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When Zhao Junchen and Zhu Heyu met and had a secret talk, Zhao Junchen once told him that the imperial court was investigating the illegal and disorderly affairs of the vassal kings in various places this time, and the result was destined to be thunder and rain!

Because this matter is too sensitive, not only does it involve the "ancestral system" and the "national capital", but also the feudal kings and local forces have long been intricately combined, which can be said to affect the whole body, and can only be gradually dealt with by simmering over low heat and boiling frogs in warm water.

What's more, Emperor Deqing's goal this time has never been to abolish the vassal system in one fell swoop, but just wants to make an example of chickens and monkeys, beat warnings, depose several vassal kings who led the chaos, and take the opportunity to recover some of the benefits from the vassal kings and reduce part of the burden on the court, that's all.

Therefore, before Zhu Heyu went out of Beijing to investigate the vassal king, when he asked Zhao Junchen for advice, Zhao Junchen's suggestion was also very simple, that is, to follow the rules step by step - start the investigation with the most conspicuous feudal kings, and after the investigation of one vassal king and then investigate another vassal king, there will be vassal kings who will be charged and deposed, and the resistance faced by Zhu Heyu will become greater and greater.

This method may seem mediocre, but it is also the most secure, and the results will not be too dazzling, but it will not cause trouble.

In the final analysis, the so-called "governing a big country is like cooking a small fresh" is actually a means of dividing and winning over a group, pulling in a group, fighting a group, and warning a group, so as to minimize the hostile forces and their subsequent impact, and that's it.

But it's a pity that Zhu Heyu still failed to listen to persuasion after all, or someone misled his judgment, thinking that he behaved better this time and could change Emperor Deqing's heart to change the prince.

Zhao Junchen was more inclined to the latter, thinking that Zhu Heyu had been cheated again.

Now, Zhu and Yu have found conclusive evidence of more than ten vassal kings at the same time, and the blow is too big, which will inevitably lead to the danger and fierce backlash of all the clans, and they will inevitably join forces to resist, and Zhu Heyu will stand on the cusp of the wind and waves, and will inevitably become the primary target of the vassal kings when they fight back.

At that time, in order to appease the anger and panic of the entire clan, Emperor Deqing also had the intention of deposing the crown prince, but I was afraid that Zhu Heyu would not only be unable to make meritorious contributions, but would be unlucky if he did too many mistakes.

The most important thing is that Zhu Heyu's approach undoubtedly attracted the disgust and hostility of the entire clan, and it would also affect Zhao Junchen's plan for him to retreat and advance.

In the past, the crown prince Zhu and Yu repeatedly fell into pits, Zhao Junchen always hid aside to watch jokes, and even many pits were dug by Zhao Junchen himself, and he also pushed Zhu Heyu behind his back.

If it weren't for the fact that Emperor Deqing was still trying his best to defend Zhu Heyu at that time, Zhao Junchen would have buried Zhu Heyu who fell into the pit alive.

But now, Zhao Junchen and Zhu Heyu have turned enemies into friends and alliances, so they must wipe his ass.

Speaking of which, Zhao Junchen didn't do anything during this time, so he took care of cleaning up the mess for Emperor Deqing and Zhu Heyu, the father and son.

Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen shook his head helplessly, and said slowly: "The prince is ...... Sure enough, I don't trust me like trusting Xiao Wenruan and Zhao Shancai, I have obviously arranged a way back for him, it seems that he is living after death, but in fact, it is based on the premise of self-maintenance and hope to retreat into advance...... But it's a pity that he still didn't dare to put his fate in my hands after all, and couldn't help but want to make some achievements...... What a dissuasion! ”

Zhang Yu'er asked tentatively: "If the prince is always disobedient, let's just give up on him, why bother to spend all the time for him?" Yu'er always felt that this person couldn't succeed. ”

Zhao Junchen shook his head again and said: "It's because it's difficult for him to succeed, so I'm betting on him now, if he can still succeed after leaving me, where is my value to him?" How will you control him in the future? What's more, the focus now is not on the crown prince Zhu Heyu, but on the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, who is about to go to the front of the scene...... I must use the crown prince to balance this man! ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's explanation, Zhang Yuer immediately stopped talking, her face was faintly pale, and a trace of panic flashed in her eyes.

She originally defected to Zhao Junchen's side from Zhu Hejian, the seventh prince, and then almost died of Zhu Hejian's plot, and she knows the horror of this person the most.

In fact, because of the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian, Zhang Yuer still does not dare to walk out of the inner house of the Zhao Mansion and show her head openly, and has always pretended that she has died of stomach disease and lost her fragrance.

Seeing Zhang Yuer's expression change, Zhao Junchen stood up and walked to her side, patted her fragrant shoulder gently, and used this action to express his intention of protection, calming Zhang Yuer's fear.

Zhang Yu'er's mood calmed down a little, and she asked again: "So, the prince has caused such a big mess, what should we do now to help him resolve this crisis?" Once the clans from all over the country unite against him, this kind of thing is not a joke. ”

Zhao Junchen thought seriously for a moment and said slowly: "There is no need to help him resolve this crisis, but there are some plans...... It can be expanded in advance. ”

This is a plan that has been prepared for a long time, and since the crown prince Zhu and Yu took the initiative to turn enemies into friends with Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen has been secretly prepared.

