"...Your Majesty, this is what is mostly being circulated outside today. Generally speaking, although there are discussions, they are not on a large scale, and there is no sign of anyone fanning behind my back..."
In the Palace of Qianqing, Zhu Qiyu was leaning on the couch, holding a memorial in his hand, looking thoughtful. Beside him, Shu Liang stood bowed, detailing all the recent events in the capital. After a while.
After listening, Zhu Qiyu raised his eyebrows slightly and asked.
"Yu Qian didn't react at all?"
As he spoke, he put down the memorials in his hand and his eyes fell on the thick stack of memorials in front of him. It has been nearly a month since the little prince was born. During this period, due to the great awards inside and outside the palace, Especially for the matter of conferring a title on Wang Ying, many officials came forward. They felt that the country was in a difficult situation and should not spend so much money. They also said that the prince's mother's family had not yet given a title. Now that the fourth prince was born and the queen's mother's family was granted the title, the honor and pampering were excessive. He was suspected of overstepping the East Palace.
There are so many of them. In total, there are dozens of memorials handed to him. However, the strange thing is that the ones who jumped out this time are all ordinary officials of the science and education, ministers of third rank or above, including Yu Qian, Chen Yi, and even Wang Hong remained silent on this matter.
I don’t know if a bigger storm is brewing or if I am waiting for something...
After hearing this, Shu Liang lowered his head and replied.
"Going back to your Majesty, Yu Shaobao. When I first heard that you rewarded people both inside and outside the palace, I wanted to hand over a sign to the palace to see you. However, at the gate of the palace, I was stopped by Mr. Cifu. Then, I don't know. After talking about something, Yu Shaobao returned to the Ministry of War, and so far, there has been no special reaction."
Yu Shiyue?
Zhu Qiyu suddenly felt enlightened, shook his head, and said.
"It seems that the fire is not enough..."
After a brief pause, Zhu Qiyu turned his head and asked Wynn.
"I previously asked the Ministry of Rites to choose a name for the fourth prince, have you submitted the memorial?"
Wynn cupped his hand, then turned around and rummaged through the memorials that he had not yet reviewed, pulled out one of them and handed it to the royal eucalyptus.
Zhu Qiyu opened it and took a look. The Ministry of Rites had drafted three names. The first one was the character Yuan, which means eldest son, followed by the character Hong, which means generous and gentle, and the character Qing, which means pure and flawless. .
It should be said that these three characters all have very good meanings, especially the character Hong, which originally means deep and wide water, which means broad-minded, generous and moist. Its meaning is broad and very useful. The Ministry of Rites assigned this character to the second place. In fact, That's the name I really want to choose.
However, after looking at these names, Zhu Qiyu shook his head and wrote two sentences on the memorial. Then he picked up the memorial he had just put down, also marked a few sentences on it, and then wrote The two memorials were put together, but they were not in a hurry to be taken away.
After a pause, he turned his gaze to Shu Liang aside and continued to ask.
"If I remember correctly, today is the day when King Qin leaves the capital, right?"
Shu Liang replied respectfully: "Yes, Prince Qin just left early this morning."
Zhu Qiyu nodded. After all, it was not a good thing for a vassal king to stay in Beijing for a long time. Therefore, after the memorial from the Ministry of Rites was approved, he quickly arranged the return dates of each vassal king.
Because King Dai was moving to the feudal dynasty, he had many affairs to deal with. He was the first to leave, about half a month ago. King Yin was about the same. Although his fiefdom was not very far from the capital, this Prince Yin I really had enough of staying in the capital, so as soon as I could leave, I rushed back ahead of the other vassal kings.
Further back, King Jing and King Ning, who were far away, left the capital ten days ago and seven days ago respectively. After King Qin left today, in addition to King Min and King Xiang, there were only two kings, King Zhou and King Lu, left in the capital. .
"Go and invite your uncles to the king of Zhou, uncle to the king of Lu, and uncle to the king of Min to come into the palace..."
He handed the two memorials he had just approved to Huai En, and then Zhu Qiyu gave instructions to Shu Liang.
"yes……"
The two of them retreated and went to do business. Zhu Qiyu sat in the palace and was stunned for a long time. Then, a gentle sigh sounded in the palace, echoing around, making it look lonely and desolate...
Later, in the cabinet, Wang Ao listened to Wynn's message, hesitated again and again, and finally raised his head and asked.
"Eunuch Huai, is this... really what your Majesty means?"
There is a problem with this question. Wynn was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said.
