Cough cough cough...

Emperor Chongzhen was coughing very hard, and his cough was deafening!

Wow wow wow...

Prince Zhu Cixi was also howling there, crying so filial piety that it moved my heart!

After hearing the news, Ge Lao, Wei Shuai and the ten princes in Beijing who came to Xipu saw a scene of a sick father lying in bed and a filial son crying bitterly.

It's just that the atmosphere seems a bit wrong. Chongzhen, who is lying upright on the dragon bed, is covered with thick quilts and coughing desperately. He looks like he is about to die. But the cough sounds a bit...

It’s fake, it’s still full of energy, it doesn’t look like it’s about to die!

That filial son who stood by the bed and cried loudly, didn't seem to shed any tears, he was just howling. I wonder if his throat was damaged by howling?

There was also Empress Zhou with her eyebrows furrowed, looking at the emperor and his son pretending to be dead and filial, neither crying nor laughing.

Of course Zhu Cixiang knew at this time that Emperor Chongzhen pretended to fall into the water! At most, his trouser legs were wet, and he definitely did not choke on the cold water, and of course he did not catch any cold - Prince Zhu had a spy beside Emperor Chongzhen!

Before Zhu Cihong returned to Xipu, Emperor Chongzhen even handed him a meal. He had a delicious meal, but he didn't look like he was dying.

This Emperor Chongzhen had obviously learned bad things and learned how to play dead to gain sympathy - he fell into the water on New Year's Eve. I don't know if he slipped in by himself or was pushed into the water by someone sent by a prince who couldn't wait to usurp the throne.

What's inside... what a big basin of dirty water this is. If it's poured on your most filial son like this, will your conscience really not hurt?

Zhu Cixiang was so disappointed! Such an honest emperor, Chongzhen, had learned bad things now, and he didn’t know who he learned it from? He didn’t think anyone around Emperor Chongzhen was more treacherous.

Now that all the important ministers have arrived, Zhu Cixiang stopped crying and turned around and walked out of Emperor Chongzhen's bedroom. Wei Zaode, Wu Xiang, Cao Youyi, and a fat prince in his forties--that is, the blessed prince Zhu Yousong, this

Upon seeing this, several people also sneaked out of the dormitory and followed Zhu Cixiang into the courtyard.

The four of them wanted to salute Zhu Cixiang, but he stopped him with a wave of his hand. Then he looked at Zhu Yousong, the King of Fortune, who seemed a little drunk, and frowned: "Uncle Wang, have you drunk too much again?"

Zhu Yousong is the Hongguang Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty who was blackmailed by the Donglin Party in history and soon became the most stupid emperor in history. He is now the head of the thirty-three kings who serve as vase in Nanjing - he is related to Chongzhen and Zhu Cixiang's father and son.

The nearest prince, besides being fond of drinking, he has nothing to do with it. He is not the emperor now, so he poses no threat to the gentleman of Donglin, so naturally he has no evil deeds... He is a vase, who has nothing to do to arrange him?

!

And he didn't pose much of a threat to Zhu Cixiang. Now that Zhu Cixiang's three brothers are still alive, Emperor Chongzhen is "addicted to women" and has already enriched the belly of several selected servants and palace maids. He will soon add a few more brothers to Zhu Cixiang.

They are sisters. They hope to have more children to satisfy the poor and rebellious Zhu Cihong! So no matter how hard it is, Zhu Yousong cannot get the throne!

In addition, Zhu Yousong himself had no children - his son died when Luoyang City was destroyed! He was in his forties again. He drank too much and was not in good health. He probably would not be able to give birth to a son.

For such a prince, if Zhu Cihong tries to embarrass him again, it will be unworthy of him.

So these days, Zhu Cixi still respects this uncle Wang very much. He gave him a mansion in Nanjing, and also rewarded him with 10,000 acres of land and a villa outside Nanjing. He also made him a clan official and made him a villa.

All royal affairs that were originally in charge of the Ministry of Rites were handed over to the Zongren Mansion.

In other words, Zhu Cihong held Prince Fu high as an elder of the clan!

"Prince, uncle, I'm good at this, and today is New Year's Eve..." Prince Fu smiled, and then lowered his voice and asked, "Prince, what's going on? Do you want uncle to take the lead in persuading you to come in?"

ah?"

Wu Xiang on the side also said: "Master Qiansui, the old minister has been wrapped in a yellow robe..."

Cao Youyi also patted his chest and said: "Now all the armies at home and abroad, except Zuo Liangyu's army, will support His Highness! Moreover, the new army has more than 150,000 soldiers, and there are 20,000 Yangtze Navy troops. Zuo Liang

People like Yu can't beat us."

"Thousand-year-old Master," Wei Zaode shook his head, "the New Deal has not yet been completed, the Tatars from the north will go south at any time, and Zuo Liangyu has ulterior motives... Please think twice before you act!"

Wei Zaode is now a "great reformer". He will leave his name in history in the future, and he will write a biography based on "The Biography of Zhuge Liang". Of course, he must consider the issue more comprehensively.

In fact, immediately usurping the throne was not Zhu Cihong's first choice, not because he was afraid of the "leftist lunatics" upstream, but because he had a larger reform plan.

In Zhu Cixiang's opinion, it would take several months to a year for the Qing Dynasty in the north to take over Li Zicheng and Datong Mansion before moving south. It is estimated that the time for the southward movement will be later than in history.

For Zhu Cixiang, these few months to a year are a window of time for reform and military reorganization.

During this period, he should avoid unnecessary civil war. Civil war is different from foreign war. Foreign war can unite people's hearts and is sometimes more conducive to reform. The situation in civil war is the opposite. Once civil war starts, Zhu Cihong must fight to maintain Southeast Asia.

Internal stability gave in to the scholar-bureaucrats, thus missing the best opportunity for reform.

"Your Highness, the Donglin Conference will be held soon!" Wei Zaode said again, "Now Master Qiantose has the great cause of 'protecting the Mingjiao and defending Konglin'. As soon as the conference opens, the Donglin Party will be controlled by Master Qiantose."

...It’s better not to cause unnecessary complications.”

According to the plan, the Donglin Conference will be held after the Enke Provincial Examination - Donglin candidates should be relatively easy to talk to at this time. If they talk well, they will be awarded Jinshi, if they don't talk well, they will lose their reputation!

Who should I give this Jinshi diploma to? It’s all a matter of Zhu Cixiang’s words!

As long as the Donglin Party is usurped by Zhu Cixiang, the subsequent reforms will be much easier... The landlord class intellectuals in the southeast must have their own organizations in order to rebel against the imperial court. Without organizations, they will be in disarray, even though they have strength.

It's very big, but it can't form a combined force.

Moreover, the power of the Southeastern scholar-officials was basically talkative, and their military strength was almost zero. Without the Donglin Party, they would not be able to control the direction of public opinion and would not be able to fight.

"It's better to slow down..." Zhu Cixiang thought for a long time, but still felt that there was no need to take this gamble, "It's better to slow down, anyway, the power is already in hand, and there is no shortage of this title. Besides, there is a Yingzong to seize the door.
Chapter completed!