Sword Xia of the Shu Mountains Chapter 51: Battle of the country
When Emperor Wanli decided to govern himself, in order to be recognized by the Donglin party members. Under the secret planning of Wei Zhongxian and Concubine Zheng Gui, Emperor Wanli led the five ministers of the imperial court and many other accompanying officials who had secretly fallen to the eunuchs gathered together and walked towards the Council Hall. After entering the Council Hall, Emperor Wanli met Gu Xiancheng, the leader of the Donglin Party; when Gu Xiancheng saw Emperor Wanli, he immediately saluted to Emperor Wanli
"Wei Chen meets the Emperor"
"Free Gift"
"Thank you, Your Majesty"
After the ceremony of kneeling and worshipping, Gu Xian stood up on his horse and asked
"I don't know that the emperor is coming, and I have lost a long way to welcome it. I hope to forgive my sins"
The Emperor Wanli said to him in a bad mood
"You can arrest me at will, what's the point of being rude to me. Today I brought so many people from the court to find you, just to ask you to do one thing for me"
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, what is it?"
"From today onwards, I will be in charge of the government and handle the affairs of the court together with you Donglin party members. After I came out of the Taimiao yesterday, I thought and thought, and felt that as the king of a country, I should really participate in the governance of the country's political affairs. Only then can I understand the laws of the imperial court so that I won't make the same mistakes, what do you think, Master Gu?"
After listening to Emperor Wanli's words, Gu Xiancheng arched his arms and replied
"Since the emperor wants to be in power, this is a good thing, but I am worried that the emperor will not be able to adapt to the new political system. After all, our constitutional monarchy is different from an autocratic monarchy. Since the emperor wants to be in power, he must respect our constitution and not abuse imperial power. "
"You don't have to worry about this, as long as you help me with all your heart, I will naturally respect your constitution and will never abuse power arbitrarily"
"Since the Holy One has opened the mouth of Chrysostom, then please invite the emperor to attend the council to make further arrangements"
At this time, however, Emperor Wanli made a request to Gu Xiancheng
"Wait a minute, I have one more request"
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, what is your request?"
"I want the six ministers to work in the Council Hall starting today, so that they can directly implement the affairs of the imperial court. What do you think?"
Gu Xiancheng readily agreed to this request made by Emperor Wanli
"No problem, the emperor's request is very reasonable. For a long time, the six ministers have been working outside the council hall, and they need to send someone to send a letter to them to implement the order issued by the council, and let them do things directly in the council hall. Not only can it directly execute the orders of the parliament, but it can also communicate with the senators and the House of Representatives, which can be said to be the best of both worlds.
"Okay, if you agree that would be great"
After saying this, Emperor Wanli had a gloomy expression on his face, and then he entered the council hall with the five ministers.
In the process of convening the parliament, after unanimous negotiation by the presidents of the Senate and the House of Representatives, it was decided that Emperor Wanli and acting Prime Minister Gu Xiancheng would jointly take charge of the administrative power of the court, while the legislative and judicial powers were still in the hands of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Moreover, every imperial decree issued by the emperor must obey the constitutional regulations and must be approved by the parliament. After mastering some internal conditions of the constitutional monarchy, Emperor Wanli left the council hall, met Wei Zhongxian secretly again, and put the How he asked to be pro-government, how Gu Xiancheng agreed to his participation in political affairs, and some actual situations within the constitutional monarchy were all told to Wei Zhongxian in detail. When Wei Zhongxian learned about the actual situation from Emperor Wanli, he said
"Your Majesty, let the old servants do the rest. Follow their wishes in the council hall and participate in the governance of the country. Don't let them suspect you. Wait until the servants have finished their work. Tell the Emperor the next step"
After meeting with Emperor Wanli in secret just now, Wei Zhongxian met with Concubine Zheng in secret again. In Concubine Zheng's Longevity Palace, Wei Zhongxian told Concubine Zheng that Donglin Party members had agreed to Emperor Wanli's participation in political affairs. After learning about this situation, I am happy to say
"That's great, so we can get into the Senate and House of Representatives through the relationship of the six ministers working in the Council Chamber, and have their people completely under our control"
"The maiden is wise, the plan you mentioned coincides with the plan of the slave, and the slave thinks exactly this"
"Then do you have a way to make the emperor make Chang Xun the crown prince?"
