Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhou Luo, who was more than ten years older than him, and Zhu Houzhao also felt that he was a little pitiful, but more hatred. He thought that these old men were not bad, and they were sometimes a legitimate and sometimes a virtuous. The fundamental purpose was not because the current behavior of the eldest son Zhu Zailei made them, civil officials representing the bourgeoisie, dissatisfied.

However, Zhu Houzhao did not intend to give face to these selfish civil servants, and used his identity as emperor to forcibly make the eldest son of the emperor Zhu Zailei the crown prince.

After all, he doesn't want to make the relationship between the monarch and the minister so stiff now. Of course, it is more important to protect the safety of his eldest son Zhu Zailei.

The eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Zailei, is no better than himself. He has loyal partners in interests and support from the hearts of the people, and his morality is in place, so he doesn’t have to worry about personal safety now.

But the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Zailei, is different. He does not have these security guarantees. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao is also worried that once he establishes that the prince is Zhu Zailei, he will undoubtedly become the target of public criticism, and he is afraid that he will be killed directly by extreme means!

Zhu Houzhao knew that political struggles were never as simple as quarrels, and he would never give up until he was killed.

You should know that after the crown prince of the Qing Dynasty was established as the crown prince by Kangxi, the other brothers were cheated badly.

Zhu Houzhao is still a father after all, a father who does not want to put his son in danger and wants to protect his son.

Therefore, his determination to make Zhu Zailei the crown prince was not so firm at the beginning. Now, seeing Zhou Luo say this, he goes down the donkey:

"The establishment of a crown prince is indeed the foundation of the country, and it should not be decided by chance. Since you have said this, I will put this discussion aside for the time being and instruct the princes to be diligent and obey the law, and contribute to the interests of the country and the people! I will choose the wise and the crown prince!"

After Zhu Houzhao said this, Zhou Luo and other civil officials hurriedly bowed and praised: "My emperor is wise!"

Xu Jin, who also did not want Zhu Zailei to become the crown prince and also began to advocate "establishing a wise man", couldn't help but smile with a proud smile when he saw this.

Zhu Houzhao took the pride of these civil servants' faces. He knew that these civil servants must have thought that the emperor was getting softer as he grew older, and thought that these civil servants had really prevented the opportunity to make Zhu Zailei the crown prince.

The same thing is said, to destroy the enemy, the enemy will be crazy, and this is also the only way to get the greatest chance of winning in the future. Zhu Houzhao now likes to stew the meat slowly, and it will only turn the pot when it is stewed thoroughly. He does not want to have direct conflicts with these civil servants represented by the bourgeoisie, because it will eventually be depleted of national strength, and now he has no youthful energy. He dares to be in charge of all things in the world when the world is not on the side of him.

But Zhu Houzhao naturally would not plan to make these selfish civil servants live a better life.

As an emperor, there is no need to have a head-on conflict with these civil servants, but it does not mean that the scholars and people in the world cannot.

After all, the system of establishing a legitimate and a eldest son is still very popular with the people.

Because even though the Ming Dynasty has now become an industrial country, its number of farmers still accounts for the majority, and agriculture is the basis of industry. A developed industrial country does not mean that its agriculture is underdeveloped. On the contrary, its agriculture is more developed. Moreover, the idea of ​​small peasants and the Confucian ethics represented by it are not eliminated just by elimination.

thus.

For many people, especially those at the bottom of the scholars and civil servants, it is correct to be a legitimate and eldest.

Whether the emperor is wise or not or not, at least this system is fair.

For most people, what they want most is justice.

So, after this, Zhu Houzhao ordered:

"The Hanlin Academy recorded that in March of the 51st year of Zhengde, the emperor wanted to follow the imperial ancestors' teachings and establish a legitimate system. This was also the opinion of the people in the world. He decided to make the eldest son Zhu Zailei the crown prince. However, Zhou Luo, the Minister of Rites, advised him to block it, saying that it is better to establish a virtuous person than to establish a legitimate person. The crown prince is the foundation of the country and the country, and should not be easily determined. He should be elected with talented and virtuous cadres! Therefore, the emperor followed his request and put aside the matter of establishing a crown prince for the time being."

Zhu Houzhao said, and ordered: "I will spread the world! I still follow the advice."

