In early October of the 26th year of Chongzhen, news from the capital reached Nanjing.
The first reaction of this group of nobles led by Xu Wenjue and Zhu Guobi was shock, and then they began to feel happy.
In their opinion.
If Chongzhen really intended to depose the crown prince, then Zhu Cilang would have the motivation and reason to rebel.
The reaction of the Donglin Party in Nanjing was completely opposite to that of the nobles.
Once Zhu Cilang was deposed, all their previous efforts would be in vain.
To this end they began to act in unison.
At their call.
All qualified people in Jiangnan wrote memorials to Chongzhen, requesting that the prince be allowed to return to Beijing.
Unfortunately, all these memorials fell on deaf ears.
The Donglin Party in Nanjing was really panicked.
"Mr. Qian, does His Majesty really want to change the crown prince?" Ma Shiying asked.
Qian Qianyi said helplessly: "Based on the current situation, it is almost certain."
Cao Rong, the right assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, asked: "Can Your Majesty achieve what you wish when all the civil and military officials in the court are against it?"
"Of course!" Qian Qianyi remembered Liu Kongzhao's words and repeated, "If His Majesty left a will before his death saying that the crown prince's position should be abolished and the throne should be passed to His Royal Highness Prince Ding, who do you think will be the emperor?"
Ma Shiying rushed to say: "The imperial court in the capital is under the control of Xie Sanbin and will definitely support Prince Ding. If that happens, we will be completely finished."
"No," Cao Rong shook his head. "As far as I know, everyone in the court is against your majesty's will. It's hard to say who will be the emperor by then."
Ma Shiying also shook his head: "Now there are indeed many people who oppose Your Majesty, but if Your Majesty really left a will as Mr. Qian said, the ministers in the court will probably support Prince Ding to ascend the throne according to the will."
"My Lords!" Ren Jun, the Left Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, interrupted their conversation. "Please stop talking for now. The most urgent thing is what should we do?"
Ma Shiying and Cao Rong didn't say anything, but looked at Qian Qianyi.
Qian Qianyi was very conflicted.
He had the idea of rebellion, but he didn't have the courage to do so.
He wanted to drag others into the water, but was afraid of being dragged down himself.
After a long time, Qian Qianyi stood up and said slowly: "We can test the prince's attitude. If the prince has the intention to rebel, we will join the rebellion. If the prince has no intention to rebel, we will continue to wait."
"When will it end?" Ma Shiying asked with a wry smile.
Qian Qianyi said: "We have to wait no matter how long it takes. As long as the prince does not rebel, we cannot rebel even if we want to. Otherwise, we will not only be defeated miserably, but also die without a burial place!"
After hearing this, everyone reluctantly said goodbye and left.
The prince is the key to rebellion!
In Qian Qianyi's opinion, Zhu Cilang would never dare to rebel against Chongzhen.
If Zhu Cilang did not rebel, no one else would be able to rebel.
So Qian Qianyi could only wait.
The best outcome was that Chongzhen did not depose the crown prince before his death, and Zhu Cilang ascended the throne smoothly.
The worst outcome was that when Chongzhen died, he left a will, deposing Zhu Cilang as the crown prince and letting Prince Ding Zhu Cihong inherit the throne.
If it is the worst outcome.
They would instigate Zhu Cilang to rebel against Zhu Cijiong.
Zhu Cilang had been regent for nearly ten years and had long been accustomed to holding power.
In addition, since they were not rebelling against Chongzhen, there was no psychological pressure.
Zhu Cilang is likely to agree to rebel.
Of course, Chongzhen also understood the truth that Qian Qianyi could understand.
But Chongzhen couldn't wait until that time, so he played his second trump card.
On November 15th, it snowed in Nanjing.
In the biting cold wind, people were in a hurry and dared not stay on the street for long.
In a thatched house near the Nanjing Imperial Mausoleum, former East Factory Governor Wang Zhixin was boiling water and drinking tea by the stove.
It was freezing cold outside, but hot inside.
There is a sharp contrast between the inside and the outside.
Wang Zhixin finished a cup of tea and put it down, feeling very happy.
Since coming to Nanjing, he has been living a comfortable and happy life.
Dealing with people requires intrigue.
All you need to do to deal with graves is to clean them daily and buy offerings for memorial services during festivals.
He is very satisfied with his life here.
Just when Wang Zhixin was about to take a nap, he heard faint footsteps in the wind outside.
Wang Zhixin immediately became alert.
Anyone who comes here on a snowy day is definitely not a good person.
He immediately took out the knife from under the pillow, hid behind the door and listened outside.
The footsteps outside the door soon stopped.
Wang Zhixin held his breath and looked out through the crack in the door.
I saw a man wearing a straw hat and a raincoat standing outside the door.
(The ancients would also wear straw raincoats and bamboo hats when it snowed, referring to Liu Zongyuan’s poem: An old man in a straw raincoat and bamboo hat is fishing alone in the cold river snow.)
Because the other person's hat was pulled down very low and the snowflakes were very dense, Wang Zhixin couldn't see the man's face at all.
The man stood outside the door neither speaking nor moving, which was very strange.
Wang Zhixin's heart instantly rose to his throat.
He swallowed lightly, slowly drew out his sword, and stared at the man outside the door.
At this time, the person outside the door moved.
Just when Wang Zhixin thought that the other party would rush into the hut and attack him, the man squatted down and wrote a few words on the snow with his right index finger.
After writing, the man looked towards the hut and listened attentively.
He coughed lightly and turned away.
As the footsteps faded away, the man's figure also disappeared in the distance.
Wang Zhixin did not dare to be careless. He opened the door with a knife in hand and looked around again and again.
After making sure that there was no one around, he walked to the place where the man had squatted and took a closer look.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
