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Emperor Deqing's inquiry was naturally to test whether Zhu Hejian had the ambition to covet the throne. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Emperor Deqing is too suspicious and likes to control everything, so after Dongchang investigated Zhu Hejian's relevant information in detail, he found that Zhu Hejian was quite scheming but had been hiding, and he was destined to have today's temptation.

If he couldn't understand Zhu Hejian's true temperament, Emperor Deqing would definitely not be able to make Zhu Hejian the new prince with peace of mind.

In this regard, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian also expected it.

In fact, many of the pieces of information that Emperor Deqing received were deliberately let by Zhu Hejian to Emperor Deqing.

The position of the prince seems to be noble and dazzling, but it is also a crater, and it has never been a comfortable and relaxed position, especially with a sensitive and suspicious emperor like Emperor Deqing above, and a treacherous and treacherous traitor below, it is even more difficult to sit in this position.

If the prince is too dazzling, the emperor above will be suspicious, and the officials below will be uneasy, and they will subconsciously reject it; If the prince behaves too low-key, the emperor above will be disappointed, the officials below will be despised and it will be difficult to get the approval of all parties in the government and the opposition; In short, it's a dilemma.

Before this, the crown prince Zhu Heyu was too dazzling, but he didn't have the scheming means to match, and now he naturally can't sit in the position of the prince.

Therefore, when he was about to come to the forefront, Zhu Hejian, the seventh prince, planned to create an image of a prince for himself that everyone could accept - that is, a keeper with ability, means, but not too much ambition!

Such an image will neither make Emperor Deqing feel jealous or disappointed, nor will it make the officials uneasy or despised, which will help the seventh prince Zhu Hejian to minimize resistance and smoothly become the new prince who is expected by everyone.

Then, as long as he survives until Emperor Deqing is buried and Zhu Hejian can ascend the throne as emperor, at that time, he will no longer have any scruples and can let go of what he wants to do.

For this plan, the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian is very confident, because what he is best at is forbearance and disguise.

And today's Q&A is undoubtedly a great opportunity for Zhu Hejian to shape his image!

*

At this time, after hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, the performance of Zhu Hejian, the seventh prince, was also appropriate, so that people could not see any flaws.

He was slightly stunned at first, and then a trace of disappointment flashed on his face, but in the end, he returned to his usual deferential appearance, and lowered his head and said: "The sons are reluctant to father and mother, and they are reluctant to give up the third brother, but when the princes become adults, they must go to their respective fiefdoms to stay in the towns It is a rule set by Taizu, which has never changed for hundreds of years, and the sons naturally dare not disobey it." ”

Speaking of this, Zhu Hejian looked up at Emperor Deqing, his face was full of gratitude, and said: "Erchen was not in good health before, Father, you can't bear to let Erchen go through the fatigue of carriages and horses, you have already authorized Erchen to stay in the capital for several years, and Erchen also knows that his father has been under a lot of pressure because of this decision, and now that Erchen's body has recovered, he naturally does not dare to trouble his father again...... Therefore, if you plan to let your sons go to the town to stay in the fiefdom, your sons will not dare to have any objections, which is also the responsibility of the descendants of the Zhu family. ”

Hearing Zhu Hejian's words and looking at Zhu Hejian's expression, Emperor Deqing nodded with satisfaction and sighed: "You can understand my difficulties, and you can also understand the responsibilities of the royal descendants, which is rare and rare." ”

Speaking of this, Emperor Deqing shook his head again and sighed, and said, "It's a pity, if the crown prince can be as sensible as you, then I don't have to work as hard as I do now." ”

Zhu Hejian, the seventh prince, knew very well that Emperor Deqing's words were still testing himself.

Therefore, Zhu Hejian not only did not take the opportunity to speak ill of the crown prince Zhu Heyu, but took the initiative to talk about the benefits of Zhu Heyu, and said: "Father, the third brother is certainly upright, but he definitely has no bad intentions, and he has always been loyal and filial to his father, not to mention that the third brother's performance has gradually improved recently, father, you are in good health, and you can live for at least thirty or fifty years, don't worry, the third brother will mature sooner or later." ”

Seeing that Zhu Hejian took the initiative to defend the crown prince Zhu Heyu, it was obvious that the brotherhood between him and Zhu Heyu was not false, Emperor Deqing nodded with satisfaction again.