Zhu Houzhao said this very plainly, but it exploded in the magnificent hall like a thunder in the ground. Zhou Luo, who was so frightened that he couldn't help but tremble and crawled on the ground with a pale face:

"Your Majesty! The people can be used to it, but they should not be known to it! Most people in the world are foolish people, and most young scholars are unreasonable people! It is not appropriate to the choice of a crown prince to establish a legitimate and chief. However, because his ancestral teachings are in line with the ethics of the world, if you tell them to the people of the world with this, the reputation of the minister will be destroyed and the resentment of the people in the world will be very big! Your Majesty!"

"I beg Your Majesty to make the world's stability plan and not make this discussion public. The affairs of the court should not be known to everyone in the world. After all, the foresight of the officials in the court is not understood by the common people. If this discussion is made public, it will only cause the court to lose its majesty!"

Zhou Luo sincerely begged Zhu Houzhao. He was a civil servant and knew how strong the foundation for public support was in the sects, which was no less than the rule that his parents died. At least the eldest sons who relied on the system of establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate and establishing the legitimate

Xu Jin considered that denying the "establishing the legitimate and the chief" would be criticized by the world, so he did not stand up by himself. He also hoped that His Majesty would not realize the public criticism. People like him could directly say that this was what the emperor wanted to do and let the emperor take the blame. But he did not expect that His Majesty could ignore the public opinion when he did not need public opinion, but it did not mean that the emperor would not use public opinion when he needed public opinion.

The emperor was unwilling to take the blame. He wanted the people of the world to know that it was Zhou Luo, the Minister of Rites, who prevented His Majesty from appointing his legitimate position as the chief, which was equivalent to pushing Zhou Luo, the civil leader, to the front and being scolded by the world. What should I do?!

Xu Jin and others could understand why Zhou Luo was so panicked at this time, and they were pleading in a pleading tone to beg the emperor not to disclose this court discussion.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but think that these civil servants were also afraid.

Xia Yan is also happy with Zhu Houzhao. Xia Yan has been unhappy with these civil servants who don’t listen to him for a long time. Now that they are forced into such a situation by His Majesty the Emperor, they can’t help but add to the fire:

"Your Majesty, whether it is a legitimate or a chief or a virtuous person, it is the legal principle of the court to establish a crown prince. No matter which legal principle is chosen, it should be known to the people of the world, because you choose the crown prince of the people of the world! Moreover, the constitutional outline clearly stipulates that the people of the world are the lord of the Ming Dynasty, so although the people of the world have no right to make decisions, they have the right to know!"

Zhu Houzhao is now waiting for some ministers to stand up and refute these selfish civil servants who do not want the world to know their tricks, so he will do it again and follow the trend. Now, seeing Xia Yan say this, he nodded:

"What the Prime Minister said is very important. People in the world have the right to know how the prince was chosen."

Zhu Houzhao directly called Xia Yan the chief assistant, so he naturally intended to praise Gao Xia Yan and took this opportunity to let Xia Yan share the complaints of these civil servants for him.

Xia Yan could only accept it. After all, as the prime minister and the prime minister of the empire, the value of existence is indeed to take the blame for the emperor or to transfer contradictions.

Xu Jin stood up at this time: "Your Majesty, I think what the chief said is very true. Today's discussion should indeed be known to the people of the world. However, the people of the world can know it, but they cannot make decisions. I think what Da Zongbo said is not a fallacy, but it is actually a matter of old and successful planning for the country. Establishing a legitimate and chief is naturally a ancestral teaching. However, establishing a crown prince should establish a virtuous person is also a matter of concern for the country's future. Therefore, I believe that establishing a virtuous person should be the first consideration, and if the people of the world do not understand, the court should teach him!"

Xu Jin knew that the emperor had made a decision, and Xia Yan, the chief minister who only knew how to care about the country and the people, was supported by the side. If you want the people in the world to not know that they were the pure civil officials who denied the "establishing the legitimate and the eldest son". Moreover, there is no airtight wall in the world. Even if you don't let the people in the world know now, the people in the world will know sooner or later.

Therefore, Xu Jin decided to lose his car and protect his commander again. He would rather let Zhou Luo be despised by the world than sacrifice the interests of civil officials and let Zhu Zailei become the crown prince, so he rushes to make the conclusion that the crown prince is a virtuous person.

Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly. He naturally knew what Xu Jin was thinking, but he was not in a hurry to expose it now. Moreover, he wanted to take advantage of this trick Xu Jin and said:

"Since that's the case, Xu Qing, you have always been talented and eloquent, so you are fully responsible for organizing the matter of literati's opposition to the wise and the eldest is greater than the eldest, and the people of the world!"

