Chapter 96. The beginning of the storm.
The next day, in the morning.
As soon as the court meeting began, Prince Zhu Heyu could not wait to submit to Emperor Deqing, saying that all arrangements for the southern tour, including river construction, roads, dragon boats, royal chariots, etc., were now ready. And under his personal supervision, the money used was nearly 80,000 taels saved than expected, and the speed and progress were more than ten days ahead of schedule. During this period, not only did he not waste money and people, but he took the opportunity to do a lot of things to benefit the people, which increased the morale of the people and the reputation of the court, and the people even praised him.
After receiving the news, Emperor Deqing was overjoyed and praised Zhu Heyu's ability, not to mention all kinds of rewards.
Qingliu in the court had always been the most supportive of Crown Prince Zhu Heyu. Taking advantage of this opportunity, they even sang praises. It was like all the arrangements for the southern tour. The reason why it went so smoothly was all the fault of the Crown Prince.
Among public opinion, Prince Zhu Heyu's momentum in the court also grew stronger.
With his reputation, meritorious service and the support of Emperor Deqing, the prince's next path to power and political participation seems to be smooth.
However, the higher you hold it, the harder it falls.
Things have only just begun.
………
But it is said that the Nadu Procuratorate, as the mouthpiece and eyes and ears of the imperial court, has the power of supervision, impeachment and suggestions. It is not only the main implementer of the Ming Dynasty's supervisory system, but also the link between the imperial court and the people. It impeaches hundreds of officials, It is crucial to clarify the wrongdoings, to supervise the various disciplines, and to serve as the emperor's ears, eyes, and morals.
Originally, for an office as important as the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the major factions in the court would not miss the opportunity to infiltrate it, and the forces were always mixed.
However, with the various arrangements made by Emperor Deqing, Li Chengru and Lu Chunxiao, two of Prince Zhu and Yu's closest confidants, became the left and right inspectors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate respectively. The power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate gradually began to be controlled by the Crown Prince. The area controlled by one party has now become the headquarters of the prince's party. The pawns originally placed by the major factions in the Metropolitan Procuratorate have either been removed or suppressed.
Because of this, the Metropolitan Procuratorate has caused countless troubles to the major factions in the DPRK these days, and the number of attempts to impeach Zhou Shangjing, Huang Yourong, Shen Changmao, and even Zhao Junchen is increasing day by day.
As one of the two chief officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Lu Chunxiao took the greatest credit for this situation.
………
On this day, after going to court, when Lu Chunxiao returned to the Yamen of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, his face was rosy and he was in a good mood.
In fact, it was he who led and arranged the voices singing praises for the prince at today's court meeting.
Thinking that as the prince gradually came to be valued by Emperor Deqing, the rise of the prince's party in the temple was just around the corner, Lu Chunxiao's footsteps became much more brisk.
Next to Lu Chunxiao, Li Chengru had a similar mood.
While chatting and laughing, the two came to Lu Chunxiao's office room together to discuss the next plan.
After the guests and hosts were seated, Li Chengru was the first to smile and said: "Lord Lu, now His Majesty has a clear mind. Not only does he no longer suppress the Crown Prince, but he also looks for opportunities to increase the Crown Prince's reputation and merits. I think that after the southern tour, His Majesty the Crown Prince will be able to serve as a deputy governor of the country." With this experience, His Majesty can rest assured that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will have real power and worry-free for the country."
Lu Chunxiao also smiled and said: "That's right. The current situation is really a rare opportunity. However, as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gradually gains real power in the future, confrontation with Zhou Shangjing and the others may become inevitable. As a close confidant of the Crown Prince, I am afraid that it will be inevitable." You have to prepare early."
Li Chengru snorted coldly and said: "How often do we have to compete with those corrupt officials and powerful ministers in the court? As the mouthpiece of the court, the Metropolitan Procuratorate is now under our control. With His Majesty's support, we can We are already in an invincible position. No matter how powerful those powerful ministers and corrupt officials are, how can we be afraid of them?"
Although Lu Chunxiao also felt that it was reasonable, he was more prudent after all and said: "It's better to be cautious. Let's not talk about the old fox Zhou Shangjing and the cunning old fox. Even the little fox Zhao Junchen has never taken advantage of us during the confrontation. It's impossible. contempt."
After a pause, Lu Chunxiao frowned again and said: "Also, this time His Royal Highness the Crown Prince prepared for His Majesty's southern tour. Zhou Shangjing, Huang Yourong, Shen Changmao and others did not create any difficulties from the beginning to the end. We are asking for credit for the Crown Prince today." At the time, they didn’t have any objections. It went so smoothly, but it made me a little uneasy. I always felt like they were planning something.”
Li Chengru smiled and said: "Brother Lu, you are too worried. Anyone can see that His Majesty attaches great importance to this southern tour. How can Zhou Shangjing and the others dare to make things difficult? And the preparations for this southern tour were made possible by the prince's personal efforts. It is indeed smooth sailing, not only does it not waste money and people, but it benefits the people and benefits them. How can they object to the real merits?"
For some reason, after hearing what Li Chengru said, Lu Chunxiao felt a little uneasy. He always felt that something was wrong, and murmured softly: "I hope so."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, there was an urgent knock on the door outside the room.
"Is Mr. Lu here? Is Mr. Lu here? I have something urgent to report."
Lu Chunxiao was slightly startled when he heard Xiao Sheng's voice outside the door.
Xiao Sheng, as the supervisory censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, was a close confidant of Lu Chunxiao and naturally belonged to the prince's party.
"come in."
Following Lu Chunxiao's instructions, the door was knocked open by Xiao Sheng, and then he saw Xiao Sheng stumbled in front of Lu Chunxiao with a pale face.
Seeing Xiao Sheng like this, Lu Chunxiao frowned and said, "What happened? That made you so flustered?"
Xiao Sheng, however, did not bother to explain politely, and did not even see Li Chengru on the side. He just handed a copy of the paper to Lu Chunxiao and said: "Master Lu, please take a look at this impeachment paper, which I just received. "
Seeing Xiao Sheng's eagerness, Lu Chunxiao's expression became more serious. He took the folder and opened it. After a while, his face gradually turned pale.
Li Chengru on the side couldn't help but be surprised and asked: "What exactly happened? It made Mr. Lu lose his composure like this?"
Lu Chunxiao's eyes were a little dazed, as if he was thinking about something embarrassing. He didn't answer, but subconsciously handed the fold to Li Chengru.
When Li Chengru opened the book and took a look, he was even more unbearable. His body trembled and he almost fell down.
This is a letter from the supervisory censor of Shandong Province impeaching Zhang Shunde, the prefect of Heze, Shandong Province. He said that Zhang Shunde had spent the past two months in preparation for Emperor Deqing's southern tour, wasting people and money, and going to war just to build a house for Emperor Deqing. After temporarily resting in the palace, more than 70 houses were confiscated and more than 400 people were displaced. In order to make up for the money to build the palace, the tax money in Heze was more than doubled privately. As a result, Heze was full of complaints.
This morning at the court meeting, Prince Zhu Heyu just reported to Emperor Deqing that the preparations for the southern tour were flawless, and there was no waste of money or people. His reputation and momentum were greatly increased because of this. But just after the court meeting, this impeachment letter arrived. Isn't this right? Aren't you slapping Zhu Heyu in the face?
But in fact, the crisis this impeachment letter has brought to Prince Zhu Heyu, and even to the Prince's party, is far more than that.
The most critical question is, after receiving this letter, should the Metropolitan Procuratorate submit it to Emperor Deqing?
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ps: There will be another update before midnight.
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