As brothers from the same mother, it is natural to show filial piety.
When the chamberlains escorted the prince away, Zhu Jinghong followed him and did not return until he was sent out of the hall.
In the main hall, the officials who wanted to leave in the name of visiting could only stay there because of Zhu Jingyuan's last words.
When Zhu Jinghong returned, most of the officials glared at him, but Zhu Jinghong had no feeling at all.
Arriving at the center of the hall and looking back at the empty throne, Zhu Jinghong couldn't help but feel excited.
He was about to preside over the meeting so soon... Zhu Jinghong felt incredible.
What happened today was beyond everyone's expectations, and Zhu Jinghong was no exception.
Now is not the time to lament. Since we plan to do something great, we naturally have to strike while the iron is hot.
After gathering his mood, Zhu Jinghong turned around and walked towards the imperial steps, and said at the same time: "Everyone, the emperor asked me to preside over the discussion, do you have any objections?"
If anyone makes noise at this time, Zhu Jinghong will not show mercy, even to high-ranking officials.
This group of people is not active in their work and has a tendency to fight as a team. It is impossible to do the job unless they are persuaded.
It was very quiet in the main hall. Zhu Jinghong acted without any care. However, because of his high status and useless reasoning, everyone would naturally find it unpleasant.
Everyone present has earned his or her hat by working hard for ten years, and no one is willing to lose it easily.
Slowly walking up the imperial steps, Zhu Jinghong continued: "Since you have nothing to say, I will say it..."
Zhu Jinghong's posture was much stronger than that of the ailing prince. For the first time, all the officials felt oppressed.
"I heard that the Thirteenth Prince is uneducated and incompetent. It seems that I have been away from the capital in recent years and have been taught by the Holy Master personally... This man has made great progress!" Looking at Zhu Jinghong's back, Lin Ruhai was filled with emotion.
Whether in the Hanlin Academy or in the cabinet, he could be regarded as a close minister of the emperor, so he knew a lot about royal affairs.
Although the current emperor has many children, the only ones he truly loves as his children are the three sons and one daughter born by the empress, and Zhu Jinghong is one of them.
"Fourth brother is here to suppress the Japanese this time and asked you to prepare food, grass and weapons. Now you haven't even sorted out the accounts. What do you mean?"
"Master Thirteen, we..."
Before the official below finished speaking, he was interrupted sharply by Zhu Jinghong: "Who are you?"
With a bad premonition in his heart, Hu Jinan carefully replied: "I am reporting to the Thirteenth Master, and I will accept the promotion of Hu Jinan by the Heavenly Mansion!"
"Yingtian Mansion recommends officials? Are you in charge of Yingtian Mansion?"
Zhu Jinghong's question left Hu Jinan speechless.
Zhu Jinghong was originally looking for trouble, so how could he not use the excuse at this moment?
"Who is Magistrate Yingtian? Come out and speak!"
The prefecture of Yingtian is Jia Yu Village, but Zhu Jinghong doesn't know what Jia Yu Village looks like. He has to see it today.
"Report...Thirteenth Master, the prefect Jia Hua is not here!"
Seeing that his colleagues on the side were silent, Hu Jinan could only answer bravely, who knew that the incident was caused by him.
"Oh? He is so bold? The prince summoned him but he was not there?" Zhu Jinghong's tone became more and more unkind.
The atmosphere has been heightened here. If Jiayu Village is not renovated, the previous preparations will be in vain.
Jia Yucun, Jia Yucun, who will let you have bad luck... Zhu Jinghong sighed secretly.
"This... Magistrate Jia went to Liyang, I'm afraid he's still on his way back!"
Liyang is the most remote county in Yingtian, at least two hundred miles away from Fucheng. The order for the meeting was only issued at noon yesterday, so it is normal that Jia Yucun did not come back in time.
"What is he doing in Liyang?"
"Urge the county government to start transporting military rations!"
Zhu Jinghong was silent for a while, staring at Hu Jinan coldly and asked: "I was talking just now, why did you interrupt?"
