Hearing the words coming out of the little eunuch's mouth, Empress Dowager Sun's already pale face could not see a trace of blood.

"When did the mourning family seize the power of the emperor, wouldn't it be bloody to return to the court!"

Empress Dowager Sun was unwilling to defend herself with grievances, she never thought of being like those queens in power, and elevating the emperor's power to control the court.

Everything he is doing now is just to let his emperor return to Beijing from the bitter cold land of Mobei as soon as possible, what is wrong with this?

If Shen Yichen hadn't stood up to oppose it at the court meeting, there would have been no disputes at all!

Listening to the queen mother's justification, the palace maids and the little eunuchs in the house naturally did not dare to talk to each other about the important matter. is still the personal old palace maid who has served for many years, and mustered up the courage to stand up and said: "Queen Mother, since ancient times, literati have been stubborn, and it is difficult to change what they believe is dead. ”

In the thousands of years of history of China, there has never been a shortage of literati and Taoist defenders, and in a single event of the Great Rites Debate in the late Ming Dynasty, hundreds of civil officials were not afraid of death to defend the etiquette teachings in their hearts, and they still did not hesitate to face the court staff with a very high mortality rate.

Now the challenge of the harem cadres to the etiquette law is far better than in the Great Rites Discussion Incident, helping Emperor Jiajing to recognize who to be his father. In particular, Empress Dowager Sun's idea of sending troops to suppress the Jingshi Shizi challenged the bottom line of the literati, how could they choose to back down?

"What about Cao Jixiang, has he returned to the palace?"

Even though she knew that the general trend had gone, Empress Dowager Sun still did not give up, pinning her hopes on Cao Jixiang to bring back good news.

As long as Jing Yuanbo and other important ministers, as well as the Southern Expeditionary Army led by them, are loyal to the Emperor Taishang and themselves, a group of powerless scholars will not be able to make big waves. As for the courtiers who went to the noon gate, they could also use coercion and inducement to make them compromise temporarily.

"I haven't returned to the palace yet."

"Then Xuan Guo Jing is here to see the palace!"

If Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu just did not have his own team of the previous dynasty, then Empress Dowager Sun was constrained by the rules that the harem was not allowed to interfere in politics, and she had not had much contact with the ministers of the former dynasty in her harem career in the past few decades, and she could not find anyone available at all.

The only thing that can be counted on is the internal officials and eunuchs.

This is why Empress Dowager Sun was able to be fooled by Wang Zhen before, and she has always been very hostile to Shen Yichen.

When your information channels are monopolized by eunuchs, naturally what they say is what you know. Even not only the Empress Dowager Sun, many emperors in the later dynasties were closed to words, and they only heard one-sided words, and they couldn't see the truth of the world.

It didn't take much effort for Guo Jing, who served as the palm seal of the imperial horse supervisor, to hurry to Cining Palace to meet Empress Dowager Sun.

"Guo Jing, the mourning family asked you, are you willing to swear allegiance to the Emperor Taishang?"

Guo Jing, who had just stood up after the ceremony, heard the first sentence of the Empress Dowager Sun was this, and his legs were weak and he almost didn't kneel down again, it was obvious that the Empress Dowager Sun had something to say.

However, the matter has come to this point, and he is still in the hands of the Taishi Yexian, after the change of Tumubao, Guo Jing has no way back.

So he gritted his teeth and replied: "Queen Mother, the loyalty of the slave maid to the Emperor Taishang is something to learn from the sun and the moon!" ”

"Good! The mourning family is very comforted, the emperor still has a loyal courtier like you. ”

Empress Dowager Sun was originally full of sadness, but when she heard Guo Jing's answer, she finally felt a little more relaxed.

Indeed, from her point of view, Guo Jing was the first official to come to meet with her to inform the Emperor of the situation after returning to Beijing to report on her work, and to promote peace with the Tartars to welcome back the Emperor.