"Of course there is a way for the servant to make His Royal Highness Prince Fu become the prince. As long as the servant persuades the emperor, the emperor will definitely listen to the servant"
"Are you really that sure that the emperor will listen to you?"
"As long as Niangniang said a word, even if the servant tried to do everything in his power, he would have the emperor change His Highness King Fu as the crown prince. Niangniang, don't worry"
"Since you are so sure, then this palace is waiting for your good news"
"The minions must go all out to convince the emperor"
Three days have passed. During these three days, under the secret arrangement of Wei Zhongxian, the five ministers led by Zhao Tao got together with Zuo Guangdou, the speaker of the Senate, and Gao Panlong, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and formed a so-called so-called They are good friends and confidants, and cleverly use this delicate relationship to prepare to wait for the opportunity to let them take brain-eating insect pills to achieve the purpose of controlling the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Three days later, Emperor Wanli held a banquet in the palace in his own name and invited Zhao Tao, Zuo Guangdou, Gao Panlong, Huang Wenxuan, Huang Wencan, An Liang and Liu Feng to the banquet together; The monarch and his ministers could speak freely and enjoy the wine, breaking the etiquette and estrangement between the emperor and his ministers, making Emperor Wanli and his ministers like friends get together to chat, and let Zuo Guangdou, who holds the highest power in the House of Representatives and the Senate, get together to chat. He Gao Panlong completely relaxed his vigilance from the bottom of his heart
"Gao Aiqing, Zuo Aiqing, you are all important ministers of my Ming Dynasty. Over the years, you have worked hard for my Ming Dynasty, making my Ming Dynasty more prosperous and prosperous, and the country is prosperous and the people are safe, so that our Zhu family can sit firmly in this country. A piece of splendid rivers and mountains, I respect you with this cup to express my gratitude.”
Emperor Wanli sat on the north side of the banquet and raised a wooden wine vessel with imperial wine in it. He said this to Gao Panlong and Zuo Guangdou, who were sitting in the east and west rows of the banquet. Since the Donglin Party members have been in power and ruled the country, they have always advocated thrift, and stipulated that members of the royal family and princes and ministers living in the palace were not allowed to use gold and silver utensils, so they used ordinary wooden utensils instead of gold and silver utensils. .
After listening to Emperor Wanli's words, the speaker of the House of Representatives Zuo Guangdou raised his glass and said to Emperor Wanli
"What did the emperor say? To serve the imperial court is the lifelong wish of our Donglin party members. This cup of wine should be served by the ministers to the emperor"
After drinking this glass of wine, Emperor Wanli said to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Gao Panlong
"Gao Aiqing, I heard from you when I attended the parliament today that there is a war in the southern coastal area, can you tell me what happened"
Gao Panlong said to Emperor Wanli with a smile at this time
"It's a happy event to return to the emperor"
"Oh yeah? What a happy event"
As soon as I heard it was a happy event, Emperor Wanli couldn't wait to know what it was
"General Wang Sen, the Admiral of the Nanyang Navy of the Ming Dynasty, led the Armada to defeat the British East India Company!"
"What did you say? We won the East India Company?"
"It is absolutely true, Your Majesty, I just received a good news from Guangdong, saying that a captain of the British East India Company led the crew to rob my Guangdong fishermen's property after landing on the coast of Guangdong. I was beaten by a group of Guangdong fishermen in the process of collecting my belongings. After being beaten, the British captain returned to India by boat, and then gathered the elite fleet of the British East India Company and the fleets of Portugal and the Netherlands to attack the coast of Guangdong. Fortunately, the Guangdong Navy The Admiral General Wang Sen was prepared for a long time, and he led my armada to completely defeat the East India Company's navy, so that the East India Company would never dare to harass me again."
