Speaking of the Prince of Ning, Yan Song was naturally familiar with him. When that man turned the world upside down, Yan Song was already close to twenty years old, and his hometown was in Jiangxi, so he had heard quite a bit. Later, when Jiajing handled the aftermath, he, as a minor official, had seen some case files. He knew very well that the Prince of Ning was truly a man of great talent. If his orphaned heir also possessed that spirit, things would be troublesome.
He did not wish to answer directly and instead asked,
"Hanzhang, do you know why the Prince of Ning rebelled?"
The few of them had always been curious about this matter, but because it was too mysterious and involved the royal family, few dared to speak of it, so they had only understood it partially.
Upon hearing Old Yan Song's words, Luo Longwen thought that the Prince of Ning's rebellion might also be related to succession. He immediately probed,
"Esteemed Grand Secretary, are you saying that the late Emperor Zhengde intended to have the Prince of Ning succeed to the throne?"
Yan Song cast a look of approval at him and nodded,
"Yes, Zhengde had no sons. Is not the current Emperor a successor from the princely ranks? At that time, Emperor Zhengde had already designated the Prince of Ning's eldest son to succeed him..."
Having said this, he paused.
Luo Longwen thought: Perhaps it was Yang Tinghe and Wang Yangming of that day who, fearing that the Prince of Ning would deal with them after succeeding to the throne, colluded with Jiang Bin and others to force him into rebellion?
"Esteemed Grand Secretary, the Prince of Ning interfered excessively in governmental affairs in Jiangxi. Do you know how he did so?"
He pondered for a moment and then decided to circle around the question, asking,
Yan Song nodded and smiled,
"The Prince of Ning violated the ancestral instructions and had already taken charge of the military and political affairs of Jiangxi... The late Emperor Zhengde also tacitly approved. The Prince of Ning governed with extreme dominance, comparing himself to Emperor Yongle. Grand Secretaries from Jiangxi such as Fei Hong, and the Governor of Jiangnan, Wang Yangming, had secretly communicated with Yang Tinghe and were already displeased..."
Hiss!
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Seeing that none of them spoke, he continued,
"Let's do it this way. As for the porcelain, let's start with the rites. Let's say Zhu Mo had people secretly fire the five-clawed dragon pattern of the Son of Heaven! If this knife is presented, Prince Yu will be able to kill him! Hahaha..."
Hiss!
The few of them were instantly startled.
Password five six three seven four three six seven five
Know this,
The breakdown of imperial rites in the Ming Dynasty occurred in the later years of Wanli. Before that, transgressing rites, like in previous dynasties, was a clear capital offense.