Playing in front of the palace tests to a large extent the ability to adapt to temporary changes, especially the cabinet ministers, who are obviously particularly good at this aspect because they often play in the palace.
What He Wenyuan said just now seems to have no problem, but in fact, it has made a big taboo.
His words gave Yu Shiyue a chance, a chance to escalate the situation!
Originally, whether it was the dispute over the crown prince's legal status or the mutual impeachment among ministers, it was all a matter for the ministers below, and the emperor only had to sit back and watch.
However, He Wenyuan just subconsciously pushed the emperor out in order to protect himself!
There is nothing wrong with this. If there are any undecided matters in the court, the emperor should make the final decision. This is right. What's more, as a minister, He Wenyuan cannot really bring up such a big matter as the abolition of the throne. If he wants to mention it, That can only be said by the emperor himself.
But the problem is that what is being discussed now is not ordinary court affairs. What He Wenyuan just said is actually tantamount to saying that the prince's position as heir apparent is against etiquette and law, but the final decision to abolish it should be left to the emperor.
Yu Shiyue seized this opportunity and also asked the Holy Judgment.
At this time, it is meaningless to bother Yu Shiyue with the old reasons, because the matter has changed from a dispute between ministers to a situation that requires the emperor to make a decision.
This is the key point. He Wenyuan knew very well that the emperor could not express his position on this matter. Even if the ministers had reached an agreement and felt that the crown prince's position was incorrect, the emperor had to reject it again and again, and then make another decision after the ministers begged him. To do things that abolish and establish things.
But now, the two sides are still arguing, and they have thrown it directly in front of the emperor. So, what will the emperor's attitude be? What kind of attitude could it be?
There are some things that you can't think of when you think about them, but when you are in a situation, you can react quickly.
The ministers present were not stupid people. Of course, they could also see things that He Wenyuan could see.
So soon, all the officials in the East Palace raised their hands and said.
"Your Majesty, please judge!"
No one mentioned punishing He Wenyuan again, but the sense of oppression brought to He Wenyuan was far stronger than before.
What's interesting is that the current situation is similar to the dilemma He Wenyuan just faced. As a minister, he can talk about the improper etiquette of the crown prince, but he cannot directly say that he should abolish the crown prince. Otherwise, it would be unbecoming of a minister.
Nowadays, the ministers in the East Palace are following the same example, only asking the Holy Judge, and no longer asking the emperor to make decisions according to their wishes. In this way, they will naturally not arouse the dissatisfaction of the emperor.
Yu Shiyue's simple words were not as sharp as those of Xu Youzhen and others, but they were a real move.
As expected, the emperor's face became a little unsightly, and his eyes glanced at He Wenyuan, but he soon calmed down and said in deep thought.
"What Cifu said is reasonable. The treasure of the East Palace should not be touched lightly. The prince is the eldest grandson of Emperor Xuanzong and the eldest of all the princes. He is filial and sincere, intelligent and virtuous, kind and kind. He talks about his merits and virtues. He occupies the position of the East Palace. Nothing wrong with anything!”
After saying this sentence, all the officials in the palace breathed a sigh of relief. With this sentence, at least the prince's East Palace reserve position would not be lightly touched.
Then the next step is...
Many ministers looked at the pale-faced He Wenyuan with unkind intentions, and then Xu Youzhen spoke.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in the East Palace, which is the basis of etiquette and law, and where morality lies. This is something that is recognized by both the court and the public. However, there are treacherous ministers who are arbitrarily discussing the throne and shaking the foundation of the country. Such traitors cannot be tolerated, minister." Please, Your Majesty, punish He Wenyuan severely to show the majesty of the royal family!"
The dispute over the Crown Prince was settled, and the only thing left was to deal with He Wenyuan, the person who suggested that His Highness the Crown Prince's throne was improper.
Following Xu Youzhen, other officials in the East Palace also spoke out, demanding severe punishment for He Wenyuan.
This time, Yu Shiyue hesitated for a moment, but did not continue to stop him.
The situation now is different from the situation just now. The emperor's attitude was not clear just now, and the underlying controversy has not been clarified. He rashly demanded that He Wenyuan be punished, which was suspected of overstepping his bounds.
But now, the Emperor's golden words have finalized the matter, so if the ministers below continue to speak out, there will be no big hindrance.
Seeing so many people opening their mouths to impeach him, He Wenyuan panicked and said.
"Your Majesty is aware that I was just careless at the moment and had no intention of alienating the Tian Family!"
