The gold-lacquered cloud-dragon-patterned throne, which symbolizes the supreme imperial power, is also known as the dragon chair. It is located on the Xumizuo-style platform. Thirteen golden dragons of various types are carved on it, which is lifelike and true to perfection. The seat of the chair is also placed with a golden satin cushion, which makes it look even more beautiful. It is magnificent and exquisite. When Yaoji came on stage, he glanced at it with his peripheral vision and thought in his mind: If this thing was pawned, it would probably cost a lot of money.
As a prince, his power and status in the Ming Empire was second only to that of the emperor, so he was naturally qualified to sit on the throne while his father was traveling to immortality. But in order to show his stance and filial piety, Yaoji still placed a set of small tables and chairs in front of the throne, which served as his temporary office furniture in the Huangji Palace. The beautiful biological mother also had no intention of sitting on it, just like her son.
There is another meaning to making such a decision, that is, the emperor has not passed away yet. Please don't think and talk nonsense, otherwise your brain...
Currently, those who are eligible to go to the temple to see the saint include the cabinet members, the chief and deputy officials of the six departments (the minister and the left and right ministers), the losers of the Zongren Mansion, the three young masters and the three young masters, the boss of the Zhan Shi Mansion, Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, and Dali Temple, Tai The director of Chang Temple, the General Administration Department, the Metropolitan Inspectorate, and the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, who were not qualified but could still go to the palace were Fang Zhenghua, the eunuch of Dongchang (factory official), and the imperial physician of Taiyuan.
These people are all standing on the left, and on the right are a group of royal relatives headed by the British Duke and Cheng Guogong, who are waiting to die. By the way, their grandfather, the father of his beautiful mother, is also the father-in-law who blames his father. , National Battle - Zhou Shan. If the group on the left is somewhat capable, the group on the right are completely "talents" who come to check in and pay attendance.
Seeing a group of old guys in costumes similar to those of opera singers poking around and listening attentively, Yao Ji coughed lightly, and then loudly said: "The day before yesterday, His Majesty the Father and I ascended to the immortal world to listen to the teachings of Grandpa Taizu, and I went ahead. After returning to the human world, I heard that there was a lot of criticism inside and outside the palace, and rumors were spreading everywhere. I hope you will be strong-willed and don't be misled and make a big mistake. Now I have been assigned to supervise the country. Although I am not as intelligent as my father, the Emperor. 1. However, the government affairs of the imperial court should be handled as usual, and all ministers must not be slack."
These guys spend a lot of time speculating on the holy will, wishing that each of them had a hundred minds. Although there are many loyal and good people in the temple, there are also many people who can eat corpses, just waiting for the God-given opportunity to fall. It's on your own head.
As the chief minister of the cabinet, Xue Guoguan took the lead to find out what was true. He stood sideways, bowed and saluted, and said: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, I have the courage to speak sparingly. Your Majesty's dragon body is the foundation of the Ming Dynasty and the root of the country. All ministers are forced to follow the rumors." , we are all thinking with all our strength, feeling deeply frightened, and praying for His Majesty's blessings and peace."
The prince's supervision of the country is still secondary. What everyone is most concerned about is what happened to the emperor. If the emperor is still alive, he will have to make other plans.
Yao Ji knew very well that after saying so many compliments, he just wanted to find out the truth and find a way out for himself. After hesitating for two or three seconds, he said with emotion: "Xue Aiqing is interested. After he retires from the court, the three princes, cabinet members and seven ministers can go to the rear residence to meet with His Majesty the Father to reassure everyone."
Don't be impatient, everyone, I will take you to see the most precious living vegetative body in the Ming Empire in a moment. I don't charge you any tickets.
With so many people in the palace, it is not very safe to bring them all. Fortunately, just a few of the leaders can go back and let them spread the word. If you talk nonsense, you will be happy.
The imperial court is currently in a very delicate stage both inside and outside the palace. If there is a disturbance in the palace, everyone will not be aware of it. They are afraid that it will implicate themselves, so they are all trying their best to find out.
Xue Guoguan was very happy to be able to enter the palace and see the emperor's reality with his own eyes. He hurriedly raised his hand and saluted and complimented: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is a wise man. On behalf of all the ministers, I can't thank you enough!"
Xue Guoguan lowered his head and thought to himself: The previous time he entered the cabinet, he failed to make good friends with the prince, and the relationship between the two was still shallow. If he takes this opportunity to consolidate his position this time, his position as chief assistant will be as stable as Mount Tai in the future, and he will be more unyielding than Wen Ti, who has been in office for eight years.
Yaoji directly ignored the flattering part of this guy and said to everyone: "Today, I want to discuss three things with you dear friends, namely, the Donglu outside the pass, the rogues inside the pass, and the imperial court's annual income. These three things This is the top priority of our Ming Dynasty! Let’s talk about the annual income first. Without this money, it will be impossible to destroy the Donglu and the rogue bandits!"
I want to see how you usually deceive Chongzhen, but you can actually deceive the blame dumper into a real fool. It seems that this skill is very powerful~!
Before the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs could express anything, Fan Fucui, a member of the cabinet and a scholar of Dongge University, handed over his hands and said: "I am reporting to His Highness the Crown Prince that there is one matter that needs to be resolved urgently. The ancestral precepts have stipulated that you are not allowed to interfere in politics in the rear residence. Please invite the Crown Prince." Your Highness, think twice!”
