The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty

In the capital, things are turbulent and treacherous.

Li Dongyang coughed violently in the room, and his stepson Li Zhaofan hurriedly fetched the decoction.

"Father, take a rest after drinking the decoction!"

"Your condition is getting more serious. You can no longer work so hard!"

Li Zhaofan was inexplicably imprisoned for presiding over the Huguang Guild Hall.

Later, because Zhu Houzhao ignored the government affairs, Liu Jin took the opportunity to steal power, repaid Li Zhaofan and other Huguang Township Party members from prison.

After all, they didn't have any charges, they were just accused of a false charge.

Mou Bin also knew this. According to Tishuai's principles of dealing with things, he should just let him go.

Li Dongyang waved his hand, took the soup and drank it in one gulp, then leaned on the soft couch.

"Son, how can a father sleep while the situation is unclear now?"

"Today, Liu Jin was once again thrown into prison by His Majesty, which is tantamount to knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger!"

Doesn't Your Majesty know that Liu Jin is colluding with him, Li Dongyang?

of course I know!

Definitely know!

In this case, Liu Jin's sudden imprisonment is enough to frighten people.

Li Zhaofan sighed after hearing this. After hesitating for a moment, he boldly expressed his opinion.

"Father, you are a leader in the literary world, how can you get entangled with an eunuch like Liu Jin who is causing harm to the country and causing chaos in politics?"

Not to mention the natural opposition between gentry and eunuchs, this Liu Jin was not a good person in the first place and had long been notorious and notorious.

Li Dongyang was a serious literary leader, but in order to regain power, he did not hesitate to collude with Liu Jin. Even Li Zhaofan found it contemptible!

Hearing this, Li Dongyang raised his head and glanced at his stepson, then smiled to himself.

"How could my father be able to sit in the position of chief minister of the cabinet without colluding with Liu Jin?"

"It is not the behavior of a gentleman to collude with eunuchs!" Li Zhaofan once again advised him.

Li Dongyang waved his hands impatiently, not wanting to argue with his stepson about this matter.

"Why has eunuchs been able to thrive throughout the ages? In every dynasty, there will always be one or two people who hold great power and cause harm to the country and chaos in government?"

"The Li and Tang Dynasties have them, the Song Dynasty has them, we have them in the Ming Dynasty, and the Han and Han Dynasties have them all!"

"Not because they serve the emperor, but they are the emperor's domestic slaves!"

"Compared to domestic slaves, we are still foreign ministers, so we cannot be trusted by the emperor!"

Eunuchs and eunuchs are their own slaves, while court officials and court officials are just outsiders. Which emperor would not trust his own people but trust outsiders?

This is the real reason why eunuchs and eunuchs can thrive forever!

In fact, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was an emperor who did not believe in eunuchs and eunuchs. He even learned from the experiences and lessons of previous dynasties. In order to prevent the Ming Dynasty from having relatives and eunuchs harming the country and causing political chaos, he even issued iron laws and cast iron plates. If the palace gate is suspended, the harem is not allowed to interfere with political affairs, and the ministers are not allowed to interfere with political affairs. Anyone who offends will be executed!

The former has always been implemented very well, but the latter changed during the Yongle period.

Emperor Yongle relied on conspiracy to usurp the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. When he was in trouble, many eunuchs and eunuchs appeared with outstanding merits, such as the brave and warrior Wang Gou'er, and the resourceful Zheng He.

Therefore, during the Yongle period, the status of eunuchs and eunuchs was greatly improved, and they were appointed as generals and prime ministers to command the army. The ban imposed by Emperor Taizu Gao was in vain.

After that, Emperor Xuande established an internal study hall in the palace, allowing Hanlin officials to teach junior eunuchs to read. In fact, because the emperor appointed eunuchs more frequently, the Yongle period had already begun to train junior eunuchs. And training, but it was not formalized and institutionalized. It was not until the Xuande period that the emperor institutionalized this. The purpose of training young eunuchs was to prepare secretarial talents who could handle writing for the crown prince.

Moreover, it was also during the Xuande period that the cabinet's voting rights and the ceremonial supervisor's power to approve red affairs came into being.

Reviewing memorials was originally the main way for emperors and emperors to handle state affairs. During the Yongle and Hongxi dynasties, foreign ministers generally could not know some secret memorials. The correction of memorials was all done by the emperor alone and was not entrusted to others.