However, at this time, these words of defense undoubtedly seemed a bit weak. But just when everyone felt that the overall situation had been decided and He Wenyuan was doomed, someone suddenly stood up in the palace and said.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the most urgent task is not to punish He Wenyuan, but to thoroughly investigate the leakage of the contents of the secret memorial!"
Everyone followed the voice and looked over, only to see that the speaker was none other than Wang Wen, the official from the Ministry of Civil Affairs who had just been severely punished for not stopping the riot in Wenhua Hall in time!
Feeling the gazes of the ministers present, Mr. Wang's expression did not waver at all, but he continued.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that this matter was originally just an ordinary secret memorial. Even if He Wenyuan's words and deeds were inappropriate, if the secret memorial had not been leaked inexplicably, your Majesty would only have to put this memorial aside and ignore it, and the court would naturally remain peaceful. How could there be the current turmoil?”
"The reserve position in the East Palace has been decided for a long time. His Majesty, the Holy Ming Zhuzhao, has already said that he will not change the reserve position easily. Naturally, he will not make a big move against the East Palace because of the words of a mere official minister. If this is the case, then in the court, What do people who spread the secret contents want to do?"
These words were spoken, although they were not made explicit.
However, the meaning of the words is self-evident. Since it is not to protect the crown prince, then its purpose is either to target He Wenyuan, or it is simply to stir up trouble in the court!
At the same time, many ministers who were familiar with the court also heard another overtone of Mr. Wang.
That is to say, this matter was originally just a trivial matter. It was nothing more than an ordinary minister's secret memorial to discuss a few words with the Prince of the East Palace. Since it was a secret memorial, it would not hinder the court. Therefore, this caused turmoil in the court. Whether the crime should be blamed on He Wenyuan or on the person who spread the news behind the scenes, I'm afraid it will take a long time to discuss.
To be fair, these words are somewhat sophistical.
Because Wang Wen’s argument for denying the positive intentions of the people who spread the news is that the emperor will not easily change the throne. Only with this premise can the inference that the people who spread the news have evil intentions be established.
The beauty of Wang Wen's words lies in this.
Everyone knows that this premise may not be true, but it must be true!
This is not only for the so-called purpose of not harming the emperor's sanctity, but more importantly, if it is not established, more and more He Wenyuan will appear in the court, and they will be the kind of people who behave openly.
Therefore, no one can deny this.
These words did not seem to be interceding for He Wenyuan, but in fact, they used another method to achieve the same effect. More importantly, on the surface, Wang Wen only requested a thorough investigation of the leak and did not mention it. How to deal with He Wenyuan, so no one can say that he favors his subordinates.
Moreover, I have to say that Mr. Wang knew the emperor well enough to propose a thorough investigation at this time, which indeed made the emperor's face become solemn.
Seeing this situation, He Wenyuan spoke as if he had grasped the last straw.
"Your Majesty, what Master Tianguan said makes sense. There are not many ways to enter the palace. If you want to know the contents, you can only know the contents after opening the seal. Therefore, there must be people in the palace involved."
"Furthermore, this incident caused a commotion in the court. It can be seen that the person behind it must be someone from the court. From this point of view, this incident is caused by the ministers of the court colluding with the unruly people in the palace, intending to destabilize the court. How can we tolerate such an unscrupulous person and profit from it? I sincerely request your Majesty to issue an order to investigate this matter thoroughly!"
As soon as these words came out, many ministers in the palace looked at each other. Some of them secretly looked at the officials in the East Palace, as well as Zhu Yi and others standing beside them.
When it comes to the people behind this incident, these are the most likely people. Moreover, compared to the subordinate officials in the East Palace, Zhu Yi and others are more suspect.
After all, Nangong has been wanting to see the Emperor’s jokes for a long time, and it’s not like it has never happened before to kidnap a court councilor to coerce the Emperor…
Feeling that all the ministers in the palace were focusing on her, Zhu Yi couldn't help but frown. Just when she was about to step forward and speak, she heard the voice of the emperor still ringing, saying.
"If this is the case, a thorough investigation is indeed needed!"
"However, this case involves a wide range of things and it is not appropriate to leave it to the Ministry of Justice or Dali Temple for investigation. Huai'en, go back and pass the order to Shu Liang and say, I will hand this case over to Dongchang and ask him to investigate thoroughly. !”
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There was silence in Wuying Palace. It should be said that the emperor's decision could not be regarded as an accident.
