After about a minute of tea, Emperor Zhizheng suddenly sat upright and took out the memorial from the case.
He did not read the previous content. This time he carefully studied the signatories at the end.
The nerds in the Hanlin Academy were the first to bear the brunt. He knew everyone he could name, and they were all on the list of co-signers.
The rest are the temple officials, and there are not many people in the six subjects.
"Where's the Ministry of War?"
Emperor Zhizheng thought of this and flipped through the memorial irritably. Finally, he saw what he was looking for.
After a while, he sneered and said: "It's really hard for us, Mr. Xu Ge, to be the assistant minister, martial arts officer, chariot driver, arsenal, staff doctor, member of staff, and principal, all of whom are among them!"
"What? My third edict of condolence was not delivered to his house immediately, so now you want to show me his connections?"
"hehe!"
"It's not safe to stay at home!"
Seeing this, he threw the memorial on the case again. He had not yet decided how to deal with it, but the displeasure in his heart was already overflowing.
After forcing himself to finish reading two memorials, he suddenly turned to Wang Ji and said, "Go and call Chen Hong over!"
After Wang Ji replied "yes", he walked out of the palace and asked the young eunuch to call Chen Hong.
Not long after, Chen Hong hurriedly entered the hall.
Emperor Zhizheng said to Chen Hong: "You have been in charge of the Nei Cao Army for some time. I entrust the Nei Cao Army to you, not to ask you to sit in the palace every day!"
Chen Hong was confused, but he quickly knelt on the ground and replied: "Your Majesty, since I took over the internal command army, although I dare not say that I have worked hard, I am also conscientious and do not dare to be careless for a moment!"
Emperor Zhizheng snorted coldly and glanced at the slave who was kneeling on the ground with his cold eyes.
"What is Xu Song doing at home recently?"
When Chen Hong heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The homes of several cabinet ministers were the objects of his focus, and there were dedicated people reporting on them every day.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Xu Ge has been living in seclusion since he was suspended pending impeachment and has hardly seen outsiders!"
"almost?"
"Yes, yes, these days, everyone who wants to see me has been blocked. Only the number one scholar comes to the door every day!"
"Um!"
"By the way, Cabinet Secretary Yao Chunchen has been there twice!"
"anything else?"
"No, Mr. Xu Ge neither went out nor saw anyone else."
Emperor Zhizheng narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the night outside the palace.
Although Xu He was smart, he had just arrived in Beijing and was unfamiliar with people, so it was impossible for him to connect so many people.
The person Xu Song had the deepest contact with outside of official duties was Xie Kun.
But Xie Kun has left the city and returned to Shandong these days, and he knows this.
Therefore, it was impossible for Xu He to send a message to Xie Kun and ask him to help connect him.
"Where is Xie Daozhi? Has Xu He had any contact with Xie Daozhi's son recently?" Emperor Zhizheng suddenly asked.
Chen Hong said quickly: "Xie Siqing's young master is taking the imperial examination. He has not been out recently, and the number one scholar has not been to Xie's mansion either!"
"Then it's not Xu He!" Emperor Zhizheng was sure.
As for Yao Chunchen, it is even more impossible.
To put it bluntly, Yao Chunchen is just a seventh-grade official. He does not have such great energy.
Could it be that these people signed the petition voluntarily?
Spontaneously more...
By now, Chen Hong already knew why the emperor came to him.
He was also walking in the Bureau of Ceremonies, so he naturally knew that something big happened in the memorial handed over by the Secretary of General Affairs today.
Thinking of this, Chen Hong suddenly remembered the news that the internal commander Fanzi brought from outside the palace today.
"Your Majesty, I heard something today. I was wondering if I should tell Your Majesty. It's just hearsay!"
Emperor Zhizheng frowned and said, "Don't say such stupid things again in the future!"
Chen Hong was stunned when he heard this. What does the emperor mean?
Should I say this or not?
Wang Ji saw that he was anxious for him: "Say!"
Chen Hong kowtowed quickly and said: "Today, the people below reported that many people have been spreading rumors recently that Mr. Xu Ge has been connecting with everyone and paying people to sign the memorial!"
Emperor Zhizheng was furious when he heard this: "Xu Song, you have no sense of shame, you are an old thief who is in love with you!"
He really didn't expect that Xu Song, a cabinet minister who seemed to be quite "well-behaved" on weekdays, would actually play this trick at this time.
"Did I treat him badly?"
"Didn't I comfort him?"
"Or am I too late and he can't wait?"
…
At this time, everyone in the side hall of Wanshou Palace was silent.
Chen Hong was even more frightened and knelt on the ground, not knowing why.
"Your Majesty, your anger hurts your liver. Please take care of your health and don't break your body due to court affairs!" Wang Ji also quickly knelt down and kowtowed.
When Emperor Zhizheng heard Wang Ji's voice, he remembered his daily personality of being indifferent to emotions and anger.
He snorted coldly, stopped talking, and then thought of Lu Xixing's Fuqi hexagram that day.
"This family is really all..."
Thinking of this, he suddenly frowned and stopped, twirling his beard with his hands and thinking deeply.
Chen Hong just said that Xu Song has hardly seen outsiders these days, and there is no way Yao Chunchen and Xu He would do any trick of paying for joint signatures. They are not qualified to come forward to do this.
Besides, a joint signature bought with money is just a joke to a cabinet minister.
Even if Xu Song could stay in the end, he would probably lose his dignity as a cabinet minister.
Can a cabinet minister without dignity still be able to command those monkey-like officials in the capital?
This rumor is false. Someone wants to slander Xu Song.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning flashed across Emperor Zhizheng's mind.
At this time, he took out the memorial again and read it carefully.
Officials from the Hanlin Academy and the Six Ministries accounted for the majority.
No matter what their purpose is, the Hanlin Academy group signed the petition because it was initiated by the bachelor of the academy, so their signature was for Shangguan's sake.
The Ministry of Rites, that was also Qiu Teng's place, so it was understandable that these people would sign.
Look at other people.
The number of people in the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Household Affairs, Ministry of Industry, and Ministry of Punishment are all about the same.
The Ministry of War has the most co-signed people.
If he hadn't heard the [rumor] Chen Hong said, Emperor Zhizheng wouldn't have discovered it yet.
But when combined with the [rumors], the signs of artificial manipulation of the names on the signature book are obvious.
Because Xu Song was in charge of the officials of the Ministry of War, it was understandable that they had the most complete signatures.
Why do the other four departments seem to have similar numbers of people to the Ministry of War?
And none of the four co-signers exceeded the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites?
This is because I want to support the fire and build the seedlings, but I am afraid of being exposed, so I create a trace that does not show the mountains and water.
This is not the most critical.
The most important thing is that the words someone spread outside are trying to get Xu Song away completely!
Who is this person?
Are they those two people?
Or the feudal king?
Emperor Zhizheng fell into deep thought.
However, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that as long as someone misses Xu Song, it means that Xu Song is useful to him.
No one knows the cause of the feudal king's affairs better than him, the emperor.
Therefore, Xu Song cannot leave. Once he leaves, who will stand between him and the vassal king?
As soon as Xu Song left, wouldn't the vassal kings asking for money directly want it on my head?
Thinking about it on the other hand, if Xu Song doesn't leave, then let Xu Song continue to struggle with these clansmen!
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhizheng suddenly smiled.