Emperor Xuande ordered Yang Shiqi and others from the cabinet to participate in the review of memorials because of his neglect of government affairs. Chinese and foreign memorials allowed ministers to write their review suggestions on paper and paste them on the opposite side of each memorial for submission. Finally, the emperor personally reviewed the memorials. This is It's "ticket plan".

Having votes from cabinet ministers was not enough, Emperor Xuande still felt tired, so the eunuchs Bingbi, the eunuchs who were trained in the inner study hall, came into being to approve red papers on behalf of the emperor. They were responsible for approving red papers on his behalf and reviewing memorials on behalf of the emperor. , this is the "red approval" of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

By dividing the imperial power, Emperor Xuande gave the cabinet part of the decision-making power to draft votes on his behalf, and gave the Supervisor of Ceremonies part of the decision-making power to vote on his behalf, which greatly reduced the government work of his Majesty the Emperor, so he wrote documents every day. , as the emperor, he only needed the royal pen to mark several copies, and all the eunuchs were divided into batches, following the words drawn up in the pavilion, and marking them in regular script with red pen.

Eunuchs and eunuchs are all one's own domestic slaves. It's no big deal if one of your own people helps you review memorials on your behalf.

And this just gave the eunuchs and eunuchs the opportunity to steal power and bring chaos to the country!

In fact, Li Dongyang is still hoping to help Liu Jin enter the Department of Ceremonies or even take charge of the Department of Ceremonies!

When the time comes, Liu Jin will be in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies and be responsible for approving red papers, and Li Dongyang will be in charge of the cabinet and be responsible for drafting votes. All major military and state affairs will come from the two of them. This is no different from monopolizing power.

However, no one expected that His Majesty the Emperor, who was so good, would suddenly throw Liu Jin into prison again!

For a moment, even Li Dongyang was a little frightened.

"Your Majesty knew what Liu Jin had done before, but he didn't punish him. Why?"

"Because Liu Jin suppressed foreign court officials, which is what His Majesty wanted to see, His Majesty did not punish Liu Jin!"

Li Dongyang started the self-questioning and answering mode, and he wanted to quickly clarify the current situation.

"Even when Liu Jian was driven away by Liu Jin, Your Majesty didn't say anything more. Why?"

"Because it is indeed time for Liu Jian to become an official. His Majesty is about to turn eighteen, which means that he will soon take charge of the government. Liu Jian, an old stubborn man, continues to stay in the court and is at odds with His Majesty. Therefore, sooner or later, he will become an official, and so will Your Majesty. Drive him away!"

Li Zhaofan on the side was frightened when he heard this, but he did not dare to say a word.

"Your Majesty was able to tolerate everything Liu Jin did before, including colluding with me and plotting against the Marquis of Zhongshan. So why can't you tolerate it this time?"

"This time Liu Jin is plotting against Chen Kuan. He wants to take the opportunity to enter the ceremonial office. What's the problem?"

Li Dongyang coughed violently again, and his face was as pale as paper.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in his mind.

"I understand!"

"This time, Liu Jin also committed the same mistake as the Nanyuan Tiger Case!"

"He should not fool His Majesty the Emperor as a child. The failure of this strategy is that His Majesty is no longer a child!"

After understanding this, Li Dongyang breathed a sigh of relief.

The real reason Liu Jin was imprisoned was because he despised the emperor.

The Zhengde Emperor Zhu Houzhao directly saw through his little thoughts, which was no different from fooling the emperor!

You can plot against Chen Kuan, but you can't plot against the emperor as well. This is a taboo thing!

Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor did not hold back this time and directly sent Liu Jin to prison!

In other words, this matter actually has nothing to do with Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan. His Majesty the Emperor doesn't care at all that he and Liu Jin are chasing after Tang Hao!

"Zhaofan, inform those people to continue taking action!"

"This time, we must let that Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao be ruined!"

Li Dongyang shouted through gritted teeth, his eyes full of fierceness.

His hatred for Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, was so intense that he hated him to the core!

The good situation was completely destroyed by Tang Hao, and he still hasn't been able to catch his breath.

If Tang Hao doesn't die, Li Dongyang will feel uneasy!

Li Zhaofan let out a long sigh, but still did not persuade him any more, and went to the interrogation honestly.

Soon, rumors spread in the capital, and there was only one person at the core.

Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, is not a descendant of the Tang family at all, but a barbarian pretending to be his identity!

Because of Tang Hao's legendary experience and his fierce reputation, once these rumors spread, they immediately caused a sensation and became a hot topic of discussion among everyone in the capital!

After all, this thing is so new!

A foreign barbarian, pretending to be an identity after his meritorious deeds, openly became the Marquis of Zhongshan of the Ming Dynasty!