In addition, Zhu Qizhen mentioned in his letter that Guo Jing was a credible person, and now Empress Dowager Sun no longer doubts the loyalty of this person.

"Guo Jing, now the mourning family needs you to do something for the emperor, are you willing to go?"

Hearing this, Guo Jing's heart jumped a little, and the sense of ominous premonition became stronger and stronger.

"Slaves and maids obey the orders of the Queen Mother."

No matter what he thought in his heart, Guo Jing showed a look of death on the surface.

"In an eventful autumn, the Emperor Taishang's return to Beijing was used by people with intentions to provoke public opinion among the teachers and scholars in Beijing, in a vain attempt to attack the mourning family and the emperor."

"The mourning family now needs Guo Gonggong to lead Teng Xiang and Wu Xiang of the Imperial Horse Supervisor to go to the noon gate to set things right. In addition, he sent people to Beizhen Fusi, and the chaotic minister and thief Shen Yichen failed Jun'en and rebelled against the mourning family, this eucalyptus does not need to be retried, and the crime should be punished! ”

What is called a quick knife to cut through the mess, the Empress Dowager Sun's move is!

The news of the crackdown has just leaked out, and even if there are civilian officials who go to the noon gate to stand in line, the number of people will inevitably not be too large, and it has not yet formed a sufficient scale.

Cao Jixiang did not come back to restore his life, and when Jingyuan Bo Wang Ji went to mobilize the Southern Expeditionary Army to suppress it, I am afraid that it will be too late. The only way to send the forbidden army of the Imperial Horse Supervisor from the palace to complete the clearance with a thunderous force can nip a "coup d'état" in the bud.

As for the culprit Shen Yichen, although Empress Dowager Sun can't be sure that this matter is behind his layout, this son has become the biggest hidden danger for the emperor's future restoration, and he must be eliminated immediately to prevent future troubles!

After Guo Jing listened to this edict, not only was Mrs. Sun's face pale, but his face was even more bloodless, and the most worrying thing really came!

The fundamental reason why the palm print of the imperial horse eunuch can match the palm print of the celebrant is that the palm seal eunuch supervises the four guards of Teng Xiang and Wu Xiang in the forbidden army, and the number is as high as more than 20,000 people.

And in the period of the Orthodox Dynasty, more than 20,000 people are not a show, in the process of the Jingshi Guard War, Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu held the determination of the king to die, and sent the palace guards to participate in the war, that is, Tengxiang and Wu Xiang Four Guards.

They fought a bloody battle at Changyi Gate, and then took the initiative to pursue and retreat to the Mongol army, and won the title of "Warrior Battalion".

But the question is nominally the Imperial Horse Supervisor Commander and the Four Guards, but in fact, this group is the Son of Heaven's own army, and now it is obvious that there is no order from the emperor, and it is only relying on the Empress Dowager's decree to transfer troops to suppress the Jingshi Shizi?

If you say two words at the court meeting and issue a decree to ask a certain minister, it may not be enough to tear your face.

The transfer of troops will completely break through the emperor's bottom line, as long as the current saint is unwilling to become a puppet emperor, he will inevitably rebel. Maybe in the end, the queen mother has nothing to do with her mother's filial piety, and it's a big deal to let go back to the harem to live for the rest of her life.

As a palm print eunuch, the result of asking for guilt is at least the beginning of the three clans, and the probability of punishing the nine clans is also very high, which can be called a certain death.

Do you really want to swear to the death for the emperor?

Answer: Of course, if Guo Jing had this kind of courage, he would not have done the smuggling of the enemy, and killed countless soldiers and civilians in the nine sides in disguise.

didn't dare to agree, and he didn't dare to refuse, what Guo Jing could do was to stand in place and pretend to be dead.

Originally, Empress Dowager Sun was full of interest and thought that she had found a solution, but she looked at Guo Jing expectantly for a long time, but the other party couldn't let out a fart, and she instantly understood Guo Jing's true thoughts.