After listening to the news, Emperor Wanli was instantly delighted. He patted the table in front of him excitedly and involuntarily and said aloud
"Okay, this battle has played the national prestige of my Ming Dynasty, and let those Westerners see the power of my Daming Invincible Navy. It's really good news. That British captain simply ate the guts of a bear's heart and a leopard. It is extremely arrogant to dare to **** the property of my people in Daming and then assemble a fleet to attack my Daming. After this battle, the British captain must have a little memory, General Wang Sen is really good, you must reward him well"
"Returning to the emperor, the reward has already been given, but General Wang said he didn't want any reward, only asked to take the spoils to himself"
As soon as Gao Panlong said this, the corner of Emperor Wanli's mouth turned up slightly and smiled
"I can't believe that Wang Sen, the old leader of the White Lotus Sect, still has such a personality. After he surrendered to the imperial court, he didn't get rid of his small problem of taking advantage of others, but he won the victory over the Western Devils for me. This is a great contribution. One piece, just let him.”
At this time, Zhao Tao, who was sitting in the east row on the left of Emperor Wanli, spoke. He smiled and picked up a small jar of fine wine from the seat and said
"In the final analysis, it is because the Donglin party people govern the country well, which makes the Ming Dynasty prosperous, and can have such a powerful invincible fleet. Coupled with the emperor's stalwart and broad mind, he accepts the great Ming Dynasty for me. The mortal enemy leader of the White Lotus Sect, Wang Sen. In order to celebrate the victory of my Daming Shui Master, and to celebrate my acquaintance with Brother Zuo and Brother Gao, I specially brought a jar of fine wine from my home that has been stored for ten years to invite the emperor and brother Zuo, Gao Brother taste"
After hearing Zhao Tao's remarks, Emperor Wanli glanced at Zhao Tao who had put the wine on the table and said
"Since it's a fine wine, I'll have to taste it too"
When Zuo Guangdou and Gao Panlong saw the fine wine brought out by Zhao Tao, they couldn't help but want to taste the taste of this ten-year-old wine
"Then ask Brother Zhao to let us taste your beautiful bar"
After a while, Zhao Tao personally poured a bowl of wine for Emperor Wanli, Gao Panlong, Zuo Guangdou, Liu Feng, An Liang, Huang Wencan, and Huang Wenxuan. Gao Panlong and Zuo Guangdou couldn't wait to drink a bowl. After a bowl of wine, Emperor Wanli's face suddenly became a little ugly. He asked Gao Panlong and Zuo Guangdou with a gloomy face
"Gao Aiqing, Zuo Aiqing, what do you think of this wine?"
Gao Panlong nodded and praised
"The taste of this wine is really delicious, and the taste of old wine is really different from other wines"
"Zuo Aiqing, what about you?"
Emperor Wanli asked Zuo Guangdou again, so Zuo Guangdou replied
"I..."
But who knew that when he just finished saying a word, he suddenly fell to the ground and fell into a long sleep. At this time, Gao Panlong also fell to the ground with Zuo Guangdou. After seeing that they both fell to the ground, Zhao Tao said
"The medicinal power of this Mongolian sweat medicine given by Eunuch Wei is really powerful"
At this time, Emperor Wanli ordered the little eunuchs standing around the banquet with a serious expression
"Let me tie these scoundrels and thieves, and then secretly **** them to the secret room"
"Yes, Your Majesty"
Three hours later, in the secret room of Emperor Wanli's palace, Zuo Guangdou and Gao Panlong were endured after taking the brain-eating insect pills secretly given to them when they were stunned by Menghan medicine. The severe pain of brainworm pills biting brainworms in their skulls
"How is it? My brainworm tastes good"
The person who spoke was Wei Zhongxian, who was standing beside the Wanli Emperor and said this to the two of them with a gloomy smile. As the brain-eating worms kept squirming in the brains of Zuo Guangdou and Gao Panlong, the severe pain suddenly made them both lose their basic consciousness, just like two goats that had just been bled and were about to be slaughtered in despair and heart-wrenching. The wailing of the lungs
"Master Zuo, Master Gao, do you want to consider joining our **** party and obey my instructions. As long as you are willing to join our **** party, you don't have to suffer this crime"