Even if the emperor dies, the empress, the empress dowager, and a group of old women cannot take advantage of the new emperor's young age to get involved in government affairs when he ascends the throne. This is the ancestral precept set by Ming Taizu, and all emperors strictly followed it and must not violate it.
This was to prevent the Empress Dowager from taking advantage of the situation when the emperor was young and promoted a large number of relatives to take power, repeating the scene when Liu Bang died and Empress Lu took charge. If Zhou Bo and other people had not blocked it, the country of Han Dynasty would have been taken over by the Lu family.
This has been the case in all dynasties. One careless move in the Tang Dynasty led to the emergence of Wu Zetian...
In other words, Queen Zhou belongs to the idle class in Huangji Hall and is not qualified to participate in political affairs. It is best to leave the scene on her own before the ministers have made comments, so as not to lose face and make everyone unhappy.
Wang Chengen hurriedly explained the name and official position of the person who proposed the message to the prince, so that the master would not recognize this guy at all. Yaoji glanced at Fan Fucui, who looked upright but stubborn, and turned to everyone and said, "Who else is there?" Anyone who thinks what Fan Aiqing says is reasonable can join the list!"
I want to see how many people dare to openly confront me, even if I don’t even sit in a chair?
Come on, come on, one by one, don’t back down, come out and show your face!
Although Xue Guoguan, the first assistant, did not share the same path as Fan Fucui, he also wanted to support him. After all, if Zhou Hou was to intervene in politics from now on, he would have to fight with the cabinet and the six branches of power. He must not let the owner of the empress succeed. If it succeeds and the prince is still young and not familiar with worldly affairs, then he will be able to call the shots in the court and take whatever he wants. His power will not be lower than that of Wen Tiren.
However, after Fan Fucui's words, the prince's reaction suddenly made Xue Guoguan aware of something fishy. Something seemed wrong. What does the prince mean by these words? What on earth is he going to do? Before the situation became clear, Xue Guoguan, who had a deep seat in the city, ignored his instinctive reaction and decided to observe first, and let Fan Fucui take the lead and ask for directions.
Not only him, but most of the other ministers also think so. How many of them are fools when they reach this level?
The prince has just taken charge of the country today, and you drove his mother away in front of everyone. It can be said that your majesty has been ruined. It's okay if the prince has a weak character, but if the prince is resolute and courageous, what can you do? Could it be that he threatened to hit his head on a pillar above the main hall?
After Yaoji finished speaking, he observed quietly for nearly ten seconds. No one came out to support this guy. He knew that the civil and military officials in the court were playing tricks on him. He laughed secretly in his heart and was not angry at this old stubborn. Instead, he said pleasantly: "Fan Aiqing" I already know what you mean, but as long as Fan Aiqing silences her voice, I will pretend that I didn’t hear you. What do you think?"
Although Fan Fucui was pedantic, he could be considered a loyal minister. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he declined the invitation of the Qing court and lived in seclusion in his hometown in Shandong until he died at the age of seventy-nine. In view of this, Yaoji did not go out of his way to embarrass this fifty-nine-year-old gentleman. The steps have been prepared for you. It’s up to you whether you know how to lift him or not.
"Wei Chen insists, Your Highness, please think again!"
Fan Fucui knew what the prince meant, but he was justified and spoke from the bottom of his heart. He had a clear conscience and no need to give in.
"Oh~! Okay then!" Yaoji sighed while sitting in his little chair, and gave the old minister a solution: "In this case, I allow Fan Aiqing to take up the official position! From now on, the annual salary will be paid in full at two hundred taels of silver. , until you die, okay, step back!"
In ancient times, the normal retirement of officials was called "becoming an official". They usually left office in their late seventies. The amount of retirement salary depended on their popularity and holy support when they were in office.
Considering that he was a loyal minister, Yaoji gave him a pretty good retirement package. He could receive two hundred taels of silver per year. Not to mention being rich and powerful, at least he would have enough food and clothing in the future. Even if the price of rice doubled, he would not be The whole family starved to death.
You have your reasons, I have mine, and I don’t want to argue with you about who is right and wrong. No matter what the outcome is, both parties cannot be satisfied at the same time. If that's the case, then spend some money to get rid of this old man.
While his colleagues were watching indifferently, Cheng Guoxiang, who was also a member of the cabinet, came out to defend him: "I would like to report to Your Highness the Crown Prince that Fan Fucui has an upright character and is talented in understanding people. He acts impartially in all his actions in the cabinet. I would like to ask Your Highness to do it again if I am a humble minister." consider!"
Cheng Guoxiang and Fan Fucui were both clean-minded and hard-working officials, diametrically opposed to Xue Guoguan, who was good at flattery. The two were not married, but they also cherished each other. However, His Majesty was stubborn and his chief minister was uneducated and had no skills, so he could only give in and play tricks in the cabinet.
This guy's career as an official was cleaner than that of Fan Fucui. When he was alive, he still had a meager diet when he was in the cabinet. After his death, there was no rice for cooking at home. He was so poor that he had no friends. He can be regarded as a wonderful flower in my Ming Dynasty. This is the rhythm of going to see Hai Rui...
As a gentleman says, a horse cannot be chased, so there is no reason to take back the fate at this time.
After listening to Wang Chengen's introduction, Yao Ji's face darkened, he smoothed his sleeves and robe and said, "Cheng Aiqing doesn't need to elaborate. I would like to thank Fan Aiqing for his hard work and merit. It is also a good thing that he should retire early and go home to take care of himself! That's it for now. "If Cheng Aiqing has anything to do with his income, he can report it immediately."