"I keep saying that I want to die for the emperor, but when it comes to the things I want to do, are you greedy for life and afraid of death?"

Mixed with disappointment and anger, Empress Dowager Sun slapped the table hard, and Guo Jing hurriedly fell to the ground in fright.

But no matter how much Empress Dowager Sun coerced, Guo Jing understood that he ordered Teng Xiang and Wu Xiang Siwei to go to the noon gate to suppress Shizi, which was a dead end, and he closed his eyes and pretended to be dead to the end.

"Come on, drag this thief down to the rod!"

Empress Dowager Sun shouted, she has completely lost her mind now, but she didn't expect that even the most trusted internal officials chose to betray herself and the emperor at this moment.

However, at this time, an internal official wearing a flying fish uniform walked in with a somewhat solemn expression, he was Cao Jixiang who was sent out by Empress Dowager Sun to send a message to Jing Yuanbo.

Seeing Cao Jixiang walking in, Empress Dowager Sun showed a look of great joy, didn't care about Guo Jing, who was still kneeling on the ground, got up and eagerly greeted him and asked: "Hurry up and tell the mourning family, when will Jing Yuanbo mobilize the Southern Expeditionary Army to go to Wumen to suppress?" ”

Facing Empress Dowager Sun's eagerly questioning, Cao Jixiang shook his head silently, and then lowered his head deeply.

Did Uncle Jing Yuan also betray the Emperor Taishang and the mourning family?

Empress Dowager Sun's mind was full of disbelief at the moment, you must know that compared with hand-picking Shen Yichen as the third yuan and the first, Zhu Qizhen of Ming Yingzong was even more enlong to Jingyuan Bo Wang Ji, creating a precedent for the Ming Dynasty Wenchen to be knighted in military affairs.

even bypassed the balance of the court situation formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, and the ancestral system in which civil officials were not allowed to be knighted!

"What about the right governor Zhang Xuan, doesn't he want to inherit the British dukedom?"

If Wang Ji is already ranked among the great Ming Dynasty and has no desires in his career, then Zhang Ji is very dissatisfied with Zhang Fushu's young son's succession, and wants to inherit the British dukedom over this nephew.

Opened a chip under one person and above 10,000 people, isn't Zhang Xuan tempted?

"The Queen Mother, Ni Qian, the head of the Hanlin Academy, and Qian Xili, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, have arrived at the noon gate to petition the master of Beijing. In addition, the old man of the cabinet and the head of the household, Jin Lian, will also come one after another, and suppressing the scholars under this situation is tantamount to asking the officials for their crimes. ”

"It's indisputable!"

Cao Jixiang is full of ambition, and he also has the courage to succeed, but this does not mean that he is a stupid talent, and he is still forced to die knowing that he will lose.

The dispatch of the civil official group is destined to be unable to reverse the situation by relying on the status of the queen mother, not even the emperor!

After hearing this, the Empress Dowager Sun stumbled, and the old palace maid behind her was quick-eyed, and hurriedly held her arms to stabilize her body to prevent the Empress Dowager from falling to the ground and having an accident.

"Why is this happening? Why is this happening? ”

At this point, Empress Dowager Sun didn't even understand where Shen Yichen, who had just entered the cabinet, had the strength to call on the Jingshi scholars and win over the ministers of the court against her.

Obviously, the royal power is supreme, and now even a small courtier can't be killed?

Before the Empress Dowager Sun came to her senses, a large number of attendants, middle attendants, scattered cavalry attendants and other escorts suddenly poured in from the courtyard gate of Cining Palace, and soon Zhu Qiyu, the Jingtai Emperor wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, appeared in the sight of the Empress Dowager Sun.

Zhu Qiyu didn't want to come over to see the Empress Dowager Sun, in a weak situation, even the emperor could not help but cover it up with a humble and low-key attitude, he was sure to win this power struggle, and there was no need to come forward to expose himself.

