The New Year of Zhengde is lively on the surface, and it stands to reason that this New Year is the most comfortable New Year in the Ming Dynasty, but in fact, it is not; Although the external troubles are aside, after the recapture of the Hetao, efforts will be made to consolidate the operation in the future, and it is nothing more than a matter of throwing a lot of money into it, but the internal worries of the DPRK and China are not as simple as fighting against the Tartars.

To solve external troubles, we can use force to raise a large army to fight to the death with the enemy, and with the military strength of the Ming Dynasty, even if it cannot be eradicated for a while, there will never be a major mistake. However, the internal troubles of the DPRK and China are 10,000 times more complicated than the external troubles, and the slightest carelessness is even more dangerous than the invasion of the Tartars.

In all dynasties, the struggle for imperial power often led to a huge civil strife, which often led to the division of the country and the misery of the people. The Ming Dynasty is now in dire straits, and urgently needs to recuperate, if there is another civil war, the situation will become erosive, just like a dying patient, head on him and give him a stick, basically no hope of life.

Of course, Song Nan can't let things develop in an uncontrollable direction, originally Song Nan still had expectations for Zhengde's illness, thinking that things would not be so bad, but Doctor Li's words are vivid, if Zhengde only has more than a month to live, he should also think about where to go.

Song Nan knew very well that once Zhengde died and the new emperor ascended the throne, the pattern of the court would be turned upside down. The situation when Zhengde ascended the throne is still fresh in my memory, and there is almost a big change of blood from the inner court to the outer court, which is the truth of a son of heaven and a courtier. It is conceivable that if Yang Tinghe and Zhu Houxi become the future emperor, I am afraid that only Yang Tinghe and one party will dominate the court in the future.

And he has been clinging to the Jinyi Wei Yamen, once the Qiankun changes, it is bound to let go, and the Jinyi Wei Yamen, which has been painstakingly operated for several years, will also be replaced by the new emperor's person, although he is already a national prince, his status is certainly respected, but he will definitely become a person who stands aside, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to say the first half of the sentence in the affairs of the DPRK and China. Unless there is going to be a war, no one will respect their opinions, and if they are accidentally impeached, they may even be seized from the official position and cut off the title.

Whether from the perspective of the country or the individual, Song Nan could not let this situation continue, Song Nan made a decision, before Zhengde died, to stabilize the situation, neither let Yang Tinghe take political capital, suppress himself in the future, let alone let the ill-intentioned Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao succeed. Compared with the former, Zhu Chenhao made Song Nan feel terrible, once his son became the new emperor, Zhu Chenhao would have the power to monopolize and become an out-and-out emperor, how dangerous it was.

So Song Nan decided to shatter Zhu Chenhao's dream first, so that what he sought came to naught, so when he learned that Zhengde was inclined to agree with the queen mother's intentions, he didn't care about saying those words together, to be honest, most of those things were rumors, Song Nan did not have real evidence, but the matter was urgent, and Song Nan needed to obtain Zhengde's consent to investigate this matter legally, and he couldn't take care of it much.

In the New Year's season, when every family puts down all the worries of the year and enjoys a rare time of joy and reunion, Song Nan does not have this blessing. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, several chief officials of the Jinyi Guard arrived one after another, and Song Nan stood behind the case early, slowly drinking a cup of hot tea and waiting for them.

Without the warm atmosphere of the New Year, without the enthusiasm of congratulating each other, as soon as everyone entered the yamen lobby, they felt the solemn aura emanating from Lord Song, and the prepared teasing greetings swallowed their stomachs.

The people who can be called by Song Nan are all absolute henchmen, the two heads of the Jinyi Wei North and South Zhenfu Division, the Han general who commands Wan Zhi Jinyiwei's pro-army commander Wang Yong, and the other is Li Daniu. In addition to these five people, even Huang Hui, Hou Dabiao and others were not invited to come, and everyone obviously felt that the adults had extremely secret things to announce.

"Ladies and gentlemen, during the Spring Festival, I can't bear to disturb the time when you and your families are reunited, but there is no way, who calls us all errand people, and we always can't help ourselves. Sit down, drink some tea, I have something important to tell you. Song Nan said slowly.

Sun Xuan said with a smile: "Why should you be polite, everyone has been used to it for so many years, how can we have any New Year's Festival in Jinyiwei, my lord is the grandfather of the country, don't you have to work hard for the New Year like us?" ”

Hou Dabiao said: "Yes, why should the adults be polite to their subordinates, if there is no extremely important matter, the adults will not personally summon us and others to come." Adults will make it clear. ”

Song Nan nodded and said, "Okay." That being said, I will not detour around the bush, but there is indeed one thing I want to tell you, and before I say this, I warn you that this matter can only be kept in your heart, and not a single word must be divulged. In addition, you must also choose the most loyal and reliable subordinates to handle the matters you have explained today, and if you leak the news, the consequences will be extremely severe. ”

Everyone looked stunned, sat up straight, pricked up their ears, and feared that half a word would be missing.

"You all know the news of the emperor's illness, the emperor's illness is very strict, yesterday I took the British government's Doctor Li to diagnose, Doctor Li told me personally, the emperor is afraid that he will not survive this spring." Song Nan's voice sounded low.