Then, Emperor Deqing finally opened his mouth to express the question in his heart: "By the way, I heard that during my southern tour, the crown prince and the former pavilion Lao Huang Yourong competed in the capital and had a very unpleasant quarrel, and in the end, it was after you gave advice to the prince that the prince completely suppressed Huang Yourong?" ”

After receiving this information from Dongchang, this matter became a knot in Emperor Deqing's heart, because Emperor Deqing was not sure what Zhu Hejian's performance meant. Zhu Hejian's scheming in the intelligence far exceeded Emperor Deqing's expectations, but Zhu Hejian had never shown it to himself before, this was a deliberate concealment with ulterior motives? Or did Zhu Hejian have never had the desire to express himself to himself?

If it is the former, it means that Zhu Hejian is a very hidden careerist who needs to be carefully guarded by Emperor Deqing; If it is the latter, it means that Zhu Hejian abides by his duties, understands the sense of proportion, has the ability but does not have much ambition, and is worthy of Emperor Deqing's reuse.

According to Zhu Hejian's performance all the time, Emperor Deqing is more inclined to the latter, but after all, Zhu Hejian still needs to explain it to Emperor Deqing in person.

At this time, after hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Zhu Hejian's complexion changed, and he hurriedly knelt in front of Emperor Deqing, kowtowed: "Since my father opened his mouth to ask, my sons don't dare to hide it!" When the third brother and the former cabinet old Huang Yourong were guarding the capital, the two sides gradually began to have contradictions, and the conflict intensified, the officials and the people were panicked, and the sons were worried that the third brother would blame the third brother for failing to stabilize the temple situation after his father returned to Beijing, so he went to the East Palace to advise the third brother, but ......"

Speaking of this, Zhu Hejian was a little hesitant, as if he didn't know how to continue.

Emperor Deqing said: "But the prince didn't listen to your advice at all, and still insisted on conflict with Huang Yourong, so in order to avoid turmoil in the temple and to avoid blaming the prince after I returned to Beijing, you gave advice to the prince and helped the prince suppress Huang Yourong, but so?" ”

However, Zhu Hejian did not answer Emperor Deqing's question this time, and seemed unwilling to talk about the mistakes of the crown prince Zhu Heyu, but just bowed his head and admitted his mistakes: "In any case, the sons should not participate in the political affairs of the previous dynasty, it is the sons who have exceeded the rules, even if it is excusable, but the rules are the rules, and the sons are willing to be punished." ”

Emperor Deqing asked curiously: "But what makes me most strange is that the crown prince really suppressed Huang Yourong because of your assistance...... Although Huang Yourong doesn't have much ability, he is not an easy person, but he is not your opponent at all, after I learned the news, I was quite surprised, because in my impression, Lao Qi, you have never been good at calculating and making decisions. ”

Speaking of this, Emperor Deqing's expression seemed casual, but the corner of his eye was staring at Zhu Hejian tightly, not letting go of Zhu Hejian's slightest change in expression, and asked: "But since you have such a scheming method, why haven't you shown it in front of me before?" ”

Zhu Hejian replied slowly: "Erchen thinks that it is enough for him to show filial piety and loyalty in front of his father, as for those scheming methods, to be honest, Erchen doesn't know if he is good at it, but Erchen will not participate in court affairs in the future, so naturally he can't use those scheming methods, so he doesn't need to deliberately behave." ”

After repeated temptations, and Zhu Hejian's answer, Emperor Deqing's doubts finally dissipated most, and he became more and more satisfied with Zhu Hejian's performance.

As Zhu Hejian expected, he showed a picture of wisdom and means in front of Emperor Deqing, but he did not have any ambitions, which made Emperor Deqing quite reassured.

As a result, Emperor Deqing's various temptations finally came to an end.

I saw Emperor Deqing nodding and said: "It's rare that you have such an awareness, thinking that your advice for the prince is all out of kindness, and I won't punish you." ”

Zhu Hejian did not feel any surprise at Emperor Deqing's decision, but on the surface, he was surprised and moved, and thanked Emperor Deqing again and again.

Then, Emperor Deqing pondered for a moment, and then said: "Well, I have seriously thought about it again just now, your throne title and fief have not yet been decided, and it is not good to rush you out of the capital now...... That's it, you can stay in the capital for a while longer, even if you really want to leave the capital and go to the fiefdom town, you have to wait until after the New Year. ”

Hearing Emperor Deqing's words, Zhu Hejian knew that he had finally passed the preliminary test of Emperor Deqing!

*

When Zhu Hejian left the imperial study, there was a sense of relief.