However, as Cheng Jing arranged the palace eyeliner report, Empress Dowager Sun summoned Guo Jing, the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Supervisor's palm seal, and Zhu Qiyu instantly thought of what the other party was going to do.

The petty fight hindered filial piety and legal unity, Zhu Qiyu did not dare to disobey the Empress Dowager Sun, so she could only let her interfere in the government affairs. However, if the bottom line of the tacit understanding between the two sides is crossed, and the forbidden army Tengxiang and Wuxiang Siwei are mobilized to suppress it, the matter will reach the point where it cannot end.

Zhu Qiyu never expected that Empress Dowager Sun would be crazy to such a point, and the situation was almost out of his control.

"Let's go down first, I want to say a few words to the queen mother."

The next conversation may involve some royal secrets, and Zhu Qiyu asked the unrelated idle personnel of Cining Palace to leave first.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Soon, people such as Guo Jing, Cao Jixiang and others left quickly from Cining Palace with a relieved look.

No matter how the "mother and son" fight in the end, at least they will no longer let themselves and others be caught in the middle.

Seeing Zhu Qiyu come to Cining Palace in such a timely manner, no matter how inexperienced Empress Dowager Sun is, she can understand who is behind all this.

I saw that her face was full of self-deprecating smiles, and she looked at Zhu Qiyu and said, "Emperor, it seems that the mourning family really underestimated you." ”

"The sons are not disobedient to the queen mother's intentions, but the retrograde behavior is unpopular, and it will endanger the country's society and the ancestral foundation!"

Even if the victory is now in hand, Zhu Qiyu still did not show any strong posture, and maintained his respect and humility as a son in front of the Empress Dowager Sun.

"Do you also think that the Mourning family wants the harem to interfere in politics?"

Empress Dowager Sun replied indignantly, the charge of endangering the Daming Jiangshan Sheji could not be deducted from herself. From beginning to end, Empress Dowager Sun had only one appeal, that is, to let the emperor's son Zhu Qizhen return to Beijing from Mobei!

As a mother, what's wrong?

"Naturally not, but the queen mother is in the wrong way."

After all, Zhu Qiyu has never been a vassal member, and he grew up in front of the Empress Dowager Sun with his imperial brother Zhu Qizhen since he was a child, and he still knows how this mother-in-law behaves.

"If the mourning family doesn't do this, who in the world will expect the emperor to return."

"It can only be said that the mourning family was deceived by your former gentleness and frugality, and it will end up in a complete defeat now!"

Hearing Empress Dowager Sun say such explicit words, Zhu Qiyu was shocked, and hurriedly knelt on the ground and said: "Queen Mother, Erchen never thought of letting the imperial brother suffer in Mobei, but he was just waiting for a suitable opportunity. ”

"Wait for you to sit on the throne, right?"

Zhu Qiyu did not defend this rhetorical question, when the supreme throne sat up, no one would want to come down.

"The mourning family understands, you are indeed becoming more and more like an emperor now."

The mocking smile on Empress Dowager Sun's face was even worse, and she didn't know whether she should be sad or happy at this moment.

At least his vision and choice are correct, the weak and immature King Yu who was not favored by the ministers before, has the potential to become a qualified king.

It will not be impossible for His Majesty to control the situation and mess up the ancestral foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

"Emperor, you win, the mourning family can let Shen Yichen go, retreat to the harem, and ask about the government."

"But there's one thing, you have to promise me!"

"Queen Mother, I will welcome the imperial brother back to Beijing."

Without waiting for Empress Dowager Sun to say that sentence, Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu gave an answer.

Politics has always been an art of compromise, and as long as the bottom line is reached that is acceptable to both sides, there is no need to lose both.

After all, in the hands of the Empress Dowager Sun, she still controls the legal power to depose the emperor.