming Dynasty has only been around for more than 200 years, it has already experienced twenty-seven emperors.

It wasn't until the emperor Ji Zhengde broke this spell, and he lived until he was in his fifties and was still well.

Ji Zhengde thought that he had broken this curse, but who would have thought that his sons still couldn't get rid of this curse one by one. His eldest son lived to be thirty-eight years old, and at the height of the Spring and Autumn Period, he suddenly had a violent illness and died.

The next few sons are all in the same situation, they all died after a serious illness.

Rao is old emperor has experienced a lot of ups and downs in his life, but he is still tortured by the white-haired people sent by the black-haired people these times, and he is getting haggard day by day.

He sometimes wondered what the ancestors of their Ji family had done, and God wanted the descendants of the Ji family to suffer the retribution of this untimely death for generations.

Therefore, every time he looked at Ji Siyuan, the only surviving son, the old emperor began to worry that one day he would suddenly leave him like his brothers.

And the strange thing is that the daughters of the Ji family are all longevity, let's say that Ji Zhengde's own aunt, the sister of the first emperor, the eldest princess of the Ming Dynasty Ji Yu is still alive and well, she is seventy-two years old, and her body is still very tough, much tougher than Ji Zhengde's nephew.

These things made him feel more and more that this Ming Dynasty was not destined to be defended by the descendants of his Ji family?

But every time he thought about it, he felt unwilling. I am the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and I am the chosen son, so I don't believe that God does not favor my descendants of the Ji family like this.

Half a year ago, he was still thinking that God really didn't love the Ji family, so that this natural disaster**, the Liukou Tartars would come to cause chaos for themselves, and it seemed that he was really going to take away the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, the old emperor was a little disheartened.

But after Yuan Chonghuan pacified the Liukou, he began to feel that God was attached to their Ji family after all.

No, after Yuan Chonghuan, Liaodong produced another righteous man who scattered his family wealth and devoted himself to serving the country, and led the righteous army to defeat the Manchu Qing Tartars, isn't this another savior sent by God to Lao Ji's family?

It looks like God is finally going to open his eyes. first sent a Yuan Chonghuan to help calm the Liukou, and then sent a river to defeat the Tartars, these two people are simply the timely rain sent by God to the Ji family and the Ming Dynasty.

It's just that I didn't expect that Yuan Chonghuan, who is now regarded as a minister, would have a bad relationship with this righteous man, and the two actually pinched up, which made the old emperor have a headache again.

The old emperor has been an emperor for more than 20 years, and this way of checks and balances is more shrewd than anyone else. Before, Yuan Chonghuan was going to be used, so he did not hesitate to send it to high-ranking officials, but in the deepest part of his heart, he was not without a little vigilance and suspicion.

It's just that I have seen all the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, but I can't find anyone who can compete with Yuan Chonghuan. Moreover, Yuan Chonghuan was still bent on being a lonely minister, so from the very beginning, he blocked the way for himself to form a party and run a private business, which made the emperor unable to find an excuse even if he wanted to check and balance.

It's good now, God sent a river to himself, and he didn't deal with Yuan Chonghuan, this is simply someone sent a pillow when he dozed off.

The more the old emperor pondered, the brighter his eyes became, and he probably already had an idea in his heart. It's just that he still wants to hear what these ministers and princes have to say.

The reason why the ministers were called here was actually to give them a chance to vent their grievances. After all, he held Yuan Chonghuan so high before, and Yuan Chonghuan was determined to be a lonely minister, and these people already had resentment in their hearts.

They didn't dare to vent their grievances on Yuan Chonghuan as an emperor, so they could only vent their grievances on Yuan Chonghuan. So this time, I will give them a chance to vent, and also take the opportunity to knock Yuan Chonghuan to let him know that Tianwei is unpredictable, and he should be more careful in doing things in the future.

After all, you can't count on one Yuan Chonghuan for everything in this world, and other people's emotions should still be taken care of.

has been an emperor for more than 20 years, and his grasp of people's hearts is the old emperor's most proud ability.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty", Wang Chengen's soft voice dragged the old emperor out of his thoughts.

"Oh, let's talk about it, how to deal with this matter?" The old emperor changed the position of one leg and asked.