Such a court battle ended in the victory of the feudal princes, but it was obvious that the storm caused by this had just begun to brew.
News in the court always spread quickly.
Especially since this period is approaching the end of the year, all yamen are basically quiet. The elders gather together during the day and have nothing to do. In the evening, they meet up with old friends of the same year to drink. Naturally, they are very sensitive to all kinds of news and rumors.
However, most people are skeptical about this news.
If not for anything else, it’s because that’s Yu Qian!
Who doesn't know that this general in Shaobao has always been the emperor's favorite general. When he left the capital, he and King Yin met outside the city and had such a quarrel. However, in the end, King Yin was severely punished by the emperor. .
This is still under the premise that Yu Qian is at fault. Now, Yu Qian is responsible for rectifying the army and is very effective. He also follows orders when he goes to places. Under such circumstances, how could the emperor let Yu Qian be humiliated by the kings like this?
Therefore, the court quickly formed a heated discussion about this matter.
Some people say that this is simply nonsense and nonsense. Some people say that Yu Shaobao built the plank road openly and secretly to Chencang. He first agreed to it, then ignored the vassal kings, and in turn gave them a disdain. Some people said that the emperor was just trying to stabilize his position. The emotions of the kings had already been mediated after the incident, and the matter was resolved satisfactorily.
In short, various rumors were swirling, and everyone continued to wait and see. Of course, with Yu Qian's status, he would not be blind to ask questions. Those who were qualified to ask would have already received practical information.
In the next few days, Yu Qian went to court and went to the Yamen as usual, and there was nothing unusual. This seemed to confirm that the rumors were just rumors.
but……
"There are only seven days left until New Year's Eve. Now there is a lot of talk about you. What are your plans?"
In the study room of Yu Mansion, Yu Shiyue sat opposite Yu Qian and asked with a frown on his face.
As he spoke, he sighed with a look of complaint on his face.
"You, you, your Majesty obviously wants to protect you, why do you have to do it yourself? Those vassal kings have noble status, but after all, you are a minister of the imperial court. There is nothing they can do about you. In the end, they still have to get past your Majesty. That level.”
"If you couldn't save this face, you shouldn't have agreed in the first place. Now that you have agreed and delayed it, not only the outside world is talking about it, but also His Majesty's side is not easy to explain."
"What on earth do you think?"
Faced with Yu Shiyue's complaints, Yu Qian was very calm. He poured a cup of steaming tea, placed it gently in front of them, and said.
"Brother Shichao, why are you so anxious? There are still a few days left, it's New Year's Eve, isn't it?"
Seeing Yu Qian's calm expression, Yu Shiyue was speechless. He picked up the teacup and tried to suppress his emotions. As soon as he touched it, he felt that there was boiling tea in the teacup, which almost burned his hand. .
Taking his hand back angrily, Yu Shiyue leaned forward and said.
"Tingyi, it's not clear to you that the current situation is what the kings want to achieve. They just want to use your reputation to re-establish the prestige of the vassal king."
"If you don't agree, that's fine. But since you have agreed, you have to do it, otherwise you will be disobeying the imperial decree. That's why these vassal kings are so calm now."
"They know that even if you delay further, you can't change the outcome. The longer you delay, the greater the discussion will be in the court. In this way, when you really come to apologize, the consequences you will bring to the court The vibrations will also be stronger.”
"In this way, their purpose of establishing prestige has been achieved. The only plan now is to keep a low profile as much as possible and resolve the matter quickly, isn't it?"
These words were said with sincerity, but Yu Qian's reaction was still very calm and said.
"Of course I understand what brother Shi Chao said. In fact, I am just a cover. What the kings really want to target is the religious reform that is currently being planned by the Ministry of Rites."
These words were spoken casually, but they showed that Yu Qian had a keen eye for the situation in the DPRK.
"The kings' idea is very simple. The purpose of asking me to come and apologize is to shock the court officials. Yu is not talented, but after all he is also an important minister of the court and one of the seven ministers. A person of this status has offended all the kings. If you have to bow your head and admit your mistakes and be willing to be humiliated, let alone others?"
"Chen Yi gave me a general outline of the charter of the clan reform a few days ago. Although it is not detailed, it can be seen that there are many provisions in it that restrict the clan. With such a charter, the clan members will definitely try their best to be opposed to."
"What the vassal princes are doing now is nothing more than trying to scare the ministers in the court so as to oppose the reform of religious affairs and reduce some resistance."