Xu Jin was stunned for a moment, and immediately realized that he had been cheated by him. He couldn't help but feel extremely regretful. He thought that he had been appointed by His Majesty the Emperor as an official to explain to all the world. This undoubtedly made him be scolded by the world.

Xu Jin really wanted to pretend to be sick at that time, but he knew that His Majesty the Emperor would not allow anyone to be rejected, and pretending to be sick is not possible unless he commits suicide.

So, Xu Jin had to grit his teeth and agreed: "I obey the order!"

Seeing Xu Jin's defeated look, Zhu Houzhao was naturally very happy and nodded: "This matter should not be delayed for a long time. Once it is published in the world, it will cause an uproar. My dear should immediately publish an article as the Grand Secretary of the Dongge to face the audio!"

soon.

Zhou Luo, the Minister of Rites, rejected the establishment of the legitimate ruler in the court, and suggested that His Majesty the Emperor establish a virtuous person be made public to the world.

Suddenly, it caused a lot of attacks among the folk scholars, accusing Zhou Luo of not following the etiquette and being a Confucian minister.

Not only did it arouse the criticism of the scholars, but Zhou Luo and other behaviors also made some court officials opposed it, even some Qingliu civil officials.

The youngest secretary of the Zhan Shi Mansion, Jiang Rubi, even scolded Zhou Luo, the Minister of Rites, for doing something wrong.

The Minister of Justice, Wen Yuan, was recuperating from illness. After learning the news, he also wrote an article to scold Zhou Luo for being a despicable villain.

Even some military officials and nobles were very dissatisfied with this. Jiang Rou, the Marquis of Dingxi, also submitted a memorial to impeach Zhou Luo as a treacherous minister.

Xu Jin explained Zhou Luo's behavior and the court's decision, and posted the article on the Huangming Pao. But soon, Xu Jin was attacked by all officials who insisted on maintaining the Confucian ethical order of establishing the legitimate and establishing the eldest son.

After all, it would be fine if the emperor asked for a wise man, or the prime minister would be acceptable. After all, it was taken from the emperor and father and the power of the prime minister, and it was difficult for everyone to argue. But now Xu Jin, Zhou Luo and others were deliberately misleading Your Majesty and asking Your Majesty to give up the title of the legitimate and the chief emperor, so they could naturally scold him to the fullest.

Some people even tried to burn down Xu Jin and Zhou Luo's houses.

Zhu Houzhao was very happy to see the current situation, because the current situation meant that the selfish civil servants such as Xu Jin and Zhou Luo had completely lost their prestige among the people. In the future, these people would never be able to hold public opinion and fight against themselves as the emperor.

After waiting for most of the scholars and court officials to criticize these selfish civil servants in the court, Zhu Houzhao stood up at this time and said that he would decide the position of the crown prince himself, and would still announce it according to the original schedule, and order that the government should not be discussed irrelevantly, etc.

In this way, the scholars and courtiers of the empire became quieter, but smart people would find that invisibly, who is qualified to be the crown prince or under the control of His Majesty the Emperor.

Zhu Houzhao had actually drafted the will, but was just waiting for a good opportunity to take it out and make it public.

In other words, Zhu Houzhao had already determined who was the crown prince. Although the outside world was still talking about this matter, he no longer hesitated and began to focus on the construction and expansion of the empire.

For Zhu Houzhao, the problem of the heir has been solved, but for the princes, it seems to be getting worse and worse.

This time, the selfish behavior of some civil servants in the court made Zhu Zailei see through the despicableness of these people and made him clearly realize that the gentlemen he had respected in the past were not all full of hearts in the jade pot, and his previous behavior undoubtedly made these civil servants completely disappointed him.

Zhu Zailei knew that from then on, Xu Jin and others would completely become their political enemies and would not be helpful to them.

Zhu Houzhao also guessed that his eldest son Zhu Zailii would gradually realize that he was in opposition to the civil servants represented by the bourgeoisie, and it was impossible to rely on civil servants to create a prosperous Ming Dynasty. Therefore, he couldn't help but hold his empress's hand, saying: "Although Le'er is not the prince yet, he must have the state of mind."

While there were constant struggles within the Central Empire of the Ming Dynasty over the country, in the Ceuta region of the Mediterranean, the Ming army here had already fought with the Spanish Invincible Fleet.

