According to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, if there is no concubine, the eldest son is the emperor.

But since Mr. Wanli had a second son, he made a small calculation and was ready not to abide by the rules of the ancestral system.

How smart Wanli is, he knows very well that this matter is not very authentic, and the ministers will definitely disagree, so he is not in a hurry to show it, and wants to wait and see the situation.

As a result, Wanli didn't do anything, and someone came to make trouble again.

Since Chu Fan left the imperial court, the officials have stopped for a while, and the two Shangshu of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household have been demoted together, and the emperor has more or less made a gesture and went to work well, and there should be no more turmoil.

But the ministers of the Ming Dynasty couldn't be idle, Chu Fan had just left for a year, and a new turmoil arose.

As the eldest prince Zhu Changluo grew up day by day, Wanli has never set up a prince, but anyone with a little brain can see how much the emperor likes Concubine De, and it is a matter of not establishing a prince, so the two things together were sniffed out by some smart people, and for a while the government and the opposition talked about it.

Heaven, the first assistant of the cabinet, Shen Shixing, sent a note to the emperor: "I hope that His Royal Highness will set up the prince as soon as possible, so as to set the great plan of the country and consolidate the foundation for thousands of years." ”

Who is Shen Shixing? As mentioned earlier, the master of the mixed world, crawled out of many old foxes' dens, and finally sat firmly in the Diaoyutai position in this first auxiliary position.

Even after the defeat of Liaodong, Chu Fan and Shi Xing were knocked down and stinked, and he was assigned to the frontier, he still sat motionless in the position of the first assistant, which shows how scheming this person is.

Seeing Wanli's plan for Shen Shixing, the meaning of this letter is obvious, Lord Emperor, I know what you want to do, I advise you not to do fearless resistance, be obedient, set up the prince, don't embarrass me.

After all, in addition to managing state affairs, the cabinet also has an important responsibility, blocking bullets for the emperor.

The last bullet was blocked by the second assistant Chu Fan, which was not sent to Ganzhou Wei to see the sand, if someone shoots at the emperor now, it must be me Shen Shixing who blocks the bullet, and he gave the emperor a preventive injection early.

But Wanli, a person who has a little bit of a shaft, obviously understood the meaning of Shen Shixing, but he didn't pay attention to it, saying that Zhu Changluo was still young, and he would send Shen Shoufu away later. heart

In fact, Wanli has not thought about the consequences of this matter, but now it is in the rising period of the country after the reform, everything is developing in a good direction, and in the future, he has made a big thing that the emperors of the previous dynasty have not done, and his prestige is naturally high.

0

The plan was good, but in reality, he underestimated the energy of the ministers.

Wanli not only did not agree to Shen Shixing's performance, but also had a hot brain and played a more provocative method.

On this day, Wanli suddenly issued a holy decree, and Concubine De gave birth to the prince and was canonized as the imperial concubine.

It's really a stone that stirs up a thousand waves, it was just a discussion, and his hand is tantamount to a direct declaration of war. Suddenly, new interpretations of this matter in the government and the opposition were flooded.

The imperial concubine, whose status is second only to the queen, belongs to the special honorary title, and is directly promoted from Concubine De to the imperial concubine, which is an exceptional promotion.

In all dynasties, it is not uncommon to be a queen, as long as the background is hard, it is not a problem, but when you are an imperial concubine, unless you have made a particularly outstanding contribution, or the emperor is so in love that she doesn't know how to express it, she will be canonized as an imperial concubine.

But obviously, Concubine De did not make any special contributions, she gave birth to a daughter and gave birth to a concubine to be the second in line, which is really not a big achievement.

It stands to reason that even if the palace maid is compared to her, she is not qualified to be this imperial concubine.

Of course, Wanli has his own ideas, to raise the status of Concubine De, and the queen has no heirs, the identity of the second son will be solved in the future, which can be regarded as foreshadowing in advance.

But ministers are not fools.

You're doing a good job with this combination, huh? First of all, I didn't mention the matter of establishing a prince, and then Shen Shixing persuaded you to establish a prince, you said that the child is still young, and I will talk about it later, and now I will promote the status of the mother of the second prince, even if it is a pig, I can guess what you want to do, not to mention these old fritters in the officialdom?