Yu Shiyue looked at Yu Qian, a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes, and asked.
"Since you know this, why are you delaying?"
Some people may think that with Yu Qian's status, he was so humiliated by the vassal kings, but it would arouse the dissatisfaction of the civil servants, and then launch a fierce counterattack on the reform of religious affairs.
However, at Yu Shiyue's level, he has a deeper understanding of the people of the DPRK, and naturally he will not be so naive.
Indeed, as a hero, Yu Qian was so oppressed by the vassal king for no reason, which would cause dissatisfaction among the courtiers, but dissatisfaction was just dissatisfaction.
To put it bluntly, people in this court have been wronged a lot. It is not uncommon for some people to be wronged and lose their jobs or lose their lives.
The struggle in the court is nothing more than a game. If you lose, you have to pay the price. No matter how high Yu Qian's status is, he must follow this rule.
There is no reason why others should be wronged, but you, Yu Qian, cannot bear it.
Most officials will only realize again the high status and power of the vassal princes in the court. Perhaps some officials can clearly see that this is the vassal princes taking the opportunity to establish their power, using Yu Qian as a guise to show off to the entire court. , the entire civil servant demonstration.
But so what?
The so-called civil service group is just a fictitious reference, and it is not a specific organization. Although Yu Qian has an outstanding reputation and high prestige, he is still far from being able to respond to a hundred people.
Moreover, in the past two years, Yu Qian's reputation has become stronger and his favor with the emperor has become stronger. There are also many people in the court who are dissatisfied with this.
Even if we just look at today's Six Ministries and Seven Ministers, cabinet ministers, although they appear to be amiable on the surface, secretly, I don't know how many people are looking at them as a joke.
The court's plate is only so big. If there is more Yu Qian, there will be less for others. Take the last recommendation of officials from the Ministry of War as an example. The reason why there was such fierce opposition must be someone secretly instructing him behind the scenes.
If not for the fact that the emperor suppressed everything in the end, there is no telling what the result would be. Therefore, this time Yu Qian was severely humiliated by the vassal king. For many people who thought that Yu Qian was too powerful in the court, it was only It would be a pleasure to see it come to fruition.
It is basically impossible to get them to come forward.
As for most of the middle and low-level officials, they have no conflict of interest with Yu Qian. However, it is always difficult to empathize with him if the matter does not fall on them. Therefore, although they will be aggrieved by Yu Qian, what do they want them to do? , I’m afraid there are only a few people who are really willing to step forward.
In fact, they will be just like what these vassal kings want, so they will be frightened, protect themselves wisely, waver and remain silent on the possible reforms in religious affairs that will be launched next.
Moreover, the vassal kings were right about one thing. No matter how high his status was, Yu Qian was just a minister, and there was an insurmountable gap between him and the vassal king.
You must know that during the Hongwu period, even the three princes, prime ministers and ministers had to bow four times when they saw the vassal king. Yu Qian tried his best for the court, but was forced to bow to them, which would really make people feel unhappy.
】
However, when it comes to etiquette and law, as the King of Zhou and others said, couldn't they, the dignified vassal kings, not be able to accept Yu Qian's courtesy?
So from this perspective, Yu Qian's visit to apologize was not that difficult for most officials to accept.
Because of this, Yu Shiyue still doesn't understand why Yu Qian has delayed until now.
Yu Qian was not in a hurry. He saw that the tea had turned from scalding to lukewarm, took a sip and said.
"Since you want to give a favor, don't be coy. Since the kings want to make a big fuss, then you might as well follow their wishes."
What is this nonsense?
Yu Shiyue almost stood up.
What does it mean to just do whatever they want?
Looking at Yu Qian who was calm, Yu Ci picked up the cup angrily. Regardless of the etiquette of drinking tea, he poured it in directly. He gently smashed the cup on the eucalyptus. The emotion in his heart calmed down a little. He frowned. He asked Qian.
"Tingyi, you should know that with Uncle Zong's character, he would not take the initiative to bring up the reform of religious affairs. Shangshu Shen would not be able to agree to join forces with the Ministry of Rites so easily without His Majesty's permission. Therefore, on this matter, His Majesty must be pushing it behind the scenes, but due to the close friendship, His Majesty cannot come forward directly."
"What you do is tantamount to helping the kings to block the reform of clan affairs. Even if you don't talk about the possibility of offending your majesty, from a political point of view, the population of clans in various places is increasing day by day, and the salary expenditure is increasing year by year. Now the national treasury The situation is not optimistic."