Wei Zhongxian's words reached the ears of Gao Panlong and Zuo Guangdou. The two of them seemed to have seized a life-saving straw that could save them from pain, and completely succumbed to Wei Zhongxian's lewd power. After all, they are a group of Confucian scholars who are respected in the palace, enjoying brocade clothes and jade food. He obeyed the teachings in the book and obeyed the party leader Gu Xiancheng. Faced with physical torture and mental oppression, they naturally chose to give in
"Eunuch Wei, give us the antidote, we are willing to submit to the eunuch"
"Me too, please give us the antidote from Eunuch Wei"
Seeing that the two of them compromised so quickly, Wei Zhongxian asked Wang Yong, who was beside him, to give them an antidote. After taking the antidote, the severe pain just disappeared in an instant
"Thank you Eunuch Wei for giving the medicine, Gao Panlong is willing to follow Eunuch Wei forever"
"Zuo Guangdou is willing to obey Eunuch Wei's dispatch from now on"
Wei Zhongxian despises their submission and weakness, showing a trace of contempt in his eyes
"I didn't expect that your Donglin party members' will is so unsettled. I'm so disappointed. You just took my unique secret medicine, the brain-eating insect pill. Although this pill is not poisonous, But it can make people feel unbearable. There is a worm in the heart of its pill that specifically burrows into the human brain. Once it penetrates into the back of the human brain within three hours, it will cause a splitting headache, which is even more uncomfortable than death. I have passed my antidote, but this does not mean that the worms in your brain will disappear. The antidote only temporarily controls the action of the brain-eating worm. After a period of time, it will still **** your brain, but don't worry, you As long as you take the antidote I give you on time, you'll be fine. But from today onwards, you have to obey me before I can give you the antidote."
After Wei Zhongxian finished speaking, Emperor Wanli, who had not spoken for a while, spoke up. He smiled gloomily, showing a very proud expression
"If you Donglin party members didn't take up my power, I would not have fought with you like this. The reason why I supported the constitutional monarchy at the beginning was to let you do the work for me and assist me in governing the Ming Dynasty, not Let you take away my power privately and make me a puppet. Now I just want to take back what belongs to me, and I will not embarrass you. As long as you two help me and help me deal with Gu Xiancheng, a traitor, I will naturally not treat you badly. you"
After a period of time, Zuo Guangdou and Gao Panlong walked out of the palace of Emperor Wanli and returned to their residence without telling anyone what happened today.
On the second day, Emperor Wanli came to the council hall to hold a meeting as usual, but this time he did not enter the council hall alone, but brought his eldest son Zhu Changluo to the council hall to hold a council , seems to want to discuss something about the prince today. When he and Gu Xiancheng were sitting in the chief seat of the council hall, the council started.
"I convened this meeting today to discuss two matters. The first thing is about the new Minister of Rites. Matteo Ricci, the former Minister of Rites, voluntarily resigned as Minister of Rites for unknown reasons. The position of the Minister of Rites has always been vacant, so today I want to elect a new Minister of Rites to manage the Rites, I don’t know if you have any objections”
Gu Xiancheng naturally has no objection to this request put forward by Emperor Wanli
"The emperor's words are very true, the post of Minister of Rites cannot be left vacant all the time, and Wei Chen has no objection"
"If this is the case, then I will choose Zhang Kai as the Minister of Rites"
After hearing this, Gu Xiancheng's face immediately changed greatly. He never thought that the emperor would choose Zhang Kai to be the Minister of Rites. You must know that Zhang Kai is an unremarkable figure in the Rites. Not only is he not very capable, he Moreover, the education level is not high. Except for being able to write well and copy some official documents, he can't do anything else. It is not suitable for him to be the minister of the Ministry of Rites. So he immediately objected
"Your Majesty, Zhang Kai will only copy some official documents in the Ministry of Rites, and he will not do anything else. How can he be entrusted to him as the Minister of Rites"
At this time, some Donglin Party officials who supported Gu Xiancheng in the parliament also expressed their opposition
"Yes, Your Majesty, Zhang Kai can't take on this great responsibility anyway, Your Majesty. Please, Your Majesty, choose someone else."