"Master Chief Assistant, you don't dare to say this nonsense. Is it possible that our family dares to pretend to spread the holy will? Your Majesty, Zhu Pi, is here, how can he fake it?"
"But……"
Wang Ao naturally knew this truth. He lowered his head and glanced at Zhu Pi. He was still a little hesitant. After thinking about it, he put Zhu Pi's memorial away, then stood up and said.
"Eunuch Huai, this matter is important. I must go to the palace to meet with Your Majesty."
In the past, when Wynn heard such words, he didn't say anything more and went directly back to the palace to report. But this time, his footsteps stayed in place and did not move, he said.
"My lord, your Majesty, your Majesty said before we came here that the matter has been decided, so there is no need to say more. Besides, at this moment, Prince Zhou and Prince Lu should be talking to His Majesty in the palace. You just handed over the sign. Your Majesty I'm afraid I won't see you either, so we'd better draw up the edict as soon as possible, so as not to make it difficult for our family to pay the errand."
"this……"
Wang Ao frowned and was tangled for a while, but in the end, he still did not dare to insist on not drafting the decree. He sighed, turned around and returned to the table, took several people from Zhongshushe, drafted the decree, and handed it to Take Wynn away.
Then, instead of sitting down to deal with government affairs, he stood in front of the window with his hands behind his hands, as if waiting for something.
As expected, it didn't take long for someone from Zhongshushe to report.
"Master Jisuke is here..."
Yu Shiyue entered the public room with a stern face. Without too many greetings, he asked directly.
"Sir, Chief Assistant, I just heard that His Majesty gave the fourth prince a name and treatment, and the decree has been sent to the six subjects. Was this decree drafted by Mr. Chief Assistant?"
Wang Ao turned around and faced the angry Yu Shiyue. He had no special reaction. He just nodded slightly and said.
"good……"
Yu Shiyue obviously didn't expect Wang Ao to admit it so straightforwardly, but it only took a moment for him to react, frowning deeply, and said.
"Yuan Fu, this matter is of great importance. It has to go through the court meeting before drafting the decree. You should know that this name will not cause any serious problems if it is placed on an ordinary prince, but the identity of the fourth prince..."
The Ministry of Rites asked for a name for the fourth prince, and chose the three characters Yuan, Hong, and Qing. Except for Yuan, which means the identity of the first emperor's legitimate son, the other two all have the meaning of virtue.
This is also the most common way for a prince to ask for his name. However, the word "zhi" is different. It means to govern the world and stabilize the people. Especially the princes of this generation are from the generation of "jianzhi". When the two words "zhizhi" are combined, if they are placed An ordinary prince can at most have the meaning of praying for peace and tranquility in the world and smooth governance.
However, this prince is the emperor's eldest son, so the name Jianzhi has a wider range of associations.
In particular, if the emperor chose the name chosen by the Ministry of Rites and gave it to him personally, it would only increase the rumors between the government and the public.
Yu Shiyue believed that Wang Ao could not be unclear about the reason. However, he still drafted the memorial in such a hurry. This made Yu Shiyue, who was the official of the Prince's Mansion, not angry.
If the decree has not been issued, then they can go to the palace together to persuade, and there may be a chance to change things. However, the decree has been sent to the Sixth Section, and it is a done deal.
Facing Yu Shiyue's question, Wang Ao was silent for a moment, and then said again what Huaien said just now.
Hearing this, Yu Shiyue's face froze slightly and said again.
"Even so, wouldn't it be too late to prepare the edict tomorrow?"
The affairs of the cabinet are complicated, and some edicts are not difficult to delay for a day or two. At most, they will only be reprimanded.
What's more, if Wang Ao had sent someone to inform him at that time, then he would naturally have come to take charge of the matter with him.
After all, this matter is likely to involve the East Palace. As the official of the Prince's Palace, he naturally cannot stay out of the matter.
Seeing Yu Shiyue being so aggressive, Wang Ao sighed, knowing that he would not be able to get rid of him unless he gave a reason.
So, he turned around and came to the back of the table, took out a memorial from the side and handed it to Yu Shiyue.
Seeing this situation, Yu Shiyue was a little confused, but he still took it and opened it, only to see that it was a memo about the selection of the person in charge of reorganizing the military government.
The person who was elected was Zhang Xi, a fellow governor and acquaintance, and the candidate he recommended was actually... Yu Qian? !
This memorial was drafted by Wang Ao himself and had not passed through his hands. Therefore, it was the first time that Yu Shiyue saw the contents.
