My life skills in Daming Liver

Jiajing suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

Standing outside the door were the soldiers in red armor who had loyally protected him along the way, as well as the imperial guards who were most loyal to the emperor.

But Jiajing had shouted so loudly, and there was still no movement outside the door. The implication of this made the emperor feel fear.

"Huang Jin! Where is Huang Jin!"

Among the eunuchs who followed Jiajing to hunt west, Chen Hong was killed in the Taiyuan mutiny, and Li Fang disappeared on the way to hunt west.

The only one left by Jiajing's side was Huang Jin, an old friend who had served him since the time of Xian Xian's palace.

The emperor realized something was wrong when the eunuch who always served him personally was absent.

Xu Jie raised his head dejectedly, looked at the emperor he had served all his life, suddenly knelt down and said:

"Your Majesty, for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, I ask you to abdicate!"

When he heard the word abdicate, the emperor completely broke his guard and said: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You old dog who colludes with traitors, you have forgotten who promoted you to be the chief minister of the cabinet!"

Mr. Xu Ge, who had always governed with gentleness, finally became tough and said:

"Did your Majesty forget about Taiyuan?"

Speaking of Taiyuan, this is an eternal nightmare on the Jiajing West Hunting Road.

To this day, he still dreams about the dismembered body of Duke Cheng Guo, Chen Hong who was beaten to death and paraded through the streets with a spear poked by soldiers, and the Taiyuan Prince's Palace was surrounded, with shouts and wails all around. .

Xu Jie said: "Your Majesty, if you abdicate now, the ministers and the world will speak well of you. With Prince Yu's character, he will definitely treat you favorably."

"If they occupy the throne by force, how will the two masters of the world regain the southeast!"

Xu Jie knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "I ask your majesty to announce the succession of the crown prince now based on the plan of the country!"

Xu Jie kept kowtowing, but Emperor Jiajing, who was sitting on the throne, remained cold-eyed. He waited until Xu Jie knelt his forehead and drew blood, then Jiajing said:

"For the sake of national affairs, please go and draft an edict of abdication."

Xu Jie quickly saluted again and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Jiajing didn't want to say anything and just asked: "Where is Huang Jin? I want Huang Jin to come back and serve me!"

Xu Jie immediately said: "Huang Daban feels cold occasionally. He will be back to serve His Majesty in a few days."

After saying this, Xu Jie immediately walked out of the Qin Palace and announced to the officials gathered in front of the Qin Palace that Emperor Jiajing was willing to abdicate.

All the ministers breathed a long sigh of relief.

When they heard that the new emperor had regained the capital, all the officials were eager to return home.

Today's Guanzhong has long ceased to be the heart of the world during the Qin, Han and Tang dynasties. Guanzhong is increasingly exhausted, its water conservancy projects have been in disrepair for many years, and it has suffered earthquakes and droughts. How can it compare with the capital.

Moreover, when the new emperor regains the capital and ascends the throne, he will definitely need many ministers to rebuild the court. If he goes back now, he might be able to pick a good position. If he goes back too late, someone will definitely take it. How can those ministers accept this?

The Honorable Lords and the Forbidden Army are all from the capital. When they went hunting in a hurry, they couldn't take away their houses and land. Now they naturally want to return to the capital as soon as possible.

Even the eunuchs and maids who came out with Jiajing wanted to return to the Forbidden City as soon as possible.

If it had been before, with the prestige of Jiajing who had been in charge of state affairs for forty years, he would have been able to suppress these people.

But after the Taiyuan Mutiny, Jiajing's prestige plummeted, and the Sinji Edict made everyone see the weakness of this emperor.

Once prestige declines, it will completely slide into the abyss.

Only then did Xu Jie persuade Jiajing to abdicate.

Xu Jie informed the officials of the news and returned home alone.

He knew that Jiajing must hate him deeply, and the new emperor would not use an old minister who had persuaded the emperor to abdicate, not to mention that Xu Jie was still the head of the old cabinet and had high prestige among the ministers.

Along the way, following Jiajing's hunt to the west, Xu Jie was exhausted both mentally and physically as he made suggestions and quelled the rebellion, and also had to satisfy Jiajing's selfish desires along the way.

Thinking of this, Xu Jie simply took out a dictionary from the study, then packed his bags with the old housekeeper and left the mansion in a simple car.

The two Qiao Zhuang left Xi'an City, and the old housekeeper asked: "Master, where are we going?"

Xu Jie looked at Southeast and said, "Go back to your hometown in Songjiang."

The next day, after the news spread in Xi'an that Xu Jie left his message and left without saying goodbye, many ministers also left without saying goodbye.

These ministers went their separate ways.

Some are anxious to go to the capital to grab a position, some return directly to their hometown, and some go straight to the southeast.

At this time, Zhang Siwei, sent by Long Qing, finally entered Xi'an city covered in dust.

After Zhang Siwei entered the city, he learned that Jiajing had agreed to abdicate yesterday, but Xu Jie, who had taken over the task of drafting the abdication edict, ran away overnight.