"Please choose someone else for the emperor"
Emperor Wanli saw that the ministers around Gu Xiancheng were against it, so he asked Zuo Guangdou and Gao Panlong for their opinions for a while
"I heard that the decision of the parliament can only be implemented through the unanimous opinion of the Senate and the House of Representatives, so I would really like to know the opinions of the two speakers, Gao Panlong and Zuo Guangdou"
However, what Gu Xiancheng didn't expect was that the two speakers he usually trusted the most had become so irrational at this time, that they agreed with Emperor Wanli's opinion. Gao Panlong said this in the parliament
"Since it was the sage who opened the mouth, I have no opinion, because I only know that the sage must have his reasons for doing so. Although Zhang Kai has no talent in the Ministry of Rites, he can learn it slowly. , is there any sage in the past and present who can be worthy of a great responsibility without learning?"
Zuo Guangdou then followed Gao Panlong's words
"Brother Gao is right. We can't doubt Zhang Kai's ability to handle affairs, and don't think that he is too difficult to take on this important task. Let him adapt to the position of Shangshu for a while before making a decision"
After listening to their opinions, Gu Xiancheng's complexion suddenly turned ashen at this time, he pointed at Zuo Guangdou and Gao Panlong but didn't know what to say about them
"You...you..."
At this time, Emperor Wanli deliberately put pressure on Gu Xiancheng with a serious face
"Master Gu? Are you doubting my leadership? Since both the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives have agreed with me, then please ask Prime Minister Gu to agree with my decision"
At this time, Gu Xiancheng's face suddenly became ugly, and several ministers who supported him saw that the two speakers agreed with the emperor's opinion and never raised any objection; at this time, in his heart, I am even more worried that if he raises any more objections, he will be described as a traitor who takes power alone, so he has no choice but to agree
"Okay, then let Zhang Kai serve as Minister of Rites"
After hearing this decision, Emperor Wanli's face immediately showed a satisfied expression. The reason why he chose Zhang Kai to be the Minister of Rites was because Zhang Kai was an undercover agent of Concubine Zheng who was placed in the Donglin Party, and he also joined Wei Zhongxian's eunuch. Having him serve as the Minister of Rites would help the eunuchs to fully control the party. The Ministry of Rites of the imperial court came to achieve the purpose of corrupting the entire Donglin Party. After saying the first thing, Emperor Wanli began to say the second thing
"The second thing I want to say today is about changing the crown prince, so I will let Chang Luo come over today"
As soon as Emperor Wanli said this, the Donglin party members who supported Gu Xian as the core were greatly shocked. After Emperor Wanli said this, he said to Prince Zhu Changluo
"Chang Luo, tell everyone if you don't want to be the prince"
After listening to his father's words, Zhu Changluo arched his arms and pretended to say what he didn't want to be a prince
"Imperial father, ministers, Chang Luo doesn't want to be the prince anymore. Ever since he became the prince, Chang Luo has always been suspicious of some people in the palace, and he always hears people's doubts about whether he can be the king of a country in the future. I doubted my ability, so Chang Luo also doubted his own ability. After so many days, I realized that I really do not have the ability to continue to be the prince. In terms of writing, in addition to knowing some literary talents, I like to recite poetry and write almost foreign martial arts. And my second brother Chang Xun is not only better in literature than me, but also proficient in riding and hunting. As a future ruler of a country, he must be both civil and military, so that we can manage our Daming country well, and for the future of Daming, this prince's The position should still be taken by my younger brother Chang Xun, and I beg the ministers to agree to my resignation from the crown prince.”
After Zhu Changluo said this, Emperor Wanli said again
"Yesterday, Chang Luo had already told me about this. When I first started, I didn't agree with him, because in my eyes, he is my good son like Chang Xun. I made him the crown prince because he was the eldest son. But he insisted that he didn't want to be the crown prince again, so I didn't want to force him. Since various dynasties have abolished the elders and established the younger ones, then I will make Zhu Changxun the crown prince, ministers. , do you have any objections?"
Emperor Wanli's move is called retreating to advance. What he did is to paralyze Concubine Zheng's attempt to make Zhu Changxun become the prince's will, in order to make Concubine Zheng feel at ease with him and Wei Zhongxian To maintain a cooperative relationship, under the guise of changing Zhu Changxun as the crown prince, it was a plan to deceive Zheng Guifei's trust in him. For the Donglin party members, the purpose of Emperor Wanli is to make a big fuss about this matter, to separate Gu Xiancheng and the party members around him from the ranks that obey the control of the **** party, and then to separate them. All in one go.