Everyone gasped, does that mean that the emperor is about to die? The news was not meant to be explosive, and everyone realized the seriousness of the problem.

"You all understand that the emperor treats me well, and the emperor's condition is so strict, but I can't do anything, and I feel very sad in my heart. But people always die, even if it is the emperor, there is no way to live like this. The question now is, if Doctor Li is correct, the emperor's illness really can't be cured, and what will be the pattern of the court? Or to put it a little smaller, what will the future of my Jinyi Guard Yamen be? This is not difficult to figure out. ”

Everyone stood silently, but there was a storm in their hearts, Lord Song was the emperor's most favored minister, from the emperor succeeded to the throne, Lord Song was in charge of the Jinyi Guard Yamen, although there were many twists and turns, but this position representing the emperor's trust has never changed hands. Once the emperor dies, the new emperor will definitely not let Lord Song still sit in this position, and if a new person is replaced as the commander, I am afraid that those who were pulled up by Song Nan will also have to move their positions. If you are lucky, you can retire with an idle job, but if you are unlucky, if you are deliberately provoked to find out the mistakes in your office and impeach, you will not even be able to keep the official title, and you may be dismissed and imprisoned.

"My lord, the things I am waiting for are all trivial, the things of the adults are the most important, forgive me for my humble courage, if the new emperor is replaced, the status of the adults in the court may be affected, this is what we need to worry about." Sun Xuan said in a deep voice.

Everyone came to their senses all of a sudden, worried about what was the use of themselves, and now what they had to worry about was the status of Lord Song, as long as Lord Song did not fall, the people around Lord Song would be fine; As long as the big tree is still on the top of the head, there will be a place to shelter from the wind and rain and the scorching sun in the hot summer.

"What Sun Zhenfu said is that the adult is the hero of the imperial court, even if the emperor dies and the new emperor ascends the throne, the status of the adult is probably unshakable." Hou Dabiao said.

Song Nan smiled and said: "There is nothing in this world that is unbreakable, I do have some credit, but to put it mildly, I am a hero of the Zhengde Dynasty, and I have no credit to him for a new emperor." Those who have merit to him are those who put him on the throne and take charge of the Ming Dynasty, you must not hold this illusion. ”

Sun Xuan frowned, and said in a low voice, "What are your plans?" Just tell me that since the situation is so critical, we can't sit still, we have to do something. ”

Song Nan nodded and said: "This is the reason why I called you here today, last night I went to the British Mansion to discuss with the British Duke for a night, and I and the British Duke unanimously decided that we can't let these people come for their own interests." Now that the cabinet Yang Tinghe has launched the candidate of Zhu Houxi, the son of King Xingxian, as the emperor's younger brother, and the queen mother has also launched the opinion that the prince of Ning Wang will succeed as the prince, all parties are actively fighting for their own political capital, to put it mildly, they are all waiting for the day when the emperor dies. Whoever succeeds will have a hard time ahead, and we must respond to that. ”

It was the first time for everyone to hear such a secret thing, and they were stunned one by one, it turned out that the competition for the new emperor in the court had begun, and the seemingly calm court had already had an undercurrent, and everyone was planning for the future.

"You all know what kind of person King Ning is, there has already been a tear between him and me, and my Jinyiwei has also mastered some of his ulterior things, if his son becomes the new emperor, he will be the first to take my Jinyiwei. Therefore, I can't let him succeed, and I can't let him master the Daming Society in public or private. I have already submitted a report to the emperor, and the emperor has allowed us to start a comprehensive investigation of what King Ning has done in Nanchang over the years, and this time you will send elite soldiers and strong generals to find out what you have received from the yamen about King Ning before. ”

Everyone bowed their hands and said, "Follow the orders of the adults." ”

Song Nan said: "You can agree on the specific division of labor, time is urgent, be sure to find out the fact within ten days, if you can't find out something useful on the tenth day of the first month, the emperor will not be able to change his mind, and the emperor will announce the candidate for the heir as soon as possible." Be cautious when acting, both to find out clearly, but also to leave no room for help, and if necessary...... You can deal with it decisively if necessary. ”

"Got it." Everyone knows what it means to be decisive, it is nothing more than killing when it should be killed, no need to be soft, only seeking the end, unscrupulous means.

"Sun Zhenfu, I want to see someone, you go and arrange it."

Sun Xuan's brain was extremely fast, and he said in a low voice: "Is the person you want to see is Wang Shouren, the governor of southern Gansu?" ”

Song Nan nodded and said, "It's him, didn't you say last time that he knew a lot of secrets?" He was also checking when we were secretly investigating King Ning, he was in Jiangxi, maybe we know more than we know, but I don't dare to say it, I want to see him, you go and invite him personally. ”

Sun Xuan said: "You don't need to go to Jiangxi, Wang Shouren's family is in the capital, and compared to people in the capital, I just went to inquire about his address." ”

Song Nan smiled and said: "That's better, this person has a strong temper, if he is in Jiangxi, maybe he doesn't want to come to the capital to see me at all." ”