Today he was here to cause trouble. Since Jia Yucun couldn't deal with it, he naturally had to hold Hu Jinan back.
"I told you not to speak before, but now I have to interrupt when I speak? What do you mean? You despise me so much?"
Despising a direct prince, even if it was an unfounded accusation, still made Hu Jinan break into a cold sweat.
Although he has a higher rank than the two magistrates just now, he also knows that there is no difference in front of Zhu Jinghong.
In order to avoid repeating the same mistakes as Wang Qun and Wang Qun, Hu Jinan immediately knelt down and apologized: "I made a mistake, please punish me!"
Directly asking Zhu Jinghong to punish him without asking for mercy for himself, Hu Jinan was willing to risk his life and survive.
If it's just a slip of the tongue, it's really hard to punish.
In general, Zhu Jinghong wanted to get things done. On the one hand, he pretended to be a princeling, and on the other hand, he wanted to change the impression of the emperor and stop using sticks on him.
So at this moment, it was really hard for him to punish Hu Jinan severely, and he would be punished if he went too far.
"That's it this time. I'll talk from now on... You are not allowed to interrupt at will, otherwise you will not be lenient!"
After hearing this, Hu Jinan's heart dropped.
He knew Zhu Jinghong's intentions very well, so he was afraid of being investigated as a typical example. After all, his butt was very dirty.
After signaling Hu Jin'an to stand up, Zhu Jinghong looked at everyone while holding his leather belt, and then asked, "Who else wants to speak?"
All the officials were silent. They looked at Zhu Jinghong differently from before. They no longer dared to look down on the young prince.
"Okay, let me continue..."
“It’s understandable that there are discrepancies in the accounts, and it’s acceptable that it takes time to sort out, but there must be a deadline for the matter to be resolved!”
"Brother Imperial is kind and can't bear to speak harshly to you. You should have done your best to repay the errands, but now you are just passing the buck, and the accounts are still a mess..."
"Is this how you repay your brother the emperor?"
Swinging his sleeves, Zhu Jinghong's tone became cold: "I am not an imperial brother. To use the words in the book, I pay attention to repaying kindness with kindness and repaying grievance with straightness..."
"I'll give you half a month. If you still can't sort out the accounts clearly, then we'll use military law to discuss the matter!"
"I'm not afraid to tell you that this time the emperor came to Jinling under the king's order. Officials below the fourth rank can be dismissed from their posts, and those below the sixth rank can be directly prosecuted!"
Each of these next few sentences has great power, sending chills down the backs of those who are harboring evil thoughts.
If we really go by the king's laws, given the current attitude of the Ming Dynasty towards officials, many people present would have their homes confiscated and exiled.
With so many officials involved, could the prince really do such a "reverse" thing? Aren't you afraid that Shilin Feng Ping will turn to Prince Rui?
"Don't think that the law does not punish the public. If my fourth brother can't handle the job well and can't hold his seat, do you think he will still care about your black hat?"
In the last sentence, Zhu Jinghong thought that he said it more obscurely, but it was nothing less than thunder in the ears of many officials.
Can the prince's position be clearly stated in this way?
If anyone else mentioned this matter, they could be directly charged with treason, but it was Zhu Jinghong who mentioned it.
But thinking about it carefully, all the officials were instantly alert.
This trip to Jinling is extremely important to the prince. If they and others cause trouble, they will not end well.
Seeing everyone's solemn expressions, Zhu Jinghong smiled, and then continued: "You guys... If you ask me to say that I am really smart, I will be mistaken for my cleverness!"
The words changed so quickly that everyone present could not catch up.
Touching the exquisite reliefs on the railings of the imperial steps, Zhu Jinghong continued: "You don't even think about it, who sent the emperor brother? To blame the emperor brother is the same as to blame whom?"
Good guy, just now it was only the people who had ghosts in their hearts who were sweating coldly, but now everyone is feeling trembling.