Sure enough, Gu Xiancheng and the henchmen around him expressed their opposition one after another
"This is absolutely impossible, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has read poetry and books since he was a child, and has received the traditional education of the way of being a king. In the future, he will definitely be a good king who serves the country and the people. But King Fu didn't like reading since he was a child. I only know a little riding and hunting, but I don't know how to be a king. How can I control the Ming Dynasty in the future, please think twice, the emperor."
After listening to Gu Xiancheng's words, Yan Li, a loyal supporter by his side, said
"Prime Minister Gu is absolutely right. Compared with His Royal Highness, Prince Fu and His Royal Highness are like one in the sky and one in the ground. The emperor should not make the selection of the prince so sloppy because of the prince's whim and impulse. The position of the prince is related to the country. It's a big matter, please think twice about the emperor"
Then, another loyal supporter of Gu Xiancheng, Wang Chun also said
"The position of the crown prince is related to the foundation of the country. Since the crown prince is the eldest son of the emperor, he should inherit the throne as a matter of course. Since ancient times, the candidates for the crown prince should be people with both ability and political integrity. In addition to hunting, he has no idea about the strategy of governing the country and the way of being a king. If he is allowed to inherit the throne in the future, he will definitely not be able to govern the Ming Dynasty. Please consider the emperor again.”
After finishing speaking, Wang Chun said to Zhu Changluo again
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you have both ability and political integrity, and you are highly educated. In the future, you will be able to become an emperor through the ages. I hope you will not give up your great future"
Next, another voice of disapproval appeared in the ears of Emperor Wanli, which made Emperor Wanli's face a little more embarrassed. But at this time, Gao Panlong and Zuo Guangdou stood on the side of Emperor Wanli
"Since the Emperor made the decision to let His Royal Highness Fu Wang inherit the throne, he must have his own reasons. Besides, isn't His Highness Fu Wang really inferior to His Highness the Crown Prince? Since the Crown Prince intends to take the throne, why should we force others to be difficult? "
"That is, it is the emperor's own decision to change His Royal Highness Fu Wang as the crown prince. We should not have participated in the cooperation. Even if His Royal Highness Fu Wang is not as good as the crown prince, then at least some highly respected teachers in the palace can be invited to teach Fu Wang. , why must the prince inherit the throne?"
And Gu Xiancheng saw that the two of them were actually speaking for the emperor, and he couldn't help but feel a fire in his heart. He clenched his fists until blue veins appeared in both fists and said angrily
"What happened to the two of you today? Why do you have to turn around and speak for His Royal Highness King Fu today? The position of the crown prince is so important that you can change it. As members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, you shoulder the burden of It is a national event, how can you be worthy of the Ming Dynasty and the people of the world?”
Gu Xiancheng's words made Zuo Guangdou and Gao Panlong look at each other, not knowing what to say for a while, so Hu fell silent.
At this time, Emperor Wanli was very annoyed at Gu Xiancheng's attitude just now. He stared at Gu Xiancheng with wide eyes and glared at Gu Xiancheng and asked sharply
"Gu Xiancheng, what do you mean? Do I still need you to take care of my family affairs? Whether I am the emperor or you are the emperor, and who I want to make the prince is my business, I should make the decision, you three What is the motive behind the four times of forbidding me to make King Fu the crown prince, do you still have my emperor in your eyes?"
Faced with Emperor Wanli's questioning, Gu Xiancheng didn't take it to heart at all, he kept his own opinions and said to Emperor Wanli
"Your Majesty, I am doing this for your own good. His Royal Highness Fu Wang really cannot become a prince. Our Donglin Party will never pass this resolution concerning the fate of my Ming Dynasty. Please think twice, Your Majesty"
"You...you..."