I have to say that this was indeed beyond Yu Shiyue's expectations. You must know that from the beginning when Zhang Min was impeaching military officials for corruption to the present, he has been running around and making so many efforts, with no other purpose than to win the victory. This presiding job re-established the British government's position in the military government.
Now, it was the critical moment. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the host would choose one between him and Yu Qian.
At this time, what was he thinking when he recommended Yu Qian?
Could it be that he wanted to show his modesty and selflessness?
Are you kidding me? Isn’t this Mr. Zhang not clear about the reason why the British Duke is not welcomed by the emperor?
The emperor was not hesitant because of his ability or virtue, but because the British government was always deeply involved with Nangong, which led to the current situation.
Once this memorial was published, wasn't he afraid that the emperor would just go with the flow?
Thinking of this, Yu Shiyue frowned and looked down. Sure enough, the emperor's inscriptions said...
"...This matter is of great importance, so I ordered the Ministry of War to draft the regulations first, and then make a decision after discussion."
In this sentence, the attitude is actually obvious enough. If this errand is not left to the Ministry of War, why should the Ministry of War draft the charter?
However, for some reason, Yu Shiyue always felt that something was wrong.
At this time, Wang Ao on the side sighed and said.
"This inscription was sent together with the inscription from the Ministry of Rites."
together?
Yu Shiyue's expression changed. He realized something was wrong and asked the Ministry of War to draw up the charter. On the surface, he did intend to hand over this job to the Ministry of War. However, after all, it was not confirmed that Yu Qian would come. preside over this matter.
The charter has been drawn up, and it is highly likely that the Ministry of War will preside over it, but it is not absolute. If the emperor is really going along with the flow, then it can be done directly. Why bother?
Drafting the charter first without giving a concrete decree is, to put it bluntly, a blow to Yu Qian, or in other words, a blow to them, the civil servants.
The two memorials were sent together. If the cabinet disagrees with the result of the prince's request, then the job of rectifying the military government may not necessarily go to anyone.
"I see……"
Yu Shiyue also sighed softly, stood up and bowed his hands to Wang Ao, saying.
"Yuan Fu, please forgive me. It was me who was rash."
The two imperial approvals were delivered at the same time, coupled with the emperor's avoidant attitude, which is enough to explain the problem. The result of the request is difficult to change. If they insist on refusing to draft the imperial edict, they will only offend Long Yan and also obstruct them. If the decree cannot be issued, it will only be more troublesome at best.
After all, strictly speaking, the cabinet is an advisory body. Whether it is drafting decrees or voting, these are powers temporarily granted by the emperor. If the emperor insists on issuing an decree, they are not qualified to refuse. After all, they are just He is an assistant minister in the cabinet, not the prime minister of the province.
"It doesn't matter, the second assistant is also devoted to the country, so I won't care about it."
Wang Ao waved his hand and said as if he didn't care.
"This matter is a done deal, so there is no need to say anything more. However, this matter may be big or small. What I am worried about now is whether someone will make a fuss in the court and instigate discussion in the court."
"Also, there have been a lot of rumors in the court recently. If they are incited again, some upright ministers will inevitably be taken advantage of. If this offends His Majesty and causes a storm in the court, then it is the fault of you and me. "
Yu Shiyue nodded and said.
"What Yuan Fu said is reasonable. The day before yesterday, Duke Cheng made a report to select honorary guards. In fact, we have already seen the clues. It is common for young people in the court to secretly stir up trouble for their own selfish interests. Now what we should do is to comfort Negotiate peacefully and maintain peace within the court."
The words were slightly cryptic, but both of them understood the meaning.
To put it bluntly, there are many ministers in the court who are too straight-tempered and too easy to make fuss out of molehills. Here, I am naming and criticizing a certain Shaobao who is also the Minister of the Ministry of War. Your Majesty has asked the Ministry of War to draw up the regulations for ordering the military government this time. This is both a favor and a blow.
Therefore, if we do not want this job to be snatched away by nobles, then the top priority is to suppress certain ministers who are prone to overreaction to this matter.
Sighing, Yu Cifu felt helpless. It seemed that after going to the Yamen today, he would have to visit Yu Mansion again.
But having said that, during this period, Yu Qian was becoming more and more difficult to persuade. He always had the feeling that Yu Qian's patience was almost reaching its limit.
The emperor is testing every step of the way, and there will eventually be a day when the conflict between monarch and minister breaks out. What he can do now is to try to make this day come as late as possible...
