In Yong'an Hall, as the sound of drum music sounded, Prince Zhu Jingyuan slowly ascended to the hall surrounded by eunuchs.
After all, the prince was only the crown prince, so of course he couldn't sit on the throne, so a separate seat was set up in front of the throne.
At this moment, Zhu Jingyuan was dressed similarly to Zhu Jinghong, except that the wings of his Yi Shan crown were embellished with gold, which showed the difference between the prince and the prince.
"The prince is a thousand years old, a thousand years old, a thousand years old..."
"rise!"
After the salute was completed, all the courtiers stood solemnly, waiting for Zhu Jingyuan to speak.
"My ministers, I have summoned you here today for the sake of money and food..."
"Japanese pirates disturbed the tombs of our ancestors. Your Majesty was furious and issued an order to severely punish them. They must be uprooted..."
"The army has not moved forward with food and grass, but the money and food in each prefecture and county..."
Zhu Jingyuan's words were nothing new and made the officials present feel sleepy. They had heard these words several times.
Standing among the courtiers, Gao Shuyan also felt helpless. This prince really couldn't grasp the focus!
Blind warnings without substantial punishment will only make the local officials look down upon them, and the matters that are handed down will often be more difficult to handle.
"Master Thirteen, you'd better come out quickly!" Gao Shuyan shouted in his heart.
In fact, Zhu Jinghong was right behind the throne, and he was speechless at this moment.
After straightening his scarf and hat, Zhu Jinghong flicked his sleeves and walked around the throne to the front of the palace.
All the officials were listening respectfully to the instructions, and they were all very surprised when they saw Zhu Jinghong walking out in a swaggering manner.
Zhu Jingyuan stopped, looked at Zhu Jinghong and asked, "Why are you coming out at this time?"
In the ears of others, they only thought that the prince was blaming Zhu Jinghong and telling him that he should not make trouble during the meeting.
Facing the comments from nearly a hundred officials, Zhu Jinghong showed no timidity and replied with a smile: "Fourth brother, I'm bored by being alone, so I came here specifically to see and hear how Fourth Brother manages politics!"
Zhu Jingyuan nodded: "Then stand next to Gao Qing and don't wander around!"
"yes!"
Zhu Jinghong went to Gao Shuyan's side, while Zhu Jingyuan continued to talk.
Those useless nonsense exposed Zhu Jingyuan's weakness, and the more he listened to it, the more Zhu Jinghong couldn't stand it.
"presumptuous……"
Suddenly, Zhu Jinghong's violent shout shocked everyone in the hall.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Zhu Jinghong.
"What are you two doing?"
Zhu Jinghong turned around and stared coldly at the two officials, which made the people here shocked and inexplicable.
Seeing that these two people were silent, Zhu Jinghong directly pushed aside the people in front of him and came to the two people he had captured.
"I'm asking you a question, didn't you hear me?" Zhu Jinghong's tone became more and more fierce.
Although he has not yet been officially crowned king, as the legitimate son of the current emperor, such stern questions naturally make people's hearts tremble.
After all, the identity gap is too big, not to mention Zhu Jinghong has such a loud voice.
Everyone was shocked, including the prince Zhu Jingyuan, whose reaction to the opportunity was still a bit poor.
One of the officials calmed down and asked calmly: "The two of you are listening to the prince's instructions. I don't know what the Thirteenth Master means by these words!"
This question aroused everyone's doubts. They all thought that Zhu Jinghong was making trouble unreasonably.
I heard someone next to me say: "Thirteenth Master, His Royal Highness is giving a lecture. You are disturbing me for no reason... I'm afraid it's not appropriate!"
Zhu Jinghong was about to get angry, but he didn't expect that someone would dare to accuse him, so he looked back.
"Who are you?"
"I, Zhao Xuyan, the censor of Jinling's patrol capital!"
The censor of the patrol capital has overall supervisory power over a province. Although he is only a fifth-rank official, his words carry great weight.
Of course, the so-called weight also depends on who you compare it with.
For example, for Zhu Jinghong, he is just a passerby and doesn't care at all.