At this time, the Wanli Emperor had nothing to do with Gu Xiancheng, and the atmosphere was deadlocked at this moment; in desperation, he had no choice but to announce his withdrawal from the parliament
"Gu Xiancheng, you have the guts. It seems that this matter cannot be discussed. If this is the case, the matter of establishing His Royal Highness King Fu as the crown prince will be abandoned and the meeting will be dismissed!"
In this way, the meeting broke up amid the opposition of Gu Xiancheng and his henchmen. After the meeting, Wei Zhongxian quickly reported to Concubine Zheng what happened in today's parliament. When Concubine Zheng heard Wei Zhongxian's report, he was overjoyed and praised Wei Zhongxian with a smile
"Eunuch Wei, you really have a way to make the emperor insist on making my son Chang Xun the crown prince so quickly. You really are loyal to this palace"
After listening to Zheng Guifei's words, Wei Zhongxian said
"The servants have always been loyal to the noble concubine, and no matter what the mother ordered the servants, the servants will go through fire and water, no matter what"
"Okay, okay, you deserve to be a minion"
"It's just that the Donglin party members are now opposed to the emperor's establishment of His Royal Highness King Fu as the crown prince. It is indeed difficult to make His Royal Highness Fu Wang become the crown prince"
"What's so difficult about this? Wouldn't it be okay if you let the emperor kill all those Donglin party members who opposed him?"
"What the mother said is very true! The servants will ask the emperor to give them a banquet tomorrow"
On the morning of the next day, when the autumn sun shone on every glazed tile of the Forbidden City in Beijing, Emperor Wanli, under the secret arrangement of Wei Zhongxian, staged a feast for the gate and invited Gu Xiancheng and all his henchmen into the hall. Inside, although today's autumn is cool and the sky is clear, the clear weather still cannot purify the evils of human nature hidden in the open and secret struggles in the palace. When Gu Xiancheng and his henchmen who opposed Emperor Wanli yesterday all entered the hall, Emperor Wanli asked them with a gloomy face
"Are you all here?"
Gu Xiancheng arched his arms and replied
"It's all here"
After speaking, he asked again
"Your Majesty, what do you mean by calling us here today?"
Wanli Emperor replied
"After listening to your opinions yesterday, I feel that what you said is very reasonable. With the character and quality of His Royal Highness King Fu, I really cannot inherit the throne of me. Let's have a banquet and apologize to Gu Xiancheng and everyone."
After saying this, Emperor Wanli immediately picked up a wine bowl on the table, and then suddenly threw the wine bowl. After hearing this voice, the Guards hiding outside the hall, led by Wei Zhongxian, rushed into the hall and took down Gu Xiancheng and his henchmen.
At this time, Gu Xiancheng asked with a serious expression
"Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?"
"I don't mean anything, I just want to kill you traitor"
"Wei ministers are loyal to the court and the country with all their heart and soul, and have never done a single act of disloyalty to the court. Why does the emperor slander me as a traitor"
"Slander? You said it lightly. In the name of constitutional monarchy, you took the opportunity to take my power and make me your puppet. This alone is enough to commit the crime of deceiving the king"
After he finished speaking, he ordered the Guards who had taken down Gu Xiancheng and others
"Give me these traitors and put them in the dungeon, waiting to be released"
When the Guards were about to take Gu Xiancheng and others away, Gu Xiancheng suddenly pulled out the sword of Shang Fang he was wearing and said
"This sword of Shangfang slays the king from the top and the traitor from the bottom. Seeing this sword is like seeing the emperor. I see who dares to touch me today"
After hearing this, the Guards were immediately stunned; at this time, Emperor Wanli said
"This sword of Shangfang was given to you by me, but I am standing here today. This sword of Shangfang no longer represents me. You can take them all down"
So, the Guards swarmed up and took Gu Xiancheng and his henchmen to the dungeon. In the dungeon, Gu Xiancheng and his henchmen were all bound by Emperor Wanli's order, and the curse sounded throughout the dungeon
"Zhu Yijun, you foolish monarch, you are good or bad. If you listen to the slander of a traitor, you will definitely be reviled by future generations after your death"
"Zhu Yijun, you can just wait and see, as long as you are here, the kingdom of Ming Dynasty will be destroyed in your hands sooner or later"
Emperor Wanli didn't take their reproaches seriously, he faced these so-called traitors in his eyes and said
"You scold, scold, scold anyway. If you don't scold, you won't have the chance to scold again. You and Chang Lingyun have monopolized my power for a long time, and I have suppressed it in my heart for a long time, you know that I don't know. When you imprisoned me in the imperial temple, I swore in my heart that one day I would kill you one by one, and today I will fulfill my oath"
After he finished speaking, he ordered the guards in the cell to forcibly pour poisoned wine on Gu Xiancheng's henchmen, and after drinking the poisoned wine, the henchmen around Gu Xiancheng were immediately poisoned to death. Then it was Gu Xiancheng's turn. Before giving Gu Xiancheng poisoned wine, Emperor Wanli decided to give Gu Xiancheng a chance to survive
"Mr. Gu, you are a scholar-official class, and you have admirable talents. I don't really want to kill you. But there is a condition for not killing you. This condition may be a bit difficult for you, but it is you The only chance to survive. As long as you break away from the Donglin Party, join Wei Zhongxian's eunuch, and give up your support for the constitutional monarchy, I will let you live, what do you think?"