Zhang Siwei couldn't help but have a headache. Xu Jie was indeed a veteran. He had quit the dirty work of drafting the abdication edict. Someone had to do this, but he, a new upstart in the new dynasty, could not do it.

Everyone in Xi'an knew that drafting an abdication edict was a dirty job, so naturally no one was willing to do it.

After all, Jiajing is the biological father of the new emperor, and they are not close to each other. If their father and son are reconciled, wouldn't it be unlucky for the one who drafted the edict?

Zhang Siwei had no choice but to summon Hanlin officials and Liubu Tang officials among the officials in Xi'an who could draft the edict, and proposed to draw lots to decide who would draft the edict.

All the ministers also wanted to complete the matter as soon as possible and return to the capital, but in the end they could only agree.

In the end, Sun Piyang, who was a Jinshi in the thirty-fifth year of Jiajing and is now the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, unfortunately won the lottery and became the drafter of Jiajing's abdication edict with a grimace.

It took this young man, who was a Jinshi scholar at the age of twenty-five, a full day to write out an edict of abdication of more than 200 words.

Zhang Siwei couldn't care about anything else and could only take this edict to meet Jiajing immediately.

Jiajing did not want to see his son's messenger, so he asked Zhang Siwei through the screen:

"What title will I take after I abdicate?"

Zhang Siwei said: "Before leaving Beijing, the Ministry of Rites has agreed to respect His Majesty as the Emperor and still call him Your Majesty."

Obviously Jiajing was not satisfied with this title. He asked: "Can I be added as Emperor?"

Zhang Siwei was stunned for a while, asking the emperor? So who is the greater emperor, you, or the emperor Longqing?

Zhang Siwei immediately said: "No."

Jiajing also knew that he was being unreasonable. He used to be the emperor and gave himself such a long title, but now that his son is the emperor, he will not tolerate it.

He asked again: "Where do I live?"

Zhang Siwei said: "The Yuxi Palace has not been destroyed by the bandits. The emperor can live in the old palace peacefully."

Jiajing was still dissatisfied and said: "Guanzhong is very good. I want to stay a few more days."

Zhang Siwei thought for a while, as long as he could bring back the abdication edict, it would be a great achievement, and it would be okay to keep Jiajing in Guanzhong temporarily.

So he kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty is wise, I will return to the capital to report to His Majesty."

Zhang Siwei made great achievements and hurried back to the capital to resume his duties.

The officials in Xi'an all encouraged him to return to the capital together, hoping to gain a good position in the new dynasty.

In this way, Zhang Siwei, surrounded by many veterans with official positions and qualifications above him, set off from Xi'an back to the capital in a mighty manner.

And soon many of the red-helmeted imperial troops took off their armor and followed Zhang Siwei's team on horseback.

Even the maids and eunuchs changed their clothes and followed Zhang Siwei back to the capital.

When Emperor Jiajing woke up, most of the ministers around him had already left.

Even most of the eunuchs and maids who served him were gone.

Faced with such a scene, Jiajing was even more angry and lay on Yuta.

He called Huang Jin and asked:

"Huang Jin, Huang Jin!"

"The servant is here!"

"Is Zhao Zhenji back?"

"Back to Your Majesty, Mr. Zhao hasn't come back yet."

"Young man, don't think you can win just like this!"

Jiajing, who was lying on the raft, still said without giving up:

"The edict to canonize King Jing was written before I abdicated. As long as King Jing is in Huguang, this prince will not dare to touch me!"

The reason why Jiajing stayed in Xi'an and refused to return to the capital was naturally because he was afraid that his son would imprison him.

Emperors who lose power never end well in history.

Jiajing also knew that staying in Xi'an was just a temporary measure, and the real evil plan was the edict to seal King Jing.

Huguang was the granary of the imperial court.

After losing the southeast, there is no doubt that Huguang is important and can be said to be the lifeblood of the empire.

Zhao Zhenji's previous suggestion has also become feasible. As long as there is food in Huguang, refugees can be recruited in Guanzhong to organize and train the new army.

With soldiers in hand, even if his son ascends the throne in the capital, he can't do anything to him.

When thinking of this, Jiajing said:

"The strong wind knows the strength of the grass, and the turbulence knows the hearts of the people! Only then will you know who is the loyal minister! and who is the traitor!"

"Among the cultural relics of the dynasty, only this 'Zhen' is a truly loyal minister!"

Huang Jin could only respond from the side, but his heart felt even more bitter.

At this point, the emperor is still fighting for power, and he doesn't know whether it is a blessing or a curse for the Ming Dynasty.

And Zhao Zhenji, who was considered the number one loyal minister by Jiajing, finally arrived in Huguang after hitting a wall in Xuzhou.

Huguang De'an (now Anlu, Hubei) was a vassal state that King Jing was canonized.

Zhao Zhenji had already heard the news about Long Qing's enthronement in the capital. He struggled for a long time and finally decided to continue going to Huguang to convey the decree.