If this thing is true, the Ming Dynasty will be really embarrassed!

Although it is said that since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there have been many Tartar officials who surrendered to Mongolia, and there have been a few marquises, but the nature is completely different, right?

Tang Hao is using his identity to steal his position!

These rumors include the life history and inheritance of Tang Hao's nominal grandfather Tang Yinji and father Tang Bing. Each one is extremely clear. No matter how you look at it, there is no descendant like Tang Hao!

At this point, the truth seems to have been revealed!

This Tang Hao is a barbarian who appears out of nowhere, steals the identity of a descendant of the Tang family, and then steals the Marquis of Zhongshan that should belong to Tang Shaozong, the orthodox descendant of the Tang family!

For a time, the crowd was furious and the whole world was in an uproar!

The Tang family, who were at the center of public opinion, were now anxious to become ants on a hot pot.

Tang Ji, the elder of the Tang family, never imagined that the Tang family, which was so prosperous because of Tang Hao, would become the target of public criticism in an instant!

Tang Hao himself was even sent to prison, his life and death unknown, and some people even deliberately spread rumors against the Zhongshan Marquis Mansion and the old Tang family!

Damn it!

Tang Er sat on the seat with a livid face, thinking about countermeasures.

Because Tang Hao was imprisoned and Tang Mu was unknown where he was, the Zhongshan Marquis Mansion now needed the support of a clan leader like him.

After much thought, Tang Yan decided to visit the British Duke Zhang Mao and his family. After all, the only one who could save the Zhongshan Hou Mansion was Zhang Mao.

However, just when Tang Yu was about to leave, the concierge came to report in a hurry.

"Master, it's bad, someone from Baoguo Duke's Mansion broke off the engagement!"

"What did you say?" Tang Li was furious when he heard this, "How dare they do this? What's the difference between this and adding insult to injury?"

Without waiting for the concierge to answer, a man who looked like a butler walked in carelessly and glanced at Tang Ren haughtily.

"So that you, Mr. Tang, will know that my Duke has ordered that the marriage between the Marquis of Zhongshan and Duke Bao will be annulled!"

"How brave!" Tang Yan shouted angrily with a livid face: "Even if you want to break off the engagement, you should let Zhu Hui come over in person to discuss with me. Who are you as a servant? Do you really want to bully my Zhongshan Marquis Mansion? ?”

"Ha!" The housekeeper sneered, "What nonsense is Zhongshan Marquis Mansion? God knows where your Zhongshan Marquis is a barbarian. No wonder he needs to shave his head and beard..."

"How presumptuous!" Tang Yan was so angry that he hit the housekeeper hard with his cane.

Although the butler was in pain, he did not dare to fight back. After all, he was just a servant. No matter how arrogant he was, he could not really compare with his master.

"Today's humiliation has been recorded by the Zhongshan Marquis Mansion, and I will pay it back a hundredfold in the future. See you off!"

Tang Er shouted sternly and stopped looking at the housekeeper.

The housekeeper got a stick from his mouth because of his bad words, so he could only walk away angrily.

Tang Yan sat back down and was so angry that he grabbed the teacup and smashed it into pieces.

"Zhu Hui!"

"You common man!"

"How dare you humiliate me, Mr. Tang!"

We are from a noble family, and we usually look up and down. Even if you want to break off the engagement, you can't send a servant over and still speak so rudely!

If Zhu Hui does this, the news will spread throughout the capital in a short time. Not only will Zhongshan Marquis become the laughing stock of the capital, but the entire Lao Tang family will also be humiliated!

In other words, the in-laws cannot directly become enemies!

Tang Yu originally thought of asking the British Duke Zhang Mao for help, but now looking at Zhu Hui's attitude, I am afraid that Zhang Mao will not be much better, and he will only bring humiliation to himself if he comes to ask for help!

When he thought of this, Uncle Tang couldn't help but sigh heavily.

"Tang Hao, Tang Hao, what on earth are you doing?"

"Did I really make a mistake back then?"

Perhaps feeling something in his heart, Tang Yan suddenly raised his head, his face instantly turning pale as paper.

I saw people from the Tang clan gathering silently one after another. Even Tang Yan didn't know that these people had returned to Beijing.

Without waiting for Tang Yu to ask, these people made way.

Seeing the limping man walking up to him, Tang Yu subconsciously avoided his sharp gaze and sighed silently.

"Shaozong, why are you doing this?"

"Master Marquis treats you well! Your lineage's food and clothing expenses are the best in the entire Tang family..."