*

That night, just like Zhang Yuer's inference, the prince Zhu and Yu impeached more than ten vassal kings at the same time and sent it to the capital.

The sheer number of the clans involved and the seriousness of the crimes involved in the case were far beyond everyone's expectations.

Everyone's thoughts are like Zhao Junchen, they didn't expect that the crown prince Zhu Heyu would perform so well this time, and he could find so much evidence in just over half a month, but he just didn't know whether such an outstanding performance was a good thing or a bad thing for himself.

For a time, the undercurrent in the capital was turbulent, and the officials of various factions gathered to discuss and inquire about the news, but because this matter involved many clans, before Emperor Deqing did not express his opinion, no one dared to take the initiative to express his attitude, and they all observed the change in the direction of the wind.

However, after Emperor Deqing received Zhu Heyu's impeachment of the vassal kings, he rarely did not react, neither expressing his appreciation for Zhu Heyu's ability to do things, nor angrily reprimanding the audacity of the vassal kings, nor even convening important ministers of the court for discussion, as if he wanted to wait for the reaction of the vassal kings, and seemed to have other plans.

In fact, after Emperor Deqing received Zhu Heyu's recital, his only reaction was to announce the cancellation of the court meeting for the next two days, and the ministers could not personally observe Emperor Deqing's attitude, nor could they discuss this matter openly at the court meeting, so they became more and more privately discussed.

And while everyone in the capital is focusing on this big thing, there is also a seemingly inconspicuous small thing happening in the capital.

On the third day when the prince Zhu and Yu were sent to the capital, a Beijing official named Song Huancheng, who was the fifth grade of the imperial court, suddenly fainted on the spot while working in the yamen of the Ministry of Rites.

After seeing Song Huancheng faint, the colleagues in the Ministry of Rites were all taken aback, and hurriedly called the doctor for diagnosis.

And the doctor's diagnosis made everyone feel unbelievable.

Song Huancheng, a dignified official of the imperial court, fainted from hunger.

But if you know a little about Song Huancheng's personality, you won't be surprised by this kind of thing.

In order to maintain their lives and dignity, officials in the Ming Dynasty could only use some shady means to collect money, otherwise they would not even have enough to eat.

And Song Huancheng is a real gentleman, who has always adhered to the style of integrity, and has never disdained to do the kind of corruption and bribery, and the abuse of power for personal gain, and has never formed a party for personal gain.

Moreover, Song Huancheng is also fundamentally different from those Qingliu in the court, although Qingliu is less corrupt and bribery, but most of them are not worried about food and clothing, born in wealthy families, and never refuse to use their rights to make profits for their families, and they like to hold the unity party the most, but Song Huancheng has an average family background, and he has never used his power for personal gain, and he has never been a person from Qingliu.

In this era of light and dust, such characters are simply rare.

It is rumored that the crown prince Zhu and Yu were once admired by Song Huancheng's name and wanted to accept Song Huancheng into the "Tai. Zidang", but Song Huancheng said that "gentlemen are not in the group", and said, "Prince, you are only the future emperor, and Huancheng will only be loyal to today's emperor, and when the prince ascends the throne in the future, he does not have to deliberately recruit, Huancheng will naturally be loyal";

It is rumored that after hearing about Song Huancheng's deeds, Zhou Shangjing, the head of the cabinet, and Zhao Junchen, the elder of the cabinet, also wanted to deliberately recruit under the door, and Song Huancheng had a more clear attitude in the face of the recruitment of these two, and directly said that "the Tao is different and does not conspire with each other", which once made Zhou Shangjing and Zhao Junchen very unable to step down.

In the officialdom of the capital, Song Huancheng also has a nickname, called "Song Maoshi", which means that he is like a stone in a thatched house, smelly and hard!

This kind of character, under the officialdom environment of the Ming Dynasty, naturally lives an extremely hard life, not to mention that Song Huancheng has a frail and sick old mother and an idle brother at home, and often can only live with gruel and pickles.

Originally, relying only on Song Huancheng's official and his wife's needlework, he could barely maintain daily food and clothing, but he was ...... In the past six months, in order to support the war between Shaanxi, Gansu and Hetao, the imperial court has twice successively "exchanged rice for silver", and all officials can only receive silver for half a year, but they can't receive rice at all, so they can only buy grain from grain shops, but in the past six months, the price of private grain has also risen nearly doubled, so Song Huancheng has become more and more miserable.

Under such circumstances, is it strange that Song Huancheng suddenly faints from hunger?

Not surprising!

In this world, a gentleman has to live much harder than a villain, and it is a miracle that a gentleman like Song Huancheng can survive until now.

But this seemingly inconspicuous thing has quietly spread more and more widely, and it has also triggered many discussions, and occasionally some voices criticizing the court officials are too low.

It's as if an invisible hand is pushing it in the dark.

Of course, the princes in the temple only focused on the major affairs of the imperial court, such as the impeachment of the princes Zhu and Yu, and naturally they would not notice such small things.

Therefore, no one can be alert in time to what kind of after-effects this small incident will cause.

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PS: In the last chapter, Bug tried to change his writing style, but after thinking about it, let's finish the book according to the established style first.

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