As a result, the speech officials, who had been silent for a long time, had another attack.

The first to appear was Jiang Yinghua of Hanlin Academy.

This gentleman spoke more tactfully, and he also fully considered the emperor's face, and the content of the book was acceptable.

The gist is: Your Majesty, you are now canonizing Concubine De as the imperial concubine, I think you need to think about it again, after all, Concubine Gong (palace maid) is the prince, how to have a first come, first come, if you must be canonized, it is recommended to come one by one, first seal Concubine Gong, and then seal Concubine De, it is really not good, two by one, anyway, you are not bad for these two honorary titles.

Wanli read this letter, but he didn't pay attention to it, and threw it into the garbage heap.

The ministers waited for several days, but did not receive a reply from the emperor, and some people were anxious.

A few days later, someone began to write a letter to reconsider Master Jiang, but Wanli still pretended to be dumb and ignored it.

A few days later, people kept giving the emperor a recital and reconsidering Lord Jiang's proposal.

Now, I finally annoyed Wanli, how can I drop? Are you going to force me again?

So, I was angry, with a stroke of the pen, I was punished for half a year, and I didn't mention it again.

Wanli thinks that this is just my own family's business, which son do I set up, the most you can do is to persuade me to get it, pretend, hello, I'm good, everyone's good, why bother turning your face?

However, the ministers really turned their faces.

The more you punish, the more people rush forward, the more you don't let them take care of you, the more they want to scold you to death, you think it's a family matter, they think it's a world affair.

Therefore, it didn't matter if this punishment was fine, and all the officials broke out again.

As the saying goes, consolidating the country and establishing the crown prince, such a big national event, if anyone doesn't care about it, they are embarrassed to say that they are court officials.

Almost all the officials began to advise the emperor, and the matter was the same thing, that is, the matter of sealing the imperial concubine and establishing the crown prince.

The purpose is the same, but the arguments are different, what kind of writing is there, satirical, sarcastic, exhortation, overwhelmingly swept towards Wanli, completely beyond his imagination.

But scolding and scolding, things still have to be done, and Concubine De was canonized.

Wanli thought he had won, but he didn't know that this was the beginning.

As a result, shortly after the canonization, Shen Shixing played again and did nothing else, but he still established the crown prince.

This time, although there was no such foolishness as Yu Yuren to stir up, the attitude of the ministers was very resolute.

Therefore, Shen Shixing once again gave full play to his expertise and wrote this letter for all the ministers.

Wanli thought to himself, anyway, I also sealed the imperial concubine, and there is nothing you can do, you continue to shout about the establishment of the prince, I just shirk it.

So, Wanli found a new excuse and said: "I don't have a son-in-law yet, if I have a prince now, what if I have a son-in-law?" ”

This is said at a very high level, yes, the queen is not dead, and now she has made her eldest son the crown prince, what if the queen gives birth to a son?

Shen Shixing looked at it, hey, you are good at the level of thin mud? But I'm not a vegetarian.

So, Shen Shixing came up with a more amicable way and asked the emperor to let the emperor's eldest son go out of the pavilion to study.

In the Ming Dynasty, the prince went out of the cabinet to study, which was equivalent to recognizing the identity of the prince, which not only forced Wanli to give Zhu Changluo the identity of the prince, but also did not affect the contradiction in case there was a son-in-law in the future.

Of course, Mr. Wanli is not a vegetarian either, so he argues with reason.

"I think that if people are talented, they should be the same whether they read or not."

Shen Shixing did not relent: "Your Majesty, no matter how smart a person is, someone must teach him, and if he doesn't carve wood, he can't make a tool." ”

"Lord Shen, let's go back, and we'll discuss it later."

Shen Shixing saw that the emperor was about to prevaricate again, so he didn't plan to leave at all today, if you don't give me an explanation, I won't leave today.

So, he babbled to reason with the emperor, concisely and concisely explained the importance of establishing the crown prince and the views of officials at all levels on this matter.