However, the Ming army's rifled guns and faster sailing warships did not gain any advantage in the Spanish fleet. However, because the Ming army in the Ceuta area lacked military strength, the Spanish fleet did not suffer much damage, so Spain was ready to launch an attack on Ceuta again.

After all, the Ceuta area of ​​the Ming Dynasty was near the Strait of Gibraltar, and it was not enough for others to snore on the side of his bed. Even if the ruler of Spain had never heard of this, he could understand this truth. Moreover, what he could not tolerate was that non-Western empires had a military base here.

In terms of weapons, equipment and tactical command, the Ming Dynasty naturally had an advantage over Spain. However, the Ming Dynasty had a fatal problem that the Ming Central Empire was too far away from the Ceuda area, and logistics supply support was a problem, so it was difficult for the Ming Dynasty to deploy a large amount of military force at one time to completely eliminate Spain's military threat to the Ceuda area.

But the Spanish army could harass the Ceuta area of ​​the Ming Dynasty at any time.

At this time, the Ceuta area was no longer as simple as a trading base after decades of colonization of the Ming Dynasty. Although its main function was to serve as a trade transit station, due to the abundant mineral mining resources, cheap labor and abundant fishery resources, many people in the Ming Dynasty moved here.

The Spanish Invincible Armada encircled the Ceuta area some time ago, which prevented the Ming Dynasty fishermen in the Ceuta area from going out to sea for several months, and they suffered heavy losses. Therefore, these days, the Ming Dynasty fishermen would take their black slaves and white slaves to sea to fish every day in order to make a fortune during the short-term Ceuta fish desertion.

On this day, just dawn, Lu Liang, a fisherman who had moved to Ceuta for 20 years, took his fleet to sea to fish. As a fisherman from Qiongzhou for generations, he used his many years of fishing experience and skills to accumulate along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, which made him still return with a full load this time, and the entire ship was filled with fish.

Of course, it was not only his family who went out to sea to fish, but even three or four Ming fishermen who returned with him were there.

As the morning sun just emerged on the Atlantic Ocean sea level and was shaking by the waves, the Han fisherman songs made up by the people of the Ming Dynasty themselves rang out on the entire Atlantic Ocean. The sound was loud and majestic, but it was filled with the joy of harvest. It seemed that even in this distant Atlantic Ocean, people could feel the wealth of the Ming Han family.

But at this moment, a large fleet of white sails flew out of the sea, like thousands of white ghosts, holding the flag of a red-bottomed yellow cross, galloping towards the Ming Dynasty fishing boats. Judging from the formation, there were no less than a hundred ships.

Lu Xunxian shouted in horror: "It's a Western fan! Escape quickly!"

But the ordinary fishing boats of the Ming Dynasty were the opponents of these regular Spanish fleets, so they naturally couldn't escape. Not long after, Lu Xun saw with his own eyes that the fishing boats in front had been surrounded by Western artillery, and they were soon bombarded into pieces by Western artillery. Many fishermen fell into the sea, and some were even bombarded to death on the spot!

Some larger fishing boats even posted these Western rogues, and then jumped onto the fishing boat, stabbed them directly into the stomach of the Ming fisherman, stabbing the fisherman to death.

Lu Xun saw his compatriots pouring into the sea with blood, and he was so scared that he even raised his heart to his throat. But just as he felt sorry for his compatriots being killed, the Western warships also surrounded his fishing boat and jumped to his deck.

It happened that Lu Xun's youngest son was playing on the deck, but at this time, he was suddenly caught by a Western fan and wiped his youngest son's neck in front of Lu Xun.

"don't want!"

Lu Xun saw with his own eyes that his youngest son was killed by this Western fan, and even his neck was cut off. His lips moved instinctively, as if he was calling him dad.

Lu Xun was in great pain, and he held the harpoon and rushed towards these Western scriptures: "Damn it, I'm fighting with you!"

Puchi!

Lu Xun saw with his own eyes that the Western Fan who killed his son also stabbed a knife into his stomach. He looked at the Western Fan in surprise, with endless hatred in his eyes. He didn't understand why he was killed by this evil man, not by himself!

The Western Fan smiled proudly and threw Lu Xun and his son's bodies into the sea.

Immediately afterwards, the miserable cry of Lu Xun's wife came from the cabin.

In this era, the Spanish colonists were naturally not a peaceful messenger of civilization transmission. They were essentially pirates who did all kinds of evil. They did not dare to face the regular areas of the Ming Dynasty in the Ceuta area, but dared to attack the Ming fishermen.
Chapter completed!