Yang Bo's high profile has already contributed to his support.

He, Zhao Zhenji, suggested that Jiajing canonize King Jing. If the new emperor found out, he would definitely be liquidated.

This is the only way to get to the dark side.

When he was in the capital, King Jing's treatment was the same as that of King Yu.

According to the ancestral system, as long as the adult prince is not the crown prince, he must live in the vassal state.

However, Jiajing did not establish a crown prince and did not allow King Jing to leave the capital, which created a situation in the capital where the two kings were fighting.

Yan Shifan supported King Jing. Later, Yan Song and his son fell, and King Jing went to the vassal state of Huguang.

The vassal state given to King Jing by Jiajing was also quite generous.

King Jing not only obtained tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land in De'an Mansion, but after arriving in De'an Mansion, King Jing also extended his hands to several surrounding mansions.

King Jing sent his men to set up checkpoints on land and water in Jingzhou Prefecture to collect taxes on the Yangtze River.

He also sent his men to Hanyang Mansion to collect market taxes.

After acquiring tens of thousands of feudal lands, King Jing continued to occupy the official and private lands of De'an Prefecture. The entire Huguang officialdom was filled with complaints, but the entire Huguang officialdom was powerless against King Jing.

After knowing that there was no hope of seizing the legitimate heir, King Jing lived a luxurious life in the palace.

A few days ago, his father went on a hunt in the west and his brother ascended the throne. This series of news had made King Jing despair of the current situation, and he spent all day enjoying himself in the palace.

After Zhao Zhenji arrived at the magnificent palace, the fat King Jing hurriedly came out of the palace.

The incense table was placed, everyone in the palace knelt on the ground, and Zhao Zhenji read out the decree.

When he heard that his father appointed him to be the military commander of Huguang, Jiangxi and Zhizhi, and also granted him the power to appoint and remove low-ranking officials, King Jing also hesitated.

The royal family members after the Yongle year were basically raised as pigs.

It's okay for you to be arrogant and extravagant in your territory. As long as you don't care about power, the emperor is basically willing to support the vassal and his family.

King Jing knelt on the ground and asked, "When did your father issue this decree?"

Zhao Zhenji immediately understood what King Jing meant, and he immediately said: "Your Majesty issued this imperial edict just after the expedition to the west. This imperial edict was also discussed by the courtiers."

The time of the imperial edict is naturally important. If it was before Longqing ascended the throne, then Jiajing's edict was undoubtedly the imperial edict.

If it was written after Long Qing ascended the throne, the value of the imperial edict would be compromised.

After hearing that Shi Xishou had issued an imperial edict shortly after, King Jing felt a little more confident. He interpreted the imperial edict, and then took Zhao Zhenji to the study room of the palace. After stepping back, he said:

"Mr. Zhao Ge, even though King Gu controls Huguang, the local officials don't buy Gu's account at all."

"The tax inspector sent by King Gu to Jingzhou Prefecture was driven back by Xu Xuemo, the prefect of Jingzhou Prefecture."

"You Jujing, the governor of Huguang, never gave face to the lonely king."

King Jing complained for a while, and Zhao Zhenji touched his delicate beard. He finally understood why King Jing, who was supported by Yan Shifan, could not defeat King Yu!

You just granted De'an, how could you have the nerve to send a tax inspector to Jingzhou Prefecture?

At this level of political struggle, if Jiajing hadn't intended to strike a balance between the two sons, why would they be trying to seize the rightful son?

But now Zhao Zhenji can only be forced to board King Jing's broken ship.

He said: "Your Majesty, His Majesty's order is here. If Huguang officials disobey it, they are treason."

Then Zhao Zhenji said: "Your Majesty asked His Highness to recruit troops to fight against the southeastern thieves. The top priority is to recruit an army as soon as possible. With the troops in hand, we can naturally control Huguang."

King Jing slapped his thigh, and all the flesh in his body trembled and said: "Mr. Zhao Ge is really a talented person for the country! But recruiting soldiers requires money, how can we raise the funds?"

Zhao Zhenji was about to scold her mother. The Prince Jing's Mansion in De'an was more luxurious than those vassal princes' mansions that had been passed down for more than ten generations.

When King Jing became a vassal, Jiajing rewarded him with a large amount of money and so much fertile land in De'an that he was even reluctant to part with the money to recruit soldiers.

No wonder Yan Shifan supported him, but King Jing still couldn't beat King Yu.

But at this time, Zhao Zhenji had no way out. He could only say: "Your Highness, as long as you can have all of Huguang, how much money do you want, but how much money do you have? First, according to your majesty's decree, raise a large army in De'an. With this We will send a large army to Wuchang immediately, so that you, the Governor of Huguang, can be considered worthy of your name."

King Jing finally came to his senses and said quickly: "Quickly take out the treasures from Prince Gu's treasury and give them to Master Zhao to recruit troops!"

Historically, Sun Piyang served as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, invented the method of drawing lots, and selected officials by drawing lots. The world called him fair.