Chapter 358: Zhou Shuai’s Thoughts

Princess Kunxing's insights are not comparable to those of Lu Ling and Concubine Huang Shufei. One of them is a child of the underworld, and the other is the granddaughter of a general.

Princess Kunxing had been led astray by Zhao Xiaofei since her marriage. He would read her history books and stories whenever he had nothing to do, and later he even told her some military stories and knowledge.

Later, she fled and helped Zhao Xiaofei to deal with the sale of the manor in Nanjing. When a mutiny broke out in Nanjing, she stepped forward and led the troops to quell the rebellion.

And now she is ruling the country from behind the scenes, and her ability to handle government affairs is unmatched. Ni Yuanlu and the group of ministers also realized that Princess Kunxing is more suitable to be the temporary regent of the Ming Dynasty.

In the Prime Minister's inner chambers, Ni Yuanlu said to Yang Tianhe, "The princess's abilities far surpass those of Wu Zetian. If she didn't have that military-commanding prince consort, it would be a blessing for the Ming Dynasty to have the empire in her hands for now. It's a pity that the more capable a person like her is, the greater the threat to the Ming Dynasty. Over time, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty will fall into the hands of foreign relatives, and even another Wu Zhao will appear."

"So Lord Ni means that Princess Kunxing should step down immediately?" Yang Tianhe asked.

"Concubine He and Concubine Huang are due to give birth in six months. If neither of them is a boy, she can be asked to step down immediately. The Crown Prince is taken care of by the Queen, and it would not be appropriate for her, the elder sister-in-law, to always live in the palace, right?" Ni Yuanlu said.

"When the time comes, we will contact all the officials and put pressure on her to make her leave the palace as soon as possible. But what if both of them give birth to sons, or one of them gives birth to a son?" Yang Tianhe said.

"It's easy! Let all other concubines live outside the palace, and all the princes and princesses will be raised by the queen. The court will allocate more money to support those concubines. It's not like the Xuande Dynasty has never done this before, and we are also thinking about the safety of the prince!" said Ni Yuanlu.

"Lord Ni is very smart. If this plan succeeds, all power in the court will be in our hands. You and I will definitely become the ministers who will help the Ming Dynasty to revive!" Yang Tianhe said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaofei had already returned to Taiyuan, Shanxi. His elder brothers, Zhao Xiaokun and Zhou Shuai, came over and asked, "How's the situation in the capital?"

Zhao Xiaofei told them about the three women ruling behind the scenes. Zhao Xiaokun said, "It can temporarily stabilize the government, but they will definitely find an opportunity to counterattack."

General Zhou said: "It seems that the only way to suppress them is to quickly capture Shaanxi and return to the capital as soon as possible!"

"Can we suppress them? They will think of seizing power whenever they get a chance. There is a fundamental contradiction between us. We are military aristocrats, and they are a civil service system. They want to control the power of the world, and even plan to continue to have civilians command the military." Zhao Xiaokun said.

"Brother, if we want to transform the Ming Dynasty into a modern society, do we need to retrain officials or even introduce new concepts?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.

"Do you think we have the ability or the time? As long as the world is at peace and we enjoy wealth forever, that's enough. If you really become the emperor, you and I will be exhausted to death! If the world is at peace, being an emperor would be fine, but now it's a mess. It will take decades of hard work to clean up the dilapidated mountains and rivers! Life is short, why waste our energy on this?" Zhao Xiaokun said.

"I originally wanted to make some money and enjoy myself here, but I didn't have any awareness of saving the Ming Dynasty, let alone establishing a new Chinese order. What we have done in the past few years has been considered worthy of Chongzhen's family. After this is over, I plan to take them to my fiefdom to enjoy a few years, eating and playing every day. I will even take my wives out to sea to see the world customs of this era!" said Zhao Xiaofei.

Seeing what the two brothers had said, General Zhou also expressed his opinion and said, "Boss, I have been here for several years. You two have been very good to me. I have a lot of wives and concubines. I can also command so many troops. I can say that my life is regret-free. However, I am gradually falling in love with this place. I regard it as my home. I want to spend my life to repair this dilapidated country and establish a new order centered on China. Only then will I feel that it is worthwhile for me to know you and come to the Ming Dynasty!"

"You really have ideals, but I don't have the same ideals as you. Do Wanshan and Fang Xinyu have the same idea as you?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.

"My two bosses, they should think the same as I do. Before I came to the Ming Dynasty, I always felt that the Ming Dynasty was particularly dark and full of spy politics through watching TV. It was not much better than the Qing Dynasty! But after being in contact for a long time, I feel that the demise of the Ming Dynasty is such a pity!" said Zhou Shuai.

"So you plan to devote your entire life to the cause of the Ming Dynasty?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.

"Yes! Even if one day the world is at peace, Wanshan and I plan to continue conquering more places and build a world with China as the core." Zhou Shuai said.

"I understand. It seems that once the world is at peace, it will be time for our cooperation to end, right?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.

"Yes! We also need to be recognized. We also want to be remembered here and be respected by everyone!" Zhou Shuai said.

"Okay! But without us, what will you use for support? Without money, how will you feed the army? How will you update the equipment?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.

"Therefore, I need the two bosses to continue to support us in the Ming Dynasty, and even hope that the two bosses can have greater power. It is even no problem to choose you two to be the emperor!" Zhou Shuai said.

"You can also become emperors. No one is better at fighting than you." Zhao Xiaofei said.

"It's not that we haven't thought about it, but we don't have a sense of justice. Rebellion will only make more people suffer. The world can't be in chaos anymore!" said General Zhou.

Zhao Xiaofei nodded and said, "So you want to force us to move forward with you?"

Zhou Shuai stepped forward and said, "That's exactly what we mean!"

"Everyone has their own ideas, but aren't you trying to force me?" Zhao Xiaofei's pupils shrank, and he pointed his gun at Zhou Shuai. Zhao Xiaokun also pointed his gun at him.

Looking at the Zhao brothers' muskets, Zhou Shuai smiled and said, "Boss, I think you've noticed some clues. The three of us definitely don't want to do anything to you two. We just want to realize our ideal now."

"You were planning a mutiny when the little emperor was in Xinling, right?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.

"Yes! But I have given up. We think it is better to talk to you face to face." Zhou Shuai said.

"What do you want to clarify?" Zhao Xiaokun asked.

"Even if we have different ideas, we don't want to fight each other!" said Zhou Shuai.