"If the religious reform can be accomplished, it will be of great benefit to the imperial government's finances. You..."
"But……"
This time, before he finished speaking, Yu Qian interrupted him.
Seeing this situation, Yu Shiyue couldn't help but be a little surprised, not because Yu Qian interrupted him, but because of Yu Qian's expression.
This is the first time Yu Qian has spoken to him so seriously since Yu Shiyue came this time, he said.
"Isn't it also His Majesty's order that I go to the Tenth Prince's Mansion to apologize?"
After the voice fell, Yu Shiyue was really stunned for a moment before he reacted.
"What do you mean?"
After asking this question, Yu Shiyue's tone became serious.
He vaguely smelled something unusual from Yu Qian's words just now.
Is this resentment?
Seeing Yu Shiyue's expression change, Yu Qian also sat up straight, looked up into Yu Shiyue's eyes, and said with a bitter smile on his face.
"Brother Shichao, you also saw what happened at that time. Do you think His Majesty really wanted to protect me at that time?"
"If that's the case, then in the end, why did things become like this?"
If Yu Shiyue just felt vaguely that something was wrong.
So, these words are almost an explicit statement.
"Yu Qian!"
Yu Shiyue suddenly stood up and scolded as if he had gotten to know Yu Qian again.
"Do you know what you're talking about?"
"You are talking nonsense about your Majesty!"
Yu Qian didn't speak. He just continued to raise his head and looked at Yu Shiyue quietly.
The two just stood and sat, facing each other.
After a moment, Yu Shiyue sighed, frowned, and said.
"Your Majesty is the lord of the people and the lord of the country. He needs to take care of all aspects of his thoughts. After all, the vassal princes and clan members are your Majesty's elders and have their ancestors' instructions. Since they dare to go, they naturally have something to rely on."
"If Your Majesty uses force to suppress it and spreads it, it will definitely be used by interested people to make a fuss. Therefore, even if Your Majesty has the intention to protect you, he can only hint tactfully. Do you still need me to say this?"
"Think about it for yourself. In the past, how many times have you offended His Majesty and made His Majesty angry? But no matter how angry His Majesty was, did he ever really punish you?"
"Besides, you are willing to take on this matter yourself, and His Majesty is not without protection for you."
"His Majesty has been so fond of you for a long time, but you are resentful because His Majesty did not show too much favoritism to you this time. Yu Tingyi, you have disappointed me so much!"
Under the flickering candlelight, Yu Shiyue looked at Yu Qian coldly, with disappointment on his face.
Yu Qian lowered his head and poured another cup of tea. Looking at the rising heat, his expression became a little complicated and he said.
"Perhaps so. Your Majesty's Sacred Heart is as deep as the abyss. It is not for us to speculate. In the final analysis, the vassal king's clan is your Majesty's blood relative. Now that the matter is here, everything is a foregone conclusion. What's the use of talking about it anymore?"
"you……"
Yu Shiyue originally wanted to say something more, but looking at Yu Qian's look, he suddenly felt a little interested.
After looking at Yu Qian quietly for a moment, Yu Shiyue finally said nothing more, just waved his hand gently and said.
"Since you have already made up your mind, I won't waste any more words. You can just do whatever you want."
After that, Yu Shiyue sighed and wanted to say goodbye and leave.
However, before leaving the house, he thought about it again and again, but couldn't help turning his head and said.
"You have been absent from the court in recent days, and I am afraid that many things are unclear. During this period, the court has not been peaceful. Your reputation in the court has become more and more prosperous in the past two years, and you have His Majesty protecting you. Therefore, many people do not know Dare to provoke."
"However, if the kings make such a fuss this time, I am afraid that some people will have their thoughts secretly. You... In short, I have said everything that needs to be said, and it is worthy of the friendship between you and me for many years."
After saying this, Yu Shiyue turned around and left Yu Mansion without waiting for Yu Qian to react.
Rarely, this time Yu Qian didn't get up to say goodbye. He just sat there, not knowing what he was thinking.
The night is getting darker and the candlelight is flickering.
After an unknown amount of time, the tea on the table had gradually cooled down, and Qian's complex expression was reflected in the green tea.
There was an inaudible sigh in the study, and Yu Qian picked up the tea cup in front of him and drank it all in one gulp.
When you enter your mouth, the aroma of herbal tea has already dissipated.
The rest is nothing but bitterness...