Wanli also saw Shen Shixing's resoluteness, his brain turned, and he said something that was not salty or light: "Establishing the eldest son, in fact, is a matter of time, anyway, I don't have a son-in-law, you can rest assured about this matter, sooner or later it will be canonized, and I will arrange for the eldest son to study in the near future." ”

Shen Shixing is also aware of current affairs, since your Emperor has agreed in principle, I will wait for you to arrange it yourself.

In this conversation, Shen Shixing felt that it should have achieved a phased victory and obtained the emperor's consent in principle.

In fact, it was a deviation in the understanding of the two of them, what Wanli said sooner or later and in the near future was just a pretext, and he didn't really want to arrange it.

As a result, Shen Shixing, who returned home and waited for the letter, waited lonely.

At the end of the month, I couldn't help it, Shen Shixing played again and asked the emperor's eldest son when he would go out of the pavilion to study.

What you agree to in principle, can't you talk about it?

As a result, there was still no movement on Wanli's side, and he continued to let Shen Shixing and others be lonely.

During this period, officials at all levels, such as the Cabinet, the Ministry of Households, the Criminal Department, the Ministry of Rites, the Hanlin Yuan, and the Three Law Divisions, continued to reconsider, but Mr. Wanli chose to be blind and deaf, and did not return or ignore them. A procrastination trick wants to send us away? The ministers were really hurt by loneliness this time, and they were determined to let the emperor comply, and finally came up with a trick - resignation.

In the following days, Wanli received the resignation of more than a dozen people such as Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue at the same time.

If this is really approved, who will do the work? Can't the emperor do all the things of the cabinet and the six ministries himself, right?

I was really forced to have no choice, and Mr. Wanli finally appeared.

You can't just show up, you have to bring some sincerity, right? You have to make a statement and give everyone an explanation, right?

So, Mr. Wanli promised everyone that he would do it recently, but don't rush me.

Okay, last time it was a verbal agreement between Shen Shixing and you quietly, and if you break the contract, it will be ruined, but this time you agreed in principle in front of all the cabinet and the six ministries, and it was implemented in the near future, so you can't rely on the debt anymore, right?

So, everyone was happy, those who should go to work went to work, and those who should sleep went to sleep, just waiting for the emperor's order.

As a result, to everyone's disappointment, after waiting for a few more months, the emperor actually broke the contract again, and still did not issue an order to let the eldest son go out of the cabinet to study.

The angry ministers felt that they had been tricked, so they flew towards Wanli like a piece of paper.

And this time it is even more ruthless, if the emperor still insists on not letting his eldest son out of the cabinet, he will resolutely resign and not do it, and let out the wind, this time he will not even make a resignation report, and will leave directly.

Seeing that everyone couldn't be framed, Mr. Wanli finally came up with a new method of delay.

He issued a holy decree: "I consider the importance of the country's foundation, and carefully plan the country's affairs, that is, the emperor's eldest son will be released from the cabinet next year, and the ministers must not play it again, otherwise the matter will be discussed again." ”

The meaning is obvious, I will let my eldest son out of the cabinet next year, but let's say okay, you are not allowed to urge me again, and anyone who plays and urges me again, I will change the hexagram.

The first few times I promised everyone verbally, although the old saying Yunjun has no jokes, but if he is really shameless and plays a dead dog, you still eat him?

But this time it's different, the decree is given, it's written in black and white, everyone is finally relieved, don't rush, you talk about it, let the eldest son study next year, let's all work with peace of mind, no one should play tricks.

This time it was completely stopped, and the ministers saw the holy decree written in black and white, and decided to work hard, stop making trouble, and wait for the emperor's arrangement.

But, are you really Wanli compromised?

That's not it, he's just going to keep dragging, he's going to drag it until someone comes back.

Wanli understands in his heart that these ministers around him are all slippery old fritters, including Shen Shixing and other cabinet ministers, so they will not sincerely help the emperor block bullets, at most they will be with mud, as a stirring stick, who is really powerful and can take responsibility for himself, this will be the inspection school in Ganzhou Wei.

So he sent Gao Huai: "Go, let Chu Fan get back for me." ”

After listening to Gao Huai talk about these things, Chu Fan nodded, with a smile on his face, but he was scolding in his heart: Turtle grandson Wanli, why do you want me to be a backing for him.