When Tang Shaozong heard this, he shouted angrily with a ferocious face: "You are not nice to me? How can you have the nerve to say such a thing?!"

"You let a barbarian steal my Tang family identity, and then let this barbarian take away the title that should belong to me. Now you still have the nerve to say you're not mean to me?"

"I, Tang Shaozong, am the eldest son by direct lineage. This title of Marquis of Zhongshan should belong to me, Tang Shaozong. It was that damn barbarian who robbed me of everything, and I even broke a leg because of it!"

Tang Shaozong roared with a ferocious expression.

He is qualified to stand here and question Tang Yan!

Because he is the direct descendant of the Tang family!

Tang Yan raised his head and looked at Tang Shaozong, and said coldly: "Do you think the Marquis doesn't know about the things you did secretly?"

"Since the establishment of the ancestral temple, you first drowned your sorrows with wine, and then brutally killed several maids in the house. These were all settled by the Marquis secretly for you, and he did not criticize you harshly!"

"Then what did you do? While the Marquis was out at sea, you colluded with bastards like Li Dongyang and conspired to launch a rebellion, right?"

Tang Shaozong's expression turned ugly instantly as his thoughts were revealed.

"You ordered people to monitor me?"

"What is "rebellion"? Shouldn't this title be mine?"

"Ha!" Tang Li sneered, "You keep saying that this title belongs to you. Without Tang Hao's help, it is still unknown whether the Tang family can restore the title!"

"How can you, Tang Shaozong, be considered the direct descendant? You are just an adopted descendant of the direct descendant. You are also just a bastard, not to mention you are a dandy and a loser!"

"Tang Yan!" Tang Shaozong was pressed to the face and shouted angrily: "I respect you as an elder of your clan, don't push yourself too far!"

"Everyone knows now that Tang Hao, this damn barbarian, is going to die soon. Are you going to make the same mistake again and again?"

"You have to make me, Mr. Tang, the laughing stock of the world, and you are satisfied?"

Tang Yu opened his mouth, but in the end he was speechless.

There is really no solution to the current situation.

Tang Hao was thrown into prison, and Li Dongyang and Tang Shaozong conspired to seize power, even publicizing Tang Hao's true identity, causing Tang Hao's reputation to be ruined!

In this way, even if Tang Hao can be released from prison and save his life, it will not help!

If you want to blame him, you can only blame him. Li Dongyang is too cruel and poisonous. If he seizes the opportunity, he will beat Tang Hao to death!

Tang Er no longer looked at Tang Shaozong, but looked at the other Tang clan members with a livid face.

"What about you?"

"Do you also want to follow this beast and betray the family master?"

"While enjoying the glory and wealth, I didn't see you bastards jumping out!"

"It's better now. When the master of the family was killed, you all rushed to separate the relationship?"

Facing Tang Er's rebuke, everyone in the Tang family looked at each other, but they were still very unconvinced.

"What kind of family leader? He's clearly a barbarian!"

"That's right! I've already said that Tang Bing doesn't have a son at all!"

"After my great achievements in the Tang family, how can I become the laughing stock of the world because of a barbarian?"

"That's right! We can't be implicated by this barbarian..."

One voice after another sounded, and Tang Yu felt filled with sadness.

If Tang Shaozong had been more ambitious, and if these Tang family members had one or two outstanding young men, he would not have agreed to let Tang Hao take away the title, which would have caused trouble for the Tang family.

The result is now better, this hidden danger has finally broken out.

But when Tang Hao was in jail, it was impossible to stop him!

Tang Yan sighed and looked at Tang Shaozong with sharp eyes.

"What do you want?"

"The ancestral hall discussed the matter and expelled Tang Hao from his clan, disclosed his identity as a barbarian, and declared to the outside world that he had embezzled the crime of my Tang family son!"

Tang Shaozong said sternly: "What Tang Hao took away, I now want him to pay back twice as much!"

"I want him to be ruined!"

"I want him to become a lonely ghost and die without a burial place!"

Tang Er stared blankly at the people in front of him, then at the unsatisfactory tribesmen, and finally let out a long sigh.

"You idiots!"

"Don't you understand it yet?"

"If Tang Hao is really gone, let alone the Marquis of Zhongshan, our Tang family will inevitably decline!"

Tang Er stood up straight with a cane, his steps were hobbling and his figure was lonely.

"Let it go!"

"In the future, I will return to Fengyang to guard the ancestral temple."

"Second and third sons, the Tang family is about to die in your hands!"