Because Zhu Hejian knows that after today's Q&A, he has taken a big step closer to the position of the prince!

Next, as long as Zhu Hejian waits patiently for the crown prince Zhu Heyu to make a mistake again!

In fact, the opportunity came sooner than Zhu Hejian imagined.

Zhu Hejian had just left the imperial study and was about to go to the noon gate when he saw his personal eunuch Jia Lun walking quickly towards him.

After coming to Zhu Hejian's side, Jia Lun reported to Zhu Hejian in a low voice: "Your Highness, I just received the news that Zhao Junchen began to punish Guo Tang, and the means were extremely intense, not only sending people to seal the Guo family's 'Sitong Commercial Bank', but also arresting Guo Tang's own brother Guo Min, and Guo Tang's grandson Guo Mingtai was also dismissed as a prisoner by Guozijian...... In addition, the officials of the Zhao Party also plan to impeach Guo Tang in a big way tomorrow morning, and some rumors unfavorable to Guo Tang have begun to appear among the government and the opposition......"

After hearing Jia Lun's report, Zhu Hejian couldn't help but look surprised and said, "Oh? Although he knew that Guo Tang was not Zhao Junchen's opponent at all, he didn't expect Zhao Junchen's revenge to be so fierce! It seems that Zhao Junchen is planning to use this matter to establish his authority. ”

Jia Lun continued to report: "Because of Zhao Junchen's retaliation, Guo Tang has no power to fight back at all, and now he has united some Qingliu officials to go to the East Palace for help." ”

A gleam flashed in Zhu Hejian's eyes, and he asked, "Did the prince promise to support Guo Tang?" ”

Jia Lun replied: "It is difficult to disobey the will of the people, the prince has already agreed to Guo Tang's request for help, I am afraid that tomorrow morning he will have to fight with Zhao Junchen in the ring." ”

With Jia Lun's answer, a trace of flush suddenly appeared on Zhu Hejian's face, who was originally calm, and he seemed to be faintly excited.

"I really didn't expect ......" Zhu Hejian, the seventh prince, said slowly: "My opportunity appeared so soon!" Although Zhao Junchen's revenge this time is a bit fierce, it also makes sense, if the prince blindly supports Guo Tang, I am afraid he will not be able to please him! At the same time, his father had made up his mind to depose him, but he lacked a reason......"

Speaking of this, Zhu Hejian's eyes couldn't help but fluctuate.

Jia Lun said: "What's more, in addition to asking the prince for help, Guo Tang also sent someone to send a secret letter to His Highness, asking His Highness to help him tide over the difficulties, Your Highness, do you want to respond to him?" ”

When Zhu Hejian heard this, his expression was indifferent, and he decisively gave up Guo Tang and said: "With Guo Tang's ability, even if I do my best to help him, he will not be Zhao Junchen's opponent, in this case, why should I help him?" If Zhao Junchen knew about my help to him, it would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble...... Guo Tang's secret letter, just treat it as if I haven't seen it, anyway, he offended Zhao Junchen and is about to fall, and it is useless for me, so I don't need to pay attention to it at all. ”

Jia Lun hesitated: "However, Guo Tang is 'too. The person who supports His Highness the most within the sub-party, if he loses him, after His Highness becomes the prince in the future, it will probably take a lot of effort to get the support of Qingliu. ”

Zhu Hejian said coldly: "I'm not Zhu Heyu, Qingliu's support is not so important to me!" Qingliu is a piece of chicken ribs, it is a pity to abandon it if it is tasteless, and it is a pity to get their support to help the reputation, but Qingliu does not have any ability to do things, and he also points fingers at you all day long, which can be described as annoying...... In this case, even if I lose Qingliu's support, I won't have much loss. ”

After speaking, Zhu Hejian turned his head to look at Jia Lun, and said: "Remember, since Zhu Heyu's path has failed, then we must avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, Zhu Heyu's path is not so easy to succeed!" ”

Hearing Zhu Hejian's words, Jia Lun's eyes flashed slightly, and he lowered his head and said, "I wrote it down." ”

On the other side, Zhu Hejian was already walking towards the noon gate with his head up, and when he raised his hands and feet, he already had a faint feeling of complacency.

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PS: Recently, the insect has taken care of work, family, and code words, and has gradually become a little physically and mentally exhausted, and the plot written is not very satisfactory - for example, the relevant plot of Guo Tang has obviously dragged on too long - so I have to take a little rest, reorganize my thinking, and there is only one chapter a day, but it will be updated again from Wednesday.

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