After all, what He Wenyuan said is not unreasonable. If the secrets were leaked, it would never be possible without the cooperation of the people in the palace.
In this case, it is logical to hand this case over to Dongchang.
But... that is Dongchang after all!
Eunuch Shu's illustrious reputation is well known to all the elders. It can be said that if the emperor had not been wise and holy and had strict control over this Dongchang Dajuan, Shu Liang would have become the man who would continue to shroud the Manchu Dynasty. The second Wang Zhen in the shadow.
The emperor handed the matter over to Shu Liang for investigation. It can be seen that this time, the matter may not be serious...
At the same time, seeing no one speaking in the palace, the emperor nodded slightly and said.
"That's it for today. Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen. Please step back!"
this……
Hearing this, the stunned Eastern Palace officials reacted. Some of them were stubborn and wanted to continue speaking. However, as soon as they raised their heads, they received a stern look from Yu Cifu.
As a result, these people shrank their heads and didn't say much.
"I will respectfully send you off to Your Majesty!"
Seeing the emperor stand up, the ministers below quickly leaned down and spoke. After a moment, they raised their heads again, and the emperor's figure had disappeared.
The ministers straightened up, with complicated emotions in their hearts. It seemed that everyone had a lot to say.
However, after learning the lessons from Wenhua Palace, they did not dare to speak freely here, so they walked out of Wuying Palace in silence and walked not far from the palace gate. Ni Qian, the concubine of the East Palace, could not help but speak and asked road.
"Master Cifu, He Wenyuan's secret report is obviously intended to shake the throne. Although he is eloquent in front of the emperor, his intentions are so vicious, how can he let it go so easily?"
Yes, at the last moment, what they, the subordinate officials of the East Palace, wanted to say was to punish He Wenyuan.
Hearing this, Yu Shiyue felt quite helpless. Looking at many of the subordinate officials of the East Palace who deeply recognized Ni Qian, he sighed and said.
"To put it bluntly, what happened this time is that someone wanted to destabilize Chuben. Your Majesty summoned all the ministers and promised again that His Highness the Crown Prince's position in the East Palace will not be easily shaken. Being able to achieve this goal is already a great success for us. enough."
"I know that you are quite disdainful of He Wenyuan's actions. As the official of the Prince's Mansion, I am just as indignant as you. However, we must not forget that everything we do now should be Put His Royal Highness first."
"What Your Highness needs now is to be low-key, studious, kind and lenient. As officials of the East Palace, our words and deeds will implicate His Highness the Crown Prince. Your Majesty can punish you severely for this matter, but we cannot force you too much, otherwise If this spreads out, the court will only talk about His Highness the Crown Prince's incompetence, do you understand?"
this……
Yu Shiyue said these words very seriously. After listening to them, some of the officials present in the East Palace, although some still felt unwilling to do so, had to admit that what Yu Shiyue said made sense.
After all, the prince is just the crown prince, not the emperor, and has no power of life or death in his hands. Therefore, even if it is something like He Wenyuan, he cannot go too far.
After giving these people a few more instructions, Yu Shiyue sent them away. However, he himself was still standing at the gate of the palace, not leaving, but waiting for something.
A moment later, an old man in scarlet robe appeared from the other side. It was none other than the newly promoted chief minister, Zhang Min.
"Lord Chief Assistant..."
It is common for people to rise and fall in the court. Although Zhang Min was once under Yu Shiyue, now that he has been promoted to the position of chief minister, the proper etiquette must be followed. If he has been in court for many years, if If Yu Shiyue can't even adjust his mentality well, then his work will be in vain.
Zhang Min also responded politely, and was obviously not surprised that Yu Shiyue was waiting for him. Then, the two of them walked towards the cabinet together.
While walking, Yu Shiyue considered his words and spoke.
"Master Chief Assistant, did you just talk to Master Tianguan?"
Seeing Zhang Min nodding lightly, Yu Shiyue also became serious. This was the reason why he was waiting for Zhang Min here, and it was also what he felt that as an official of the East Palace, he should really pay attention to.
That is, just now in the palace, why did Wang Wen suddenly speak up and speak for He Wenyuan?
Although He Wenyuan was from the Ministry of Personnel, this matter had nothing to do with the Ministry of Personnel. Even if He Wenyuan was sentenced, it would not involve Wang Wen. Under such circumstances, Wang Wen suddenly wanted to protect He Wenyuan. It's a bit thought-provoking...