After listening to Emperor Wanli's words, Gu Xiancheng smiled coldly, and he had no plans to live in his heart for a long time
"I, Gu Xiancheng, is the leader of the Donglin Party. I was born as a member of the Donglin Party and died as the soul of the Donglin Party. It is just wishful thinking to ask me to join the eunuch. It is not a pity for me, Gu Xiancheng, to die. The foundation of the dynasty for nearly 200 years will be ruined in the hands of a fool like you. You are loyal and wicked, right and wrong are unclear. It is really hard for the world to be an emperor. Zhang Juzheng taught you in his years. Where did it go, I, Gu Xiancheng, regretted assisting such a blind and stupefied lord as you"
At this time, Emperor Wanli was completely angry, he rushed to Gu Xiancheng and shouted
"Enough, shut up for me. If you want to die, then I will fulfill you, come here, and give me poisonous wine"
Wei Zhongxian stopped Gu Xiancheng when a janitor wanted to poison him
"Wait, this poisoned wine should be poured by me, Wei Zhongxian"
After saying this, he took the bowl of poisonous wine from the janitor and walked to Gu Xiancheng and said
"Gu Xiancheng, today I, Wei Zhongxian, can finally repay the humiliation you have done to me in the past"
After speaking, Wei Zhongxian pinched Gu Xiancheng's mouth with his left hand. When he was about to forcefully pour the poisoned wine down Gu Xiancheng's mouth, Gu Xiancheng said
"Wait a minute"
Wei Zhongxian let go of Gu Xiancheng's mouth, held the bowl of poisoned wine that had not been poured, and smiled contemptuously
"Haha, why are you scared? If you're scared, kowtow to my father-in-law, then join our **** and worship at my door, so that I can go around you and not die"
Facing Wei Zhongxian's ridicule, Gu Xiancheng didn't take it to heart, he looked into Wei Zhongxian's eyes coldly and smiled
"Haha, although I, Gu Xiancheng, have no regrets in death, after I die, I have a reputation of being loyal to the monarch and serving the country. At least I have been loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and I have been loyal to the emperor. It is better to have only one obscure monarch who does not distinguish between right and wrong. You are a spayed dog, but have you ever thought about it, after you die, you will be smeared for thousands of years, and you will be reviled by thousands of people, and you will definitely not die."
After speaking, there was a burst of laughter. At this time, Wei Zhongxian made Gu Xiancheng angry with Qiqiaoshengyan. He angrily pinched Gu Xiancheng's mouth again and cursed while pouring poisonous wine into Gu Xiancheng's mouth
"You **** scholar, I'm going to kill you"
After a while, Gu Xiancheng, who drank the poisonous wine, lost consciousness in an instant.
After the death of Gu Xiancheng and his henchmen, Emperor Wanli abolished the constitutional monarchy and restored the autocratic monarchy. From then on, the **** party headed by Wei Zhongxian began to control the imperial court step by step. Without the constitutional monarchy, a modern political system that conforms to the historical trend to control officials, the eunuchs began to get rid of the shackles of the law. the abyss.