"It's just right that the censor is picketing all the officials... When the emperor was talking just now, these two people were whispering below, slandering the emperor's method of governance. What crime should they be punished for?"
After hearing Zhu Jinghong's explanation, everyone finally knew the reason, but they also doubted the authenticity of these words.
The two officials who were accused knelt directly on the ground at this moment, complaining to Zhu Jingyuan on the imperial steps: "Your Highness, how dare you two not listen respectfully? Please investigate clearly!"
Excusing themselves and begging the prince for mercy are the most important things these two people should do.
"You guys mean that I have wronged you?"
Faced with Zhu Jinghong's questioning, the two officials did not answer, but this was equivalent to acquiescence.
"Fourth brother, look at how rebellious these two people are. Not only do they treat your words as child's play, they are now slandering me!"
"Those who are so disrespectful of the courtesy of being a minister and cause trouble...should be severely punished!"
"Please fourth brother, please take the king's order flag, remove these two people from their posts, and deal with them strictly according to the king's law!"
The temporary method of killing chickens to scare monkeys may not be considered clever, but the results will definitely be significant if done.
At this moment, Zhu Jinghong handed the knife to Zhu Jingyuan, and he only needed to nod.
The situation changed very quickly, and now it was the most critical moment. Gao Shuyan looked at Zhu Jingyuan expectantly.
Zhu Jingyuan naturally knew what was going on at the moment, but unfortunately he still encountered difficulties.
He was asked to deal with two officials without giving him any time to prepare. It was difficult for him to make a decision at this time.
"Prince, Wang Qun and Wang Qun are honest and upright officials. We must not add crimes without reason!"
"Your Highness, please make a clear decision!"
"Please make a clear decision, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
More and more people began to kneel down to plead with Wang Qun and the other two, and voices rose and fell in the hall.
Zhu Jingyuan only felt that the crowd was excited and felt that he was in a dilemma. If he really wanted to deal with it, he would offend the crowd.
In Zhu Jinghong's eyes, this group of people had obvious signs of joining the gang, and it was time to crack down hard.
"Fourth brother, we must not let them off lightly. Those who ask for help should be severely punished because they do not distinguish between right and wrong!"
Zhu Jinghong's words were nothing more than adding fuel to the fire. All the officials looked at him angrily and still begged Zhu Jingyuan to tell right from wrong.
Right and wrong are not important at this time. After an extremely difficult weighing process, Zhu Jingyuan gritted his teeth and said: "Wang Qun and others have violated official etiquette, so be strict..."
Unfortunately, before he finished speaking, Zhu Jingyuan was so nervous that he coughed.
But Zhu Jinghong did not miss the opportunity, and immediately shouted outside: "Come here, drag these two people out, keep the hair on their heads, and put them in jail to wait for their punishment!"
The guard on duty today, Zhu Jinghong, had already greeted him in advance, and someone would come in as soon as he received the order.
The guards of the Dragon Imperial Guard are all from the Wuxun family and have no interest in the civil service system. There is no psychological burden on them at this moment.
In full view of everyone, the guards dragged Wang Qun and others out with a vigorous and resolute movement.
Zhu Jingyuan was still coughing, and it was useless to plead for mercy at this moment. The officials looked at each other, and finally glanced at several senior officials present.
However, neither Zheng Xianlin nor He Gujin had any expression on their faces at this moment, as if what just happened did not exist.
At this moment, on the imperial steps, Zhu Jingyuan was still coughing, and the cough was getting worse.
"Your Highness, are you okay?" Zheng Xianlin looked concerned.
Only after he took the initiative did all the officials realize that as ministers, they should be concerned about the prince's safety at this moment.
When everyone was concerned, a group of eunuchs were so frightened that they had to help him go to the palace for rest and treatment.
Unwilling to give up the hard-won "good situation", when Zhu Jingyuan stood up, he only heard him say intermittently: "The discussion will continue, and the thirteenth brother... will preside over it!"
I thought it was time to leave, but Zhu Jingyuan's last words were like pouring cold water on everyone.