In fact, Chu Fan himself knows very well that he has both achievements and strength, and the royal company and tax reform he engaged in have finally lifted the imperial court out of poverty, which is obvious to everyone.

And more importantly, Chu Fan has long been the opposite of the world's officials, and Chu Fan is already a dead pig who is not afraid of boiling water, so he must be the best candidate to block bullets.

Chu Fan figured out this matter and said to Gao Huai: "Well, the emperor is very fond of his subordinates, but now is not the best time for me to go back, and let the emperor sit in the palace with peace of mind, I have my own way to deal with this matter." ”

Gao Huai suddenly looked at Chu Fan with some surprise, such a troublesome matter, you thought of a solution at once?

It's a god.

But if you don't understand, you still have to listen to Chu Fan's words, because since you have already said your own clever plan, you don't need to ask more, just go back and pass the word.

After sending Gao Huai away, Chu Fan in the prison was lying on the bed, looking through the cracked roof, wondering in his heart: This girl has been out for so long, why hasn't she come back yet?

People just can't stand the chatter, and just when Chu Fan was thinking about Qin Hong, a bundle of red clothes flashed in.

"Hong'er."

Chu Fan sat up and grabbed Qin Hong's hand.

Qin Hong's face was still as blushing as ever, and she hid back shyly, reaching out to knock out Chu Fan's salty pig hand.

"I miss me, it took so long to come back, and I thought something was wrong."

"Who knows if you miss me, maybe you want more of your two sisters, right?" Qin Hong hadn't entered the door more or less, and her freshness to Chu Fan made her a little jealous.

After all, Chu Fan was still influenced by modern marriage thoughts, and suddenly felt a little sorry for this girl, his face turned red, and he stumbled: "Then I naturally want to think about it." ”

Qin Hong ignored him, turned his head and let him hold his hand, and twisted: "The place has been found, look at it, but this kind of soil?" ”

As he spoke, he took out two cloth bags from his bosom and unfolded them to reveal a handful of very large particles of muck.

Chu Fan pinched a handful, sniffed it, put it in a bowl, put it on the candle, burned it for a while, then took it off and sniffed it, rubbed it, and said, "It should be this, can you remember the place clearly?" ”

"I remember the place, but there are Varats there."

"What? How could there be a Warat there? Chu Fan suddenly had some doubts about his memory.

According to Chu Fan's memory, there should be no man's land in this era, after all, no one will live in that kind of place where neither grass nor trees grow, Warat is a nomadic people, where there is no water and grass, what are they doing there?

Come to think of it, this kind of soil is indeed muck overflowing from the mineral layer, and the place should not be wrong.

So if there are Warats there, there is only one possibility, and that is that they want this resource too.

How so? Not to mention that this is still in the Ming Dynasty, even in modern times, with the technological level of the Warat people, it is estimated that they may not know how to use this thing.

What's more, the nomads basically raise their own cattle and sheep, and the rest of the materials are obtained by natural gifts, plundering or trading, and mining and using them themselves, which is not their personality.

Chu Fan, who can't even figure it out, has the biggest advantage that if he doesn't understand, he doesn't think about it first, and he can enjoy what he has in front of him.

Qin Hong has been following him for a while, and he has endured many times he has thought about it.

But this little girl has been away from her for a while, but she is a little more greedy.

Otherwise, if it smells close and smells far away, the more you can't see it, the more anxious you are.

I must take Xiao Nizi down today, just thinking like this, Chu Fan's hands began to be dishonest, and he unconsciously wandered in Qin Hong's forbidden area.

Just listen to "Ahh Then Chu Fan was slapped off the bed with a palm.

Chu Fan, who was in pain, grinned.

"Oops, I 。。。。。 Uh, poof!! ”

For a while, he was completely speechless after being beaten, and a mouthful of blood spurted out.

As the saying goes, stealing chickens does not make rice, and Chu Fan, who did not take advantage, was slapped with a slap and spit blood.

When Qin Hong's palm was slapped, it was completely a subconscious stress reaction, and he never thought that he would exert such a strong force.

She was also stupid, and when she saw Chu Fan fall to the ground, she also shouted in shock, "Ah." ”

picked up Chu Fan, and then saw that Chu Fan was already pale, clutching his chest, and coughing constantly.